Mitchell County Commissioners met on Friday, December 30 to hold their regular meeting and attend to year end business.
Health Nurse Courtney Murrow appeared to have a contract signed for Drs. Crumbaker and Cheney to be the family planning physicians for Mitchell County Hospital Health Systems.
The commissioners also approved a contract with the firm of Lindberg, Farris, Vogel and Pierce Chartered to perform auditing services for the county in 2017.
Any year end fund redistributions which the county chooses to do will be performed after the completion of year end business at the courthouse according to County Clerk Chris Treaster.
The Domestic Violence Association of Central Kansas (DVACK) requested the commissioners approve a proclamation for National Stalking Awareness Month to be recognized by Mitchell County in the month of January 2017. The proclamation included, but was not limited to, a statement reading that there are laws in all fifty states which make stalking a crime. Annually, 7.5 million people are stalked in the U.S. with the majority of victims being stalked by someone they know.
The proclamation says that DVACK assisted 178 stalking victims in 2016. In approving the proclamation, Mitchell County applauds the efforts of the many victim service providers, police officers, prosecutors, national and community organizations and private sector supporters for their efforts in promoting awareness about stalking.
Another proclamation was approved for National Slavery and Human Trafficking Prevention Month in January 2017 as well. In summary, it reads that men, women and children are victims of human trafficking which is the second fastest growing criminal industry worldwide according to DVACK. Human trafficking is typically conducted for the purposes of sexual exploitation or forced labor. According to the proclamation, most human trafficking in Kansas involves children.
Traffickers are increasingly using social networks and online advertising sites to facilitate trafficking. The goal of the proclamation is to show public support for victim service providers, law enforcement, the criminal justice system and concerned citizens committed to creating a society which eradicates these crimes to fight for human dignity and the rights of everyone.
The Mitchell County Commissioners will hold their first meeting of 2017 on Monday January 9 at 8:30 a.m. at the Mitchell County Courthouse.