Fall officially began on the 22d and with the temperature changing many are looking at the calendar to see when hunting season begins. Dove season opened on Sept. 1st and for first time hunters, preparation includes taking a hunter education course prior t going into the field.
In most cases, anyone born on or after July 1, 1957, must successfully complete an approved course in hunter education before hunting in Kansas. Those hunting on their own land are exempt. Anyone 16 or older may purchase a one-time deferral of hunter education, called an “apprentice hunting license” for the same price as a regular hunting license.
This license is valid only through the calendar year in which it was purchased and the holder must hunt under the direct supervision of a licensed adult 18 or older.
KDWP has scheduled a number of hunter education courses to accommodate those who have not yet taken one. The next scheduled course in El Dorado is Nov. 9-10. Most courses require pre-registration. Contact the Pratt Operations Office, 620-672-5911, for names and numbers of coordinating instructors, or visit the KDWP website, www.kdwp.state.ks.us.
White perch, a non-native invasive species, have been found in El Dorado Reservoir. District fisheries biologist, Craig Johnson has set nets to confirm the report of an angler catching white perch. His fears were in fact confirmed. Now El Dorado has now become the home to two infamous invasive species. Zebra mussels infested our 8,000-acre reservoir in 2003.
White perch have been associated with declines in both walleye and white bass populations, and they feed heavily on baitfish needed by other species. White perch can out-compete native fishes for food and space, and they will hybridize with white bass.
“This was entirely preventable”. KDWP invasive species specialist Jason Goeckler said. “We will probably never know the exact origin of this introduction, but it is likely that white perch were introduced to El Dorado by anglers, either as bait or a purposeful introduction. Anglers must be aware of the negative impacts; white perch will have on a fishery and take precautions to prevent their spread. It is illegal to possess live white perch in Kansas.
Recently, much concern has been expressed about the future of the Kansas Public Employees Retirement System, a.k.a. KPERS. The Governor made public comments last week about agreeing to make some changes in the system that could include eligibility and computation of benefits. I received many calls form concerned government employees at every level and I can understand their fears.
I have reported for the past five years that KPERS is incredibly under funded and with the last year investment return of a negative 19.2 percent, it is not getting any better with time. The unfunded liability grew over $2.7 billion in just one year. The money available has a funded ratio of 59 percent or 49 percent of current market value.
The current law does not allow the State of Kansas to break the contract it has with employees as it pertains to KPERS. Basically if KPERS cover you now you are still eligible for the benefit. For those short timer’s this may be good news, for those with a long way to go until retirement, I would suggest supplementing your retirement with additional personal savings.
The Legislature and the Administration know that some adjustments need to be made to survive the long term. Replacing the defined benefit plan with a defined contribution will certainly be on the front line of any discussion. I contacted some colleagues to discuss what we need to do and not surprisingly several of the more long tem legislators indicated this was a problem identified over 15 years ago.
Discussions about changing the system were not well received by the employees and their lobbying groups and so nothing was done. Well, that did not serve us well did it? Change is going to happen, like the advertisement says, “Pay me now or pay me later”. This is going to be a tough issue to address in 2010.
Frontier Refinery announced the schedule for the next “turn around”. Commencing on Oct. 1st and for the following 39 days approximately 1200 people will come to our community to participate. Some work has begun such as stockpiling supplies, pre-welding pipe transitions, designing, scheduling work, parking, transportation coordination and locating housing.
I am sure the traffic will increase in the area and the communities need to be aware of all the activity. In addition as things near completion you may notice the flare burning a little brighter and for longer periods as units are brought back on line and feedstock is being introduced into the process.
The Community Advisory Panel also received an excellent overview of the fire safety program at the refinery. With a crew of 71 on the emergency response team, they cover fire, rescue, medical treatment, and HAZMAT containment. Training is obviously a very important part of their preparedness plan, which includes agreements of mutual support with all fire rescue teams in Butler County.
In house training includes roughly 148 hours for the personnel and every three years each member of the ERT is given the opportunity to travel offsite to any number of specialty training facilities for a week of intense hands on, real-world training. I am convinced the refinery takes it s responsibility as a good neighbor and employer seriously.
I consider it a high honor to represent you in Topeka and I want to know what you think. Contact me in person or at home, 316-321-2087, 1115 Rim Rock Road, 67042, email johng@carlisleinc.net, previous updates are available at www.johngrange.net. Thanks, John.
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