NICKERSON, Kan.— Lt. Governor Lynn Rogers kicked off his Rural Prosperity Tour with a stop in Nickerson Monday night.

The evening started off with the audience breaking down into groups to discuss three issues. What they see as prosperity, what the community is doing well and the roadblocks stinting prosperity.

After that, each group showcased the important points of their discussion. The most discussion centered on the community’s strong education system, attractions and a strong chamber. The challenges centered around substance abuse and treatment, housing and declining tax base. All things that Rogers says they expected. “There’s a lot of issues similar to urban Kansas, mental health issues, rehab issues and drug use,” Rogers said. “They don’t necessarily surprise me but I’m glad people are talking about that because it shows involvement with the local community.”

This is the first of more than a dozen stops on the tour. Rogers says after some rest they will breakdown what they learned from this stop and if they will change anything during the second go around. “We’ll talk about it a little bit. I’m not sure there’s a lot we will change,” Rogers stated. “I really feel energized by all of the comments and the thoughts and the support. You know, there’s great interest in rural Kansas and I think that’s a message I’ll take back to Topeka.”

The tour is intended to foster new ways to help rural Kansas communities by hearing from the residents themselves. The tour serves as the first phase of the new Office of Rural Prosperity, which has been approved for a $2 million allocation in the newly approved FY 2020 budget.

HUTCHINSON, Kan. — It’s been nearly a month since the Hutchinson Zoo was inundated with floodwater, but Hutchinson Parks Director Justin Combs said the water shows no signs of leaving the zoo area anytime soon.

“We’ve been trying to find someone to help us predict that,” he said. “We’ve seen it drop … vertically probably 3 or 4 inches in the past couple of weeks, but were still feet above where the pond normally is.”

Combs says the flooding has caused damage to the basement of the gift shop and extensive damage to the service barn. The damage is covered by FEMA, and Combs said the city expects help to make the repairs. He also said once the water goes down, the city will begin a study to see what can be done to steer the water away from the zoo. The animals continue to be housed in the quarantine area and in other parts of the zoo.

As for the golf course, Superintendent Tyler Swensen said damage to the south end of the course is not as bad as feared, but the damage to fairways and other areas of the course will become apparent as summer progresses.

The city fishing pond continues to be well out of its banks, flooding the disc golf area and the southeast part of the park.

HUTCHINSON, Kan. — Hutchinson residents will see a lot of activity at the Kansas State Fairgrounds on Tuesday as Hutchinson Community College holds its annual emergency field operations event.

More than 400 EMS, first responders and other agencies will gather to practice emergency medical situations. It also includes both Eagle Med and Life Team so residents around the fairgrounds will see significant helicopter activity.

Jackie White with Hutchinson Community College said the exercise is a vital part of improving medical emergency care while teaching potential job candidates.

“We’re using the National Emergency Management Incident Command Program,” White said. ”It gets all levels together. It gets everybody from dispatch who takes the initial calls in emergencies all the way through … the ER nurses … who will set up a triage at the fairgrounds.”

During the exercise, 14 different scenarios will be set up for emergency personnel, including active-shooter situations. White said 21 EMS agencies and 11 different schools will take part.

Hutchinson Community College is the only school in the country that conducts this type of full-scale field ops exercise.

HUTCHINSON — Reno County Emergency Management officials are urging residents affected by the flooding to submit a damage report. The report is needed so that the county can apply for private assistance funds from FEMA.

Adam Weishar with Emergency Management said about 180 homes or businesses have filled out the damage report via the county website, the Red Cross and the 211 information line. Despite the damage, Weishar said the area could fall short of the threshold needed to qualify for assistance.

The area has already been approved for FEMA help for infrastructure damage for government entities.

Weishar added that while the water is finally out of the area, many basements are being flooded due to the high water table.

If you have damage to your home and have not filled out an assessment, you can find the form at www.renogov.org.

HUTCHINSON, Kan. — The Hutchinson City Council is expected to decide Tuesday how to spend funds that were originally earmarked for a pavilion at Orchards Park.

The change in funding comes after two attempts to secure bids for the pavilion came in well over budget. Now the council has decided to fund an open-air shelter and use the bonded funds for two other projects. The proposed pavilion sparked significant discussion from council members who felt such a facility would compete with area event centers.

The shelter’s original price tag of more than $1 million is now at $390,000. The remaining money will be used to renovate the restrooms at Fun Valley at a cost of $200,000 and and help pay for the bleacher replacement at the softball complex. That project totals $750,000.

Also Tuesday, the council will go into executive session to discuss contract negotiations with the various bargaining units.

Tuesday’s meeting of the Hutchinson City Council begins at 9 a.m. at the Hutchinson city offices.

HUTCHINSON, Kan. — The Reno County Commission failed to get the supermajority for a wind farm project to proceed. Commissioners did vote 2-1 for the conditional use permit for the proposed NextEra Energy wind farm. But because of the protest petitions, commissioners needed a supermajority for the project. The company will not be granted the permit.

The commission agreed Tuesday that 46% of the petitions received were more than the 20% threshold required to force a unanimous vote on the permit.

