TOPEKA, Kan. – The Kansas Department of Health and Environment has received additional federal funds from the U.S. Department of Agriculture to keep the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC) operational into March, during the federal government shutdown. KDHE received an additional $1,421,255 for food purchases and $889,645 for nutrition services and administration. These funds now allow Kansas to purchase foods until Mar. 4, 2019 and keep staff operational until Mar. 13.

The National Weather Service in Topeka has issued a dense fog advisory for eastern central Kansas, in effect from midnight tonight to 9 a.m. Wednesday, Jan.16, 2019. Widespread fog producing visibility of one-quarter mile or less is forecast to develop tonight and persist into Wednesday morning.

The advisory area includes Morris, Lyon, Osage, Franklin, Coffey, Anderson counties and the cities of Council Grove, Emporia, Osage City, Carbondale, Lyndon, Burlingame, Overbrook, Ottawa, Burlington, Lebo, and Garnett.

Poor visibility will create hazardous driving conditions. With temperatures falling below 32 degrees, slick surfaces may also exist, especially on area bridges and overpasses. This will also have the potential to result in hazardous travel conditions.

A dense fog advisory means visibilities will frequently be reduced to less than one quarter mile. If driving, slow down, use your headlights, and leave plenty of distance ahead of you.

Performer scholar Ann Birney will bring Amelia Earhart to life during a performance at the Osage City Public Library. Courtesy photo.

The search for Amelia Earhart can finally be called off! The famed aviator will be talking about her thrilling flights at 7 p.m. Jan. 8, 2019, at the Osage City Public Library.

During this free event, open to all ages, scholar and performer Ann Birney, of Ride into History, will take the audience back to 1937, just before Earhart’s disappearance over the Pacific Ocean.

Most people do not know that Earhart twice set out to fly around the world at the equator before she disappeared. The first time, heading west from California, she wrecked her twin-engine Lockheed Electra taking off from Hawaii. Birney, as Earhart, will take the audience to April 14, 1937. Earhart is waiting for her airplane, her silver “flying laboratory,” to be repaired so that she can try again. This time, she tells the audience, she will go east instead of west, hoping to reverse her luck with the reversal in direction.

Earhart came into the public eye when she became the first woman to cross the Atlantic Ocean by air in 1928. The young social worker presumed that after the flight she would resume working with children at a Boston settlement house, but one book and innumerable speaking engagements later, she was instead planning more record-setting flights, and yet more speaking tours, books and articles. Among her other records, she became the first woman and second person to solo across the Atlantic, the first person to solo over the Pacific, the first person to fly from Hawaii to California, and the fastest woman to fly non-stop across the U.S. And now, Earhart feels she has one last record-setting flight left in her.

The Frontier Extension District will host a series of leadership workshops to provide basic training for members of community-based boards on Feb. 5, 12, 19, and 26, 2019.

Extension’s Board Leadership Series provides an opportunity for board members to learn the basics of being a good board member. Whether a member of a church board, a township board, a United Way agency board, or a rural water board, this training is appropriate for you. Workshop participants will meet at host sites throughout the state to take part in web-based instruction and locally facilitated discussion.

All sessions will be conducted 6-8 p.m. on the designated dates. The Frontier Extension District will be hosting a site at the Frontier Extension District Office, in Ottawa.

The series will kick-off on Feb. 5 with “Conducting Effective Meetings”.  During this session, participants will learn about their roles and responsibilities as a board member, basics of parliamentary procedure, and strategies to make meetings more productive and effective.

On Feb. 12, the topic will be fundraising, fund management, legalities and ethics. This session will explore a board’s options for raising and managing money, understanding such things as articles of incorporation, bylaws, and policies.

The Feb. 19 session will cover understanding fellow board members and conflict management. Participants will explore how personalities and generational differences affect the decision-making process, and learn how to manage conflict in a way that is productive, not destructive, to the board.

Strategic planning will be the final topic on Feb. 26.  Participants will learn about establishing a common mission and vision for the board, and how to plan priorities for the future.

The Extension district requests registration for the workshop by Thursday, Jan. 10. The $40 registration fee reserves a seat for all four sessions.

Osage County ECKAN is offering a program that provides financial coaching and a two-to-one matching grant that establishes $1,000 in emergency savings for each participant.

Walter S. and Evan C. Jones Testamentary Trust approved a grant to East Central Kansas Economic Opportunity Corporation for the program offered to area residents with household income below 125 percent of the federal poverty level. To sign up, participants must provide one year proof of income showing their household meets the income guidelines, present their own budget that shows monthly expenses, expected upcoming expenses, and emergency savings, and provide proof of an account opened at a bank specified by ECKAN.

Once in the program, participants set a goal of reaching $333 emergency savings within six months. At monthly meetings with an ECKAN representative, participants will provide proof of their monthly deposit of $55.50, and receive $20 in local gift certificates.

Update: Dec. 13, 2018  The Kansas Department of Health and Environment rescinded a boil water advisory today for the city of Overbrook. The advisory was issued Dec. 11, 2018, because of two line breaks resulting in losses of pressure in the system. Failure to maintain adequate pressure may result in a loss of chlorine residuals and bacterial contamination.

