The Sunflower Foundation has appointed Ben Schears of Goodland to the Board of Trustees. Schears was appointed by Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt. At the same time, Schmidt also announced the reappointment of Andrea of Krauss of Russell and Liz Sosa of Garden City.

Ben Schears of Goodland has been appointed to his first three-year term on the Sunflower Foundation Board of Trustees. Schears is the President of Northwest Kansas Technical College in Goodland. Northwest Tech provides technical education to a 17 county service area in Northwest Kansas and is one of the fastest growing colleges in the state. Ben also serves as the President of the Kansas Association of Technical Colleges, a member organization advocating for the seven Kansas technical colleges. He is a graduate of Flint Hills Technical College, Cowley County Community College, and Emporia State University.

Schmidt also reappointed Andrea Krauss of Russell to a third three-year term on the Sunflower Foundation Board of Trustees, which will expire in June 2022. Krauss is Secretary/Treasurer at John O. Farmer, Inc. and was first appointed to the foundation board by Attorney General Derek Schmidt in 2013. Krauss currently serves as chair of the Sunflower Foundation Board of Trustees and is a former chair of the Russell County Hospital Board and the Russell Area Chamber of Commerce. She also continues to serve on the Kansas Independent Oil and Gas Association board and the Russell County School Board.

Schmidt also reappointed Liz Sosa of Garden City to a second three-year term on the Sunflower Foundation Board of Trustees, which will expire in June 2022. Sosa is CEO of Epitome Enterprises and was first appointed to the foundation board by Attorney General Derek Schmidt in 2016. Sosa is a former Commissioner for the Kansas Hispanic and Latino American Affairs Commission and has diverse work experience in higher education, economic development, small business management, and community development.

The Sunflower Foundation also expresses appreciation to outgoing trustee Les Lacy of St. Francis. Lacy is the Vice President for Regional Operations at the Great Plains Health Alliance and has served on the board since 2010.

We are grateful to these trustees for their passion and commitment to advancing the Foundation’s mission to serve as a catalyst for improving the health of all Kansas.

The Sunflower Foundation was formed in 2000 as part of a settlement between Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas, the Kansas attorney general, and the Kansas insurance commissioner. The Foundation’s mission is to serve as a catalyst for improving the health of all Kansans by directing resources to grant programs, special initiatives, and related activities that help people and communities achieve and maintain optimal health. The nine-member Board of Trustees governs the Foundation’s work and oversees the long-term goals of the Foundation. Eight of the members are appointed by the attorney general, and one member is appointed by Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas. The voluntary trustees serve three-year terms and can serve up to three terms.

— Submitted

By CRISTINA JANNEY
Hays Post

The West Central Kansas Special Education Cooperative is asking for a 5 percent funding increase for the upcoming budget year.

This would be about $80,000 for the Hays school district, which would come from the general fund.

The co-op has not requested a funding increase in five years. The average increase in payments from districts in the region to their co-ops has been about 12 percent over the last two years, Chris Hipp, co-op director, said.

The co-op is administered by Hays USD 489 and also includes Ellis, Victoria and La Crosse. The co-op also provides special education services for private school students in those four communities.

The co-op budget is up an estimated 9.3 percent, or $638,000, this year compared to FY2018. The most significant increase was in salary and benefits.

The co-op has had to dip into its reserve to cover expenses two of the last five years. Hipp estimates this year the co-op will have a cash balance of about $1.5 million, which is $274,000 less than at the end of the last fiscal year.

The majority of the co-op’s expenses are teacher and paraprofessional salaries and benefits. This equals about $625,000 per month. The co-op is trying to maintain at least two months worth of salary in reserve.

The co-op is legally required to provide special education services to any student that lives in its member districts. Reserves are important, because officials never know when a high-needs student might move into the district and the co-op’s costs would increase.

The co-op is expecting a 3 percent increase in expenses for FY2020 for a total budget of $7.7 million. State revenue is estimated to be up by about 6.5 percent, but federal funding is expected to remain flat. Because Hays has the majority of the special education students, it pays 75 percent of the co-op budget. Hays’ share of the budget for FY2020 is estimated at almost $1.7 million.

The Hays USD 489 plans to republish its budget to account for about $25,000 in additional money the co-op received in state money. This was due to the district adding more teachers and paras.

Once the school district publishes its budget, it can’t spend any more than is listed in that budget. Republishing the budget will allow the co-op to spend the additional money it has received. No additional taxes will be levied as a result of this action, Keith Hall, USD 489 finance director, told the board Monday night.

Leaders from across the state’s early childhood system will be in Hays collecting feedback, from the public, as part of a series of Community Engagement Sessions being held across Kansas. Sessions are taking place between now and the end of July.

