Vote for Dennis McKinney for state treasurer. He was appointed state treasurer when Lynn Jenkins went to Congress and was, at that time, minority leader in the Kansas House of Representatives.
His family has a farming and ranching operation near Greensburg. Since becoming state treasurer, he has administered the Learning Quest Higher Education Savings Program, which helps Kansans save for their children’s education. He has returned a record amount of un-claimed property, oversees a Housing Loan Program to provide lower interest home loans through Kansas banks and the Ag Loan Program to help grow family farms.
McKinney has the experience needed for this office. He has endorsements from Kansas Farm Bureau, Kan-sas Agri Business Council, Kansas Transportation Union and Kansas Contractors Association, among others.

Joan Perez
Humboldt, Kan.

I remember when Allen County Hospital was new, 55 years ago. It is now time to be replaced.
In the early 1950s when I was in high school in Moran, I was in the hospital for a tonsillectomy and the following year, 1954, be-cause of pneumonia. I was not aware then it was a new hospital but did know it was simply swarming with doctors and nurses. In the mid 1950s to early 1960s I had five babies and remember the excellent care we received. There were many doctors and most of them delivered their own pa-tients’ babies.
Allen County Hospital had these that I remember well and you will probably remember many others: Dr. Russell Nevitt, Dr. Gerald Pees, Dr. Eugene Myers, Dr. Robinson, Dr. Schmaus, Dr. DeTar, Dr. Hull, Dr. Carney, Dr. Corpolongo, Dr. Earl Walter, Dr. Lenski and his son, Frank. I am sure I have left out someone who was very important to you and I am sorry about that.
Anytime I or any one of my children had need for the hospital — and there were many times, with broken bones, tonsillectomies, major surgeries, stitches, auto accidents and a spider bite — we all had the very best of care.
ACH does not only take care of those in Allen County, but cares for those from Kincaid, Colony, Lone Elm, Le Roy, Neosho Falls, Yates Center, Bronson and Uniontown. They also will be paying the 1⁄4 cent sales tax on purchases in Allen County.
This brings me to the 1⁄4 cent sales tax. I have lived in Allen County since 1944 and have seen a lot of changes and know a lot of people in Allen County and the surrounding counties, and I don’t know a single person who can’t afford a 1⁄4 cent sales tax increase — if you say you can’t, you are not being honest.
As for the race for county commissioner, Donald Mann said he promised not to serve more than one term if elected. It takes more than one term to learn the ropes. Dick Works has been a commissioner for 20 years and we already have one out there in left field. We don’t need two.
We do need a new hospital. For your sake on Nov. 2 please vote Yes.

Norma Sager- Stahl
Iola, Kan.

  I am in favor of the new hospital. However we need to put some pressure on our elected officials. 
One, we need to require that all local contractors be given first shot at all subcontract work such as electrical, plumbing, etc. I hate it when we see construction of projects either funded with our tax dollars or through a property tax deal which of course we also make up.
Also the architect is paid a percentage of the total cost. This is one big conflict of interest. If our elected officials are truly representing the local taxpayers they will figure out a way to reward the architect because of cost savings and not total cost and still get the quality hospital we need.

Thank you,
Jim Daugharthy,
Iola, Kan.

Voters will decide Nov. 2 whether to increase a countywide sales tax by 1⁄4 of a cent to go toward a new Allen County Hospital.

Members of the Allen County Healthcare Committee address questions about the issue.

Q: In constructing buildings like hospitals, Kansas law limits counties to three different approaches. What are the approaches and how would each approach im-pact cost control, use of local contractors and local labor, etc.?

A: Part 1 of Methods for Building the Hospital — The Design-Bid-Build System for delivering a hospital building project. Kansas law for counties and for awarding construction contracts, Kansas Statutes Annotated (K.S.A.) 19-214 covers the well-known method of delivering projects known as “design-bid-build.” 

The process begins when an owner (Allen County Hospital Board of Trustees), after determining the need for built space, enters into a contract with a designer to produce de-scriptive drawings and written specifications of the proposed building. Upon completion by the designer, these documents are distributed to contractors, who then submit bids to perform the work. 

