May 2015 – Page 37

Windows computer devices purchased for Hays High (VIDEO)

Posted on May 19, 2015May 19, 2015

windows devices purchase.00_04_57_12.Still001 — Technology Committee members Jeannie Michaelis, Brian Drennon and Martin Straub talk about the Windows devices recommendation for Hays High School

By BECKY KISER
Hays Post

Although there were more questions and more discussion about keyboards and platforms, Hays USD 489 school board members finally voted 5-1 for a $673,532 purchase of Surface 3 and Surface Pro 3 Microsoft Windows computer devices for Hays High School students and staff.

Outgoing board member Greg Schwartz voted against the purchase; board member Josh Waddell was absent.

The district Technology Committee’s recommendation of 820 Surface 3s for student devices, 60 Surface Pro 3s for staff devices and 88 Lenovo c50-30 Desktops for the HHS and Hays Middle School computer labs will be purchased using the state’s contract with Microsoft.

“Is this the last time we’re going to hear about computer devices?” Schwartz asked Technology Director Brian Drennon and Technology Committee members Jeannie Michaelis and Martin Straub of Hays High.

“We’ve handled a lot of machines the past few months,” said Straub, who is the HHS principal. “We feel this is the best for Hays High.

“We felt very good about the day we made the decision. We just walked away saying it seems evident this is the best machine for us,” he added, as Michaelis and Drennon nodded in agreement.

Last month, the board voted 4-2 to approve the financing of 2,100 Apple iPads for grades K-8.

bickle keyboard — USD 489 board member Lance Bickle asks about the choice between touch and type keyboards.

Drennon, Michaelis and Straub were asked why the Technology Committee had chosen Microsoft products for the high school when the lower grades will be using Apple products.

“We really feel like Windows is the best thing,” Straub said. He also considers it an advantage for graduating seniors to be familiar with both platforms. “I think our biggest challenge and our biggest responsibility at the high school is to make our kids competitive. All things being equal, and they have great job interviews, I’m going to hire the person who can do either.”

The board also unanimously approved the lowest bid financing for $373,532 from Bank of Hays at a 1.24% rate with no closing fee. Executive Director of Finance Tracy Kaiser explained that $300,000 will also be used from capital outlay for the remaining portion of the purchase.

In other business, board members voted 4-2 to approve the Kansas State Department of Education Technology Plan. KSDE requires school districts to submit a technology plan every three years. The Hays plan includes the district’s mission, vision, growth measures, infrastructure, utilization of technology, and policies that guide that usage.

Bickle and Schwartz voted against the measure, preferring a delay until the new school board is seated in July.

Director of Curriculum Shanna Dinkel said the district’s five-year technology plan is “a document in progress” and can be updated and amended as needed.

Richard Wheeler

Posted on May 19, 2015

Richard Wheeler, 76, died Oct. 25, 2014, at his home in Norco, Calif., from cancer.

Richard Joseph Wheeler was born Jan. 11, 1938, the son of Quincy “Dutch” and Ressa Irene (Conine) Wheeler in Scott County.

He served as a sergeant in the U.S. Marine Corps.

Richard made his home in Norco for the last 45 years. He worked for the City of Anaheim for 35 years and was a farrier for 25 years.

He was a member of the Saddle Sore Riders – Corral 22, Norco Horse Week, and Norco Horseman’s Association.

Richard is survived by his wife, Lynda, Norco; one daughter, Wendy Hagaman, and husband, Jason, Windsor, Calif.; step-daughters Judi Aroves, Lubbock, Tex., Jane Sullivan, Lake Havasu City, Ariz., and Jennifer Summers, Oem, Utah; one son, Joe Wheeler, Santa Rosa, Calif.; one step-son, Rich Tillema, Norco, Calif.; one sister, Rhonda Hudson, and husband, Mike, Scott City; two brothers, Robert Wheeler and wife, Neta, and Rodney and wife, Pamela, Scott City; seven grandchildren, three great-grandchildren, and many nieces and nephews.

