How can police chief fill pool from hydrant? No problem

It’s an extra dose of Go-To Gal. Exciting, huh? I’ve got quite a collection of inquisitive inquires that merit answers, so I wanted to tackle an couple extra questions this week. Enjoy!

Q. Where will the carnival be at the Harvey County Fair?

A. This isn’t really an answer, but more of an update. Ann Religa, Harvey County Extension Agent for 4-H and youth, said the fair board meets every year with city officials to go over logistics and make sure everyone is on the same page, and that happy happening will take place Monday. After that, we should know where the carnival will be this year. Bring on the Ferris wheel.

Q. Why can Police Chief Jim Daily fill his pool from a city fire hydrant?

A. Because he’s a Newtonian. Turns out, the city has a policy of allowing residents to use (and pay for) water out of fire hydrants for large-scale jobs.

To take advantage of this, a person simply needs to call Jerry Martin, water/wastewater superintendent, at 284-6080. Officials will install a meter on the hydrant to be used. There is a $25 meter setting fee, and the water is subject to the city’s regular rates. The water bill can be added to a customer’s regular water bill, or a separate bill can be made, Martin said. Martin said the city does about 10 such hydrant hookups a year.

The hydrants do, however, have a fire hose fitting on them, so your regular garden hose won’t do the trick. Gary Denny, fire/EMS chief, said that the fire department has no set policy on the lending of hoses, but currently they do not have a lot of surplus hose, and of course borrowing from first response crews so someone can lounge in their pool a few hours earlier is out of the question. Denny said residents are welcome to check with the fire/EMS department by calling 284-6065, and if they have surplus hose they would be happy to lend it, but there is no guarantee any would be available.

So as long as you’ve held on to that extra fire hose you always knew would come in handy, you won’t have to spend days with your garden hose to fill your pool, speed-water your garden or prepare for your backyard, swamp-themed wedding. What a relief, huh?

Q. How is it possible for the flower planters along Main Street in Newton to look so beautiful in spite of the Kansas wind and heat? Who is responsible for planting and caring for them? I enjoy driving down Main Street just to look at the flowers, even with the price of gas!

A. As someone who has a porch full of dead and mostly dead plants, I, too, marvel at heartiness of the flowers on Main Street.

Come to find out, those pretty little plants are the work of Stone Creek Nursery in Hesston, which contracts with the city of Newton to plant and care for them. This is the first season Stone Creek has taken care of the Main Street flowers.

As for how they keep looking so great, Sue Blickenstaff, grower at Stone Creek, said consistency with fertilization and insect spray, as well as regular pruning, go a long way. She said the staff waters every day and fertilizes heavily. The arrangements consist of a lot of petunias, which she said need pruning every now and then.

Blickenstaff also said that keeping the bugs off with a multi-purpose insect spray is important. Grasshoppers especially can take a toll, and while smaller grasshoppers can be killed with spray, larger ones will just be deterred for a couple of weeks, so you have to keep after the little critters.

Q. I’m calling about the front page story on May 17 and 18 about “Residents save money, go green: The Freecycling craze sweeps into Newton.” I have contacted them by Internet several times, and there is no response to this. Is this Newton Freecycle not in effect anymore?

A. I went online to www.freecycle.org, searched for Newton, selected Newton, Kan., as the location out of the choices offered, and signed up. All went well, and it shows 15 messages in the last seven days, so it appears to be up and running. WANTED: Wedding stuff. OFFERING: Free answers.

Hope you feel enlightened. See you next week.