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Month: February 2018

HHS Helping Hands Prom Store open today; free selections

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Donated formal wear will be available from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Feb. 24 at Big Creek Crossing in the former Vanity store. (Photo by Jacob Maska)

By LACEY GREGORY
HHS Guidon

This year, Helping Hands is hosting a new community service project called Project Prom to Remember. Since last semester, those involved with the project have been collecting donations of formalwear for any student in need to wear to prom.

The donated items will be available to students from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Feb. 24 at Big Creek Crossing in the former Vanity store.

So far, over 200 pieces of formalwear have been donated to the project.

Helping Hands sponsor Michelle Thacker said that no number goal has been established for the project, but the organization hopes to help as many students as possible.

“It’s really more of a reach to allow students that might not have an opportunity to have something or don’t want to spend the money,” Thacker said. “It gives them the opportunity to get something to wear to the prom.”

Although those involved with the project are not yet sure what the turnout will be, Thacker feels that any impact made will be positive.

Over 200 items have been donated for Project Prom to Remember. (Photo by Jacob Maska)

“If I could help even 20 or 25 students I would be happy,” Thacker said. “I have a feeling that it will be much larger than that.”

Thacker said Helping Hands plans to host the event in years to come and hopes to increase the involvement with the project as time goes on.

“We do plan to continue it,” Thacker said. “We feel that it will only get bigger once the public knows where they can donate their items and that there is a community of students that can benefit from those items.”

In Case You Missed It: Eagle Morning Show 2/19-2/23

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It was another busy week on the KAYS Eagle Morning Show. Here’s what you missed!

MONDAY

Catholic Schools Report: Troy Ruda – Advancement Director Thomas More Prep-Marian

 

TUESDAY

Hays Area Chamber of Commerce: Membership Coordinator Kara Berry

  • Kara Berry joined the show to update us on this week’s schedule for the Hays Area Chamber of Commerce
    • Feb. 20th: HAYP Connection Lunch
    • Feb. 20th: Chamber Board Meeting
    • Feb. 23rd: Chamber Chat – Sunflower Bank Main Branch
    • Feb. 23rd: Membership Lunch
    • Feb. 23rd: Ribbon Cutting – H2O Float/Cryo/Massage

County Commission Report

  • Eagle radio news director Jonathan Zweygardt was joined by county administrator Phillip Smith-Hanes and county commissioner Marcy McClelland to discuss the agenda from this week’s county commission meeting:

 

WEDENSDAY

Protect & Serve: Lt. Cliff Denny – Fort Hays State University Police

  • Cliff stopped by to remind listeners that university police are available 24/7 and provide many different services from unlocking cars to safety escorts at late hours
    • For all the information related to campus safety and the university police, you can visit their website 

Hays Arts Council: Brenda Meder

  • Brenda came by the show to talk about the previous week’s children’s theater, the different art available to see on the campus of Fort Hays State University, the 49th annual Smoky Hill Art Competition and the upcoming Spring Art Walk.
  • For a full list of events and information, you can visit the Hays Arts Council website

 

THURSDAY

Cottonwood District Extension Agent, Family & Consumer Sciences: Linda Beech

  • Linda made her monthly visit to the show to discuss a few upcoming events:

 

FRIDAY

Bob Schwarz and Cortney Dale with Bob Schwarz Financial

  • Bob and Cortney stopped by to talk about:

City Commission Report

  • Becky Kiser is joined by city manager Toby Dougherty and city commissioner Sandy Jacobs to recap the city commission meeting
    • Repairing and taking care of the streets in town
    • Progress report on waste water treatment facility
    • R9 water use change 
    • Concern of salting, brining, sanding during the winter months and if that has an effect on local water

 

Coming up next week on the Eagle Morning Show:

  • USD 489 Superintendent John Thissen
  • Cottonwood District, Agriculture Agent Stacy Campbell
  • Fort Hays State University President Tisa Mason
  • A representative from the Hays Public Library

Unique high school theatre workshops offered this summer in NW Kansas

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HANSEN FOUNDATION 

LOGAN – The Dane G. Hansen Foundation is pleased to bring the Lovewell Institute for the Creative Arts to northwest Kansas this summer. The Foundation is sponsoring four, week-long musical theatre workshops for high school students (incoming freshman through graduating seniors).

