ELLIS COUNTY

The Ellis County Public Works Road and Bridge Division will be placing an asphalt overlay on Fairground Road from U.S. 183 Bypass west to Ellis County 4-H Fairgrounds beginning Monday, June 20, 2016, at 8:00 a.m.

This project will require closing of the road and access to businesses and residents may be restricted at times. Local traffic will also be restricted due to spraying tac oil. This area should be completed and opened the same day of the project.

We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause. Please direct any questions to the Ellis County Public Works Department at (785) 628-9455.

KS STATE LIBRARY

TOPEKA — The State Library of Kansas is pleased to announce the 11th annual selection of Kansas Notable Books. The fifteen books feature quality titles with wide public appeal, either written by Kansans or about a Kansas-related topic. The Kansas Notable Book List highlights our lively contemporary writing community and encourages readers to enjoy some of the best writing of the authors among us.

“The Kansas Notable Books Committee considered the eligible books published in 2015. I was delighted to receive the recommended list and make the final decision,” said State Librarian Jo Budler. “Our list is intended to showcase Kansas’ unique talent and history while encouraging residents to visit their library and check out the celebrated titles.”

An awards ceremony will be held at the Kansas Book Festival, on September 10, 2016 at the State Capitol, to recognize the talented Notable Book authors.

Kansas Notable Books is a project of the Kansas Center for the Book, a program of the State Library. Throughout the award year, the State Library promotes and encourages promotion of all the titles on that year’s list at literary events, and among librarians and booksellers.

For more information about Kansas Notable Books, call (785) 296-3296, visit www.kslib.info/notablebooks or email [email protected].

2016 Kansas Notable Books
Alphabet School by Stephen T. Johnson (Lawrence)
Published by Simon & Schuster
Explore the ins and outs of letters A to Z in a school setting with this innovative picture book. The letter G is what’s left of a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, the letter F is a Kansas flag pole, and two library bookends become the letter M. Children will enjoy finding letters on every page. Preschool – Grade 2.

A Bitter Magic by Roderick Townley (Leawood)
Published by Alfred A. Knopf
Cisley’s mother vanished – on stage, during a magic act in front of a packed theater. An astonishing illusion, but also perhaps the last as Maria Thummel never reappears. It’s up to Cisley to hunt for clues to her mother’s disappearance, puzzling over broken mirrors, ever-shifting labyrinths, a closet full of whispering dresses, and the scent of a pure black rose. Cisley must discover her own powers to learn what’s real and what is simply an illusion. Grades 4 – 8.

Bottled: A Mom’s Guide to Early Recovery by Dana Bowman (Lindsborg)
Published by Central Recovery Press
An unflinching and hilarious memoir about recovery as a mother of young children, Bowman explains the perils moms face with drinking and chronicles the author’s path to recovery, from hitting bottom to the months of early sobriety – to her now (in)frequent moments of peace. Bottled offers practical suggestions on how to be a sober, present-in-the-moment mom, one day at a time, while providing much needed levity. Each chapter ends with a top ten, such as Top Ten Annoying Recovery Slogans That Actually Work.

The Boy Who Became Buffalo Bill: Growing Up Billy Cody in Bleeding Kansas by Andrea Warren (Prairie Village)
Published by Two Lions
The greatest showman of his era, Buffalo Bill was the legendary star of the famous Wild West show. But long before stardom, Buffalo Bill – born Billy Cody – had to grow up fast as his family was caught up in the violence of Bleeding Kansas. At age eleven, Billy worked on wagon trains and rode for the Pony Express. By age seventeen, he became a soldier, a scout, and a spy. Learn how Billy’s youth made him into an American legend. Grades 4 – 8.

Diary of a Waitress: The Not-So-Glamorous Life of a Harvey Girl by Carolyn Meyer (Albuquerque NM)
Published by Calkins Creek
When gutsy Kitty Evans answers an ad to work for Fred Harvey’s restaurants located along western railroad lines, she never expected to have the adventure of a lifetime. Kitty’s journal captures interactions with everyone from railroaders to hobos, along with the funny and often painful experiences she and her fellow waitresses endure. Primary source photographs illustrate the Harvey buildings and local people. Grades 5 – 9.

For the Sake of Art: The Story of a Kansas Renaissance by Cynthia Mines (Wichita)
McPherson County’s art heritage tells the story of the friendship between Lindsborg artist Birger Sandzen and McPherson seed merchant-turned-art dealer Carl Smalley and the annual art exhibitions they helped organize. School children sold tickets to exhibits from 1911 to 1937 and purchased an impressive art collection. This revised edition includes 125 illustrations and recently discovered correspondence between Smalley and Sandzen.

