Homecoming route set for USD 308

CAPTION: The Fall 2024 Hutchinson High School Homecoming parade route, set to take place Oct. 4. CREDIT USD 308

By Michael Glenn

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Director of Communications for USD 308 Stacy Goss provided a homecoming parade update, set to take place Oct. 4, to the Hutchinson USD 308 Board of Education Monday evening at its regular meeting. 

“The parade is going to be quite a bit different than it has in years in the past,” Goss said. “The student organizations will line up at Graber and then they will come down on 15th street,” Goss said. “These streets will be closed and monitored by our school resource officers and HPD.”

Traffic will be closed on Cleveland Street south of 17th Avenue and should not affect parent traffic from Graber Elementary School.

Goss said the parade is slightly longer than the traditional route that ran through downtown Hutchinson on Main Street and will end at the Hutchinson Sports Arena. 

“The booster club is donating candy and we have tote bags to hand out, so hopefully the sidewalks are packed and lots of kiddos get candy,” Goss said. 

Following the parade, a DJ will be present north of Gowans Stadium at the Hutchinson Community College Pavilion. 

“A DJ volunteered to play some music while parents and students hang out with each other,” Goss said. 

Goss said all homecoming activities will stay the same, but the parade will just be on another street. 

In other business, Superintendent Dr. Dawn Johnson said she met with City of Hutchinson officials to discuss multiple issues, including turning Cleveland Street into a two-lane traffic street and a water retention pond near the Salthawk Sports Complex, located west of 23rd Avenue and Severance St. 

“They want to go two-way on Cleveland near Graber,” Johnson said. “It’s expensive because they have to put the right traffic lights, and that electricity costs money. I don’t know if that part will go forward this year, but we had a discussion about it.”

Johnson added the pond will help flooding on the south side of Hutchinson during severe weather. She said Faris Elementary School was flooded the day before the first day of school due to rain, and Lincoln-McCandless also suffered some flooding. 

“We are working with the engineers and the City of Hutch and with architects, because if the bond passes that’s where we want to build the middle school, those entities are working together to get to the right place,” Johnson said.

CAPTION: The Fall 2024 Hutchinson High School Homecoming parade route, set to take place Oct. 4. CREDIT USD 308 By Michael Glenn Director of Communications for USD 308 Stacy Goss provided a homecoming parade update, set to take place Oct. 4, to the Hutchinson USD 308 Board

USD 313 announces three major construction projects nearly complete

Back row: Chris Shank, Greg Lackey, Tim Lackey, Monte Cross Front row: Dr. Michael Green, Jessica Goering, Laura Meyer Dick CREDIT BUHLER USD 313

Buhler Schools Superintendent Cindy Couchman said that the construction projects on Buhler Grade School, Ad Astra Academy, and the new daycare facility, Crusader Corner, have received the necessary approvals to open, and there will be ribbon cuttings and open houses to celebrate.

“Simpson Construction has turned over Buhler Grade School to us,” said Couchman. “At Crusader Corner (56th & Plum), the test well for the water met the minimum KDHE requirements, and the actual well can now be drilled. The Reno County Health Department at the Fire Marshal gave their approvals to open, and we are opening for kids on September 16.” Couchman said Buhler Beginnings (inside Buhler Grade School) opened on Monday, September 2. 

“It’s very exciting, and now it’s time to cut some ribbons,” said Couchman. The ribbon cutting ceremonies will be on September 23 with a 10:00 am start time at Buhler Beginnings. Immediately following that ceremony, everyone will travel to Crusader Corner for another ribbon cutting, estimated to start at 10:30 am. All three facilities will host an open house on October 1 from 6:00 to 7:30 pm.

Board member Monte Cross said, “The (board’s) tour of buildings went well. The transformation of Buhler Grade School and the church [that is now Crusader Corner] is astounding. Kudos to everyone involved in that process. We did it right this time for sure.”

In other facility updates, bids for three different pieces of the HVAC upgrade at Buhler Grade School were approved. The bid for electrical work by Zenor was the lowest bid and recommended to the board. The recommendation for the equipment bid was to go with Mitsubishi equipment as opposed to LG. It was the higher bid, but after researching several different sources, including other school districts that have used both systems, the Mitsubishi equipment is more reliable at lower temperatures and has fewer expensive or time-consuming repair issues than LG.

“We don’t want to spend this kind of money to be back in the same situation as before and something fail in a couple of years,” Couchman said. Finance Director Shane Heacox said “This could be the most responsible bid.”

The installation bid went to Diamond Mechanicals. The bids in this case were varied, and taking the different variables into account, Diamond Mechanicals was recommended as the most responsible bidder.

The board also approved a recommendation to combine replacement on two of the three HVAC systems that are struggling the most to save on costs and time. Work on the third set of units will start in the fall.

The board’s next meeting is on Monday, October 14, 2024, at 6 p.m. at the Burkholder Administrative Center, 406 7th Ave in Buhler. To access meeting minutes, visit their website, www.USD313.org.

Back row: Chris Shank, Greg Lackey, Tim Lackey, Monte Cross Front row: Dr. Michael Green, Jessica Goering, Laura Meyer Dick CREDIT BUHLER USD 313 Buhler Schools Superintendent Cindy Couchman said that the construction projects on Buhler Grade School, Ad Astra Academy, and the new daycare facility,