Virus Outbreak Causes County Tally to Soar
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MONTGOMERY COUNTY THURSDAY ALWAYS JULY 23, 2020 CLEAN AND 20 PAGES NEWSY! $1.00 PER ISSUE 98th ANNUAL MONTGOMERY COUNTY 4-H FAIR Cherryvale Virus outbreak hikes sewer causes county rates by $2 BY ANDY TAYLOR [email protected] CHERRYVALE — Cherry- tally to soar vale sewer customers will see a $2 increase to their monthly Windsor Place of The announcement of the base fee effective in October outbreak at Windsor Place in an attempt to meet bond Coffeyville reports came through a press state- and interest payments tied to ment from Monte Coffman, a sewer bond that retires in COVID-19 outbreak in Windsor Place executive di- 2035. rector. The $2 increase will bring one unit; Montgomery Coffman said that prior to the monthly base fee from County’s total caseload late last week, the facility had $8.19 to $10.19, which rep- only three staff members and resents a 24 percent increase. now above 110 no residents with confirmed Jonathan Booe, city admin- cases of COVID-19. Those istrator, suggested a hike of three employees were im- BY ANDY TAYLOR between [email protected] mediately quarantined away 25 to 33 An outbreak of COVID-19 from the facility per protocols. Sewer hike percent to infections at a Coffeyville Testing in the Windsor needed the sew- nursing facility has pushed Place nursing units was done er rates in Montgomery County’s virus on Friday out of an abundance in order order to caseload to beyond 100 for of caution, Coffman said. All meet exist- the first time since the glob- the testing results came back to make ing debt to al pandemic hit Kansas in by Sunday morning showing the sewer March. 20 residents and 12 staff pos- monthly system. He Rick Whitson, county itive for the virus. payments said the emergency management di- All the test results were balance rector, said the number of limited to one particular unit on bond in City of COVID-19 cases hit 112 on at Windsor Place. Cherry- Tuesday after having had 74 “All those residents are vale’s sewer fund falls be- the previous Friday. Approx- able to remain in that unit tween $60,000 to $90,000 imately 32 people connected and be cared for there,” he per year because of the City’s to Coffeyville nursing facility said. “The positive employees commitment to meeting bond Windsor Place (20 residents are self-quarantined at home 4-H fair royalty named and interest payments. The and 12 staff members) have for 10 days per protocol.” Dexter Small (left) of the Sycamore Sunflowers and Hannah Graybill of the Fawn Creek City of Cherryvale refinanced Coffman said Windsor tested positive for COVID-19 4-H Club were crowned the 99th Annual Montgomery County 4-H Fair King and Queen its sewer bond in 2017 in or- Place staff had conducted ever since residents were during coronation at the Public Style Revue at the First United Methodist Church of der to take advantage of low- temperatures checks on all er interest rates. However, tested last week. Independence’s Wesley Chapel on Tuesday evening. Small and Graybill will now preside facility residents and staff the size of the monthly bond Of the 112 cases (past over the 4-H fair events that continue today (Thursday) at Riverside Park and continue and current) in Montgomery members each shift every day payments increased with sub- through the weekend. For more details about the Public Style Revue and the 4-H fair, County, 57 are now currently since mid-March. All other fa- sequent years, thereby put- see story on page A3. ANDY TAYLOR / MONTGOMERY COUNTY CHRONICLE active. • see COVID-19, page A9 • see SEWER, page A9 Inge Festival funding cut peeves theatre supporters 41.702 mills, which is a hair’s adamant to not increase the tal value of taxable properties projected 10 percent enroll- posed cuts is elimination of Trustees propose width in difference from the college’s tax rate. However, — is projected to drop by $4.1 ment loss and various refunds the college’s contribution for elimination of Inge 41.703 mills that were as- keeping a lid on the tax rate million ($141,455,916 total from the spring 2019 semes- the William Inge Theatre Fes- sessed in the 2019-20 school was compounded by a diffi- for 2019-20 as compared to ter due to COVID-19, the hold- tival, which is named in hon- Festival funds for one year. cult tax valuation situation. $137,280,888 for 2020-21). the-line trustees are forced to or of the Independence-born year while college looks During previous budget The college’s total assessed With fewer dollars in the make about $500,000 in bud- discussions, trustees were valuation — which is the to- tax base, combined with a get cuts. Among those pro- • see INGE, page A9 to restructure