A session will be held in Hays from 10 to 11 a.m. June 4 at Fort Hays State University’s Memorial Union Black and Gold Room.

The Kansas Children’s Cabinet and Trust Fund, the Kansas Department for Children and Families, the Kansas Department of Health and Environment, the Kansas State Department of Education, and early childhood partners encourage community members to join Governor Laura Kelly at the Hays session as they seek information from Kansans to develop a statewide strategic plan for early childhood.

Perspectives shared at these sessions will help inform the state’s understanding of what programs exist, what is working well, where we have challenges, and how we can work together to make sure each Kansas child has the best possible start in life. These sessions are open to the public. Parents (of children of all ages), community leaders, health providers, early childhood stakeholders, members of the business community, elected officials, and other interested parties are all invited and encouraged to share their thoughts and experiences.

“Governor Kelly has articulated her vision for universal access to high-quality early learning opportunities for all Kansas children, creating a climate where we can all consider ourselves early childhood stakeholders,” said Melissa Rooker, executive director of the Kansas Children’s Cabinet and Trust Fund. “By inviting communities to come together to share information about their strengths, challenges, dreams and opportunities, we will be able to develop a strategic plan that is inclusive, thoughtful and based on Kansas priorities,” she added.

For more information on these Community Engagement Sessions, including times, locations, and marketing materials, visit www.kschildrenscabinet.org/early-childhood.

— Office of the Governor

KDC

TOPEKA – The Kansas Department of Commerce is proud to announce the beginning of Business Appreciation Month by announcing several award winners, including the finalists for the Governor’s Award of Excellence.

The Kansas Department of Commerce’s Business Appreciation Month program has been in place since 1995 and serves as a statewide tribute to Kansas businesses for their contributions to our state. Individuals and organizations are invited to nominate businesses that contribute jobs and support their local communities.

Businesses are nominated in one of four categories:

• Service
• Retail
• Manufacturing/Distribution
• Hospital/Non-Profit

One winner in each category is chosen from each of the seven designated regions of the state by a panel of judges from the business and economic development community.

Once regional winners are determined, the judges select the top nominees as the finalists for the Governor’s Award of Excellence, which is the highest award given to a business by the state of Kansas.

Before the judging team makes its final recommendation for the winner of the Governor’s Award of Excellence, the finalists are given a chance to make presentations to the panel of judges. This gives the finalists an opportunity to expand upon the information that was submitted in their nomination.

The following companies are finalists for the Governor’s Award of Excellence:

• Leeway Franks of Lawrence, KS
• Mi Rancho Tequila of Kansas City, KS
• Morningstar Care Homes of Fredonia, KS
• ColdPoint Logistics of Edgerton, KS

The official selection for this award will be announced at the Team Kansas Awards Banquet on June 4 at the Kansas State University Alumni Center in Manhattan, KS.

Alongside the Award of Excellence, the Department of Commerce is announcing awards in the Regional and Merit categories.

The following companies are this year’s Regional Award Winners:

• Backroad Atlas
• Clay County Medical Center
• Cleaver Farm and Home
• Courser Lap Clinical and Family Services
• Cumbernauld Village
• Florence Corporation
• Fox Home innovations, LLC
• Gella’s Diner and LB. Brewing Co. – Hays
• Genco Manufacturing, Inc.
• Guardian Home Health, LLC
• Kimbroy’s Properties
• Kowpoke Supply
• Pars Consuting/ Pars Bioscience
• Prairie Horizon Agri-Energy, LLC
• Rooks County Health Center – Plainville
• Standard Beverage Corporation
• The Building Center
• Union Bank & Trust
• Wichita State University and Innovation Campus Expansion

The following companies are this year’s Merit Award Winners:

