Contents:

• Board of County Commissioners
• Elections
• Sheriff Office
• Emergency Management
• Job Openings
• Employee Spotlights
• County Attorney's Office
• Health Department
• Treasurer's Office
• Planning & Zoning
• Register of Deeds
• Transfer Station
• Community Corrections
• Public Works
• Sign-Up Alerts

Board of County Commissioners

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

Upcoming General Election Update

UPCOMING ELECTION CALENDAR

October 18	Voter registration closes for the General Election
October 19	Advance voting by mail and Advance voting in person begins
November 7	Advance voting in person ends at 12 noon
November 8	GENERAL ELECTION DAY

You need to update your voter registration if you:

• Are registering to vote for the first time
• Changed your name
• Moved

You can register to vote in a number of ways, for more information visit the register to vote section of our website.

All Registered Voters are Eligible and Encouraged to Advance Vote! For more information about advanced voting visit the advanced voting section of our website.

Sheriff Office

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Emergency Management

“Fire Won’t Wait. Plan Your Escape™” is the theme for Fire Prevention Week, October 9-15, 2022.

The National Fire Protection Association® (NFPA®) has announced “Fire Won’t Wait. Plan Your Escape™” as the theme for Fire Prevention Week™, October 9-15, reinforcing the critical importance of developing a home escape plan with all members of the household and practicing it regularly. In addition, this October represents the 100th anniversary of Fire Prevention Week, the nation’s longest-running public health observance on record.

According to NFPA data, home — the place people feel safest from fire — is actually where they are at greatest risk, with three-quarters (74 percent) of all U.S. fire deaths occurring in homes. When a home fire does occur, it’s more likely to be serious; people are more likely to die in a home fire today than they were in 1980. Today’s homes burn faster and hotter than they used to, minimizing the amount of time they have to escape safely in a typical home fire, you may have as little as two minutes to get out from the time the smoke alarms sounds.

The Fire Prevention Week 2022 theme, “Fire Won’t Wait. Plan Your Escape,” promotes potentially life-saving messages that can mean the difference between life and death in a fire. Developing a home escape plan with all members of the household and practicing it regularly ensures that everyone knows what to do when the smoke alarm sounds and uses that time wisely.

Following are key messages behind this year’s “Fire Won’t Wait. Plan Your Escape” theme:

• Make sure your home escape plan meets the needs of all your family members, including those with sensory or physical disabilities.
• Smoke alarms should be installed inside every sleeping room, outside each separate sleeping area, and on every level of your home. Smoke alarms should be interconnected so when one sounds, they all sound.
• Know at least two ways out of every room, if possible. Make sure all doors and windows open easily.
• Have an outside meeting place a safe distance from your home where everyone should meet.
• Practice your home fire drill at least twice a year with everyone in the household, including guests. Practice at least once during the day and at night.

As the biggest annual campaign at NFPA, Fire Prevention Week works to educate people about the leading risks to home fires and ways they can better protect themselves and their loved ones. Local fire departments play a key role in bringing Fire Prevention Week to life in their communities each year and spreading basic but critical fire safety messages. Many fire departments will be hosting open house events during this week of preparedness. Please take time to reach out to a fire department in your community for more safety tips for you and your families.

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Rural Road Safety

Farm equipment during harvest season could include tractors, combines, grain carts, grain wagons, and large trucks hauling agricultural products. These vehicles are wide, sometimes taking up most of the road, and often travel at speeds no greater than 25 mph.

Farmers will pull over when they are able to let motorists pass, but it may take time for them to get to a safe place to do so.

Things to keep in mind when you come upon one of these pieces of equipment on the roadway:

• Be patient.
• Be careful when passing. Do not pass in a designated “No Passing Zone” or within 100 feet of any intersection, railroad grade crossing, bridge, elevation structure, or tunnel.
• Do not try to pass a slow-moving vehicle on the left without ensuring that the vehicle is not planning a left turn. It may appear that the driver is pulling over for you to pass when it is actually preparing to turn. You will drive right into its path, endangering yourself and the farmer.
• Be aware of farmers working near the road and semi-trucks and trailers parked alongside rural roads.
• Avoid tailgating, as some farm equipment might have to make sudden stops along the road.
• Allow plenty of time to get to a destination, be aware of alternate routes, and avoid distractions.

