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Year: 2019

🎥 ‘Showing their softer side’ at Hays PD Community Night Out

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Officer Ryan Blecha hands out chips to hungry swimmers at the Hays Aquatic Park during Thursday’s HPD Community Night Out.

BY BECKY KISER
Hays Post

As usual, Hays police officer Ryan Blecha was on duty Thursday evening, but this shift did not require a patrol vehicle or even the official uniform.

This duty called for wearing shorts and a special T-shirt as Blecha manned the chip station in the food line for the Hays Police Department’s “Community Night Out” at the Hays Aquatic Park (HAP).

“He’s very important,” laughed Mackenzie Blecha, Ryan’s wife.

Mackenzie and Gentry Blecha

Mackenzie and daughter Gentry, 18 months, were some of the Hays police officers’ family members enjoying the fourth annual event. It included free swimming for everyone and a hot dog or hamburger meal for the first 1,000 people.

Gentry loves swimming, according to Mackenzie. “She’s been a water bug since she was six months old. She just goes and goes and goes, doesn’t care how cold it is.”

The Blecha family goes swimming together every couple of weekends when Ryan is off, but this weekday was a special experience.

“I think it’s important for us to show up also because we’re not only supporting him but were supporting the community and supporting the pool.

“I think it’s good for these guys to be out here and show their softer side,” Mackenzie said with a smile. “They get to communicate with everybody in an informal way.”

No waiting in line for Gentry as her dad hands her chips.

Ryan Blecha has been on the Hays police force for two and half years. “We moved here in March 2017 and then found out two weeks later we were having Gentry,” Mackenzie laughed again. “It’s in the Hays water,” she quipped.

Ryan is originally from Norton and Mackenzie is from Hoxie. She’s a dental assistant at Lifetime Dental Care. Mackenzie will be back at the pool Tuesday at 1 p.m. with her Lifetime Dental team. “We’re going to hand out Popsicles to all the kids just for a little fun summer freebie.”

Prior to joining HPD, Ryan served five years in the Marine Corps as a military police officer.

Mackenzie says the Marine Corps prepped her for the sleepless nights that come with being the wife of a law enforcement official.

“We did a seven month deployment so this was just kind of cake after that.

“Night shift is just a little bit harder. That’s another reason we’re down here today because we want to get every ounce of him that we can. He will start back on night shift in September so we’ll be missing him a little bit. It’ll be more of the single parent life.”

Hays police officers rotate between day and night shifts every four months.

City commissioners Eber Phelps and Shaun Musil

Several city officials also enjoyed Community Night Out, including city commissioners Eber Phelps, Ron Mellick and vice-mayor Shaun Musil.

Phelps joked he was glad the event had not been scheduled for Wednesday when the high temperature in Hays was 107 degrees. Thursday’s high was 92 degrees.

Attendees also got to check out a HPD patrol cars, the SSRT (Special Situation Response Team) van and some of the gear used by the police.

“Community Night Out” is sponsored by the city of Hays, Walmart, Hays Recreation Commission, Pepsi of Hays, Heartland Building Center, Fraternal Order of Police Hays Lodge 48, Phaze 2 and Nex-Tech.

(Photos by James Miller and Becky Kiser)

Partly sunny, warm Saturday

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Saturday
Areas of fog before 9am. Otherwise, cloudy, then gradually becoming mostly sunny, with a high near 83. Northeast wind 3 to 7 mph.
Saturday Night
Patchy fog after 4am. Otherwise, mostly clear, with a low around 62. East northeast wind 5 to 9 mph becoming calm after midnight.
Sunday
Patchy fog before 9am. Otherwise, mostly sunny, with a high near 87. Calm wind becoming southeast around 5 mph in the afternoon.
Sunday Night
Partly cloudy, with a low around 66. Southeast wind 5 to 7 mph becoming calm in the evening.
Monday
Mostly sunny, with a high near 93.
Monday Night
A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms after 1am. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 65.
Tuesday
Mostly sunny, with a high near 89.
Tuesday Night
Partly cloudy, with a low around 64.
Wednesday
Mostly sunny, with a high near 92.

NCK Tech LPN program ranked No. 2 in state

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NCK Tech

The LPN Program at NCK Tech – Beloit Campus has recently been ranked No. 2 in the state of Kansas by www.practicalnursing.org.

