|
Heartland Flyer passenger rail expansion
Gov. Laura Kelly today announced the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) has awarded $500,000 to study extending the Heartland Flyer daily passenger rail service from Oklahoma City to Newton, where it would connect with the Southwest Chief national route.
The proposed extension would include new station stops in the Oklahoma
cities of Edmond, Perry, and Ponca City, as well as Kansas stops in Arkansas City, Wichita, and Newton.
KDOT has already completed a scope, schedule, cost estimate, and other preliminary staging needed for the Heartland Flyer expansion. This advance work, combined with ongoing support of state and local governments, significantly strengthened the three-state application, and has advanced the Heartland Flyer extension into the FRA funding pipeline.
|
 Certified Public Manager program
Five City of Newton employees graduated last week from the Certified Public Manager program through the University of Kansas Public Management Center. They were Communications Director Erin McDaniel, Community Development Director Zach McHatton, Street/Sanitation Assistant Superintendent Frank Paradise, Water/Wastewater Assistant Superintendent Nathan Phillips, and Management Analyst Leah Kawanguzi. The 300-hour course is a nationally accredited management and certification program committed to developing exceptional public managers. Congratulations for your hard work this year and dedication to public service!
 Fire/EMS
Congratulations to Cole Sturgeon, Steven Gay, Jake Lindenmeyer, and Hank Schnake as they received their paramedic pins Thursday night at a ceremony in Hutchinson. After 16 months of hard work, their titles have officially changed from firefighter/EMT to firefighter/paramedic. Soon they will receive their state and national certifications and become the newest paramedics at Newton Fire/EMS.
 Holiday Helpers
Newton Fire/EMS Chief Steve Roberson and Police Det. Lucas Rindt joined the effort this week to pack up food boxes for the First Responders Holiday Helpers program. They joined other local first responders at the Dillons Distribution Center in Goddard to fill boxes with canned vegetables, meal starters, baking supplies and other staple items that will be brought back to help families in need in Harvey County. They packaged 500 boxes of food to help 250 families throughout the county.
Thanks to the leadership of the Harvey County Sheriff's Office and a great partnership with Dillons to coordinate this day each year, and to our community for their generosity. The holidays are brighter for local families because of you!
Upcoming Events
See all of the upcoming events at our Community Events listing on Choose-Newton.com.
Meetings & Reminders:
- 7 p.m. Dec. 12 – City Commission meeting
- 7:30 a.m. Dec. 21 – City Commission agenda review
- Dec. 22-25 – City offices closed for Christmas
- Noon Dec. 26 – City Commission meeting
- Jan. 1 – City offices closed for New Year's
|
|
|
|
