May 21, 1922 – September 12, 2019
An obituary is pending with Mickey-Leopold Funeral Home.
Click HERE for service details.
Year: 2019
Leann Fischer
Leann Fischer, 62, passed away September 12, 2019, at Parkwood Village, Pratt. She was born November 29, 1956, at Larned to Lee Roy & Viola (Dome) Schraeder. She married Gregg K. Fischer on August 7, 1976 at Great Bend. He survives.
Leann was a current Stafford County resident coming from Salina and Great Bend. She was previously employed as a research analyst for Columbian Title Co., Salina, and currently enjoyed all aspects of the farm and ranch life. She was a 4-H leader and enjoyed fishing, sewing, antiques and cooking. She was the number one supporter and cheerleader for her daughters.
Survivors include, her husband, Gregg of the home; two daughters, Nikki Deeds and husband Zach of Pratt, and Stacey Stump and husband Jeff of St. John; mother, Viola Schraeder of Great Bend; three sisters, Kathy Butler of Dallas, TX, Becky Soukup of Wilson, and Connie Harms of Denver, CO; and three grandchildren, August Deeds, Archer Deeds, and Clara Stump. She was preceded in death by her father, Lee Roy Schraeder.
Visitation will be held from 1:00 to 9:00 p.m., Sunday, September 15, 2019, at Bryant Funeral Home, Great Bend, with family receiving friends from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m. Memorial service will be held at 1:30 p.m., Monday, September 16, 2019, at Bryant Funeral Home with Pastor Doug Enick presiding. Inurnment will be in the Fairview Park Cemetery, St. John.
Memorials are suggested to Victory in the Valley or Stafford County 4-H Council, in care of Bryant Funeral Home.
Esther Mader
Esther Mader, age 89, of Quinter, KS, passed away on Wednesday, September 11, 2019, at Gove County Medical Center Long Term Care, Quinter.
Arrangements are pending with Schmitt Funeral Home, Quinter.
Break-in at Kan. storage unit becomes diplomatic security issue
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — A break-in at storage units in Wichita, Kansas, became a diplomatic security issue last year because two of the units belong to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.
A Wichita police statement says the State Department sent a security officer to the East Side Mini Storage last November to discuss the case with police. A State Department official said it is standard procedure to send an agent to investigate any incidents involving the secretary.
The case has been temporarily closed without any viable leads or suspects.
A police report obtained through an open records request said the former Kansas congressman’s units contained tables, chairs and some campaign items.
Wichita police spokesman Officer Charley Davidson said it appears the theft was random and Pompeo’s units were not targeted.
KZ Country Cheesy Joke of the Day 9/13/19
Why does a chicken coop have two doors?
If it had 4 doors, it would be a chicken sedan.
Join fans of 99 KZ Country on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/99KZCountry
Rate hike of 10% hits Hays solid waste customers in Oct.; increases continue through 2024
By BECKY KISER
Hays Post
The monthly bill for solid waste collection in Hays is going up 10% starting next month, and will continue increasing over five years.
City commissioners unanimously approved a series of hikes through 2024 during their Thursday night meeting, although not quite as steeply as staff had first recommended.
City of Hays customers have been paying $15.20 a month since 2006 for trash and recyclables pick up.
That generates about $1.3 million in annual revenue, Public Works Director Jesse Rohr told the commission. However, estimated expenses for the Solid Waste Department next year are $1.5 million.
Inflation has crept in over 13 years and the solid waste fund has been slightly going into the negative the past two years. There also has been no money put into the fund’s reserves for equipment replacement during that time.
“What we’re trying to achieve is to keep the unreserved fund balance as close to zero as possible,” said Toby Dougherty, city manager, “without building up too much cash or going too far into the hole.”
Staff had recommended a hike to $17.30 starting next month.
Mayor Henry Schwaller and Commissioner Sandy Jacobs were concerned the jump was a little steep.
“I’d rather see it a little flatter,” Jacobs said.
Schwaller noted the city has also had to raise its sewer and water rates. “People, especially those working at minimum wage jobs or just above that, are having trouble paying their bills,” he said.
The commission, absent Vice-Mayor Shaun Musil who was away, agreed to a 10% hike in the October bill to $16.72, an increase of $1.12 per month or 10%.
In Jan. 2021 the bill will go up 9% to $18.22. The hikes slow down for the next three years with a 5% increase in 2022 to $19.14 a month. The increase will be 2% the next two years. The monthly bill will be $19.52 in 2023 and $19.91 in 2024.
