FHSU University Relations

Wilmer and Lorena Kellogg, Hays, and the Elizabeth Colt Legacy Foundation presented the Fort Hays State University Shotgun Team with a total of $2,500 recently in a ceremony at the Hays Sportsmen’s Club, 5810 230th Ave.

“The Kelloggs have been huge supporters of the FHSU Shotgun Team for many years and have been instrumental in spreading the word about our team,” said Dr. Duane Shepherd, associate professor of health and human performance at FHSU and the team’s sponsor.

The Kelloggs presented the club with a personal check for $1,000 and another for $1,500 from the Elizabeth Colt Legacy Foundation.

“As members of the Colt Collectors organization and Elizabeth Colt Legacy Foundation, they have promoted the Shotgun Team and helped secure donations, published articles, and made generous donations to the team,” said Shepherd.

The Hays Police Department responded to 7 animal calls and conducted 15 traffic stops Fri., Oct. 26, 2018, according to the HPD Activity Log.

False/Altered ID–100 block W 7th St, Hays; 12:53 AM
Suspicious Person–2700 block Vine St, Hays; 7:57 AM
MV Accident-City Street/Alley–700 block E 13th St, Hays; 9:56 AM
MV Accident-Co Road/St Hwy–U-183 and U-183 Alternate Hwy, Hays; 10:18 AM
Criminal Damage to Property–3400 block Vine St, Hays; 10/15 12 PM; 10/26 11:59 AM
Drug Offenses–3700 block Summer Ln, Hays; 12:02 PM; 4:32 PM
MV Accident-City Street/Alley–2800 block Vine St, Hays; 12:52 PM
Animal At Large–200 block W 36th St, Hays; 2:15 PM
Animal At Large–1500 block US 183 Alt Hwy, Hays; 2:46:PM
MV Accident-City Street/Alley–2900 block Vine St, Hays; 3:31 PM
Animal At Large–1300 block Douglas Dr, Hays; 4:29 PM
MV Accident-City Street/Alley–4000 block Vine St, Hays; 5:19 PM
Shoplifting–1000 block Main St, Hays; 10/21 3:37 PM; 10/21 3:53 PM
Warrant Service (Fail to Appear)–100 block W 12th St, Hays; 6:38 PM
MV Accident-Personal Injury–2100 block Vine, Hays; 7:05 PM
Found/Lost Property–2100 block Elm St, Hays; 7:16 PM
Missing Person–400 block Milner St, Hays; 7:29 PM
Warrant Service (Fail to Appear)–100 block W 12th St, Hays; 9/21 5 PM
Warrant Service (Fail to Appear)–100 block W 12th St, Hays; 8:18 PM
Welfare Check–500 block E 20th St, Hays; 9:24 PM
Disturbance – Noise–2100 block E 21st St, Hays; 9:59 PM
Driving Under the Influence–300 block W 7th St, Hays; 11:55 PM

The Hays Police Department responded to 7 animal calls and conducted 31 traffic stops Sat., Oct. 27, 2018, according to the HPD Activity Log.