Richard was preceded in death by his parents and two sisters, Loretta Alene Wakeland and Lou Ann Wheeler.

A Memorial Graveside Service will be held at the Scott County Cemetery on Saturday, May 23, 2015 at 4:00 p.m. In Scott City, Kansas.

Memorials may go to Saddle Sore Riders, Inc., Box 276, Norco, Calif. 92860 or Norco Horseweek, Box 582, Norco, Calif. 92860.

Salina approves first step in financing for downtown project

Posted on May 19, 2015

SALINA, Kan. (AP) — The Salina City Commission has approved the first step in a process that could lead to a multi-million dollar overhaul of the city’s downtown area.

The commission on Monday approved using both sales tax revenue, or STAR bonds, and tax increment financing, or TIF, districts to help pay for the improvements.

Deputy City Manager Mike Schrage says the proposed project is a long process and the commission’s approval is was necessary before several other steps could be taken.

The Salina Journal reports the preliminary plans for the project include a field house, an apartment complex, a family entertainment center, two museums, a hotel and room for several retail and entertainment venues.

The project would cost an estimated $122 million and could create nearly 840 jobs.

Trained teachers and good intentions?

Posted on May 19, 2015

John Richard Schrock is a professor at Emporia State University.

“It will be possible to hire a certified electrician to teach high school English under the Innovative Districts proposal,” was one charge made during Open Forum at this month’s State Board of Education meeting.

Later that morning, Kansas Education Commissioner-Elect Randy Watkins spoke for the Coalition of Innovative School Districts (CISD) and asserted that was not their intention.

So, do we run schools (or any other government enterprise) based on “intentions” or based on “the letter of the law.” The answer to that is simple: we run schools by the letter of the law. So yes, CISD schools could hire electricians to teach English.

I have a rule to never question intentions. I always write to written proposals and recorded statements. I never impugn others’ motivation or integrity. Yet, CISD’s strategy is to win acceptance based on “good intentions” and “trust me” and not on the substance of the various proposals they have submitted. So I have no choice but to address “intent.”

CISD invited the Kansas Deans of Education to a place at the table as a stakeholder. However, in their April 15 letter of invitation, CISD made clear in bold type that “…a public innovative district shall be exempt from all laws and rules and regulations that are applicable to school districts.” So yes, the Education Deans are invited to the table, but they will be eating what the CISD serves up. The 2013 House Bill 2319 pretty much makes the involvement of any “stakeholders” moot. That includes stakeholders such as teachers who are concerned with having incompetent colleagues as well as parents worried about their child’s teachers?

The “intent” of CISD members varies greatly. The two big districts at the east edge of Kansas want the money that comes with being “innovative.” One superintendent was very clear in her request for funds to pay for concurrent enrolment course work for poor students. For these two CISD schools, it is a disadvantage if the number of innovative schools grows much beyond the current six to the allowed 28 or even 56 (including Title I priority schools). That would dilute the innovation money dramatically.

On the other side is the original proposal by Hugoton that reflects a completely different widespread shortage of qualified teachers in rural areas. If Hugoton got permission to “grow their own” teachers and license them locally—so a teacher could not teach in any other district—half of the rural Kansas USDs would be eager to join in this ability to hire non-licensed and even non-degreed “teachers” and keep them from leaving.

Why would any superintendent want to hire an unqualified teacher? A shortage is growing nationwide. Nearly every state is issuing permits and emergency teaching licenses to staff their classrooms. However, they do not declare the permit teacher to be a fully qualified teacher, making the shortage go away on paper. Kansas will.

Advocates for CISD declare that these school administrators will be held to higher standards, and the CISD bylaws talk of “meeting the standards for math and reading” as well as showing improvement in graduates enlisting in the military or completing post-secondary programs.” Not only is this more teaching-to-the-test in two narrow areas, it ignores science, music, art, social studies, special education and other areas.

There are those who believe that if we allow untrained teachers into the classroom, Kansas schools may even improve and show that education courses and even college degrees are not needed.

