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Bourbon County

Bourbon County Team Selected for Healthy Kansas Program

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Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas Selects The Healthy Bourbon County Action Team for Pathways to a Healthy Kansas Program in Bourbon County

TOPEKA, Kan. (July 20, 2020) — Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas (BCBSKS) announces it has selected the Healthy Bourbon County Action Team in Bourbon County, along with 23 other communities in Kansas as grantees for its second phase of Pathways to a Healthy Kansas initiative. This includes 12 returning communities that were selected in the initiative’s first phase of grants.

 

Pathways to a Healthy Kansas is the largest community grant program ever funded by BCBSKS. Since the initiative began in 2016, BCBSKS has donated more than $11.7 million in grants and assistance to communities throughout Kansas. The Pathways program was created to inspire long-lasting, community-wide health and wellness in communities across Kansas.

 

“We are excited to recognize our second cohort of Pathways grantees,” said Matt All, president and CEO of BCBSKS. “We have been rooted in Kansas for over 75 years and have a commitment to our neighbors to strengthen the health of all Kansans. Through our Pathways initiative, we are making strides toward this goal by helping remove barriers to accessing healthy foods, increasing physical activity and preventing commercial tobacco use. We are thrilled to continue this program with our new Pathways grantees.”

 

The grant funding includes a coordination grant of $200,000 for each community.

 

In addition, Bourbon County community will have the opportunity to apply for non-competitive implementation grants amounting to $200,000, for a total of up to $400,000.

 

“The Healthy Bourbon County Action Team has seen measurable success with resources from the Blue Cross Blue Shield Pathways to Healthy Kansas Grant in the past four years. We look
forward to the next four years, working to make the healthy choice the default choice.” Jody Hoener, Coordinator Healthy Bourbon County Action Team.

The Pathways grant addresses the three behaviors of focus – physical activity, commercial
tobacco prevention, and healthy eating – that reduce the risk for serious health conditions though
six areas or work, or pathways.

The pathways include Community & Social Context,
Neighborhood & Physical Environment, Food, Healthcare, Education, and Economic Stability,
and strive to improve conditions that are the drivers of health in a community.

About The Healthy Bourbon County Action Team

The Healthy Bourbon County Action Team was created to coordinate community efforts and improve upon the health outcomes of Bourbon County. The Action Team consists of a cross-sector of members with a shared vision to improve the quality of life of Bourbon County residents, foster economic growth, and remove barriers to living healthy lifestyles. For more information, visit
http://www.bourboncountyks.org/healthy-bourbon-county-action-team/.

 

About Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas

For more than 75 years, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas has built a reputation of trust with its members and contracting providers by providing outstanding customer service while
quickly and accurately processing claims; fairly administering benefit plans and contracts; offering programs, services and tools to help members improve or maintain their health; and
operating under the highest ethical standards while being good stewards of premium dollars.
Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas is an independent licensee of the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association and is the state’s largest insurer, serving all Kansas counties except Johnson and
Wyandotte. For more information, visit bcbsks.com.

COVID-19, Government, Kansas

Governor Delays Schools Opening

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Governor Kelly Signs Executive Orders Delaying Schools, Implementing Mitigation Procedures

Ensures Kansans Kelly will do everything to protect health and safety of Kansas children, teachers

 

TOPEKA—Governor Laura Kelly today signed Executive Order #20-59 and shared the details for Executive Order #20-58. Executive Order #20-58 can only be signed if the Kansas Board of Education votes to approve her order. Executive Order #20-58 delays schools from beginning any student instruction from August through September 8. Executive Order #20-59 outlines mitigation procedures schools must take to ensure the safety and wellbeing of Kansas students and teachers.

 

“I will continue to use every resource and tool available to this administration to protect Kansans and keep our economy open for business, regardless of the political pushback,” Governor Laura Kelly said. “The additional three weeks will provide schools time to work with their counties to get the necessary mitigation supplies like masks, thermometers, and hand sanitizer, while providing local districts time to thoroughly review the curriculum options from the State Board of Education to figure out what strategy is best for their district.”

 

“Putting nearly half a million kids and faculty in daily, large gatherings is the exact opposite of what health experts have urged us to do.”

 

Executive Order #20-58 will also include athletics and all other extracurricular activities.

 

Exceptions will be made for:

  1. Students enrolled concurrently to receive college credit;
  2. Enrollment of students for the 2020-2021 school year may occur in K-12 schools;
  3. Screenings and evaluations of students to determine accommodations and placement needs for the 2020-2021 school year.