• 6th Avenue Boutique & Bronze
• Arthur’s Pizza and Mexican Foods –  Ellis
• Artistic Works by Lu
• Atchison Community Health Clinic Inc.
• B-Hive
• BlackHawk Development
• Bourbon & Baker
• Brant’s Market – Lucas
• Caney Drug
• Chestnut Ave Venue
• CK Pharmacy (Moundridge, McPherson & Peabody)
• Clorox (M&M Manufacturing)
• Coast to Coast Title company
• Crop Service Center-Beverly
• Downs Community Garden –  Downs
• Downtown Hays Development Corporation – Hays 
• Driscoll Law Office – Russell
• E & K Retail Inc
• Elite Physicals
• Ernest-Spencer Metals, Inc
• Flame Engineering – La Crosse
• Forte Products
• Fredonia Outdoor Equipment
• G & W Foods
• Harvest Video
• Heartland Hay
• Hiawatha Ford
• Insurance Smart
• Irsik & Doll Feed Services, Inc
• J&J Precision Machining LLC
• JenRus Freelance
• Kansas Barbed Wire Collectors Association, Inc – La Crosse
• Kansas Country Store
• Kanza Mental Health and Guidance Center
• KC Hemp Co.
• KJ’s Pizzeria
• LaHarpe Communications
• Land Pride (division of Great Plains Manuf.) – Lucas
• Mcarty Office Machines, Inc
• Melby’s Home Center
• Midland Marketing – Hays
• Monroe 816
• Moundridge Communications Network
• Muir Law Office – Stockton
• Old 40 Bar and Grill – Dorrance
• Outback Guidance Division of Hemisphere GNSS(USA) Inc
• Pine Village
• Porto do Sul
• Potwin Store/ Nuser Foods
• Prairie Land Gamebirds
• Pratt Glass Enterprises LLC
• R and R Manufacturing
• Regeena’s Flowers and Events – Hays
• Rejuvv Spa
• Republic County Hospital
• Russell Food Bank – Russell
• Ryan Disbrow State Farm Agency
• Saint John Hospital
• ServPro of Leavenworth & NW Wyandotte County
• Silly Swedes Cycle Source
• SKOL South Kansas & Oklahoma Railroad
• Solid Rock Café
• Soul Sister Ceramics
• State Farm (Hiawatha)
• The Bean Coffee Company
• The Bradbury Group
• The Closet Boutique –  Russell
• The Depot
• The Hideout Coffeehouse
• S. Stone Industries
• Village Lines
• World’s Largest Things – Lucas
• Young Sign Co. Inc

FHSU University Relations

Fort Hays State University recently held its first ceremony and ribbon cutting for the Lynn Haggard Undergraduate Library Research Award. The winner of the $500 cash award was Avary Huff, a Topeka sophomore majoring in tourism and hospitality management.

Over 60 people including donors, retired librarians, FHSU faculty and staff, as well as community members were in attendance for the ceremony.

The award recognizes excellence in undergraduate research that incorporates the use of Forsyth Library resources and demonstrates sophisticated information literacy skills.

“This award sought to evaluate not just the research product, but the research process,” said Nathan Elwood, instruction and electronic access librarian. “The judging committee looked at students’ ability to locate high quality information, evaluate it critically, and use it insightfully.”

A committee of librarians, graduate students, and faculty from across a wide array of disciplines and studies came together to evaluate the scholarship entered by students.

Huff’s paper, “Living the Suite Life: The Implementation of Environmental Technologies in the Hotel Industry,” was completed as part of a tourism and hospitality management course. Thomas Lippert, instructor of management, was Huff’s faculty mentor.

“It was an honor to mentor Avary in this research assignment and help champion her paper,” said Lippert. “Avary indicated that she now realizes that working with librarians at Forsyth benefits the quality and depth in the research process.”

“Huff, in developing her essay, utilized an array of specialized tools and techniques, consulted with library faculty for additional support, and critically evaluated both the sources she utilized and her own skill in using them,” said the committee.

“The Lynn Haggard Undergraduate Library Research Award honors Lynn Haggard, retired Forsyth Librarian, and her 18 years of passionate service to the FHSU community and highlights the role of libraries as partners in student learning,” said Deborah Ludwig, dean of Forsyth Library.

Two additional finalists of the 16 applicants were recognized for their work alongside Huff.

Jordan Stevens, a Wichita sophomore majoring in history, wrote “There’s Something Happening Here: American Protest Songs of the Vietnam War.” Hollie Marquess, instructor of history, was Stevens’ faculty mentor.

Michala Bieker, a Great Bend junior majoring in early childhood unified, wrote “Action Research Project.” Dr. Linda Feldstein, assistant professor of teacher education, was Bieker’s faculty mentor.

The works of the winner and two finalists will be preserved and accessible in the FHSU Scholars Repository at https://scholars.fhsu.edu.

“Our students live in an age where the ability to think critically depends on finding and analyzing information that is unbiased and factual,” said Ludwig. “That skill is foundational to participation in a democratic and increasingly global society. Lynn Haggard helped many FHSU students develop that skill and we honor her legacy with this award”

By CRISTINA JANNEY
Hays Post

It’s been a soggy few days for northwest Kansas.

As of 8 a.m. Tuesday morning, Hays received 1.75 inches of rain in the last 24 hours.

So far this month, Hays has received 5.01 inches, which is more than the 3.24 inch average for the whole month.

The storms of the last two days has also pushed the Hays over its year to date rainfall average. Since Jan. 1. Hays has received  8.63 of rain, which is more than the 7.81 inch year-to-date average for the end of May.

Ellis and Rush counties remain in a Flash Flood Watch until 1 p.m. Tuesday.