VICTORIA — After nearly a year without clean running water in their home, Kevin and Laura McCarter, who live just outside of Victoria, soon could have access to safe drinking water. But, despite public outcries and a social media storm from area residents, the water will not be coming from the City of Victoria just 1,700 feet east of the residence, instead coming from Post Rock Rural Water District through a line that will be laid from over a mile away.
The McCarters were forced to seek a new water supply after the wells on their property became contaminated last year. Due to their proximity to Victoria, the couple worked with the city for months to secure water from the city, but even with support from Jerry Kanzenbach, Victoria Mayor, the Victoria City Council failed to vote on a measure that would have added the McCarter home to the city water supply through annexation.
Despite the lack of action by the Victoria City Council, good news came to the McCarters last week when Post Rock Rural Water District sent a letter indicating their board is in support of getting water to the farm from the district.
“The District’s Board of Directors are very sympathetic to your situation,” the letter to the McCarters said. “Service would most logically come from the City of Victoria. While it is not the ideal situation for anyone concerned, Rural Water District No. 1 Ellsworth County, Kansas Board of Directors are offering to serve you a safe and reliable source of water.”
The deal is contingent on the McCarters signing a water line extension agreement and purchasing a district benefit unit.
The McCarters had originally worked with the district to secure water, but due to the proximity of the home to Victoria, they had been they were too close to get water from a rural water district.
“We’re kind of back to where we were before with Post Rock,” McCarter said. “We’re extremely happy, but extremely pessimistic too,” McCarter said, because of what had happened in the past, but thinks now they are now coming to the end of a long journey to get water to the home.
“I think now we are getting closer, for sure,” he said.
Running water from the rural district also adds a substantial cost – something McCarter is willing to pay – if only just to put an end to the ordeal.
“If they run it, it will be a little over $40,000 on their part,” he said. “By the time it is all said and done, we’ll probably spend $60,000 to $70,000 dollars on water from them,” noting with the cost of the district running the line, he will also need to re-plumb the house and run a line from the meter at the end of his long driveway. On top of those new costs, McCarter estimates he has almost $10,000 in attorney fees getting to this point.
“We’re excited about it, but when you start looking at a 30-year loan to pay off water, it’s not that much fun,” he said.
McCarter estimated the cost to get water from Victoria would have been less than $10,000.
OLATHE, Kan. (AP) — A 59-year-old suburban Kansas City man faces charges accusing him of hitting two police officers with his car.
The officers weren’t seriously hurt in the incident Sunday in Overland Park.
The Kansas City Star reports Verton Tyrone Gee Sr. was charged in Johnson County District Court with theft and aggravated battery on a law enforcement officer.
Police say two officers were knocked to the ground by a car Gee was driving when they tried to stop him from leaving a store where a theft had been reported.
Gee’s being held on $250,000 bond. Online court records don’t list a lawyer for Gee.
ELLIS–Ellis city council members will take up several items of unfinished business during their meeting tonight.
The council will consider proposals for engineering services for improvements to the city’s water supply, consider an ordinance on monument placement in the cemetery and hear on update of the Monroe Street sidewalk/crosswalk project.
In new business, the Ellis Recreation Commission will discussion water issues for 2016.
The meeting starts at 7:30 p.m. tonight in Ellis City Hall.
The complete Oct. 19 agenda follows.
AGENDA October 19, 2015
REGULAR MEETING OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF ELLIS
City Hall – Council Meeting Room
BILLS ORDINANCE REVIEW WORK SESSION BEGINS AT 7:00 P.M.
ROLL CALL AND MEETING CALL TO ORDER AT 7:30 P.M.
PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE
AMENDMENTS TO AGENDA (if needed)
1) CONSENT AGENDA
a) Minutes from Regular Meeting on October 5, 2015
b) Bills Ordinance #1983
(Council will review for approval under one motion under the consent agenda. By majority vote of the governing body, any item may be removed from the consent agenda and considered separately)
PUBLIC COMMENTS
(Each speaker will be limited to five minutes. If several people from the group wish to speak on same subject, the group must appoint a spokesperson. ALL comments from public on agenda items must be during Public Comment. Once council begins their business meeting, no more comments from public will be allowed.)