The website looked at nineteen schools, which included community colleges, technical colleges and private career schools in the state of Kansas.

Criteria for ranking included NCLEX-PN exam first time pass rate over the past several years. NCK Tech’s overall score listed was 98.71. The overall pass rate for the Beloit program has been 100% for the past several years.

The college has two campus locations – Beloit and Hays with both campus locations offering the LPN program. The Hays campus also offers an RN/ADN program. “At NCK Tech, practical nursing students receive training to perform nursing intervention with precision and efficiency consistent with current evidence-based practices,” stated www.practicalnursing.org. “Nursing professionals provide nursing theory instruction in the classroom, lab and at clinical sites.”

For a ranking of Kansas LPN programs and additional information regarding LPN programs in the state, read the complete article on www.practicalnursing.org. To learn more about NCK Tech’s nursing programs, visit www.ncktc.edu.

Now That’s Rural: Paula Peters, Culture of Health

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Ron Wilson is director of the Huck Boyd National Institute for Rural Development at Kansas State University.

By RON WILSON
Huck Boyd National Institute for Rural Development

Could the extension service do for health what it has done for agriculture through the years? During the past century, American agriculture – with assistance from agricultural research and extension – has been transformed from subsistence farming to an agricultural system that is the envy of the world. Could similar progress occur in the health arena? To do so would require a deep cultural change that would value health as a priority. In short, we might say it requires a culture of health.

Dr. Paula Peters is associate director of extension programs for K-State Research and Extension. The term “extension” refers to the state- and county-based educational outreach programs which extend helpful research results from the nation’s land-grant universities to the public.

“For years, (extension) has done work on nutrition, foods, and physical activity,” Paula said. In a larger sense, extension has worked to support the health of families, farms and communities since the extension service was founded in 1914.

In 2014, the national Extension Committee on Policy supported the development of a national framework for extension work in public and community health. That report included the aspirational statement that extension could do for health what it has done for agriculture.

In Kansas, even before that time, the Kansas Health Foundation provided an endowment to support extension work in health. Those funds supported an Office of Community Health for several years.

“We wanted to build the capacity of our local extension agents to work in the health area,” Paula said. Funds were redirected to support grass-roots health-related extension initiatives.

Peters

This initiative reflected the fact that a deep, cultural commitment to health was needed. The initiative was called Culture of Health. “People think of improving physical health, but we are looking more broadly than that,” Paula said. “It’s also mental health, financial health, the health of the community itself.”

The initiative began with a series of facilitated community conversations with extension professionals and community partners around health issues. Then grants were offered to county and district extension units. The grant applications required that a local needs assessment be completed and that the work be implemented through collaborative coalitions.

In February 2019, K-State Research and Extension awarded $170,000 in grants for 32 projects in 51 counties across the state. These supported multiple kinds of health-related projects, such as healthy food access, physical activity, mental well-being, anti-poverty, and much more. Because they were implemented through local coalitions, agencies worked together in beneficial ways.

As a person who loves a good acronym, I appreciated projects with titles like Johnson County EATS – Easy, Affordable Tasty Solutions, Atchison County’s BOOK – Believing in Opportunities for Our Kids – and Meade County’s CATCH – Coordinated Approach To Community Health. Meade is a rural community of 1,721 people. Now, that’s rural.

Beyond the, um, catchy titles, this work dealt with serious, long-term issues. For example, the Marais des Cygnes Extension District worked on suicide prevention and mental health intervention. The Twin Creeks Extension District worked on a produce buying incentive program for low income buyers at a local farmer’s market.

In addition, the state extension team sponsored adult mental health first aid training for more than 100 extension professionals in spring 2019. “We’re not counselors but we can connect people to the resources they need.”

Another training was held in June 2019 on policy systems and environment. “We need to do more policy work to assure that healthy behaviors are supported and sustainable,” Paula said.

Most of all, this has led to a new level of collaboration on health issues. “It’s been fun to watch our agents reach to their collaborators and also each other,” Paula said.

Can extension do for health what it has done for agriculture? If Paula and her team have their way, it will. We commend Paula Peters, her specialists, and all those extension agents who are making a difference by improving our healthy behaviors. They remind us that health isn’t just going to the doctor. This is about a culture of health.

