NICKERSON, Kan. — The Nickerson USD 309 School Board will seek approval of a resolution tonight that will officially kick off efforts to pass a major facilities improvement bond issue.
The board recently approved a $29.9 million bond proposal for improvements to district schools. The bonds would be financed for 25 years. The decision to proceed with the bond issue comes following more than a year of planning and a recent survey that showed positive feedback from district patrons.
Superintendent Dr. Dawn Johnson says they will start a campaign to convince voters in the district to approve the bond issue.
Also this evening, the district will go over several classified staff and coach hirings and approved school meal prices for next year.
Tonight’s meeting of the Nickerson USD 309 School Board begins at 7 p.m. in the school district offices at 4501 W. 4th Ave.
HUTCHINSON, Kan. — Potholes are a common problem for Hutchinson Public Works. But with the rainy weather and prep work needing to be done for the summer construction season, the problem is worse than normal.
According to Kreg Luman with Hutchinson Public Works, crews spent a portion of the spring fixing potholes starting with the main arterial streets and those that would have work being done this summer. At the same time, crews were prepping streets for the city chip sealing. Things were moving along until the flooding rains caused more pothole problems. That combined with some other factors means potholes aren’t getting fixed as quickly as the city or motorists would like.
Luman also says the APAC asphalt plant on the east side of town is not operating so there is a shortage of asphalt. He adds that they also have gone to four day work weeks at the plant, further limiting availability of asphalt.
Luman says APAC hopes to have the plant up and running again by Monday at which time they will start filling potholes once again.
HUTCHINSON, Kan. — Reno County Emergency Management has posted a website that residents can use to place an assessment of the damage they received from flooding. The agency wants residents to use the site so that an application can be made for possible government assistance.
The application that will be filed is similar to one filed by government agencies to obtain federal disaster funds for infrastructure damage. The county and state have already filed those applications, which were approved by President Trump.
Residents can find the report to fill out on the county website.
The Red Cross is expected to be in Nickerson Saturday and Sunday to provide assistance to those who need it. The service will be available at the ambulance station Saturday from noon to 8 p.m. and Sunday from 10 a.m. until 5 p.m. The disaster forms from the county will also be available.
HALSTEAD, Kan. — It won’t be known for awhile how much the flooding has helped or hurt the Equus Beds aquifer in central Kansas.
But the numbers for the previous year show the aquifer’s level continued to increase in 2018. While the numbers in some parts of the county either stayed the same or even declined a little overall, the underground water table increased by 1.7 feet. With the recent flooding and the close connection between the area rivers and the aquifer, that level could increase again when the next measurements are taken later this summer.
Tim Boese with the Equus Beds Groundwater Management District says the flooding could also have a negative impact on the aquifer. The significant rainfall could also bring contaminants into the underground spring. Boese says runoff from farm fields and such can be drawn into the aquifer from the river water.
Like Reno County, the other three counties that are part of the Equus Beds saw increased levels as well, although some were small. Harvey County levels were up by nearly 3 feet. Sedgwick County’s level rose by just under 6 inches and McPherson County, which has the deepest water table, saw an increase of about 4 inches.
The groundwater management district tests levels in more than 500 wells.
HUTCHINSON, Kan. — The Reno County Department of Aging in partnership with the Volunteer Center of Reno County Friends in Action program is offering a free grocery shopping and delivery program. The new program is for residents of Reno County over the age of 60 who live outside the city limits of Hutchinson and South Hutchinson.
The Reno County Volunteer Center Friends in Action has conducted a shopping and delivery program for older residents of Hutchinson and South Hutchinson for over 5 years with great success. While this is a county-wide program, transporting groceries to rural areas has been a barrier.
The Reno County Department of Public Transportation received permission from the Reno County Commissioners not to sell a Reno County Area Transportation minivan when it was replaced through a grant from KDOT last December and instead, transfer it to the Department of Aging for the purpose of delivering groceries to seniors who live in rural areas of the county. Support for this grocery shopping and delivery program was provided by a grant from the Kansas Health Foundation Public Health Endowment Fund of the Hutchinson Community Foundation.
