USD 489 is trying to answer questions about an upcoming $78.5 million bond issue that will go to voters on Nov. 7.
The district has scheduled a Q&A session for 7 p.m. Tuesday in the Lincoln Elementary School gymnasium.
In addition, the district has developed a frequently asked questions sheet that is available on the district’s website at www.usd489.com.
The deadline to register to vote for the election is Oct. 17. Advanced voting is set to start on Oct.23.
Suicide is the tenth leading cause of death in the United States, yet suicide is preventable.
Dozens of people from throughout Northwest Kansas are expected to participate in the first ever Out of the Darkness Hays Walk hosted by the Greater Kansas Chapter of the American Foundation of Suicide Prevention at 12 p.m., Sat., September 16, 2017 at Municipal Park in Hays.
This fundraising walk supports the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention’s local and national education and advocacy programs and its bold goal to reduce the annual rate of suicide 20 percent by 2025.
“We walk to help others seek help when they need to and to help community members respond to loved ones who may need help. Suicide affects so many and can have a big impact on rural communities. We hope that by walking we save lives and bring hope to those affected by suicide,” said Kyle Carlin, Greater Kansas AFSP volunteer.
The Out of the Darkness Hays Walk is one of more than 375 Out of the Darkness Community Walks being held nationwide this year. The walks are expected to unite more than 250,000 walkers and raise millions for suicide prevention efforts.
Speakers at the Out of the Darkness Hays Walk will include State Representative Eber Phelps (D-Hays).
“These walks are about turning hope into action,” said AFSP CEO Robert Gebbia. “Suicide is a serious problem, but it’s a problem we can solve. The research has shown us how to fight suicide, and if we keep up the fight the science is only going to get better, our culture will get smarter about mental health, and we’ll be able to save more people from dying from depression and other mental health conditions.”
Cottonwood Extension District
Kansas State University officials are joining in on a group effort to help Kansas farmers stop the spread of a destructive wheat disease that took a strong foothold in the state’s fields this year.
In early August, the Kansas Wheat Commission reported that wheat streak mosaic virus caused a conservative $76.8 million in direct losses to Kansas wheat farmers. That amounts to 19.2 million bushels of wheat, and a 5.7 percent yield loss – well above the average 1.5 percent yield loss.
Kansas State University wheat disease specialist Erick DeWolf said the virus was particularly harsh in areas of west-central Kansas.
“Almost all of western Kansas was above normal levels and even parts of central Kansas (was) above normal,” DeWolf said. “The amount of disease we’re seeing in individual fields and entire regions of the state is much more widespread and much more severe than what we’ve experienced in at least a decade.”
Wheat streak mosaic is a plant pathogen carried by the wheat curl mite. The virus stunts the growth of wheat and related plants, causing streaks of yellow, non-uniform discoloration on the leaves. The mites often live on volunteer wheat, or the wheat that grows or is left in a field after the year’s harvest.
In some parts of Kansas, wheat streak mosaic virus caused farmers to completely abandon their 2017 wheat crop. “I remember in some of those areas, they would have been 50-60 bushel wheat pretty easily, and to go from that level of yield potential to zero is a big loss,” DeWolf said.
The Kansas Wheat Commission and the Kansas Department of Agriculture are among the groups leading a statewide effort to combat the disease for the 2018 season. An education campaign titled ‘Stop the Streak’ aims to prevent the conditions that led to the above-normal levels of the virus this year.
DeWolf said those conditions included adequate rainfall and volunteer wheat in July and August 2016 that led to increased populations of the wheat curl mite. He said mild temperatures that persisted well into November allowed the tiny mites to survive well past planting of the 2017 crop.
“When we have above-normal volunteer populations and mite populations going into the fall, where they have plenty of time to move around, that definitely sets the stage for major outbreaks of wheat streak mosaic,” DeWolf said. “I think it was those things that were set in motion last summer and fall that really translated into the above-normal levels of wheat streak that we saw this year.”
