Category Archives: Bourbon County

Bourbon County, COVID-19, Government, Health Care

Bourbon County Records Second Death Due to COVID-19

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SEK Multi-County Health Departments

Bourbon County, Kansas

PRESS RELEASE:

NOVEL CORONAVIRUS/COVID-19

August 5, 2020

It is with our deepest regret that we need to announce the loss of a resident of Bourbon County, KS (elderly female), due to COVID-19. We would like to extend our sympathy to the family and friends of this individual during this difficult time and encourage the public to do the same as her family and friends mourn her loss.

The individual had been hospitalized and the contact investigations have been completed. If you have not been contacted, your risk of exposure from this individual is minimal.

The overwhelming opinion of medical professionals across the country is that we MUST all do our part to help reduce the spread of this virus. Even though many will only experience mild symptoms, the higher risk/elderly population and those with underlying health issues could experience more severe symptoms.

In an effort to reduce the spread of COVID-19, it is recommended that everyone stay home if you are ill, utilize social distancing, use frequent hand hygiene, cough or sneeze into your sleeve/elbow, wear a mask when applicable, and disinfect highly touched surfaces.

If you feel you are exhibiting COVID-19 symptoms (fever, cough, shortness of breath) please call your clinic first. If you are experiencing life threatening symptoms, please call 911!

If you have questions, the Bourbon County Health Department will answer your call at (620)223-4464. Due to the volume of calls, we are not answering messages via Facebook or Messenger.

You can also visit Southeast Kansas Multi-County Health Departments on Facebook for local updates regarding COVID-19 or our website www.sekmchd.com.

We appreciate everyone’s efforts to decrease the spread of COVID-19. Please continue this effort.

Bourbon County, Elections, Government

Unofficial 2020 Primary Election Results For Bourbon County

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Voters took advantage of advance voting Monday morning at the Bourbon County Clerk’s Office.

Submitted by the Bourbon County Clerks office:

2020 PRIMARY ELECTION UNOFFICIAL RESULTS
BOURBON COUNTY, KANSAS
AUGUST 4, 2020

Editor’s note: the clerk does not list the winners in each position for both the Republicans and Democrats together.

Republicans:

United States Senate
Vote for One 1
Lance Berland . . . . . . . . . 41 1
John L. Berman. . . . . . . . . 10
Derek C. Ellis. . . . . . . . . 31 1
Bob Hamilton . . . . . . . . . 579
Kris Kobach. . . . . . . . . . 1,029
David Alan Lindstrom. . . . . . . 85
Roger Marshall. . . . . . . . . 537
Brian Matlock . . . . . . . . . 38
John Miller. . . . . . . . . . 41
Steve Roberts . . . . . . . . . 101
Gabriel Mark Robles . . . . . . . 10

United States House of Representative
Vote for One 1
Jake LaTurner . . . . . . . . . 1,256
Dennis Taylor . . . . . . . . . 283
Steve Watkins . . . . . . . . . 948

Kansas Senate, 13th District DISTRICT 13
Vote for One 1
Richard Hilderbrand . . . . . . . 1,451

Kansas Senate, 12th District DISTRICT 12
Vote for One 1
Caryn Tyson. . . . . . . . . . 819

Kansas House of Representatives, 2nd DISTRICT 2
Vote for One 1
Kenneth Collins . . . . . . . . 202

Kansas House of Representatives, 4th DISTRICT 4
Vote for One 1
Arlyn Briggs . . . . . . . . . 205
Trevor Jacobs . . . . . . . . . 2,030

County Commissioner DISTRICT 3
Vote for One 1
Clifton Beth . . . . . . . . . 296
Joshua Jackson. . . . . . . . . 98
LeRoy “Nick” Ruhl. . . . . . . . 172

County Commissioner DISTRICT 2
Vote for One 1
Jeffrey Fischer . . . . . . . . 282
Jim Harris . . . . . . . . . . 466
Sparky (Don) Schroeder . . . . . . 445

County Clerk
Vote for One 1
Nick Graham. . . . . . . . . . 695
Kendell Dawn Mason . . . . . . . 1,148
Bobby “Bob” Reed . . . . . . . . 685

County Treasurer
Vote for One 1
Patty Love . . . . . . . . . . 1,467
Mike Mason . . . . . . . . . . 497
Shaunn Pytlowany . . . . . . . . 559

