JCHS will have graduation sometime this year, principal says

Johnson Central High School principal Noel Crum told seniors that there will be graduation ceremonies sometime this year.

By TONY FYFFE
BSN Editor

With schools across Kentucky closed until at least May 1 due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, a principal at one high school in the Big Sandy region has assured his seniors that a graduation ceremony will be held sometime this year.
Johnson Central Principal Noel Crum told seniors in a letter Thursday that the school will “celebrate your amazing accomplishments with a graduation ceremony.”“We aren’t sure when or what it may look like, but we know our seniors will be honored as every JCHS graduate has since the first graduating class in 1969,” Crum said in the letter.Crum began the letter by saying that what began as “one of the most successful years in the history of Johnson Central High School is now filled with uncertainty” and that nothing “could have prepared us for the situation that we are now faced with not only here but throughout the world.”“We are so disappointed for you, the members of the JCHS Class of 2020, who have not been able to experience the spring sports, student organization activities, and academic competitions along with senior events that always mark the end of a memorable year.”JCHS won the 2019 Kentucky Governor’s Cup academic competition and was poised to defend its state tile in March after taking first place in this year’s 15th Region contest. The event’s sponsor, the Kentucky Association for Academic Competition, postponed the event due to the COVID-19 situation but announced last week that it was cancelled for this year.In his letter, Crum also assured seniors that their safety will be “put first as we navigate the rest of this school year.”“Decisions regarding other senior events and prom will be made over the next few weeks and announced as soon as possible based upon guidance from the Governor and the Kentucky Department of Education.“… With the health crisis dynamics changing daily, it is impossible to set an exact graduation date at this time, but a commencement ceremony will definitely occur at some point in the future.”As of Monday, Kentucky had 2,048 coronavirus cases. Gov. Andy Beshear ordered flags at all state office buildings to be lowered at half-mast in honor of the more than 100 Kentuckians who have died from the virus, including a 62-year-old man from Pike County.Floyd County reported its first case Tuesday, a 22-year-old man who has been self-quarantined at home for the “last several days while awaiting test results,” according to the Floyd County Health Department.The Lawrence County Health Department, which reported one case of COVID-19 in late March, has begun providing daily updates about the virus on its Facebook page with county-specific information.On Monday, the health department said that there had been no new positive cases reported and that 74 total tests had been performed.The Wayne Nursing & Rehabilitation center in Wayne, W.Va., reported on April 8 that they had one patient testing positive for COVID-19, and as a result of testing they announced on April 9 that seven patients and nine employees also tested positive for COVID-19.Out of an abundance of caution, they said on their Facebook page that Wayne Nursing & Rehabilitation Center had procured enough tests for the rest of the patients and employees, however those test kits were delayed and Cabell-Huntington Hospital assisted them in procuring test kits immediately.The West Virginia National Guard is aiding in collecting test samples to speed up the collection process, the facility said.They also said that they are in regular communication with the health department, related state agencies as well as the patients, families and employees and are taking necessary steps to ensure the safety of their patients and employees according to the CDC guidelines to prevent further spread of the virus.On April 11, the Wayne Nursing & Rehabilitation Center reported a patient, who also had several underlying medical conditions, had died.On Tuesday, April 14, Warfield IGA in Martin County started a new pickup service within their grocery store that allows all customers to call in orders for food items, according to a release issued by the facility.The only stipulation is that the orders consist of at least 10 items, called in between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m.All customers will need to have a scheduled pick up time, when they are placed and orders will not be available to be picked up sooner than two hours from the time the order was placed.Orders will be held 30 minutes after pick up time before being returned to the store stock.They also said in their release that they will make changes as we they see fit based on need and demand.Call 606-395-5245, to place your order or to obtain more information regarding the new service.