February 27 and 28, 2016
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THE GAZETTE, EMPORIA, KANSAS
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united way
burn
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American Red Cross smoke
detector program ... and legal systems for people who
need it. That’s what makes
this day so special; it represents possibilities in our
community and that’s a
great thing.”
The luncheon also celebrated the work from projects the United Way of Flint
Hills funded in 2015. One
of the largest was the Dolly
Parton’s Imagination Library, which provides books
to children each month.
“Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library is just an awesome thing,” said Delores
Heins, who served on the
United Way Board of Trustees for eight years. “The
children who get these
books each month will
also be getting a lifetime
of learning. Reading is just
so important for a child’s
growth and this is just a
wonderful program.”
Heins and Linda
Markham were both honored at the luncheon, each
receiving a framed copy of
“The Little Engine That
Could.” Both Heins and
Markham reached the eightyear term limit as members
tions that seem favorable
for burning.
“The wind shifts even
in the most favorable conditions,” Fell said. “Wind
shifting causes issues.
Somebody that thinks they
have the resources there to
manage their fire wasn’t
planning for the wind shift
and we have a bigger fire
that is unmanageable and
then we get a call for an out
of control fire.”
Because of the risks associated with out of control burns Fell and Taylor
advocated for commissioners to approve the use of
short-term burn bans, using the National Weather
Service’s red flag warning
system as a guide.
“The National Weather
Service seems to be the
subject matter expert
when it comes to the environmental and atmospheric conditions that lead to
high fire safety issues,” Fell
said. “So we would ask that
for future burn bans that
we go off of the red flag
warnings that the National
Weather Service puts out.”
Fell and Taylor asked for
a county resolution that incorporates red flag warnings with burn bans. Currently, commissioners are
required to meet to issue
a burn ban. By accepting
the new resolution offered
by Fell and Taylor commissioners will not have to
meet to issue the burn ban
saving time and potentially
unnecessary fires.
The resolution could
also limit confusion for
members of the community and unnecessary calls
to dispatch to inquire if a
burn ban is in place. Landowners should know that
when a red flag warning is
in place there is also a burn
ban.
“I think it would be
more convenient for everyone involved,” Fell said.
Taylor says that controlling burning on red flag
days is currently a great
concern for district fire
chiefs. Last week a red flag
warning was in place and
several controlled burns
went out of control requiring response from area fire
departments.
“This idea to do this
resolution to automatically ban burning on red flag
days makes it much more
agile to respond to conditions as they exist when
they become dangerous,”
Taylor said. “If it was a red
flag day on a Monday and
Tuesday it would be much
more difficult to gather
you together and get a ban
issued. This would just be
an automatic response to
a national recognized fire
danger warning and cease
burning on that particular
day.”
“I think it is very good
we are looking at this,”
Commissioner Scott Briggs
said. “I think it could make
it more clear to the public. The obvious answer is
when you are burning you
are affecting the lives of a
lot of people. The people
that are burning, the people that go out to fight the
fire if it gets out of control,
your neighbors. It is serious business.”
to identify strengths and
weaknesses and negotiate workable compromises
based on trust in Perkins’
word.
“What he said, he stood
by,” Buchele said. “You
could just drive a stake in
the ground when he said,
‘That’s the v