By BRIAN GRIMMETT <a href="https://www.kmuw.org/post/horns-down-masks-challenges-holding-band-camp-during-pandemic">Kansas News Service</a>

VALLEY CENTER, Kansas — On its face, band camp at 
Valley Center High School looks pretty normal: Lines of students with 
instruments march up and down a football field while the color guard 
practices throwing flags into the air.

Band director Jan Verboom drills the horn section on technique.

“Keep the eighth notes together, guys,” he said. “Vertical alignment.”

Other
 things are very different. You don’t see the whole band together, just 
small groups. Trumpets, saxophones and clarinets cover their horns with 
nylons. And for the most part, when the instruments go down, the masks 
come up.

They’re changes that not only band directors, but also 
football coaches and choir directors are being asked to make as they 
prepare for the beginning of a school year under the shadow of the 
coronavirus pandemic. They say they’re doing the best they can, but many
 have unanswered questions about whether they’ll be able to continue — 
and if they do, what’s the best way to keep students and staff safe.

Already, at least one school district, in <a href="https://kckps.org/kckps-suspends-fall-sports/" target="_blank">Kansas City, Kansas, canceled all fall activities</a>, including marching band.

Verboom
 is doing what he can. At camp, at the end of a morning session with 
brass players, he shouted, “Band meeting around me. Take a seat and have
 your mask on.”

After going over a few issues discovered during practice, he gives 
the group a pep talk — one with a very coronavirus-centric message.

“I
 don’t want you to ask yourselves, ‘What’s the point, we don’t really 
have a season coming up,’” he said. “We don’t know that yet.”

Drumming
 up motivation among his students is a top priority this year. That’s 
because this school, which is about 20 minutes north of Wichita, already
 has lost a lot. The band was supposed to perform at the <a href="https://www.americanveteranscenter.org/avc-events/parade/" target="_blank">National Memorial Day parade</a> in Washington, D.C., in May, but that was canceled. Annual state marching band competitions <a href="http://kansasbandmasters.com/events/marching-championship/" target="_blank">are also canceled</a>. And while football is still on, there’s no guarantee that won’t change or that the band will be allowed to play at halftime.

Verboom said it’s hard to make a plan when there’s still so much uncertainty. His <a href="https://www.usd262.net/cms/One.aspx?portalId=257107&amp;pageId=13231404" target="_blank">district moved the start date for school back</a>
 to Sept. 9. It’s also left open the possibility that not every student 
will be able to come to campus daily if the spread of the coronavirus 
becomes a problem. A block schedule would make coordinating rehearsal 
even more challenging, he said.

Faced with similar uncertainty and safety concerns, Wichita’s East 
High School Band Director Maranda Wilson moved band camp online.

“I
 know that my students overwhelmingly wanted to do band camp,” she said.
 “But when I thought about what that would look like at a time of such 
high risk in our community, it just wouldn’t be a traditional band 
camp.”

Knowing that remote band camp likely wouldn’t sound as 
exciting, Wilson tried to make it more attractive&nbsp; by inviting guest 
performers to offer training and encouragement. She also tried to find 
online team-building exercises.

But even with the workarounds, 
she’s worried about what she’ll do once school starts. Wilson wonders 
how many students can safely gather at one time or whether rehearsals 
will have to be held outside.

Whatever the fall ends up looking like though, she said she’ll do 
everything she can to make sure band students get some experience 
performing music together — even if that’s in groups of 10-15 on the 
front lawn of the school.

“It’s such an important part of their 
high school experience,” Wilson said. “For a lot of our kids, that’s the
 one really great thing about school.”

Back
 at Valley Center for another morning of small group practice, student 
drum majors take the temperature of each arriving student.

“We’re
 definitely more of enforcers now,” said Timothy McHatten, who’s a drum 
major and a senior. “We have to make sure everyone is doing everything 
right.”

He said being split up into smaller groups isn’t nearly as fun as 
getting together as a full band. It lacks the one-big-family energy 
that’s usually there. But Teagan Horning, another senior drum major, 
said with all of the craziness of the past several months, everyone is 
mostly just happy to be here.

“I’ve been trying not to dwell on 
(canceled events) and just look forward to what new opportunities we can
 have and what new experiences we can have,” she said.

Because of
 concerns about the coronavirus,&nbsp; band camp wasn’t mandatory. In the 
past, Verboom said, camp is generally a way to see who’s really 
committed, but that mentality just didn’t make sense this year.

He
 even considered canceling it on several occasions, knowing how dicey it
 could be to gather a bunch of teenagers to blow into instruments when 
an infectious and dangerous respiratory illness is spreading out of 
control.

“There’s days I walk in here and you wonder as a teacher
 if you’re doing the right thing because we want to keep the kids safe,”
 he said.

Ultimately, he felt following the guidelines given by the <a href="http://www.kshsaa.org/Public/music/PDF/SummerGuidelines-Marching%20Bands.pdf" target="_blank">Kansas State High School Activities Association</a> and the <a href="https://www.nfhs.org/articles/unprecedented-international-coalition-led-by-performing-arts-organizations-to-commission-covid-19-study/" target="_blank">National Federation of State High School Associations</a>
 were enough to keep the kids safe. He also felt that if Valley Center’s
 athletes were doing conditioning work, his band students deserved 
something, too.

Preliminary research from NFHS and the University
 of Colorado shows playing instruments is akin to coughing or sneezing 
when it comes to spreading respiratory droplets. The study suggested 
students wear masks (even while playing, by creating a small slit for 
their mouthpiece) and put one on their instruments. It also suggests any
 indoor rehearsal should be limited to 30 minutes.

Band camp is 
different in other ways, too. Instead of a full marching program, 
Verboom is having small ensemble groups prepare for winter performances,
 potentially at basketball games. One morning at camp, the drumline and 
pit-instrument players were even practicing Christmas music.

“We 
want the kids to enjoy playing music just for the sake of playing 
music,” Verboom said. “Whether we’re trying to go for a big halftime 
show at a football game or playing in a competition representing Valley 
Center, it still goes back to the bare thing of appreciating playing 
music.”

