A rear yard or side yard; what’s the difference? 18 feet when it comes to setbacks. The Newton Planning and Zoning Commission plunged into the semantic question of yard definitions Monday in order to settle a request by Newton Bible Church, 900 Old Main Street. The church hoped to build an eastward expansion that sat within 15 feet of its property line. This would be out of compliance with city setback requirements.
Read more: Harvey County Now

Images of buildings from Walton’s yesteryear will grace the outdoor mural on the Stone Building in town. The building recently was renovated into a community gathering place and fire department training location. An outdoor pavilion, complete with a stage, was added to one side of the building, as well, and the whole location was utilized on Friday night during Walton’s Sunset Festival, where the mural rendering was unveiled.
Read more: Harvey County Now

Stingers, Spikes, Steam engines, Twisters, and Gators: all mascots could soon be on the chopping block. The Newton School District will consider transitioning all schools to a single mascot, The Railer. Board Member Melissa Schreiber requested Monday night that the discussion be added to the district’s Oct. 12 agenda.
Read more: Harvey County Now

Leawood Police are crediting a dog with alerting an officer to help its owner, who was in need of medical attention at a residential home last month. Leawood PD posted edited clips of the officer’s body cam footage to social media this week, where it quickly picked up likes, shares and reactions. “Sometimes, our four-legged friends know exactly what to do,” the post began.
Read more: Johnson County Post

Ten new squirrels will be joining Marysville’s Black Squirrels on Parade this October 24 at 3:00 p.m. in the 700/800 blocks of Broadway. Wayne Kruse, OneMarysville Executive Director, said adding new squirrels isn’t an extremely common occurrence.
Read more: KCLY Radio

The City of Emporia is preparing for the next phase of construction to replace an over century-old storm sewer that partially collapsed earlier this year. In late March, a police car was partially swallowed by a sinkhole that opened up on Commercial Street between Ninth and 10th avenues. According to a city engineer, the cause of the sinkhole was a 100- to 125-year-old 44-inch storm sewer pipe underneath the street that had collapsed.
Read more: KSN-TV