Harvey Houses of Kansas: Historic Hospitality from Topeka to Syracuse by Rosa Walston Latimer (Post TX)
Published by The History Press
Starting in Kansas, Fred Harvey’s iconic Harvey House was the first to set the standard for fine dining and hospitality across the rugged Southwest. In 1876, the first of Harvey’s depot restaurants opened in Topeka, followed just a few years later by the first combination hotel and restaurant in Florence. Fred Harvey and the Harvey Girls introduced good food and manners to the land of the Wild West.

Kansas Trail Guide: The Best Hiking, Biking, and Riding in the Sunflower State by Jonathan Conard (Sterling) and Kristin Conard (Santa Clara CA)
Published by University Press of Kansas
Whether you’re an avid hiker or desultory explorer, a bicyclist or horseback rider, this book makes a most congenial guide. An invaluable companion for exploring new trails or learning about accustomed routes, this comprehensive guide will tell you all you need to know about the trails that crisscross Kansas—history and geography, wildlife and scenery, park locations and cultural possibilities, and, even a bit of geology and botany.

Kansas Wildflowers and Weeds by Michael John Haddock (Manhattan), Craig C. Freeman (Lawrence), and Janet E. Bare (Littleton CO)
Published by University Press of Kansas
A reference and a guidebook for a new generation of plant enthusiasts, this volume includes up-to-date nomenclature, keys, and descriptions, as well as habitat, distribution, and ecological information. Designed for the professional botanist and passionate amateur alike, it expands upon Bare’s earlier book’s 831 entries with descriptions of 1,163 species—representing about 56 percent of the native and naturalized species currently known in Kansas—as well as 742 color photographs.

The Madman and the Assassin: The Strange Life of Boston Corbett, the Man Who Killed John Wilkes Booth by Scott Martelle (Irvine CA)
Published by Chicago Review Press
Union cavalryman Boston Corbett became a national celebrity after killing John Wilkes Booth, but as details of his odd personality became known, he also became the object of derision. Over time, he was largely forgotten to history, a minor character in the final act of Booth’s tumultuous life. And yet Corbett led a fascinating life of his own, a tragic saga that weaved through the monumental events of nineteenth-century America. Ultimately Corbett ended up in Kansas where his shaky mental health led to his undoing.

Notorious Kansas Bank Heists: Gunslingers to Gangsters by Rod Beemer (Minneapolis)
Published by The History Press
Bank robbers wreaked havoc in the Sunflower State. Belle Starr’s nephew claimed to have robbed twenty-one banks. The Dalton gang failed in their attempt to rob two banks simultaneously, but another gang did this in Waterville in 1911. Some 4,000 vigilantes were organized and armed by the Kansas Bankers’ Association. Woven throughout the narrative are excerpts taken from newspaper articles and witness accounts of the times.

Sun and Moon by Lindsey Yankey (Lawrence)
Published by Simply Read Books
Sun and Moon have always held their own places in the sky, but after a lifetime of darkness Moon wants to trade. Before agreeing to grant his wish, however, Sun asks Moon to take a careful look at his night. Follow Moon as he travels through the dark discovering children dreaming, foxes hunting, fireflies glowing, and scenes unique to the nighttime. Will Moon still wish to change places in the sky? Luminous, intricate illustrations light up this picture book. K – Grade 2.

To Leave a Shadow by Michael D. Graves (Emporia)
Published by Meadowlark Books
Pete Stone hadn’t always been a private eye. He’d lost his dairy business when the depression hit, his children grew up, and his wife left him for a chinchilla farmer. When Mrs. Lucille Hamilton walked through his door searching for her missing husband, Pete was the only one who believed her husband’s death hadn’t been a suicide. Told in the style of hard-boiled crime fiction and set in 1930’s Wichita, Graves’s depiction of the city during the jazz age makes this a compelling mystery.

Twenty-Five Years among the Indians and Buffalo: A Frontier Memoir by William D. Street, edited by Warren R. Street (Ellensburg WA)
Published by University Press of Kansas
Nearing 60, William D. Street (1851–1911) sat down to write his memoir of early years on the plains of western Kansas. His tales of life as a teamster, cavalryman, town developer, trapper, buffalo hunter, military scout, and cowboy put us squarely in the middle of such storied events as Sheridan’s 1868–1869 winter campaign and the Cheyenne Exodus of 1878. They take us trapping beaver and driving cattle on the Great Western Cattle Trail. Handed down through the family, these memoirs were edited by Street’s great-grandson.

