With gas prices at record highs, even short trips in small towns can bring second thoughts. But Cottonwood Falls has a new way to save a drive. “It is an option that will allow people to pay from home, without having to have a check or cash and coming into the office,” City Clerk Bree Larkin said. The city added online utility bill paying to the city website in early June. Larkin said it will be available for July consolidated payments of water, sewage and trash. “We’ve had quite a few people ask for it,” Larkin noted. “We want people to [...]

Emporia’s Community Housing Board is considering ways to improve renting standards for tenants and landlords in the city. The board held a special meeting on Thursday evening to discuss possible solutions to the influx of issues surrounding rental properties in the city, including inattentive landlords and a surplus of vacant properties. Matt Lowery, chairman of the housing board, said the endgame is enforcement of current property standards and educating landlords and tenants on their rights and responsibilities. Source: Emporia Gazette

The city of Emporia will soon offer tours of the old Carnegie library building, located at 110 E. Sixth Ave. The library will be open at 2 p.m. Tuesday, June 21, and 10 a.m. Thursday, June 23, for tours. The city said each self-guided tour will be approximately 30 minutes long. The Emporia City Commission received an extensive report on the building in April, and on May 11, the city received a letter of interest for the building. Source: Emporia Gazette

Some influencers in Emporia talk about a lack of housing. But more homes than you might think sit empty — and some have been unoccupied for years. “We’ve got, in a recent count, over 130 vacant houses — that is, duplex or single-family,” City Housing Specialist Jeff Lynch said. Lynch and the city’s Community Housing Board have called a special meeting for Thursday evening. It has two main topics: a potential city ordinance on vacant houses and registration of all rental property. Empty homes are a concern in cities large and small. Several residents complained to the Madison City Council last [...]

n the wake of the tragic school shooting in Uvalde, Texas, parents of school-age children, politicians, and other community members throughout the United States are calling for better safety and prevention measures in schools. Emporia Public Schools, with nine school buildings throughout the city, implements many different security and prevention measures to ensure the district is doing everything it can to keep students safe. Todd Ayer, a security officer for USD 253 who covers the high school, said if a situation were to arise, school personnel would be able to jump on the problem quickly. Source: Emporia Gazette

The Emporia City Commission offered partial matching funds toward a request from Emporia Main Street executive director Casey Woods for a tech accelerator program, Wednesday afternoon. Woods said Main Street needs $750,000 to match a possible grant from the Economic Development Administration. He asked the Lyon County Commission for the funding last month, but the county did not want to act without a funding partner. Woods said the grand would help Emporia's effort to build and support tech jobs. He said the city and county have been known to support these types of things before. "The crux of what we’re asking [...]

The city of Emporia officially dedicated its newest park and pickleball courts, Sunday afternoon. Reeble Park, located just west of Emporia Country Club, is named for Barney and Jane Reeble and features six pickleball courts. Mayor Becky Smith credited the Reeble Foundation for its “fundamental” contribution, making the park a reality. The pickleball courts cost around $300,000, with $60,000 of that coming from private donors, like the Reeble Foundation. “Pickleball is the next step in making us a regional destination,” she said. “The active pickleball community is what makes this worth it.” Source: Emporia Gazette

Everyone seems to be pinching pennies, or maybe dollar bills, when it comes to fuel prices. Even the Lyon County budget is feeling it. “The amount has almost doubled for gasoline and doubled for diesel fuel,” county commission chair Rollie Martin said Thursday. “I believe the county uses between 8,000-10,000 gallons a month.” Add that to what Martin calls “wage pressures,” and the county budget for 2022 already is looking perilous. “We've got to start thinking in different ways, to keep things under control until the end of the year,” Martin said. For instance, the County Commission voted Thursday to chip [...]

The big number for Lyon County emergency dispatchers Thursday may not have been 911, but $1.00. The county commission accepted a proposal to provide dispatchers with a one dollar-per-hour raise. The starting pay for some of them will increase as well. The commission did not vote on the raises, after hearing from Emergency Communications Director Roxanne Van Gundy. Chair Rollie Martin said it wasn't necessary. “As long as she can work it within her budget this year, we said go ahead,” Martin explained after the weekly meeting. ... She added that the raise “keeps us competitive for future applicants and also [...]

Olpe will be without a post office in two weeks, due to what the U.S. Postal Service calls a “change of ownership.” “We found out, probably two or three weeks ago, that there was a lease issue,” Mayor Keith Pimple said Monday. “We didn’t find out until last week that there was not an agreement made.” A letter sent to residents Friday by Emporia Postmaster Tess Weimar says the USPS had a “loss of lease” on its Olpe location at 118 Westphalia Street. Source: Emporia Gazette