Before the Barton County Commission passed a resolution to create a second fire district in Barton County at Monday’s meeting, the biggest concern was establishing another separate taxing entity. The Commission passed the resolution following a public hearing to allow the fire district to form for Hoisington and northern Barton County.

Commission Chair Jennifer Schartz says she is always hesitant relinquishing the power for the district to set its own mill levy.

Jennifer Schartz Audio

Upon formation of the fire district, Hoisington City Manager Jonathan Mitchell says he imagined the mill levy to be around three to five mills for the district. State statute calls for the district to have a ceiling of nine mills.

Mitchell says the district will be governed by a Board of Trustees, with each city and township involved allowed a representative on the board.

Jonathan Mitchell Audio

The fire district will include the cities of Hoisington, Olmitz, and Susank, plus the townships of Albion, Eureka, North Homestead, South Homestead, and Union. The Board of Trustees appointees were divided in terms that either end December 31, 2019 or December 31, 2020.

The fire district puts the funding on a broader base, with each city and township getting taxed, providing a more stable funding source.

Last summer, the Commission approved the formation of the Cottonwood Extension Office, combining Barton and Ellis counties. The taxing entity started with a .78 mill levy, but has the power to raise the mill levy to 1.5 mills.

written by: Rip Winkel – Horticulture agent in the Cottonwood District (Barton and Ellis Counties) for K-State Research and Extension

Over the last couple of weeks, I have heard “straw bale gardening” being mentioned several times. So when I saw this article come out this week from KSU (Manhattan) I thought I would pass it on as I am sure this will be of interest to many of you.

Straw Bale Gardening
There has been growing interest in straw bale gardening.  What better place to try this than in Kansas where straw is so abundant.  First, some pointers.
∙    The bales mentioned here are referring to the “small” straw bales that are about 2 feet high and 3 feet long.
∙    Place the bale on edge so the twine doesn’t rot. (On the small bales, there are usually two strands of twine that keep the bale together running length-wise. Place the bale so that you can see the twine on the side, horizontally.)
∙    Bales can be placed anywhere including concrete or asphalt.  Just make sure there is plenty of sun and watering is convenient.

Bale Conditioning
∙    Water the bales and keep them wet for 3 days.  The bale will start to heat up as it breaks down.
∙    On days 4, 5 and 6, sprinkle fertilizer on the top of each bale with 1 cup of ammonium sulfate (21-0- 0) or ½ cup of urea (46-0- 0).  Water the fertilizer in.  This speeds the decomposition process.
∙    On days 7, 8 and 9, continue to sprinkle fertilizer on each bale but cut the amount in half.
∙    Stop fertilizing on day 10 but keep the bale moist.
∙    Check for heat on the top of each bale for each day after day 10.  When the temperature drops to below 100, the bale can be planted.

Planting
∙    Pocket Method: Make a hole for each plant several inches deep and fill with growing medium.
∙    Flat Bed Method: Cover the top of the bale with 3 to 4 inches of growing medium.
∙    The growing medium can be well-aged manure, compost or potting soil.

Number of Plants per Bale
∙    Cantaloupe:        2
∙    Cucumber:         3-4
∙    Peppers:        3-5
∙    Squash (winter)    2
∙    Squash (summer)    2-3
∙    Tomatoes        2-3

Watering

Watering will be the most challenging aspect of management.  The straw will dry quickly.  A drip irrigation system on a timer can work well but may take some time to set up.  Gardeners may also use soda bottles or milk jugs to water by poking drip holes in the lid, filling with water and then turning upside down next to the target plant.
This information was taken from an excellent publication from Washington State University that includes much more detail as well as images.  See https://cru.cahe.wsu.edu/CEPublications/FS109E/FS109E.pdf

Try it, and have some fun!

Sunflower Diversified Services’ recycling program is growing. In 2016, Sunflower had 238 local businesses that they served on their pickup routes to recycle the company’s paper or plastics. In 2017, there were 344 businesses signed up with Sunflower.

Executive Director Jon Prescott says Sunflower is looking to grow their recycling business even more by becoming a certified confidential recycler.

Jon Prescott Audio

Barton County Commissioner Jennifer Schartz noted if Sunflower can become certified that the County might look to switch from their current recycler. Barton County awarded Sunflower a $15,000 local recycling grant in 2017 to assist with their programs.

