Sumner NewsCow

The Wellington City Council met Tuesday to clear their desks of routine purchases and resolutions before the July holiday. The first resolution of the evening completed a request from the Wellington Police Department to purchase 20 point-blank AXBIIIA ballistic vests for $18,974.40. Ballistic vests have a shelf life of five years, and this bid came in at $4,000 under budget. Police Chief Tracy Heath also stated that he would apply for a Department of Justice grant to reimburse the City for half of the cost. After that, the council approved the resolution unanimously. Source: Sumner NewsCow

It was nearly a decade-long effort to create the federally regulated Quiet Zone, but as of April 5, the trains are a muted sound from the distant crossings outside the city. The 98-decibel horns are silenced as they travel through the three crossings impacting the community’s west side and Belle Plaine Township. The effort to create the quiet zone began with a joint effort of the Bartlett Arboretum and the City of Belle Plaine. The committee was fortunate to have the assistance of Mike McKay, a retired civil engineer whose entire career centered on noise and zoning on both the local [...]

Wellington High School graduate Daniel Farley has just been hired to be the South Haven School Superintendent. He will begin his tenure on July 1, 2023. The USD 509 South Haven School Board of Education made the hire this week. Farley is currently serving as the Director of Special Programs at USD 353 Wellington school district. Mr. Farley has broad educational experience as a teacher and administrator. He also served as Assistant Director of Sumner County Educational Services/Principal of Sumner County Academy for two years and was also the Assistant Principal at Clay Center Community High School for two years. Source: [...]

effrey M. Porter will officially begin his tenure as the new Wellington City Manager... He was the city administrator for the City of Medicine Lodge from Oct. 2014 to the present. Medicine Lodge is a community of 2,000 residents. During his tenure, he was in charge of developing and managing the city’s $4 million annual budget. He oversaw a team of staff, contractors, and funding agencies to complete a $5 million upgrade to the city’s municipal water distribution system. and served as staff liaison to advisory boards dealing with landscaping projects, airport improvements, tourism and planning and zoning. Source: Sumner NewsCow

The Wellington City Council could soon be voting on an ordinance that would establish “land banks” – a practice in which the city of Wellington could purchase property, redevelop it, and then sell/donate it to prospective developers. Land banks are used to address development issues as well as urban blight. They are set up through city ordinances and give the city leverage as to what is done with the properties while also reducing the number of absentee landowners. The City would be obligated to mow and maintain the land bank property until sold or developed. Land Banks could define the standards for [...]

The Wellington City Council voted 5-1 to approve Jeff Porter as the new city manager at Tuesday night’s meeting. Porter has been the City Manager at Medicine Lodge. Source: Sumner NewsCow

The Wellington City Council met on Tuesday for City Manager Shane Shields’ last council meeting. Shields has been the City Manager for over six years and has been working for Wellington for the last 20. He’ll be sorely missed, but thankfully his last meeting went out without a hitch… Source: Sumner NewsCow

The Wellington City Council met on Tuesday to implement the new RHID program and approve board and commission appointments. But the meeting’s biggest development was an important announcement from a longtime civil servant. Wellington City Manager Shane Shields announced his retirement after 42 years of civil service, 20 of which with Wellington. Shields has been the city manager since 2016. Shields started with the police department for eight years before moving on to City administration as a City Clerk and Finance Director in 2010. He ascended to his current position in 2016, where he’s effectively served the community since. Previously, he [...]

The Burlington Northern Santa Fe train tracks cut a swath through Sumner County bringing with it economic prosperity. But for folks living near the tracks, it also brings nuisance. The train whistles blare at the most inopportune times and in the dead of night. Thus came the invention of “quiet zones” – an engineered federally-approved designed intersection that makes it nearly impossible for drivers or pedestrians to collide with ongoing trains. In turn, the train engineers won’t blow their horns through town — offering something adjacent neighborhood dwellers have always wanted: tranquility. There are approximately 600 quiet zone intersections around the [...]

The Kansas Department of Transportation offices in south-central Kansas is committed to keeping the highways cleared whenever inclement weather occurs. In line with workforce shortages across the nation, KDOT does not have enough equipment operators – the agency’s primary snowplow operators – in a number of areas across Kansas. These shortages create the potential for highways to not be cleared of snow and ice as quickly as in the past. The agency has dealt with reduced staffing in the past, but the shortages are greater this year. Southcentral KDOT offices are about 29% short of snowplow operators needed to be fully [...]