There have been many plans for the lot of land just south the Walnut Bowl in Great Bend. Housing Opportunities, Inc. (HOI) has plans to purchase the lot off of Washington Avenue between 28th and 29th streets. In order for HOI to develop their intended eight duplexes on the lot, they needed the real estate to be rezoned from R-3 (multi-family) to PUD (Planned Unit Development).
Great Bend City Attorney Bob Suelter says HOI also needed to vacate the alley that runs east and west through the lot to develop one unit.
Bob Suelter Audio
The placement of the alley will serve as the commons area for the lot of duplexes. The Great Bend City Council approved the motions to rezone the lot and vacate the alley.
HOI started in 1995 to develop affordable housing in Great Bend and surrounding communities. The 501(c)3 non-profit organization applies for grant money through government programs for income-based housing. After the property is built, HOI manages the properties from renting to maintenance.
After hearing concerns and frustration from community members about cancelling the 4th of July fireworks display this year, the City of Great Bend decided it will bring the display back in 2018. Community members will solicit funds to finance the display for the holiday and there will be a fund for the firework show for Party in the Park.
Great Bend Community Coordinator Christina Hayes says funding both of the displays may mean each one could be smaller, but it still provides the traditional fireworks on the 4th.
Christina Hayes Audio
The City of Great Bend used to fund the fireworks show on the 4th of July for years until Sunflower Diversified Services took it upon themselves to collect the needed money. Sunflower chose not to solicit the funds in 2017, pushing a $20,000 to $25,000 fundraiser back on the city. Great Bend typically donates $5,000 for the display, but the Great Bend City Council decided to invest that money to fund the Party in the Park fireworks this year.
As community members urged city officials to bring back the firework display on 4th of July, Hayes says there will now be fireworks on both nights.
Carlos and Peyton Burkhart interact at Incredible Years Preschool. Burkhart is the new teacher at the facility.
BUSINESS NEWS
A lifetime attraction to the teaching profession, as well as a welcoming atmosphere at Incredible Years Preschool combined to draw a Great Bend native to a position at the facility.
Peyton Burkhart recently signed on at the preschool to lead the classroom for children age 2-and-a-half. She is teaching colors, shapes, numbers, letter recognition and social skills.
Incredible Years, 1312 Patton, accepts children 2-and-a-half to 5.
“Early education is so important, especially before the age of 5,” Burkhart said. “Since this is when the young brain is developing, the first five years shape a child’s future health, growth, development and learning.”
Burkhart noted she grew up in a family of teachers and has been “drawn to this type of work since day one. I have always wanted to work with younger children. And when I interviewed at Incredible Years, the staff was so welcoming. I knew it would be a good fit.”
The new preschool teacher also noted she is “passionate” about a particular offering at Incredible Years. It is called Conscious Discipline, which is a comprehensive classroom management program and social-emotional curriculum.
“In Conscious Discipline we focus on positive behaviors, instead of negative behaviors,” Burkhart said. “For example, a teacher might say ‘if you don’t sit down and finish your work, you will not go to recess.’
“Instead of that, you could say ‘once you are sitting nicely and have finished your work, then we can go outside.’”
Anyone who has ever struggled to keep a child focused on an idea or task “will be delighted to learn that changing your own responses can help children boost their learning skills,” Burkhart noted.
Discovering new ways to respond also will help children develop kindness and self-respect; honor those who are different than themselves; solve problems with compassion; and grow into responsible adults, Burkhart summarized.
“Once you start using this technique in daily life, it will become easier to translate it to your children or students,” Burkhart commented. “You will focus on what you want a child to do instead of focusing on what they already did.”
Burkhart earned her associate’s in science degree at Barton Community College. She is working on her bachelor’s in Early Childhood Unified at Fort Hays State University.
Shari Schneider, Incredible Years director, said Burkhart’s background in Conscious Discipline and other educational areas is helpful in the classroom.
“We are so excited Peyton joined our staff,” Schneider said. “She has high energy and fresh, new ideas. And she has already stolen the hearts of the children.”
Sunflower Diversified Services owns and operates Incredible Years; the sliding-scale tuition is based on income. For more information, call 620-792-4087.
EL DORADO — A Kansas community college is fighting a cyber attack that has disabled their internet connectivity.
According to a social media report, for more than a week, the IT Department at Butler Community College has worked with their provider to fix the connectivity and configuration problems outside of Butler’s infrastructure.
On Wednesday, the college experienced what they believe is the result of a DDoS cyber-attack that brings down the system by overloading it with information.
Butler and the school’s internet service provider have partnered with additional outside engineers and are working around-the-clock to address this issue.
School officials said they understood technology is core for students’ success and daily business operations. “Please know we remain diligent in bringing this situation to resolution.”
The improper disposal of tires in the city of Great Bend continues to be a problem. Great Bend City Sanitarian Tom Holmes says it is a violation of city code to have tires laying around your property out in the open, even if they are stacked up and organized.
Holmes is perplexed why the tire problem continues to be an issue since it is very inexpensive for residents to dispose of those tire at the landfill.
Tom Holmes Audio
Lawnmower, Motorcycle, & ATV Tires can also be disposed of for $1.00 per tire. 18-20 inch car and truck tires are $3.00 each, truck tires $5.00 each and tractor tires are $20.00 per tire to dispose of at the landfill.
Great Bend gets set for their third road game in four weeks as the Panthers head to Dodge City Friday. We hook up with coach Erin Beck before the Panthers’ game against the Red Demons.
