Office of Community Services
District 6 Newsletter
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Message from Your Council Member....
Greetings District 6 Friends -
Welcome to the next edition of the weekly newsletter! We hope you find items of interest in the articles and at the links provided. Please let us know if you have ideas, information, or events you would like to see featured in a future edition. We always welcome your feedback and suggestions.
Have a great weekend!
Janet L. Miller
District 6
City Council
316-268-4331
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DAB Meeting
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Location
:
Evergreen Park & Recreation
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Location
: Downtown YMCA
in the
Community Room
Time:
9 a.m.
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District Community Events & News
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WELCOME BRANDON!
Brandon Findley is our new District VI Community Services Representative. As a lifelong resident of Wichita, Brandon has strong ties to District VI and is currently working with City Council member Janet Miller on a variety of special projects.
His family has called Wichita home for four generations, and he has been a licensed realtor in the State of Kansas for 10 years. He has received both a Bachelor of Science degree in Community Development and a Master in Public Administration degree from Wichita State University. Brandon also holds graduate certificates in City and County Management and Economic Development, and was awarded the first Graduate Student Leader of the Year award at W.S.U. He is currently taking post graduate education courses towards his certification as an Economic Developer, while also pursuing certification in Municipal Planning.
Since beginning with the City of Wichita as a Management Fellow, he has worked on various projects for the City Manager and Economic Development offices, Housing and Community Services and City Council. Brandon enjoys spending his spare time participating in community events and enjoying the outdoors with his twin daughters and family dogs.
Brandon's office is located at the Evergreen Resource Center (2700 N Woodland, Wichita KS 67204) and is available to help respond to neighborhood concerns. He can also be reached at 316-303-8043 or via email at bfindley@wichita.gov
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DO YOU WONDER WHAT DISTRICT VI IS CURRENTLY UP TO?
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HOW TO BUILD A SAFER NEIGHBORHOOD
Nextdoor.com is the free private social network for you, your neighbors and your community. It's the easiest way for you and your neighbors to talk online and make all of your lives better in the real world. And it's free!
Thousands of neighborhoods are already using Nextdoor to build happier, safer places to call home.
And it's only for you and your neighbors!!
People are using Nextdoor to:
- Quickly get the word out about a break-in
- Organize a Neighborhood Watch Group
- Track down a trustworthy babysitter
- Find out who does the best paint job in town
- Ask for help keeping an eye out for a lost dog
- Find a new home for an outgrown bike
- Finally call that nice man down the street by his first name
Nextdoor's mission is to use the power of technology to build stronger and safer neighborhoods.
Click here for more information.
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The Mid-American All-Indian Center has special admission discounts for new exhibit openings throughout the year. The special admission price is $3.50 for anyone over 13, and FREE admission for children 12 and younger!
650 N Seneca, Wichita KS 67203
(316)350-3340
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Smallgrass Film Festival Schedule:
Short films for kids: 10am
Ice Age: 11:30am
Titans of the Ice Age (Premiere): 1:30pm
March of the Penguins: 2:30pm
Titans of the Ice Age: 4:30pm
Prices (per person): Includes special activities, exhibits and one film
Member: $5
Nonmember: $7
$2 per additional film
Exploration Place- 300 N McClean Blvd, Wichita KS 67203
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MEALS ON WHEELS/FRIENDSHIP MEALS FOR SENIORS
is a nutrition program for adults over 60. Hot meals are served (by reservation) at noon Monday-Friday at Evergreen Park & Recreation Center
2700 N Woodland ------ (316) 303-8036
Because a portion of the meal cost is covered by the Older Americans Act and Kansas Department for Aging and Disability services funding, only a freewill offering is requested. A suggestion $3.00 per meal.
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Downtown Senior Center
200 S Walnut, Wichita KS
Educational Opportunities:
January
Tuesday, January 24, 2017 @ 2:00pm
"Little Lebanon: The Lebanese in Delano"
presentation by Victory Sherry
Victoria Foth Sherry is a co-author of Wichita's Lebanese Heritage. She worked in the field of local history for many years, first at the Kansas Museum of History and then as program director of the Kansas Humanities Council. In 2000, she began collecting photos and oral histories from Wichita's Lebanese community for a museum exhibition.
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FEMA Declares September Floods a Disaster
Unusual weather seemed to be a common theme for 2016, and in many cases caused Public Works and Utilities to alter operations in response. One such example was the tremendous amount of rain received this year. While average annual rainfall for Wichita is about 34 inches, the area received nearly 50 inches this year. 29 inches fell in the months of July, August, and September alone.
