‘Recovery Connect’ aims to help Sedgwick county residents find aid to bounce back from pandemic

10 Friday, June 10

‘Recovery Connect’ aims to help Sedgwick county residents find aid to bounce back from pandemic

info2022-06-10T00:46:20-05:00June 10th, 2022|

The last two years have been tough for Robert Chavez and his non-profit, Veterans Unidos. The Coronavirus pandemic forced a lot of people to cut back on their spending, meaning donations to his organization dropped. "We had to start asking the hard questions on what did we need to do to get ourselves back to where we were pre pandemic?" Chavez turned to Sedgwick County Commissioner Lacey Cruse, who told him about a county program, Recover Connect. It helps connect people to resources out there, from housing assistance and daycare, to job training and grant writing. Cruse says "We can't have [...]

10 Friday, June 10

Western Kansas wheat crops are failing just when the world needs them most

info2022-06-10T00:41:29-05:00June 10th, 2022|

This time of year, the wheat growing in this part of western Kansas should be thigh-high and lush green. But as a months-long drought continues to parch the region, many fields tell a different story. “There’s nothing out there. It’s dead,” farmer Vance Ehmke said, surveying a wheat field near his land in Lane County. “It’s just ankle-high straw.” Across western Kansas, many fields planted with wheat months ago now look like barren wastelands. The gaping spaces between rows of brown, shriveled plants reveal hardened dirt that’s scarred with deep cracks from baking in the sun. Source: KCUR News

10 Friday, June 10

Kansas lawmaker wants to spend $150B to harden schools

info2022-06-10T00:38:57-05:00June 10th, 2022|

A Kansas lawmaker wants to redirect $150 billion dollars in COVID relief dollars to harden schools, increase security measures and pay for armed resource officers. On Thursday, June 9, U.S. Senator Roger Marshall, M.D., and U.S. Congressman Mike Garcia from California introduced the Safe Schools Act legislation that would allow COVID dollars to be used for video surveillance, locks, panic buttons security systems and armed guards inside schools. “While we made some progress in previous legislation to make our schools stronger, harder, and safer, certainly there is more that can and must be done immediately to protect kids,” said Senator Marshall. [...]

10 Friday, June 10

How the new Wichita Water Treatment Facility will help water treatment in the future

info2022-06-10T00:37:58-05:00June 10th, 2022|

This is the second boil advisory issue for Wichita in eight months. The two issues are not connected. One involved a problem with a pipe, the other a filter at the water treatment plant. That plant is more than 80 years old, but a new one is under construction. We are still several years out until the plant is up and running. The main thing that will really benefit Wichita in the future is having this new equipment and fewer repairs needed when this site opens up. "We are the largest water provider in the entire state of Kansas, and to [...]

10 Friday, June 10

Ellsworth warns residents of ransomware attack

info2022-06-10T00:35:57-05:00June 10th, 2022|

The City of Ellsworth is dealing with a ransomware attack. It found out about the attack after employees noticed unauthorized activity on the City's network on June 2. The City took the system offline to stop any potential malicious activity and notified federal law enforcement. Computer forensics experts are investigating, and a new server is being installed. So far, there is no information on who is behind the attack or how it happened. The City posted a news release on social media to warn residents. However, the City has not determined if any personal information is at risk. It will update [...]

10 Friday, June 10

Lyon County’s Click It or Ticket efforts leads to over 70 citations, including seven DUI arrests

info2022-06-10T00:33:09-05:00June 10th, 2022|

The Lyon County Sheriff’s Office has announced the results of its recent Click It or Ticket enforcement campaign at the end of May into early June. Lyon County Deputy Jody Meyers says there were over 70 citations issued during the two-week effort, including 13 safety belt citations, 46 speeding citations, one citation for texting while driving. There were 13 other citations and arrests, including seven arrests for driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs. Meyers says there were 115 vehicle stops, of which 80 percent were conducted at night. Ten occupant restraint tickets were handed out during the night patrols. [...]

10 Friday, June 10

Leawood residents could request crosswalks at certain intersections under draft policy

info2022-06-10T08:03:13-05:00June 10th, 2022|

Leawood officials are reviewing the initial draft of what would be the city’s first-ever crosswalk policy, a conversation that was sparked by concerns raised by residents about the intersection at 93rd Street and Lee Boulevard. If ultimately approved by the Leawood City Council, the new policy, which was reviewed this week by the council’s Public Works Committee, would allow residents to provide a written request to the city engineer for a crosswalk on non-arterial roads within city limits Source: Shawnee Mission Post

10 Friday, June 10

Overland Park committee approves city-county partnership for fire station use

info2022-06-10T08:05:35-05:00June 10th, 2022|

Plans for continued sharing of fire and medical resources between Overland Park and Johnson County moved forward last night. At this month’s meeting, Overland Park’s Public Safety Committee unanimously approved four respective lease agreements allowing the Overland Park Fire Department to share resources with the Johnson County Med-Act emergency service center. Under the agreement, the fire department and the county would share use of Fire Stations 2, 3, 4 and 5. In exchange, the county would pay $12 for each square foot of the space it occupied in each station to cover operating and utility costs. Source: Shawnee Mission Post

10 Friday, June 10

Manhattan looks to not call applicants unfit if commission rejects them for boards

info2022-06-10T08:06:23-05:00June 10th, 2022|

The Manhattan City Commission wants to be able to reject board applicants without calling them unfit to serve. Commissioners didn’t vote Tuesday, but they agreed that they wanted to opt out of the state law that requires using that term. The issue came up recently with the commission’s 3-2 rejections of Annie Cook to the Human Rights and Services Board and Thomas Hanson to the Historic Resources Board on May 17. The commission still disagrees on whether commissioners can make their own recommendations after rejecting the mayor’s. Source: themercury.com - RSS Results in news of type article

10 Friday, June 10

Manhattan commissioners change meeting quorum from four to three

info2022-06-10T08:06:52-05:00June 10th, 2022|

The Manhattan City Commission on Tuesday changed its quorum for voting in meetings from four to three. A quorum is the minimum number of members needed for a valid vote. The change means the commission can take action when at least three of the five members are present. Commissioners passed the measure 4-1, with commissioner Usha Reddi voting against it. Commissioner John Matta said his reason for the change was that in previous commissions, commissioners sometimes would not show up. If they didn’t reach the quorum, the commission couldn’t conduct business. He said his reasoning now is that if anything happened [...]