The Pleasanton Council met Tuesday due to the July 4 Independence Day holiday celebrated on Monday; they went into 10 minutes of executive session for non-elected personnel with Aaron Portmann and Melanie Staton absent. The reason was employee conduct. Later in the meeting, they approved two weeks unpaid leave for Sandy Ward (Atkisson) for conduct unbecoming an employee.

They also held a 10-minute executive session for legal purposes to discuss potential litigation. No action was taken.

The council heard from City Administrator Teresa Whitaker who discussed fire department callouts that last over three hours; that discussion was due to the recent Carpenter Chiropractic fire that took 10-plus hours to extinguish. She said firefighters are paid a lump sum of $35 for the first three hours or the chief $45, whether a call takes that long or not. If a call is longer, they get paid $7.25 per hour after that.

Whitaker said longer calls happen rarely and said firefighters need to be paid more and suggested $10 per hour. After discussion, Councilman Jake Mattingley suggested they pay firefighters $15 per hour on long calls. That motion was approved 3-0.

Whitaker said, “There is way enough money in the fire budget to do it.”

The council also approved issuing one check for their monthly paychecks of $50 per month in December as some council members did not cash theirs, throwing bookkeeping into a problem.

Whitaker said the city received a $284.57 check from the opioid settlement the state entered into that is split between all 105 counties in the state. She said the city should get $12,896.25 over the course of the 17 year pay-out.

The city can use the funds to fight drugs and suggested they could purchase drug test kits that cost $1,800.

She said the budget was almost done and initial results showed that the city would not exceed the revenue neutral mark.

Mattingley gave condolences to the Josh Haynes family on the loss of the firefighter.

City Attorney Burton Harding said he had not spoken with the KDOT attorney on how the city could annex the highway to patrol it.

Police Chief Tristan Snyder reported 149 calls with one assist to another agency; 1,680 calls to-date or 75 percent of the calls received all last year. He said they assisted the Sheriff’s Department with an arrest of the suspect that robbed the Silver Creek Pharmacy in La Cygne.

Public Works is continuing work to fill potholes; they are also flushing lines to avoid the nasty water issue that residents faced last year.

Whitaker broached an idea of establishing a fund of approximately $10,000 to raze houses that the council approves for demolition. This idea was a suggestion to avoid pulling city employees away from their normal jobs to tear down houses.

Mattingley said in the past the city used to hire contractors to perform demolition duties and would not be opposed to the idea again.

The council approved an $8,566 per year charge for services at the water plant by Hach Service Partnership.

They approved resolutions 425 and 426 for the house located at 110 W. 5th Street, Res. 425 for mowing and junk removal and 426 for dilapidated structure.

MEETINGS

LINN COUNTY COMMISSIONERS - Monday, October 23, 2023

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The Linn County Commissioners met in regular session on Monday, Oct. 23, and began their weekly meeting with the approval of the minutes of the last meeting followed by the approval of claims in the amount of $272,818.97. Linn County Rural Fire Chief Randy Hegwald presented... [More]

LA CYGNE CITY COUNCIL - Wednesday, October 18, 2023

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Among actions at the regular La Cygne council meeting last Wednesday, Oct. 18, was a split vote in which the city accepts a draft agreement for title search and warranty deed preparation of seven lots at 402 S. Broadway in exchange for absorbing a $16,400 house demolition bill.... [More]

LINN VALLEY CITY COUNCIL - Monday, October 23, 2023

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The Linn Valley City Council held its bi-monthly meeting at 7:00 PM on Monday, October 23, 2023, with Mayor Cindy Smith presiding and all council members present.    Following approval of the October 9th and October 14th meeting minutes, Mayor Smith opened the floor... [More]

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NEWS

Souza resigns county clerk post

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Linn County’s county clerk is resigning. At the weekly Linn County Commission meeting Tuesday morning, delayed a day because of Monday’s governmental Columbus Day holiday, Danielle Souza spoke during the public comment agenda section of her intention to resign the... [More]

Farmers State Bank under new ownership

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Time moves on and things change – and the banking world is not exempt from those changes. When Farmers State Bank owner Dale Sprague passed away in August of 2024, his wife Janice and family made those changes when they sold the three banks this fall to Citizen Bank owner’s... [More]

Linn Valley council updated on water, lagoon projects

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Linn Valley city council held its first meeting of the month on Oct. 13 at 6 p.m. at City Hall. Mayor Lewis Donelson began the meeting by asking city employees present at the meeting to stand up front and introduce themselves and state their job title. The mayor continued by... [More]

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SPORTS

Schneider makes State for Hawks in girls’ golf

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Celeste Schneider made the 3-1A State golf tournament again this year for the Lady Hawks and will be looking to earn another State medal.  To see the full article, check out this week's edition of the Linn County News or check out the online version here.

Wade and Britz advance to State for the Buffalos

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The Prairie View girls’ golf team is doing well. The girls won the Pioneer League championship at Deer Trace on Oct. 7 and then followed that up by placing fourth at 3-1A Sub-State tournament at Crestwood in Pittsburg on Oct. 13.  The Lady Buffs won the league tournament... [More]

Blu-Jays convert takeaways into Homecoming win

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Pleasanton converted two second-quarter fumble recoveries and a third-quarter interception into passing touchdowns to break a three-game losing skid and claim a 41-6 Homecoming win over Southeast-Cherokee Friday at Blu-Jay Nation Stadium. The victory moves the ‘Jays’... [More]

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