Ash Street in Hays will be closed from 8:40 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Thursday from 19th to 27th streets to allow Midwest Energy crews to install new power lines in the area.

During this time, local traffic only will be allowed to access adjoining side streets between 19th and 26th streets.

“The road closure is necessary to enable crews to safely change out damaged poles and wires, part of a months-long project to upgrade the system and improve reliability in the area. Power will be out in the area while crews perform the work, and affected residents have been notified by phone of the outage,” said Midwest spokesman Mike Morley. “Midwest Energy appreciates everyone’s patience as they work to get this project completed safely, and with minimal disruption to residents and area businesses.”

Diocese of Salina

SALINA — Pope Francis on Wednesday named Msgr. Gerald (Jerry) L. Vincke as new bishop of the Diocese of Salina.

The announcement was made official at noon Wednesday in Rome (5 a.m. Central time).

Bishop-elect Vincke, 53, presently is the pastor of Holy Family Parish in Grand Blanc, Mich. He succeeds Bishop Edward J. Weisenburger, who was named bishop of Tucson, Ariz. on Oct. 3, 2017.

Bishop-elect Vincke was ordained to the priesthood on June 12, 1999, at St. Mary Cathedral in Lansing, Mich. by Bishop Carl F. Mengeling. He was parochial vicar of St. Thomas the Apostle Parish in Ann Arbor, Mich., from 1999 to 2001. He became the director at Bethany House, a retreat house for youth, from 2001 to 2004. He attended the Creighton University for Spirituality courses in the summer of 2001. He also participated in the Institute for Priestly Formation Program at Creighton University for several summers. Additionally, he became the Director of Seminarians and Vocation Director in 2003, becoming full-time in those positions and relinquishing duties at Bethany House in 2004. He was the Spiritual Director at the Pontifical North American College in Rome from 2010 to 2015. While in Rome, he completed the requirements for the S.T.L. (License in Sacred Theology), with a focus on Spiritual Theology, in 2015. His Tesina is entitled: “Following the Path of St. John Vianney for the New Evangelization with Evangelii Guadium as a Guide.” In 2012, he was named a Monsignor by Pope Benedict XVI. In 2015, upon his return to the Diocese of Lansing, he was assigned as the pastor of Holy Family Parish in Grand Blanc, Mich. (a suburb of Flint, Mich.). Additionally, he currently serves on the Presbyteral Council, the Priest Assignment Committee, and the College of Consultors of the Diocese of Lansing, Mich.

Bishop-elect Vincke was born on July 9, 1964, in Saginaw, Mich., the ninth of 10 children of Henry and Fidelis Vincke. He attended New Lothrop High School and Ferris State University in Big Rapids, Mich., where he obtained a degree in public relations and marketing. He completed his Philosophy studies at St. Thomas More College in Crestview, Ky., and his Theology studies at Athenaeum Seminary in Cincinnati, Ohio and Sacred Heart Seminary in Detroit, Mich.

His father died in June of 2000, and his mother is in an assisted living facility in Chesaning, Mich. His family includes six brothers and three sisters­.

Ordination and installation plans are still pending. Seating will be limited. Information will be released as it becomes available.

“I am overjoyed with the news of the appointment of Bishop-elect Gerald L. Vincke to the Diocese of Salina. Bishop-elect Vincke will soon discover that he has been led to a vibrant Diocese with a strong and healthy presbyterate and a Catholic lay faithful strong in their commitment to Christ and His Church,” said Bishop Edward J. Weisenburger, Bishop of Tucson, Ariz., and 11th Bishop of the Salina Diocese. “My prayers are with him today, along with prayerful gratitude to God for sending the good people of Salina a loving and faithful new shepherd.”

“We offer to Pope Francis our love and gratitude. Certainly, the good people of Holy Family Parish in Grand Blanc, Michigan, will also miss their pastor since they recognize in him the very gifts which the Holy See finds will provide loving leadership to the Diocese of Salina. He is a fine priest, a man of deep faith in Jesus Christ, and a gentle soul. Our loss is most sincerely their gain,” said Bishop Earl Boyea, Bishop of Diocese of Lansing, Mich.

