Public meetings on road study set for Derby, Haysville

Public meetings on road study set for Derby, Haysville

Sedgwick County will host meetings in Derby and Haysville this week to ask the public about a road study in the southern part of the county.

The ARC 95 Study will evaluate 95th Street South between Greenwich and Meridian to see whether the county should install medians, add lanes, create interchanges with K-15 or Interstate 35 or build a crossing over the Arkansas River. ARC stands for Arkansas River Crossing.

“They are asking citizens if they think these improvements are necessary or would be worthwhile,” said County Public Information Officer Kate Flavin. “They’re also informing them of what the 95th Street corridor could look like.”

The Derby meeting will be 5-6:30 p.m. on Tuesday at the Derby Public Library at 1600 E. Walnut Grove. The Haysville meeting will be 5-6:30 p.m. on Thursday at the Haysville Public Library, 210 S. Hays.

Officials from the county Public Works Department and TranSystems, the contractor hired to do the study, will be at the meetings.

“I would like to see if improvement in this part of the county could lead to increased economic growth and quality of life, like it has in other areas,” according to a newsletter from Sedgwick County Commissioner Tim Norton, whose district includes most of the corridor.

The corridor also lies in commission Chairman Jim Howell’s southeastern Sedgwick County district.

Daniel Salazar

Police investigate report of body found near river

Wichita police are investigating the report of a body found Sunday morning near the Arkansas River.

The body was lying on the ground next to a tree in the 400 block West Stackman Drive at around 7:30 a.m., according to Sgt. Joe Kennedy, spokesman for the Wichita Police Department.

“We had a person walking along the river near West Murdock when they observed a 59-year-old white male, unresponsive,” Kennedy said. “The fire department was flagged down. The individual was pronounced dead on the scene.”

The coroners office was called out and transported the body to the Sedgwick County Regional Forensics Science Center to determine cause of death.

At this time there doesn’t appear to have been any foul play, Kennedy said. The person may have been homeless.

No other details have been released at this time.

Beccy Tanner

This story was originally published August 14, 2016 at 5:14 PM with the headline "Public meetings on road study set for Derby, Haysville."