Severe thunderstorms and flooding during the first week of August resulted in the Board of Barton County Commissioners declaring a state of local disaster emergency, and there is a chance the county could be listed as a federal disaster area, county Emergency Manager Amy Miller said in a report to the commission Monday morning.
After initial damage assessments were reported to the Kansas Division of Emergency Management, a determination was made that Barton County could qualify for public assistance if the statewide event was declared as a Federal disaster, Miller said. A Preliminary Damage Assessment Meeting took place Sept. 3 to collect public damage estimates from eligible government entities within Barton County.
Representatives from KDEM and the Federal Emergency Management Agency viewed damage sites, repair estimates and collected documentation of emergency protective procedures from entities. If the event receives a federal disaster declaration, an applicant’s briefing will be scheduled for Barton County.
Miller’s report was part of County Administrator Richard Boeckman’s bi-weekly update on departmental activities. Other highlights included:
 
Emergency Risk Manager Amy Miller
On Aug. 28, Miller participated in a tabletop exercise to test the Great Bend Airport Emergency Plan. Other agencies attending included the Great Bend Police Department, Barton County 911 Communications, Barton County Sheriff’s Department, Great Bend Fire/EMS, Great Lakes Airlines and the Great Bend Airport staff.
Participants reviewed response actions, resources that could be needed during an emergency response and reviewed notification procedures. Tabletop exercises provide emergency plan response and reviews without the cost of a full-scale exercise, where agencies respond as if the scenario were an actual event.

Information Technology Director John Debes
• Monitoring TTC, exchange servers and sonic wall firewall continues. During this period, there were : 48 viruses, 4 intrusion and 1 spyware attempts. Recent updates found 1,971 malware instances throughout the County computer system.
 • Anticipating a need to upgrade electronic voting equipment, participated in a software demonstration of next generation technology.
• Assisted the Sheriff’s Office with equipment upgrades.

Register of Deeds Pam Wornkey
Register of Deeds Pam Wornkey announced that, at the recent Kansas County Officials Association meeting, she was elected to serve as the Kansas Register of Deeds Association alternate representative to the Kansas Legislative Committee. Duties include familiarity with the Kansas legislative session, reporting to the Association and working with law makers in Topeka on the issues affecting the Register of Deeds Offices.
Miller asked Wornkey to serve as the Reception and Care Director for Barton County. As such, Wornkey will be responsible for coordinating reception and care activities to include establishing registration, lodging and feeding facilities during a disaster. The position works with the American Red Cross and is the local contact for keeping track of sheltering and feeding operations in Barton County.

Health Director Lily Akings
Total clinic contacts, 259
• Immunizations, 170
• Family Planning, 38
• Sexually transmitted disease, 12
• Tuberculosis, 14
• Maternal and Infant, 7
• Healthy Start home visit, 8
• Child care licensing, 5
• Adult health, 3
• Kan B Healthy exams, 1

Other items of note:
• The department is scheduling outreach clinics for flu vaccinations
• Nursing students from Barton Community College starting their rotation with the department