info2018-07-02T09:23:17-05:00July 2nd, 2018|
According to a release from the Abilene Area Chamber of Commerce, effective Sunday, the Abilene tax rate on retail sales will drop to 8.75%. The decrease is due to the expiration of the .35% special tax that was implemented in 2008 to pay for renovations to the Abilene Public Library and City Pool. The Abilene sales tax will drop again in 2023 with the sunset of a 0.25 tax implemented for Abilene city streets. (Read more: The Salina Post)
info2018-07-02T09:22:10-05:00July 2nd, 2018|
The Hays Aquatic Park will include a new play area when it opens next year, but the Hays City Commission’s 3-1 approval Thursday night didn’t come without some discussion. The $185,000 structure with 14 play features including two slides and a large bucket drop will replace a starburst water sprayer in the zero-depth entry pool. Parks director Jeff Boyle said construction of the feature will begin Aug. 21 after the pool closes, with a completion date of Dec. 21, although the vendor, RJR Enterprises, would like to finish sooner. A new feature was proposed in January, when city officials and Hays [...]
info2018-07-02T09:20:03-05:00July 2nd, 2018|
Shawnee has renewed its commitment with Johnson County to direct funds toward low-income housing. This year’s commitment brings about $100,000 in total to homes that needs rehabilitating, according to a June 25 memo from the city. The Shawnee council approved in a 6-0 vote Monday, June 25, a three-year memorandum of understanding with Johnson County that supports Shawnee residents who own low-income housing. Through this arrangement with Johnson County for 2019 through 2021, Shawnee residents can participate in the Johnson County HOME Consortium program, which allocates funds from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development for rehabilitating low-income housing. This [...]
info2018-07-02T08:04:37-05:00July 2nd, 2018|
At 22 years old in 1976, Hannes Zacharias took a Bicentennial message from the mayor of Dodge City to the mayor of New Orleans. He traveled by kayak. “I’d never been down South before, never been by myself that long before, never been on the river that long before, and those six weeks were like a life-changing experience for me,” he said. Zacharias reached New Orleans - surviving an incident in Oklahoma where the kayak was stolen but later recovered in pieces - and received the key to the city of New Orleans. He promised himself if he had the opportunity, [...]
info2018-07-02T07:31:48-05:00July 2nd, 2018|
The $300 million Tyson project planned for the outskirts of Tonganoxie was canceled after residents of the town protested the pollution and the strains on local infrastructure they expected the facility would bring. Republican Rep. Jim Karleskint of Tonganoxie, who drafted a bill that would have given locals more say about proposed poultry operations, said residents are still anxious about the issue. “A lot of people are talking about it. It’s an anxious issue that people don’t want Tyson in the area,” Karleskint said. “I think there’s a fear that they may attempt to come back. I personally don’t think it’s [...]
info2018-06-29T10:38:22-05:00June 29th, 2018|
During a meeting last week between Amtrak’s CEO and a small congressional delegation that included Kansas’ two senators, it was revealed that the train operator is exploring ending passenger train service between Dodge City and Albuquerque, and implementing a bus connection on the route instead. The communities that would lose rail service if the bus service began at Dodge City would include Garden City; Lamar, La Junta and Trinidad, Colo.; Raton, Las Vegas and Lamy, N.M. The proposal did not go over well with any of the lawmakers at the meeting, who had called the meeting to ask Amtrak to stand [...]
info2018-06-29T10:35:08-05:00June 29th, 2018|
Local law enforcement agencies will be teaming up with federal prosecutors and state and federal law organizations that will target violent crime in Garden City and Wichita. That announcement came Thursday morning by U.S. Attorney Stephen McAllister in a press conference held in Wichita for a program titled Project Safe Neighborhoods. William Votypka, Deputy Finney County Attorney, attended the press conference on behalf of the office, which will be involved in the new program. “It’s a great, great opportunity for collaboration with state and federal authorities,” Votypka said in a telephone interview. “It’s a greater financial mechanism with other agencies and [...]
info2018-06-29T10:33:29-05:00June 29th, 2018|
When it came to possible tax increases for the city budget, Commissioner Glen Davis said the city commission should at least earn the blowback if it raises next year’s taxes. “We’re going to get the same blowback for two mills or six mills,” Davis said. “If I’m going to get blowback, I’d as soon get it at a higher amount.” Such was a budget session where the commission weighed what exactly the public would do following another tax increase. City Manager Bob Myers had suggested the commission increase taxes by 5.8 mills to cover increasing bonded debt, as well as a [...]
info2018-06-29T10:31:32-05:00June 29th, 2018|
After providing nearly $40,000 in matching funds on three TIGER grantsconnected to Amtrak’s Southwest Chief, City Manager John Deardoff expressed disappointment in Amtrak’s plans to curtail service along the route. Amtrak and BNSF threatened cities along the route that they would discontinue service if major upgrades were not made. Three major grants and a lot of track improvements were done at Amtrak’s request. The grants were matched with funds from cities and the state, including three $12,500 allocations from the city of Hutchinson. Now under new leadership, Amtrak is wanting to step away from the efforts to keep the route in [...]
info2018-06-29T10:30:22-05:00June 29th, 2018|
Last September, the ground shifted under the small town of Tonganoxie, Kansas, about 35 miles due west of Kansas City. When word got out that Tyson Foods, Inc. was ready to announce it would soon break ground just outside town on a $320 million poultry complex — a processing plant, hatchery and feed mill — opponents organized immediately. Allies multiplied exponentially as social media amplified their concerns. Within a stunning two weeks, Tyson had announced it was putting its plan “on hold.” But nine months later, residents are still grappling with some of questions the explosive controversy revealed. Freelance writer Anne [...]
