By BECKY KISER
Hays Post

Two light poles were downed in Hays by strong south wind gusts in excess of 50 mph early Tuesday morning.

According to official weather observations at the K-State Agricultural Research Center south of town, the weather front blew through Hays between 12:30 and 1 a.m.

One street light pole was downed by the high wind at the corner of 21st and Volga in east Hays, according to Mike Morley, Midwest Energy communications manager.

A second pole was snapped off at the bottom along the north fence of Lincoln Elementary School, 1906 Ash.

Principal Elaine Rohleder said the light focuses on the school’s playground. The pole fell on the fence and into the playground area. The fence was temporarily straightened after daylight.

No injuries were reported in either incident. Some tree limbs were also downed and a number of blue city of Hays trash polycarts were blown over.

The front also felled rural power poles in Ness County.

Midwest Energy was on the scene in southeast Ness County early this morning. Morley said seven power poles collapsed near Bazine and there were problems with a transmission line. Morley expected the MWE crew from Great Bend to be finished with repairs this afternoon.

The Hays Police Department responded to 7 animal calls and 13 traffic stops Mon., May 15, 2017, according to the HPD Activity Log.

Drug Offenses–Skyline and Ash, Hays; 3:32 AM
Lost Animals ONLY–500 block W 21st St, Hays; 7:53 AM
Criminal Trespass–500 block W 27th St, Hays; 9:48 AM
Worthless Check–2900 block Broadway Ave, Hays; 5/9
Worthless Check–2900 block Broadway Ave, Hays; 4/21
Worthless Check–2900 block Broadway Ave, Hays; 5/3
Worthless Check–2900 block Broadway Ave, Hays; 5/3
Worthless Check–2900 block Broadway Ave, Hays; 5/15; 11:42 AM
Suspicious Activity–1800 block Vine St, Hays; 11:57 AM
MV Accident-City Street/Alley–2500 block Vine St, Hays; 12:20 PM
Robbery–1800 block Walnut St, Hays; 12:28 PM
Theft (general)–1700 block Dechant Rd, Hays; 4/20 12:52 PM; 5/1 2:33 PM
Lost Animals ONLY–100 block Ash St, Hays; 1:40 PM
Suspicious Activity–1900 block Ash St, Hays; 2 PM; 2:05 PM
MV Accident-Private Property–2000 block E 13th St, Hays; 2:42 PM
MV Accident-City Street/Alley–200 block E 32nd St, Hays; 2:40 PM
Juvenile Complaint–600 block E 13th St, Hays; 4:37 PM
Animal Cruelty/Neglect–1300 block Anthony Dr, Hays; 4:39 PM
Welfare Check–2800 block E 8th St, Hays; 4:41 PM
Civil Dispute–2700 block Colonial St, Hays; 6:05 PM
Drug Offenses–2300 block E 7th St, Ellis County; 6:46 PM
Drug Offenses–2300 block E 7th St, Hays; 7:53 PM
MV Accident-Private Property-Hit and Run–2500 block Vine St, Hays; 8:29 PM
Found/Lost Property–2700 block Vine St, Hays; 9:29 PM
MV Accident-City Street/Alley–400 block W 5th St, Hays; 9 PM
Harassment, Telephone/FAX–1700 block Oak St, Hays; 10:11 PM

SMITH CENTER – A Kansas man was sentenced Monday to more than 25 years in prison for rape, according to Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt.

Chris Eugene Wilkinson, 40, Norton, pleaded no contest in March to two counts of rape. Wilkinson was sentenced yesterday in Smith County District Court by Judge Preston A. Pratt to 155 months for each count.

The sentences are to be served consecutively for a total of 310 months in the Kansas Department of Corrections. The convictions stemmed from crimes that were committed between August 2010 and April 2014.

The case was investigated by the Smith County Sheriff’s Office and the Kansas Bureau of Investigation.  Assistant Attorney General Melissa Johnson of Schmidt’s office and Smith County Attorney Tabitha D.R. Owen prosecuted the case.

By JONATHAN ZWEYGARDT
Hays Post

Kansas State Extension officials from Ellis County will continue occupying their current space under the new Cottonwood Extension District.

At Monday’s meeting, the Ellis County Commission approved a contract to rent the 601 Main location to the newly formed Cottonwood Extension District rent-free.

Earlier this year, both the Ellis and Barton County Commissions approved the merger of the current Extension Districts to create Extension No. 17 – the Cottonwood Extension District.

According to Ellis County Administrator Phillip Smith-Hanes, the costs of the office are already embedded in the buildings and grounds budget and there are not any other departments needing the space.

“As the commission is aware, we still have some plans for 601 Main, still have some funding to do some repairs there,” Smith-Hanes said. “No particular reason to kick them out or charge them rent.”

The annual agreement begins July 1, the date the Extension District officials begins operations and renews annually.

In other business, Family and Consumer Sciences Agent Linda Beech present an Extension update, and the commission met in an executive session to discuss union negotiations. No action was taken.

Commissioner Barb Wasinger was absent from the meeting.

FHSU University Relations

Ten percent of Kansans think the state’s economy is “very good” or “excellent,” but 26 percent think it is “poor” or “very poor,” according to the latest Kansas Speaks survey of public opinion.