CISD is claiming that they do not intend to deprofessionalize teaching, saying “trust us.”

But their proposals on paper say the opposite. Trust me, they do.

NW Kan. students earn degrees from Kansas State University

Posted on May 19, 2015

MANHATTAN — Nearly 3,000 students completed degree requirements from Kansas State University this spring.

The graduates are from 102 Kansas counties, 46 states and 41 countries. Degrees earned include nearly 2,300 bachelor’s degrees, more than 610 master’s degrees, more than 100 doctorates and 25 associate degrees.

Students from northwest Kansas include:

Cheyenne County
Bird City: Craig Busse, Bachelor of Science in Agriculture; Savannah Isely, Bachelor of Science in Agriculture

St. Francis: Tyler Larson, Bachelor of Science in Business Administration; Clancey Livingston, Bachelor of Science in Education

Ellis County
Ellis: Sherri Johnson, Master of Science

Gorham: Mitchell Dickinson, Bachelor of Science

Hays: Trevor Bieker, Bachelor of Science in Construction Science and Management; Holly Brown, Bachelor of Science; Rachel Cunningham, Bachelor of Arts; Hayden David, Bachelor of Science; Paul Flesher, Master of Science; Kelsey Hedlund, Master of Science; Kyle Hedlund, Bachelor of Science; Lance Jones, Bachelor of Science; Augustus Konz, Bachelor of Science in Business Administration; Laci Leiker, Bachelor of Science; Michael Madden, Master of Science; Ryan McCullick, Bachelor of Science in Agriculture; Rachel Palmberg, Bachelor of Music Education; Amanda Pfannenstiel, Bachelor of Science; Lindsey Schmeidler, Bachelor of Arts; Kevin Splichal, Doctor of Philosophy; Hayley Taylor, Bachelor of Science; Cory Thyfault, Bachelor of Science in Milling Science and Management

Decatur County
Oberlin: Jared Marcuson, Bachelor of Science; Rhiannon Nedland, Bachelor of Science in Family Studies and Human Services; Nathan Simonsson, Master of Accountancy

Gove County
Quinter: Ryan Hillman, Bachelor of Science in Aeronautical Technology; Joseph Simon, Bachelor of Science

Greeley County
Tribune: Stephen Houston, Bachelor of Science; Carly Robertson, Bachelor of Science; Clay Robertson, Bachelor of Science
Lane County
Dighton: Jamee Schwartz, Bachelor of Science in Education

Logan County
Oakley: Bradley Halbleib, Bachelor of Science in Construction Science and Management; Bailey Hemmert, Bachelor of Science in Education; Briana Jacobus, Bachelor of Science in Agriculture; Carleigh Kelly, Bachelor of Science in Family Studies and Human Services

Ness County
Ness City: Gage Kepple, Bachelor of Science in Business Administration; Joshua Snodgrass, Bachelor of Science

Norton County
Lenora: Andy Schoen, Bachelor of Science in Agribusiness

Norton: Cody Moreland, Bachelor of Science in Business Administration; Dustyna Sprigg, Bachelor of Science

Osborne County
Osborne: Amber Howells, Doctor of Philosophy; Kylie Naber, Bachelor of Science in Agribusiness; Katelyn Wolters, Bachelor of Science in Agriculture

Phillips County
Logan: Tiffany Clements, Bachelor of Science in Kinesiology

Long Island: Zachary Vincent, Bachelor of Science in Agriculture

Phillipsburg: Tyler Bohl, Associate of Technology and Bachelor of Science in Engineering Technology; Cody Kennedy, Bachelor of Science; Weston Schilowsky, Associate of Technology; Jordyn Sharp, Bachelor of Science; Halee Thompson, Bachelor of Science

Rawlins County
Atwood: Keaton Argabright, Bachelor of Science in Agriculture; Cody Green, Bachelor of Science in Technology Management; Kevin Wolters, Bachelor of Science in Biological Systems Engineering

