Pavilion awarded $125K

    Phillips County now lacks just $81,000 for the Pavilion and Education Center project. Commissioners reported at the Aug. 31 meeting that the County recently received a $125,000 grant from the Daniels Fund in support of the project.
    Chairman Joe Kinnie said, “This significant grant brings us one major step closer to seeing our project. We deeply appreciate the Daniels Fund support.”
    A firm date has yet to be set for demolition of the old buildings at the fairgrounds. Commissioners noted that there were some successful bids for portions of buildings, but they will still consider bids for as long as they can.
    
Changes made to the fair board
    Recent changes to the Phillips County Fair Board have left commissioners looking for two individuals interested in joining the board.
    President Pam Haynes and secretary Lisa Atkins have both stepped off the board. The position held by Ron Thompson until it expired last year is also yet to be filled.
    Shannon Schlachter has been reappointed for a three-year term to the board, and Justin Clevenger was recently appointed for a three-year term, as well.
    
Mowing concerns addressed
    Commissioners have heard concerns from community members about mowing in the county.
    In response, the board reassured residents that mowing is in progress. In the county, there are 1,138 miles of road. When doubled for each side that requires mowing, there are over 2,000 miles to be mowed. That’s farther than a round-trip drive from Holyoke to Houston, Texas.
    The County currently has three employees mowing every day, and the board confirmed that progress will continue.
    
District attorney term issue to be on 2018 ballot
    In June, commissioners received a request from District Attorney Brittny Lewton to place an item on the upcoming ballot regarding a third term. The seven counties in the 13th Judicial District discussed the matter and have postponed it until 2018.
    According to Phillips County Administrator Randy Schafer, some of the other counties have no other ballot issues this year, and it will save them money to postpone this issue for a year.
    In 2018, voters will be asked to approve a third term for Lewton. If passed, she will be eligible to run for district attourney in the 2020 election.

Other business
    Also in the month of August, commissioners:
    —Hired Teves Green, David Landes and Robert Overstreet as road workers. Adam Green and Jeff Thomas recently left the road department, and Mike Borland has turned in his retirement for October.
    —Agreed to have Platinum Technology to provide IT service for the County through the end of 2017 at the existing rate of $85 per hour. The former provider, New Age Electronics, is closing its business, and its staff will now be working for Platinum Technology. The County will be putting out a request for proposals for IT services later this fall.
    —Reappointed Bruce Mahnke as the EMS representative for Phillips County for the regional EMS/trauma advisory council.
    —Purchased security cameras for the Resource Center and Event Center from Prairie States Communications for $9,062.20.
    —Reappointed Aaron Sprague as the Phillips County appointee to the Republican River Water Conservation District for a three-year term.
    —Approved a bid from R&P Flooring of $2,385 to carpet the administrative office.
    —Approved a subdivision exemption for Gary Koch for the sale of approximately 2.5 acres located in the SE1/4 of section 17-T7N-R47W, south of Haxtun.