MONTGOMERY COUNTY THURSDAY ALWAYS FEB. 4, 2021 CLEAN AND 20 PAGES NEWSY! $1.00 PER ISSUE Githens Medical providers collaborate on COVID-19 hired as tact workers who are critical to the Local medical providers COVID-19 medical care, school teach- conduct first-ever mass ers and staffs, and all remaining unvaccinated persons from the first USD 447 vaccine clinic on Wednesday phase. The third phase of the schedule, BY ANDY TAYLOR which is slated to begin in March and top chief [email protected] continue through late April or May, INDEPENDENCE — Medical pro- will target all persons age 16-64 who CHERRYVALE — A product viders throughout Montgomery Coun- have severe medical issues, all other of Cherryvale-Thayer school ty put their collective efforts in motion critical workers, and all remaining system will return to his on Wednesday with a mass inocula- unvaccinated persons from the previ- hometown to serve as the tion clinic at the Independence Civic ous phase. USD 447 superintendent. Center. The fourth and fifth phases, will At a special meeting of the The event marked the first time target all remaining population USD 447 Board of Educa- since the rollout of the COVID-19 vac- groups. tion on Monday, the board cines for multiple medical providers Because the datelines of the vac- approved a job agreement to pool their resources in achieving cine schedule are based on vaccine with Travis Githens to serve the administration of dozens of vac- availability, the schedules may change as the school superintendent cines at one site. over the course of the vaccine distri- effective July 1. Wednesday's clinic targeted se- bution, Whitson said. Githens will replace the nior citizens age 65 and older. They However, the collaborative efforts current superintendent, were invited to attend the clinic of all Montgomery County medical Dr. Shelly Kiblinger, when through their primary care providers providers are essential in getting uni- she retires at the end of the or through the Montgomery County fied and universal information avail- 2020-21 school year. Health Department. able to all persons, Whitson said. The board selected Githens The collaborative clinic was the Whitson said that while the vac- from a pool of applicants outcome of a meeting last week with cine rollout may be perceived as be- provided medical partners from the Mont- ing slower than expected, it is being by the gomery County Health Department, achieved based on populations and Kansas Coffeyville Regional Medical Center, designated demographics. Associ- Labette Health, Wilson Medical Cen- “All vaccines that any of these lo- ation of ter, and the Community Health Cen- cal healthcare systems has received School ters of Southeast Kansas. Also joining have been administered to the des- Boards, the conversation was Rick Whitson of ignated demographic,” he said. “The who the Montgomery County Emergency state distributes everything that they conduct- Management Office. receive immediately, and the county ed the “All agreed that the effort to pro- does as well.” executive Lisa Shoop, a nurse with the Montgomery County Health Department, loads vide the vaccine to the population Kimberly Whitaker, who serves as search was paramount, and that information a syringe with vaccine during Wednesday's inoculation clinic at the Indepen- the COVID-19 compliance officer with for the Githens sharing and collaboration between dence Civic Center. The clinic allowed multiple medical providers to put their Community Health Centers of South- district. systems were crucial,” said Whitson. combined efforts together in reaching as many targeted people as possible at east Kansas reminds residents that The The mass inoculation clinic on one site. ANDY TAYLOR / MONTGOMERY COUNTY CHRONICLE the rollout of the vaccine will continue board made their selection Wednesday delivered 200 primary to take time . and patience. After after an extensive search doses to the senior citizens. Carolyn all, the vaccines themselves were only for the candidate that most which, in Kansas, was intended to January, targeted emergency person- Muller, county health department, approved for emergency distribution closely matched desired follow a “hub and spoke” distribution nel, frontline medical workers, and said she hoped the mass inoculation in mid-December. To get vaccines in attributes compiled through a system. residents of nursing homes, assisted clinic that was held Wednesday will the arms of all targeted population recent public survey and the As of Monday, more than 1,720 living centers, and other senior con- continue to be repeated at multi- groups will take patience. comments of patrons, faculty, vaccinations have been administered gregate living areas. ple sites throughout in Montgomery "As I tell