High winds force landfill closures
The recent high winds have wreaked havoc at the Barton County Landfill, forcing closures at the facility located at 350 NE 30 Road north of Great Bend, Solid Waste Director Phil Hathcock told the County Commission Wednesday morning.
“It’s that time of year,” he said. “We expect it.”
The landfill has been opening an hour early at 7 a.m. to accommodate trash hauling companies so they can dump their trucks, he said. But, they’ve routinely had to close to the public after that.
For information on hours and closings, call 620-793-1898.
Program aims to strengthen fatherhood
A memorandum of understanding between the Barton County Health Department and Lawrence-based Douglas County Citizens Committee on Alcoholism for a mini-grant will help fund the Stepping Stones to Recovery, Fatherhood Initiative, Strong Dads Make Strong Kids program.
Barton County has been provided the Overdose Data to Action Peer Navigation Incentive memorandum of understanding between DCCCA and the Health Department, said Lindsey Ensley, Health Department public health nurse supervisor. Under the agreement, Barton County will collaborate with Stepping Stones to Recovery with the goal of increasing care through the Fatherhood Initiative.
“The funds will be used to plan and pay for drug- and alcohol-free events, family-focused events,” she said. These will focus on those with substance use disorder and those who have been through substance use disorders and recovered “and are productive members of our society.”
The MOU details the responsibilities of all parties and outlines the reporting and other requirements, Ensley said. The award is for $3,195 and funding is to be expended by Aug. 31.
“We want to enhance what we are already doing,” Ensley said. This will provide more opportunities to bridge gaps and bring groups together socially and provide a safe setting.
New program to help expectant mothers
In order to better prepare expectant mothers for motherhood, the Barton County Commission Wednesday morning accepted funds from Hartford, Conn.-based insurance company AETNA for the Being a Mom Program at the Health Department.
The Health Department is in the process of establishing the BAM program, said Lindsey Ensley, Health Department public health nurse supervisor. This prenatal program offers a holistic approach, pairing education and clinical prenatal care to increase healthy pregnancies.
“The prenatal curriculum and supplemental materials provided by (the Kansas Department of Health and Environment) is designed to improve participants’ chances of having a healthy pregnancy and a healthy baby,” she said. “The curriculum will be delivered by trained facilitators in a group setting that serves as a source of social support for pregnant women by allowing them the opportunity to connect with other mothers in a similar situation.”
Participants will take part in six two-hour sessions at the Health Department. AETNA has awarded the department $1,655 for program incentives to be awarded at the end of the course. The funds need to be expended by Dec. 31.
Airport Road project advances
The Barton County Commission Wednesday morning approved the cost-share agreement with the Kansas Department of Transportation for the resurfacing of SW 40 Road (Airport Road).
On April 4, the Great Bend City Council approved an agreement with Barton County to equally share the local cost of the KDOT project. The County Commission also had to OK it, said County Engineer Barry McManaman.
In last year’s joint meeting with the Barton County Commission, the city council discussed applying for the KDOT cost-share grant for maintenance of Airport Road, City Administrator Kendal Francis said. Because at least half of the road is within the city limits, the council agreed to split the required local match if our application was successful, which it was.
“This has been a long time coming,” said District 5 Commissioner Jennifer Schartz, who has been involved with the project since the beginning. I goes to show the city and the county are working together more “and the taxpayers reap the benefits.”
Now, McManaman is preparing to move forward with bids. There is hope the project could be completed yet this year.
The project is anticipated to cost $800,000 and KDOT will fund 75% up to a $600,000 maximum of eligible costs. The city and county will each pay about $100,000, McManaman said.
He did say that due to increased costs for just about everything, the cost for this project could exceed expectations.
Health Board ceases monthly meetings
For some time, the Barton County Commission has met as the Board of Health the first Monday of the month due to COVID-19. Health Director Karen Winkelman gave regular updates on the ongoing pandemic.
However, the commission voted Wednesday morning to suspend that practice for now.
Given that the pandemic is moving to an endemic state, the commission discontinued that practice. In addition, the May meeting, as was previously announced, was canceled.
It was at the last Health Board meeting on April 6 that Winkelman she and her three supervisors attended the three-day Kansas Governor’s Public Health Conference in Manhattan the previous week. They learned Gov. Laura Kelly was signing off on declaring Kansas in an endemic state instead of a pandemic.
Health professionals break outbreaks down as epidemic with widespread occurrences, pandemic with global occurrences, and endemic, which means that it’s something that is regularly found and it’s something to be expected in a certain area.
County now backing up own data
With the Barton County Commission’s Wednesday morning approval of a $6,850 bid from Central Plains Computer Service of Great Bend for a server upgrade, the Information Technology Department will now handle backing up the county’s data.
Dereck Hollingshead, IT director, said Barton County released a request for proposals to upgrade an existing backup server. Bids were accepted until March 29 and four bids meeting the bid requirements were received.
The backup duties had been handled by Computer Information Concepts Inc., the firm the county contracts with for operational software. But the fee for this was $7,200 annually.
With this one-time purchase, Hollingshead said the county will eliminate that expense. Now, the data will be saved to a live server at the Courthouse, the new server at the 911 Office and to the cloud.
Repairs cheaper than replacing dozer
It may seem like a lot of money, the repairs to a Caterpillar D7 dozer used by the Barton County Landfill are cheaper than replacing what could be a $1 million piece of machinery, it was noted by the County Commission as it OKed the cost Wednesday morning.
In January, the dozer’s engine, which had over 10,000 hours, failed and was replaced. In conjunction with the engine replacement, Foley Industries replaced the undercarriage components for a total cost of $127,546, said Solid Waste Director Phil Hathcock.
It is used to build roads, push waste and for other essential tasks.
“It is the cost of doing business,” said District 5 Commissioner Jennifer Schartz.
Hathcock said the repairs will basically restore it to like-new condition. It should be good for about another decade.
He said when an implement gets go the 10,000 hour mark, they look at restoring or replacing it.
Cereal malt beverage licenses OKed
The Barton County Commission Wednesday morning approved new cereal malt beverage licences for Heath Ney and Afton Ney, doing business as Small Town Service and Repair at 652 South Main, Hoisington.
According to County Clerk Bev Schmeidler, under state statute, no retailer shall sell any cereal malt beverage without a license, and when a business is located in the unincorporated portion of the county, that application shall be made to the county commissioners.
The Neys applied for two separate licenses, one for consumption on the premises and one for sale in original and unopened containers.
