MANHATTAN – U.S. Senator Jerry Moran (R-Kan.) today issued the following statement regarding the passing of former President George H.W. Bush:

“President George H.W. Bush was a steadfast defender of freedom and liberty, from his time in the United States Navy to his many years of service in Congress, as vice president, and as our country’s 41st president. Our nation is grateful for his leadership through periods of conflict and uncertainty around the world. President Bush was a family man whose legacy of faith and service will live on. Robba and I offer our sincerest condolences to the Bush family and we pray that President Bush has been reunited with Barbara, his wife of 71 years, in Heaven.”

An Adult Community Angel Tree decorated with ornaments representing adult clients at Sunflower Diversified Services is now located in the east lobby at The University of Kansas Health System Great Bend Campus.

“This is only our second year for this project and we are gratified the hospital continues to be our partner in making Christmas a little brighter for adults who rely on Sunflower’s services,” said Connie Oetken, director of development.

“This kind of partnership is so important to our neighbors with disabilities.

“We encourage people to stop by and choose an angel that depicts the wants and needs of a certain individual. This allows the donor to select an appropriate gift.”

Gifts should be returned to the hospital by Dec. 19.

Most Sunflower adults work at the non-profit agency’s manufacturing plant and/or in community jobs. However, their paychecks and tax revenues fall short of meeting all their needs.

“Our Angel Tree gives central Kansans another way to support people with disabilities,” Oetken said. “You can be assured they will appreciate the gifts and put them to good use.”

Jodi Schmidt, Great Bend Campus interim administrator, noted the hospital is always looking for ways to participate in the community and making lives better.

“We are pleased to be part of the beginnings of this wonderful holiday tradition,” Schmidt said. “Providing a venue for the Adult Community Angel Tree gives us the opportunity to help make Christmas a little merrier for some of our neighbors.”

Sunflower serves infants, toddlers and adults with developmental delays and disabilities in Barton, Pawnee, Rice, Rush and Stafford counties. It is in its 52nd year of serving central Kansas families.

On September 10, Barton County Commissioners voted to allow county crews and equipment to be used to repair drainage issues in the Bissell’s Point sub-division. The work was to take place in the area of Point Drive and Sunset Road where in times of precipitation, water will flow down the middle of the road instead of the ditches.

But Monday the board rescinded that motion since the Great Bend Township has not started the project and according to County Administrator Phil Hathcock, it is unclear if the project will go forward in the future.

Phil Hathcock Audio

It was also mentioned at Monday’s meeting that there seemed to be a lack of communication between the township and the Bissel’s Point Homeowners Association, something Commissioner Alicia Straub wanted to have cleared up before moving forward on the project in the future.

Alicia Straub Audio

Public Works Director Darren Williams had estimated the cost of the work to be just over $30,000 with Great Bend Township picking up the tab.

11/30

BOOKED: Elsa Cortez of Great Bend on Case for serve sentence.

BOOKED: Michael Philbern on Barton County District Court warrant for probation violation, bond in lieu of $678 cash only.

BOOKED: Steven Davis of Great Bend on Barton County District Court case for serve sentence to serve a 30-day sanction or gets an ankle monitor by Pac Monitors Company.

BOOKED: Sabrina Carr of Great Bend on Reno County District Court warrant for failure to appear with a bond set at $1,000 C/S x3.

BOOKED: Rodney Drake of Great Bend on Barton County District Court serve sentence.

BOOKED: Miki Klein of Great Bend on Community Corrections serve sentence.

BOOKED: Cecil Petrie of Newton on BTDC case for serve sentence.

BOOKED: Ouray Gray on Barton County District Court serve sentence.

BOOKED: Craig Gowdy on BTDC case for serve sentence.

BOOKED: Ethan Kilbourn of Great Bend on Barton County revoked bond, held with no bond.

BOOKED: Renata Tyron of Hoisington on Hoisington Municipal Court case for serve sentence.

