BOOKED: Brian N. Fellers on Barton County District Court warrant for theft with a bond of $2,500 C/S.

BOOKED: Edward Gray of Great Bend on Great Bend Municipal Court warrant for failure to appear, bond in lieu of $500 C/S. Jackson County District Court warrant for theft of property, bond in lieu of $1,000 C/S.

BOOKED: Tyler Bittel on Great Bend Municipal Court warrant for contempt of court, bond in lieu of $1,372.50 cash only. Failure to appear, bond in lieu of $1,000 C/S. Saline County District Court warrant for arson criminal trespass and interference with law enforcement, bond in lieu of $6,000 C/S.

BOOKED: Juvenile male of Hoisington on BTDC case for distribute marijuana within 1,000 feet of a school and possession of marijuana and possession of drug paraphernalia.

BOOKED: Tina Creamer of Great Bend on BTDC warrant for contempt of court, no bond.

RELEASED: Juvenile male of Hoisington on BTDC case for distribute marijuana within 1,000 feet of a school, possession of marijuana, and drug paraphernalia. Released to JJA custody.

RELEASED: Edward Gray of Great Bend on a GBMC warrant for failure to appear. Jackson County District Court warrant for theft of property. Posted $1,500 bond through Dyn-O-Mite Bail Bonding.

With Christmas coming up next Tuesday, this weekend is your final chance to see Santa Claus in Great Bend. Parents can bring their children to visit Santa at 1223 Main Street from 4 p.m. – 6 p.m. Thursday and Friday and on Saturday and Sunday from 1 p.m. – 6 p.m.

Great Bend Community Coordinator Christina Hayes recommends a stop at the Santas Around The World exhibit while you’re there.

Christina Hayes Audio

The ice skating rink in Jack Kilby Square will be open for a couple more weeks with open hours on Thursday and Friday from 4 p.m. – 8 p.m. and Saturday and Sunday have hours of 1 p.m. – 6 p.m.

Barton County Health Department will honor Janel Rose, retiring Public Health Educator, at a come & go reception from 11 am to 2 pm on Friday, December 21, at Barton County Health Department, 1300 Kansas Avenue, Great Bend, KS. Community members are invited to attend.

Janel has served Barton County as Public Health Educator for almost 28 years and has initiated multiple grant projects to inform and address needs identified in Barton, and partner counties.

Janel Rose Audio

From earlier days with HIV education and bringing the AIDS Quilt to Barton County, and the Breast & Cervical Cancer project, to smoke free restaurants and tobacco free schools and youth tobacco prevention, to Suicide Prevention, Senior Farmers Market Nutrition Program, and the master bike and pedestrian plan implementation in Barton & Rice counties, Janel has helped lead projects that have improved community health.

Janel Rose Audio

Janel, a graduate of Fort Hays State University, with a Master’s Degree from Kansas State University began her career as a secondary school teacher at Hoisington High School and Ransom High School. She is a Past President of the Barton County Chapter of the American Association of University Women and serves as the current President of the Central Kansas Partnership.

The community is invited to attend and celebrate the completion of Janel’s career in public service with her on December 21 at the Barton County Health Department.

The Great Bend Public Works Department has been busy inspecting, cleaning, and flushing all the fire hydrants in town. The department identified roughly 10 hydrants that need repairs.

City Administrator Kendal Francis highlighted the two hydrants at the intersection of 24^th Street and Washington and 24^th Street and Adams as two that are having major problems. Francis says many of the hydrants have valves that are not working and are not allowing the City staff to shut the water off sufficiently to replace the hydrants. The water issues have forced crews to dig up sidewalk to search for answers.

Kendal Francis Audio

The hydrant on Washington was struck during a hit-and-run accident last week and forced Jefferson Elementary School to close school last Wednesday afternoon because City staff could not get the water turned off quick enough. The Great Bend Police Department is still investigating the case and hope to obtain video from the Presto gas station on the southwest corner of the intersection to help identify the driver. Francis says if the driver is identified, the cost for that particular hydrant will be assessed to their insurance.

The repairs to the rest of the hydrants will most likely begin after Christmas and be funded from the remaining balance of the water line project.

At the end of each year, the City of Great Bend takes a look at the General Fund balance and determine what the year-end transfers should be to fund capital projects and equipment. The City takes their net profit out of the General Fund, or savings of being under budget within the General Fund.

Great Bend City Clerk Shawna Schafer says the 2018 non-budgeted year-end transfers totaled out to be $1.8 million, but there are transfers to add from insurance claims and donations.

