A short agenda faces Hays city commissioners for their work session tonight.
The work session will immediately follow a special session at 6:30 p.m. in which a replacement city commissioner will be named to fill the unexpired term of Eber Phelps. That person will be sworn in at the Thu., Jan. 26 regular meeting.
The sole item for review during the work session is the Creekside Estates Addition Final Plat as requested by the property owners.
Originally platted as Arbor Valley Estates, the property located south of 27th St. west of Hall St. is annexed into the city and is zoned for residential development. Total area of the plat is 12.17 acres.
The plat includes 12 lots ranging from 0.6 acres to just over 1 acre as well as right-of-way dedication for the extension of Englewood St. If approved, the street, water, and sewer infrastructure will be extended and constructed to city standards.
On December 19, 2016, the final plat was reviewed and approved unanimously by the Hays Area Planning Commission.
Click here to see the Jan. 19 work session agenda.
Mike Cooper visits with Benjamin Cline and previews the coming Spring semester activities in the department of music and theatre at Fort Hays State University.
ELLIS–In an effort to be a help to Ellis following the Jan. 15 ice storm, members of the Ellis Baptist Church will be picking up downed tree limbs to transport to the city wood pile this Saturday, January 20.
If you or if you know someone that needs help hauling limbs, please call Pastor Chad Pritchett at (785) 726-3657 and leave the address.
The Kansas Department of Corrections will have a hand in the inauguration of President-elect Donald Trump Friday.
Or more accurately, make that a hoof.
Wild mustangs trained at the Hutchinson Correctional Facility (HCF) that are now used by military and border patrol groups will march in the ceremonial inauguration parade in Washington DC. Friday.
Two or three of a group of Fort Riley soldiers who will participate in the parade will be riding mustangs trained at HCF. The fort’s 1st Infantry Division Commanding General’s Mounted Color Guard is taking 13 horses in total for the parade. The commander leading the color guard will be riding one of the mustangs trained in the KDOC program.
In the same parade, eight mustangs trained at HCF will be ridden by U.S. Border Patrol agents of the Rio Grand Valley Sector. These horses are used in patrolling the border between the U.S. and Mexico.
The horses trained at the Hutchinson facility are wild mustangs captured on government land by the Bureau of Land Management. The KDOC wild horse and burro program, which operates under the auspices of Kansas Correctional Industries (KCI), employs offenders at HCF to provide initial training to the animals. The offenders at HCF help to make the wild horses useful for organizations and individuals who adopt them.
“It’s a great honor and very exciting to see horses that were trained here in our program participating in such a historic and important event, said Dexter Hedrick, KCI Horse Program Manager. “The offenders who work with the horses are taking great pride in knowing that they contributed to something so meaningful.”
Nearly all the horses used in the Rio Grand Valley Sector come from the HCF program. A representative of HCF said that over the years more than 60 horses patrolling the border from Brownsville, Texas. to San Diego, Calif. were trained at Hutchinson.
The Presidential Inauguration Parade, which follows the swearing in of each new president, is a procession of ceremonial military regiments, citizens’ groups, marching bands, and floats. The parade up Washington D.C.’s Pennsylvania Avenue will be televised. The new president leads the parade as it travels from the U.S. Capitol to the White House, where he then reviews the rest of the parade as it passes. The parade lasts about two hours.
WASHINGTON — Today, the transition team of President-elect Donald J. Trump announced former Georgia Governor Sonny Perdue as their selection for Secretary of the US Department of Agriculture.
“Governor Perdue’s background growing up on a farm, his service in the military as a veterinarian, as well as his career in agribusiness, make him a good fit to lead the US Department of Agriculture at this critical time for our nation’s farmers and ranchers,” Marshall said. “With farm incomes projected at more-than 30-year lows in the State of Kansas, our agricultural economy requires bold, enterprising leadership.
“Perdue’s successful tenure as governor of Georgia has prepared him to manage an agency with the size and breadth of the USDA. As Governor, Perdue spent a great deal of time promoting Georgia’s agricultural products overseas. His recognition of the importance of trade will make his leadership particularly beneficial to our entire agricultural economy –from our producers, to our manufacturers and retailers. We look forward to welcoming such a champion and leader for the ag community in this coming administration.”
Senate Ag Committee Chairman Pat Roberts has made clear that the committee will “work expeditiously and thoroughly” to confirm the nominee. Perdue served as governor of Georgia from 2003 to 2011, and has also worked privately in trade and agribusiness.
GRAINFIELD — A high-speed chase on Interstate 70 late Thursday morning ended in an accident, after the suspect’s vehicle crashed just west of Grainfield at about 10:45 a.m.
According to reports, multiple agencies were pursuing the vehicle, but no other details are available at this time.
Check Hays Post for details as they become available.