 

Executive Order #20-59 will mandate face coverings for all students, faculty, staff, vendors, and other visitors to public or private K-12 school buildings or facilities.

 

Exceptions will be made for:

  1. Eating;
  2. Activities that cannot be safely conducted with a mask or other face covering;
  3. Children who are not students and are 5 years of age or under;
  4. Persons with a medical condition, mental health condition, or disability that prevents wearing a face covering;
  5. Persons who are deaf or hard of hearing or communicating with a person who is deaf or hard of hearing, where the ability to see the mouth is essential for communication;
  6. Persons for whom wearing a face covering would create a risk to the person related to their work.

 

The Executive Order will mandate six feet social distancing, except for in-person instruction in classrooms when masks or other face coverings are worn.

 

The order will also require hand sanitizer in all classrooms, and that all students and faculty must sanitize their hands no less than once every hour.

 

Finally, all individuals entering must have their temperatures checked before entering the building.

 

To view E.O. #20-58, click here.

To view E.O. #20-59, click here.

Community Health Center of Southeast Kansas, COVID-19

CHC/SEK CLINICS IMPLEMENT MASK AND SINGLE-VISITOR POLICIES

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As more is learned about COVID-19 and its transmission, CHC/SEK clinics are changing visitor policies to provide the safest care to their patients while protecting their caregivers.

In alignment with the CDC’s guidelines to wear cloth masks in public settings where social distancing measures are challenging to maintain, CHC/SEK requests that all individuals, including patients, caregivers, vendors, and visitors wear a mask while in the clinics.

Those without will be offered a disposable facemask to wear while on the premises.

Masks enhance cough etiquette, prevent people from touching their faces, and are a visual reminder to practice social distancing.

Additionally, CHC/SEK asks patients to limit the number of persons accompanying them to one companion, friend, or family member who is involved in the patient’s care.

Clinic physicians feel it is important to limit the number of non-essential and “well” persons inside the facilities to prevent coronavirus’s potential spread by asymptomatic carriers.

Patients and visitors are also being screened for symptoms of COVID-19 (e.g., fever, sore throat, runny nose, and cough, shortness of breath, muscle aches, or diarrhea) and temperature checked before entering the clinic.

CHC/SEK understands in some cases patients may not be able to limit those accompanying them to one person. Alternative visits using virtual technology are available for some types of patient visits, eliminating the need for the patient to travel to a clinic setting.

A virtual visit is a two-way, live, one-on-one video-based appointment between a patient and her/his healthcare provider.

Patients can connect with CHC/SEK using their Android phone or tablet, iPhone or iPad, or desktop computer for a visit.

Patients are encouraged to call their local clinic and inquire if a virtual appointment is appropriate for their situation.

CHC/SEK will continue evaluating its procedures. Protecting the safety of its caregivers and patients during the ever-changing COVID-19 pandemic remains a top priority.
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Obituary

Obituary of Claudia Maberry

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Claudia Marie Maberry, a former resident of Fort Scott, died July 17, 2020 (one day after her 96th birthday) in Vaiden Community Living Center, Vaiden, Mississippi).

She was born July 16, 1924, the daughter of Roy Francis Kennedy and Anna Maria Fagerberg Kennedy, in Fort Scott. She attended Fort Scott schools, graduating with the senior class of 1941. She then attended Fort Scott Junior College briefly.

She married Oscar C. Maberry of Garland, Kansas on April 5, 1946. They would have celebrated their 58th anniversary six days after Oscar’s death on March 30, 2004.

Claudia’s first job was at the local ice cream parlor. She then opened and managed Elmer Pargen’s first restaurant before going to work as a seamstress for Key Work Clothes for several years.

Claudia’s most important and valued positions in life were that of devoted wife, mother, grandmother, aunt, and friend. She was an active, member of the now-closed First Christian Church, Disciples of Christ, for 58 years. She was, also, a member of the Builder’s Class, Anna Bender Guild, and served as a board member and deaconess and could be found frequently working in the kitchen preparing meals for various church events. Claudia was proud to be a charter member of Starlite FCE and continued her membership throughout her life.

Claudia moved to Madison, MS in December 2016, to live with her daughter and son-in-law.

Claudia was preceded in death by her husband, her parents, one brother, Earl R. Kennedy, and one sister, Elizabeth (Betty) Lee Clinkenbeard.

