News – Page 2404 – Ranson Financial Group LLC

Shawnee County commission to consider interim department head for public works

info2018-07-30T06:50:02-05:00July 30th, 2018|

The Shawnee County Commission plans Monday to consider appointing Tom Flanagan, the county’s deputy public works director, as interim director for the public works and solid waste departments. County Commissioners Kevin Cook, Shelly Buhler and Bob Archer plan Monday to consider temporarily filling the public works/solid waste director’s job being vacated by Tom Vlach, 52, who submitted his resignation this month effective Sept. 7. Vlach is leaving to become deputy city engineer in charge of design and construction for Des Moines, Iowa. Cook said Friday commissioners will consider appointing Flanagan to temporarily fill the position. Flanagan, 71, has served in the [...]

Gardner amends water restrictions

info2018-07-30T06:05:06-05:00July 30th, 2018|

During the July 19 city council emergency meeting, the amended water restrictions that had been imposed July 17. The amended restrictions went into effect on July 20. Outdoor water use will now be determined according to geographical location and applies to all homes, businesses and government agencies. (Map available at www.gardnerkansas.gov) North of Main St. – Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday South of Main St. – Monday, Wednesday and Saturday. No watering on Friday. Any outdoor water use, including lawn watering and car washing, will be allowed before 10 a.m. and after 9 p.m. on the assigned days. Refilling of swimming pools [...]

Lawrence board to look at ban for plastic bags, straws, other plastic products

info2018-07-30T05:52:33-05:00July 30th, 2018|

A local advisory board will be looking at whether the city can play a role in reducing the amount of disposable plastic products used in Lawrence. The city’s Sustainability Advisory Board voted earlier this month to make the issue of single-use plastics one of its priorities. Lawrence-Douglas County Sustainability Director Jasmin Moore said the board is forming a community work group to study single-use plastics, such as plastic bags, straws and food containers, and potential ways to reduce their use. Moore, who is the board’s staff liaison, said the board took up the issue in response to calls from several community [...]

Wichita’s proposed budget includes adding more officers, repairing neighborhood streets

info2018-07-27T12:13:38-05:00July 27th, 2018|

In Mayor Jeff Longwell’s weekly briefing says there won’t be as many cuts as initially proposed. He says continuing to enhance Wichita’s quality of life is top priority and that includes adding more personnel to the police department. Wichita Police Department Deputy Chief Troy Livingston says he’s grateful the department will be getting to add more people to its staff. He said, "our call load has gone up within the last few years. It gives us the opportunity to do more community policing activities. Right now, police officers are going from call to call." In total, WPD will be adding 32 [...]

Limit fireworks, citizen suggests in city of Holton

info2018-07-27T12:09:38-05:00July 27th, 2018|

At the request of a Holton resident who raised concerns on how fireworks affect pets and military veterans who suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), the Holton City Commission has pledged to look into possibly reducing the number of days that fireworks may be discharged within the city limits. During the commission’s regular meeting on Monday, commissioners met with Diane Gruver, who had written commissioners prior to the meeting about cutting the number of days that firecrackers, shells and other Class C fireworks may be “shot off” in the city. At present, the city’s window for fireworks discharge runs from June [...]

Unified Government of Wyandotte County brings in outside fire chief

info2018-07-27T12:08:11-05:00July 27th, 2018|

The Unified Government today announced that Mike Callahan of Chicago will be the new Kansas City, Kansas, fire chief. Callahan, 60, is deputy fire commissioner of the 5,000-employee Chicago Fire Department, and a 40-year veteran of that department, starting in 1980 as a firefighter, according to UG officials. For the past nine years, he has been the deputy fire commissioner in Chicago. After a national search, Callahan was selected by UG Administrator Doug Bach from six finalists, including two finalists from the Kansas City, Kansas, Fire Department. The six finalists were introduced at a UG meeting on June 14, and included [...]

Pratt Solar Farm a result of teamwork, persistence

info2018-07-27T12:06:42-05:00July 27th, 2018|

The city of Pratt hosted an official groundbreaking ceremony on Wednesday for the Pratt Solar Farm, which could be the largest municipal-owned solar farm in Kansas when operational. Members of the Pratt City Commission, the Pratt County Commission and Pratt Community College were joined by representatives of Inovateus Solar, Kenyon Energy, Tortoise Financial Advisors and several bystanders to celebrate the teamwork and persistence that culminated in the promised coming of 37 acres of solar panels to provide Pratt citizens with electricity by October 2018. “Initially we were aiming for a completion date sometime in January 2019,” said Jamie Huber, Pratt Director [...]

Several in Hodgeman County without power after overnight storms

info2018-07-27T12:04:00-05:00July 27th, 2018|

Several residents in Hodgeman County woke up in the dark on Thursday. Storms moved through overnight knocking down transmission lines and snapping power poles. The Hodgeman County Sheriff's Office posted updates on its Facebook page showing the damage between Jetmore and Hanston. The City of Jetmore asked residents to conserve water while its well was on a backup generator from Wichita. Crews from Midwest Energy, Inc. finally arrived to restore power. "Well 14 is working on filling the water tower, and the lift station is keeping the sewer flowing. Thank you to everyone for conserving the water! Because of your efforts, [...]

New city manager discusses what’s next for Shawnee

info2018-07-27T11:51:49-05:00July 27th, 2018|

It’s a new era for the city of Shawnee as Nolan Sunderman takes over the reins. Without much of a breather, the good-natured 34-year-old has spent the past few weeks jumping into his duties as the new city manager ever since he was named Carol Gonzales’ successor last month. Being in charge of the city’s operations, as well as implementing policies adopted by the council, are not easy tasks, but Sunderman, the former assistant city manager, loves the challenge. After all, his passion for city government stems back nearly two decades when he was an ambitious high school student longing to [...]

Great Bend looking to switch to an entirely automated water meter system

info2018-07-27T11:45:29-05:00July 27th, 2018|

The City of Great Bend has made recent efforts to be as transparent as possible with water bills and meter readings. At a Great Bend City Council meeting in April, the City outlined the entire process on how water rates are calculated. Interim City Administrator George Kolb mentioned at the July 10th budget session that the City plans to allocate money over the years to automate the entire water meter system. Kolb noted an automated system would reduce labor and benefit the customers. With over 6,000 water meters that the City operates, it takes the one trained employee roughly a month [...]