Two hunters were dragging their dead deer back to their truck. Another hunter approached pulling his along too.
“Hey, I don’t want to tell you how to do something … but I can tell you that it’s much easier if you drag the deer in the other direction. Then the antlers won’t dig into the ground.”
After the third hunter left, the two decided to try it.
A little while later one hunter said to the other, “You know, that guy was right. This is a lot easier!”
“Yeah, but we’re getting farther from the truck,” the other added.
Developmental Services of Northwest Kansas will host its annual Awards Luncheon on Tuesday, October 23 at 12:00 p.m. The event will take place at the Ellis County Fairgrounds in Hays.
Awards will be presented to DSNWK employees for years of service with two receiving the Employee of the Year honors. Recognition will also be made for the achievements made by men and women in DSNWK services. These awards will be for employment and independent living accomplishments, with special awards giving for individual achievement.
DSNWK will also present awards to several community members for their support of people with developmental disabilities through opportunities in employment and other community support.
For more information contact Steve Keil, DSNWK Director of Development, at 785-625-5678.
SHAWNEE COUNTY — Law enforcement authorities are investigating a suspect on numerous charges after a high-speed chase.
Just before 10p.m. Monday, police observed a white Pontiac driving at a high rate of speed in the 1300 block of SW Gage in Topeka, according to Lt. Manuel Munoz.
The driver continued east on SW 10th and went into the westbound lanes almost striking two vehicles. Police attempted to stop the driver, but the driver failed to stop and initiated a pursuit. The pursuit terminated in the 1100 block of SW 4th when the driver struck a parked vehicle that then struck a home.
The driver of the vehicle was identified as Raymond Arthur Johnson, 55 of Topeka.
He was transported to a local hospital to be treated for injuries sustained in the accident. Officers also located illegal narcotics believed to be methamphetamines in the vehicle.
Johnson has previous convictions for aggravated burglary and drugs, according to the Kansas Department of Corrections.
A gala treat is in store for all who love to celebrate Halloween with music, theatre, parades, costumes and fun. And it’s all free and open to the public. The third annual Hays Symphony Orchestra Halloween party and concert for children will happen Sunday, Oct. 28, in and around the FHSU Beach/Schmidt Performing Arts Center.
The main attraction, which will begin at 3 p.m., is “The Firebird,” a ballet and orchestral composition by Igor Stravinsky, conducted by Shah Sadikov, assistant professor of music and theatre. Nationally recognized playwright Catherine Trieschmann has provided a children’s adaptation of the Russian folktales on which the ballet is based. Erin Renard directs the production and Alyssa Dechant serves as choreographer, with costumes by Sasha Hildebrand.
Brenda Meder, Hays Arts Council director, narrates the story, which is set in the dark forests of Russia. Prince Ivan fights the evil sorcerer Koschei, played by Everett Robert, with the help of the magical Firebird, danced by Brooke Raacke, to free the enchanted animals and princesses, played by area youth and adult actors and dancers.
Festivities will begin at 2 p.m. with family-fun activities including an instrument petting zoo, a Russian folktale story time, drumming circle, a Firebird mask craft, and a Halloween costume parade for all ages. Guests are encouraged to come early wearing their costumes.
Many sponsors have made this gala possible through their generosity, including grants and support from the Dane G. Hansen Community Grant Fund; the Heartland Community Foundation; the Hays Symphony Guild; The Hays Arts Council; Smoky Hills Public TV; the FHSU student chapter of the National Association for Music Education; Redeem Designs; and McDonald’s of Hays.
Also, special thanks to Keith and Sandra Gottschalk for providing the free trick-or-treat bags for the first 300 children.
You can reserve free tickets online through the new HSO website at hayssymphony.org or pick them up at the Hays Convention and Visitors Bureau or the Downtown Hays Development Corporation offices. The symphony is also selling Firebird T-shirts, available for advance order at its website.
Lisa Roberts, associate state director for marketing and product management for the Kansas Small Business Development Center, has earned the Certified Global Business Professional (CGBP) credential from NASBITE International.
Roberts recently completed the requirements of the nationally-recognized professional certification, and joins more than 2,000 people in 19 countries who have earned the CGBP credential.
The CGBP is accepted as a U.S. standard. Many countries seek employees trained to a U.S. standard, given the United States has a significant position in international trade.
