HUTCHINSON, Kan. — When the Dillon Living Center announced it would close it gave residents until November to make the necessary arrangements and move to another facility. But it won’t take nearly that long.

According to Hutchinson Regional Healthcare System, the parent company of Dillon Living Center, of the 71 patients that were at the center at the time of the announced closing only five remain. Of those five one is moving out soon and the other four have their places but are waiting for a date as the facilities prepare for them.

The center closed amid continued financial loss and decided to cease operations because there were more than enough open beds, and living space for those that would be displaced.

The closing is also eliminating 70 jobs but HRHS says they continued to work to find jobs within the system for those who want one.

HUTCHINSON, Kan. — It’s been a little over seven years since the city of Hutchinson opened the Reverse Osmosis water treatment facility at the round-a-bout at 23rd and Severance.

And while the $34.4 million price tag shocked many, it has done everything it was expected to do according to plant Superintendent Don Koci. The plant was built due to the large amount of contaminated groundwater on the city’s southeast side. A large amount of this water was polluted due to the large number of grain elevators in the area, and how they operated in the past. The water also suffered from salinity which created a whole different set of problems for treating the pollution.

The plant treats the polluted water and mixes it with water from the city’s well system. Sixty percent of the water coming into Hutchinson homes is treated water. Koci says that in the past seven years more than 4.8 billion gallons of polluted water has been treated. No only is it cleaning up the groundwater under the city it’s also saving the use of the city’s well supply according to Koci. Koci says the plant has been so successful in treating the groundwater that they have shut down one of the pollution wells because the plume of contamination on the southeast side of the city has actually decreased in size.

The plant was paid for by companies responsible for the contamination to the tune of $12.2 million dollars, federal grants totaling $3.3 million and the rest was paid for by the city in the form of a TIF district, CIP funds and a low interest loan from KDHE.

HUTCHINSON, Kan. — Property owners who live inside what is known as the ring levee west of Hutchinson have known or had opportunity to find out all information on a special  assessment for more than three years know.

Yet many who filled up the city council chambers during today’s agenda session to complain about it said they had no idea that the assessment was coming or had a problem with how the assessment was being disbursed to landowners.

Despite opposition to per-property assessment, the Hutchinson City Council on approved the ordinance setting assessments for improvements to the levee. Many who attended commented on or asked questions about the project and assessments, many arguing that assessments should be proportional rather than a flat assessment per parcel.

The assessment will be $920.15 per parcel, either payable in a lump sum by Sept. 16 or financed for 10 years. The assessment should not come as a surprise owing to three years of planning, construction, bids, meetings and most of all a petition signed by more than 50 percent of the landowners in the ring levee area. Council member Jade Piros de Carvalho said she thought the arguments for proportional assessments were valid, but she didn’t think the city could change it because the 2013 petition from property owners specifically asked for per-parcel assessment.

The city was forced to pay for a study of the entire levee system and then make changes required by FEMA to keep the levee system up to floodplain standards. The city originally asked the county to help with the costs of repairing the ring levee since it is outside the city limits. The county balked at the idea using a state statute that preventing them from bonding money for a city project. That left, Willowbrook, Hutchinson and South Hutchinson to foot the bill.

The city decided not to fund improvements to the ring levee at that time putting all landowners in the floodplain under FEMA standards.

Once that happened, a landowner started the petition to have a special assessment to pay for the improvements which came before the council now, three years later.

 

HUTCHINSON, Kan. — District Judge Trish Rose in the case of a teen accused of killing his mother and sister will only allow the state to show one picture of the two victims at trial which begins next week.

Samuel Vonachen who is now 17, is accused of setting a fire to his family’s home that killed his mother and sister. He was 14 at the time.

Judge Rose in stating that only one photo can be shown is allowing that to help with the medical testimony at trial, but deems the rest as to prejudicial against the defendant.

Last week, the defense ask for more information on the evaluations from two psychologist which they claim is too vague on how they came to their opinions and conclusions. The judge denied the request. The defense Monday then asked for reconsideration, but Judge Rose stuck with her earlier ruling.

The state after filing a motion for reciprocal discovery which was granted to a degree. That would include anything records from the detention center, any psychologist reports and photos. Those items have to be turned over the state by Wednesday morning.

