BARTON COUNTY -A Kansas man died in an accident just after 2:30a.m. on Sunday in Barton County.

The Barton County Sheriff reported a 1998 Dodge Ram 2500 pickup driven by Jakob Dakota Kinney, 20, Great Bend, was northbound on Southeast 70th Road approaching the Stafford County line.

The driver missed a turn and the pickup went into a skid. It left the roadway, rolled about three-and-one-half times and ejected the driver.

Kinney was pronounced dead at the scene.

A passenger Dakota Wade James, 20, Hutchinson refused treatment at the scene.

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The Hays Area Young Professionals hosted its annual adult prom on May 7.

Sixty adult prom-goers were entertained by the DJ services of Cameron Shoemaker. The VFW was decked out in red, white, and blue in honor of the theme inspired by the political elections that will take place in November.

Attendees voted on the prom king and queen. Hays natives Errol and Elma Wuertz were crowned king and queen. Guests enjoyed the cash bar, snacks, and the once-again popular photo booth.

HAYP hosted the first annual prom in September 2015. HAYP will continue this annual tradition.

Stay in touch with what is going on in HAYP by liking them on facebook at HAYP Hays Area Young Professionals.

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Kandango 2016, Thursday, June 9 through Sunday, June 12,  is a 3 ½ day road bicycle ride on the back roads of Kansas. It originated in 2013, as a tour through the Flint and Smoky Hills regions of Kansas. Its central themes are to ride the road less traveled (but far more interesting), take the time to explore the pass-through communities and see the local attractions during the ride.

Each day’s ride is unique, and has its own name. Friday’s ride is named “Coolio Iglesias”. The ride passes many historic churches (iglesia) in Ellis and Russell counties, on the way to Russell. Saturday’s ride is called “Roller Coas2r”, because of the hills south of Wilson Lake. The locals call the scenic highway between Lucas and the lake “nature’s roller coasters”. We named Sunday’s ride “Sandstone Stampede”, because the ride returns to end in Brookville, and the Sandstone Saloon. The Sandstone Saloon has become a favorite of the Kandango Nation, and a regular fixture on the ride.

One of the things that makes Kandango unique is the community participation. Kandango works with the towns and businesses to create events and activities, incorporating the riders and the communities.

Bike Hays and Gella’s Diner and Lb. Brewing Company host the 2nd Annual Half Pint Block Party on Thursday. The Hays community is invited to join the riders on the first ride of the tour, on Thursday. On Friday, the Russell community is invited to attend the BBQ Extravaganza and join the riders touring the town on bikes.

On Saturday, the Sandstone Saloon hosts a party to honor the teams participating in Kandango, and the public is invited to ride to Brookville and join the fun. Our buses will transport the locals and Kandango participants back to Salina, after the party.

The ride selects back roads not normally ridden on conventional tours. This year’s ride features two secondary roads on Friday – an out and back to Pfeifer, and another one to Fairport. On Saturday, the ride turns north to put riders into the scenic hills, south of Wilson Lake. Riders can get to the end, much faster and more direct, but they would miss the entire purpose of the tour – the beautiful back roads.

The ride features a novel ride support system that uses motor coaches and trucks to pick up riders and bikes along the route, and provides in-ride support.

Our one of a kind “Area 52” allows riders to pack coolers and lunches, and send them ahead for them when they arrive at the designated stop on our buses. Riders are encouraged to use the buses to sag ahead, or to stow or retrieve provisions or food during the ride. The system provides a great safety and comfort net for our riders.

Kandango also can transport riders to and from the ride. This year, the ride features three buses – Overland Park, KS, Des Moines, IA, and Brookville, KS.

The Overland Park bus transports riders and gear to and from the ride, and can stop in Lawrence and Topeka. The Des Moines/Omaha bus brings our RAGBRAI friends down to Kandango and back home on Sunday.

The Brookville bus (new this year), starts from the end town, and carries riders and bikes to the start town. Riders of the Brookville bus enjoy the luxury of returning to their car twice during the ride – once on Saturday (on the way to Salina), and again on Sunday (when the ride ends). The buses add fun and convenience to the ride.

The Iowa/Nebraska bus is already near capacity and the Overland Park and Brookville buses are quickly filling.

For more information call Shannon Corley at (913) 908-2830.

FHSU University Relations and Marketing

Dr. Lexey Bartlett, associate professor of English at Fort Hays State University, has been named FHSU’s new Nationally Competitive Scholarships coach.

“I am looking forward to working with students to find programs that match their interests and to help them compile the best applications possible,” said Bartlett. “We have so many high-achieving students at Fort Hays State University, and applying for a nationally competitive scholarship is a great way for them to take a major step forward toward their academic and personal goals.”

“Dr. Bartlett has a long history of working with nationally competitive scholarships, especially the Fulbright program, and has accumulated a distinctive record in her time at FHSU as a professor, chapter advisor of the Sigma Tau Delta English honor society and as a member of several campus committees,” said Matt Means, director of the university’s Honors College.

“We are excited that she will be assisting FHSU students interested in applying for prestigious awards such as the Rhodes, Truman, Marshall and Gates-Cambridge scholarships in a volunteer, service capacity,” said Means.

She will chair the Honors College Nationally Competitive Scholarships Committee.

KDA

MANHATTAN–The Kansas Department of Agriculture (KDA) will host three egg grading workshops in Kansas this June, to train the state’s poultry producers in egg grading and share other important poultry care information. Grading eggs provides additional market opportunities for poultry farmers. The workshops will take place in Hays, Lawrence and Wichita, but are available to all Kansas egg producers at no charge.

The workshops are funded through the Federal State Marketing Improvement Program (FSMIP) Grant which the KDA received from the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The grant award totals nearly $25,000 and in addition to the egg grading workshops will make available for poultry producers an egg grading resource manual, egg cell gauges, and an egg candling unit cost-share program.

Producers can choose from among three egg grading workshops: Hays, Kan., at the Ellis County extension office on Tuesday, June 7; Lawrence, Kan., at the Douglas County extension office on Tuesday, June 14; or Wichita, Kan., at the Sedgwick County extension office on Tuesday, June 21. All workshops run from 5:30–7:30 p.m. and are free, but participants are encouraged to RSVP to [email protected].

Workshops will provide training on egg grading and other important information for poultry producers. Dr. Scott Beyer, associate professor in the K-State Department of Animal Sciences and Industry, will offer training on proper egg grading and poultry disease screening for maintaining healthy flocks. Adam Inman, assistant program manager for Food Safety and Lodging at KDA, will review Kansas rules and regulations for grading and selling eggs in Kansas.

The poultry industry, including egg production, contributes $112 million annually to the Kansas economy. These workshops will help fulfill KDA’s mission of providing educational resources and support to help expand markets for agricultural products while encouraging economic growth of the agriculture industry.

The FSMIP grant provides matching funds to state departments of agriculture, state agricultural experiment stations, and other appropriate state agencies to assist in exploring new market opportunities for U.S. food and agricultural products, and to encourage research and innovation aimed at improving the efficiency and performance of the marketing system.

For more information about the egg grading workshops and how to obtain egg cell gauges or the egg candling unit cost-share provided by the KDA, contact Julie Roller at (785) 564-6755 or [email protected] or go to the KDA website at agriculture.ks.gov/egg-grading.