BOOKED: Carl Garndstaff on HPD case for criminal damage, bond is set at $1,000 C/S or 18-hour OR.

BOOKED: Aaron Pohlman on BTDC case for serve sentence.

RELEASED: Courtney Veitenheimer for GBMC case for failure to appear x3 after receiving order of release from GBMC.

RELEASED: Steven Davis of Great Bend on Barton County District Court case for serve sentence.

RELEASED: Cassie Scheuerman of Great Bend on Barton County District Court warrant for probation violation after she served her sentence in full.

RELEASED: Tanner Guyton on BTDC case for no driver’s license, no insurance, no tail lamp after posting $1,000 surety bond. Possession of methamphetamine after posting a $10,000 surety bond.

12/1

RELEASED: Elsa Cortez on GBMC serve sentence after completing her allotted time.

RELEASED: Jamie L. Moore on Barton Count District Court cases for transport to Harvey County.

RELEASED: Sabrina Carr for transport to Reno County Detention.

RELEASED: Carl Grandstaff on HPD case for criminal damage after receiving an 18-hour OR bond.

12/2

BOOKED: Amanda Hockmuth of Great Bend on BTDC warrant for possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine, bond set at $50,000 C/S.

BOOKED: Jason Goodale on GBMC case for battery DV with a bond set in the amount of $1,000 C/S or 48-hour OR.

RELEASED: Craig Gowdy on Barton County District Court case for serve sentence for time served.

RELEASED: Rodney Drake of Great Bend on BCDC serve sentence for time served.

RELEASED: Aaron Pohlman on BTDC case for serve sentence for time served.

RELEASED: Ouray Gray on BCDC cases for serve sentence for time served.

RELEASED: Miki Klein of Great Bend on Community Corrections for serve sentence for time served.

RELEASED: Jason Goodale of Great Bend posted a $1,000 surety bond through Dyn-O-Mite Bail Bonding on GBMC case for battery DV.

First, it is becoming obvious that for the first time in several years the area is experiencing and “active” weather pattern.  Active translates into a more unsettled weather pattern where lows (storms) will tend to track further south and moisture will be brought north from the Gulf of Mexico.  It will be interesting to see just how “active” this pattern will be and how much snow/ice comes our way.  Now onto to today’s topic.

This past Thursday, the Great Bend Co-Op hosted a Sustain event in conjunction with Land O’Lakes.  The purpose of this event was to introduce a program to perform two basic tasks.  Help producers become more sustainable, i.e. protect the environment and sustain producer operation, and spread the word to the public of what the agricultural community has done/is doing as stewards of the environment.  This involves admitting mistakes, demonstrating what is being done to “fix” these problems, and showing through data the progress made.  Finally, a major goal is to compete in the media with a variety sources flooding the media with inaccurate or deceptive information regarding agricultural production.

Some of this is misinformation is amusing.  Some contains a kernel of truth twisted to suit a narrative.  Some is simply dangerous. All of it points out that it is possible to manipulate a public that is scientifically and agriculturally illiterate.  Following is a short list of myths and deceptive headlines/statements made without comment.  See if you can spot the fallacy/lie.

• A grocery chain advertising non-GMO water for sale.
• Certain restaurant chains promoting antibiotic and hormone free chicken and other menu items.
• Organic food is safer and healthier than “conventional” food.
• Non-GMO Himalayan pink salt.
• GMO foods are more expensive than conventional and organic foods.
• GMOs have increased pesticide use.
• Unpasteurized milk is healthier for you and pasteurized milk is bad.

The goal isn’t to demean those who want to consume only organic foods or avoid GMO foods.  Consumers have the choice to purchase what they want.  But they should do so armed with accurate information.

Lastly, this column isn’t meant to totally let those of us in agriculture off the hook.  We have made mistakes and screwed up.  We do need to get a better handle on groundwater and surface water contamination from manure, fertilizers, and pesticides.  We are getting better but can do better still.  We do need to work harder to minimizer wind and water erosion, to continue the progress that has been made.

