News

ROBERT PIERCE

  • Leader & Times

An area health care leader was recently recognized on a national level for her work to help make immunizations available to everyone.

Immunize Kansas Coalition Director Geovannie Gone recently received the 20224 Equity in Immunization Award at the 16th annual National Conference for Immunization Coalitions and Partnerships (NCICP).

The award highlights Gone’s innovative strategies and efforts to build vaccine access and equity initiatives across the state of Kansas from engaging in grassroots education to holding the first solely Spanish-speaking conference in Kansas.

Immunize Kansas Coalition

Immunize Kansas Coalition (IKC), a leader in the immunization community, is thrilled to announce the details of their highly anticipated conference, Entre Mujeres: The Health of Women, a premier event for women of all ages across Kansas.

This one-day conference will be Sunday with check-in beginning at 11:30 a.m., lunch and exhibits at noon, and the program starting at 1 p.m. The full event will take place from noon to 4 p.m. at Memorial Hall in Kansas City, Kan.

The event will feature key speakers, offer networking opportunities, and provide a space for women to learn about preventative health measures to ensure lifelong wellness for themselves and their children.

ELLY GRIMM

  • Leader & Times

The Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks is a very important entity for the state of Kansas in preserving the state’s natural resources, and recently, the announcement came of a new name to helm the agency with Chris Kennedy.

As Kennedy tells it, it has been a rather winding road to get to this point.

“It was about two days out of high school when I started my career in conservation, which was many years ago. I started as an intern with the Fish and Wildlife Service, which was through the University of Arkansas, and we started working on an anti-pollution project in Kansas,” Kennedy said. “So my career started in Kansas close to Topeka, and that's also when I discovered my love of fisheries, and I learned I wanted to spend the rest of my career working in conservation, and that was roughly 33 years ago. I've worked on a wide variety of research projects throughout my career, and back in college, I'd also developed an affinity for duck hunting and trapping and all of that, so I got a wealth of knowledge while I was in school. Backing up a little bit, I'm originally from St. Louis, but even growing up there, my grandfather owned a farm, so I was well acquainted with hunting and fishing and respecting nature. I'd always enjoyed the outdoors, but growing up, I didn't know there was a career pathway I could embark on that would have me working with the outdoors, and it took me until college to figure out what I wanted to do.”

Kansas Department of Transportation

Traffic reductions are scheduled to start Wednesday for a permanent pavement marking operation along U.S. Highway 50, U.S. Highway 83 and U.S. Highway 400 from east of Third Street to TV Road in Finney County, according to the Kansas Department of Transportation.

The 28-mile project will take place in several smaller sections and will include all ramps within the project area. Motorists should be aware of delays of up to 15 minutes in the project as one-lane traffic will be directed by flaggers and a pilot car through the work zone. Signs and cones will mark the lane reduction. The highway will be open to regular traffic when construction is not taking place.