The advisory board for the Hays-West Central Kansas Co-op has recommended to not renew the contract of its special education director.
Raj Sharma was named as the director of the coop on July 1, 2016. Contracts for Hays school district administrative staff are discussed in February each year.
The school board will vote on the recommendation at its next meeting on Feb. 12.
Sharma was the special education director in Wellington before taking the job in Hays.
The co-op covers the Hays, Ellis, La Crosse and Victoria school districts.
The contracts for Superintendent John Thissen and Assistant Superintendent Shanna Dinkel will also be up for review on Feb. 12. Thissen has recommended renewal of Dinkel’s contract. Dinkel was also appointed as assistant superintendent as of July 1, 2016.
Thissen’s contract will be reviewed by the school board. He has asked to be moved from a two-year contract to a one-year contract to be parallel with the other administrative staff.
The Student Council is currently working on setting up an app called “SuperFan.” The purpose of this app is to increase the amount of student participation at school events Student Body President Trinity Callis said.
“Mr. Michaelis approached the five Student Council Executive Officers and we have been testing out the app before we release it to the school,” Callis said. “Our goal is to have the app out to the students of Hays High on Feb. 1.”
SuperFan is an app with various features to inform students, parents and other guests about school events such as games, concerts assemblies and meetings, Callis said.
“We set up a system for distributing points (giving more points to events that aren’t as popular) and will have rewards based on how many points you choose to cash in,” Callis said. “Other features on the app include: scores of games, fan polls, social links to Hays High posts, the school website/Guidon, and a leader board.
“In order to check in to events and receive points, the users must be within the Geo-field set up. For example, in order to check in to a basketball game, they have to be in Gym A. Same for club meeting rooms, concerts, and assemblies.”
The reason that Student Council is setting up the app is because other schools in Hays’ WAC have been using this system and it seems to work out great for their student body, Callis said.
“I think it’s a great way to promote school activities,” Callis said. “By distributing points out, I hope that we can increase the audiences at forgotten events. No matter the function, all events are equally important as students are involved and working hard.
“Starting this a bit later in the year, I hope that our executive officers can establish a good foundation for the app so that way it can be more successful in future years.”
Gavin Wright, Curtis Allen and Patrick Stein are charged with domestic terrorism
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — The government has decided not to pursue one of the charges against a man accused of plotting to bomb an apartment complex housing Somali immigrants in western Kansas.
The 10th Circuit Court of Appeals on Tuesday granted a government request to end its appeal of a lower court’s order dismissing a firearms charge against Curtis Allen. A judge last year had thrown out that count after an appeals court ruling in an unrelated case that a person convicted of misdemeanor domestic battery under a city ordinance can legally carry a gun.
Allen and co-defendants Patrick Stein and Gavin Wright still face charges of conspiracy to use a weapon of mass destruction and conspiracy against civil rights. Wright also is accused of lying to the FBI.
SALINE COUNTY — Law enforcement authorities are investigating a suspect for theft and weapons charges.
Just before 10:30am. Saturday the Dollar General, 654 South Broadway Salina contacted police about an alleged shoplifting incident, according to Salina Police Captain Mike Sweeney.
The suspect later identified as 27-year-old Cameron Harrod of Salina allegedly took snacks from the store and road away on a bicycle. Police found him.
He gave them a fake name, according to Sweeney. When officers determined his actual identity they arrested him for theft. Police also found 9mm bullets in one of Harrod’s pockets. They searched the area and found a 90mm handgun.
Harrod was booking into the Saline County Jail on requested charges of theft, interference with a law enforcement officer, criminal possession of a firearm, and other charges. He has six previous convictions in Saline and Sedgwick County for theft, burglary, drugs and criminal possession of a firearm, according to the Kansas Department of Corrections.
Marietta Quint, age 89 of Hays, KS, passed away on Sunday, January 28, 2018 at HaysMed.
A Funeral Mass will be held on Friday, February 2, 2018 at 10:00 AM at the St. Joseph’s Catholic Church, 201 W. 13th St., Hays, KS 67601. Burial will follow in the church cemetery.
Visitation will be on Thursday, February 1, 2018 from 6-8:00 PM and Friday from 9-9:45 AM at Brock’s-Keithley Funeral Chapel & Crematory, 2509 Vine St., Hays, KS.
A Daughters of Isabella rosary service will be Thursday at 6 PM followed by a parish vigil at 6:30 PM all at the funeral home.
Memorial contributions can be made to TMP. Donations can be left or mailed to the funeral home.
A complete obituary will soon follow. To share a memory or to leave condolences, please visit www.keithleyfuneralchapels.com.
