The reconstruction of 13th Street from Main to Milner continues.
The Milner intersection and work east of the Milner intersection are complete.
Paving is underway this week on Milner to Allen, the Allen intersection and Allen to Pine Street. The Pine intersection will undergo storm sewer work, grading and base rock application. Base rock work and paving will be done from Oak to Main north of the traffic center line.
(Click to enlarge)
13th Street remains closed from Pine to just west of Milner, and traffic is restricted to one-way eastbound from Main to Oak.
Work is scheduled to be completed in late November.
The City appreciates the public’s patience and understanding during the course of this project. If there are any questions, contact the Public Works Department at (785) 628-7350 or the contractor, APAC, at (785) 625-3459.
GREAT BEND -Video from a trail cam shows a mountain lion north of Great Bend in the Barton Hills area.
Officials with the Kansas Department of Wildlife Parks and Tourism have confirmed the video.
The short 20 second video that was shot at 10:06 p.m. on September 7th, made the rounds on Facebook.
It was a video that has also been seen by Wildlife and Parks biologist Charlie Swank who says he checked out the area and confirmed that the video was authentic.
“We go out and check and make sure the area matches the photograph or vide we receive,” said Swank. “We’ve had everything from pigs, dogs, house cats and more show up and be called a mountain lion.”
Swank says having mountain lions in Kansas is nothing new, but with the advent of trail cams they can now get a better handle of the number of cats that move through the state.
The first confirmed mountain lion in Kansas in modern times was shot and killed in 2007 in Barber County in south-central Kansas.
Ten more have been verified since then, for a total of 11 confirmed sightings.
The latest sighting prior to the recent sighting in Barton County was confirmed last August in Rooks County, north of Webster Reservoir.
First Congressional Dist. candidate Dr. Roger Marshall, Great Bend, visits with supporters in Hays Tuesday afternoon.
By James Bell Hays Post
Roger Marshall, Republican candidate for the Kansas First Congressional District, stopped in Hays late Tuesday afternoon for a meet and greet during a quick tour of the area.
“We’ve been in Scott City, then went to Goodland, then Atwood, then this morning we started off in Colby, then here and we will be finishing up in Salina this evening,” Marshall said.
Despite the small gathering awaiting him at Gella’s Diner & Lb. Brewing Co., Marshall was optimistic about the campaign and found residents have been generally responsive to his message as he listens to district residents.
“I needed to spend some time up there and I feel like we meet a lot of people and got a lot accomplished,” he said. “We’ve been in 52 communities now and I feel like we have a good base in those communities and our relationships with people are growing.”
Even while he’s busy with his campaign, Marshall has not cut back on his duties as a doctor in Great Bend. He has a practice in obstetrics and gynecology.
“I’m still trying to do both,” Marshall said, while spending “three to four days a week,” on the campaign.
With election season quickly approaching, Marshall has seen fundraising for the campaign pick up, and the incumbent Rep. Tim Huelskamp’s (R-Fowler) campaign apparently has noticed.
“They continue to send people to record me and tape record me everywhere I go, hoping to catch me in a mistake, but that’s not surprising,” Marshall said.
Roger Marshall
During his tour, one of the key issues residents have brought to the attention of the candidate is education, something Marshall feels can be addressed by giving states more power to control their own education systems.
“My whole philosophy is to push everything down from the federal level down to the state level. I want the state to make the decisions, not the federal government,” Marshall said. “I think there is still a bureaucracy created by the federal government, and that’s what the school superintendents have told me.”
Marshall believes that bureaucracy is hurting the nation’s education system, making it over-complicated and over-regulated.
“Whatever’s complicated, let’s make it simple,” Marshall said.
Despite his desire to see less regulation, he said there are elements of the currently debated Common Core federal standard that may remain useful, but as currently implemented, they are making education less efficient at the local level.
“It’s created more bureaucracy for them to deal with,” Marshall said.
Marshall however, agreed that some of the points of Common Core, including base standards and educational standards, are still important to education.
“I think Common Core establishes minimum levels we should be following.”
More information about Marshall and his campaign is available here.
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Some state lawmakers are considering allowing some form of Medicaid expansion under the Affordable Care Act amid the looming closure of a hospital in southeast Kansas.
Mercy Hospital in Independence announced last week that it was closing its doors on Oct. 10, partly due to declining reimbursement rates from Medicare.