Officials tend to agree that there are only three ways to control the spread of wheat streak mosaic virus: remove volunteer wheat and other grassy weeds; avoid early planting; and plant varieties with resistance to the virus.
“Removing volunteer wheat has got to be step one,” DeWolf said. “It comes down to a lot of these communities deciding that they’ve had enough of this disease and doing what they need to as a community to control the volunteer wheat.
“An individual grower can do a lot of things right, but if their neighbors – the community – doesn’t follow the best practices for controlling the volunteer wheat, it can really nullify a lot of their individual activities. So, wherever possible, these communities can be coming together – groups of co-ops, or other groups of growers – to try and do everything they can to make sure the volunteer wheat is controlled, that should greatly reduce the risk of a repeat performance on wheat streak mosaic.”
DeWolf said that, if using a herbicide, volunteer wheat should be dead for at least two weeks before farmers plant their 2018 crop. “If you’re using an herbicide like glyphosate that needs some time to be enacted in the plants, it’s those dead dry plants that are going to decrease the mite population,” he said. “And that’s the condition we need to be in before our new wheat crop begins to emerge.”
At this point, “we’re probably looking at a lead time of at least three weeks, maybe four weeks, prior to the planting of our new wheat crop,” he added. The window is open here for some folks already and we’re probably looking at August as the critical month of trying to get the volunteer wheat under control.”
DeWolf encouraged farmers to work with seed companies to buy varieties with resistance to wheat streak mosaic, and resist planting next year’s crop too early.
“Planting date does play into this,” he said. “I’ve worked with enough growers in western Kansas to know that many times they plant wheat when they have moisture. Year in and year out, moisture is one of the major yield-limiting factors that we have in our wheat production in Kansas.
“So it’s not uncommon for us to see some growers go in and start planting their wheat in late August or early September. That does elevate the risk of us having problems. Wherever possible, I would encourage them to plant their wheat toward the end of the more agronomically acceptable time, what we often refer to as the Hessian Fly-free date. That would generally reduce the risk of them having a wheat streak mosaic problem.”
For more information on wheat streak mosaic virus and statewide efforts to control the problem, visit the Kansas Wheat Commission’s web page, kswheat.com/growers/wheat-streak-mosaic-virus.
SEDGWICK COUNTY — Law enforcement authorities are investigating a shooting and continue to look for a suspect.
Just after 9p.m. Saturday, police responded to report of a shooting at an apartment in the 2200 Block of South Oliver in Wichita, according to officer Charley Davidson. A 25-year-old man lives at the apartment with a 24-year-old girlfriend.
The 25-year-old and his 23-year old brother got into a fight, according to police. During the fight the 25-year-old hit his brother on the head with a hand gun. The weapon discharged and wounded the brother in the shoulder and the leg of a 36-year-old man also at the apartment.
Both were transported to an area hospital for treatment of non-life-threatening injuries, according to Davidson.
The 25-year-old fled the scene. Police have made no arrests. Anyone with information is asked to call police.
DCC
RUSSELL – Beginning Fri., September 15, the Deines Cultural Center will host a solo show featuring the work of Kansas City artist LauraLi Imel. The exhibition will remain up through November 3rd.
Please join us for an opening reception, Friday September 15th from 5:00 to 7:00 pm. There is no charge for admission and the reception is open to the public.
The Deines is located at 820 North Main Street in Russell.
Call 785-483-3742 for information.
PLEASE NOTE SOME MAJOR CHANGES TO SCHEDULE AND LOCATIONS:
*We will no longer coming to Plainville. Please see us in Hays or Stockton.
*We will no longer be coming to Beloit or Mankato. See us in Smith Center, Osborne, Belleville, or Concordia.
*We will no longer be coming to WaKeeney. Please see us in our Hays office.
*Starting next month, we will be in Ness City on EVEN MONTHS, La Crosse in ODD MONTHS.