The expectation is that the lowest bidder will be selected to enter into a construction contract with the owner; such contract limiting the cost of construction to the lump sum that was proposed. Increased costs beyond that lump sum are allowed only through formal amendments (change orders) agreed upon by owner and contractor. 

The design-bid-build lump sum project delivery system is traditional, relatively simple, and widely understood. If, however, all the construction bids come in higher than budgeted, the owner has to reject them all and start over with the designer to reduce costs in the design. Then the project is rebid. 

In this approach the designer usually is expected to monitor completed work of the builder before payments are made to the builder. Also, the use of local contractors and labor depends on which builder gets the bid. Some builders may include local sub-contractors and labor while other builders may not. Low bid is the primary determinant in this approach, although all bidders must meet the requirements of the law for performance bonding.  

Only five days remain before the election. If you would like to help our voter information effort contact the Thrive Allen County office at 365-8128.

I am proud to support Dennis McKinney for state treasurer.

During my service as your state Representative I have had the opportunity to work closely with Dennis first during his time as a legislator representing south central Kansas and then as state treasurer. Dennis is the kind of leader we can all be proud to call our state treasurer.

Dennis McKinney was born on a farm near Greensburg, raised by depression-era parents who taught him traditional Kansas values of faith, respect for others, hard work and watching every penny closely. Dennis knows what it means to raise a family in a small town, work the land and rebuild after tough times.

When Dennis’ hometown of Greensburg was nearly destroyed by a tornado in May 2007, Dennis was one of the first to commit to rebuilding his family home. Dennis knew that if he was going to ask homeowners and business leaders to rebuild in Greensburg, he had to lead by example.

Dennis has a proven track record as a fiscally responsible leader whose first official action as state treasurer was to cut his own salary. He has also successfully reduced his staff and found innovations to save taxpayer dollars and return unclaimed property to Kansans. After implanting several rounds of budget cuts, he continued to look for ways to return $65,000 to the state from his own bud-get.

Most of all, Dennis is an honest person who is always willing to work with leaders of both parties to address the challenges our state faces. Too often in Topeka, good policy gets thrown out over partisan fighting, but as a leader Dennis has been successful at putting politics aside in favor of doing what is right for the people of Kansas

I am proud to support Dennis and hope you will join me on Nov. 2 in voting for Dennis McKinney for state treasurer.

Jerry Williams

State Representative, 

Chanute, Kan.

Allen County Hospital’s current facility has served the area’s growing needs for 58 years, truly connecting patients with quality care. In order for us to continue to offer high quality care and retain and attract expert physicians and staff, we need to construct a modern facility that is designed to meet the growing needs of an expanding 21st century patient population.

Some important reasons why we need a new hospital replacement facility:

— Outward appearance of our current facility is deceptive as the infrastructure of our existing building/facility plant is aged and cannot accommodate new wiring, additional wiring and duct work.

— The central patient waiting area is crowded and overflows on busy days.

— Exam and treatment rooms are too small for today’s technology. This includes operating rooms, radiology department, emergency department and lab. All are congested with cramped work space.

— Patient privacy is a challenge due to congestion, including in the emergency room.

— Patient departments are not located close to one another which make it inconvenient for patients and staff members.

— A new, updated facility would attract and retain quality providers and medical staff. It would demonstrate to potential industries that we are willing to do what it takes to improve our community.

Allen County commissioners thoroughly ex-plored both the option of building a new hospital and the option of retrofitting and/or remodeling the current facility to meet Medicare and state licensure standards and our ever-increasing needs. While the short-term cost of building a new hospital that could expand to meet Allen County’s future growth would be higher than retrofitting the current facility, the long-term cost of staying at the current facility would actually be more expensive. The replacement hospital will be designed to expand so that it’s appropriate not only for the current decade but also for the next 50 years and beyond. One other important factor that was considered was the feasibility of continuing operations while doing extensive construction/remodel at our current site. The construction would have taken several phases, causing continual disruption.

I urge you to vote yes on Nov. 2 for the future of our community and the future of our children and grandchildren.

Dennis Skahan

Iola, Kan.