Shawna Schafer Audio

The total transfers ended up being $2,140,389.12 with the added donations and insurance proceeds.

The money can essentially be used for a wide range of projects, but there are a few areas the City has penciled in that include a new HVAC at the Crest Theatre, ballfield lighting, Great Bend Expo Complex and Dragstrip maintenance, and for a police building.

For the second straight year, the Hoisington Chamber of Commerce hosted their three-minute Grocery Grab. The promotion raised funds for the Chamber while giving one winner a chance to grab as many groceries as possible at Town & Country Supermarket in Hoisington in three minutes.

Hoisington Chamber Executive Vice President Karen Baldyga says there were a few rules to the Grocery Grab.

Karen Baldyga Audio

Caitlyn Meitner was the winner this year and grabbed $608 worth of groceries this past Saturday. Three names were drawn each week for a month prior to the event. The semifinalists were narrowed down to three a week before the Grocery Grab. Meitner was chosen out of the 184 tickets purchased.

Karen Baldyga Audio

Country Place Senior Living and State Representative Tory Marie Arnberger helped sponsor the promotion. The money raised helps fund programs for the Chamber throughout the year.

In addition to having a new County Attorney, Barton County will also soon have a new County Counselor who will assist Commissioners on legal issues.

Current Counselor Carey Hipp will soon be leaving to become a District Judge in the 20th Judicial District after winning that spot in the November general election.

Commissioners voted 5-0 Monday to name Pat Hoffman with Sherman, Hoffman and Hoffman from Ellsworth to take over the position. That is the same law firm that Carey Hipp worked with during her time as Counselor.

Commissioner Alicia Straub said she liked the idea of having an outside voice to guide the board on legal issues.

Alicia Straub Audio

The County received three proposals for legal services and the bid from Pat Hoffman had the lowest monthly rate of $4,000 per month. However that was not the lowest hourly rate. Commissioner Jennifer Schartz recommended that the board try an hourly rate instead of the monthly rate for 2019, but Straub provided figures that convinced Commissioners to stay with the monthly rate model.

Alicia Straub Audio

The other two bids received came from Alan Glendenning from the Watkins Calcara Law Firm and from Kent Roth with the Roth Law Office in Ellinwood.

Straub says the $48,000 per year contract is comparable to the $50,000 figure that Ellis County and Ford County pay for their County Counselors.

In September, the City of Great Bend gave the Great Bend Chamber of Commerce its notice of intent to renegotiate the agreement for economic development services. City staff worked with the Chamber over the past few months to develop a contract that better outlines the scope of services.

The Great Bend City Council approved the new contract that started December 18, 2018 and ends December 31, 2019.

City Administrator Kendal Francis says one change from the new contract will include monthly goal progress and prospect reports.

Kendal Francis Audio

The Chamber will also establish measurable goals and develop action plans to achieve those goals. Francis admitted there is no way to pin the Chamber down and require a certain number of retail businesses by a given date, but there are other ways of determining their success.

Kendal Francis Audio

This was the first time the contract between the City and Chamber of Commerce has been tweaked since 1999.

The Chamber was approved $153,000 in the 2019 budget with an optional $50,000 extra to hire an economic consultant. The City will now make four equal quarterly payments to the Chamber.

BOOKED: Cody Buckingham of Great Bend on RCDC warrant for failure to appear, no bond. BTDC case for possession of marijuana, no insurance, expired tag, with a bond set at $2,500 C/S.

BOOKED: Roy Cline of Dundee on Barton County District Court warrant for criminal threat with a bond set at $5,000 C/S. BCDC warrant for possession of methamphetamine with a bond set at $50,000 C/S.

BOOKED: Jesse Julian of Hudson on Barton County District Court warrant for theft with a bond set at $2,500 C/S.

BOOKED: Amy Sneath of Great Bend on Barton County District Court warrant for failure to appear with a bond set at $1,000 C/S.

BOOKED: Wayne Masse of Hoisington on Great Bend Municipal Court warrant for FTA, bond set at $652.50 cash only.

BOOKED: Shawn Owen of Ellinwood on EPD court case for 11 counts of forgery, bond set at $10,000 C/S.

RELEASED: Christopher Morris of Salina on BTDC case for serve sentence.

RELEASED: Amy Sneath of Great Bend on BCDC warrant for failure to appear after posting a $1,000 surety bond through Ace Bail Bonding.

RELEASED: Cody Griffin on Reno County District Court warrant for probation violation to Reno County.

RELEASED: Wayne Masse of Hoisington on GBMC warrant for FTA after he posted a $652.50 cash bond.