Disturbance – Noise–500 block Halladay St, Hays; 12:03 AM
Suspicious Activity–2000 block Canal St, Hays; 2:25 AM
Drug Offenses/DUI–11th and Walnut, Hays; 2:35 AM
Driving Under the Influence–6th and Walnut, Hays; 2:45 AM
Bicycle – Lost,Found,Stolen–100 block Main St, Hays; 8:20 AM
Found/Lost Property–3500 block Summer Ln, Hays; 10/26 10 PM; 10/27 8 AM
Suspicious Person–100 block W 13th St, Hays; 10/26 2 PM; 2:10 PM
Suspicious Person–2700 block Vine St, Hays; 10/26 5 PM; 5:30 PM
Animal At Large–1000 block E 8th St, Hays; 12 PM
Animal At Large–3000 block E 14th St, Hays; 12:43 PM
MV Accident-City Street/Alley–900 block W 43rd St, Hays; 1:40 PM; 1:50 PM
MV Accident-City Street/Alley–100 block Ash St, Hays; 2:10 PM
Civil Dispute–100 block E 15th St, Hays; 2:42 PM
Intoxicated Subject–1200 block Main St, Hays; 2:53 PM
MV Accident-Private Property–2700 block Vine St, Hays; 3:08 PM
Welfare Check–500 block E 17th St, Hays; 5:28 PM
Found/Lost Property–1200 block E 27th St, Hays; 6:38 PM
Welfare Check–100 block W 12th St, Hays; 7:18 PM
Warrant Service (Fail to Appear)–400 block Riley St, Hays; 8:21 PM
Liquor Offense, sell, furnish, transport–200 block W 7th St, Hays; 8:59 PM
Found/Lost Property–4th and Elm, Hays; 11:04 PM
Driving Under the Influence–400 block E 9th St, Hays; 11:51 PM

The Hays Police Department responded to 7 animal calls and conducted 16 traffic stops Sun., Oct. 28, 2018, according to the HPD Activity Log.

Driving Under the Influence–100 block W 8th St, Hays; 12:08 AM
Underage Possession of CMB/LIQ–6th and Walnut, Hays; 12:20 AM
Liquor Offense, sell, furnish, transport–6th and Halladay, Hays; 12:21 AM
Disorderly Conduct–7th and Elm, Hays; 12:30 AM
Driving Under the Influence–200 block W 14th St, Hays; 1:39 AM
Battery – simple–500 block W 7th St, Hays; 1:56 AM
Found/Lost Property–5th and Ash St., Hays; 2:33 AM
Assault–700 block Walnut St, Hays; 2:58 AM
Unwanted Person–2800 block Vine St, Hays; 6:55 AM
Abandoned Vehicle–2700 block Sherman Ave, Hays; 9:08 AM
Found/Lost Property–100 block W 24th St, Hays; 10:25 AM
Found/Lost Property–1000 block Elm St, Hays; 10/27 11:30 AM; 10/28 11:08 AM
MV Accident-Co Road/St Hwy–1300 block Vine St, Hays; 12:22 PM
Found/Lost Property–100 block W 12th St, Hays; 1:30 PM; 1:35 PM
Animal Injured–1300 block MacArthur Rd, Hays; 1:58 PM
Welfare Check–500 block Pine St, Hays; 6:05 PM
Theft of Services–1600 block E 27th St, Hays; 7:22 PM
Theft of Vehicle–2300 block Oak St, Hays; 2:30 PM; 7:30 PM
Prowler–600 block E 6th St, Hays; 10:01 PM
MV Accident-Personal Injury–3300 block Vine St, Hays; 11:12 AM

The Hays Police Department responded to 7 animal calls and conducted 23 traffic stops Mon., Oct. 29, 2018, according to the HPD Activity Log.

Shoplifting–300 block W 8th St, Hays; 7:30 AM; 7:49 AM
Warrant Service (Fail to Appear)–1000 block E 15th St, Hays; 9:12 AM
Abandoned Vehicle–2400 block Pine St, Hays; 9:47 AM
Civil Dispute–1300 block Agnes Dr, Hays; 10/27 12:26 PM; 12:30 PM
Burglary/residence–2700 block Canal Blvd, Hays; 10/21 10:42 AM; 10:44 AM
NCIC Hit–1600 block E 41st St, Hays; 11:08 AM
MV Accident-City Street/Alley–1200 block Main St, Hays; 12:51 PM
Animal At Large–1700 block Sunset Trl, Hays; 12:59 PM
MV Accident-Private Property–2200 block Canterbury Dr, Hays; 1:56 PM; 1:58 PM
Found/Lost Property–100 block Lewis Dr, Hays; 2:25 PM
Animal Bite Investigation–1400 block E 29th St, Hays; 3:02 PM
Warrant Service (Fail to Appear)–2700 block Colonial St, Hays; 4:53 PM
Suspicious Activity–500 block E 16th St, Hays; 6 PM

The Hays Police Department responded to 8 animal calls and conducted 37 traffic stops Tue., Oct. 30, 2018, according to the HPD Activity Log.

