(AP) — A southwest Kansas school district is weighing whether to require kindergarten pupils to repeat the grade if they don’t meet certain standards.
A committee of about a dozen educators has recommended the retention policy, with the goal of making sure children enter first grade with basic skills in reading, writing and recognizing numbers.
Garden School schools retain about 55 students a year in all grade levels. The committee that studied potential kindergarten retention concluded that number would drop if children were better prepared before starting first grade.
The school board could decide at its next meeting whether to approve a pilot program in kindergarten retention. Officials say they don’t know of any other Kansas district that holds kindergarteners back until they achieve certain proficiencies.
7:35 p.m. According to a media release from Hays Police “On April 13, 2013 at 2:48 p.m. a juvenile notified a Hays Police Officer, who was at The Mall, that there was a message in the men’s bathroom about an explosive device. Units from the Hays Police Department and the Hays Fire Department responded to The Mall. Staff for The Mall was notified. A search of The Mall was completed and no suspicious items were located. Evidence at this time indicates that this was a prank.”
If anyone has information regarding this case please contact the Hays Police Department at (785) 625-1030.
5:25 p.m. After a reported bomb threat on Saturday, the Mall in Hays is back to normal. Hays Police Chief Don Scheibler said, “We have done a couple of walks through the Mall, met with staff and things are back to normal. We’ll release additional details later.”
Employees at JC Pennys told Hays Post, “We saw the police, their cars were parked out front, they came walking through but nobody said anything and the stores were not evacuated. A police officer did say that there was a bomb threat and that and a bomb was supposed to have gone off at 3 p.m.” The Mall was full of children on Saturday for the annual Family Fun Fest event.
President of the United States Barack Obama will visit the University of Kansas on Friday for an event, officials announced today.
“We are honored to welcome President Obama to the University of Kansas,” said Chancellor Bernadette Gray-Little. “We are delighted for the opportunity to visit with him about our mission of educating leaders, building healthy communities and making discoveries that change the world.”
The KU Office of Public Affairs and the White House will release more information on the President’s visit as it becomes available. It is not yet known whether the event will be open to the public.
The Hays Area Chamber of Commerce held the second of three Eggs & Issues Legislative Forums on Saturday morning at the Sternberg Museum. United States Senator Jerry Moran made a surprise appearance. He said he was back in Hays to “run some errands.” Click the photos for a closer look.
U.S. Senator Jerry Moran at the podium with State Senator Ralph Ostmeyer and State Representative Sue Boldra in the background and Chamber Exec Tammy Welbrock (left) listening in.
State Senator Ralph Ostmeyer addresses Saturday’s Eggs & Issues as Rep. Travis Couture-Lovelady and Rep.Sue Boldra listen in.
Senator Ralph Ostmeyer, R-Grinnell, representing the 40th District; Representatives Sue Boldra, R-Hays, from the 111thDistrict; and Travis Couture-Lovelady, R-Palco, from the 110th District were on hand to answer questions and discuss the recently completed legislative session.
Among the topics discussed by the legislators, the elimination of the state income tax by Governor Brownback, KANCARE, Education funding and the Governor’s budget, illegal immigration reform, the Keystone Pipeline across Kansas and Marriage equality. A discussion on guns received the most applause. All three legislators said they supported guns in classrooms.
(AP) — Police say three people have been found shot to death inside a home in Topeka.
Topeka police Lt. Scott Gilchrist says officers and emergency medical responders arrived after getting a 911 call around 9:15 p.m. Friday from a woman at a home that several people were shot. He declined to give any identifying information about the three people who were found dead, including whether they lived in the house.
Gilchrist said that police were searching for a person of interest. He says the person isn’t believed to be a threat to the general public.
The city of Topeka had recorded only two homicides this year prior to Friday.
Defending 110 Meter Hurdle State Champion and KSU signee Adam Deterding
School Finals Click on the photos above for a closer look.