And there’s more. Next week we’ll learn about a local initiative for a basket-full of health.

FHSU shows commitment to youth education at High Plains Music Camp

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By RANDY GONZALEZ
FHSU University Relations and Marketing

It began as a training ground at Fort Hays State University for young western Kansas band students back in the 1940s, and it’s still going strong as one of the state’s music education leaders.

The High Plains Music Camp now also offers a week of summer instruction for middle school and high school orchestra and vocal students. It serves as a recruiting tool for the university as well.

Dr. Ivalah Allen, associate professor of music at FHSU and the camp’s director, estimated as many as half of the students in attendance enroll at FHSU in a variety of majors.

Luis Valencia, a Fort Hays State sophomore-to-be from Leoti, is majoring in music education and vocal performance. He attended two High Plains camps while in high school and served as a counselor this year. Attending the camps factored into his decision to choose FHSU.

“I’m really happy I chose Fort Hays State,” he said. “I feel like all the faculty are basically family to me, and they are mentors to me. It just feels right being here.”

A lot of other students feel the same way. Each summer, several students complete seven years at the camp.

This year, about 220 participants learned from 21 counselors, many of them former students at the camp. For those in orchestra and band, students range from sixth grade to current high school graduates. Vocal students can begin attending the camp the summer before entering high school.

Even as the 72nd annual event was winding down in mid-July, Allen was busy preparing for next year’s event as well as the big 75th annual camp down the road. She wants to welcome back former students and camp instructors for the event’s diamond anniversary.

The camp was founded in 1947 by former Fort Hays State band director Harold G. Palmer because there was no outlet for youth musicians to learn during the summer. At first it was solely a band camp, and orchestra and vocal students were added over the years.

Students from all across Kansas and neighboring states converge on the FHSU campus for instruction and to give performances in all three areas of concentration. Several of the instrumental and vocal instructors brought in each year are FHSU graduates. Allen said she knows of no other camp like it.

“It’s not just how they individually grow,” Allen said. “They take this back to their schools with the knowledge that they have gained. It’s an amazing opportunity.”

A limited number of scholarships are available, focused on both ability and need. Allen said she just hopes to break even financially each year.

“This is strictly for us to train young musicians,” she said, “not for us to make money as a department.”

Dane G. Hansen Museum run/walk taking registrations

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The Dane G. Hansen Museum announced its 5th Annual 5K Run/2 Mile Fun Walk will be in conjunction with the 46th Annual Arts & Crafts Fair on Saturday, Aug. 17, 2019, at the Dane G. Hansen Museum in Logan, Kansas.

All entry fees will be donated to Phillips County Hospice Services. Entry fees are $20 for adults and $10 for youth 15 and under.

Check-in and T-shirt pick up starts at 7 a.m. on the corner of Douglas and Main in front of the museum. The 5K run will begin at 8 a.m. with the 2-mile walk to follow at 8:15 a.m. Paid registrations received by Aug. 5, receive a free T-shirt.

Prizes awarded to each divisions’ top male and female finishers. For more information, contact the Dane G. Hansen Museum at 785-689-4846. This event is sponsored by the Dane G. Hansen Museum with funds from the Dane G. Hansen Foundation.

The Dane G. Hansen Museum is open  9 a.m. to noon and 1 to 4 p.m. Mondays through Fridays, 9 a.m. to noon and 1 to 5 p.m. Saturdays and 1 to 5 p.m. Sundays and holidays. It is closed Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s Day.

The Museum is handicapped accessible and admission is always free thanks to the generous support of the Dane G. Hansen Foundation. For more information, call 785-689-4846.

SPONSORED: City of Liebenthal has new job openings

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The City of Liebenthal is seeking one or more individuals to fill the following part time positions. A valid driver’s license is required. Individuals seeking to fill multiple positions will be given priority in hiring.

MAINTENANCE/MOWING POSITION – Knowledge of operation and maintenance of mowers, tractors, chainsaws, trimmers, etc. Will be responsible for maintaining streets and city properties. Ability to
maintain equipment is also necessary. $400.00/month

WASTEWATER OPERATOR – Lift station and Sewer System maintenance. Must have a Small Systems Waste Water operator license or willing to test within one year of start date. Yearly training to maintain wastewater license will also be required. $400/month

WATER OPERATOR – Must have a Small Systems Water Operator License or willing to test within one year of start date. Training every two years (or as regulated by the KDHE) is also required. Some water operator duties include: Clean and monitor well houses, collect water samples, monthly residential meter readings, assist with water repairs, flush fire hydrants, etc. $400/month.