Orilla “Rose” (Gibson) Webb, formerly of Wilson, Kansas, passed away on Wednesday, January 24, 2018 at Diversicare of Haysville in Haysville, Kansas at the age of 94. She was born on April 17, 1923 in Cherokee, Oklahoma to the late David and Mary (Nagy) Gibson. She grew up in Oklahoma and graduated from Cherokee High School. She was united in marriage to Bill Boston in Cherokee, from this union Billie Rose was born. He preceded her in death. Later she was married to Jim Webb in Russell, Kansas and together they made their home in Dorrance, Kansas.
Rose was a hardworking and loving wife, mother, grandmother, and woman. She worked for many years as a bookkeeper in the boat repair industry. She loved to read, work in her flower gardens, and spend time with family and friends. One of her favorite pastimes was playing card games, although it was common knowledge amongst those who knew her well to be on the lookout for some ”Rose card trickery.” She was a member of St. Wenceslaus Catholic Church in Wilson, and the Red Hat Society, and enjoyed going to the Senior Center in Wilson just to visit and be with friends. She also made many new friends during her short time in Haysville. But the light of Rose’s life was her grandchildren and great-grandchildren. She was especially blessed to be able to welcome her great-great-granddaughter into the world.
Rose is survived by her son-in-law George Root of Haysville; grandchildren Deana Haynes of Mulvane, Joseph Root and wife Stacy of Sedgwick, Ray Root and wife Rolanda of Tooele, UT, and Georgie Carter and husband Bryan of Haysville; great-grandchildren Zach Haynes and wife Madison, Peyton Haynes, Jacqueline Root, Cauy Root, Jerry Root, Raegen Root, Riley Root, Easton Carter, and Korbyn Carter; and great-great-granddaughter Hayden Haynes.
She was preceded in death by her parents David and Mary Gibson, husbands Bill Boston and Jim Webb, brothers John Gibson and Everett Gibson, and daughter Billie Root.
Rose had a huge heart that was always overflowing with love for family, friends, and neighbors, even when some of those neighbors where fury little feline friends. All the stray cats in the neighborhood knew they could find food, warmth, and love at Rose’s house. And it was by this daily example of living that she taught all of us what it truly means to love and care for one another, and live every day being grateful for the opportunity to humbly serve one another.
A Mass of Christian Burial will be held at 10:00am on Friday, February 2, 2018 at St. Cecilia Catholic Church in Haysville. A rosary and vigil service will be held at 9:00am on Friday at the church.
The USD 489 school board discussed the possibility of applying for federal grants to renovate facilities during its meeting on Monday.
Superintendent John Thissen discussed facilities needs with the board. If the school district moved the Early Childhood programs into an existing building in the community or an existing elementary in the school district, it might be able to apply for federal funds to make renovations.
“The exciting thing about this is that you can’t buy a new building and receive federal funds for it, but you can buy used and renovate and use federal funds. That is another reason why this may make sense,” Thissen said. “Washington and Munjor are federal programs that we could perhaps get some money for that we are not normally able of getting.”
The district received about $150,000 in federal grant money when ECC moved into the former Washington Elementary School on Main Street.
New construction runs about $200 to $300 per square foot, but if a suitable building could be found, renovation could cost $100 square foot, Thissen said.
In three to four years the state has said it wants to expands its preschool programs to all day. The Washington building is full, so additional room would be needed to meet the demand. Washington also has accessibility issues, no storm shelter and sewer issues. In addition, the district would like to vacate the Munjor building, which has roof issues and no storm shelter.
Washington is more than 90 years old, and Thissen questioned the advisability of investing significant amounts to remodel a building that old.
Another version of this option is also moving Rockwell’s offices into a renovated building. Vacating Rockwell, however, would leave the district without an auditorium. The heating for the auditorium is controlled by the boiler for the rest of the building. Thissen also said the value of the Rockwell property is in the land, and he doubted a buyer would want the property with the auditorium left on it.
This still leaves the issue of the elementary schools, which Thissen said he thought could be addressed with a bond. He said the district could consider building a five-section elementary school that would consolidate O’Loughlin and Lincoln elementaries.
Thissen said preliminary numbers indicated this could be achieved with about a $40 million bond, which would be at a cost in the range for $10 to $12 per month for a $150,000 home. He said he thought this might be accomplished with a 15-year bond.
If O’Loughlin was vacated, it could be renovated for the Learning Center, Rockwell and maintenance.
Consolidating Munjor, Washington and Lincoln into a new building would be another option, but that project would not qualify for federal funds.
Board member Greg Schwartz said he would like to see a further explanation building by building of the facility needs.
Board member Paul Adams said he would like to have a special board meeting just to talk about the facility needs and a possible future bond.
During a lengthy sermon, a large plant fell over right behind the pulpit crashing to the ground. Acknowledging his reputation for long windedness, the minister smiled and said, “Well, that’s the first time I actually put a plant to sleep.
RENO COUNTY— The state will be allowed to have the victim in a Kansas rape and kidnapping case testify during the preliminary hearing by electronic means over the objection of the defense.
Twenty-year-old Victor Hugo Pedraza is charged with beating, rape and kidnapping of a Japanese foreign exchange student who attended Hutchinson Community.