County Register of Deeds
Vote for One 1
Lora Holdridge. . . . . . . . . 2,286

County Attorney
Vote for One 1
Jacqie Spradling . . . . . . . . 2,154

County Sheriff
Vote for One 1
Derick Burke . . . . . . . . . 1,095
Bill Martin. . . . . . . . . . 1,318
Craig A. Rice . . . . . . . . . 172

 

Democrats:

 

United States Senate
Vote for One 1
Barbara Bollier . . . . . . . . 391
Robert Leon Tillman . . . . . . . 224

United States House of Representativ
Vote for One 1
Michelle De La Isla . . . . . . . 387
James K. Windholz. . . . . . . . 217

Kansas Senate, 13th District DISTRICT 13
Vote for One 1
Nancy J. Ingle. . . . . . . . . 352

Kansas Senate, 12th District DISTRICT 12
Vote for One 1
Mike Bruner. . . . . . . . . . 138

Kansas House of Representatives, 2nd DISTRICT 2
Vote for One 1
Lynn D. Grant . . . . . . . . . 23

Kansas House of Representatives, 4th DISTRICT 4
Vote for One 1
Bill Meyer . . . . . . . . . . 563

County Commissioner DISTRICT 3
Vote for One 1
Phillip G. Hoyt . . . . . . . . 171

County Commissioner DISTRICT 2
Vote for One 1
WRITE-IN. . . . . . . . . . . 19

County Clerk
Vote for One 1
WRITE-IN. . . . . . . . . . . 61

County Treasurer
Vote for One 1
WRITE-IN. . . . . . . . . . . 52

County Register of Deeds
Vote for One 1
WRITE-IN. . . . . . . . . . . 22

County Attorney
Vote for One 1
WRITE-IN. . . . . . . . . . . 23

County Sheriff
Vote for One 1
Mike Feagins . . . . . . . . . 397
Julie Saker. . . . . . . . . . 178

Bourbon County, Government

BoCo Commission Minutes of July 24

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July 24, 2020

The Bourbon County Commission met in open session for a Spark grant meeting with Commissioners Oharah and Fischer present, the County Clerk was also present.

Also present for the Spark meeting were Economic Development DirectorJody Hoener, FSCC President Alicia Johnston, Hazel Swarts, Emergency Manger William Wallis and Greenbush representatives Monica Murnon, Mike, and Dawn Floris.

Bourbon County is receiving $2.9 million for disbursement for COVID-19 related expenses and direct aid.

Treasurer Patty Love met with the Commissioners regarding the bank account for the Spark grant funds, she said that Terry Sercer told her to deposit the money in a separate non-interest baring bank account. Lynne made a motion to deposit the money in a non-interest baring account, Jeff seconded and the motion passed and the Commissioners and Kendell signed the banking paper work.

Jody Hoener said the Spark steering committee will be comprised of the following… Craig Campbell (Mercy Hospital), Jesse Ervin (City of Uniontown), Jerry Witt & Bill Michaud (business owner in Fort Scott, Susan Bancroft (City of Fort Scott) and Ted Hessong (USD234).

Monica said that currently Bourbon County is in the reporting and compliance portion of the grant. She said the County could use the County prioritization roadmap as a framework to plan and prioritize their investments and it is as follows… making public institutions whole, protecting the health of Kansas, revitalizing local businesses and building resilient communities. Normally you specify what the funds will be used for when applying for a grant, but this grant was given to the Counties in Kansas and the County then has to specify where the money will be used. There are two different pillars for the use for the use of the funds: reimbursement and direct aid.

Alicia Johnston said that FSCC needed money for the following areas: distance learning, improvements for telework capabilities, payroll specific to mitigating the COVID-19 response, reopening measurers, technology costs and transportation costs. She said that Mercy hospital is allowing FSCC to use 30 patient rooms to house students in.

Jeff made a motion to accept the 1st round of reimbursement of expenses, (administration fees, FSCC=$308,717.00, the City of Uniontown=$225.33, the City of Fort Scott=$20,000.00 and the City of Bronson=$100.00), Lynne seconded and the motion passed.