McDonald: Lance Leonard, Bachelor of Science

Rooks County
Palco: Zachary Arnberger, Bachelor of Science; Landon Keller, Bachelor of Science in Aeronautical Technology

Plainville: Heath Rath, Master of Science; Emily Ruder, Bachelor of Science

Stockton: Jameson Nyp, Bachelor of Science in Architectural Engineering; Nicole Armbrister, Bachelor of Science in Agriculture

Rush County
La Crosse: Spencer Haltom, Bachelor of Science in Agribusiness; Olivia Keeley, Bachelor of Science in Human Ecology; Sarah Launchbaugh, Bachelor of Science in Family Studies and Human Services; Nathan Legleiter, Bachelor of Science in Business Administration

Russell County
Russell: Taylor Ochs, Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering

Wilson: Curtis Dolezal, Bachelor of Science

Scott County
Scott City: William Beaton, Master of Business Administration; Ashlee Brown, Bachelor of Science in Family Studies and Human Services; Austin Davis, Bachelor of Science in Business Administration; Aaron Kitch, Bachelor of Science; Amber Kuckelman, Master of Science; Carl Minnix, Bachelor of Science; Miles Pearson, Bachelor of Science in Food Science and Industry; Christopher Sourk, Bachelor of Science in Business Administration; Justine Sperber, Bachelor of Science in Education; Kaytlin Whipple, Bachelor of Science in Agriculture

Sheridan County
Hoxie: Casey Heim, Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering

Sherman County
Edson: Nathan Deeds, Bachelor of Science in Agriculture

Goodland: Hazen Deeds, Bachelor of Science in Agriculture

Kanorado: Devin Mangus, Bachelor of Science in Biological Systems Engineering and Master of Science

Smith County
Lebanon: Kaden Roush, Bachelor of Science in Agribusiness

Thomas County
Colby: Kimberly Gerstner, Bachelor of Science in Business Administration; Jared Helin, Bachelor of Science; Jacob Hutfles, Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering; Katherine Kaus, Bachelor of Science in Agriculture; Matthew Lambert, Bachelor of Science; Raymond Nolan, Doctor of Philosophy; Collin Rous, Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering; Brady Rundel, Bachelor of Science in Agriculture; Robert Schroeder, Bachelor of Science in Business Administration; Ashley Standage, Bachelor of Fine Arts; Adam Weber, Bachelor of Science

Oakley: Will Clark, Bachelor of Science in Education; Layne Ostmeyer, Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering

Trego County
WaKeeney: Chantel Wiedeman, Bachelor of Science; Teran Frick, Master of Science

Wallace County
Sharon Springs: Kelsie Hoss, Bachelor of Science in Agriculture

Weskan: Matthew Kuykendall, Bachelor of Science in Kinesiology; Garrett Reiss, Bachelor of Science in Agriculture

Western Kansas wheat plot tours scheduled

Posted on May 19, 2015

Walnut Creek Extension District will hold three Wheat Plot Variety Demonstration Tours on Wednesday, May 27.

Plant Pathologist Erik DeWolf will discuss wheat diseases and Lucas Haag, Northwest Area Agronomist, will discuss varieties, at all three tours. Crop Production Services of Jetmore, Kansas Wheat Alliance, and local grain elevators will provide refreshments for all three tours.

The schedule for May 27:

• May 27, 8:30 a.m. in Rush County, located west of La Crosse
• 2:30 p.m. in Ness County, located west of Ness City
• 6 p.m. in Lane County, west of Dighton

For directions and more information, call Chris Long at (877) 798-3921.

FHSU students place 1st and 2nd in water quality poster contest

Posted on May 19, 2015

FHSU University Relations

Two Fort Hays State University students placed first and second in the city of Hays and Kansas State University water quality poster contest.

Mykaela Smart, Frankfort junior, placed first and Boone Wells, Garden City junior, placed second in the Big Creek Middle Smoky Hill River Watersheds Water Quality Poster Contest. The 2015 Theme was “What’s in Your Water?”

The top three winners were recognized at the Hays City Commission meeting on May 14.