2) PRESENTATIONS OF AWARDS, PROCLAMATIONS, REQUESTS & PETITIONS (HEARINGS)
3) SPECIAL ORDER
a) Discuss Water Issues for 2016 – Ellis Recreation Commission
b) Consider Purchase of Fire Hose – Fire Chief Denis Vine
4) UNFINISHED BUSINESS
a) Consider Proposals for Engineering Services for Improvements to City’s Water Supply
b) Consider Ordinance on Cemetery Monument Placement Specifications
c) Discussion on Non-Compliant Cemetery Decorations
d) Update on Monroe Street Sidewalk/Crosswalk Project
e) Update on Water Exploration Project
5) NEW BUSINESS
a) Consider Approval of Public Property Permit Application and Event Request for Traffic Control – Ellis Polar Express
b) Consider Appointment to Cemetery Committee
c) Consider Resolution Authorizing Employee Credit Card Use
d) Consider Contract with Layne Christensen for Water Treatment Plant Inspections
e) Consider Amendments to Ordinance No. 1382 Allowing Work by Property Owners
f) Consider Aid to School District for Dirt Work
g) Consider Quote for Tree Removal
h) Discussion on Semi-Truck Traffic on North Hill
i) Discuss Kansas PRIDE Program
6) REPORTS FROM CITY OFFICIALS
a) Administrative
1) Public Works
(1) Consider Position Changes in Department
(2) Update on Well Transducers
(3) Update on Dock at Big Creek
(4) Department Update
2) Police
(1) Department Update
3) City Clerk
(1) Advertising for Upcoming Clerk II Vacancy
(2) Health Insurance Monthly Summary
(3) Unofficial Committee Meeting Minutes
(4) Department Update
4) Attorney
5) Mayor/Council
(1) Update from League of Kansas Municipalities Annual Conference
EXECUTIVE SESSIONS
7) ADJOURNMENT
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — Former Kansas Attorney General Phill Kline has filed a federal lawsuit against the Kansas Supreme Court justices and others related to the suspension of his law license over his investigations of abortion providers.
His attorneys contend in a complaint filed Monday in U.S. District Court in Kansas that the court enhanced Kline’s punishment because of his “fervid beliefs” against abortion. The lawsuit also contends the court selectively applied rules governing attorney conduct.
The Kansas Supreme Court sanctioned Kline’s law license in October 2013. The court found that as attorney general and as Johnson County prosecutor, Kline misled judges and a Kansas City-area grand jury to further his investigations against a Wichita abortion doctor and an Overland Park Planned Parenthood clinic.
The court didn’t immediately respond to an email seeking comment.
The Hays USD 489 Board of Education will meet at 6:30 p.m. Monday in the Toepfer Board Room in the Rockwell Administration Building, 323 W. 12th, with several new topics to be discussed, including 20-day enrollment counts. But likely the biggest topic of discussion will be continued planning for an upcoming bond issue with HTK Architects, who will have representatives at the meeting.
“Zach Snethen and Elizabeth Johnson from HTK Architects and Dustin Avey from Piper Jaffray will present an update to the board on the cost of repairs, renovations and additions to district buildings,” according to tonight’s agenda.
One of the most significant changes expected to be discussed tonight is the potential conversion of Lincoln Elementary into the new administration building, which would include Westside and the Learning Center. That conversion is estimated to cost $4.6 million.
If that were to occur, Hays would be left with three elementary schools – O’Loughlin, Roosevelt and Wilson. Washington Elementary School was closed at the end of last school year.
After changes in district facilities have occurred since initial planning, the current amount to be sought by the bond measure is slightly over $93 million. That amount would cover maintenance and upgrades at each of the districts buildings, including gymnasiums at Hays High, Hays Middle School and Roosevelt Elementary.
While there are many moving parts to the bond issue, a proposed elections for the bond measure is tentatively scheduled for March and would address millions of dollars in deferred maintenance throughout the district.
Click HERE for the full agenda, including the latest facilities needs proposals.
Dr. Mirta Martin, FHSU president, announced Monday the beginning of a 15-city media tour.
FHSU University Relations and Marketing
Dr. Mirta M. Martin, president of Fort Hays State University, believes in a simple but powerful formula: “People of Excellence + Programs of Distinction = Destination of Choice.”