Suspicious Activity–2800 block Vine St, Hays; 12:54 AM
Suspicious Activity–2500 block Vine St, Hays; 4:13 AM
Criminal Damage to Property–1600 block E 22nd St, Hays; 3 AM; 4 AM
Overdose–1000 block E 15th St, Hays; 5:20 AM
Criminal Damage to Property–1300 block W 27th St, Hays; 10/29 10 PM; 10/30 8 AM
Animal At Large–700 block E 6th St, Hays; 11:57 AM
Phone/Mail Scam–100 block E 27th St, Hays; 12:08 PM; 12:18 PM
Animal At Large–1200 block Vine St, Hays; 12:47 PM
Phone/Mail Scam–800 block Moscow St, Munjor; 1:49 PM
Animal At Large–1400 block US 183 Alt Hwy, Hays; 2 PM
Harassment (All Other)–3000 block Indian Trl, Hays; 2:18 PM
Violation of Restraining Order/PFA–1000 block W 28th St, Hays; 4:22 PM
Lost Animals ONLY–400 block W 20th St, Hays; 6:26 PM
Animal At Large–2900 block Broadway Ave, Hays; 6:46 PM
Traffic/Driving Complaint–200 block W 8th St, Hays; 8:05 PM
Intoxicated Subject–400 block W 5th St, Hays; 8:08 PM

FHSU University Relations

The 12th edition of Kansas Speaks, the annual poll addressing issues of importance to Kansans, is out and once again finds that a majority of Kansans think the state is a “very good” or “excellent” place to live.

The 2018 survey, conducted by Fort Hays State University’s Docking Institute of Public Affairs, interviewed 494 Kansans by phone (land-line and cell). The survey has a 4.4-percent margin of error. The poll asked questions in four areas: quality of life in Kansas, taxes and the economy, government and politicians, and public policy issues.

On the direct question of quality of life in Kansas, 55 percent of respondents rated Kansas as “very good” or “excellent”; 4 percent said “poor” or “very poor.”

One area of particular interest this year is the governor’s race. Respondents were asked, “Who do you plan on voting for governor in 2018?” Responses were consistent with national polls. More than a third of respondents reported that they would vote for Laura Kelly (40 percent) or for Kris Kobach (36 percent). Ten percent reported that they would vote for independent Greg Orman. Asked for positive or negative ratings on Kobach and Kelly, 55 percent rated Kelly positively and 37 percent rated Kobach positively.

Fifteen percent of respondents said the state economy was “very good” or “excellent” while 11 percent said it was “poor” or “very poor.” On the economy’s performance in the last year, 38 percent said it had improved, 45 percent said it stayed the same, and 17 percent said it worsened.

Positive feelings outweighed negative on the right track-wrong track question, with 58 percent saying Kansas is on the “right track” and 42 percent saying “wrong track.”

The full report can be found here: https://www.fhsu.edu/docking/Kansas-Speaks/.

A sampling of other questions of interest to Kansans:
•        52 percent of respondents “strongly support” or “somewhat support” legalizing recreational marijuana for individuals 21 and older to allow taxation by the state, with 39 percent “somewhat” or “strongly” opposed.
•        30 percent were satisfied with the state’s actions in 2017 to increase state revenue through income tax increases, while 41 percent were unsatisfied. People with higher education showed higher levels of satisfaction.
•        Respondents were asked to rate President Donald Trump on seven different areas. He received a high rating on the economy and national security but a low rating on “sharing my values,” “trustworthiness,” and “international diplomacy.”
•        51 percent were at least “somewhat uncomfortable” with the reported relationships between President Trump and the Russian government or Vladimir Putin. Republicans and men were more likely to feel comfortable.
•        45 percent supported Brett Kavanaugh’s nomination for the Supreme Court, 33 percent opposed, and 22 percent were neutral. The support level was higher among Republicans and men.
•        28 percent supported repealing the Affordable Care Act even if it is not replaced, 35 percent supported the repeal only if replaced, and another 37 percent opposed repealing. Democrats and women were more likely to oppose repeal.