Survivors include her daughter, Cheryl Blacklidge and husband Robert of Madison, MS, one grandson, Brandon Blacklidge of Madison, MS., and a much loved niece, Shirley Marie Freeman of Kansas City, Kansas and her children Kenny Wilson, and family, and Kimberlee McCannon, and family. Other survivors include a niece, Amy Kennedy, and family, of Portland, Oregon, and two nephews, Jeff Kennedy, and family of Portland, Oregon, and David Kennedy, and family, of Salem, Oregon. She is also survived by one first cousin, Ron Wood and wife Barbara of Fort Scott.

Rev. Reed Hartford will officiate graveside services 10:00 a.m. Saturday, July 25, 2020, at Evergreen Cemetery under the direction of the Konantz-Cheney Funeral Home.

In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations be made to Evergreen Cemetery. Contributions may be mailed or dropped off at Evergreen Cemetery 914 215th St., Fort Scott, Kansas 666701, or Konantz-Cheney Funeral Home 15 West Wall St. Fort Scott, Kansas. 66701. Condolences may be submitted to the online guest book at konantz-cheney.com.

Bourbon County, COVID-19, Government, Health Care

Bourbon County Has 59 COVID 19 Cases

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SEK Multi-County Health Departments

Allen, Anderson, Bourbon, and Woodson Counties

Coronavirus (COVID-19) Update

July 20, 2020

Allen County

Current Positive Cases 5
Total Hospitalizations 2
Current Recovered Cases 5
Total Positives Since Testing 10-1 removed-out of state and to remain there
Deaths 0

Anderson County

Current Positive Cases 6
Total Hospitalizations 0
Current Recovered Cases 18
Total Positives Since Testing 24
Deaths 0

Bourbon County

Current Positive Cases 5
Presumptive Cases 3-1 listed on KDHE website, tested negative
Positive Out of State/County-staying in Bourbon 11
Total Hospitalizations 5-1 still remaining in hospital
Current Recovered Cases 57-includes presumptive cases
Total Positives Since Testing 59
Deaths 1

Woodson County

Current Positive Cases 1
Total Hospitalizations 1-0 remaining in hospital
Current Recovered Cases 10
Total Positives Since Testing 11
Deaths 0

Recovered cases are based on dates of onset of symptoms, not on day testing results are received.

Bourbon County, K-State Extension

Staying Mentally Sharp

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Barbara Stockebrand. K-State Extension Agent.

 

Most older people can remain intellectually sharp late into their lives, but doing so requires two things. First, believe in your ability to maintain mental alertness and remain optimistic and confident that you can. Next, regularly exercise your mental talents just as you need to exercise your body to stay in peak physical condition.

One of the greatest fears of many older people is the loss of mental competence. Although obviously a possibility for some, both middle-agers and elders often worry excessively about this occurring.

Besides being nerve-racking, the worrying can encourage the very behavior we fear: We believe we are becoming forgetful and then point to perfectly natural lapses in memory as proof that senility is setting in. Thus, too often, our fear of mental decline becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy, sometimes at a surprisingly early age. Guard against this tendency both in yourself and among your friends and family.

As we grow older, we show some decline in what is called “explicit memory.” For example, you want to remember a name or fact, and try as you might, the memory refuses to come on demand. Also, with advanced age, distractions can be more of a problem, and the speed of processing information slows. Other kinds of memory show little or no decline with age.

Some of this process has to do with the learning processes that work best for us. If we are a visual learner, for example, then those things we see will stick with us better. If our preferred learning style is through auditory processes, then we may have a greater need to hear things to retain them. We need to remember that we have to learn something before we can remember it. When it comes to recalling names, for example, if we have never been good at remembering names, then we shouldn’t be hard on ourselves if we don’t remember them well in older age.

With frequent use and practice, older persons can significantly improve their cognitive functioning. Activities such as reading, word games and stimulating conversations aid our mental abilities.

Take one day at a time, expect the best, stretch yourself to achieve it, and appreciate the gift of a good mind. Remember that most of us are capable of far more than we realize.

Contact Barbara Stockebrand at the Yates Center Southwind Extension District Office at 620-625-8620 for more resources on keeping your mind sharp.

Opinion

Come Hell or High Water

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There are many devices in a man’s heart; nevertheless the counsel of the Lord, that shall stand.” Proverbs 19:21

Several years ago, a severe rainstorm turned a peaceful town into a flooded disaster area. The local newspaper editor set out in a rowboat to cover the story in detail. As she paddled down a stream that had been one of the town’s residential streets, she noticed a woman sitting on the roof of a house.

