Listen to Mike Cooper interviewing Food Services Manager at HaysMed, John Fitzthum; by clicking the link above link and then clicking the play button
Month: March 2018
Osaghae Still Alive for Second Day of NCAA Championships
CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa – The Fort Hays State wrestling team competed at the NCAA Division II Championships on Friday (Mar. 9). No. 4 Efe Osaghae advanced to the second day of nationals and earned All-America status by becoming one of the final eight wrestlers still alive in the 149-pound weight class.
Osaghae defeated No. 11 Logan Grass of Mercyhurst with a 9-4 decision in the first round of the 149-pound weight class. He then suffered a 3-1 decision defeat to No. 1 James Pleski of St. Cloud State, making it his first loss against the top-ranked wrestler this season (3-1). Osaghae bounced back with a victory over Reis Humphrey in the second round of the consolation side with a 2-1 decision over the New Mexico Highlands wrestler.
Osaghae will now face Isaiah Kemper of McKendree beginning at 10 a.m. Saturday (Mar. 10) to begin the second day of competition at the NCAA Championships.
No. 12 Rakim Dean earned a first round victory over Matthew Rudy of Limestone with a 14-8 decision in the 197-pound weight class. He was then defeated by No. 3 Vince Dietz of St. Cloud State by major decision (13-1) in the quarterfinals. Dean ended his season on an 18-4 major decision loss to James Lehman of UW-Parkside in the second round of the consolation side.
No. 12 Brandon Ball will not repeat as an all-american after suffering back to back losses in the 141-pound weight class. Ball was defeated by No. 2 Nick Crume of Indianapolis by a 10-3 decision before falling to No. 10 Tyler Warner of Wheeling Jesuit by decision (6-3) in the first round of the consolation side.
Ryne Cokeley was defeated by No. 4 Ryan Stope of McKendree by decision (7-4) in the first round of the 157-pound weight class before falling to Eric Milks of UNC-Pembroke is a 7-2 decision in the first round of the consolation side.
Grasser Homers Twice, Tigers Fall to No. 7 Mules
HAYS, Kan. – Three home runs were not enough for the Fort Hays State baseball team against No. 7 Central Missouri, with the Mules taking game one of a three-game series Friday evening (March 9), 13-8. The Tigers dip to 9-9 on the year and 1-6 in MIAA play, while UCM is now 14-3 overall and 6-1 in league action.
Fort Hays State outhit the Mules, 13-11, but nine walks and three errors came back to doom the Tigers. The offensive outburst lasted all evening for both teams, as UCM scored in every inning but the eighth while the Tigers pushed across runs in five different frames. Fort Hays State had baserunners in all nine innings, while UCM was set down in order once.
The Tigers were playing from behind all afternoon thanks to an early home run from the Mules’ clean-up hitter, Collin Nevil. FHSU answered right back by manufacturing a run in the home half of the first, closing within 3-1. Addison Kaasch singled to lead things off and promptly swiped second before coming around to score after a pair of groundouts.
Fort Hays State closed within one in the bottom of the second inning with the help of two home runs. Ryan Grasser deposited a ball over the fence in center to lead things off before Cody Starkel crushed a line-drive home run to left two batters later, making the score 4-3.
Starkel picked up another extra-base knock in the fourth, leading off with a double into the gap in right center. Jason Nicholson immediately drove him in after he tripled to right past the diving Mule outfielder. The catcher came in to score on a throwing error later in the frame, helping the Tigers close within 7-5.
Fort Hays State put together a two-out rally to keep things interesting in the bottom of the sixth. Kaasch reached on an infield single after the third baseman couldn’t handle a wild hop before Clayton Basgall and Alex Weiss followed with singles to load the bases. Dayton Pomeroy came through with a big base knock, dropping in a double just inside the foul line in the left field corner to narrow the gap to three, 10-7.
Grasser collected another long ball in the ninth inning, sending a 2-1 pitch to deep center once again as the leadoff hitter in the frame.
Ben Ramberg (2-3) took the loss after allowing five runs on four hits and four walks in two-plus innings of work. Alex Ruxlow came on to strike out three in 2.2 innings of work, while Roger Kruse was the lone pitcher to retire the side in order all evening (top of the eighth).
Eight different Tigers collected a hit in the loss, including five players with two base knocks. Pomeroy and Grasser both drove in two runs, while Kaasch, Grasser and Starkel all crossed the plate twice.
The Tigers will look to even out the series on Saturday (March 10) when the teams go at it in game two. First pitch is set for 2 p.m. from Larks Park.
