Officials recognize child abuse statistics; OK barn bid

Allen County commissioners signed a proclamation on Tuesday declaring April child abuse awareness and prevention month. Representatives from Hope Unlimited’s Child Advocacy Center and CASA’s 31st Judicial District were on hand to remind commissioners of the gravity of the cause to which they were volunteering their support.

While the statistics are often grim — in 2018 alone, there were 7,800 children in foster care in Kansas — there are glimpses of hope in our small pocket of southeast Kansas, where, according to local CASA director Aimee Daniels, the number of children removed from their homes each year is declining (from 219 kids in 2016 to 188 in 2018).

Commissioners honored Farm City Days president Jerad Larkey’s request for $1,500 to be used for the promotion of the group’s Summer Concert Series, which is scheduled for the evening of July 13 and features country music singer and “honky-tonk hottie” Darryl Worley. Tickets are currently available at the Farm City Days website. Commissioners also gave the Farm City Days organizing committee permission to use the courthouse square during the fall festival, which runs Oct. 11-12.

Mildred’s Regena Lance appeared before the commission to ask for help bringing a storm shelter to her tiny town in northeast Allen County. Mildred had a shelter for a short time a few years ago, explained Lance, but it flooded and has since been removed by the township. Lance and other members of the town are organizing fundraisers in an effort to offset the expected costs of a new shelter but, on Tuesday, she appealed to the county commission for any help it could provide. “With what they’re saying about this storm season coming,” said Lance, “we’d really like to have a shelter nearby.”

“I agree with you,” said commission chair Jerry Daniels. “There was one there before and now that Mildred is unincorporated, it’s the county’s responsibility. We’ve placed a storm siren there already. So we just need to do a bit of research and see some estimates on the costs of approved storm shelters, and then we’ll see what we can do for you.”

Finally, following the recommendation of the Allen County Fair Association, commissioners voted to accept the $33,000 bid from Boren’s Roofing for repair of the hog barn at the fairgrounds in Iola’s Riverside Park.