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Douglas County to hear information on modular cells as possible solution to jail overcrowding

info2018-10-05T08:35:32-05:00October 5th, 2018|

Douglas County Undersheriff Gary Bunting will provide county commissioners on Wednesday with information on the cost of installing portable, modular cell units at the county jail and will discuss the pros and cons of their use in addressing overcrowding. Last month, Bunting shared with commissioners an Aug. 2 snapshot of the county’s inmate population that revealed that it had 244 people incarcerated on that one day, or 58 more people than the jail’s 186-bed capacity. The number was very similar to a Feb. 2 snapshot that counted 246 inmates. The earlier snapshot was released during the campaign for Proposition 1, which [...]

Pittsburg redevelops former smelting site

info2018-10-04T22:56:11-05:00October 4th, 2018|

A former zinc-smelting property deemed unsafe and unusable for decades, is being put back into productive use thanks to a coordinated effort between the City of Pittsburg and the Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE). Cleanup efforts began this week at the previous Weir City Zinc Works site, located west of North Broadway Street in Pittsburg. A coal-mining town fewer than 50 miles from the richest zinc mines in the United States, Pittsburg was once an ideal location for zinc smelting industries in the late 1800s. Although little is left of the zinc industry today, high levels of metal contamination [...]

Was man fired by City of Olathe for belonging to motorcycle club?

info2018-10-04T22:55:20-05:00October 4th, 2018|

An Olathe man has filed a lawsuit claiming he was unfairly fired by the city for belonging to a motorcycle club. Larry Brown’s lawsuit was filed Wednesday in Johnson County District Court and seeks unspecified damages for his termination in October 2016. The lawsuit names as defendants the city, Mayor Michael Copeland, Police Chief Steven Menke, City Manager J. Michael Wilkes and then-chief information officer Shawn Whitcomb. City officials said they had not yet seen the lawsuit and had no comment. “Mr. Brown alleges that he was terminated from his position with the City of Olathe not because of his failure [...]

Southeast Kansas health center to take over Mercy clinics

info2018-10-04T22:51:44-05:00October 4th, 2018|

Four Mercy-owned health clinics in the Kansas counties of Crawford, Bourbon and Linn will be taken over by the Community Health Center of Southeast Kansas, after Mercy announced earlier this week that it's Fort Scott hospital location will close by the end of the year. "CHC/SEK entered into discussions with Mercy this summer about the need to maintain access to care and they were anxious to preserve the resources they had built in Bourbon and Linn counties," said Krista Postai, CEO of CHC/SEK, in a statement. "As an organization that had grown out of a faith-based health system, CHC/SEK shared their [...]

Shawnee County to spend $94K to make improvements to Rueger Park softball fields

info2018-10-04T22:49:52-05:00October 4th, 2018|

Shawnee County commissioners made a move Thursday aimed at turning south Topeka’s Rueger Park Softball Complex into a facility capable of hosting national championship tournaments. Commissioners Kevin Cook, Shelly Buhler and Bob Archer voted 3-0 to award a bid arranging for the county to pay $94,796 to the low bidder, Brown Midwest Commercial Construction, to make improvements to the four lighted softball fields in the park at 2801 S.W. Topeka Blvd. The project will bring the infield playing surfaces “up to championship level play,” county parks and recreation director John Knight told commissioners in a recent memo. (Read more: Local - [...]

Dodge City looks to install panhandling ordinance

info2018-10-04T22:47:38-05:00October 4th, 2018|

City commissioners and officials have begun discussions on possibly implementing a panhandling ordinance similar to one that was put in at the city of Wichita. The discussions stem from safety issues risen from ongoing panhandling between those that are seeking assistance and those giving assistance. “We have been discussing generally the potential ordinances that address some of the safety concerns related to pedestrians transfer of gifts or donations between pedestrians and drivers or passengers of vehicles,” said city legal counsel Brad Ralph. “It generally follows the format that was passed in Wichita and I can say it will not be exactly [...]

Augusta City Council okays updates to airport leases

info2018-10-04T22:46:35-05:00October 4th, 2018|

Augusta City staff, the City Attorney, and the Airport Advisory Board have been working several months on updating the lease agreements for T-Hangars, the Community hangar, and the tie-down spaces at the Augusta Municipal Airport. Not only has the existing lease been in place for a long time and needs updated, but it also needs to address some current issues at the airport. Augusta Assistant City Manager Cody Sims explained the situation to council members at Monday night’s regular council meeting. “I contacted three other municipal airports and asked about updating leases...Updating leases does not happen very often,” Sims stated. Some [...]

Great Bend finding out the expense of not having an engineer

info2018-10-04T22:44:16-05:00October 4th, 2018|

As the Great Bend City Council approved the inspection services from Kirkham Michael for the 8th Street paving construction, they received a glimpse of the expense of not having an in-house engineer. The project cost of the street construction will hit the City of Great Bend but the price tag will be reimbursed by the benefit district, those around 8th Street. The inspection cost of $38,225 was accounted for, but councilmember Cory Urban noted that just one project is nearly half an annual salary of a city engineer. (Read more: Great Bend Post)

Lenexa approves hearing date for public financing request on office project south of City Center

info2018-10-04T22:43:21-05:00October 4th, 2018|

The Lenexa City Council on Tuesday unanimously approved holding a Nov. 6 public hearing to consider a redevelopment tax-increment financing (TIF) project plan for the Vantage Point office project in the Mining TIF District which would allow the developer to receive as much as $26.7 million in reimbursements for eligible project costs. The TIF project plan covers about 32.5 acres at the northwest corner of Renner Boulevard and 93rd Street, according to a Tuesday memo from Assistant City Attorney Sean McLaughlin to the council. The developer is VP Lenexa LLC, a subsidiary of Wichita-based Vantage Point Properties Inc. (Read more: Prairie [...]

Wichita Fire Dept. introduces new rescue dog

info2018-10-04T22:39:52-05:00October 4th, 2018|

Wichita firefighters Thursday introduced their department's new rescue dog. Sailor is working for the Wichita Fire Department with her handler after graduating from Ground Zero, an emergency training facility in Oklahoma. The pair will work together on search-and-rescue efforts in disaster situations. "She only indicated on live human scent," Sailor's handler, Wichita Fire Department Captain Chad Winton explains about the dog and how she'll help the department. "When she find that individual, she will stay with them and continue to bark until I come up and reward her and locate that victim." (Read more: KWCH News)

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