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Boys 4×800 Meter Relay Elite Finals
1 Hays ‘A’ 8:13.16
2 Wamego ‘A’ 8:20.55
3 Dodge City ‘A’ 8:21.86
4 Great Bend ‘A’ 8:22.43
5 Buhler ‘A’ 8:31.24
6 Ellinwood ‘A’ 8:33.19
7 Rose Hill ‘A’ 8:46.16
8 Shawnee Heights ‘A’ 9:09.98
Boys 110 Meter Hurdles Elite
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Name Year School Finals Wind
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Finals
1 Deterding, Adam 12 Hays 14.54 1.3
2 Newlan, Sean 12 Phillipsburg 15.03 1.3
3 May, Jake 12 Andale 15.06 1.3
4 Carrasco, Dominique 10 Hays 15.38 1.3
5 Poe, Isaac 12 Wamego 15.50 1.3
6 Puritty, Ross 11 Wichita-Kapa 15.56 1.3
7 Arnold, Cameron 12 Shawnee Heights 15.92 1.3
— McGehee, Tanner 12 Rose Hill FS 1.3
Boys 100 Meter Dash Elite
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Name Year School Finals Wind H#
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Finals
1 Powell, Rhys 12 Wichita-Collegiate 11.00 1.7 1
2 Allen, Riley 11 Buhler 11.14 0.8 2
3 Deus, Rodney 12 Hays-TMP-Marian 11.20 0.8 2
4 Morss, Levi 12 La Crosse 11.24 0.8 2
5 Delton, Alex 10 Hays 11.27 0.8 2
6 Mitchell, Emilio 12 Hays 11.30 0.8 2
7 Peter, Devin 12 Derby 11.36 1.7 1
8 Mays, Colton 12 Rose Hill 11.37 0.8 2
8 Pearson, Jonny 12 Rose Hill 11.37 1.7 1
10 Lennemann, Stuart 10 Phillipsburg 11.39 1.7 1
11 Burns, Tyler 10 Wichita-Trinity 11.47 0.8 2
12 Stewart, Kendall 10 Maize 11.53 0.8 2
13 Arnold, Caleb 09 Derby 11.76 1.7 1
14 Mason, Michael 11 Mulvane 11.89 1.7 1
— Sandoval, Armando 12 Ulysses FS 1.7 1
— Annis, Tate 12 Ulysses DNS 1.7 1
Listen to Mike Cooper interviewing Orthopedic Physician and Surgeon Dr. Robert Bassett, from the Hays Orthopedic Institute at HaysMed by clicking the link below. Health Information Please Show 04-13-2013
Due to Over whelming use, Safe Ride has made changes to add vans to better serve it’s riders
Wednesday—- 10pm to 3am
Thursday —– 10 pm to 3 am
Friday ——— 3 pm to 3 am
Saturday —— 10 pm to 3 am (2 vans)
On weekends safe ride has added a second van to meet the demand.
Current numbers show Saturday riders total from 200 and 275 a night
Safe Ride is a free service available to the entire community. The Safe Ride bus picks up and drops off riders anywhere within the city limits between 10 p.m. and 3 a.m., Wednesday through Saturday nights.
Safe ride is not just for those who have had too much to drink but the safe ride also gives rides to those who might fear for their safety.
Six non-profit charities and organizations in Hays and WaKeeney have been awarded Healthy Living and Area Action grants by the Heartland Community Foundation.
Mendi Alexander, board chair of the Heartland Community Foundation, which encompasses Trego, Rooks and Ellis Counties, said, “This was one of the most difficult challenges our grants committee has had to date in selecting the grant recipients. We had 17 applications and most of them were well done and very deserving.
“We are pleased to announce that Healthy Living Fund grants have been awarded to these non-profit organizations for their program and project needs for 2013: The Center for Health Improvement; Trego Recreation Commission, and Healthy Start/Hays Area Children Center.
“And we awarded Area Action Fund grants to the Cancer Council of Ellis County; Girl Scouts/Kansas Heartland, and USD 489’s Ellis County Dolly Parton Imagination Library,” Alexander said.
