Abilene Means Business Newsletter - May 26, 2020
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A Special Thank You to Health Care Workers from MHS TODAY!
At approximately 5:10 this evening, Tuesday, May 26th, (weather permitting) Fort Riley pilot, CW2 Jeffrey Thompson, will be doing a flyover of Memorial Hospital to show appreciation to all health care workers. MHS would like to salute and give a big THANK YOU to CW2 Jeffrey Thompson for his service to our country!!! CW2 Thompson will be flying just 500 feet over Memorial Hospital!
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Eisenhower Presidential Library May Lunch & Learn
Understanding Icons of Liberation: Bergen-Belsen and Dachau
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The next Lunch & Learn program from the Eisenhower Presidential Library is Thursday, May 28 at noon. The virtual program will begin right at noon, so please sign in early.
Understanding Icons of Liberation: Bergen-Belsen and Dachau will be presented by Dr. Shelly Cline, Director of Education & Historian with the Midwest Center for Holocaust Education. The scenes captured at Dachau and Bergen-Belsen concentration camps by liberating armies have become iconic representations of the Holocaust in the West. However, these camps did not always exist in the form in which they were found. This session will look at the creation, evolution, and liberation of these sites as well as compare them to places visited by Eisenhower.
JOIN US ONLINE!
Telephone: 617-675-4444 (PIN: 511 045 556 7306#)
[Please join 10 minutes early so the program may begin on time.)
The
Lunch & Learn
series is made possible courtesy of the Eisenhower Foundation and the Union Pacific Foundation.
Media Contact:
Samantha Kenner
Communications Director
785.263.6700 | 877.RING.IKE
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Fun Activities from our Friends at the Eisenhower Presidential Library and Museum
Check out the Education section of the Eisenhower Presidential Library and Museum's website for puzzles
reading materials, fun puzzles, and downloadable coloring pages in their
Activity Center
.
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The Abilene Recycling Center is Now Open Regular Operating Hours
Due to the NW 8th Street construction and the COVID-19 restrictions and guidelines, several major operational changes have been implemented.
• All access to the center will be made by entering through Rawhide Portable Corral’s business driveway entrance located at 900 N. Washington Street. Posted signage will guide drivers past their facility to a temporary entrance constructed at the rear (NW corner) of the Recycling Center property. Driver’s will then approach the recycling building at the east door as they would during normal 8th Street access.
• Due to the social distancing guidelines, residents will be required to please remain in their vehicle, when dropping off items inside the building.
• The City of Abilene and OCCK would like to remind residents to make every effort to properly sort their recyclable items. This is the normal expectation and procedure, but it is even more important as the center reopens, due to the limited number of workers onsite and to reduce unloading time. After being closed for 6 weeks, we anticipate a sizeable increase in visitors.
• It is also very important that drivers use extreme caution when driving, as they are sharing the road with Rawhide and their normal operations.
The Recycling Center
accepts a variety of recyclable products and also accepts yard waste for processing compost. Regular operating hours are Tuesday - Saturday from 9 AM - 6 PM.
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OCCK Transportation Adjusting Service Levels for Reopening KS
Salina, Kansas – As the state of Kansas continues to reopen, OCCK Transportation is adjusting service levels for CityGo beginning Monday, May 18, 2020, and continuing until further notice.
Beginning Monday, May 18, 2020, CityGo buses will run from 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. with no peak routes running, Monday through Friday. Saturday CityGo service will run 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Passengers will be required to observe social distancing requirements. Wearing face masks is recommended for all passengers as well. Additional buses may be dispatched if needed.
Regional paratransit services will continue as they have been. Rides should be booked 24-48 hours in advance and will be scheduled accordingly. City of Abilene services will continue operating 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Monday through Friday. Passengers will be scheduled to meet social distancing recommendations and masks are recommended.
81 Connection will continue to run only the regular morning route (SB Link 1 & NB Link 1), and only the Salina-Belleville-Salina (NB Link 3 & SB Link 3) route in the afternoon, each day Monday through Friday. Passengers will be required to observe social distancing requirements and masks are recommended.
We ask that all passengers continue to limit travel, as much as possible, to essentials such as work, nutrition, and medical needs.
Vehicles are cleaned throughout the day to protect drivers and passengers. Cleaning Before and After Service: Every vehicle is cleaned before it leaves for daily service- this includes wiping down seats, grab handles and other surfaces with disinfectant. Additionally, "deep cleaning" vehicles is done after each day of service. The crew cleans, disinfects, and deodorizes all surfaces in the vehicle. This includes and is not limited to: grab bars, wall surfaces, windows, floors, seats, stop request pull cords. Cleaning While In Service: Drivers disinfect the high-touch surfaces of buses and vans after they finish a run and before they start another trip or round.
