News – Page 2150 – Ranson Financial Group LLC

Great Bend Fire and Police awaiting the arrival of new drones

info2019-04-25T09:20:42-05:00April 25th, 2019|

The Great Bend Police and Fire Departments are anxiously awaiting the arrival of their new drones that will be implemented in both departments in the near future. According to Great Bend Fire Chief Luke McCormick, the new drones will be arriving any day now and will be an important tool for both Police and Fire. Last year, the Great Bend City Council authorized funds to purchase drones for both departments. In early January, McCormick and firefighter Mike Smith along with Great Bend Police Chief David Bailey and Detective Heather Smith attended and passed the certification test that was taken after an [...]

Miami County jail to house some Wyandotte County prisoners

info2019-04-25T09:14:28-05:00April 25th, 2019|

Miami County Detention Center will soon be taking in inmates from Wyandotte County. Miami County Sheriff Frank Kelly told county commissioners during their April 17 study session that Wyandotte County was interested in sending 20 prisoners initially, as soon as the agreement is approved by Miami County commissioners. Commissioners approved the agreement that afternoon at their regular meeting. Wyandotte County’s sheriff and administrator have already signed the agreement. Kelly said the jail has had more than 60 inmates in the past. The detention center’s capacity is 96 inmates, but Kelly said the rule of thumb is not to let the jail’s [...]

City of Leavenworth discusses stormwater fees

info2019-04-25T09:13:28-05:00April 25th, 2019|

When they met last week, Leavenworth city commissioners reached a consensus to revisit the fee structure for a stormwater system maintenance program. But when they met again Tuesday, Commissioner Nancy Bauder proposed forgoing any additional study of the issue and reducing one of the fees charged for the program. “We’ve studied it,” Bauder said. “How much more do we need to study it?” In the end, commissioners reached consensuses to review a fee charged to property owners for each unit in apartment buildings and take a separate look at the rest of the fee structure. Commissioners approved annual fees for the [...]

Town hall meeting highlights different opinions on new Saline County jail

info2019-04-25T09:11:45-05:00April 25th, 2019|

Local residents expressed wildly different visions for their criminal justice system during a town hall meeting Tuesday evening. Some people supported additional resources for inmates to address substance abuse and mental health problems. Others wanted jail to be a harsher punishment to deter inmates from committing additional crimes. Several people opposed building a new jail. Saline County officials held the town hall to receive feedback on whether the Saline County Commission should build additional jail capacity for inmates in Saline County. The commission is considering four options, one of which is building a new jail. About 30 people attended the meeting. [...]

Haysville groundwater contamination update

info2019-04-25T09:10:07-05:00April 25th, 2019|

Since 2017 the state has known the groundwater off 412 Grand street in Haysville was contaminated with cleaning chemicals considered toxic. Some in Haysville are asking when the cleanup begins. This week the Kansas Department of Health and Environment says it has a plan. "KDHE anticipates excavating as much soil contamination as possible. Remediation funding has been allocated for the site," said Kristi Pankratz with KDHE Communications. "Remedial design engineers will also evaluate the use of other options to clean up any remaining contamination after the excavation." KDHE has also been working on studying the site. That includes looking into possible [...]

Residents come together to brainstorm ideas to create more affordable housing in Douglas County

info2019-04-25T12:02:32-05:00April 25th, 2019|

...several local experts on homelessness and affordable housing shared ideas on how to address an issue that has become a concern in Lawrence. The panel included Ron Gaches, chair of the City of Lawrence’s affordable housing advisory board, as well as representatives from KU, Bert Nash Community Mental Health Center, the Lawrence Home Builders Association and other local organizations. Last year, the City of Lawrence hired BBC Research & Consulting to complete a housing market analysis that found about 5,300 Lawrence renters were cost-burdened, defined as those who spend more than 30% of their income on rent and utilities. The study [...]

Lawrence’s 23rd Street construction project leads to land dispute with homeowner, lawsuits

info2019-04-24T09:07:49-05:00April 24th, 2019|

The ongoing project to widen a portion of 23rd Street has the city at odds with a homeowner along the roadway. The city is widening 23rd Street between Louisiana and Massachusetts streets to install a center turn lane, requiring the city to acquire easements from several property owners, including the owner of a home at 23rd and Vermont streets who has since filed a lawsuit against the city. The project required easements from 12 properties totaling about 7,500 square feet, and the disputed land is the only unresolved easement, according to a city memo. City memos state that the property at [...]

Curb-side recycling could be coming to Barton County in the near future

info2019-04-24T07:17:56-05:00April 24th, 2019|

Currently there is no curb-side recycling offered in Barton County but Sunflower Diversified Services hopes to change that in the future. Executive Director Jon Prescott updated Barton County Commissioners Monday on the organizations activities over the past year after Sunflower received a $15,000 recycling grant from the county in 2018. Prescott told the board that they are very interested in providing curb-side recycling in the future after the Barton County Young Professionals organization survey showed there was very high interest in curb-side service. He says of the 278 surveys that were sent out, there was a 96.8% response rate that indicated [...]

Salina unlikely to ban plastic shopping bags

info2019-04-24T06:59:51-05:00April 24th, 2019|

It appears unlikely Salina will ban the sale of plastic shopping bags. During a study session on Monday, three city commissioners, Karl Ryan, Mike Hoppock, and Melissa Hodges, expressed opposition to further exploring the proposal at this time. Further consideration of the plastic bag ban would require city staff to spend less time on other priorities, which concerned commissioners who support putting the proposal on hold. Two commissioners, Joe Hay Jr. and Trent Davis, expressed support for continuing to consider banning plastic shopping bags. Hay passionately advocated for the ban, which he said would benefit the environment. Hay estimates Salina residents [...]

Riley County commission approves letter to be sent to state concerning Senate Bill that would cancel Local Ad Valorem Funds and County/City revenue sharing for local highway projects

info2019-04-24T06:57:34-05:00April 24th, 2019|

The Riley County commissioners approved a letter to be sent to the state in regards to Senate Bill 190 on Monday. County Counselor Clancy Holeman says the county specifically has an issue with Section 3 Three of the bill. This would cancel the Local Ad Valorem Funds (LAVRF) and County City Revenue Sharing (CCRS) statutes for local highway projects. During the Joint City/County/County meeting on April 18th, the commissioners discussed writing a letter to the state. Holeman drafted the letter and presented it to the commissioners. The letter is to show the objection the commissioners have and get the support from [...]