The MIDWEEK Tuesday, Jan. 5 Goodland Star-News 2021 1205฀Main฀Avenue,฀Goodland,฀KS฀67735฀฀•฀฀Phone฀(785)฀899-2338 $1 Volume 89, Number 1 8 Pages Goodland, Kansas 67735 upcoming Health Not quite a white Christmas event department Groundwater recommends meeting masks The Northwest Kansas The Sherman County Health Groundwater Management Department is continuing to recom - District No. 4 – which includes mend citizens wear masks in public Sherman County – will hold its places where social distancing can- annual meeting on Wednesday, not be maintained. Feb. 10, at the City Limits The department is following Convention Center in Colby. Kansas Department of Health and Election voting will begin at 11 Environment recommendations a.m. (Mountain Time) with the when it comes to masks, and said meeting starting at 12:30 p.m. they should be worn in public set- Topics include the 2020 year in tings when around people who review, 2020 financial report, don’t live in your household and election of board positions, especially when it is difficult to stay presentation by Mammoth more than six feet apart. Water of their meter tracking The department has also been app, and other items of interest. getting a lot of questions about the Everyone is invited to attend. COVID-19 vaccines. For more information, visit The department has administered www.gmd4.org or contactthe allthe doses of the vaccine that it has district office at 1290 West received to area healthcare workers Fourth Street, Colby, Kansas, and assisted living residents and 785-462-3915 or e-mailing staff. There are a few healthcare Shannon Kenyon at skenyon@ workers still waiting to receive their gmd4.org. dose in the next allocation. Topside Manor will be receiving their doses from a federally supplied contract with Walgreens. Sporadic snow last Monday and Tuesday along with ice in some much as five and six inches in Sheridan and Rawlins Counties. weather Once the county receives more places made travel difficult in the tri-state area. Goodland received The snow dissapeared quickly with temperatures above freez - vaccine, the health department will about two inches of snow. Pockets of heavier snow dropped as ing the rest of the week. Photo by Kevin Bottrell/The Goodland Star-News be posting more information on its report Facebook page, the local radio sta - tion, the Goodland Star-News, and other social media outlets. County approves changes to visitors bureau 30° The department is asking resi- 9.00 a.m. dents not to inquire about vaccine By Kevin Bottrell In other business, the commissioners: Branda asked the commissioners to consider it Monday reservations. When notice is given [email protected] • Met with Roxie Yonkey, who thanked the again. The commissioners suggested approach - that the department can provide At their regular meeting last Tuesday, Sherman commissioners for a grant to help write her ing the new economic development board, and Today vaccine to special populations or County Commissioners approved a charter reso - portion of a new book, “Midwest Road Trip coming back to them at budget time if nothing •฀Sunset,฀4:38฀p.m. the general public, it will inform the lution for the Convention and Visitors Bureau. Adventures.” could be done there. Wednesday public immediately. The commissioners are not re-appointing the • Received an update on the addition to the • Met with Insurance Consultant Rhonda •฀Sunrise,฀7:06฀a.m. The free COVID-19 testing be- previous board and giving responsibility for tour- health department building. The interior lin- Fernandez about the county’s health insurance •฀Sunset,฀4:39฀p.m. ing conducted by TourHealth at ism, along with the transient guest tax, to a new ing has been finished, and the department can renewals. Fernandez said the county has had a the Sherman County Fairgrounds joint city-county economic development board. start using the space as soon as the driveway is good year, and with the renewal its fixed costs Midday Conditions has been extended through Jan. 31. The commissioners asked incoming County complete. would be going down. Fernandez recommended •฀Soil฀temperature฀33฀degrees Testing is conducted from 8:30 a.m. Attorney Bret Mangan about striking a sentence • Met with David Branda of the Sherman changing the county’s life insurance carrier and •฀Humidity฀72฀percent To 3:30 p.m. Monday through Fri- requiring attendance at trade shows, saying they County Historical Society. He said in the past offer it to more people during open enrollment •฀Sky฀clear day. No appointment is necessary. would prefer to leave that up to the new board. the county has provided some matching funds time. The commissioners approved the change. •฀Winds฀northwest฀10฀mph TourHealth has a hotline for those Mangan said the sentence comes from state