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Category: Local
Rural Fire Explorer Program will continue in Geary County
The effort has been under way to obtain participants in the Rural Fire Department Explorer Post 343 Program. Geary County Commissioners received a briefing this week that indicated the numbers for this year are up.
Commissioner Keith Ascher explained the program will continue, referring to Assistant Rural Fire Chief Curt Janke, “He’s been visiting Junction City High School, Chapman High School and Wakefield High School trying to get signed up for Fire Explorers Program. At this point he’s got probably 15 to 20 compared to maybe five last year.”
Youth must 14 to participate in the program. They are taught what they would need to become a volunteer or fulltime firefighter.
Kansas Profile – Now That’s Rural: Buddy Williams, Custom Rope
By Ron Wilson, director of the Huck Boyd National Institute for Rural Development at Kansas State University.
Let’s go to the ore mines in Nevada. Huge trucks are carrying heavy loads of minerals from the mines. When those trucks get stuck, they use a high capacity tow rope made by a company in rural Kansas. Today we’ll learn about the remarkable ruralpreneur whose company is producing and marketing these products coast to coast. Thanks to Justin Goodno of K-State Research and Extension – Barber County for this story idea.
Buddy Williams is the founder of this remarkable company known as Custom Rope. He was born in 1942 and has had a fascinating life.
Buddy was born in Elgin, Kansas. “I never made it past the third grade,” Buddy said. He met and married Donnamae and served in the Marines.
Buddy found work as a jockey. “I rode racehorses across the country,” Buddy said. “I was licensed to ride in 31 states.”
He remembers an occasion where he was in a bad horse accident at a racetrack in Enid. He was taken to the hospital, not breathing and without a detectable heartbeat, but survived. After two and a half days unconscious, he recovered – and rode the following weekend. “If you don’t ride, you don’t get paid – and I had mouths to feed,” Buddy said.
Working with horses meant he also worked with rope. “Ropemaking goes back nine generations in my family,” he said. His family also had an eye for finding a better way to do things. “My granddad patented the first corn picker that John Deere manufactured,” he said. Buddy himself invented several items such as a cattle waterer, post puller, and hay knife.
He also made his own ropes, as his ancestors had done, and invented a special braid design. Soon neighbors wanted those same ropes and Buddy started producing and selling them for commercial as well as home use. In 1987, he and his family moved to Kiowa, Kansas where they live today. In 1995, the company became Custom Rope, a division of Williams Manufacturing, Inc.
Custom Rope uses Buddy’s braid design in making ropes of polypropylene fibers. These ropes proved exceptionally strong yet pliable. They are ideal as tow ropes, for example, as well as for other commercial and industrial applications.
“These ropes will multiply pulling power four or five times over cable or chain, and will absorb the shock of a heavy load,” Buddy said. Custom Rope has grown into a $2-million-dollar-a-year business selling ropes in 48 states.
These are the ropes used at the docks by the giant Carnival Cruise Line ocean-going vessels, for example. “You’ll see them on utility trucks all over,” Buddy said. Unlike nylon, these polypropylene ropes won’t decay in the sun. An estimated 22,000 feet of these ropes are used as handrailings at Niagara Falls.
In Nevada, mining companies were using huge steel cables when necessary to move their ore trucks. “It used to take four men and a big steel cable, and now they can do it with one man and my rope,” Buddy said. His product earned him a safety award in Nevada.
“My granddad said, `If God gave you a talent, you’re supposed to use it,’” Buddy said. “I’m just a little ol’ kid with a big idea.” It’s great that this idea became a successful business in a rural community like Kiowa, population 1,026 people.
For more information, go to www.customrope.net.
When asked for other highlights, Buddy said, “We’ve raised nine kids, 11 foster kids, and seven foreign exchange students,” he said.
“We still stay in touch with those foreign exchange students today. I just talked to one of them in Thailand. We also put together a family gospel quartet.”
It’s been a remarkable life for someone born in the rural community of Elgin, population 81 people. Now, that’s rural.
It’s time to leave the Nevada ore mines which are using ropes made in rural Kansas. We salute Buddy and Donnamae Williams and all the people of Custom Rope for making a difference with this remarkable product. Just like rural Kansas, these ropes can take a shock and keep on going.
