2019 – Page 540 – Hays Post Archive

Belgian ambassador to speak at Dole Institute

Posted on May 26, 2019May 25, 2019

KU NEWS SERVICE

LAWRENCE – The Robert J. Dole Institute of Politics at the University of Kansas will welcome Dirk Wouters, ambassador of Belgium to the United States, for a public program this summer.

Wouters will deliver remarks at the institute at 2 p.m. June 13. The program is free and open to the public, and a free livestream of the event will be available.

In his talk, Wouters will highlight some of the current challenges facing the European Union and developments in the U.S. that have affected transatlantic relationships. This will include the current U.S. presidential administration’s approach to relations with Russia and China, trade deficits, NATO and Europe’s energy dependence.

The ambassador was appointed to his position in September 2016. He represents the king of the Belgians and Belgium’s federal government in the U.S. and in the Commonwealth of the Bahamas. He is responsible for the direction and work of the embassy and its consulates, including bilateral political and economic relations.

Prior to his current assignment, the ambassador was permanent representative of Belgium to the European Union (EU). Wouters has served his nation’s international interests extensively, having joined the Belgian Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 1980. In 1986, he began his efforts representing Belgium in European affairs, and he later received an assignment in Rome dealing with political and economic issues. Beginning in the mid-1990s, he served as deputy permanent representative of Belgium to the United Nations (UN) in New York City.

The ambassador’s work would shift to the EU in 2003-2009, where he served as permanent representative of Belgium to the Political and Security Committee. He would later join the office of the Belgian prime minister as a diplomatic adviser, and later, the office of the minister of foreign affairs as chief of staff.

The Robert J. Dole Institute of Politics is dedicated to promoting political and civic participation as well as civil discourse in a bipartisan, philosophically balanced manner. It is located in KU’s West District and houses the Dole Archive and Special Collections. Through its robust public programming, congressional archive and museum, the Dole Institute strives to celebrate public service and the legacies of U.S. senators Bob Dole and Elizabeth Dole.

More information on all programs, as well as ongoing additions to the schedule, can be found on the Dole Institute’s website, www.doleinstitute.org.

Driver hospitalized after vehicle strikes trees in Phillips Co.

Posted on May 26, 2019May 26, 2019

PHILLIPS COUNTY— One person was injured in an accident just before 9p.m. Saturday in Phillips County.

The Kansas Highway Patrol reported a 2014 Honda CRV driven by Francis L. Karlin, 72, Bloomington, MN., was southbound on U.S. 183 thirteen miles south of Phillipsburg. The driver lost control of the vehicle when he swerved to miss a deer.

The vehicle entered the east ditch and continued, striking several cedar trees.

EMS transported Karlin to the hospital in Phillipsburg. He was properly restrained at the time of the accident, according to the KHP.

Yankees hold on for DH sweep of Royals, win 7th straight

Posted on May 25, 2019

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Austin Romine and Cameron Maybin each drove in two in New York’s five-run second inning, and the Yankees held on to beat the Kansas City Royals 6-5 Saturday night, completing a sweep of a doubleheader for their seventh straight win.

Romine finished with three hits and Maybin also had an RBI single in the third as won both games after severe thunderstorms postponed Friday night’s contest.

Luke Voit hit a go-ahead home in the seventh inning and Thairo Estrada added a two-run double in the eighth inning of the opener to power the Yankees to a 7-3 victory.

Chance Adams threw four innings to earn his first major league victory in the second game after Chad Green threw one inning as the Yankees’ opener. Adams allowed three runs and five hits, with a couple of misplayed balls in the outfield leading to two runs in the fourth inning.

Jonathan Holder, Tommy Kahnle, Zach Britton and Aroldis Chapman each threw one inning in relief to close out the win. Chapman allowed a run on a walk, error and sacrifice fly, but was still able to notch his 250th career save, and 14th this season.

The Yankees jumped all over Royals starter Jorge Lopez (0-6) in the second inning. The first seven batters all reached base, scoring five runs along the way. DJ LeMahieu capped the scoring in the inning with an RBI single, chasing Lopez from the game after facing just 10 batters.

The Royals’ bullpen held the Yankees down after the big second inning, allowing one run and four hits in seven innings of work. New York didn’t score again after Maybin’s hit in the third made it 6-1.

