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City personnel come together in good times and bad
new deh city update pic
The stop light at Main and 19th in Great Bend was a casualty of the Sept. 10 storm. Damage from the storm kept city personnel busy. - photo by Tribune file photo

 It’s been a hectic couple of months for many Great Bend city departments, City Administrator Howard Partington said.

On Thursday, Sept. 10, a massive storm whipped through the area. Public Works staff members were called out at 8:15 p.m. to clear streets of trees and debris due to high winds and set out portable stop signs due to power outage across town.

Partington said it also fell to that department to restore water service due to the outage. Personnel maintained the continued operation of the lift stations which kept water flowing.

Crews also worked the compost site all weekend to take care of the trees that were being hauled.

These efforts also involved the Police and Fire departments.

On a pleasant note, Public Works, the Fire Department and other city employees were involved in the Great Bend Airfest this past weekend.

“I want to thank all city employees and other citizens who have worked hard on many of the activities and events this summer,”

Partington said.

These comments were part of Partington’s departmental update. Other highlights included:

Police Department

• The Department’s new drug detecting canine and canine vehicle are completely in service.

• Overall, the Police Department has been very busy, including drug search warrants, several death related investigations, and the recent storm. 

Fire/EMS/Inspection/Code Enforcement

• Captain Luke McCormick, and firefighters Tony Leeds and Blake Kratzer represented the department at the 9-11 Memorial Stair Climb in Kansas City on Sept. 12.

• The Department is preparing to host the annual Regional Ladder Drill this Saturday.

• Preparations are ongoing for Fire Prevention Week which will start Oct. 5.

• Certificate of Occupancy was given to Reserves at Trail Ridge apartments for Building 2.

Public Works

• Repaired concrete on 24th Street just west of Washington.

• Started working on pouring sidewalks for the Activity Center at 18th and Jefferson. 

• Painting the water tower at the Great Bend Municipal Airport was completed. 

• Sanitarian: 654 year to date complaints, 18 new complaints (three by citizens and 15 by staff), 13 complaints completed by citizens, two abatement notices sent, four abatements performed and three vehicles brought into compliance. 

Administration

• Retailers are on a mission to join in the Panther Pride for October. Community Coordinator Christina Hayes is helping organize a Panther Pride Push where participating retailers and groups wear red and black on Fridays.

Shoppers can stop in and get their Panther Pride wristband for free, take a selfie with the store and support the Great Bend High School Panthers. 

Hayes said retailers came up with this idea. Participating stores will have a panther in the window.

• The Sunflower Rod and Custom Association finished second as a team overall in Division 5. Also, Great Bend will be represented at the drag racing nationals.

• Zoo Boo is the next big city event and will take place on Oct. 24.

• The city was notified by the Kansas Department of Transportation that the Geometric Improvement Grant for 10th and Grant streets was approved for funding along with the 2017 KLINK. City Connecting Link Resurfacing Program (KLINK) provides reimbursable grants to local governments for the purposes of maintaining state highways that pass through the city limits of a community.