Henry County Health Center confirms 8 new positive cases of COVID-19

Henry County Health Center has received notification of 8 new cases of COVID-19. (Clinton 3, Deepwater 1, Calhoun 1, and Windsor 1)

Obituary - Andrew James Collette

Andrew James Collette, age 32, Blue Mound, Kansas passed away on Sunday, December 13, 2020.

Funeral service will be 11 am Friday, December 18, 2020 at the Blue Mound Federated Church. The service will be livestreamed on the Blue Mound Federated youtube channel. 

Burial in the Sunny Slope Cemetery. Visitation will be held from 5 to 7 pm Thursday, December 17, 2020 at the Schneider Funeral Home and Crematory, Mound City Chapel. 

Contributions are suggested to Federated Church After School Program, c/o Schneider Funeral Home, P.O. Box J, Mound City, Kansas 66056. Online condolences can be left at www.schneiderfunerals.com.

Obituary - Helen Marie Shorten

Helen Marie Shorten, 88, Nevada, MO, went to be with the Lord on December 12, 2020 at the Barone Alzheimer’s Care Center in Nevada. She was born on January 8, 1932 in Columbia, TN to Carl and Mary (Kinzer) Voss. On January 25, 1952. She married the love of her life, Richard Shorten, in Columbia, TN and he survives of the home.

Helen and Richard met while Helen worked as a civilian typist at the Ft. Knox, KY Military Base and Richard was stationed in the U. S. Army in Ft. Knox. Initially, Helen, refused to date Richard since he was in the Army. She finally agreed and the rest is a 68-year history of a happy loving marriage. They moved to Nevada in the summer of 1952 and had two children. Helen loved seeing and being with all her grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

Helen was employed by the Missouri Department of Mental Health as an Executive Secretary for over 30 years. She was actively involved in a variety of activities for many years including Athena’s and Beta Sigma Phi organizations. She loved to play bridge weekly with a lady’s bridge group for many years. Helen also loved to play golf and became and avid golfer with the Ladies Golf Group at the Nevada Country Club and City Golf Courses. Richard still laughs that Helen was the better golfer and she would frequently tell him how to improve his golfing. When Helen was younger the family was actively involved in both the Pleasure Horse Club and later the Nevada Wranglers Horse Club.

Helen has been a regular member of the First Christian Church in Nevada since she and Richard moved here in 1952.

In addition to her husband Richard, survivors include her two children Pamela Randolph (John), Palm Bay, FL and John Shorten (Donna), Nevada; three grandchildren, Jevan Shorten (Brittney), Kayla Shrewsbury (Eric)) and Kyle Cushard (Kalyn), all of Nevada; seven great-grandchildren, Andrew Lynch and Logan Shorten, Jaycee Shrewsbury, Gage and Riley Cushard, all of Nevada, and Weston and Caitlyn Shrewsbury, Ft. Scott, KS; one great-great-granddaughter, Zaley; siblings, Elizabeth Swallows (Lynn) and Carl Davis Voss (Pat). She was preceded in death by her parents.

Committal services will be held at 11:00 a.m. on Friday, December 18, 2020 at Newton Burial Park in Nevada. Friends may call now and until the hour of service at Ferry Funeral Home in Nevada.

In lieu of flowers memorials are suggested to the First Christian Church or the Neal Center in Nevada c/o Ferry Funeral Home.

Henry County Announces Another COVID-19 Related Death

Henry County Health Center has received notification from the Department of Health and Senior Services of another death due to complications related to COVID-19. This nursing home resident was a 78-year-old male from Clinton who was hospitalized prior to his passing. This marks the 19th death in Henry County due to complications related to COVID-19. 

“With the increase of deaths in our county, I strongly encourage our residents to stay vigilant and continue to follow all recommendations from the CDC. My heart goes out to the family and friends of those who have passed during this difficult time.” said the Henry County Health Center Administrator, Peggy Bowles. “This is a time when families and friends usually gather together, but this year, I am pleading with each of you to stay home if possible. But, if you must get out, please wear a face covering, remain six feet apart, and wash your hands. It is the simple things that will help reduce the spread of this disease, and save the lives or your family members.”

Henry County Health Center continuously updates the COVID-19 information on the HCHC Facebook page, Twitter, and on henrycohealth.org. For further updates and information please review these social media platforms.