Hunter Dozier doubled twice after going hitless in the opener, driving in Adalberto Mondesi in the first inning and coming around to score on Jorge Soler’s double in the fourth inning.

J.A. Happ (4-3) threw six strong innings in the opener, striking out 10. He allowed only a single hit until a familiar problem showed up in the sixth when Whit Merrifield hit a tying, three-run homer. It was the 14th homer Happ has allowed, tied for second most in the majors.

But unlike past home runs, Happ threw a good pitch, and Merrifield simply put a good swing on the ball.

“You tip your cap. He hit a ball at his shoulders,” Happ said.

Yankees manager Aaron Boone won’t let one swing take away from Happ’s effort.

“It was a dominating effort,” he said. “He had swings and misses all day on the fastball. I thought he was just locked in from a focus standpoint, getting the ball and executing pitches all day long.”

Voit quickly restored the Yankees’ lead when he connected off Scott Barlow (1-1) for a 470-foot home run and New York’s bullpen closed out the win.

“It doesn’t matter if I’m hitting, Gary (Sanchez), Gleyber (Torres), whoever. Everybody calls us the Baby Bombers, so I feel like someone will hit a home run or get a big hit,” Voit said.

Voit grew up near St. Louis, was drafted by the Royals out of high school, went to Missouri State and made his major league debut with the Cardinals.

“To hit the farthest home run I’ve probably ever hit in front of them is pretty surreal,” Voit said.

Mondesi stole his major league-best 18th base in the opener.

Barlow had his second straight shaky outing for the Royals. His ERA sat at 2.01 after a scoreless outing against the Los Angeles Angels on Sunday, but got tagged for four runs in 1 2/3 innings on Wednesday in St. Louis and gave up four more runs Saturday in 1 1/3 innings.

“We gave up six runs on three hanging sliders today and Barlow threw two of them,” Royals manager Ned Yost said.

CONSECUTIVE TWINBILLS

The Royals were back in action for the first time since playing a doubleheader against St. Louis on Wednesday, which also was caused by stormy weather. Kansas City is playing consecutive doubleheaders for just the eighth time in franchise history, and first time since August 13-14, 1983. It’s just the second time Kansas City has played consecutive doubleheaders against two different opponents, the other time occurring on April 19 and 22, 1972, against Oakland and the Chicago White Sox.

ROSTER MOVES

Royals: Kansas City recalled LHP Brian Flynn from Triple-A Omaha and optioned RHP Richard Lovelady. Lovelady remained with the team as the 26th player for the second game of Saturday’s doubleheader. Flynn hasn’t pitched yet this season after spraining the UCL in his throwing arm late in spring training. The 29-year-old lefty appeared in six games for Omaha, allowing 10 runs in 22 2/3 innings pitched. He had a 2-2 record with a 3.57 ERA.

Yankees: Chance Adams was recalled Saturday to serve as New York’s 26th player in Game 2 of the doubleheader.

UP NEXT

The Royals and Yankees will close out their three-game set on Sunday. LHP Danny Duffy (3-1) will get the start for Kansas City looking for his fourth straight win. RHP Domingo German (9-1) will pitch for New York, seeking his major league-best 10th win.

Weather forces high school state track meet to third day

Posted on May 25, 2019

WICHITA – With just a handful of events left severe weather forced officials to push the reminder of the KSHSAA State Track and Field meet to Sunday morning.

After the meet was delayed Friday morning for nearly three hours and then postponed in the afternoon they were able to get in most of the remaining events on Saturday before another round of storms moved into the Wichita area Saturday night.

In the events they were able to get in the Osborne Bulldogs won but the high hurdles races. Afftin Conway won the girls 100 meters hurdles and Darrien Holloway won the boys 110-meter hurdles. Holloway also won the 300 high hurdles.

The TMP girls finished seventh in the 3A girls 4×800 relay with a time of 10:16.76.

The TMP boys finished fourth in the boys 3A 4×800 relay with a time of 8:20.51.

Trego’s Helen Giefer claimed the title in the 2A girls 1600 meters with a time of 5:18.36.

In the girls 2A 400 meter dash Plainville’s Aubree Dewey earned a first place finish with a time of 58.31. Ellis’ Cassie Waldschmidt finished second in a time of 59.36. Waldschmidt also placed fourth in the 2A girls 200.