Anyone interested is asked to submit inquiries and contact information to [email protected] or by calling 785-259-8778.

This weekend’s Hays-area garage sales

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Hays-area garage sales

Scroll to the bottom for a map of garage sale locations. Hays Post offers FREE garage sale listings weekly. Having a garage sale next weekend? Click HERE to submit your information.

3905 Fairway Dr. Hays
August 2nd – 3pm-8pm and August 3rd – 8am-11am

-Furniture
-Home decor
-Men’s, women’s, and children’s clothing
-Shoes
-Jewelry, hats, bags, etc
-Kitchen items
-Children toys, books and movies
-Blankets, pillows, and comforters

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3194 Olympic Lane, Hays
Friday, August 2nd, 3-7pm; Saturday, August 3rd, 8am-1pm

Furniture, antiques, kitchen, lawn/garden, tools, hobby gear, and so much more!

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211 E. 29th, Hays
Friday, Aug. 2, 11:00 a.m.-7:00 p.m. & Saturday, Aug. 3, 8:00 a.m.-Noon

Household & decorative items, kitchen items, tons of $1 DVDs, Gameboy/gameboy games/DS games, Ipad, clothing (little girls’ size 2-6; teen girls; women’s small to plus size; boys pre-teen/teen; & men’s), shoes, US Army digicamo, sports misc. (including water sports & golf balls), grills, books, toys & games, and much more!

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119 W 38th, Hays
Friday, August 2 Noon – 7 pm – Saturday, August 3 – 8 am – 1 pm

FOUR FAMILY SALE – Lots of furniture – bedroom set (queen), chairs, desks, window AC units, TV cabinet, etc., toys, baby clothes, baby bouncer, stroller, Little Tykes race car toddler bed, adult men & women clothes, purses, shoes, Christmas decor, books, clothes rack, ironing board, DVDs, VHSs, lots of misc.

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3005 Tam O’Shanter, Hays
Aug. 2 9:00-7:00, Aug. 3 9:00-12:00

Something for everyone!

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Hays Eagles advance to state semifinals with win over Great Bend

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HAYS – The Hays Eagles Senior American Legion baseball team scored double figure runs for the seventh straight game as they defeated the Great Bend Chiefs 14-7 Friday in the final game of pool play at the AA/AAA American Legion State tournament.

Coach Dustin Schumacher postgame interview

Brock Lummus gave the Eagles (33-6) the lead in the first inning on nan RBI single but Hays left the bases loaded and led 1-0 after the first inning.

Great Bend took the lead in the second inning, scoring a run on a sacrifice fly and an error.

Down 2-1 through two inning the Hays Eagles sent 12 men to the plate in the third inning and scored eight runs to take a 9-2 lead. Dominic Bainter singled in a pair of runs and Trey Riggs drove in two more runs with two-out double.

Hays battered around in the fourth inning as well as the Eagles scored three runs in the top of the inning. Tate Garcia singled in a pair of runs in the inning as the Eagles took a 12-2 lead into the bottom of the fourth.

The Eagles had a couple of chances to end the game early via run-rule but Great Bend kept hanging around before Hays was able to earn the 14-7 win.

Eagles starter Cody Petersen earned the win for the Eagles. He allowed five runs, two earned, on seven hits with three walks and five strike outs in six innings.

Tate Garcia finished two-for-three with three RBI’s and Trey Riggs added three RBI’s as well.

Hays advances to the semifinals on Saturday and will take on Sabetha at 10 a.m.

Sabetha lost to Iola Friday and finished second in pool B. Iola won pool B and will take on Emporia in the second semifinal game at 12:30 p.m.

The two winners will play in the championship game at 3:15 p.m.