In total, the increase will be $4.71 a month, gradually going up over 5 years.
Hays has had the least expensive solid waste collection fee among comparable Kansas cities, according to data collected by Rohr.
Expenses within the Solid Waste Division have slowly increased the past 13 years due to fuel increases, higher hauling and sorting fees for recyclables, salaries, and higher tipping fees at the Ellis County landfill.
Commissioners thanked the Ellis County Commission which agreed to reduce the tipping fee charged to the city from $75 to $72 a ton. The decrease was effective Sept. 1 and will continue through 2020 when a $1 increase will be implemented. Hays is the largest customer of the Ellis County waste transfer station.
A potential agreement with a private trash hauler was considered this summer. Dougherty noted the owner recently increased his contract price, making it unfeasible for the city.
Most of the solid waste rate paid by Hays customers goes to refuse collection and the annual alley cleanup. A portion goes to the award-winning curbside recycling program that began in 1995. A small part of the rate is used for operation of the free compost site started several years ago.
Revenue from the recycling program has declined due to changes in the worldwide recycling market. It was $63,000 in 2011, compared to $5,000 in 2018.
Reducing or eliminating the recycling program would result in a smaller rate hike, but Rohr is not recommending any alterations in the program.
In other business, the commission welcomed three new employees of the Hays Police Department who were introduced by Assistant Chief Brian Dawson.
Sarah Wheeler is a new HPD municipal court records clerk. Joe Lantz, Wichita, and Derick Nordell are new police officers. Nordell previously served in the Hays Police Department, moved to Concordia, and is now back in Hays.
An update on plans for transitional housing at First Call For Help for homeless Hays residents was presented by Linda Mills, executive director, and Dennis Wilson, FCFH board member.
Mayor Schwaller called for a 50 minute executive session at the end of the meeting to discuss matters of attorney/client privilege and discuss potential property acquisition.
Musil joined the executive session via phone along with Doug Williams, Grow Hays executive director and bond counsel, as well as the city project director, city attorney, city finance director and city manager.
No action was taken following the executive session.
One dead in officer-involved shooting near Kansas City
JACKSON COUNTY, MO. —Law enforcement authorities are investigating an officer involved shooting.
This incident began just before 7p.m. Thursday in the 9800 Block of East 25th Street in Independence as an attempted apprehension of a known suspect with numerous felony warrants, according to a media release.
This incident involved several local police officers and Jackson County Sheriff’s deputies.
During the attempted apprehension of the suspect, a Jackson County Sheriff’s deputy fatally shot the suspect.
A second subject who was with the suspect was injured during the incident. This subject was transported to an area hospital. No officers or deputies were physically injured
Police have released no additional details.
Mental Health First Aid: Those suffering from psychosis deserve compassion, understanding
By CRISTINA JANNEY
Hays Post
Imagine someone was constantly whispering negative comments in your ear. “Don’t trust them.” “Is he looking at you?” “Why are you talking him?”
A group of Mental Health First Aid students experienced what this might felt like recently. One person whispered in their ear while they tried to carry on a conversation with a second person. All the students reported it was difficult to concentrate on the conversation, and it was difficult to respond to the person they were speaking with.
Hearing voices can be a symptom of psychosis — one of the topics discussed in Mental Health First Aid, which is offered by High Plains Mental Health.
Just the word “psychotic” is scary to most people. They don’t understand it. They think it means the person is going to be violent, and it is has become synonymous with “crazy.”
However, those who suffer from psychosis are people who deserve compassion, MHFA trainers said. Despite stereotypes, people who suffer psychosis with proper treatment can be good friends, neighbors and employees.
“As a teenager I did watch the original ‘Halloween’ movies, and I did remember Michael Myers,” said Kaley Conor, MHFA trainer. “He is running around and he is killing everybody. Who is chasing after him? It’s a psychiatrist. Because he is ‘crazy.’ He is ‘psycho.’ It paints this picture that people who are experiencing psychosis are violent. They are serial killers. They are people you need to be really terrified of, and we know that is not true …
“I think stigma is especially prevalent with psychosis and with disorders in which psychosis would occur.”
According to the Mental Health First Aid curriculum, psychosis is a general term, which is used to describe a mental health issue in which the person has lost some contact with reality. It can disrupt thinking, emotions and behavior and as a result impact relationships and work and make self-care difficult.
RELATED: Mental Health First Aid trains public to help those suffering from depression
Conner noted just because a person is experiencing psychosis doesn’t mean they are completely gone or completely out of touch with reality.
