BY BECKY KISER
Hays Post

State representative Sue Boldra believes “God must have another plan for me.”

The Hays Republican incumbent was defeated in a close race Tuesday by Democrat Eber Phelps of Hays for the 111th House District seat. Four years ago, Boldra unseated Phelps who had served in the position since 1996. The district encompasses most of Ellis County.

“I don’t know what I could have changed or done differently in my re-election campaign,” she said Wednesday morning.

Boldra thinks there was a lot of “anti-Brownback sentiment” among Kansas voters which led to her ouster, although she was not in the legislature when the governor’s tax bill was passed.

“I think that happened all over the state. There were 11 of us who have been there two terms or more who lost our seats, all by about the same margins–very close,” according to Boldra.

RELATED: Brownback doesn’t see Kansas vites aimed at his policies

That margin in Ellis County was 47 percent to 53 percent. Boldra got 4,517 votes; Phelps had 5,184 votes. There are still some provisional and paper ballots to be counted but not enough to close the gap, according to Ellis County Clerk Donna Maskus. All election results remain unofficial until canvassed by Ellis County Commissioners during their meeting Mon., Nov. 14.

“I think people are upset with Gov. Sam Brownback and the state of the economy in Kansas and it showed up in the election,” Boldra concluded.

Boldra was a longtime teacher at Hays High School. She said she has met with the chairman of the Fort Hays State University Department of Teacher Education, where she is an instructor, about more work opportunities. “He commiserated with me but he also said ‘I’m glad you’re going to be here,” Boldra said with a laugh, “so that was nice.”

She was a member of the House Education Committee, something she is “very proud” to have worked on.

“I did ‘gut and go’ a bill that would have taken away all negotiation rights for teachers. I took an amendment down and we gutted that and we put in the language a compromise agreement by KNEA (Kansas National Educators Association, KASB (Kansas Association of School Boards) and the two administrators’ associations, and we saved the right to negotiate. I was very proud of that.

“I also was very proud to get rid of a bill that would have made schools spend hundreds of thousands of dollars on new materials because it had something to do with Common Core. We were able to stop that one on debate on the House floor.”

Boldra mentioned her work to help get three amendments added to the Step Therapy bill to protect Kansans with debilitating diseases so “they don’t have to go down to the very first step in prescription drugs if they already know a specific drug works for them. Our daughter has MS and that was an important bill for me.”

Boldra also helped get the David Carter Memorial Interchange–the interchange of Interstate 70 and Commerce Parkway in Hays–signed into law. She said monies are still being raised for the road marker to honor the Hays native who was killed in 2011 while serving in Afghanistan.

Boldra was insistent she “doesn’t know where this new path is going to take me.”

“I’ve had a lot of calls from people who are still going to be in the statehouse, a lot of calls and text messages from friends–a lot of people who are still supporting me and would support me again,” Boldra added.

 

The Hays Public Library is hosting a Battle of the Books trivia night on Friday, Nov. 11, at 7 p.m. Questions will be literary in nature and cover a wide variety of genres.

The game is designed for teens and adults who may compete as individuals or in teams of up to five. To participate, teams must have an electronic device such as a smart phone, tablet or laptop that can connect to the internet.

There will be free pizza for all participants and the winning team will receive a prize package.

For more information about this and other programs, call 785.625.9014 or visit our website at www.hayspublib.org.

TOPEKA – The Kansas Department of Health and Environment has issued a boil water advisory for the Rush County RWD No. 1 public water supply. KDHE officials issued the advisory because of a loss of pressure. Failure to maintain adequate pressure may result in a loss of chlorine residuals and bacterial contamination.

The advisory took effect on November 5 and will remain in effect until conditions which place the system at risk of contamination are deemed by KDHE officials to be adequately resolved.