Tuesday 19 September
Osborne Veterans Building 9:30 – 11:30 AM
Russell City Hall 1:30 PM – 3:30 PM
Tuesday 24 September
Phillipsburg EMS building 9:30 AM – 11:30 PM
Smith Center Courthouse 1:00 PM – 3:00 PM
Douglas Storie, VSR
Kansas Commission on Veterans’ Affairs
Veteran Service Representative
205 E. 7th Suite 107
Hays, KS 67601
Phone: 785-259-0364
FAX: 785-650-0392
E-mail: [email protected]
By CRISTINA JANNEY
Hays Post
Children in a kindergarten class color sheets that help them learn about the color blue.
Some of those children may know their colors, how to write their name and read fluently. Other children may not even be able to hold the crayon or have ever had a pair of scissors in their hands.
“I don’t believe we see a larger gap anywhere in a student’s K-12 education than we see in kindergarten,” Shanna Dinkel, Hays USD 489 assistant superintendent, said.
As the state changes its accreditation process, more emphasis is being placed on kindergarten and kindergarten readiness in attempts to close these gaps. Hays USD 489 has provided all-day kindergarten for years, but this is the first year all-day kindergarten has been fully funded by the state.
Amanda Meagher, kindergarten teacher at Wilson Elementary School, served on a state committee tasked with making a case for all-day kindergarten.
“We talked about a lot of reasons and research that showed we need that time and opportunity for some teacher-led play. They just needed to be here all day,” she said. “It is hard to do that in a half day — to get to the academics and the growth of the child and to meet the needs of the individual child when it was such a short amount of time that you were with them.”
Kindergarten is a year of transition. It is supposed to be more like preschool at the beginning of the year and more like grade school at the end of the year. There is no other grade like that, Meagher said. Children learn basic classroom skills, such as keeping supplies neat, brining back notes and folders, and being a part of the communication process with their parents.
“Transitioning with their fine motor skills and work habits, hopefully sets them up for success and gets them excited about learning and become lifelong learners,” she said.
The kindergarten program itself will not change. The district had been using at-risk funds to support the all-day program, but those funds can now be used in other at-risk programs, Dinkel said. Those dollars have been diverted to pay for classroom aides at each elementary school and regular education paraeducators at the middle school and high school. The kindergarten fee was also eliminated as a result of state funding.
Dinkel and other experts agree kindergarten and pre-kindergarten are essential times for children’s learning and development.
Donna Hudson-Hamilton, director of the Early Childhood Connections program, said children’s brains develop at a staggering rate during early childhood. Ninety percent of children’s brain development occurs before the age of 5. Children have about twice the number of brain synapses as an adult until they are about 10 years old and then the brain starts to pare back in adolescents.
“If we lose that opportunity, that is not an opportunity that we can get back. If you have 90 percent of your brain developing at that time, we want to give that the best we have for the child,” Hudson-Hamilton said.
Children who receive early childhood education are more likely to graduate from high school on time and only 15 percent of children who receive early childhood education require special education services — compared to 34 percent of those who do not.
Early childhood education makes economic sense, as well. For every dollar spent on early childhood education, the state saves $7 in later interventions.
A long-term study found at age 27, children who participated in early childhood programs were four times more likely to be earning more than $2,000 per month, three times as likely to own a home and twice as likely to have never been on welfare as an adult.
However, the investment the U.S. is making in early childhood education does not match the potential for development at this age. Despite the great leaps a child’s brain makes between birth to age 5, the U.S. dedicates the least money to education during this time.
The district has a kindergarten readiness committee that includes staff from the district’s Early Child Connections program, kindergarten teachers and representatives of other preschools in the city. The group works with parents and preschools to help close the gaps kindergarten teachers are seeing as children enter grade school.
A few years ago, the focus was on toilet training. More recently, the committee worked on helping children develop the fine motor skills to hold pencils.
Balancing gaps between students can be tricky, Meagher said.
