News – Page 2252 – Ranson Financial Group LLC

Clay Center City Council OK’s standards, rates for solar panels

info2019-01-04T09:09:18-06:00January 4th, 2019|

Last night the Clay Center City Council approved an ordinance for standards for people wanting to connect solar panels to the city’s electric grid and another ordinance setting the rate of reimbursement for those generating electricity with solar panels who generate more electricity than they use. Public Utilities Superintendent Scott Glaves told the council the rate of reimbursement for those generating more electricity than they use by solar rate is 150 percent of the “deferred cost,” or what PU would have paid for that electricity had it not been generated by the solar panel. This rate is set by state statute. [...]

70 volunteer and part-time fire departments receive grants

info2019-01-04T08:44:27-06:00January 4th, 2019|

Seventy volunteer and part-time fire departments across the state received funds this year through the Kansas Firefighter Recruitment and Safety Grant Program administered by the Office of the State Fire Marshal (OSFM). The grant awards will be used by fire departments for the purchase of safety gear, washer/extractor machines for cleaning bunker gear, start-up of Junior Firefighter programs and physical costs for firefighters with no insurance or ability to be reimbursed by their department. This year, over $1.3 million in requests from 79 departments were submitted. Fire departments received approximately $310,000 to be used for safety gear and $90,000 for 26 [...]

Commissioner Dan Deming talks wind farm proposal

info2019-01-04T08:41:52-06:00January 4th, 2019|

As we mentioned earlier in the week, the Florida company wanting to build a wind farm in the southern and southeastern parts of the county has yet to file an application for a special use permit for the project. It has become quite controversial. Residents that will be affected by the project wanted a moratorium so more study could be done. They would also like to see regulations for such projects put in place. That failed to get past the Reno County Commission mainly because commissioners Dan Deming and Bob Bush were concerned it might kill the project. Commissioner Dan Deming, [...]

Frontenac history front and center at MHM

info2019-01-04T09:10:31-06:00January 4th, 2019|

What do you know about Frontenac? Do you know about the 100-year-old businesses in Frontenac which are still in business today, how the Frontenac Raiders got their name or how teachers managed to teach students of different nationalities in the 1800s? For the last several years the Frontenac Homecoming Committee amassed an array of artifacts from the coal mining days. There are so many, in fact, the committee can’t show them all off at once at the Miners Hall Museum, Committee Member Linda Grilz said. Although the committee often displays their work at their local town hall, the group had an [...]

Merriam adds two pedestrian-friendly HAWK signals to Johnson Drive

info2019-01-04T07:48:55-06:00January 4th, 2019|

Merriam is installing two pedestrian-friendly HAWK traffic signals on Johnson Drive. Beginning Dec. 26, the city began work to install two signals on the corridor: one at Goodman Street and Johnson Drive and the other at Mastin Street and Johnson Drive. The city intends to complete work by Jan. 10. HAWK signals, which stand for High Intensity Activated CrossWalK, flash red when pedestrians have signaled that they want to cross the street. This provides safer crossing than traditional crosswalks because drivers are more likely to stop for a red light. “They also reduce the number of delays drivers experience in those [...]

Community discusses future of Century II

info2019-01-04T07:47:19-06:00January 4th, 2019|

Community members gathered Wednesday night to discuss the future of Century II. The Century II Citizens Advisory Committee has been working for nearly a year to decide if the building should be torn down and rebuilt or remodeled. Several people in the community want to see the historic structure stay as part of Wichita's skyline. Century II has structural problems and safety concerns as well as millions of dollars worth of asbestos that needs to go but committee chairperson Mary Beth Jarvis says the issues inside the building are beyond simple repair. "There's such excellence created in our performing arts and [...]

Overland Park shifts ward boundaries to compensate for booming population in southern part of city

info2019-01-04T09:11:56-06:00January 4th, 2019|

The continuing development boom in southern Overland Park has prompted the shifting of city council boundaries to add more territory to the wards in the northern part of the city — a factor that will come into play in this fall’s city council elections. Under the city’s charter ordinance, Overland Park is required to review and adjust its city council ward boundaries when the deviation in population among the six wards exceeds 10 percent. Population counts from mid-2018 found that the Ward 6, which encompasses a large swath of land mostly south of 151st Street, had grown to more than 36,200 [...]

Former county employee appeals contract decision

info2019-01-04T09:14:22-06:00January 4th, 2019|

A former Leavenworth County employee whose contract was ruled to be invalid is appealing that decision. The notice of appeal was filed Monday by an attorney for Tamara Copeland. The decision by Senior Judge Edward Bouker that found Copeland’s contract with the county to be invalid is being appealed to the Kansas Court of Appeals. ... In July of this year, Bouker ruled that the severance provisions of Copeland’s contract had violated public policy and were an improper attempt to bind future commissioners. (Read more: Leavenworth Times)

Joyce tabbed Finney County treasurer

info2019-01-04T07:40:55-06:00January 4th, 2019|

Trista Joyce has been named the new Finney County Treasurer after she was appointed by the Republican Party on Wednesday evening. Joyce is an accounting supervisor at Golden Plains Credit Union currently and has numerous years of living in Finney County and southwest Kansas. Joyce will take over for current Treasurer Kelly Drees on Jan. 14 after Drees steps away following next week. 38 precinct committee members for the Finney County Republican Party submitted 44 votes. Joyce was elected with a 29-15 win over fellow candidate Emily Burns in the final running. (Read more: Western Kansas News)

Other Shawnee Mission area cities plan to look at LGBTQ+ protection ordinances, but no firm plans are set

info2019-01-04T09:14:39-06:00January 4th, 2019|

With Prairie Village and Mission’s passage of non-discrimination ordinances that provide legal protections for LGBTQ+ individuals last month, some local advocates are keeping a close eye on whether other Shawnee Mission area cities will follow suit. And it appears the largest city in Johnson County may be among the most likely to look at an NDO this year. Overland Park Mayor Carl Gerlach said that the city will convene a committee in 2019 to discuss a non-discrimination ordinance. “At some point [this] year I do anticipate discussing an NDO with members of the Overland Park City Council,” Gerlach said. Other large [...]