After years of planning and months of  site-work, the new Bourbon County Law Enforcement Center is nearing its completion date set in early October.

Bourbon County commissioners received an update on the project during a meeting Tuesday. Project manager Gary Walker of Universal Construction Company, Inc., insured the center will be done by Oct. 2, with just the addition of furnishings remaining. Inmates are scheduled to be moved into the facility the week of Oct. 30.

in just the next couple weeks, curbs and gutters, carpeting, camera installations, concrete laying and paint touch-ups should be complete while work on the parking lot and landscaping are  scheduled to be started. Kitchen equipment, recently purchased outright by the county, is also to be delivered and installed.

Submitted by Christopher Petty, KState Extension Office

According to University of Nebraska Extension Specialist Bruce Anderson, hay stored outside will be damaged by rain, snow, wind and ice this fall and winter. The average round bale loses about one fourth of its original nutrients during storage, but these losses can be reduced to less than 10 percent or so. Now, I’m sure you are better than average. Still, let’s look at ways to reduce spoilage by storing that extra valuable hay more carefully this year.

For instance, do you usually line up bales for easy access so the twine sides touch each other? Or do you stack your bales? If so, extra spoilage will occur where these bales touch because rain, snow and ice will gather in spots where bales touch instead of running off. Round bales butted end-to-end, cigar-like, usually have less spoilage.

Does snow drift around your bales? Bales placed in east-west rows often have drifts on the south side. Hay next to fencelines or trees can get extra snow. As snow melts it soaks into bales or makes the ground muddy. Plus, the north side never gets any sun, so it’s slow to dry. This year, line your bales up north-and-south for fewer drifts and faster drying as sunlight and prevailing winds hit both sides of the row.

Most important is the bottom of your bales. Always put bales on higher, well-drained ground so water drains away from them. Keep them out of terrace bottoms or other low spots. If necessary, use crushed rock, railroad ties or even pallets to elevate bales to keep the bottoms dry. This also will reduce problems getting to your hay or getting it moved due to snow drifts or mud. Just a little pre-planning can save lots of hay and frustrations.

For information on testing your hay for nutrient quality, contact Southwind Extension District Livestock Production and Forage Management Agent Christopher Petty at 620-223- 3720 or by e-mail at [email protected].

With mostly clear weather and a number of visitors to the Bourbon County Fairgrounds, the 61st Annual Pioneer Harvest Fiesta drew to a close after a weekend of activities.

Events included  a parade, quilt and craft shows, demonstrations, tractor pulls and a bean feed while a number of tractors and other equipment restored by local and visiting participants were on display.

The Thursday evening parade kicks off the 61^st annual Pioneer Harvest Fiesta and the numerous events involved in the weekend event at the Bourbon County Fairgrounds.

Starting with the downtown parade at 6 p.m. Thursday, other events continue Friday through Sunday, including a quilt show, tractor pulls, an arts and crafts show, a bean feed and a number of demonstrations with old crushers, balers and other equipment that have been restored by local and out-of-town participants.

“Lots of activities going on,” organizer Allen Warren says of the weekend event.

Weekend admission costs $5 and includes all three days of activities and the bean feed Friday evening.

Submitted by: Carla Nemecek, Southwind Extension District Director

4-H members from the Southwind Extension District excelled at the annual Kansas 4-H Livestock Sweepstakes event August 1-20 in Kansas State University’s Weber Hall.

Participants from the Southwind Extension District were John Emmerson, Danielle Nading, Ryann Allison, Jillian Keller, Clay Brillhart, Haydon Schaaf, Brody Nemecek, Kolby Seested and Gavin Fry representing 4-H Clubs from Allen and Bourbon Counties.

4-H members gained new knowledge and worked on livestock skills in order to be competitive in the Sweepstakes event which consisted of four contests. Southwind Extension District completed the weekend by being named the 2017 Reserve Champion Kansas State 4-H Sweepstakes Team. Top ten individual Sweepstakes winners for Southwind were John Emmerson, 7^th; Haydon Schaaf, 5^th; and Gavin Fry 4^th.

The Livestock Quiz Bowl started with a qualifying exam. The eight teams with the highest average scores advanced to the quiz bowl competition. Southwind #1 (Seested, Fry, Schaaf, Nemecek) was seeded first after the test and was later named the Champion Quiz Bowl team after the head-to-head matches. Southwind #2 (Nading, Keller, Brillhart, Allison) also scored well on the quiz and advanced to the competition, but lost to the Sunflower District in the first round.