Jeff made a motion to accept the steering committees recommendations for spending the remaining money (Economic Development=$490,049.64, Small Business/Non Profit Grant Program=$122,512.41, Health=$735,074.47, Education=$490,049.64 and Collaborative Projects=$612,562.06), Lynne seconded and the motion passed.

Monica discussed the different draft survey application processes for the reimbursement portion and the direct aid portion. She said the application will be live on 07/28/2020. She said business that were mandated to close due to COVID-19 or chose to close (if approved for the grant) could use the funds for operational costs. Jeff made a motion to accept the survey processes, (this is currently in draft form and changes could be made to the process), Lynne seconded and all approved.

Hazel Swarts questioned what Greenbush’s role was in the grant; Lynne said they had been hired to administer the grant, he said the Commissioners wanted to keep the administration process local and that the Commissioners had voted to sign the contracts with Greenbush. The contract amount is $69,900, (unless they do anything beyond the scope of services).

Any questions regarding the Spark grant funds or the application process should contact Greenbush at (620)249-7149.

Lynne made a motion to have a budget worksession and a Spark grant meeting on August 7th at 1:00 pm, Jeff seconded and the motion passed.

At 3:17, Lynne made a motion to adjourn, Jeff seconded, meeting adjourned.

THE BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS
OF BOURBON COUNTY, KANSAS
(ss) Lynne Oharah, Chairman
(ss) Jeff Fischer, Commissioner
(ss) Nick Ruhl, Commissioner
ATTEST:
Kendell Mason, Bourbon County Clerk
July 28, 2020, Approved Date

Advertisements, Bourbon County, Elections

Ad: Jeff Fischer For Bourbon County Commission

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I am thankful for your support over the past four years in our service to the community. I consider it a tremendous privilege to have your trust and hope that this trust is still valued. I humbly request the favor of your continued support for me in my quest for a second term as your County Commissioner.

Four years ago, my promises to you were:

  1. To complete the Bourbon County Law Enforcement Center construction contract on time and within budget, leveraging my skills as a professional engineer. This construction contract was valued at 6.8 million and was executed without any significant change orders.
  2. To benchmark our county’s financial performance with like-sized Kansas counties. These comparisons helped in budgeting, compensation and forecasting.
  3. To improve accountability and transparency, specifically with the Garland Fire Department. That Department is once again performing to the satisfaction of its constituents.

The biggest challenges over this term were the restructuring of healthcare, the wind turbines, and the pandemic. Healthcare is 17.5% of our economy and our community was facing the realization that our hospital was closing. Fortunately, our county commission worked with Mercy and two key providers were recruited to ensure continuity of care. The anticipated decline of property values did not occur.

Mercy donated an ambulance service to Bourbon County to provide this service. After comparing several nearby county models’ organizational structure for ambulance service, we ultimately patterned ours like the Allen County model. Bourbon county contracts with Fort Scott for $1,020,000 annually for operating this service and the county collects the fees. We were able to keep this service local for about half the cost to taxpayers in comparison to our northern neighbor, Linn County.

Civic leader Bill Brittan approached the county commission with the concept of a Healthcare Mall. He believed that with three anchor tenants, this property would be a viable, self-sustaining community resource that could attract medical professionals, students, and patients into our community. Two of the anchors appeared to be already in place, those being Community Health Centers of South East Kansas and Ascension Via Christi. The county commission felt that another anchor tenant was needed to make this sustainable.

Last September, Nathan Fawson of the Southeast Kansas Mental Health Center requested a tour of the Mercy Hospital building. Since that time, the concept of a regional behavioral crisis center has been explored and pitched in Topeka. Preliminary discussions with State and Federal behavioral health providers were initiated, linking these services with FSCC’s Nursing Program. Unfortunately, the pandemic has hampered the development of these proposals into letters of intent.

I have learned a great deal as we engaged the prospect of wind turbines in our county. I regret that this issue was so divisive, pitting neighbor against neighbor. I also carry remorse for some of my own off-the-cuff conduct during our commission meetings. I’ve learned that Truth is a precious commodity and that Trust must be earned.

Looking ahead, there are serious challenges that we face as a county. Our tax rate on urban commercial property is 5%. A comparison of the rate with local counties in our area, we find that Labette County (Parsons) is the only county in southeast Kansas that is higher at 5.3%. Crawford County is 3.8%. At 5%, a commercial property owner pays in property taxes the value of his property every 20 years and at 4%, 25 years. We must work to improve our stewardship or lucrative commercial ventures may bypass our community.