Crashes still occur every year despite encouraging motorists and farmers alike to take extra precautions on roadways during harvest season. One death is one too many. We want to remind everyone to remain alert and exercise caution as you travel on Leavenworth County roads this fall. Be safe, Leavenworth County!

 

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.

  Leavenworth County Health Department

SAVE THE DATES -    November 7th or 8th

 

The Health Department has again been approved to partner with Health Gauge (formally Stroke Detection Plus) to offer a comprehensive health screening to  any county employee  and spouses currently covered on County’s health insurance plan this year. 

 

This health screening is much more than a “physical” scheduled with your primary Health Provider. The flier attached below explains what assessments will be performed. This screening is conducted by an independent company, free of charge. Even though the Health Department/County is sponsoring this screening, the County will not receive any personal testing results or information. The entire process is anticipated to last 30-45min or less, with last prior years averaging about 30 min. We plan to offer Flu shots (if available) free of charge in conjunction with the health assessment. As the health assessment or the flu shot may be administered independently, both are highly encouraged and recommended. 

 

Dates: November 7th or 8th   

Times: Appointments starting at 6:45 AM

Location: Health Department 

 

The scheduling of appointments will begin in  October . For now, save the dates. Choose the date that will work for you, and further information will be provided in October.  

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 Leavenworth County Emergency Medical Services

Amy Shepard joined our EMS team on September 21st. She is an experienced responder who has worked in Missouri as both a paramedic and a dispatcher.

Welcome Amy!

Scam Alert:

We are asking if anyone receives a claim that someone they know is arrested, hang up and do their own appropriate investigation.  The first person to call is the person they claim has been arrested, and then go from there. 

Further: do not give out any financial information or personal information unless it’s a trusted resource.

 

County Treasurer's Office

Vehicle renewals for customers with the last name starting with "S" will be due by October 31st.

1. Taxpayers may renew their vehicles up to 60 days in advance of their renewal deadline.
2. Reminder: Tax statements will be mailed out first week in November, payments may be made November 1st. Payment Under Protest forms may be found here.
3. Driver's License renewals are open at the Annex by appointment only, Tuesday through Friday. Please call the Annex at 913-364-5730 to set up an appointment.

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

Planning and Zoning

Planning Commission

The Planning Commission is a 10 member board, appointed by the Board of County Commissioners. The Planning Commission has the following responsibilities:

• To hear and make recommendations concerning amendments to the Zoning and Subdivision Regulations and the Comprehensive Plan;
• To make recommendations on development cases based on the Leavenworth County Zoning and Subdivision Regulations; and
• To serve as the Board of Zoning Appeals to hear requests for variances from the Leavenworth County Zoning and Subdivision Regulations.

At the October Planning Commission the will be a Work Study Session regarding the Leavenworth County Comprehensive Plan.  You can view the public notice at this link.

Register of Deeds

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

And so, it begins! The Register of Deeds office is a beehive of activity. The scanning team from US Imaging arrived at the LV Co Courthouse on Wednesday, September 28th, to set up their equipment. By scanning our old books and digitally enhancing our old microfilm, we will now be able to access legible land records online. The existing microfilm will be used for backup only.

 

The team arrived with a trailer full of scanners. There’s a duplicate machine available for every piece of equipment in case of a breakdown. Good planning because the crew used a replacement the first day.

 

Adrian and Brandon are moving the crates to the Register of Deeds office.

 

And this is only part of what rolled into my research vault!

 

Brandon left, scanning in pages from a mechanical bound book. Adrian replacing a light bulb on the open face scanner for bound books, and far-right Mark Lystiuk, Partner Relationship Manager with Fidlar Technologies and my partner in the scanning project.

Meet the Crew!

This is a 24/7 operation for about three weeks. On my left are the night crew, Jorge and Malcolm. 

 

On the right are Brandon and Adrian, crew team lead. These young men are professional, efficient, and dedicated to providing top-quality results. 

It has been a pleasure to work with them.

We receive $2.00 for each document recorded in our office, and I have been saving these earned fees in my Register of Deed Tech Fund for this project. No funds are used from the General Fund tax monies.  

By Kansas statute, we can use the Tech Fund for record preservation. Microfilm will degrade over time and is subject to vinegar syndrome, which can destroy the film. New technology will preserve our valuable land record information for generations to come. 