The program was launched in May and is currently serving two participants who live in Sylvia. Those interested in participating are invited to call the Reno County Department of Aging at 620-694- 2911 weekdays from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. for more information and to sign up.
HUTCHINSON, Kan. — The nursing program at Hutchinson Community College has been recognized once again by Registered Nursing.
The school was ranked in the Top 10 for its Paramedic to RN program. Such programs are becoming popular as paramedics advance their careers into nursing. For those pursuing this educational pathway, choosing the best program possible is a high priority according to a release. Here is what Registered Nursing had to say about Hutchinson Community College:
“Hutchinson Community College (HCC) of Kansas offers an advanced placement RN bridge program designed specifically for paramedics to earn an Associate Degree in Nursing (ADN). Enrolled students take courses including Care of the Family, Leadership and Management Concepts in Nursing, and more. HCC’s didactic courses are offered online, but students will need to complete 405 hours of clinical instruction in Kansas.”
Programs Offered
Paramedic to RN Campus.
Quick Facts:
Public 2-Year
Paramedic to RN program begins in August each year
Tuition discount for Kansas residents
How Does a Paramedic Become an RN?
For a paramedic to become an RN, they must first possess a good deal of experience as a licensed professional paramedic, as many bridge programs require at least one year in order to be eligible for the RN bridge program. Beyond this, a prospective student must meet all the requirements to be accepted into and graduate from a classroom-based or online paramedic to RN bridge program. Upon successful completion of the program, a student will be eligible to take the proper examinations to gain licensure as an RN.
Two other Kansas schools — Mid American Nazarene and Kansas City Kansas Community College — also made the Top 10 list.
The paramedic to RN bridge program is tailor-made to help paramedics gain the education and training they need to transition into a nursing career. They are typically accelerated transitional programs that build upon a paramedic’s existing medical knowledge. Students will be introduced to nursing theory, patient care planning, mental health nursing, and more via courses and clinical experiences. Once the program is completed, the student will typically be awarded an Associate Degree in Nursing (ADN) (or in some cases a BSN) and can then take the NCLEX-RN exam to become certified as a registered nurse. If this exam is passed, an RN license will be granted through the Board of Nursing in the student’s state.
HUTCHINSON, Kan. — The Hutchinson/Reno County Emergency Response Team (E.R.T) is looking for the community’s input on a new insignia. A special contest is being held to find the new look. The department is asking those interested to submit their ideas for the new insignia. A winner will be picked from the ideas and incorporated into the department.
This new insignia will be displayed on team vehicles, patches, clothing, and other items used daily by the E.R.T. Additionally, they are in the process of creating items that will be available to the community that show support for the agencies and team.
The Reno County Emergency Response Team’s primary function is addressing special threat situations including serving high-risk search and arrest warrants, barricaded suspects, hostage rescue, arrests of potentially armed or dangerous persons, and any situation that could threaten or undermine the ability of the department to preserve life.
The winner will receive a prize package of patches, coins, and other items provided by the Reno County Sheriff’s Office and the Hutchinson Police Department. Please submit all designs to dan.styles@renolec.com no later than Aug. 4.
OMAHA BEACH, France (AP) — With silent remembrance and respect, nations honored the fallen and the singular bravery of all Allied troops who sloshed through bloodied water to the beaches of Normandy 75 years ago on D-Day, the assault that portended the fall of Hitler’s Third Reich.
French President Emmanuel Macron and President Donald Trump during Thursday’s ceremony -image courtesy White House
French President Emmanuel Macron and President Donald Trump praised the soldiers, sailors and airmen, the survivors and those who lost their lives, in powerful speeches Thursday that credited the June 6, 1944, surprise air and sea operation that brought tens of thousands of men to Normandy, each not knowing whether he would survive the day.
“You are the pride of our nation, you are the glory of our republic, and we thank you from the bottom of our heart,” Trump said, of the warriors engaged in the ultimate fight of good against evil in World War II.
Macron praised their courage, generosity and strength of spirit that made them press on “to help men and women they didn’t know, to liberate a land most hadn’t seen before, for no other cause but freedom, democracy.”
He expressed France’s debt to the United States for freeing his country from the reign of the Nazis. Macron awarded five American veterans with the Chevalier of Legion of Honor, France’s highest award.
