Midwest Energy reported more than 2,000 customers still were without power as of late morning Friday, although the number is down significantly from nearly 10,000 just after midnight.

The bulk of the outages are south of Great Bend and west of Hutchinson. Strong winds during the overnight storm took down 300-plus power poles in seven counties, according to Midwest spokesman Mike Morley.

Crews from through the utility’s coverage area converged on the area to make repairs, which are expected to last into the weekend.

Click HERE for Midwest’s outage viewer, which is updated regularly.

By JONATHAN ZWEYGARDT
Hays Post

The Hays City Commission heard a presentation regarding an owner-representative to oversee an upcoming wastewater treatment plant renovation at Thursday night’s work session.

Staff is recommending approving a $1.7 million contract with HDR Engineering of Lee’s Summit, Mo.

As an owner-representative, HDR will help the city with the design and construction process of the reconstruction of the wastewater treatment plant as the city attempts to meet state requirements to reduce nitrogen and phosphorous levels in the effluent.

The city received eight proposals, and staff narrowed the choices to three before recommending HDR.

City Manager Toby Dougherty said city staff liked all three companies but, despite the fact that HDR’s cost was not the lowest, they chose the firm because of its experience.

Stan Christopher, HDR senior vice president and project manager, gave the commission a presentation on the company and the steps that would follow should his company be awarded the contract.

HDR would help create a plan contractors can use to produce the final design for city approval.

Commissioner Henry Schwaller said from previous experience with the water park and the sports complex, it is best to have the engineer designed and construction linked.

“You make a lot of bad choices if you’re building something that is designed incorrectly,” he said.

“We need to minimize our risk as much as possible to make sure we get a good product,” Dougherty added.

If the commission approves a contract with HDR, meetings between the two entities will begin later this spring.

The reconstruction is expected to cost between $26 million and $28 million.

By JONATHAN ZWEYGARDT
Hays Post

The Hays City Commission chose to move forward with a proposed pay increase for city commissioners at Thursday night’s work session.

Earlier this spring, outgoing Commissioner Kent Steward approached the idea of increasing the commissioners’ salary to $1,500 per month — currently, commissioners earn $150 per month.

Steward called the idea “revolutionary” and said that most people cannot afford to work a regular job and serve on the commission, and this would make it easier for people to run for the commission.

“If we raised our pay here to a level that I think is fitting for what we do and what we have to deal with,” Steward said, “I think it would open up that possibility for a lot of people.”

He added if people were to serve on the commission in place of working overtime or taking a second job, “I think that it would make the Hays City Commission a lot less elite than it is.”

City Manager Toby Dougherty presented the commission with a list of 53 cities and the monthly compensation for elected officials and the mayor.

Hays’ $150 per month ranked near the average of $132. Topeka elected officials make the most at $833.33 per month.

Commissioners Shaun Musil and Ron Mellick said they would support a much smaller increase, such as $50 to $100.

Musil said when he first ran he did not know the commissioners got paid but said it “is an honor to be elected.”

The commission also discussed the possibility of waiting until the next election cycle, two years, for the increase to go into effect.

The commission will come up with a proposed salary and implementation date at next week’s meeting.

Steward, Mellick and Henry Schwaller’s term on the commission are up this year. Only Schwaller, who did not take part in Thursday’s discussion, is seeking re-election in Tuesday’s vote.

Submitted

MISSION — Breaker, breaker, calling all truckers! Join the largest truck convoy while also supporting Special Olympics Kansas. This year there are two locations — southwest and northwest.

The southwest leg, which will be held June 20, will begin in either Meade or Dodge City and meet in Cimarron, and the northwest leg, which will be held Sept. 12, will begin in either Goodland or Oakley and meet in Colby.

A minimum donation of $50 for 4 wheels or less or $100 or 5 wheels or more, a valid driver’s license and proof of insurance are required to participate. All vehicles must be road safe.

Families and friends of drivers can join for lunch at the ending locations for a freewill donation.

All proceeds are directed toward programs for the athletes of Special Olympics Kansas, by providing medals and ribbons, meals for athletes, training for coaches, and equipment.

For more information, visit www.kssoorg/events.

 

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers

SYLVAN GROVE — The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers at Wilson Lake reminds boaters to be especially safe with record low lake levels. At 8.5 feet below normal conservation pool, many shallow water hazards are present. Much of the west end of the lake is too shallow to operate. As levels continue to decline, underwater structures become newly exposed hazards.

Conservation pool of 1,516 feet above mean sea level was last reached in May 2012. Drought conditions along the Saline River valley are entering year four. Extremely low river inflow has not offset the typical high evaporation rates. The Corps continues to make its mandated minimum releases to supplement aquatic life in the Saline River below the dam.

Only two boat ramps remain accessible to the public. Those ramps are the Spillway Boat Ramp near the east end of the dam and the Hell Creek State Park Boat Ramp. Both of the ramps currently have floating courtesy docks. Parking is expected to be congested during peak boating days.

Construction of the dam was completed in 1964. Saline River inflows did not fill the lake to conservation pool until 1973. Despite today’s record low, Wilson Lake continues to have the deepest water in Kansas. The main channel depth, south of the dam, still has 55-60 feet depth. Boat launching will remain challenging until lake levels improve. Boaters are encouraged to exercise caution.

For more information on Wilson Lake, contact the project office at (785) 658-2551.

 

MANHATTAN — Hays High broadcast students performed well at this week’s state Kansas Student Technology Leadership Digital Media Competition in Manhattan.

Members of the 489News team traveled to the K-State campus on Wednesday, with instructor Dan Balman to compete in presentations of projects from this year against other schools from around the state. All groups attending from Hays High placed at the event in the categories they entered in.

The following are the results from the competition:
1st Place – Amber Klaus & Rylie Rowland –Interactive Media
1st Place – Kali Pitcock & Brooke Russell –Video Production News Story
3rd Place – Brooks Barber & Alexis Gonzalez – Website Design
4th Place – Caden Cunningham – Graphic Design
4th Place – Ana Goodlett & Kara Brooks – Video Public Service Announcement
5th Place – Kylie Brown – Graphic Design
5th Place – Jenna Luebbers – Video Production News Story

In addition to this, the students also performed well at the Kansas Association of Broadcaster Awards. The following are the results from this competition:
1st Place – Kali Pitcock, Brooke Russell, Jacob Alexander – Public Affairs Program
2nd Place – Brooks Barber, Brandon Wise, Trenton Henningsen, Jake Dechant – Sports Play-by-Play
2nd Place – Rachael Arthur – Entertainment Program
HM – Brooks Barber & Jacob Alexander – Station Promotion Announcement
HM – Amber Klaus, Jenna Luebbers, Rylie Rowland – Enterprise News Package
HM – Jacob Alexander – Entertainment Program
HM – Brooks Barber – Station Website

For more information on the Hays High Broadcast department, you can view their website at www.489news.com.

It wasn’t a gully-washer, but every little drop helps.

Early reports Friday morning showed up to .30 inches of rainfall in gauges, with most of Hays receiving less than a tenth of an inch.

Hays has received just more than 1.3 inches of rainfall in all of 2015.

The most significant rain fell south of Hays, while the Ellis area received about a quarter-inch of precipitation.

The WaKeeney area reported .17 inches, while there was a quarter-inch report from eastern Trego County. Similar readings were reported in Rooks and Rush counties. Logan County saw a report of nearly a half-inch of rainfall.

The skies are expected to clear on Good Friday, and the weather is expected to remain pleasant through Easter. Check HERE for a complete forecast.