Brian Grimmett reports on the environment, energy and
 natural resources for KMUW in Wichita and the Kansas News Service. You 
can follow him on Twitter <a href="https://twitter.com/briangrimmett?lang=en" target="_blank">@briangrimmett</a> or email him at grimmett@kmuw.org.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/8/1597674218613.png" alt=" A student's mellophone horn is covered to prevent the spread of airborne respiratory droplets at Valley Center High School band camp. Brian Grimmett / Kansas News Service" />
 <figcaption> A student's mellophone horn is covered to prevent the spread of airborne respiratory droplets at Valley Center High School band camp. Brian Grimmett / Kansas News Service</figcaption>
 </figure>By BRIAN GRIMMETT <a href="https://www.kmuw.org/post/horns-down-masks-challenges-holding-band-camp-during-pandemic">Kansas News Service</a>VALLEY CENTER, Kansas — On its face, band camp at 
Valley Center High School looks pretty normal: Lines of students with 
instruments march up and down a football field while the color guard 
practices throwing flags into the air.Band director Jan Verboom drills the horn section on technique.“Keep the eighth notes together, guys,” he said. “Vertical alignment.”Other
 things are very different. You don’t see the whole band together, just 
small groups. Trumpets, saxophones and clarinets cover their horns with 
nylons. And for the most part, when the instruments go down, the masks 
come up.They’re changes that not only band directors, but also 
football coaches and choir directors are being asked to make as they 
prepare for the beginning of a school year under the shadow of the 
coronavirus pandemic. They say they’re doing the best they can, but many
 have unanswered questions about whether they’ll be able to continue — 
and if they do, what’s the best way to keep students and staff safe.Already, at least one school district, in <a href="https://kckps.org/kckps-suspends-fall-sports/" target="_blank">Kansas City, Kansas, canceled all fall activities</a>, including marching band.Verboom
 is doing what he can. At camp, at the end of a morning session with 
brass players, he shouted, “Band meeting around me. Take a seat and have
 your mask on.”<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/8/1597674270877.jpeg" alt=" Valley Center High School band director Jan Verboom speaks to brass players after a morning band camp session. Credit Brian Grimmett / Kansas News Service" />
 <figcaption> Valley Center High School band director Jan Verboom speaks to brass players after a morning band camp session. Credit Brian Grimmett / Kansas News Service</figcaption>
 </figure>After going over a few issues discovered during practice, he gives 
the group a pep talk — one with a very coronavirus-centric message.“I
 don’t want you to ask yourselves, ‘What’s the point, we don’t really 
have a season coming up,’” he said. “We don’t know that yet.”Drumming
 up motivation among his students is a top priority this year. That’s 
because this school, which is about 20 minutes north of Wichita, already
 has lost a lot. The band was supposed to perform at the <a href="https://www.americanveteranscenter.org/avc-events/parade/" target="_blank">National Memorial Day parade</a> in Washington, D.C., in May, but that was canceled. Annual state marching band competitions <a href="http://kansasbandmasters.com/events/marching-championship/" target="_blank">are also canceled</a>. And while football is still on, there’s no guarantee that won’t change or that the band will be allowed to play at halftime.Verboom said it’s hard to make a plan when there’s still so much uncertainty. His <a href="https://www.usd262.net/cms/One.aspx?portalId=257107&amp;pageId=13231404" target="_blank">district moved the start date for school back</a>
 to Sept. 9. It’s also left open the possibility that not every student 
will be able to come to campus daily if the spread of the coronavirus 
becomes a problem. A block schedule would make coordinating rehearsal 
even more challenging, he said.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/8/1597674302883.jpeg" alt=" Valley Center High School band members stand at attention during camp. Credit Brian Grimmett / Kansas News Service" />
 <figcaption> Valley Center High School band members stand at attention during camp. Credit Brian Grimmett / Kansas News Service</figcaption>
 </figure>Faced with similar uncertainty and safety concerns, Wichita’s East 
High School Band Director Maranda Wilson moved band camp online.“I
 know that my students overwhelmingly wanted to do band camp,” she said.
 “But when I thought about what that would look like at a time of such 
high risk in our community, it just wouldn’t be a traditional band 
camp.”Knowing that remote band camp likely wouldn’t sound as 
exciting, Wilson tried to make it more attractive&nbsp; by inviting guest 
performers to offer training and encouragement. She also tried to find 
online team-building exercises.But even with the workarounds, 
she’s worried about what she’ll do once school starts. Wilson wonders 
how many students can safely gather at one time or whether rehearsals 
will have to be held outside.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/8/1597674327600.jpeg" alt=" A student plays a snare drum during band camp at Valley Center High School. Credit Brian Grimmett / Kansas News Service" />
 <figcaption> A student plays a snare drum during band camp at Valley Center High School. Credit Brian Grimmett / Kansas News Service</figcaption>
 </figure>Whatever the fall ends up looking like though, she said she’ll do 
everything she can to make sure band students get some experience 
performing music together — even if that’s in groups of 10-15 on the 
front lawn of the school.“It’s such an important part of their 
high school experience,” Wilson said. “For a lot of our kids, that’s the
 one really great thing about school.”<h2>Finding alternatives</h2>Back
 at Valley Center for another morning of small group practice, student 
drum majors take the temperature of each arriving student.“We’re
 definitely more of enforcers now,” said Timothy McHatten, who’s a drum 
major and a senior. “We have to make sure everyone is doing everything 
right.”<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/8/1597674356872.jpeg" alt=" The Valley Center High School drumline waits for instructions during rehearsal. Credit Bran Grimmett / Kansas News Service" />
 <figcaption> The Valley Center High School drumline waits for instructions during rehearsal. Credit Bran Grimmett / Kansas News Service</figcaption>
 </figure>He said being split up into smaller groups isn’t nearly as fun as 
getting together as a full band. It lacks the one-big-family energy 
that’s usually there. But Teagan Horning, another senior drum major, 
said with all of the craziness of the past several months, everyone is 
mostly just happy to be here.“I’ve been trying not to dwell on 
(canceled events) and just look forward to what new opportunities we can
 have and what new experiences we can have,” she said.Because of
 concerns about the coronavirus,&nbsp; band camp wasn’t mandatory. In the 
past, Verboom said, camp is generally a way to see who’s really 
committed, but that mentality just didn’t make sense this year.He
 even considered canceling it on several occasions, knowing how dicey it
 could be to gather a bunch of teenagers to blow into instruments when 
an infectious and dangerous respiratory illness is spreading out of 
control.“There’s days I walk in here and you wonder as a teacher
 if you’re doing the right thing because we want to keep the kids safe,”
 he said.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/8/1597674383018.jpeg" alt=" Masked band members try to keep their distance during band camp at Valley Center High School. Credit Brian Grimmett / Kansas News Service" />
 <figcaption> Masked band members try to keep their distance during band camp at Valley Center High School. Credit Brian Grimmett / Kansas News Service</figcaption>
 </figure>Ultimately, he felt following the guidelines given by the <a href="http://www.kshsaa.org/Public/music/PDF/SummerGuidelines-Marching%20Bands.pdf" target="_blank">Kansas State High School Activities Association</a> and the <a href="https://www.nfhs.org/articles/unprecedented-international-coalition-led-by-performing-arts-organizations-to-commission-covid-19-study/" target="_blank">National Federation of State High School Associations</a>
 were enough to keep the kids safe. He also felt that if Valley Center’s
 athletes were doing conditioning work, his band students deserved 
something, too.Preliminary research from NFHS and the University
 of Colorado shows playing instruments is akin to coughing or sneezing 
when it comes to spreading respiratory droplets. The study suggested 
students wear masks (even while playing, by creating a small slit for 
their mouthpiece) and put one on their instruments. It also suggests any
 indoor rehearsal should be limited to 30 minutes.Band camp is 
different in other ways, too. Instead of a full marching program, 
Verboom is having small ensemble groups prepare for winter performances,
 potentially at basketball games. One morning at camp, the drumline and 
pit-instrument players were even practicing Christmas music.“We 
want the kids to enjoy playing music just for the sake of playing 
music,” Verboom said. “Whether we’re trying to go for a big halftime 
show at a football game or playing in a competition representing Valley 
Center, it still goes back to the bare thing of appreciating playing 
music.”Brian Grimmett reports on the environment, energy and
 natural resources for KMUW in Wichita and the Kansas News Service. You 
can follow him on Twitter <a href="https://twitter.com/briangrimmett?lang=en" target="_blank">@briangrimmett</a> or email him at grimmett@kmuw.org.

Horns down, masks up: The challenges band camp faces during pandemic

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — A veteran Kansas House member said Monday that he’ll run a write-in campaign this fall after a narrow primary loss to a 19-year-old candidate who has been disowned by some Democrats for his incendiary social media posts and because he abused girls online when he was 14 years old.

Rep. Stan Frownfelter lost to&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/ac948dae17c3dbc36ffe62246925c4f3">challenger Aaron Coleman</a>&nbsp;by 14 votes in their Kansas City, Kansas, district after officials in their home of Wyandotte County counted additional ballots that had been set aside because of questions about the voters’ eligibility. Coleman initially led by only five votes but picked up 16 votes Monday, against seven for Frownfelter, to make the tally 823-809.

Frownfelter could ask for a recount but said he expects instead to run a write-in campaign for the Nov. 3 general election. He said a recount would cost him up to $1,800, with little or no chance of success, when that money could be used to pay for a campaign mailer. No Republican candidate is on the ballot.

“I’m not much on quitting, so I’ll be out there until November,” Frownfelter said during an interview.

Coleman, a dishwasher and community college student, has attributed his success in the race to his door-to-door campaigning after running on a liberal platform that includes universal health coverage, eliminating college tuition, defunding the police and legalizing marijuana. He said Monday that he “had no intention of winning” but only of raising important issues.

“I look forward to having the opportunity to knock on more doors than I ever have before,” he said during an interview. “People who actually live in Wyandotte County actually know me and my opponent, and they don’t get their information about us as candidates off of news headlines, so they’re not worried.”

Coleman garnered headlines for a social media post suggesting he would “laugh and giggle” if a former GOP state lawmaker died of COVID-19 and another post endorsing abortion up to the moment of birth. He apologized for the comments but said in an email Friday, “These issues are life and death.”

In a Facebook post in June, he acknowledged that allegations that he engaged in online bullying, blackmail and revenge porn were true. He said his past behavior targeting several middle-school girls was that of “a sick and troubled” 14-year-old and said Friday that he was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder after being confined in a closet for much of his time at elementary school — a claim the local school district has denied.

Frownfelter, a 69-year-old small business owner, first won the seat in 2006. He previously never had primary opposition and had no opponent at all in five of his seven past races.

“Mr. Coleman has continuously proven himself unfit to serve in the Kansas Legislature,” House Minority Leader Tom Sawyer, a Wichita Democrat, said in a statement Monday, echoing a comment Friday from Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/8/1597492154851.png" alt="Rep. Stan Frownfelter courtesy photo" />
 <figcaption>Rep. Stan Frownfelter courtesy photo</figcaption>
 </figure>TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — A veteran Kansas House member said Monday that he’ll run a write-in campaign this fall after a narrow primary loss to a 19-year-old candidate who has been disowned by some Democrats for his incendiary social media posts and because he abused girls online when he was 14 years old.Rep. Stan Frownfelter lost to&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/ac948dae17c3dbc36ffe62246925c4f3">challenger Aaron Coleman</a>&nbsp;by 14 votes in their Kansas City, Kansas, district after officials in their home of Wyandotte County counted additional ballots that had been set aside because of questions about the voters’ eligibility. Coleman initially led by only five votes but picked up 16 votes Monday, against seven for Frownfelter, to make the tally 823-809.Frownfelter could ask for a recount but said he expects instead to run a write-in campaign for the Nov. 3 general election. He said a recount would cost him up to $1,800, with little or no chance of success, when that money could be used to pay for a campaign mailer. No Republican candidate is on the ballot.“I’m not much on quitting, so I’ll be out there until November,” Frownfelter said during an interview.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/8/1597491942776.png" alt="photo courtesy Aaron Coleman for Kansas" />
 <figcaption>photo courtesy Aaron Coleman for Kansas</figcaption>
 </figure>Coleman, a dishwasher and community college student, has attributed his success in the race to his door-to-door campaigning after running on a liberal platform that includes universal health coverage, eliminating college tuition, defunding the police and legalizing marijuana. He said Monday that he “had no intention of winning” but only of raising important issues.“I look forward to having the opportunity to knock on more doors than I ever have before,” he said during an interview. “People who actually live in Wyandotte County actually know me and my opponent, and they don’t get their information about us as candidates off of news headlines, so they’re not worried.”Coleman garnered headlines for a social media post suggesting he would “laugh and giggle” if a former GOP state lawmaker died of COVID-19 and another post endorsing abortion up to the moment of birth. He apologized for the comments but said in an email Friday, “These issues are life and death.”In a Facebook post in June, he acknowledged that allegations that he engaged in online bullying, blackmail and revenge porn were true. He said his past behavior targeting several middle-school girls was that of “a sick and troubled” 14-year-old and said Friday that he was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder after being confined in a closet for much of his time at elementary school — a claim the local school district has denied.Frownfelter, a 69-year-old small business owner, first won the seat in 2006. He previously never had primary opposition and had no opponent at all in five of his seven past races.“Mr. Coleman has continuously proven himself unfit to serve in the Kansas Legislature,” House Minority Leader Tom Sawyer, a Wichita Democrat, said in a statement Monday, echoing a comment Friday from Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly.___