The newspaper editor paddled to the edge of the roof, tied up her boat, climbed out, and sat down next to the woman. She thought that a woman sitting alone on her roof would make a great story. So, she took out a pen and paper. Before she could ask the woman a question, she saw a hat floating downstream with the current. When the hat reached the far side of the house, it made a complete u-turn and floated upstream to the other end of the house. Then the hat made another u-turn and floated downstream again until it reached the far side of the house where it turned again and floated upstream to the other end of the house. The hat did this time after time.

The reporter was bewildered. She turned to the woman and asked, “Do you have any idea what that hat is doing out there in front of your house?” She said, “Yes. That hat is on my husband’s head. He said that ‘come hell or high water’ he was going to mow the lawn today.”

The point is: Sometimes we stubbornly cling to our plans instead of letting go and letting God have control. We often ignore things that are important and continue to focus on the trivial. The flood rises to the rooftop, but we go on mowing the lawn.

You probably started 2020 with big plans. You had dreams of a year that had nothing to do with a global pandemic. Then March came and you had to change your plans.

Personally, I am very discouraged as we pass the year’s halfway mark. It seems nothing has gone right. Government bureaucrats, who can’t even fix the streets and sidewalks, have suddenly become health experts. They tell us it is healthy to gather in mass to protest, but it is unhealthy to gather in mass for church. They tell us that it is a woman’s right to choose to have an abortion, but I have no choice but to wear a mask. They let prisoners out of jail for fear of them catching COVID-19, but threaten to put Christians in jail if they sing in church. What is right is wrong and what is wrong is right. Nothing makes sense. It seems as if the world is spinning out of control.

But God is in control. The Bible says that there are many devices (or plans) in a man’s heart, but God’s purposes prevail (Proverbs 19:21). What are God’s purposes in this global havoc? Perhaps God wants us to forget about ourselves and focus on things that truly matter.

How long has it been since you… Took the time to go see someone who lives alone? Wrote an email to someone who crossed your mind? Spent more time in God’s book than on Facebook? Shared your faith? Offered forgiveness? Told someone that you loved them?

I suppose that I could stubbornly continue to be discouraged about the world situation. But instead, I think, I am going to let go and let God. Even in all this madness, I am going to look for ways to serve Him.

Come hell or high water.

James Collins is senior pastor of Fort Scott’s First Southern Baptist Church. Follow him on Twitter @collins_point, Facebook James Collins “The Point Is,” or at the website thepointis.net.

Government, Kansas

Kansas Office of Recovery Announces CARES Funds

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Governor Kelly Announces the Transfer of Direct Aid Funds to Kansas Counties

$400 Million from the CARES Act – Coronavirus Relief Fund (CRF)

 

TOPEKA—Governor Laura Kelly today announced the Office of Recovery’s disbursement of CARES Act funds to Kansas counties.

 

As part of her administration’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Governor Kelly is directing resources to county officials and local administrators to cover COVID-19 expenses for communities across Kansas.

 

“We are putting these funds directly into the hands of our county governments and offering them the flexibility to direct the money in ways that are specific to their community needs,” Governor Laura Kelly said. “Keeping our economy open and prioritizing the health and safety of Kansans is our goal, and these funds will relieve some of the burden Kansans are facing.”

 

Governor Kelly’s SPARK Taskforce and Office of Recovery have been assessing statewide needs for the second and third rounds of CRF investments.

 

Following the guidance of the U.S. Treasury to deliver funds fairly, timely, and effectually, $400 million of the State’s CRF allocation was distributed to local governments yesterday.

 

County governments can use the funds for reimbursement of the unbudgeted costs of expenditures incurred due to COVID-19. Additionally, county governments will be able to spend the remaining amount of their allotment by submitting a direct aid plan to the Office of Recovery by August 15, 2020. The direct aid plan allows counties to prepare for any possible increase in COVID-19 cases in the future.

 

The Office of Recovery has provided county officials with webinars, templates, and other resources to assist them in their direct aid plan preparations. Counties that do not submit direct aid plans will be required to return funds to the State.

 

“The SPARK Taskforce continues to address the needs of the people of Kansas,” Office of Recovery Executive Director Cheryl Harrison-Lee said. “Their expertise is invaluable as the Office of Recovery readies itself for the arduous task of administering and supporting this undertaking.”

 

The SPARK Taskforce will meet next week to hear SPARK Agency Work Group proposals for the statewide investment of Round II CRF dollars. The SPARK Steering Committee will convene on Monday, July 20, at 1:00 p.m. to review proposals. The SPARK Executive Committee will convene on Wednesday, July 22, at 11:00 a.m. to approve items for the State Finance Council’s review and final passage.

 

More information about the SPARK Taskforce and the tools provided to counties can be found at covid.ks.gov/spark-recovery-office/.