Laboratory testing samples collected from the city of Overbrook indicate no evidence of contamination and all other conditions that placed the system at risk of contamination are deemed by KDHE officials to be resolved.

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OVERBROOK, Kan. – The Kansas Department of Health and Environment issued a boil water advisory today for portions of Overbrook, Kan. The boil water advisory will affect water users in the following areas of town: Elm Street south of Market Street, on Second Street one block west of Elm Street, and east of Maple Street between Highway 56 and Fifth Street. This also includes users along Highway 56 east of Maple Street to the city lake, including Casey’s General Store and Grace Community Church.

The advisory took effect Dec. 11, 2018, and will remain in effect until the conditions that placed the system at risk of bacterial contamination are resolved. KDHE officials issued the advisory because of two-line break resulting in loss of pressure in the system.

Overbrook City Clerk Jim Koger said it was discovered that water tower levels were dropping Monday evening, and three valves were shut off due to a break found in the 200 block of Elm Street. That resulted in the loss of service to customers south of the intersection of Elm and Market, on both sides of Elm headed south through the trailer court at 105 Elm St., and one block of Second Street west of Elm. Once the valves were off, the tower levels climbed, Koger said, and the repair should be underway soon on this leak.

Koger said another leak was found about 10 p.m. Monday night on the west side of Cedar Street, just north of Sixth Street. As of 10 a.m. today, valves had not yet been shut down for this repair, but once the repair work commences, it will result in a loss of service to customers east of Maple Street, from Highway 56 south to Fifth Street. Users on the north side of U.S. 56 from Walnut east to the City Lake will also be affected.

Boil advisories are issued because failure to maintain adequate pressure may result in a loss of chlorine residuals and bacterial contamination. Regardless of whether the public water supplier or KDHE announced a boil water advisory, only KDHE can issue the rescind order following testing at a certified laboratory.

Water users should observe the following precautions until further notice:

• If your tap water appears dirty, flush the water lines by letting the water run until it clears.
• Boil water for one minute prior to drinking or food preparation or use bottled water.
• Dispose of ice cubes and do not use ice from a household automatic icemaker.
• Disinfect dishes and other food contact surfaces by immersion for at least one minute in clean tap water that contains one teaspoon of unscented household bleach per gallon of water.

Water used for bathing does not generally need to be boiled. Supervision of children is necessary while bathing so that water is not ingested. Persons with cuts or severe rashes may wish to consult their physicians.

For more information about the boil advisory, contact Overbrook City Hall at 785-665-7328 or KDHE at 785-296-1317. For information about how the boil advisory impacts restaurants and other food establishments, contact the Kansas Department of Agriculture’s food safety and lodging program at 785-564-6767.

The Lyndon Carnegie Library will host a holiday open house 2-4 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 16. Guests will decorate ginger bread houses and dip tasty treats in chocolate. The library will supply white and dark milk chocolate, marshmallows and pretzels, but participants can bring items from home to dip. Children will also be writing letters to Santa.

Families are invited to mingle and enjoy some hot cocoa or apple cider with goodies.  The children’s book sale will be going on upstairs all through the month of December.  

TOPEKA, Kan. – Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt is advising consumers to take steps to protect their personal information following the announcement last week by the Marriott hotel chain that its reservation system had been hacked, potentially exposing the personal information of more than 500 million people.

“This large-scale data breach is yet another reminder of the importance of protecting our own personal information,” Schmidt said. “While we work to learn more about what happened in this data breach, consumers who may have been affected should take steps to protect themselves from becoming victims of identity theft.”

Schmidt offered the following tips for protecting personal information:

The Osage City Chamber of Commerce is inviting everyone to enjoy several holiday-decorated homes in Osage City during the annual holiday tour this Sunday, and enjoy a chili soup supper and entertainment at the Lutheran Chuch, 210 Holliday St., Osage City.

The tour and chili soup supper will be 4-7 p.m. Dec. 9, 2018. Advanced tickets are available at Ramblin’ Rose; tickets day of tour will be available at the chili supper or at each of the homes.

Before or during the home, entertainment at the church will include the Osage City High School Choir and Jazz Band, and Tanya Fraker, organist for the Lutheran church. The chili soup supper is served for a freewill donation, and will include chili, cinnamon roll, relish tray and drinks.

The five homes on the tour are Koch Guesthouse (Maurice and Cindy Koch), 1122 N. 15th St.; Rick and Dena Gardner, 7312 W. 221st St.; Brent and Erin Rounds, 704 S. Fourth St.; Clint and Lindsay Silver, 821 Romine Ridge; Mickey and Pam Suppon, 509 N. Fifth St.

Join in as Arvonia celebrates Christmas by touring the historic town’s school, church and township hall. Tours of the decorated building will be 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Dec. 8, 2018, and will include entrance into each building and entertainment at the township hall. All proceeds will go towards the continued restoration efforts in the historic Welsh community.

Tickets will be available for $10. Transportation between buildings will be provided if needed. Lunch will be available for purchase from the class of 2021 at the township hall.

Arvonia is located 4 miles north of Lebo on the southwest edge of Melvern Lake. For more information, contact Susan Atchison at 620-794-3917.