SHESC

SALINA – Years before joining Smoky Hill Education Service Center as one of its newest consultants, John Girodat was a high school principal having a difficult conversation with a teenager about to drop out of high school.

“I asked him if there was anything we could have done to avoid that conversation,” Girodat said, recalling, “And he gave me one of the best insights I’ve ever heard.”

He had given up on school in third grade, when he realized that if he was ahead of his classmates he would just be given “busy work” or sit around because they wouldn’t be getting to the next topic until tomorrow. He wasn’t pushed, or even allowed, to dig deeper and explore his strengths.

On the other hand, if he was struggling, he wasn’t given the time he needed to fully understand the material, because they had to get to the next topic tomorrow.

The student was turned off to school and eventually tuned out because of the rigidity of a system that didn’t meet his needs. The student wasn’t given the time to develop his strengths, or work on addressing his weaknesses, so he slowly withdrew from the educational process.

So now at Smoky Hill ESC since March 1, Girodat sees his mission as being coach and counselor to allow educators to focus on their kids.

Smoky Hill ESC is comprised of more than 50 Kansas school districts, including Hays USD 489, Ellis USD 388, and Victoria USD 432 across 25 counties.

“My main goal is to give support to our teachers, administrators and schools so they can accomplish the goals they have for their students. They don’t lack the will or ability to make these changes,” he said. “They lack the time. So my job is to do the things they could and would do if they had the time.”

He is designing his workshops, training, and consulting work to meet the personalized needs of area educators served by Smoky Hill ESC – whether that be understanding the influence of poverty; critically examining the true usefulness of grades, homework, and school discipline; or infusing practical skills that lead to employment into the classroom.

This has led to him developing courses this summer that go beyond academic abstraction and give workshop participants the skills and lessons they can apply in the classroom on day one. Girodat is also developing an array of workshops and training sessions coming this fall, with dates still to be determined, including:

·         Project Based Learning: Both the basics and more advanced topics of this innovative teaching style that gives students ownership, self-direction, and voice within their learning.

·         Grading and Homework: Focuses on making homework assignments and grading effective and efficient, as well as how to make these traditional parts of education meet their true purpose.

·         Family Engagement: Develop authentic and effective interactions and partnerships with students’ families to support student education – particularly families not already involved.

·         Chronic Absenteeism: Showing up to class is a strong early indicator of ultimate academic success. The class will teach participants how to use existing attendance data to identify and assist at-risk students as soon as possible.

·         Scarcity and Poverty: With almost half of Kansas students eligible for free or reduced lunch, poverty and scarcity has a profound effect on student education across the state. The class well help educators better understand the effect of scarcity on students and to be more effective in closing that achievement gap.

·         Self-Care for Administrators and Staff: There’s a reason airlines instruct passengers to put on their own oxygen mask before helping others – people have to care for themselves to be of any service to anyone else. In education, more and more is being asked of teachers and administrators and burnout is becoming epidemic. This course will address these critical self-care techniques.

Perhaps as important as Girodat’s expertise in these areas is his perspective. His knowledge is far beyond the academic, with nearly two decades in education in as a teacher, coach, athletic director, assistant principal, principal, and with the Kansas Department of Education as an education program consultant.

Having seen education at all levels, he can now step back and give the larger picture and quality advice to educators at all levels.

Those interested in workshops or training with Girodat – or the other six expert on-staff consultants or guest consultants – can visit www.smokyhill.organd click on the link for the calendar for a comprehensive month-by-month listing of all workshop events. A workshop brochure, monthly newsletter, and online registration form are also available under “News” or “Learn & Connect” on the site.

Girodat said students are in the classroom only about a quarter of their day-to-day lives, so the most important resource educators have isn’t money or materials.

It’s time.

“With limited time, we have to be intentional about what we do,” he said, “because we don’t have time to waste.”

Founded July 1, 1990, Smoky Hill Education Service Center is a cooperative consortium of more than 50 school districts, including Hays USD 489, Ellis USD 388, and Victoria USD 432 across 25 counties, formed to provide cost and efficiency savings in a variety of educational services for its participating members. The service center’s mission is: “In partnership with school districts, we promote success for learners by providing superior services.” Through staff development classes and services, the service center supports more than 2,700 teachers and administrators – benefitting more than 31,000 students. In addition to educational institutions, any non-profit or governmental organization can benefit from Smoky Hill Education Service Center, either as a member or by selecting needed services.

Visit www.smokyhill.org for details.

