Andover YMCA Aiming for Spring 2024 Reopen After April Tornado

6 Tuesday, September 6

Andover YMCA Aiming for Spring 2024 Reopen After April Tornado

info2022-09-06T00:30:05-05:00September 6th, 2022|

The Andover YMCA is set to reopen in 2024. The facility was heavily damaged after the April tornado, and officials say they have been working with insurance companies to determine what areas of the facility need to be rebuilt, and which need to be remodeled. Officials said the building’s administrative offices, locker rooms and lobby received the most significant damage most significant damage, but added that every other area in the building sustained damage of some kind. In the interim, Greater Wichita YMCA CEO Ronn McMahon said that many members have been using other YMCA locations, but the goal is to [...]

6 Tuesday, September 6

Dignitaries celebrate Cowley College centennial

info2022-09-06T00:25:19-05:00September 6th, 2022|

Cowley College held a proclamation celebration Wednesday in the Robert Brown Theatre to recognize the 100th anniversary of the school, which marks the first official day of classes on Sept. 12, 1922. The event also shared the vision for the future Career and Technical Education Center to be built on the main campus in Arkansas City. Cowley government affairs liaison Jessica Lucas emceed Wednesday’s event. “You don’t reach 100 years of success without strong leaders, and Cowley College has certainly been richly blessed by a community of people that have dedicated themselves to supporting investments in the local community college,” Lucas [...]

6 Tuesday, September 6

Jackson water crisis reminds City leaders of new water treatment facility’s importance

info2022-09-06T00:23:57-05:00September 6th, 2022|

As the water crisis in Jackson, Mississippi continues, so does construction on Wichita’s new water treatment facility. Wichita Mayor Brandon Whipple said the situation down South is reminding him of the importance of the new plant. President Joe Biden approved an emergency declaration in Jackson this week. Residents there have been without clean drinking water after a water treatment facility failed due to deferred maintenance. “The expectation is for Wichita to be ahead of the curb when it comes to replacing infrastructure before that infrastructure causes deeper problems,” Whipple said. Wichita’s new facility will replace its old one. It is 80-years-old. [...]

6 Tuesday, September 6

New Health Department Director named in Crawford Co.

info2022-09-06T00:17:06-05:00September 6th, 2022|

There's a new face behind public health in Southeast Kansas. Debra Anthony has been named the new health department director of Crawford County. Anthony has around 30 years of experience in the healthcare field. She was a part of the Crawford County EMS for 11 of those years. She is a registered nurse, with a degree from the University of Kansas, and experience in the ICU and hospice. Anthony has been a member of the health department for 11 years. She says she's ready to take the lessons the department has learned over the COVID-19 pandemic to help improve Crawford County. [...]

6 Tuesday, September 6

Calls to crisis line go up in Sedgwick County following 988 rollout

info2022-09-06T07:29:49-05:00September 6th, 2022|

Calls routed to Sedgwick County’s crisis center via national suicide hotlines went up nearly 30% percent during the first month of the new 988 hotline. In mid-July, the 988 Suicide and Crisis Line replaced the 10-digit national suicide prevention lifeline around the U.S. The goal of the new number is to provide a crisis line for mental health emergencies similar to 911. Calls to the 988 hotline are routed to local crisis centers, like Sedgwick County’s. In 2022, the center received 273 calls via the new hotline between July 16 and August 21. The prior year, the center received 211 calls [...]

6 Tuesday, September 6

Wastewater surveillance continues to inform COVID-19 surges in Kansas

info2022-09-06T07:30:11-05:00September 6th, 2022|

Two years ago, scientists in Kansas and around the world found an interesting way to track the novel coronavirus: sewage water. By measuring the concentration of virus particles in flushed bowel movements, they are able to estimate how much of the virus was generally present in any given area. People infected with the coronavirus shed it through breathing, sneezing, coughing and in their stool. By measuring viral particles in the sewer system, known as wastewater surveillance, scientists can capture the total amount of virus present in large groups of people regardless of whether they had been tested. Source: Wichita Eagle

6 Tuesday, September 6

Johnson County sheriff asks for more funding amid staffing crunch

info2022-09-06T07:30:42-05:00September 6th, 2022|

The Johnson County manager’s office will reallocate ten full-time employees to the Sheriff’s office for the rest of this year as a temporary measure to address staffing shortages. Driving the news: County Manager Penny Postoak Ferguson and county commissioners discussed ongoing staffing problems with Sheriff Calvin Hayden Thursday morning before signing off on a plan that would bring six retired officers, known as “blue coats,” and four civilians into the sheriff’s office to fill court security positions and corrections positions currently held by sworn deputies. But the shuffling will only be effective through the rest of this year and will not solve [...]

6 Tuesday, September 6

Butler Community College culinary arts program unveils new facility

info2022-09-06T07:31:16-05:00September 6th, 2022|

The Butler Community College Foundation recently announced the opening of the Redler Institute of Culinary Arts in Andover with a ribbon-cutting ceremony in August. The new facility has two complete kitchens, flexible classroom and learning spaces, and an herb garden where students can gain hands-on experience growing herbs for cooking and baking. The new Redler Institute of Culinary Arts facility was made possible with lead donations from Scott and Betsy Redler, and Paul and Favia Jackson. Additional funding came from private donations and the Butler Foundation. Source: Derby Informer

6 Tuesday, September 6

Shawnee Co. adopts program to connect residents and first responders

info2022-09-06T07:31:28-05:00September 6th, 2022|

The Shawnee County Fire District #2 unveiled a new community program to allow residents to inform first responders of their needs before an emergency. The district has been collaborating with a technology partner Fire Due to release a program called Community Connect. The web application will allow residents and businesses to share information with the fire department easily. Residents will be able to get burn permits without visiting the fire station in person and also be able to verify the burn condition status online. Source: KSNT 27 News

6 Tuesday, September 6

Former hospital site in Ark City could become housing

info2022-09-06T07:33:20-05:00September 6th, 2022|

Real estate developers based in Kansas City have their eye on the vacant lot near Wilson Park in Arkansas City as the possible site of town houses and apartments. The City Commission is scheduled Tuesday to consider a memorandum of understanding with Consolidated Housing Services and Consolidated Development Partners to acquire the land and develop it. The spot is the former location of the old South Central Kansas Medical Center building, torn down in 2015. A report for commissioners says the proposed development would include 15 market-rate town homes and 40 apartments of mostly affordable units, meaning income restrictions, with some [...]