The facts bear her out. While most of the universities in the Kansas Board of Regents system were losing students, Fort Hays State reported an official enrollment this fall of 14,210, which was an increase of 385 students from a year ago and an all-time record.
The western Kansas university has been on a steady upward trend. The Chronicle of Higher Education reported this summer that Fort Hays State was the eighth-fastest growing masters-level public university in the nation over the past decade.
President Martin is spending an entire week, beginning Monday, traveling the length and breadth of Kansas to talk about higher education in general and Fort Hays State in particular. The tour includes 32 separate events in 15 cities.
A few months after she arrived in July 2014, the university embarked on an ambitious “re-engineering” project.
“Together, we envisioned a new beginning for Fort Hays State; one that builds on our strengths — our programs of distinction and our people of excellence,” she said. “We engaged our faculty, students and staff in our discussions. We asked for honest opinions and creative input. We listened to each other. We found we were great at many things, but there was room to be better.”
A number of changes have resulted.
In her convocation speech in August at the beginning of the 2015-2016 academic year, President Martin called upon faculty and staff to shift from a culture of access to a culture of completion.
“Our job does not stop with getting students on campus and unpacked. That’s when our work really begins,” she said. “We must ensure those students cross the finish line. We must ensure they graduate. Successful student outcomes are our top priority. Retention is everyone’s business.”
A major enhancement of the university’s scholarship program will help students succeed. First-time freshmen who meet qualifying ACT and SAT requirements automatically receive scholarships, and those awards will be considerably higher beginning with the 2016-2017 school year. For example, students with a 29 ACT score will receive a $3,500 award renewable for three years, up from $1,200 previously. The other ACT-based scholarships will also increase, significantly relieving financial pressure on many FHSU students.
“We have the lowest tuition rate in the state and the second lowest in the country, but our affordability does not equate to lack of quality in our programs,” President Martin said. “Quite the contrary. Our small classes, individualized attention and state-of-the-art facilities yield impressive results. We want to attract the bright minds of Kansas and of our nation.”
With the goal of making the university the destination of choice for academically gifted and ambitious students from around the state, nation and world, Fort Hays State also created an Honors College last spring.
The Honors College offers a challenging curriculum across the range of FHSU’s academic programs and housing that will gather the students into a dedicated living and study space. Honors College students automatically become members of the university’s Fort Hays Honor Society, an invitation-only group requiring a 3.8 cumulative GPA.
Students who qualify for the Honors College also receive greatly enhanced scholarships, ranging up to full tuition and fees, complete room and board costs, and $450 per semester for books.
Yet another enhancement that illustrates the FHSU commitment to student success is a request to the Regents to create a new STEM College. President Martin said a recent Young Makers’ Conference at Fort Hays State for 200 young school children was an innovative way to develop an interest in science, technology, engineering and mathematics through literature and hands-on activities. “The inaugural conference on Oct. 9 was just one example for why we want to establish a STEM College,” she said. “People recognize the importance of STEM to the future of our nation. They are emphasizing it in elementary school, and students are coming to Fort Hays State to be taught and inspired by our faculty. They see Fort Hays State as the destination of choice for STEM education in this part of the country.” There are only 13 STEM colleges in the United States, including prestigious institutions such as MIT. There are no institutions in Kansas.
The STEM college would have the added benefit of creating a pipeline into college for graduates of the Kansas Academy of Mathematics and Science. Housed on the FHSU campus, KAMS allows some of the state’s brightest minds to enter Fort Hays State as high school juniors.
A further initiative will be the launch next summer of the Hispanic College Institute, designed to attract to Fort Hays State the fastest growing minority in the nation and in Kansas. “Led by our Division of Student Affairs, this four-day, three-night residential program will introduce first-generation Hispanics to a university environment,” President Martin said. “It will teach them how to navigate the American educational system and how to enroll and graduate from college.”
The FHSU family has distinguished itself in many ways over the past year:
• TheBestSchools.org ranked Fort Hays State the best university in Kansas last fall in an article, “The Best Online College in Each of America’s Fifty States.”
• A team of four FHSU students placed second in the nation and received a $20,000 award from Microsoft for creating an innovative app in the Be U Hackathon last November in Redmond, Wash.
• In October 2014, Nonprofit Colleges Online recognized FHSU’s online nursing program as No. 1 for “Online Programs for Bachelor’s of Science in Nursing.”
