August 2022 Leavenworth County Newsletter

• Board of County Commissioners
• Selfie Day
• Emergency Management
• Job Openings
• Employee Spotlights
• Building and Grounds
• Health Department
• Council on Aging
• Treasurer's Office
• Planning & Zoning
• Register of Deeds
• Transfer Station
• Community Corrections
• Public Works
• Sign-Up Alerts

The Board of County Commissioners serves as the Chief Legislative and Executive Branch of the County Government. Composed of five members, with each Commissioner representing 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

City Hall Selfie Day

Emergency Management

Every 50 states have a law making it illegal to pass a school bus with red lights flashing and stop-arm extended. However, some motorists simply choose to ignore the law.
- Motorists might be coming toward the bus, decide that no students are crossing the road, and keep going.
- Motorists might be behind the bus, pull into the left lane, and go around the bus.
- They might be behind the bus, pull onto the shoulder, and pass the bus on the right.

All States require the traffic in both directions to stop on undivided highways when students are getting on or off a school bus. While wording varies from state to state, the law generally requires the following: The school bus driver activates flashing yellow lights to indicate the school bus is preparing to stop loading or unloading students. At this point, motorists should slow down and prepare to stop. The school bus driver activates flashing red lights and extends the stop arm to indicate the school bus has stopped and students are getting on or off. At this point, motorists should stop.

The greatest risk to children is not riding a bus but approaching or leaving one. Before your child goes back to school or starts school for the first time, you and your child need to know traffic safety rules. Teach your child to follow these practices to make school bus transportation safer.

FOR PARENTS:

Safety Starts at the Bus Stop
- Your child should arrive at the bus stop at least five minutes before the bus is scheduled to arrive. Visit the bus stop and show your child where to wait for the bus, at least three giant steps (six feet) away from the curb. Remind your child that the bus stop is not a place to run or play.

Get On and Off Safely
- When the school bus arrives, your child should wait until the bus comes to a complete stop, the door opens, and the driver indicates it is okay before approaching the bus door. Your child should use the handrails to avoid tripping.

Use Caution Around the Bus
- Your child should never walk behind a school bus. If your child must cross the street in front of the bus, tell them to walk on a sidewalk or along the side of the road to a place at least five giant steps (10 feet) in front of the bus before crossing. Your child should also make eye contact with the bus driver before crossing to make sure the driver can see them. If your child drops  something near the school bus, like a ball or book, the safest thing is for your child to tell the bus driver right way. Your child should not try to pick up the item because the driver might not be able to see them.

FOR DRIVERS
Make school bus transportation safer for everyone by following these practices:
- When backing out of a driveway or leaving a garage, watch out for children walking or by

Job Openings

Are you looking for a new career?

Leavenworth County is a great place to work!

You can find all of our current job openings on our job opening section of our website.

One of our greatest resources at Leavenworth County is our hard-working employees. Weekly we take a moment to post an employee spotlight to recognize a job well done and to help our residents understand a little more about how local government works.

The first spotlight of the month is to congratulate each employee celebrating a work anniversary milestone! We are proud to have dedicated employees on our team!

Carly Brown, Juvenile Prevention Program Specialist
Community Corrections

Shayla Herrera, Juvenile Intensive Supervisor
Community Corrections

Shayla is our Juvenile Intensive Supervisor for Community Corrections. Shayla graduated from Washburn University and has almost 11 years of combined experience working in corrections serving nearly 10 of those years with Leavenworth County. (Her ten-year anniversary with the county is 10/30/22, prior to that, she interned with Shawnee County Juvenile Detention Center while at Washburn).

 

Shayla, thank you for your all you do for Leavenworth County!

 

Shayla, tell us a little more about yourself.

I definitely do not feel old enough to have worked for the county for ten years this October. Fortunately, I still love the job I am doing and being able to help people in my current role. I appreciate that working this long for Leavenworth County has introduced me to so many great people in my life, personally and professionally. I started with Leavenworth County at the Juvenile Detention Center and moved to probation in 2016. I am originally from Western Kansas, am an only child, and have been married for about three years.

 

What is something you would like to share about services offered by your department?

Leavenworth County Community Corrections has significantly expanded in recent years to not only supervise both adult and juvenile clients on probation but also now includes the Juvenile Intake and Assessment Center and the Youth Justice Resource Center that serve both Leavenworth and Atchison Counties. Our department prides ourselves on working with youth and clients in a much more rehabilitative and supportive way than traditional corrections programs, while using evidence-based practices and interventions to ensure the best possible outcomes. Depending on our client's needs, we have provided transportation, clothing, hygiene items, financial assistance for identification documentation, and other resources.

 

What does your day-to-day look like as a Juvenile Intensive Supervision Supervisor look like?

