info, Author at Ranson Financial Group LLC

No quick fix to train horn noise on west side of Derby

info2019-04-18T13:51:53-05:00April 18th, 2019|

Tom Wilhite, who owns and operates Wilhite Auto Service just a few yards west of the city’s railroad tracks, knows about train horn noise all too well. “It blows out the shop when they come by here,” he said. “I just have to stop talking to people a lot of times.” As if to reinforce that point, an interview with an Informer reporter was interrupted by the sound of a loud train horn blasted several times. Wilhite is not alone. There have been complaints and comments about the frequent sounds of the horns blown by train engineers as they past through [...]

Reno County Commission approves rate increase in annual landfill fee; funding to start expansion project

info2019-04-18T13:46:43-05:00April 18th, 2019|

Another rate hike in the Solid Waste User Fee charged to all Reno County property owners was approved on Tuesday by the Reno County Commission. The annual assessment will climb from $92 to $96 per year per household, effective on the November property tax statement. It’s the second consecutive year that the commission has approved a $4 jump in the annual assessment, with a third, similar hike, also is planned for next year, bringing the fee to $100 by 2021. The additional funding is necessary, according to the landfill staff and an outside consultant advised the commission, to start an expansion [...]

Topeka defers action on proposed sales tax hikes to aid development

info2019-04-18T13:45:17-05:00April 18th, 2019|

Topeka’s mayor and city council postponed action late Tuesday on two proposals that would enable developers to assess customers an additional 1 percent sales tax at each of two shopping centers along S.W. Wanamaker Road. Mayor Michelle De La Isla and the nine council members first voted 10-0 to defer action until their May 7 meeting on one proposal that would establish a community improvement district. That CID would levy a 1 percent sales tax — in addition to the sales taxes they already pay — upon customers at retail properties at the southeast corner of S.W. 17th and Wanamaker Road [...]

City commission rejects 2 requests for streetlights

info2019-04-18T13:44:00-05:00April 18th, 2019|

Parsons city commissioners rejected two requests for new streetlights Monday. Rob Montee requested a streetlight at his property at 3631 Morgan Ave. because of suspicious vehicles near the dead-end, and Mike Godbey wanted a light added by his property at the end of South 29th Street near Ashwood Avenue. The city has an unwritten policy to add and maintain streetlights only at intersections, but commissioners have discretion to add others. The city pays Westar Energy about $9 a month per streetlight. Commissioners earlier this year considered a cost-share program for residents wanting to add streetlights not normally covered by the policy [...]

Bourbon County 2019 budget now includes ambulance service

info2019-04-18T13:41:16-05:00April 18th, 2019|

Bourbon County Commissioners on Tuesday amended the 2019 budget to include the newly organized Bourbon County Emergency Medical Services. The ambulance budget is set for $1,020,000. During the public hearing held Tuesday, commissioners said of that amount, $316,000 was already set aside in the budget to pay Mercy Hospital Fort Scott for EMS it provided through a contract with the county. The remaining funds are expected to come from Medicare and insurance reimbursements, although county officials said they don’t know how much that will be. (Read more: Fort Scott Tribune)

Prairie Village council has questions about enforcement of proposed drone regulations in city

info2019-04-18T14:18:00-05:00April 18th, 2019|

Questions about enforcement by the Prairie Village city council on Monday stymied significant progress on the advancement of a new ordinance to regulate unmanned aerial drones. The council had directed city staff back in January to fine tune draft ordinance language that would prohibit recreational use of drones in situations that could be seen as an invasion of privacy for residents. But upon review of the updated language this week, a number of members of the council raised concerns that putting a new law regarding drones on the books could make people liable for unintended actions and could pose enforcement headaches [...]

How Reno County can keep baby boomers at home

info2019-04-18T13:14:24-05:00April 17th, 2019|

A threat is on the horizon for Reno County’s largest revenue source — property tax. Ben Winchester, a rural sociologist with the University of Minnesota Extension, showed about 50 people on Wednesday at the Atrium Hotel and Conference Center how the future deterioration of homes will affect property tax as baby boomers are no longer able to maintain their homes. ... Winchester said it would be prudent of city and county officials to start thinking about policies for elderly homeowners to keep their homes up to par or create opportunities for people to fix up those homes down the road. Read [...]

Beccy Yocham named new Lenexa City Manager

info2019-04-17T10:23:09-05:00April 17th, 2019|

With more than 20 years of experience serving the community in several capacities, Beccy Yocham has been appointed as the new City Manager for Lenexa, Kansas. Following a national recruitment and selection process, the City Council unanimously approved Yocham’s contract during their April 16 meeting. Appointed by the City Council, the City Manager works closely with elected officials to set and achieve goals for the community and oversees the city’s professional staff. When she officially begins her duties on May 1, Yocham will be the fourth City Manager to lead the organization. The appointment comes as current City Manager Eric Wade [...]

How slow internet hurts rural Kansas, starting with cattle sales

info2019-04-17T10:23:20-05:00April 17th, 2019|

Crawling internet speeds in rural Kansas make trying to sell cattle online exasperating. Instead of uploading photos and videos of cattle for sale from home, farmer and cattleman Jay Young drives to his parents’ house or into the town of Tribune in far west Kansas where internet speeds are faster. Young has a broadband connection and says he’s able to create a cattle listing from home, but the slow internet brings on additional work. “I just can’t post the videos to that listing,” he said. “So, what I’ll do is I’ll email them or I’ll go into town and, and put [...]

Tonganoxie City Council approves utility vehicle ordinances

info2019-04-17T08:53:48-05:00April 17th, 2019|

Expansion of UTV usage in Tonganoxie moved forward with approval of ordinances addressing the vehicle use. Tonganoxie City Manager George Brajkovic laid out ordinances and fees that he said staff did a good job of “streamlining” for residents who want to operate the vehicles within city limits. If the ordinances become official after legal publication in The Mirror, the changes could go into effect next month. Some of the highlights of updated UTV usage would be that they can only be operated on streets with speed limits of 30 mph or less. They also would need to be compliant with noise [...]

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