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Kansas City-area investigators are searching for a missing college student from Wichita who hasn’t been seen since Sunday.
Twenty-year-old Tonie Anderson was last seen early Sunday when she was pulled over by a North Kansas City police officer for an improper lane change.
The officer watched Anderson, who was alone in the car, drive to a nearby convenience store. She texted a childhood friend about being pulled over and hasn’t communicated with anyone since then.
Anderson is a student at the University of Missouri-Kansas City and worked as a server at Chrome, a Kansas City strip club.
Anderson’s car was a black 2014 Ford Focus with Kansas license plate 989-GAX. She is white, about 5-feet-4-inches tall and 140 pounds, with blond hair and green eyes.
The yellow lines indicate Victory Electric outages as of 7:15 a.m. on Thursday
FORD COUNTY -Crews are on the fifth day working to restore power across portions of Kansas following the ice storm.
Victory Electric reported on Thursday that the work restoring 1,744 outages spread across 2,795 miles has been a challenge.
Their service area stretches from east of Garden City to Mullinville and from Bucklin to south of Jetmore.
They continue to have over 100 linemen out there working to get your power back on.
On Thursday, Victory crews were headed to rural Bucklin, Ford, Kalvesta, Ensign, Howell, Windthorst, South of Dodge City, and Dodge City. Schools at USD 433 in Dodge City were open on Thursday.
Pulling work crews down muddy roads-photo Midwest Energy
Midwest Energy reported on Thursday they had 2,177 without power, down from 3,800 on Wednesday night.
All available Midwest Energy crews and servicemen from as far as Colby were working on Thursday, as well as 9 PAR electric crews, 5 Ward Electric crews, and 2 service crews each from other Kansas cooperatives: Brown-Atchison, DS&O, Ark Valley, Lane-Scott and Nemaha-Marshall.
They also reported finding many locations with damaged service connections, especially where trees took down wires leading from the pole to the home.
Doris Jean (Bowman) Weeks, 93, of Russell, Kansas, passed away Tuesday, January 17, 2017, at the Russell Regional Hospital in Russell.
Doris was born January 29, 1923 on the family farm in Stafford County, Kansas, the daughter of Isom and Lurline (Newton) Bowman. She grew up in Stafford and graduated from Stafford High School.
Doris was united in marriage to Thomas Harrison Weeks on June 14, 1942 in Russell. Shortly after their marriage Thomas was called to duty during WWII, so Doris lived with her family in Stafford. After the war, they made their home in Russell. This union was blessed with three daughters; Carol, Pam and Colleen. Thomas preceded her in death on May 12, 2002.
Doris was a devoted wife and homemaker for her daughters. She enjoyed China painting, playing Bridge with friends, doing jigsaw puzzles, needlepoint and embroidering.
Surviving family include her three daughters, Carol J. Scheck (Alan) of Hays, Kansas, Pamela K. Ptacek (Craig) of Russell, Kansas and Colleen P. McGreevy (Michael) of Denver, Colorado; brother, Ben Hargett of Durango, Colorado; six grandchildren and fifteen great grandchildren. She was preceded in death by her parents, husband, three brothers, two sisters and granddaughter Cherie Lyn Scheck.
Celebration of Doris’ Life will be held at 10:30 AM Friday, January 20, 2017 at Pohlman-Varner-Peeler Mortuary in Russell with Pastor Michael Eurit officiating. Burial will follow at Cross Plains Cemetery in rural Russell County. Visitation will be from 9:00 AM to 8:00 PM Thursday, January 19, 2017 at Pohlman-Varner-Peeler Mortuary with the family present to greet friends from 6:00 PM to 7:00 PM.
A Memorial has been established with Susanne G. Koman Breast Cancer Awareness. Contributions and condolences may be sent to Pohlman-Varner-Peeler Mortuary, who is in charge of these arrangements.
MANHATTAN — The nomination of former Georgia Governor Sonny Perdue for Secretary of Agriculture is welcome news as the U.S. Department of Agriculture is critical to the nation’s farmers and ranchers.
There are many hurdles ahead for agriculture, including tough economic challenges farmers and ranchers face due to years of ongoing low prices, tightening lending conditions, and extraordinary regulatory overreach. As Congress begins to debate a new farm bill, it is important to understand the current market and regulatory environment and shepherd policy and regulation that benefits modern day, production agriculture.
We look forward to the confirmation hearings and the leadership of Senate Agriculture Committee Chairman Pat Roberts as these present and future challenges are addressed.
MEMO TO: Senators Moran and Roberts; Representatives Jenkins, Marshall, and Yoder
As Donald Trump is sworn in as the 45th U.S. President, you and all your congressional colleagues have a solemn obligation to support your co-equal branch of government.
Above all else, this means using your independent judgment, protecting the Constitution, and working to enhance the security and well-being of all Americans.
