The Miss Barton County and Miss Golden Belt pageant is gearing up for 7 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 16, at Great Bend High School, Great Bend City Administrator Howard Partington told the City Council Monday night. 

He said there are nine women interested and two titles. Each winner will receive a $1,000 scholarship and then go to compete and represent our area for the Miss Kansas Pageant in June. 

The information was part of his departmental update. Other highlights included:

Public Works

• Cleaned out ditches at Eighth and C streets at the Great Bend Municipal Airport and started restructuring ditches along C street north and south. There has been some erosion in the area that has impacted, among other things, Blizzard Energy.

• Installed new streetscape light on east side of the Barton County Courthouse at the north end. Other poles in the area are cracked and will need replaced or re-worked.

• Repaired damaged hydrant at the Great Bend Events Center.

• Sanitarian: 743 year to date complaints for 2015, 10 new complaints (seven by citizens and three by staff), 14 complaints completed by citizens, two abatement notices sent and four vehicles into compliance. 

Police

• The Police Department conducted the “New Year’s Eve Taxi” on Dec 31.

Fire/EMS/Inspection/Code Enforcement

• City Inspector Lee Schneider has approved some repair work to start on the rebuilding of the structure at 1318 Kansas by the new owners. This is the building that the city declared unsafe and was on the verge of razing when new owners stepped forward offering to renovate it.

• The department is working with Barton Community College for three paramedic students to do their field internship with the Great Bend Fire Department. Two of the three students are from the department.

Administration

• The Holiday season was a good for Great Bend, Partington said. “Special thanks to the park staff and Bass X Autosound for our beautiful light displays and to the volunteers for helping as greeters for the Trail of Lights.” More Trail of Lights data will be available at the next council meeting. 

• The City is partnering with Kansas Wetlands Education Center and retail stores to host the Cheyenne Bottoms Coloring Contest. Each school is assigned a store and winners will be chosen per school. This is the 5th year for the contest and all entities are happy with the sharing and collaboration. 

• The Icy Sidewalk Sale will start at 10 a.m. Saturday, Jan. 16. Eighteen retail stores are participating in this effort to get rid of winter items and get ready for spring inventory.