He then set her passport and related documents on fire. Police say the victim had been tied to a bed and beaten, then forced into sex twice after telling him no.
The state wants to have the victim testify via video from Japan to avoid the cost of flying her to Hutchinson, which could cost thousands of dollars.
The defense argued against it. The defense does not believe the judge has jurisdiction over someone in a foreign country and says that it may violate the defendant’s right to confrontation.
However, Judge Joe McCarville says the defendant doesn’t have confrontation rights for a preliminary hearing because it’s only a probable cause hearing and granted the state’s motion.
John Tracy with the District Attorney’s office told the court they will set up the video through Facebook Messenger for the hearing. It is scheduled for Feb. 22 at 4:00 p.m. — 7 a.m. in Japan.
If the defendant is bound over for trial, the state will be required to fly the victim to the U.S. to testify in person for any trial.
There will be no ceremonial clocking-out with his timecard for Gov. Sam Brownback, but at 3 p.m. Wednesday Brownback officially resigns and Lt. Gov. Jeff Colyer ascends to the governorship with a swearing-in ceremony in the Statehouse and he gets to start being the face of Kansas — or hoping he is.
That swearing-in is going to mean a dramatic change in lifestyle for Colyer, who has been a dutiful lieutenant governor. “Dutiful” for a lieutenant governor means don’t speak first, don’t criticize the boss, and don’t stand between the governor and press cameras.
It’s a major shift and Colyer has said there will be a “different tone” in the governorship, maybe in the whole state, when he is sworn-in. He’s not saying just days away from his swearing-in what that different tone is going to be, or even whether he liked the tone when Brownback was governor, just that it’s going to change.
But it’s for sure that after Colyer takes the oath and moves across the hall into the big office with its own bathroom that he is going to have to make Kansans aware that he’s the governor now, things are different, and that there are things he wants to do for Kansans that haven’t been done before.
And he also needs to quickly announce some noticeable—and for his political future—attractive changes in Kansas.
Because after he takes that oath, it’s all about winning the crowded Republican primary election and then the general election to get a term of his own.
Jeff Colyer
Now, while he and Brownback have said that they worked together on the budget for the remainder of this fiscal year and next, most Statehouse regulars think that Colyer within days of taking the new office will have some amendments to the Brownback/Colyer budget released earlier this month.
Little things, presumably, though Colyer is going to have to quickly do something attractive for the K-12 budget. Brownback said he wants to spend $600 million over five years to increase school funding. That’s a long time and spread out as it was proposed, even lawmakers who like the tone of the proposal don’t know where they’ll get the money for it.
It’s the time for a new governor/candidate must come up with some ideas that are his own and that mark him as leading the state, not just filling out the term.
Those new ideas— “tones?” –are what the crowd at the swearing-in is going to be listening for. Nobody’s looking for massive tax changes, either up or down, with revenues from last year’s income tax increases still uncertain…or when they’ll show up in the state treasury.
There are little things that might appeal to the voting public that he can propose as indicators of the Colyer leadership tone. Whether it’s naming bridges after former state leaders/heroes, or requiring safer helmets for high school football players, or knee-length cheerleader skirts, there are relatively cheap initiatives out there.
But at 3 p.m. Wednesday, we start seeing a new Colyer, and his GOP primary opponents are going to be busy discarding whatever he comes up with and labeling him “Brownback 2.0” for campaign purposes. Likely those GOP primary opponents and Democratic candidates for governor can agree on that tactic.
Key is that Colyer is going to have to move quickly to amass a body of work this legislative session that he can call his own and take credit for or find something in the Brownback/Colyer budget that he can say he didn’t really care for and wants credit for changing.
The new tone? We’ll see whether Kansans start humming it or not…
Syndicated by Hawver News Company LLC of Topeka; Martin Hawver is publisher of Hawver’s Capitol Report—to learn more about this nonpartisan statewide political news service, visit the website at www.hawvernews.com
The fourth annual Harry Potter Book Night will be celebrated Thursday throughout the world and at the Hays Public Library. The night themed around the books of Harry Potter will begin at 5 p.m.
On Harry Potter Book Night, the library will be sharing the wonder of J.K. Rowling’s unforgettable stories and, most excitingly, introducing the next generation of readers to the unparalleled magic of Harry Potter. Here at HPL, young wizards, witches, and Muggles will be treated to an evening of beastly games, activities, and a true Harry Potter fan quiz. It all begins when the Sorting Hat decides who will be in which house, and houses will be competing for house points throughout the evening. We’ll be giving away several door prizes as well as serving up snacks inspired by some of the scrumptious wizard foods in the books.
Tickets for our Harry Potter Book Night event are available in advance at the Adult Circulation Desk in the library.
For more information on our event, contact any librarian at Hays Public Library at (785) 625-9014 or www.hayslibrary.org.
By CRISTINA JANNEY
