Sedgwick County firefighter drone can now drop a lifejacket to water rescue victims

30 Tuesday, May 30

Sedgwick County firefighter drone can now drop a lifejacket to water rescue victims

info2023-05-30T12:24:55-05:00May 30th, 2023|

A new drone with Sedgwick County firefighters is being called a game-changer. "I love it. Making a difference in people's lives is something that you truly cannot explain. You just have to do it," said Captain Maroon Faissal with the Sedgwick County Fire Department. The new drone has enough battery power and flight time to take a lifejacket and drop it where it's needed in water rescues. This weekend the county was putting the new drone through its paces. And it was a success. "So this drone is the latest and greatest," said Faissal. "So one of the options this drone [...]

30 Tuesday, May 30

New JoCo programs aims to offer more mental health care to people with Down syndrome

info2023-05-30T12:23:46-05:00May 30th, 2023|

There are more than 2,000 people with Down syndrome in Kansas City, but many struggle to access mental health care. According to the National Down Syndrome Society, at least half of people with Down syndrome will encounter a major mental health concern in their lifetime — commonly anxiety, depression, and obsessive-compulsive behaviors. Down Syndrome Innovations, a local group providing support and services to people with the condition, saw a gap between need and available services after a deep dive into their client base. Source: Prairie Village Post

30 Tuesday, May 30

Mandatory cat licenses in Wichita? The animal control board just recommended it

info2023-05-30T12:21:53-05:00May 30th, 2023|

The Wichita Animal Control Advisory Board recently recommended a plan to overhaul pet licensing, including requiring cat owners to license their animals. All dogs five months and older must be licensed with the city. Wichita pet owners might soon be required to license their cats as well as their dogs with the city every year. Mandatory licensing and microchipping are part of a 14-point plan recommended by the Animal Control Advisory Board earlier this month. “If we can get you to microchip your cat, we can not only get it back to you but we can know that it’s been vaccinated,” board [...]

30 Tuesday, May 30

Lack of officers hampering Wichita police department’s efforts

info2023-05-30T12:18:45-05:00May 30th, 2023|

Wichita’s police force is about 66 officers short of its authorized strength of 468 officers, according to Police Chief Joe Sullivan. The police department faces a “retention crisis,” some analysts have said, which has complicated the department’s relationship with the community and ability to mend an internal culture criticized in a consultant’s report earlier this year. Workforce shortages put officers in the position, Sullivan said, of constantly answering emergency calls, which limits more positive interactions with the public and adversely affects the officers’ own mental health. “When you’re in a department that’s not fully staffed, and you’re responding to more emergencies [...]

30 Tuesday, May 30

Overland Park ‘build-to-rent’ subdivision offers alternative to buying a home

info2023-05-31T12:59:00-05:00May 30th, 2023|

A subsidiary of Mission Peak Capital is finishing the initial homes of the first subdivision in the metro area consisting of all-new single-family rental homes. Renting a home in the Overland Park subdivision offers a more affordable alternative amid a still tight housing market and higher interest rates, the developer says. ... The houses will have a mix of three and four bedrooms. Rent averages about $2,400 a month. The development offers an affordable alternative to buying a similar-sized home in today's market, said P.J. Ventola, managing director of development at Mission Peak, whose subsidiary, Peak Homes, is working on The [...]

30 Tuesday, May 30

Andover YMCA reopens water park

info2023-05-30T12:16:00-05:00May 30th, 2023|

People got to slide down the slide, hang out in a pool and float along the lazy river today in Andover, because the YMCA water park is back open, just a year after a tornado ripped through the city. "I'm happy about it because we used to have to drive far to go to other parks. Now we can drive closer," exclaimed 10-year-old Elijah Jamerson. The water park has some new features, such as a splash pad and climbing areas. "I'm glad it's open," said Amber Lowen of Rose Hill. "We love the Andover Y. We come here every summer." The [...]

30 Tuesday, May 30

Halstead considers updating their code enforcement process

info2023-05-31T13:12:18-05:00May 30th, 2023|

The Halstead City Council considered a proposal by City Manager Ethan Reimer at their latest meeting to change the way the city addresses code enforcement issues. The city does not have a code enforcement personnel, so for an issue to be addressed, a citizen must submit a complaint, which administrative staff or the city manager will investigate. ... Reimer said that since the police department already proactively patrols the city, has summons power to municipal court, and enforces other codes such as animal control regulations, the city staff would like to see the police department handle other code violation issues, such [...]

30 Tuesday, May 30

New additions brighten downtown Sedgwick

info2023-05-31T13:13:05-05:00May 30th, 2023|

Downtown Sedgwick recently got a little color and class with the addition of flowers and flower buckets and the Hometown Hero banners now displayed along Commercial Street. Sedgwick City Administrator Kyle Nordick said the banners will be displayed until Veterans Day, which is in November. “I want to again publicly thank the American Legion here in town for splitting the cost of our Hometown Hero banners,” Nordick said. Source: Harvey County Now

30 Tuesday, May 30

Rural Kansans wait to see how long prescriptions by telehealth last after the pandemic

info2023-05-31T13:13:47-05:00May 30th, 2023|

The pandemic allowed people to receive prescriptions for mental health and opioid addiction through telemedicine. Now Kansas clinicians want those flexibilities to be permanent. At the Citizens Health hospital in Colby, pandemic-driven rule changes let doctors prescribe chronic pain and mental health medications over virtual appointments. That gave hundreds of patients in northwest Kansas access to life-changing drugs. “Everybody struggles with access to mental health care,” Jenny Niblock, a nurse practitioner at the medical center, said. “Rural Kansas struggles even worse.” Before the pandemic, the only way to get a prescription for a federally regulated drug was through an in-person doctor’s [...]

30 Tuesday, May 30

Lenexa updates it fence code

info2023-05-31T13:11:26-05:00May 30th, 2023|

Planning to install a new fence, wall or retaining wall at home? The City of Lenexa recently updated its code related to these types of projects. Under the new code, fences along the side street on corner lots may be installed 15 feet from the property line as long as they are 4 feet tall and open-style (50% or less opaque). If a fence is taller than 4 feet or is privacy-style, it cannot be installed in front of the required setback. When a fence is located within 3 feet of or directly on top of a retaining wall, the height [...]