• Four Master of Business Administration students scored in the top 3 percent of the Educational Testing Service’s national Major Field Test last fall.
• Seth Kastle, an FHSU instructor of leadership studies, translated his military experience into a book for children that caught national attention. “Why is Dad so Mad?” helps military families deal with post-traumatic stress disorder. After its release this spring, the book quickly became the No. 1 children’s book on Amazon and the No. 8 book overall.
• The Kansas Health Foundation awarded a grant of $15,397 to fund a “Healthy Reading for Kids: Food & Fitness Project” in Hays. Starting in August, a team of 35 FHSU teacher education students has been implementing the project as part of an after-school literacy program.
• Eight FHSU students chased storms across eight states on an adventurous 18-day trip last summer led by Dr. Grady Dixon and Dr. Keith Bremer from the Department of Geosciences. The group began each day with a discussion about weather conditions and then drove several hours to find “promising” storms.
Further evidence can be seen in a recent report from PayScale Inc., the world’s largest database of salary profiles and other information. Of 32 undergraduate colleges in Kansas, Fort Hays State was tops in the percentage of alumni who would recommend their educational experience to others, at 89 percent, and in the percentage of alumni who think their work helps make the world a better place, at 63 percent.
“Fort Hays State is engaged in producing graduates who can think for themselves, who are articulate and persuasive, who are critical, creative and collaborative, and who are technologically proficient and competent across disciplines,” she said. “Our graduates contribute to the well-being of Kansas, our nation and the world. They are committed to improving the human condition.”
Two public hearings will be held this evening by the Hays Area Planning Commission.
Scheduled are a rezoning request for a tract of land located at 1517 Commerce Parkway from “A-L” Agriculture to “I-1” Light Industrial Zoning District, and a rezoning request for the proposed Blue Sky Acres Addition located at 250th Avenue west of VonFeldt’s Addition from “A-L” Agriculture to “R-S” Residential Suburban Zoning District.
The planning commission will also look at a preliminary plat of Blue Sky Acres Addition and review proposed changes to the city’s development policy.
Hays City Manager Toby Dougherty will make a “Strong Towns” presentation.
The meeting begins at 6:30 p.m. in Hays City Hall, 1507 Main.
The complete Oct. 19, 2015, agenda can be seen here.
Great Bend- The Brit Spaugh Zoo in Great Bend is mourning the loss of the world second oldest spider monkey named Spidey.
Spidey was found non responsive with an extremely low heartrate by zoo keepers first thing Monday morning, according to a media release.
Keepers and Zoo Veterinarian were making the difficult decision to humanely euthanize him but in the meantime Spidey had already passed. His health had been rapidly declining over the last several days and he was being watched and monitored closely.
Spidey was its oldest and most beloved resident, in the wild Spider Monkeys are only expected to live around twenty years. In captivity, life expectancy is around 40 years due to veterinary care.
The Great Bend Brit Spaugh Zoo was lucky enough to have a vibrant Spidey that lived 50 years! He moved to Great Bend in 1965 when he was just 6 months old. Earlier in the year the zoo celebrated his 50th birthday with a party and celebration to the fact that he was the second oldest spider monkey in the world.
Zookeeper Sara Hamlin reported on behalf of all the zookeepers, “We are devastated. At 10 years past his life expectancy we knew this day would come, but it still doesn’t prepare you for how your heart will break when the day arrives. Spidey had such a great personality and he will be leaving behind a huge hole in all our hearts.”
The new Ellis Co. Emergency Services building at 1105 E. 22nd, Hays.
By BECKY KISER Hays Post
For the first time, Ellis County emergency responders are all working under one roof.
Move-in day started Thursday at 1105 E. 22nd in Hays for Ellis County Emergency Services, Ellis County Rural Fire and Ellis County Emergency Manager Bill Ring.
Ellis Co. Public Works employees haul in a snack machine.
The new facility is just down the street from the former EMS building, the shortest trip for Ellis County Public Works personnel who used their department vehicles to help move the three department’s contents and supplies.
New mattresses were hauled into the EMS personnel’s sleeping area.
