info, Author at Ranson Financial Group LLC

Hutch schools begin search for superintendent

info2018-09-25T07:00:41-05:00September 25th, 2018|

Hutchinson USD 308 could have a new superintendent for 2019-2020 selected by January 2019. “The pool is much smaller than it was just three years ago,” Sechrist told the Hutchinson school board. A comparable school district - Salina’s - is conducting a superintendent search, too, spurring Hutchinson to keep its search process on a fast-moving timeline. Gary Price, a former USD 308 superintendent brought back to be interim superintendent, is in the second year of the interim period. His contract will end June 30, 2019. The next superintendent probably will be under an existing employment contract through this school year and [...]

Fines up threefold for Shawnee County’s ambulance service for late response times

info2018-09-25T06:57:07-05:00September 25th, 2018|

Shawnee County fined its ambulance service provider more than three times as much for late response times during the first six months of this year as it did during that same time period last year, figures show. The provider, American Medical Response Ambulance Co., nevertheless remains in substantial compliance with its contract with the county, said county ambulance compliance officer Nelson Casteel. AMR paid the county fines totaling $17,920 for the first six months of this year, compared to $5,821 for that same period last year, according to figures Casteel provided the commission. Those figures said AMR was fined 403 times [...]

Holcomb reviewing ex-officer’s request for special concealed carry ID card

info2018-09-25T06:55:26-05:00September 25th, 2018|

On Wednesday, the Holcomb City Council will revisit its review of a former Holcomb police officer’s request for a special concealed carry identification card, which the mayor and several councilmembers are concerned may leave the city liable in case of an incident through the officer’s work. On Sept. 12, former Holcomb officer Joshua Tipton presented to the council his request for an H.R. 218 Identification Card, which allows retired or “separated” law enforcement officers to carry a concealed weapon in any state in the country. As the governing body over the HPD, Tipton’s most recent law enforcement employer, the decision to [...]

Chanute weighs ordinance against meth problem

info2018-09-25T06:50:18-05:00September 25th, 2018|

The Neosho County Attorney told the Chanute City Commission that the city’s limits on sales of precursor ingredients has dramatically reduced the incidence of methamphetamine labs in the city, if not the drug’s use. “We obviously still have a meth problem in town,” Commissioner Phillip Chaney said during Monday evening’s discussion. The commission reviewed the city’s 2013 ordinance on cold medications that can be used to make methamphetamine. The issue weighs the drug abuse problem against the inconvenience to cold and allergy sufferers seeking legitimate medication. County Attorney Linus Thuston quoted a Kansas Bureau of Investigation official on the issue. “Does [...]

Hoping to leverage Boeing Wichita’s legacy, Spirit positions for B-52 bomber work

info2018-09-25T06:47:46-05:00September 25th, 2018|

At the height of the Cold War, the Air Force amassed a fleet of 744 Boeing B-52 Stratofortresses, each capable of delivering 70,000 pounds of bombs, including nuclear ones, thousands of miles from the U.S. The airplanes, which can fly 650 miles per hour at 50,000 feet for 8,800 miles, were a key part of the nation’s nuclear deterrence strategy against its then-largest adversary, the former Soviet Union. Many of those bombers produced between 1954 and 1962 were assembled at the former Boeing Wichita, now Spirit AeroSystems. In fact, 76 of the 102 B-52H models that remain in the Air Force’s [...]

City of Gardner names interim city administrator

info2018-09-24T10:08:34-05:00September 24th, 2018|

The City of Gardner has named Laura Gourley as interim city administrator, effective Sept. 17, 2018. A unanimous vote appointing Gourley occurred during Monday night’s regularly scheduled city council meeting. Gourley has been a Gardner employee for nearly 30 years, spending the past 13 years as the finance department director. During her tenure, she has played an instrumental role on numerous projects and initiatives, including but not limited to, developing the annual budget and first biennial budget, evaluating incentive packages to support economic development projects, serving on strategic planning teams, and helping the city maintain an AA- bond investment rating through [...]

Civic leaders see growth in Leavenworth county’s future

info2018-09-24T10:06:13-05:00September 24th, 2018|

Growth. That is the operative word for the near future of Leavenworth County. According to several civic leaders, the outlook is optimistic for the county for the next 10 years. “Leavenworth County will continue to be a great option for businesses and individuals as more and more housing construction takes place in all parts of the county,” said Steve Jack, executive director of the Leavenworth County Development Corporation. “Certainly, the major road projects undertaken by the county will open up more areas for development, particularly residential.” Jack said business parks located in Leavenworth and Tonganoxie “will likely be reaping benefits to [...]

McPherson pharmaceutical plant hiring 350

info2018-09-24T10:02:58-05:00September 24th, 2018|

The Pfizer pharmaceutical plant in McPherson is kicking off a major hiring effort next week, with the goal of adding more than 350 new employees to its local workforce, according to a company news release. Some of the jobs available include production operators, engineers, quality assurance, skilled trades, operational excellence roles, scientific positions, and more. Pfizer is the leading international pharmaceutical company, and McPherson, where it makes sterile injectable medicines, is a primary site in its global manufacturing network. The expanded hiring is a result of growing demand for Pfizer medicines, including growth in product lines at McPherson, Johnson stated. (Read [...]

South Hutchinson box plant in midst of $3.5 million upgrade

info2018-09-24T10:01:57-05:00September 24th, 2018|

A $3.5 million expansion at a corrugated-box manufacturing company in South Hutchinson will take the plant “from the stone-age to high-tech,” said Tony Schleich, president of the local plant. Construction of a 6,000-square-foot expansion onto the existing 50,000-square-foot American Packaging plant at 400 W. Blanchard Rd., is expected to be completed within a couple of weeks, Schleich said. The plant will then be ready for delivery of the new multi-million-dollar high-tech equipment, which is now anticipated to arrive in January. “We’re going from manually pushing carts with material around the plant to a fully-automated conveyor-system,” Schleich said. “The speed of the [...]

Garden City hosts alternative fuels workshop

info2018-09-24T10:00:27-05:00September 24th, 2018|

Representatives from area municipalities, utilities and the alternative fuels industry attended a free workshop Wednesday in Garden City to learn more about the benefits and challenges of natural gas. The workshop provided an overview of Garden City’s adoption of clean fuels and natural gas vehicles and infrastructure, and provided a forum for businesses and municipalities to talk about how to incorporate alternative fuels into their fleets. Generally, the benefits for local governments like Garden City was in saving fuel costs both at a lower price than diesel and more stable price, and improving air quality by reducing the city’s carbon footprint. [...]

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