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Written by Travis Perry
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Wednesday, 28 July 2010 08:00 |
A proposed storm-water utility fee could be put to a vote by Osawatomie residents as early as November, city officials said last week.
The monthly fee, which would be $2 for residential customers and $3 for commercial customers, would be added to the utility bill of anyone receiving water, electric or trash service through the city.
City Manager Bret Glendening spoke with members of the City Council Thursday evening to explain the benefits of the fee and how it could help the city maintain and improve infrastructure to prevent flooding problems in parts of the community.
From curbs and gutters to canals and levies, he said, the fee would help keep existing infrastructure in proper shape while providing a source of revenue to expand and add other storm-water-control structures in other parts of the city. The current levee certification process is a prime example of a project that could have received funding from such a fee.
Officials said a storm-water utility fee was proposed several years ago, but was voted down by residents at the time. Glendening said the required levee certification process ultimately will cost the city $400,000. Had voters approved the fee when it was initially proposed, that cost could have been significantly mitigated.
“Over half of it would have been covered by that $2 or $3 charge that would go on utility bills,” Glendening said.
Putting it bluntly, he said, the city’s current storm-water infrastructure is not what it needs to be.
“June 10, we had a major rainstorm that put water in places of town the police chief hadn’t seen before,” Glendening said. “We just don’t have the money to go out and make the changes needed, let alone keeping up with maintenance.
“There’s curbs and gutters all over this town that are broken.”
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Written by Travis Perry
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Wednesday, 28 July 2010 08:00 |
Despite the constant possibility of state and federal funding cuts and the economic threat of decreasing property values in the community, Osawatomie USD 367 officials voted to lower the district’s levy from 53.198 to 53.146 mills for the 2010-11 school year.
Presenting the district’s budget for the coming school year to Board of Education members Thursday morning, Superintendent Gary French said he thought it was more pertinent than ever to keep the mill levy as stable as possible.
“The community was really good to us last year,” he said. “We raised (the levy) 3 mills last year, and we raised a lot less money. It was important to do that.”
Homeowners will see little difference on their taxes; assuming a stable value, for a home valued at $100,000, the annual decrease will be less than a dollar.
The official public hearing on the district’s proposed budget will be at 7 p.m. Aug. 18 at Osawatomie High School. Area residents are encouraged to come and voice any questions or concerns they have to board members that evening.
For the most part, the district’s budget for this school year reflects many of the struggles faced by countless other entities across the community, state and nation. Costs are being cut as revenues tighten, and officials are doing what they can to keep those changes from affecting the classroom.
A bright spot, French noted, is in regard to the state funding the district will receive. Enrollment was up last year for the first time since before the 2007 flood; that has created a safety net for officials, he explained, because even if enrollment were to go down this fall, the district would be able to utilize last year’s higher numbers.
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Written by Travis Perry
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Wednesday, 28 July 2010 08:00 |
Only weeks away from the first day of classes, Osawatomie USD 367 is helping some students get a leg up to hit the ground running when school doors open Aug. 16. 
Jump-Start, which kicked into gear July 19, is an annual program officials say is not meant to be remedial, but rather to give targeted students a strategic boost right before classes start. Susan Gorman, district director of student improvement, said faculty members are utilizing interactive and hand-on learning techniques to keep the program fun for the kids involved; the last thing they want is for it to feel like a punishment.
“It helps build confidence, which is why a lot of these kids are here,” said Christina Durham, kindergarten teacher at Swenson Early Childhood Education Center.
A focus is put on core skills: reading, writing, math and other topics are emphasized during a three-week period to save classroom time once the school year officially starts. Gorman said the district currently has about 50 kids between kindergarten and sixth grade enrolled in the Jump-Start program. Students are selected based on a specific criteria, she said, noting that officials choose “the ones we feel like that little extra could make a difference.”
Faculty input, test scores, information from tutors and state assessments are just a few of the resources she said educators use in selecting students for Jump-Start.
“We try to put all of that together to try and make the best decision about who to invite,” Gorman said.
She said that while there are some parents who turn down the program, the majority voice approval for the initiative.
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Written by Travis Perry
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Wednesday, 28 July 2010 08:00 |
Click here to watch the show put on by local performers: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zzZwY9UI_tM
For a brief time Sunday evening, Osawatomie historic figures stepped out of the tomes, textbooks and letters and into the spotlight as area residents wielded the skills they learned through a first-person narrative workshop taught by two nationally renowned scholars. 
The youth and adult sessions, which together spanned five days, enticed 16 individuals to pick up the mantle of a figure from Osawatomie’s past. Led by Joyce Thierer, a history professor from Emporia State University, and Ann Birney, an American studies scholar, the class of eager performers gathered and studied a large amount of research in a short period of time to craft their narratives, which were performed before a small crowd gathered Sunday evening in the Old Stone Church. Thierer and Birney guided participants on style, stance, inflection and general performance, all in an attempt to help them carry on a piece of local history.
“Our history is going to die with the old people, and the old way of keeping stories alive was through telling them. The oral tradition is how we tend to learn yet,” Thierer said. “The goal is to make all aspects of the community be represented. This representation will build the community’s knowledge.”
From such figures as Emma Adair and Mary Chestnut to Adam Kemper and Amos Finch, performers tapped all parts of local history for inspiration.
The historical narrative workshop was made possible by a $7,895 federal grant secured by a proposal written by Grady Atwater, John Brown State Historic Site administrator. The funding allowed Thierer and Birney to offer their services in three Kansas communities — including Admire and La Cygne — to help people rediscover local history.
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Written by Travis Perry
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Wednesday, 28 July 2010 08:00 |
Area voters will have the chance to head to the polls Tuesday and cast ballots on several key political races and issues.
Foremost on the minds of Miami County voters will be whether to renew the county’s quarter-cent sales tax; up for reconsideration every five years, the program has helped fund numerous infrastructure repair projects and has benefited every community in the county.
The current program, which began in 2006, funded nine road and bridge projects at a cost of about $5 million. County officials already have a list of five major bridge rehabilitation projects set to take place over the next five years if the sales tax is renewed. The projects are estimated to cost about $4.3 million, and they are eligible for federal funding as well.
The Miami County Family YMCA, 300 11th St., will serve as the polling place for registered voters from Stanton Township, West Valley Precinct, Mound Township, Osawatomie Township and all Osawatomie city wards. Anyone unsure of their polling location can find out by going online to https://myvoteinfo.voteks.org. Voting will take place between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. Tuesday.
Individuals who want to vote in the Republican primary must be registered as Republicans. Voters registered as unaffiliated or Democrats may vote in the Democratic primary. Unaffiliated voters not wanting to participate in the Democratic primary will be presented only with the question regarding the county sales tax.
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