“It is all about meeting the child where they are at. You focus in on what each child needs. It is like an individual plan for each child. You know this child may need help with fine motor skills, so you provide help with play-based learning or your learning lab activities where you give them lots of opportunities for them to grow in their fine motor skills,” she said.
A lot of what Meagher’s committee talked about was growing social and emotional skills and giving children time to learn through play. This is mirrored in the state board of education’s new assessment goals.
The state has developed a survey tool to help assess where children are developmentally as they come into kindergarten, which it will start to administer to incoming kindergarteners in fall 2018. The developmental snapshot, called the Ages and Stages Questionnaire, looks at a child’s development in the areas of language and literacy, cognitive and problem solving, physical well-being and motor development, and social-emotional development.
“Our kindergarten teachers do a great job of bridging that gap, but the better the kids come prepared for kindergarten, the further we can take them throughout the year,” Dinkel said. “Academics are very important, but we also need to make sure the social, emotional development is there as well.”
Hudson-Hamilton said the children’s soft skills, such as being able to work with other students, follow directions, ask questions appropriately, are skills students will need throughout their lives to be successful.
The preschool programs focuses much on rules and routines and has implemented a program called Slide that helps the children further transition from a preschool to a kindergarten setting. Children learn skills, such as how to work independently and how to raise their hands.
The new mission of the state board is to develop individual plans of study for each student that helps them close gaps and challenge them where ever they are at, Dinkel said.
“I think it is exciting that we are focusing on it at the state level because it definitely is very, very important to the start of school and how we start and kids end kindergarten really sets them on the path through the rest of our K-12 system,” Dinkel said.
The state’s new accreditation standards also is pushing for full-day Head Start within the next five years. All-day preschool is also listed among the Hays USD 489 school board goals.
This year, Early Childhood Connections has three classrooms that are full day.
“The children are somewhere during that time,” Hudson-Hamilton said. “We will be providing the same rest time and snack time as if they were in another setting. There is more opportunity to interact with them. For the children who don’t need to nap who are really getting ready to go on to kindergarten, we get to do some more direct instruction with them. It is going to give a little bit more opportunity to diversify what we can do for the child.”
Play is the children’s work at this age, Hudson-Hamilton said. It may look as if the children are just playing, but the early childhood teachers have a set, intentional curriculum.
“You may come into a classroom, and they might be doing a cooking activity,” Hudson-Hamilton said, “but as a part of that cooking activity, they may be counting out how many ingredients that go into the cooking activity. They may be working on predictions — what’s going to happen when we do this? What is going to happen when we add heat to it?”
ECC has 120 students ages 3 through 5 in its program at the former Washington School in Hays. However, the program works with children as young as infants at its Munjor program and through home-based services.
Although the state board and the Kansas Legislature has made strides in supporting early childhood education, more still needs to be done, Hudson-Hamilton said.
“I do think it is important for people to advocate for this population because they don’t have their own voices yet, so we need to be speaking on their behalf,” she said.
Cottonwood District Extension
When the tornado sirens sound, are you prepared to face a storm? Or if your house is on fire, are you prepared to evacuate? Would you be prepared to not only survive the damage, but also ease the process of recovery?
Plan to attend the free Extension program “Disaster Preparedness for Home, Family and Furry Friends” on Thursday, September 14, at 12:00 noon at the Hays Office of the Cottonwood Extension District, 601 Main Street in Hays. Pre-register by calling the Hays office, 785-628-9430, to ensure adequate materials. Presenters are Linda Beech and Alicia Boor, Cottonwood District Agents.
The program will be repeated on Wednesday, September 27 at 12:00 noon at the Rec Activity Center in Great Bend. Call 620-793-1910 to register for that location.
Many of us have taken some steps to protect our home and families from emergencies. But do you have a plan for your pets? And what about your financial emergency preparedness– would you have the records and documents needed to recover your losses if your home was damaged or destroyed?
