HUTCHINSON, Kan. — Another round of layoffs are coming to Siemens/Gamesa, including a very small number in Hutchinson.

Despite expansion of new products in the U.S., the company informed employees at its Fort Madison, Iowa, plant Wednesday that it would be laying off about 195 workers, according to a company spokesperson. The number of jobs lost in Hutchinson is less than 10, although an exact number was not provided.

In a news release, a spokesperson stated business volume at the Fort Madison location through the 2018 fiscal year did not support the existing workforce level.

The release also announced that the company plans to install additional blade molds for new wind turbine models as a capital investment at the Fort Madison plant.

The number of layoffs in Hutchinson is in the single digits, but no exact number was provided. The Hutchinson facility laid off more than 140 workers in September due to lower business volume.

HUTCHINSON, Kan. — The Kansas State Fair Board announced that Bob Moeder has agreed to assume the leadership position at the Fair following the departure of general manager Susan Sankey, who resigned to accept a position with the Kansas 4-H Foundation.

Effective Feb. 1, he will provide management services until the appointment of a new general manager is made following a search by the Fair Board.

A recent report by the Kansas Department of Agriculture indicates an estimated economic impact of the 10 days of the Kansas State Fair on the Kansas economy to be $108 million. The 2017 Kansas State Fair experienced a successful transition to digital ticketing made possible through the installation of fiber on the Fairgrounds. The Fair also generated record revenues and experienced the highest number of entries in its youth livestock competitions.

Moeder retired in 2013 after a career that spanned 42 years with Dillon Companies, Inc. and The Kroger Co.

Moeder has served as president of the Kansas Fairgrounds Foundation since 2016. In a letter to the State Fair Board, he considers the future of the Fair critical and the contributions by Sankey as tremendous.

He will take a leave from the Fairgrounds Foundation Board while current Vice President West McArthur, Salina, Kansas, will assume the duties of the Foundation president during the transition. “With interim leadership in place, our next step as the Fair Board is to move quickly to plan and implement the search for a permanent General Manager,” Crossland-Macha said.

HUTCHINSON, Kan. — Talking about courage, discipline, and the will to face failure, Alison Levine provided a strong message to the nearly 1,00o people who attended Monday night’s Hutchinson/Reno County Chamber of Commerce Annual Dinner.

Levine is one of fewer than 45 people to climb the highest mountain on each of the seven continents and ski to both the North and South poles. Every adventure starts somewhere, and in a one-on-one interview with hutchpost.com, Levine told of how hers started. “When I was younger, I was always intrigued by the stories of Arctic explorers and the early mountaineers, so I’d read these books and watch documentary films,” Levine recalled. In that moment, Levine realized, “I should be doing this.”

Overcoming heart issues and other health problems, Levine made her first seven summit ascent of the 19,000 foot Mount Kilimanjaro. From there, the adventures continued. Levine led the first all-female ascent of Mount Everest. Unfortunately, a terrible storm forced the team to turn around just a few hundred feet from the summit. “If the conditions aren’t right, you turn around, cut your losses and walk away.”

After being so close to the ultimate goal, disaster struck Levine’s team. They were caught in a whiteout at 26,000 feet, then nearly died in an ice avalanche at Khumbu Icefall. In the two-month expedition, Levine’s team passed the treacherous crevasses of Khumbu Icefall seven times. The team used rickety aluminum ladders to pass over the deep gaps.

The team had no problems on the first seven passes of Khumbu even though each person had to trust a shaky ladder with her life. The eighth pass, however, was a different story. Levine and her team had no choice but to brace for the impact of the falling ice. Miraculously, the avalanche stopped five feet from the climbers.

Convinced she would never reach the summit of Mount Everest, Levine was content to accept the failure as a lesson. Her friend Meg Berte Owen, however, knew Levine better. “You’re going up again next year, right?” Berte Owen inquired of her friend in 2002. Levine assured Meg she had no plans to climb Everest again. Not next year, the year after that, or even three years from now.