“We don’t ever want to speak about someone with psychosis as if they are not in the room, as if they don’t have ears on their head, or as if they don’t understand you,” she said.
Disorders in which psychosis is present are less common than other mental illnesses. They can include schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, psychotic depression, schizoaffective disorder, drug-induced psychosis and delirium. For example, bipolar disorder affects 2.8 percent of Americans, while schizophrenia affects just 0.3 percent to 0.7 percent of Americans.
Most people who develop schizophrenia do so between the ages of 16 and 30. The illness can develop quickly over weeks or take months or years. People who are in the early stages of psychosis can go undiagnosed and untreated for a year or more.
“That is a long time to wait,” Conner said. “If you are seeing things that are not there or hearing voices that aren’t really speaking to you, a year seems a really long time to wait to ask for help.”
People suffering from psychosis might be afraid to tell someone about their delusions for fear of hospitalization or that they may be laughed at, she said.
Trainer Amy Bird, said, “Even though I believe they are so real, I know if I call [someone] and tell her I think aliens are coming into my house, she is going to be ‘Wow!’so I am not very likely to reach out. I also might be really scared to reach out to somebody.”
A person can suffer psychotic episode as a symptom of their mental illness, but that does not mean that they will be constantly psychotic, Conner said.
The symptoms of psychosis could differ depending on the type of disorder from which the person is suffering. Schizophrenia is not split personality. It is an illness in which thoughts and perceptions become disordered, according to the MHFA curriculum.
Major symptoms of schizophrenia include:
- Delusions: False beliefs of persecution, guilt, having a special mission or being under outside control. Although a person’s belief’s may seem very bizarre to us, they are very real to person experiencing the psychosis, according MHFA.
- Hallucinations: Most commonly hearing voices, but can include seeing, feeling tasting or smelling things. Conner gave the example of a person feeling bugs crawling on him or her.
- Thinking difficulties: Problems concentrating, with memory, ability to plan and communicate.
- Loss of motivation
- Blunted emotions: The person may be oblivious to the things happening around them and may not react appropriately
- Social withdrawal
Conner tried to further explain blunted emotions, “Their face might be completely slack. They are terrified. They’re shaking. They’re trembling. They are very scared of things only they can see, but it is like there is nobody home. There is absolutely no emotion displayed on their face.”
Because senses can be heightened during a psychotic episode, a person might be constantly wearing headphones or sunglasses, Conner said. Someone who is hearing voices may have difficulty responding to questions and directions, she said.
People who suffer from bipolar disorder can suffer from severe depression, periods of mania and then have extended periods of normal mood in between, according MHFA.
A person who is experiencing mania, which is the upper swing of the bipolar mood, can have symptoms including:
- Increased energy and overactivity
- Elevated mood
- A need for less sleep: A person may go for days without sleeping
- Irritability
- Rapid thinking or speech: The person may keep changing topics and may be hard to follow
- Lack of inhibitions: The person may disregard risk, spending excessively, being very sexually active, excess drinking or drug use
- Grandiose delusions: Inflated self-esteem, such as a belief that the person is superhuman, especially talented or intelligent, or an important religious figure.
- Lack of insight: Person may not realize they are ill
“If someone is in a manic state, they might decide, ‘I am going to paint my house.’ They might start painting their house and then they are remodeling their kitchen,” Conner said. “All at the same time. Then they get bored with remodeling their kitchen, and they are organizing their bedroom. They have all these different projects going a the same time, and then they crash and nothing was actually accomplished.
“It was just a lot of hyperactive energy moving from thing to thing to thing.”
They might have grandiose ideas such as they might believe they are a secret agent on a top secret mission.
“You might have really inflated beliefs or ideas about yourself,” she said.
“These signs and symptoms might not seem very alarming on their own,” Conner said, “but when you start stacking them up, you can see how it might be more of a problem.”
Early intervention and treatment of disorders that include psychosis can be important in long-term functioning and recovery. Delayed treatment may result in increased risk of suicide and depression, can delay maturation, hurt relationships, disrupt employment, increase the instance of alcohol and drug abuse, and increase the chance the person may have problems with law enforcement.
Although people who suffer from psychosis might encounter law enforcement because of disruptive behavior, it is a myth that people mental illness are more prone to violence. Less than 4 percent violent crimes in the U.S. are attributed to people who have mental illness.
The course offers the acronym ALGEE to help first aiders remember the steps in aiding in a mental health crisis.
- Access risk of suicide or harm.
