There may not have been a parade, but Ellinwood residents found ways to celebrate this past weekend with the 47th annual After Harvest Festival. There were concerts and comedy, contests and collections of memorabilia Thursday through Saturday. Events included the “Through the Years” display at the School/Community Library. The Museum of Ellinwood had a dairy exhibit, country kitchen exhibit, “Children’s Toys Through the Ages” and a Boys Scout-Girls Scout exhibit. The Historic Wolf Hotel brought in an adult comedy show and concerts. There was also a free concert at the American Legion Post 320 and the Kansas Sidewinders Motorcycle Club held [...]

Water usage by Great Bend residents and concerns over how the city bills customers were on tap during the City Council meeting Monday night. Administrator Kendal Francis explained the procedure and assured all present that the city is dedicated to better relations with residents, and resolving issues swiftly and fairly. The discussion was sparked in part by the concerns of a Great Bend water customer. Loralei Weller alleged her bills were too high and overage charges inaccurate, and that she received poor customer service from city employees at the Front Door facility when she lodged her complaint. The city has also [...]

The City of Great Bend took the next step towards improved communications for its first responders as the City Council approved the purchase of 800 MHz radio for the police and fire departments, the costs of which was over $550,000. “As we dove into this project, we knew it would take a few years to set the money aside,” said Fire Chief Luke McCormick. The project itself has been a few years in the make as well. (Read more: Great Bend Tribune)

Ellinwood School/Community Library’s curbside services have begun!  We surprised our first four patrons with some of our local businesses’ gift certificates. We plan to award two more certificates by drawing the names of patrons who utilize our new checkout procedure in the next couple weeks. We are happy with this process we have implemented during this time, to keep our community and staff safe. (Read more: Great Bend Tribune)

As the City of Great Bend begins the reopening process during the COVID-19 pandemic and businesses start to serve customers, the Public Works Utilities Division is urging business owners to take precautions to keep water quality standards. Buildings that have been closed for more than a week need to have the service lines and internal plumbing completely flushed, even if there has been low occupancy. Water that is not being used on a regular basis can have a quality change if the water has been stagnant, especially after an extended amount of time, a news release from the city notes. Flushing [...]

As temperatures warm, spring comes into bloom and grass begins to grow, it is up to Great Bend Property Maintenance Enforcement Manager Austin Laviolette to lay down the lawn law. “We all want a clean city,” he said. So, now, he just wants to get the word out to owners to keep their properties maintained before things get out of hand. Property Maintenance Enforcement recorded 1,315 total complaints in 2019, Laviolette said. Of those, 381 were reported by citizens with the rest initiated by his staff. “That was up from the previous year, but part of that was that we were [...]

Residents at Azria Health Woodhaven and Ellinwood Country Living spent time outside Friday afternoon, enjoying a pleasant Spring afternoon as they watched and waved to family members participating in a drive-by parade led by Ellinwood Police Chief Chance Bailey and Ellinwood EMS staff.  According to Amber Anderson at Azria Health Woodhaven, the staffs at Woodhaven and Country Place nursing homes organized the drive-by parade. “It is something that our sister facilities have been doing, and we thought it would be beneficial for our residents,” she said. (Read more: Great Bend Tribune)

Great Bend City Administrator Kendal Francis said told the City Council Monday night that he has fielded questions from the public and council members about railroad crossings, and trains sitting across the tracks. One instance included a train blocking South Main for at least a couple hours. But, as it turns out, such delays are out of the city’s hands, he said. “We do have city ordinances in place that limit the timing of that,” he said. However, in 2018, Kansas Court of Appeals said that it infringed on federal law. (Read more: Great Bend Tribune)

Revisiting a discussion about nuisance mowing violations that began last December, the Larned City Council Monday night considered the pros and cons of utilizing in-house staff over bidding and contracting for mowing the yards those who allow their grass and weeds to grow too tall. Of primary concern was the risk of liability and damage to equipment.... the city’s code enforcement officer... in 2019... surveyed 14 Kansas cities similar to Larned to find out how they handled and charged for mowing. She found an almost even split between those that contract and those who perform the work in-house. Some, like Hoisington, [...]