thekansan.com

County files for conceal carry exemption

By Ashley Bergner Newton Kansan — Wed, 19 Jun 2013 11:00:00 +0000

Harvey County Commissioners voted to seek a temporary exemption from legislation allowing concealed weapons in government buildings. The exemption will buy the county more time to decide how to address security issues.

"Either we have it in place, or concealed carry will be allowed," said Greg Nye, county counselor. "... This keeps our foot in the door."

Starting July 1, state law will require counties to allow people to carry firearms into government [...]

'User fees' increasingly important revenue source

By Ashley Bergner Newton Kansan — Mon, 17 Jun 2013 10:12:00 +0000

Although property and sales taxes are the most well-known revenue generators for local governments, revenues from "user fees" are becoming an increasingly important funding source. The fees can provide extra revenues for projects in tight budget times.

"Kansas counties are increasingly applying user fees to such 'nonessential' local government services as parks and recreation, libraries and public transportation, where they have more flexibility setting rates," [...]

Joint commission meeting covers unpaid sewer fees

By Ashley Bergner Newton Kansan — Thu, 13 Jun 2013 11:00:00 +0000

Newton and North Newton officials met Tuesday evening to discuss a dispute over North Newton’s sewer rate. Newton reported North Newton owes several hundred thousand dollars worth of unpaid sewer fees, while North Newton is unsure if the fees have been calculated fairly.

“We think that what we owe the city of Newton is yet to be determined,” said John Torline, North Newton’s city administrator. “… We should be paying basically for the services [...]

Road dept. proposes more maintenance in 2014

By Ashley Bergner Newton Kansan — Tue, 11 Jun 2013 1:01:00 +0000

From 44 to 6—that’s the drop in the number of miles Harvey County’s road and bridge crew has been able to maintain each year, from 1993 compared to 2012. During that time, the county’s cost of overlaying one mile of road jumped from $41,000 to $115,000, more than doubling.

Although delaying road maintenance saves money in the short term, Jim Meier, county road and bridge superintendent, said there is only so long projects can be put off before they start [...]

Budget breakdown

By Ashley Bergner/Newton Kansan — Mon, 10 Jun 2013 17:55:00 +0000

$149,213

WHAT IT IS: Proposed 2014 budget for the Harvey County Register of Deeds department. The budget is up from the 2013 budget estimate of $145,097 and the 2012 budget of $136,558.

WHAT IT DOES: The Harvey County Register of Deeds office provides accurate recordings of public documents in accordance with the laws of the state of Kansas. These documents include deeds, mortgages, oil and gas leases, easements, restrictive covenants, right of ways, power of attorney, surveys [...]

Low staff levels could compromise safety

By Ashley Bergner Newton Kansan — Mon, 10 Jun 2013 17:47:00 +0000

When people call 9-1-1 to report a crime, they often take it for granted a Newton police officer will be able to respond to the situation right away. However, Newton Police Chief Jim Daily reports while the city’s population has increased in the past decade, police department staffing levels have remained relatively flat.

He said public safety could be compromised without additional officers to patrol the streets. Understaffing is especially critical during a major crime or [...]

Commission hears budget outlook

By Ashley Bergner Newton Kansan — Mon, 10 Jun 2013 11:00:00 +0000

Newton City Commissioners will again be faced with the choice to either raise taxes or cut services, city staff members reported during a budget work session Friday.

Departments' 2014 budget requests came in at $17.9 million in expenditures with about $16.2 million in revenues, leaving the city about $1.7 million in the red.

“We just cannot adopt a budget that looks like this," said Lunda Asmani, assistant city manager for budget and finance, who provided an outlook [...]

Passing on improvements Funding cuts impact amount of work done on county roads

By Ashley Bergner Newton Kansan — Sat, 8 Jun 2013 14:21:00 +0000

County crews were at work Thursday morning on South Hertzler outside Halstead, performing maintenance on the county's network of roads.

Although Jim Meier, county road and bridge superintendent, praises his crew for their hard work, he said they're able to do less work than they used to due to rising costs and decreasing funds.

According to Kansas State University's 2013 "Fiscal Conditions and Trends" report for Harvey County, road and bridge spending in the county [...]

Health Ministries offers integrated care

By Ashley Bergner?Newton Kansan — Wed, 5 Jun 2013 12:00:00 +0000

Providing good health care is about more than just treating a patient's physical ailments � many conditions also have a mental or emotional component as well.

Health Ministries Clinic Executive Director Matthew Schmidt believes a more holistic approach is the future of health care, and he's excited about Health Ministries' efforts to offer multiple services to patients, all during one appointment.

"An integrated [...]

Senior patrol program could be cut

By Ashley Bergner?Newton Kansan — Wed, 5 Jun 2013 11:00:00 +0000

Rising costs and decreasing funding are hurting the Harvey County Sheriff's Department, and could lead to cutting the department's senior patrol program in 2014.

During his budget presentation at Monday's Harvey County Commission meeting, Sheriff T. Walton reported he just couldn't keep his budget for 2014 flat without finding a place to make cuts.