From the first word to the final bow, students conceive, write, choreograph, compose, design, rehearse, produce and perform an original piece of musical theatre in collaboration with a staff of professionals and educators.

Workshop schedule:

June 4-8, 2018                    Phillipsburg, KS 

June 11-15, 2018                  Concordia, KS

June 18-22, 2018                Russell KS

June 25-29, 2018                Colby, KS

Students from surrounding communities and counties are encouraged to participate in a workshop closest to them.  Registration is limited to the first 30 students in each location.  For more information or to register, visit lovewell.org, and click on Apply, and then Kansas.

ABOUT THE LOVEWELL WORKSHOPS

The week-long day camp/workshop brings students from all different creative backgrounds together to create an original work of musical theatre from scratch! The experience is about the creative process. While the performance is an enormous part of the workshop, the focus is on the creation. To make it come together, the process needs writers, actors, poets, dancers, singers, dreamers, visual artists, musicians, composers, designers and creative students of ALL kinds.

The students will work with a team of professional artists to help utilize all the students’ gifts and explore the arts while forging new friendships and making memories to last a lifetime.

PARTICIPTION COSTS

Each workshop is limited to 30 students. The Hansen Foundation is underwriting the cost of the workshops so that the student participation fee is significantly discounted to $50.  However, no student who is truly committed to participate will be denied the opportunity due to inability to pay. Scholarships are available.

ABOUT LOVEWELL

The Lovewell Institute for the Creative Arts is a not-for-profit organization that brings students together with professional artists to conceive, create, compose, write, choreograph, design and produce and original musical in each workshop. The Lovewell team are artist who make their living as musical directors, playwrites, choreographers, composers, lyricists, etc.

Lovewell is based in Florida, but its roots are in Kansas. After a pilot in New York in 1984, the process became the “Lovewell Experience” in 1987 in Salina, Kansas. The director of the program is a Kansas native.

Today, Lovewell offers workshops all over the United states and also internationally. Learn more about Lovewell at www.lovewell.org

WHY THE HANSEN FOUNDATION IS OFFERING THIS

The Foundation has been working with communities in northwest Kansas to identify programs, projects and initiatives that provide opportunities and improve the quality of life.  The process, Strategic Doing, is being conducted in each of the 26 counties we serve. Through Strategic Doing, the Hansen Foundation has identified issues that have been self-identified in multiple counties.  One such issue is a desire for increased arts and cultural opportunities.

Our partnership with Lovewell brings a unique opportunity to the young adults in Northwest Kansas that would otherwise not be available to them. The solid history and excellent reputation of the Lovewell Institute for the Creative Arts and positive response from previous participants, as well as Lovewell’s excitement when offered the opportunity to return to Kansas encouraged the foundation to partner with this innovative organization.

For more information on NW Kansas Arts opportunities sponsored by the Hansen Foundation, visit our website www.danehansenfoundation.org; click on Special Initiatives and NWKansas Arts.

FHSU prof provides professional development to Saudi Arabia teachers

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Dr. Gary Andersen

FHSU University Relations

Dr. Gary Andersen, assistant professor of advanced education programs at Fort Hays State University, provides monthly professional development to more than 50 teachers in Saudi Arabia on the topic of creating cultures of thinking in classrooms.

Since September 2017, Andersen has been conducting monthly conference calls with several locations in Saudi Arabia using FHSU Zoom video conferencing tools. Sessions will continue through May 2018.

Inspired by “Creating Cultures of Thinking: The 8 Forces We Must Master to Truly Transform Our Schools” by Dr. Ron Ritchhart, Harvard University, sessions consist of an introductory screencast presentation followed by a discussion using Zoom and the Web-based classroom app Socrative.

The professional development was requested by the Association of Professional Educators Abroad and Raynor Roberts, an FHSU graduate student who currently teaches in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

1 person hospitalized after SUV slides, rolls in Trego Co.

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TREGO COUNTY — One person was injured in an accident just after 1:30a.m. Saturday in Trego County.

The Kansas Highway Patrol reported a 1995 Toyota 4-Runner driven by Carlos P. Rojas, Erie, CO., was westbound on Interstate 70 ten miles east of U.S. 283. The driver lost control on the ice. The SUV  rolled and came to rest on the guard rail.

Rojas was transported to Trego County Lemke Memorial Hospital. He was properly restrained at the time of the accident, according to the KHP.

School walkouts in the wake of ‘Parkland’ — protected by the First Amendment or not?

