For the third straight year, Lyon County is bolstering an Emporia State University scholarship fund.
Commissioners started their action meeting by approving $250,000 for Emporia State’s University Community in Motion scholarship program. The University Community Motion initiative puts city and county money into the ESU Recruitment and Retention Scholarship Fund. Lyon County and area students are top priority, along with students in other large recruitment areas like Kansas City and Wichita.
Commissioner Scott Briggs tells KVOE News the county is maintaining its commitment to Emporia State. In turn, he says the response from students is heartwarming.
The Emporia City Commission offered $125,000 in 2016, while county commissioners have supplied $250,000 in both 2016 and 2017.
Separately, commissioners approved several items regarding Community Corrections, including the fiscal 2019 Juvenile Services comprehensive plan’s signatory approval plan and budget. Commissioners also gave direction to County Engineer Chip Woods to get a quote for possibly overlaying Road 170 from the Emporia city limits to Road S.
Commissioners discussed a request from the city of Bushong to install a radar speed sign and pole on the county right-of-way outside the town, but the request died for lack of a motion.
Commissioners also held a lengthy public hearing on the future of Road A near the Lyon-Morris county line. The road was built in the 1880s but doesn’t stay on the county line and now is largely invisible north of Road 310. After hearing from several nearby residents, commissioners decided to take the matter under advisement so both Lyon County and Morris County could study the matter further. Original road documents exist, but the area is in a floodplain and a road vacation could involve several state agencies and the US Army Corps of Engineers.