Kansas candidate admitting to revenge porn faces write-in

SEDGWICK COUNTY— Law enforcement authorities are investigating a fatal shooting and have identified the victim of as 27-year-old Miguel Tapia of Wichita, according to officer Kevin Wheeler.

Just after 7:30 a.m. Monday, police responded to a shooting call in the 600 block of South Armour Drive in Wichita. Upon arrival, officers located Tapia outside of a gray Nissan Pathfinder with gunshot wounds. Tapia was transported to a local hospital where he later died from his injuries.

The investigation has revealed that Tapia was inside the Pathfinder when a disturbance broke out, and he was shot.

This incident was not random, and it remains under investigation, according to Wheeler.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/8/1597701535023.png" alt="Police on the scene of the Monday shooting investigation photo courtesy KWCH" />
 <figcaption>Police on the scene of the Monday shooting investigation photo courtesy KWCH</figcaption>
 </figure>SEDGWICK COUNTY— Law enforcement authorities are investigating a fatal shooting and have identified the victim of as 27-year-old Miguel Tapia of Wichita, according to officer Kevin Wheeler.Just after 7:30 a.m. Monday, police responded to a shooting call in the 600 block of South Armour Drive in Wichita. Upon arrival, officers located Tapia outside of a gray Nissan Pathfinder with gunshot wounds. Tapia was transported to a local hospital where he later died from his injuries.The investigation has revealed that Tapia was inside the Pathfinder when a disturbance broke out, and he was shot.This incident was not random, and it remains under investigation, according to Wheeler.

Police ID Kan. man who died after shooting in his car

WESTPHALIA, Mo. (AP) — A rural county bridge in central Missouri collapsed when a semi-trailer truck tried to cross it despite the bridge's 5-ton weight limit, authorities said.

The truck driver escaped injury when the Pentecostal Bridge collapsed Monday morning where it crosses the Maries River near Westphalia, Osage County Sheriff Michael Bonham said.

The bridge's 5-ton weight limit is displayed on signs, Bonham said. The average 18-wheeler weighs close to 40 tons, according to website The Truckers Report.

Bonham said his office is trying to determine why the large truck was in the area.

“That’s a gravel road, where he was at, and we’re not sure why he was over there,” Bonham said. “It's a very light weight limit. There’s no way a tractor-trailer should be over there or on that bridge at all.”

The Missouri Highway Patrol also will investigate the incident.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/8/1597747298820.png" alt="Emergency crews responded to Osage County Missouri Road 611 Monday after report of the bridge collapse-photo courtesy Osage Ambulance District." />
 <figcaption>Emergency crews responded to Osage County Missouri Road 611 Monday after report of the bridge collapse-photo courtesy Osage Ambulance District.</figcaption>
 </figure>WESTPHALIA, Mo. (AP) — A rural county bridge in central Missouri collapsed when a semi-trailer truck tried to cross it despite the bridge's 5-ton weight limit, authorities said.The truck driver escaped injury when the Pentecostal Bridge collapsed Monday morning where it crosses the Maries River near Westphalia, Osage County Sheriff Michael Bonham said.The bridge's 5-ton weight limit is displayed on signs, Bonham said. The average 18-wheeler weighs close to 40 tons, according to website The Truckers Report.Bonham said his office is trying to determine why the large truck was in the area.“That’s a gravel road, where he was at, and we’re not sure why he was over there,” Bonham said. “It's a very light weight limit. There’s no way a tractor-trailer should be over there or on that bridge at all.”The Missouri Highway Patrol also will investigate the incident.

Semi driver escapes injury after bridge collapses

HUTCHINSON — Ken Johnson, CEO of Hutchinson Regional Healthcare System, has tested positive for the COVID-19 virus.

Johnson reports that he was recently in contact with a family member who tested positive. Johnson was immediately tested and self-quarantined after learning of his exposure. Johnson is following Hutchinson Regional Healthcare System’s policies and working at home during his quarantine period.

Johnson has been in contact with the health department and wants to reassure everyone that all patients, visitors, employees and providers of the hospital are safe. “Although not required, I chose to communicate my experience with the coronavirus to better inform the community of the processes and guidelines that we adhere to at Hutchinson Regional for your safety and ours,” Johnson said. Johnson says he is doing well and expects a full recovery with a return to work in the very near future.

HUTCHINSON — Ken Johnson, CEO of Hutchinson Regional Healthcare System, has tested positive for the COVID-19 virus.Johnson reports that he was recently in contact with a family member who tested positive. Johnson was immediately tested and self-quarantined after learning of his exposure. Johnson is following Hutchinson Regional Healthcare System’s policies and working at home during his quarantine period.Johnson has been in contact with the health department and wants to reassure everyone that all patients, visitors, employees and providers of the hospital are safe. “Although not required, I chose to communicate my experience with the coronavirus to better inform the community of the processes and guidelines that we adhere to at Hutchinson Regional for your safety and ours,” Johnson said. Johnson says he is doing well and expects a full recovery with a return to work in the very near future.

Hutchinson hospital CEO tests positive for COVID-19

By AJ DOME <a href="https://kansasreflector.com/2020/08/15/historic-kansas-attraction-recovering-from-last-years-rare-landslide/">Kansas Reflector</a>

As
 a historic Kansas landmark neared its centennial last year, heavy 
summer rains loosened several layers of earth and triggered a rare 
three-foot slump in the landscape.

Damage
 at Coronado Heights Park, which sits on a 300-foot sandstone bluff 
northwest of Lindsborg, made access unstable. The landslide forced 
cancellation of a 100th anniversary party planned for June of 2019, as 
well as ongoing repairs and attention to drainage issues.

Heavier
 than average rainfall on the weekend of the planned celebration, as 
well as weeks prior, led to a break in the sites underlying rock and 
clay.

“It
 was the most displacement I’ve seen in Kansas all at once,” said Neil 
Croxton, a geologist for the Kansas Department of Transportation. “A 
three-foot drop, cutting a road, is unusual in Kansas because few roads 
climb as steep a feature such as this one.”

Croxton
 said it is because the Smoky Hills Buttes, which includes Coronado 
Heights, are capped by a specific type of sandstone that has prevented 
the underlying clay from eroding completely.

“This
 clay material was never buried deeply enough to turn into rock shale,” 
Croxton said. “It is really just stiff clay. And at Coronado, that clay 
is on a steep slope under the sandstone.”

According
 to Croxton, the layered sandstone and clay is already low strength on a
 good day, but after multiple weeks of rain last spring, two things 
happened.

“The
 rainwater added a lot of weight to the surface layers, and it also 
soaked into the clay itself and weakened it further,” Croxton said. 
“Eventually there was a break.”

When
 that break occurred, those rain-soaked layers dropped by three feet, 
cracking the road up to the park. The road was fixed in the months 
following the land drop, and the Smoky Valley Historical Association has
 received a small grant to pay for continued road maintenance. Tim 
Stewart, president of the nonprofit, said there are still issues with 
rain and drainage.

“There’s
 been a few times where water has run across the road, creating little 
trenches, so we go back over it and smooth it out,” Stewart said. “As 
soon as rain hits, we have to go up and investigate, see what needs to 
be done.”

Coronado
 heights, legend has it, is where the explorer Francisco Vásquez de 
Coronado abandoned his search for the seven cities of gold and decided 
to return to Mexico. The drainage system for the park was built in 1935 
as part of a scenic overlook project by the federal Works Progress 
Administration.

Stewart
 said his organization replaced one drain shortly after the land drop, 
but there are still two more that need to be dug up and replaced.

“That’s
 the key to maintaining the road going up there,” Stewart said. “We get 
the drainage correct to where it’s not damaging the road every time we 
get a huge rain, and it’ll be more absolute in the fact that it lasts 
longer.”