The Livestock Judging contest consisted of nine judging classes and four sets of reasons. Southwind #1 (Emmerson, Nading, Fry, Seested) was 4^th in Sheep/Goats; 2^nd in Swine; 5^th in Cattle and 2^nd in Reasons and named Reserve High Team Overall. Southwind #2 (Brillhart, Schaaf, Keller, Nemecek) was 1^st in Sheep/Goats; 4^th in Swine; 3^rd in Reasons and named 3^rd Team Overall. Individually, Clay Brillhart was 5^th in Sheep/Goats; Gavin Fry was 8^th in Reasons; Jillian Keller was 4^th in Sheep/Goats; Brody Nemecek was 1^st in Sheep/Goats, 3^rd in Reasons, and 8^th Overall; Danielle Nading was 10^th in Swine and 18^th Individual Overall; and John Emmerson was 2^nd in Sheep/Goats, 1^st in Swine, 3^rd in Cattle, 4^th in Reasons, and High Individual Overall. As the Reserve State Champion Livestock Judging Team, Southwind District will represent Kansas 4-H at the National Western Stock Show in Denver, Colo. next January.

The Meats Judging contest was based on identification of 30 retail cuts, six placings classes and three sets of reasons. Haydon Schaaf was named 2^nd in Retail ID and 5^th Individual Overall; Gavin Fry was 7^th Individual. Southwind #1 (Schaaf, Fry, Seested, Nemecek) was 2^nd in Reasons, 2^nd in Retail ID and 3^rd Team Overall.

In the Livestock Skillathon, 4-H members rotated individually through stations that addressed six areas of animal science. Those included feedstuffs, breed identification, equipment identification, meat identification and a written test. There was also a team component where members worked together on judging a class of keep/cull meat goat does, reading a medicine label, and determining body condition scoring of breeding gilts. Individually John Emmerson was 9^th Overall and Gavin Fry was 6^th Overall. As a team, Southwind #2 (Emmerson, Fry, Seested, Nemecek) was 4^th in Exam, 3^rd in Practicum and 2^nd Overall. Southwind #2 (Nading, Schaaf, Keller, Brillhart) was 4^th Team Overall.

Having fun while learning was part of the weekend! In addition to the Call Hall ice cream social, team members caught up with old friends and made new ones.

Photo caption:  Nine 4-H members had the opportunity to represent the Southwind Extension District at the annual Kansas 4-H Livestock Sweepstakes at Kansas State University. Their skills and knowledge were challenged by participating in Livestock & Meats Judging, Livestock Quiz Bowl and Livestock Skillathon contests. Those attending were (from left to right): Carla Nemecek, Southwind District Director & Coach; Haydon Schaaf, Gavin Fry, Ryann Allison, Clay Brillhart, Brody Nemecek, Jillian Keller, Danielle Nading and John Emmerson.

The Bourbon County Commission accepted the budget for the fiscal year of 2018 Tuesday, giving raises to employees without raising the mill levy.

“I think it’s a good budget,” said Terry Sercer, certified public accountant for Diehl Banwart Bolton. “You guys worked hard on it this year.”

The commissioners spent the past couple months accepting budget requests from county departments, trying to see where money could be saved while also trying to provide competitive wages for their employees.

The commissioners settled on giving all hourly employees a 75 cents per hour raise, while officers of the Sheriff’s Office received a $1.75 per hour raise. These raises will go into effect in January.

“We’ve raised it to where it’s competitive,” commissioner Lynne Ohara said, specifically of the sheriff’s department wages, which he said are now caught up to the average wages of surrounding counties as recorded as recently as 2015.

With the higher wages, the commissioners said they hope to save money in the long run through the retention of employees, preventing the need to train new officers or pay for overtime if they become shorthanded.

Overall, the county has fewer employees than in past years, which has also allowed the commissioners to save funds. The county also did not include potential revenue from the new law enforcement center such as if cells are leased for inmates from other counties.

The commissioners said the county continues to have a need for new industry and jobs, though the current focus on economic development and the positive housing market has had a positive impact.

“A lot of good things are happening,” commissioner Jeff Fischer said.