By JAMES BELL
Hays Post

As Harbor Freight took over a large portion of Big Creek Crossing, 2918 Vine, the facility offices and restrooms needed to be moved and, as the discount tool retailer prepares to open Tuesday, the new BCC facilities are almost ready as well.

Construction of the facilities is slightly behind, but for James Younger, Big Creek Crossing property manager, quality is more important than speed with the new construction.

“Obviously with a project as big as the buildout we are doing with Harbor Freight and construction on both ends, we were expecting a few hiccups and a few delays,” he said, “but we want to choose quality on this project over getting it done quicker.”

Delayed construction on the facilities, he said was mostly due to scheduling conflicts with subcontractors, but ensuring the construction was done correctly was more important than hiring sub-par contractors who would speed through the project, Younger said.

“We are using local subcontractors. We are talking about guys that are doing really good work, quality work,” he said. “If that involves us enduring a week or two extra in a temporary office, or a temporary restroom accommodation, that is something that we are definitely going to view as the lesser of two evils.”

The office will feature an open layout with large windows into the main hallway on the north end of the facility.

The new restrooms are near the north entrance with doors directly off of the hallway.

Construction should be completed this week, and Younger expects to begin moving into the offices over the weekend.

The restrooms’ fixture placement will begin after the new tile has had a chance to settle and the grout has completed drying and is expected to be opened in the next week.

“We definitely want to see a good finished product and a really nice new fresh look amenity for the public,” Younger said.

High Plains Mental Health Center this week announced the addition of two new psychiatric service providers who will be available to see northwest Kansas patients close to home. The two additional providers, who will see patients via Telemedicine, join our existing full-time and local medical staff: Dr. Virginia Patriarca, Dr. Mark Romereim, Jamie Malone, APRN, and Joseph Mindrup, APRN.

The additional psychiatric service providers are Cheryl Gore, APRN, and Kelsey Daugherty, DNP. They have begun seeing patients in High Plains’ 20-county service area via telemedicine units in six service locations: Hays, Colby, Goodland, Osborne, Norton and Phillipsburg through a new partnership between High Plains and InnovaTel TelePsychiatry.

Cheryl Gore is a nationally certified APRN specializing in psychiatry. She completed her bachelor’s of science degree in nursing from the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences and then earned her Master of Science in nursing at Western Kentucky University. She is currently pursuing her PhD in Clinical Psychology. She has completed specialized training in several areas of study, including autism, suicide prevention, chemical dependency, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and telemedicine. Over the past 24 years, she has held several positions in the behavioral health field, working with patients of all ages.

Kelsey Daugherty holds a Doctor of Nursing Practice from the University of Missouri-Kansas City. She has experience working with children, adolescents and young adults both in-person and through Telemedicine platforms. The majority of her career has been spent in the outpatient setting working as the sole prescriber in a large private practice alongside therapists of varying specialties. Kelsey values having a close, collaborative relationship with the clinicians and specialists with whom she shares patients and fosters these relationships to provide a truly integrated service.

“The additional psychiatric providers will be an important addition to our medical team, allowing us to expand medical access for our patients and reduce wait times. We are glad to welcome them to our team of local service providers,” Executive Director Walt Hill said. “Our staff has been working diligently to offer new patients same-day access to mental health services. We take our mission to provide quality health care to our communities very seriously and are always working to make mental health services more accessible and patient-friendly.”

High Plains has identified rapid access to mental health services as a high priority and is proud to offer same-day access to new patients. Telepsychiatry services are traditional services provided over a secure connection between two computers. The experience will be similar to a traditional office visit in many ways: Patients will be greeted by a nurse and will be able to communicate directly with their medical providers. Any prescriptions resulting from Telemedicine appointments can be filled at local pharmacies. High Plains Mental Health Center is proud to have been an early adopter of Telemedicine services, providing more than 50 service sites throughout northwest Kansas over the past 15 years. High Plains also offers a sliding fee scale for qualifying patients, and patients are not refused services if unable to pay. Medicare, Medicaid and commercial insurance policies are also accepted at High Plains.