Much
 of central and eastern Kansas recorded greater than average rainfall 
during the spring and summer months of 2019. Roger Martin, meteorologist
 for the National Weather Service office in Wichita, said those months 
saw “anomalous moisture at times.”

“With
 thunderstorms, sometimes you can have all the ingredients for heavy 
rain but not always get it,” Martin said. “In the case of 2019, the 
ingredients were regularly there for heavy rain, and we regularly had 
storm systems to take advantage of those ingredients.”

Martin
 said rainfall for east-central Kansas was 150% above normal from March 
to August of 2019. By comparison, those same months for 2020 have been 
noticeably dryer.

Landslides
 aren’t uncommon during wetter years in Kansas. Croxton said most of 
these events happen away from roads and buildings, so they are not 
noticed. He said it is difficult to mitigate landslide activity simply 
because each occurrence is different and needs to be looked at 
individually.

A
 plan is in effect for the remainder of the year to continue 
improvements to the road and drainage network at Coronado Heights. 
Stewart said the Smoky Valley Historical Association is working with two
 central Kansas construction firms to resurface the road and continue 
general maintenance.

The
 organization has raised more than $90,000 to fund its second phase of 
repairs, which included the replacement of the original storm drains 
with much larger ones. The first phase was completed in 2016 and 
involved separate improvements to the stone castle and entrances. 
Stewart said the organization was fundraising for the second phase when 
the land drop happened, and he is hopeful for a sunnier future.

“We
 will continue to add rock, not only on the road but on the very top, as
 well,” Stewart said. “Hopefully when the COVID-19 pandemic goes away, 
we can get back to doing more public things. … Maybe we will eventually 
have our 100th anniversary program.”

AJ Dome is an award-winning journalist and broadcaster from southwest Kansas. When he’s not writing, he’s helping people receive pandemic unemployment benefits for the Kansas Department of Labor.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/8/1597679620929.jpeg" alt="Heavy rains were blamed for a rare landslide last year that made access unstable to Coronado Heights Park, near Lindsborg. (Submitted by Neil Croxton to Kansas Reflector)" />
 <figcaption>Heavy rains were blamed for a rare landslide last year that made access unstable to Coronado Heights Park, near Lindsborg. (Submitted by Neil Croxton to Kansas Reflector)</figcaption>
 </figure>By AJ DOME <a href="https://kansasreflector.com/2020/08/15/historic-kansas-attraction-recovering-from-last-years-rare-landslide/">Kansas Reflector</a>As
 a historic Kansas landmark neared its centennial last year, heavy 
summer rains loosened several layers of earth and triggered a rare 
three-foot slump in the landscape.Damage
 at Coronado Heights Park, which sits on a 300-foot sandstone bluff 
northwest of Lindsborg, made access unstable. The landslide forced 
cancellation of a 100th anniversary party planned for June of 2019, as 
well as ongoing repairs and attention to drainage issues.Heavier
 than average rainfall on the weekend of the planned celebration, as 
well as weeks prior, led to a break in the sites underlying rock and 
clay.“It
 was the most displacement I’ve seen in Kansas all at once,” said Neil 
Croxton, a geologist for the Kansas Department of Transportation. “A 
three-foot drop, cutting a road, is unusual in Kansas because few roads 
climb as steep a feature such as this one.”Croxton
 said it is because the Smoky Hills Buttes, which includes Coronado 
Heights, are capped by a specific type of sandstone that has prevented 
the underlying clay from eroding completely.“This
 clay material was never buried deeply enough to turn into rock shale,” 
Croxton said. “It is really just stiff clay. And at Coronado, that clay 
is on a steep slope under the sandstone.”According
 to Croxton, the layered sandstone and clay is already low strength on a
 good day, but after multiple weeks of rain last spring, two things 
happened.“The
 rainwater added a lot of weight to the surface layers, and it also 
soaked into the clay itself and weakened it further,” Croxton said. 
“Eventually there was a break.”When
 that break occurred, those rain-soaked layers dropped by three feet, 
cracking the road up to the park. The road was fixed in the months 
following the land drop, and the Smoky Valley Historical Association has
 received a small grant to pay for continued road maintenance. Tim 
Stewart, president of the nonprofit, said there are still issues with 
rain and drainage.“There’s
 been a few times where water has run across the road, creating little 
trenches, so we go back over it and smooth it out,” Stewart said. “As 
soon as rain hits, we have to go up and investigate, see what needs to 
be done.”Coronado
 heights, legend has it, is where the explorer Francisco Vásquez de 
Coronado abandoned his search for the seven cities of gold and decided 
to return to Mexico. The drainage system for the park was built in 1935 
as part of a scenic overlook project by the federal Works Progress 
Administration.Stewart
 said his organization replaced one drain shortly after the land drop, 
but there are still two more that need to be dug up and replaced.“That’s
 the key to maintaining the road going up there,” Stewart said. “We get 
the drainage correct to where it’s not damaging the road every time we 
get a huge rain, and it’ll be more absolute in the fact that it lasts 
longer.”Much
 of central and eastern Kansas recorded greater than average rainfall 
during the spring and summer months of 2019. Roger Martin, meteorologist
 for the National Weather Service office in Wichita, said those months 
saw “anomalous moisture at times.”“With
 thunderstorms, sometimes you can have all the ingredients for heavy 
rain but not always get it,” Martin said. “In the case of 2019, the 
ingredients were regularly there for heavy rain, and we regularly had 
storm systems to take advantage of those ingredients.”Martin
 said rainfall for east-central Kansas was 150% above normal from March 
to August of 2019. By comparison, those same months for 2020 have been 
noticeably dryer.Landslides
 aren’t uncommon during wetter years in Kansas. Croxton said most of 
these events happen away from roads and buildings, so they are not 
noticed. He said it is difficult to mitigate landslide activity simply 
because each occurrence is different and needs to be looked at 
individually.A
 plan is in effect for the remainder of the year to continue 
improvements to the road and drainage network at Coronado Heights. 
Stewart said the Smoky Valley Historical Association is working with two
 central Kansas construction firms to resurface the road and continue 
general maintenance.The
 organization has raised more than $90,000 to fund its second phase of 
repairs, which included the replacement of the original storm drains 
with much larger ones. The first phase was completed in 2016 and 
involved separate improvements to the stone castle and entrances. 
Stewart said the organization was fundraising for the second phase when 
the land drop happened, and he is hopeful for a sunnier future.“We
 will continue to add rock, not only on the road but on the very top, as
 well,” Stewart said. “Hopefully when the COVID-19 pandemic goes away, 
we can get back to doing more public things. … Maybe we will eventually 
have our 100th anniversary program.”AJ Dome is an award-winning journalist and broadcaster from southwest Kansas. When he’s not writing, he’s helping people receive pandemic unemployment benefits for the Kansas Department of Labor.

Historic Kansas attraction recovering from last year’s rare landslide

MONTGOMERY COUNTY —Law enforcement authorities are investigating two suspects for their involvement in multiple thefts and burglaries.

Last week, deputies and investigators executed a search warrant on a vehicle driven by 31-year-old Allison Young and located stolen property, according to Montgomery County Sheriff Ron Wade.

On August 12, deputies arrested her at a bank in Coffeyville on requested charges of forgery.

A subsequent interview with Young lead to a second search warrant at a motel room in Coffeyville, where deputies recovered more stolen property.

Deputies took Brian Noble, 29, into custody at the Motel. He is alleged to be the co-conspirator with Young in multiple thefts and burglaries in and around the area, according to Wade.

“Sometimes all it takes is one lead to solve multiple cases,”&nbsp; Wade said. “That was the case here as deputies and investigators got a lead and with a lot of follow up, they were able to recover a large amount of stolen property and arrest the individuals involved."

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/8/1597677436781.png" alt="Young -photo Montgomery Co." />
 <figcaption>Young -photo Montgomery Co.</figcaption>
 </figure>MONTGOMERY COUNTY —Law enforcement authorities are investigating two suspects for their involvement in multiple thefts and burglaries.Last week, deputies and investigators executed a search warrant on a vehicle driven by 31-year-old Allison Young and located stolen property, according to Montgomery County Sheriff Ron Wade.On August 12, deputies arrested her at a bank in Coffeyville on requested charges of forgery.A subsequent interview with Young lead to a second search warrant at a motel room in Coffeyville, where deputies recovered more stolen property.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/8/1597677779487.png" alt="Noble -photo Montgomery County" />
 <figcaption>Noble -photo Montgomery County</figcaption>
 </figure>Deputies took Brian Noble, 29, into custody at the Motel. He is alleged to be the co-conspirator with Young in multiple thefts and burglaries in and around the area, according to Wade.“Sometimes all it takes is one lead to solve multiple cases,”&nbsp; Wade said. “That was the case here as deputies and investigators got a lead and with a lot of follow up, they were able to recover a large amount of stolen property and arrest the individuals involved."

Sheriff: Kan. woman arrested at bank for alleged forgery

SHAWNEE COUNTY — Law enforcement authorities are investigating a suspect following a chase that started on Interstate 70.

Just before 9:30a.m. Monday, a 2014 Volkswagen Jetta was called into the Kansas Turnpike Authority for reckless driving on Interstate 70 between Lawrence and Topeka, according to Deputy Abigail Christian.