Bob Lowen, executive director of the HCF, said the Cancer Council plans to use its $400 grant to purchase nutritional supplements for Ellis County cancer patients; Trego Rec will use its $600 grant to purchase bicycles and safety helmets for an upcoming children’s Bicycle Safety Rodeo; and Healthy Start plans to use its $566 grant to purchase 100 books that deal with young children who are sick for first-time parents.
Lowen also said the USD 489/Dolly Parton group will use its $391 grant to enroll young children in a program whereby they receive age-appropriate books monthly; the Center for Health Improvement will use its $400 grant to support its Park Crawl fitness program, and the Girl Scouts group will use its $400 grant to support its annual Girls Night Out at the Mall in Hays.
Grants are awarded annually by the Heartland Community Foundation. Detailed information and grant applications can be found at the foundation’s website.
A delegation from Fort Hays State University is in Saudi Arabia to participate in the International Exhibition & Conference on Higher Education.
Cindy Elliott, assistant provost for strategic partnerships and dean of distance learning, believes prospective students in that part of the world will see FHSU as an especially appealing place to pursue a college degree. “We are different,” she said. “FHSU is a smaller university in a safe community in the United States, and yet we have abundant experience internationally.”
FHSU established partnerships with universities in China more than a decade ago and currently has about 3,500 students there who are pursuing FHSU degrees. Also, StateUniversity.com, which bills itself as the leading website for college information, recently ranked FHSU as the safest campus in Kansas.
The higher education conference runs from April 16 through 19 in Riyadh, the capital of Saudi Arabia. The FHSU delegation includes Elliott and Dr. Houssain Kettani, professor of informatics and director of the Information Systems Engineering Program.
This will be the first time FHSU has attended the conference.
FHSU will be promoting the new engineering program. ISE is a multidisciplinary area of study that involves software, digital storage and retrieval, networks, human computer interaction, information security, digital design, and electronic media. Graduates in this field are in high demand at various governmental agencies and private companies. The delegation will also promote FHSU’s English as a Second Language program.
Elliott said FHSU has 45 Saudi students on campus and hopes to attract more. “Our students from Saudi Arabia are extremely pleased with the environment of FHSU and Hays and with the quality of the education they are receiving,” she said.
Most of the Saudi students in Hays are studying informatics after completing an intensive English language program.
While in Saudi Arabia, the FHSU delegation will travel to other cities to develop partnerships. “Our program in mainland China delivers joint bachelor’s degrees to Chinese students without them having to study abroad in the United States,” Elliott explained. “We hope to develop similar partnerships in Saudi Arabia in addition to recruiting additional Saudi students to Hays.”
Today will be partly cloudy. Southerly winds will be on the increase during the day, and by this afternoon speeds of 20 to 25 mph and higher gusts are expected. High temperatures will reach near 70.
Sunday, a front will work its way through the region, bringing gusty northwesterly winds. High temperatures will be cooler, near 60 degrees.
As we get into the work week, the main story will lie with falling temperatures and increasing chances of rain and snow.
Today: Mostly sunny, with a high near 67. Breezy, with a south wind 6 to 11 mph increasing to 16 to 21 mph in the afternoon.
Tonight: Partly cloudy, with a low around 50. Breezy, with a south wind 18 to 24 mph.
Sunday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 62. Breezy, with a south southwest wind 18 to 24 mph becoming north in the afternoon.
Sunday Night: A slight chance of showers and thunderstorms between 11pm and 3am. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 38. North northeast wind 9 to 14 mph becoming light and variable after midnight. Chance of precipitation is 20%.
Monday: Partly sunny, with a high near 54. East northeast wind 10 to 13 mph.
Tuesday: A chance of drizzle. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 47.
Wednesday: A chance of rain, snow, and sleet. Cloudy, with a high near 37. Breezy. Chance of precipitation is 50%.
A southwest Kansas school district is weighing whether to require kindergarten pupils to repeat the grade if they don’t meet certain standards.
