Agenda
Bourbon County Commission Room
1st Floor, County Courthouse
210 S. National Avenue
Fort Scott, KS 66701
Tuesdays starting at 9:00
Date: March 17, 2020
1st District-Lynne Oharah Minutes: Approved: _______________
2nd District-Jeff Fischer Corrected: _______________
3rd District-Nick Ruhl Adjourned at: _______________
County Clerk-Kendell Mason
No Meeting – Courthouse closed
Almost Anything Can be Poisonous
Topeka – It’s National Poison Prevention Week. The Poison Center at the University of Kansas Health System and Safe Kids Kansas want to remind everyone that almost anything can be poisonous if it is used in the wrong way, in the wrong amount or by the wrong person.
“We want to remind everyone that the best way to prevent poisoning is by making sure you always read and follow labels, keep items in their original containers, and keep potential poisons locked up, out of sight and reach of children and pets,” said Cherie Sage, State Coordinator for Safe Kids Kansas.
Poison Centers are for everyone. While poison centers get more calls about children, the calls about teens, adults, and older adults tend to be more serious. Nearly 60% of calls to the Kansas Poison Control in 2019 involved medicines or pharmaceuticals. However, other common poisons include household products, plants, mushrooms, pesticides, animal bites and stings, carbon monoxide, and many other types of nonpharmaceutical substances. Here are the top potential poisons by age group to help keep yourself and your family safe.
Young Children:
Tweens and Teens (ages 6-12):
Adults:
Older Adults:
“The best piece of advice we can give is to program the Poison Help number, 800-222-1222, in your phone and post it visibly in your home. This way you are prepared in the event of a poisoning emergency or simply have questions,” said Stefanie Baines, Education Coordinator for the Kansas Poison Control Center.
If you think someone has been poisoned, call 800-222-1222 right away. Fast, free, expert help is available 24-hours a day, 7 days a week.
For more information about preventing accidental poisoning visit www.kansashealthsystem.com/poison and www.safekidskansas.org.
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Kansas Prisoner Review Board – Derby and Topeka Public Comment Sessions Cancelled
In an effort to protect the health and safety of all involved, and at the direction of the PRB chairperson, please be advised that the March 2020 Public Comment Sessions scheduled for Derby and Topeka have been cancelled. Those interested in providing information for consideration by the Prisoner Review Board are encouraged to submit written correspondence to the mailing address contained on the KDOC website at https://www.doc.ks.gov/prb/public-comment-sessions. Electronic correspondence may be sent to [email protected]. Thank you for your patience and understanding during this time.
Due to COVID-19, the Fort Scott Regional Tourism Center will be closed to the public until further notice. The trolley tours, which were scheduled to begin on Saturday, March 21, 2020, have also been postponed until further notice. If you would like more information please visit our website, www.visitfortscott.com.
We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause.
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In the face of the worsening Coronavirus pandemic, Hedgehog.INK! bookstore is making the difficult decision to close our doors to the public beginning, tomorrow Tuesday, March 17, until further notice. We will not be accepting books during this time. All March events at the store are being cancelled.
Please do your part to help “flatten the curve,” socially isolate, keep physical distance, wash your hands, and stay safe.
With love and gratitude, Dick and Jan Hedges
New Federal Guidelines Increase Restrictions for Visitors to Nursing Homes
KDADS working quickly to ensure Kansas facilities following enhanced CMS guidelines
Governor Laura Kelly, Kansas Department for Health and Environment (KDHE) Secretary Dr. Lee Norman and Kansas Department for Aging and Disability Services (KDADS) Secretary Laura Howard today announced enhanced measures for state nursing facilities to protect residents from the COVID-19 outbreak.
“Over the weekend the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid announced aggressive new guidelines for nursing home safety,” Governor Kelly said. “Secretary Howard and her KDADS team are moving quickly to make sure Kansas facilities are strictly adhering to the guidelines.”
“Unfortunately, we’ve already had one fatality in a Kansas nursing home,” KDHE Secretary Dr. Lee Norman said. “We need to take quick action to mitigate the spread of COVID-19 through our nursing facilities. Other state licensed residential facilities also are encouraged to revisit their screening, visitation and activity protocols in light of this nursing facility guidance.”
The new guidance:
In end of life cases, visitors will be equipped with personal protective equipment (PPE) like masks, and the visit will be limited to a specific room only.
“I understand the vital importance of keeping nursing home residents connected with their loved ones,” Howard said. “However, the rapid spread of COVID-19 through visitors and health care workers – as well as nursing home residents’ high risk – has made it necessary to restrict nonessential visitation in order to protect the health and safety of residents.”
KDADS, along with the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, is encouraging facilities to increase virtual communication between residents and families. Facilities should also keep residents’ loved ones informed about their care. Nursing homes also are expected to notify potential visitors to stop visitation until further notice through signage and other outreach like email and phone calls.
Anyone visiting a nursing home should be prepared to be screened for potential disease that would include questions about travel, potential exposure and taking temperatures.
Other recommendations for nursing homes include:
A full list of the guidance can be found here.
For more information on COVID-19 visit: www.kdheks.gov/coronavirus.
You also can call 1-866-534-3463 (1-866-KDHEINF).
Situation Overview
KDHE continues to closely monitor an outbreak of a respiratory illness caused by a novel coronavirus named coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID–19). The outbreak first started in Wuhan, China, but cases have been identified around the world including in the United States. The first case in the United States was announced January 21, 2020. Three new positive cases are announced in Johnson County today.
KDHE Response Activities
• Other labs in the state are beginning to test for COVID-19. These labs are asked to send all results to KDHE. KDHE will continue reporting/announcing results from these labs for Kansas cases.