During KDOT’s regional meetings, I have provided them testimony in the shaping of their vision. In my opinion, completing 69 as a four-lane through Pittsburg and connecting to the Oklahoma Turnpike is vital to our long term growth strategy. In a way, we are competing against 169 in connecting Kansas City to Dallas with a future interstate.

On a personal note, I am 59 years old and have been married to Gloria Fischer for 30

years. She serves our veterans as a physician. Together, we have four children—Joseph, Mary, Noah, and Benjamin. Joseph graduated from K-State as a mechanical engineer and works for an ag tech company, 360 Yield. The other three are learning at KU and Washburn. They cherish our community and hope to return to serve here.

I am a licensed Professional Engineer with Bachelor and Master Degrees in civil engineering. My academic research experience revolves around bridge rehabilitation and I’ve presented this topic at the national American Society of Civil Engineers conference. I have a great deal of heavy construction experience as well as skills for solving complex problems. Along with my wife, I have some experience in the medical service sector also.

Our family delights in serving the public sector. We’re builders and we love this county and its people. If I have your trust and confidence, I would humbly ask for your vote for County Commissioner.

 

Bourbon County, Government

BoCo Commission Minutes of July 21

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July 21, 2020 Tuesday 1:50 pm

The Bourbon County Commissioners met in open session with Commissioner Fischer and Oharah present as well as the County Clerk and Emergency Manager William Wallis.

Lynne made a motion to adopt Resolution 24-20 and to change the effective date of 7 days to 60 days (a resolution proclaiming a state of local disaster due to COVID, Will said this resolution will help the County continue to get financial aid due to COVID expenses), Jeff seconded and the motion passed.

At 1:54, Jeff made a motion to adjourn, Lynne seconded, meeting adjourned.

THE BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS
OF BOURBON COUNTY, KANSAS
(ss) Lynne Oharah, Chairman
(ss) Jeff Fischer, Commissioner
(ss) Nick Ruhl, Commissioner
ATTEST:
Kendell Mason, Bourbon County Clerk
July 24, 2020, Approved Date

Bourbon County, Government

BoCo Commission Minutes of July 20

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July 20, 2020 Monday 1:30 pm

The Bourbon County Commission met in open session with all three Commissioners, the County Counselor and the County Clerk present.

Also present were the following… Jason Silvers with the Fort Scott Tribune, Angel Wilson and Lora Holdridge.

Lynne made a motion to go into a 10 minute executive session for personnel matters of individual non-elected personnel, Jeff seconded and all approved, (the session included the Commissioners and Appraiser Clint Anderson). After the session, Jeff made a motion to approve hiring a field appraiser due to future vacancy that will occur over the next few weeks, Nick seconded and all approved.

Jeff Fischer questioned a service charge that the Consolidated Rural Water District is charging; the Commissioners told him they had a board that should be contacted regarding their charges.

Lynne discussed a resolution for possible approval requiring that any grant applied for or accepted must be approved by the Commissioners; he thought it would be a good resolution for the County. Lynne made a motion to approve Resolution 24-20, there was not a second for his motion. Jeff asked if they were trying to solve a problem with the current granting process, Lynne said yes, Justin said it was a procedural issue which caused problems that the resolution could resolve for future grants. Jeff said that the wellness grants didn’t have the Commissioners approval for the application and said that last year they considered (but didn’t follow through with) a cost share grant from the Department of Transportation for an iron bridge in Garland. Jeff questioned if the resolution would be another barrier for obtaining grants. Justin said it would be putting a layer of protection in the grant process. Jeff questioned if the resolution would be reacting to a situation and said he didn’t think that was the right thing to do. Jeff made a motion to go into a 5 minute executive session for consultation with an attorney for the body or agency which would be deemed privileged in the attorney-client relationship, Nick seconded and all approved, (the session included the Commissioners and Justin Meeks). After the session Lynne made a motion to table the resolution until a later date and Nick seconded.