The TMP girls’ high jumpers all recorded a height of 5 feet. Jenna Romme finished third by tiebreaker with Kassidy Yost right behind Romme in fourth and Makinsey Schlautman finished tied for sixth.

Gavin Meyers placed third for the Hays High boys in the 5A boys javelin with a throw of 167 feet 1 inch.

Hays High’s Brooklyn Schaffer placed seventh in the 5A girls 300 low hurdles.

In class 2A Ellis’ Grace Eck placed second in the girls 800 meters.

Hays High’s Tucker Veach earned a sixth-place finish in the 5A boys pole vault clearing a height of 13 feet.

On Sunday the remaining field events will start at 10 a.m. with the running events starting at 11 a.m.

Tune into 101.9 The Bull for updates beginning in the 12:00 p.m. hour.

Meyer captures 1,500m national title

Posted on May 25, 2019May 25, 2019

KINGSVILLE, Texas – Fort Hays State track and field senior Brett Meyer wrapped up the 2019 NCAA Division II Outdoor Track & Field Championships in style for the Tigers Saturday, winning the national championship in the 1,500m run. The title was the third individual national championship for the Tigers in the last three years and the 14th in NCAA history.

Meyer’s race was similar to his preliminary run on Thursday, cruising towards the back of the pack before making a final burst around the last turn to take the crown in 3:58.24. His final lap time of 53.37 was more than enough to make up the ground necessary, finishing a half second in front of second place. It was the Scott City, Kan. native’s sixth All-American honor in his storied career at FHSU.

Fellow senior Kolt Newell also earned All-American honors Saturday after finishing in a tie for 10th in the high jump. Newell needed just one jump to clear each of his first two heights, soaring over the 6-6.25 and 6-8.25 bar on his first attempts. The second team All-American honor is Newell’s third career All-American accolade.

Junior Alexcia Deutscher competed in the javelin throw at the national meet for the third time in her career Saturday, finishing 19th after a final toss of 134-2. The Ellis, Kan. native posted a career-best 160-2 earlier in the season.

Meyer’s win and freshman Ryan Stanley’s fourth-place finish in the pole vault earlier in the week gave the Tiger men 15 points in the team race, third-most among MIAA programs.

SW Kansas man sentenced for distribution of meth

Posted on May 25, 2019May 25, 2019

DODGE CITY – A Dodge City man was sentenced this week to 154 months in prison for distribution of methamphetamine, according to Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt.

Roman Del Real, 33, was sentenced by Judge Sidney R. Thomas in Ford County District Court. Del Real pleaded guilty in February to one count of distribution of a controlled substance.

The crime was committed in October 2016. The charge stemmed from an investigation by the Kansas Bureau of Investigation, Garden City Police Department, Dodge City Police Department, Ford County Sheriff’s Office, Finney County Sheriff’s Office and Kansas Department of Revenue Division of Alcoholic Beverage Control. Assistant Attorney General Melissa G. Johnson, former-Assistant Attorney General Jason B. Oxford and late-Assistant Attorney General Steven W. Wilhoft prosecuted the case.

Weather Service: EF-0 tornado hit rural southeast Kansas

Posted on May 25, 2019May 25, 2019

DOUGLASS, Kan. (AP) — The National Weather Service has confirmed that a weak tornado touched down Friday afternoon in a rural area near Douglass in southeastern Kansas.

Storm damage near Douglas photo courtesy National Weather Service

An EF-0 tornado, with winds from 65 mph to 85 mph, hit about 4:20 p.m. Friday and stayed on the ground only a couple of minutes. The weather service says the damage was relegated to trees in the area. No injuries or building damage was reported.

Meteorologists say heavy rains — which could worsen flooding — as well as strong winds and hail could be seen Saturday evening into Sunday for parts of eastern Kansas. Dry weather is expected Monday and for several days after that.

Voit, Yanks beat KC, open twinbill with 6th win in row

Posted on May 25, 2019May 25, 2019

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Luke Voit hit a go-ahead homer in the seventh inning and the New York Yankees won their sixth game in a row, beating the Kansas City Royals 7-3 Saturday to open a day-night doubleheader.

Friday night’s game was postponed because of severe thunderstorms, forcing the split twinbill.

J.A. Happ (4-3) threw six strong innings, striking out 10. He allowed only a single hit until a familiar problem showed up in the sixth when Whit Merrifield hit a tying, three-run homer. It was the 14th homer Happ has allowed, tied for second most in the majors.

