A department of Johnson County, KS

 

 

 

 

Act of kindness can mean so much

This quarter’s STARS recipient, Patrick Beane, is recognized not only for assuming a nearly double workload during Charles McAllister’s eight week recovery from surgery, but for the compassion he exhibited by going “above and beyond” to keep Charles involved.

Patrick is Charles’ supervisor and his efforts to stay on top of Charles’ work while he was away didn’t go unnoticed. The absence came during one of the busiest times of year for Charles in design/construction coordination on city street and storm water improvement projects. Patrick also had his own full work schedule to juggle as well.

Dan Ott, Patrick’s supervisor, noticed how well Patrick managed the gap. “He did such a great job; it was almost like Charles was still here from my perspective in terms of the workload,” Dan said. “I’m sure Patrick was stretched thin.”

Many employees step up to the plate when called upon as Patrick did during that time. But Dan said what touched him most was “seeing how Patrick stayed in touch with Charles during his time off to see how he was doing. It was uplifting to see how Patrick offered support and encouragement to Charles during his recovery period.”

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JCW co-sponsored Feed the Need campaign sets new record

Jack Clegg and John O’Neil, co-chairmen of the record-setting 2009 Feed the Need campaign, are finalists in the 16th Annual Soup-er Bowl, a program that recognizes individuals and organizations helping the hungry in the Greater Kansas City area.

They will be featured Thanksgiving evening (Thursday) between 6:30 and 7 p.m. on Channel 9, KMBC, as part of a feature drawing attention to the Soup-er Bowl and local efforts to ensure food is available to families and households in need.

Clegg, director of the Johnson County Information Technology Services, and O’Neil, general manager at Johnson County Wastewater, were nominated for the recognition by Stevie Morris,Community Social Services manager at the Spring Hill Multi-Service Center.

Both of the Feed the Need campaign co-chairmen are reluctant about being singled out for the recognition, preferring that the Feed the Need program and Johnson County as an organization receive the recognition.

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Wastewater receives four gold, two silver Peak awards

Olathe, Kansas September 4, 2009 - Johnson County Wastewater (JCW) was recognized by the Johnson County Board of County Commissioners at its regular meeting on September 3 for be-ing selected to receive six Peak Performance awards. The Peak Performance Awards program, presented by the National Association of Clean Water Agencies (NACWA), recognizes public wastewater treatment facilities for their outstanding compliance records in the 2008 calendar year. NACWA was proud to include Johnson County Wastewater among the Peak Performance Award facilities during the association’s 2009 Summer Conference and 39th Annual Meeting.

JCW received four Gold Peak Performance Awards which honor treatment works that have achieved 100 percent compliance with the NPDES permit for an entire calendar year and two Silver Peak Performance Awards which recognize facilities that have received no more than five NPDES permit violations per calendar year.

Gold Peak Performance Award recipients:

• Blue River Main
• Douglas L. Smith
• Middle Basin
• Mill Creek Regional
• Myron K. Nelson

Silver Peak Performance Award recipients:

• New Century AirCenter
• Tomahawk Creek

“This recognition is a testament to our employees as they work hard to fulfill our Mis-sion Statement: Protecting Our Environment—Serving Our Customers—Enhancing Our Communities, said John O’Neil, general manager of JCW.

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Officials Break Ground on Largest 'Green Infrastructure' Project

http://recovery.jocogov.org/transport.htm

Federal, state and local officials broke ground today on the largest "green infrastructure" project in the State of Kansas to be funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009--a $16 million series of improvements to Johnson County's Douglas L. Smith Middle Basin Treatment Plant.

The wastewater treatment plant improvements are chiefly financed by $15 million in Recovery Act funding, with the balance provided by the Kansas Clean Water State Revolving Fund. According to estimates, the project is expected to create 270 new green jobs, result in almost $600,000 in annual cost savings for Johnson County wastewater utility rate payers, and reduce annual greenhouse gas emissions by more than 9,700 metric tons.

The project, which will be built by contractor BRB, of Topeka, Kan., was officially approved by the Johnson County Board of Commissioners in March. It is expected to be completed by the end of 2010.

"Investing in green projects is a win-win situation because of Johnson County’s strong commitment to sustainability, energy conservation, and reduction of greenhouse gases,” said Annabeth Surbaugh, Chairman of the Johnson County Board of Commissioners. “Achieving sustainability and accomplishing our environmental goals are important because county government is helping to provide a more sustainable future for all our citizens.”

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