Former Kan. Gov. Kathleen Sebelius will be in Hays — joined by 2014 gubernatorial candidate and former state Rep. Paul Davis — for a fundraiser for the Ellis County Democratic Party.

The fundraiser coincides with the 60th birthday of Glenn Staab of Hays, who served as chairman of the Ellis County Democratic Party for nearly 20 years.

“Glenn worked with many outstanding Democrats running for local and statewide office,” said Henry Schwaller, current chairman of the local Democrats, said in a release. “He expanded party membership and visibility through frequent events, a quarterly newsletter and a column in the Hays Daily News.”

Sebelius and Davis will be at the Sternberg Museum of Natural History at 6 p.m. Tuesday. Tickets are $35 per person. RSVPs are requested to [email protected].

Donations also can be sent to the Ellis County Democratic Party, P.O. Box 855, Hays KS 67601.

“The funds from this event will be used to support good candidates who share our values,” Schwaller said.

HaysMed on Thursday announced Hays native Dr. Timothy Hoskins has joined the medical staff.

Hoskins began seeing patients last week at the Center for Women’s Health, joining Drs. Joel Fort, Lee Hodny and Rebeka Weber.

Hoskins completed medical school at the University of Kansas School of Medicine in Kansas City. He completed a residency in OB/GYN at the University of Kansas School of Medicine in Wichita. He is board certified by the American Board of Obstetrics and Gynecology and is a member of the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology and Kansas Medical Society. Hoskins is also trained in robotic surgery.

Hoskins is accepting new patients. Call (785) 623-5806 for an appointment.

Kansas Department of Wildlife, Tourism and Parks

WILSON–Singletracks.com, an online website for outdoor enthusiasts that centers around camping, hiking, skiing, and mountain biking, recently came out with a list of the Most Popular Mountain Bike Trails for 2015 and Switchgrass Trail at Wilson State Park in Russell County took the lead for Kansas.

Open year-round in the Hell Creek area of the Park, Switchgrass Trail is nearly 24 miles of biking paradise. Awarded the “Epic” designation by the International Mountain Bicycling Association in 2012, Switchgrass Trail has consistently proved to be a trail worth visiting.

Rated as moderate to easy, Switchgrass Trail can be enjoyed by the whole family, especially when taking shorter “green” sections such as the EZ loop, or utilizing the trail’s intermediate “blue” paths. For experienced bikers, technically difficult sections of the trail also exist, including “black” sections that consist of rocky terrain, sandy areas, elevated paths, and steep drops.

Apart from the wide variety of loops and paths within Switchgrass Trail suited to bikers of all skill levels, the area also boasts incredible wildlife viewing opportunities, and the beautiful 9,000-acre Wilson Reservoir.

For more information on Wilson State Park’s Switchgrass Trail, contact the Wilson State Park office at (785) 658-2465.

Singletracks compiled the list by taking into consideration a given trail’s average reviewer rating, total number of reviews, number of Singletracks members who have ridden the trail, and number of Singletracks members who want to ride the trail.

To see Singletracks’ complete review of Switchgrass Trail, including the list of top trails for other states, visit www.singletracks.com.

Hundreds of Hays High School students earned honors at the annual Senior Awards ceremony.

Click here for a complete listing of honors.

By BECKY KISER
Hays Post

The recent pattern of small amounts of regular spring rains is welcome during the drought that has put the city of Hays 12 inches behind normal in average rainfall.

The showers may be welcome; the resulting weeds and overgrown lawns are not.

If property owners let the situation get out of control, the city will step in.

Section 26 of the Hays Municipal Code prohibits nuisances such as weeds or grass taller than 12 inches in height, according to John Braun, Assistant Public Works Director.

“The area of (property owner) responsibility extends to the center of the street in front or side yard, and to the center of the alley in the rear,” he explained.

“Typically, you won’t find weeds growing in the street but sometimes they do grow around the curb and sidewalk and especially along the alley.

“Property owners who do not keep control of tall grass and weeds will be sent a letter notifying them of the violation with 10 days to correct it. After that, the city will hire a contractor to abate the nuisance and charge the costs to the responsible property owner,” Braun said.

“Any legal over-the-counter, purchased at the hardware store herbicides can be sprayed in the sidewalk cracks, along the curb and alley, around the water main cover,” Braun added.

“As long as you use the amount specified and apply it according to label directions, you don’t have to worry about runoff (into the city water system.”)

Any questions about nuisance issues should be directed to the Public Works Department at (785) 628-7350.

FHSU University Relations

Sixteen students in Fort Hays State University’s Media Studies Program were recently recognized as media professionals by passing the industry-recognized Avid software certification exam.

The inaugural Avid Media Composer class, taught by Toby Yoshimura, associate professor of informatics, had a 100-percent pass-rate for the Avid certification exam. The students are the first students in Kansas to be certified.

Avid is the industry-standard media platform that connects content creation with collaboration, asset protection, distribution and consumption for feature films, music recordings, television shows and more.

“Avid certified editors are few and far between, it’s a very exclusive community,” said Yoshimura. “I couldn’t be more proud of our students.”