News – Page 462 – Ranson Financial Group LLC

Quaker Park to remain as is; Emporia City Commission planning to rescind previous resolution deeming park as surplus real property and cease plans for sale or transfer of property

info2024-04-19T11:31:27-05:00April 19th, 2024|

The next step in the Quaker Park saga was supposed to be the validation of signatures on a petition in opposition to the park’s sale or transfer, however, that will no longer be necessary. The reason is that Emporia Commissioners chose Tuesday to have city staff draft a resolution rescinding the commission’s previous action designating the park as surplus real property and initiating the sale and transfer process. Part of the reason for this decision, recommended by Emporia City Manager Trey Cocking, was the number of signatures the petition gathered, more than 800. 462 signatures from registered Emporia voters were needed to make [...]

Thrive Allen County unveils Naloxone vending box at ribbon cutting ceremony

info2024-04-19T11:30:32-05:00April 19th, 2024|

Thrive Allen County conducted a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Wednesday, April 17th, at 9 a.m. to unveil the new Naloxone (Narcan) vending box installed outside their Iola, Kansas office. The Naloxone vending box, also known as Narcan, houses a medication designed to swiftly reverse opioid overdoses. "By placing items in a FREE and easy to access newspaper-style machine (box), SEK Recovery Resources and Thrive Allen County hopes to break down barriers for immediate first response to an opioid overdose and save lives in Allen County." - Thrive Allen County. SEK Recovery Resources and Thrive Allen County collaborated to provide this life-saving medication. [...]

More than $90K in damage at Windom Cemetery vandalism

info2024-04-19T11:28:55-05:00April 19th, 2024|

Starla Andreas is heartbroken knowing that vandals defaced her mother-in-law's grave, along with 46 others. "I think the community is just crying. Why? Why would this senseless act take place? Why would you do this to people that you don't even know the families," Andreas asked. Andreas has lived in the rural town of Windom for several years and said that members of the community plan to help clean up the mess left at the cemetery. "I will be out there because not only was my mother's headstone, but we have friends here in this community and their family members," Andreas [...]

Bill Warren, Century II activists celebrate completion of new $5 million roof

info2024-04-19T11:27:54-05:00April 19th, 2024|

Century II has long been the most recognizable landmark in the Wichita skyline. City leaders have spent years debating whether to tear it down, but Thursday was a big win for people who are fighting to keep it standing. "We're celebrating the new roof on Century II. It's gorgeous. It's bright, it's blue, and we're thrilled," said Celeste Racette with Save Century II. Watching this timelapse from our drone, it's obvious the $5 million project was no easy task. You can see six months of work and more than 23,000 working hours from start to finish in just a matter of [...]

Digging deep into the history of Olathe, this documentary filmmaker discovered gems

info2024-04-19T11:25:45-05:00April 19th, 2024|

Gregory Sheffer thought he knew Olathe history. After all, he grew up in the Olathe school system and earned a history degree from MidAmerica Narazene University in Olathe. There was, Sheffer discovered, more to know about Olathe’s history. And through a documentary film project, he’s learned a lot more — and so have the people of Olathe. The project — known as “Olathe – The City Beautiful” — is marking two milestones. The entire series of 20 completed documentaries now has its own You Tube channel, and the last of the documentaries — about Gary Burrell, the Olathe citizen who co-founded [...]

Pittsburg Community Schools is looking to help ensure bus safety

info2024-04-19T11:23:55-05:00April 19th, 2024|

Pittsburg Community Schools is contributing to bus safety efforts in Kansas by participating in the Kansas One Day Stop Arm Violation Count for the Kansas State Department of Education. The district emphasizes the importance of safety, especially for students in the "danger zone" outside the bus. Kansas law (KSA 8-1556) requires all motorists to stop when approaching or overtaking a stopped school bus displaying its flashing red lights and stop arm. Motorists are to remain stopped until the bus is no longer displaying its flashing red lights and stop arm. Officials say violation of this Kansas law not only endangers children [...]

Kansas town council member resigns, keeps bigger role

info2024-04-19T11:22:40-05:00April 19th, 2024|

A man elected to three roles in Graham County has to give up one of them. Jarrod Knoll has been serving as a Graham County commissioner, a Morland City Council member, and a Graham County USD 281 School Board member. Last November, Graham County Attorney Jill Elliott began trying to oust Knoll as a county commissioner. She said state statute does not allow anyone who holds a city office to be a county commissioner. She also said Knoll has not been living in the county commission district he was elected to represent. She says that is a violation of another state statute. Knoll was [...]

Topeka selects Interim Chief Financial Officer

info2024-04-19T11:21:28-05:00April 19th, 2024|

The City of Topeka has appointed a new Interim Chief Financial Officer. A spokeswoman with the City of Topeka announced in a release that Ben Hart has been appointed as the City's Interim Chief Financial Officer (CFO) starting Tuesday. Hart has more than 25 years of experience in the public sector, according to the release. He is a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) and Charted Global Management Accountant (CGMA) for large municipalities in the Kansas City Metropolitan area. “Mr. Hart’s experience and dedication to public service will serve Topeka well as the city transitions into new leadership with the next city manager,” Interim City Manager [...]

Seely honored for 53-year firefighting career in Louisburg

info2024-04-19T11:20:36-05:00April 19th, 2024|

When Brad Seely was a student at the old Louisburg High School in the mid-1970s, there was no sweeter sound than that of the whistle blowing atop the city water tower. That sound meant there was a fire in the city of Louisburg, but, more important, it also meant Brad and a couple of his classmates who also volunteered at the fire station were allowed to leave school. “We’d run out of class,” Brad said. At that time, the high school was located at the current site of the Wildcat Activities Center, and the fire station was located a couple of [...]

Museum program will highlight 19th century railroads

info2024-04-19T11:19:24-05:00April 19th, 2024|

Community members can learn how railroads built Kansas and the crucial role Osawatomie played in the effort during a program Saturday, April 20, at the Miami County Historical Museum. Speaker Leo Oliva will lead a free presentation called “Railroads of 19th Century Kansas: Progress and Pain” that is set to begin at 1 p.m. Saturday at the museum, which is located at 12 E. Peoria St. in Paola. Few industries dominated the economy of the nation in the 19th century more than the railroad, according to a museum news release about the program. “Railroads brought immigrant settlers, created jobs, and fed [...]