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By Gene Policinski and Lata Nott

The national walkouts that students are currently organizing to call for new gun control legislation are commendable examples of “Generation Z” exercising its First Amendment freedoms. Unfortunately, students, teachers and other staff are likely to run up against legal limits around free speech and protest on school grounds.

Gene Policinski

On March 14, exactly one month after the Feb. 14 shootings at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla., students, teachers and administrators across the nation plan to walk out of their classrooms, at 10 a.m. in each time zone, for 17 minutes — one minute for each student and teacher killed in the attack. Another such event is scheduled for April 20, the 19th anniversary of the Columbine High School massacre in Colorado. More than 22,000 people have signed a petition pledging to walk out of their classrooms at 10 a.m. for the rest of the day.

While some school districts may support or sign on to these protests, others have already announced that they will not. Needville Independent School District, about 60 miles southwest of Houston, has threatened to suspend any students who participate in walkouts or other protests that happen during school hours.

Marches, walkouts and sit-ins are the embodiment of our core freedoms: the right to speak out, to assemble peaceably and petition our government for change. Such protests recall powerful moments in the civil rights movement, when energized groups of young people caught the nation’s attention and successfully pushed for social and political change.

The student voices in the Parkland movement also call to mind the circumstances around the landmark 1969 Supreme Court decision Tinker v. Des Moines Independent School District, which also involved teens, schools and the freedom to protest.

Lata Nott

In that case, the court considered a 1965 protest in which five students wore black armbands — one of which is on display at the Newseum, in Washington, D.C. — to protest the Vietnam War. Three older students were suspended by school authorities for defying instructions not to wear the armbands. Their parents filed a lawsuit and the Supreme Court found that this was a violation of the students’ First Amendment rights. Justice Abe Fortas wrote that neither students nor teachers “shed their constitutional rights to freedom of speech or expression at the schoolhouse gate.”

But here’s an early caution to those planning school walkouts and protests on school grounds: The Tinker decision and later court cases also ruled that while students have First Amendment rights, they are not as extensive as those enjoyed by adults. Their free expression rights can be curtailed by school officials if they can prove that the student action would “materially and substantially interfere” with education in the school, or interfere with the rights of others. In Tinker, the Supreme Court found that the three armband-wearing students could not be punished by school authorities, because their silent protest did not significantly disrupt education in the school.

Would the same be true for students who participate in classroom walkouts? The answer is “it depends” — on district and state truancy policies, for example — because the courts have carved out exceptions to Tinker, citing the education mission of schools in comparison to society at large.

Heading into these protests, students, parents and teachers should all understand the lengths to which their actions are protected by the First Amendment.

  • For students: If your school district does not allow for participation in the walkouts, you could face penalties and punishment for disrupting the school day, violating school rules and potentially (although less likely) for intruding on the rights of students who do not walk out of class that day. You may decide that you are willing to incur those penalties, but remember to consider alternative methods of advocacy and protest as well. Sometimes civil disobedience — challenging the rules on matters of conscience and policy — is justifiable. But sometimes there are other ways to achieve the same goal.
  • For parents: Take this opportunity to work collectively with other parents and your school leaders on the larger civic lessons around this growing youth movement.
  • For school officials: You first face the decision of whether to forbid a walkout or to simply deal with the disruption caused by a walkout. (This decision might depend on whether students are planning a 17-minute walkout or an all-day walkout.) You then face the decision of whether or not to punish participants. Like the students, you should also consider that there may be another approach altogether. It is possible — perhaps in cooperation with students and parents — to turn the event into a teaching moment, in which all sides around the contentious, long-standing gun control debate are heard.

Given that we live in an age where there is much concern that young people don’t understand the Constitution or support free speech, punishing them for exercising it seems counterproductive, even if the Tinker decision does give school administrators that ability. Holding discussions in advance of the protests, and utilizing resources on student speech, petition and advocacy, can help students understand how democracy and representative government work, and guide them to become active and effective participants in civil society.

Perhaps Needville ISD Superintendent Curtis Rhodes will consider such a “teaching moment.” A few days ago, Rhodes sent a letter to parents, saying the district “will not allow a student demonstration during school hours for any type of protest or awareness” and threatening suspensions and other “consequences.”

“A school is a place to learn and grow educationally, emotionally and morally,” Rhodes said in a Facebook post that has since been removed. “A disruption of the school will not be tolerated…We are here for an education and not a political protest.”