Customers should observe the following precautions until further notice:
Boil water for one minute prior to drinking or food preparation, or use bottled water.
Dispose of ice cubes and do not use ice from a household automatic icemaker.
Disinfect dishes and other food contact surfaces by immersion for at least one minute in clean tap water that contains one teaspoon of unscented household bleach per gallon of water.
Water used for bathing does not generally need to be boiled. Supervision of children is necessary while bathing so that water is not ingested. Persons with cuts or severe rashes may wish to consult their physicians.
If your tap water appears dirty, flush the water lines by letting the water run until it clears.

Public water suppliers in Kansas take all measures necessary to notify customers quickly after a system failure. Regardless of whether it’s the supplier or KDHE that announces a boil water advisory, KDHE will issue the rescind order following testing at a certified laboratory.

ELLIS–Ellis police officers will soon have new Tasers to replace those the department are currently using. According to Police Chief Taft Yates, the average life of a Taser is five years. The EPD Tasers are now eight years old and no longer under warranty.

City council members voted unanimously at their Mon., Nov. 7 meeting to the purchase of five new Tasers at a cost of $6,179.30.

In other business, the council agreed to a recommendation by the Planning Commission to maintain the current boundaries of the city’s Extra-Territorial Jurisdiction Zone area, commonly called the 3-mile zone.

The complete meeting minutes follow.

