The Overland Park Regional Medical Center (OPRMC)  awarded Kansas Lieutenant Governor Jeff Colyer, M.D. with the Frist Humanitarian Award. Governor Sam Brownback helped present the award to Dr. Colyer.

Lt. Governor Colyer graduated from Thomas More Prep High School in Hays before earning his undergraduate degree from Georgetown University in 1981 and his Masters Degree from Cambridge University in Cambridge, England.  He returned home for medical school, receiving his Doctor of Medicine degree from the University of Kansas in 1986.

“Dr. Colyer is an incredibly talented and dedicated physician, humanitarian and public servant. He is devoted to philanthropic efforts across the globe; as recently as last summer he went to Syria to bring medical services to those iLt. Governor Colyer graduated from Thomas More Prep High School in Hays before earning his undergraduate degree from Georgetown University in 1981 and his Masters Degree from Cambridge University in Cambridge, England.  He returned home for medical school, receiving his Doctor of Medicine degree from the University of Kansas in 1986.

Dr. Colyer has served on the medical staff at the OPRMC for 17 years and also serves on the hospital’s board of trustees. He also has volunteered for more than 20 years through the International Medical Corps (IMC) in numerous war-zones, including Iraq, Rwanda, Kosovo, Sierra Leone, and Afghanistan, to bring medical care to those in desperate need.

The Frist Humanitarian Award was created in 1971 to honor outstanding individuals for their humanitarian and volunteer activities. Named in honor of Dr. Thomas F. Frist, Sr., a founder of Hospital Corporation of America (HCA), this award recognizes individuals who serve the community and those in need and whose daily dedication and care giving epitomize the highest standards of quality and personal commitment. Awards are given in three categories; HCA employee, HCA volunteer, and a HCA-affiliated physician.

“This is such an honor and a complete surprise. I love being a doctor and helping to make a difference in people’s lives. Thank you to the Overland Park Regional Medical Center for this recognition,” Dr. Colyer said.

Dr. Colyer was elected to the Kansas House of Representatives in 2006 and was then elected to the Kansas Senate in 2008. In 2010, then-U.S. Senator Brownback selected him as his running mate for governor. Colyer currently lives in Overland Park with his wife Ruth and their three daughters.

Document Resources is having a free document shred day to dispose of the your personal documents and files from 9 to 11:30 a.m. on Saturday at 607 E. 13th in Hays.

You can bring your items to the Document Resources facility so they can be gathered for destruction, including recycling the destroyed remains. You do not have to remove staples or paper clips. For more information, call (785) 625-2111.

Artist Joel Dugan missed last week’s Hays Arts Center special event. He will be available tonight to discuss his artwork on display in the Gallery.  The exhibit, Desired Balance, is on display through April 19.  Tonight’s Artist Gallery talk begins at 5:30 p.m. The Art Center Gallery is at 112 East 11th in beautiful downtown Hays.

 

 

Josh Waddell was elected to the USD 489 school board in last week’s election. He received the second most votes, but was not legally qualified to serve because he had not been registered to vote in Ellis County. Waddell spoke with Eagle News to explain what happened.

“In 2011 when I redid my drivers license they asked me if I wanted to register to vote and I said yes. At that point in time I thought I was a registered voter in Ellis County. I was gone during the presidential election in 2012 for training for my job so I was not able to vote. Had I voted I would have found out then that I had not registered.

“When I went through the school board application, I’m finding out now that apparently there was a phone call and voicemail left to me for vote registration issues. I never received that voicemail. I’m not going to take the stance that the county clerks office is lying, I’m just going to take the stance that I never received that.

“I had numerous phone calls with the county clerk and that was never brought up in any of those phone conversations either. So it wasn’t until the Thursday after voter registration had closed out that I found out I wasn’t a registered voter and I found out by trying to find out what I had marked – I wanted to show unaffiliated. I didn’t know if that is what I had marked or not when I did my voter registration and that is when I found out I wasn’t technically a registered voter.  At that time I said ‘Well what do I do?’ and I was instructed by the county clerk that it is irrelevant it doesn’t matter, it’s not required for school board elections.

“Just come up after the election and register if you want to be a voter and of course I did that and now I find out it’s a pretty big issue that could have been remedied over the course of two and a half months had I consciously known I was not a registered voter.

“Now I take full responsibility for not following up for not looking for a registration card but quite frankly that was out of sight out of mind. I didn’t think of it that way but I definitely should have, I should have known for sure that by checking when I never received a voter registration card, that I wasn’t looking for but I definitely have to take some responsibility in the situation.

“But by no means was it intentional and by no means did I get advised to become a registered voter and just ignore that advice. You don’t go through a campaign and spend your own money just to be disqualified in the end. That is not what anyone would set out to do. I’m a little frustrated that I don’t believe the county clerk office is not reporting things accurately.

“None the less at the end of the day I wasn’t a registered voter in Ellis County.

“There was a message from the county clerks office I called back on but it pertained to campaign funding and whether I wanted to fill out that form ahead of time or wait ’till the end. I called back and discussed it and at that time nothing about voter registration was mentioned to me.

“I think the situation could have been handled differently but I’m not willing to take the stance and blame all this on the county clerk’s office. I just the wish the process for the application to the school board election could have been thoroughly reviewed so we could have avoided anything if there were qualifications that candidates were missing.”

Waddell agreed that voter registration for elected office needs to be clarified, to avoid a similar situation in the future.

“I can’t apologize to the community enough. It was completely unintentional there was no malice. I didn’t try to circumvent any of the state laws. That was not what was done here. I would never intentionally try to avoid registering. I feel bad for all the people that have lent me support and wrote letters on behalf of me. I apologize to the community. I can’t say that with enough sincerity. I did not mean to put the community, the school board and those who supported me in that position. That was the last thing I wanted to do. I wanted to be on the board of education because I believe in myself and my ability to work with others and that I thought I could be a positive influence moving forward especially with so much change in the next few months. I don’t know whether I will have that option at this time. I don’t know how it will work out.”

Waddell believes USD 489 now has two options, “The existing board has the ability to accept the election results as they are or they can choose to go with the recommendation of the board attorney and create a vacancy in that position. If a vacancy is created then the new board that takes office on July 1 will appoint someone to fill that position.”

Click the link below to listen to Waddell’s interview.

Josh Waddell Interview

 

Law Enforcement was dispatched to a one vehicle accident in the 600 Block of Old Highway 40 west of Hays.  A vehicle  hit the embankment at 4:18 p.m.  Fortunately, there were no serious injuries. The roads are very icy. Please drive with extreme caution.

Stay tuned to Eagle Radio and check Hays Post for details as they become available.

Drivers on Old Highway 40 west of Hays are driving on ice this afternoon.  Law enforcement officials are encouraging drivers to slow down on their drive home.

The weather forecast calls for chance of freezing rain and sleet before 4am, then a chance of snow. Cloudy, with an overnight low around 18. Wind chill values as low as 3. Very windy, with a north northwest wind 23 to 30 mph. Chance of precipitation is 50%. New snow and sleet accumulation of less than a half inch possible.