Coronavirus continues to adjust schedules and operations across the area.
Virtually all local activities for Saturday are no longer taking place after separate announcements by the St. Patrick’s Committee, St. Baldrick’s, Emporia Area Chamber of Commerce and Emporia Kiwanis Club. St. Patrick’s is moving the parade, 5K run and disc golf tournament to April 18. Committee chair Trey Sommers:
The Kiwanis Club pancake feed has been pushed to July 18, while the St. Baldrick’s head-shaving has been postponed indefinitely and the Legislative Dialogue has been canceled.
Organizers of the Glass Blown Open have canceled the tournament at the direction of the Pro Disc Golf Association. Dynamic Discs owner and tournament organizer Jeremy Rusco is “devastated” by the announcement. Rusco says around 1,600 players were coming to Emporia, with another 900 staff and volunteers attending as a result of the tourney. He’s hoping to bring disc golfers back to Emporia for another event later this year.
Also, the United Way of the Flint Hills has canceled its campaign celebration March 25, but Director Mickey Edwards says there may well be a celebration in a different form later.
Friday’s announcements followed a busy day of coronavirus news Thursday — which concluded with Governor Laura Kelly’s declaration of a state of emergency following the death of a Wyandotte County man. The declaration frees up state resources and personnel to “assist with response and recovery operations” in counties that meet certain criteria.
Thursday started with announcements Emporia State University and Flint Hills Technical College will halt face-to-face classes when they return from spring break Monday and would have those classes offered through remote access instead of classrooms starting March 23 until further notice. Both are canceling all campus events and programs — until at least April 10 in the case of Emporia State and until further notice at the tech college.
One main difference between the two institutions is the on-campus housing at ESU. Director of Residence Life Cass Coughlin says students returning to dorms will have a private room. Resident IDs will deactivate, and students need to take a survey or show up on campus to reactivate those cards. Students eating in the Memorial Union will have more adjustments.
The Emporia Senior Center announced late Friday afternoon via a news release it will be closed for two weeks beginning Monday. The center will also be canceling all planned activities in that time frame.
For area school districts, USD 386 Madison-Virgil has scheduled a special meeting for 4 pm Sunday to discuss the district’s response to COVID-19. USD 417 Morris County has a regular meeting Monday, and at this time coronavirus is not on the agenda.
On top of everything else to process with coronavirus, KDHE says spam text messages are being sent to residents announcing allegedly-confirmed cases of COVID-19 at different hospitals. KDHE does not make announcements using text messages. Instead, it posts updates on its website, www.kdheks.gov/coronavirus.
We’ll keep you updated on KVOE, KVOE.com and KVOE social media. Click here for KVOE’s Closings and Cancellations page.