ELLIS CITY COUNCIL REGULAR MEETING
Minutes November 7, 2016

CALL TO ORDER
Mayor David McDaniel called the meeting to order at 7:30 p.m. Present were Council members Bret Andries, Holly Aschenbrenner, Gary Luea, Jolene Niernberger, Bob Redger, and John Walz. Also present were Public Works Director Alan Scheuerman, City Clerk Amy Burton, Police Chief Taft Yates, and City Prosecutor Cassy Zeigler. City Attorney Olavee Raub was absent.
PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE
AMENDMENTS TO AGENDA
None
PUBLIC PRESENT
Dena Patee, Sharon Disney, Glen Keller, Cheryl Kinderknecht, and Nan Brown (arrived at 7:43 p.m.)
CONSENT AGENDA
Council member John Walz moved to approve the consent agenda containing the Minutes from the Regular Meeting on October 17, 2016, Bills Ordinance #2008, and the manual journal entries for April, May, and June. Council member Holly Aschenbrenner seconded the motion. The Council approved the consent agenda 6-0.
PUBLIC COMMENTS
None
PRESENTATIONS OF AWARDS, PROCLAMATIONS, REQUESTS & PETITIONS (HEARINGS)
None
SPECIAL ORDER
None
UNFINISHED BUSINESS
None
NEW BUSINESS
General Government: Zoning
Council discussed the Planning Commission’s recommendation to maintain the current boundaries of the City’s Extra-Territorial Jurisdiction Zone area. Council member John Walz moved and Council member Gary Luea seconded a motion to accept the Planning Commission’s recommendation to not make any changes to the City’s “3-mile” zone. The motion carried 6-0.
Water: Special Project
City Clerk Amy Burton presented Contractor’s Pay Estimates #4 and #5 for work completed to date on the Waterline Improvement Project. Council member Jolene Niernberger moved and Council member John Walz seconded a motion to approve Contractor’s Pay Estimate #4 to APAC in the amount of $24,913.66. The motion carried 6-0.
Council member Jolene Niernberger moved and Council member John Walz seconded a motion to approve Contractor’s Pay Estimate #5 to APAC in the amount of $35,914.51. The motion carried 6-0.
Council member John Walz moved and Council member Jolene Niernberger seconded a motion to authorize the Mayor to sign the approved pay estimates. The motion carried 6-0.
Campground: Repair/Maintenance
Public Works Director Alan Scheuerman presented two bids for trimming trees at Lakeside Campground. Council member Bob Redger moved to accept the low bid from CCR & Landscaping in the amount of $1,250, with funds to come from the Campground fund. Council member Bret Andries seconded the motion. The motion carried 6-0.
Police: Acquisition
Police Chief Taft Yates presented proposals from TASER International for two different payment plans to upgrade the Department’s Tasers. The life expectancy for the equipment is approximately five years; however, the Department’s Tasers are eight years old and no longer under warranty. The City could either purchase the Tasers outright at a cost of $6,768.20, or enter into the Taser 60 Plan where annual payments are made over the next five years at a total cost of $6,179.30. There is no penalty for early payoff. Council member Bob Redger moved and Council member Holly Aschenbrenner seconded a motion to purchase five Tasers under the Taser 60 Plan, contingent on verification of product warranty, with the first payment to come out of the Special Machinery fund when due, and the remaining balance to come out of the Police Department budget as the budget allows. The motion carried 6-0.
General Government: License/Permit
Council member John Walz moved to approve the Application for License to Sell Cereal Malt Beverages from Casey’s General Store. Council member Bob Redger seconded the motion. The motion carried 6-0.
General Government: Committee
Council members Holly Aschenbrenner and Bob Redger updated Council on correspondence with the Ellis Golf Club. Both Council members have reached out to different Ellis Golf Club board members to set up a meeting, but neither Ms. Aschenbrenner nor Mr. Redger received a response back that the members were interested in meeting with City representatives.
REPORTS FROM CITY OFFICIALS
Public Works
Mr. Scheuerman presented the Comparative Water Report for the period September 10th to October 10th. The inside of the water tower is scheduled to be power washed on November 9th; however, the Department is having trouble getting one of the valves to shut down properly. Council member Jolene Niernberger inquired about putting a spotlight on “Ellis” on the water tower. Council directed Mr. Scheuerman to check into adding the spotlights.
Police
Police Chief Taft Yates presented the Monthly Activity Report for October and the November Staff calendar. The Department recently hosted a seminar at Ellis High School with speakers covering topics on situational awareness, overcoming adversities, and goal-setting.
City Clerk
City Clerk Amy Burton presented the draft minutes from the October meeting of the Planning Commission/Board of Zoning Appeals. The financial reports consisting of the Statement of Accounts, Treasurer’s Report, and Security Deposit worksheet were reviewed for April, May, and June. Ms. Burton also reviewed the 3rd quarter recycling report. The USDA General Obligation bond issue related to the Waterline Improvement project closed on October 28th. Ms. Burton reported that our insurance provider responded to the questions posed at the last meeting regarding the installation of a swimming pool slide and allowing archery hunters at the Police shooting range. The underwriter stated that a pool slide would not increase liability to the City as long as it was installed to specifications. However, the underwriter also stated that they do not want unsupervised “non-police” individuals at the shooting range.
Attorney
City Prosecutor Cassy Zeigler updated Council on the status of outstanding code violation issues, including a guttering complaint at 1016 and 1018 Washington Street. Trial is set on November 18th regarding the property at 1024 Washington Street. Ms. Zeigler also reported she has just received an investigation packet on the car lot on 10th Street.
Mayor Update and Announcements
Mayor David McDaniel reminded everyone to vote November 8th.
ADJOURNMENT
Council member Gary Luea moved and Council member Bob Redger seconded a motion to adjourn the meeting. The motion carried 6-0. The meeting adjourned at 8:42 p.m.

By BECKY KISER
Hays Post

ELLIS–Two new faces will front the Ellis City Council following Tuesday’s election.

Newcomers Dena Patee and Susan Eaton were first and third respectively, in the balloting for three open seats on the city council. Incumbent Jolene Niernberger came in second.

Incumbents Gary Luea and John Walz were fifth and sixth in the vote-getting and will leave the council at the end of their terms. Seven residents ran for the three positions.

Below are the final results from the Ellis County Clerk which are unofficial until canvassed by the Ellis County Commission Mon., Nov. 14. Countywide voter turnout for the general election was 65.16 percent.

ELLIS CITY COUNCIL-Vote for three

Dena Patee–447; 18.53%
Jolene Niernberger (I)–403; 16.71%
Susan Eaton–351; 14.55%
Martin V. LaBarge–327; 13.56%
Gary Luea (I)–306; 12.69%
John Walz (I)–288; 11.94%
Nan Brown–287; 11.90%
Write-in–3; 0.12%

The three winning candidates will be sworn into office at the Jan. 9, 2017 council meeting, according to Ellis City Clerk Amy Burton.