News Briefs: Prom canceled, Winstead’s files for bankruptcy, coronavirus causes stock market dive

At East

Kansas Governor Laura Kelly ordered all public schools in Kansas to remain closed through the end of the school year on Tuesday, March 17. 

The Shawnee Mission School District has chosen to move all classes online, and is extending spring break by a week to work out the details of the new digital learning style. Online learning will begin Monday, March 30. 

The closure for the school has also included cancellations for the time being of major events as the school year finishes — prom, graduation and all spring sports. Despite the importance of these big events, senior Kathleen Deedy says she will miss the little things the most.

“It’s not just prom, but all the little things we are missing,” Deedy said. “Like our last day of school, senior skip day, assassins, going to the center of the gym to sing the school song at the last assembly, senior night, and all the little things that seemed like guarantees almost hurt more than the big things like prom.”

Senior Brooklyn Beck believes that although social distancing and quarantine are important to stop the spread of the virus, the decision to completely cancel school was made prematurely.

“I think [Kansas] jumped the gun by canceling for the rest of the school year,” Beck said. “We have no idea where this situation will be in a month, and I wish they would’ve allowed for the situation to be reassessed before canceling everything.”

Kansas was the first state in the country to declare schools close statewide for the rest of the academic year. 

In The Area

Kansas City’s iconic burger chain Winstead’s filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on March 10 after 80 years of business. 

Chapter 11 bankruptcy does not mean the company is closed forever, it just implies the company needs some time to restructure. Winstead’s will use this time to organize their debts and assets, while not having to sell the business completely. 

The local chain is known for their art deco style, steakburgers and Skyscrapers — 64 ounce milkshakes that can serve multiple people at a time. In the past three decades, the chain has shrunk from 12 to only three locations in Overland Park, Leawood and the Country Club Plaza.

Winstead’s, in addition to their parent company Haddad Restaurant Group, sought Chapter 11 protection after going $1.5 million in debt. Along with these values, the company owes over $160,000 in taxes to the Kansas and Missouri Departments of Revenue. 

Winstead’s has provided burgers and shakes to East students for years. Sophomore Megan Angell remembers going to the restaurant for her homecoming dinner, and going there before her father-daughter Sock Hops in elementary school. 

“When I was in elementary school we used to have this father-daughter dance called the Sock Hop and it was 50s themed so in 1st-4th grade my friends and all our dads would go to Winstead’s before the dance,” Angell said. “I love that memory of my dad and I, and the restaurant is like a part of my childhood.”

Winstead’s three locations will remain open, however it is still to be determined for how long. 

National

As the number of cases of the novel coronavirus in the United States surpasses 64,000, the stock market has crashed, causing the government to take extreme measures in order to save the economy.

On March 9, otherwise known as Black Monday, the Dow — a stock market index — dropped almost 8%. Days after, on March 12, it dropped another 10% — the worst drop the Dow has seen in three decades, since Black Monday of 1987.

As more states declare stay-at-home orders, businesses have had to close their doors, leading the U.S. government to do everything in its power to keep the economy from plunging deep into a recession. Hawaii, Vermont and Wisconsin are the most recent states as of March 25 to declare statewide stay-at-home orders. 

The epicenter of the virus in America has shifted from Washington to New York as the state now accounts for 5% of cases worldwide. Despite the number of cases growing everyday, coronavirus task force immunologist Anthony S. Fauci stated in a press conference on March 18 that the worst of the pandemic has yet to come in America. 

Hopes for the economy recovering are growing, however, as U.S. senators passed a $2 trillion coronavirus bill on March 25 to boost the economy. The bill will give cash payments directly to taxpayers and loans to small businesses. Along with this package, the Federal Reserve has promised to buy as much debt as needed to keep businesses afloat and the market functioning.