NICKERSON, Kan. — Students at Nickerson Elementary are attending summer camp this week at their school. But it’s not fishing, swimming and campfire songs — it’s all about robotics.

Thanks to a grant from the Arconic Foundation, students are continuing their education in robotics through Stem Education Mobile. Instructor Kim Perrone commented on the one-week class:

Curriculum taught during the camp coincides with regular education taught during the school year:

Perrone says the grant will also fund a similar program at South Hutchinson Elementary next year. She says the program is important not only for STEM-related classes, but also hands-on building skills.

HUTCHINSON, Kan. — The Hutchinson City Planning Commission will hold two public hearings for a proposed expansion of a local funeral home during its regular meeting on Tuesday.

The land in question is in the unit block of west 13th Avenue, just west of Elliott Mortuary. The funeral home wants to have the land use map amended. Elliott also wants a zoning change for the small parcel of property so it can expand into the area.

Elliott plans to install a parking lot at this property in the future. Officials at Elliott feel the proposed development would reduce the mortuary’s on-street parking impact, thus improving public safety.

The Planning Commission meeting is set for 5:30 Tuesday evening in the Hutchinson city offices.

HUTCHINSON, Kan. — A chance to save $5 on grandstand entertainment for this year’s Kansas State Fair comes to an end today.

The fair traditionally waives the processing fee if tickets are purchased early. That deadline is today. Tickets sales have been brisk, with the fair reporting that ticket numbers are running about twice what they normally are for this time of the year. The Beach Boys concert has already sold more than 2,200 tickets as of Monday. Tickets can be purchased at the fairgrounds box office or by going to etix.com.

The grandstand entertainment for this year’s fair kicks off Sept. 7 with KC and the Sunshine Band.

HUTCHINSON, Kan. — Twenty teens from Portadown, Northern Ireland — an even mix of boys and girls — arrived July 3 and held their beginning Ecumenical Service Thursday evening.

The event is a chance for Protestant and Catholic teens to come together and grow with others from Hutchinson, learning leadership skills and how to work together and overcome barriers that have been a part of their lives in Northern Ireland.

During the month, the teens will be together for various civic events, a talent show and get a chance to learn more about each other. Normally there would be 12 teens in Hutchinson and eight more in McPherson. Because of a shortage of participants, the McPherson teens came to Hutchinson. Some families have taken in two guests for the month.

The Ulster Project was started in 1975 in Northern Ireland as a way to find peace between Protestants and Catholics during a time of ongoing conflict.

MANHATTAN, Kan. — The annual meeting of the Kansas–Oklahoma Arkansas River Compact Administration will be held at the Kansas Department of Transportation Conference Center in Hutchinson. The meeting is set for Wednesday, July 25, 2018, at 9:00 a.m. The meeting will address water issues along the river basin.

Chris Beightel, Program Manager for Water Services with the Kansas Department of Agriculture Division of Water Resources, says the Arkansas River in Kansas is certainly facing some challenges this summer:

Beightel says the season started out well for the river basin in Kansas, but low snow totals in Colorado and the current dry conditions may come back to hurt the area later:

Kansas and Oklahoma entered the Arkansas River Compact in 1965. The Compact Administration is comprised of three commissioners appointed by the governor of Kansas, three commissioners appointed by the governor of Oklahoma, and two commissioners appointed by the President of the United States.

HUTCHINSON, Kan. — The Hutchinson/Reno County Chamber of Commerce announced it will hold a series of candidate forums this month.

The first is set for Monday, July 9, with a Democratic Gubernatorial Forum from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. at the Hutchinson Community College Stringer Fine Arts Center. Participating candidates include Arden Andersen, Jack Bergeson, Carl Brewer, Joshua Svaty, and lieutenant governor candidate Lynn Rogers.

The following Monday, July 16, a series of three Republican forums will take place at the Stringer Fine Arts Center. The evening will begin with the Reno County Commission 1st District Forum at 4:00 p.m. with candidates Kris Knowles, Ron Sellers, and Rudy Rodriguez. That will be followed by the Kansas House of Representatives 104th district seat featuring Representative Steve Becker and candidate Paul Waggoner at 4:45 p.m. The forum will be capped off with the Republican Gubernatorial Forum from 5:30 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. with candidates Jim Barnett, Patrick Kucera, Tyler Ruzich, Ken Selzer, and lieutenant governor candidates Tracey Mann and Willis “Wink” Hartman.

All forums are sponsored by the Hutchinson Regional Healthcare System. Chamber President and Chief Executive Officer Debra Teufel will act as the moderator for all the forums.

HUTCHINSON, Kan. — It was, for the most part, uneventful for the Hutchinson Fire Department during the Independence Day holiday.

According to Chief Doug Hannen, the fire department took 15 complaints of fireworks on Wednesday and about a dozen the day before. Only a few complaints came in before that.

The fire department did respond to two grass fires and several dumpster fires because of firework debris that was still hot.

Hannen says he did see a lot of people with buckets of water in the driveway, meaning the public was using caution by soaking any fireworks in water before disposing them.