The state was also granted permission to endorse additional witnesses for the trial with no objection from the defense.

As it stands now, jury selection will begin at 9 a.m. on Monday Aug. 22. There will need to be 45 qualified from the questionnaires that potential jurors filled out. They will do one panel in the morning and the other in the afternoon. Both sides believe they can have a jury selected with three alternates by the end of the day. That means opening statements would begin Tuesday morning. The trial is expected to last at least a week and a half.

TOPEKA, Kan. — The Kansas Supreme Court will conduct a special evening session at 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 4, at Hutchinson Community College, as part of its ongoing outreach to familiarize Kansans with the high court, its work, and the overall role of the Kansas judiciary.

The court will be in session from 6:30 p.m. to about 8 p.m. in the B.J. Warner Recital Hall in the Stringer Fine Arts Center at 600 E. 11th Ave. on the Hutchinson Community College campus.

It will be the Supreme Court’s first visit to Hutchinson in the court’s 155-year history and it will be the fifth time for the court to hear cases in the evening. The court’s first evening session in Hays in April 2015 drew a record crowd of nearly 700 people. Since then, evening sessions in Garden City in 2015, and Topeka and Hiawatha in 2016, also drew crowds numbering in the hundreds.

The public is invited to attend the Oct. 4 special session to observe the court as it hears oral arguments in two cases to be announced in September. After the hearing concludes, the justices will greet the public in an informal reception in a room adjacent to the recital hall.

“Community visits are a great way for the people of Kansas to get to know us — to see who we are and what we do — and to learn about the judiciary’s role in our society,” Nuss said. “We encourage anyone who’s ever been curious about Supreme Court proceedings to come. We continue to provide live webcasts of all our courtroom sessions in the Kansas Judicial Center in Topeka, but people tell us there’s nothing like seeing proceedings in person.”

The Supreme Court has conducted several special sessions outside its Topeka courtroom since 2011, when it marked the state sesquicentennial by convening in the historic Supreme Court courtroom in the Kansas Statehouse. From there, and through the end of 2011, the court conducted special sessions in Salina, Greensburg, and Wichita. The court has also held sessions in Overland Park in 2012, Pittsburg in 2013, Kansas City in 2014, Hays and Garden City in 2015, and Topeka and Hiawatha in 2016.

HUTCHINSON, Kan. — The second of two teens received basically the same sentence as the first during a sentencing hearing in juvenile court Tuesday in a bomb plot case according to Assistant District Attorney Daniel Gilligan.

Fifteen-year-old Carson Cabral was sentenced to three years, nine months in juvenile custody and then three years aftercare.

Cabral and Ayrton “Alex” Marroquin were both found guilty of making threats against officials at Hutch High.

The two teens were arrested after several students came forward to express concerns about a threat to students and staff. Officers were called in to investigate and the two were then taken into custody.

Several search warrants were issued, which turned up plans for making pipe bombs, as well as sketches and plans of where certain teachers and staff would be so they could be targeted. Police also recovered items that could be used to build explosive devices, which were confiscated by law enforcement.

The sentencing of both was handed down by Judge Patty Macke-Dick.

TOPEKA, Kan. — A Lindsborg middle school student has been named the winner of this year’s state D.A.R.E. (Drug Abuse Resistance Education) essay contest.

Taylor Hinderliter, a student at Smoky Valley Middle School, was named the winner of the statewide contest, which is coordinated by the Kansas Juvenile Officers Association.

During the past year, Hinderliter participated in the McPherson County Sheriff’s Office D.A.R.E. program, which culminated in writing an essay about the things she learned in the program. Hinderliter is the daughter of Tom and Gail Hinderliter.

“Students who take part in the D.A.R.E. program learn valuable skills to resist the dangers of drugs and alcohol,” Attorney General Derek Schmidt said. “Taylor’s essay was an excellent example of the program’s success in teaching these skills to young Kansans. Congratulations to Taylor on her outstanding essay.”

The statewide D.A.R.E. program is coordinated by the Attorney General’s Office. More than 100 Kansas counties and communities have D.A.R.E. programs serving students in their areas. For more information on the Kansas D.A.R.E. program and to read Hinderliter’s winning essay, visit www.ag.ks.gov/dare.