Now, clearer, legible copies will make research more accurate and easier to access, which is great news for title companies, banks, and individual genealogy enthusiasts. Professional researchers with a subscription can research from their own office, saving time, travel, and money. Within nine months, we will be done with microfilm research!  

Digital images back to sovereignty will be available quickly. However, the ability to search for a document by the grantor, grantee, legal description, etc., requires each document to be read and details typed into the index. The process of indexing will be ongoing for years. To see a four-minute interview about the scanning project, go to https://vimeo.com/735546094/a009abf115. 

My thanks to Sean, Susan, and Cindy, my awesome staff, who have been flexible in covering the office.   

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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 conveying your property ownership. We have forms you may print off for free on our website.

For more information or to subscribe to Property Fraud Alert, call the Register of Deeds at 913.684.0424 or email tmashburn@leavenworthcounty.gov.

Transfer Station
Car Battery Recycling
Anyone can recycle their car batteries, for no fee, at the Leavenworth County Transfer Station.

The Transfer Station can also take your motorcycle, ride-on toy, lawn mower, and tractor batteries. Have a battery not listed, contact them to see if they can take it!

 

Your car battery uses lead and acid to retain a long-lasting and reliable charge. Unfortunately, these materials can pose a serious risk to the environment and your health. A sealed battery is safe to handle, but improperly disposing of a battery is dangerous. 

 

You don’t want a battery left to sit in a junk pile or thrown in the trash to end up in a landfill, where lead and sulfuric acid can be a significant environmental issue. These hazardous materials need to be disposed of carefully.

 

Never store or transport your battery on its side. Some car batteries have vent caps that can leak acid if not properly stored upright. Be cautious of how you store and transport your battery to ensure it isn’t jostled, tipped, or dropped.

 

When you bring your car battery to the Transfer Station, let the scale attendant know, and they will direct you on where to go. 

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Transfer Station Contact Information
24967  136th St, Lansing, KS 66043
Phone: 913.727.2858
Email
Hours of Operation:
Tuesday thru Friday
8:00 a.m. - 3:45 p.m.
Saturday
8:00 a.m. - 1:45 p.m.
Closed Sunday, Monday and all County observed Holidays

Community Corrections

Every day, over 19,000 calls are placed to DV hotlines in the U.S. Help shrink this number by joining @NCADV and sharing #DVFacts to raise awareness! NCADV.org/2022DVAM

Domestic Violence Awareness Month (DVAM) was launched nationwide in October 1987 as a way to connect and unite individuals and organizations working on domestic violence issues while raising awareness for those issues. Over the past 30+ years, much progress has been made to support domestic violence victims and survivors, to hold abusers accountable, and to create and update legislation to further those goals. 

Domestic Violence in Kansas

WHAT IS DOMESTIC VIOLENCE?
Domestic violence is the willful intimidation, physical assault, battery, sexual assault, and/or other abusive behavior as part of a systematic pattern of power and control perpetrated by one intimate partner against another. It includes physical violence, sexual violence, threats, and emotional abuse. The frequency and severity of domestic violence can vary dramatically.

DOMESTIC VIOLENCE IN KANSAS

• 33.9% of Kansas women and 31.1% of Kansas men experience intimate partner physical violence, intimate partner sexual violence and/or intimate partner stalking in their lifetimes.¹
• In 2018, Kansas law enforcement agencies reported responding to 24,066 domestic violence incidents. However, not all agencies submitted their records to the state, so the number of domestic violence incidents reported to law enforcement was likely higher. Many other domestic violence incidents were not reported to law enforcement.²
• There were 37 domestic violence homicides in Kansas in 2018. ³
• 70% of domestic homicides in 2018 were committed using firearms. ⁴
• As of December 31, 2019, Kansas had submitted 7,954 domestic violence misdemeanor and two active protective order records to the NICS Index.⁵
• In between 2006 and 2015, there were 4,229 active protection orders in the National Crime Information Center for Kansas; 908 of them had a disqualifying Brady Indicator.⁶

DID YOU KNOW?

