Month: September 2020

Faith news

Wyandotte County is in Phase 3 under Kansas Ad Astra reopening plan. Local health officials said under Phase 3, people should keep a distance of 6 feet between themselves and others. They may sit closer to people who live in their households. Also, people should wear masks and should wash hands or use hand sanitizer. There is a mask order in effect in Wyandotte County, requiring masks to be worn inside any public space.


Some faith groups will continue holding online or video services. In Wyandotte County, those who are older than 60 or who have other medical conditions should continue being very cautious, according to the Wyandotte County health officials. Those who are sick should stay home, according to officials.


More details about Wyandotte County health guidelines for churches are at https://www.wycokck.org/WycoKCK/media/Health-Department/Documents/Communicable%20Disease/COVID19/COVID-19GuidelinesForChurches.pdf.


Residents are advised to visit the social media page of their church or faith organization, or to call them or email them, to see changes that have been made to regular schedules, or if there are video services planned on Sunday.

The Archdiocese of Kansas City in Kansas has information about churches reopening, Masses, and reflections, at https://www.facebook.com/archkck.


Blessed Sacrament, Christ the King and Our Lady and St. Rose Catholic churches have resumed in-person Masses. For more information, visit the churches’ websites or Facebook pages at https://www.facebook.com/Christ-the-King-Parish-KCKS-1392808997677579, https://www.facebook.com/BlessedSacramentkck and https://www.facebook.com/ourladyandsaintrose/. Mass is online at https://www.facebook.com/BlessedSacramentkck.


Open Door Baptist Church, 3033 N. 103rd Terrace, Kansas City, Kansas, will have services in person with social distancing at 10:30 a.m. Sunday, Sept. 27. There will be a livestream service at https://www.facebook.com/opendoorkc/ and https://www.opendoorkc.com/.


Stony Point Christian Church, 149 S. 78th St., Kansas City, Kansas, plans to livestream at 10:15 a.m. Sunday, Sept. 27, on its Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/StonyPointChristianChurch, and people are welcome to attend the service in person, using social distancing and other health measures.


St. Patrick Catholic Church, Kansas City, Kansas, has a Mass online for Sunday, Sept. 27, at https://www.facebook.com/StPatrickKCK. St. Patrick Church also has returned to in-person Masses.


St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, Kansas City, Kansas, is planning livestream services on Facebook on Sunday, Sept. 27. See stpaulskck.org and https://www.facebook.com/StPaulsKCK/.

Sunset Hills Christian Church, 6347 Leavenworth Road, Kansas City, Kansas, plans to livestream at 9:30 a.m. each Sunday on the Facebook page of Pastor Mike Barnett, https://www.facebook.com/mike.barnett.528. Services are also provided through checkout of DVD or SD Card and can be sent by email upon request. People are welcome to attend the service in person using social distancing and other health measures. Masks are available or bring your own to wear.


Wyandotte United Methodist Church, 7901 Oakland Ave., will have a livestreamed service Sunday, Sept. 27, on Facebook, https://www.facebook.com/Wyandotteumc/ or online on the website at www.wyandotteumc.com.


Information about other church services in Wyandotte County may be available from the church’s social media page.
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Sheriff’s office has several COVID-19 precautions in place

The UG COVID-19 webpage reported an additional 41 cases on Saturday, for a cumulative total of 6,780. There were no additional deaths, for a total of 134, according to the webpage. (From COVID-19 webpage)

The Wyandotte County Sheriff’s Office has several measures in place to prevent the spread of COVID-19 in the county jail.

According to Capt. Kyle Harvey, spokesman for the Wyandotte County Sheriff’s Office, no inmates at the jail have COVID-19.

The Wyandotte County Sheriff’s Department was listed with a total of 16 cases on the Unified Government’s COVID-19 outbreak map.

Capt. Harvey said he is aware of about four cases currently among department employees; some of the others could be past cases. Staff members who test positive are quarantined, he said.

There are protocols in place at the jail, Capt. Harvey said. Arrestees go through a medical screening before they come in the door, he said. There is more in-depth screening when they start to get booked, he added.

Then the new inmates are quarantined for two weeks, and if they show any symptoms, they are tested for COVID-19, he said.

All tests have been negative for inmates, he added.

Employees undergo a temperature screening and are asked health questions when they start their shifts, he said. It has made the process longer for changing shifts, he added.

“We’ve been very fortunate to keep it out of the jail; it only takes one person to bring it in to spread it, and with our protocol, we’re being very strict,” he said.

