It was not the way he planned to go out. But Hutchinson City Manager John Deardoff’s response to the novel coronavirus sweeping in during the last weeks of a 40-year career was typical for the respected community city leader. He was set to retire March 27, but in February the Hutchinson City Council asked him to stay a little longer until his replacement was set to arrive. The county’s first confirmed COVID-19 case was reported on March 21. As the virus spread around the region and state it led to local and state stay-at-home orders, resulting in city hall being closed to the public and the sudden need to cut at least $1 million from the city budget in anticipation of shortfalls in sales tax collections.
(Read more: Local – The Hutchinson News)