Hays Post 

The First United Methodist Church will have its annual Peddlers’ Fair from 9 am. to 1:30 p.m. Saturday at the church at Seventh and Ash streets.

Admission is free.

Lunch will be served from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. The suggested donation is $8 for adults and $3 for children 10 and younger. The meal will include chili or vegetable soup, pie, relishes and a beverage.

Lunch tickets are available at the door or call 785-625-3408.

The event will include a hospitality area, Peddlers’ Pack, silent auction and quilt drawing. The Peddlers’ Pack includes pre-owned items.

Shops include pastry, fall, christmas, jewelry (pre-owned and homemade), nuts and cutlery, frozen, casseroles and bierocks, and the nimble thimble, which includes handmade items.

By JONATHAN ZWEYGARDT
Hays Post

A desire to continue serving the Hays community and Ellis County is the driving force behind Barb Wasinger’s campaign for the 111th Kansas House District seat.

Wasinger, R-Hays, has been a member the Care Council, the Parish Council, volunteered for 10 years at Holy Family Elementary, served on the Hays City Commission for two terms and is currently serving her second term on the Ellis County Commission.

“I’ve been active in the community for a long time,” Wasinger said. “I love Ellis County, I love Kansas. It’s not my native home, but it is home, and I have raised four children here. From the start, it’s always been important for me to give back to the community, and the political life is just an extension of that service I started a long time ago.”

Wasinger believes her years working in city and local government can transfer to the state level.

“Being a city commissioner gave me great insight into how a city works, into urban government, and moving to the county (commission) … gave me a better view of rural needs and the importance of what’s going on in our rural communities,” Wasinger said.

Wasinger has served as the rural representative on the Kansas Association of Counties board for the past year.

“The joy of being able to do both has given me a good handle on both areas but also gives me a fresh look at what the state government would need,” Wasinger said.

Transportation
Wasinger said finding a way to stop taking money from the Kansas Department of Transportation and the Kansas Public Employee Retirement System would be two of her priorities if she were elected.

“I want to stop taking money from KDOT and not funding KPERS properly and, while it’s clearly going to take a long time, I’d like to start the process of repaying KPERS and stop the draining of KDOT,” Wasinger said.

She said a recent stop in Hays by the Transportation Vision Task Force laid out issues facing the roads in Kansas, especially in Ellis County.

“You heard testimony after testimony of roads that are too narrow for vehicles that are driving on them now,” Wasinger said.

Wasinger also pointed to the proposed bypass on 230th Avenue northwest of Hays as a project that needs funding to be completed.

“Ellis County needs that bypass. We have a grant from KDOT, but it was tied to the building of the truck stop which stalled, so we can’t even use that grant and can’t even start planning for that bypass around (Highway) 183 without regulation change,” Wasinger said.

She said it’s also key the government funds KDOT to help update the state’s infrastructure because there are places that have not seen needed improvements in decades.

KPERS
Wasinger said she has also talked with several state employees who are concerned about their retirement and if there will be any money left in the KPERS system.

With the current state of the budget in Kansas and the anticipated increases needed for funding public schools, KDOT, the Kansas Department of Corrections and others, Wasinger said she would be in favor of keeping taxes level and then begin looking for places that can become more efficient.

“I know that more oversight has to be done on just about anything,” Wasinger said. “We have to figure out how to make everything more efficient.”

She said one way to improve government efficiency is to approach government with a business background.

“Understanding the realities of what government can’t do that a business can do,” Wasinger said. “I think that if you look at things with a business eye, you can adapt a lot of practices that make sense.”