for activities at the Handy House, such as the •฀Barometer฀30.16฀inches with questions at 866-416-6341. statutes and had to be left in there. garage sales. This had fallen by the way side and ฀ and฀rising •฀Record฀High฀today฀฀฀฀71°฀(1927) •฀Record฀Low฀฀today฀฀-14°฀(1942) Last 24 Hours* High฀Sunday฀ 50° Top news stories of 2020 Low฀Sunday฀ 22° Precipitation฀ 0.00 As we get ready for 2021, we model for the spring semester, and ฀฀฀฀฀This฀month฀ 0.00 take a look back at the top 10 good, school activities were called off, ฀฀฀฀฀Year฀to฀date฀ 0.00 bad or interesting news stories of though the schools continued to ฀฀฀฀Below฀normal฀฀ 0.04฀inches 2020. The top five are presented provide meals for students. Many The Topside Forecast here with the first five published churches also suspended in per - Today:฀Partly฀cloudy฀with฀winds฀ in the Tuesday, Dec. 29, edition of son services. Goodland Regional increasing,฀high฀of฀49฀and฀low฀of฀ the newspaper. Medical Center restricted access 28,฀winds฀west฀southwest฀becom- and law enforcement took steps to ing฀north฀northwest฀20฀to฀30฀mph฀ Votersin Sherman Coun - protect officers on duty. Business with฀higher฀gusts.฀Wednesday:฀ tyapproved a property and government offices also closed Mostly฀sunny฀with฀gusty฀winds,฀43฀ 5 taxincrease to build a or restricted access. as฀high฀and฀low฀of฀10,฀winds฀north฀ newnursing home. While it took many months for northwest฀20฀to฀30฀mph. At the behest of the Topside Sherman County to get its first Extended Forecast Manor board and management case, there were positive cases Thursday:฀Sunny฀with฀44฀as฀ team, the Sherman County Com- in Yuma county in Colorado in high฀and฀low฀of฀23,฀winds฀south฀ missioners approved the ballot March. Gov. Laura Kelly issued southeast฀5฀to฀10฀mph.฀Friday:฀ issue at a meeting in February for a state-wide stay at home order Considerable฀clouds฀with฀43฀as฀ an election in April. in late March, asking citizens to high฀and฀low฀of฀23,฀winds฀north- The Topside Manor board had restrict travel to essential business west฀10฀to฀15฀mph. taken over management from and banning large gatherings. (National฀Weather฀Service) Good Samaritan 18 months prior, Kept apart by the COVID-19 pandemic during the spring semester, Goodland School District faculty, The first confirmed case of CO - Get฀24-hour฀weather฀info.฀at฀162.400฀MHz. - but the building itself suffered staff and board members paraded past students’ homes in cars and buses in April. VID-19 in Sherman County ap from a lot of problems. Photos by Kevin Bottrell/The Goodland Star-News peared in mid April. Out of state The tax was approved by voters travel was a factor, and the individ - in April by a margin of 185 votes. ty embarked on the process of gust, most of the incumbents re - former Sherman County Sheriff, ual recovered while the Sherman The project plan was for a 45-bed getting the lake at Smoky Gardens tained their seats except for County was held in September. County Health Department traced facility to be build west of the filled with water. Commissioner District District InAugust, Kathy Russell retired any contacts they might have had. hospital. The lake hadn’t been filled for 3. Incumbent John Topliff was after 43 years with the district Northwest Tech held a virtual many years, other than after a few defeated by former county com - court. She had served as chief court graduation ceremony in May, After a great deal of hard significant rainfalls. The county missioner Steve Evert. services officer since 2009, over- while the high school graduation local work, Topside Aquatics commissioners got a better seal put In July, Goodland Police Chief seeing probation clients and other was put off till July. 4 opened in February. The on the bottom of the lake to make Joni Showalter stepped down. court services officers in seven In May, the state began a phased markets new indoor pool facility boasts sure it would no longer leak. Following an unsuccessful bid for counties. Anne Ogle of Colby was re-opening plan. Due to conflicts two different pools for a variety of The state has allowed the county sheriff in the Primary Election, set to take over as chief. with the state legislature, the plan activities including lap swimming, to pump in water from nearby Frankie Hayes was hired as the eventually became recommenda - 9:00 a.m. - next police chief. The department Wheat฀—฀$5.56฀bushel lessons, aerobics and rehab. wells. The county purchased mo In2020 there was no tions rather than requirements, escaping the effects of ฀฀Posted฀county฀price฀—฀$5.56 TopsideAquatics was born in the tors for the pumps and a nearby has added a number of other new and many decisions on restrictions Corn฀—฀$4.95฀bushel Strategic Doing meetings put on by landowner donated some aboveg- officers since the summer as well.