- Listen non-judgmentally
- Give reassurance and information
- Encourage appropriate professional help
- Encourage self-help and other support strategies
Risk of suicide is high among people who suffer from disorders that include psychosis. About one-third of people who have schizophrenia will attempt suicide, and one in 10 will complete suicide. People who have bipolar have a lifetime risk of suicide that is 15 times higher than the general population. It is estimated that 25 percent of all people who kill themselves have bipolar disorder.
If you believe someone is an immediate threat to you or others or is acting out violently, call 911.
Other helping strategies include:
- When you approach someone, do so non-judgmentally.
- Chose a private time and place free from distractions. Stay calm and portray confidence. Be aware of body language.
- State the specific behaviors that concerns you without blame.
- Be sensitive to the way the person is behaving.
- Let the person set the pace and style of the interaction. Speak quietly and in short sentences. Repeat things when necessary.
- Don’t touch the person without permission.
- Allow them the person to talk about their experiences and beliefs, but don’t force it.
- Comply with reasonable requests
- Offer help at the moment or when they are ready.
- Offer practical help during crisis and after? Send get well cards, offer to make dinner, offer to help them do grocery shopping or laundry. Think about what you would do for someone who has been the hospital for a physical illness.
Don’t take delusional comments personally, raise your voice, use sarcasm, dismiss delusions or hallucinations, laugh at symptoms or inflame the person’s paranoia or threaten. Don’t restrict movement, which may agitate the person.
Instead of telling someone to stop a behavior, try asking them to do another behavior. Instead of telling a person to stop pacing, you might ask them to sit down, Bird said. If you do the same, this may also help.
“Don’t whisper,” Bird said. “People who are paranoid are scared. I may go over and say something to Kaley that has nothing to do with that person whatsoever, but if they’re scared and on alert, they are going to think they are conspiring and they are going to do something.”
A person who is experiencing psychosis may not have insight they are unwell. Unless a person meets the criteria for involuntary committal, they can’t be forced into treatment, the MHFA curriculum said. “If the they are not at risk of harming themselves or others, be patient, as people experiencing psychosis may need time to develop insight regarding their illness.”
High Plains has a 24-hour crisis line that can be reached at 1-800-432-0333. The local National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) group meets on the first Monday of the month at 6 p.m. at the Hadley Center. The group also offers support for family members of those who suffer from mental illness. For more information contact Ann Leiker, coordinator, at 785-259-6859 or email her at [email protected].
Other resources:
- Brain & Behavior Research Foundation
- Schizophrenia.com
- National Institute of Mental Health
- Depression Bipolar Support Alliance (They have a wellness tracker in the Apple App Store.)
- National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI)
- 7 Cups of Tea
WaterSmart Saturday features three events in Hays
City of Hays
On Saturday, the city of Hays and the KSU Big Creek Middle Smoky Hill River Watersheds will host three separate WaterSmart events:
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- Mulch-Loading Event at the City Parks Department from 8 to 11 a.m.
- Rain Barrel Event at the KSU Ag Research Center from 9 to 11 a.m.
- WaterSmart Landscape Tour from noon to 2 p.m.
Pre-registration is required for the rain barrel event and WaterSmart Landscape Tour.
Details, as well as registration information, can be found at watersmarthays.com or by following the city of Hays Department of Water Resources on Facebook and Twitter.
Another suspect in Kan. police shooting, car jacking moved from hospital to jail
SEDGWICK COUNTY —Law enforcement authorities continue the investigation of Tuesday’s office involved shooting and have a third suspect in jail.
After his release from the hospital on Thursday afternoon, police booked 26-year-old James Stanford of Newton on charges of aggravated assault on a law enforcement officer, aggravated battery, flee and elude, and theft.
He was identified as the driver in a stolen white Jeep Wrangler where the driver attempted to run over a WPD officer at the McDonald’s located in the 2200 block of N. Amidon on Tuesday.
Stanford wrecked the vehicle in the 3000 block of N. Halstead and fled on foot. He was later apprehended in the area of E. 29th St. North and N. Meridian Ave.
Stanford is the last suspect to be arrested in this case. Zachary Ausdemore was released from the hospital Wednesday and remains in custody. Daphne Dawn Hays was jailed immediately following the incident on Tuesday.
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SEDGWICK COUNTY —Law enforcement authorities continue the investigation of Tuesday’s office involved shooting and have another suspect in jail.
After his release from the hospital Wednesday afternoon, police booked 30-year-old Zachary Ausdemore for aggravated robbery and an outstanding warrant out of Nebraska, according to officer Kevin Wheeler.
