The Ellis County Commission got its first look at the first full month of revenue from the new sales tax at their meeting on Monday evening.
In December, the county received $131,439.50 from sales tax collections. The collections are believed to be from October 2013 but because the state treasurer’s office did not clarify the collection period, the Ellis County Treasurer is going verify dates for the tax collections.
The new 0.5 percent sales tax was approved by voters in May to fund a series of building renovations.
After rejecting all bids for both the EMS/Rural Fire Building and the remodeling of the Administrative Center at 718 Main, the commission continues to look for ways to cut costs. County Administrator Greg Sund said the county is looking to cut about $450,000 from each project.
The lowest bid for the EMS/Rural Fire Building was $3.9 million; the county’s goal was between $3.5 million and 3.6 million. County officials had estimated the cost of the remodel at 718 Main to be approximately $700,000. The lowest base bid was for $944,000.
The commission tentatively has set up a conference call with the architect Friday to discuss the costs of the EMS/Rural Fire Building project.
Sund said he is in the process of setting up a regular bi-weekly meeting for the stakeholders to finalize the plans on the courthouse/law enforcement center project.
After the retirement of Ellis County Appraiser Dean Denning, the commission approved a resolution appointing Lisa Ree as his replacement for remainder of the four-year term approved for Denning in June.
In other business, the commission:
• Approved Public Works staff and equipment to help the city of Ellis clean trees from the Big Creek Channel in Ellis, but asked the city of Ellis reimburse the county for time and the use of equipment for no more than $3,042.38.
• Voted to release funds held in an escrow account established prior to construction of the ITC Great Plains transmission line through Ellis County.
• Approved allowing the county appraiser to spend up to $27,000 from the equipment replacement reserve to purchase a new FileSafe filing system. Denning had recommended the purchase because the existing system is in poor condition and it might not make the move to the 718 Main building.
OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — A Kansas woman has been given five years of probation in an Omaha prostitution case.
Omaha television station KETV said Tabatha Ashburn, Junction City, had made a plea deal with prosecutors who had indicted Ashburn and four other people.
Christopher Tierney also was given probation. The station says Ashburn’s mother, Tammy Schuck, Omaha, is serving prison time, as are William Knox and Kim Bivens.
Authorities say Schuck operated three “spas” in Omaha from April 2008 to January 2012 where customers paid for sex acts from workers, rather than receiving legitimate spa services.
As hundreds of kids in Ellis County continue to enjoy the toys and games they received from attending the fifth annual Community Christmas Dinner in Hays, Director Brittany Lang is already gearing up for next year’s free community dinner.
Lang said the fifth annual dinner, held at the VFW on Christmas Day, was a huge success. In fact, more than 625 community members were served this year – compared to just 375 last year.
Lang said it is solely donations and volunteers that have kept the Community Christmas Dinner a success. The dinner is not affiliated with a specific organization or church.
Donations toward the dinner can be made by calling Brittany Lang at (785) 259-3766 or by email at [email protected].
WICHITA (AP) — Wichita police say the city’s residents can feel good about having one of the lowest homicide totals in a decade last year with 16.
But it’s the four that remain unsolved that have local law enforcement frustrated because nobody is stepping forward with information that could bring the killers to justice.
The Wichita Eagle reports two of the unsolved homicides were gang-related, while the other two involved gang members.
Two of the victims — 27-year-old James Gary Jr. and 25-year-old Kolby Hopkins — were shot in the midst of large crowds.
Aaron Bohannon was with Hopkins when he was fatally shot in the city’s Old Town district. Bohannon says it’s tough to start the healing process without knowing who is responsible for taking his friend’s life.
TOPEKA — The Kansas Department of Agriculture again will be served by an agricultural advocacy, marketing and outreach team advisory board. Members of the board have been appointed by Jackie McClaskey, acting Secretary of Agriculture, and will serve terms of various lengths beginning this month.
“The Department of Agriculture is proud to serve the state’s largest industry and this re-established advisory board will assist our nine-member marketing team as they strive to serve all Kansans through innovative programming and delivering solutions designed to create an environment that encourages growth and expansion in agriculture while increasing pride in and awareness of agriculture,” McClaskey said.
The board consists of 12 members who will advise the KDA advocacy, marketing and outreach team on programs and services offered by the team. Advisory board members will work with the advocacy, marketing and outreach team on the state trademark program, From the Land of Kansas; international agricultural development; agricultural business development and agricultural communication and education program areas.