By Ron Wilson – Production leads to processing which leads to progress. That is the desired path of value-added economic development.  It was true for the Kansas beef industry in the 1980s and 1990s, and it is now coming true in the Kansas dairy industry.

Milk production in western Kansas has grown to the point that new milk processing capacity has developed there as well.

Last week we learned about the western Kansas Rural Economic Development Alliance, or wKREDA, which works on various regional issues including growing the dairy industry in western Kansas. Many of the leaders of wKREDA had seen the boom in jobs which resulted from the growth of meatpacking in the region during the 1980s and `90s. It was a long progression. The production of irrigated feed grain led to the creation of concentrated cattle feeding. Then the packing plants wanted to be close to the source of production, and large beef packing facilities were built in southwest Kansas.

Production led to processing which led to lots of jobs and population growth. During the 25-year period from 1971 to 2007 – while most rural counties lost population – Ford, Finney and Seward counties in southwest Kansas grew faster than Kansas City and Wichita.

This model of value-added growth led regional leaders to look for another engine for development. In the early 1990s, the dairy industry was identified as a possibility.

Clare Gustin of Sunflower Electric Power Corporation in Hays was one of those involved in the dairy recruitment process. She said that businesses and communities made significant commitments to attract dairies. Rural electric cooperatives such as Pioneer Electric and Wheatland Electric Cooperative offered financial bonuses to the first dairies to locate in their territories. “There was a banker at Syracuse who was one of the early leaders in recruiting the dairies,” Clare said. Syracuse is a rural community of 1,812 people. Now, that’s rural.

Syracuse and other western Kansas communities were successful in attracting dairies.  Large dairy farms came to Kansas and others grew. According to the National Agricultural Statistics Service, milk production in Kansas has doubled since 1994. The next step in the value-added model was for that production to lead to processing which creates jobs and economic activity.

“The whole goal was to get processing,” Clare said. “It was a chicken-and-egg thing,” she said. “The producers wanted nearby processing and the processing plants needed the producers.”

Lona DuVall is president and CEO of Finney County Economic Development  and current chair of the wKREDA dairy committee. “Our dairy producers had done their part,” Lona said. “But they were losing efficiencies because they had to ship their milk so far away. We wanted to attract milk processing to our region.”

Just as in the beef industry, it made sense for the processing to move closer to the source of the product. In April 2011, Lona called on the nation’s largest dairy cooperative, Dairy Farmers of America, with headquarters in Kansas City. She encouraged them to invest in a processing plant in southwest Kansas.

DFA did a comprehensive market study and eventually committed to build a processing plant in Garden City. “I can’t say enough about how great they were,” Lona said.

In fall 2017, the new state-of-the-art DFA milk processing plant opened. This plant is operating 24 hours a day and daily receives 80 truckloads of milk.

When people think of southwest Kansas, they sometimes worry about whether there will be enough water supply. In this case, the plant is generating water, not using it up. The plant converts fluid milk into powdered milk for export, which means that excess water is a byproduct of the process. The plant generates nearly 800,000 gallons of water per day which can be recycled and used in a region which needs it.

Production leads to processing which leads to progress. We commend Clare Gustin, Lona DuVall, and all those involved in dairy recruitment for making a difference in the region’s economy. It has been quite a project.

And there’s more. Growth has also come about from other industries. We’ll learn about that next week.

There is one final week left as an elected official in Barton County for Amy Mellor. The County Attorney announced November 20 that she would be resigning because of the sometimes hostile working relationship with Barton County Sheriff Brian Bellendir. Her resignation takes effect Friday, December 7.

The resignation letter was sent to Kansas Governor Jeff Colyer and a copy to Barton County Clerk Donna Zimmerman. Zimmerman passed the information on to Dick Friedeman, who serves as the Chairman of the Barton County Republican Central Committee. That committee will soon meet to vote on Mellor’s replacement.