He was identified as the passenger in a stolen white Jeep Wrangler where the driver attempted to run over a WPD officer at the McDonald’s located in the 2200 block of N. Amidon.
driver to run over him during Tuesday’s incident-photo courtesy Wichita Police
After the vehicle wrecked, Ausdemore then fled on foot and robbed an elderly couple of their Honda CR-V in the 2400 block of W. Stauffer.
He led officers on a lengthy vehicle pursuit, which ended in the area of 167th Street West and K-42.
Ausdemore was taken into custody after a brief foot pursuit.
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SEDGWICK COUNTY – Law enforcement authorities are investigating an officer-involved shooting.
Just before 10:30 a.m. Tuesday, police responded to the area of W. 21st Street North and N. Amidon to check for a stolen vehicle, according to officer Paul Cruz.
The owner of a 1999 white Jeep SAW called 911 to report the location of the vehicle. The owner, along with a family member, followed the vehicle to the McDonald’s located in the 2200 block of North Amidon.
Officers arrived while the vehicle was at the drive-thru window and attempted to take the three occupants into custody.
The driver then accelerated and attempted to run over an officer. The officer fired his handgun multiple times at the vehicle. The suspect vehicle drove around the building and rear-ended a white Buick Century that was occupied by a 72-year-old woman driver. She was transported to a local hospital where she was treated for minor injuries, according to Cruz.
The suspect vehicle continued north on Amidon and into a residential area where it crashed into a tree in the 3000 block of N. Halstead. At that location, police took a 30-year-old woman passenger later identified as Daphne Hays into custody while the other suspects ran.
One of the man, a 30-year-old, ran to the 2400 block of W. Stauffer where he threatened an elderly couple and demanded the keys to their green Honda CR-V. The suspect left in their vehicle. The vehicle was located by Sheriff’s Deputies at I-235 and 25th, according to Cruz.
Daphne Dawn Hays photo Sedgwick Co.
Officers attempted to stop the vehicle, but the driver refused to stop, and a vehicle pursuit ensued. The pursuit ended at 167th and K-42. The suspect was taken into custody without incident and was found to have an injury to his arm.
A 27-year-old suspect, who fled on foot at the initial crash scene on N. Halstead, was later located by officers near 29th and Meridian. The suspect was found to have a gunshot wound to his leg and was hospitalized for observation.
The two male suspects remained hospitalized Wednesday afternoon. Hays is in custody on requested charges of interference with law enforcement and a fugitive from justice, according to the Sedgwick County booking report.
The officer involved in the shooting has been with the department for almost 2-years, according to Cruz. He has been placed administrative leave per protocol.
Authorities have not released names of the two other suspects.
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Meeting the needs of rural communities now extends to elementary education
FHSU University Relations
Extreme teacher shortages are hurting schools all across America. This alarming trend is especially acute in rural areas. Many professionals living in rural areas who already have a bachelor’s degree want to become teachers, but they can’t afford to leave home, work and family to complete the coursework required for the second bachelor’s degree that is the traditional pathway to becoming a teacher.
Fort Hays State University, a global leader in serving the non-traditional student, has a solution. The Master of Science in Education with a concentration in elementary education was approved this summer by the Kansas State Board of Education, and classes began this fall.
Anyone with a bachelor’s degree who wants to become an elementary school teacher can now do so without having to obtain a second bachelor’s degree.
“I have been contacted by a number of students who have graduated and want to come back, but they say ‘I have a family. I can’t quit my job,’ ” said Dr. Valerie Zelenka, associate professor of teacher education at Fort Hays State.
Zelenka, the program coordinator, also chaired the committee that developed and guided the program through the approval process.
“It is a cohort program because the students need to take the same courses in the same order. “Each semester builds on the previous semester’s work,” she said.
The program works this way: The students take 27 credit hours, including a semester of student teaching, over the course of two years. Program completers earn a license to teach in an elementary school. By completing an additional nine credit hours, they can go on to earn a Master of Science in Education.
The academic course work is online, and the first semester includes what is called a “clinical practicum,” in which the student is observed working with classes. This, said Zelenka, can be accomplished “with a couple of extended lunch breaks a week” over the course of the semester.
Fort Hays State University’s enrollment goal with this first cohort was 20 students.
“We have 33,” said Zelenka, “and we have another eight on the waiting list for spring.”
Speaking only a week into the semester, Zelenka said that potential students continue to contact the College of Education about the program, even though the outreach has so far been only by word of mouth. “We may double our numbers in the spring,” she said.
