A group of Fort Hays State University Students is partnering with the City of Ellis to help promote water conservation.

Water for the Heartland is a group of seven students from FHSU’s Leadership 310 class that is joining with the city to set up a low-flow shower head exchange program for residents who live within the city limits.

The continuing drought and lack of rainfall have contributed to depletion of the Big Creek Aquifer, Ellis’ only water source, forcing the city to declare a Stage 3 Water Emergency earlier this year.

According to the release from Water for the Heartland, swapping an older shower head for a low-flow design can save 40 percent on water use.  Shortening showering time from 10 minutes to five minutes with the addition of a low flow shower head can save 17.5 gallons of water, or up to 70 percent of the water needed per shower.

Ellis residents can bring their older shower heads to the City Clerk’s office and exchange it for a new, low-flow shower head, for free. A water saving faucet aerator will also be offered free of charge to city residents.

The students from the Water for the Heartland Team will also have a booth at the Follow the Star Craft Fair on Saturday, December 7th with water conservation tips and educational activities for the whole family.  City residents may also exchange shower heads at the Follow the Star Craft Fair.

With 231 of 308 eligible employees voting, classified staff at Fort Hays State University voted Tuesday by a 187-44 margin to leave the state civil service system to become support staff employed directly by the university.

Patricia Duffey, secretary-treasurer of the university’s Classified Senate, said in an email announcing the results that a support staff handbook “will now be presented to the Kansas Board of Regents for approval.”

“Once approved,” she said, “a committee along with the HR Office will begin developing the next steps.”

Those next steps include updating descriptions of positions and salary levels, creating an evaluation form, appointing a disciplinary hearing board, developing training materials and setting a schedule for the conversion.

The change will take effect at the beginning of the next fiscal year, which begins June 8, 2014.

8:56 a.m.  One individual from the Wednesday morning injury accident is being transported to Hays Medical Center.

8:40 a.m. First responders are on the scene of an injury accident at 1232 240th Ave. Few details are available at this hour.

Stay tuned to Eagle Radio and Check Hays Post for more information as it becomes available.

The Ellis County Commission has approved a resolution for the county to seek a four-year exemption to the state’s new concealed carry law.

The Kansas Legislature passed a law earlier this year prohibiting many state and local government agencies from banning concealed guns on their premises unless they provide security measures. Like several other counties, Ellis County had a six-month exemption from imposing the measure, but that expires Dec. 31.

County Administrator Greg Sund, told Hays Post the resolution seeks a four-year exemption and the proposal needs to be submitted after the first of the year:

The county would need to have Sheriff Ed Harbin go over the buildings and make recommendations on how to improve safety and security of the building and the sheriff could then draw up a plan for each building.

The North Central Kansas Technical College (NCK Tech) Department of Nursing has achieved two number one rankings from the National Council of State Boards of Nursing. The Council ranked the Practical Nursing (PN) program 1st of the 21 similar nursing programs across Kansas and 1st of 1,045 similar programs in the U.S. and U.S. territories. The rankings are based on the percentage of graduates passing the National Council Licensure Examination (NCLEX) during the 2013 testing year, compared to other programs with at least ten graduates who took the examination during the same reporting period. The PN program also achieved a 100% first time pass rate for the year. This percentage is based on the number of graduates who took the NCLEX for the first time and passed the examination. The NCK Tech pass rate exceeded both state and national averages.

The NCK Tech PN program recently completed a Kansas State Board of Nursing (KBSN) accreditation visit and was recommended for a 5 year accreditation, which is the highest possible accreditation status for a PN program.

The NCLEX examination measures the competencies needed to perform safely and effectively as a newly licensed, entry-level nurse and is the capstone of nursing program studies. The NCK Tech PN program is a one year certificate program. Patti Scott is the Nursing program Department Chair of the NCK Tech Beloit campus. Additional Nursing faculty on the Beloit campus are: Annette Saint, Nicki Kasl, Christine Budke, Rebecca Pellant, and Erica Knox.