Sunflower State News

Kevin McGee said he can’t last much longer.

McGee, 54, owns the Gunsmoke RV Park in Dodge City. It’s named for the classic Western radio and TV show about a marshal fighting off bad guys in frontier Kansas. Right now, McGee fears he is the one headed for Boot Hill.

The economic downturn caused by the COVID-19 pandemic has virtually eliminated his business, McGee told Sunflower State News. His RV Park, which has 89 lots, is usually about 75 percent full this time of year. Now it’s about 5 percent.

Groom Gallery | Submitted

“The cancellations are huge,” McGee said. We usually do pretty well—April alone is $27,000. Looks like we will be around $2,500.”

If things don’t improve soon, he will be out of business.

“I got enough for next month and that’s it,” McGee said.

He said he wants Gov. Laura Kelly to understand what small business owners are experiencing with the mandated closures and a stay-at-home order that was originally effective from March 30 to April 19. Kelly has since extended it to May 3.

“It doesn’t do any business any good, not small business,” McGee said. “It does wonders for WalMart.”

If he had the chance, he would tell the governor to reconsider her order.

“I would just say that basically, that every state is different,” McGee said. “Us being small as we are, we’re comparable to Wyoming, not New York. I would tell her, just to do what another state does, to copy them doesn’t work. I myself don’t see no reason for the shutdown.”

He said the panic is overblown.

“If you’re smart enough—it’s like any other virus, you don’t go up and hug someone,” McGee said. “Just use your common sense.”

He would like to attend a rally set for noon on April 23 in Topeka to ask the governor to reopen Kansas.

David P. Schneider of Marion, the regional director for Convention of States, said a lot of people came together to plan the event.

“The rally is not my idea, rather I was approached by several concerned citizens to help,” Schneider said. “I started a Facebook group, and the response has been amazing. The stories of hardship and frustration with Gov. Kelly’s clear political motivation is what is fueling this movement.”

He said enough is enough.

“I’ve been listening to business owners, laid-off manufacturer workers, and furloughed hospital staff from across the state,” Schneider told Sunflower State News. “They see with their own eyes we have met the criteria needed to start opening up the state. We were told we needed to endure the hardship to help flatten the curve. It is clear, the curve has been flattened and it's now ridiculous lack of leadership not to get Kansas on the track to opening back up responsibly right away to avoid further economic hardships.”

The April 23 rally also was sparked by Kelly’s order for churches not to allow more than 10 people inside at a time.

Mark Meckler, co-founder and CEO of Convention of States, said regarding Kelly’s Executive Order No. 20-18, “Governor Kelly’s latest order is a direct assault on the God-given right of freedom of religion, which is enshrined in both the Kansas and United States Constitutions. While social distancing is important, the governor does not have the authority to interfere with the fundamental right of people to worship their creator.”

Convention of States, which has more than 4 million volunteers across all 50 states, launched a website to promote a return to normalcy. It’s called OpenTheStates.com. That’s what a lot of Kansans want to see happen as soon as possible.

Kelli Cruse owns six animal grooming shops—five in Kansas and one in Missouri.

That means six sets of bills, six rent payments and staff at all six locations. Right now, she has no income and her employees are laid off and getting anxious.

“They are definitely suffering and they can’t pay their bills,” Cruse told Sunflower State News. “Unemployment doesn’t come close to what they make.”

It is not just the people. Cruse is concerned about the animals her shops cared for, with dogs getting ear infections and pets growing hot and itchy with uncut, matted fur.

She has been grooming animals for nine years and opened her Groom Gallery shops three and a half years ago. She also operates a boarding facility, but with people ordered to remain home, they picked up their pets and the kennel is empty.

The trade shows that provide a third revenue stream have been canceled. Cruse, 40, a Bonner Spring resident with a family of six, said she sought relief assistance from the federal government but had no luck.

“We applied, but we haven’t got anything,” she said. “We can’t collect unemployment, either, so we are completely screwed.”

If she could talk to the governor, she would ask her to allow animal grooming shops to operate.

“Definitely make it essential,” Cruse said. “It provides the care and meets the needs for an animal that can’t speak up and care for itself.”

She also is frustrated that some grooming shops are ignoring the shutdown order and have remained open. They are not being cited for it, either.

That is a sore point for Kim Komorek, too.

She owns two Pups and Suds shops that provide animal grooming services—one in Gardner that she opened two years ago, and the other in Olathe, which she opened in November.

“We are following all the grooming sites. There are several groomers still open,” Komorek told Sunflower State News. “The authorities have gone in and just educating them.”

She said these shops are operating illegally and taking away customers from businesses that are observing the law.

“Yes, I am tempted to reopen myself,” Komorek said. “Definitely by May 1 I am going to have to reopen or I am going to lose everything I have worked hard for.”

She said veterinarian businesses are not allowed to groom animals. Some of her customers—she said she gets at least 30 calls a day—ask her to meet them and care for their animals.

“Clients are begging me, begging me to meet at my shop,” Komorek said. “It’s making me want to do it.”

She also shut down the pet-sitting business she has operated for a decade. In addition to the lost income, she misses the people and their pets.

“I got into the business because I love animals,” Komorek said. “I have four dogs of my own.”

If she had the chance, she would tell the governor to change her mind.

“She needs to reconsider what she sees as essential business,” Komorek said. “We need to get our economy back. We can’t get dependent on unemployment, which I can’t even get. We can’t all be dependent on the government, that’s just not how it works.”

Barbara Lamastres of Wichita is another Kansan who wants to get back to work.

Lamastres, 74, does hair for residents of Georgetown Senior Living in Wichita. She’s been a stylist for 45 years and after a brief retirement four years ago, she picked up her scissors and started snipping again.

“It’s my passion, it’s my life,” Lamastres shared with Sunflower State News. “And you’re around people, these older people are my passion.”

She has been told she cannot go back to work until May 3. Lamastres said her services are crucial to older folks who want their hair done and rely on a professional to care for them.

“These people need their hair washed,” Lamastres said. “Their head can get infected, they keep scratching their head. We’ve seen it.”

She said like nurses, cooks and other staff, she should be deemed an essential worker.

“I feel that we should be let in,” Lamastres said.

She wears a masks and sanitizes after each customer, and only two customers at a time are allowed in the salon. Lamastres said she misses her customers—and they miss her.

“We’ve got a lot of phone calls,” she said. “I think we need to open up. It’s been six weeks here.”

Lamastres said once she gets back to work, only one thing will stop her.

“I’ll probably do it until they bury me behind a chair."