USD 489 kindergarten pre-enrollment forms due March 16
USD 489
A friendly reminder to all parents that USD 489 kindergarten pre-enrollment forms are due back to the district office, 323 West 12th St., by Friday, March 16.
Families can pick up a health packet in the office of the superintendent for their incoming kindergarten students when dropping off the pre-enrollment forms. Click on the link below to download the pre-enrollment form.
https://www.usd489.com/…/Kindergarten-Pre-enrollment-Form1-5…
Questions can be directed to Sarah Wasinger at 785-623-2400, ext. 112.
Tigers Open MIAA Play With 9-0 Loss to Central Oklahoma
EDMOND, Okla. – The Fort Hays State women’s tennis team took to the road to open up their 2018 MIAA schedule. The first match of the weekend resulted in a 9-0 loss at Central Oklahoma. With the loss, the Tigers drop to 5-3 overall with a 0-1 early mark in the conference.
In doubles play, the Bronchos went 3-0 over the Tigers with two 8-1 wins alongside an 8-2 win. Macy Moyers and Lauren Lindell dropped an 8-1 match to Ali Hodges and Paola Landin, while an 8-1 loss from Nicole Lubbers and Laura Jimenez-Lendinez to Sara Van Eeckhoudt and her partner Aliz Williams to fall behind 0-2. An 8-2 loss by Natalie Lubbers and Ellea Ediger to Kirtana Baht and Laetitia Charbonnet sealed the doubles for the Bronchos. In singles play, the Tigers continued to struggle as they were unable to close out the matches as the Bronchos earned wins in all six contests against Fort Hays State.
The Tigers continue their Oklahoma and MIAA road trip this Saturday as they travel to Tahlequah, Okla., for an 11 a.m. tilt against Northeastern State.
RiverHawks Blank Tigers Twice in MIAA Opening Doubleheader
TAHLEQUAH, Okla. – Fort Hays State opened MIAA play on Friday (Mar. 9) at Northeastern State. The RiverHawks shutout the Tigers twice by scores of 3-0 and 8-0. The Tigers are now 4-16 overall, 0-2 in the MIAA, while the RiverHawks improved to 10-8 overall, 2-0 in the MIAA.
Game 1: Northeastern State 3, Fort Hays State 0
The Tigers scratched out just three hits, each in separate innings, in a 3-0 loss to the RiverHawks. Terran Caldwell, Veronica Knittig, and Grace Philop all recorded singles and the Tigers had just one runner reach second base in the game.
The RiverHawks picked up single runs in the second, fifth, and sixth innings. Two of the runs were on RBI singles, while the other was on an RBI double. FHSU starter Hailey Chapman went the distance, allowing seven hits and four walks, while striking out five.
Northeastern State pitcher Gail Young threw a complete game, walking just one to go with the three hits allowed. She struck out three.
Game 2: Northeastern State 8, Fort Hays State 0
Northeastern State scored single runs in the first, second, and third innings, then erupted for five runs in the fourth taking advantage of a Tiger error to invoke the run rule through five innings.
Like the first game, the Tigers scratched out three hits, all in separate innings. Sara Breckbill recorded the only extra base hit on the day for the Tigers, a double in the second inning. She reached third base in that inning with one out, but a pair of groundouts ended the threat. Later in the game, Bailey Boxberger and Tess Gray recorded singles.
The Tigers had runners at second and third with one out in the fourth, but once again could not drive in any runs as the threat ended with a strikeout and groundout.
Sierra Rodriguez took the loss for FHSU, allowing three runs on four hits over 2.1 innings. Carrie Clarke allowed five unearned runs in an inning of relief. Hailey Chapman recorded the last two outs for FHSU.
Sydney Balderrama walked just one to go with the three hits allowed for NSU. She struck out four in the winning effort.
The Tigers head to Central Oklahoma for another conference doubleheader on Saturday (Mar. 10), starting at 12 pm.
Suspect in custody after bomb threat at Kan. high school
SUMNER COUNTY — Law enforcement authorities and USD 353 officials are investigating a suspect for a bomb threat.
On Friday afternoon, a bomb threat was received at Wellington High School, according to Superintendent, Dr. Mark Whitner.
Officials evacuated the building to a nearby church, according to Wellington Police. Students who drove to school were allowed to leave the area.
A police canine unit completed a sweep of the building. A suspect who confessed to the threat and is in custody, according to Dr. Whitner.
Police have not released the name of the suspect.