Voit quickly restored the Yankees’ lead when he hit a two-run homer estimated at 470 feet off Scott Barlow (1-1). Voit also singled and scored in the first inning, scoring from first base on Clint Frazier’s two-run double.

Thairo Estrada added some insurance in the eighth with a double into the right field corner that scored Brett Gardner and Frazier. Gardner had three hits and scored twice.

Adam Ottavino and Luis Cessa combined to throw three scoreless innings in relief of Happ.

After Billy Hamilton reached on an infield single and Nicky Lopez singled, Merrifield connected for his seventh home run of the season. Merrifield didn’t hit his seventh homer last year until Aug. 5.

Lopez had a couple of hits in his first game as the Royals’ leadoff hitter and Adalberto Mondesi stole his major league-best 18th base.

CONSECUTIVE TWINBILLS

ROSTER MOVES

Yankees: Chance Adams was recalled Saturday to serve as New York’s 26th player in Game 2 of the doubleheader. Adams threw three scoreless innings in a 13-5 win over Tampa Bay on May 19, his only appearance this season.

UP NEXT

The Royals and Yankees will play Game 2 of their doubleheader Saturday night with a first pitch scheduled for 7:15 p.m. Jorge Lopez (0-5) will start for Kansas City while New York has yet to name a starter.

TV series about abolitionist John Brown to begin production

Posted on May 25, 2019May 25, 2019

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — A new television series with Ethan Hawke starring as the fiery abolitionist John Brown is set to film in Virginia.

Gov. Ralph Northam’s office announced Thursday that production of the eight-part series will start in central Virginia this summer. The show based on the novel “The Good Lord Bird” by best-selling author James McBride and is set to air on Showtime at a later date.

Brown led a raid in 1859 on a federal arsenal in Harpers Ferry, in what is now West Virginia, hoping to start an armed slave rebellion. The rebellion didn’t happen, and Brown was later hanged for treason.

Before the raid, Brown and a group of abolitionist settlers killed five pro-slavery settlers in Kansas in the Pottawatomie massacre.

Many factors helped save lives in Jefferson City twister

Posted on May 25, 2019May 25, 2019

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — Eight years to the day after a devastating tornado killed 161 people and injured more than 1,100 others in Joplin, another big twister ripped through Missouri — this time the capital of Jefferson City — but with a far different result: no deaths or serious injuries.

Tornado approaching Carl Junction, Missouri Wednesday night photo courtesy Sarah Harreus

The two storms hit Missouri cities roughly the same size on the same day of the year, May 22. And they both ravaged residential neighborhoods and business districts. But several factors created completely different scenarios — factors that worked against Joplin and helped spare the lives of Jefferson City residents like Debra Gary, who along with her husband, mother and four kids hunkered down in the basement before emerging to find their home badly damage.

“I always tell my kids, ‘Keep God first,’ because God was there for us,” Gary said Friday. “He kept us and our home safe when the tornado was going on.”

The Jefferson City twister was a big one, an EF-3 with winds estimated at 160 mph. But the Joplin tornado was a rarely-seen monster, an EF-5 with winds in excess of 200 mph. It was on the ground for 22 miles and 38 terrifying minutes, tearing through one-third of the town.

Then there was the timing. The Joplin tornado hit on a Sunday afternoon, as people were out and about, including hundreds who had just left the high school’s graduation ceremony.

“You had many more people potentially in the path, in vulnerable locations,” said Bill Bunting, chief of forecast operations of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Storm Prediction Center in Norman, Oklahoma.

The Jefferson City twister arrived in the middle of the night, which was actually a good thing, said Brian Houston, a communications professor and director of the University of Missouri’s Disaster and Community Crisis Center.

“We think of nighttime tornadoes being pretty dangerous because people might be asleep and not aware of them, but one of the good things is people tend to be at home, in structures,” Houston said. “It’s always better to be inside somewhere when a tornado strikes, rather than being out.”

The ability to find safe refuge from the storm also favored Jefferson City. Joplin sits in an area of southwestern Missouri where the soil is rocky, so basements are uncommon. In 2011, only about one in five Joplin homes had basements, which forced people to take shelter in far less secure places like bathtubs and closets. Basements are far more common in Jefferson City, which was built on rolling hills along the Missouri River.

