No more fee for Spring Hill residents registering their cats and dogs

Starting next year, Spring Hill residents will no longer be required to register their cats and dogs and pay a fee to do so.

Mayor Steven Ellis raised the idea again in October after being called about a dog that had broken loose and bitten someone, causing a serious injury. The owner had never registered the animal.

“This is a tax on responsible people,” Ellis told the City Council, adding that the fees generate a small amount of revenue compared to the cost of collecting them.

Up to now, the yearly licenses have cost $5 for spayed or neutered animals and $10 for others. The city charged a monthly late fee of $1 for those who missed the March 1 deadline.

The council unanimously agreed on Nov. 12 to repeal the registration licensing fee, after removing a provision that would require animals to be microchipped or wear an ID tag. A rabies vaccination is still required, and the city also requires a permit for households to keep more than two dogs.

“I don’t mean this as a pun, but this has been a pet project of mine for several months,” Ellis said after the vote. “And I’m delighted that we can do this for the taxpayers.”

Museum lauded for COVID response

The Johnson County Museum has received an Award of Excellence from the Kansas Museum Association for its three-pronged response to the coronavirus pandemic.

“In the throes of a pandemic with the doors of the museum closed to the public, the curators and I asked ourselves one question: How can the museum help our community?” said Johnson County Museum Director Mary McMurray, who started at the museum in early April.

The resulting projects:

▪ The Collecting COVID-19 Initiative, launched in March, has allowed the museum to accrue resources for future exhibits on the health crisis. The museum has obtained photographs, homemade masks, medical supplies, ephemera related to high school graduation and other items, as well as verbal descriptions of how the pandemic has affected daily life. That effort is continuing.

▪ After a two-month COVID-19 shutdown, the museum reopened in June with an exhibit focusing on how the community has responded to challenging situations over the decades: war, economic crises, natural disasters and personal tragedies. Created in a matter of weeks, “Rising to the Challenge: Suburban Strength in Difficult Times” will remain on display through next spring.

▪ Another exhibit, “Resilience, Reflection, Rebuilding: Artists Respond to COVID-19,” reflects on the losses caused by the pandemic. Working with the Fine Arts Department of the Johnson County Park and Recreation District and the Arts Council of Johnson County, received more than 90 submissions after releasing a call for artwork relating to the crisis. That exhibit opened Aug. 1 runs through Jan. 22.

Both exhibits can be seen at the Johnson County Arts and Heritage Center, at 8788 Metcalf Ave., Overland Park, where the museum is located.

Ridgeview/Santa Fe reopens in Olathe

After a long period of construction to improve “one of Olathe’s most congested intersections,” the city says it has reopened Ridgeview Road at Santa Fe Street. The traffic signal there, which had been blinking during construction, is fully functional.

Safety tips for online shoppers

With Cyber Monday coming up on Nov. 30, the Lenexa Police Department is offering tips to avoid becoming a theft victim while shopping online during the holidays:

▪ Patronize only reputable vendors or those you’ve used before.

▪ To protect your credit card number and other financial information, don’t use public Wi-Fi when making purchases or doing online banking.

▪ When buying online, look for the padlock icon at the start of the web address or make sure the address begins with “https.” Those indicate higher security.

▪ iMonitor credit card and bank statements at least weekly for fraudulent charges. If something looks fishy, notify the financial institution.

▪ Take delivered packages inside as soon as possible or ask a neighbor to remove them from the porch. If you can, have them delivered to your workplace instead.

COVID mental health funds target vulnerable groups

Some groups — such as people of color and those with little or no insurance — have suffered more than others during the coronavirus pandemic, either from losses caused by the disease or from unemployment, isolation and other side effects of efforts to limit its spread.

But with $300,000 in federal coronavirus relief funds, the Johnson County Mental Health Center is offering more help for those groups, which also include the elderly, people with disabilities, members of the LGBTQ community and people involved in the criminal justice system.

Those individuals can request the service they need most: counseling, medication, telehealth technology or transportation to mental health appointments. They, or social service workers acting on their behalf, just need to fill out a form at jocogov.org/ReliefFundsForMentalHealth. Services are available for children and adults.

“Now that these supports are funded, we are working our hardest to get them into the hands of the people who need them,” Johnson County Mental Health Center Director Tim DeWeese said in a news release. “This is about removing barriers, not creating them.”

Donate coats, toys for needy

Merriam is collecting new toys and new or gently used coats which the Johnson County Christmas Bureau will distribute to families in need.

Collection barrels will be available through Dec. 1 at City Hall, 9001 W. 62nd St., and at the Merriam Community Center, 6040 Slater St.

Olathe library resumes deliveries, makerspace

The Olathe Public Library has resumed two services that were suspended to reduce the spread of the new coronavirus:

▪ The “Library to You” program, which delivers books and other materials to patrons who can’t travel. All deliveries are contactless, and the items are quarantined for 96 hours before being sent out. For more, go to OlatheLibrary.org/LTY.

▪ >The Lab at the Indian Creek Library, 16100 W. 135th St., where patrons can use equipment like 3D printers, a laser engraver, a large format printer and craft center tools. Reservations are required. Go to OlatheLibrary.org/Lab.

This story was originally published November 19, 2020 at 5:00 AM with the headline "No more fee for Spring Hill residents registering their cats and dogs."