HUTCHINSON, Kan. — The Reno County Commission received an update on damage at the courthouse from earthquakes.

Structural engineer Brent Engelland says the only major problem seems to be the area where the dome connects with the rest of the building.

“We have what we feel is a pretty good concept to reinforce that area between the concrete and the steel,” Engelland said. “We can do it all from the inside. The area up in the middle of the dome is where the elevators rise up and it’s all an open space up there, relatively easy accessed, so we’re actually right now in the process of designing those reinforcements up there to stiffen that so we don’t have more cracking in the future.”

Before the earthquakes, the county had contractors take pictures and prepare bids to seal cracks anyway. Those contractors came back after the earthquakes to compare what was there before.

The main concern right now is cracks that could allow moisture in during the winter months. Engelland talked about having a cover on the dome during the winter months.

“What we think we would like to try to do is figure out a temporary cover for the dome area just to keep moisture out of it,” Engelland said.

Work will continue inside this winter to prepare for the work that will come on the exterior next spring.

HUTCHINSON, Kan. — A local man faces serious charges in a domestic case which began Saturday evening and continued into Sunday.

Charles Parker Jr. faces potential charges of aggravated kidnapping, aggravated assault, aggravated domestic battery, theft and endangering a child.

The victim alleges she was repeatedly strangled, telling police she believes she may have lost consciousness at one point. He also allegedly loaded a handgun and threatened to kill her numerous times putting the gun to her head and her ribs. He is also accused on striking her with the butt of the gun.

He’s also accused of refusing to let her leave, taking her keys and phone. At one point, he’s alleged to have picked her up and tried to put her in a car where he threatened to take her to the river and kill her.

She was able to escape when he became distracted by someone else according to statements made in court.

Police indicated she had bruising on her face and body consistent with what she told officers and all of this while a child was present in the home.

Parker is jailed on a bond of $117,000 and was denied a bond reduction.

He should be back in court on Friday.

HUTCHINSON, Kan. — The Reno County Commission as part of their consent agenda will consider two resolutions when they meet Tuesday. One is for the directing of a real estate tax foreclosure action and the other to adopt the 2019 Homeland Security Region G Mitigation plan, something talked about at the at the last two meetings.

The commission will also get an update on the bid letting for three bridge rehabilitation projects and three bridge replacement projects.

Construction is expected to begin next spring for the Nickerson Blvd. bridge over the diversion canal west of Hutchinson, a bridge on 82nd Avenue over Blaze Fork, just west of the Harvey/Reno County line and on Medora Road just north of 95th.

The rehabilitation of these bridges will be funded through the special bridge fund. Total cost estimated at $1,885,000.

Then there are three other pending bridge replacement projects including the Nickerson Road bridge over the Arkansas River south of Nickerson.

The 43rd Avenue bridge over the Union Pacific railroad tracks is another pending replacement project. Don Brittain, Public Works Superintendent says they’re still waiting on a response from the railroad of the final plan submittal and receipt of the draft, “real estate agreement”.

Funding for these bridge projects would be funded using bond financing. Total projected cost, $5,504,000.

The final bridge replacement is just off Wilson Road at the Willowbrook entrance and is scheduled for letting in 2024.

The commission will get an update on damage at the courthouse from earthquakes from Structural Engineer Brent Engelland. He will also give recommendations and options for modifications to the building that could minimize further damage in the future.

The commission is also scheduled to get a department update from Reno County Sheriff Randy Henderson.

The Reno County Commission meeting starts at 9 a.m. Tuesday at the Reno County Courthouse.

HUTCHINSON, Kan. — A sprinkler system saved the Hutchinson Fire Department some headaches when they responded to a kitchen fire at 17 East 2nd in the Towers building in downtown Hutchinson just before 1:30 a.m. Saturday.

Fire crews were dispatched for a report of a fire alarm sounding in the building. Once on scene, crews upgraded the alarm for more fire resources as smoke was reported in the hallways on the third floor.

Fire crews made entry into the apartment to find the sprinkler system operating in the kitchen area of the apartment.

The sprinkler system was able to keep the fire contained and minimized structure damage to the rest of the apartment and building. Residents of the building were evacuated. No injuries noted.

