Ky. school endures death of 2nd staffer from coronavirus. 2 more hospitalized

A second Lee County Elementary employee has died from COVID and two others are hospitalized, Superintendent Sarah Wasson said Monday.

Custodian Bill Bailey died Sunday. An instructional assistant at Lee County Elementary School, Heather Antle, also died from COVID-19 in late August.

“Lee County Elementary staff are strong and resilient, but the loss of people we love is hurting our hearts,” said Wasson. “Bill worked at Lee County Middle High School for several years before moving to Lee County Elementary, so his impact has reached many staff across our district.”

On Sept. 1, staff at the elementary school wore shirts with the school’s emblem on them in support of Bailey, who was in the hospital fighting COVID,

Bailey’s son Austin said in a social media post Sunday that his father died at 3:45 a.m. at a Hazard hospital.

“He fought hard against COVID, but unfortunately, it was too much. I can’t put into words how much this hurts,” Austin Bailey said in his post.

Bailey’s love and passion showed in the many things he did in life, his son said.

“He loved his family, pranking the unsuspecting, decorating for Halloween, putting up a lot of lights at Christmas, crafting things such as characters from popular Christmas movies to put out with his Christmas lights,” Austin Bailey said in the post. “He was my favorite person to golf with.”

School officials said in their post that Bailey had a contagious smile.

This school year, each staff member chose a quote to go on their office door. “Bill’s was, ‘Sweat now, shine later,’ the post said. “As custodian, Bill always worked hard to make the building shine and he will forever shine a light into all the lives he touched.”

Information about his vaccination status wasn’t immediately available.

Other Kentucky school employees’ deaths — including a Magoffin County school maintenance worker and a Greenup County teacher who was also an assistant football coach — have been attributed to COVID during the recent surge in cases.

Last week, the Republican-controlled Kentucky General Assembly approved Senate Bill 1 that eliminates the state’s mask mandate in K-12 schools.

Gov. Andy Beshear, a Democrat, vetoed the bill but the legislature overrode his decision. The bill carried an emergency clause, which means it took effect immediately.

Individual districts must now decide whether to continue to require people in school buildings to wear masks. As of Sunday, 25 percent of the state’s 171 school districts had decided in favor of a school mask mandate. Lee County Schools are continuing a mandate for now.

“Our people are what makes the Lee County School District special, and we will help each other get through this difficult time,” Wasson said Monday.

This story was originally published September 13, 2021 at 7:19 AM with the headline "Ky. school endures death of 2nd staffer from coronavirus. 2 more hospitalized."