Patricia “Patty” Reynolds, 54, passed away October 7, 2019, at her home in Great Bend. She was born September 10, 1965, at Playa San Blas La Libertad, El Salvador, to Serafin & Fidelina (Baos) Arévalo. She married Curtis Reynolds on May 20, 2003 at Great Bend. He survives.
A Great Bend resident, Patricia was a cashier and translator for the Barton County Health Department. She was a member of First Assembly of God Church in Great Bend. She enjoyed dancing and music from the 1970’s, as well as crocheting and cooking. She especially loved being with her children and grandchildren.
Survivors include, her husband, Curtis Reynolds of the home; her mother, Fidelina Baos and her father, Serafin Arévalo; two sons, Edwin Recinos and wife Susana and Diego Recinos, all of Great Bend; one daughter, Patty Grauer and husband Brenden of Great Bend; one stepson, Adam Reynolds and wife Shelly of Hutchinson; one stepdaughter, Kelly Smith and husband Jay of Kingman; two brothers, Ricardo Arévalo of El Salvador and Rafael Arévalo of Madrid, Spain; two sisters, Cristina Arévalo of Quebec, Canada and Judith Marceca of Durham; nine grandchildren, Kyle, Brent, Grayson, Sutton, Anthony, Jeremiah, Victoria, Lillian and Jace; and one great granddaughter, Joselin.
Visitation will be held from 1:00 to 9:00 p.m., Thursday, October 10, 2019, at Bryant Funeral Home, with family receiving friends from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m. Funeral Services will be held at 10:30 a.m., Friday, October 11, 2019, at First Assembly of God Church in Great Bend, with Pastor Dwight Dozier presiding. Interment will be in Great Bend Cemetery North.
From left, Margaret Becker, Emily Duncan and Vernon Becker
NCK Tech’s Hays campus students receiving scholarships from the NCK Tech Foundation and other benefactors were honored with a reception Oct. 2.Recipients, in many cases, had the opportunity to meet their scholarship contributors.
One such recipient met her benefactor — but not for the first time.Vernon and Margaret Becker established a nursing scholarship for a student enrolled in the program at the Hays Campus. The recipient for this inaugural scholarship was Emily Duncan. Duncan first met Vernon Becker when he was in the hospital and she was a student nurse. A student nurse, crafting her skills, helped take care of Becker. He was so impressed with the student nurse (Duncan) that, after his hospital stay, both he and his wife, Margaret, decided it was time to give back.The Beckers have established the scholarship.
“I couldn’t be happier that Emily was the first recipient,” Vernon Becker said.
Dr. Robert Severance
With new scholarships established, a long-standing tradition of scholarship benefactors continues. Once such contributor is Dr. Robert Severance. Dr. Severance became the second director of the North Central Area Vocational-Technical School in July 1967 and served in that capacity until 1992. He has continues to be a tremendous advocate of technical education and along with his wife established several scholarship opportunities. The Robert and Dorcas Severance Family Scholarship awards several students on both the Hays and Beloit campuses. His continued financial contributions along with his enthusiasm for NCK Tech only continues to increase. Recipients this year for the Hays Campus included Connor Born/welding and Kreighton Meyers/carpentry.
A complete list of Hays campus recipients and their benefactors from all scholarships include:
8-Man Football Connor Born – Welding
Mason Doll – PHAC
Drake Steinbrock – Electrical
Robert and Dorcas Severance Family Connor Born – Welding
Kreighton Meyers – Carpentry
Bob and Patricia Schmidt General Connor Born – Welding
Charles N. Tuley Zachary Poppe – Automotive
Clara and Archie Walters Memorial Kilie Unrein – Nursing
Dane Hansen Career Enhancement Diane Holbrook – Nursing
Said Lahrairi – Nursing
Nessa Larsen – Nursing
Payton Littrell – Nursing
Austin Seltmann – Electrical
Shannon Toll – Nursing
Bob and Patricia Schmidt Nursing Emily Bellerive
Amelia Borell
Alexa Brull
Helen Kelsi Coss
Emily Duncan
Makooshla Frier
Ruth Hair
Gwendolyn Housley
Katie Kreutzer
Alia Larson
Dallas Mead
Amanda Migchelbrink
Kayla Reed
Haley Schothaler
Mandy Wallgren
Leneal Weiser
Tyra Younie
Hays Medical Center Volunteers (Nursing) Melissa Pummell
Juana Lira Ramirez
Tori Tebo
Kilie Unrein
Judy Murphy Memorial Mandy Wallgren – Nursing
Mike and Jeanie Michaelis Kreighton Meyers – Carpentry
Kilie Unrein – Nursing
Vernon and Margaret Becker Emily Duncan – Nursing
William Yeager Zachary Poppe – Automotive
NCK Tech’s Endowment Association and Foundation enables the college to provide scholarships, materials, buildings and equipment to train individuals to be successful and productive. Students received over $153,000 in scholarships. To learn more about NCK Tech, visit our website at www.ncktc.edu.