people, this is an ongo- and staff. within Montgomery County, and the The second phase of the vaccine County for the duration of the vaccine ing marathon, not a mad sprint," she Githens, who now serves Montgomery County Health Depart- schedule began last week and will schedule. said. as superintendent in USD 114 ment was scheduled to receive 500 continue through February and into However, since December, the roll- Whitaker said Montgomery County Riverside in northeastern more vaccines this week. March. That phase will target senior out of the COVID-19 vaccines from school teachers and staffs will begin Kansas, interviewed with the In Kansas, the first phase of the citizens, age 65 and older, residents pharmaceutical manufacturers Mod- receiving vaccines next week. board on Jan. 27. He spent vaccine schedule, which took place in in congregate settings, high-con- erna and Pfizer has been beset with the entire day visiting the slow distribution and logistics, frus- schools and interacting with trating both Americans and American students, staff, and admin- medical providers. Gov. Laura Kelly istrators. During this time, County’s case count now surpasses 3,000 and Dr. Lee Norman, secretary of the he was able to ask ques- Kansas Department of Health and En- Montgomery County’s total COVID-19 caseload sur- and Monday, Feb. 1. tions about the schools and vironment, have provided updates to passed the 3,000 mark on Monday, with the county re- Montgomery County also saw its death count rise to 46 district, and he had questions the vaccine schedule on a weekly ba- porting 3,017 total cases (past and present) ever since the on Monday, which is an increase of three since last Friday. asked of him by administra- sis, with KDHE serving as the desig- first cases arrived in the state in March 2020. Statewide, KDHE reported 1,983 new cases on Monday, tors and staff. nated state agency that is overseeing The Kansas Department of Health and Environment re- bringing the statewide total (past and present) to 276,668. Githens completed the day the vaccine distribution. ported Monday during its tri-weekly COVID-19 report that Kansas also saw 30 new deaths on Monday and 72 new with a formal interview and Compounding the rollout was the Montgomery County had an increase of 22 cases from its hospitalizations. This brings the statewide death total to • see GITHENS, page 2 maze of vaccine distribution paths, previous two reporting periods between Friday, Jan. 29 3,809 and total hospitalizations to 8,489. FEBRUARY IS BLACK HISTORY MONTH Pioneer lawyer who fought for civil rights remains unknown lineages that escaped the cruelty of slavery, his upbringing William Abram Price was among the and childhood are largely silent. Exodusters who founded Little Caney Colony, Price did graduate from Wilberford University in Xenia, Ohio, which is the nation’s oldest private, historically black successfully defended family in discrimination university. He was educated in the years following the Civil War, becoming one of the few persons of color to receive a lawsuit against Independence school district college education. Price then moved to Texas in the embryonic years of Re- BY ANDY TAYLOR construction, although it is unclear exactly when he moved [email protected] to the Lone Star State. Initially a farmer in Matagorda William Abram Price likely took his middle name from County, Price matriculated into Republican Party politics — the Bible — honored by the name of the father of the an- the dominant party for Black Americans following the Civil cient Hebrews. War — and actively campaigned on behalf of GOP candi- Even though the tribe of Zion found themselves on a dates. 40-year sojourn through the wilderness, so, too, did the While learned and educated, Price found himself accused families of Black southerners who placed their hopes on the of being a thief in a petty crime. In October 1871, Price internal compass of William Abram Price . and his quest was indicted for theft of a cast iron wheel, which was likely for the new promised land in southern Kansas. In fact, except for a few yellowing documents buried a wheel or pulley for a cotton planter. The wheel was the Yet, throughout county courthouses in Texas and Kansas under 150 years of oppressive dust, the story of William property of a neighbor or business rival: Asa W. Thompson. and in state capitols in Austin and Topeka, you’ll find noth- Abram Price and his importance to Black America after the An all-white jury believed Price was guilty of the theft, but ing to show his existence. Civil War is largely unforgotten. set his punishment at only $1. No memorials. * * * * A new trial ordered, which rendered the same guilty de- No statues. Relatively little is known about William Abram (W.A.) cision.