Ninth Street, the main north-south route through Humboldt and formerly a portion of U.S. 169, will get a facelift perhaps as early as this month.
Mitch Garner, director of Public Works, told Allen County commissioners Tuesday morning that as soon as weather is conducive the street will be milled and overlaid. The project should be completed in a week or less. A center stripe will be added as the last step.
Garner said Bridge Street, the part that runs west from Ninth and crosses the Marsh Arch bridge over the Neosho River, will be given chip-and-seal application.
After brief discussion, commissioners asked Garner to contact the Army Corps of Engineers about removal of brush jammed against the north side of the river bridge. Several years ago county forces removed limbs and other debris that had become wedged against the bridge’s center pier. “We had a crane then (to do the work) but we don’t now,” Garner said. Commissioners Jerry Daniels and Tom Williams — Commissioner Jim Talkington was absent — trusted there was a contractor, or the Corps of Engineers, that could do the work.
KAREN GILPIN and Donna Grigsby, along with other Iola Rotarians keen on recycling, were given permission to place signs on the courthouse lawn and elsewhere alerting residents of upcoming paper drives. They will put up 15 signs in Iola, three in Humboldt and two in Moran on Sundays before the Saturday pickups.
They also were given permission to place signs on the sides of county-owned semi trailers used to carry paper to an insulation plant in Wellsville. In large letters, the signs will clearly identify the trailers are part of the recycling effort. The trailers are stationed near the 911 center, 450 N. State St.
The next paper driver is March 11.
Gilpin noted pickup of paper keeps a significant volume of trash from the county landfill, making the project first proposed by Rotarian Emerson Lynn in the early 1990s a win-win. It gives people wishing to dispose of newspapers, other paper and magazines a place and extends the life of the landfill.
Many people bring paper in cardboard boxes, which aren’t suitable for insulation. A recourse has been found: Humboldt collectors bring paper to Iola in a trailer and truck, then take the cardboard back for recycling. When the volume is too great for transport to Humboldt, Tramec, an Iola industry, takes the excess.
Recycling is taking a step forward. Aluminum and other clean metal cans will be accepted, with their sale benefiting the Humboldt Lions Club. Plastic and glass containers, along with fiberboard — such things as cereal and toothpaste boxes and milk cartons — also may be deposited in containers near the 911 center.
IN OTHER NEWS, commissioners:
— Asked County Counselor Alan Weber to look into what they said appeared to be a conflict of interest in the transport of bodies for autopsies. Ron Ballard, a former Iola EMS employee, is a deputy coroner and also has a transport business, Quality Care. The appearance of a conflict arose when commissioners noted he usually transports corpses using his own personal business, while another transport service, First Call of Kansas, Fredonia, is available but seldom used. “Dig into it,” commissioners told Weber. Transport cost usually is about $500. Autopsies are ordered for unattended and questionable deaths.
— Were told Sheriff Bryan Murphy will have available enhanced fingerprint identification. For several years fingerprints have been recorded by scanner, rather than ink on a pad. With the upgrade, they will be go directly to the Kansas Bureau of Investigation headquarters in Topeka by Internet connection. “We usually have an ID within 24 hours, and no more than 48,” Murphy said.
— Learned insurance premiums — for all but health — would increase by about $11,000 to $150,000, when a new policy with Personal Service Insurance takes effect April 1. Loren Korte, PSI owner, said automobile coverage was the main culprit for the increase. The final tally may be less, when a refund is figured early in 2018. Last year it was $5,000, the year before $15,000. The refund is figured from pooled premiums and claims paid for counties throughout Kansas.
