August 2021
The Board of County Commissioners serves as the Chief Legislative and Executive Branch of the County Government. Composed of five members, the Board is elected to staggered four year terms. Each Commissioner represents a district of the County.
The duties of the Board of County Commissioners include:
- Approving the County budget and expenditures
- Appointing the various department heads of the County
- Exercising powers of local legislation
The Board of County Commissioners regular meetings are held in the County Courthouse at 300 Walnut Street. Regular meetings are held each week on Wednesdays at 9:00 a.m. Meetings are live streamed on the County's YouTube channel.
This employee spotlight focuses on Chuck Magaha, Emergency Management Director. The Emergency Management Division of the Leavenworth County Sheriff's Office is responsible for coordinating all four phases of emergency management with federal, state, and local governments, as well as private sector businesses and institutions.
Chuck has been with Leavenworth County for 31 years. His busiest time of year is spring and summer, also known as storm season. Chuck's job is crucial for being prepared to respond to any emergency that develops in our community.
Read on to learn more about Chuck's role at Leavenworth County and what he enjoys doing while he is not working.Chuck, can you give us a brief explanation of what Emergency Management is responsible for?
Emergency Management is responsible for the overall planning of the Local Emergency Operations Plans of the County. The training of community Partners to allow these partners to understand what the role and responsibilities are when it comes to a disaster. We prepare the community in self preparedness in many different aspects of emergencies that may occur in our communities to assist the public in preparing their families, businesses, schools, and many other entities throughout the county. It is the responsibility to train and exercise these plans for these various entities to be ready when a disaster occurs. We are a resource in coordination and cooperation when a specific item may be needed. We are the ones that can get that resource to work through our emergencies.
What is the best or favorite part about your job?
My favorite part of this job is coming to work. I don't like to call it a job. It is an adventure of a lifetime. Every day is a different challenge, anything for assisting in the searching for the missing child or teaching our long-term care facilities how to prepare for an emergency. This position is very rewarding, but we are behind the scenes, and we like it that way. I must say I love my Job/adventure and look forward to coming and taking the next adventure on daily.
What is most challenging about your job?
Emergency Management, as with any public setting this is always changing. You may find yourself going in one direction, and then the process changes mainstream. COVID-19 is a prime example, where we plan and train on a pandemic until COVID-19, we had only a few case studies to work from. The entire World is and will continue to learn from mistakes from the unknown, and it is that of the unknown that makes this position a challenge. We can plan. Train and exercise, but until the Flood, Fire, Blizzard, or Tornado arrives, there will be the unknowns that we have to adapt to recover.
If there was one Emergency Preparedness tip you could get everyone to do, what would it be?
Be prepared!! I know this is a short phrase, but so many folks take for granted that we will be fine if we are hit by a disaster, and they may. We must be prepared. If the general public is not prepared to respond with your loved ones, it will make it difficult for us to respond to your needs when the disaster strikes. A self-preparedness family kit is easy to assemble and is something that can be a good team builder with families, businesses, or schools. It has been my goal to preach family preparedness with every presentation I have delivered. Be Prepared, Thanks!!
What do you enjoy doing on your time off work?
I love to be outdoors. I enjoy every minute I can with my grandkids, baseball, basketball, soccer, and the list goes on. My family is my life. I can't say enough of the joy I have being around the youngest to the oldest of my huge family as well as my wife's family! I love to fish and hunt. I see many interesting things when I have a fishing pole in hand or my hunting gear on because I take the time to enjoy the surroundings. It is beautiful. Even if I do not catch anything or see anything during my excursions, it's a great day. I love to work in my garden; however, it has failed me this year, but I will be fine many years in the future. The opportunity to see the dirt turn to a productive hobby is awesome. And don't forget about the many flowers in the various gardens around the house. They keep me busy, but it is worth it.
To find out more about The Emergency Management Division of the Leavenworth County Sheriff's Office, check out this link https://www.lvsheriff.org/upages.php?id=67.
The Leavenworth County Clerk's office would like to honor and thank their Deputy Director, Helen Klinkenberg.When Helen started with the County at 18, she would have never thought that she would be with the County 43 years later. Helen has seen many, many changes and loves her current job.
Helen started with Leavenworth County in September 1978 at the City-County Health Department. She did home health for the citizens of the entire County. After six years, Helen moved to the County Infirmary, where she cared for the residents for 12 years.
Helen moved to the County Clerk office in 1996, where she took minutes for the County Commission. Helen then took an active role in Elections and became the Deputy County Clerk.
Helen loves working with the public and hand in hand with the candidates and voters of Leavenworth. Helen is an integral part of the election process in Leavenworth County.
Outside of work, she loves camping, spending time with her family and will one day look forward to retirement.
Transfer Station News and Updates
Leavenworth County Solid Waste is in the process of having an outbound scale built, a long-held plan for the Transfer Station. 
The single scale has always been the hub of weighing everyone from both directions. The process for weighing out and paying will be greatly improved and safer for all. Once completed, customers will weigh in at the original scale, unload their debris, and proceed around the building to the outbound scale, where they will wait their turn to weigh out and pay. Our facility has increased in business volume over the past years, and some days, the wait line is very long. With the second scale, the traffic flow will be much safer, smoother, and faster. We will keep you updated on our progress.
Community Corrections wants to say a huge THANK YOU to our community partners that presented and had booths at our Community Resource Fair during Pretrial, Probation, and Parole Supervision (PPPS) Week! We look forward to partnering with everyone again next year!
During PPPS week, Community Corrections held a cook-out celebration. Our Grill Master, Corey Skaggs, grilled us a perfect lunch. We made new friends with the LVPD while discussing Juvenile Intake and Assessment Services. City Commissioner Jermaine Wilson stopped by to thank everyone for their hard works and to shoot some hoops. It is safe to say that everyone had a fun time!
