As strong storms rolled across the state Friday night one area resident captured video of a tornado on the ground near Dodge City on Highway 54 between Bucklin and Minneola.

Check out the footage by clicking here.

 

 

 

CITY OF HAYS

In response to a request made by the city of Hays, the Kansas Department of Agriculture’s Division of Water Resources has issued a control order restricting the watering of lawns and other vegetation from private wells between noon and 7:00 p.m. from June 1, 2019 through September 30, 2019.

Currently, the city of Hays prohibits the following year-round:

• Washing down of sidewalks, parking lots and driveways
• Known loss of water through breaks or leaks in plumbing systems
• Escape of water from private property onto public property such as sidewalks or into the street guttering from landscape irrigation
• Outdoor water use between noon and 7:00 p.m. from June 1 through September 30

By RANDY GONZALES
FHSU University Relations and Marketing

Thanks to the Virtual College at Fort Hays State University, Josh Fitkin is still learning while he is teaching.

As part of his course work, Fitkin has already passed on lessons he has learned to his students when he was teaching in Iowa and also to fellow educators in Canada, where he now lives.

Fitkin, through Fort Hays State, is already having an impact on people’s lives with his degree.

“As a working teacher, I could use activities that I was doing in class at Fort Hays State, I would use it in school,” Fitkin said of his teaching days in Iowa.

Distance learning through the Virtual College enabled Fitkin to achieve his career goal.

“I could not attend university in Canada,” Fitkin said. “No problem. I’m at Fort Hays State. I can take classes anywhere in the world. That’s the beauty of the distance  learning program.”

Fitkin plans to walk across the stage at Saturday morning’s commencement exercises in Gross Memorial Coliseum after flying into Kansas from Canada just hours earlier. He will earn a master’s degree in instructional technology, part of the Advanced Education Programs Department in the College of Education.

An Iowa native, Fitkin moved his family to Canada about 11 months ago so his wife, a Canadian, could be closer to home. He had already started his online master’s program at FHSU and put the final touches on it just this week.
Since moving to Canada, Fitkin is waiting for the final paperwork for the work visa that will allow him to teach north of the border. In the meantime, his wife, Ruthann, is a substitute teacher, and he drives a shuttle car for a local car dealership in Trenton, Ontario. As part of his Fort Hays State online education, Fitkin was required to teach a professional development session with Canadian teachers.
“I was able to bring to them material that they had never heard of,” Fitkin said. “Again, Fort Hays is educating other teachers through their students. In a way, we’re impacting teachers and students in Canada.”

Fitkin’s advisor, Dr. Suzanne Becking, said the instructional technology master’s option is a popular online degree.

“It’s a degree that has been really well-received by teachers, people who have realized that the future for their students is in knowing and understanding some of our technologies out there,” Becking said. “The program itself is instructional technology. The focus is on instruction, not necessarily the technology or the devices. How do you use the technology to get at student learning?”
That is why Fitkin was looking for a master’s degree in the first place. His school in Iowa was buying laptops for each student, so he thought he should learn how to teach social studies and history while using that technology. Fitkin researched schools across the country before deciding on Fort Hays State. The lower cost of getting his degree at FHSU was a consideration, as was the fact he could do the entire program online.

“The master’s program was like thousands of dollars less than at my alma mater,” Fitkin said. “The thing that really made it possible was I never once had to step foot on campus as part of my program. A lot of other universities, even if they have an online program, you have to go there in the summer time for three weeks, something like that. Fort Hays State was completely off campus. I could be at home working from my recliner.”

Once his visa paperwork clears, Fitkin will again be working as an educator in Canada. Fort Hays State’s online degree will have furthered his career.

“With the master’s degree, I will be higher on the pay scale,” Fitkin said. “I also will be considered a highly qualified candidate as opposed to just a qualified candidate. It makes me more employable and gives me more opportunities.”

First, however, was the opportunity to walk across the stage for graduation. Fitkin, who struggled academically at the start of his college experience 20 years ago, has come full circle and will graduate from Fort Hays State with a 4.0 grade-point average. Even though his wife and two young children could not attend, Fitkin was determined to be part of commencement.

“It’s really a big deal for me,” said the 40-year-old Fitkin. “Having flunked out of college, I really wanted to walk, and I accomplished this. It’s going to be a little surreal to go through it. I am glad I am doing it.”

 

KDWPT

TOPEKA – Widespread spring rains haven’t dampened the outdoor spirit at Kansas state parks, although there will be impacts to some park facilities in eastern Kansas. However, many state parks in the western portion of the state were mostly unaffected by the rainy weather and are open and ready to welcome visitors. They include Wilson, Meade, Cedar Bluff, Glen Elder, Lovewell, Prairie Dog, Webster, Sand Hills and Historic Lake Scott state parks.

Most state parks in the eastern half of Kansas report that campsite and cabin rental opportunities remain even though some facilities in low-lying areas are not usable, such as campgrounds, boat ramps, courtesy docks, beaches and access roads. The campgrounds and cabins at Clinton State Park are on high ground and are open for visitors, although boat ramps and the beach are closed.

