The Lenora Jubilee Association is ready for a big week. The highlight of this year’s Jubilee is Nashville recording artist, Greg Bates, as the featured performer on Friday night at 8 p.m.

Bates’ single “Did it for the Girl” was in the top 20 hits for American County Music and also hit the top-five in radio airplay. Greg Bates made his Grand Ole Opry debut in April of 2012.  “We are excited to have Greg coming to Lenora Kansas.  It is great to see these emerging artists come to our venue.  We are known for finding the best new artists and introducing them to Western Kansas,” said Scott Sproul, Lenora Jubilee Chairman.

Saturday night’s concert will kick off with Hays natives, Chad Stoecklein and Jeremy Schumacher of DoC and will feature Reggie Shaw, current Nashville Recording Artist hailing originally from Overton, Nebraska.  Reggie Shaw has been featured on Galaxy of the Stars Talent Search and the Colgate Country Showdown.  He was also one of the top five finalists in the National Texaco Country Showdown in Nashville.  “Reggie is making some noise on the music scene.  He is a very personable artist that puts on a great show.  Reggie will be one to watch in the future,” said Kate Otter of the Lenora Jubilee Entertainment Committee

Saturday is packed with fun events for the entire family.  Professional Showoff, The Amazing Arthur will be performing in the parade, as well as two shows in the afternoon. Y102 will lead a sanctioned pedal tractor pull. Other activities will include everything from yard sales to bingo to critter races; there is something for everyone. Be sure to visit www.lenorajubilee.com often to get the latest news on the Jubilee, or become a fan on Facebook and join the conversation.

Benedictine College, in Atchison, Kan., recently announced its spring honors lists. Students who distinguish themselves academically are named to the President’s List or the Dean’s List. To achieve the Dean’s List, students must carry a minimum of 12 credit hours and have a 3.5 to 3.9 grade point average. Of the 1,716 undergraduate students on campus for the 2012-2013 academic year, 440 made the Dean’s List.

The following local students were named to the Dean’s List:

Andrew Allen of Hays, KS

Kathryn Wagoner of Hays, KS

Benedictine College is a Catholic, Benedictine, liberal arts and residential college located on the bluffs overlooking the Missouri River at Atchison, Kansas. The institution traces its roots to 1858 and is dedicated to educating men and women in a community of faith and scholarship. It has been named one of the top Catholic colleges in the nation by the Newman Guide to Choosing a Catholic College and one of America’s Best Colleges by U.S. News & World Report. For more information, visit www.benedictine.edu.

Fort Hays State University has entered into a “teaming” agreement with two organizations that will position FHSU as the higher education institution of choice for employees of several national and international corporations desiring to pursue a baccalaureate or master’s degree at a distance.

Academic experts at FHSU have spent months reviewing the content of the professional training offered by several major corporations and will award college credit for the courses determined to have the appropriate course content and academic rigor equivalences.

The agreement was signed Wednesday evening on the Hays campus by Dr. Edward H. Hammond, FHSU president, by Tim N. Scoggins, CEO of both the National College Counseling Center and Counseling Connection, Inc., and by Stephen Krempl, founder of Krempl Communications International.

The agreement positions FHSU as a strategically important provider of education to the clients served by Scoggins and Krempl across the United States and abroad.

“The expertise that FHSU brings in serving international students will undoubtedly be well sought after by the international corporations,” Scoggins said. “The affordable degree programs and flexible curricula offered by FHSU set it apart as one of the best options for students to consider across the United States, as well.”

FHSU serves about 5,000 students online through its Virtual College. Those students are located across Kansas, in just about every other state and in various foreign nations. It has another 3,500 students enrolled in mainland China through partnerships with universities there. FHSU is frequently recognized by national rating organizations for the affordability and high quality of its distance-education programs.

“This teaming agreement will serve to bring exposure of the awesome programs of study offered by FHSU to tens of thousands of employees across the nation and around the world,” President Hammond said. “This is a joint venture that will prove mutually beneficial to all.”

Scoggins is the founder and CEO of both the National College Counseling Center in Pensacola, Fla., and the Counseling Connection, Inc., in Knoxville, Tenn. He has served more than two decades in higher education administration, both as an officer in the military and in the public sector. He created the U.S. Coast Guard Education Database with support from the Defense Activity for Non-Traditional Education Support, a system designed to provide students with degree plans to guide them to degree completion.

