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TEG FRIDAY, JANUARY 29, 2016 V V V PULITZER PRIZE-WINNING N O R T H L Y O N FAMILY OWNED SINCE 1895 C O U N T Y V V V Good Evening VVV Happy Birthday, Kansas! WWW.EMPORIAGAZETTE.COM S C H O O L S BOND ISSUE BACK ON BALLOT By Jessie Wagoner [email protected] The North Lyon County Board of Education passed a resolution to call a bond election Monday. Voters will have a chance to cast their vote on May 3. After the first $39 million bond failed in October the board made changes and are now advocating for a $31-million bond. The cost The repayment for both principal and interest on a $30.9 million bond equates to an increase of 14.64 mills. The total amount of debt service will depend on the amount of time it takes to repay the bond, however a realistic time is 20 to 25 years. According to Piper Jaffray, an investment bank and asset management firm, the total debt service will be $42 to $47.5 million. “The total average tax increase the patrons will incur for the bond of 14.64 mills includes repayment for both principal and interest,” Aron Dody, North Lyon County superintendent, said. To determine what the increase will mean for property owners, they first need to know what their assessed tax value is; to find this information visit www.beacon. schneidercorp.com. “The easiest way is to get on the beacon and look at their assessed value,” Dody said. “It is not what your appraised value is. It is what your assessed value is. It goes off your assessed value.” Once a person knows the assessed value, they divide it by 1,000, since that is what one mill generates. Then multiply that amount by 14.64, because, at most, the bond will generate 14.64 mills.  For a $100,000 home, this would result in a property tax increase of $168.36 a year.  COURTESY ILLUSTRATION  Hollis and Miller Architects presented the board with this “very conceptual rendering” of the inside of the proposed school. The rendering is simply to show what rooms will be included in the building. The location and size of certain rooms can and will likely change during the design period.  Reducing the bond amount When the $39 million bond failed to pass in October the board of education began taking steps to reduce the amount of the bond. In an effort to bring the total cost Please see Bond, Page 3 COURTESY ILLUSTRATION Hollis and Miller Architects presented the board with this “very conceptual rendering” of what the building may look like. Until the design process is complete this is simply a concept.  FLU LATE TO ARRIVE IN LYON COUNTY WICHITA EAGLE HIGHLIGHTS By Jessie Wagoner [email protected] Influenza activity is lower than expected across the state this flu season. In Lyon County the first case of the flu appeared on Thursday. “We did get our first reported case today,” Phillip Davis, CEO at Flint Hills Community Health Center said. “We’re going to monitor that and keep treating patients as they come in. The one flu case is not a Lyon County resident, they are a resident from another community visiting today and got sick so we were able to take care of him.” Renee Hively, clinic director at FHCHC and Davis attribute the low number of flu cases to two things — weather fluctuations and flu vaccinations. Even though the area has experienced some very cold weather it hasn’t stayed cold for a considerable period of time. “The weather has been cool off and on. The flu virus really VOL. 124, NO. 180 likes that cold weather so we are lucky thus far.” Last year the flu vaccinations was not as effective against prevalent strains of the flu. This year the vaccine appears to be working well. “I think it’s going to be a smaller flu year this year,” Davis said. “I think the vaccine is hopefully working better than it did last year. We’re going to continue monitoring that. Hively says that they are seeing patients with other respiratory illnesses and gastroenteritis but so far only one case of the flu. The health center still has flu vaccine on site if people would like to receive a vaccine before influenza activity increases. “We do have doses available,” Hively said. The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) recommends a yearly flu vaccine for everyone 6 months of age and older as the first and most important step in protecting against the flu. In addition to getting a seasonal flu vaccine, the CDC encourages everyday preventive actions like staying away from those that are sick and washing hands fre- quently to reduce the spread of germs. The flu usually comes on suddenly. People who have the flu often have some or all of these symptoms: ✦✦Fever or chills ✦✦Cough ✦✦Sore throat ✦✦Runny or stuffy nose ✦✦Muscle or body aches ✦✦Headaches ✦✦Fatigue Some people may have vomiting and diarrhea, though this is more common in children than adults Most people who get the flu will recover in a few days to two weeks. However, some people will develop complications like pneumonia as a result of the flu. This can be life-threatening and result in death. Anyone can get the flu but some people are at a higher risk of developing serious flu-related complications. People that are over the age of 65, those with chronic medicals conditions like asthma, diabetes or heart disease, pregnant women and young children are most at risk. WILLIAM ALLEN WHITE The Emporia Gazette Today’s edition of the Wichita Eagle includes a story on the impact of The Emporia Gazette founder William Allen White. “More than White seven decades after his death, William Allen White’s influence lives on,” the article stated. “‘Dip your pen into your arteries and write,’ White advised would-be writers. “There was a time when White — who died on Kansas Day in 1944