NOVEMBER - 2007

Veterans day ceremony planned for november 9 at korean war veterans memorial

The 21st Annual Veterans Day Observance in Johnson County is scheduled for 9:30 a.m. on Friday, November 9, at the Korean War Veterans Memorial, 119th Street and Lowell Avenue, Overland Park.
The public event is being sponsored by Johnson County Government in partnership with the Korean War Memorial Association.

Featured speaker will be Lieutenant Colonel Hadley Turner, a veteran of Operation Iraqi Freedom and a 26-year military career soldier with the United States Army.

A resident of Lenexa, Lieutenant Colonel Turner was a major when he was deployed with the 35th Area Support Group, based out of Lexington, Missouri, in May 2005. His unit was based at Camp Anaconda at the Balad Airbase located north of Baghdad and returned in September 2006. He is now a quartermaster officer assigned as the senior logistical planner for the G5 Planning Cell of the 35th Infantry Division, Kansas Army National Guard, Fort Leavenworth.

Annabeth Surbaugh, chairman of the Johnson County Board of Commissioners, also will speak.

Jack Krumme, chairman of the Korean War Veterans Memorial Committee, will serve as the Master of Ceremonies.
The 2007 ceremony will feature patriotic music performed by the Blue Valley North High School Band under the direction of Dr. Marion Roberts.

The Blue Valley North High School band was the only civilian band selected to perform at the 50th Anniversary of D-Day on Omaha Beach at Normandy, France, in 1994, and was invited back to perform at the 60th Anniversary of D-Day at Port-en-Beso, France, in 2004. The band also has performed at the Arlington National Cemetery, White House, Mount Vernon, and Goldman Bandstand in Central Park at New York City.

The event also will feature:

• Presentation of colors by the Johnson County Sheriff’s Honor Guard;
• Placement of memorial wreaths by the speakers and representatives from local veterans organizations from the cities of Overland Park, Olathe, and Shawnee;
• Exhibit of historic military vehicles by the Military Vehicle Preservation Association, Kansas City “Hell on Wheels” Chapter; and,
• Traditional playing of “Taps” and the firing of a rifle salute.

The county’s annual Veterans Day observance began in 1987 with public services on the south steps of the Johnson County Courthouse in downtown Olathe before moving to the Kansas National Armory in west Olathe from 1995 to 2006.

Parking will be available at the Tomahawk Ridge Community Center, located south of the memorial, and at the Holy Cross Lutheran Church, located east of the memorial.

In case of inclement weather, the Veterans Day ceremony will be moved to the gymnasium of the Tomahawk Ridge Community Center. The facility is still officially closed to the public because of a remodeling project, but will be made available by the city of Overland Park, if needed, for the ceremony.

The offices of Johnson County Government will be closed Monday, November 12, in observance of Veterans Day.

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Board of County Commissioners to Consider Adopting New Solid Waste Plan

On December 13, 2007, the Board of County Commissioners will consider adopting the new Johnson County Solid Waste Management Plan, 2007 Edition. Under Kansas law, the County must comprehensively evaluate the adequacy of its existing Solid Waste Management Plan at least every five (5) years. The Johnson County Solid Waste Management Committee has reviewed the existing Plan and recommends that the Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) adopt the new Plan. A public hearing on the new Plan was held on November 7, 2007. Public comments on the new Plan received at the hearing and during the public comment period support adoption of the Plan.

The purpose of the Solid Waste Management Plan is to provide for an adequate county-wide solid waste management system. The new Plan recommends a number of strategies intended to comply with state law and to respond to future solid waste management challenges facing Johnson County including the closure of the privately owned and operated Johnson County Landfill, Inc. no later than 2027. About 82 percent of the County’s solid waste is disposed in the Landfill. Therefore, expanding waste reduction programs and completing detailed waste disposal feasibility studies are key recommendations in the Plan. Once adopted by the BOCC, the Plan will be submitted to the Kansas Department of Health and Environment for review and approval. State law also requires that the Plan be reviewed annually and revised as information or conditions change.

Solid Waste Management Plan 2007
Solid Waste Management Plan Appendix

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Mike Selves to retire as Johnson County emergency manager after 12 years - complete story

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County completes Hearing Room project to add future broadcasting system

The weekly business sessions of the Johnson County Board of Commissioners are moving back upstairs this week to a remodeled Hearing Room that includes a new presentation and broadcasting system.

Since mid-July, the Board has met in a temporary location on the lower level of the Johnson County Administration Building, 111 South Cherry Street, in downtown Olathe during remodeling. The Board will conduct its first business session at 9:30 a.m. Thursday, November 29, in the remodeled Hearing Room located on the third floor of the county building.

The goal of the new presentation and broadcasting system is to expand public accessibility to Johnson County citizens and improve general awareness of issues affecting county government. Plans are to broadcast the Board’s business sessions and other public meetings in the future.

The remodeling work began Monday, July 16. It involved one-time physical modifications to the Hearing Room and installation of equipment to allow for the broadcasting of the Board’s Thursday business sessions by webcasting through the county’s main website and telecasting through public access cable television.

Testing of equipment will require approximately another month to complete, meaning the first county broadcast is expected to occur in early 2008. The system involves four small cameras and two viewing screens mounted on the walls of the Hearing Room.

The project included new carpeting, chairs, and lighting to accommodate the presentation and broadcasting system.

In December 2006, the Board authorized $650,000 for the modifications and the one-time purchase of audio-visual equipment, cameras, computer software, and other equipment required in setting up the webcasting/cablecasting system.

The modifications were needed because the Hearing Room, which hasn’t changed much since the Administrating Building opened in 1992, was not configured for multi-media presentation or broadcasting. Some of the required changes to the room include the addition of production lighting, placement of camera sites, and creation of an adjacent control room.

On April 12, 2007, Johnson County approved an interlocal cooperation agreement with the city of Olathe for county use of the city’s television production facility in City Hall. The agreement will authorize linking the equipment being installed in the Hearing Room to the City Hall facility in providing a county broadcasting network through cable television to Johnson County citizens.

Olathe has had its television production facility for more than a decade. It includes cable TV facilities, cameras, a recording studio, editing suite, and closed-captioning equipment. The facility is regularly used for cable television broadcasts of Olathe City Council meetings and other city programs to the community.

Olathe has informally provided use of the facility to county staff for several years for the production of public information programs.

The agreement will rely on county and city staff to collaborate on the scheduling of production, broadcasting, and program editing activities with the stipulation that county programming will not supersede city programming needs.

The interlocal cooperation agreement will end February 1, 2008, with a goal to resolve first-year, start-up issues in a future process to develop “a long-term partnership.”

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