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‘We are working day in, night out’: City of Caney battling water troubles

info2022-12-28T01:35:50-06:00December 28th, 2022|

The cold weather during the last few days has added to the water woes in Caney. It's now issued a Boil Water Order after freezing pipes caused a sudden drop in pressure, but that's not the only problem they're dealing with. "This is the stuff that we have pulled from our filters," said Caney Mayor Josh Elliott. "This gets stuck in our filters. This is like goo." A day after the city's latest water troubles began, Elliott took to Facebook live to explain what was going on. "All this stuff has clogged them and we are working day in, night out [...]

Kansas public universities finalizing plan in response to shortage of K-12 teachers

info2022-12-28T01:34:07-06:00December 28th, 2022|

Education deans at public universities in Kansas working on solutions to a K-12 teacher shortage want to dramatically expand over three years state financial aid for college students in education programs and to implement a partnership to uniformly compensate student teachers. The task force appointed by the Kansas Board of Regents has also been working to refine an agreement among community colleges and universities allowing education students to automatically transfer 60 credit hours of courses. Another of 15 recommendations in the report draft would strengthen literacy instructional skills of teachers. Source: Kansas Reflector

County employees benefit from deeper dig into ARPA pocket

info2022-12-28T01:32:19-06:00December 28th, 2022|

County employees on the payroll as of November all received a special piece of the federally funded American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 funding by way of a bonus. Atchison County Grants Administrator Mark Zeltner said all fulltime employees received $1,200 and the part-timers were paid $600 bonuses before taxes. The rounds off to about $1,000 and $500 respectively. The employee bonuses are one of the top priorities Atchison County Commissioners approved as one of the internal pieces to benefit for the county. Source: News | atchisonglobenow.com

City implements mandatory water conservation measures

info2022-12-28T01:29:49-06:00December 28th, 2022|

The City of Atchison is implementing mandatory water conversation measures due to record low river levels which have limited our ability to draw a sufficient amount of water to meet the normal demand from domestic, commercial, industrial and agricultural customers. The City of Atchison is requiring all industrial and agricultural customers to limit the use of water to only what is necessary to maintain the health and personal hygiene of employees on duty. The City of Atchison is requiring commercial/business customers (e.g. office buildings, restaurants, salons, stores) to limit the use of water to what is necessary to conduct normal operations [...]

County official to retire

info2022-12-28T01:28:15-06:00December 28th, 2022|

Cara Barkdoll, longtime Register of Deeds, will retire at the end of the week. A ceremony will be from 2 to 3:30 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 28, in the assembly room in the basement of the courthouse. Gov. Laura Kelly appointed Misty Rice, who has worked alongside Barkdoll as her deputy for the county department, to serve the remaining two years of the term. BARKDOLL earned an associate degree from Allen County Community Junior College before joining the appraiser’s office in 1985. Source: The Iola Register

Kansas asks U.S. Supreme Court to let states limit how long trains can block crossings

info2022-12-29T07:54:53-06:00December 27th, 2022|

Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt has joined 18 other state attorneys general in asking that the U.S. Supreme Court restore the rights states and local governments once had to regulate how long trains can block railroad crossings. Absent that power, the public is put at risk, the attorneys general say in their brief. Countless people have died when emergency vehicles were delayed at rail crossings, The Star reported this month in an investigation of railroad safety lapses. The problem has only gotten worse in recent years for many communities across the country, The Star reported, as the rail industry’s practices have [...]

Brad Matkin is the New Fort Scott Interim City Manager

info2022-12-27T14:07:11-06:00December 27th, 2022|

At the Fort Scott City Commission meeting on Dec. 20, Brad Matkin was promoted to interim city manager, after having served as assistant city manager since September 2022. Josh Jones, a Fort Scott Commissioner, congratulated Matkins for being moved up to interim city manager on his Facebook page, following the meeting... “As mayor, I have had the privilege of working with Mr. Matkin on many different occasions in his previous role as Assistant City Manager,” FS Mayor Katherine Harrington said. “I feel that over this time he has grown as a manager and demonstrated that he was ready to take on [...]

City to take over all operations at McPherson Water Park

info2022-12-27T14:12:36-06:00December 27th, 2022|

Beginning with the 2023 season, the City of McPherson will be taking over all operations of the McPherson Water Park. For 20 years, the operation of the facility was a joint effort between the City and the McPherson Recreation Commission. The City owns and maintains the property as well as pays its staff and a portion of the director’s salary. The Recreation Commission in the past paid the other portion and handled the hiring, certifications and daily operations. The two came to a mutual decision the City would take over moving forward. Its operation will fall under the Public Lands & [...]

Kansas Receives Nearly $5.7M to Expand Equitable Broadband Access

info2022-12-27T14:12:59-06:00December 27th, 2022|

Governor Laura Kelly today announced Kansas has received nearly $5.7 million to expand broadband access, adoption, and affordability, from the U.S. Department of Commerce, National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) Office. “Communities across the Kansas have enormous potential for a new chapter of innovation and success,” Governor Laura Kelly said. “This funding will propel the state forward, accelerating our efforts to ensure all Kansans can fully participate in the digital world.” The funds are part of the designated $65 billion as outlined in the federal bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act passed in 2021, dubbed the “Internet for All Initiative.” “The Internet [...]

Atchison calls for voluntary water conservation — UPDATE: Now Mandatory

info2022-12-27T14:44:41-06:00December 27th, 2022|

Update: City of Atchison now implementing mandatory measures On December 20, 2022, the City became of aware of an ice jam in the river moving this direction over the next few days. The Army Corps of Engineers control the water management upriver that determines our river levels and manages the removal or dislodging of ice jams. The ice jam making its way from Nebraska is causing the river to back up and we anticipate we will experience another one and-a-half-foot drop in river levels over the next 48 hours. This creates a unique and unprecedented situation with the convergence of several [...]

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