Prescott says the recycling pickup crews, which includes two staff members and one client per crew, earned $272,000 in wages last year.

Jon Prescott Audio

Sunflower, a non-profit agency, serves infants and adults with intellectual delays and disabilities in Barton, Pawnee, Rice, Rush, and Stafford counties.

Sunflower has been offering their recycling service since 1999, and in 2017 the agency collected and processed 2.6 million pounds of recyclable material that did not go into the landfill.

Almost overnight, we went from the drab, brown tones of winter to lush, green vegetation across much of the area and the plants aren’t the only living things that are thriving. According to Kansas State University entomology professor, Raymond Cloyd, his office has fielded calls and emails about ticks earlier than usual this spring. He says cool, rainy weather in parts of Kansas and other states, followed by a quick increase of plant growth may have boosted the tick population. Because some ticks carry pathogens such as Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever or Lyme disease, Barton County Health Director Shelly Schneider says it’s a good idea to have them identified if they were embedded in the skin.

Shelly Schneider Audio

With ticks getting all the publicity so far this spring, Schneider says we can’t forget about the dangers associated with mosquitos who will soon be out in full force as well.

Shelly Schneider Audio

West Nile virus is the most common mosquito borne disease in Kansas and the United States. The Kansas Department of Health and Environment announced last fall that West Nile virus-positive mosquitoes were present in all four counties where mosquito surveillance was performed. Those counties included Johnson, Shawnee, Sedgwick and Reno.

Mosquito surveillance ended in October of last year and will resume this month.

Barton County Departments are asked to submit a monthly activity report of statistical information or a summary of services. It will be presented to the Commission as a means of reaching the public and keeping citizens aware of the duties and services completed.

Barry McManaman, County Engineer
• Attended the annual Commissioners and Engineers meeting
• Attended the annual Transportation Conference
• Attended the Kansas County Highway Association meeting
• The Cartographer attended the Mid-America GIS Symposium
• The Engineering Technician and County Engineer have been doing inspection work on the Arkansas River bridge repair project and recently began inspection on the bridge replacement project on East Barton County Road
• Worked on documents and accepted bids for a hot mix asphalt overlay project on East Barton County Road near Ellinwood
• The Cartographer is working on NextGen 911 and census data
• Processed multiple floodplain development permits in the County
• Researching water rights relating to sand pits
• Reviewed and compiled information for possible signing changes on North Washington Avenue at North 30 Road
• The Office Assistant has been researching files for minimum maintenance roads in addition to preparing project documents
• Processed multiple utility permits and provided information to utility contractors Darren Williams, County Works Director
• Replaced a low water crossing on NW 110 Road and on NW 160 Road.
• Worked on driveways and field entrances in the south and south east part of the County.
• Laid cold mix for the approaches on the Radium Bridge.
• Assisted the Landfill with a fire.
• Assisted the Sheriff’s Office on an accident on North Washington.
• Continued pumping sand at the Ellinwood sandpit.
• Strip Patched on SW 50 Road.

Judy Goreham, Environmental Manager
Total Permits issued during this period – 19
Septic System Permits – 5
Water Well Permits – 11
Building Permits – 3
Total Field Inspections Conducted during this period – 54
Septic System Final Inspections – 4
Septic Tank Pump-Out Inspections – 8
Site Location for new Septic System – 2
In-House Water Tests Conducted – 14
Lender Evaluations – 7
Certified Laboratory Water Test Collected – 6

Nuisance Code Violation Inspections – 3
Site Location for new Water Well – 6
Water Well Final Inspection – 1
Soil Survey – 1
Site Location for new Lagoon – 1
Lagoon Final Inspection – 1

The next regular meeting of the Barton County Planning Commission will be held Tuesday, June 12, 2018 at 3 pm in the Barton County Courthouse First Floor Conference Room. The public is invited to attend.

Amy Miller, Emergency Risk Manager
On April 24, the Barton County Local Emergency Planning Committee, sponsored by Barton County Emergency Management, held its second quarterly meeting of 2018. Mark Kircher and Teresa Mazouch from Wheatland Electric Cooperative discussed electrical operations during power outages. Kircher described their emergency response resources, equipment and crews that are available in Great Bend as well as Mutual Aid resources of their member electric cooperatives within the state of Kansas. Mazouch provided information on Wheatland Electric’s website on how to check for electrical outages within their service area. Mazouch said that individual residential outages should be reported to the company even during large scale outages.