School funding
When it comes to school funding, Wasinger said the claims she is against funding schools adequately or paying teaches is not true.

“It’s not just money being thrown at kids that make the education system better,” Wasinger said. “A lot of funding has gone to schools, but it’s not necessarily going to students and teachers, teachers’ salaries.”

She said after the recent increase in school funding, the Shawnee Mission School District raised the administrators’ salaries by 13 percent. The Russell school district built a sport complex. She said these are examples of money spent on schools that are not going to benefit test scores and outcomes and teachers’ salaries.

“You can’t keep doing the same thing and expect a different result,” Wasinger said.

She said there is a lack of accountability in school education funding. She said while some schools are spending funds on the students, other districts are not.

“Teachers need the money, and we need to be concentrating on our students,” Wasinger said.

Health care
While there is a renewed call for Medicaid expansion, Wasinger said any expansion has to be delayed until the problems with KanCare are solved. The sate of Kansas manages Medicaid through a privatized system called KanCare.

“One thing I’ve heard door-to-door is how many people have trouble with the system the way it is now, and we have to get that fixed before we start adding people to a broken system,” Wasinger said.

She is also concerned about the possibility that the federal government will begin to roll back the amount of money they are giving the states to fund the expansion.

“Patients need to come first. They need to be able to choose their own doctors. They need to be able to choose their own insurance, and there needs to be a work requirement tied to any kind of expansion,” Wasinger said.

By CRISTINA JANNEY
Hays Post

Eber Phelps said he wants to continue to improve the collaboration he saw in the 2017-18 Kansas legislative session.

Democratic candidate for the 111th District House seat, Phelps, 67 of Hays, is in his 18th year in the Kansas House. He also spent time as a Hays city commissioner and retired a year ago from Glassman Corp.

He was elected to 16-consecutive years in the Legislature, but lost an election 2012 before successfully earning re-election in 2016.

“In those four years that I was out of the Legislature, I was pretty concerned about what was happening with funding for K-12 education and the cuts to higher ed and other programs and also not really implementing the comprehensive transportation plan,” Phelps said.

When he saw the Legislature passing unbalanced budgets to the governor, he said he knew important programs were going to have more cuts and he needed to run again.

Budget and taxes
He cited maintaining a balanced budget as the No. 1 priority if he is re-elected to the Kansas House.

He said he thought in order to do that the state should not embark on deep tax cuts at this time.

He said the state is still in recovery from the failed Brownback tax experiment that took too much from the state’s traditional three-legged stool — property tax, sales tax and income tax.

“Our decision in 2017 to roll back the governor’s tax plan allowed us to get on some good financial footing, but we still have work to do,” Phelps said. “We still have not restored the cuts to higher education.”

In 1997, Phelps co-sponsored a bill that would decrease sales tax on food. He said he supports Democratic candidate for governor Laura Kelly’s plan to do that if she is elected.

“I have always been in favor of addressing property tax, but, at the moment, we have the opportunity to do something with the tax that really affects every one of us — no matter what age you are or what part of the state you live in — and that is to address our really exorbitant sales tax that we have on food.”

Phelps also said the state needs to pay down debt and build back a reserve.

Education
Phelps feels a passion for education. He served on the House Education Committee for 14 years.

“I have very strong feeling about the importance of education for the growth of our state,” he said. “I know Gov. Brownback was well-intentioned with his tax plan, but industries or businesses that are moving to our state, they are not looking at what the income tax rates are. They are wanting to know if they are going to get an educated workforce.

“The emphasis that we put on K-12 and higher education, that is what is going to be what makes our state grow.”

Teacher pay in Kansas was as low as 42nd in the nation. It is up to 40th in the nation; however, Phelps said the state needs to do better.

“We have fallen below so many other states, it is a fact we have people dropping out of teacher education programs because they are looking at what they are going to make and saying, ‘I don’t know if I can survive on that.’ On the other hand, some of them go through, get their teaching credentials and teach a couple of years in Kansas, and then they are being recruited by other states.”