Dick Friedeman Audio

The meeting is scheduled for December 10 at 7 p.m. at the Barton County Courthouse in Great Bend. Any interested candidate should attend the meeting where they can speak before the committee as to why they should be chosen. A secret vote from the 45-member committee will take place and the candidate with the majority of the votes will be selected to become the next Barton County Attorney.

Dick Friedeman Audio

After a candidate is chosen, Friedeman has 24 hours to notify Governor Colyer by mail of the selection. Colyer has seven days to make a decision. Friedeman noted the Governor is obliged to approve the selection, but the verification is there to make sure the process was carried out correctly. The selected candidate will then serve the remaining two years of Mellor’s term and will have a chance to run for the full four-year term in the 2020 elections.

Mellor forwarded on a case that charged Bellendir of ill-treating a confined suspect. Bellendir was found not guilty after a jury trial on November 16. Bellendir noted the tension and animosity between the two offices started years ago when he criticized how long it took the Attorney’s Office to prosecute cases and approve search warrants.

BOARD OF BARTON COUNTY COMMISSIONERS Agenda Meeting
Monday, December 3, 2018 – 9:00 a.m. Until Close

I. OPENING BUSINESS:
A. Call Meeting to Order.
B. Recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance.
C. Consider Approval of the Agenda.
D. Consider Minutes of the November 26, 2018, Regular Meeting.
E. Any citizen wishing to make statements during the discussion of any item must first be recognized by the Commission Chair. After being recognized, that person should state their name and the name of any organization represented. Statements should be limited to five minutes.
F. Cell phones and other electronic devices, other than those used by the media and law enforcement, should be shut off.

II. OLD BUSINESS – Items tabled, or scheduled, from previous Commission Meetings, will be heard at this time.
-There is no Old Business at this time.

III. NEW BUSINESS – All new business to be considered by the Commission will be heard at this time.

A. COUNTY CLERK’S OFFICE: Request for Approval – Added / Abated / Escaped / Refunded Taxes:
-Donna Zimmerman, County Clerk, will present a listing of Added / Abated / Escaped / Refunded Taxes. Orders for these actions are kept on file in the County Clerk’s Office. These are used to correct assessments and are requested by the County Appraiser’s Office or the County Clerk’sOffice.

B. ROAD AND BRIDGE: Cooperative Effort to Repair Drainage Issues in Bissell’s Point,
Great Bend Township:
-On September 10, 2018, Darren Williams, County Works Director, received authorization to
assist Great Bend Township with drainage issues in Bissell Point Subdivision. Great Bend
Township has not started the project as of this date. Given that it is unclear if the project will go
forward in the future, it seems prudent to rescind the motion in its entirety. Phil Hathcock,
County Administrator, will present details.

C. COUNTY HOLIDAY: Christmas Eve:
-It is suggested that the Commission consider granting Christmas Eve, December 24, as an
employee holiday. Under the County’s Employee Handbook, the Commission does have the
discretion to revise the holiday listing. Mr. Hathcock will provide details.

D. COUNTY HOLIDAY: Martin Luther King Day, 2019:
-Should the Commission grant December 24, as a holiday, it is suggested that Martin Luther
King Day be removed from the holiday listing in 2019. Mr. Hathcock will provide details.

E. REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL: Trash Hauling Service:
-The County requested proposals for trash hauling services for County office buildings to include
the Courthouse, Sheriff’s Office and Detention Facility, Health Department, Barton County
Office Building, Road and Bridge and Noxious Weed. There are generally three pick up dates
per week for service year 2019. It is noted that the Sheriff’s Office has service Monday –
Saturday. The only bid was provided by Estes Trash, LLC, Great Bend. Their bid remains
unchanged from last year at $425.00 per month. Mr. Hathcock will provide details.