Western Kansas representatives on the board include: Mike Bergmeier with Shield Agricultural Equipment, Hutchison; Ron Hirst, a Kansas rural economic development professional, Hutchison; agricultural education instructor Lindsey Huseman, Ellsworth; Brian Linin, chief financial officer at Frontier Ag Inc., Goodland; Derek Sawyer, a Kansas farmer and rancher from McPherson; and farmer Ron Suppes, Dighton.
Each member was appointed by the secretary of agriculture to serve a one, two or three-year term. Members were selected based on their knowledge and leadership in specific sectors of the agricultural industry.
To be eligible, the board members must currently reside in Kansas and will be asked to serve on a minimum of one sub-committee.
The board will meet on a biannual basis with the committees meeting quarterly.
“Lincoln: The Constitution and the Civil War,” a traveling exhibition opening Feb. 7 at Hays Public Library, examines how President Abraham Lincoln used the Constitution to confront three intertwined crises of the Civil War — the secession of Southern states, slavery, and wartime civil liberties.
Lincoln is widely acknowledged as one of America’s greatest presidents, but his historical reputation is contested. Was he a calculating politician willing to accommodate slavery, or a principled leader justly celebrated as the Great Emancipator? This exhibition provides no easy answers. Rather, it encourages visitors to form a nuanced view of Lincoln by engaging them with Lincoln’s struggle to reconcile his policy preferences with basic American ideals of liberty and equality. This exhibition develops a more complete understanding of Abraham Lincoln as president and the Civil War as the nation’s gravest constitutional crisis.
Abraham Lincoln was elected President of the United States in 1860, at a time when the nation was on the brink of war. Lincoln struggled to resolve the basic questions that divided Americans at the most perilous moment in the nation’s history: Was the United States truly one nation, or was it a confederacy of sovereign and separate states? How could a country founded on the belief that “all men are created equal” tolerate slavery? In a national crisis, would civil liberties be secure? President Lincoln used the Constitution to confront these three crises of war, ultimately reinventing the Constitution and the promise of American life.
The National Constitution Center and the American Library Association Public Programs Office organized the traveling exhibition, which was made possible by a major grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH): great ideas brought to life. The traveling exhibition is based on an exhibition of the same name developed by the National Constitution Center.
The traveling exhibition is composed of informative panels featuring photographic reproductions of original documents, including a draft of Lincoln’s first inaugural speech, the Emancipation Proclamation and the Thirteenth Amendment.
The library is sponsoring free programs and other events for the public in connection with the exhibition. Contact Lucia Bain or visit www.hayspublib.org for more information. “Lincoln: The Constitution and the Civil War” will be on display at the library until March 21st.
Hays Police Department
The Hays Police Department conducted 11 traffic stops on Friday, 12 on Saturday and 16 on Sunday, according to the HPD activity log. The HPD also received 17 animal calls in the three days.
Jan. 3
Animal at large, 2100 block East 21st, 7:35 a.m.
Animal at large, 300 block East 19th, 7:48 a.m.
Suspicious person, 2800 block Vine, 8:44 a.m.
Abandoned vehicle, 2200 block Felten, 9:05 a.m.
Disorderly conduct, 300 block West 12th, 10:10 a.m.
Theft, 1000 block West 27th, 1:27 p.m.
Harassment, 100 block East 22nd, 1:30 p.m.
Motor vehicle accident/private property/hit and run, 200 block West 13th, 3:02 p.m.
Burglary/vehicle, 1200 block East 27th, 4:06 p.m.
Animal at large, 2300 block General Custer, 4:13 p.m.
Found/lost property, 4100 block Vine, 6:51 p.m.
Found/lost property, 4300 block Vine, 7:07 p.m.
Found/lost property, 45th and Vine, 7:30 p.m .
Criminal transport, Larned, 08:01 p.m.
Driving while suspended/revoked, 300 block West Eighth, 9:01 p.m.
Traffic/driving complaint, 4100 block Smoky Hill, 9:35 p.m.
WICHITA (AP) — Bombardier says it will put about 300 of its Learjet employees on furlough during the first half of the year.
The company said in a memo to employees that the furloughs will take place in two-week blocks over a six-week span.
The memo from vice president and general manager Ralph Acs on Friday that the furloughs involve production of the Learjet 70 and 75 and direct support staff members.