Anthony Fox, owner; his fiancé Becky Meagher, and Melissa Meagher, owner, took over the SouthWind CrossFit, 229 W. 10th St, Hays, in August.
By CRISTINA JANNEY Hays Post
New owners have taken the helm of SouthWind CrossFit and are bringing new offerings to the fitness club.
Melissa Meagher, 33, and Anthony Fox, 28, took over the business, 229 W. 10th, in August.
Both Fox and Melissa have a backgrounds in fitness and athletics, and Melissa and Fox were both coaches at the SouthWind before they purchased the business.
Fox has a bachelor’s degree in health and human performance and a master’s degree in movement and sports studies. He also has a certification to train college athletes. He was also formerly a trainer at the Center for Health Improvement.
Fox said he spends a lot of time watching people’s movement and trying to help them improve their technique.
“I think that keeps people safe,” he said. “I want to push people to get stronger, but I also know where to ride that line of what is going to push you to get better without you getting hurt.”
Melissa is a level 2 CrossFit coach. She was a Division I volleyball player at Central Connecticut State University and also an assistant high school volleyball coach at TMP.
Melissa said after her college sports career was over, she was dealing with a lot injuries. She joined SouthWind as what she characterized as “broken.” The gym worked with her at the level she was at and helped her rebuild her strength.
She said she is now in the best shape of her life, even better than when she was playing college sports.
“[The gym members] get to ask me questions about how did you do that. I can talk to them about how recovery is really important — how to take care of your body while you are trying to get your body back to shape,” Melissa said.
She added it helps people to be able to see others have been in their shoes and have been able to get back in shape.
In addition, her high school coaching experience, Melissa said, helps her connect with her athletes and work with large groups.
“That is really important in this gym too,” she said. “You get to know every single person in class. I can look at every single person, and I know all of their names. I know all of their injuries. I know what goals they are going for. Nobody gets neglected in this gym.”
The new owners have varied the classes offered at the gym. In addition to the 60-minute CrossFit classes, they now offer 45-minute Get Fit classes, 30-minute Quick Fit classes, an endurance course on Saturdays, open gyms, CrossFit Kids and an Athletic Development Program for high school athletes who want to work on strength and conditioning in the offseason.
Get Fit classes are for people just learning CrossFit or people who want the CrossFit class but are not involved in competitive sports.
“They want to get the good workouts in and learn more in technique and learn more in movement,” Melissa said.
Quick Fit classes are for those who don’t have very much time. They don’t use barbells, but they use all of the other equipment.
The gym is continuing its Legends course, which is geared to people who are 50 years and older. It is 60 minutes three days a week.
CrossFit Kids is aimed at getting kids involved while their parents are working out, Fox said.
“We are very about family,” he said. “As they see their parents doing something that is healthy and good for them, we are hoping they will follow in their footsteps as well.”
CrossFit is defined as using constantly varied functional movements at high intensity, Fox said. This includes a lot of squatting and lunging, and pushing and pulling.
These movements apply to daily activities. Getting out of chair is similar to a squat. Lifting groceries is similar to a dead lift, Fox said.
Especially in the Legends class, the coaches are working on improving strength for daily life activities. Some of the gym members said they were unable to kneel at church, and their goal was to be able to do that again.
Melissa and her sister Becky’s mom joined the gym. She has had two total knee replacements. If she was sitting in a chair and holding a grand-baby, she had to have someone there with her, because she couldn’t get out of the chair with one her grand-babies in her arms. Through the CrossFit class, she was able to build enough strength so she could do that.
“You don’t have to have the goal be awesome or to be a competitor,” she said. “You can just have a goal as simple as I want to be able to get our of a chair on my own. We will work with you.”
CrossFit is more focused on functionality and not how your body looks, and everyone’s workouts are individualized, the duo said.
Gym membership costs vary depending on what type of classes you want to take. Endurance courses are $19 per month, Kids CrossFit is $29 per month, the Legends class is $49 per month, Quick Fits are $69, Get Fits are $89, CrossFit is $99 and full access is $119.