Not only did the area receive more rain than usual, the rain sometimes came in a series of long-lasting events that caused major flooding. For this reason, FEMA declared a disaster for the dates of September 2-12, 2016. While the damage that occurred in Wichita seems minor compared to the many smaller cities and townships south of Wichita, some additional resources were expended in order to respond during these events. Public Works and Utilities, in coordination with the City's Finance Department, Kansas Department of Emergency Management (KDEM) and FEMA, is working to determine if some of the costs incurred can be recovered. Some of the costs include:
- Barricading of City streets that posed a safety risk due to flooding.
- Emergency repair of traffic signals that were damaged by lightning.
- Continual stormwater inlet cleaning to ensure that blockages were not preventing flood waters from entering the stormwater system.
- Additional staff required to operate the sewage treatment plant due to an extraordinary increase in flows.
Staff has met with KDEM and FEMA several times to date and will continue to gather and prepare information for their consideration.
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Monthly Total Precipitation (in) for Wichita Area, KS
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Year
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Jan
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Feb
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Mar
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Apr
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May
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Jun
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Jul
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Aug
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Sep
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Oct
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Nov
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Dec
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2016
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0.19
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0.55
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1.53
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6.23
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7.06
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2.83
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9.67
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8.28
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11.30
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2.04
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0.26
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M
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Follow the Snow Plow Guide:
You can see where the City of Wichita snow plow/treatment trucks are on a Google map. The map can be zoomed and panned as usual to see what ever area you desire.
Each of the 50 vehicles has a dot and a flag that shows the unit ID number. The color of the dot indicates the status of the vehicle and this legend applies.
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The program encourages citizens to call Crime Stoppers if they have information about a felony crime, and wish to remain anonymous. This means that they have not directly contacted law enforcement. Crime Stoppers always encourages cooperation with law enforcement, but in those cases where citizens do not want to call police, they are encouraged to provide the information they have anonymously through Crime Stoppers by one of the following ways:
Call (316) 267-2111 or 1-800-222-TIPS
Text TIP217 plus your tip to CRIMES (274637) or
If you would like more information on the program or you are interested in volunteering you may call the Wichita Crime Commission at 267-1235.
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Classes meet at Monday 10:00am & 1:30pm, Tuesday 10:00am & 1pm
Botanica
701 Amidon St Wichita, KS 67203
Please call Kelsey Webb at 316-264-0448 ext.117 for reservations. $9, $6 for members
Click here for 2017 scheduled themes
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Every Wednesday, November 2016 through February 2017: 10:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.
Grab your coats, throw on your mittens and head over to the Sedgwick County Zoo for Winter Wednesdays! Spend the day in the refreshing outdoors for $3.00 per person every Wednesday, November through February.
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CONSTRUCTION AND MAINTENANCE PROJECTS
River Vista Development:
Project includes construction of apartments and commercial retail on the west bank of the Arkansas River between Douglas and 1st Street.
Traffic Impact:
The path along the west bank of the Arkansas River is closed between 1st Street and Douglas. The sidewalk on the south side of First Street is closed between McLean and Waco. Pedestrians will be detoured south to Douglas.
Contractor:
Key Construction
City Contact:
Paul Gunzelman
(268-4393 / pgunzelman@wichita.gov)
Estimated completion: Fall 2016

Mosley & Rock Island Paving:
This project will upgrade the area to current Old Town standards which will include brick streets and sidewalks, streetlights, trash receptacles, and landscaping planters. The project will also construct storm water improvements and include water main replacement.
Traffic Impact
. Mosley is closed to through traffic between 2
nd
& 3
rd
St. 3
rd
St. is reduced to one lane westbound at Mosley.
Contractor:
Pearson Construction
City Contact:
James Wagner
(268-4047 / jwagner@wichita.gov)
Estimated completion: Late 2016
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The Delano Catalyst Site, part of downtown revitalization efforts, is situated in an active river corridor. There are two substantial projects under construction near the site: the City's $33 million Advanced Learning Center and the $38 million River Vista Apartment project.
The City of Wichita h
as issued a
Request For Qualifications (RFQ)
for the development of approximately 7.1 acres near the intersection of Sycamore and McLean.
Click here to see Request For Qualifications of the Delano Catalyst Site
Click here
for more information on Advanced Learning Center
The River Vista Project includes a 204 unit apartment development and boat & bike rentals. Improvements are also being made to the river walk and park south of the development.
