Great Bend Post
Sep 07, 2022

Barton Co. Commission promotes Hamby at landfill, passes on burn ban

Posted Sep 07, 2022 2:59 PM
Jennifer Hamby was named Barton County Landfill Director at Wednesday's Barton County Commission meeting
Jennifer Hamby was named Barton County Landfill Director at Wednesday's Barton County Commission meeting

By MIKE COURSON
Great Bend Post

She's been doing the work, now she has the official title. In May of this year, Jennifer Hamby was named the Barton County Landfill Interim Director. At Wednesday's commission meeting, she was formally named director. During the weekly meeting, the commission also passed on a county-wide burn ban due to recent rains. County Emergency Risk Manager Amy Miller presented on the burn ban.

"I talked with Luke McCormick, fire chief of Great Bend yesterday," she said. "He said the fire chiefs would like to withdraw their request for a resolution at this time. Great Bend had not quite two inches of rain Thursday night, and that extended out to a large portion of the county. He'd spoken, from what I understood, with other fire chiefs. They said they'd be willing to work with putting it off and hopefully receiving more rain this weekend."

Commissioner Kirby Krier warned that much of the county remains very dry. Forecasts for the area indicate a 20-percent chance of rain Friday, increasing to a 40-percent chance Saturday. High temperatures are expected to dip into the mid-70s by Sunday.

The commission voted to approve Hamby as Barton County Landfill director. Hamby has been employed at the landfill since 2013, and was named interim director after Phil Hathcock moved out of state after serving as director for the previous eight years. Hamby thanked the commission for the opportunity.

"I really appreciate the opportunity to serve in this role," she said. "I look forward to working with you guys and the community to make the best possible decisions for the future of that landfill. I'm really excited."

Hamby received her Manager of Landfill Operations certification through the Solid Waste Association of North America in 2019.