Audubon of Kansas director receives conservation award

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Ron Klataske

KDWPT

TOPEKA – Ron Klataske, executive director of Audubon of Kansas, was recently honored with the Western Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies’ (WAFWA) President’s Award in recognition of his long-time commitment to conservation efforts in Kansas, Nebraska and the central Great Plains. Brad Loveless, Secretary of the Kansas Department of Wildlife, Parks and Tourism (KDWPT), acting in his capacity as WAFWA president, presented the award to Klataske at the WAFWA Annual Conference in Manhattan, KS on July 15, 2019.

Klataske has led conservation efforts for 50 years as a representative of the National Audubon Society from 1970 to 1998 and Audubon of Kansas beginning in 1999. Klataske’s portfolio of successful campaigns includes the Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve in the Kansas Flint Hills and the designation of a 76-mile portion of the Niobrara River in Nebraska as a National Scenic River. He was a driving force behind the creation of the Konza Prairie Biological Research Station south of Manhattan, the Tallgrass Prairie in Oklahoma, a trail system using the flood control levees along the Kansas River in Lawrence and the linear trail in Manhattan.

Furthermore, he helped stop proposed dam and diversion projects on Nebraska’s Platte and Niobrara rivers. His efforts preserved the migration stopover locations of the sandhill crane. Every year from late February to early April, hundreds of thousands of sandhill cranes stop along the Platte River on their way northward, creating one of the most majestic migration spectacles in the country. Klataske spearheaded the formation of Nebraska’s crane festival to celebrate this yearly event. The festival will have its 50th anniversary in March 2020 and educates and inspires thousands of visitors each year.

In announcing the award, Loveless noted that Klataske was well-deserving of WAFWA’s President’s Award. “Ron is a great partner to KDWPT, and not because we always agree,” he said. “We sometimes don’t see eye-to-eye, but Ron brings diverse perspectives, visionary ideas and seemingly boundless passion and creativity. We need people like Ron to help us make better decisions. He has created a positive legacy of conservation in the Great Plains and we owe him our gratitude.”

About WAFWA

The Western Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies (WAFWA) has been advancing conservation in western North America since 1922. It represents 24 western states and Canadian provinces. WAFWA is an expert source for information about western wildlife and supports sound resource management and building partnerships at all levels to conserve native wildlife for the use and benefit of all citizens, now and in the future.

Woman fined after dog attacks circus pony that had to be euthanized

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JOPLIN, Mo. (AP) — A woman has been fined $600 and ordered to pay another $500 in restitution after her dog mauled a retired circus pony so severely that it had to be euthanized.

Gunther the white pony photo courtesy KOAM-TV

Taylor Harris also was placed on probation after pleading guilty in Joplin Municipal Court to allowing a dog to run at large. The restitution must be paid by June 19, 2020. That will be the one-year anniversary of the deadly attack on Gunther, a white pony who was retired from Ringling Bros. Three others horses also were bit but survived.

Gunther’s owner, Suzi Salazar, says the highly trained pony was valued at $25,000.

City Prosecutor Joe Crosthwait says Harris’ dog, which appeared to be a pit bull mix, was surrendered and euthanized.

NW Kansas woman hospitalized after violent crash

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THOMAS COUNTY — One person was injured in an accident just after 4p.m. Friday in Thomas County.

The Kansas Highway Patrol reported a 2014 Chevy Impala driven by Joyce A. Burk, 68, Goodland, was westbound on Interstate 70 just east of the Levant exit.

Before the driver got to the overpass, the car left the roadway to the left and entered into the median. The vehicle continued westbound through the median until it went airborne and dropped under the overpass, facing west on County Road 6.

EMS transported Burk to Citizens Medical Center. She was properly restrained at the time of the accident, according to the KHP.

67-year-old Kansas man tried to have sex with 13-year-old

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WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — A 67-year-old Wichita man who tried to have sex with a 13-year-old girl has been sentenced to three years of probation.

Raymundo Sanchez photo KBi Ofender Registry

Sedgwick County records show Raymundo Arroyo Sanchez was sentenced Wednesday after pleading guilty to aggravated indecent solicitation of a child.

Sanchez could be sent to prison for 32 months if he violates his probation. He also must complete sex offender treatment and register as a sex offender for the rest of his life.

Prosecutors say he tried to have sex with the 13-year-old girl in September 2018. She was with three younger girls who went to Sanchez’s apartment near a park after he offered them drinks and snacks. The girl knew Sanchez, who had previously given her drinks and snacks.

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