 At 9:46 a.m., a Shawnee County Sheriff’s Office deputy observed the Jetta near I-70 and SW 3rd Street traveling westbound at a high rate of speed and driving recklessly through traffic. 

The deputy attempted a traffic stop on the Jetta near I-70 and SW Wanamaker Road but the driver later identified as 35-year-old Deandre K. Martin of Kansas City, Kan., failed to stop. 

A pursuit was initiated and the driver continued westbound at speeds of over 100 miles per hour. The Kansas Highway Patrol (KHP) took over as the primary pursuit unit near I-70 and SW Carlson Road. The pursuit ended when the vehicle crashed near the Paxico Rest Area.

The patrol trooper's car was hit twice by the fleeing vehicle. The trooper was treated at a hospital for minor injuries.

Martin sustained non-life-threatening injuries and was transported to a local hospital, according to Christian.

He is facing several charges that include felony flee and elude, reckless driving, driving while license suspended and multiple traffic related charges.&nbsp;

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/8/1597698593754.png" alt="Martin has a number of previous convictions including for robbery, aggravated battery and arson, according to the Kan. Dept. of Correctons." />
 <figcaption>Martin has a number of previous convictions including for robbery, aggravated battery and arson, according to the Kan. Dept. of Correctons.</figcaption>
 </figure>SHAWNEE COUNTY — Law enforcement authorities are investigating a suspect following a chase that started on Interstate 70.Just before 9:30a.m. Monday, a 2014 Volkswagen Jetta was called into the Kansas Turnpike Authority for reckless driving on Interstate 70 between Lawrence and Topeka, according to Deputy Abigail Christian. At 9:46 a.m., a Shawnee County Sheriff’s Office deputy observed the Jetta near I-70 and SW 3rd Street traveling westbound at a high rate of speed and driving recklessly through traffic. The deputy attempted a traffic stop on the Jetta near I-70 and SW Wanamaker Road but the driver later identified as 35-year-old Deandre K. Martin of Kansas City, Kan., failed to stop. A pursuit was initiated and the driver continued westbound at speeds of over 100 miles per hour. The Kansas Highway Patrol (KHP) took over as the primary pursuit unit near I-70 and SW Carlson Road. The pursuit ended when the vehicle crashed near the Paxico Rest Area.The patrol trooper's car was hit twice by the fleeing vehicle. The trooper was treated at a hospital for minor injuries.Martin sustained non-life-threatening injuries and was transported to a local hospital, according to Christian.He is facing several charges that include felony flee and elude, reckless driving, driving while license suspended and multiple traffic related charges.&nbsp;

Kan. man jailed after 100mph chase, crash into KHP vehicle

PRATT COUNTY —Two people died in an accident just after 4:30a.m. Monday in Pratt County.

The Kansas Highway Patrol reported a 2020 Hyundai Elantra driven by Jamie M.&nbsp;Swavely, 42, St. Louis, Missouri&nbsp;was overtaking two semis westbound on U.S. 54 in a no passing zone 

A 1983 Peterbilt semi driven by Juan Manuel Martinez, 54, Dodge City, then struck the Hyundai in the eastbound lane&nbsp;

Two passenger in the Hyundai Elizabeth Jean Glenn, 60 and&nbsp; Jayden Marie Swavley, 16, both of St. Louis, Missouri, were pronounced dead at the scene and were transported to&nbsp;Larrison Mortuary.&nbsp;

EMS transported Jamie Swavely to the hospital in Pratt. Martinez was not injured.&nbsp; Jayden Swavely was not wearing a seat belt, according to the KHP.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/8/1597702777348.png" alt="The 2020 Hyundai involved in Monday's fatal crash<a href="https://www.pratttribune.com/"> photo courtesy Pratt Tribune</a>" />
 <figcaption>The 2020 Hyundai involved in Monday's fatal crash<a href="https://www.pratttribune.com/"> photo courtesy Pratt Tribune</a></figcaption>
 </figure>PRATT COUNTY —Two people died in an accident just after 4:30a.m. Monday in Pratt County.The Kansas Highway Patrol reported a 2020 Hyundai Elantra driven by Jamie M.&nbsp;Swavely, 42, St. Louis, Missouri&nbsp;was overtaking two semis westbound on U.S. 54 in a no passing zone A 1983 Peterbilt semi driven by Juan Manuel Martinez, 54, Dodge City, then struck the Hyundai in the eastbound lane&nbsp;Two passenger in the Hyundai Elizabeth Jean Glenn, 60 and&nbsp; Jayden Marie Swavley, 16, both of St. Louis, Missouri, were pronounced dead at the scene and were transported to&nbsp;Larrison Mortuary.&nbsp;EMS transported Jamie Swavely to the hospital in Pratt. Martinez was not injured.&nbsp; Jayden Swavely was not wearing a seat belt, according to the KHP.

Woman, 16-year-old dead after Kan. crash with semi 

TOPEKA – Kansas&nbsp;Governor Laura Kelly held a press conference Monday afternoon to give an update on the increase in coronavirus in Kansas. During the briefing, she announced she was signing Executive order 20-61 to once again place a moratorium on evictions and foreclosures.

The order will last for two weeks, according to Kelly, "in hopes that the U.S. Senate gets its act together."

If the Senate doesn't act, Kelly said she would sign another extension. "No Kansan should be kicked out of the home during this pandemic. That's just wrong." said Kelly.&nbsp; "We are also looking at a number of options to support landlords."

Kansas has reported its biggest seven-day increase in novel coronavirus cases since the pandemic began and the total number exceeds 35,000. 

The state Department of Health and Environment said Monday that Kansas had another 1,282 confirmed and probable cases since Friday, an increase of 3.8%, for a total of 35,167. The state reported 3,437 new cases since Aug. 10 for a seven-day average of 491 new cases a day. The previous high for the pandemic was 479 cases a day for the seven days ending July 17.&nbsp;&nbsp;

TOPEKA – Kansas&nbsp;Governor Laura Kelly held a press conference Monday afternoon to give an update on the increase in coronavirus in Kansas. During the briefing, she announced she was signing Executive order 20-61 to once again place a moratorium on evictions and foreclosures. The order will last for two weeks, according to Kelly, "in hopes that the U.S. Senate gets its act together." If the Senate doesn't act, Kelly said she would sign another extension. "No Kansan should be kicked out of the home during this pandemic. That's just wrong." said Kelly.&nbsp; "We are also looking at a number of options to support landlords." <div><iframe src="https://www.facebook.com/plugins/video.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2FGovLauraKelly%2Fvideos%2F727750198066103%2F&show_text=0&width=560" width="560" height="315" style="border:none;overflow:hidden" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allowTransparency="true" allowFullScreen="true"></iframe></div>Kansas has reported its biggest seven-day increase in novel coronavirus cases since the pandemic began and the total number exceeds 35,000. The state Department of Health and Environment said Monday that Kansas had another 1,282 confirmed and probable cases since Friday, an increase of 3.8%, for a total of 35,167. The state reported 3,437 new cases since Aug. 10 for a seven-day average of 491 new cases a day. The previous high for the pandemic was 479 cases a day for the seven days ending July 17.&nbsp;&nbsp;

🎥  Kansas Gov. extends moratorium on evictions, foreclosures

BY C.J. JANOVY <a href="https://kansasreflector.com/2020/08/17/kansas-heading-back-to-school-is-a-lesson-in-morality/">Kansas Reflector</a>

Schools and universities 
are opening, regardless of whether students, teachers, employees and the
 communities around them feel safe. College sports, <a href="https://kansasreflector.com/2020/08/12/big-12-announces-plans-to-play-fall-sports-with-intensified-testing/">same drill</a>.

What was <a href="https://kansasreflector.com/2020/07/22/kansas-board-of-education-blocks-gov-laura-kellys-plan-to-delay-k-12-classes/">a dilemma a few weeks ago</a> is now an amateur science project with life-and-death consequences. This collective, eyes-wide-open disregard for what<a href="https://kansasreflector.com/2020/08/10/kdhe-secretary-warns-of-lethal-brew-yearns-for-mask-mandate-says-schools-not-yet-safe/"> public health experts tell us</a> doesn’t just feel stupid.

I’m no expert on morality, though, so I called someone who is.

<a href="https://www.k-state.edu/philos/people/faculty/hicks.html">Amelia Hicks</a>
 is an assistant professor of philosophy at Kansas State University. Her
 research focuses on, as she put it, “how being uncertain about ethical 
issues can affect moral decision making.”

Hicks, who got her PhD at 
Notre Dame, has lived in Manhattan for seven years. Like everyone else 
who loves college-town life, she enjoys how sleepy summers are followed 
by the excitement of 20,000 students returning in the fall. This year, 
though, her two introductory ethics courses, her course in business 
ethics and an independent study in business ethics are all online.

Before we talked about 
morality, Hicks made the requisite disclaimer: Her views “are not 
necessarily the views of Kansas State University.”

I wasn’t asking about K-State anyway, because all institutions are <a href="https://www2.ljworld.com/news/ku/2020/aug/13/ku-survey-didnt-ask-if-students-wanted-to-return-to-campus-claim-of-overwhelming-desire-to-do-so-was-based-on-students-saying-they-planned-on-in-person-classes/">struggling with decision-making processes</a>.