Jeff made a motion to go into a 3 minute executive session for personnel matters of individual non-elected personnel, Nick seconded and all approved, (the session included the Commissioners, Bobby Reed and Kendell Mason). Lynne made a motion to go into a 3 minute executive session for personnel matters of individual non-elected personnel, Jeff seconded and all approved, (the session included the Commissioners, Bobby Reed and Kendell Mason). After the session Jeff made a motion authorizing an employee in the Correctional Center to use donated vacation time in the community pool for sick leave (an employee can donate vacation time to an employee to use for sick leave), Nick seconded and all approved.

Jeff said the deadline is in August for submitting an application for KDOT funding for off system bridges, he asked it was the intent of the Commissioners to explore funding for the Jefferson bridge, Lynne said they still need to determine if they want to repair or replace the bridge. Jeff questioned if he should get the authority to write a proposal to fix the bridge, Lynne said they could direct public works to get a proposal. Jeff questioned if the bridge north of Fort Scott could have an at-grade crossing installed to eliminate the need for a bridge. Jeff made a motion to direct public works to complete an application for the two fracture critical bridges (Jefferson bridge and the bridge north of Fort Scott on old 69 Highway), Nick seconded and all approved.

Lynne said they should be more involved in the application process so they weren’t blindsided.

The Commissioners reviewed the 1st draft of the 2021 budget. Jeff said the draft didn’t include a budget for the medical mall or the PILOT money. The current mill levy for Bourbon County is 66.613, the estimated mill levy on the 1st draft of the budget is 67.131. Lynne said in 2019 Road & Bridge had spent more than they thought they had due to deposits not being correct. Lora Holdridge questioned if the draft of the budget included raises for non-elected employees, Lynne said Terry was instructed to enter the amount the department head requested, Jeff questioned if it was possible to encourage all of the departments to save money for a carryover to help fund a raise.

The Commissioners will have a budget work session on July 28th at 9:00 am. Lynne said the Commissioners will work with the department heads regarding the budgets.

Jeff made a motion to adjourn at 3:12, Nick seconded and all approved.

THE BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS
OF BOURBON COUNTY, KANSAS
(ss) Lynne Oharah, Chairman
(ss) Jeff Fischer, Commissioner
(ss) Nick Ruhl, Commissioner
ATTEST:
Kendell Mason, Bourbon County Clerk
July 24, 2020, Approved Date

Bourbon County, COVID-19, Government, Health Care

Bourbon County Has Nine Current COVID-19 Cases

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SEK Multi-County Health Departments

Allen, Anderson, Bourbon, and Woodson Counties

Coronavirus (COVID-19) Update

August 3, 2020

Allen County

Current Positive Cases 2
Total Hospitalizations 2
Current Recovered Cases 13
Total Positives Since Testing 15-1 removed-out of state and to remain there
Deaths 0

Anderson County

Current Positive Cases 3
Total Hospitalizations 0
Current Recovered Cases 26
Total Positives Since Testing 29
Deaths 0

Bourbon County

Current Positive Cases 9
Presumptive Cases 4-1 listed on KDHE website, tested negative
Positive Out of State/County-staying in Bourbon 11
Total Hospitalizations 7-1 remaining in hospital
Current Recovered Cases 65-includes presumptive cases
Total Positives Since Testing 73
Deaths 1

Woodson County

Current Positive Cases 0
Total Hospitalizations 1-0 remaining in hospital
Current Recovered Cases 11
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, Fort Scott