Every day is different as an Intensive Supervision Officer due to working with clients' schedules, the courts, treatment providers, attending trainings, and other duties that can come up at any time. I conduct office, home, employment, and other types of community visits with clients. Over the last two years, I have also begun supervising adult clients in addition to my juvenile caseload.

 

What is your favorite part of your job?

I knew I wanted to be a juvenile probation officer when I was in high school, and have always had a passion for helping people within the criminal justice system. I truly enjoy working with and assisting my clients throughout their supervision but have been known to also help with resources, job referrals, etc., after they have been closed out to help in any way I can. Probation officers are traditionally seen as law enforcement or just as a punishment from the court, but I hope that while clients work with us during their supervision, we can help them make positive changes in their life. At the very least, I hope that I can show clients a more compassionate and empathetic side to this job which can make a huge difference in their experience on supervision and within the criminal justice system.

 

Shayla, how do you enjoy spending your free time?

I enjoy hanging out with family and friends, binging TV shows and movies, traveling, and shopping.

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Kathy Graves, Receptionist/Legal Secretary
County Attorney's Office

We are excited to highlight Kathy Graves from the County Attorney's Office. Kathy has two roles in her office, Receptionist and Legal Secretary. Kathy has been with Leavenworth County since for more than 16 years, joining the County in February 2006!

Let's take a few minutes to get to know about Kathy and her office.

Kathy, tell us a little more about yourself.
I have worked as a receptionist/legal secretary with the County Attorney's Office for 16 years. I don't have any family here in Kansas, but I love this state and the city I live in. I wake up early and get to the gym for a workout. Then I rush back home to get ready for work. It energizes me and helps me get through a busy day.

The County Attorney's Office is not an office that everyone interacts with. What is something you would like to share about your office and the work your team does?
Most people believe that the County Attorney's office is able to provide legal advice upon request. That is simply not true. The attorneys in this office are as accountable for bad legal advice as any other attorney. We certainly try to help as much as possible other than providing legal advice.


What does your day-to-day as a Legal Secretary look like?
I first check for any major reports that have happened in the County, and I will get the information into the computer and assign the report to an attorney for review. There are days when the phone rings constantly, and attorneys and the public stop in for assistance throughout the day. I like these days when it is fast-paced because it makes me feel I have accomplished a lot throughout the day.

What is your favorite part of your job?
When someone comes into the office upset and angry, I am always happy when they leave the office calmer and feel better able to handle whatever situation brought them to our office. Of course, it doesn't always happen, but I always try to accomplish this. Listening to them and letting them know I understand their frustration helps. I also like working with everyone in our office. If I need their help in the front office, they will immediately come up front to assist me, and I can always count on them for support.

Kathy, what is one of your favorite memories about working at Leavenworth County?
I love when everyone in the County gets together for Safety Days or for other events that the County will have. Everyone is happy and having fun, especially if there is food involved.

It is so much easier working in a job when you get along with everyone because I do need every county employee at one time or another for help. They always find the time to answer my questions.

At Leavenworth County, we attribute our success and continued growth to the loyalty and professionalism our employees pour into their roles. Today's Employee Spotlight is on our Leavenworth County Register of Deeds, TerriLois Mashburn. TerriLois was elected in 2020 and began serving her term in January of 2021.

As the Register of Deeds, what do you oversee?

I oversee the daily recording of documents involving land in Leavenworth County, assist in review of plats/surveys when asked, and promote Property Fraud Alert (PFA), which is a free notification subscription to alert any landowner of recordings in their name. We were recognized by Fidlar Technologies last January for the highest number of new Property Fraud Alert subscriptions of any county in Kansas during 2021.

What programs have you initiated?

• Protecting our data. This was a critical item on my initial agenda. The first step was moving our land records off of a local server to an offsite data facility using Bastion in May 2021. The necessity of this action was proven locally when Wyandotte County was hit by Ransomware in April 2022, shutting down county and city government departments. Only the WY Register of Deeds office, using Bastion, continued to operate business as usual. I require redacting the three most common pieces of information used for identity theft from death certificates, not only for current filings but to date, we've redacted over 6,000 prior filings. Military Discharge records were immediately pulled from public microfilm racks & locked up since they contain social security numbers.

• Preservation of land records. I am launching a scanning project in September of our old deed books to eliminate microfilm research.

• Public education. I have spoken over 130 times in the County to share our services with citizens. The rewards for the extra hours was learning of people who responded and filed a Transfer on Death Deed before passing. They saved their loved ones the heartache and expense of probate.

• I have been lobbying members of the Kansas legislature to increase the punishment for perpetrators of property fraud and for statutory changes to strengthen the Register of Deeds capability to fight title theft. SB300 passing into law last session was a true victory for landowners.

