The social and schedule landscape continues to change in light of coronavirus.
The first two extended closures in the local area were announced late Friday afternoon. USD 417 Morris County announced they will be closing school until Monday, Mar. 30 after being ordered by the Morris County Health Officer. The district says there is no cases of coronavirus within district and this is strictly a precautionary measure.
The announcement followed a similar statement from the Emporia Senior Center where they announced they will also be closed until Mar. 30 at the earliest. All Senior Center Activities in that time-frame have been canceled.
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.
Several business or utility announcements regarding coronavirus came late Friday. Evergy said it will not disconnect service for non-payment with customers and communities facing potential financial hardship. Customers needing payment options can contact Evergy by calling 800-383-1183 or by going online to www.evergy.com. Sparklight, meanwhile, said it is making unlimited data available to its internet customers and waiving late fees for the next 60 days. Separately, 4 Rivers Electric Cooperative postponed its annual meeting March 21. A reschedule date was not announced.
