OGDEN, Kan. – The Riley County Commission made its first stop in a series of four trips outside of Manhattan for their weekly Thursday meetings.
Commissioners Karen McCulloh, Alvan Johnson, and Dave Lewis gathered at the city’s Community Center for Thursday’s meeting. In coming weeks, the commission will visit Riley, Leonardville, and Randolph.
County waiting for Attorney General’s opinion
Riley County counselor Clancy Holeman reached out to the Kansas Attorney General several days ago seeking an opinion on the language of the 1/2 cent sales tax question.
“The only thing we got back at this point was a confirmation letter that they had received our request for an opinion and they were going to work on it as quickly as they could to get us an answer,” Holeman said.
There was a momentary snag when the letter was first received.
“The assistant attorney general who wrote the confirmation letter assumed that this question had gone back before the voters in the spring of 2011,” Holeman said. “I got back with him very quickly and told him ‘that’s not the case because the last time this was on the ballot was in 2002.'”
Holeman had also received a letter re-emphasizing the city’s stance on whether or not the question needs to go back before the voters this coming Fall.
“Their position is the county doesn’t have to put it on the ballot,” Holeman said. “They do object to any kind of potential restriction on the language dealing in the ballot question with what the city can do with its share of the proceeds.”
There is a 1/2 cent sales tax discussion item on the agenda for the next joint Manhattan City Commission-Riley County Commission meeting. The meeting will be held at the Riley County Commission Room at 4 p.m. next Thursday, April 19.
Riley County receives highest ranking in overall health
For the second straight year, Riley County was recognized as the No.1 healthiest county in the state of Kansas.
The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the University of Wisconsin Public Health Institute have been collaborating for the past three years to compile the rankings, which examine six factors: mortality, morbidity, health behaviors, clinical care, social and economic factors, and physical environment.
“Riley County has a very young population, and that makes a difference in both how well we ranked as well as the areas that were challenges,” Riley County health administrator Suzanne Kufahl said.
Riley County ranked No. 4 in the state in health behaviors and No. 6 in clinical care; however, it also had a high number of sexually transmitted diseases and cases of binge drinking.
Pottawatomie County ranked No. 6 overall in the state.
The complete rankings can be viewed at www.countyhealthrankings.org.
Riley County Health Fair well-attended
Hundreds have turned out thus far for this year’s Riley County Health Fair, which began last Tuesday.
The Riley County Health Department has been offering a variety of services at the fair, such as blood profiling, prostate cancer examinations, and body mass index tests.
“Saturday morning people can come back at get their results,” Riley County Health Administrator Suzanne Kufahl said.
A free pancake breakfast will also be provided to those who attend on Saturday. Additionally, a number of other activities have been planned for the final day of the fair.
“There will be a farmers market and some information about a whole variety of some health issues.” Kufahl said. “There will be some yoga demonstrations and a variety of other types of demonstrations.”
The fair is taking place at the Riley County Health Department, located at 2030 Tecumseh Rd. Saturday’s festivities will begin at 7 a.m.
