By Lucky Kidd
ALLEN COUNTY, Kan. — It was a busy weekend for Allen County Road and Bridge employees. Supervisor Jeremy Hopkins told Allen County Commissioners they had crews out Saturday for a while, all day Sunday, and again Monday.
Hopkins noted he had been out until midnight Sunday night putting up barricades for power lines and trees downed. They do have a couple of plow trucks in the shop right now, one of which has a broken auger chain.
Public Works Director Mitch Garner said final inspection of the new landfill cell has been delayed due to travel issues… one of the people involved in that lives in Manhattan which saw about a foot and a half of so. A few loads of trash did come in Monday, including trash from the city of Iola and from Bourbon and Wilson counties.
Garner said they haven’t been able to do any clearing at Allen County Airport’s runway which is mostly ice covered and they are having to wait until they can get some melting on it.
Commissioners have approved extensions of Neighborhood Revitalization Programs for the cities of Humboldt and LaHarpe. Humboldt City Administrator Cole Herder said the plan for Humboldt will be the same as the current plan, which provides for a rebate of property taxes on the increased valuation derived from improvements.
The Humboldt plan, as does the plan in LaHarpe, provides for a 100 percent rebate for the first six years of the ten year period, reduced by 20 percent each year for the final four years. These agreements also require approval of the local school district, Allen Community College, and the Kansas Attorney General’s Office.
Allen County is hosting a reception for outgoing County Attorney Jerry Hathaway Friday from 2 to 4 p.m. at the Courthouse. Hathaway is one of three elected officials whose terms will come to an end next Monday and concludes 20 years of service to Allen County. Also leaving office Monday is Sheriff Bryan Murphy, who concludes 26 years of service, and County Commissioner Bruce Symes who ends a six-year tenure on the Commission.
Their replacements along with the re-elected officers from November will be sworn into office Monday, Jan. 13 at 8:30 in the Courthouse District Courtroom by 31st Judicial District Chief Judge Daniel Creitz.