“From the early years in my career as a UPS account executive to my most recent position in the SBDC as a content marketer and in the MBA program at Kansas Wesleyan University as an instructor, I have been fascinated by the numerous aspects of global trade,” said Roberts. “I am proud to further my knowledge and share this knowledge with others through the CGBP program and with it continuing education.”
In 2000, NASBITE International launched the CGBP to raise the level of practice in the field, provide professional development goals and showcase competency in the four CGBP domains: global business management, international marketing, supply chain management, and trade finance.
The CGBP is designed to meet the needs of global trade professionals in a wide range of industries and professions, as well as those working in trade education, trade assistance and promotion, trade facilitation, and those studying for a career related to global commerce.
Individuals interested in earning the CGBP may apply online and must successfully complete a written examination as part of the qualification process. The CGBP examination is offered online, using virtual live proctoring and is offered four times a year: March, June, September, and November, during specified dates. More information on the CGBP credential and exam can be found at www.nasbite.org.
About Kansas SBDC
The Kansas SBDC is a statewide advising, consulting, and training service for small businesses (typically less than 500 employees) funded by federal, state, and local partners. Funding allows the Kansas SBDC to provide advising and training (i.e. financial analysis, marketing, and management) to businesses across the state at low or no cost. Kansas SBDC is an accredited member of America’s SBDC, the most comprehensive small business assistance network in the United States.
To learn more, visit kansassbdc.net. For more information on the Kansas SBDC, contact Lisa Roberts, 785-296-6514 or [email protected].
USD 489 board members approved financing and a lease/purchase resolution for the ECC project Monday.
By BECKY KISER Hays Post
The Hays USD 489 school board voted Monday night in special session to move forward with financing and a lease-purchase resolution for the Oak Park Medical Complex.
The building at 2501 E. 13th would be renovated for the Early Childhood Connections and Head Start programs currently housed in the former Washington and Munjor schools.
Superintendent John Thissen said he was “pleased” with the four local bids.
“It was nice to get the bid The Bank of Hays has provided, which was 3.49 (percent). We were identifying the best way to handle it was semi-annual payments. But it’d be about $216,000 is what would be spent a year,” Thissen explained.
The total amount financed by the low bid would be $2,159,478.68 over 10 years.
The lease-purchase resolution must be published in the newspaper for two weeks and then allows for a 30-day protest period, which could lead to a public vote.
According to Thissen, the five owners in the medical complex have already signed contracts to lease the building.
Board members Greg Schwartz and Sophia Rose Young voted against the financing; Schwartz also voted against the lease-purchase resolution citing concerns about where the building purchase that would serve just 150 students fits into a long-range facilities plan.
The CNA Refresher course will be held Oct. 19 and 26. This two-day course is for CNAs whose Kansas certification status has become inactive. The class will be from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Students must attend both days to receive credit.
The CMA update course, also scheduled for Oct. 19 and 26 will be from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. This two-day course meets the biennial CMA continuing education requirement for CMAs. Students must attend both days to receive credit.
Both classes will be located in the Health Science Building on the NCK Tech campus.
For additional information, application process and cost, contact the campus at 785-625-2437.
Twenty-four hour advanced noticed is required for both classes.
Area business people and entrepreneurs will have two opportunities on Nov. 7 to participate in a leadership training workshop, “Leading Teams that Matter,” conducted by Pete Smith, an internationally-acclaimed guide and coach in the fields of leadership, management, personal growth and development.
Smith’s workshop is sponsored by Fort Hays State University’s Management Development Center, the Hays Area Chamber of Commerce, Sunflower Electric Power Corporation, and FHSU’s Society for Human Resource Management Student Chapter.
Before suffering a life-changing stroke in 2010, Smith worked in education, first as a history teacher and career counselor, then as a director of high school programs. After his stroke, he questioned the significance of his life and reinvented himself to use his experience to become a teacher and leader to help people focus on what is important and significant in their personal and professional lives.
The leadership training workshop will be offered first from 8 a.m. to 11 a.m. on Wednesday, Nov. 7, in the university’s Memorial Union and again that afternoon, from 2 to 5 p.m., also in Memorial Union.