In October 1993, Tim was transferred to the USCG Institute as the first Service Chief of Education, where he led a staff that provided support to all members of the Coast Guard, the USCG Reserve and the USCG Auxiliary. He retired as a lieutenant commander in 1999 after more than two decades of service to the country and founded the National College Counseling Center. Tim designed the state-of-the-art degree exploration system, Degree Quest, in 2000, for which he was awarded 34 patented processes.

The NCCC expanded its support to major corporations across the nation and around the world in 2004, and now offers support to more than 1.4 million employees worldwide. In 2009, Scoggins founded the Counseling Connection in Knoxville, which links students to thousands of resources to help them succeed.

Stephen Krempl served for many years as the vice president of Global Learning and head of Yum! University for Yum! Brands restaurants, which include KFC, Pizza Hut, Taco Bell and Wing Street. In late 2004, he engaged the support of the NCCC to serve as the Yum! University Counseling Center. A few years later, Krempl became vice president of Global Learning and Talent Development for Starbucks. He later created an executive consulting firm, Krempl Communications International, which serves major corporations in the United States, Asia, Africa, the Middle East and Europe. KCI has authored numerous courses of instruction, including Global Executive Mindset, a course designed for corporate executives in multinational businesses to enhance intercultural communications.

Krempl understands the value that furthering one’s education can have on employees. He serves as a liaison between CCI & NCCC and the corporations that KCI serves overseas.

Under the new agreement, FHSU will provide education to employees of the Yum! Brands restaurants across the nation and around the world, to the Americana Group, served by its corporate university, the Integrated Learning Center, to Electronic Solution, and to Diebold, the nation’s leading banking technology corporation.

Volunteers are needed to help conduct the third annual Big Creek Mud Run that is set for 8:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. on Saturday, Aug. 24, on the Fort Hays State

University campus, east of Gross Memorial Coliseum.

This year, said Emily Washburn, assistant director of the Tiger Wellness Center, volunteers will sign up for a single shift, 8 a.m. to noon. Volunteers are asked to walk through the course on Friday so everyone knows his or her place and responsibilities. This should take an hour at most, she said. Food and drink will be provided. Detailed information about meeting times and places will be sent to those interested.

To volunteer, contact Washburn at 785-628-5908 or email her at [email protected].

The Mud Run is a 2.5-mile course with 20-25 obstacles, mudpits and Big Creek. Two volunteers are needed at each obstacle and may be called on to assist runners through the obstacles. Volunteers will also be needed at the finish line and registration areas. All volunteers will receive drinks, a meal and a T-shirt.

The run is co-hosted by FHSU and the Center for Health Improvement at HaysMed. Both groups were looking to host “something that is different than a 5K run,” said Washburn. Funds raised are used for scholarships and to help host events such as the Shane Gottschalk Day of Fitness.

Participants in the Big Creek Mud Run must be 18 years or older. The sign up deadline to enter is Aug. 21. The registration fee is $25. The race is run in waves beginning at 8:30 a.m. New waves start every 20 minutes, and the last wave will begin at 11:30 a.m. A maximum of 40 participants are allowed in each wave. A Kids Mud Bath for ages 3 and up will be held at noon.

To register or learn more about the event, visit the event website https://www.thecenter.haysmed.com/mudrun.

Nationally known and past President of the Association of American Physicians and Surgeons, Dr George Watson will be the guest speaker on Tuesday, June 11, 2013, at 6 PM, at Thirsty’s, 2704 Vine Street in Hays at the monthly meeting of the Big First Tea Party.

Saturday 6::50 p.m. update  Four power poles that carry electricity to the city of Victoria are being replaced this evening by Midwest Energy crews,” According to Mike Morley, the firms’s Corporate Communication’s manager. “There are approximately 1200 customers still without power and we will be working through the evening to replace the poles that were damaged in the Saturday afternoon severe thunderstorm. We appreciate everyone’s patience as we work to restore services.”

Saturday 5p.m. The high winds from the Saturday afternoon storm left as many as 2000 Midwest Energy customers in Ellis and Rush County without power. Mike Morley,

Corporate Communications Manager with Midwest Energy told Hays Post, “A breaker tripped as a result of high winds and four or five power poles were damaged near Victoria.”