Audio and text files of Kansas Profiles are available at https://www.kansasprofile.com. For more information about the Huck Boyd Institute, interested persons can visit https://www.huckboydinstitute.
Column by:
Ron Wilson
New Junction City High School project takes one more step forward
The Geary USD 475 Board of Education has taken action to approve the Guaranteed Maximum Price for the new Junction City High School building and athletic facilities.
According to the Chief Operations Officer for USD 475 the Board voted 6-1 to approve a GMP of $98.5 million. The total project estimate for the new high school has been calculated at $124 million. That includes $3.7 million in grant funding for infrastructure improvements.
The BOE met Monday evening at the Devin Center.
Gastro Park concept has been outlined for the Junction City Commission
By Dewey Terrill
JC Post
Junction City businessman Todd Godfrey wants to purchase a vacant city-owned lot in the 900 block of North Washington Street for $1 in order to develop a Gastro Park concept. He is working with Bobby Santacroce, St. Marys, who is involved in a food truck network.
Godfrey told the city commission Tuesday night he has traveled to California two times to investigate this type of park. “where basically is a network of food trucks. ” It would consist partially of shipping containers that would include kitchens plus temporary pads allowing food trucks and trailers to hook up to water, sewer and electricity.
There would be eight to ten locations and an outdoor eating area with food from multiple nationalities that would be served. “We have some authentic Mexican food that wants to come in. Also we would be looking at serving craft beer and wine at that location as well.”
Godfrey said on a daily basis in that area primarily 18 to 45-year-olds go back and forth all day long. He wants the development to cater to that specific age group. He also noted that his proposal would include a five-year property tax abatement where the taxes would continue to be paid at their current rte and then be adjusted at the end of that period for the increase in the value of the property.
The site would be fenced in, include nearby parking, and a stage on-site for musical performances. An overhead canopy to provide sun protection, misters in the summer to keep the area cool or some radiant heat and a gas fire pit for the winter were other possibilities mentioned. Members of the public could possibly order food from food trucks on-site and have it delivered to their home.
Godfrey indicated that he has been informed that the Convention and Visitor’s Bureau is all in on the idea as a way to attract outside visitors, and the Military Affairs Council has expressed interest in the concept as a way of possibly drawing visitors from Fort Riley. He stated that he would also form a committee comprised of local residents called Godfrey’s Gives “with the intent that organizations or citizens from this community could request funds from that account that would be disbursed in an amount not to exceed $500 per month for 60 months, which would be $30,000 over 60 months.”
Commissioners Phyllis Fitzgerald, Pat Landes, Jeff Underhill and Nick Allbritton all expressed support for the idea. There was no opposition from the governing body. City Manager Allen Dinkel wants to research building codes and is concerned about possible noise impact on residential neighbors in that area.
Landes told Godfrey the city will do research and see if the project can be done. He noted the concept is great but there are a lot of things to check on. More discussion could occur in the future.
No action was taken by the governing body Tuesday night.
County approves conditional use permit for cell phone tower project
The Geary County Commission has voted to allow a new cell phone tower to be installed on the east side of Milford Lake.
The governing body said yes to a request by Florida-based BRT to install the 300-foot tall tower at a location at 10506 Budden Road approximately four miles north of Junction City.
Commissioner Keith Ascher said the governing body just went on the facts. “Everything fit. There were no problems with it so after a lot of consideration we decided to approve it. Conditional use permit for the cell tower was approved.
The Metropolitan Planning Commission had recommended that the request for the permit be denied. But the Planning & Zoning Administrator, Troy Livingston, recommended that decision be overturned and that the conditional use permit allowing construction of a telecommunication tower in the suburban residential district at 10506 Budden Road should be approved.
At the Metropolitan Planning Commission meeting in August there was opposition from some members of the public to the tower, including safety concerns and the opinion that the site is one of the final properties near the lake available for development.
Business Expo will occupy Heritage Park Wednesday evening
The annual Junction City Area Chamber of Commerce Business Expo will be held from 5 – 8 p.m. Wednesday in Heritage Park downtown.
This will be an opportunity for the public to become informed about products and services offered by local and regional businesses. This is designed to be a fun, family-friendly event. There is no admission fee.
There will be local business booths, music, sample items. local foods, games and demonstrations. 