Steve Webster and Matt Althouse, Eagle Radio – Great Bend, described how the radio station handles severe weather and emergency information. Staffing of the radio station and frequency of weather updates was described to the committee.

The committee also heard a report on Severe Weather Week activities, training opportunities, and discussion on hospital emergency preparedness exercise documentation from Lindsey
Bogner, Ellinwood District, based upon a recent hospital inspection by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.

Barb Esfeld, County Appraiser
The Appraiser’s Office is beginning its 17% re-inspection pursuant to Kansas S.statute 79-1476. This year, staff is measuring and inspecting properties located in Claflin and Odin, along with areas of Great Bend north of 24th and west of Patton Road. Properties that have sold recently and/or have building permits will also be re-inspected. The Appraiser’s staff will be wearing nametags and will in County-marked vehicles. Please contact the Appraiser’s Office with any questions or concerns at 620-793-1821 or email the Barton County Appraiser at appraiser@bartoncounty.org.

Marissa Woodmansee, Juvenile Services Director
• Staff attended the 21st Annual Kansas Attorney General’s Crime Victim’s Rights Conference
• Staff attended the multidisciplinary team meeting in Ellsworth with their local law enforcement, representatives from the school and Kansas Department of Children and Families
• Day staff completed training with The Center for Counseling and Consultation. Staff was trained to utilize tablets for face time to complete emergency mental health screenings.
• Day staff was provided training in regard to the Adverse Childhood Environment tool.
• Staff trained churches in regard to using a portal for seeking out protective homes for children in Barton and Rice Counties
• Juvenile Intake and Assessment has completed seventy-two (72) intakes completed.
• Juvenile Intensive Supervised Probation and Case Management is currently supervising forty-two (42) youth post adjudication with an additional two (2) on pre-adjudication supervision.
• Project Stay is the Case Management program for youth who have truancy issues and currently provides Case Management for twenty-seven (27) youth in the Judicial District
• Immediate Intervention (Diversion Supervision) has forty-two (42) youth currently participating in the program.
• Staff supports the elementary schools in Great Bend for the All-Stars classes provided for two hundred and five (205) 6th graders by family support workers from the schools and is close to finishing up for the school year.
• Evidence Based Classes from The Change Company are being taught throughout the Judicial District by all full time staff.

BOOKED: Kurt Woods of Great Bend on GBMC warrant for contempt of court, bond is set at $1,510 cash only or to serve 83 days in jail. GBMC warrant for contempt of court, bond set at $817.50 cash only or 360 days in jail.

RELEASED: Jacob Schenkel of Great Bend on Barton County District Court serve sentence after serving five days.

RELEASED: Alexander Anderson of Lindsborg posted a $1,000 surety bond through Ace Bail Bonding on a BTDC warrant for battery.

Press release from Russell Main Street, Inc.

Russell, KS – For the first-time ever, the Downtown Russell Market Pop-up Event will take place the Saturday before Father’s Day, June 16th from 10:00 am to 3:00 pm. We would like to invite all types of vendors to join us for a busy weekend in Russell, with over 1,000 spectators planned to arrive in our community for a Father’s Day Softball Tournament, we are anticipating a lot of foot traffic.

The market event will take place outdoors on the bricks in Downtown Russell. We are currently searching for vendors of all categories ranging anywhere from antiques to clothing. Food, music, and children’s activities will also be available. Vendors will be set up in the parking stalls between 6th and 8th street while Downtown businesses utilize the sidewalks for sales and specials.

If you are interested in joining us the cost per vendor booth is $30.00 for Non-Members and $20 for Members. Booth space is approximately 12’x15’. We ask that all booths be set-up before 9:30 am the day of the event. Event will take place rain or shine. Each vendor is responsible for all their own display tables, racks, tent, etc. Power is limited, please document on the registration form if electricity is needed, there will be an additional $5 fee for electricity.

To be included in this year’s Russell Downtown Market, vendors must register online at russellmainstreet.com/downtown-market or mail registration form and payment to 207 E. 8th Street in Russell. For more information call the Russell Main Street, Inc. office at 785-483-2897.