PPPS Week is celebrated once a year, and it is always a great morale boost for our teams and community partners! Thank you again to everyone who came out to support and celebrate with us.
MASK UPDATE
Out of an abundance of caution due to the recent increase in positive COVID-19 cases in Leavenworth County and to ensure everyone's safety, the Council on Aging has reinstated a mask requirement for participants utilizing the programs and services offered by our agency. We thank you in advance for your understanding and will continue to monitor the numbers closely.
BINGO IS BACK!
Exciting, fun-filled games of Bingo are returning to the Council on Aging! Join us from 1:00 & 2:00 pm on the first and third Wednesdays of each month, beginning August 18th. The program fee is $1, and refreshments will be served. We look forward to seeing you!
ON THE ROAD AGAIN
The first Leisure and Learning trip of the year is scheduled for Friday, September 24th from 8:4 5 am & 2:30 pm. Step back and explore the way life used to in in Leavenworth County, and join us as we explore two local attractions: the Tonganoxie Community Historical Society Museum and the Basehor Historical Society Museum. The tour will include a stop at Perky's Cafe for lunch. Please RSVP by September 10th by calling the Council on Aging at 913-684-0777. The program fee is $7 plus the cost of your lunch.
SAVE THE DATE
Please save October 1, 2021 to attend the Council on Aging's Meals on Wheels benefit. This year the benefit will be held at the Church of the Open Door in Leavenworth, and more details will be forthcoming. We hope to see you there!
August is motor vehicle registration month for the names that begin with M, N and O and September is P, Q, and R. Registrations may be renewed up to 60 days prior to their expiration date if desired.
For more information about registering your vehicle, visit this section of our website: Renewing Your License Plate
The Planning Commission hears and makes recommendations concerning amendments to the zoning regulations, including rezoning property and the comprehensive plan. The Planning Commission also makes recommendations on development cases such as preliminary plats and final plats and convenes as the Board of Zoning Appeals to hear requests for variances from the Leavenworth County Zoning and Subdivision Regulations.
Here is a link to the Notification for the September 8th Planning Commission Meeting.
One of the most common mistakes causing a document to be rejected from recording is using a partial legal description, usually taken from the Appraiser’s website:
A full legal description found on the Deed of Record is required to record your document.
Look at your deed to find the legal description and be certain it matches exactly to the legal description on the document you would like recorded. If you cannot find your deed and need to locate a copy of your document, you may research online yourself by Tapestry for $6.95, or you may come into our office and research for free. You may also call our office at 913.684.0424 to request your deed for $7.00 and we will email you an electronic copy, or hand you a paper copy in our office.
Property Fraud Alert Featured Program
The ladies of the Red Hat Society had a fun time learning about our Property Fraud Alert Program and Transfer on Death Deeds. If you would like a program presentation at your club contact TerriLois Mashburn, Register of Deeds, at tmashburn@leavenworthcounty.gov.
Here are a few pictures of our Property Fraud Alert promotions at the Leavenworth County Fair in Tonganoxie & the July 4th Parades in Basehor.
If you own property in Leavenworth county, you may subscribe for free to receive an immediate notification if someone attempts title theft of your land. Call our office at 913-684-0424 to register today to protect your property!
The Leavenworth County Attorney’s office is excited about our most recent hire. They have hired another county attorney to join their team. Christopher Lyon is a graduate of the University of Dallas and Washburn School of Law. He resigned as the Trego County Attorney to take the position as an Assistant County Attorney. Chris has also served as an Assistant Ellis County Attorney and prosecutor for multiple jurisdictions. He has served as the Staff Attorney for the Kansas Sentencing Commission since 2019. Chris served in the US Army from 2006 to 2011, where he worked as the Non-Commissioned Officer in charge of the Company Intelligence Support Team through two tours in Iraq. Chris and his wife Emily have four children, Peter, Helen, Esther, and Thomas. Chris chose to come to Leavenworth from western Kansas to be closer to his extended family. 
Shawn Boyd, Deputy County Attorney, has had a big month. This month Shawn Boyd celebrated handling his 80th jury trial. Shawn was born and raised in Kansas City, Kansas, prior to coming to Leavenworth prosecuted in Wyandotte County. Shawn came to the Leavenworth County Attorney’s office with a vast amount of experience, having already done numerous trials, including 12 murder trials. Shawn’s most recent successful conviction in Leavenworth was of a defendant for a second-degree murder. The other big news for Shawn this month is he got married to Nicole Hopkins.
Leavenworth County Public Works receives a lot of questions about gravel roadway maintenance and dust control on the roadways. With over 400 miles of gravel and minimum maintenance roadways in the county, Leavenworth County does not provide any chemical applications or water trucks to reduce dust during the dry summer months. This is available through a third-party vendor for any interested resident. For information, don't hesitate to get in touch with the Public Works office or the County Shop.
The Road and Bridge crews conduct maintenance on gravel roads year-round. However, to reduce dust and loose rock on the road surface, only minimal blading of gravel roads is performed during the dry weather of summer months. This may result in a few more chuckholes and washboard areas, but the net result will be a driving surface that is safer for the traveling public. Occasionally the surface of a gravel road is bladed to correct the crown surface irregularities or fill substantial potholes.
Gravel roads are usually not as wide as paved roads, so you should slow down when meeting other vehicles. During blading, a windrow of material may be left in the middle or side of the road. This windrow will require that you drive with more care than usual. During maintenance, loose material is present on the surface, and heavy equipment is working the area. Please be cautious and courteous of other drivers and residents while driving in our beautiful county.