Both Commission Chair Bob Bush and Commissioner Ron Sellers voted in favor of the project with Bush calling it the biggest project for Reno County since Siemens announced it wanted to build in Hutchinson. However, Ron Hirst voted against it saying he didn’t feel it fit with the Reno County Comprehensive Plan. He also noted that he’s not against wind energy, but didn’t like the location in the southeast part of Reno County.

The company wants to build as many as 83 wind turbines in that area but needed the conditional use permit for zoned areas of the county.

With the vote, it will now be up to the company to decide what its next move will be. The company could file an appeal through Reno County District Court.

HUTCHINSON, Kan. — The Hutchinson Salvation Army will see a change in leadership.

Captains Matt and Marisa McCluer will be moving to the Divisional Headquarters in Minneapolis, Minnesota where they will be the Divisional Youth and Candidates secretaries. Additionally, they will be responsible for youth and young adult ministry programming in the Salvation Army’s Northern Division. Major Paul and Captain DJ James will take the reigns of the Hutchinson post. The James’ are from the Des Plaines, Illinois and will be in Hutchinson Wednesday, June 26.

“Hutchinson has the feel of a small town where your neighbors know you and everyone helps one another out. It made the transition for our family less difficult. I can sit on my porch and watch my three children play with their neighborhood friends, and it feels like home.” Captain Marisa remarks. “Each day is different; each day brings another opportunity to face a different challenge. We have trusted God to guide us through each moment of our time here. He has been so good and so gracious in each step.”

In their time here, the McCluer’s have focused on leadership development within their church, as well as working to serve those who come in the doors.

Captain Marisa has brought the Pathway of Hope Approach that is now a national
program that focuses on long term case management of families to bring them to self-sufficiency. Pathway of Hope has added another level to their current programming and helps to provide more than just basic needs for families. The program encourages collaboration with other agencies and focuses on breaking down barriers that keep families in the cycle of poverty.

“While I am excited about the opportunities ahead, I am sad to be leaving such a wonderful
community, and God’s work here”, stated Captain Matt.

A farewell meeting for the McCluer’s will be held Sunday, June 23 at 11 a.m., with a luncheon to follow.

Members of the community are welcome to attend and wish the McCluer family farewell.

HUTCHINSON, Kan. — The St. Elizabeth’s apartment proposal has hit a major snag.

The project spearheaded by Manske and Associates and Interfaith Housing has learned it will not receive the necessary tax credits from the Kansas Housing Resources Corporation. The tax credits would have been used to transform the old hospital at 20th and Monroe into a 47-unit apartment complex. Interfaith Housing issued this statement late Tuesday afternoon to HutchPost.com:

“Interfaith Housing and Community Services wishes to update the community on funding for the St. Elizabeth Hospital conversion project. Various factors created unique challenges for this project.

The two most relevant factors involve increasing statewide competition for Low Income Housing Tax Credits and the specific renovation requirements for converting the former medical facility into quality residential housing.

We were recently informed that our funding application was not awarded in the 2019 state funding cycle. Interfaith remains diligent in our vision of working through present challenges to bring new quality housing options to the community of Hutchinson positively impacting the neighborhood surrounding 500 W. 20th.”

Lacie Janzen with Interfaith says a meeting is scheduled with Kansas Housing later this month to discuss all options to see this funded for next year and says they are still working with Manske and Associates throughout this process.

Manske and Associates had been successful in two other similar projects involving the Wiley Building and the new Link project at 2nd and Washington, which is a housing complex for clients of TECH and those over age 55.

NICKERSON, Kan. — What could be a major military achievement for her career could also mean a long leave of absence for Nickerson USD 309 Superintendent Dr. Dawn Johnson.

The Nickerson USD 309 School Board gave its approval to let Johnson, a lieutenant colonel and battalion commander in the U.S. Army Reserve, attend the prestigious National Defense University in Washington, D.C. The training will take 11 months, meaning Johnson will miss the 2019-2020 school year. It also means she’ll be gone at a time the district is working on passing a $29.9 million bond issue.

Attending the school could mean a big advancement for Johnson. It could even put her in the selection pool to become a general. Completion of the training will already mean a promotion to colonel.

But leaving the district is not going to be easy for Johnson. “It’s exciting but very torn leaving the community for a year and that’s very hard on everyone,” Johnson said. Johnson says she will maintain two households and will still be in contact with the district on a continuous basis. Johnson’s work as a battalion commander makes her confident that she can take on both roles even away from the district. “My battalion that I was in charge of was 12th out of 12 battalions, in last place. When I ended my command, it was first out of 12 battalions and so I feel confident that I was able to accomplish all of that, that I can go to school and still be as engaged.” Johnson’s current command is the 336 Combat Sustainment Support Battalion out of Arizona.

At the college, Johnson will learn the latest in battlefield and warfare tatics. “It’s where diplomats go to learn about military strategy and military resourcing at the very strategic level,” Johnson said. “It’s mostly a school for active duty soldiers. Very few, I’m going to guess less than 1 percent (reserves), get to attend an active duty school.”

The school board approved the leave for Johnson, who will leave for Washington, D.C., in July and return in June of 2020.