County Commission reorganizes, appoints new planning commissioner
The Reno County Commission approved the appointment Tuesday of a new County Planning Commission member, as well as the purchase of three vehicles for the sheriff’s department.
The commission also welcomed its newest member, Daniel Friesen, of Buhler, and quickly appointed him as vice chairman of the board during the annual board reorganization.
Planning appointment
Jack Martin, 68, who lives just south of 56th Avenue along Old K-61 highway, was appointed to the planning commission for a three-year term ending in December 2023. Martin fills the seat vacated late last year by Mary Lynn Baker, who resigned.
Hermes wraps up 28 years as Youth Services Director
Reno County Youth Services Director Bill Hermes shared a few numbers with the Reno County Commission one last time on Tuesday.
Hermes, 57, is retiring from the position after 28 years, and the place he’s worked since 1989. He’s presented annual or quarterly reports to the commission for years.
Over those years, Hermes estimated, some 13,700 youth have been placed in the county’s youth shelter, more than 14,000 come through detention and 22,000 through intake and assessment.
“We’re definitely touching lives there,” Hermes said. “I want everyone to understand it’s the employees there that make it great. I’m only as good as the people I surrounded myself with and I was lucky to have people who’d chosen to work there as a mission in life and stuck with it through the most difficult times.”