The pandemic “really stretches people’s ability to reason morally,” Hicks said.

She drew distinctions 
between K-12 schools and colleges. But basically, when it comes to moral
 decision-making, she said there are three things to think about.

The first set of moral 
issues involves harms and benefits: For example, identifying all of the 
people who are potentially affected by a school’s options for reopening 
and coming up with a plan that “will bring about the best overall 
balance of benefits over harm.”

But there’s the second moral issue: consideration of justice.

“This is determined not 
just by harms and benefits,” Hick said, “but by how those harms and 
benefits are distributed: Is it in a way that’s fair, or are we 
burdening people who are already burdened?”

For example, keeping K-12 
schools virtual might be best for public health, but it might 
disproportionately hurt students who don’t have enough resources at 
home. It might also disproportionately hurt women, who, Hicks said, “are
 statistically more likely to take up child care work, home schooling or
 supervising online learning.”

And if every child has the
 right to primary and secondary education, as Kansas believes, then the 
state has a duty to provide that education, Hicks said.

“But the community in 
which a school is located has a right not to be unnecessarily exposed to
 a dangerous virus,” she said. “You can just decide that one right is 
more important than another, but that’s very difficult to do in a 
responsible way.”

Which brings us to the 
third moral issue, what Hicks called procedural considerations: Leaders 
will come up with plans and policies, but people won’t think they’re 
legitimate unless everyone who’ll be affected has had input and buys 
into them.

“So the real danger now is
 that school districts might be tempted to just make simple top-down 
decisions,” she said. “That’s very efficient, but it’s also dangerous 
because when you’re making top-down decisions, you are likely to miss 
some important details and the plan might not be seen as legitimate by 
the people affected.”

These moral considerations apply to universities as well, but, Hicks noted, parents generally don’t rely on them for child care.

I asked whether it was 
moral to charge college students money to come back in person, knowing 
there’s a heightened risk that some will get sick and die.

“What’s crucial there is 
extremely transparent communication,” she said. “I tend to think it’s OK
 for people to take on risk as long as they really know what they’re 
getting into.”

She used a bungee jumping 
analogy: “You can pay to go bungee jumping, but you should know what the
 risks are. And the bungee jumping company should be very transparent 
about the risks involved.”

Now, though, a lot of us who would never go bungee jumping are flying through the air.

“It’s a terrifying situation that we’re in,” Hicks said.

But for a philosophy professor, it’s also interesting to watch how people are making decisions.

“It’s pretty easy to 
recognize that you shouldn’t just kill another person recklessly, that 
you shouldn’t endanger other people recklessly,” she said.

But the pandemic forces us to make sacrifices for the benefit of strangers we might never encounter.

“We are not good at reasoning,” she said, “about how to treat people we don’t know, who are far away from us.”

C.J. Janovy is a veteran journalist with deep roots in the Midwest. Before joining the Kansas Reflector, she was an editor and reporter at Kansas City’s NPR affiliate, KCUR. Before that, she edited the city’s alt-weekly newspaper, The Pitch.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/8/1597695677448.png" alt="Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly meets with teachers from across Kansas on Aug. 13 to gather input on school districts' reopening plans. (Screenshot/Kansas Reflector)" />
 <figcaption>Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly meets with teachers from across Kansas on Aug. 13 to gather input on school districts' reopening plans. (Screenshot/Kansas Reflector)</figcaption>
 </figure>BY C.J. JANOVY <a href="https://kansasreflector.com/2020/08/17/kansas-heading-back-to-school-is-a-lesson-in-morality/">Kansas Reflector</a>Schools and universities 
are opening, regardless of whether students, teachers, employees and the
 communities around them feel safe. College sports, <a href="https://kansasreflector.com/2020/08/12/big-12-announces-plans-to-play-fall-sports-with-intensified-testing/">same drill</a>.What was <a href="https://kansasreflector.com/2020/07/22/kansas-board-of-education-blocks-gov-laura-kellys-plan-to-delay-k-12-classes/">a dilemma a few weeks ago</a> is now an amateur science project with life-and-death consequences. This collective, eyes-wide-open disregard for what<a href="https://kansasreflector.com/2020/08/10/kdhe-secretary-warns-of-lethal-brew-yearns-for-mask-mandate-says-schools-not-yet-safe/"> public health experts tell us</a> doesn’t just feel stupid.It seems immoral.I’m no expert on morality, though, so I called someone who is.<a href="https://www.k-state.edu/philos/people/faculty/hicks.html">Amelia Hicks</a>
 is an assistant professor of philosophy at Kansas State University. Her
 research focuses on, as she put it, “how being uncertain about ethical 
issues can affect moral decision making.”Hicks, who got her PhD at 
Notre Dame, has lived in Manhattan for seven years. Like everyone else 
who loves college-town life, she enjoys how sleepy summers are followed 
by the excitement of 20,000 students returning in the fall. This year, 
though, her two introductory ethics courses, her course in business 
ethics and an independent study in business ethics are all online.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/8/1597695750137.png" alt="Amelia Hicks is an assistant professor of philosophy at Kansas State University. (Submitted to Kansas Reflector)" />
 <figcaption>Amelia Hicks is an assistant professor of philosophy at Kansas State University. (Submitted to Kansas Reflector)</figcaption>
 </figure>Before we talked about 
morality, Hicks made the requisite disclaimer: Her views “are not 
necessarily the views of Kansas State University.”I wasn’t asking about K-State anyway, because all institutions are <a href="https://www2.ljworld.com/news/ku/2020/aug/13/ku-survey-didnt-ask-if-students-wanted-to-return-to-campus-claim-of-overwhelming-desire-to-do-so-was-based-on-students-saying-they-planned-on-in-person-classes/">struggling with decision-making processes</a>.The pandemic “really stretches people’s ability to reason morally,” Hicks said.She drew distinctions 
between K-12 schools and colleges. But basically, when it comes to moral
 decision-making, she said there are three things to think about.The first set of moral 
issues involves harms and benefits: For example, identifying all of the 
people who are potentially affected by a school’s options for reopening 
and coming up with a plan that “will bring about the best overall 
balance of benefits over harm.”But there’s the second moral issue: consideration of justice.“This is determined not 
just by harms and benefits,” Hick said, “but by how those harms and 
benefits are distributed: Is it in a way that’s fair, or are we 
burdening people who are already burdened?”For example, keeping K-12 
schools virtual might be best for public health, but it might 
disproportionately hurt students who don’t have enough resources at 
home. It might also disproportionately hurt women, who, Hicks said, “are
 statistically more likely to take up child care work, home schooling or
 supervising online learning.”And if every child has the
 right to primary and secondary education, as Kansas believes, then the 
state has a duty to provide that education, Hicks said.“But the community in 
which a school is located has a right not to be unnecessarily exposed to
 a dangerous virus,” she said. “You can just decide that one right is 
more important than another, but that’s very difficult to do in a 
responsible way.”Which brings us to the 
third moral issue, what Hicks called procedural considerations: Leaders 
will come up with plans and policies, but people won’t think they’re 
legitimate unless everyone who’ll be affected has had input and buys 
into them.“So the real danger now is
 that school districts might be tempted to just make simple top-down 
decisions,” she said. “That’s very efficient, but it’s also dangerous 
because when you’re making top-down decisions, you are likely to miss 
some important details and the plan might not be seen as legitimate by 
the people affected.”These moral considerations apply to universities as well, but, Hicks noted, parents generally don’t rely on them for child care.I asked whether it was 
moral to charge college students money to come back in person, knowing 
there’s a heightened risk that some will get sick and die.“What’s crucial there is 
extremely transparent communication,” she said. “I tend to think it’s OK
 for people to take on risk as long as they really know what they’re 
getting into.”She used a bungee jumping 
analogy: “You can pay to go bungee jumping, but you should know what the
 risks are. And the bungee jumping company should be very transparent 
about the risks involved.”Now, though, a lot of us who would never go bungee jumping are flying through the air.“It’s a terrifying situation that we’re in,” Hicks said.But for a philosophy professor, it’s also interesting to watch how people are making decisions.“It’s pretty easy to 
recognize that you shouldn’t just kill another person recklessly, that 
you shouldn’t endanger other people recklessly,” she said.But the pandemic forces us to make sacrifices for the benefit of strangers we might never encounter.“We are not good at reasoning,” she said, “about how to treat people we don’t know, who are far away from us.”Happy back to school, Kansas.C.J. Janovy is a veteran journalist with deep roots in the Midwest. Before joining the Kansas Reflector, she was an editor and reporter at Kansas City’s NPR affiliate, KCUR. Before that, she edited the city’s alt-weekly newspaper, The Pitch.

OPINION: Kansas heading back to school is a lesson in morality

Leawood, Kan. (AP) —Up to 300 Pizza Hut restaurants will be closed, most of them dine-in locations not well suited for carryout and delivery at a time when millions of people are sheltering and eating at home.

Pizza sales have exploded during the pandemic. Domino’s last month reported a 30% spike in quarterly profits. On Monday it said that it was hiring more than 20,000 people to handle surging orders.