Note to Rhodes: Political protest is a part of the history and governing process of the United States, from the Boston Tea Party protests to modern-day Tea Party marches and much more. It’s a part of Texas history too. Consider the Conventions of 1832 and 1833, where future Texans gathered to seek a rollback of laws and taxes imposed by the then-ruling Mexican government.

In other words, how about a little less “sit down” in response to the planned student walkout, and a little more “let’s talk” about the importance of citizen engagement in a democracy.

Gene Policinski is president and chief operating officer of the Newseum Institute. He can be reached at [email protected], or follow him on Twitter at @genefac.

Lata Nott is executive director of the First Amendment Center of the Newseum Institute. Contact her via email at [email protected], or follow her on Twitter at @LataNott.

Dinner and a Workout offered at HaysMed

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HAYSMED

HaysMed, part of the University of Kansas Health System, is offering their second Date Night of the year.

The Center for Health Improvement will offer Dinner and A Workout on Monday, March 5. The HIIT partner workout begins at 6:00 p.m. followed by dinner at 7:00 p.m. and will be held at The Center for Health Improvement. The dinner menu included Mediterranean garlic chicken with fresh herbs and vegetable, rice or couscous, honey-pistachio roasted pears and beverages.

Bring your spouse, friend or anyone and enjoy a great partner workout with our group fitness instructors. The workout is designed to be fun, regardless of your fitness level.

Fee is $20 per couple that includes the special meal. Reservations are due by March 1. You can register at www.haysmed.com/date-night or call 785-623-5900.

Kan. Students Plan To Walk Out In Reaction To Recent Shootings

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By STEPHAN BISAHA

Alayna Nelson, a sophomore at Wichita Northwest High School, grew up hearing stories of repeated mass shootings on the news.

Students evacuate the shooting at the school in Florida- image courtesy WPLG-TV

“Every single time this happened I always wanted to do something about it,” Nelson said.

Now, Nelson and other students in her generation are taking action against gun violence.

“I feel like I’m finally getting to the age where people will start listening to me,” she said.

The outpouring of students calling for gun control was set off by the recent mass shooting at a high school in Parkland, Florida, which killed 17 students and educators. Students from Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, where the shooting occurred, have become activists, telling their stories on national news shows and pleading the case for tougher gun laws.

Students said one of their biggest fears is that this issue will fade into the background in the coming weeks or months without any action being taken. That’s what happened after other shootings, including the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in 2012 that left 26 dead.

Nelson said the idea of another school shooting occurring without any legislative action “absolutely petrifies me.”

That’s one of the reasons why students across Kansas and the country are planning multiple school walkouts over the next few months. Nelson and other students at Wichita Northwest plan on participating in the April 20 walkout, the 19th anniversary of the Columbine High School shooting.

And if that date passes without action, Nelson says she’ll keep fighting.

“If something doesn’t change I’m going to stay angry,” Nelson said. “I know personally that me and my friends aren’t going to let it go.”

Wichita Public Schools officials are aware of the planned walkouts, but have yet to decide how they will be treated. The district has a policy that says walkouts and boycotts are not recognized or permitted.

Some have dismissed the student protests as pushing a left-wing agenda, but Nelson said there is no more unifying issue in the country.

“Because I think everyone in this nation can agree that it should be harder for kids to die in school,” she said.

Still, Nelson said not every student at Wichita Northwest agrees that gun control is the answer. While she estimates about half favor tighter gun laws, she says another 20 percent oppose it.

Other schools see a split in the opposite direction. Connor Moore attends a rural high school where he said “build a wall” chants are common. Moore said the more right-leaning student body makes gun control less of an open subject than it is at Wichita Northwest.

“A lot of time when you want to talk about these kind of things you have to be very quiet,” Moore said.

But Moore said he, alongside other students, still plans on walking out on April 20. He also wants to make sure the gun debate receives national attention until lawmakers approve some form of gun control.

“They’ll say don’t worry, this is all going to fade away really soon, and I don’t want it to happen,” Moore said. “Who is going to stand up?”

Sage Goering, another sophomore at Wichita Northwest, said she is recruiting more students to join her for the April 20 walkout. She said that students have an important voice in the discussion of school shootings.

“We are the victims,” Goering said. “If we understand that there’s a problem then the adults should, too.”