Grant Applications For Local Non-Profits Accepted Until August 31

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FORT SCOTT AREA
COMMUNITY FOUNDATION
ANNOUNCES 2020 GRANT CYCLE
APPLICATIONS WILL BE ACCEPTED
THROUGH 5PM AUGUST 31ST
Honoring the Past and Impacting the Future
The mission of the Fort Scott Area Community Foundation is to partner with and be a resource to organizations whose goal is to improve the quality of life in the Fort Scott, Kansas area. FSACF strives to create connections between donors and a variety of many worthwhile causes.
The Fort Scott Area Community Foundation is pleased to announce that the grant cycle for 2020 is here and they will be taking applications from now until 5pm on August 31st.
This year, the foundation will be awarding over $42,000.00 to local not-for-profits for projects to benefit our community.
A certain dollar amount of the awards is reserved for projects that benefit our youth.
Maximum grant to any one project is $5,000.00.
For a copy of the grant application, email
FSACF Board Member Gregg Motley at [email protected]
Please use Gregg’s same email address to submit any questions you might have. Completed applications must be received by 5:00 pm, August 31st.
Grant Application Guidelines
•       Program Oriented
Do the funds support a new or enhanced service to the community? Generally, Grants are not for the purpose of funding core budget items, capital improvements or the purchase of real estate.
•       Organizational capacity
Do you have confidence in the organization, as described in the application, to carry out the program?
•       Soundness of proposed strategies
Will the program adequately address the need as it was described in the application?
•       Resource efficiency
Is the program taking advantage of available resources? Are they collaborating?
•       Appropriateness of budget
Will the program use the funds effectively? Is the budget clear and accurate?
•       Plan for program evaluation
Does the program have the ability to evaluate its successes? How will they monitor the program?
Click HERE to learn more about the
Fort Scott Area Community Foundation
Bourbon County, Bourbon County Sheriff's Office

Unsolicited Seeds: Report Receipt to KS Dept. of Agriculture

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KDA Asks Public to Report Receipt of any Unsolicited Packages of Seeds

 

Bourbon County Sheriff Bill Martin said he has been receiving questions on this and sent the following:

The Kansas Department of Agriculture has been notified that several Kansas residents have received unsolicited packages containing seeds that appear to have originated from China.

The types of seeds in the packages are unknown at this time.

The packages were sent by mail; some have been labeled as jewelry and they may have Chinese writing on them.

Unsolicited packages of seeds have been received by people in several other states across the United States over the last several days.

If you receive a package of this type, please contact KDA’s plant protection and weed control program at 785-564-6698, via email at [email protected], or at the complaint reporting portion of the KDA website: report a seed complaint.

Please DO NOT plant these seeds.

If they are in sealed packaging, don’t open the sealed package.

If the package has already been opened, place all materials (seeds and packaging) into a zip lock bag and seal it.

If the seeds have already been planted, leave the seeds/plants in the ground.

Unsolicited seeds could be invasive species, could introduce diseases to local plants, or could be harmful to livestock.

Invasive species wreak havoc on the environment, displace or destroy native plants and insects and severely damage crops.

KDA works to prevent the introduction of invasive species and protect Kansas agriculture.

Bourbon County, Schools

Beacon Clients: Shoe Voucher Available Starting Monday

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The Shoe Voucher Sign-up will begin On Monday, August 3 to August 28, 2020 for students in Grades K-12.

 

The voucher must be used at Fort Scott Wal-Mart.

This Voucher will expire on September 8th,2020. Voucher may be used for any pair of shoes (not flip flops) and can be used for underwear and sock, up to $20.

You must present voucher to the service desk with items.

This is for all Beacon Clients.

Thank you to Community Christian Church for the vouchers and to The Fort Scott Elks for each mask that will be included with the vouchers.

PLEASE CALL INTO THE BEACON TO RESERVE YOUR VOUCHER, 620-223-6869.

Bourbon County, Government, Kansas

Animal Virus Confirmed in Bourbon County

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KDA Update on Vesicular Stomatitis Virus 7-31-2020

 

MANHATTAN, Kansas — Updated situation report on the ongoing outbreak of Vesicular Stomatitis Virus (VSV) in Kansas:

  • Total premises which have tested positive for VSV in Kansas: 97
  • Premises currently under quarantine: 51
  • Premises that have been released from quarantine: 157
  • Total counties in Kansas that have had positive cases of VSV: 24
  • Counties: Allen, Bourbon, Butler, Chase, Cherokee, Coffey, Cowley, Crawford, Elk, Franklin, Greenwood, Labette, Linn, Lyon, Marion, Miami, Montgomery, Morris, Neosho, Riley, Sedgwick, Sumner, Wilson and Woodson counties.

 

KDA’s Division of Animal Health continues to respond to the outbreak that began in south central Kansas in mid-June and has now expanded its reach to the north and east. In addition, KDA is awaiting laboratory results from symptomatic animals in other counties as the outbreak continues to spread. All premises with confirmed cases of VSV in horses and cattle have been quarantined; in addition, any premises with animals showing clinical signs consistent with VSV are placed on quarantine. A quarantine for VSV lasts for at least 14 days from the onset of symptoms in the last animal on the premises. Quarantines are not lifted until a veterinarian has examined all susceptible animals on the premises.