Franchisee NPC International said Monday in documents filed in bankruptcy court that it had come to an agreement with Pizza Hut to close hundreds of locations. The Leawood, Kansas, company filed for bankruptcy protection last month.

NPC owns 1,225 Pizza Huts and 385 Wendy’s restaurants in 27 states. There are 6,700 Pizza Hut restaurants in the U.S. The Hays Pizza Hut is not an NPC location.

In its filing, NPC said that closing stores not designed for pick-up or delivery will allow it to invest in smaller stores that can better handle online orders.

In May, Pizza Hut’s U.S. carryout and delivery sales reached an eight-year high, according to Yum Brands Inc., the Louisville, Kentucky, company that also owns KFC and Taco Bell.

But Pizza Hut’s U.S. sales grew just 1% in the April-June period; rival Domino’s Pizza, which has smaller, carryout-focused stores, posted a 20% jump in U.S. sales.

Yum Brands in a prepared statement said the stores being closed had underperformed others owned by NPC, and that shedding them would strengthen NPC’s remaining portfolio.

Leawood, Kan. (AP) —Up to 300 Pizza Hut restaurants will be closed, most of them dine-in locations not well suited for carryout and delivery at a time when millions of people are sheltering and eating at home.Pizza sales have exploded during the pandemic. Domino’s last month reported a 30% spike in quarterly profits. On Monday it said that it was hiring more than 20,000 people to handle surging orders.Franchisee NPC International said Monday in documents filed in bankruptcy court that it had come to an agreement with Pizza Hut to close hundreds of locations. The Leawood, Kansas, company filed for bankruptcy protection last month.NPC owns 1,225 Pizza Huts and 385 Wendy’s restaurants in 27 states. There are 6,700 Pizza Hut restaurants in the U.S. The Hays Pizza Hut is not an NPC location.In its filing, NPC said that closing stores not designed for pick-up or delivery will allow it to invest in smaller stores that can better handle online orders.In May, Pizza Hut’s U.S. carryout and delivery sales reached an eight-year high, according to Yum Brands Inc., the Louisville, Kentucky, company that also owns KFC and Taco Bell.But Pizza Hut’s U.S. sales grew just 1% in the April-June period; rival Domino’s Pizza, which has smaller, carryout-focused stores, posted a 20% jump in U.S. sales.Yum Brands in a prepared statement said the stores being closed had underperformed others owned by NPC, and that shedding them would strengthen NPC’s remaining portfolio.

300 Pizza Huts to close as Kan. franchisee goes bankrupt

By CORINNE BOYER <a href="https://www.hppr.org/post/emails-show-kansas-agencies-helped-keep-meatpacking-plants-open-despite-concerns-about">Kansas News Service</a>

GARDEN CITY — In mid-May, Finney County’s 
top public health physician sent an email to state health officials 
repeating worries she’d made clear a month earlier to her local 
colleagues.

Finney County Health Department Medical Director 
Lindsay Byrnes warned that the coronavirus outbreak at the local 
meatpacking plant continued to put workers there, and the surrounding 
community, at risk.

The factory-scale slaughterhouses that employ
 thousands of people — largely immigrants whose close-quarters jobs fuel
 the economy of southwest Kansas — had already become COVID-19 hotspots.
 Three workers in nearby Dodge City had died.

Byrnes, an 
internist and pediatrician with a master’s degree in public health, said
 the Tyson Fresh Meats plant in her hometown of Holcomb, Kansas, just 
outside Garden City, needed to do more.

“The numbers of infected and the pattern of spread makes it very 
clear that transmission was occurring there weeks ago, and due to the 
natural course of disease, is now evidenced in those who are sick, 
hospitalized and dying in my community,” Byrnes said in an email to the 
Kansas Department of Health and Environment.

“Whatever the plant 
is doing now is too little too late,” the email continued, “but 
hopefully they will keep up their practices.”

Despite worker 
complaints to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, massive
 outbreaks, deaths and input from a local doctor, Kansas meatpacking 
plants never shut down.

Months later, case numbers, clusters and deaths have continued to climb.

The
 Kansas News Service received OSHA logs through a Freedom of Information
 Act request. Through a Kansas Open Records Act request, the news 
service got emails between the Kansas Department of Health and 
Environment and local health departments.

Those 780 emails showed
 that state officials played a role in keeping meatpacking plants open 
before President Donald Trump’s executive order mandating that plants 
continue operating.

In fact, the state’s guidelines said that even if workers had knowingly come in contact with someone who had the disease, <a href="https://www.kansas.com/news/politics-government/article242852011.html">they could still work</a> as long as they were asymptomatic and took precautions such as wearing masks.

As
 cases of the virus began showing up in Kansas in March, the state’s 
agriculture department said in an email it had no plans to close packing
 plants.

“Our priority is to keep facilities functioning across 
the state so that the food supply chain is not interrupted,” spokeswoman
 Heather Landsdowne wrote. “At this point, we see no indication that 
these plants will be directed to shut down operations.”

In April,
 meatpacking plant employees filed complaints with OSHA about exposure 
to the coronavirus on the job in Lyon and Ford counties.

A 
complaint from an employee at Tyson Fresh Meats in Emporia said, 
“Employees are not protected from health hazards associated with the 
Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19).” It continued, “the employer has 
not implemented all feasible engineering and administrative controls as 
outlined in the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) 
guidelines.”

By the end of the month, one worker in Dodge City 
had died from COVID-19. Within two weeks, two more workers at the 
meatpacking hub had died from the virus.

As of August 14, Kansas 
packing plants have reported 3,287 cases, 17 deaths and 16 cluster 
outbreaks. Plants are the largest source of outbreaks in the state. 
They’ve reported more than double the number of cases tied to long-term 
care facilities — the second largest source.

KDHE and Gov. Laura Kelly have publicly said Kansas didn’t have to close any plants. On a July 14 visit to&nbsp;Brookover Feed Yard in Garden City, Kelly said the state took an “aggressive response” to outbreaks in packing plants.

“We called in the CDC. They brought in a SWAT team of contract 
tracers, testing and engineering types to figure out how we could set up
 our plants, so that they were safe to work in,” Kelly said.&nbsp;

The state also set up housing so workers could quarantine “to keep their families safe.”

Kelly
 was not available for an interview for this story. In an email, the 
governor’s spokeswoman Lauren Fitzgerald said: “The guidance our state 
issued put restrictions in place, while minimizing risk within the work 
environment. This included requirements for engineering and 
administrative controls that would allow the plants to stay open.”

In fact, the plants installed plastic shields between workstations, started requiring masks and employee temperature checks.

When the CDC visited <a href="https://www.coronavirus.kdheks.gov/DocumentCenter/View/1240/CDC-KDHE-Cargill-Memo-PDF---5-10-20">Cargill</a>, two <a href="https://www.coronavirus.kdheks.gov/DocumentCenter/View/1242/CDC-KDHE-Tyson-Memo-PDF---5-10-20">Tyson</a> locations in Lyon and Finney counties and two <a href="https://www.coronavirus.kdheks.gov/DocumentCenter/View/1241/CDC-KDHE-National-Beef-PDF---5-10-20">National Beef</a>
 locations in Ford and Seward counties in late April, about 2,500 
workers were out. The missing employees had tested positive, were in 
quarantine or simply hadn’t shown up.

In a May interview with WBUR’s Here &amp; Now, KDHE Secretary Lee Norman said the state had the power to shut down the plants.

“We
 have that statutory authority in the state of Kansas that can be done 
by a local health officer in that county, and we could override the 
local health officer and shut down the production in these packing 
plants,” Norman said. “That has not been necessary to do, fortunately.”

Norman
 was unavailable for an interview. KDHE spokeswoman Kristi Zears said in
 an email that the CDC released guidance and recommendations for packing
 plants shortly before the CDC and National Institute for Occupational 
Safety and Health (NIOSH) visited plants.

“The visit was for 
technical assistance and not regulatory/inspection,” Zears said. “KDHE 
continues to work with meat packing plants, large and small, to make 
recommendations for controls they can put in place to limit the spread 
of COVID-19 in their facilities.”

On April 15, Byrnes sent an 
email to Finney County employees after the first case of the virus was 
found at Tyson. The county announced multiple cases and community spread
 at the plant on April 22.

“Given the experience of other 
communities with cases and subsequent large clusters located in meat 
packing plants, it seems obvious to me that we take aggressive action,” 
Byrnes wrote. “I am in favor of closing the plant to allow for broad 
testing and cleaning.”

In the same mid-April email, Byrnes wrote 
that she had discussed the situation with the state’s health agency, but
 an agency employee didn’t think a closure was necessary.

In an August interview, Byrnes said that’s how she felt at the time.

“Now
 four months later, I can probably say something different. I think at 
the time I felt very strongly. They needed to be shut down,” she said. 
“Temporarily, like I said, just try and get as many sick people out of 
there as we could and stop the transmission.”

Byrnes said that in her conversations with KDHE, the agency’s focus was on public health.

Now she isn’t sure that the plants should have been shut down.

“I
 don’t know,” she said. “We had a really large outbreak here … I feel 10
 deaths is too many deaths. I do. It was a very significant hit to our 
community.”

