SJCF has spent nearly a year touring USD 428 facilities, listening to staff, teachers, and hearing suggestions from community members. After hearing the needs and wants for the Great Bend school district, the architect firm from Wichita designed construction and renovation options for the school district.

SJCF Senior Vice President Terry Wiggers illustrated five options that involved changes to Great Bend High School. Those changes ranged from $30.6 million that built a new auditorium and connected the main building to the Panther Activity Center all the way to a new building at a new location that cost $82.2 million.

Terry Wiggers Audio

Stating that there was still much indecision on the High School options, Wiggers noted a steering committee and community feedback could pick and choose specific options to include and which ones to leave out of the final proposal. That final proposal will go before the USD 428 Board of Education on January 14 for approval and eventually put on the ballot for a vote.

Only one of the five options left the High School football field in place, with the others either relocating the field or rotating it to an east and west running field.

Terry Wiggers Audio

The steering committees were generally in favor of adding on to Great Bend Middle School to shift 6^th grade from the elementary schools to the Middle School. The committees were also in favor of creating preschool space to all the elementary schools.

A community feedback meeting will be held November 15 at the District Office.

A project that began in 2015 is now complete and ready for implementation. Barton County Commissioners Monday voted 5-0 to approve the floodplain management documents that were part of the Cow Creek Watershed Floodplain Mapping project. In August, the Federal Emergency Management Agency issued a letter of final determination on the document giving Barton County six months to update their plan which Commissioners did Monday. Barton County Engineer Barry McManaman was part of the working group that reviewed the findings by the DWR.

Barry McManaman Audio

Barton County Environmental Manager Judy Goreham says the new maps did not contain many changes and says the process allowed them to update some language that was part of the old floodplain document.

Judy Goreham Audio

The survey was conducted to identify where water from a 100-year flood might reach and affect property in Barton, Rice and Reno Counties.

Even though the new document from FEMA is dated February 15th, 2019, Barton County is obligated to begin enforcing the new regulations immediately, regulations that will affect new buildings only.

10/26

BOOKED: Leveta Elam of Great Bend on Barton County District Court warrant for serve sentence.

BOOKED: Juvenile on Great Bend Municipal Court case for runaway and GBMC case for interference LEO with no bond.

BOOKED: Tia Pulliam of Pawnee Rock on BTDC warrant for failure to appear, bond set at $300 cash only or 48-hour OR bond.

BOOKED: Rodney Drake of Great Bend for serve sentence on BTDC case.

BOOKED: Laura Standlee of Ellinwood on GBMC case for serves sentence.

BOOKED: Aaron Pohlman of Ellinwood on BTDC case for serve sentence.

BOOKED: Jacquelin Rodriguez of Great Bend on GBMC warrant for failure to appear, no bond.

BOOKED: Dustin Chambers of Hoisington on BTDC warrant for failure to appear, no bond.

RELEASED: Billy Hamilton of Gorham posted a $25,000 surety bond through B&K Bail Bonding on BTDC cases for probation violation and violation of Kansas Offender Registration. Posted $500 cash bond on RCDC case for FTA.

RELEASED: Jeremy Northcut of Great Bend on BTDC case for DUI, speeding, left of center, posted bond through B&K Bonding.

RELEASED: Juvenile on  Great Bend Municipal Court case to St. Francis.

RELEASED: Tia Pulliam of Pawnee Rock on BTDC warrant for failure to appear, posted bond of $300 cash only paid by defendant.

RELESED: Fredrick James Silas McNett of Great Bend on BTDC case for distribute heroin, possession of paraphernalia x2, no drug tax stamp, aggravated endangering a child x2, criminal use of explosives, possession of stolen property, distribute marijuana, released by order of the court per Judge McPherson, bond is reinstated.

RELEASED: Ismael Dominguez III on BCDC warrant with a revoked bond and on BCDC warrant with a revoked bond. Released on a $10,000 OR bond through Judge McPherson.

RELEASED: Arthur Herren of Great Bend on GBMC case for pedestrian under the influence. Time served on the 48-hour Or bond.

RELEASED: Jose Sanchez-Chavez on GBMC warrant for FTA. BTDC case for possession of controlled substance and possession of paraphernalia, posted bond through Dyn-O-Mite Bail Bonding Company for $10,500.

10/27

BOOKED: Jeremy Northcut of Great Bend on BTDC case for DUI, speeding, left of center, bond set at $1,000 C/S.

BOOKED: Evan Graham of Larned on BTDC case for DUI, bond set at $1,000 C/S.

BOOKED: Steven Fortner of Hoisington on case for driving while suspended and no insurance, bond set at $2,500 C/S.