Plainville native returns home to join hospital, foundation

Posted on May 19, 2015

PLAINVILLE — Born and practically raised at the former Plainville Rural Hospital, Eric Sumearll is familiar with health care in Rooks County. Now, he’ll work to keep health care progressing in the county as the Executive Director of Rooks County Healthcare Foundation and Rooks County Health Center’s communication and development director.

“My mother, Pat Sumearll, worked as a nurse at the hospital. I spent many hours hanging around the nurses’ station,’ said Sumearll, whose father owned Ivan’s Jewelry.

Sumearll spent much of his adult life in Seattle, where he followed his passion and talent for acting, co-owned a successful music club as well as worked for a major aerospace museum as the coordinator of interactive education programs. Before his return to Kansas, Sumearll worked for GE Healthcare as the non-exempt staff supervisor for a radiopharmacy (nuclear pharmacy). In this role, he was the quality assurance site liaison to the quality assurance lead for North America, and involved in environmental, health and safety initiatives.

“The careers that I’ve had previously all had a communication and an educational component to them. I’ve learned that the type of communication used is as important as the message itself. If the message has no appropriate pathway to the recipient, then the message is lost no matter how important it is,” said Sumearll. “Education is the key to building a strong, healthy relationship with individuals and a community as a whole.”

As the Executive Director of Rooks County Healthcare Foundation and Rooks County Health Center’s Communication and Development Director, Sumearll looks forward to helping educate Rooks County and the nearby communities that rely on RCH of the importance of ensuring that quality, efficient and local health care is available.

“RCH is an asset of incredible value to the county, not just because it provides that immediate, quality care that the people of this area deserve, but also because it is an economic driver, providing jobs and drawing new families and businesses to the county,” said Sumearll.

Sumearll’s personal goal is to make a contribution back to the Rooks County community. For him, the most effective way he sees is to do what he can to make it possible for the dedicated, committed health care professionals at RCH to continue serving and helping not just the current population, but the future generations of the county.

“My parents’ dedication to constantly striving to strengthen our community, not just for themselves but for the future, is something that I witnessed all my life,” said Sumearll. “I hope to do my part to carry on that legacy.”

Now that Sumearll is back home, he’ll be able to spend time with his mother, Pat. “She’s a wonderful, warm and funny person who has given so much to her family and her community. It’s a privilege to be able to spend more time with her and in whatever way I can give back to her,” said Sumearll.

Sumearll also hopes to renew old friendships while forging new ones. Next fall, he plans to hunt pheasant on ground that he walked as a young boy. After being on the coast for many years, Sumearll gets to experience the prairie again. “To me, the prairie is the landscape, terrain and ecosystem that I have always felt most comfortable in, where I can always find a sense of awe or serenity,” said Sumearll.

Dreaming Big: Success in Kansas foster care!

Posted on May 19, 2015

By Dr. JAMIE SCHWANDT and AMBER BEACH HARDACRE

I spent most of my small town Kansas childhood on the fast track to a life destined for failure. My parents were plagued with addiction, and because of that, I was surrounded by drugs, alcohol, and depression at an early age. This created an environment of limits—limited prosperity, limited stimulation and limited expectations. I only knew what I had experienced, and those experiences were about to become my future.

Fortunately, I was removed from my home before I became ensnared in the vicious cycle that was my family’s legacy. I was a frightened eighth-grader when without explanation, I was loaded into a car and deposited on the doorstep of my first foster family. I didn’t realize it then, but I was one step closer to building the life I deserved.

Overall, foster care had a powerful and positive influence on me. I was surrounded by a great community that took the time to make sure I received the best possible care. I learned to embrace the opportunities provided by the system. And although I felt that as a foster child people sometimes expected me to fail, I learned to use that negative stigma to my advantage.

That’s not to say that foster care was always easy. I spent years being bounced back and forth between parents, grandparents and foster families. I witnessed suicide and death at a young age. But as difficult as these experiences were, they provided me with a resilient mindset that has been a major asset in my career. The foster care system provided me lessons learned that I now carry into my profession as a Captain in the United States Army Reserve, the greatest organization in the word.