Corinne Boyer covers western Kansas for High 
Plains Public Radio and the Kansas News Service. You can follow her on 
Twitter @corinne_boyer.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/8/1597689046145.jpeg" alt=" At least three workers at National Beef in Dodge City have died due to COVID-19. In Kansas, 17 meatpacking plant workers have died. Corinne Boyer / Kansas News Service" />
 <figcaption> At least three workers at National Beef in Dodge City have died due to COVID-19. In Kansas, 17 meatpacking plant workers have died. Corinne Boyer / Kansas News Service</figcaption>
 </figure>By CORINNE BOYER <a href="https://www.hppr.org/post/emails-show-kansas-agencies-helped-keep-meatpacking-plants-open-despite-concerns-about">Kansas News Service</a>GARDEN CITY — In mid-May, Finney County’s 
top public health physician sent an email to state health officials 
repeating worries she’d made clear a month earlier to her local 
colleagues.Finney County Health Department Medical Director 
Lindsay Byrnes warned that the coronavirus outbreak at the local 
meatpacking plant continued to put workers there, and the surrounding 
community, at risk.The factory-scale slaughterhouses that employ
 thousands of people — largely immigrants whose close-quarters jobs fuel
 the economy of southwest Kansas — had already become COVID-19 hotspots.
 Three workers in nearby Dodge City had died.Byrnes, an 
internist and pediatrician with a master’s degree in public health, said
 the Tyson Fresh Meats plant in her hometown of Holcomb, Kansas, just 
outside Garden City, needed to do more.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/8/1597689100405.jpeg" alt=" Finney County, Kansas is home to a Tyson Fresh Meats packing plant. Credit Corinne Boyer / Kansas News Service" />
 <figcaption> Finney County, Kansas is home to a Tyson Fresh Meats packing plant. Credit Corinne Boyer / Kansas News Service</figcaption>
 </figure>“The numbers of infected and the pattern of spread makes it very 
clear that transmission was occurring there weeks ago, and due to the 
natural course of disease, is now evidenced in those who are sick, 
hospitalized and dying in my community,” Byrnes said in an email to the 
Kansas Department of Health and Environment.“Whatever the plant 
is doing now is too little too late,” the email continued, “but 
hopefully they will keep up their practices.”Despite worker 
complaints to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, massive
 outbreaks, deaths and input from a local doctor, Kansas meatpacking 
plants never shut down.Months later, case numbers, clusters and deaths have continued to climb.The
 Kansas News Service received OSHA logs through a Freedom of Information
 Act request. Through a Kansas Open Records Act request, the news 
service got emails between the Kansas Department of Health and 
Environment and local health departments.Those 780 emails showed
 that state officials played a role in keeping meatpacking plants open 
before President Donald Trump’s executive order mandating that plants 
continue operating.In fact, the state’s guidelines said that even if workers had knowingly come in contact with someone who had the disease, <a href="https://www.kansas.com/news/politics-government/article242852011.html">they could still work</a> as long as they were asymptomatic and took precautions such as wearing masks.As
 cases of the virus began showing up in Kansas in March, the state’s 
agriculture department said in an email it had no plans to close packing
 plants.“Our priority is to keep facilities functioning across 
the state so that the food supply chain is not interrupted,” spokeswoman
 Heather Landsdowne wrote. “At this point, we see no indication that 
these plants will be directed to shut down operations.”In April,
 meatpacking plant employees filed complaints with OSHA about exposure 
to the coronavirus on the job in Lyon and Ford counties.A 
complaint from an employee at Tyson Fresh Meats in Emporia said, 
“Employees are not protected from health hazards associated with the 
Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19).” It continued, “the employer has 
not implemented all feasible engineering and administrative controls as 
outlined in the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) 
guidelines.”By the end of the month, one worker in Dodge City 
had died from COVID-19. Within two weeks, two more workers at the 
meatpacking hub had died from the virus.As of August 14, Kansas 
packing plants have reported 3,287 cases, 17 deaths and 16 cluster 
outbreaks. Plants are the largest source of outbreaks in the state. 
They’ve reported more than double the number of cases tied to long-term 
care facilities — the second largest source.KDHE and Gov. Laura Kelly have publicly said Kansas didn’t have to close any plants. On a July 14 visit to&nbsp;Brookover Feed Yard in Garden City, Kelly said the state took an “aggressive response” to outbreaks in packing plants.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/8/1597689144518.jpeg" alt=" Gov. Laura Kelly visited Brookover Feed Yard in Garden City on July 14. Credit Corinne Boyer / Kansas News Service" />
 <figcaption> Gov. Laura Kelly visited Brookover Feed Yard in Garden City on July 14. Credit Corinne Boyer / Kansas News Service</figcaption>
 </figure>“We called in the CDC. They brought in a SWAT team of contract 
tracers, testing and engineering types to figure out how we could set up
 our plants, so that they were safe to work in,” Kelly said.&nbsp;The state also set up housing so workers could quarantine “to keep their families safe.”Kelly
 was not available for an interview for this story. In an email, the 
governor’s spokeswoman Lauren Fitzgerald said: “The guidance our state 
issued put restrictions in place, while minimizing risk within the work 
environment. This included requirements for engineering and 
administrative controls that would allow the plants to stay open.”In fact, the plants installed plastic shields between workstations, started requiring masks and employee temperature checks.When the CDC visited <a href="https://www.coronavirus.kdheks.gov/DocumentCenter/View/1240/CDC-KDHE-Cargill-Memo-PDF---5-10-20">Cargill</a>, two <a href="https://www.coronavirus.kdheks.gov/DocumentCenter/View/1242/CDC-KDHE-Tyson-Memo-PDF---5-10-20">Tyson</a> locations in Lyon and Finney counties and two <a href="https://www.coronavirus.kdheks.gov/DocumentCenter/View/1241/CDC-KDHE-National-Beef-PDF---5-10-20">National Beef</a>
 locations in Ford and Seward counties in late April, about 2,500 
workers were out. The missing employees had tested positive, were in 
quarantine or simply hadn’t shown up.In a May interview with WBUR’s Here &amp; Now, KDHE Secretary Lee Norman said the state had the power to shut down the plants.“We
 have that statutory authority in the state of Kansas that can be done 
by a local health officer in that county, and we could override the 
local health officer and shut down the production in these packing 
plants,” Norman said. “That has not been necessary to do, fortunately.”Norman
 was unavailable for an interview. KDHE spokeswoman Kristi Zears said in
 an email that the CDC released guidance and recommendations for packing
 plants shortly before the CDC and National Institute for Occupational 
Safety and Health (NIOSH) visited plants.“The visit was for 
technical assistance and not regulatory/inspection,” Zears said. “KDHE 
continues to work with meat packing plants, large and small, to make 
recommendations for controls they can put in place to limit the spread 
of COVID-19 in their facilities.”On April 15, Byrnes sent an 
email to Finney County employees after the first case of the virus was 
found at Tyson. The county announced multiple cases and community spread
 at the plant on April 22.“Given the experience of other 
communities with cases and subsequent large clusters located in meat 
packing plants, it seems obvious to me that we take aggressive action,” 
Byrnes wrote. “I am in favor of closing the plant to allow for broad 
testing and cleaning.”In the same mid-April email, Byrnes wrote 
that she had discussed the situation with the state’s health agency, but
 an agency employee didn’t think a closure was necessary.In an August interview, Byrnes said that’s how she felt at the time.“Now
 four months later, I can probably say something different. I think at 
the time I felt very strongly. They needed to be shut down,” she said. 
“Temporarily, like I said, just try and get as many sick people out of 
there as we could and stop the transmission.”Byrnes said that in her conversations with KDHE, the agency’s focus was on public health.Now she isn’t sure that the plants should have been shut down.“I
 don’t know,” she said. “We had a really large outbreak here … I feel 10
 deaths is too many deaths. I do. It was a very significant hit to our 
community.”Corinne Boyer covers western Kansas for High 
Plains Public Radio and the Kansas News Service. You can follow her on 
Twitter @corinne_boyer.

Despite virus concerns, Kan. agencies helped keep packing plants open 

SEDGWICK COUNTY—Law enforcement authorities are investigating an accidental shooting that sent a boy to the hospital.

Just after 11p.m. Saturday, police responded to a shooting at a residence in the 2200 Block of South Glendale in Wichita, according to Captain Jason Stephens.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2019/11/1573683844307.png" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>SEDGWICK COUNTY—Law enforcement authorities are investigating an accidental shooting that sent a boy to the hospital.Just after 11p.m. Saturday, police responded to a shooting at a residence in the 2200 Block of South Glendale in Wichita, according to Captain Jason Stephens.When officers arrived, EMS was transporting a 4-year-old boy in critical condition with a gunshot wound to his head, according to Stephens.Investigators learned that the child climbed up on several items and gained access to a gun that was on a shelf inside the home. The child accidentally fired one shot, which hit him in the head. Stephens said the boy's father owned the gun. It was not in a safe and did not have the safety on.The boy was listed in serious but stable condition late Monday morning, according to officer Paul Cruz.Police will present the case to the district attorney's office for possible charges.