RELEASED: Evan Graham of Larned posted a $1,000 surety bond through Dyn-O-Mite Bail Bonding on BTDC case for DUI.

RELEASED: Steven Fortner of Hoisington on Hoisington Municipal Court case for driving while suspended and no insurance after posting a $2,500 surety bond.

10/28

BOOKED: Horacio Carrasco-Olivas of Great Bend on BTDC case for burglary, bond is set at $20,000 C/S.

BOOKED: Sebastian Gonzalez of Great Bend on GBMC Court case for no DL, no proof of insurance and defective headlight, bond is set at $500 C/S.

RELEASED: Laveta Elam of Great Bend on BCDC warrant with time served.

RELEASED: Rodney Drake of Great Bend on BCDC serve sentence after serving partial sentence.

RELEASED: Aaron Pohlman of Ellinwood on BCDC case for serve sentence after he served a partial sentence.

Well, after many producers were able to start getting back in their fields, rain this past Thursday resulted in another stop in a fitful fall 2018.  Overall, most of the crops (soybeans, corn, and milo) handled the wet weather better than many expected.  Mud holes have presented problems and some fields, especially those continuously tilled are presenting challenges with rutting and getting stuck, are still really too wet.  However, good progress was made in many spots.  Wheat planting is still lagging and November first is just around the corner.  So what needs to be done to finish out the 2018 growing season and prepare for 2019?

• If still planning on planting wheat, producers need to consider several things. If they are following a summer crop, harvested yet or not, try to avoid any tillage and plant with a no-till drill.  If there are ruts, smooth out the ruts and don’t till any more than necessary.  The rule of thumb is if it’s dry enough to till, it’s dry enough to plant no-till.  Be sure the drill can cut through residue which is a challenge under these conditions.  Worry about applying fertilizer after planting.  This isn’t ideal but wheat needs to be in the ground.  Finally, it’s time to jack up the seeding rate and substantially.  At least fifty percent over the normal rate.  The trouble here may be finding seed wheat.
• If grain is staying on the farm, carefully monitor conditions in the bin. The higher humidity will make keeping grain in condition a challenge and careful monitoring is critical.  It may be necessary to do more than simply applying air.
• Look at yields and look at rainfall. Mobile nutrients may have leached below the root zone and it is possible some fall applied nitrogen for wheat was lost to leaching or denitrification.   For mobile pant nutrients such as nitrogen, sulfur, and chloride, it may be advisable for spring crops to perform nitrogen and sulfur soil profile tests, combine these results with realistic crop yields, and then determine fertilizer requirements.  This applies to other nutrients such as phosphorus and potassium but these can be accomplished with a standard soil test.  If a producer is on a regular testing schedule, unless something quite unusual has happened, there is no reason to alter the program.
• Finally, assess pest pressures for each field specifically and in general examine what happened and as much as possible why. Weeds are of special concern, especially with the continued expansion of herbicide resistant weeds.  Also plan out next year’s crop with all of this in mind and taking in account prices, markets, and continuing trade difficulties with major trading partners.  And once those plans are in place, it would be a good idea to lock in advantageous input and/or output prices.

BUSINESS NEWS

Story by Brandon Steinert

A wide range of local artists’ work will be on display at the Shafer Gallery as part of the Barton County Arts Council Friends and Acquaintances exhibit now through Dec. 8. The show is underwritten by the Bill J. McKown Memorial Endowment distributed by the Golden Belt Foundation.

“The exhibit offers an opportunity to see in vivid detail what is going on in the creative environs of our own backyard,” Shafer Gallery Director Dave Barnes said. “Every style and approach to making art you can think of is on display here. We are grateful for the support of the Barton County Art Council for helping us give local artists a chance to shine. Art making can be a lonely affair and events like this encourage their sense of connection while building and enhancing our sense of civic community as well.”

Featured Artist: Krystall Barnes

Great Bend watercolorist and Barton Community College Coordinator of Workforce Training Events Krystall Barnes is a featured artist of the exhibit.

Barnes grew up surrounded by the dramatic contrasts found in the “big sky” country of the American West. Vastness: cruel, overwhelming and sublime, can demand an intimate interior response. Her watercolor paintings, whether of Yellowstone nymphs or personal mythology, explore an interior response to life and nature.

Barnes developed her watercolor technique under the instruction of John Pollock, an art professor at Montana State University-Billings. She is a signature member of the Montana Watercolor Society and is rostered as a teaching artist with the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts and the Oklahoma Council on the Arts.

In addition to being a featured artist with Guild.com, she has been represented by galleries across the country. In 2006, she won the prestigious E.L. Rose Conservancy Outstanding Artist award and stipend. She is a workshop facilitator and uses her art as a platform to speak to the healing of victims of abuse.

