LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) — A $2.5 million, 10-month renovation project is completed at Swarthout Recital Hall on the University of Kansas campus.
The hall has been the School of Music’s primary academic performance space since 1957. However, it had not been renovated for decades, prompting the university to begin the renovation project last year.
The Lawrence Journal-World reports the hall will reopen with an eight-concert series starting Monday. Dozens of alumni are scheduled to perform during the series.
The renovation included 273 new seats, a new performance area with improved acoustics, audio, lighting and recording equipment. The hall also has a new Steinway piano.
The music school’s dean, Robert Walzel, says the renovation was funded by a $1 million gift from the Muriel McBrien Kauffman Foundation and donations from many others.
In April 2014, initial findings of the Hays Catholic Schools’ Strategic Planning Committee were presented to stakeholders. Among other recommendations, it was determined that efficiency resulting in a reduction in force at Thomas More Prep-Marian would be necessary.
The equivalent of up to seven full-time positions, consisting of teaching faculty and support staff, will not be renewed for the 2015-2016 fiscal year.
Even through these necessary reductions, every effort has been made to ensure the students of TMP-M will receive a high-quality, faith-based, college preparatory education experience, which has been the hallmark of the school for generations.
The Strategic Planning Team, along with school and diocesan leadership, continues to discuss and implement strategies that place Thomas More Prep-Marian in a position to thrive in the 21st century.
During this time of transition, we ask our stakeholders for continued prayers, especially for the members of the TMP-Marian family affected by these necessary reductions.
The Hays USD 489 Technology Committee and Technology Director Brian Drennon will present options regarding the district’s technology plan per last week’s request from USD 489 board members, who heard the committee’s recommendation to provide a device for every student in the district.
Drennon told board members last week, after months of research, the committee is recommending Apple iPads for grades K-8, and Windows devices for grades 9-12. He said the four-year plan will stay within the current $400,000 annual technology budget.
Superintendent Dean Katt said he was comfortable with the $400,000 budget, but board members asked the committee to come back with “scaled-down” options before Drennon begins the bidding process this spring.
The board will also vote on installing LED lights in Gym A and Gym B as recommended by Rusty Lindsay, director of buildings and grounds, to increase efficiency and save the district money in electrical bills.
In addition, Lincoln Elementary school psychologist Monica Dreiling and special education teacher Carol Murray, along with FHSU Interim Dean of Education and Technology Paul Adams, will demonstrate how Buddy the Humanoid Robot can foster educational opportunities for children with special needs.
The meeting starts at 6:30 p.m. at Rockwell Administration Building, 323 W. 12th. A full agenda can be found HERE.
Very warm weather will prevail across southwestern Kansas through Wednesday where highs will be in the upper 70s to lower 80s today, lower to mid 80s Tuesday, and upper 80s on Wednesday! The warm temperatures with low relative humidity in the afternoon will result in enhanced fire weather risk.
Today Sunny, with a high near 79. South southwest wind 6 to 11 mph increasing to 12 to 17 mph in the afternoon. Winds could gust as high as 28 mph.
Tonight Clear, with a low around 42. Southwest wind 5 to 9 mph becoming calm. Tuesday Sunny, with a high near 80. Light and variable wind becoming east southeast 6 to 11 mph in the afternoon.
Tuesday Night Mostly clear, with a low around 50. Southeast wind around 11 mph.
Wednesday A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms after 4pm. Mostly sunny, with a high near 86. Breezy, with a south wind 9 to 14 mph increasing to 15 to 20 mph in the afternoon.
Wednesday Night A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms, mainly after 8pm. Partly cloudy, with a low around 44.
Thursday A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms before 8am. Mostly sunny, with a high near 65.
Friday A 20 percent chance of showers. Partly sunny, with a high near 58.
A coworker recently told me she saw her horses chasing a couple animals across her pasture that were dark, about the size of raccoons, and had no visible tail. She told me a couple animals of the same description had run from her barn a while back.
She is convinced they were nutrias which are basically overgrown muskrats that thrive in the backwaters of Louisiana and other parts of the south. I was skeptical they were nutria because I have never heard of nutria in Kansas. Communication with Matt Peek, research biologist with the Kansas Dept of Wildlife, Parks and Tourism who also acts as the furbearer biologist for the state shed some light on their possible identity.
