Editor’s note: This is the final of a three-part series on the Spanish flu of 1918.

Calling this the “eye before the storm”, Abilene Memorial Hospital is ready for that hurricane of COVID-19 patients to land.

Seventeen Dickinson County residents have been tested for COVID-19 as of Thursday morning. Of those, 16 tested negative, while the result of the 17th is still pending.

Back on March 12, Dr. Brian Holmes was looking forward to a typical spring — watching the Big 12 and NCAA basketball tournaments, seeing his daughter compete in spring sports at Abilene High School — and then everything changed.

Editor’s note: This is the second of a three-part series on the Spanish flu of 1918.

Even with the threat of a pandemic looming over the nation, summer soon will be here, signaling the time for road and bridge work.

Editor’s note: This is the first of a three-part series on the Spanish flu of 1918

West’s Country Mart and Zey’s Market in Abilene have become especially busy with shoppers in the past few weeks due to the COVID-19 panic. Country Mart and Zey’s both have had difficulties with keeping shelves completely supplied.

Placards will be created for parents, guardians and caregivers to place in their vehicle’s window to use when picking up free meals for Abilene youth during the COVID-19 school shutdown.

Greg Brown, Abilene’s superintendent of schools, said he knows online continuous learning will be a challenge for some families that do not have Wi-Fi internet access, but the Abilene Public Schools has paired with a local company to provide help.

Dickinson County announced a couple changes to its operations Monday morning due to the COVID-19 exposure risk, according to County Administrator Brad Homman.

Editor’s note: Continuing with our spring theme of “Welcome Back” here is another Abilene couple that returned to their roots.

New steps are going to be implemented to Abilene schools’ free lunch program because some people are cheating the system.

The first test of a Dickinson County employee tested for COVID-19 has come back negative, according to Dickinson County Administrator Brad Homman.

Dickinson County health officials believe the county soon may have its first positive COVID-19 results.

What started off as one of the busiest years of the 20 that Mark and Connie Martin have been serving their famous family-style chicken dinners at the Brookville Hotel in Abilene ended Sunday, March 15.

Need to get away?

To support Abilene businesses and attractions, the Abilene Convention & Visitors Bureau is launching Support Abilene BINGO.

Match Day for the Eisenhower Foundation resulted in nearly $40,000 to the endowment fund.

In alliance with the city of Abilene’s warning situation protocols in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Abilene Area Chamber of Commerce’s office is going virtual for the next two weeks.

Americans of all ages are experiencing increased social isolation and loneliness in combating the COVID-19 pandemic.

Abilene students are going to do some great things in the next eight weeks while school becomes an online experience.

Thanks to the speedy response from Abilene and Dickinson County hospitality industry businesses of completing economic injury worksheets for the Kansas Department of Emergency Management (KDEM), Kansas was declared eligible for Small Business Association (SBA) Federal Disaster Loans.

With the precautions being taken to prevent COVID-19, Dickinson County Commissioners last week learned they had more time on their hands.

The Community Foundation of Dickinson County held it’s second Donate Dickinson County Day last Friday which proved to be very successful.

The Abilene Board of Education approved personnel changes during its March 20 special meeting and March 9 regular meeting.

Monday afternoon City Manager Jane Foltz said there has not been a reported case of COVID-19 in Dickinson County at a special meeting of the Abilene City Commission.

Dickinson County may not have any confirmed cases of COVID-19 as of Monday afternoon, but county officials believe it’s here.

A stay at home order was issued by Dr. Brian Holmes, Dickinson County health officer, late Monday for nonessential activities.

Spread six feet apart around the Abilene Public Schools board room, school board members attended a Friday morning special meeting where they heard how the district plans to operate while school is shutdown.

Communication between students, parents, teachers and staff is imperative as Abilene Public Schools implement the online Continuous Learning Program created by the Kansas Department of Education to keep schools operating during the COVID-19 epidemic.

The Dickinson County Courthouse is still open for business, but recent changes have been implemented due to the COVID-19 epidemic, County Administrator Brad Homman said Friday.

The Community Foundation of Dickinson County will begin working remotely starting Monday, but business will be conducted as normal, according to Executive Director Elizabeth Weese.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Dickinson District Court offices (including Court Services and Community Corrections) are closed until further notice. 

Memorial Health System is now screening everyone who enters the building.

Final decision on the upcoming greyhound spring meet will be made by the National Greyhound Board of Directors on Tuesday.

Time has been set today (Friday) and Saturday for parents and guardians of Abilene Public Schools Kindergarten to 8th graders to pick up their child’s personal belongings, iPads and workbooks from school.