HUTCHINSON, Kan. — The area has seen a lot of wildfires over the past week, including a large blaze that kept fire crews on their toes most of the day Saturday. That brought up the question by the Hutchinson City Council to Fire Chief Steve Beer as to why the aerial spray plane that is housed at the airport was not used. While the plane has gathered much hoopla and praise, Beer says it’s not anything he would consider using in this area.

“I got some personal phone calls about why the airplane wasn’t deployed,” Beer said. “The general public thinks that’s owned by the Hutchinson Fire Department and that’s one misperception that’s out there since it’s based out of Hutchinson.”

With small farms and residences scattered around the area, Beer says the plane is of little use in fighting fires. Plus it’s expensive, costing $4,000 per hour. Beer notes that, while the plane was welcome, it was put here and made available with little advanced planning.

“There’s no standard operating procedure in place yet with this thing. We have this plane here and it might work great out in western Kansas where there’s no homes and all of these other buildings,” Beer stressed. “But when we have what we have here, which is a true urban interface wildfire situation where we have 10 acres and a brand new house, when a plane comes in and dumps this water, it can knock down trees. If it hits a pickup, it can actually roll a pickup.”

Beer says there have been instances out west where water bombing has killed firefighters. Without a plan of operation and no communication available, he’s not about to endanger his fire crews using the airplane.

“Until we get a standard operating procedure, I’m not going to risk my men and women on the front lines because it’s just a very dangerous operation just dumping water out of the sky.”

During the wildfires three years ago, helicopters were used to fight the fire. Beer says that’s different because the helicopters can place the water where it is needed while hovering over a selected site.

Beer says he plans to meet with the Kansas Forest Service this week to discuss if the plane has the potential to benefit the area during a wildfire.

HUTCHINSON, Kan. — Hit with a blizzard of objections, the Nickerson USD 309 School Board tabled any discussion on what to do with some of its athletic facilities during Monday’s meeting.

The board wanted to discuss the issues surrounding the track and football field. That led to several estimates being submitted, including a new softball field and other improvements. One of the estimates totaled more than $1.5 million.

Superintendent Jeanie Stroh stressed to the crowd that these were not bids, just estimates, and that the board was not planning to take any action during the meeting. Still, the agenda item brought a full house to the school district offices strongly objecting to any capital outlay being used for athletic facilities, especially in light of the recently failed bond issue.

“The bond stressed critical high needs, limited space and safety concerns,” Amber Rohling said. “To have this bond fail and then turn around two weeks later and read an article that $1.5 million for athletics was being proposed for a counsel vote really shocked me.” The article that was referred to came from Hutch Post: (https://www.hutchpost.com/usd-309-to-discuss-athletic-complex-monday). The article did not say action would be taken during the meeting — a point emphasized by Board President Dan Schweizer.

“I set the agenda along with Jeanie (Stroh), the superintendent,” Schweizer said. “The last meeting (before the election) it came up that we needed to address the track. And it was told to us that the football field needed some attention, and before you do something to the track, you need to do something to the football field.”

Schweizer said the condition of the track has been discussed for two years and that the district has canceled its invitational track meet for next year because of the condition of the facilities. Schweizer says, had the bond passed, this probably would not have been an issue and admitted, while the condition of the track has long been discussed, bringing it up right after the bond issue was bad timing.

In the end, the matter was tabled until after the new year. While discussion of the track was tabled, discussion then turned to two other needs in the district. One was the science area at the high school. The board was in consensus to have Superintendent Stroh look for cost estimates for the science rooms renovation that was part of the failed bond issue. The board wants to see if capital outlay can be used to renovate the rooms so that work can start much sooner than if they tried to make it part of another bond issue. The hope is to get the rooms done for next school year. Stroh said she should have some numbers no later than the January meeting.

The other issue was better security at the high school and better door locks for all of the district’s schools. The board was also in consensus to have Stroh look for cost estimates for that proposal.

HUTCHINSON, Kan. — The Salvation Army of Hutchinson kicked off its annual Red Kettle campaign for the Christmas season.

A ribbon cutting by the Chamber was held and followed by a short ceremony where the first coins were dropped into the kettle to kick off the annual fundraiser.

Capt. Paul James says the need is there again this year for many.

“We’re seeing more and more people come through our door and many of them are at their wits’ end,” James said. “We’re grateful that we can meet their needs . . . so we can bring hope into their lives.”

New this year are some high tech ways people can make a donation at the kettle site.

“We have what is called Kettle Pay, but it includes Apple Pay, Google Pay and Bump,” James said. “You put your phone up by it and it will send you a message and you can make a donation.”

James hopes that it will attract more donations from those who don’t normally carry cash with them.

“Many of us don’t have change in our pockets, we don’t carry cash, so this is a way we can do that,” James said.

This year’s goal is $230,000 with $60,000 of that coming from the red kettles each Christmas. To sign up to ring bells this Christmas season, visit registertoring.com.

HUTCHINSON, Kan. — The Hutchinson Fire Department responded to the 3300 block of 95th for a grass fire. According to HFD, all units are on the scene. Crews are battling strong northerly winds this afternoon. It is the second wildfire in as many days. There is no word yet on any damage or evacuations at this time.

Yesterday, firefighters battled a large fire that started in the 5200 block of East 4th Avenue. The fire spread quickly and passed 17th Avenue before being brought under control. Crews worked to save several homes in the East 17th Avenue area, but an out building was lost in the fire. It is not known if there were any injuries. More than 30 fire units were called on Saturday to help fight the fire.