 

What is VSV:

VSV is a viral disease which primarily affects horses, but can also affect cattle, sheep, goats, swine, llamas and alpacas. At this time, the vast majority of confirmed cases of VSV in Kansas have been horses, although some cattle have also been diagnosed. KDA has advised the beef industry to be vigilant in monitoring their cattle for symptoms.

 

In horses, VSV is typically characterized by lesions which appear as crusting scabs on the muzzle, lips, ears, coronary bands, or ventral abdomen. Other clinical signs of the disease include fever and the formation of blister-like lesions in the mouth and on the dental pad, tongue, lips, nostrils, ears, hooves and teats. Infected animals may refuse to eat and drink, which can lead to weight loss. Vesicular stomatitis can be painful for infected animals and costly to their owners. Although it is rare, humans can also become infected with the disease when handling affected animals and can develop flu-like symptoms. VSV is considered a reportable disease in Kansas. If you observe clinical signs among your animals, contact your veterinarian right away. Accredited veterinarians across Kansas have played a critical role by reporting and responding to animals affected by VSV.

 

Disease prevention:

The primary way the virus is transmitted is from biting insects like black flies, sand flies and midges. Owners should institute robust measures to reduce flies and other insects where animals are housed. VSV can also be spread by nose-to-nose contact between animals. The virus itself usually runs its course in five to seven days, and it can take up to an additional seven days for the infected animal to recover from the symptoms. There are no approved vaccines for VSV.

 

KDA has developed guidelines to assist organizations which are hosting shows and fairs across the state, and have worked with many of them to consider how they can protect the health and safety of animals attending their events.

 

VSV in the U.S.:

VSV has also been confirmed in Arizona, Arkansas, Missouri, Nebraska, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Texas. Because of the confirmed cases in Kansas, other states and Canada are likely to increase restrictions on livestock imports. Animal health officials strongly encourage all livestock owners and veterinarians to call the animal health authority in the destination location for the most current import requirements prior to travel.

 

More information:

Information about VSV can be found by contacting the KDA Division of Animal Health at 785-564-6601 or on the KDA website at www.agriculture.ks.gov/VSV, with info about:

  • Documents describing symptoms of VSV
  • Recommendations for fly control practices
  • Guidelines for shows and fairs
  • Informational webinars about VSV
  • Current state and national situation reports

 

Bourbon County, Business, Government

Wind Energy Project Is Advancing In Bourbon County

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Standing at the bottom of a wind turbine looking up at the clear Kansas sky.

The Bourbon County Commission voted on March 13, 2020,  to approve a wind energy project submitted by Apex Clean Energy, Charlottesville, Virginia. There was some community protest, but the commission moved forward with the project that will produce energy from wind turbines.

 

 

The development of the Jayhawk Wind Project continues to advance, according to Helen Humphreys, Public Engagement Manager for Apex Clean Energy, the parent company of Jayhawk Wind.
The land is currently being inspected on proposed sites.

“We are in process of conducting (and) completing micro siting efforts, a process which involves a physical inspection to verify that the site meets all requirements,” she said in an email interview. “Once micro siting is complete,  engineering studies will be conducted to further evaluate the sites on which facilities might be located.”

 

 

“Once this work is complete, we will share the locations of the planned facilities with landowners and collect their feedback, before a map is finalized,” she said.

 

 

“There are 74 participating landowners in the Jayhawk Wind Project,” Humphreys said. As things stand now, construction will begin in late 2020 and the project will be operational in 2021.

 

 

The Apex Clean Energy company has been building connections in Bourbon County, as well.

 

 

“Finally, and importantly, the Jayhawk team has continued to build connections in the community,” Humphrey’s said. “Guided by community leaders, Jayhawk has provided grants to a number of community organizations, including The Beacon food pantry and Feeding Families in His Name.”

 

 

Julianna Pianelli, Apex Development Manager, explained that “early in the pandemic response, Jayhawk connected with community non-profits and church leaders to identify the organizations positioned to meet community needs. We are humbled by the commitment of so many to their neighbors and community and are very pleased to support their work.”
For more background on Jayhawk Wind in Bourbon County: