By NICK GOSNELL
Hutch Post
HUTCHINSON, Kan. — Reno County Emergency Management Director Adam Weishaar said there hasn't been much need for the emergency supplies that the county has access to since they reinstated the longer term emergency declaration.
"Since we've put it in place again, we've only used it once," Weishaar said. "We were successful getting personal protective equipment into the county. We haven't had any requests recently for testing."
Shortly after the new declaration, the state changed its procedure so schools could ask for tests from the state directly instead of through emergency management. Also, the county still has some of the resources it has requested beforehand.
"We haven't had any new needs pop up," Weishaar said. "At the same time, we still have those ventilators if we need them in the county. I don't know if they are in use, but they are still here."
Weishaar still believes having the supply lines open has value.
"Even if it's not really getting used, it's nice to have it in place," Weishaar said. "If an emergent situation does pop up, we have that open line of communication to the state and we're not scrambling."
Weishaar asked for a sixty-day declaration earlier this month, but told the Board of County Commissioners he'd come back to them to end it sooner if he thought the need had passed.