CAPTION: Reno County Sabres seniors Maggie Spexarth (42), Kinley Duft (9), Anna Schawe (11), Megan Asberry (3), Shania Schrock (7) and Bryana Stoltzfus (14) played their final home volleyball match Tuesday against the Wichita Warriors. CREDIT TYLER STOLZFUS/RENO COUNTY SABRES FACEBOOK PAGE By John Mesh The Reno
CAPTION: Miss Kitty, left, and Crazy the American Bisons mosey around at the Hutchinson Zoo. CREDIT MICHAEL GLENN/THE HUTCHINSON TRIBUNE By Michael Glenn The Hutchinson Zoo announced that it has received accreditation from the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA), a prestigious honor granted to only the
CAPTION: Democratic Candidate for Kansas House District Lynnette Krieger-Zook, left, and Republican Rep. Paul Waggoner. CREDIT MICHAEL GLENN/THE HUTCHINSON TRIBUNE By Michael Glenn The Hutchinson/Reno County Chamber of Commerce hosted a Kansas Legislature and Reno County Commission candidate forum where legislature candidates discussed fiscal responsibility and tax
CAPTION: Hutchinson City Hall, located at 125 East Ave B. CREDIT MICHAEL GLENN/THE HUTCHINSON TRIBUNE
By Kate Irelan
Mayor Greg Fast made proclamations and gave keys to the city to former interim city managers Gary Meagher and Mary Grace Clements at a regular Hutchinson City Council meeting Oct. 15, each receiving a standing ovation.
The first key presentation went to Meagher. Fast thanked him for his work with the city and the many ways he led by example. Meagher followed with a brief acceptance speech thanking the city for the opportunity to work and hire the right people.
“It’s been an honor to be a part of this,” said Meagher.
The second key presentation went to Mary Grace Clements. Fast thanked her for her friendship and a heartfelt recognition of her extraordinary service to the city. Clements gave a brief speech thanking the council for their trust and stating that the city is so lucky to have the employees they have. =
“I am inspired with the direction and having Enrico Villegas hired as the right person at the right time. The best is yet to come,” Clements said.
Other topics covered at the council meeting were:
At the end of the meeting, Vice Mayor Stacy Goss expressed to the council concerns that putting public comments at the end of the meeting was a good idea in theory, but the results showed a barrier to those who wanted to speak. After hearing all points of view, Fast agreed to place the public comments and proclamations at the beginning of the city council meeting.
The council meets on the 1st and 3rd Tuesday of every month at 5:30 pm in the Council Chambers at City Hall, 125 East Avenue B. To access meeting agendas and minutes, visit the City of Hutchinson website, https://www.hutchgov.com/270/Agendas-Minutes
Meetings are streamed live as well as archived on the City of Hutchinson YouTube channel, they can also be viewed on Facebook Live and Cox Channel 7.
CAPTION: Hutchinson City Hall, located at 125 East Ave B. CREDIT MICHAEL GLENN/THE HUTCHINSON TRIBUNE By Kate Irelan Mayor Greg Fast made proclamations and gave keys to the city to former interim city managers Gary Meagher and Mary Grace Clements at a regular Hutchinson City Council meeting
CAPTION: The lobby of Board & Brush Creative Studio in Hutchinson has many examples of creative projects available through instructor-led workshops. New owners Angela Updegraff-Fairchild and Brent Fairchild bought the business in June 2024 and officially started Sept. 1 after doing some remodeling, adding a
CAPTION: Kansas House District 102 Rep. Jason Probst, left, and Republican challenger Kyler Sweely at the Oct. 15, 2024, legislative forum held by the Hutchinson/Reno County Chamber of Commerce. CREDIT MICHAEL GLENN/THE HUTCHINSON TRIBUNE By Michael Glenn The Hutchinson/Reno County Chamber of Commerce hosted a
By John Mesh The Hutchinson Community College volleyball team took three sets from the Garden City Broncbusters Monday night at the Hutchinson Sports Arena. The Blue Dragons snapped a seven-match losing streak. Hutchinson won a wild opening set 29-27 and held the Broncbusters to an .078 attack percentage.