October is National Domestic Violence Awareness Month.
Options Domestic and Sexual Violence Services is selling purple lightbulbs at several Hays businesses in conjunction with the national Purple Light Nights campaign, which began in Covington, Wash.
“The idea behind it is to help bring awareness to the number of people who experience domestic violence,” said Jennifer Hecker, Options executive director.
“It’s to send a message out in the month of October that we will not tolerate, we don’t want domestic violence in our community and we’re here to support those who are suffering in silence right now,” she said. “We’re celebrating those who’ve come out the other side of domestic violence and to let people who are now experiencing it know there is a place to go and a community of people here to support you.”
Homeowners are encouraged to replace their regular porch lightbulbs with a purple lightbulb this month. Businesses can show their support by placing purple string lights in their store windows.
Purple lightbulbs supporting Options are available for $2 at Breathe Coffee House, Simply Charmed, Be Made and H2o Float Cryo Massage.
A new awareness event this month is a poetry reading co-hosted by Options and Sigma Tau Delta, Fort Hays State University’s international English Honor Society chapter.
The free event is part of a regional conference in Hays. It will held 7 to 8 p.m. Friday, Oct. 18 at Breathe Coffee House, 703B Main.
People can come and read a piece of literature or poetry that they’ve written or just listen.
“The pieces don’t have to be about domestic violence but what we find a lot of times with poetry specifically is that the medium truly lends itself to people who have been oppressed and have been traumatized,” said Shaelin Sweet, community advocate and an English major. “It’s a very good outlet for that creativity and that hurt, but also for that strength and that power to flow.”
The nonprofit agency serves 18 counties in northwest Kansas and provides free confidential services.
“We don’t force people to report to law enforcement. All of our services are survivor-driven. Their participation is voluntary,” Hecker explained.
Help is also available to family and friends of abuse victims who often don’t know what to say or not to say to their loved one.
“We’re here to help people navigate through this very difficult time and to make sure victims have full wrap-around support to help them move into the healing phase.”
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — The union representing workers at pork processing plants has sued the federal government to challenge new rules finalized in September that allow companies to set line speeds and turn more food safety tasks over to company employees.
The United Food and Commercial Workers International Union and local unions in Kansas, Minnesota and Iowa have joined with nonprofit consumer advocacy group Public Citizen to file the lawsuit in federal court in Minnesota.
The lawsuit alleges that the new rules announced in September by the U.S. Department of Agriculture violate the Administrative Procedure Act because it is not backed by reasoned decision-making and should be set aside.
A USDA spokeswoman says the agency does not comment on pending litigation.
Shirley Beecher, 83, passed away October 3, 2019, in Lawrence, Kansas.
Shirley was born March 7, 1936, in Studley, Kansas, the daughter of Adolph and Regina (Billinger) Brungardt. She was the oldest of three children. During her childhood days, the family moved to Bogue, Kansas, where Shirley graduated from high school in 1954.
Following graduation, she moved to Denver, Colorado, where she graduated from business college. She married the love of her life, Norman Beecher, April 21, 1956 in Damar, Kansas. The couple moved to Great Bend where Norman was a front-end mechanic and Shirley a bookkeeper. In 1960, 1961 and 1962, she and Norman had three children: Jeff, Gina and Greg. During this time she was a very busy mom and homemaker.
In 1963, she and Norman moved to Hill City and opened “Beecher Sinclair” full-service gas station. Which they owned and operated until I-70 opened to the south, leaving Highway 24 less traveled and therefore less busy. She then continued her career as a bookkeeper working for several years in the private sector.
However, she spent the majority of her professional career in service of Hill City, Unified School District 281 as the secretary of Hill City High School. She loved the hustle and bustle of all the students’ activities. After serving there for many years, she moved to the district office and held the position of Clerk of the Board of Education until she retired July 1, 1999.
If you knew Shirley, you obviously knew she loved the color red, from her home décor to her favorite clothing and right down to those meticulously groomed fingernails! She enjoyed watching her favorite NFL teams, the Dallas Cowboys and the Kansas City Chiefs on Sundays.
Shirley was an active member of the Catholic Church and served on the parish council. She and Norman were also active with the Kansas Western Horseman’s Association. Norman and the three children, as young as
four and as old as fourteen, participated in horse shows for many years. Jeff, Gina, and Greg won many trophies during this time. Gina remembers going to church at 8:00 on Sunday mornings and then rushing home to make bologna sandwiches and packing a cooler of Shasta pop, while Jeff, Greg, and Norman groomed and loaded the horses in the trailer. The family also traveled to the state horse-shows for ten plus years winning many awards there, as well. Shirley was always there to cheer her husband and children on, but she was also an announcer, timer, and scorekeeper at many of these events.