Participants will learn how to position teams for a high level of performance year after year by developing a framework designed to attract the best people, develop a culture of choice and trust, be attentive to detail, and intentionally expand individual comfort zones.
Registration is available online through the Registration link in the sidebar of the page at www.fhsu.edu/mdc.
Registration is $119, but Hays Area Chamber of Commerce members qualify for a 15-percent discount. To receive the discount, or to learn more about this event or additional upcoming trainings, contact Hannah Hilker at 785-628-4121 or by email to [email protected].
The night before the workshops, Smith will deliver a free address in the union’s Fort Hays Ballroom.
The 11th annual “Let Your Voice Be Heard!” poster competition is now open in Fort Hays State University’s Memorial Union on the feature wall near Starbucks.
Forty-one posters created by students in the History of Graphic Design class were chosen for the competition.
The posters discuss themes of the American Democracy Project (voting, civic engagement, social issues, national and world issues, controversial issues).
Cast your vote for your three favorite posters through Friday. The winners will be revealed Monday, Oct. 22.
Martin HawverWe’re all waiting to see who grows up to be governor…and state treasurer and insurance commissioner, aren’t we?
Now, nearly everyone cares, or at least wants to know, whom their governor is, but state treasurer and insurance commissioner?
It’s largely because there is a handful of state senators who are in those races, and if they get elected, there’s going to be back-filling to do, to replace those senators with new senators who will get two years on the job before they stand for election.
Those fill-in senators will be selected by Republican and Democrat party officials—precinct committeemen and committeewomen—and if the right candidates win the governorship or state treasurer or insurance commissioner, they give up their Senate seats for better-paying fulltime jobs.
And relatively quietly, there are already some Republicans and Democrats who are chatting with those precinct committee officials to see whether they can take those Senate seats abandoned by the statewide office winners.
Take the governor’s race.
If Democrat Sens. Laura Kelly, of Topeka, and Lynn Rogers, of Wichita, are elected as governor and lieutenant governor, they will leave two Senate seats to be filled by their districts’ Kansas Democrat Party officials. The seats stay within the party, so Democrats will continue to have nine senators, just two new faces.
If Secretary of State Kris Kobach and his runningmate Wink Hartman are elected, well, they just get new jobs. Kobach abandoned his secretary of state office for the governor’s race.
If independent Greg Orman is elected governor, his lieutenant governor runningmate John Doll, who used to be a Republican, will leave his Senate seat for a replacement, presumably as Republicans which was what Doll was before dropping the party membership.
If Sen. Marci Francisco, D-Lawrence, is elected treasurer, there’s going to be a new face in the Senate for the next two years.
If Sen. Vicki Schmidt, R-Topeka, is elected insurance commissioner, the remaining two years of her four-year Senate term will be filled by those party officials.
Those replacements? For Democrats it probably isn’t going to shift votes on the Senate floor. Oh, and Democrat representatives are being quiet about their aspiration to the Senate. They need to be reelected first, and they all appear to have the common sense not to talk out loud about giving up the House seats they are campaigning for now. That wouldn’t sound good on the doorstep, would it?
It’s the insurance commissioner race where there is likely to be more political consequence. Republicans now have 30 Senate seats and depending on whether Sen. Richard Hilderbrand, R-Galena, who was appointed to the seat after now-State Treasurer Jake LaTurner left the chamber, wins over Democrat Bryan Hoffman, of Mulberry, the number will not change.
But…already there are some House members and political groupies quietly looking at the seat Schmidt will give up if elected. Nobody’s talking yet, but there are very conservative Republicans looking at taking Schmidt’s chair, and there are moderate Republicans looking, too.
Why the interest in the Schmidt seat? It’s because she is a moderate Republican who often votes with Democrats on tax, school finance and social issues.
That means, for Senate leadership purposes, she might just as well be a Democrat, and if she is gone and replaced with a conservative, well, it means that vetoes can be overridden, and that there is a solid conservative majority in the chamber. For the Senate’s conservative leadership, it doesn’t get much better than that. A majority to pass bills and a super-majority to knock down vetoes.
Nov. 6? The election will be important, but depending on the winners, it may get even more interesting…
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
RENO COUNTY— A Kansas man who entered a plea in a sexual battery and kidnapping case will face a preliminary hearing after he was allowed to withdraw his plea.