Senate Vice President Jeff King said Tuesday that Kansas should consider a state-centric approach to addressing poor residents’ health care needs.
The Lawrence Journal-World reports that King’s support of an expansion plan could be important because the only Medicaid expansion bills introduced so far in the Legislature have been in the House, where Republican leaders have refused to allow debate and votes on any bills.
At least 30 other states have implemented some kind of Medicaid expansion plan.
“The Visit,” is another entry in the growing list of M. Night Shyamalan – the director who made a name for himself with movies that had one big twist or one big reveal i.e. “The Sixth Sense” and “Signs” – disasters that was frankly not worth the effort of seeing. It’s dark, detached, derivative and dumb.
Granted, given my new living arrangements in Washington, D.C., seeing a movie is fair bit of work. It either involves a paid cab ride or, my preferred alternative, a mile and half walk. Last weekend I made that walk, in a very healthy dose of rain, to be very predictably bored out of my mind with “The Visit.”
The entire concept of this film is creepy stalker/demon-possessed/serial-killer/other-horror-film-antagonists that are old. That’s it. “The Visit” is, in many cases, a worse incarnation of any other interchangeable horror film/jump-scare-fiesta that swaps out the guy with the chainsaw for an elderly couple and the scantily-clad women for grandchildren. In absolutely every scenario I can imagine, those are terrible trades.
To be fair, the trademark M. Night Shyamalan “big reveal” is pretty good. That said, everything else about the film is weak sauce. It approaches the “found footage” cinematography style in the worst way. It doesn’t claim to be real, and forces its justification far past the breaking point. No one did the math on this movie before going into production. No one crunched the numbers and told the filmmakers that applying pressure to lever B will not make the scare factor on platform 934 rise higher – because they’re not connected.
Saturday is Law Enforcement Appreciation Day and the public is invited to a celebration of local law enforcement officials at The Mall in Hays.
According to Lori Hertel, one of the organizers of the event, it is a good opportunity for the public to come out and thank local law enforcement officials for all they do for Ellis County.
Hertel said officers from the Hays, Ellis and Victoria Police Departments, Fort Hays State Police Department, Ellis County Sheriff’s Department and Kansas Highway Patrol are all expected to attend.
“I think this is something that law enforcement deserves,” Hertel said “This is a time when it is difficult being a police officer and we need to say thank you to them.”
The event will be from 2 to 5 p.m. in The Mall parking lot in front of the former Fashion Bug.
Hays Mayor Eber Phelps, Ellis County Commissioner Barbra Wasinger and County Attorney Tom Drees are among the guest who will speak at 2:30 p.m.
Hertel also said the Hays Fire and EMS Departments will also be on hand with their emergency vehicles.
Phillipsburg resident, Raymond R. Calhoon, passed away Sept. 13, 2015, at the Kensington Health and Rehab in Kensington, Kan., at the age of 92.
He was born Sept. 8, 1923, in Phillips County, Kan., the son of Lee and Edna (Ross) Calhoon.
He was preceded in death by his wife Ruby, son James and daughter Linda.
Survivors include his sons, Kenneth of Bartlesville, Oklahoma, and Gary of Glade, Kan.; 3 grandchildren and 3 great grandchildren.
Funeral services will be held Friday, Sept. 18, at 2:00 p.m. in the Olliff-Boeve Memorial Chapel, Phillipsburg, with Pastor Dave Pugh officiating. Burial will follow in the Marvin Cemetery, Glade.
Visitation will be from 9:00 to 9:00 Wednesday and Thursday at the funeral home.
Memorial contributions may be made to the Phillips County EMS.
GREAT BEND— Authorities have identified the victim of a fatal shooting in western Kansas as a 39-year-old Texas man.
Great Bend police say the man shot last Friday was Jeremy Saldana, of San Angelo, Texas.
An Ellsworth Correctional Facility employee is jailed on $1 million bond in the killing. The Barton County Sheriff’s Department arrest report indicates Freddie Thomas, 49, Lincoln, is being held on a charge of first degree murder. He was arrested on Saturday.
Saldana and the suspect knew each other and he was shot after an argument, according to police.
Ellsworth Correctional Facility spokesman Todd Britton says the suspect has been placed on administrative leave. The suspect worked at the prison entry and on perimeter watch, driving a vehicle.
Anyone with information is urged to contact authorities.
