By Brian McDowell | The Chanute Tribune

Congresswoman Lynn Jenkins made a couple of stops in Chanute on Monday, to tour local businesses that she called “hidden gems that generally fly under the radar.” She said she has made appearances in the area in the past to tour facilities run by bigger companies such as Spirit, but she wanted to get in touch with smaller businesses on this trip.

“I like to get out around the district and knock on folks’ door and find out what issues are important to them,” Jenkins said, “and find out what I can do in Washington to make their lives easier.”

Jenkins is a native of Holton, and has served in Congress since 2009. She had previous served as a state representative and state senator before then. She is currently engaged in a reelection campaign against Democratic challenger Margie Wakefield.

Jenkins visited Schell Electronics and Optimized Process Furnace, going on tours led by MRH Insurance Group President Ross Hendrickson.

Schell Electronics has been in the same building, at 120 N. Lincoln, for 34 years. It manufactures mainly surveillance equipment used by law enforcement agencies and other government groups. The facility has eight employees, all of whom were on-hand to meet Jenkins. Jerry Schell guided Jenkins around the business, showing her circuit boards of the various pieces of equipment the business manufactures.

Jenkins asked Schell what his biggest worries are about what is happening currently in Washington.

Schell responded that health care was his primary concern, as an employer.

“We hear that everywhere we go,” Jenkins said.

Schell pointed to an employee whose insurance premiums will be going up from $200 to $400 next year, saying this is due to the passage of the Affordable 

Care Act.

“We’re sorry that law passed,” Jenkins said. “We’re working to address the concerns that people have about it.”

She said that she and her Republican colleagues in the House have tried to do things to combat the negative effects of this legislation, but that the Democratic leadership in the Senate have stopped such measures from ever reaching the floor.

“We’re hoping voters will send in a new cavalry this November and address the needs of the people,” Jenkins said.

Jenkins then stopped by the Optimized Process Furnace facility at 3995 South Santa Fe, and learned about this business. OPF has been a leader in direct-fire process heating applications, which are mainly used by various gas and oil facilities.

There is no manufacturing shop in Chanute; all that is done by the company in the Tulsa area. However, sales, design, and project manager has all been done by a dedicated crew in Chanute for the last 42 years.  It was stated at this meeting that the company’s first heater, made in 1972, is still in operation. Currently, OPF employs 18 people.

Jenkins learned about the products made by the company, while seated in a conference room at the facility surrounded by its employees.

She asked OPF officials the same question she asked Schell, about their biggest worries about happenings in Washington, D.C. This time, she jokingly added, “And keep in mind that I do have to be at home some point tonight.”

Health care was mentioned by company officials, as were high taxes and public sentiment about fracking.

Jenkins said that scientific research that shows that fracking is safe has taken care of many fracking issues.  She was also told that, while government regulation helps the company use state-of-the-art technology reduce emissions on its products, it has also hurt the ability of facilities that use OPF products to compete in the marketplace.

They also mentioned that southeast Kansas is an economically depressed area, which makes it difficult for companies like this one to retain good employees.

Jenkins said that the best part of her job was helping Kansans.

“I always look at my job as two main functions,” Jenkins said. “One is doing constituent service work every day. We have staff in our district offices that are doing casework for Kansans who are having an incredibly difficult time maneuvering their way through the bureaucracy that is the federal government.”

Jenkins loves that part of her job, because there’s no partisanship to it at all.

“If you’ve got a problem, we’re going to go through the wall to try to help you,” she said.

The other part of her job involves the making of public policy at the Capitol in Washington. She feels this part helps Kansans too, but in a totally different way.

Jenkins said that it is important for people in communities such as Chanute to know that she is accessible, and that she is working for them.

“They’re my boss,” Jenkins said. “Sometimes, I just have to come out and visit with folks and remind them that it’s no imposition when they call or contact my office, looking for or needing help or relief. So many people, like we heard, just want the federal government to get out of their way, so they can do what they do best.”

She explained that talking to business people on a tour like this one provided a good reminder of this message.