“Our motto is we’re here for you, and we take that to heart. We want our communities to know it is OK not to be OK – there should not be any shame or negative stigma associated with seeking care at local facilities,” Hill said. “Mental health care is health care. There is always hope, and there is help.”

Locally owned and operated since 1964, High Plains employs approximately 140 staff members throughout its 20-county service area in northwest Kansas. With a main office building in Hays, High Plains also has full-time Branch Offices in Colby, Goodland, Norton, Osborne and Phillipsburg, in addition to community outreach offices in 14 counties. Other specialized services include Schwaller Crisis Center, a 24-hour crisis hotline and community-based support services for adults and youth. To learn more about High Plains Mental Health Center, visit www.hpmhc.com or find us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

High Plains Mental Health Center is a licensed community mental health center dedicated to the aggressive pursuit of providing a comprehensive mental health program to the residents of northwest Kansas. Embodied in this pursuit are fundamental principles of establishing quality services as close to home as possible, at an affordable fee, and delivered in the least disruptive manner available. Such services will offer a continuum of care so that treatment can be individualized, and our staff can respond quickly and compassionately to those reaching out to us. We’re Here for You.

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Fort Hays State University’s Dr. Ginger Loggins, assistant professor of informatics, recently received a $4,250 Scripps Howard Foundation Visiting Professors in Social Media grant.

Only six Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication (AEJMC) members were selected to receive the grant, which has been funded for nine years this year.

Loggins will work with Scripps Washington Bureau in Washington, D.C. In addition to teaching traditional introductory classes, she helps students produce weekly news and entertainment shows for Tiger Media Network. Her primary research interests include the history of local television news and how racial depictions on television can impact viewer prejudice.

Loggins is spending two weeks working in the news industry and learning first-hand how technology is shifting and changing the way news is delivered. After completing the two-week externship, each visiting professor shares the newfound knowledge and skills to his or her classroom, sharing with students what was learned.

“I am really supportive of these experiences, because they are a win-win for everyone,” said Angela Walters, interim chair of the Department of Informatics. “Dr. Loggins will share what she has learned with her students, and they are the key players in future of news reporting and delivery.”

The second phase of the program funds the travel of a news media outlet representative to the faculty’s campus for a three- to five-day visit.

Each grant provides $3,000 for the visiting professor’s travel, housing and other expenses for the two-week media outlet visit and $1,250 for expenses related to the outlet representative’s campus visit.

The Scripps Howard Foundation is the corporate philanthropy of the E.W. Scripps Company, a news and information company with 52 television stations in 36 markets.

“This will be an outstanding experience for Dr. Loggins,” said Walters. “Her expertise in journalism, storytelling forms and convergent media will serve her well as she takes part in important conversations regarding how technology is changing the news delivery model,” she said.

AEJMC is a nonprofit, educational association of journalism and mass communication educators, students and media professionals, founded 106 years ago in Chicago by a group of 23 journalism educators and practioners. For more information about AEJMC, email Lillian Coleman, AEJMC project manager at [email protected].

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.

2916 Walnut, Hays
Friday July 26 3-9, Saturday July 27 8 – noon

Clothing, furniture, toys, shoes

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114 West 38th St., Hays
Friday, July 26. 10:00 am-5:00 pm

Girl’s bike, Baseball tees, Baseball gloves, Books, Pet supplies, Christmas decor, Collectibles including Hallmark and Longaberger, Clothing including junior women size mostly small and medium. Formal dresses. Shoes. Lots of miscellaneous. Cash only.

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303 N Main, Plainville
Friday, July 26 5:00 pm – ? Saturday, July 27 8:00 am – 1:00 pm

A little of everything- large sale

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1037 250th Avenue, Hays
(2 mi S of bypass on 183-look for sign)
Fri. July 26 4-8 & Sat. July27 8-noon

sofa, desk, office desk chair, lg picnic table, Spot Bot, bed headboard, bar stools, teacher supplies, home decor, kitchen items, tv trays, books, many misc items.

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1110 Oakmont St, Hays
Saturday July 27th 10:00-2:00

Furniture, clothes, decor, area rug, dresser, tile flooring, lamps etc…

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