• 1 in 3 women and 1 in 4 men have experienced some form of physical violence by an intimate partner.⁷
• On a typical day, local domestic violence hotlines receive approximately 19,159 calls, approximately 13 calls every minute.⁸
• In 2018, domestic violence accounted for 20% of all violent crime. ⁹
• Abusers’ access to firearms increases the risk of intimate partner femicide at least five-fold. When firearms have been used in the most severe abuse incident, the risk increases 41-fold. ¹⁰
• 65% of all murder-suicides involve an intimate partner; 96% of the victims of these crimes are female.¹¹

1 National Center for Injury Prevention and Control (2019). The national intimate partner and sexual violence survey: 2010-2012 State Report. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Retrieved from https://www.cdc.gov/violenceprevention/pdf/NISVS-StateReportBook.pdf. 2 Kansas Bureau of Investigation (n.d.). Domestic violence, stalking and rape in Kansas as reported by law enforcement: 2018. Retrieved from http://www.accesskansas.org/kbi/stats/docs/pdf/DVStalking%20Rape%202018.pdf. 3 Ibid. 4 Ibid. 5 Instant Criminal Background Check System Section (2020). Active records in the NICS Index as of December 31, 2019. FBI Criminal Justice Information Services. Retrieved from https://www.fbi.gov/file-repository/active-records-in-the-nics-indices-by-state.pdf/view. 6 United States Government Accountability Office (2016). Gun control: Analyzing available data could help improve background checks involving domestic violence records. Retrieved from https://www.gao.gov/assets/680/678204.pdf. 7 Black, M.C., Basile, K.C., Breiding, M.J., Smith, S.G., Walters, M.L., Merrick, M.T., Chen, J., & Stevens, M. (2011). The national intimate partner and sexual violence survey: 2010 summary report. Retrieved from https://www.cdc.gov/violenceprevention/pdf/nisvs_report2010-a.pdf. 8 National Network to End Domestic Violence (2020). 14th annual domestic violence counts report. Retrieved from https://nnedv.org/wp[1]content/uploads/2020/03/Library_Census-2019_Report_web.pdf. 9 Truman, J. & Morgan, R. (2014). Nonfatal domestic violence, 2003-2012. Retrieved from http://www.bjs.gov/content/pub/pdf/ndv0312.pdf. 10 Campbell, J.C., Webster, D., Koziol-McLain, J., Block, C., Campbell, D., Curry, M. A., Gary, F., Glass, N., McFarlane, J., Sachs, C., Sharps, P., Ulrich, Y., Wilt, S., Manganello, J., Xu, X., Schollenberger, J., Frye, V., & Lauphon, K. (2003). Risk factors for femicide in abusive relationships: Results from a multisite case control study. American Journal of Public Health, 93(7), 1089-1097. 11 Violence Policy Center. (2018). American roulette: Murder-suicide in the United States. Retrieved from www.vpc.org/studies/amroul2018.pdf.

For anonymous, confidential help available 24/7, call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233 (SAFE) or 1-800-787-3224 (TTY) now.

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During Recovery Month in September, Community Corrections hosted a training with Iowa State University to receive certification to provide the Strengthening Families Program: For Parents and Youth 10-14. All Juvenile Supervision and Youth Justice Resource Center staff, four members of the 4th Judicial District Community Corrections staff, and a member of the Basehor Police Department completed the SFP 10-14 training. 

 

What does this mean for Leavenworth County? Community Corrections can now provide this internationally recognized program to families with youth ages 10-14 locally! Not only has SFP 10-14 made a difference for families worldwide in 25 counties and all 50 states, but research shows schools improve, workplaces have more engaged employees, and recidivism declines. The need for substance abuse treatment is also reduced. SFP 10-14 is an evidence-based program that is proven to work and has been recognized by several federal agencies as an Exemplary Program. SFP 10-14 is also recognized as a Program of Distinction by the National 4-H Headquarters & Cooperative State Research, Education, & Extension Service. Any family with a youth aged 10-14 is eligible to participate as SFP is successful and appropriate when serving all populations within the 10-14 age range. 

 

If you would like more information regarding SFP 10-14,  click here . If you would like to refer your family for services,  click here . 

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Please help us welcome Paige Rothwell, our newest Adult Intensive Supervision Officer. Paige graduated in 2015 from the University of Kansas where she studied Psychology. Paige left Lawrence, KS, and moved to Leavenworth in 2017. She comes to us with 8 years of experience working in criminal justice and is looking forward to continuing to serve our community.

County Attorney's Office

Sign-Up Alerts

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Leavenworth County is also on Facebook , so residents can follow their local government and stay informed about the latest news and events.