Hello! Just a quick update to let everyone know that twenty three residents are now safely back under the roof of Moundridge Manor! The homecoming went very smoothly with the help of numerous volunteers and extra staff on board. As each resident came through the doors at the west entrance, they were met with warm greetings and applause by an impromptu welcoming committee made up of volunteers and staff from numerous departments. It seemed like whenever the cry went out “The van is here”, or “The bus has arrived”, people would just pop out of the woodwork to help welcome them home!

A special thank you to the volunteers who helped make the day a success – whether you are one of the guys who helped load all of the furniture, clothes, and “stuff” into the trailer and haul it back to the Manor, or if you helped clean, or pushed residents through the line, or put their clothes away, we appreciate every one of you!

Well, it’s been another busy day! The volunteers from Suncrest and Sedgwick were able to get all the tile off of Friendship Lane floors last night except for seven rooms. Guys from Supreme Floor Company and Jay’s Floor Covering, along with volunteers, board members, and other workers were here first thing this morning to start laying the new flooring. Most of those have been working hard all day and are still here; they have made amazing progress. A big thanks to them for their dedication, and also to Vince and Mark for getting those vinyl planks here so quickly; they rolled in about 7:30 am.

Tomorrow is the big day that we have been looking forward to for over a week now; the return of some of our residents!! Pam Decker and her activity crew have been blowing up balloons, hanging banners, and making personalized signs for each room welcoming them back. It takes an unbelievable organizational effort to get ready to re-admit seventy-some residents! Karla and her assistants have been working for the last few days, just figuring out when and where and how to staff. Joyce Penner and her housekeeping department have been cleaning all available resident rooms and common areas. Veleda Loewen and the laundry gals have been doing loads and loads of wash- all clothes in all closets in the affected rooms, along with towels and bedding. Sharon Schmidt and the dietary department have been doing a wonderful job feeding any and all workers – construction crews, board members, our staff, city workers,  – you name it, they’ve fed ’em! And it’s been good! Tonight’s supper was a real treat; knowing there would be numerous staff and floor coverers working late, Cris & Jody Ratzlaff came in and grilled hamburgers for us! MMmmm, good!

Think of us tomorrow… I have a feeling that it will be a hectic day, but a good one!

Good Afternoon! I honestly have been trying to get this posted since 9:30 this morning, and have been getting interrupted almost constantly ever since I started. Oh well, enough about me… Here is the latest: Our insurance adjuster was here yesterday and recommended that we replace most of the flooring where water would have sat. That includes all of Friendship Lane, various offices, Fireside Room, Library, etc. I believe the decision was made that most of those surfaces will be covered with the new wood look vinyl planking that we’ve used in the West Unit, with the exception of the fireside room, which will get new carpeting. In fact, we have a couple of board members that put a bug in the right people’s ear, and as of this afternoon, Mark Koehn & Vince Unruh (Georgia) have a truck loaded with the flooring and are headed our way! They will be here in the morning. Last evening we had a bunch of Lone Tree, Suncrest, Hesston, and Hillsboro youth guys here tearing out carpets, moving furniture, and getting baseboard ready to go back on. This evening we have another group scheduled to start ripping the tiles off of Friendship Lane’s hall and resident rooms, so as soon as the new flooring gets here, we can start installing it!

The plans are still on go to start bringing our people back on Thursday. Have a good evening!

More details on the water leak (from a different pair of eyes): Monday morning a cement saw was used to cut a 3’x6′ hole in the floor just inside the doorway to Suellen and Autume’s office. The hole was cut at the presumed location of the old 6″ water main. After concrete was removed, a large cavity nearly 3 ft. deep was discovered. Some digging soon revealed the pipe and after some extensive looking, a hole was found near the bottom of the pipe. The hole was 3-4 in. cross and about 6 ft. from the foundation.

After some discussion with knowledgeable sources, the pipe failure seems to have been caused by a deterioration process. A small piece from the pipe blowout was found in the trench. The condition of the piece serves as reasonable evidence that the pipe was structurally unsound; the deterioration and fatigue of material are quite apparent. While the water leak is an unpleasant ordeal to experience, there is no reason to blame anyone for the incident. We conclude that the Lord has His way in ALL things… and remind ourselves that this earth and all things therein are subject to age and decay…

The culprit has been found! After cutting through the concrete floor in Suellen and Autume’s office, we got our first look at a four inch hole ripped out of the water pipe. According to one report I heard, they didn’t even have to do much digging because the pressure of the water coming out of that hole had carved it’s own access tunnel. Kevin, Travis, and some of the board sat down with Service Master this morning to hear a progress report from their end. They are anticipating being completely done and out of here by Wednesday afternoon or Thursday morning. Kevin checked with the state, and they will not require an inspection (insert applause here). At this point, we are very tentatively thinking we may start bringing residents back on Thursday. We will likely start filling Apple, Bluestem, Clover, and Meadow Lanes, and Rosewood Avenue first, leaving the areas that were damaged (front part of Rosewood Avenue and Friendship Lane) till last. We may be asking for help from families once we start moving back in. Continue to pray for everyone involved. We have felt your prayers and support, and it has meant the world to us!