As the Barton County Commission officially organized for 2026 on Monday, District 1 Commissioner Duane Reif was elected chairman and District 5 Commissioner Donna Zimmerman was elected Chairman Pro Tem. Outgoing chair Tricia Schlessiger, District 4, received a plaque of appreciation and praise from each of her fellow commissioners. The others are Barb Esfeld, District 2, and Shawn Hutchinson, District 3.
The plaque states it is in recognition of Schlessiger’s initiation of Travel 389, her support for project-based economic development – 2025 Facade Improvement Grants, Rural Water District Water District No. 2, and housing developments in Claflin, Ellinwood and Hoisington – “and pie charts for taxpayers.”
Esfeld said the Travel 389 project, which had commissioners visit businesses throughout the county, got them thinking outside the box. It is named for the 389 miles of paved roads in the county.
“You have shown exceptional leadership and vision,” Reif said to Schlessiger.
Zimmerman added, “It was a busy year, but it was also a fun year.”
Great Bend Tribune named official county newspaper
In other business, the Great Bend Tribune was again designated at the official country newspaper, Tammy Sturn was reappointed to an uncompensated position on the governing board of The Center for Counseling and Consultation, a bulk mailing contract for valuation notices in 2026 was awarded to Peregrine Services for $10,491.75, the subscription to Nightingale Notes Electronic Health Records software Champ Software Inc. was renewed for $31,636, and the commissioners approved the agreement allowing Richard Rugan with Rugan 3 Farms to construct a septic system within the 25-foot boundary of his north property line in northwest Barton County, which is slightly each of South U.S. 281 and SE 50 Road.
County Appraiser Wendy Prosser said she received eight bids and Peregrine Services was one of the lower bids. Lineage Connect submitted a bid for $9,695, Master’s Touch bid $10,362.84 and $10,456.25. She said some of the submissions from lower-priced firms had bidding errors or other issues with their documents that caused her to favor Peregrine. There were no local bids.
Using a bulk mailing company for sending out evaluation notices saves the county money as opposed to doing it in-house, commissioners said, with Zimmerman noting $8,489 of the cost is for postage.
The Appraiser’s Office sends out property values as of Jan. 1, 2026, with the statutory deadline of March 1. Because that falls on a Sunday, they must be mailed by Feb. 27.
County Health Department Director Karen Winkelman said the software subscription cost increased by $921 but the increase was anticipated in her budget. They have reduced the number of licenses from 23 to 21, which saves money.
“We purchased this system in December of 2017 and, to date, we have over 33,000 clients in the system,” Winkelman said. It is used for scheduling documentation, charting and data reports, which are needed for grant applications. Staff can scan documents into it and generate reminders. It can also be used to request lab testing from the Kansas Department of Health and Environment.
