Fellow Residents:
Bob Dole served our country in WWII, and then the state of Kansas for 8 years as a house member and 27 years as a senator. My favorite quote of his applies today:
“Things are going to get better. Be optimistic.”
This certainly applies to our current situation.
We are into the State’s fourth week of the Stay-at-Home Order and there are many reasons to be optimistic.
Most of you know that Bob Dole was badly injured during his service in WWII. Many of you likely do not know how grave his situation was. For those interested, a great summary article is here:
https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/one-of-the-greatest-generation-still-survives
I highlight this because Dole was the third patient ever of an “experimental” drug called streptomycin. It saved his life. For those who have read about our current crisis, there is more than a glimmer of hope from several experimental drugs to deal with COVID-19.
I have five quick updates for you all this evening:
1) Johnson County is conducting another public health survey to understand the spread of COVID-19 in our community. You can help by taking this voluntary survey, the link to which is below. The survey closes at 10am on Friday, April 24th:
https://consultinglhd.sjc1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_8AHXZ5tp8uhSOB7
2) I heard from both Police Chief Schwartzkopf and Fire Chief Lopez today and their departments continue to function exceptionally well.
3) Governor Kelly announced that she would be issuing a phased reopening plan sometime next week.
4) Johnson County Recovery Planning Task Force met for the first time today to develop the County’s phased approach to re-opening. The link to the task force can be found below.
I am pleased that Prairie Village Mayor Eric Mikkelson was appointed to this Task Force. Mayor Mikkelson represents our neighbor with whom we share a police force. He also represents a city that shares a border with KCMO, like Mission Hills.
https://www.jocogov.org/johnson-county-covid-19-recovery-planning-task-force
5) On a totally non-COVID-19 related topic, I want to congratulate Shawnee Mission East on being named by US News & World Report as the #2 public high school in Kansas and #3 in the KC Metro! Kudos!
Please continue asking questions or providing feedback by calling or emailing City Hall at 913-362-9620 or info@missionhillsks.gov. As always, you are welcome to email me directly at mayor@missionhillsks.gov.
Be safe, well and optimistic!