Disasters are unpredictable and devastating to lives and property. Instead of just hoping to avoid a disaster, it is important to put some time and attention into preparing for the possibility. In case of emergency, you’ll be glad you planned ahead. These programs are part of the Prepare Kansas campaign in September from K-State Research and Extension. Join us to learn more.
Season Points Championship at RPM Speedway Sat., September 16, 7 p.m.
Running the IMCA Mods, Stocks, Sport Mods, Hobby Stocks, Sport Compacts and Cruisers.
Jason Boland and The Stragglers at The Fox Pavilion Friday, September 15, 2017. Jason Boland & The Stragglers is an American Red Dirt/Texas Country Band.
8:30 PM
Time Details:
Doors open at 7 PM
Location:
Fox Pavilion
Address:
13th & Main
Hays, KS 67601
Contact:
785-301-2673
UWEC
The United Way of Ellis County has their second Dine Out Day event all day on Monday, September 11th at Thirsty’s, 2704 Vine Street, Hays.
There will be live music from 6-9 p.m. and fun social media activities with a portion of the proceeds benefiting the United Way.
Come join the United Way for lunch or supper!
SEDGWICK COUNTY — Three people from Northwest Kansas were injured in an accident just before 12:30a.m. Sunday in Sedgwick County.
The Kansas Highway Patrol reported a 2013 Dodge Grand Caravan driven by Erin D. Cook, 28, Colby was northbound on Interstate 135 near Central Avenue. A motorcycle clipped the van’s driver’s side mirror and drove away.
A 2016 Chevy Malibu driven by Charles Tucker, 43, Denton, TX, rear-ended the van as it slowed to avoid a traffic hazard.
Cook, Tucker and passengers in the van Larry Cook, 71, and Rosa Cook, 62, both of Colby were transported to St. Francis Medical Center.
All were properly restrained at the time of the accident, according to the KHP.
The Hays Police Department responded to 9 animal calls and 24 traffic stops Thu., Sept. 7, 2017, according to the HPD Activity Log.
Animal At Large–2700 block Barclay Dr, Hays; 7:25 AM
Tobacco Violation–2300 block E 13th St, Hays; 10:01 AM
Disturbance – General–100 block W 12th St, Hays; 11:42 AM
Civil Dispute–2700 block Plaza Ave, Hays; 12:16 PM
Abandoned Vehicle–200 block W 5th St, Hays; 2:47 PM
Child in Need of Care–500 block W 37th St, Hays; 2:35 PM
Civil Dispute–2900 block Walnut St, Hays; 3:50 PM
Lost Animals ONLY–2700 block Elm St, Hays; 4:10 PM
Animal At Large–100 block W 4th St, Hays; 4:30 PM
Tethering Violation–1800 block Fort St, Hays; 5:30 PM
Dead Animal Call–13th and Eisenhower, Hays; 8:58 PM
MV Accident-Private Property-Hit and Run–4300 block Vine St, Hays; 6:45 PM; 9 PM
Shoplifting–4300 block Vine St, Hays; 9:45 PM; 9:51 PM
Civil Dispute–4600 block Jefferson Dr, Hays; 10:39 PM
Warrant Service (Fail to Appear)–200 block W 5th St, Hays; 10:51 PM
The Hays Police Department responded to 4 animal calls and 24 traffic stops Fri., Sept. 8, 2017, according to the HPD Activity Log.