Artwork by the FHSU Art Department faculty is on display at the Kansas Board of Regents office in Topeka through May.
By Rachel Rayner FHSU University Relations and Marketing
Fort Hays State University art faculty will be featured for the 2015-2016 Kansas Board of Regents Artwork Loan Program, which features Regents university artwork.
More than 30 works of sculpture, ceramics, painting, printmaking, graphic design, drawing and photography from the faculty of the Department of Art and Design are on exhibit in the Kansas Board of Regents office, 1000 SW Jackson St., Suite 520, in Topeka.
“It’s very exciting to be featured,” said Karrie Simpson Voth, professor of art and design and interim chair of the department. “We are very proud and honored to have our work displayed at the Board of Regents. We brought our best pieces to represent each area.”
The opening reception of “Faculty Showcase” will be from noon to 1:15 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 16, in the Regents office, preceding the board meeting. Light refreshments will be served, and participating artists will be in attendance.
Guests will be greeted in the lobby in front of the boardroom by a “Belle,” a life-size ceramic sculpture of a woman wearing an evening gown made of wire and fabric, a specialty of Linda Ganstrom, professor of art and design. On one of the walls beside the Belle is a large painting of a man swimming underwater with jellyfish, painted by Joel Dugan, assistant professor of art and design. The pieces have the same color scheme and create an atmosphere for visitors.
The other artwork can be found around the board members’ offices. “They’re very excited to have the artwork around their offices,” said Simpson Voth.
The exhibit is open to the public for the entire academic year. To learn more about the FHSU Department of Art, visit www.fhsu.edu/artanddesign. For more information about the Board of Regents, visit www.kansasregents.org.
OVERLAND PARK, Kan. (AP) — A man has been found dead outside a bar in the Kansas City suburb of Overland Park.
KSHB-TV reports that police said they responded early Wednesday to an armed disturbance. The victim was found in the parking lot of The Roxy. The man’s name and his cause of death weren’t immediately released.
Authorities are seeking a suspect who left in a large red truck. Anyone with information is urged to call authorities.
NEW YORK (AP) — Olive Garden is bringing back its “Pasta Pass” that lets people gorge on as much pasta as they want for seven weeks. And friends and family are welcome to pig out too this year.
The restaurant chain says it will sell 1,000 of the $100 Pasta Passes starting Thursday at 2 p.m. EDT on its website. It will also sell 1,000 family Pasta Passes, which will cost $300 and let cardholders bring up to three guests.
The passes sold out in 45 minutes last year and generated considerable publicity for Olive Garden, which is trying to modernize its image.
Late night talk show host David Letterman even devoted a top 10 list to the Pasta Pass, saying that one of its clauses is that a person’s dignity is not refundable.
Do you own a food thermometer? Do you know what the ‘temperature danger zone’ is? Do you always keep your raw and cooked food separate?
Governor Brownback along with the Kansas Department of Agriculture, Kansas State Department of Education, Kansas Department for Aging and Disability Services, Kansas Department of Health and Environment, Kansas Restaurant and Hospitality Association, K-State Research and Extension and local health departments want to make sure Kansans know the answer to those questions and more in order to help prevent foodborne illnesses. In order to highlight the importance of food safety, Governor Brownback has proclaimed September as Kansas Food Safety Education Month.
Ensuring a safe food supply is an important part of the vision of the Kansas Department of Agriculture. Secretary of Agriculture Jackie McClaskey shared that food safety from the farm to fork is imperative in all settings.
“It’s very important we ensure to the best of our ability that every step along the food chain from the farm to the fork as safe,” said Secretary McClaskey. “Each of us has a responsibility in reducing the risk of foodborne illness. By celebrating food safety month we can share information on practical steps we all can take to keep our food supply safe and healthy.”
During the month of September, all Kansans are encouraged to engage with the department on social media to help promote important food safety tips. Follow KDA on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and Instagram to learn more about how to prevent foodborne illness.
KDA seeks to ensure a safe food supply and promote public health and safety. The Food Safety and Lodging program is responsible for food safety inspections of food establishments, food processing plants and food storage facilities.
KDA also provides free Focus on Food Safety Training for all individuals involved in the food industry, from food service professionals and food processors, to individuals working in food retail and consumers. For more information on courses and food safety visit the Kansas Department of Agriculture website at www.agriculture.ks.gov/foodsafety.
Jackie McClaskey is the Kansas Secretary of Agriculture