CAPTION: With just four varsity players, the Hutchinson High School girls golf team placed second at the Kansas Class 5A regional tournament, ent at Carey Park. The Salthawks will compete at the 5A state tournament next week at Salina Municipal Golf Course. Members of the
CAPTION: Back row: Chris Shank, Greg Lackey, Tim Lackey, Monte Cross Front row: Dr. Michael Green, Jessica Goering, Laura Meyer Dick CREDIT BUHLER USD 313
By Kate Irelan
The Buhler USD 313 Board of Education at their regular monthly meeting on October 14 approved bids for new band uniforms, other maintenance updates and also grappled with two changes to the plans at the new daycare centers, one involving possible city water lines at Crusader Corner, and the other a refusal to license Buhler Grade School’s new daycare from the State Fire Marshal.
Buhler High School band instructor Nathan Biggs presented some samples of new uniforms to the board. He shared a versatile sleeveless design that can be customized with colorful undershirts and other style choices from year to year. Shane Hecox, director of finance, explained that the uniforms are purchased on a 10-year rotation, and the money to pay for them is part of the capital outlay plan. They considered three quotes, with Biggs recommending the quote from Truhauf stating that he would prefer to work with a local company for quicker service. The board approved the bid, and it should take about seven months for Truhauf to make all the uniforms.
The board approved a bid from American Chemicals along with an electrical upgrade from Zenor for a new dishwasher at the high school, and a bid from IdeaTek for some new intercoms in different schools in the district.
Superintendent Cindy Couchman gave an update concerning the well at Crusader Corner.
“We have put a pause on drilling the public well,” said Couchman. “I met with City Manager Enrico Villegas and he said the city is willing to extend a water service line to the area. They are looking at bids. They also have requests from Shepard Acres north of Crusader Corner to extend water service.”
Couchman said she also talked with the Reno County Public Works and they would allow the work to the right-of-way, but it has to be for a public water source. Couchman will meet with Villegas on Wednesday to discuss options.
Crusader Corner has a temporary water system that can remain in place as long as the school district has a plan and is making progress on that plan.
Couchman shared an unexpected refusal from the State Fire Marshal for Buhler Grade School’s new daycare.
“After three State Fire Marshals gave licenses for the space, a fourth would not approve the final build of the basement because of a half wall creating two rooms which both would need exit doors instead of how it is now with one door. Even KDHE approved the design,” Couchman said. “The latest fire marshal said it should never have been approved.”
The stated problem is that if a fire breaks out in that area, it causes evacuation time to be more than four minutes and a longer response time from the fire department to access the area.
Couchman did find an option where they can install a module that will allow the original fire panel to be monitored by the fire department as opposed to replacing the entire fire system or installing another exit and exterior work. Couchman got an amendment to the licensing to get the system monitored.
Couchman shared an update on the strategic plan. She said the plan has four themes: student success, culture, operations/resources and community engagement. Smaller groups of board members, faculty and community members then established sub-themes and they are working on creating an action plan, hopefully ready to present in November.
For more information about the Buhler School District meetings and minutes, visit their website at https://www.usd313.org/page/board-of-education or call 620-543-2258. The school board meets regularly at 6:00 pm on the second Monday of the month at the Burkholder Administrative Center, 406 7th Avenue in Buhler.
CAPTION: Back row: Chris Shank, Greg Lackey, Tim Lackey, Monte Cross Front row: Dr. Michael Green, Jessica Goering, Laura Meyer Dick CREDIT BUHLER USD 313 By Kate Irelan The Buhler USD 313 Board of Education at their regular monthly meeting on October 14 approved bids for new
CAPTION: From left: Board Members Gleysha Mendez-Rosario, Tad Dower, Cheryl Thompson, Darcie Canfield-Riggs, Valarie Gibson-Smith, Lance Patterson and President Laura Corey. CREDIT USD 308 By Emmie Boese The Hutchinson USD 308 Board of Education passed a motion to approve $1.6 million in capital outlay funds for the