Health care
Phelps has also been a long-time champion for Medicaid expansion. He voted for a bill to expand Medicaid in 2017, but that was vetoed by Brownback.

“If you really care about rural Kansas, this is a key thing that needs to be adopted,” he said.

The Fort Scott hospital recently announced it will be closing. There are 26 other critical access hospitals in the state that are in financial peril.

“From an economic development stand point, those were some very solid jobs that just got lost in that community,” Phelps said.

He added, “Medicaid expansion could really be a benefit and a real boost to not only those hospitals but the communities that they serve. I think that is one of the first things the Legislature needs to take up and that is to pass that Medicaid expansion bill.”

Water
Phelps said he continues to consider the R9 Ranch project important to Hays. He was on the Hays City Commission when the city of Hays purchased the water rights. He said throughout his time in the Legislature he has tried to inform area legislators of the importance of the project to the regional water supply.

SEDGWICK COUNTY —A man arrested in Northwest Kansas in May for  shooting of a Menards employee in Wichita is scheduled for sentencing Friday, according to the Sedgwick County District attorney’s office.

Dominic Williamson, 19, was arrested  in connection with shooting  a store loss prevention officer at Menards in the 3600 Block of North Maize Road in Wichita.

The store loss prevention officer observed Williamson and a woman exit the business carrying a home surveillance system they had not paid for. The employee contacted the suspects outside the business and the man brandished a handgun and fired one shot striking the employee in the abdomen and fled the scene in a Black Mercedes Wagon with a Montana license plates.

The following day officers investigated a traffic complaint of an erratic driver of a gray Nissan car on Interstate 70 at the U.S. 183 Bypass.

Deputies attempted a traffic stop at which time the driver, who was later identified as 18-year-old Dominic Joseph Williamson, fled.

Officers deployed stop sticks, deflating three tires, but Williamson continued to flee westbound on Interstate 70.

The pursuit finally ended in Trego County just east of Collyer when Williamson lost control of the vehicle after a tactical vehicle intervention.

The suspect’s vehicle entered the north ditch and rolled several times before coming to rest on its top.

Williamson was arrested without further incident.

He was evaluated by medical staff and later booked into the Ellis County Detention Facility.

Williamson was charged with possession of a stolen vehicle, fleeing and eluding, possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine, possession of marijuana and numerous traffic violations in addition to the  charges in Sedgwick County.

The 17-year-old female suspect in the shooting was taken into custody in Derby after a high-speed police chase.

Kids Voting once will again be set up Tuesday, Nov. 6., at the seven polling sites in Hays.

Students K-12 can go with their parents to the voting polls and vote through the Kids Voting Program.

All students that vote will receive an “I voted” sticker and a coupon for a free meal from McDonald’s.

Kids Voting polls will be open from 7 to 8 a.m. and 3 to 7 p.m. Votes will be tallied by Hays High School government students, and results will be published.

— Submitted

RUSSELL MAIN STREET

RUSSELL – Russell Main Street, Inc. is seeking nominations for the annual family of the year event, formerly organized by Post Rock Family Services. Selection of the family will be made from an evaluation conducted by the Board of Directors of Russell Main Street, Inc.

The honored family will be chosen based on their strong family values, appreciation and affection for each other, commitment to each other, positive communication, and contribution to the Russell community.

Russell Main Street, Inc. invites the community to participate by nominating families who possess the above qualities. Persons wanting to nominate a family should submit, in writing, their nomination with the family’s name, address, and phone number to Russell Main Street, Inc. 207 E. 8th Street, Russell, KS 67665 or submit by e-mailing [email protected].

Deadline for nominations is Friday, November 9, 2018.

Those not eligible for nomination are members of the Russell Main Street, Inc. Board of Directors or employees of Russell Main Street, Inc.

For more information please call 785-483-2897.