Burdett Loomis
In this highly partisan – even tribal – age, as Republican legislators you bear a special responsibility, given unified GOP control of the federal government. This would be true, no matter the president, but your burden is particularly great with the inexperienced and erratic Donald Trump.
So, I urge you to do your duty as you engage with the president and his administration. You need not abandon your conservative, Republican principles, but you must protect the Congress, your constituents, and the American people, especially on the following:
First, U.S. – Russian relations. Allow – even encourage – investigations to go forward as to the Russian involvement in American elections. Be skeptical of agreements that Trump and Russian president Putin might reach. Make sure that all relevant agencies, from State to Defense to Commerce are completely involved in negotiations. Remember Ronald Reagan’s great line, “Trust, but verify.” And think twice before trusting.
Second, fully support the U.S. Constitution, most notably with regard to freedom of speech, freedom of the press, free exercise of religion, and the emoluments clause that prohibits all elected officials from benefiting from foreign gifts or payments. This last issue is difficult, given the lack of constitutional precedent. I implore you to think as the late Justice Scalia might have, harking back to the framers’ real fear of foreign involvement in our politics. Do not naively believe Donald Trump’s promises or take this issue lightly. The very independence of the nation is at stake.
Third, health care. You have all vigorously and relentlessly attacked Obamacare. Fair enough. Now the health care ball is completely in your court. Take your legislative roles seriously and don’t pass a hurried bill that will cast at least 18 million Americans out of the health care system. Nor should you adopt some kind of “fig leaf” legislation that will leave those millions without effective care. Senator Jerry Moran has made a good start here, noting “Health care is so important it ought to have input from all members of Congress, all parts of the country and all constituencies, as compared to just a Republican plan.”
Fourth, the truth. If, or rather when, President Trump lies, call him out rather than remaining silent. You will have many opportunities here. Partisanship and fear of reprisals may hold you back from responding, but you must speak out. A president should not be able to blatantly lie and get away with it. Don’t let him.
Fifth, given your majority status, provide committees the time and resources to work hard on important issues and actually address complex problems like health care and trade, rather than simply adopting ideological positions masquerading as legislation.
Finally, regardless of what President Trump says or tweets, remain civil in your discourse and in how you approach the opposition.
To recycle an overused, but apt, phrase, we are truly in “uncharted waters.” Republicans in the House and Senate are in the position to act responsibly, to seriously oversee this administration’s actions, and to protect the rights of the Congress and their constituents. This is what an independent legislature does.
With your many opportunities come immense responsibilities. The next four years will offer you continual chances to represent all Kansans with independence, integrity, and energy.
For all of us, please rise to meet these daunting tests.
Burdett Loomis is a professor of political science at the University of Kansas.
Emprise Bank and the HaysMed Foundation announce the creation of the Emprise Bank Endowment with a gift of $25,000. The Endowment is a permanent endowed fund that will provide much-needed funding for capital equipment.
“We’re pleased to work with HaysMed to bolster health care in the Hays, Ellis County, and Western Kansas communities,” said Wayne Woofter, President of Emprise Bank. “At Emprise, we want to make a difference in people’s lives and give generously in the spirit of accomplishing things that makes Kansas stronger. It’s with that spirit we worked with the Foundation to establish this fund.”
Mark McCullick, Senior Vice President at Emprise Bank, joined the Board of Directors at the HaysMed Foundation last year.
“Nothing is as important as your health and the health of your loved ones,” stated McCullick. “We are very fortunate to have a medical center of this caliber for our region. Being on the Foundation’s Board of Directors gives me an opportunity to assist in seeking funds to sustain quality healthcare at HaysMed.”
Endowment gifts are established to provide perpetual support for a project, program, or other needs of HaysMed. The fund is permanently invested with the earnings providing continuous revenue streams for the purpose specified by the donor.
“Emprise Bank has long been a generous donor to many community organizations throughout Kansas,” said HaysMed President and CEO John Jeter, M.D. “This gift continues that tradition in a way that will have a great impact for generations to come in assisting HaysMed with the purchase of needed healthcare equipment to treat the people of our region.”
Founded over 100 years ago, Emprise Bank serves more than 20 communities across Kansas. Emprise Bank is committed to delivering the superb level of service and innovative banking products that have made Emprise the premier community bank in Kansas.
The HaysMed Foundation was formed in 1995 and is a charitable, not-for-profit organization whose mission is to support HaysMed. The Foundation, in partnership with donors, seeks to meet both immediate and long-range health care needs of the people of Western Kansas.
An 18-member volunteer board guides the efforts of the Foundation. Donations can be sent to the HaysMed Foundation, 2220 Canterbury Drive, Hays, Ks. 67601 or by visiting www.haysmedfoundation.org/donate.