School will be in session as usual on Monday, according to Dr. Whitner.
🎥 PHELPS: Legislative Update Week 9
Sponsored by Glassman, Bird, Powell LLP — a full-service law firm serving Hays and Northwest Kansas.
You can also watch the weekly reports from Topeka on Eagle TV Channels 14 and 614.
🎥 ECTV Forum: Guy Windholz; Ellis County Court House Preservation Committee
Hays USD 489 board to vote on renewal of principal contracts
By CRISTINA JANNEY
Hays Post
The Hays school board is set to vote on building-level administrative contracts Monday.
Lincoln Elementary School Principal Elaine Rohleder has announced her retirement.
The board will hear a report on bids for a lighting project at Roosevelt Elementary School that would upgrade the lights at the school to LEDs. Staff has recommended a low bid from American Electric Co. of Salina for $42,541. It was the lowest bidder that met all of the specifications.
Superintendent John Thissen will give a presentation on Jobs for America’s Graduates-Kansas, which is also known as JAG-K. The nonprofit organization helps students overcome barriers in order to graduate high school and pursue successful career paths.
JAG-K is an in-school, elective class that is taught by a JAG-K career specialist. The career specialist teaches JAG-K students employability skills, career and leadership development skills and helps with academic remediation.
The board will discuss the proposed school calendar for the 2018-19 school year. The calendar has school starting for students on Wednesday, Aug. 15, and releasing for summer on Friday, May 17, 2019.
Shanna Dinkel, assistant superintendent, will provide the board with an update on the district’s accreditation process.
Now That’s Rural: John Jackson, international agricultural consultant
Huck Boyd National Institute for Rural Development
The plane is arriving. Here are the passengers. There are no hugs or handshakes for these passengers, because these air passengers are beef cattle being transported from the U.S. halfway around the globe to Abadan, Iran. The man who helped arrange this project is John M. Jackson, an international agricultural consultant based in Great Bend, Kansas.
John Jackson is the founder of Agricultural Management Group, Inc. (AMG) which specializes in agriculture and agribusiness, private enterprise development and resource management.
John grew up in Illinois and studied agriculture at Western Illinois University. There he met and married Sharon, his future business partner and wife.
One day on campus, John saw a booth for the Peace Corps. Recognizing the opportunity to experience another culture and to put their skills to good use, John and Sharon both decided to join. Six months later, they were on a plane to Iran to help a village that had been destroyed by an earthquake and had no water or electricity. John and Sharon helped the local people to rebuild. He also learned to speak Farsi, the language of Iran.
After two years in the Peace Corps, John and Sharon returned for a second two-year period. When Iran launched a major agricultural project, John was hired to join the team because of his knowledge of agriculture and Farsi. John helped develop a large-scale farm and bring in livestock.
“We brought the first beef cattle to Iran,” John said. “We brought in 450 head of Brahma and Brahma cross heifers and 15 bulls. They came in two stretch DC-8s.”
After that project, they returned to Illinois. In 1982, John joined the American Society of Agricultural Consultants (ASAC) whose members included both domestic and international consultants. Connections with ASAC led John to join a seed company for which he became district sales manager for central Kansas. He and Sharon relocated to the rural community of Great Bend, population 15,535 people. Now, that’s rural. While supporting John’s consulting projects, Sharon provided accounting services to international and local businesses, including agriculture and tribal enterprises in the western U.S.
In 1994, the seed company sent John to do market development in eastern Europe. He had responsibility for sales in Ukraine, Moldova and Romania. In 1995 when the project ended, he began consulting with other international clients and expanded AMG, with offices at the time in Moldova, Ukraine, and Great Bend.
In 1998, John was president of the American Society of Agricultural Consultants. He worked in the U.S. and overseas with such clients as Native American tribes, agribusinesses, U.S. Agency for International Development, World Bank, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, UN Development Program, and more.
John has also been involved with numerous projects involving Dr. Robert (Bob) Julian, agricultural administrator of K-State’s Food and Feed Grain Institute. One was the Cochran Fellowship Program under which agricultural specialists and administrators from emerging democracies around the world are brought to the U.S. for training. Through this program, John and his team helped bring several teams of international visitors to K-State.
“I’ve worked with people in 40-some countries and 40-some states, from Hawaii to Florida,” John said. At some periods of his career, he has been overseas for 90 percent of the year, often living in countries experiencing conflict. He remembered visiting Kiev, and reading 60 days later that 105 demonstrators were shot on the very streets where he had been walking, only a 20-minute walk from AMG’s office.