The jail currently allows visitors, who are asked questions and their temperatures are checked, he said. There are noncontact visits only at this time, with a glass separating visitors from inmates. Attorney visits used to be in person, but now are just video visits, he said.

They also have a lot more video court hearings, although some hearings still have to be done in person, he said. They restarted physical transports from the jail to court about a month ago, but it’s still very limited, he added.

The UG Health Department director, Juliann Van Liew, on Thursday said at a news conference that the Health Department will try to get COVID-19 saliva tests for use in schools and the jail. It will be a change from the COVID-19 test kits that they have there now, Capt. Harvey said.

The UG COVID-19 webpage reported an additional 41 cases on Saturday, for a cumulative total of 6,780. There were no additional deaths, for a total of 134, according to the webpage.

Free testing continues Monday

Free COVID-19 testing will be available from 9 a.m. to noon Monday, Sept. 28, at Oak Ridge Baptist Church, 9301 Parallel Parkway, Kansas City, Kansas.

The pop-up tests are through the Health Equity Task Force and Vibrant Health.

Free tests also are at the UG Health Department parking lot, 619 Ann Ave., Kansas City, Kansas. They are open from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday through Friday. No appointment is needed.

The tests are for those who live or work in Wyandotte County. Participants should bring something that shows their address or their work place, such as a piece of mail or a work badge.

The pop-up tests and the Health Department tests now are open to asymptomatic people as well as those who have symptoms or have been exposed to COVID-19. Check with the UG Health Department’s Facebook page to see if there have been any changes in the schedule.

The Health Department has released its testing schedule for October, and it is online at https://wyandotte-county-covid-19-hub-unifiedgov.hub.arcgis.com/pages/what-to-do-if-you-think-you-have-covid-19.

More information about testing is at https://wyandotte-county-covid-19-hub-unifiedgov.hub.arcgis.com/pages/what-to-do-if-you-think-you-have-covid-19, or call 311.

The KU doctors’ news conference is at https://www.facebook.com/kuhospital/videos/345495976875884.

The UG COVID-19 webpage is at https://alpha.wycokck.org/Coronavirus-COVID-19-Information.

The Unified Government COVID-19 hub outbreak map at https://wyandotte-county-covid-19-hub-unifiedgov.hub.arcgis.com/.

To see an NEA list of schools that have had COVID-19 cases, visit https://app.smartsheet.com/b/publish?EQBCT=aa3f2ede7cb2415db943fdaf45866d2f.

The KC Region COVID-19 Hub dashboard is at https://marc2.org/covidhub/.

The Unified Government Health Department is collecting input on people’s experiences getting tested for COVID-19 in Wyandotte County. The survey is on the UG website at https://us.openforms.com/Form/ea97a450-3d74-4d86-8d1f-6e340d55cf7c.

The UG Health Department school and sports guidance is online at https://alpha.wycokck.org/files/assets/public/health/documents/covid/09042020fallsportsrecommendations.pdf.

A previous UG sports order is online at https://alpha.wycokck.org/files/assets/public/health/documents/covid/08132020localhealthofficerorderregardingsports.pdf.

The Wyandotte County school start order is online at https://alpha.wycokck.org/Coronavirus-COVID-19-Information.

Wyandotte County is under a mandatory mask order and is in Phase 3 of the state’s reopening plan. For more information, residents may visit the UG COVID-19 website at https://alpha.wycokck.org/Coronavirus-COVID-19-Information or call 311 for more information.

The KDHE’s COVID-19 webpage is at https://www.coronavirus.kdheks.gov/.

The CDC’s COVID-19 webpage is at https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-nCoV/index.html.

Homicide reported near West 44th and Adams

Police are investigating a homicide at 5:57 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 26, in the 4400 block of Adams Street in Kansas City, Kansas.

Officers were dispatched to a call about shots fired at the location, according to a Kansas City, Kansas, police spokesman. The site is about a block away from Rainbow Bouelvard.

When they arrived, officers located a 15-year-old victim with apparent gunshot wounds, the spokesman stated.

The victim was taken to a hospital with life-threatening injuries, according to the spokesman. The victim was pronounced dead at the hospital.

No suspect is in custody at this time, the police spokesman stated.

The Kansas City, Kansas, Police Department’s Criminal Investigations Bureau is investigating. Anyone with information is asked to call the TIPS Hotline at 816-474-TIPS, according to the spokesman.