Butler License Office Holiday Hours!

The Butler License Office will be open Sat Dec 19th from 9-12! We will be closed Dec 24, 25, 26th for Christmas holiday! Merry Christmas

No more flying pigs

What’s Up

By LeRoy Cook

Before the weekend brought a slow-moving cold front, considerable flying took place last week. These are the dark days of winter,  with short daylight hours and dropping temperatures. It’s a good thing we have the sacred holiday to make it bearable.

The week’s visitors included a Piper Warrior, a Cessna Skyhawk and a Beech Bonanza 35. Scott Buerge was up from Nevada in his Beech Pressurized Baron and Victor Goechoechia flew down from Olathe in his club’s Piper Cherokee. Locally, Randy Miller flew the Cessna 172, Ted VanMeter and I flew a Cessna 150 from Higginsville and Brandt Hall exercised his Genesis experimental airplane.

 This Saturday marks the annual Aviation Day celebration, the 117^th Anniversary of the birth of powered flight on December 17, 1903, when the Wright brothers were the first to make controlled sustained flight in a heavier than air machine. However, it was only an experimental first step; the craft never flew again, redesigned into improved versions in 1904 and 1905 during tests at Dayton, Ohio until it was truly dependable. Go flying on the 17^thto celebrate what they gave us.

 In a rare display of common sense, the Department of Transportation issued a ruling recently to ban “emotional support” animals from the cabin of airliners. Trading on the compassion shown to trained service dogs used by blind travelers, animal lovers have been insisting on bringing pigs, miniature horses and peacocks aboard, claiming they were needed for their welfare. This stretch will no longer “fly.” They’ll have to ride in a crate in the cargo hold.

  Last month we had one of our student pilots achieve a 100% score on his Knowledge exam, the written test he had to take to qualify for the Private Pilot license. This is so rare that it’s been nearly 40 years since I’d had a student make a perfect test score. What makes it even harder today is that the questions are written in a more confusing style than they once were, requiring careful interpretation to understand.  Because of this, another one of our students made a barely-passing 70% a couple of months ago, and that was only after three tries. Of course, he’s welcome to take it again to make a better score—at $150 for the private-contractor’s fee. No thanks, he said.

 Our question last week was “what kind of civilian plane was in the air over Pearl Harbor when the Japanese attacked on December 7, 1941?” As reader Rodney Rom knew, it was an Interstate Cadet, being used to give flying lessons by instructor Corneilia Fort. They escaped unscathed. For next time, tell us why pilots are advised to fly along the right side of a road or rail line when following it in bad weather. You can send your answers to kochhaus1@gmail.com.

Need extra money for Christmas

Need extra money for Christmas? The County of Bates is looking for someone to clean the Courthouse and the Administration Building for the week. Please contact Marlene at 660-679-3371.

BCMH Press Release: Registration Remodel

Bates County Memorial Hospital Patients will soon enjoy a more convenient, streamlined process when registering for services at Bates County Memorial Hospital. Demolition and construction will begin mid-December, with an estimated completion in January, 2021. The registration remodel has been designed to improve efficiency, patient privacy, and the flow of the registration process.

"A hospital patient registration specialist is often one of the first people a patient sees when entering a hospital. The conversation with our patients is confidential, and this new area will be a great asset to maintain that privacy. We are very excited about this project and the ability to add privacy for our patients during the registration process," said Greg Weaver, interim CEO and Chief Operating Officer.

Designed and constructed by Koehn Building Systems of Rich Hill, Mo., the new registration area will be conveniently situated near the hospital’s main entry. The enclosed module will have four stations, combining registration for tests, studies, surgery, outpatient specialty clinics, and all other hospital services except for registration for emergency and Rehabilitation Services (physical therapy, occupational therapy, and speech therapy) will remain in their respective departments.

“Bringing registration closer to our entrance is essential to keeping up with our tradition of outstanding customer service and will greatly improve our patients’ experience,” said Mark Mancuso, Patient Access Manager.

The registration remodel begins with demolition of the Auxiliary Gift Shop, where the new registration area will be constructed using prefabricated modular units. The hospital plans to build a new gift shop later in 2021, located at the east end of the lobby.

Registration and services will not be disrupted during construction. Once completed, the new registration process will be more convenient for our patients, more efficient for our staff, and appreciated by employees and patients alike.