My success can be attributed to the mentors I found in the quiet little town of Kensington, Kansas. Here, a loving foster family, Mr. and Mrs. Bob Bearley, inspired me to think positive and never give up. Clella Hahn, my CASA worker, and her husband, Lowell, encouraged me to develop a close relationship with God. These people, and many others like them, looked past the anger and resentment I exuded as a young teenager, and they loved me anyway, nurturing me and giving me the life-building skills that I just didn’t have before I entered foster care.

I am living proof that the foster care system can offer children more than just a safe haven; there is opportunity within the system! Time and time again I witnessed my mother and father making destructive choices. Once I was in foster care, the families I lived with were determined to keep me from making those same destructive choices. Being removed from that toxic environment allowed me to break the cycle of failure and focus on investing in myself. The more distance I put between myself and my biological family, the more I began to see that I could make a brighter future for myself with the help of the foster care system.

I know that being in foster care can bring with it a negative stigma and feelings of embarrassment. I remember vividly my first week in foster care. During basketball practice at my new school, one of the boys on the team asked innocently about my parents, what they did for a living, and why I had moved to town. He was only being friendly, but I was too ashamed to admit the truth—that I was in foster care—so I lied to him. In those early days in foster care, I felt doomed to fail, and I felt the scrutiny of others who expected me to fail. But I’ve used these feelings as fuel for my fire, and I encourage all foster children to do the same.

We foster children are some of the most resilient people in the world. My advice for young people currently in care is to find positive influences such as foster parents, teachers, and members of the community, embrace the awesome opportunities the system provides and use the foster care stigma as motivation to rise to new heights to dream big, think positive, and take action! I did just that when I wrote my first book, Succeeding as a Foster Child. Frank Sinatra said it best, “The best revenge is massive success!”

Dr. Jamie Schwandt is a former Kansas foster child who found success in a life destined for failure. Dr. Schwandt had a difficult childhood and overcame significant obstacles to get where he is today. He was born in a small town in Kansas where his parents abused drugs and alcohol. Both parents battled depression while suffering from other mental health issues. His father committed suicide when Dr. Schwandt was eighteen years old. As a child, Dr. Schwandt witnessed many dangerous and poor decisions made by his parents. His mother suffered from severe drug addiction and alcoholism. He watched his mother use drugs in their home and was often left to take care of her and his younger brother. He has vivid memories of seeing needles in the bathroom, witnessing domestic violence, and preventing his mother from multiple suicide attempts. Dr. Schwandt is a graduate of Fort Hays State University. Additionally, in May 2013, Dr. Schwandt completed a Doctor of Education (Ed.D.) from Kansas State University. He is a United States Army Reserve Captain and served in the Middle East during Operation Iraqi and Enduring Freedom; he is both determined and tenacious and is blessed to have experienced many successes in life. www.jamieschwandt.com.

Amber Beach Hardacre resides in Kensington, KS, where she taught library, English, and Speech and Drama at the high school for 15 years. She recently left the teaching profession in order to spend more time with her family. Education is in her blood, however, and she was recently elected to the local school board. Amber looks forward to serving the school district and the students in this new capacity. In addition to taxiing her children to and from school and sporting activities, she serves as clerk for the City of Kensington and does freelance editing in her spare time. She has been married to Bruce Hardacre for over 20 years, and is the devoted mother to three beautiful daughters, Elizabeth, age 14, Abigail, age 11, and Cameron, age 5. When she’s not running after her children, Amber loves to read, craft and spend time with family and friends.

Fourth suspect in Kan. robbery, kidnapping case in custody

Posted on May 19, 2015May 19, 2015

Hutch Post

HUTCHINSON — A fourth suspect in connection with a series of aggravated robberies in Hutchinson is in custody according to Hutchinson Police Lt. Marty Robertson.

Police arrested Dakota Anderson, 19, on Monday.