While the Kettle’s On by Melissa Fite Johnson (Pittsburg)
Published by Little Balkans Press
These poems are an invitation into the poet’s home and family, sharing the good times, losses, and smallest moments of daily life. Whether writing about washing dishes with lavender suds or tracing the raised letters B-al-l on a Mason jar, each poem draws the reader into her world. She reminds us of the simple joys of an evening walk “sometimes padded and zipped up; others, short sleeved, my skirt hoping for a breeze …” and through a kitchen’s open window the “… soundtrack of indiscernible songs from car radios below.”

 

By DIANE GASPER-O’BRIEN
FHSU University Relations

One of the most enjoyable things about any job she has ever had, Dr. Joy Hatch says, is working with people.

So Hatch must be enjoying her position at Fort Hays State University immensely.

Hatch not only sees a variety of folks each day across campus as vice president for technology, but this year she also will network with people around the state on a monthly basis. Hatch is a member of the 2016 class of Leadership Kansas, one of the oldest and most prestigious state leadership organizations in the country.

Hatch, who lived in several countries while growing up and has worked in several states during her professional career, lived in the Wichita area from 1990-2001. She served as Chief Information Officer at Friends University for four years before taking a similar position at Bellarmine University, a Catholic liberal arts institution in Louisville, Ky. She returned to Kansas in January 2015 from Richmond, Va.

For six years prior to coming to FHSU, she was vice chancellor for Information Technology Services for the Virginia Community College System. She was responsible for enterprise technology applications and services for nearly half a million students at 23 colleges located on 40 campuses across the Commonwealth of Virginia.

It didn’t take long for Hatch to get reintroduced to the Sunflower State. Less than a year on the job at FHSU, Hatch was chosen as one of 40 members of this year’s Leadership Kansas class.
Members of the Kansas Chamber of Commerce program often are referred to as the “Who’s Who” of Kansas. They meet once a month for seven months, covering topics that range from economic development and tax policy to agriculture and urban development.

Co-workers at Fort Hays State immediately recognized Hatch’s leadership qualities after her arrival on campus.

One of those was DeBra Prideaux, executive director of the Alumni Association who nominated Hatch for this year’s Leadership Kansas class.

“Leadership can be learned, but the truly successful and visionary leaders such as Dr. Hatch have the innate ability to reach consensus, motivate those around them effortlessly, and successfully advance whatever projects or programs they undertake,” Prideaux said. “She is a dedicated and hardworking professional who is universally respected by her peers and is recognized as a state and national leader.”

Prideaux, a 2007 graduate of Leadership Kansas, said she has “a deep appreciation for the program” herself and that “Joy Hatch epitomizes the very essence of the program.”

“You can never learn too much about where you live,” Hatch said, “and this is about learning about what the problems of Kansas are and how I can help.”

There are annually about 700 nominations for Leadership Kansas, and a few hundred actually apply. It was an opportunity Hatch welcomed with open arms.

“Leadership is about relationships,” Hatch said. “Wherever I go, I throw my heart and soul into what’s going on.”

She said she was excited when she learned she had been chosen as a member of the elite, diverse group.

“This is about what’s happening in Kansas, and I’m looking forward to learning about the diverse aspects of Kansas,” Hatch said. “I think this will help me gain insight into the dynamics of Kansas business and industry. Then I can use that information to influence how Fort Hays State University delivers programs and services to better meet the needs of Kansans and beyond.”

She also is looking forward to July’s meeting, when Leadership Kansas is scheduled to meet in Hays.

“This can be a great advertisement for Fort Hays State,” she said. “This is a great way to get people across the state to recognize what Fort Hays State is all about.”

Hatch is a great advertisement for FHSU as well, FHSU President Mirta M. Martin said.

“Dr. Hatch is a visionary leader in and well beyond the boundaries of Kansas,” Martin said. “She has brought credit to any venture she has undertaken, be it personal or professional. She sets high standards for every project she starts and is sought after for her knowledge and experience.”

Hatch hopes to bring that experience back home to western Kansas.

“Students are going to drive the economy in Kansas and help Kansas grow,” she said. “It’s good to learn what effects Fort Hays State will have on these areas in Kansas.”

Temperatures are expected to be hot this afternoon with highs in the 95 to 100 degree range. Heat index values will be 98 to 104 degrees. Hot conditions continue throughout the work week as a stagnant air-mass settles into the region.

Today: Patchy fog before 9am. Otherwise, sunny, with a high near 94. South wind 5 to 15 mph.

Tonight: Mostly clear, with a low around 70. South wind 6 to 15 mph.

Monday: Sunny, with a high near 98. Light and variable wind becoming east southeast 5 to 10 mph in the morning.

Monday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 69. East southeast wind 7 to 11 mph.

Tuesday: Sunny, with a high near 98. South wind 5 to 15 mph.