A severe thunderstorm rolled through western Kansas after 3 p.m. on Saturday. The storm stretched from Dodge City, where one inch hail was reported, to north of Rooks County. “Our crews always find a way to back feed electricity to the customers that need it and they will continue to look for damage to power lines across the region and get power restored as quickly as possible,” said Morley

To view power outages go to https://outageviewer.mwenergy.com

Col. John D. Muther, Topeka, will turn over command of the Kansas National Guard Medical Detachment to Col. Gordon D. Kuntz, Hays, during a change of command ceremony Sunday, June 9. The 10 a.m. ceremony will take place at Salina Army National Guard Armory, 2910 Arnold Ave., Salina, Kan.

“I am very honored to take command of the Kansas Army National Guard Medical Detachment,” said Kuntz. “This unit has consistently demonstrated its ability to provide professional medical support to Kansas Soldiers. The improvements made with the Periodic Health Assessment process have been significant and greatly attributed to Kansas being consistently ranked in the top ten percent nationally for medical readiness. As we move forward, the bar will continue to rise and I am confident the Medical Detachment will meet the challenge.”

“It has been an amazing four years of command,” said Muther. “The Kansas Medical Detachment has met every challenge and set the standard for meeting our medical readiness mission.”

The Medical Detachment is headquartered in Lenexa and is part of Joint Forces Headquarters Kansas-Land Component. The state medical command plans, programs, and provides and sustains health force protection and medical/dental support to meet operational, training and mobilization medical readiness requirements of Army National Guard units and soldiers.

Col. Gordon D. Kuntz

Col. Gordon D. Kuntz entered the United States Army March 10, 1975, completing Basic Combat Training at Fort Jackson, S.C. He attended Common Basic Electronics Training for Tactical Microwave Repair at Fort Gordon, Ga., and was stationed at Fort Jackson as a COBET instructor. Kuntz re-enlisted as a patient care specialist in 1978 and was assigned to the pediatrics unit at Madigan Army Medical Center Fort Lewis, Wash. One year later, he completed the patient care specialist course and was assigned to Company B, 1st Medical Battalion, Fort Riley, Kan., until leaving active duty Feb. 29, 1984, with nine years of active duty.

After one year, he joined the Kansas Army National Guard and was assigned as the medical noncommissioned officer at the Kansas Military Academy in Salina, Kan., where he immediately entered Class 30 of the Kansas Officer Candidate School. Upon graduation, Kuntz remained as the medical noncommissioned officer while he completed his nursing education. He was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the infantry, assigned as a junior tactical officer at the KMA until the time of his direct commission in the Nurse Corps in January 1988, where he served as the nurse/medical officer at the KMA. Other duty assignments included clinical nurse, nurse practitioner, training officer and head nurse for Physical Examination Team B with Detachment 5, Headquarters State Area Command, Lenexa, Kan. Kuntz has served as the executive officer and deputy commander for the Kansas Medical Detachment prior to attending the United States Army War College in July 2006. Upon completion of the War College, he was assigned as the Medical Detachment commander until his deployment as the senior medical nurse with the 2nd Combined Arms Battalion, 137th Infantry Regiment to the Horn of Africa in June 2010. His most recent assignment has been the deputy commander for clinical services, Kansas Medical Detachment.

His education includes a bachelor’s degree in nursing from Washburn University, Topeka, Kan., and a Master of Science degree in nursing from Wichita State University. He is a life time member of the National Guard Association of Kansas, a lifetime member of the Disabled American Veterans and a member of the Kansas State Nurses Association. Kuntz is a graduate of the United States Army War College, Advance Joint Professional Military Education Program and the Medical Strategic Leadership Program. He has over 37 years of military service.

Kuntz’s awards include Meritorious Service Medal with two bronze oak leaf clusters, Army Commendation Medal with silver oak leaf cluster, Army Achievement Medal with silver oak leaf cluster and two bronze oak leaf clusters, Good Conduct Medal with bronze clasp, Army Reserve Components Achievement Medal with silver oak leaf cluster and two bronze oak leaf clusters, National Defense Service Ribbon with bronze star, Global War on Terror Expeditionary Medal, Global War on Terror Service Medal, Humanitarian Service Medal, Armed Forces Reserve Medal with silver hourglass and M device, Noncommissioned Officer Professional Development Ribbon, Army Service Ribbon, Overseas Service Ribbon, Army Reserve Component Overseas Training Ribbon with numeral two and other awards.

Kuntz is employed as a psychiatric nurse practitioner with High Plains Mental Health Center. He lives in Hays, Kan., with his wife Kara.