Pedraza
Victor Pedraza Jr., 21, will now face all of the original charges, including three counts of rape, kidnapping, arson, battery-domestic violence, possession of marijuana, possession of drug paraphernalia and criminal damage which were dismissed as part of a plea agreement.
On Monday, the state notified the court and the defendant that there will be no additional offers made in the case.
Pedraza is accused in the beating of a college student from Japan he had been dating off and on. He then set her passport and documents on fire. Police say the victim was tied to a bed and beaten, then forced into sex three times. The state originally entered the agreement so the victim would not have to return to the U.S. to testify. The state wanted to have the victim testify via Facebook from Japan to avoid the cost of flying her to Hutchinson, which could cost thousands of dollars
A preliminary hearing is scheduled for October 24.
HAYS, Kan. – The No. 14 ranked Fort Hays State men’s soccer team earned their second-consecutive MIAA Championship with a 1-0 golden-goal victory from the foot of sophomore Moritz Walther on a penalty kick in the first overtime period, downing No. 18 ranked Northeastern State on Monday (Oct. 15). The Tigers improved to 11-2-1 overall and 6-0 in conference play, while the RiverHawks dipped to 9-2-1 on the season and 2-2-1 in MIAA play. With the victory, the Tigers mathematically eliminated the other four MIAA programs from contention for the title with two conference matches yet to play.
In a match of two teams that sat among the top three for scoring offense in the nation, neither team was able to create many scoring opportunities in the first period. The first shot of the match came at the 12:38 mark, from NSU defender Ben Watson. The Tigers were able to create a few scoring chances with five corner kicks in the first 45 minutes of play.
Heading into intermission scoreless, the Tigers outshot the RiverHawks 6-1. Alonso Rodriguez led FHSU with two shot attempts at the break. The second half was much of the same, however, the Tigers held an 8-0 edge in shots. FHSU could not take advantage of those attempts with the stifling defense of Northeastern State. Not even 90 minutes would decide a winner between conference foes.
At the 92:22 mark in the first overtime period, RiverHawk defender James Doyle was awarded his second yellow card of the match after tackling Sergio Villalba in the box. Doyle was immediately ejected and the Tigers were awarded a penalty kick. Moritz Walther took the penalty kick and outdueled the NSU goalkeeper to the right of the net and won the match on a golden goal. This was Walther’s second score of the season.
Fort Hays State earned their second-consecutive MIAA title with the victory, with two conference games to spare. Fernando Pina earned the win in goal for the Tigers, improving his overall record to 5-0-1 on the season. Santiago Agudelo led the offensive side for the Tigers, with four shots in the match, including three on frame. Villalba, Walther and Rodriguez each took three shots in the contest. The Tigers outshot the RiverHawks 15-1 in the match.
The Tigers are back in action on Sunday (Oct. 21) as they travel north to Bismarck, N.D. to battle University of Mary for a non-conference tilt. Kickoff against the Marauders is slated for 3:30 p.m.
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Fort Hays State senior quarterback Jacob Mezera earned MIAA Co-Offensive Athlete of the Week honors on Monday (Oct. 15) for his efforts in the 50-21 win over Pittsburg State on Saturday.
Mezera was efficient on his nine pass completions against Pittsburg State, throwing for 231 yards and three touchdowns. He averaged 25.7 yards per pass. Mezera broke the FHSU career records for passing yards and passing touchdowns in the game, now with 7,083 yards and 56 touchdowns in his career. On the first play of the game, Mezera found Harley Hazlett for a 75-yard touchdown pass, giving FHSU a 7-0 lead just 13 seconds into the game. In the second quarter, he found tight end Matt Wendelberger for a 59-yard touchdown pass, pushing the Tigers into the lead for good at 19-14. It started a run of 31 unanswered points by the Tigers in the game. His third touchdown came on a 34-yard pass in the third quarter to Layne Bieberle, who outran his defender to catch the ball in the endzone and push the Tiger lead to 36-14.
Joining Mezera for Offensive Athlete of the Week honors is quarterback Braxton Marstall of Emporia State. Parker Bass, defensive lineman from Emporia State, earned the Defensive Athlete of the Week award, while defensive back D’Harius Brown of Lindenwood earned Special Teams Athlete of the Week honors.
Deer Hunting