Identifying wildlife only from someone’s description can be a challenge, but there are clues we can use. One good clue is the tracks left by the animals themselves. Each animal’s footprints are unique and different from each other, sort of like human fingerprints. If one knows the tracks of different animals, positive identification can be made if tracks can be found.
Another dependable clue is droppings left by the animals. Again, droppings are usually unique to each different animal and hunters and trappers learn to use them as valuable clues to where animals are traveling.
Other facts useful in identifying wildlife are obviously the size, shape and color of the critter, any sounds it makes, where it was seen and anything else about what it was eating, where it lives, etc.
Now back to the two “suspects” in the pasture. Matt Peek said that although there are no known nutrias in Kansas today, historical records show they once lived here long ago. So while it is very unlikely what she saw were in fact nutria, it is not totally out of the question. A better answer would be that what she saw were groundhogs which have been in eastern KS for years and, like armadillos, are expanding their range all the time, or badgers. Using the criteria above, let’s put our CSI hats on and analyze the situation.
First of all, tracks and dropping would be nearly impossible to find in a grassy pasture, so that takes us to the next group of clues. Considering the size and shape of what she described, both badgers and groundhogs fit the bill and have just short, stubby tails, while nutria are built low and long like muskrats and have long, slender tails. Perhaps the most important clue to me is where they were seen. Both badgers and groundhogs would be at home in the middle of a pasture while nutria would not venture far from their home in some sort of water, and the only water near there is a small creek with barely anything in it.
To narrow it down even further, groundhogs fit the dark color description better than badgers and would also be right at home in and around her old barn, so my best guess in light of all the above, is that she saw her horses chasing a couple groundhogs.
Mind you, this is only my best deduction in light of the information and because there are no known nutria in Kansas. My friend might still be right, and if so, I hope to see them someday myself. Sometimes the unknown can be intriguing and I enjoy trying to solve mysteries involving wildlife. So put on your CSI hats and join me in the lab as we Explore Kansas Outdoors!
Steve Gilliland, Inman, can be contacted by email at [email protected].
“Home” is the latest in a relatively short list of movies that are actually undersold by their trailers. To me, the advertisements made the film look like a very generic fish-out-of-water story. Much to my enjoyment and surprise, “Home” is far warmer and more inviting than I expected.
The creature design and animation are well executed and just plain fun to look at. The characters are emotive and the world feels simultaneously far-fetched and familiar. The ubiquitousness of Jim Parson’s voice (who portrays Sheldon Cooper in the immensely popular show “The Big Bang Theory”) at times breaks the fourth wall simply because audiences will have heard Parsons delivering socially awkward, scientifically-laden dialogue for years. Nevertheless, by the end of the film, I had fully come to embrace Parsons’ character of Oh. Once again, the trailer very misguidedly chooses to advertise the most Sheldon-esque scenes, which is, in my opinion, a disservice to the film.
I was pleasantly surprised by the level of imagination and inventiveness brought to bear by the film proper. The story that unfolds in the theatre is very different from what I imagined it would be from the advertisements. It’s a better story, a more interesting story and one that resonated with me far more than I had initially believed.
This is exactly the type of film that kids will enjoy for its colorfulness and its goofiness and adults hopefully will enjoy far more than they might anticipate. I would not have chosen to see this movie were it not for my position as a film reviewer. That said, I’m very glad for my time with “Home” and have enthusiastically recommended it to my parents; and now do the same to you, dear reader. While still a far cry from being included in my favorite animated movies, there is very real charm in “Home.” It’s expressive, heartfelt and surprisingly interesting from a science-fiction point of view.
As millions of viewers tune into NBC’s new “A.D.” series, Celebration Community Church is inviting the community to Easter Sunday services to learn more about the stories they’re watching and what it means for their lives today.
“Beach Schmidt Performing Arts Center is the perfect place for everyone to come celebrate Easter said Kyle Ermoian, founding and senior pastor of the church. We are happy to provide an opportunity for those who may not have a church home to be a part of a community-wide Easter Celebration.
There will be contemporary music, powerful videos telling the Easter story, and spoken word reflections with the message hope that Easter brings. Ermoian said, “We are also excited to partner on the NBC miniseries A.D. which begins on Easter Sunday night at 8pm.” An exclusive sneak peak of the TV show will be shown on the big screen at Beach Schmidt on Easter Sunday morning.
