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Here’s what a developer is doing to restore a downtown Wichita icon full of memories

2018-08-10T11:50:53-05:00August 10th, 2018|

There are no men sporting top hats or women wearing gloves and floor-length dresses. No bellhops scurry about with luggage as passengers embark on journeys. Yet the Union Station train terminal — a vast space that was chopped up for offices in 1979 — is now being being restored to some of its original grandeur. “We’re trying to take that back now,” says Gary Oborny, chairman and CEO of Occidental Management. Oborny bought the Union Station campus of five buildings for $1.5 million in 2013 and, after working on some of the other buildings, is now refurbishing its showcase feature. The [...]

Johnson county report indicates newspapers still viable

2018-08-10T11:51:19-05:00August 10th, 2018|

Apparently newspapers aren’t dead. At least according to a survey commissioned by the Johnson County government. Johnson County residents were surveyed on ways to improve the quality of county communication with the public. The survey, administered by ETC Institute in Olathe, is conducted by phone with a random sample of 408 county residents. Ninety-two percent (92 percent) of those surveyed indicated they depend on traditional media either “frequently” or “occasionally” to stay informed about the county. The report did not appear to differentiate between online newspapers (website), traditional hard copy news print and a presence on social media. (Read more: Gardner [...]

Olathe wants your ideas on the future

2018-08-10T11:51:30-05:00August 10th, 2018|

Olathe officials continue to seek ideas from the public on how the city should look and function two decades from now. It’s part of a strategic planning process that will help Olathe plan for the future. Residents, business owners, visitors and those who work in Olathe are encouraged to go to OlatheKS.org/Olathe2040 to share their thoughts or vote and comment on other people’s ideas. Among suggestions mentioned so far: more bike paths and trails, pocket parks and recreational water features, shaded streets, late-night coffee shops and a rail line to downtown Kansas City. (Read more: Joco 913 News)

Sales tax renewal easily passes in KCK

2018-08-10T11:49:39-05:00August 10th, 2018|

The renewal of the three-eighths-cent sales tax for public safety and infrastructure easily passed in Kansas City, Kansas, on Tuesday, Aug. 7. The sales tax renewal was approved by 60 percent of the voters here, according to statistics from the Wyandotte County election office. The vote total was 10,226 “yes” and 6,594 “no,” according to a Wednesday vote total update on the election commissioner’s website. “I think people realized it’s a critical tax with the community in terms of funding public safety and our neighborhood improvements,” said Mike Taylor, public relations director for the Unified Government. “I think one of the [...]

Wichita gets nearly $1 million grant for school security

2018-08-10T11:51:43-05:00August 10th, 2018|

The Wichita school district plans to use a nearly $1 million grant to improve security at its schools this year. The improvements will include upgrading classroom doors that can lock from inside, adding cameras, and buying more metal detectors. The Wichita Eagle reports a state grant earmarked for school security will finance many of the improvements. Terri Moses, Wichita’s director of safety services, says other improvements include adding defibrillators in every district building. Moses says the district will buy eight metal detectors but there currently are no plans to place them permanently or regularly search students as they enter buildings. The [...]

‘If you don’t do that, you will die;’ seniors seek more county funding for centers

2018-08-10T11:49:07-05:00August 10th, 2018|

Sedgwick County senior citizens were out in force Thursday night to demand more money for senior centers that they say help them stay in their homes and stay alive. Dozens came to the County Commission podium to tell their stories — three minutes at a time — of how senior centers have benefited them and to ask the commissioners to increase their support. The occasion was the county government’s annual evening budget hearing. More than 60 seniors packed the commission chamber to standing room only and another 20 filled an overflow room watching on video. The current county budget plan is [...]

JoCo leaders support election official despite prolonged delay releasing vote results

2018-08-10T11:44:31-05:00August 10th, 2018|

Johnson County commissioners voiced full support Thursday for Election Commissioner Ronnie Metsker, despite an election marred by an overnight delay in releasing voting results. “I have to compliment you and your team,” Commissioner Steve Klika told Metsker at Thursday’s commission meeting. Klika said he knew many voters and observers were frustrated that it took until Wednesday morning to get the final tally from Tuesday’s primary election. But he didn’t blame Metsker for a delay that kept election watchers across the country waiting for results in several high-profile races, including the still-undecided Republican primary for governor. Klika also credited the vendor of [...]

Topeka woman sues city over pothole injury

2018-08-09T07:36:18-05:00August 9th, 2018|

A Topeka woman is suing the city after claiming she fell and was injured by a pothole in the street. The lawsuit, filed Monday in Shawnee County District Court, says Amanda Counts notified the city of Topeka about a pothole in front of her home in the 1200 block of S.W. Hillsdale four times, starting in September 2016. A crew responded in October 2016 and told her it would be repaired the following day. On April 24, 2017, Counts fell and “suffered a serious and permanent injury,” the petition claims. The pothole was repaired about a week after she fell. The [...]

Marion County Commission splits on transfer station

2018-08-09T07:34:22-05:00August 9th, 2018|

Thursday’s special county commission meeting had one item on the agenda, the Marion’s transfer station for recyclables. The project passed 2-1, but commissioner Randy Dallke had major reservations, he said. Commision chair Dianne Novak and commissioner Kent Becker voted in favor of the repairs, bringing about a majority. Novak then moved to accept the engineering agreement from Kaw, pending approval by the county counselor. Dallke seconded and it passed unanimously. According to Dallke, voting in favor of the agreement was about cutting losses and working together. “I realize that, O.K., what good does it do me to vote against it,” Dallke [...]

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