LARNED – Melanie Urban, RN, BSN, HACP has been named administrator of The University of Kansas Health System Pawnee Valley Campus in Larned. She will begin her duties on August 19.

Urban currently serves as the Director of Patient Quality services at HaysMed, a position she has held for the past 10 years. Overall, she has twenty-six years of experience in the healthcare industry serving as a quality, accreditation and infection prevention director; risk manager; case manager and acute care nurse. Urban has also served in a leadership role at Pawnee Valley Campus since 2010.

She earned a BS in nursing from Fort Hays State University, Hays, Kansas. Urban is a Healthcare Accreditation Certified Professional. She is a member of the American College of Health Executives, board member for the Kansas Association of Risk and Quality Management and task force member for the American Society of Healthcare Risk Management.

“The Pawnee Valley Campus is very dear to my heart and I look forward to expanding my leadership role at the hospital and integrating myself into the community,” Urban said. “I’ve been increasingly impressed by the amazing healthcare team and the outpouring of support the hospital receives from the community. The Pawnee Valley Campus is absolutely a top-notch facility and a vital part of the community.”

Urban is a native of central Kansas and she and her husband own and operate a farming operation in Rush county.

“I’m excited about Melanie becoming the new Administrator and vast experience she will bring to the facility. I look forward to her continued leadership with our organization in this new role.” stated Eddie Herrman, President and CEO, HaysMed, part of The University of Kansas Health System.

University of Kansas Health System Pawnee Valley Campus

The Ellis County Public Works Road & Bridge Division is announcing that Union Pacific will be performing railroad crossing maintenance on the crossing located at Walker Avenue and Highway 40, reference DOT #814307L, MM 275.46.

The maintenance will begin Wednesday and will last through Thursday.

Motorists traveling in the affected area should use alternate routes of travel until the project is completed.

Please direct any questions to Union Pacific at 1-888-877-7267.

— Ellis County Public Works

K-State’s Peterson outlines new control options

MANHATTAN – As the Kansas wheat harvest winds down, farmers likely are turning their attention to another bit of business in those same fields.

“With all the moisture we’ve gotten in the state this spring and summer, the weeds have come on,” said Dallas Peterson, a weed management specialist with K-State Research and Extension.

Previously flooded areas and other bare spots are prime locations for weeds, Peterson said. Plus, harvesting wheat means there are now more open areas for weeds to grow.

“We need to get on these (weeds) as soon as possible, especially in those areas where weeds were present when we were harvesting wheat,” he said. “They’re going to be tough to control.

“One thing we do have going for us is we are not limited on moisture; weeds are always more susceptible when they’re actively growing and not stressed, so that’s a good thing. But they are at an advanced stage of growth, and that does make them difficult to control.”

In past years, glyphosate has been the go-to herbicide to control most weeds, but Peterson notes that many species – including marestail, kochia and Palmer amaranth — have become resistant to glyphosate.

And, he adds, “in many cases the 2,4-D and the dicamba are not doing the job either, partly because in many cases we let the weeds get too big for them to control.”

Peterson said that farmers may need to consider alternative products, such as paraquat or flumioxazin, as effective weed management options.

Paraquat works well to control emerged pigweed and kochia. It can be used in tank mixes with atrazine, metribuzin, dicamba, 2,4-D and others. “We tend to get better long-term control with those tank mixes than when we use straight paraquat,” Peterson said.

“Wharpen is another herbicide that can be used as an alternative or tank-mix partner with other herbicides for burn-down of exiting weeds, as well as some residual control,” he said.

Flumioxazin is an herbicide used primarily in soybeans in the past, but Peterson said it may be beneficial as a tank mix partner for extended residual control of weeds in wheat stubble. “This is especially true in wetter summers,” he said, “which result in multiple flushes of pigweed and kochia.”

“The advantage to using the flumioxazin is the residual control, especially pigweed control,” Peterson said. “There’s a range of rates we can use, but probably 2-3 ounces per acre is the best. The main difference you’re going to see is the amount of residual control it provides.”

Farmers are encouraged to visit with their local extension agent for specific advice in their fields. They can also get updated recommendations from K-State in the annual publication, Chemical Weed Control for Field Crops, available online.

“We got spoiled when glyphosate was still working,” Peterson said. “It would control big weeds. Most other herbicides are not going to control the large weeds nearly as well. Even though some of these do have some residual, there are limits to that too; it’s not going to last forever.”

A grant of $22,000 from Logan’s Dane G. Hansen Foundation provided the final funding piece that enabled the Department of Applied Technology at Fort Hays State University to acquire new industrial robotic arms this spring.