Many state parks are located adjacent to federal reservoirs, some of which are holding water to mitigate downstream flooding. As a result, rising water levels can overrun shoreline areas, including wildlife areas. State fishing lakes do not store water for flood control, so they are largely unaffected by rising water. Crawford State Park in southeast Kansas surrounds a state fishing lake, so that park has been unaffected by flooding.

At affected parks, staff are happy to work with visitors to change their reservations to a dry campsite if available, arrange for another date in the future, provide a gift card good for a future stay or issue a refund. Park staff remind visitors to never drive around barricades into floodwaters. Just like driving on streets and highways, the mantra, “Turn Around, Don’t Drown” also applies to state park roads.

Many state parks have special events planned for the weekend prior to the Memorial Day holiday, so there is plenty for park goers to do. Visitors are encouraged to call park offices for up-to-date information and campsite availability for the holiday weekend before setting out on their trip.

Visitors can also go to kshuntfishcamp.com to check on campsite and cabin availability and make reservations. For information about conditions at individual parks, go to https://ksoutdoors.com/State-Parks/State-Park-Alerts or visit KSOutdoors.com and click on State Parks for other information.

KDWPT

PRATT – Three-hundred and fifty students from across Kansas aimed to prove their archery skills at the 10th Annual State Archery in the Schools Tournament at Blythe Family Fitness Center in Pratt on March 30.

Kansas Department of Wildlife, Parks and Tourism staff, alongside members of the Kansas Bowhunters Association (KBA), erected the tournament’s 20-foot archery range the day prior. The set-up was complete with a 200-foot safety curtain – a purchase made possible last year thanks to a $3,000 district grant courtesy of the Pratt Rotary Club.

Archers shot for individual and team honors, and the opportunity to compete at the National Archery in the Schools Program (NASP®) competition. Divisions include Elementary School (grades 4-5), Middle School (grades 6-8), and High School (grades 9-12).

How It Works

Each competitor shot 30 arrows over two rounds. Rounds consist of fifteen arrows from 10 meters and fifteen arrows from 15 meters. A bullseye scores 10 points, so a perfect score would be 300. A team is made up of 12-24 shooters, and the team score is the sum of the top 12 scores.

Following the last flight, a “Senior Scholarship Shoot-off” took place where high school seniors shot 15 arrows at 15 meters to compete for scholarship money. First place winners, each receiving a $1,000 scholarship, were Nathanael Godsell of Heritage Academy and Shelby Hettenbach of Chapman High School. These top tier scholarship donations were made possible by the KBA, The Peoples Bank in Pratt and NASP®. Second place winners, each netting a $500 scholarship, were Trenton Jones and Bailey Julian, both from Pittsburg High School. The donations for 2nd place scholarship awards were donated by Dakota Holtgrieve – Edward Jones in Pratt, Eagle Sportz and NASP®.

Participating Schools

Archers hailed from 22 schools, including: Chaparral High School, Chapman Middle School, Chapman High School, Clay Center Community Middle School, Clay Center Garfield Elementary, Clearwater High School, Clearwater Middle School, Dodge City High School, Dodge City Central Elementary, Douglass High School, Greeley County Schools, Heritage Academy, Maize High School, Pittsburg High School, Pratt High School, Riverton High School, Service Valley Charter Academy, Southeast Junior High School, Tyro Christian School, Wakefield High School, Wakefield Middle School, and Warriors Archery.

The Scores

Team Standings:

High School

Clearwater, 3,247

Chapman, 3,237

Pittsburg, 3,151

Riverton, 3,032

Dodge City, 2,803

 

Middle School

Chapman, 3,229

Clearwater Team, 3,063

Service Valley Charter Academy, 3,018

Southeast Junior High School, 2,856

 

Elementary

Clearwater, 2,781

Service Valley Charter Academy, 2,531

Greeley County Schools, 2,128

 

Individual Standings:

High School – Boys

Aidan Brockman (Clearwater HS), 292

Nathanael Godsell (Heritage Academy), 286

Christian Hastings (Clearwater), 285

 

High School – Girls

Macy Bliss (Chapman), 281

Shelby Hettenbach (Chapman), 280

Jaydan Rogers (Clearwater), 280

 

Middle School – Boys

Kyle Mills (Chapman), 284

Micah Godsell (Heritage Academy), 275

Ben Griffis (Chapman), 274

 

Middle School – Girls

Gretchen Hill (Chapman), 277

Reagan Morris (Chapman), 274

Allyanna Mata (Clearwater), 270

 

Elementary ­– Boys

Austin Hastings (Clearwater), 260

John Brunke (Clearwater), 253

Gorbyn Davies (Garfield), 244

 

Elementary – Girls

Leah Chekel (Chapman), 245

Joselyn Cowen (Warriors, 245

Hailey Smardo (Service Valley), 242

To view all tournament statistics, visit nasptournaments.org.