Stephan Bisaha is an education reporter for the Kansas News Service. Follow him on Twitter @SteveBisaha.

Cloudy Saturday with chance of freezing drizzle, clearing late

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Today
Freezing drizzle likely before noon, then a slight chance of drizzle between noon and 3pm. Areas of freezing fog before 9am. Cloudy through mid morning, then gradual clearing, with a high near 38. Breezy, with an east wind 7 to 12 mph becoming northwest 17 to 22 mph in the afternoon. Winds could gust as high as 32 mph.

Tonight
Mostly clear, with a low around 20. West wind 6 to 15 mph.

Sunday
Mostly sunny, with a high near 50. West southwest wind 6 to 9 mph becoming south in the afternoon.

Sunday Night
Clear, with a low around 21. West northwest wind around 7 mph becoming south southwest after midnight.

Monday
Sunny, with a high near 61. Windy, with a south wind 7 to 17 mph increasing to 18 to 28 mph in the afternoon. Winds could gust as high as 38 mph.

Monday Night
Mostly clear, with a low around 32.

Tuesday
Sunny, with a high near 60.

Tuesday Night
Partly cloudy, with a low around 29.

Wednesday
Partly sunny, with a high near 50.

🎥 Wastewater treatment plant project ahead of schedule

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Concrete walls 22 feet high are being erected at the new aeration basin for the Hays wastewater treatment plant.

By BECKY KISER
Hays Post

Construction of the new Water Reclamation and Reuse Facility in Hays began June 1, 2017, and the work is now about 30 days ahead of schedule.

Date of final completion for the $28.4 million project is Sept. 15, 2019.

Eric Farrow, HDR field engineer at the wastewater treatment plant, presented a bi-monthly progress report to city commissioners this week.

“January was particularly cold in Hays and productivity falls due to the elements, but they have remained productive at the site by pouring concrete,” Farrow reported.

“The prize possession out there right now is the new aeration basin just due to sheer size,” Farrow said. “We’re looking at a single circular tank of 185 feet in diameter. The forms that are going in for the wall sections are about 22 feet high. So you take a 185 foot diameter and raise it 22 feet high, it’s pretty significant.

“We’re currently working our way counter-clockwise around the basin. Next week we’ll be pouring the seventh of 10 sections there. So within the next month, the basin will be closed up.”

Eric Farrow of HDR Engineering, the city’s Owner’s Representative for the wastewater treatment plant remodel.

According to Farrow, walls for the number one final clarifier are also going up and will be poured next week. There will be two final clarifiers downstream of the aeration basin.

The wastewater treatment plant,  1498 E. U.S. Highway 40 Bypass, must be overhauled to meet future nitrogen and phosphorus limits as required by the Kansas Department of Health and Environment and Environmental Protection Agency. The Design/Build team is Burns & McDonnell and CAS Constructors.

The public can watch the work via a live web camera installed by city workers on the northwest corner of the site looking to the southeast. The YouTube channel is available on the city’s website.

Hays, Lacrosse FHSU students showcase biomedical research

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FHSU University Relations

Twelve students from Fort Hays State University’s Department of Biological Sciences recently showcased their research at the annual Kansas IDeA Network of Biomedical Research Excellence in Overland Park.

Megan Dougherty, Wichita senior, earned a certificate for her research excellence and presentation.

Dougherty is a K-INBRE research scholarship recipient and an American Physiological Society Integrative Organismal Systems Physiology research fellow.

The Kansas IDeA (Institutional Development Awards) Network of Biomedical Research Excellence is led by the University of Kansas Medical Center. 10 campuses in Kansas and Oklahoma participate in the collaborative network.

Students are listed alphabetically with hometown and classification:

Oaklee Abernathy, Inman, is a graduate student.

Rashmi Acharya, Maharajgunj, Kathmandu, is a graduate student.

Riley Drees, Brookville, is a sophomore.

Kolin Klozenbucher, Lacrosse, is a graduate student.

Danica Kostner, Kingman, is a senior at Kingman High school and the Kansas Academy of Mathematics and Science.

Ericka Nevarez, Plains, is a senior.

Naomi Quispe, Englewood, Colo., is a senior.

Abigail Schmidtberger, Lawrence, is a senior.

Rebekah Spainhour, Sapulpa, Okla., is a graduate student.

Georgie Tauber, Wichita, is a senior.

Drew Zimmerman, Hays, is a graduate student.

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