The Pawnee County Commissioners, as part of agenda business Monday, adopted zoning regulations for privately developed solar farms in Pawnee County. The regulations were developed by the Pawnee County Joint Planning Commission, which conducted a public hearing on Nov. 9 to discuss changes and submit the recommended final result to the Commissioners for approval. As approved, Resolution 2023-R-10 provides a “regulatory scheme for the construction and operation of Commercial Solar Energy Conversion Systems (CSECS) and/or Commercial Solar Energy Facilities (CSEF) in Pawnee County,” subject to reasonable restrictions which will preserve the public health and safety. Both operations will be subject to [...]

The final hurdles for the installation of new wayfinding signage around Great Bend has been cleared, said Christina Hayes, community coordinator and CVB director, addressing the City Council Monday night. The project has been in the works since earlier this year. “The permits from the state were just approved so we’re hoping to have all those wayfinding signs installed by spring,” she said. They had hoped to have them in place by year’s end, but the licensing took longer than anticipated. The CVB will work with Mark’s Custom Signs and the Street Department. Before things can get started, though, they had to secure [...]

When a life needs saving, it does not matter what size the responding department is. What matters is that there’s one level head and quick action. Andrew Buzako, who graduated from the Kansas Law Enforcement Training Center in March, was on duty as a full-time member of the Stafford Police Department on Oct. 8, when a report came in of an unresponsive female at a residence in town. According to Stafford Police Chief Carl Wettstein, officer Buzako was unable to make contact with anyone inside the residence upon arrival, so he broke down the front door and observed an unresponsive female on the [...]

By next spring, people will be able to rent a kayak and paddle across the lake at Veterans Memorial Park. Director of Kansas Tourism Bridgette Jobe stopped in Great Bend on Tuesday morning to present a “big check,” representing a grant for $12,200 to the Great Bend Convention & Visitors Bureau. This joint project will involve the City of Great Bend and the Great Bend Recreation Commission as well. The plan is to add a kayak rental service that will operate similar to the Bird Scooters that were in Great Bend for a couple of years. Kayaks can be checked out from [...]

Following complaints from local Airbnb owners, the Great Bend City Council Monday night approved an ordinance amending short-term rental regulations, that cover such businesses, that it had OKed in June. At the Oct. 16 council meeting, Terri Bahr, who operates a number of Airbnbs in Great Bend and other communities, and Jarod Chansler, who runs an Airbnb in the downtown area, addressed the council with their concerns. “The existing short-term rental regulations were the culmination of considerable hard work on the part of the Assistant City Administrator Logan Burns, Building Inspector Matt Schafer, their staffs, and the Planning Commission,” said City [...]

Barton County Cartographer Bj Wooding describes the value of the ultra-high-resolution digital orthoimagery very simply. “It’s been used by several different departments and agencies, and I don’t know how they do their jobs without it, frankly,” she said, addressing the Barton County Commission Tuesday morning. Commissioners then approved the purchase of the imagery for the Mapping Department at a cost of $28,500. This will cover the four major cities in the county (Claflin, Ellinwood, Great Bend and Hoisington) for a total of 79 square miles. The county will pay half, with the balance split among the communities based on size. Source: [...]

A wearable version of Stafford’s mural project has been delivered and is available for purchase or pickup if pre-ordered. “We will have extras to sell,” said City Administrator Jami Downing, who noted that available colors and sizes will be posted soon. A $5 portion of the proceeds from each T-shirt or sweater purchased will be put into the city’s Community Development Fund, earmarked for future mural projects. “We’ve got a few ideas, it’s just going to depend upon what we go to next,” Downing said. “ Source: Great Bend Tribune

Christian Rivas wanted real-life experience in law enforcement before he sought to attain his long-time goal of teaching college-level criminal justice. He was able to get that experience at the Great Bend Police Department (GBPD) and now is the instructor/coordinator for the Criminal Justice Program at Barton Community College. “I am grateful to the police department for the opportunity to be part of the real world of law enforcement,” said Rivas, a long-time Great Bend resident. “I am so fortunate they were willing to invest in me even though everyone knew my ultimate goal was to teach. I know the value [...]

The sounds of hammers continue to reverberate around Great Bend and the site of uprooted trees is still common after the July 16 supercell ripped through the area. In the meantime, the City of Great Bend still awaits learning the toll the thunderstorm took on its many far-flung properties scattered around the community. “Last week, a lot of our staff stayed busy taking (insurance) adjusters out from building to building” to assess the damage, City Administrator Brandon Anderson said, updating the City Council Monday night. “We’re just going through what all of our citizens have gone through. Certainly, that storm was [...]

Central Plains USD 112 Superintendent Bill Lowry met with Barton County Commissioners on Tuesday to discuss a matching funding request for daycare in the Claflin community. “I’ve raised some funds,” Lowry said, referring to donations to the school district’s Childcare Network established in October 2022 that provides 70% in state tax credits toward renovating an existing classroom in Wilson and a new building in Claflin. The program reached 50% of its goal by December 2022, but a year later Lowry was in hopes that he could move the fundraising along. “I don’t have enough at this time to really start a [...]