Governor Laura Kelly Encourages Vaccinations to Protect Kansans from Rapidly Spreading Delta Variant

TOPEKA – Today, Governor Laura Kelly encouraged all Kansans to get the COVID-19 vaccine to protect themselves and their communities from the rapidly spreading Delta variant.

“The Delta variant is rapidly spreading in neighboring states, and the best way to protect yourself, your community, and finally get our state back to normal is by getting vaccinated,” said Governor Laura Kelly. “Kansas is moving in the right direction, but we can’t let our guard down now. Visit www.kansasvaccine.gov today to find a vaccination site near you.”

According to the CDC, the Delta variant is 60% more transmissible than the B. 117 variant, which was previously the dominant strain. The new variant appears to be spreading most quickly in communities that have the lowest vaccination rates.

“The rapid increase of the Delta variant throughout the U.S. and in Kansas is of great concern to us,” Dr. Lee Norman, KDHE Secretary, said. “Vaccination continues to be the best defense in combating variants.”

Kansans are encouraged to take precautions to keep themselves and their loved ones safe, including getting vaccinated, following CDC mask recommendations, practicing physical distancing, good hygiene, getting tested if exposed to someone with COVID-19 or if experiencing COVID-19 symptoms, and staying home if ill.

The Delta variant first originated in India and has been found in more the 90 countries. A newly identified variant, Delta plus, has been recently identified in India and appears to be less responsive to monoclonal antibody treatment. High vaccination rates not only prevent the spread of COVID-19, they also prevent new variants from developing.

To find a vaccine near you, visit Vaccines.gov. Testing is available and free for all Kansans.

 

June 1, 2021                                                                    Tuesday 9:00 am

 

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, (some were present for a portion of the meeting and some were present for the entire meeting), Susan Bancroft, Bill Martin, Ben Cole, Mr. & Mrs. Clint Walker and Mark McCoy.

 

Clifton made a motion to approve the minutes from the May 25^th & May 27^th Commission meeting, Jim seconded and all approved and signed the minutes.

 

Road & Bridge supervisor Eric Bailey met with the Commissioners, he reported they did some ditching and opened the tubes at 195^th & Hackberry.

 

Eric reminded the Commissioners of the MSHAW training from Wednesday – Friday this week.

 

Eric said they pulled the shoulders near 250^th & Arrowhead.

 

Eric said the F750 truck they are purchasing is ready and they will be picking it up next week.

 

Eric said the a/c is out of the Mack truck, but is still under warranty.  The Freightliner is at Inland for repairs for the bushings.  Eric said all the tractors are operating and mowing the sides of the roads.

 

Eric said he and Susan Bancroft had met with Don George and the paperwork had been sent off regarding the CFAP grant for possible dam repairs at Elm Creek Lake.  Lynne said they can use the Federal money for the matching portion of the grant to fix the dam.

 

Jayhawk Wind update:  Eric said they are battling moisture due the recent rains.  They ditched an area at 60^th & Birch where water had been standing.  Weather permitting, Jayhawk Wind will be trenching this week on private property.  Jim Harris said it might be possible for Jayhawk Wind to put excess dirt north of the Laroche Ballpark.

 

Rebecca Johnson with SEK Multi County Health Department met with the Commissioners to present the 2022 budget; she requested $90,750 (the same amount as was granted for the 2021 budget).  Along with their normal duties, they have been dealing with COVID-19 issues, such as case investigations, contact tracing, COVID phone calls, quarantine letters, provided COVID public guidance, provided COVID recovery, mask education & distribution, distributed hand sanitizer, assisted with long term care and school reopening, provided COVID vaccines, as well as much more.

 

Bourbon County Clerk & Election Officer, Kendell Mason met with the Commissioners to present her 2022 budget requests; $111,917 was requested for the Clerk’s office and $86,900 for the Election office, both are the same as was granted for the 2021 budget.

 

Lynne made a motion to amend the agenda to hold an executive session for non-elected personnel, Clifton seconded and all approved.

 

Lynne made a motion to have a 7-minute executive session for KSA 75-4319(b) (1) to discuss personnel matters of individual non-elected personnel to protect their privacy regarding three specific employees, their titles and their job functions, the Commissioners will hold the session in the Commission room and will return to open session in the Commission room at 9:24, Clifton seconded and all approved, (the session included the Commissioners, Justin Meeks and Susan Bancroft).  At 9:26, Lynne made a motion to come out of executive session, Jim seconded and all approved.