• Improving efficiencies - We now use software to return recorded paper submissions by email, added an electronic Clerk stamp saving their staff time, made SVQs available to the Appraiser's staff immediately, and to date, have added almost 45,000 documents to online searching.

Can you tell us a little about your scanning project?
In preparation, all deed books were moved back to my vault. US Imaging will set up scanners in my office and use two shifts to copy 24/7 for two weeks. By the end of 2022, we will have converted hundreds of thousands of documents into digitally enhanced images to be available online 24 hours a day, eliminating the need for microfilm research. These will be much more legible copies than the ones previously available only by microfilm.

What are your future plans?
To offer passport services.

What do you like to do in your time off?
Besides sleep? I like gardening, woodworking, and volunteering to help others.

Contact my office any time in the future that we may assist you with your land record needs.

Peter Rivas has been in EMS for almost two years and describes himself as a “young mind, ready to serve.” Kristine Monchil completed some of her field internship with us and is “excited to be a part of the Leavenworth County EMS team.” Paul Hunter comes to us from Arkansas City, where he has worked EMS for the past 15 years and is “looking forward to helping the Leavenworth County community.”

Paul has completed the majority of his academy work and has already had his first shift on A-shift with a preceptor. Peter and Kristine will finish their academy training this week and will start working with their preceptors.

Leavenworth County Health Department
The Leavenworth County Baby Shower was a success! We were able to touch 68 expecting families on August 6th! We provided each family with a bag full of baby items and a folder of breastfeeding and early learning program resources. Each family was also entered into a raffle for larger items like an infant car seat, high chair, pack and play, diaper bag set, and a boppy pillow. We were also able to provide 32 expecting families at the Health Department with these bags. 

This event was organized by the Leavenworth County Breastfeeding Coalition in honor of World Breastfeeding Week! This event was sponsored by Aetna and received many donations from other organizations, including the Lions Club, Home Front Pumps, Kinde, and Huggies. 

This event was paired with safe sleep training, which provided Pack 'n Plays and safe sleep sacks to those who needed one. The Pack 'n Plays and safe sleep sacks were provided by Leavenworth County in an effort to help reduce SIDS. Any family that is in need of a Pack 'n Play safe sleep sack and willing to attend a 15-minute safe sleep training can contact Maureen Hernandez at 913-705-0725.

A big thank you to the 17 volunteers that helped make this possible!

County Attorney

County Attorney's offices prosecute crimes referred by law enforcement agencies. In cities with a municipal court, they only handle felony cases. Although some districts, like Leavenworth, will also handle domestic violence crimes. County Attorneys also handle Appellate Litigation and Aid Law Enforcement in Investigations.

County Attorney's offices will also handle Children in Need of Care and Care and Treatment Petitions, which are considered civil matters. We are not to advise on civil matters and cannot provide legal advice.

The County Attorney's Office was excited to take part in #CityHallSelfieDay

 

Council on Aging

Senior Day at the Fair was a huge success!

Upcoming Fundraiser

County Treasurer's Office

Vehicle renewals for customers with the last name starting with "M", "N", and "O" will be due by August 31st.

1. Taxpayers may renew their vehicles up to 60 days in advance of their renewal deadline.
2. Effective 7/1/2022 as per 2022 Kansas Legislation Session HB2476 there shall be two categories of plates for disabled veterans. If you currently have a disabled veteran plate or plan on ordering one please refer to our website for more information.

For more information about renewing your vehicle, visit this section of our website: Renewing Your License Plate.

Planning and Zoning

Here is a map of May's Planning Commission Cases. The Planning Commission heard these cases at their August 10th meeting.

The purpose of the Planning Commission is to make recommendations to the Board of County Commissioners on land use applications, regulations, and policies presented by the Planning and Zoning Department.

These cases will be heard by the Board of County Commissioners for a final determination. The Commission Agenda is posted on the Leavenworth County website and is available for public viewing.

Here are links to the Planning Commission Schedule and Board of County Commissioner Schedule.

Register of Deeds

NEWS AND UPDATES FROM THE REGISTER OF DEEDS OFFICE - August 2022

Treats From a Satisfied Customer
Staff and I consider it our pleasure to answer the requests of citizens we serve. We are here to help you navigate the requirements of County Government. Some questions are more challenging than others, but the staff and I will exhaust all possible options to help resolve your problems.

Cindy O'Toole and Susan Draftz were surprised with a gift of gourmet cookies from a grateful customer for their personalized service helping solve her recording issues. Although not expected, recognition of their dedication is appreciated!

Interview by Fidler Tech on Upcoming Scanning Project

On June 28th I spoke with Territory Manager Mark Hutton of Fidlar Technologies about our Imaging and Back Indexing project to eliminate microfilm research. One major goal of mine upon taking office was to complete the process before 2025, and now it will be done in 2022. The projected start date is September 19th. Here is the link to the video.

