Alma News Archives

  "I have done everything in my power to work  with some of these people.  I have tried to be gentle.  That has all stopped.  I'm going to go after them with everything I have - the SRS, EPA, Child Protection Agency - whatever it takes!  My primary goal before I leave this office is to correct these problems.  If they want to live like pigs, fine, but they're going to have to leave town.  I tried to be  a nice guy, but I have a boiling point, and I just hit it!   My goal in the next three years is to clean up this town.  If nobody talks to me when its over, that's their problem!"  Paxico Mayor Rex Fiedler said. Read more

“I agree with Linda that you need to scrutinize those”

Wabaunsee County Commissioners met Monday with Keen Umbehr regarding the ongoing topic of a landfill space the county is required to continue renting.

Umbehr reported that the issue has been going on now for more than a year and said he and his client, Winston Amick, would like to settle on a fair value for the pasture housing the landfill.

"It's been a year now over this landfill issue," he said, adding that the county owes Amick rent from a couple years now.

He said a change in the policy made by former County Attorney Elizabeth Cohn left the pasture with no lease, according to his understanding. As a result, he is asking the county to get together with Amick and negotiate a new plan, and potential options have been outlined by Amick and Umbehr in letters between the parties. Read more

“They came back with an LCD projector report that looked really good”

Mission Valley students may have been excited to miss school for four days in a row last month, but all that time off comes at a cost.

USD 330 students will have to serve make-up days this semester to compensate for the time away last semester in order to fulfill contracts with teachers and state requirements.

Board of Education members looked at the school calendar Monday evening and determined that three of the four make-up days were fairly simple to implement because of days off built into the calendar for this purpose. Read more

“If you interpret, 'no commercial' to mean shots can't be fired, you need to eliminate 'commercial,'”

Wabaunsee County Zoning and Planning Board members struggled with questions of what to do when a  CUP  (Conditional Use Permit) is violated and what constitutes a violation when the wording is less than specific.

Zoning Board member William Brethour brought complaints against Prairie Fire Lodge and Ranch, his neighbor, saying the owners had violated their CUP by allowing guests to participate in a round of shooting sports.

"I think first of all we need to address the purpose of this board and the credibility of this board," Brethour said. Read more

“We wouldn't need the small bubble diffusers if we didn't have their waste”

Members of the Alma City Council discussed a letter from Alma Foods written to the city regarding the city's new wastewater treatment system project.

The letter, which was not made available for public viewing, took a harsh stance, outlining several points of contention between the two entities, based on council discussion.

"I got this in the mail yesterday," City Attorney Tom Barnes said. "I really think for us to respond effectively I'm going to sit down with Jon (Bolinder, city employee) and Sharon (White, city clerk) and we're going to pick this thing apart." Read more

  Saturday morning, a pre-Christmas  trip on Interstate 70 turned into several minutes of horror.  It was followed with several hours of rescue and waiting for nearly 100 travelers. One driver lost his life in a bazaar chain reaction accident that involved a tour bus, two semi-trailers, and at least 32 passenger vehicles.

  Although details are unclear, and most may never be known, near blizzard conditions created a whiteout on Interstate 70 that resulted in a mass pileup of vehicles.   Read more