• KDHE will update its website with the case information daily by noon.
• KDHE has created a toolkit of Kansas-specific guidance to help local public health departments engage with their community partners on COVID-19 planning. It can be found on the KDHE website: www.kdheks.gov/coronavirus. New information is added daily.
• KDHE has a phone-bank operation staffed Monday – Friday, 8 a.m.-7 p.m., Saturday 10 a.m.-2 p.m. and Sunday 1-5 p.m. The phone number is 1-866-534-3463 (1-866-KDHEINF). KDHE also has an email address for general inquiries, [email protected]. Please note these contact numbers are for general questions and cannot provide you with medical evaluations. If you are feeling ill, please stay home and call your healthcare provider.
For more information: www.kdheks.gov/coronavirus
2019 Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) in Kansas Test Results
Updated 3/16/20 at Noon
Positive (confirmed)
11
(1 death included)
Negative
234
Positive Case Information
County Number
Johnson County
8
Wyandotte County
1
Butler County
1
Franklin County
1
KCC issues emergency order suspending utility disconnects until April 15
Citing emergency declarations by Governor Laura Kelly, President Donald Trump and the World Health Organization, the Kansas Corporation Commission used its emergency powers to issue an order suspending utility disconnects for nonpayment until April 15. The action, taken in a special meeting this morning, will offer relief to those experiencing potential hardship from the COVID-19 virus.
The directive covers all electrical, natural gas, water and telecommunications utilities under the KCC’s jurisdiction, several of which have already voluntarily suspended disconnects. The Commission also encourages those utilities not under its jurisdiction to enact similar practices.
“COVID-19 is an unprecedented challenge, and Kansans may face unexpected or unusual financial difficulties,” Governor Laura Kelly said. “No one should have to worry about losing utility service needed to ensure public safety, which is why I am bringing every resource to bear to make sure everyone stays safe and healthy. Kansans step up in a time of need, and this is more proof.”
The Commission may elect to extend the suspension order in a subsequent order if conditions warrant.
Today’s order can be viewed on the Commission’s website: https://estar.kcc.ks.gov/estar/ViewFile.aspx/20200316105259.pdf?Id=88d5541d-695f-4b27-ae43-2ce44d20a94f.
Fort Scott Public Library will be closed Tuesday, March 17 and will remain closed for an undetermined amount of time in response to the spread of COVID-19 (coronavirus).
After reviewing information from local, state, and federal agencies, we believe that temporarily closing the library and preventing the spread of infection may be the best way to serve our community.
We encourage you to keep library materials until the library reopens. If you wish to return materials, please place them in the library’s drop box.
We will renew items as they become due so that you won’t receive overdue notices or lose access to your account. If you do receive an overdue notice, please let us know by email at either [email protected] or [email protected], and we will renew the items.
All library events through April 1st have been cancelled.
We are not accepting book donations at this time.
Library staff encourage patrons to make the most of available online resources. The Library offers free options to download, stream, and learn on your device. See our website: fortscott.mykansaslibrary.org for more information.
We look forward to seeing you soon. Thank you for your continued support of our community and our library.
Hi-speed internet is coming to Uniontown.
Craw-Kan Telephone Cooperative, Girard, received a broadband internet loan from the U.S. Department of Agriculture and has been stockpiling conduit and cable in Uniontown since late February 2020.
The new high-speed internet service will be provided to the 350 customers in Uniontown, Craig Wilbert, general manager of Craw-Kan said.
“There will be no rate change,” Wilbert said.
Craw-Kan crews will be replacing copper lines, then connect to computers, phone, and cable TV, giving access to up to 1,000 gigabits per second.
A landline may be required as a prerequisite for internet service based on geographic location, call the cooperative at 620-724-8235 to check.
The benefits of the new project: getting the fastest available internet in the county, at an affordable rate, Wilbert said.
” Great for students and also makes working from home a reality,” Wilbert said.
The internet service will only be for Craw-Kan Cooperative members.
The Uniontown project will start late spring 2020. “when the weather dries out a bit” and won’t be complete until mid to late 2021, Wilbert said.
The cooperative received a Rural Utilities Services loan which requires contractors to be certified by an engineering company that has demonstrated the ability to complete a project this large. Any contractor meeting this condition can bid on the job, Wilbert said.
To learn about Craw-Kan prices:
https://ckt.net/service/internet/
Fort Scott Fiber Optic Project
Craw-Kan has also been replacing internet copper lines in Fort Scott, in preparation for service there.
Uniontown will all be done at the same time as the Fort Scott project and will be cut over to be in service at the same time, Wilbert said.
“The Fort Scott project is about one-half done,” Wilbert said. “There is a central office on National Avenue where our equipment is.
“The west side of Ft. Scott is nearly complete,” he said.” I anticipate about 12 more months for the rest of the city to be completed. We do it in sections so services will be available in chunks of territories as they are completed.”
Why does a project like this take so long?
” Mainly it is a matter of cost,” Wilbert said. “Ft. Scott will end up being a several million dollar project and the Cooperative simply does not have the financial means to complete a city the size of Ft. Scott in one year. The second reason is the scope of the project. It is similar to replacing every water or electric line in town. We are passing every home and business within the city limits. That’s a lot of fiber to bury! Definitely worth the wait.”
The life expectancy of fiber optic lines is 40 years, Wilbert said.
Craw-Kan Expanding Business Customers
The projects are the result of declining populations in rural areas nationwide, he said. This was affecting the Craw-Kan business negatively.
“We needed to find new business,” Wilbert said. “We decided to find non-members of the coop, they are strictly customers.”
They received requests from Mound City, St.Paul, Pittsburg and Fort Scott and those projects are completed, he said.