RUSH COUNTY — One person was injured in an accident just before 10a.m. Wednesday in Rush County.

The Kansas Highway Patrol reported a 2011 Ford truck driven by Teresa E. Copeland, Ness City, was eastbound on Kansas 96 five miles east of Timken.

The driver swerved to avoid a slower moving vehicle and went into the ditch.

Copeland was transported to Hays Medical Center. She was properly restrained at the time of the accident, according to the KHP.

FHSU University Relations

Two years ago, a team of three students from Fort Hays State University’s informatics digital media and journalism program shot, edited, tweeted, snapped and Facebooked their way to top honors at the 2016 National Association of Broadcasters Broadcast Education Association “War on the Floor” competition.

This year, another DM&J student made the cut to explore and report on the annual week-long convention, which regularly attracts more than 100,000 attendees from around the world.

Kadrae Smith, Derby senior and the 2017 KFHS radio station manager, promotions director, program manager and on-air host, assembled a body of work for the Kansas Association of Broadcasters annual student media competition. Five of his submissions took first place in the state contest, and one of his entries placed first in the national student media contest.

On his own initiative, Smith then applied for the multimedia journalism position and was accepted to join an exclusive team of four students from around the nation for the multimedia event.

Smith, recounting the experience, said, “I was nervous because I had never been to Las Vegas before, especially to attend one of the largest conventions in the world. However, I knew that I was ready for this position.”

“I learned so much from this experience,” Smith said. “I have never felt more alive than when I was working this event. It put everything into perspective, and I also made lifelong connections with my fellow MMJs and other attendees from the conference.”

Videos of Smith’s experience can be found at:
•        https://youtu.be/JcwLtsQj82w
•        https://youtu.be/r1e47a-H14s
•        https://youtu.be/r-HlP6GYq9A

“Being thrown into the deep end gave me the experience needed to effectively tell stories,” Smith said. “I am now able to edit on my phone like a pro and don’t need to buy expensive equipment and software because I have it all at my fingertips. Literally.”

Ron Rohlf, assistant professor of informatics and coordinator of the state and national contest submission process said, “2016-2017 was another banner year for FHSU’s digital media and journalism students. The dedication and hard work really paid off this year.”

“It is a pleasure to work with all of our students,” said Rohlf.

“The opportunity to network with the industry leaders at NAB/BEA and to see upcoming technology is an incredible experience that we remain committed to providing for our students,” said Dr. Melissa Hunsicker Walburn, chair of the Department of Informatics.

“We are especially fortunate to be able to support the entry fees and travel for these initiatives because of donor support,” she said. “By removing those cost barriers for students, more students are able to capitalize on these valuable and differentiating experiences.”

Smith’s NAB/BEA participation was sponsored in part by the Leo and Dorothy Lake Fund of Excellence.

By CRISTINA JANNEY
Hays Post

Sean Conroy of Hays will have a book signing for his book, “Through the Eyes of a Young Physician Assistant” Friday at the Hays Public Library during the Summer Art Walk.

Conroy, a native of McCook, Neb., works at Decatur Health in Oberlin in primary medicine and emergency care. However, the book chronicles his year of rotations for Union College (Nebraska) as a physician assistant.

When Conroy began working on the book, there was nothing on the work of physician assistants except academic texts.

Physician assistants can do anything a doctor can do except surgery, including prescribing medication.

Conroy’s mother is a nurse and he was first inspired to consider being a PA when he was 17 and met a young PA in his hometown. He considered becoming a doctor, but after his first son was born, he decided he would rather spend less time in school and went back to his original plan to be a PA.

“I can still get out there at the patient’s bedside and do all the things I want to do and have a rewarding career,” he said.

In writing his book, he said he wanted his readers to see a behind-the-scenes glimpse of the life and work of a physician assistant.