theatre festival for 2022 BY ANDY TAYLOR [email protected] INDEPENDENCE — Plans by Independence Community College’s trustees to tempo- rarily suspend its support for the William Inge Theatre Fes- tival is troubling certain sup- porters of the local fine arts community. However, trustees and ICC staff insist that the college’s proposed budget, which calls for no new dollars to the Inge festival for 2021, is based on the current realities of eco- nomic hardships. At Monday’s ICC trustees meeting, trustees gave ap- proval to publishing the col- lege’s proposed 2020-21 bud- get plan. A summary of that budget is printed elsewhere in this issue of the Montgom- ery County Chronicle. A pub- lic budget hearing will be held at 7 p.m., Monday, Aug. 3 to hear citizens’ concerns and questions about the college’s spending plans for the 2020- 21 budget year. The proposed budget calls for the college’s projected tax rate to remain largely un- changed from the 2019-20 ’Nado graduates celebrate graduation school year. According to the Almost two months after their planned commencement, Field Kindley High School seniors were able to throw their graduation hats in the air at the conclusion budget summary, the college’s of graduation exercises at Veterans Memorial Stadium on Friday. The FKHS commencement was postponed to Friday due to COVID-19 concerns. PHOTO BY KIM tax rate is projected to be BAKER JONES INSIDE THIS ISSUE Opinions .............................Page A4 Today’s Sports .......................Pages B3-B5 Public notices ........ Pages B6-B7 Chuckle FunnierU.com Classified ads ..................Page B9 Obituaries .........................Page A2 A gorilla in a Miami zoo received the COVID-19 SEE CHRONICLE SUBSCRIPTION nasal test. The gorilla is OFFER ON PAGE A9 In the beginning . New coaches for Bulldogs Healthy grant gonna be fine. The person Independence was incorporated as a Smith, Byrd assume head coaching Montgomery, Labette counties to that administered the test town — 150 years ago today. Page B1 duties at IHS basketball. Page B3 share $200,000 grant. Page A6 is not expected to recover. Page A2 Montgomery County Chronicle Thursday, July 23, 2020 Nursing facility owner OBITUARIES Obituaries are printed in their entirety for a $50 fee. To submit a paid obitu- 4th grade when her family moved to Caney. ary, contact the Montgomery County Chronicle at (620) 331-5040, ext. 2, or She graduated from Caney High School in1952. It was in fined for violating (620) 879-2156. Or, submit an e-mail to [email protected]. Caney schools where she met her one and only love, Ferd Es- tes, and they were later married in 1955. In 1954, she graduated from Coffeyville Junior College as patient, employee data Wanda Lee Cunningham Valedictorian. COFFEYVILLE – The own- edge, the defendants failed to CHERRYVALE — Wanda Lee Cunningham, age 81, of Cher- After her marriage and two children, she graduated Summa er of a closed Caney nursing secure or properly dispose of ryvale passed away, Friday, July 17, 2020 at her home in Cher- Cum Laude from the University of Kansas with a B.S. in Educa- home has been fined for fail- the patient and employee re- ryvale. tion. ing to protect patient and em- cords as required by law. Wanda Lee Cunningham was born March 6, 1939 to Ralph Sylvia was too busy and happy raising her own family to ac- ployee records, Kansas Attor- The lawsuit stated that as and Jenny (Scannel) Yeubanks. She attended Labette County cept a full-time teaching job, however she did some substitute ney General Derek Schmidt holders of personal informa- High School and graduated in 1957. teaching in Atchison, Kan., and was a little proud that many said. tion, defendants are subject She was united in marriage to Harry A. Cunningham on years later she could help some of her grandchildren with Al- James R. Laidler of Pitts- to the requirements of the April 8, 1958 in Cherryvale, and he sur- gebra. burg, owner of Caney Guest Wayne Owen Act, which is vives at the home. During the years of W.W.II, her father, Mike Waggoner, was Home, Inc., agreed Monday to part of the Kansas Consumer Wanda worked at the Parsons State too old for the draft so he worked in defense plants located pay $150,000 in civil penal- Protection Act. The lawsuit Hospital as a purchasing agent for 47 Colorado and Indiana. As soon as school ties, plus $6,379.28 in inves- alleged the defendants failed years until retiring in 2004. She enjoyed was out for the summer, her mother, tigative fees and expenses for to comply with those require- watching Hallmark Christmas movies, brother Jim and she would go to join violations of the Wayne Owen ments by failing to implement making ceramics, playing the piano, her father wherever he was working.