There will be a statewide tornado drill at 10 a.m. when Douglas County Emergency Management will activate and test the tornado sirens. Douglas County residents and businesses are encouraged to use the event to test their emergency plans. For information about severe weather safety, visit: http://dgcoks.org/swaw.
Douglas County Emergency Management is offering “Weather 101” from 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. Thursday, March 3, in conjunction with Severe Weather Preparedness Month. The educational class will be in Flory Meeting Hall at the Douglas County Fairgrounds, 2120 Harper St., and it is open to anyone at no cost. It will include information about severe thunderstorm development, identification of storm features and safety tips.
The Douglas County Public Works Department is accepting applications for the user-fee dust control program. The deadline to submit an application is Friday, March 11.
The Douglas County Heritage Conservation Council (HCC) announces that up to $200,000 in funding is available through the 2022 Natural & Cultural Grant program.
Each year, the HCC encourages applications that focus on the conservation of cultural, natural, agricultural or environmental resources or projects that produce educational programs or products on these topics. All projects must take place in Douglas County, Kansas, and be completed within two years.
To be eligible for funding, projects must fall into at least one of the following categories:
Douglas County Government’s general and satellite offices will be closed Monday, Jan. 17, in observance of Martin Luther King Jr. Day. To learn more about how Douglas County is working to honor the work and legacy of Dr. King, visit: http://dgcoks.org/raceandequity.
An emergency public health order that requires face coverings for those ages 2 and older inside public spaces in Douglas County will go into effect Friday, Jan. 7, to help protect the community as COVID-19 cases have rapidly increased during the past week.
As of Jan. 3, there were 1,538 active cases reported in Douglas County, according to Lawrence-Douglas County Public Health. The 14-day moving average for new cases is at 89 cases per day, a record high for the county.
At age 25, Mike Baxter, who worked in construction, volunteered with De Soto Fire & Rescue along with his father and brother. Once he started volunteering, he was drawn to the bond that he had with them and the community.
“There is something about a group of people who drop everything to go help someone in need, and they do it for little to no compensation,” Baxter said.
A few years later, he volunteered with the Eudora Township Fire Department and the Eudora City Fire Department. That volunteer work led him to a longtime career as a firefighter and paramedic.
In 2022, Douglas County, the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office Re-Entry Program and Johnson County Government are partnering to offer several Re-Entry Simulation exercises throughout the year. These are educational outreach events that highlight the challenges faced by people transitioning from time in custody back into our community.
Lawrence-Douglas County Public Health was notified today of the first confirmed case of the Omicron variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus in Douglas County by the Kansas Department of Health and Environment. It is the second confirmed case in Kansas.
Dr. Jennifer Schrimsher, deputy county health officer and infectious disease physician at LMH Health, said detection of the variant in the county does not come as a surprise as it has rapidly spread across the country since the first confirmed U.S. case of Omicron was identified on Dec. 1.
Douglas County has been allocated $23.7 million in federal American Rescue Plan Act funds. These funds can be used for qualifying expenditures that occur between March 3, 2021, and Dec. 31, 2024.
The Board of County Commissioners is seeking project or program information from agencies interested in receiving funding through a letter of interest form. The form does not guarantee funding, but will help Commissioners further establish program parameters, guidelines and spending priorities. The deadline to complete the form is 5 p.m. Monday, Jan. 31, 2022.