“Everyone walks into the doctor’s office to see a physician assistant or MP — all providers — we try to put on our nice little face even if we are having a stressful day. We try to make sure the patient doesn’t see that and they get good quality care, but some times behind the scenes there are these crazy, hilarious or heartwarming or sometimes just tragic things that do happen.

“Even if you have a code go south, which sometimes I do, you have to walk out of the emergency room. You talk to the family. You tell them everything you can. You ask if they have any more questions. When you are done talking, you have to walk out to the next patient and put on that same face, ‘I am here to help you. What is going on today? How long has it been going on?'”

He said the stories are told from someone who was a blank slate and was walking into medicine for the first time.

Conroy said he was particularly inspired by a veteran he worked with in Grand Island, Neb., who was receiving hospice care for pancreatic cancer.

He lived in Omaha, but was sent to Grand Island for hospice care because no beds were available in Omaha. In his dying days, he was separated from his daughter, granddaughter and all his friends who he had worked with at the zoo in Omaha.

“He was so stoic and strong and almost inspirational as he was facing death,” Conroy said. “Since there wasn’t much to do except review his medications, they let me go down there and follow him for the last two weeks I was there. I really got to know him and see how strong he was facing death. He was just an inspirational patient.”

He told the story of the man over and over, and his wife encouraged him to write the story down.

“I got the notion that maybe I should write down all of the heartwarming or hilarious stories from my PA rotations and make a book compiled of all of them,” he said. “Little by little with starts and stops, that is what I did.”

The book is written in plain English in laymen’s terms, so it is accessible to readers who do not have medical backgrounds.

However, Conroy has heard from a number of PA programs and pre-med students who said they have read the book as a means to better understand the career they are pursuing.

Conroy began writing in 2012, and the book was published in 2016. Conroy had no formal training as a writer. However, during high school he was a part of an afterschool program for young authors called Write to Publish. The students wrote short stories and critiqued each other.

Since the publication of his book, he has been contacted by several physician assistant websites and written articles for them. He also has started a second book that delves more into his personal life.

“Through the Eyes of a Young Physician Assistant” can be purchased at the book signing for $15 including tax. The HPL also has a couple of copies in its collection for check out.

Leon and Janet Frank donated their tower, located five and a half miles north of Hays, to Divine Mercy Radio. The paperwork to make this transaction official was completed June 7.

Leon Frank was an original board member of Divine Mercy Radio and helped to build the station, quite inexpensively in 2010. He is an entrepreneur, patented inventor and successful businessman. Leon said that God has been good to him and Janet with successful business ventures, and he wanted to give back.

“Janet and I want to scale back,” Leon said. “We’re slowing down, and this is just one of those feel-good things.”

The 320-foot, self-supporting tower was constructed in 1963 was formerly a Southwestern Bell tower. Leon said it was part of the civil defense plan for the United States government in the early ‘60s to work with Southwestern Bell in building these strong towers. With the age of computers, the Internet and cellphones, these towers were no longer needed. In 1997, Southwestern Bell contacted Cyril Schmidt since the tower was located on his land, and they gave it to him. He then contacted Leon who purchased the tower and land from Schmidt.

Earlier this year, Divine Mercy Radio had the tower inspected, and there were a few improvements that the inspector suggested be made. Shortly after this inspection, Divine Mercy Radio was offered a grant from the Eternal Word Television Network who had some funding to help rural Catholic radio stations with improvements. Divine Mercy Radio was awarded $15,000 from EWTN to make the needed improvements to the tower and the building that houses the equipment.

“Everything fell into place,”said Donetta Robben, executive director of Divine Mercy Radio. “From the donation of the tower, to the inspection and the grant. As many times as it has happened, God continues to amaze me through the generosity of other people.

“We will forever be grateful for all Leon has done for this station, and his and Janet’s generous gift of this tower.”

Leon and Janet Frank are members of Saint Nicholas of Myra parish in Hays.

— Submitted