HUTCHINSON, Kan. — The U.S. Postal Service and the Kansas State Fair launched a stamp Thursday celebrating the nation’s state and county fairs.

The event included old-time carnival games and a petting zoo at the U.S. Postal Service Office in Wichita. Leading the event was Postmaster Ryan Knopik.

The four new Forever stamps feature whimsical artwork meant to evoke a sentimental feeling for America’s fairs, both past and present. The colorful stamps feature one scene across four stamps. They were designed to work together as a panorama of familiar, traditional fair activities, while each stamp also works as an individual picture.

The State and County Fairs stamps are being issued as Forever stamps and will always be equal in value to the current First-Class Mail one-ounce price.

“The Kansas State Fair is a place where we celebrate all things Kansas and the stamp really reflects that,” Amy Bickel, Kansas State Fair marketing director, said. “If you look at it, it’s a nostalgic piece, and it shows people socializing and having fun and just coming together at the end of the summer.”

The Fair’s Educational Manager Jacki Eckert said the stamp aims to promote the social and educational value fairs offer.

“There are so many people who don’t have a touch with agriculture today,” Eckert said. “The Kansas State Fair and the Fair’s Kansas’ Largest Classroom is a way for fairgoers of all ages to learn more about agriculture, where their food comes from, as well as the products they use every day that are the result of production agriculture.”

The stamp comes in a set of four and costs $2.20.

HAVEN, Kan. — The Haven school district and its teachers will go before a mediator during another negotiation session on Monday. This comes after the board declared an impasse with teachers on a new contract.

The board declared the impasse during a special session to consider what the district’s teachers say was their final offer when it comes to an increase in base pay for next year. The issue is one of the last sticking points in a new contract for the approaching year.

After starting $4,000 apart in their offers the two sides had come to within $1,500 of an agreement but could not come to a compromise.

The mediator will be brought in and the two sides will come to the table again to try and get the new contract together.

The teachers had originally asked for a $6,014 dollar increase in base pay. The district countered with a $2,014 jump. The latest offer by the teachers was a jump of $5,514 over two years. At that time, the faculty said it was their final offer.

HUTCHINSON, Kan. —It turns out there will not be a controlled intersection at 30th and Lucille for Prairie Hills Middle School traffic.

After a long discussion, the Buhler USD 313 School Board voted 5-0 to deny a request from the City of Hutchinson to share in the cost of a stoplight at the intersection. The intersection will see much more traffic this school year because of the closing of the bridge at 43rd Avenue and Old K-61.

The Hutchinson City Council then came to a consensus Tuesday that if the school district was not going to share in the $13,000 cost, then the project would not continue. The poles that were already in place will be taken down.

Not all of the council members wanted to see the project die. Councilwoman Jade Piros de Carvalho urged the city to move forward saying that just because other government entities don’t want to cooperate, why the city should do the same.

“This is negatively going to impact the citizens of Hutchinson,” Piros de Carvalho said.

City Manager John Deardoff was told of the decision by the Buhler School Board Tuesday morning stating that the district was informed that they should not spend education dollars on such projects.

While Piros de Carvalho was pushing for the lights to be in place, the rest of the council was more than in agreement that if the district didn’t want to help out, then the project would not go on. ” It just seems reasonable to me that this would be a joint effort,” Councilman Steve Dechant said.

For the Buhler Schol District, it means potential traffic issues, especially at the end of the school day. In the end, it was a recommendation from the state that steered the USD 313 School Board in the direction they took. ” We really wanted to work with the city but we contacted our state association and our state department of ed and their strong recommendation was to not use education money for roads and traffic signals,” USD 313 Superintendent Mike Berblinger said. “We were hoping to have a light there, but if that’s not what’s going to happen we’re going to continue to work with our people to do the best job we can to keep everyone as safe as we can,” Berblinger added.