Bunting and Houston agree that technology also was a factor that helped in Jefferson City. Smart phones are now omnipresent, and many people have alerts on their phones that warn of approaching weather danger.

Those warnings are now more precise, too. Houston said storm warnings are now more localized, meaning people “are hopefully more likely to take it seriously because you’re not getting these warnings for a tornado that’s on the other side of the county that might be dozens of miles away.”

National Weather Service image shows the track of the deadly storm moving from Kansas to Jefferson City-click to expand

Radar is more advanced, too. Forecasters were warning as far back as last week that the Plains and Midwest faced a highly dangerous storm scenario. On Wednesday night, central Missouri TV stations tracked the approaching storm and sirens in Jefferson City first sounded at 11:10 p.m., which was at least 30 minutes before the first property damage was inflicted. Gov. Mike Parson credited the warning system for saving lives.

As Jefferson City residents began the long task of cleaning up, they faced additional challenges: Flooding and heat.

The Missouri River topped a levee on the north side of town, threatening the airport and a few homes and businesses, including a golf course and events center Danny Baumgartner owns.

“It’s part of Mother Nature — these things happen, and you make the best of it and help each other out,” Baumgartner said. “With the tornado and this going on, it’s a lot of activities for a small community. But we’ll all make it.”

Flooding also forced the closure of some roads around the state Capitol, though the building itself sits on a bluff overlooking the river, out of harm’s way. The tornado also spared the Capitol building.

Ameren Missouri crews worked in sweltering humidity with a temperature nearing 90 degrees, replacing about 200 broken power poles and re-stringing lines in Jefferson City and Eldon, another central Missouri community hit by a tornado.

Ameren Missouri division director Chip Webb said it may be late Saturday before power is fully restored in Jefferson City.

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Trade opportunities with Mexico showcased in upcoming Hays session

Posted on May 25, 2019May 22, 2019

TOPEKA – The Kansas Department of Commerce and the Kansas Small Business Development Center are hosting several upcoming info sessions on export opportunities to Mexico.

To help Kansas companies gain traction in the Mexican market, Kansas Department of Commerce Mexico Office representative Tom Johnston will give presentations on export opportunities to Mexico on June 4 in Manhattan, June 5 in Hays, and June 6 in Dodge City.

These free sessions will focus on market trends, economic landscapes, trade concerns and opportunities for Kansas products and services. One-on-one meetings are available on a first-come-first-served basis. Companies interested in exploring the Mexican market are highly encouraged to attend these events.

Mexico is an important export market for Kansas, traditionally ranking as one of the state’s top three trading partners. In 2018, Mexico exports to Mexico totaled $2.1 billion, accounting for more than 18 percent of that state’s total exports. Compared with the previous year, Kansas exports to Mexico increased by $237 million. Mexico represents abundant trade opportunities for Kansas companies.

Registration for these events can be done via the following links:
• Manhattan (June 4)
• Hays (June 5)
• Dodge City (June 6)

KU prof’s debut book tracks down China’s ‘Missing Girls’

Posted on May 25, 2019May 23, 2019

KU NEWS

LAWRENCE — When University of Kansas professor John James Kennedy began working in rural China, he would get introduced to villagers with multiple children – despite the country’s strict one-child policy.

“Some of these villagers would have three kids. They’d introduce eldest daughter and youngest son by their name, but the middle daughter was the nonexistent one,” said Kennedy, associate professor of political science.

“They’d call them that with a nod and a wink: ‘hei hu’ — ‘the black child.’ When saying that, they meant unregistered.”

While China’s controversial mandate has led to an estimated 20 million “missing girls,” Kennedy asserts at least half of them aren’t truly gone. Instead, they are more a product of policy noncompliance between families and local officials to keep the births covered up.

That’s the contention of Kennedy’s debut book, “Lost and Found: The ‘Missing’ Girls in Rural China” (Oxford, 2019). The paperback, co-written with Yaojiang Shi of Shaanxi Normal University in China, publishes June 3.

Kennedy and Shi started researching this topic in 1995 and continued into 2015, mostly in the Shaanxi province in northern China. They interviewed residents, hospital employees, family planning administrators, registration officials and those responsible for issuing birth certificates – from the national, county and village levels.

He said this one-child policy, instituted in 1979 to curb the country’s rapid population growth, was easier to implement in cities because urban employment was connected to housing and social welfare. However, the execution of this proved far trickier in agrarian areas.

