Barton County’s Public Health Director Karen Winkelman will be recognized Tuesday at the Barton County Commission meeting. She was hired as a nurse at that department in 1997, became director during the COVID-19 pandemic and has announced her retirement.
“Upon the occasion of her retirement, the commission will thank her for countless hours dedicated to our community, our state and this world,” reads the meeting agenda.
The meeting will be at 9 a.m. Tuesday, May 12, in Suite 106 at the Barton County Courthouse, 1400 Main. It will be live-streamed through Microsoft Teams and can be viewed at https://bit.ly/4sNENLb.
National Prevention Week
The commission will also sign a proclamation for National Prevention Week. Tyler Morton, prevention advocate at the 20th Judicial District Juvenile Services, will be joined by Central Kansas Partnership task force members and area teens to present this proclamation. The 2026 Kansas Communities that Care report shows that Barton County, through the use of prevention initiatives, coalition efforts and professional development, continues to provide resources to those in need and works to find additional solutions.
A third agenda item is a resolution establishing a procurement policy and procedures for purchasing and sourcing. This replaces a resolution adopted in 2020 and last refined in 2025. This particular iteration deals with the threshold for repairs and like expenditures. Language updates reference the county’s governmental bidding vendor and include grammatical corrections.
Board of Health
At 9:45 a.m., or following the close of the agenda meeting, the commission will meet as the Board of Health. The board will consider a resolution appointing Lindsey Ensley, RN, as the Interim Local Health Officer, followed by a resolution appointing Ensley as the Interim Public Health Director.
The board will also be asked to confirm the appointment of Dr. Jonathan Pike as the paid medical consultant to the Local Health Office. Dr. Pike was first appointed by resolution on Oct. 26, 2020.
Interview for County Counselor
The two agenda meetings will be followed by a planning session with the county media consultant, regular business discussion with the county administrator and program updates from the county engineer (around 10:45 a.m.) and county works director (11 a.m.)
An interview for a County Counselor is set for 1:30 p.m. The candidate is Todd Powell from Jeter Law Firm in Hays.
The agenda notes that The County Edition of KVGB-AM radio broadcasts at 11:05 a.m. Thursdays. Discussion with Central Kansas Community Corrections Director Brooke Haulmark is scheduled for the May 14 show.