MANHATTAN, Kan. — The Kansas Department of Agriculture Division of Water Resources will host two public meetings on Monday, Oct. 21, to share information related to upcoming action responding to the impairment complaint by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service on behalf of Quivira National Wildlife Refuge.

The public meetings will take place at 3 p.m. and 7 p.m. at the Stafford County Courthouse Annex, 210 E. 3rd Ave., in St. John. Both meetings will include the same information.

Water rights owners in the area were sent notice this week of the plan to regulate water rights. The meetings will review the anticipated regulation and the ongoing work with local stakeholders to develop a Water Conservation Area (WCA) that will provide flexibility in use for those regulated water rights.

All area residents are welcome to attend one of the two meetings. The KDA also plans to livestream the presentations and archive them online.

More information related to the impairment complaint and investigation findings, the planned water administration, and plans to develop a WCA to provide flexibility can be found at www.agriculture.ks.gov/Quivira.

Questions can also be addressed by calling KDA–DWR’s Stafford Field Office at 620-234-5311.

HUTCHINSON, Kan. — Reno County Public Works announced a road closing next week for a crossroad pipe replacement.

G Avenue between Buhler Road and Willison Road will be closed to all through traffic on Monday and Tuesday.

This schedule is subject to change without further notice.

HUTCHINSON, Kan. — Ryan Shaban was crowned king and Auhneiyce Grissom was crowned queen during Friday night’s homecoming game.

The coronations were the capstone events for Fall Homecoming 2019.

Other finalists for king were Quincey Baker, Joe Blake, Jalen Moriasi, Derek Norris and Luis Villa. Other finalists for queen were Natalie Basgall, Taiyah Chapman, Rylie McFadden, Emma Ontjes and McKenzie Ontjes.

Before the game, three Wall of Honor inductees were recognized. The inductees for 2019 are Francie Ekengren, class of 1975; Garrick Harmon, class of 1988; and Annie McKay, class of 1996.

The final event of the week is the homecoming dance from 9 p.m. to 11 p.m. Saturday in the HHS cafeteria.

HUTCHINSON, Kan. — The jury trial for a man accused in two serious domestic cases involving an ex-con has been pushed to December after the defense said it still has an investigation going on. The case against Heath Rhodes was scheduled to begin next week.

In the first case, Rhodes is charged with kidnapping for holding the victim against her will. He is also charged with criminal threat and two counts of aggravated domestic battery.

The crimes in this case go back to Sept. 18 and Sept. 20 of last year.

The second case against Rhodes goes back to March 17 of this year where he is charged with aggravated domestic battery for allegedly choking the victim to where she couldn’t breathe. He is also charged for threatening the victim with more violence during that time.

Rhodes has served time for aggravated battery, criminal damage, drugs and DUI. He is free on bond.

HUTCHINSON, Kan. — If you have driven along Airport Road, you may have noticed some work taking place on top of the salt storage bin at Hutchinson Salt.

General Manager Jim Barta says the barn suffered damage from the storm Wednesday afternoon. He says his guys are making repairs to the roof.

“We are also redoing our entire mill building, we are on year four of the rebuild project, which includes all new rebar, cement, siding and paint,” Barta said. “We currently have the south side of the mill completed along with a new Hutchinson Salt Company sign that was installed upon completion.”

He says they have now moved to the north side of the building. That presented a challenge because of railcar loading. They had to build a massive steel structure for the scaffolding so they could continue to load railcars while repairs are being made to the building. The scaffold company just completed the scaffolding project on the north side. Barta said they will start repairs on the north side of the building this month.

Next on the schedule is erecting a new building for the new hoisting system. They will install that in 2020 to increase production. They are also going to build a new shipping and receiving dock building at the main entrance of the mine shaft.

Since hired in 2015 to restructure and rebuild the operation, they have installed a new headframe for the hoisting system, installed all new electrical underground, installed new conveyor systems and installed new skips/salt buckets — which meant a 25% increase in production. They also rebuilt the M7 fine processing building exterior, installed a new truck load out scale and built a new outside shipping and receiving dock.

Barta says they still have a lot of work ahead on the surface buildings. He says the place looks so much nicer with a good coat of gray paint.