 

Elected official Comments:  Bill Martin and Ben Cole met with the Commissioners, Bill said last week the US Marshalls, KBI, Homeland Security, the Sheriff’s department, Police department and the Correctional Center did a sweep of registered sexual offenders.  The US Marshall will be paying for the overtime for the Sheriff and Police department, they will offset expenses for supplies and the Sheriffs office was able to buy a computer, scanner, printer and camera and the US Marshall will reimburse the County for these items.  Bill said this was a successful event.  The met with 58 sex offenders to make sure they were in compliance.  Ben said they needed approval from the Commissioners to pay the overtime rate which will be reimbursed, Lynne said that payroll needed the information from the Sheriffs office for the hours.

 

Justin Meeks discussed the tax sale; he said anything received back by the end of this week will be part of the 1^st tax sale which might be in August and there will be a second sale in December.  Justin said he had a couple of meetings regarding Windfarm issues and will bring those issues to the Commissioners at a later date.  Justin briefly discussed the KDOT road (near the Laroche Ballpark), Justin said he assumed that if the County takes over this road, then the County would take care of this road (maintenance) in the future.  Justin said he and Susan Bancroft would be working on EMS issues.

 

Susan Bancroft had nothing to report to the Commissioners.

 

Public Comment:  Mark McCoy (regarding the Highway 69 Corridor Plan) said he believed eventually there would be four lanes from KC to I44.  Mark said he had read Facebook comments regarding the BEDCO funds and the grant process for these funds; he said when Rob Herrington met with the Commissioners, he said those funds would be used throughout the County.  The applications for requested funds will be turned into Rob and said the Commissioners discussed doing a 50/50 grant.  He said there was a comment about the Marmaton Massacre event at Gunn Park being moved to a later date, Mark said this was moved to September due to the heat.  Mark said what is on the radio and in the newspaper may not be 100% accurate and said Facebook and Twitter is opinion.  Mark suggested anyone with questions or concerns or wanting clarification on what the funds could be used for regarding the BEDCO grant listen to the Commission meeting when Rob Herrington met with the Commissioners.  Mark said he felt that sharing services with all the cities and BEDCO is the right thing to do.  Mark discussed the new activities/businesses in or coming to this area, such as roller skating, ax throwing and the new barbershop.  Lynne said Uniontown had two new businesses and said the Bronson Meat Locker was talking about expanding.

 

Clint Walker asked if the PILOT money from the Windfarm had been received and asked how much the County is scheduled to receive; Lynne said the County has received $405,000 for this year and will receive $365,000 for the next 9 years.

 

At 9:45, Clifton made a motion to adjourn, Jim seconded and all approved.

 

THE BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS

OF BOURBON COUNTY, KANSAS

(ss) Lynne Oharah, Chairman

(ss) Jim Harris, Commissioner

(ss) Clifton Beth, Commissioner

 

ATTEST:

Kendell Mason, Bourbon County Clerk

June 8, 2021, Approved Date

06-17-2021R

06-17-2021A

Two shoe salesmen were sent to Africa

. One relayed a telegram home that read, “Get me home; nobody here wears shoes.” The other’s telegram said: “Send me all of the shoes you can; nobody here wears them.”

As we all know, some people see opportunities that become potential solutions; others see disappointments that cause them to despair.

John 6:1-15 is a Bible story with which most people are familiar and one in which I can put myself in the disciples’ sandals.

People are showing up for supper, and I, like Jesus’ close friends, am feeling responsible for their growling tummies. Which is a problem since somewhere between 5,000 and 20,000 are coming from every direction

. I check my pantry. Nope. One box of Tomato-Basil Wheat Thins and a can of Cheez Whiz won’t do the job.

In Scripture, this is where we find Jesus asking Philip for his answer to feed the masses. Really? Jesus’ needs his friend’s opinion? Philip responds: “Er… Jesus, I’m kind of expecting you to know where we can buy this amount of bread.”

So far, not bad, even though the disciple doesn’t seem to realize that he is addressing the source of all food, the one who daily fed millions in Moses’ day, the one for whom this task is a piece of cake. Or a crumb of bread. Plain and simple.

