BARTON COUNTY, Kan. — The application cycle has opened for Barton County’s facade improvement grant program for 2025. Two projects each are planned in Claflin, Ellinwood and Hoisington, where ten thousand dollars of county funds are being matched by a like amount from each of those communities. Six projects are earmarked for Great Bend, with $10,000 grants for each awarded.
Great Bend doesn’t provide a local match, a fact that isn’t setting well with a number of downtown businessmen whose view on this which was voiced by a Council member at Monday’s Great Bend City Council meeting.
Since this program began, over 63 new storefronts have either been redone or are in progress, involving 43 different local contractors.
Commissioners adopted a proclamation for Drug Endangered Children Awareness Day Thursday. The proclamation was presented by Rise Up Central Kansas Coordinator Amy Ferguson and representatives from the Oxford Houses, Ferguson said the proclamation brings awareness to an often overlooked aspect, children living in homes where substance abuse is present
The designation shed light on families impacted by substance use disorder, associated with early exposure, and the profound influence of intervention services.
In their other business item, Commissioners formally asked the city of Ellinwood to annex a portion of Park Street into the limits. This annexation request is not a large one, involving a short stretch of half of the street adjoining the new Ellinwood District Hospital and Clinic.
