News – Page 2365 – Ranson Financial Group LLC

Community celebrates unveiling of Salina library exhibit

info2018-09-11T09:03:53-05:00September 11th, 2018|

The exhibit, which will remain through Oct. 12, features photos of memories made at the library since its official opening on Sept. 29, 1968. The exhibit details dates from throughout the library’s history, including in 1965 when voters approved the issuance of a bond that helped build the current facility. Salinan JoAnn Neuman recalls the “snowy and exciting” day that year when it was announced that voters had approved the bond. “My household was probably the happiest home in Salina that day,” she said. Neuman, the widow of Richard “Dick” Neuman, the first director of the Salina Public Library at its [...]

Discussion of comprehensive plan dominates Shawnee County Commission meeting

info2018-09-11T09:00:49-05:00September 11th, 2018|

After considerable public comment, and discussion among themselves, Shawnee County commissioners on Monday morning approved by a 3-0 vote a number of edits and deletions they made to the Shawnee County Comprehensive Plan. The amended plan then was turned back over to the Shawnee County Counselor’s office, which will incorporate the additions and deletions made at Monday morning’s meeting into the comprehensive plan. The updated document, which will be posted on the county’s website for public viewing after it has been updated, will be presented for final adoption or further consideration at the Oct. 1 Shawnee County Commission meeting. Kevin Cook, [...]

Shawnee County officials: Landfill height capped at 1,164 feet above sea level

info2018-09-10T07:26:52-05:00September 10th, 2018|

Shawnee County doesn’t necessarily ban Rolling Meadows Landfill from letting its trash rise higher than the surrounding hills, but it does impose a height restriction on the facility, county officials say. Rolling Meadows is prohibited from exceeding an elevation of 1,164 feet above sea level, deputy county counselor Jonathan Brzon said this past week. County officials didn’t know the landfill’s current elevation but said it was 1,136 feet in 2002, the year then-county counselor Rich Eckert said Rolling Meadows officials considered the landfill to be within the rules so long as it did not exceed the elevation of “adjacent land.” Brzon [...]

Election under way for new city of The Highlands (in Reno County)

info2018-09-10T08:23:33-05:00September 10th, 2018|

Eight residents of The Highlands cast ballots Thursday, the first day of early walk-in voting at the Reno County Courthouse Annex, 125 West 1st Ave. “More than I thought, really,” said Reno County Deputy Election Officer Jenna Fager, of the turnout. There are 304 eligible voters in the Reno County city’s special election. The city is seeking voter approval to levy property taxes to raise $60,000 for its 2019 budget. Citizens indicated by a show of hands at a meeting this summer that they would support a budget of that size. City officials, in turn, submitted the ballot question. The Highlands [...]

Citizens sold on sales tax

info2018-09-10T07:24:44-05:00September 10th, 2018|

A permanent, one-cent sales tax for South Central Kansas Medical Center received strong support among voters during a mail-in vote counted on Thursday. The unofficial results showed 66 percent of the votes cast were in support of the proposal set forth by city and hospital officials to establish a long-term funding source for the financially struggling hospital center, while at the same time lowering overall sales tax going to the medical center from 1.5 percent to 1 percent. Cowley County Clerk Karen Madison reported Thursday afternoon that 1,320 votes, more than 66.3 percent were cast in support of the measure with [...]

Pratt area flood was ‘probably a quarter or half a century event.’

info2018-09-10T07:23:29-05:00September 10th, 2018|

Kansas Department of Wildlife, Parks and Tourism is back in business issuing licenses after a flood of historic levels shut down offices headquartered east of Pratt earlier this week. The waters that damaged KDWPT offices and deluged other regions of the city and county were at a 35-year high, according to Steve McClain, president of Sterling Drilling Inc. in Pratt. McClain referred to information on the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) website which, he said, showed that this flood event crested higher (at 14.66′ at 5:30 p.m. on Sept. 3, 2018) than any previous flood event since at least 1983. [...]

Reporter participates in Cowley County Emergency Management full-scale exercise

info2018-09-10T07:20:32-05:00September 10th, 2018|

As a journalist I mostly observe and ask questions about any event I cover, but Thursday I had the opportunity to actually participate in the Cowley County Emergency Management department’s full-scale exercise as both an observer and a role player. A full-scale exercise is held every year to test the capabilities of CCEM, its volunteer groups and partner organizations. During the exercise, partners test and evaluate an emergency operations plan and receive feedback. This year’s exercise involved a simulated scenario in which an emergency shelter was set up at Tisdale United Methodist Church, and residents evacuated there due to an EF-4 [...]

Sedgwick County rejects funding increase for senior centers

info2018-09-10T06:52:34-05:00September 10th, 2018|

Despite the presence of dozens of seniors and senior advocates at a Sedgwick County Commission meeting last Wednesday, Aug. 15, the body rejected a request to boost funding for senior centers by $78,000 for 2019. The vote was 3-2, with Michael O’Donnell and Jim Howell in favor of increasing funding, and David Dennis, Richard Ranzau and David Unruh opposed. Had the vote gone the other way, the county’s overall senior center funding would have risen from $620,000 to $698,000. The Haysville Senior Center would have received $22,000 in additional funding, while the Clearwater Senior and Community Center would have received an [...]

Wichita city council to vote on settlement with Wingnuts

info2018-09-10T06:51:14-05:00September 10th, 2018|

The Wichita Wingnuts could get $2.2 million from the City of Wichita, as a settlement to terminate the team’s lease of Lawrence-Dumont Stadium. City council members will discuss and vote on the issue Tuesday. Council agenda wrote that the city would pay the team in installments through 2026. The first installment would be $1 million later this year, with annual installments afterward. Thursday, Mayor Jeff Longwell announced the New Orleans Baby Cakes had filed an application to relocate to Wichita. Plans call for the team to be housed in a brand new stadium, while the existing Lawrence-Dumont Stadium would be demolished. [...]

Two McPherson County projects to receive tax credits

info2018-09-10T06:49:30-05:00September 10th, 2018|

The Kansas Department of Commerce has awarded 16 nonprofit organizations around the state Community Service Tax Credits, which has helped nonprofit organizations undertake major capital fundraising drives for several different projects. The Canton Township Carnegie Library in McPherson County will receive $250,000. Also, the Marquette Learning Center in McPherson County will receive $215,000. Tax credit awards are distributed through an application process and may request up to $250,000 in tax credits. Applicant organizations in rural areas are eligible for a 70 percent credit. Applicant organizations in non-rural areas are eligible for a 50 percent credit. (Read more: Hutch Post)