White House image
“We know what we owe to you, veterans, our freedom,” he said, switching from French to English. “On behalf of my nation, I just want to say ‘thank you.'”
D-Day was history’s largest air and sea invasion, involving around 160,000 troops on that day itself and many more in the ensuing Battle of Normandy. Of those 73,000 were from the United States, while 83,000 were from Britain and Canada. Troops started landing overnight from the air, they were joined by a massive force by sea on the beaches code-named Omaha, Utah, Juno, Sword and Gold, carried by 7,000 boats.
The second day of ceremonies moved to France after spirited commemorations a day earlier in Portsmouth, England, the main embarkation point for the transport boats.
Leaders, veterans, their families and the grateful from France, Europe and elsewhere were present for the solemn day that began under a radiant sun.
At dawn, hundreds of people, civilians and military alike, hailing from around the world, gathered at the water’s edge to remember the troops who stormed the fortified Normandy beaches to help turn the tide of the war and give birth to a new Europe.
Dick Jansen, 60, from the Netherlands, drank Canadian whisky from an enamel cup on the water’s edge. Others scattered carnations into the waves. Randall Atanay, the son of a medic who tended to the dying and wounded, waded barefoot into the water near Omaha Beach, where the waters ran red on D-Day.
Up to 12,000 people gathered hours later at the ceremony at the Normandy American Cemetery, where Macron and Trump spoke. U.S. veterans, their numbers fast diminishing as years pass, were the guests of honor.
A 21-gun salute thundered into the waters below the cemetery, on a bluff overlooking Omaha Beach, and across the rows of white crosses and Stars of David. The final resting places of more than 9,380 of the fallen stretched out before the guests.
A group of five Americans parachuted into Normandy on Wednesday as part of a commemorative jump and showed up on the beach Thursday morning still wearing their jumpsuits, all World War II-era uniforms, and carrying an American flag. The group included Clapp, and all five expressed concern the feats and sacrifices of D-Day are being forgotten.
“If you forget history, it’s doomed to repeat itself,” Clapp said.
“I have all kinds of friends buried,” said 98-year-old William Tymchuk, who served with the 4th Canadian Armored Division during some of the deadliest fighting after the Normandy landings.
“They were young. They got killed. They couldn’t come home,” he added.
Then Tymchuk teared up.
“Sorry,” he said. “They couldn’t even know what life is all about.”
The D-Day invasion was a defining moment of military strategy confounded by unpredictable weather and human chaos in which soldiers from the U.S., Britain, Canada and other Allied nations applied relentless bravery to carve out a beachhead on ground that Nazi Germany had occupied for four years.
“The tide has turned! The free men of the world are marching together to Victory,” Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower predicted in his order of the day.
The Battle of Normandy, codenamed Operation Overlord, hastened Germany’s defeat less than a year later.
Still, that single day cost the lives of 4,414 Allied troops, 2,501 of them Americans. More than 5,000 were injured. On the German side, several thousand were killed or wounded.
From there, Allied troops would advance their fight, take Paris in late summer and march in a race with the Soviet Red Army to control as much German territory as possible by the time Adolf Hitler died in his Berlin bunker and Germany surrendered in May 1945.
Below we remember those from Reno County who fought and paid the ultimate sacrifice in World War II:
HUTCHINSON, Kan. — The Hutchinson Police Department held swearing-in ceremonies for five new officers and staff Thursday morning.
The three new officers are John Williams, Dakota Roberds and Rodney Henry.
Hutchinson Police Chief Jeff Hooper says after being as many as 19 patrol officers short of a full staff, the department is down to about 10 vacant positions.
Hooper took time to address the families of the new officers and staff during the ceremony. “This is a family for us and one of the things I promise to the families that are here is that we’re going to take care of your family,” Hooper said. “There isn’t anything I wouldn’t do for the men and women who work for this agency. We’re always going to do the best we can to make sure they all come home safe.”
The police department also welcomed Crystal Most as its new records technician and Heather McCain as a new dispatcher for Reno County 911. Both were also sworn in Thursday morning. According to 911 Director Michele Abbott, the addition of McCain to 911 dispatch leaves the department two dispatchers and one supervisor short of a full staff.