In 2009, at the age of 37, Meg Berte Owen died. An outstanding athlete, Berte Owen battled a lung disease that stemmed from Hodgkin’s Lymphoma in 1997. “At 37, she died of the flu,” Levine told the Chamber crowd. The chemotherapy and radiation left her friend with limited lung capacity. Meg’s body was incapable of beating the flu.

Eight years after her first attempt and one year after the death of her dear friend, Levine set out for the world’s tallest peak once more. Once again, just a couple hundred feet from the summit, bad weather hit. Levine watched as numerous climbers turned back and cautioned her of the storm. But Levine pressed on.

She overcame that bad weather to complete the seven summits, a feat known as the Adventure Grand Slam. Carrying an ice pick with Meg’s named engraved on the side, Levine honored her friend with an unforgettable experience. She learned lessons that really helped her in the business world and helped her overcome life’s obstacles. Levine says it also helped her avoid complacency and fear in the workplace.

Levine says that failure should be a learning tool and that “backing up isn’t necessarily backing down.” She also spoke about the best-laid plans and how they don’t always work when the unexpected happens.

Levine is now busy writing a book on Pasang Lhamu. Lhamu was the first Nepali female climber to reach the summit of Everest, but she died during the descent. Levine is using her story to stress that one person can overcome great odds and make a difference.

HUTCHINSON, Kan. — Hutchinson Police and the Kansas Highway Patrol were involved in a standoff in Hutchinson Sunday.

According to Hutchinson Police Chief Dick Heitschmidt, the incident started around 10:30 Sunday morning when law enforcement tried to arrest a 17-year-old on a probation violation. The teen indicated he was armed and wasn’t going into custody without a fight. Law enforcement surrounded the home in the 300 block of East 11th. The subject eventually surrendered to police and was taken into custody around 2 p.m.

Police asked residents to stay inside during the incident. There were no injuries.

 

 

PRETTY PRAIRIE, Kan. — The water issues surrounding the small Reno County community of Pretty Prairie have been well documented. Extreme levels of nitrates in the ground water have forced the city to hand out bottled water to its residents.

Efforts to remediate the pollution have been unsuccessful due to financial constraints.
Now, thanks to a CDBG grant from the state, the city has acquired enough funding to build a small reverse osmosis plant and water tower that will clean up the city’s water supply.

The grant, announced today by the state, will provide $600,000 to go along with $1.8 million that was acquired earlier by the small community from the Kansas Department of Health and Environment.
The R.O. plant will be similar to the one built in Buhler several years ago to deal with the ever-persistent problem of arsenic.

The project will also include a new 50,000 gallon water tower.

City officials tell Hutch Post they hope to begin construction of the R.O. plant and water tower by this fall. The facility will be located next to the city’s existing water tower, which will be razed.

HUTCHINSON, Kan. — The Hutchinson Reno County Chamber of Commerce and Greater Hutch are pleased to announce the location of a new business.

Almont Studios of Boston, Massachusetts, has selected 10,000 square feet of space in the Hutchinson Mall to manufacture what is known as “iC4K” technology platform and create custom individualized content for users with cognitive impairment and anxiety concerns. The company has been working with Dr Jerree Forbes with Wesley Towers in implementing this new technology.

The iC4K high resolution video display uses personal photographs related specifically to each user and are prepared each month to engage and redirect anxiety. Details in the imagery provide content for use as part of a cognitive exercise regimen to aid memory. Over 200 different cognitive exercises can be incorporated as part of a user program designed to be motivational and enjoyable. Each system can have multiple user programs, each privately accessed.

In collaboration with medical professionals, the staff at Almont Studios interview and select photographs and items for scanning, editing and programming onto the iC4K. Audio and video segments are also used where appropriate. The iC4K is available on a subscription basis with content updated and changed regularly.

