Ellsworth County commissioners received a unique request on behalf of all county first responders during Monday’s commission meeting.

Ellsworth Police Chief Emil Halfhill told commissioners he thought he was speaking on behalf of all first responders in the county.

“We’re being required to wear masks and we’re requiring out citizens to do so, but I feel that certain other laws aren’t being followed: Halfhill said.

He presented commissioners with a copy of Kansas House Bill 2016, Section 18.

Halfhill said a section states the local health officer shall work with first responders in disseminating information to where it is people who have contracted COVID will be residing.

“My officers were sent to an address last week that I knew by word of mouth to be positive COVID,” Halfhill said.

Once Halfhill learned the address, he told the officer not to go there and that some sort of alternative plan was needed.

“We confirmed the situation was under control at the house. We did our job: he said.

Halfhill said he called the Ellsworth County Sheriff’s Office dispatch and was told when dispatch is notified there was an active COVID case at an address they would contact law enforcement prior to them being sent out on a call.

Halfhill said he asked dispatch why the police department was not informed. He was told the Ellsworth County Health Department had not notified dispatch of any positive COVID addresses since Nov. 5, as they are required to by House Bill 2016.

Halfhill said the health department was called and asked why they weren’t notifying dispatch of addresses with active COVID cases.

“We were advised they don’t have time to issue that information and that we should treat every call we go on as the individuals are positive: he said.

Halfhill told commissioners he did not know the exact words that were said in that conversation, but he believed in good faith the health department said they did not have time to provide that information to dispatch.

Halfhill said one of his concerns with that response from the health department is that Ellsworth County does not have the personal protective equipment for law enforcement officers to handle every call to a home as if the individual they contact are COVID positive.

“In the event that we are responding to a positive COVID in-nature call, we will wear additional protective equipment — additional PPE, mask and maintain a social distance: Halfhill said. “I understand that at certain times we may deal with somebody we don’t know who could be, (positive) but (House Bill) 2016, in my professional opinion, is something that is required to be disseminated to first responders. And it’s not being done:’

Halfhill said this was something he mentioned earlier this year at a meeting of the Ellsworth County Local Emergency Planning Committee and was told then by the health department and emergency management that information would be disseminated to 911 communications when needed.

“They don’t tell us when they get it, it’s only when we’re responding to an address that they have flagged as a positive and COVID,” he said.

Halfhill said his concern Friday was the officer would have unknowingly responded to a COVID positive house in which three people were quarantined with the officer mainly wearing a face mask and trying to maintain a social distance.

He said EPD took additional precautions by calling the individual on the telephone to mitigate the chance of the officer and the individual contacting the virus.

Katie Nelson of the Ellsworth County Sheriff’s Dispatch said the call was a 911 disconnect, meaning someone in the house called 911 on their own.

“We did not make contact with anybody on call back: she said. “Otherwise, we do have questions that we ask, mainly on medical, but now it seems we are going to have to put that effort into every phone call. Having made contact, we could have asked the questions. And then we would have known. But we had no way of knowing:

“We’re asked to wear masks and do our thing, and we’re asking them (the health department) to help us: Halfhill said.

Commissioner Dennis Rolfs said he would call Kerianne Ehrlich, supervisor of the county health department, and discuss the matter with her.

The Independent-Reporter attempted to contact Ehrlich for comment on Halfhill’s remarks, but she did not time.

While writing this story, the Independent-Reporter received a telephone call from Keith Haberer, emergency management director for both Ellsworth and Russell counties.

Haberer said this is happening in almost every county in Kansas.

“The health departments don’t have enough time and cannot dedicate enough staff to keep up with the rising cases and supply addresses to dispatch: Haberer said.

Haberer said he has regular conference calls with the Kansas Department of Health and Environment and talks to health department administrators throughout this region. Haberer said additional PPE can be earmarked for Ellsworth County if needed.

Haberer said the recommendation from the Kansas Department of Health and Environment is to treat all calls as COVID positive.

In other business:

• Approval was given to a request by Sheriff Murray Marston to purchase two new fully equipped Dodge Durango sports utility vehicles not to exceed $90,000. The purchase will be paid for out of the 2020 budget but the vehicles will not be ready until 2021.

• No action was taken after a 10-minute executive session with Jeremiah Brown of the EMS to discuss non-elected personnel (employee wages).

• Carl Miller, county appraiser, briefly discussed 2021 market values for the county. He said values on dry cropland should remain steady overall, while grassland values will continue to climb for the second year in a row. Irrigated land values are expected to drop. He said residential values will depend upon location.

• No action was taken after a 15 minute executive session with Miller to discuss nonelected personnel (employee salaries).

• No action was taken after the weekly review of the countywide mask mandate Resolution 2020-R-12.

• Approval was given to renew a $450 one-year membership in the National Association of Counties.

• Cereal malt beverage licenses for 2021 were approved for D&S Oil LLC and D&S Convenience Stop LLC in original and unopened containers.

The next meeting of the Ellsworth County commissioners will be at 9 a.m. Monday, Dec. 21, at the county courthouse.