info, Author at Ranson Financial Group LLC

Lawrence bus drivers prepared for possible strike after city changes contractor

info2019-01-02T11:37:51-06:00January 2nd, 2019|

Amid renegotiation of their contract, members of the local transit union are prepared to strike, raising the possibility that local bus service could come to a halt. The city of Lawrence and the University of Kansas recently decided to hire a different company to operate their coordinated bus services. The City Commission voted in November to hire First Transit, which is set to replace longtime contractor MV Transportation on Jan. 1. Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1754 President Justin Priest said that union members, at a meeting on Sunday, voted to strike. Priest explained that the vote doesn’t mean that drivers, mechanics [...]

Spring Hill’s Broadband Task Force kicks off fiber feasibility study

info2019-01-02T11:21:47-06:00January 2nd, 2019|

The Broadband Task Force officially kicked off its fiber feasibility study with CTC Technology and Energy last month. The Task Force met with CTC Sept. 7 and mapped out how the next six months will go during the study and what Internet options the Task Force may be able to recommend to the Spring Hill City Council early next year. The Task Force, with assistance from City staff, will work with a team of six people throughout the course of the study. Options for better Internet speeds could range from making Spring Hill a more fiber-friendly community to potentially attract more [...]

Reno County Commissioners to Deming: Learning from his example

info2019-01-02T11:18:38-06:00January 2nd, 2019|

Reno County Commissioner Dan Deming wraps up his eighth and final year on the board when Ron Sellers is sworn in Jan. 14. The farewells began Monday because Commissioner Bob Bush will not be present for Deming’s last commission meeting on Jan. 8. Commission Chairman Ron Hirst presented Deming with a certificate etched in glass. “I’ll keep that at home with a lot of pride,” Deming said. During the last two years, Deming, 76, served with first-term commissioners Hirst and Bush. They told Deming they learned from his example. “I wish I emulated you more,” Bush said, as a “budget hawk.” [...]

Industrial park in Parsons discusses possible tenant

info2019-01-02T11:16:40-06:00January 2nd, 2019|

Labette County commissioners heard Monday that the owner of the administration building at the former Kansas Army Ammunition Plant may have an interested tenant or purchaser. Becky Dantic, Tim Peoples and Bob Wood provided commissioners with an update on activities at Great Plains Industrial Park, which occupies the former KAAP. The Army announced the plant would close in 2005, which generated a community response to take over the property and market its buildings and parcels to create jobs. Dantic is Great Plains project manager, Peoples is property manager and Wood is a Great Plains board member. Peoples said he performs maintenance [...]

Landowners to receive written notice of wind farm hearing

info2019-01-02T11:08:44-06:00January 2nd, 2019|

Owners of property within a thousand feet of any proposed wind turbine location in NextEra Energy’s planned Pretty Prairie Wind Farm will receive notice by first-class mail of the public hearing - tentatively expected to take place Feb. 21 in Hutchinson. As of Monday morning, NextEra Energy had not submitted its application for a conditional use permit, but that probably needs to be filed before Jan. 15 if the company wants to meet pre-hearing requirements for a Feb. 21 hearing, according to County Counselor Joe O’Sullivan. In the application, O’Sullivan said, the exact proposed location for each of the towers should [...]

Hutch has extra time to file legal response

info2019-01-02T11:07:40-06:00January 2nd, 2019|

The city of Hutchinson has extra time to file its response in U.S. District Court to charges by a former Hutchinson police officer that it violated the Americans with Disabilities Act and retaliated against him. Former Officer Devin Berman has Tourette’s syndrome and he sued the city Dec. 20, claiming in part that after he threatened to file a lawsuit against the Hutchinson Police Department charging discrimination, he received a poor performance review and was denied a raise. (Read more: Local - The Hutchinson News)

Commissioners relent, won’t hire administrator

info2019-01-02T11:02:48-06:00January 2nd, 2019|

In a striking reversal, county commissioners voted 2-1 Monday to rescind their controversial decision of three weeks earlier to hire a county administrator. Commissioner Dianne Novak made the surprise motion despite also having made the original motion to create the position, the idea of which was rejected by 55.3 percent of voters in a non-binding referendum a year ago. Randy Dallke, who opposed Novak’s original motion, agreed with her to rescind it. Kent Becker, who favored the original motion, cast the lone vote against reversing it. Novak’s motion came after concerned citizens, some of whom already had left the meeting, spoke [...]

Subzero wind chills impact fire efforts, community responds with kindness

info2019-01-02T11:01:25-06:00January 2nd, 2019|

Hutchinson fire crews were called to a structure fire just before 7 a.m. on New Year's Day. A wood hobby shop in the 900 block of South Main caught on fire. But crews were not only battling the blaze but also the cold. A press release from Hutchinson fire claims the subzero wind chills hampered fire operations with a broken hydrant, freezing water, slippery conditions, and wet gear for the firefighters. "Obviously, we use a lot of water, it instantly turns to ice. Not only does it factor with the people, but it also factors with the building as it continues [...]

Garden City flights take off after five days of cancellations

info2019-01-02T10:59:51-06:00January 2nd, 2019|

Flights in and out of the Garden City Regional Airport operated as scheduled Tuesday after five days of frequent cancellations due to weather. As a heavy snowstorm rolled into southwest Kansas last week, the airport canceled its Dec. 26, 2018, evening flight and subsequently the Thursday morning flight. Over the next several days, all flights — morning, afternoon and evening — on Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday were also canceled, as well as the morning and evening flights on Monday. Monday afternoon flights went forward and the runway opened Saturday, but only for smaller aircrafts, said the airport’s Director of Aviation [...]

Proposed eight-minute limit for Topeka City Council presentations off table

info2019-01-02T11:36:35-06:00January 2nd, 2019|

Topeka city manager Brent Trout recently proposed setting an eight-minute limit for presentations to the city council. Trout then made a presentation to the council that was noticeably longer, which Councilwoman Sylvia Ortiz pointed out. Now the proposed eight-minute limit appears to be off the table. It is no longer among proposed revisions to the council’s rules and procedures the city’s governing body plans to consider approving Jan. 8, according to the preliminary agenda for that meeting released this past week. The proposal’s current version would instead direct the city manager to tell those he invites to make presentations before the [...]

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