Over 100 million people watched “The Bible” miniseries in 2013. Now, from the same world-renowned producing team of Roma Downey (Touched by an Angel) and Mark Burnett (The Voice, Survivor) comes “A.D.,” the epic television series event that picks up where “The Bible” left off — at the resurrection of Jesus and the action-packed journey of the first followers of Christ.
Ermoian is preparing a special message series starting on Easter Sunday morning that will dig deeper into the show’s epic stories from the first ten chapters of the book of Acts and how they apply to life and faith today using video clips from the series.
All are welcome to one of the two community-wide celebrations at 9 and 10:45 a.m. and all guests will receive a special free gift.
For more information, visit www.celebratejesus.org.
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Gov. Sam Brownback’s former chief of staff is lobbying against a proposed tax increase on tobacco, one of the governor’s primary proposals to balance the state’s budget.
Kansas secretary of state’s records show David Kensinger registered as a lobbyist for Reynolds American on Feb. 6. That is six weeks after Kensinger was asked by Budget Director Shawn Sullivan to give feedback on a proposed state budget.
The Wichita Eagle reports Kensinger confirmed he was representing an opponent of the tax increase, but declined to say if he began talks with Reynolds before the budget was made public, or whether his knowledge that a tax increase would be proposed helped him land the contract.
Senate Minority Leader Anthony Hensley says Kensinger’s tobacco contract is a blatant conflict of interest.
SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — Amtrak says it will stick with its existing New Mexico route of the Southwest Chief passenger train.
Amtrak spokesman Marc Magliari told the Santa Fe New Mexican last week that the Southwest Chief will continue to make stops in New Mexico towns of Raton, Las Vegas, Lamy and Albuquerque.
The announcement ends more than two years of fear and uncertainty in Northern New Mexico’s smaller communities about whether Amtrak would alter the route.
The Southwest Chief travels between Chicago and Los Angeles, but part of the current route was in jeopardy because of questions about maintenance and upgrades of track.
Colorado and Kansas moved aggressively last year to secure a federal grant and to allocate money for repairs on their sections of the Southwest Chief tracks.
DORRANCE — Russell County Sheriff’s deputies were dispatched early Sunday morning to reports of an overturned four-wheeler.
Officers responded to the intersection of Taylor and U.S. 40, finding a male subject who was bleeding from the head and barely conscious.
Robert Lawrence, 31, Dorrance, was transported to Russell Regional Hospital and later flown by plane to Wesley Medical Center in Wichita via Eagle Med.
The Russell County Sheriff’s Office said on its Facebook page the accident is suspected to be alcohol-related, although an investigation continues.
Russell County EMS, Russell City Fire, Dorrance Fire also assisted with the accident.
Northeastern State hit six home runs, three doubles and two triples as they rout the Fort Hays State Tigers 17-1 Sunday afternoon. The RiverHawks win three of the four games in the series and improve to 17-10 and 11-9 in the MIAA. The Tigers, who were outscored 37-3 in the final three games of the series, fall to 6-21 and 5-15 in the MIAA.
Steve Johnson Postgame Interview
Northeastern State jumped ahead early, hitting two home runs in a four-run first inning. They would score in every inning but the fifth.
Fort Hays State’s lone run came on a Kevin Czarnecki solo homer to leadoff off the fourth.
Tiger starter Jusitn Hersch takes the loss, allowing eight runs (six earned) on seven hits over 2 2/3 innings.
Dustin Berrong picks up the win in his first start of the season for Northeastern State, striking out 11 in six innings. Berrong gave up just the one run on three hits and walked just one.
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — State records show Rep. Virgil Peck of Montgomery County used a state plane to fly to Topeka and back to vote on school finance bill.
The Lawrence Journal-World reports Peck was the only passenger on the plane from Coffeyville to Topeka on March 13 so he could vote on implementing block grant funding for the state’s schools.
Peck went home March 12 to attend several events in Coffeyville and Independence with Gov. Sam Brownback. The next day, the bill received 62 votes in favor, one short of the 63 needed for passage. The House held the roll call open for two hours before a final vote.
By the time Peck arrived in Topeka on the plane, two other representatives had voted for the bill.