Various options and attachments are under development extending the capabilities of the system to assist with diagnostic information for the user’s doctors as well as gathering data helpful for care facilities, doctors and medical professionals.

HUTCHINSON, Kan. — Siemens/Gamesa Renewable Energy has signed two orders in the U.S. for the supply of 95 of its G132-3.465 MW wind turbines totaling 330 MW. Once both wind farms are completed, they can produce enough energy to power over 100,000 average U.S. homes.

Siemens/Gamesa will supply 47 wind turbines for the Midway Wind project located in San Patricio County, Texas. The project was awarded by Apex Clean Energy and recently acquired by Sammons Renewable Energy. The order also includes a 10-year, full scope service and maintenance agreement, and is slated to be completed in late 2018.

The second project with an undisclosed customer will feature 48 wind turbines and is scheduled for commissioning in 2019. This project represents the first U.S. order for this specific turbine.

The G132-3.465 MW wind turbine features an output of 3.465 megawatts and a rotor diameter of 132 meters. The nacelles will be assembled in Hutchinson and is the first order for this type of turbine in the U.S.

HUTCHINSON, Kan. — Hutchinson City Manager John Deardoff took time to give a rundown of 2017 for the city and provided some of the strong points for the community Wednesday morning.

It came as part of the sixth annual State of the City address sponsored by AMBUCS and the Chamber of Commerce. Deardoff took time to explain some of the budget issues the city is facing but stressed that the city is in good financial shape. He also talked about the sales tax revenue and the declining numbers and stressed that residents need to be true to their community and shop locally.

Deardoff says, while there has certainly been some bad news in the community in terms of the closing of Target and CHS, that many good things have happened — especially in the downtown area.

The city manager also talked about the need to keep the city’s infrastructure repaired and intact. He discussed the steps that have been taken in that department.

HUTCHINSON, Kan. — Two major utility companies and the nation’s two largest railroads were four  companies that paid more than $1 million in property taxes in Reno County last year.

In the annual list of highest property taxpayers and their value to the county, the usual entities are at the top, lead by Westar, who paid more than $6.2 million in property taxes on total valuation of nearly $39 million. Panhandle eastern was next on the list at $8.2 million in taxes on $1.2 million in valuation. Then came the two railroads with BNSF third on the list at $1.1 million in taxes on total valuation of $7.4 million and Union Pacific at just over $1 million in property taxes on total valuation of $6.2 million.

The four companies bring more than $9,667,000 of property taxes to the county and carry a value of nearly $61 million.

