COVID’s effect on labor ranked top ‘21 story
While it took a different slant, COVID-19 again finished as the No. 1 story of 2021 in Chase County.
Easily finishing No. 1 in 2020 as the virus surged, 2021 saw COVID remain a concern but in different ways.
Ranked by The Imperial Republican staff, this year’s No. 1 story line was the virus’ effect on employment and lack of workers at a number of Chase County businesses that mirrored concerns across the nation.
It’s not uncommon to see a “help wanted” sign as people enter local businesses, or the need for workers advertised on a larger sign in front of the business.
There were few certain answers given why people weren’t returning to work as vaccines became available and restrictions eased.
New variants that surfaced during the year became an added concern.
Healthcare facilities have been especially affected with worker shortages. Those facilities have additional rules from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to follow.
This week, Chase County Community Hospital CEO Abby Cyboron said they have six direct patient care positions (e.g. RNs) to fill, and five others that are administrative or providing non-direct medical patient care.
At the Imperial Manor, CEO Lynne West said she, too, continues to tackle staffing shortages.
As of Monday, she is seeking a Director of Nursing, along with a full-time LPN and CNAs, as well as housekeeping and dining services positions.
Administrators at the hospital and nursing homes in Wauneta and Imperial have been concerned with the Biden administration’s healthcare worker vaccine mandate.
All of the hospital and senior care facility administrators fear more worker losses if Biden’s vaccine mandate for healthcare workers is upheld.
Courts put a stay on the mandate in late November, giving the healthcare facilities some breathing room as the challenge moved to the U.S. Supreme Court. The Justices were debating the issue yet this week.
Worker shortages here did not improve much in September, even after additional federal unemployment benefits expired.
To help with the labor shortages, some local entities provided pay hikes and added benefits as an incentive to keep and attract workers.
A COVID domino effect felt locally and across the country have been rising prices, shipping delays and clogged ports on the U.S. western coast.
Ranking No. 2 in the voting was the Nebraska State School Board’s health education standards, which have been shelved for now following public outcry after their release early in 2021.
The issue trickled down to the local level as the CCS board of education was first made aware of the proposals in March. After initially writing a letter to the state board in April noting their concerns, board members voted 9-0 in November to adopt a resolution against the state health standards.
As the Unicameral reconvened last week, at least one proposed bill, LB 768, if passed, would prohibit the State Board of Education from adopting health education standards.
Rounding out the top three stories was the return of a full Chase County Fair week in August. The fair was cancelled in 2020 due to COVID, although the major 4-H livestock shows were held.
The 2020 fair’s cancellation was likely the first time that happened in its 135-year history, but it returned in a big way in August 2021. Attendance numbers last year indicated people were ready for its return with a combined 4,500 attending the evening concerts headlining Granger Smith and Hairball and an 11% increase in carnival sales.
Here’s a recap of the other top 10 stories:
No. 4 COVID’s ups, downs
Early in the year, COVID-19 appeared to be waning with several reports from the southwest health district of numbers dropping and the arrival of vaccines. Good news continued in March as the Imperial Manor and Parkview-Heights reopened to the public and the mask requirement at CCS was dropped. Concern grew again later in the year as new COVID variants showed up.
No. 5 ESU #15 lawsuit
ESU #15 filed suit against Chase County Schools in October after CCS had not paid a $168,852.70 balance on its service contract for 2020-21. Ahead of the suit, ESU suspended its special ed services at CCS in March. CCS used an online service for some of the dropped ESU services. In the spring, the school contracted with a private firm for many of the services in 2021-22 that ESU formerly provided.
No. 6 Memorial dedicated
The Chase County Veterans Memorial was dedicated on Memorial Day 2021, with hundreds in attendance. The dedication culminated years of discussion and planning, and is a tangible way to honor veterans with ties to Chase County. Memorial bricks continue to be added at the site.
No. 7 Local doctors
Hospital CEO Cyboron announced in late December that contracts were signed with two new family physicians—Drs. James Kerr and Kayla Luhrs. Both new doctors will start their practices here in mid-March. The additions filled one of the vacancies after Dr. Liz Hatz left her employment with the hospital and clinics the end of January.
No. 8 Family businesses sell
Two longtime family-owned businesses were sold in 2021. Harchelroad Motors, owned by the Harchelroad family for more than 80 years, sold to Mike and Denise Petko of Ogallala and Wolf Auto Group. The Imperial Republican, one of three Johnson family newspapers owned by the family for 53 years, sold to brothers Lloyd Mullen of Port Townsend, Washington and Jesse Mullen of Deer Lodge, Montana.
No. 9 Weather
Weather was in the news several times in 2021. Early on in February record cold readings came over Valentine’s Day weekend, then in June and July near record low moisture was recorded and again in August, a deluge of rain, as much as 6 inches west of Imperial damaged county roads.
No. 10 Enders Lake 100th
Enders Lake Recreation Area celebrated the 100th anniversary of the Nebraska State Park System in June with a full day of events, highlighted by the Gould Bros. trick shooting show. The June 5 event, which drew up to 1,000 people, was so popular ELRA staff plans to continue the summer celebration annually.