Author: Brandon Peoples

Manhattan City Commissioner Aaron Estabrook has tested positive for COVID-19. Estabrook notified city officials Thursday of his diagnosis. Estabrook reportedly began experiencing symptoms Saturday and was tested Tuesday afternoon. Estabrook has remained in isolation at home since Saturday and took part remotely in Tuesday’s city commission meeting via Zoom. In a release late Thursday, Estabrook stated the exposure likely occurred between Oct. 10 and Oct. 17 as a result of community spread. He says he did not have close contact with a positive patient, nor did he have close contact with any other commissioners. Anyone who had close contact with…

Students at Manhattan-Ogden schools will continue in the hybrid mode of in-person and remote learning through winter break. The 5-2 decision came Wednesday as the school board heard recommendations from administrators and heard comments from students, staff and community members who spoke of challenges bringing back students now. They also heard comments from those in favor of returning to the more traditional school setting. One of the concerns the board shared moving forward was making sure students are doing more than just checking in on remote days. Teaching and Learning Executive Director Dr. Paula Hough says they have a solid…

Seven months in to the coronavirus pandemic, more than 115 patients infected with COVID-19 have been cared for at Ascension Via Christi. Those figures were reported from a recent op/ed penned by Bob Copple, president of the Manhattan hospital. Copple says local physicians have done a great job adjusting, learning and taking great care of people and said the same of his associates. He also commented that Via Christi has access to Remdisiver – having administered more than 70 doses, in addition to other new and evolving therapeutics. He says the hospital is also participating in the Mayo Clinic’s convalescent…

A Manhattan man was injured Tuesday after his vehicle was struck by a drunk driver. Riley County Police say the crash happened just after 8:30 a.m. near the intersection of Scenic Drive and Fort Riley Blvd. Officers reported finding a passenger car driven by 29-year-old Gabriel Ramos had struck a second car in the rear. That car was driven by 51-year-old Johnny Taylor. The crash caused Taylor’s vehicle to strike a third car driven by 44-year-old Kern Francis, from the rear. Taylor was transported to Ascension Via Christi for treatment of injuries. The crash report did not list any injuries…

The Riley County Health Department is planning its annual Okt-Flu-ber Festival Thursday. The drive-thru partitioned event is happening at the health department parking lot, located at 2030 Tecumseh Road. Appointments can be made by calling 785-776-4779 ext. 7675. The event runs 8:30 a.m. to noon Thursday and 1 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. Kids will also receive a free Halloween themed gift bag with their flu shots. If you can’t make it out, the health department is also offering daily drive thru flu shots Monday through Thursday from 8:30 to 11:30 a.m. Appointments are required.

Hundreds of people had to be evacuated Tuesday from the Manhattan Public Library and several nearby homes after a gas main was struck by storm water construction crews in the area of 6th and Houston Street near downtown. The incident kept a portion of Poyntz Ave. closed for several hours and forced the library and others to close for the remainder of the day. According to city officials, the line was struck sometime around 2:30 p.m. however it wasn’t until after 6 p.m. that Kansas Gas was able to shut off the gas main. No injuries were reported as a result.…

A joint agreement has been reached between the Pottawatomie and Wabaunsee County Commissions to move forward with a $200,000 engineering study for repair of the Belvue Bridge. The two boards met for close to an hour Monday before agreeing to have their attorneys draw up an agreement for research into the eventual $7.5 million project that will extend the life of the bridge for 40 years. The votes were 2-1 by both commissions. Pottawatomie County Commission Chair Dee McKee dissented saying that bridge isn’t as big of a priority for the county, given its other current infrastructure needs. The statutory…

Pottawatomie County health officials are now on quarantine after one of its employees were recently exposed to someone with COVID-19. Health Officer Leslie Campbell informed commissioners Monday about some adjustments that is causing. “So some of us will be working here as essential workers and some will be working from home. We’re going to be rescheduling all of our events from this week, such as flu vaccine clinics, to later this month or early November because of that,” she said. The Pottawatomie County Justice Center reopened the second floor and courtrooms Monday. She says many of the first floor operations…

Riley County health officials are monitoring 72 active COVID-19 cases, as the percent positive has fallen to under 6 percent locally. The health department says it added 10 new positive cases between Friday and Monday and 45 additional recoveries. Ascension Via Christi has no COVID positive patients currently in its care. It’s been seven months since the first case was reported locally, and in that time 2,045 Riley County residents have tested positive and 11 residents have died from the virus. While much of the state is seeing a surge in new coronavirus cases, Riley County has gone the opposite…

The AirScout NPBI may provide the solution to eliminating coronavirus from the air and surfaces in public places and provide more confidence for individuals returning to work, classrooms, restaurants and public gatherings. Dave Ogle is the founder of Tech-UV Ultraviolet & Plasma and the developer of the AirScout NPBI, which came about recently during the pandemic, after a long career in HVAC design and engineering from a business which has installed UV-C lights in systems for years.  He says his company teamed up with North Carolina-based Global Plasma Solutions as the pandemic presented this year to conduct research into how…