As her children entered middle and high school, the horses took a back seat to sporting events in which her children were involved, including football, basketball, wrestling, track, and softball. She attended these activities faithfully.
Later, after her children graduated from high school, trade school, and college; she and Norman took advantage of some time to themselves. They were active in the Graham County Rodeo for over 25 years, in which Shirley did some announcing and time keeping at these annual rodeos. Additionally, she and Norman enjoyed playing darts, pitch, and attending wedding dances where Shirley loved to polka.
After Norman passed away in June of 2001, she and her girlfriends formed “The Garden Club.” She said they chose this name because they were all “blooming idiots.” The club gathered every Friday for fun and cheer.
She was a devoted wife, mother and doting grandmother and will be missed immensely.
She was preceded in death by her parents, Adolph and Regina; husband, Norman; sister, Connie and daughter-in-law, Peggy (Chick) Beecher, wife of Jeff.
She is survived by her brother Don, Solomon; children: Jeff Beecher, Lawrence, Gina Fischer, Kingman, Greg Beecher and wife Rhonda (Sauer) Beecher, Rose Hill; six grandchildren and one great granddaughter.
The HaysMed Birthing Center will host a Remembering Together Remembrance event on Sunday, October 20.
Participants are asked to meet in Hadley Room 2 at HaysMed at 2:00 p.m. This special service is for anyone who has experienced a loss through miscarriage, stillbirth or infant loss.
MANHATTAN – Your County/District Kansas State Research and Extension director recently received a packet of information regarding the Master Farmer-Master Farm Homemaker/Family Nomination process for 2019. The Master Farmer/Master Farm Homemaker award is a great recognition tool to honor a successful farm family who supports the community and supports your local KSRE Extension programs! Now is the time to think of those farm families deserving of such recognition, and begin the nomination process.
Follow this link to the nomination instructions. And, then follow this link to the forms necessary to be completed in the nomination process. Nominations must be submitted to the KSRE Extension Administration office by November 26, 2019. If you have questions, contact Daryl Buchholz, [email protected], 785-587-4913; or Sue Robinson, [email protected], 785-532-5820.
Don’t miss the chance to nominate a deserving farm family from your community for statewide recognition. Great candidates may be those you’ve recognized locally for the support of your local Extension programs. This K-State Research and Extension Program is co-sponsored with the Kansas Farmer magazine, and is provided excellent financial support by Kansas Farm Bureau, Frontier Farm Credit, and American AgCredit.
Mary L. Todd, age 86, passed away on Wednesday, September 11, 2019 at Wichita County Health Center LTCU in Leoti, Kansas.
Mary was born June 1, 1933 in Akron, Colorado, the daughter of Ted Ray & Ethel Olive (Bailey) Dickson. A resident of Leoti, Kansas, since 1966 moving from Parks, Nebraska, she was primary checkout clerk at several Leoti grocery stores retiring in 2004.
On December 27, 1951, she married Harold Todd at Akron, Colorado. Harold passed away on January 24, 1987, in Leoti, Kansas
Mary’s surviving family includes-
One son-
Mike & Kay Todd- Scott City, Kansas
Three Grandchildren-
Ryan & Shannon Todd- Gainsville, Florida
Jeff Gilmore- Terry, Mississippi
Chastel & Eric Vallerand- Gainesville, Florida
Five Great Grandchildren-
Lyra Todd, Callen Todd, Alden Todd, Nathan Vallerand & Kambrea Gilmore
Numerous nieces and nephews and special friends
Her parents, two siblings, Allen Dickson & Alice Rogers, and a grandson, Brett Todd precede her in death.
Services will be held at 4:00 pm on Saturday, October 12, 2019 at Leoti Cemetery in Leoti, Kansas with Rev. Don Williams officiating.
Memorials may be given to Wichita County Health Center Long Term Care Unit in care of Price & Sons Funeral Home, PO 161, Leoti, Kansas 67861.
Patricia “Patty” Reynolds, 54, passed away October 7, 2019, at her home in Great Bend. She was born September 10, 1965, at Playa San Blas La Libertad, El Salvador, to Serafin & Fidelina (Baos) Arévalo. She married Curtis Reynolds on May 20, 2003 at Great Bend. He survives.