Like the Transition to Teaching (T2T) program for secondary school educators, the MSE-elementary education program provides a career change and/or enhancement option that allows the working professional to stay close to work and family while completing the coursework.
This is another example of Fort Hays State “reaching people where they are,” said Dr. Chris Jochum, professor of teacher education and chair of the department.
“This is a very significant development not only for FHSU but, more importantly, for the students, schools and communities that will be served,” he said.
Jochum provided statistics that illustrate the shortage of teachers. Between 2009 and 2014, 240,000 fewer students chose teacher education for their majors, a decrease of 35 percent. For the 2017-2018 school year, the K-12 teacher shortage was more than 100,000. In Kanas, in fall 2018, school started with 612 teacher positions unfilled.
The new program makes it possible for people who want to fill those positions to gain the credentials necessary to fill them effectively, and it will work across the country. Students from other states who complete the core 27 hours gain Kansas licensure, which is converted through reciprocal agreements into licensure in other states.
Jochum said the MSE is “actually more flexible than the T2T program, which requires students to (1) have a bachelor’s degree in the subject they wish to teach in high school, and (2) have secured a teaching job in a district willing to sponsor the student.”
In the MSE program, the student does not have to already be working in a school, but those who are, for instance as a para-professional, can, with the approval of their administrations, complete their observations and student teaching in that school,.
This degree also creates a new opportunity for current teachers who are not licensed for elementary education but who want to add elementary education to their existing license.
“If a high school history teacher wants to earn his or her elementary education license, then this program is a great option,” said Jochum. These people, too, will still have to complete the classroom observations and then go through a student teaching experience in a K-6 classroom.
Zelenka said she and her committee developed the proposal after talking to school district administrators, teachers and students. Members of the committee included Dr. Beth Walizer, professor of teacher education; Dr. Janet Stramel, associate professor of teacher education; and Dr. Kathleen Sanders, professor of advanced education programs.
“We have designed an exceptional program, and we’re really excited about it,” said Zelenka.
Hays symphony season opener set for Sept. 21
By RUTH FIRESTONE
Hays music lover
Mark your calendars now for the Hays Symphony’s season opener with new director Brian Buckstead at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 21, in Fort Hays State University’s Beach/Schmidt Performing Arts Center.
Three masterpieces are guaranteed to conjure rainbows, flowing rivers, colorful fandangos and/or any scenes and dreams you see with your eyes closed.
Rossini’s “William Tell Overture” (from the opera of the same name) is chock full of wonderful melodies that Rossini designed to evoke images of storms, peaceful herds of cattle, and fast-moving soldiers.
He intended this, his last opera, to be acclaimed as his greatest operatic achievement, but only the overture has ever gained popularity. Only the last few minutes are popular in the Unites States, and for reasons Rossini could never have foreseen: bound by our own culture, we react with visions of old cartoons, advertisements and, of course, the Lone Ranger.
Smetana’s “The Moldau” (in Czech “Vltava,” the river that flows through Prague) is one part of “Ma Vlast” (“My Homeland”), a six-part set of symphonic poems picturing various parts of what was then Bohemia, a state of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, now the Czech Republic.
The piece draws musical pictures of the river’s ebb and flow as well as iconic scenes along its length and is Smetana’s most popular instrumental composition. His comic opera, “The Bartered Bride,” is probably his best-known work.
“The Three Cornered Hat,” Suites 1 and 2, by Manuel de Falla, concludes the concert with a number of colorful Spanish dances that tell the story of a miller, his wife, and a lecherous magistrate who wears a three-cornered hat. The music itself began life as accompaniment to a two-part pantomime but then was commissioned by Sergei Diaghilev for the Ballet Russe. The orchestral suites are based on the ballet.
All Hays Symphony performances are free to the public, but audience members must have a ticket.
Tickets can be reserved online at www.hayssymphony.org or may be picked up at the Hays Convention and Visitors Bureau and the Downtown Hays Offices starting Monday, Sept. 16. Tickets can also be picked up in the Beach/Schmidt lobby after 7 p.m. on the evening of the concert.
Please check the Hays Symphony Facebook page for additional concert details, such as pre-concert talks and post-concert receptions.
This concert is sponsored by AutoWorld. The post-concert reception is sponsored by Werth Wealth Management.
Information will be available at the concert to join the Hays Symphony Guild.
Ruth Firestone is a supporter of music and theater in Hays.
Three-day weather outlook