Most Recent Events:
June 28th - Cedar Falls Homeowner Association PFA Zoom Presentation
July 4th - Basehor Red White and Boom Parade
July 12th - League of Women Voters Forum
July 26th - Tonganoxie Parade
July 25th - 30th - Leavenworth County Fair - We had a booth gathering PFA subscriptions, and sharing DD-214, Transfer on Death Deed, and Quit Claim Information.
Upcoming Events:
August 23rd - Chamber of Commerce Women's Division Program Presentation at the Haymarket Event Center 618 Cherokee Street, 11:30 am - 1:00 pm. RSVP

If you are part of a club or organization looking for a speaker, I am available to share this community service message in person. Call or email requests to TMashburn@LeavenworthCounty.gov. I would be happy to share a program or Register of Deeds services with your group.

In these uncertain times, I encourage you to protect your property by also researching the benefits of the Transfer on Death Deed and talking with your attorney on any questions you may have about how that would affect your property ownership. We have forms you may print off for free on our website.

Transfer Station

Ever wonder what to do with leftover motor oil?

If you are one of the many people who change their oil themself, you need to know how to manage the used oil properly. Used oil from one oil change can contaminate one million gallons of fresh water - a year's supply for 50 people!

When handling used oil, be sure to consider these key points:

• Used motor oil is insoluble, persistent, and can contain toxic chemicals and heavy metals.
• It's slow to degrade.
• It sticks to everything from beach sand to bird feathers.
• It's a major source of oil contamination of waterways and can result in pollution of drinking water sources.

Recycling Used Oil and Oil Filters

On average, about four million people reuse motor oil as a lubricant for other equipment or take it to a recycling facility. If you plan to recycle your used oil, take care not to spill any when you collect it and place it in a leak-proof can or container.

The best way to store used oil is to put it in a sealable air-tight container with a screw-on cap. Once you've done that, you can take it to your nearest auto parts store, Tractor Supply, or Walmart that offers oil recycling. The Leavenworth County Transfer Station does NOT accept motor oil.

Used oil can be re-refined into lubricants, processed into fuel oils, and used as raw materials for the refining and petrochemical industries. Additionally, used oil filters contain reusable scrap metal, which steel producers can reuse as scrap feed.

So, how is used oil recycled? The most preferred option, re-refined oil—must meet the same stringent refining, compounding, and performance standards as virgin oil for use in automotive, heavy-duty diesel, other internal combustion engines, and hydraulic fluids and gear oils. Extensive laboratory testing and field studies conclude that re-refined oil is equivalent to virgin oil—it passes all prescribed tests and, in some situations, even outperforms virgin oil.

The same consumers and businesses that use regular oil also can use re-refined oil since re-refining re-processes used oil into new, high-quality lubricating oil. Any vehicle maintenance facilities, automobile owners, and other machinery maintenance operations that use oil also can use re-refined oil. In some cases, fleet maintenance facilities that use large volumes of oil arrange to reuse the same oil that they send to be re-refined—a true closed recycling loop.

Community Corrections
Pretrial, Probation, and Parole Supervision Week

Last month Community Corrections celebrated the 23rd annual Pretrial, Probation, and Parole Supervision Week during the week. We want to thank all the departments who came to eat and support Community Corrections staff at our 2nd Annual LVCO PPPS week cookout!

We would also like to thank our presenters who came to the Community Resource Fair to share information regarding their services to our clients and the community. We hope you all join us again next year!

We are now hiring for a dual Adult Intensive Supervision Officer/Juvenile Intake Officer. To view a complete job description and find out how to apply, please visit the  Job Opening  section of our website.

Leavenworth County is pleased to announce the appointment of Dan Baumchen as our County Surveyor.  

Dan brings over 25 years of experience in all aspects of land surveying.  Dual licensed in Kansas and Missouri.

I attended Kansas State University and received a Bachelor of Science degree in Construction Science. After several years working as a field engineer for contractors I went to work for consulting engineers and began surveying full time. I have worked for several consulting/surveying firms, notably Schwab-Eaton P.A., in Manhattan KS, Kaw Valley Engineering, in their Lenexa, Kansas and Kansas City, Missouri offices. For the last 15 years I have been Co-Owner of North Star Surveying, LLC. I became licensed in 2001 in Kansas as PS #1363 and 2004 in Missouri as PLS#2004001325.

I will be overseeing the Survey Department and will be responsible for reviewing Plats and Surveys, indexing and maintaining survey records, and field surveys.

Leavenworth County would like to communicate with as many residents as possible. Subscribe to our Monthly Newsletter and a variety of other alerts and news from our County Departments.

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