“Every painting I complete is a result of my wrestling with the question: how do my origins – the people and places and events of my past – affect my life today, and can I come to some sort of peace with them? The answers to my questions have been slow in revealing themselves to me, and I know they may never do so,” Barnes said. “My paintings are really about emotional growth and overcoming obstacles from the past. They express my acceptance of the duality of life: positive coming from negative, beauty from ugliness.”

BUSINESS NEWS

Great Bend’s real estate brokerage, MPIRE Realty Group, is pleased to welcome licensed Realtor® Katie Homolka to their team.

“We are delighted to have Katie become part of MPIRE Realty,” says Aaron Andrews, Broker of MPIRE Realty Group. “Her many connections built over the years in the area’s communities coupled with her vibrant personality make her a natural fit as a Realtor. She’s sure to hit the ground running, and we can’t wait to share in her many future successes. At MPIRE Realty Group, our team is committed to our core values which keep our clients at the focus of everything we do.”

Over the last 40 years, Katie Homolka has lived and worked in Central Kansas on the family homestead where she and her husband Jim raised four children. In addition to those responsibilities, Katie recently retired from teaching at USD 428.  Along with a master’s degree in exercise psychology and a master’s in administration, she has 30 years of experience in education. As head of the Physical Education Department, she developed new curriculum and programs to enhance the health and wellness of the students.

When she’s not showcasing properties or tending to her plants at Scorched Stone Farm, she’s traveling with her children and grandchildren. Traveling abroad is just one of her bucket list goals.

Says Katie, ”I look forward to this exciting journey and cannot believe that many of the realtors on the team were once my students and now I am their student.”

As Barton County awaits to see the official dollar amount in damages from the flooding earlier this month, the folks at Cheyenne Bottoms are just trying to keep their heads above water. The majority of the water in Hoisington that caused so many road closures, including Highway 281, drained into Cheyenne Bottoms.

Area Wildlife Manager at the wetlands Jason Wagner says most of the water eventually drains from Cheyenne Bottoms to Cow Creek by gravity flow.

Jason Wagner Audio

After the hunting pools at the wetlands reach 30 inches, the water starts flowing over the low-water crossings. Wagner said at one point during the rains from October 5^th – 9^th,  Pool 2’s water level was rising an inch an hour. Considering Pool 2 is more than 3,000 acres, Wagner says that rate was a lot.

Barton County Emergency Risk Management Director Amy Miller estimated more than $250,000 in damages in Barton County from the flooding.

BUSINESS NEWS

Editors of Barton Community College’s literary journal Prairie Ink invite the public to a launch party for the publication’s ninth issue from noon to 2 p.m. Friday, Nov. 2 in the Shafer Art Gallery.

The come-and-go social event will include refreshments and live readings from some of the published authors.

The “Prairie Ink” is intended as a venue for local authors to showcase their creative writing talents.

The collection of fiction, poetry, drama and non-fiction is open to submissions from Barton students, employees of community members who live in Barton’s seven-county service area and the Fort Riley, Fort Leavenworth and Grandview Plaza outreach locations.

Submissions are collected throughout the fall and early spring months and are published at the end of every summer. Copies are distributed to public libraries, high school libraries, businesses and the Barton campuses.

Scott McDonald, Barton’s newest full time English Instructor, will take on the role of editor beginning with the 10^th edition.

A digital copy of the publication can be found by visiting prairieink.bartonccc.edu. Those who would like a hard copy of “Prairie Ink” can email the editors at prairieink@bartonccc.edu or call (620) 792-9200.

Submissions for the eighth issue will be accepted Nov. 1, 2018 through April 1, 2019.  Work can be submitted for publication by emailing prairieink@bartonccc.edu.

Barton County Emergency Risk Management Director Amy Miller was contacted by the Kansas Division of Emergency Management this week in regards to the flooding damage from earlier this month.

A damage assessment team came to Barton County this past Wednesday and Thursday to evaluate the damages from the rainfall that dropped as much as 15 inches in the northern portion of the county.

Amy Miller Audio

A five-day period over October 5-9 caused many road closures including Highway 281 for nearly two days. The state’s damage assessment team gathers all the damage estimates to determine if it warrants a Presidential Disaster Declaration.

Amy Miller Audio

Miller anticipated the Kansas Division of Emergency Management would want to finish their meetings with all the counties that experienced damages by the end of next week. Miller stated the majority of Barton County’s damages and expenses came from debris clearance issues underneath bridges and water over the roads which moved gravel.

Miller turned in an initial report of more than $250,000 in damages in Barton County and now awaits word from the state.

Both the county and the state issued a Disaster Emergency Declaration for the heavy rains.