Now Philip gets practical as he fails to understand the teaching moment Jesus is providing for him. (I can soooo relate.) He asks, “And who’s going to pay for it? Not even eight months’ wages will buy enough bread for each one to have a bite!” Rational Philip realizes that this problem is bigger than his ability to solve it. His buddy and fellow disciple, Andrew, steps in, pointing to a boy with five small barley loaves and two small fish. But Andrew’s attempt to see something positive also is short-lived. He questions how so little can fill so many.

Have you been there? “Here, Jesus, I give my problem to you. Completely to you. I trust you will provide the answer and get me out of this mess.” Whew! You feel better already. But within seconds, doubts creep in. You grab your problem out of Jesus’ hands and clutch it greedily, allowing it to grow and flourish. The cycle repeats itself as you give and grab, give and grab, give and grab.

Jesus, the master at imparting life-changing messages, is about to provide a miracle the likes of which the disciples have never seen. Their inadequacy is soon to be his adequacy.

It’s the same lesson he desperately wants us to understand every time we are faced with a problem, no matter how small or, like in this case, how large. After Jesus takes the boy’s Happy Meal from him, he looks to Heaven and thanks his Father for the provisions. Plain and simple.

The rest is history.

God increased the portions as the disciples distributed the bread and fish to the crowd. Can you imagine the murmuring and excitement as everyone was fed?

The lesson is intended for us as well.

We give God what we’ve got, as inadequate as that might be, and He supplies the rest. Our part is to see the opportunity and obey.

Plain and simple.

 

On Thursday, April 29, individuals can receive a Pfizer COVID-19 vaccination at the Community Health Center of Southeast Kansas in Fort Scott.  The Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine is the only approved vaccine for ages 16-17 with parental consent, and anyone age 18 and up.
The vaccination clinic at 401 Woodland Hills Blvd will be held from 2 PM-4 PM by appointment only. This is a two-dose vaccine that is given 21 days apart.

Individuals can request a vaccine appointment on the CHC/SEK website chcsek.org. Click the COVID Vaccine Request button. After selecting the “first dose” button, there is an option to select the Pfizer vaccine. CHC/SEK representatives will contact the recipients to schedule a date for the vaccine.

For those without web access, the health center has a toll-free number, 866-888-8650 and a second number for Spanish-speakers 620-240-8940 to make vaccination appointments.

As with all COVID-19 vaccines, there is no out-of-pocket costs to vaccine recipients.

 

 

The Parks Advisory Board will meet on Thursday, April 29^th, 2021 at 4:00 p.m. at City Hall, 123 S. Main Street, Fort Scott, Kansas.

This meeting is open to the public. This meeting will be made available via the City’s youtube channel at City of Fort Scott.

Apple pie, the one slice of Americana not sacrificed on the altar of political greed, is next.

When professional baseball decided to stick its rosined nose into Georgia’s legislative voting protocol, Dave and I both held our hearts and grieved. Okay, I held my heart and grieved. Dave had a few, choice, frustrated words, as did numerous baseball buddies of his era.

Major League Baseball’s hierarchy opted to remove this summer’s All-Star Game from Atlanta, Georgia…the same Atlanta where our son Adam began his professional career and our youngest son Andy played his first major league game.

Our family loves Atlanta and the people who work at Braves’ stadium. Many employees we met were black and were some of the kindest, most dedicated individuals we’ve ever encountered in pro ball. But because somebody’s MLBPAA feathers were ruffled over the biased voter I.D. being required in Georgia (which would somehow be “unfair” to blacks), the mid-season game was moved to Denver…you know, where 93% of the people are white (as opposed to Atlanta where 76% of its citizens are black). And that is “fair” to the black people…how? Apparently, professional baseball thinks it prejudicial to ask voters to show their I.D.’s. The same organization that has asked for my I.D. for the past…oh, say 2,000 professional baseball games when I pick up my tickets at the Will-Call window. So, apparently everything is fair game…well, except where the All-Star game will be held. Nothing in my generation is to be left untouched as politics has caused a drastic upheaval in the way our citizens are asked to view:

1. The American flag

2. The National Anthem

3. The military

4. Prayer in school and in the workplace and in church and at assemblies and ________

5. Gender identification

6. Our police

7. Illegal immigrants

8. Freedom of speech

9. Guns

10. Rights of the unborn baby

11. Protests

12. God

And now, America’s favorite pastime…baseball.

Lucky #13 on the list.

Which brings us back to the one “untarnished” of American symbols: Apple pie.

After all, when you think of that popular dessert, surely you think “discrimination.”