F. JANITORIAL SERVICES PROPOSAL: Barton County Office Building:
-The County accepted bids for cleaning at the Barton County Office Building, 1806 – 12th, Great
Bend, until November 21, 2018. Under the proposal, the successful bidder generally cleans the
building after 5:00 p.m. each work day. The only bidder was Starbrite Window Cleaning, Great
Bend. Mr. Hathcock will present.

G. PEST CONTROL PROPOSAL: Barton County Buildings:
-The County accepted bids from qualified vendors to provide monthly pest control and
extermination services for Barton County owned buildings, excluding the Landfill. B.A.T.S.
Inc., dba World Pest Control, and MidStates Environmental Services, LLC, dba Pestmaster
Servicers, both bid on the work. Mr. Hathcock will provide details.

IV. ENDING BUSINESS – After new items are heard by the Commission, the following items,
including announcements, will be heard.

A. ANNOUNCEMENTS:
-Following the close of the Agenda Meeting, the Commission will consider the authorization of
personnel changes for classified positions, sign any documentation approved during the agenda
meeting or sign any other documentation required for regular County business. Similar action
may take place throughout the day.
-The Barton County Commission has been invited to the USD 428 Community Feedback
Meeting at 6:30 p.m., Tuesday, December 4, 2018, at the Great Bend High School Auditorium,
2027 Morton, Great Bend, Kansas. The meeting is a part of the Master Facilities Plan for USD
428.

B. APPOINTMENTS:
Although subject to change, the following appointments have been scheduled:
9:45 a.m. or close of the Agenda Meeting – Department Head Meeting with the Commissioners.
Department Head meetings are held in the Courthouse Conference Room, Room 101. After the
Department Head meeting is closed, the Commission will return to their Chambers.
10:45 a.m. – Regular Business Discussion – Phil Hathcock, County Administrator, and Donna
Zimmerman, County Clerk
THE COUNTY EDITION, KVGB-AM – Thursdays at 11:05 a.m. Dena Popp, 911 Director, is
scheduled for December 6, 2018.

V. OTHER BUSINESS:
A. Discussion Items.
B. Citizens or organizations may present requests or proposals for initial consideration.
C. The Commissioners are available to the Public on Mondays during regular business
hours.
D. The Commissioners may, individually, schedule personal appointments related to County
business at their discretion.
E. The next Regular Meeting will be at 9:00 a.m., Monday, December 10, 2018.

VI. ADJOURN.

In the month of November, nearly 1,300 students from across USD 428 have enjoyed reading “The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane” by Katie DiCamillo. Reading has the power to ignite the imagination, and when paired with family and community engagement, the positive outcomes are infinite.

The 2018 Great Bend Reading Initiative provided kindergarten through sixth-grade students and families with a roadmap to complete the book in one month, as well as ample opportunities to explore the community. Kip Wilson, principal at Jefferson Elementary School, served as the 2018 coordinator and introduced partner programming with the Great Bend Public Library and the Kansas Wetlands Education Center.

“The overall goal for the initiative is to bring families together around literacy at home,” said Wilson. “We want parents to get involved; reading creates quality time and provides an avenue for parents to take an active role in their child’s learning.”

New additions to the schedule this year included Books n’ Breakfast and individual Family Night for each elementary school at the Great Bend Public Library. The grand finale was a district-wide Family Reading Night at the Kansas Wetlands Education Center that included book-based activities, an inflatable planetarium show, crafts, and an opportunity to explore newly renovated exhibits.

“The community partnerships we established this year have opened new doors for students and families,” said Wilson. “Our partners helped connect the themes and characters in the book to engaging activities for our families. Beyond the events, our hosts took advantage of the opportunity to showcase resources and programs they provide year-round. We hope our families will continue to utilize these resources and continue to engage as a family unit.”

In its fourth year, the Great Bend Reading Initiative is an annual program coordinated by USD 428. This program fulfills USD 428’s mission “to educate and prepare all students to become responsible citizens and lifelong learners,” by engaging parents and families outside the classroom.