This community has been dealing with the life changes brought about by COVID-19, but the pandemic became even more real for Wayne County on Wednesday, March 25, when officials with the Lake Cumberland District Health Department announced the first confirmed cases here.

In a press conference held at the Wayne County Courthouse that morning, Lake Cumberland District Health Department Executive Director Shawn Crabtree said that there had been three people who tested positive for COVID-19 from Wayne County. At that time, two were hospitalized at Lake Cumberland Regional Hospital. The third person was under self isolation at home, according to Crabtree.

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Wayne County is slated to receive $52 million under the state road budget passed by the House Appropriations and Revenue Committee on March 17, according to Representative Ken Upchurch.

“I am extremely pleased to share this news and glad that we were able to include these vital projects in the road budget,” said Upchurch.

“As chair of the House Transportation Committee, I can tell you that every dollar we spend on roads and infrastructure is an investment in the quality of life of our communities. So much depends on the quality of our roads and they have a great impact on our economic development efforts,” Upchurch said.

Projects in the community include:

* Major widening of KY 90 between the intersection at the Don Franklin Dealership and the gap of the ridge.

* Improving safety by relocating a portion of KY 92 in downtown Monticello to connect Columbia and Michigan avenues without moving the Doughboy Statue.

* Continue preliminary engineering and environmental corridor study for improving safety and making KY 92 a scenic route from Monticello to Stearns. This will impact both Wayne and McCreary counties.

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Wayne County Sheriff Tim Catron said his office has received numerous calls from local residents about a scam involving bank cards.

Callers are receiving a debit or credit card in the mail from financial institutions Charles Schwab or Etrade.

The cards appear to have open accounts with the companies.

Anyone who receives one of these cards should not activate them or make any contact by the information provided with the card, cautioned Catron.

Instead, he advised that you should contact the companies by their official contact information if you already have an account with them.

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Monticello City Council approved a municipal order that would provide sick leave for employees affected by COVID-19, under the federal Families First Coronavirus Response Act.

This action was taken during a special call meeting that was held on Thursday, March 26.

Mayor Tracie Sexton stated that she had been contacted by the Kentucky League of Cities and was informed that all municipalities needed to have the order approved by April 1.

Basically, it provides full-time city employees with two weeks of paid sick leave under certain provisions caused by coronavirus.

This would include any state or local quarantine or isolation orders.

The sick leave would also be used for employees who are being advised by health care professionals to self quarantine or those who are experiencing symptoms of the virus and seeking a medical diagnosis.

Employees would also qualify for the leave if they are caring for an individual who is subject to quarantine or caring for a child if their school or care provider is unavailable due to COVID-19 precautions.

The order also provides sick leave for eligible part-time city employees.

The pay will be used on the average number of hours worked during the last six months.