Green reappointed to State Fairboard
Governor Laura Kelly has reappointed Sarah Green to another three-year term on the Kansas State Fair Board.
Green, a community engagement manager with the Kansas Department of Transportation living in Wichita, represents the South Central Extension District on the board.
HPD promotes one officer, another retires
Officer Tim Williams was promoted last week to Lieutenant at the Hutchinson Police Department, while Det. Scott Carlton retired after 28 years there.
After graduating from Kansas State University, Williams joined the university’s police department and graduated from KLETC in 2008. He spent a little over three years there before joining the Hutchinson Police Department in 2011, according to information posted by the department.
During his time with HPD, he was a Field Training Officer and filled many other instructor roles such as Firearms Instructor for both handgun and rifle, Active Shooter/Armed Intruder Instructor, School Vulnerability Assessor, and Domestic Violence Instructor and Liaison for our local Victim’s Advocacy Center (BrightHouse).
Williams has been the Lead Defensive Tactics Instructor for nearly two years and on the Emergency Response Team, where he holds the title of Team Leader, for almost 10 years.
Carlton started with the HPD in 1994. During his career, he worked as a patrol officer, community policing officer, school resource officer, computer forensic examiner, phone forensic examiner, Kansas ICAC (computer crimes against children), hostage negotiator, field training officer, juvenile detective, and investigations adult person crimes.
In 2002 he was awarded the Gold Award from the Kansas Association of Chiefs of Police.
Three promoted at HCF
The Kansas Department of Corrections three people at the Hutchinson Correctional Facility.
Ash Borgstrom was promoted to Warehouse Manager, and Micah Eash to Corrections Supervisor I, both effective March 20.
Also promoted to Corrections Supervisor I was Danny Childs, effective April 4.
Sunflower Diversified names interim director
GREAT BEND – Shelby Zuniga is still the chief financial officer (CFO) at Sunflower Diversified Services but she now has another title – interim executive director.
Zuniga, a Great Bend native, is filling the temporary position until a new leader is named. Jon Prescott recently retired after five years on the job. He recently was appointed the District 4 Barton County Commissioner.
Sunflower serves children and adults with developmental disabilities in Barton, Pawnee, Rice, Rush, and Stafford counties. It is in its 57th year.
Zuniga is a 1998 Great Bend High School graduate and earned an associate’s degree in business administration at Barton Community College.
She then received a degree in accounting in 2002 at Fort Hays State University and earned her master’s of professional accountancy at the University of Texas of the Permian Basin in Odessa in 2012. Zuniga became a CPA in 2015.
Sunflower’s recruitment committee continues its search for a new leader.
Because the duties of a CFO and executive director often overlap, Zuniga is up to speed on projects currently in the works. These include:
- Construction of a new transportation facility in the 5500 block of West 10th that will be financed with the help of a $1.2 million grant from the Kansas Department of Transportation;
- Expanding the Applied Behavior Analysis program for children up to age 5 with an Autism Spectrum Disorder medical diagnosis;
- A new partnership with Housing Opportunities Inc. to build apartments just off 6th Street that will provide more living options for clients at Sunflower; and
- The Community Habilitation Services move from the K-96 location to the manufacturing plant near the Great Bend Airport. The K-96 building was sold and the cost-saving project is nearing completion.
The Center announces Manning’s retirement, Gray’s promotion
GREAT BEND – When Bill Manning recently retired as Community Support Services (CSS) director, Julie Kramp was faced with a bittersweet situation.
As executive director of The Center for Counseling & Consultation, Kramp was sorry to see Manning leave but knew that Shionta Gray was well-equipped to step into the position.
“We are happy for Bill as he looks forward to his retirement,” Kramp said. “But we will always miss him. Bill helped us through so much change, especially during the peak of the pandemic. However, we are fortunate that Shionta brings her extensive skills, knowledge, and experience to the job.”
The CSS department offers community psychiatric support and treatment, attendant care, psychosocial rehabilitation, targeted case management, and certified peer support. The CSS director oversees all functions of the 12-member department.
Gray has served The Center clients for almost 11 years and held several titles, including Community-Based Services support aide for youth; CSS case manager; health home care coordinator; and CSS targeted case manager.
A 2002 graduate of Great Bend High School and a 2009 graduate of Barton Community College with an associate’s degree in accounting, Gray earned her bachelor’s in business administration in 2011 at Fort Hays State University, with a certificate in human resource management.
Gray was a teacher assistant at Great Bend’s USD 428 Alternative Learning Center from 2005 to 2012 and a chemical dependency technician at the Women’s Recovery Center in Hoisington from 2007 to 2009.
Manning, who had worked at The Center for 16 years, began his journey there in psycho-social rehab and attendant care. He then advanced to adult case manager before being promoted to CSS director.
“I wanted to help people with mental illness,” Manning said. “The Center is the only place in the area that offers so many badly needed services, such as case management for individuals with severe and persistent mental illness. The team supports these clients, regardless of insurance or ability to pay.
The Center for Counseling & Consultation is a Community Mental Health Center serving Barton, Pawnee, Rice, and Stafford counties.