BUNKER HILL — A popular local program returns for a new season on Smoky Hills Public Television in 2017. Doctors on Call, back for its 12th season, will premiere Jan. 10 at 7 p.m.

Doctors on Call is a program that provides medical information on a variety of different topics. Medical professionals from throughout the state travel to Bunker Hill to provide information and answer questions from the viewing audience. Questions can be called in during the show or emailed prior to the broadcast. The doctors selected each week have expertise in the topic chosen for that program.

Some of this season’s topics include heart disease, orthopedics, midwifery, eye care and neurology. The season will end with an episode dedicated to pet health. A schedule of the programs and past episodes are available at smokyhillstv.org.

Last season’s Doctors on Call as awarded by the Kansas Association of Broadcasters, helping Smoky Hills Public Television win Non-Metro Station of the Year.

To submit questions electronically on a specific topic, viewers can send an email to [email protected] or message through Twitter with the hashtag #DOCCall. Questions submitted through either email or Twitter must be received by noon on the day of the show. During the program, viewers can call I-800-337-4788.

Submitted

The Hays Area Chamber of Commerce in conjunction with Hays High DECA and the Hays Regional Airport are preparing to celebrate the return of the early morning flight from Hays to Denver. Join us for the Fill the Plane celebration on Wednesday at 6 a.m. at the Hays Regional Airport. Those attending will be treated to morning refreshments and the chance to win two free flight vouchers.

In the September Chamber monthly Newsletter, there was a letter signed by the Hays Area Chamber, City of Hays, Convention & Visitors Bureau, and Ellis County Coalition for Economic Development. This letter explained how the Hays Regional Airport needed the community’s support to ensure sustainability, as well as to encourage SkyWest to consider bringing back the early morning flight. Impressed by the community feedback and actions, SkyWest has brought back the early flight beginning on Wednesday, January 4, 2017.

Griffin Lowry and Daniel Lopez of Hays High DECA are helping organize the Fill the Plane efforts. Hays High DECA is An Association of Marketing Students with over 215,000 members worldwide. DECA prepares emerging leaders and entrepreneurs for careers in marketing, finance, hospitality and management in high schools and colleges around the globe. Hays High DECA has been involved with Trick-Or-Treat So Others Can Eat, Ronald McDonald House Charities, and other student lead fundraising projects.

Special thanks to these sponsors: Hays High School DECA Program; Hays Area Chamber of Commerce; City of Hays; Convention & Visitors Bureau; Ellis County Coalition for Economic Development; Hays Med; Eagle Communications; Golden Belt Bank; McDonald’s; SkyWest; and Walmart.

By JONATHAN ZWEYGARDT
Hays Post

The Ellis County Commission will hold its first meeting of 2017 Tuesday at the County Administrative Center.

The commission will hear from 110th District House Rep. Ken Rahjes. The commission asked each of the state representatives to come before them and discuss the legislative priorities for the upcoming session.

The commission will also appoint a trustee for the Catharine Township at Tuesday’s meeting.

Tuesday’s meeting is set for 5 p.m.

The meeting is being held on Tuesday because of the New Year’s Holiday.

LAWRENCE — A crew from the Kansas Geological Survey, based at the University of Kansas, will measure groundwater levels in 568 wells in early January to monitor the health and sustainability of the High Plains aquifer — the primary source of irrigation, municipal and industrial water for much of western and central Kansas, according to a media release.

The annual program is conducted in coordination with the Kansas Department of Agriculture’s Division of Water Resources (DWR), which is in the process of measuring an additional 825 wells. Groundwater levels are measured in December, January and February to avoid short-term declines caused by pumping during the growing season.

The KGS crew will be near Colby and Atwood on Jan. 3, Goodland and St. Francis on Jan. 4, Tribune, Syracuse and Ulysses on Jan. 5, Elkhart and Liberal on Jan. 6, and Meade and Dodge City on Jan. 7, weather permitting.

Of the 1,393 wells to be measured in 48 counties by the KGS and DWR, 90 percent draw water from the High Plains aquifer, a massive network of underground water-bearing rocks that underlies parts of eight states and includes the extensive Ogallala aquifer. The rest of the wells are drilled into the Dakota aquifer and other deeper systems or shallow alluvial aquifers along creeks and rivers.

Most of the wells the KGS measures tap water from the Ogallala aquifer, which underlies much of western Kansas and makes up the bulk of the High Plains aquifer. On the whole, the wells have been monitored for years, some since the 1960s.

“Nine will be measured for the first time this year, with permission from the landowners, to fill in spatial gaps in the network of wells,” said Brett Wedel, manager of the KGS water-level-data acquisition.