 

Why else would the ala mode topping be vanilla and not chocolate? Um-hmmm! And then there is the “Gala” apple. Who, I wonder, came up with such a defamatory name? Reason enough to relegate apples to the orchard graveyard, if you ask me. One thing is for sure. Apple pie cannot remain guiltless. After all, many believe that an apple was the fruit of choice for Eve and Adam in the Garden of Eden, leading to the fall of mankind. If that isn’t serious, I don’t know what is. And since Scripture is silent on the fruit, we might as well take matters into our own juicy hands.

Readers, call your Congressmen/women. Correction: call your Senate people and Representative people. Remind them that one bad apple spoils the whole barrel. They will know what you mean.

At the Bourbon County Commission meeting on Tuesday, April 6, the commissioners decided to continue following the federal Center for Disease Control guidelines requiring masks.

The community’s businesses, churches, and other entities can decide for themselves.

“We will continue requiring masks at the courthouse,” Commission Chairman Lynne Oharah said. “As far as the rest of the county,  the (Kansas) legislators overrode the governor’s (mask) mandate. It would be up to individual businesses and entities to determine whether or not they want to follow CDC guidelines.”

In county operations other than the courthouse, it will be up to individual elected officials to determine if they will follow the CDC guidelines, he said.

The Kansas Department of Health and Environment and the CDC are still recommending people wearing masks when in public, practicing social distancing, practicing good hygiene, and staying home when sick, Rebecca Johnson, administrator at the Southeast Kansas Multi-County Health Department, said.

Governor Kelly reissued the mandate until May 28, but the legislative council overturned the mandate, Johnson said.

The governor has not reissued mitigation protocols for schools, she said.

“But USD 234 had decided to continue to require masks,” Johnson said. “USD 235 has stopped requiring masks.”

 

Vaccines

The health department is continuing with offering COVID 19 vaccines in its’ office in Fort Scott.

“We do have the Johnson and Johnson vaccine available now,” she said. This vaccine is a one-dose.

As of Monday, April 5, the county health department has administered 2,022 doses of the Moderna vaccine.

Community Health Center and Walmart are also administering vaccines to the community, she said.

If interested in a vaccine, call the health department at 620-223-4464.

 

County Statistics of COVID-19

Johnson said there have been twenty-five  COVID-19 deaths in Bourbon County, statewide-4,927 deaths.

Bourbon County has had 1,347 cases of the virus, 303,227 in the state, she said.

According to the CDC website, there were no deaths from influenza in 2020-2021 in Kansas, Johnson said.

“I believe that is from wearing masks,” Johnson said.

“Flu season runs from September 1-May 31,” she said.  “According to CDC, 0 cases reported in Kansas, but I don’t believe all data has been submitted yet. ”

In 2019-2020, there were 118 deaths from influenza, she said.

 

 

Mona Lee Stern, age 92, resident of Ft. Scott, KS, died Friday, April 2, 2021, at Country Place Senior Living in Ft. Scott.

She was born August 1, 1928, in LeRoy, KS, the daughter of Shot George and Oleeta Corwin George. Mona attended Aliceville, KS grade school and graduated from Westphalia high school where she was a cheerleader for four years. She attended Emporia State for two summers.

Mona taught for one year at Avandale rural school.

Mona married Donald Ray Stern on June 20, 1948, at Aliceville. They had three children, Tommy Lee, Gary Ray, and Donna Jo. Mona and Don moved to Ft. Scott in 1963. They purchased 40 acres and built their dream home, Don and Mona Ranch.

Mona worked for the Western Insurance Company and retired in 1993.

She enjoyed camping, fishing, playing cards, needlepoint, KU basketball, and cooking.

Following retirement, Mona and Don spent many winters in South Texas where she learned to create stained glass. They also enjoyed camping and fishing in Colorado and Canada.

Survivors include her daughter, Donna Britain and husband Roger; son Gary Stern and wife Pat; daughter-in-law Susan Stern; sister Patty Mathis; brother, Bill George and wife Mary; four grandchildren; and ten great grandchildren.

She was preceded in death by her husband Donald; a son, Tom Stern; and her parents, Shot and Oleeta George.

Private family burial will take place Tuesday, April 6^th, in U. S. National Cemetery, Ft. Scott.

Services are under the direction of the Cheney Witt Chapel, 201 S. Main St., Ft. Scott, KS 66701. Words of remembrance may be submitted to the online guestbook at cheneywitt.com.