Employees will find out this month who is affected and what dates they will be furloughed.
Click HERE to stay up-to-date on the latest cancellations and delays for area schools and organizations, as well as the most recent road condition reports from the state of Kansas.
Please call (785) 625-2578 to add your cancellation.
TOPEKA (AP) — A Topeka homeless shelter has received a $5,000 train safety education grant after two recent railroad track deaths of residents.
The Topeka Capital-Journal reported the Topeka Rescue Mission is among 21 public safety agencies and other groups nationwide receiving such grants from Union Pacific.
A woman staying at the Rescue Mission died in May on nearby tracks in a suicide, and a male guest died in July in what was believed to be an accident.
Rescue Mission executive director Barry Feaker says at least six people have been fatally injured on the tracks in the past 25 years. Feaker says the grant will be used to create educational materials and expand safety education efforts.
GRAINFIELD — The Grainfield Lions Club will have its 40th annual Ground Hog Feed from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Feb. 2 at Grainfield American Legion.
Pancakes, eggs and sausage are on the menu. Freewill donations will be accepted, with proceeds benefiting the fund for the Opera House elevator. The Lions Club also will be accepting old eyeglasses.
The Colby Community College Sunflower Singers will perform at 2 p.m. Feb. 2 at the Opera House.
The First Amendment protects our freedom to say and write just about anything we want — but that doesn’t mean we ought to, particularly in public life.
The difference rests between “can” and “should.”
Gene Policinski is senior vice president of the First Amendment Center
Our nation’s founders were no strangers to rude, callous and raucous debate in public life and to vicious commentary, even by today’s “anything goes” online standards. Sex scandals, infidelity, personal weaknesses and even religious differences were exposed, debated and mocked in public life and in the newspapers of the day with personal glee and political purpose.
The self-governing system eventually created for the United States depends on vigorous public involvement and debate, but it also depends on a measure of what we call today “civility” to function. Not civility in the sense of polite nods and watered-down language — that’s not “free speech” in any sense — but rather a thinking response and respect for robust debate over ideas and policies.
The Bill of Rights, led off by the First Amendment, rests on the creative tension of rights and responsibilities. It is civility in its historical meaning — involved, engaged citizenry — that powers those two great civic engines.
A First Amendment advocate should be the last to call for laws or other official limits on speech, such as campus speech codes or restrictions on campaign speech. But Congressional gridlock, growing public disaffection with politics and growing concern about online discussions perpetually locked into the lowest level of comments, require a non-governmental response.
Journalists are a good starting point for self-initiated positive action. A recent gathering of about 40 practitioners, at the Newseum in Washington, D.C., gives hope in that direction.
The group met in early December to talk about incivility in the media, in a multi-day session sponsored by the Newseum Institute, The Poynter Institute for Media Studies and the National Institute for Civil Discourse. A concluding task was to set out some core values for journalists and to face the serious issue of whether this group or any other might actually produce change.
A good starting point for the organizers (Note: I was one of them) was to assemble a group that resembles the nation in 2014: Journalists from traditional media and new media, with great diversity in age groups, ethnicity, location and views.
The values statement stressed truth, independence and transparency as well as focusing on the free press role envisioned by Madison, Jefferson and others: Exposing wrongdoing, airing of multiple points of view, empowering people with information needed for self-governance, and providing the means for the nation to hear from “the disenfranchised and voices that are not being heard.”
Worthy goals all, for a nation that is without doubt increasingly diverse and increasingly divided — and also a good refocusing for a free press battered by falling and fading revenue sources, diminished public respect and the loss of many of its most-veteran participants.
In the mid-1940s, journalists and academics joined in a post-WWII seminar popularly known as the Hutchins Commission to consider the role of journalism in a cynical, war-weary world. According to reports of the time, it was an era in which the public had little respect for the large media enterprises of the day, finding them increasingly uncivil, unconcerned with or unable to perform their “watchdog on government” role — and out of touch with news consumers. Sound familiar?
There is no minimizing the difficulty ahead in reshaping public debate that now focuses on the shrill, in which partisan confrontation often overwhelms nonpartisan compromise. Perhaps journalists are the group of that can first move the idea of “civility” from premise to practice — a New Year resolution with real promise.
Gene Policinski is chief operating officer of the Newseum Institute and senior vice president of the Institute’s First Amendment Center. He can be reached at [email protected].