Besides the Ogallala aquifer, the High Plains aquifer encompasses the Great Bend Prairie aquifer in west-central Kansas and the Equus Beds aquifer north and west of Wichita. DWR field offices will measure 825 wells in those central Kansas areas and other parts of High Plains aquifer in western Kansas. The Stockton field office will measure 222, the Garden City field office will measure 242, and the Stafford field office will measure 361.

“Given the above normal precipitation across much of western and south-central Kansas last year, I’m anticipating improved water-level changes relative to what we experienced three to five years ago, especially in southwest and south-central Kansas.” said Brownie Wilson, KGS water-data manager. “That may not hold true in Northwest Kansas, but we will see.”

Any cumulative slowdown of groundwater-level declines, however, would not be due to the excess precipitation seeping down and recharging the High Plains aquifer but to a significant reduction in pumping for irrigation, Wilson said.

Most wells monitored by KGS and DWR are within the boundaries of the state’s five groundwater management districts (GMDs), which are organized and governed by area landowners and large-scale water users to address water-resource issues.

Historical annual measurements for each well are available at the KGS’s website. Results of measurements made in January 2017 will be added in late February.

UWEC

The United Way of Ellis County 2016 “Heroes for Change” Campaign is coming to an end. The current campaign is at 74% of their $450,000 goal. We need to give the 15 partner agencies a Christmas present as the past two years have seen a decline in donations.

The United Way has a new and fun giving opportunity for the remainder of this campaign!

From now until January 8, 2017, every donation during this time will give opportunity for the donor to suggest a hair color UWEC Executive Director Sherry Dryden must wear for at least a week in January.

Click here to watch Dryden’s interview with Mike Cooper on Community Connection.

The final amount raised will be announced on January 12, 2017 during a Hays Area Chamber of Commerce Business After Hours for the United Way hosted by Hays Academy of Hair Design. If the $450,000 goal is reached, Sherry’s hair will be colored during the event. In addition to Hays Academy of Hair Design hosting the location and hair coloring, Whiskey Creek Wood Fire Grill will be providing the refreshments.

A donation can be given by the following ways:
• www.livenited.us and select the “Donate” button
• Through Paypal select “Donate to Your Cause” then “Find Your Cause”
• Through Facebook page United Way of Ellis County and select “donate”
• Mail to the offices at 205 E. 7th Street, Suite 106, Hays, KS 67601

Once a donation has been made, please go to the Facebook page of United Way of Ellis County and post a color you would like to see Sherry wear for at least a week! Please vote for every donation you give!

It is never too late to give.

Adjutant General’s Department

Maj. Kristi Schmitt will become the Officer in Charge of Task Force Broncbuster on Sunday, Jan. 8, at 10 a.m. at the Garden City Armory, 1802 East Spruce, Garden City.

“I am honored to be chosen as the Commander of Taskforce Broncbuster,” said Schmitt. “It is exciting to take command and be instrumental in building it into an exemplary unit in Kansas. We have a terrific group of soldiers who are now in the unit ready to complete their civilian education at Garden City Community College and further their military careers. Garden City has welcomed the military back into the area and I look forward to working with the college and students to strengthen this military presence.”

Task Force Broncbuster is a partnership between the Kansas Army and Air National Guard, and Garden City Community College. The Task Force Broncbuster partnership is the first of its kind amongst community colleges in Kansas. The new linkage will provide an opportunity for soldiers to gain valuable civilian and military education in a traditional student setting on the Garden City Community College campus. In addition to educational opportunity, this new partnership will provide Kansas National Guard soldiers with access to a Readiness Center for use in accomplishing military training. The Kansas National Guard will have offices located in the front portion of the college’s new welding center. The partnership will focus on soldier academic and military success, made possible by soldier’s ability to utilize GCCC’s infrastructure to train and get a degree at the same time.

Schmitt, Scott City native, commissioned into the Kansas Army National Guard in 2006. She attended Officer Basic Course and Captains Career Course at Fort Sam Houston, San Antonio, Texas. The past 10 years, she has served in the Kansas Medical Detachment under 69th Troop Command as a nurse practitioner in Lenexa.

She is a graduate of Fort Hays State receiving her Bachelor of Science in Nursing and University of Kansas receiving her Masters in Nursing, Family Nurse Practitioner degree. Schmitt has been instrumental in missions of medical readiness volunteering for pre and post deployment missions for thousands of service members.

While in the Kansas Medical Detachment unit, Schmitt has been the officer in charge of medical providers, lead medical officer for Junior ROTC camps and troop medical center commander of health services for Officer Candidate School at the Kansas Regional Training Institute in Salina. Schmitt has been widely trained in public health safety and emergency response management. She is owner of Gravity Wellness Center in Garden City and Scott City, a health clinic specializing in dermatology and wellness services.