Slightly less than two-thirds of respondents indicated they felt Kansas was on the “wrong track,” while slightly more than one-third believe Kansas is on the “right track.”

Now in its ninth year, Kansas Speaks is a series of surveys conducted in the spring and fall by the Docking Institute of Public Affairs at Fort Hays State University.

On other pressing or controversial issues of the day, Kansans favor tax increases more than budget cuts to fix the budget deficit, but barely, and marijuana, medical and recreational, enjoys majority support, medical significantly so.

On the state budget crisis, just over two-fifths of respondents wanted to cut spending exclusively, while another one-fourth wanted to increase taxes exclusively. More than one-third favored a combination of tax increases and lower spending. Republicans and those with lower education levels were more likely to favor spending cuts, while Democrats and those with higher education levels were more likely to favor increasing taxes.

Respondents who said they were in favor of “increasing taxes” or “both” were asked which taxes they would increase. Over half (56 percent) favored increasing income tax, 39 percent favored increasing sales taxes, and 19 percent favored increasing property tax. Republicans and women were more likely to favor an increased sales tax, while Democrats and men were more likely to favor increasing the income tax.

Similar to results of previous years, when asked about preferences for various taxation categories, respondents were most in favor of raising taxes on large corporations and the top income earners. The vast majority were against raising taxes on small business and the middle class.

The Docking Institute conducted the spring 2017 Kansas Speaks survey from Feb. 23 to April 11. A random sample of adult residents of Kansas age 18 and older was surveyed by telephone to assess their attitudes and opinions regarding various issues of interest to Kansas citizens.

A total of 1,362 Kansas residents were contacted; 573 completed the survey, a 42-percent response rate. The margin of error was 4 percent at a 95-percent confidence level.

The full report, in pdf form, is available through the Kansas Speaks link on the page at www.fhsu.edu/docking.

On specific taxes, 69 percent “strongly” or “somewhat” support increasing taxes on cigarettes and cigars, and 68 percent “strongly” or “somewhat” support increasing taxes on alcohol. Seventy percent of respondents “strongly” or “somewhat” support closing the LLC loophole.

Of respondents who said they favored “decreasing spending” or “both,” 32 percent favored decreasing spending on social services, 30 percent favored cutting higher education, 25 percent favored cutting funds for roads and highways, and 13 percent favored decreasing spending on K-12 education.

Republicans were more likely to favor decreasing spending on higher education and social services. Males were more likely favor cuts to K-12 education.

Legalizing recreational marijuana for individuals 21 and older to allow taxation by the state was “strongly” or “somewhat” supported by 50 percent of respondents, and 40 percent “somewhat” or “strongly” opposed the idea.

But medical marijuana was at least “somewhat” supported by 76 percent and was opposed by only 14 percent.” Of the political categories, only the strongest Republicans were more likely to oppose than support allowing medical marijuana.

Dissatisfaction with Gov. Sam Brownback declined slightly from last year, to 56 percent “very dissatisfied” from 62 percent a year ago; 71 percent are to some degree dissatisfied with Brownback, down from 74 percent one year ago.

For President Donald Trump, 45 percent of respondents showed some level of satisfaction, while 44 percent of respondents showed some level of dissatisfaction.

On President Trump’s relationship with the Russian government or President Vladimir Putin, 49 percent of respondents were at least “somewhat uncomfortable,” and 32 percent were at least “somewhat comfortable.” Males and Republicans tended to be the most comfortable, with Democrats and Independents being more likely to express discomfort.

On the perennial question of rating Kansas as a place to live, about half indicated Kansas was “very good” or “excellent,” but 6 percent, a record high over the history of the survey, rated Kansas “poor” or “very poor.” Republican and Independent respondents were more likely to rate Kansas highly as a place to live.

Hays Medical Center

Vanessa Barnett, Telemetry Department, was recently awarded HaysMed’s first Associate Spirit Award. The Associate Spirit Award recognizes an outstanding Associate who has gone above and beyond their daily job duties to care for a patient, visitor or Associate at HaysMed, part of The University of Kansas Health System. 

A patient’s husband was trying to find a babysitter for their infant son while his wife was in the hospital. They were new to Hays and did not have many contacts or close family that could help. Barnett offered to watch the infant, after arranging for another HaysMed Associate to cover her job duties for that day. Her willingness to help gave the parents peace of mind and made sure that our patients and their families are well taken care of.

Barnett was awarded the traveling “Associate Spirit Stick,” $50 in chamber cheques, and her own Associate Spirit Award parking spot for 90 days. She is a Telemetry Technician and has been with HaysMed since 2016.

The Hays High FFA chapter came home from Oklahoma as national champions at the annual National Land and Range judging contest held in early May.  Hays took the top spot in the land judging part of the contest while finishing as national runner-up in the homesite portion.

Land judging contests look at the characteristics of the soil to determine the quality.  Students judge erosion, slope, drainage and permeability.

Jared Kisner, Brandi Zimmerman, Elijah Joy and Dustin Schneider comprised the team for the Hays High FFA chapter.  Their adviser is Curt Vajnar.

Kisner was the individual champion in the land contest with Joy finishing in a tie for 19th.  In the homesite division,  Kisner finished in fourth, three points out of a tie for first.  Zimmeran placed 16th.