The Newton school board on Monday night voted 4-3 to begin the process to close the Walton Rural Life Center. The primary question now becomes where students in the K-4 charter school will attend following the closure after this year.
Source: KWCH
After hearing an hour and half of public comment, Lawrence school board leaders have voted to close Broken Arrow and Pinckney elementaries.
Source: LJWorld
Herington’s search for a new city manager has come to an end. Herington City Commissioners approved a contract for Thatcher Moddie, former assistant city manager in Goddard at the end of their Tuesday, March 21 meeting. Moddie’s official start date is April 10. Although this is Moddie’s first city manager position, he is no stranger to city management. He started with the city management team in Goddard in 2018. “I worked under one of the more qualified city managers in Kansas,” Moddie said. “I have gained enough experience over the past four years to navigate my way through anything. I am very involved in state and national city management organizations and I am very well connected across the state of Kansas.” Former city manager Brandon Dross, who left Herington in December 2022 for the city administrator position in Lafayette, Oregon, is familiar with Moddie and said he has confidence in his ability to take on the position.
Source: Abilene RC
Members of the Kansas Senate raised modest objection to legislation raising the minimum age for buying, possessing or consuming tobacco products in the state from 18 to 21 to comply with a three-year-old federal law. If approved on a final vote Tuesday by the Senate, the bill adopted by the Kansas House in early March would be sent to Gov. Laura Kelly. If signed into law, Kansas could gain $2.1 million in federal enforcement funding and lose $7.6 million in sales tax and cigarette stamp revenue. Sen. Mike Thompson, R-Shawnee, said previous attempts to achieve compliance in Kansas never survived the legislative process. He said House Bill 2269 could be different. “It was packaged in several bills over the last couple of years that had various regulations and it just never passed out,” Thompson said.
Source: Kansas Reflector
Fees for false alarms related to commercial buildings were increased at the Garden City Commission’s regular meeting on March 21. Gene Robertson, Garden City Fire Marshal, said the reason for the increase is that the Garden City Fire Department has seen an increase in the number of false alarms being transmitted from businesses across the city…. “Some of the alarm panels are older and require more attention to keep them functioning properly,” he said. “I identified these specific businesses and have requested to have the alarm panels inspected by certified fire alarm inspectors and provide a report on the status of these alarm panels.”
Source: GC Telegram
Every day, Corrina Carlos comes into her classroom and bids good morning to her pollitos. They chirp back not in English but in Spanish. And K’Iche’. And Q’eqchi’. For the most part, the pollitos — or “little chickens,” as Carlos affectionately calls her students — understand Carlos as she switches between English and Spanish, but the students and teacher muddle through any parts of the conversation they might not understand. It’s the least Carlos can do to give her pollitos a basic education and a fighting chance at survival in a society and world new to them.
Source: CJonline
The American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) delivered $65.1 billion of direct federal aid to cities, towns and villages across the country through the Coronavirus State and Local Government Fiscal Relief Funds (SLFRF) program. This funding has helped local governments make up for lost revenue, respond to COVID-19, and support residents and communities in need as they continue to recover from the pandemic. This new report by the National League of Cities (NLC) finds that SLFRF helped stabilize local governments and their communities and positively support residents through direct engagement. Additionally, SLFRF did not lead to excessive municipal spending or cause global or national inflation. This report examines how ARPA and the SLFRF program:
USD 232 may soon name its next superintendent. The board of education has scheduled a series of closed-door sessions early this week, after which they’re expected to announce their pick. A final decision is expected on or around Wednesday, according to a recent district update. Current superintendent Frank Harwood is retiring at the end of June after serving in the post for seven years. The search for his replacement began in the fall.
Source: Prairie Village Post
Former register of deeds Margaret Hermstein said she made the decision more than 20 years ago to have the county’s records stored in the underground salt mines, both for security and preservation purposes. The climate-controlled environment operated by Underground Vault & Storage is perfect for preserving microfilm records of the county’s land records dating back to the county’s founding in 1872. “It’s a wonderful place to tour,” she said. “It’s very inviting. It’s a very safe place. … I encouraged all of our commissioners when I was register of deeds to take a tour.”
Source: Harvey County Now
Pet owners might be surprised to know some fire departments still rescue cats from trees. Jade Cripe is one pet owner who is thankful the Osawatomie Volunteer Fire Department still provides that service. So is her cat Guinevere. “I was very pleasantly surprised they were willing to help,” Cripe said. “You see the movies where the fire department is called to save a cat in the tree, but you don’t think something crazy like that would ever happen to you until it does.” The fire department received a call from dispatch at 9:30 p.m. Thursday, March 16, that a cat was stuck in a tree in the 400 block of Pacific Avenue.
Source: Local News | republic-online.com
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