“I’m not sure I can sleep in a private room,” laughed Cpt. Creta LaBarge as she made the beds. “I’m so used to someone being next to me.” LaBarge is the C Shift Supervisor and has been an EMT for 28 years. When the former EMS building, 1109 Cody, was purchased in 1991, there were nine employees; today there are 43.
Ellis Co. EMS Director Kerry McCue and Training Director Lillian Slater show their new offices to Ellis Co. Commission Chairman Marcy McClelland.Some EMS records previously were stored off site. Now they can be housed in the bigger building.
EMS Training Director Lillian Slater was delighted with the huge classroom in the building basement. “We used to have training at Hays Med, which was very generous of the hospital, but now it’ll be great to have it right here.”
Work began on the building in July 2014 at a projected cost of $3.5 million. The project is financed by a five-year, half-cent sales tax approved by voters in May 2013 for the construction cost, as well as safety and security improvements to the Ellis County jail and courthouse.
Ellis County Commission Chairman Marcy McClelland stopped in Thursday afternoon to watch the activity. (Video by James Bell)
The large kitchen has three refrigerators, one each for each department’s personnel.
“It’s nice to have everything in one place,” McClelland said. “It’s been scattered throughout the city.”
Emergency dispatch remains at the courthouse which is undergoing renovation.
An official open house for the Ellis County Emergency Services Building will be held Tuesday, Oct. 27, starting with a ribbon cutting by the Hays Area Chamber of Commerce at 10 a.m. Tours will be conducted until 4 p.m.
Ah, the old Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks wombo combo. It’s been utterly fantastic, it’s been great and it’s been pretty good — but what it’s never been is bad. That tradition of excellence continues with their latest pairing, “Bridge of Spies.”
Set during the Cold War, “Bridge of Spies” follows an American insurance lawyer who is asked to represent a captive, alleged Soviet spy. The premise by itself is a breath of fresh air because only half of the principal characters are spies. That’s a full 50 percent less than is typical of Cold War movies. All joking aside, Hanks and co-star Mark Rylance, a world-renowned stage actor, deliver impeccable performances that give a beating heart to what could have otherwise been a cold, procedural legal/espionage drama.
The setting is fantastic, the acting is top notch and the direction comes from one of the men who have helped shape modern cinema in an indisputable way. Watching Spielberg’s direction, it’s evident that the hand of a master is at work.
That said, the Invisible Hand (can anyone tell me the “Star Wars” reference in regards to the capitalization just before the parenthesis? I would be impressed if you could) that steers this ship is a little heavy-handed. It’s the Spielberg touch, to be sure, but it’s not as graceful and elegant as it could have been. Maybe that’s just nostalgia for Spielberg’s earlier work, but it seems like a little of the usual finesse is missing.
There is a lot to love about “Bridge of Spies.” I loved nearly everything about it. It’s well made, tells an important story and is fun to watch.
The price of doing anything great is that, from then on, greatness becomes the expectation. It’s a little unfair of me to criticize Steven Spielberg for only being extremely good instead of great. Alas, such is the price of being a legend.
Luckily, only a few people consistently expects greatness from me, which comes in handy when I make a moderately good video breaking down the new “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” poster. I encourage you to watch it HERE: It’s moderately good!
SAN RAFAEL, Calif. (AP) – The bass player for the Grateful Dead has bladder cancer.
Phil Lesh announced his condition on the Facebook page of his California restaurant and concert hall.
Lesh says he was diagnosed earlier this month – and says he has been undergoing test at the Mayo Clinic in Arizona.
He says he will have the tumors removed – but feels “very fortunate” that that doctors feel the tumors aren’t aggressive and that there’s no sign they have spread.
SALINA – Law enforcement authorities in Saline County continue to investigate a reported accidental shooting just after 8:30 p.m. on Friday at the Starplex Cinema at the Salina Central Mall.
Cody Deneault, 24, Concordia, shot himself in the thigh while at the movies, according to Salina Police Captain Chris Trocheck.
Deneault was with his wife at the theater, adjusted the handgun in his pants pocket, and it went off.
Deneault was taken to the Salina Regional Health Center for treatment of the non-life threatening wound.
It has not been determined if Deneault will face any charges, according to Trocheck.
Local staff at the Starplex have been asked not to comment and officials at Starplex headquarters in Dallas have not responded to questions about the incident.
By JAMES BELL