“The assumption was rural farmers had a son preference,” said Kennedy, who is also the director of KU’s Center for East Asian Studies. “The reason was they didn’t have insurance or pensions like urban folks, so they relied on their sons in old age to take care of them. Daughters were married out so they don’t live with their natal family; they take care of their husband’s family.”

By the mid-1980s, the government realized it was too hard to enforce this singular policy in rural areas. So they decided if the firstborn was female, families could have a second child without a fine. Families would have a girl, then go for a second child. If that baby was a girl, they would not register the infant.

Whereas urban households attempting this tactic had a much greater chance of getting caught, those in rural communities proved more successful.

“It’s because the street-level bureaucrats are not just agents of the state, they’re also villagers. They have to live with these people,” he said. “But by mutual noncompliance, they’re turning a blind eye to the deeper issues.”

Although estimates have often been inflated by academics and the media, many demographers believe the number of missing girls is in the 20 million range.

“They are either nominally missing – in that they are hidden – or are truly missing, which is through sex-selective abortion or infanticide,” he said.

Despite researching this topic for decades, Kennedy said the subject was previously too sensitive for his Chinese colleagues to publish at the time. The one-child policy ended in 2015, prompting greater scrutiny of its consequences.

A Los Angeles native who has taught at KU since 2003, Kennedy actually lived with the Chinese family who is featured on the cover of “Lost and Found.” He said this quintet was a fitting example of his findings: The son was registered as a second child, the oldest daughter as a first child, and the middle daughter went unregistered.

Kennedy, who is fluent in Mandarin and an expert in Chinese local governance, said of his inaugural book, “I hope it opens a broader discussion about our assumptions of villagers and their behavior.”

LATURNER: Saving for the future

Posted on May 25, 2019May 22, 2019

Jake LaTurner, Kansas State Treasurer

Graduation weekends are upon us. This is a time of year to celebrate the hard work and dedication of students and teachers and congratulate those we know who have succeeded at earning a degree and advancing into their next phase of life. For some that can mean going on to college, technical school, or a higher degree. And while these are worthy pursuits, the reality is they usually come with a pretty big price tag attached.

Paying for college is a big endeavor for most, but with some planning and foresight, it doesn’t have to be impossible. The State of Kansas offers some very simple solutions for getting a jumpstart on college savings, and the sooner you get started the better. Here’s a brief summary of a couple of very easy options and how they work:

529 Accounts: These are investment savings accounts you as a parent or grandparent can contribute to, tax-deferred. Put a little bit in automatically from each paycheck or set aside something each month to contribute. Large or small, these investments earn dividends over time and you get to choose how and when to contribute. With regular contributions to this kind of investment, you can watch your money grow into an amount that could fund your child’s future educational goals, at accredited higher education institutions anywhere in the United States. These funds can be used for qualified expenses at 2- or 4-year college, vocational school, technical college, graduate school, and even K-12 education institutions. The state of Kansas also allows you to take an annual tax deduction of up to $3,000 in 529 contributions if you’re single or $6000 if you’re married.

K.I.D.S. matching grants: The State of Kansas wants college to be achievable for all students. For families that may struggle financially to come up with the money to fund a child’s higher education goals, K.I.D.S. matching grants are a wonderful option to grow your money faster than you could on your own. You must live in Kansas and earn an income less than 200% of the federal poverty level. With these qualifications you can open a 529 account with any amount you wish and the state will match whatever you contribute, up to $600/year.

Year after year there are success stories of students graduating whose parents and grandparents took the time to think ahead on their behalf, putting away a little at a time and watching that money grow into a debt-free college experience for their new graduate.

Elaina was one such student. Her grandmother, Guadalupe Martinez started an account for her when she was little, contributing $25 per paycheck whenever she could. Upon Elaina’s graduation from high school, her grandmother presented her with a check that brought Elaina to tears. It was enough to get her through college debt free, which she did.

This is not an uncommon tale.

Kids across Kansas have been blessed with the opportunity of education because of the wise planning of someone in their life who cared enough to think ahead and save. Whether it is one of the above options or another kind of savings vehicle, I challenge Kansans during this special time of year to think ahead for someone they love and find a way to save. Every little bit adds up, and investing in a child’s future education now is one of the best gifts you can give them.

Jake LaTurner is the Kansas State Treasurer.