False/Altered ID–100 block W 7th St, Hays; 12:14 AM
Burglary/residence–1800 block Walnut St, Hays; 9/7 11:30 PM; 9/8 12:30 AM
Driving While Suspended/Revoked–400 block Fort St, Hays; 2:09 AM
Disturbance – Noise–500 block Elm St, Hays; 7:48 AM
Burglary/vehicle–1200 block E 33rd St, Hays; 9/7 9:30 PM; 9/8 7:40 AM
Drug Offenses–400 block E 13th St, Hays; 7:52 AM
Burglary/vehicle–1200 block E 33rd St, Hays; 9/7 10:30 PM; 9/8 7:48 AM
Burglary/vehicle–300 block W 15th St, Hays; 9/7 9:30 PM; 9/8 9:15 AM
Animal At Large–2500 block General Lawton Rd, Hays; 9:47 AM
MV Accident-City Street/Alley–3300 block Vine St, Hays; 10:22 AM
Battery – simple–2600 block Vine St, Hays; 11:15 AM; 11:21 AM
Criminal Damage to Property–400 block Walnut St, Hays; 12:09 PM
Animal At Large–3500 block Hillcrest Dr, Hays; 12:25 PM
Assist – Other (not MV)–1000 block Fort St, Hays; 12:33 PM
Lost Animals ONLY–1300 block Washington Cir, Hays; 12:53 PM
Dead Animal Call–13th and Ash, Hays; 2:26 PM
Computer Crime–300 block W 12th St, Hays; 3:27 PM
MV Accident-Private Property–2700 block Vine St, Hays; 5:15 PM
Shoplifting–4300 block Vine St, Hays; 5:49 PM
Contempt of Court/Fail to Pay–100 block W 5th St, Hays; 10:18 PM
MV Accident-Private Property–1700 block Vine St, Hays; 10:31 PM
The Hays Police Department responded to 2 animal calls and 19 traffic stops Sat., Sept. 9, 2017, according to the HPD Activity Log.
Warrant Service (Fail to Appear)–800 block Walnut St, Hays; 12:04 AM
Found/Lost Property–200 block W 10th St, Hays; 1:53 AM
Warrant Service (Fail to Appear)–700 block Park St, Hays; 2:10 AM
Mental Health Call–1400 block E 29th St, Hays; 6:51 AM
Dead Animal Call–500 block E 17th St, Hays; 8:07 AM
MV Accident-City Street/Alley–22nd and Vine St, Hays; 8:04 AM
MV Accident-Private Property–3600 block Vine St, Hays; 8:27 AM
MV Accident-City Street/Alley–1000 block E 43rd St, Hays; 9/8 6 PM
Battery – Domestic–3400 block Vine St, Hays; 9/6 11:30 PM; 9/7 1:45 AM
Vagrancy–4100 block Vine St, Hays; 11:35 AM
Drug Offenses–1000 block W 43rd St, Hays; 11:59 AM
Lost Animals ONLY–2700 block Ash St, Hays; 2:23 PM
MV Accident-City Street/Alley–43rd and Roth Ave, Hays; 5:36 PM
Criminal Trespass–3600 block Vine St, Hays; 5:50 PM
Harassment, Telephone/FAX–2700 block Epworth St, Hays; 8:36 PM; 10:14 PM
Disturbance – Noise–1400 block Fort St, Hays; 11:06 PM
Underage Possession of CMB/LIQ–400 block W 6th St, Hays; 11:33 PM
The Hays Police Department responded to 4 animal calls and 19 traffic stops Sun., Sept. 10, 2017, according to the HPD Activity Log.
Civil Dispute–500 block W 7th St, Hays; 12 AM; 12:05 AM
Disturbance – General–800 block Ash St, Hays; 2:16 AM
Drug Offenses–3400 block Vine St, Hays; 5:01 AM
Drug Offenses–3400 block Vine St, Hays; 6:25 AM
Theft (general)–1300 block E 41st St, Hays; 8/30 12:28 PM
Mental Health Call–1400 block E 29th St, Hays; 12:19 PM
Animal At Large–300 block E 13th St, Hays; 1:41 PM
Water Use Violation–1600 block E 27th St Terr, Hays; 1:58 PM
Theft (general)–1200 block Pine St, Hays; 8/25 8 PM; 9/10 1 PM
Found/Lost Property–1000 block Elm St, Hays; 3:33 PM
Missing Person–1800 block Ash St, Hays; 6:49 PM
MV Accident-Hit and Run–4300 block Vine St, Hays; 7:28 PM
Fire–400 block E 11th St, Hays; 11:35 PM