"It's a good program," he said of senior patrol. "I know [...]

Budget breakdown

By Ashley Bergner/Newton Kansan — Mon, 3 Jun 2013 15:32:00 +0000

$251,375

WHAT IT IS: Proposed 2014 budget for the Harvey County Clerk department. The budget is up from the 2013 budget of $242,798 and the 2012 budget of $220,653.

WHAT IT DOES: The Harvey County Clerk's department serves a variety of functions, including recording and maintaining the proceedings of the Board of County Commissioners; recording receipts and expenditures for the county; preparing tax rolls for taxes [...]

Around town

Mon, 3 Jun 2013 1:01:00 +0000

Health program offered at NRC

The Newton Activity Center will host the Kansas Optimizing Health Program from 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Tuesday, June 18, through June 23.

This free program developed by Stanford University is designed to help improve a person�s situation. All participants will receive a resource book titled "Living a Healthy Life with Chronic Conditions."�

This program is open [...]

Growing season Learning Center for Health in Halstead breaks ground for new building

By James JordanNewton Kansan — Thu, 23 May 2013 13:00:00 +0000

The Kansas Learning Center for Health broke ground on the Bailey Learning Center Annex Tuesday. Work is expected to start soon and they hope to be done by October or some time in the fall.

Dr. Colin Bailey, who the building is named after, said it was a huge milestone for the group. He has been board president for most of the fund-raising campaign.

"It is a great day," he said after the ceremony. "It is [...]

Commissioners discuss Halstead tax abatement

By Ashley Bergner Newton Kansan — Wed, 29 May 2013 15:40:53

Harvey County Commissioners discussed a tax abatement for Martin Machine and Welding in Halstead at their meeting Monday.
Earlier this month, the city of Halstead passed a resolution declaring their intent to grant a five-year tax abatement to the company, which offers machining, welding, cutting, fabrication, sandblasting and powder coating services.
The property receiving the tax abatement is at 201 Industrial [...]

Commissioners discuss Halstead tax abatement

By Ashley Bergner?Newton Kansan — Wed, 22 May 2013 11:00:00 +0000

Harvey County Commissioners discussed a tax abatement for Martin Machine and Welding in Halstead at their meeting Monday.

Earlier this month, the city of Halstead passed a resolution declaring their intent to grant a five-year tax abatement to the company, which offers machining, welding, cutting, fabrication, sandblasting and powder coating services.

The property receiving the tax abatement is at 201 Industrial Road, [...]

'Don't take their voice' Local CDDO urges state to carve intellectually/developmentally disabled out of KanCare

By Ashley Bergner Newton Kansan — Mon, 20 May 2013 14:27:00 +0000

"Help us."

"Stop this."

"Don't take their voice from them."

Those were just a few of the notes written on a banner during a rally earlier this month in Topeka. Advocates for the intellectually/developmentally disabled hope the notes will send a strong message to state lawmakers, demonstrating why they think long-term care services for the disabled should be carved out of KanCare.

"I think families have good reasons to be afraid, [...]

Budget breakdown

By Ashley Bergner/Newton Kansan — Mon, 20 May 2013 11:23:00 +0000

$545,409

WHAT IT IS: The city of Newton's 2013 budget for the Meridian Center. The budget is up from the 2012 adopted budget of $508,231 and the 2011 budget of $344,387.

DEPARTMENT STATS: The Meridian Center is a 15,000 square foot facility available to rent for weddings, conferences, meetings and other events. The Meridian Center had its first full year of operation in 2012. The building has 8,000 square feet of meeting space that can accommodate up to 450 people. The facility [...]

Officials discuss water issues

By Ashley Bergner Newton Kansan — Sat, 18 May 2013 11:00:00 +0000

Officials from across the state gathered Thursday at the Harvey County Courthouse to discuss water issues � conversations dominated, unsurprisingly, by the state's continuing drought.

According to Newton resident Byron Warta, who serves on a water-related committee and attended the meeting, western portions of the state have been hit particularly hard by a lack of moisture, and problems are likely to continue into the coming year.

"Yes, we've gotten some rain, but the rains [...]

Community Partnership to dissolve, but mission continues

By Ashley Bergner Newton Kansan — Fri, 17 May 2013 11:00:00 +0000

Although the Harvey County Community Partnership is going away, many of the organization's services will live on through other agencies.

The board of directors for the Harvey County Community Partnership announced the 501(c)(3) non-profit organization�s dissolution will be effective June 30. Paperwork for the intent to dissolve was mailed to the Kansas Secretary of State�s office at the end of March. The partnership no longer has regular office hours and has closed its public phone [...]

Commission passes group residence ordinance

By Ashley Bergner Newton Kansan — Thu, 16 May 2013 16:51:52

Newton City Commissioners voted in approval of a group residence ordinance � guidelines that will ultimately have an impact on the community�s homeless shelter debate.

After hearing comments from representatives on both sides of the issue at the Tuesday night commission meeting, commissioners unanimously passed the ordinance. The ordinance formally establishes what a "group residence," such as a homeless shelter, is, and how such residences will be authorized to operate in [...]