Junction City Commission will not move to allow chickens in residential areas
Mya Deal wanted permission to raise chickens within the city limits. The Deer Trail resident asked permission to raise a maximum of six chickens with no crowing fowl. But the Junction City Commission did not approve the request Tuesday night.
No vote was taken but during discussion three of the five commissioners were opposed. Commissioners Jeff Underhill and Nick Allbritton were in favor of the idea but Phyllis Fitzgerald, Tim Brown and Pat Landes were opposed.
When the discussion reached Pat Landes the rest of the governing body had split 2-2 on the issue. Landes noted there is still a financial crisis in the City. “I don’t want to have to add more staff just to monitor yet one more situation in this town. To me it’s financial.” The mayor added if you want to have chickens get out in the county.
Commissioners and city staff were quick to point out that Deal would be a responsible owner but there would be others that would have to be policed.
Commissioner Fitzgerald expressed concerns about potential predators such as snakes becoming a problem, while Commissioner Tim Brown noted some concern about smell and unsightliness of chicken coops and pens. City Manager Allen Dinkel said some cities do allow and some do not allow chickens in back yards, but if the governing body were to allow chickens in a city ordinance be specific and make it for chickens only. Otherwise ducks would follow.
The end result is that the city commission took no formal action on the request.
Wednesday weather forecast
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81° | Not as warm. Sunny. Highs in the lower 80s. East winds 5 to 10 mph. |
At the Rail
By Martin Hawver
It’s gotta be nice, to be appointed to a state commission to study Kansas criminal justice reform. Everyone wants lawbreakers in prison, that’s the simple part. It’s making sure that they don’t wind up there again after victimizing the rest of us again that is the less-than-sexy part of the issue.
The Kansas Criminal Justice Reform Commission which organized last week is packed with Kansans who have deep background on just how the correctional system works and how to make it work better.
But the real key to that organizational meeting in which Sedgwick County District Attorney Marc Bennett was elected to lead the troop is that the commission wants to identify the buy-in to their task from legislative leaders and the Gov. Laura Kelly administration.
It’s easy to hand a commission a nice name, pay the members mileage, have staff hovering around it and claim that the Legislature is “deeply involved” in deterring crime, approving reasonable sentences for criminals and giving them the support and training, mental health care, drug use counseling to succeed after release…and even having some of those who have been convicted of crimes helping others to learn job skills so they don’t break the law.
All of that noble work—which, by the way protects the rest of us and protects the future of those prisoners—is going to cost money that the state is going to have to come up with.
Nope, it’s not as politically attractive as a new off-ramp or bridge, or maybe a tax cut for corporations with foreign revenues or upper-wage income tax filers, but it’s part of the duty of state government. Just not much of a bullet point on those palm cards that lawmakers are going to be handing out next year as they seek re-election.
The goal of the commission, to tell the Legislature just how the state can more effectively deal with prisoners, is important to all of us. Nope, don’t see a bullet point saying, “if your car wasn’t stolen, you can thank me,” or “helped prevent your high school kid from buying marijuana.”
There are important issues that the commission is looking at. Like specialized drug courts where prosecutors and judges have experience with drug crimes and know what works to reduce the chance of a criminal going back into the drug business. There is diversion from jail sentences which requires more active supervision of offenders, which means more probation officers, more social services for them.
Or…the complicated process of assisting those who are being released from custody with just a few bucks and the clothes they wore when they went to prison. That re-entry into the general population is complicated, it requires counseling, it requires access to a job, social retraining and other skills. Not high-profile stuff, but important if we don’t want prisoners essentially “vacationing” among us until they commit another crime and are returned to prison.
Nothing cheap here, but then again there’s nothing cheap about just locking people up, building more prisons, or, at least this year, shipping prisoners off to a privately owned Arizona prison because we don’t have enough room for them and enough staffing to keep them safely in Kansas.
Last session’s bill that creates the Criminal Justice Reform Commission passed the Senate 39-0, the House 123-0, and was signed by the governor May 16.
Not surprisingly, that was the easy part, creating a panel to examine the correctional system in Kansas. The hard part? Diverting money from more politically popular programs to dealing with corrections.
Syndicated by Hawver News Company LLC of Topeka; Martin Hawver is publisher of Hawver’s Capitol Report—to learn more about this nonpartisan statewide political news service, visit the website at www.hawvernews.com