One famous advertisement states that the Peace Corps is looking for volunteers with “a good back, strong stomach, level head, and a big heart.” John fit that bill when he joined, as he does now. John has found that people around the world have much in common, especially as they become interested in technology to benefit their people.
For more information, go to www.amg-logistics.com.
It’s time to leave this plane which brought these cattle halfway around the globe. We commend John and Sharon Jackson, Dr. Bob Julian, and all those who are making a difference by enhancing agricultural technology around the world. I’m glad to see these enterprises take off.
Authorities locate missing Kansas inmate
RENO COUNTY — Law enforcement authorities are investigating after a Hutchinson Correction Facility Inmate was reported missing late Friday, according to a media release from the Kanas Department of Corrections.
Just after 10:30p.m. Friday, authorities reported inmate identified as 38-year-old Germaine Cordell Lewis, 5 ft. 7 inches, 182 pounds, black hair and brown eyes was missing at the correctional facility.
Just after 4:30a.m. Saturday, authorities reported they located Lewis within the secure perimeter of the Hutchinson Correctional Facility Central Unit.
Lewis has convictions for aggravated battery, aggravated indecent liberties with a child, theft, burglary, criminal theft, and attempted contraband: firearm. These convictions were from counties Wyandotte and Butler. He was due to be released on September 7, 2018.
Kansas Lawmakers Giving STAR Bonds, Economic Incentives, A Hard Look
By STEPHEN KORANDA
Kansas lawmakers, increasingly skeptical that tax breaks deliver economic wins, looked closely this week at economic incentive programs.
Senators on the Commerce Committee spent several days discussing bills that would add new requirements to sales tax revenue bonds, known as STAR bonds.
BRENT FLANDERS / FLICKR–CC
STAR bonds allow local governments to borrow money for a building project, and tax collections created by the development are diverted to pay off the loans.
The Topeka Capital-Journal reported last year that more than $500 million in tax revenue had been used to pay back the bonds since 2001.
One bill would create a panel to study the proposals, including the state’s return on the investment, before approving the projects.
The secretary of commerce currently approves STAR bonds. Republican Sen. Julia Lynn, who heads the Senate Commerce Committee, wants more oversight.
“To make a decision on whether to use millions of dollars in taxpayer funds to go to a development project,” Lynn said, “there’s just nothing in place.”
Another bill before senators would restrict the types of projects eligible for STAR bonds. It would allow tourist attractions but put new restrictions on retail developments. Some lawmakers have said shopping centers should be financed by private developers, not state incentives.
Olathe City Manager Michael Wilkes urged lawmakers not to block retail developments.
“From a practical application, (that) really kills your project,” he said. “Those kind of things are the only things that generate enough revenue that really make the project worthwhile.”
He said large stores such as Cabela’s or Nebraska Furniture Mart in Wyandotte County can be critical to an overall development package that works.
Johnson County resident Clint Anderson is a financial advisor with experience in commercial banking and real estate. He told senators that he’s opposed to projects, including a soccer stadium and training facility in Kansas City, Kansas, being subsidized with public bonds.
He said there’s no shortage of private funding available.
“If there’s a good idea that’s operationally and economically feasible, there’s capital for it,” Anderson said. “It shouldn’t be paid for by the taxpayers.”
Trey Cocking, deputy director of the Kansas League of Municipalities, said that won’t always be the case. He used the example of a project being developed in Atchison that would include an aviation museum and updates to the city farmer’s market.
“These aren’t projects that the private market’s going to do, because there are public components to these projects,” he said. “There are public goods to these projects.”
Amanda Stanley, general counsel for the municipal league, said it’s easy to look back at successful STAR bond projects and assume they would have attracted private investment. Bu she said that’s not a guarantee.
“At what point would it have developed? How long is the state willing to wait?” she asked. “There are sometimes projects that just need that push start.”
House members also dove into the issue of state tax incentives, advancing a bill Thursday that would make more information publicly available on local and state incentives, including STAR bonds.
It would require state officials to compile and publish information about tax incentives and whether each of the incentive programs is producing a positive return on investment.
Democratic Rep. John Carmichael said the bill will help lawmakers next session as they evaluate whether incentive programs need to be modified.
“We need to know how much these tax benefits are costing the state of Kansas,” he said. “Our constituents not only need to know it, they want to know it.”
Stephen Koranda is Statehouse reporter for KPR, a partner in the Kansas News Service. Follow him on Twitter @kprkoranda.