Services levels will continue to be adjusted as the situation warrants. Information will be submitted to the media, posted on Facebook and the OCCK Transportation website.
For more information about OCCK, Inc., visit
www.occk.com
. For more information about CityGo and OCCK Transportation, visit
www.salinacitygo.com
. Or, contact the OCCK Transportation Center at 785-826-1583.
Michelle Griffin
Director of Mobility Management
OCCK, Inc.
340 N. Santa Fe
Salina, KS 67401
785.826.1583 ext. 315
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Local Individual Organizes Food Drive and Cruise Night
Car lover and Dickinson County business owner Rod Riffel took the initiative to organize a local Food Drive and Cruise Night earlier this month to benefit the community. The May 16th event brought out dozens of car enthusiasts for a nice evening of social distancing.
Attendees also brought in over 800 food items and almost $600 dollars in donations! An additional $500 was donated by the Chapman Lions Club.
The funds were divided between the Abilene Area Food Bank and
Neighbor to Neighbor-Abilene
programs, both of which serve Dickinson County.
Photos courtesy of Rod Riffel.
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Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) forgiveness information and application available
U.S. Treasury released their
application and instructions for PPP forgiveness
on May 15. Banks will soon have their own guidance, as well. Forgiveness applications are likely to start very soon as the very first applicants come to the end of the 8 weeks of payroll provided by the Paycheck Protection Program.
Some Tips for Applicants:
- Read from the top - we advise clients to read over the instructions first
- Start from the bottom - use the worksheet tables, then the worksheets, THEN the application itself
- The 8-week period during which expenses must be incurred or paid may be EITHER: The 8 weeks (56 days) beginning on the day the PPP loan was disbursed or for borrowers with a biweekly (or more frequent) payroll schedule, the 8 weeks (56 days) beginning on the first day of the first pay period following the PPP loan disbursement.
- Loan forgiveness will be affected by reductions in salaries or wages of more than 25%
- Loan forgiveness will be affected by reductions in FTE headcount
- The 'safe harbor' date to avoid these reductions is June 30, 2020, so if applicants restore wages and employees by that date to those in effect on Feb. 15, 2020, forgiveness won't be negatively impacted
- Forgiveness amounts won't be negatively affected if employees declined to return to work - provided that employers made a good faith, written offer and have written proof of the decline
- Non-payroll expenses may not exceed 25% of the forgiven amount.
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NFIB Webinar
Wed., May 27th, 2020, 12:00 PM ET
Presented by: Elizabeth Milito, Senior Executive Counsel, Legal Foundation, NFIB, Holly Wade Director, NFIB Research Center, Sandra Finch, CPA, CFP
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Phase 3 Information Call Set for May 29 for Reopening Businesses
This is a Google Meet call, which you can join via computer or by calling in via telephone. If you would like to take part in the call, please contact the Chamber office via
email
, or at 785-263-1770. We will send you the info to log on to the call.
Much like the first call that was hosted before Phase 1 was announced, we will have information on plans from the County, and it will be an opportunity to ask questions and share information as we reopen all businesses in Dickinson County.
If you are unable to attend but have questions you would like asked during the call, please
email
our Chamber office, and we will ask those questions for you during the call.
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April 2020 Labor Market report
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Please find the links below to the April 2020 Labor Market report and the map of county & state unemployment rates.
The May 2020 Labor Report will be released on Friday, June 19, 2020.
You can access the weekly unemployment claims by county, initial claims, etc. at the link below
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Phase 2 Guidelines in Place May 22-June 8
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Governor Laura Kelly's Plan to Reopen Kansas moved into Phase 2 on May 22. It will remain in place until at least June 8, 2020
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Reminder: Dickinson County Guidelines supersede the Governor's Guidelines. Phase 2 guidelines for Dickinson County are also in effect from May 22-June 8, 2020.
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Show Your Support for Dickinson County
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Kansas Homemade Mask/Cloth Covering Guide
New evidence indicates that some people with coronavirus do not have symptoms of disease and can transmit the virus before getting sick. That means, the virus can spread to others nearby and from you when speaking, coughing or sneezing. To slow the spread of COVID-19, KDHE recommends individuals use cloth face coverings when going out in public.
For more information and how to make your own face masks,
click here.
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VISIT THE CHAMBER WEBSITE FOR MORE INFORMATION!
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Allison Blake
Executive Director
Abilene Area Chamber of Commerce
201 NW 2nd Street
Abilene, Kansas 67410
Office: (785) 263-1770
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