Top 50 property taxpayers in Reno Co. (Valuation / Property taxes):
WESTAR ENERGY (ELECTRIC DIVISION) 38,989,609 / 6,234,892.58
PANHANDLE EASTERN PIPELINE COMPANY 8,229,253 / 1,237,255.86
BNSF 7,431,444 / 1,189,889.30
UNION PACIFIC RAILROAD COMPANY 6,279,586 / 1,005,543.36
MID AMERICA PIPELINE COMPANY LLC 6,211,804 / 917,136.38
MAIN LINE, INC 5,215,758 / 916,205.26
KANSAS GAS SERVICE A DIVISION OF ONE GAS 5,070,036 / 869,420.72
MAGELLAN PIPELINE COMPANY LLC 4,696,176 / 715,624.90
ENTERPRISE PRODUCTS OPERATING LLC 3,559,246 / 574,479.16
DILLON REAL ESTATE CO, INC 3,164,379 / 553,270.08
DILLON COMPANIES, INC 2,922,402 / 513,020.50
ONEOK NGL PIPELINE,LP 2,658,707 / 405,112.58
WAL-MART STORES #01-0794 REAL ESTATE BUSINESS TRUST 2,567,881 / 448,069.56
ARCHER-DANIELS-MIDLAND COMPANY 2,552,890 / 445,453.82
ARK VALLEY ELECTRIC COOP ASSN INC 2,475,503 / 379,744.86
SOUTHERN STAR CENTRAL GAS PIPELINES 2,186,884 / 329,998.10
EATON CORPORATION 2,128,610 / 371,421.18
SOUTHWESTERN BELL TELEPHONE L P 2,089,418 / 353,424.50
SANDS OF HUTCHINSON LLC 1,973,483 / 346,867.28
TYSON PREPARED FOODS, INC 1,929,413 / 312,462.40
CARGILL, INC 1,834,371 / 316,440.66
NUSTAR PIPELINE OPERATING PARTNERSHIP LP 1,763,198 / 306,952.38
BLACK HILLS CORP, (KANSAS DIVISION) 1,694,180 / 263,910.14
KUHN KRAUSE, INC 1,693,373 / 295,476.72
LOWES HOME CENTERS, INC 1,686,398 / 296,408.06
HUTCHINSON REGIONAL MEDICAL CENTER INC 1,461,232 / 256,832.00
FIRST NATIONAL BANK OF HUTCHINSON 1,438,882 / 252,789.14
ARCONIC, INC 1,382,074 / 242,918.86
STRAWN, JAMES L TRUST 1,375,420 / 238,389.70
CITY BEVERAGE COMPANY, INC 1,375,159 / 241,703.50
HD DEVELOPMENT OF MARYLAND, INC 1,368,250 / 238,745.94
CHS INC 1,291,031 / 225,272.00
ONEOK NORTH SYSTEM 1,286,135 / 188,739.56
ROCKSTEP HUTCHINSON, LLC 1,254,083 / 218,824.94
COLLINS INDUSTRIES, INC 1,250,715 / 200,005.06
LOWEN CORPORATION 1,206,815 / 212,114.62
ONEOK HYDROCARBON LP 1,178,720 / 180,386.60
DAYTON HUDSON CORP T-946 & TPN0950 1,168,063 / 203,815.32
MAA SANTOSHI, INC 1,136,698 / 198,342.60
PRAIRIE DUNES, INC 1,131,898 / 176,774.32
TENAWA HAVEN PROCESSING LLC 1,126,166 / 169,155.76
HEARTLAND CREDIT UNION 1,081,457 / 189,654.32
CARGILL, INC SALT 1,049,097 / 183,056.94
MORTRTON SALT, INC 1,036,753 / 164,061.48
COLE KO HUTCHINSON KS LLC 1,020,958 / 178,146.96
CENTRAL BANK & TRUST CO 1,008,525 / 175,977.56

KANSAS GAS & ELEC-A WESTAR ENERGY CO 994,087 / 160,671.84
SONOCO HUTCHINSON LLC 962,533 / 167,952.40
HUTCHINSON 17TH LLC 961,200 / 167,719.80

HUTCHINSON, Kan. — After a great presentation Sunday, the Martin Luther King event Monday saw a good crowd gather at a local church despite the weather.

In addition to great music, was a very passionate speech from the Rev. Dr. Kevass J. Harding of the Dellrose United Methodist Church in Wichita who spoke of helping others and loving everyone, no matter their background. He also noted that we all need to be proactive, not reactive, and separate ourselves from those who choose to hate.

One of the more memorable moments was a young man who spoke about Dr. King and a letter he wrote while in jail in Birmingham, Alabama. Demarcus Myer, 16, spoke about that letter.

A state representative, Steve Becker gave a passionate speech about the incident in Charlottesville, Virginia, that occurred last summer, noting that it brought back racism from the past.

Others speaking included: State Senator Dr. Ed Berger, State Representative Jason Probst, and Hutchinson City Councilman Steve Dechant, who has served the past year as vice mayor.

Two Reno County Commissioners were also present, including Commission Chair Ron Hirst and Commissioner Dan Deming.

Music was provided by the Buhler Varisty Choir, the Buhler Singers and the Hutchinson Community College Badinage.

Events continued at the Cosmosphere and included a new exhibit in the museum rotunda titled, “Dream Makers: African-Americans Make Their Mark.”