Authorities say he will face similar charges to three others including two counts of aggravated burglary, one count of kidnapping, two counts of aggravated robbery and one count of aggravated battery.

Anderson is scheduled to make a first court appearance on Tuesday.

Anderson and three additional suspects are suspected in crimes including the robbery of Family Affair business located at 1515 E. 4th Street and a pair of home invasions in the 3600 Block of Rockwood Drive and in the 3400 Block of North Waldron.

Police conducted a number of search warrants last week and reported they found items from all three robberies.

One fee goes up, another goes down for USD 489 students (VIDEO)

Posted on May 19, 2015May 19, 2015

boe — Hays school board members talk about enrollment and technology fees Monday night.

By BECKY KISER
Hays Post

The technology fee at Hays High School is increasing $20 to a total of $50, while the $160 workbook/materials fee for all USD 489 students will be reduced by $25 starting in the 2015-2016 school year.

Hays USD 489 school board members voted 5-1 for the changes during Monday night’s regular meeting. Board member Lance Bickle dissented; board member Josh Waddell was absent.

Although Traci Kaiser, Executive Director of Finance, showed five options to the board, four of which decreased fees by increasing amounts, administration had recommended only the HHS technology increase. It will generate an additional $10,732 for a total of $25,927 to cover the self-insurance for the technology devices at Hays High.

Three of the five options would have implemented a $30 technology fee at the middle school and the elementary schools.

“It would probably be the best thing to send that message–that yes, we’re going to try to reduce fees–we’ve been talking about it. I think we have an opportunity to do that. I would feel comfortable with this option–reducing the K-12 enrollment fee overall by $25 and then the fee for technology at the high school would go up $20,” Katt said.

Approval of both changes will mean a net shortfall of $39,454 in textbook/materials fees which Katt and Kaiser said will be covered in the General Fund, thanks to a decrease in expenses of $768,876 for FY’16 budget projections.

Those decreased expenses include $3256,959 in staff reductions and a first year savings of $216,299 in repurposing Washington school for the Early Childhood Connections program.

In other business, board members also approved a recommended increase in meal prices of five cents for elementary lunches and ten cents for middle and high school lunches for 2015-2016.

Jessica Younker, Nutrition Services Director, told the board “if prices do not increase, the district would have to contribute $15,689 to the Food Service Fund to subsidize for low cost paid meals.”

Due to federal price equity requirements, based on the average meal price for the 2014-2015 year, USD 489 is required to raise lunch prices a minimum of $.07 weighted average, Younker explained.

Hays High wins Holcomb golf regional; TMP second

Posted on May 19, 2015

Both the Hays High and TMP-Marian boys golf teams have qualified for next week’s 4A state tournament after finishing first and second at the Holcomb 4A Regional Monday at the Buffalo Dunes Golf Course in Garden City. The Indians shoot a 341 to win their third straight regional title by 11 strokes over the Monarchs.

Payton Ruder fired a 4-over-par 76 to win his second straight individual regional title. TMP-Marian’s Max Megaffin was secpmd with a 78. Hays High’s Allen Zollinger shot an 86 to finish fourth, Cash Hobson was ninth with an 89 and Nathan Romme 10th with a 90.

Hayden Rohr was the only other top-10 finisher for the Monarchs, coming in seventh with an 88.

Both teams advance to the 4A state tournament next Tuesday at the Turkey Creek Golf Course in McPherson.

Ellis softball advances to regional semifinals

Posted on May 19, 2015May 19, 2015

The Ellis softball team has advanced to the semifinals of the Lincoln 2-1A regional after a 15-0, three inning run-rule win over Bennington Monday.

The Railers explode for eight runs in the first inning, then added two in the second and five in the third.

Brittany Bollig had three of the Railers six hits and drove in five. Skylar Gottschalk knocked in three.

Gottschalk allowed just one hit, striking out three and walking one for the win as Ellis improves to 9-10.

The Railers will now play No. 2 seed Salina-Sacred Heart Tuesday at 4:45 in Lincoln. The Knights received a first-round bye.