Members of Gov. Sam Brownback’s Cabinet are working to find a new home for a $300 million Tyson Foods chicken plant in Kansas. STEPHEN KORANDA / KPR
By STEPHEN KORANDA
State officials are hoping to keep a new Tyson Foods chicken plant in Kansas after the company put on hold plans to build the $300 million facility in Leavenworth County.
Tyson is looking at other locations in Kansas and other states after public outcry and a local decision to back away from promised incentives.
Agriculture Secretary Jackie McClaskey said 15 to 20 other Kansas communities have now expressed interest in the plant. She and others are working to determine whether those areas could meet the needs of the facility, which would produce trays of chicken for grocery stores. The demands include sufficient local workforce and infrastructure for the facility.
Right now, McClaskey is confident they can put together a new deal with Tyson.
“They have not backed out of their commitment that they want to do business in Kansas. They want to expand in Kansas,” she said. “I feel like right now they’re giving us a shot.”
Interim Commerce Secretary Nick Jordan said they’re making a sales pitch to keep Tyson looking at Kansas.
“To let them know the state wants them to be here,” Jordan said. “We’ve got plenty of other communities that fit their needs very, very well. We want to get off and running again working with them to find a spot that does fit for them.”
Jordan said if the plant goes to another state, Kansas would lose an investment of more than $300 million and 1,600 jobs.
We’re missing out on a significant economic impact on the state economy and growth to the agricultural base that we have in the state,” Jordan said.
McClaskey said the impact could go beyond just that investment. She’s concerned if this deal falls apart, other agriculture companies could think twice before considering investment in Kansas.
“That longer-term effect is pretty important to keep in mind,” McClaskey said.
Local residents voiced strong opposition to the Leavenworth County proposal, saying it could reduce the quality of life in the community.
A new, state-of-the-art facility could be built to minimize issues like odors, McClaskey said, adding that an area where similar industries already operate may be a better fit.
“Any community that has had value-added food processing of some sort and understands the benefit it brings, that’s going to be a positive,” McClaskey said.
At a large public meeting last week, people railed against building the facility outside Tonganoxie and brought up concerns about pollution and other impacts from the plant, which would be capable of processing 1.25 million birds per week.
“It means for at least 10 years and longer, our culture in this area will revolve around chicken farms and low-paying jobs. Is that the best you can do in our area?” one woman said during the meeting.
Jarret Pruitt is a member of a group opposing the plant, known as Citizens Against Project Sunset. After the announcement that the deal was put on hold, he said they’ll keep watch for any additional developments.
“Today we can smile briefly. Tomorrow we must wake up more committed and determined to continue this fight,” Pruitt said.
Critics of the project were also unhappy that the Leavenworth County deal was brokered behind closed doors and not made public until an announcement earlier this month.
BOOKED: Teresa Schmidt on Great Bend Municipal Court case for serve sentence.
BOOKED: Rickie Bell of Pensacola, FL on Great Bend Municipal Court case for no driver’s license, illegal tag, and no insurance, bond set at $500 C/S or 48-hour OR bond.
BOOKED: Juvenile on Great Bend Municipal Court case for criminal threat, no bond.
BOOKED: Annabel Torres of Great Bend on Barton County District Court case for possession of marijuana and defective headlight, bond set at $2,500 C/S.
RELEASED: Jason Cavender of Great Bend on BTDC case for serve sentence.
RELEASED: Juvenile for transport to Hutchinson Juvenile Facility.
RELEASED: Barry Steen on Barton County District Court warrant with a $250 cash bond.
RELEASED: Jazmin Nunez of Great Bend for BTDC warrant for domestic battery, possession of a controlled substance, possession of paraphernalia, criminal damage to property after posting a $1,000 surety bond through Ace Bail Bonding.
The scene of Tuesday’s shooting-photo courtesy KWCH
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — The Kansas Department of Revenue is reviewing security at its offices after a shooting this week injured an employee in Wichita.
The agency moved out of the now-vacant Finney State Office Building in downtown Wichita three years ago as part of Gov. Sam Brownback’s push to privatize office space. That building had guards and other security for employees.
There was no protection Tuesday when tax compliance agent Cortney Holloway was shot at the office. The suspect, 51-year-old Ricky Todd Wirths, of Wichita, owed nearly $400,000 in outstanding tax warrants.
Sen. Oletha Faust-Goudeau, a Democrat from Wichita, and Robert Choromanski, head of the Kansas Organization of State Employees, both criticized the decision to provide no protection for state employees at offices the state rents from private owners.
SALINE COUNTY — Law enforcement authorities are investigating a threat at a Kansas middle school and arrested a student.
On Wednesday morning, an 11-year-old student told a staff member at Lakewood Middle School, 1135 Lakewood Circle in Salina, he was going to go home and retrieve a pistol to kill them and everyone else in the building, according to Salina police Sgt. James Feldman.
A school resource officer and a Salina Police Officer picked the boy up outside of the building.
There have been many plans for the lot of land just south the Walnut Bowl in Great Bend. Housing Opportunities, Inc. (HOI) has plans to purchase the lot off of Washington Avenue between 28th and 29th streets. In order for HOI to develop their intended eight duplexes on the lot, they needed the real estate to be rezoned from R-3 (multi-family) to PUD (Planned Unit Development).
BOOKED: Teresa Schmidt on Great Bend Municipal Court case for serve sentence.