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Among other measures, the City Council has allocated $10 million from Hyatt sales proceeds to the improvement of many of the City's worst neighborhood streets.
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Greater Wichita addresses the needs of homeless families
Being without a safe, warm place to sleep, eat, and care for children; living without the security of familiar people and belongings-that is homelessness. The loss of one's home, the most basic element of stability, is a profound crisis for anyone, but especially for families. Parents endure the heartache of being unable to provide a secure environment for their children. And children, who now make up 25 percent of our nation's homeless population, are deprived of a fundamental requirement for healthy development-a safe, permanent home.
What Can We Do to Help?
People of faith want to respond to the needs of their homeless "neighbors," but this can be an overwhelming task for one congregation. What do we do? How do we become part of the solution? Family Promise of Greater Wichita is part of a national program that responds to the growing need to provide shelter, meals and comprehensive support services to families without homes. The program unites the congregations from area churches to assist the homeless families.
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- Go to the website www.petharbor.com.
- Enter your Zip Code or City name in the appropriate field and click the "Find Shelters" search button.
- Check the box next to "Wichita Animal Shelter" and click the "Search Now" button.
- Click the "I Lost My Pet" button.
- Click the button for the type of animal that you have lost (Dog, Cat, or Other).
- You may choose to narrow your search by breed, gender, size, age, and predominate color at this time but please keep in mind the more narrow your search, the less results you will receive. If you do not specify any criteria in the search fields, and just click the "Search Now" button you will be able to browse all of the entries from the Shelter. It is a much broader search, but improves your chances of finding your lost pet. Please remember that your description of the animal may be different than the description posted on the website. We advise that you keep your search as broad as possible. If you have lost a pet we still advise that you visit the Wichita Animal Shelter regularly.
- Most of the animals will have a picture accompanied with the date the animal was impounded to assist in proper identification and a timely return to the owner. If the animal listing does not have a picture and you suspect that the animal may be yours, visit the Wichita Animal Shelter at 3303 N. Hillside.
- If you find your animal on the website, call the Wichita Animal Shelter at 350-3366 and notify staff. They will need the animal number displayed to the right of the picture.
If you do not see your lost animal using this service, we recommend you visit the Wichita Animal Shelter at 3303 N. Hillside (K-96 & Hillside) during business hours to make sure the animal wasn't picked up. Lost and stray animals are only held for 3 days starting the day after the animal is impounded. You may call the Wichita Animal Shelter at 350-3366 for more information and tips on finding a lost pet, but remember that only you can identify your lost pet, so please visit the shelter at least every 3 days.
Using the Pet Harbor Mobile App
Now you can browse adoptable, lost, and found pets in your area from the comfort of your smartphone or tablet! PetHarbor Mobile uses your geographic location to locate animals near you.
You will receive the same results and have the same search functionality that you would using the web version of PetHarbor but optimized for mobile devices!
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NEIGHBORHOOD NUISANCE REPORTING MADE EASIER
Residents are encouraged to report neighborhood nuisance problems via phone or email
T
o submit a report, please call the main number
660-9220
A voicemail can be left if the call is made after business hours of 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
or residents may contact the
Dial Wichita! Call Center at
942-4482 to reach any department!
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LOOK FOR THIS DECAL WHEN
HIRING
A
COMPANY TO HAUL YOUR JUNK/BULKY WASTE
Don't become the victim of an illegal trash or junk hauler. Unfortunately there have been several complaints about paying an individual to haul off large items or junk from houses and garages, and the items end up in a ditch, behind a company, or a country road. If there is anything that identifies you, the owner of these items, you will receive a severe ticket and fine from a City or County inspector. If you respond to an ad of someone that will haul your junk, make sure they are licensed to do so. They will have this decal on their trailer or truck! Don't let a mistake cost you double.
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Project Access and its community partners serve patients in many locations. Eligible uninsured patients are enrolled for limited periods of time to address immediate medical needs. Once enrolled, patients have access to a variety of specialists, as well as prescription medication, durable medical equipment and diabetic supplies.
Eligible patients can be referred by participating physicians throughout Sedgwick County.
Additional key partners are community clinics and the Department for Children and Families (DCF). Patients who receive primary care at certain community clinics may be referred to Project Access and enrolled by an onsite DCF eligibility specialist.
Eligible patients are referred to Project Access by providers at the following sites:
For more information call
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City of Wichita, Office of Community Services | 316-303-8042 |
2700 N. Woodland
Wichita, KS 67204
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