The traffic issue arose after the small bridge on 43rd Avenue was condemned by the county leaving only one way out of the Prairie Hills area, other than taking roads through residential areas to the east of the school. The district has already made plans for traffic during the start and end of the school day. Those plans have been sent out to parents in the district.

HUTCHINSON – Three Hutchinson neighborhoods will have block parties from 6 to 8 p.m. Tuesday for the annual National Night Out celebration. The SW Bricktown, Farmington Park and Creekside neighborhoods each will have a party.

Southwest Bricktown Park, 301 W. First, will have its annual party which will include free tacos, frozen treats from Heartland Credit Union, a bounce house and a DJ.

The Farmington Park Gazebo, 316 Curtis St., will have a party including a free hot dog cookout, an inflatable obstacle course, disc golf and gamese.

And the Creekside neighborhood will have their party at Hutchinson Wesleyan Church, 528 W. 10th Ave. That party will include a free hot dog cookout, a bounce house, games, activities and door prizes.

In South Hutchinson, police officers and firefighters will host a block party from 6 to 8:30 p.m.

Residents can enjoy an evening of conversation, introductions to local first responders and free hot dogs and hamburgers.

That party will be at Voss Park at Avenue A and Walnut in South Hutchinson. The splash-pad will be on.

National Night Out is a nationwide program encouraging community events involving law enforcement on the first Tuesday of August each year.

Hutchinson Police officers plan to have beat officers at all three parties, along with other guests.

The three Hutchinson neighborhoods celebrating are all featured neighborhoods through the Hutchinson Healthy Neighborhoods Initiative.

HUTCHINSON – Most every community is struggling with dealing with those addicted to drugs whether it be methamphetamine, opioids or some other drugs — and Reno County is no exception.

While many end up serving time in prison, the Reno County Drug Court is attempting to help those addicted avoid prison time. It was started several years ago in Reno County and has a good success rate, officials say.

Deputy District Attorney Tom Stanton, who helped get the program started locally, said the program is for a selected group of drug users.

“The regular court works for some people, but for what we call high-risk, high-needs individuals … Drug Court is the answer,” he said. “I’ve become convinced of that over the years, not only by the science I have been able to review regarding drug court and regarding drug addiction, but also what I have seen happen in our drug court.”

He said Drug Court involves a group of people who work as a team to help those who are addicted. That includes Reno County District Judge Joe McCarville, Stanton, defense attorneys, and Reno County Community Corrections, which includes both those who work with drug treatment as well as mental health and law enforcement.

Stanton said this is a way to help keep those addicted to drugs become clean and possibly avoid prison.

“The whole idea behind Drug Court is to take people who are likely to keep re-offending because of their drug addiction and change their lives,” Stanton said.

He said some of the participants have become productive citizens in the community — holding down jobs, getting treatment and avoiding the criminal justice system.

Stanton admitted some are not successful in Drug Court, but he said an increasing number are completing the program successfully.

HUTCHINSON, Kan. — After announcing a potential split of its company in February, Arconic announced the division of its current company into two separate entities. The split is expected to be finalized in the second quarter of 2020.

The new aerospace segment of the company will be known as Howmet Aerospace and will be responsible for engineered products and forgings. The Global Rolled Products, which will include the Hutchinson facility, will contain rolled aluminum products and aluminum extrusions and will stay under the Arconic name. The company also said that it would sell off one of the two entities with that announcement coming later this year.

The company’s decision to separate its portfolio comes after the rejection of a $10 billion offer for the entire company and the abrupt replacement of its CEO. At that time, the company announced it would slash its operating costs by approximately $200 million on an annual basis and cut back pension and retirement plans for non-union workers in an effort to strengthen the company’s bottom line.

Arconic announced Friday a net loss of $121 million, or $0.27 per share in the second quarter 2019, versus net income of $120 million, or $0.24 per share in the second quarter 2018.

