Kari Mailloux with the Hutchinson Community Foundation let Hutch Post know that a three-year project called Love Where You Live is for all of those in Reno County, not just those in the Salt City.

“We’re asking people all across Reno County to tell us how they feel about their communities,” Mailloux said. “What do they love about their communities? What are they paying attention to? How will they know if the community is making progress? It starts with a survey right now that is open at renosurvey.com through the end of July.”

If you’re not comfortable with an online survey, they still want to have your input.

“We are distributing paper copies across the county to like city halls and libraries,” Mailloux said. “People can stop in and pick up a paper copy and either leave it there or mail it back or bring it back to the Hutchinson Community Foundation.”

They are hoping to get a good response to the survey from all of the county’s communities.

“Our goal is to get 1,150 responses,” Mailloux said. “That breaks down to about 400 in Hutchinson and 125 in each of those smaller communities, at least. We are asking them what makes their community special. We’re asking them what do they feel makes their community strong? We’re asking them how do they feel about the future of their community? What makes their place unique? We’re also asking them what are their priorities? What are they paying attention to in the community? Is it the aesthetics? Is it the jobs? Is it the accessibility of childcare? We want to know so that then we can help residents kind of come together and put collaborative action behind those priorities.”

In addition to the survey, there will be community meetings this fall to narrow down priorities so that the foundation can hopefully put some funding behind the most important ones in the coming years.

County and state fairs are around the corner, and food is a main attraction. From vendors and trucks to projects and competitions, Kansas State University food scientist Karen Blakeslee said knowing how to prevent food safety mishaps is key.

“For any food preparation, always wash your hands before handling food,” Blakeslee said. “Use plastic gloves or utensils to handle ready-to-eat foods.”

Blakeslee recommends wearing closed toe shoes for safety in the case of accidents and securing hair with a hat or other method to keep hair out of food.

Food projects need to be safe for judges to sample, she added.

“There are several ways to check for doneness of baked goods such as the recommended baking time, color, touch, inserting a toothpick and it comes out clean, and using a food thermometer,” Blakeslee said.

Blakeslee, who is also coordinator of K-State’s Rapid Response Center for Food Science, suggests preparing food entries early and freezing them to help save time and stress at county fairs.

“Most baked goods freeze well and can still be blue ribbon quality. This includes cookies, yeast and quick breads, and cakes,” Blakeslee said.

Additional tips for freezing food entries include:

• Bake the product as usual. Cool completely to help prevent condensation inside the wrapping and the development of ice crystals.
• Use moisture-vapor resistant packaging. This includes freezer-safe plastic containers or bags, heavy-duty aluminum foil, and rigid containers.
• Separate layers of cookies with wax paper or parchment paper.
• If a cake or bread is to be frosted, freeze the product only and frost after it is thawed.

When preparing pies, Blakeslee suggests making pie crusts ahead of time and freezing them.

“Freezing whole prepared pies can cause the filling to soak into the crust,” she said.

When the time comes to thaw the product, thaw all baked goods in the freezer packaging.

“They can be thawed at room temperature. Remove from the freezer the night before the fair. Once thawed, repackage into the proper packaging according to your fair rules,” Blakeslee said.

Signage at the fair is also important when preventing food safety hazards.

“There have been foodborne illness outbreaks traced back to fairs in the past. If handling animals, washing hands is very important before handling or eating food because of the chance of contamination from E. coli bacteria,” Blakeslee said.

She suggests using signage to help remind fair-goers of simple tips for food safety.

“It’s a joint effort between the fair organizers and fair-goers to make the effort to prepare, serve and consume safe food,” Blakeslee said.

Blakeslee publishes a monthly newsletter called You Asked It! that provides numerous tips on food safety. More information is also available from local extension offices in Kansas.

Kansas joined more than 40 states last week when it enacted the Protect Vulnerable Adults from Financial Exploitation Act, a law that will give financial advisers the ability to pause transactions when they suspect an older person is being defrauded.

Abuses of elder fraud lost $33,915 on average last year, with total losses exceeding $3.4 billion, according to the Federal Burau of Investigations. Scams by purported tech support workers are the most common ways victims older than 60 are defrauded, followed by personal data breaches, romance scams, nonpayment or non-delivery scams and investment scams.

When financial agents pause a transaction, they’re required to notify the Kansas Department of Insurance to investigate the potential fraud.

Kansas Insurance Commissioner Vicki Schmidt backs new law

“Recouping a victim’s money after an investment scam is an incredibly low probability — less than 5%,” said Kansas Insurance Commissioner Vicki Schmidt. “That’s why prevention is so important, particularly with the most vulnerable. These new laws will give financial advisers and the department stronger tools to prevent fraud and go after bad actors.”

The bill is modelled after draft legislation from the North American Securities Administration Association, an association of state securities administrators charged with protecting consumers from fraudulent investment advice. Representatives from prominent organizations in both aging and financial advisers supported the act, and it passed the House and Senate with just one vote against it.

“Older Americans are attractive targets for fraud because they often have sizable assets they have built up through a lifetime of hard work. Although older people make up just 12% of the population, they constitute a full 30% of the victims of consumer fraud crime,” Glenda DuBoise, state director of the American Association of Retired Persons, told lawmakers.

Bill will ‘slow down disbursements and transactions’ to prevent fraud

The bill does have timelines to make sure legitimate transactions aren’t held by a financial adviser.

“No one wants hard-earned retirement savings to be taken by scammers who utilize social media and other get rich quick schemes to mask their wrongdoing. This bill is tailored to slow down disbursements and transactions only long enough to verify their legitimacy and prevent fraud and theft,” said Eric Turek, director of governmental and public affairs for the KDOI.