By JONATHAN ZWEYGARDT
Hays Post

The Ellis County Commission approved and signed contracts at Monday’s commission meeting giving the go-ahead for construction to begin on the western portion of Old U.S. 40.

Last month, the commission approved the bids for phase one and two of the project, from Yocemento to Ellis, totaling $1.7 million.

At Monday’s meeting Tom Bennett, vice president of BG Consultants, the engineer on the project, estimated with two alternates, the project will cost $2.2 million dollars.

Sporer Land Development of Oakley was awarded the contract on phase one of the project for $609,995.71. Phase one consists of widening culverts and installing more guard fence, Bennett said.

APCA-Kansas was awarded phase 2 for $1,132,667.41. The majority of phase 2 is hot-mix asphalt surfacing.

But without extra funds and some cost savings, the county will not be able to do both alternates. The commission estimated Monday the county has approximately $1.95 million left from the bond to pay for the entire Old U.S. 40 reconstruction project.

Construction on the east portion of Old U.S. 40, from 280th Avenue to Toulon Road, was completed last year at a cost of approximately $2.7 million.

In other business, the commission:

• Approved, effective Nov. 1, the proposed fire resolution combining Companies 2 and 3 and Companies 6 and 7. The commission also approved a bill of sale giving the current Company 3 building, at 2150 B. Saline Rive Road, Plainville, on the Schmeidler ranch, back to landowners.

• Approved a resolution seeking bids for the EMS building at 1009 Cody.

• Approved the purchase of a sprayer for $10,613 from Fairbanks Equipment of Wichita for the Noxious Weed Department.

During the Public Building Commission meeting, the commission approved accounts payable in the amount of $902,319.74 for architectural, construction and professional services and the 2014 audit report.

Commissioner Dean Haselhorst, during a building progress report, said he believes the EMS, Rural Fire and Emergency Management Departments will be able to begin moving into the Emergency Services Building on Thursday.

Haselhorst and one of the general contractors plan to do a final walk-through Wednesday evening.

The commission also scheduled a special meeting for an executive session Thursday at 3:30 p.m.

The double-murder trial of a Wisconsin teenager, formerly from Hays, has been delayed, as the court has given psychologists more time to evaluate Ashlee Martinson.

Martinson, 17, stands accused of murdering her mother and stepfather, Jennifer Ayers and Thomas Ayers, in March in Rhinelander, Wis.

Jennifer Ayers is a New Jersey native who grew up in Hays and graduated from Hays High School and Fort Hays State University.

For updates on the trial from the Northwoods River News in Rhinelander, click HERE.

LAS VEGAS (AP) — Five candidates for the Democratic presidential nomination were on stage at the Wynn hotel in Las Vegas Tuesday night for their first debate.

Traditional Democratic themes and criticism of Republicans were common threads in the debate. There were a few clashes too. The most prominent candidates, Hillary Rodham Clinton and Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders took issue with one another on several issues, including economic policy. Sanders, a self-described democratic socialist, derided “a casino capitalist process by which so few have so much.” Clinton said the U.S. shouldn’t turn its back on the system that built the middle class.

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Mostly sunny skies today with highs up into the 80s this afternoon.

Today Sunny, with a high near 81. East northeast wind 5 to 10 mph becoming southeast in the afternoon.

Tonight Mostly clear, with a low around 46. South southeast wind 5 to 8 mph.

ThursdaySunny, with a high near 77. Breezy, with a southeast wind 5 to 10 mph becoming north northeast 16 to 21 mph in the afternoon.

Thursday NightPartly cloudy, with a low around 39. North northeast wind 9 to 18 mph, with gusts as high as 28 mph.

FridayMostly sunny, with a high near 64. East wind around 9 mph.

Friday NightPartly cloudy, with a low around 43.

SaturdayMostly sunny, with a high near 68.

Saturday NightPartly cloudy, with a low around 51.

SundayMostly sunny, with a high near 79. Breezy.

Kansas Department of Agriculture

From Elkhart to Elwood and Baxter Springs to St. Francis, and in rural communities and urban and suburban cities, agriculture touches every Kansan and drives the state’s economy. The Kansas Department of Agriculture recently updated an interactive map showing the economic impact of agriculture in the counties across Kansas.

Located on the KDA website, http://agriculture.ks.gov, the map can be used to find agricultural economic facts for each of the 105 counties in Kansas. KDA annually updates the statistics on the map to give the state’s driving economic industry the recognition it deserves. In the 66 sectors of Kansas agriculture that were recognized for this data compilation, the total output is approximately $62.8 billion. Agriculture also supports more than 229,934 jobs statewide.

“Kansas agriculture contributes 43 percent of the state’s total economy,” said Secretary of Agriculture Jackie McClaskey. “It’s easy to see cattle in a pasture or tractors in a field, but it’s not always easy to fully know the impact agriculture has on your local region. This map breaks down statistics and shows the impact each county has on the total state economy.”

The interactive map allows users to see detailed agricultural statistics including farm numbers, leading agricultural sectors and value-added data. KDA utilized facts from the 2012 census surveys conducted by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Agriculture Statistics Service. The economic impact data is sourced from IMPLAN.

The Ellis County statistics are below.

Ellis County
645 farms accounting for 496,526 acres
$99.6 million in crop and livestock sales in 2012
​
​16 Ellis County Agriculture, Food, and Food Processing Sectors:
Oilseed farming
Grain farming
Greenhouse, nursery, and floriculture production
All other crop farming
Beef cattle ranching and farming, including feedlots and dual-purpose ranching and farming
Dairy cattle and milk production
Poultry and egg production
Animal production, except cattle and poultry and eggs
Commercial logging
Animal, except poultry, slaughtering
Bread and bakery product, except frozen, manufacturing
Frozen cakes and other pastries manufacturing
Breweries
Food product machinery manufacturing
Veterinary services
Landscape and horticultural services

Click here for the USDA 2012 Census of Agriculture Overview of Ellis County.
​Click here for the full report for Ellis County.