Second-quarter 2019 operating loss was $81 million, versus operating income of $324 million in the second quarter of 2018. On the positive side, operating income excluding special items was $484 million, up 27% year over year, as higher volumes, favorable product pricing, favorable aluminum prices and net cost reductions more than offset operational challenges.

Arconic employs about 75 workers at the Hutchinson facility.

HUTCHINSON, Kan. — Another member of the Fee family has joined the family business, adding to the list of fourth-generation family members with the long-standing company.

Fee Insurance Group, of Hutchinson, announced Thursday that Tyler Fee has joined the agency as a Risk Advisor. Tyler has over five years of experience in the insurance industry and has earned designations such as Chartered Property and Casualty Underwriter, Accredited Adviser in Insurance and Certified Authority on Workers’ Compensation. He will be based out of the Wichita, KS office. Tyler is the third fourth-generation family member to join the 136-year-old company, joining Ashton and Jordan.

“To me, it’s just a great deal of pride,” Bob Fee company president said. “I look back at when I joined my dad and brother and I often think of my dad…you know, we’ve been up here in the bank for 30 years overlooking Main Street. These little kids used to come up on the fourth of July during the parade and get a pop out of the refrigerator and watch the parade from the seventh floor in my office and their grandad’s office.”

Fee says having the fourth generation of the family members in the business is reason for pride in the company. “It’s a lot of things. It’s legacy, it’s family, it’s tradition and it just gives me pride that we have established a feeling of desire to be a part of something.”

Passing a business down to family members is challenging in the state of Kansas, which makes this continued transition unique. “The hard part about family business and passing it from generation to generation is, honestly, our tax laws,” Fee said. “It’s like passing a family farm. It’s not always easy because of the valuations that you have. Allen and I get called monthly by big brokers wanting to buy us and we could sell out for a lot of money, but what would that leave. Your legacy is gone.”

Fee says they continue to work hard to try and figure out how to keep the business going from generation-to-generation.

Tyler was born in Hutchinson and graduated with honors from Hutchinson High School. He earned a Bachelor of Science degree in finance and entrepreneurship from the University of Kansas in 2014. He has spent the past three years as a business development consultant for United Heartland, a leading workers compensation insurance carrier.

HUTCHINSON, Kan. — As wet as it was in the area in May and June, the same can not be said for the month of July.

After record flooding in the spring and early summer, most of central Kansas could actually use some rain. According to the official statistics from the National Weather Service, Hutchinson received just 1.38 inches of precipitation in July with more than an inch of that occurring in the first eight days of the month.

That puts the area more than 1.8 inches behind our normal numbers. The lack of rain is also starting to show in the latest soil moisture numbers. According to the Kansas Ag Statistics Service, several areas are starting to see soil and subsoil moisture levels dropping after being in surplus most of the summer.

Temperatures for the month ran about normal with an average high of 81 degrees.

HUTCHINSON, Kan. —The spring flooding has left some farmers with fields that have suffered damage due to soil erosion.

Darin Busick with the Reno County Extension Service says the erosion was significant in some areas. “Defiantly some gully erosion…a foot deep some a foot and a half deep,”Busick said. “There was a lot of topsoil that was swept away by the water.”

The damage was done over a period of several weeks but takes much longer than that to recover.”It takes years…I mean hundreds of years to create that topsoil so it’s not a good thing to lose that,” Busick said noting that the topsoil in this area is very shallow.

“Our topsoil isn’t much. You can get into some areas like Iowa and Illinois and some areas like that, they have feet of topsoil while in our area we have inches and so it’s easy to lose it.”

Another problem from the erosion can be water pollution due to chemical and nitrogen runoff. “ You can lose nitrogen that way, it leaches…that’s how it moves through the soil is water,” Busick said. “ Sometimes that can get in your water tables but I haven’t heard of any major cases where water was contaminated.”

Busick says the extension service has advice and tips on how to get your field back into farming condition and help stop erosion.  For more information go to www.reno.k-state.edu.