The $62,000 total purchased five ScorBot ER4U educational robots to replace aging Rhino units from the 1980s.

“Small manufacturers throughout central and western Kansas are growing and now are looking for more tech savvy employees,” said Joe Chretien, associate professor of applied technology and the author of the grant.

“Manufacturers in Norton, Phillipsburg, Hays and other towns already use these technologies and are realizing their benefits,” said Chretien. “A different kind of employee is needed to operate, program and maintain these systems.”

The robotic curriculum of the department is not limited to FHSU students. FHSU faculty will also use the bench-top robotic arms to conduct workshops for high school and middle school teachers in regional communities.

“Our own KAMS students already take advantage of these types of curriculum,” said Chretien. Kansas Academy of Mathematics and Science students last spring used the ScorBot platforms for research and presented their findings at the annual Scholarly and Creative Activities Day in April.

He said the department will seek one new school district or two-year institution to form a partnership to conduct the workshops and extend the reach of the training.

“We are pursuing further additions to these systems and the larger industrial robotic systems, also,” said Chretien.

The Hansen Foundation grant was supplemented by funds from the Peter and Pamela Werth STEM initiative account and the FHSU Foundation.

HaysMed receives Get with the Guidelines Target: Stroke Honor Roll Elite Gold Plus Quality Achievement Award

HaysMed, part of The University of Kansas Health System,  has received the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association’s Get with The Guidelines Target: Stroke Honor Roll Elite Gold Plus Quality Achievement Award. The award recognizes the hospital’s commitment to ensuring stroke patients receive the most appropriate treatment according to nationally recognized, research-based guidelines based on the latest scientific evidence.

HaysMed earned the award by meeting specific quality achievement measures for the diagnosis and treatment of stroke patients at a set level for a designated period. These measures include evaluation of the proper use of medications and other stroke treatments aligned with the most up-to-date, evidence-based guidelines with the goal of speeding recovery and reducing death and disability for stroke patients. Before discharge, patients should also receive education on managing their health, get a follow-up visit scheduled, as well as other care transition interventions.

“HaysMed is dedicated to improving the quality of care for our stroke patients by implementing the American Heart Association’s Get with The Guidelines-Stroke initiative,” said Carol Groen, stroke coordinator. “The tools and resources provided help us track and measure our success in meeting evidenced-based clinical guidelines developed to improve patient outcomes.”

HaysMed additionally received the association’s Target: Stroke Honor Roll Elite award. To qualify for this recognition, hospitals must meet quality measures developed to reduce the time between the patient’s arrival at the hospital and treatment with the clot-buster tissue plasminogen activator, or tPA, the only drug approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to treat ischemic stroke.

“We are pleased to recognize HaysMed for their commitment to stroke care,” said Lee H. Schwamm, M.D., national chairperson of the Quality Oversight Committee and executive vice chairman of neurology, director of Acute Stroke Services, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts. “Research has shown that hospitals adhering to clinical measures through the Get with The Guidelines quality improvement initiative can often see fewer readmissions and lower mortality rates.”

According to the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association, stroke is the No. 5 cause of death and a leading cause of adult disability in the United States. On average, someone in the U.S. suffers a stroke every 40 seconds and nearly 795,000 people suffer a new or recurrent stroke each year.

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.

510 Sunflower Dr

Thursday July 18th 3pm to 7pm, Friday 3pm to 8pm, Sat 9Am to 12pm

Harley Items, Longaberger, Sofa Table, Dirt Devil Shampooer, Scrubs, Lots of Brand name clothing XS to Plus size clothing, Halloween and Christmas decorations and lots of Misc.

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401 East 22nd

Friday, July 19, 2019 from 3 – 7 pm

– Beautiful antique chest of drawers (4) with matching head and footboard

– Curio cabinet – New NEVER WORN men’s & women’s clothing

– Oscillating fans

– Various other household items

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3502 Hillcrest

Saturday July 20 8am

Huge sale ~ a lot of stuff need to get rid of … oak futon mattress w oak Fulton chairs …outside furniture …table …collectibles…. fishing .. tools … ele smoker…

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1352 W. Highway 40, Hays, Prairie Acres
Friday, 19th from 9A.M. -7P.M. Saturday, 20th from 9A.M.-12P.M.

new& display items books, electronics, home goods, many kids games, learning items excellent gifts items priced from $1 – $15 books are fun/collective goods items, 2002 Crown Victoria, refurbished furniture Air Conditioned Shed and outside items

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