The Hays Police Department conducted 14 traffic stops and received four animal calls on Monday, February 17th, according to the HPD activity log

Suspicious Activity, 400 E 7th St, 2:04 a.m.
Fire, 3500 block of Fairway Dr, 3:37 a.m.
Motor Vehicle Accident, 2200 block of Centennial Blvd 8:22 a.m.
Animal At Large, 1300 block of Donald Dr, 12:53 p.m.
Lost Animals, 400 block of W 4th St, 1:04 p.m.
Animal At Large, 400 block of Pine St, 1:26 p.m.
Animal At Large, 500 block of W 16th St, 1:38 p.m.
Motor Vehicle Accident-Private Property, 2500 block of Vine St, 2:25 p.m.
Warrant Service/Fail to Appear, 2700 block of Vine St, 2:34 p.m.
Civil Dispute, 300 block of W 16th St, 2:32 p.m.
Assist, 1000 block of Fort St, 2:37 p.m.
Found/Lost Property, 100 block of W 12th St, 2:53 p.m.
Motor Vehicle Accident-Hit and Run, 34th and Vine Frontage Road, 12:00 a.m.
Found/Lost Property, 100 block of W 12th St, 3:26 P.M.
Aggravated Battery, 300 block of W 10th St, 1:45 a.m. > 1:50 a.m.
Motor Vehilce Accident-Private Property, 100 block of W 8th St, 4:55 P.M.
Civil Dispute, 1400 block of W 42nd St, 6:23 p.m.
Civil Transport, 1300 block of Kansas Highway 264, Larned 7:51 p.m. > 10:31 p.m.
General Disturbance, 3700 block of Vine St, 9:38 P.M.

by Kari Blurton
Hays Post

While the State Fire Marshall determines the home fire at 3502 Fairway Drive was “accidental,” Hays Fire Chief Gary Brown said the occupants in the home were saved by their smoke alarms.

Chief Brown said this is a “prime” example of the importance of smoke alarms.

“This couple, who lives in the house were awakened by their smoke alarms and had the time and the opportunity to  get out,” said Brown, “When people are asleep all their senses are dulled.  Smoke alarms were really designed to protect you when you’re asleep.”

The fire at Fairway Drive was reported 3:37 a.m. Monday.  When firefighters arrived they found a fire in the attached garage of the home with fire spreading into the attic and the living areas. A vehicle was also on fire in the driveway.

Brown said research has shown that having a working smoke alarm that protects  the sleeping areas of your home reduces your risk of dying in a fire by 50%.

“And quite frankly in my experience, when I started in the fire service there were no smoke alarms and our national fire death rate was 12,000 per year,” said Brown, “today it is 4,000 a year and that is directly attributed to smoke alarms.”

Brown encourages anyone who cannot afford a smoke alarm or needs help installing one to call the Hays Fire Department at 785-628- 7330.  The department can provide free smoke alarms and carbon monoxide detectors for those in need.

For more information visit the website.

As the Ellis County Commission continues to look for places to cut building costs at the 718 Main Administrative Building and the EMS/Rural Fire Building the commission held a special meeting Monday afternoon to discuss cost cutting measures.

At the special meeting the Ellis County Commissioners, the County Administrator and various department heads joined the architect on a conference call to discuss potential changes to the Administrative Building.

The first bid the County received for the remolding project was $944,000 well over the county estimate of $700,000.

The architect came back with a strip down cost of more than $605,000 but that estimate came without a number of alternates including an A/V system for conference rooms and multipurpose rooms for $128,000 and a glass wall that would separate the lobby, County Clerk’s office and Appraiser’s area.

Commission Chair Barbra Wasinger proposed working with local television companies, which have already expressed interest in working with commission to save some money on equipment.

The commission also identified waiting to purchase a generator as another cost cutting measure. Although they would update electrical panels that do not meet code as well as setting up so they could use a generator if needed.

There was also discussions about changing the floor plan with different department heads asking about changing some of the purposed office space. Gina Loomis is the architect on the project and she said every time the floor plan is changed is also changes the HVAC, lighting and fire sprinklers, “those little things, they add up.”

County Administrator Greg Sund said he believes the decisions are up to the County Commission now.

The commission discussed making changes to the EMS/Rural Fire Building at the special meeting as well.

The current building estimate is around $3.2 million, Commissioner Dean Haselhorst said he believes they can get the price to around $2.9 million.

Haselhorst proposed cutting the generator to the building. He said they could cut into the $323,000 dollar price tag to finish out and place the generator on site.

Haselhorst suggested renting a portable generator because they only use the current generator twice a year and he said supply companies in the area said they could have a generator to Hays within an hour if needed.

The second proposal Haselhorst presented eliminating seven garage doors and doubling EMS and Emergency Management vehicles in each stall. The building is 71 foot wide and Haselhorst said that would leave plenty of room. Eliminating the seven doors would save about $18,200.

By NICK BUDD
Hays Post

On Monday night, the Hays USD 489 school board discussed the idea of applying for the E-Rate program at Washington Elementary.

According to the U.S. Department of Education, the E-Rate program “provides discounts of up to 90 percent to help eligible schools and libraries in the United States obtain affordable telecommunications and internet access.”

Brian Drennon, director of technology for USD 489, also noted the recipients of the benefits are chosen by the poverty level of the school, not by the district. The program does not include any brand or equipment type requirements. A bid would have to be submitted by Feb. 26th in order to meet the March 28 E-rate deadline for providers.

“We are wanting to submit a bid for resellers to respond back to with wired and wireless infrastructure for Washington Elementary.” Drennon said.

The process would include sending out the bid and then, within 28 days, resellers could respond back with their proposal. The school district then would decide if any of them would meet its needs. The school district could reject any or all of the bids without penalty. Services could be discounted by E-Rate at a rate of 20 percent to 90 percent, dependent upon the eligibility.

“This could start the wired and wireless infrastracture upgrade that we’ve been talking about,” Drennon said. “We don’t have a district plan for the wired and wireless infrastructure upgrade. But this would would kick that off.”

Drennon noted this would help the schools move from a 802.11G network to an 802.11N network, which would help provide more capacity and bandwith for the schools within the district:

The board agreed to continue researching the proposal while also looking at the costs of expanding the wireless infrastructure throughout the district.