By BECKY KISER
Hays Post

Beginning Monday, grocery and convenience stores in Kansas will be able to sell “strong” beer.

On April 1, 2019, state law will allow for the sale of beer containing up to 6% alcohol by volume under the current Cereal Malt Beverage (CMB) licensing by cities in Kansas, including Hays.

An ordinance amending the current Hays Code of Ordinances is required to include the reference to the beer containing not more than 6% alcohol by volume.

Kim Rupp, Hays Finance Director, explained the statute change to city commissioners at their last meeting, as well as the current legal definitions of a cereal malt beverage and beer in Kansas.

“State statute defines CMB as any fermented but undistilled liquor brewed or made from malt or from a mixture of malt or malt substitute or any flavored malt beverage but does not include any such liquor which is more than 3.2% alcohol by weight.

“Statute further defines beer as a beverage containing more than 3.2% alcohol by weight obtained by alcoholic fermentation of an infusion or concoction of barley or other grain, malt and hops in water and includes beer, ale, stout, lager beer, porter and similar beverages that
have the same alcohol content,” Rupp said.

Rupp noted all current CMB licenses will remain in effect and will automatically qualify under the new ordinance.

Commissioners unanimously approved the ordinance.

Changes in the state law will also allow liquor stores to also sell other items including cigarettes, soda, and other mixers.

By CRISTINA JANNEY
Hays Post

Marshall Perryman was a C student in his freshman and sophomore years, but he was able to raise his GPA three letter grades since joining a new mentoring program at Hays High this fall.

He is now vice president of leadership and career development for the JAG-K Career Association.

Johnny Matlock, Jobs for America’s Graduates-Kansas teacher, along with Perryman and Da’Vontai Robinson gave a presentation to the Hays USD 489 school board Monday about the program.

“JAG-K is something that has helped me more in a month than in a whole school year,” Perryman said. “It has helped me immensely with grades. Because my freshman year, I ended with a 2.1, my sophomore year a 2.6. I am a junior now with a 3.75 GPA, so that is one and half more points. That is three whole letter grades.

“JAG has pushed [me] for bettering myself and given me opportunities that I couldn’t pass up like free ACT and WorkKeys. And it made my mom’s life easier, because she didn’t have to fork over the $49.50 we do not have.”

JAG-K’s focus is ensuring students earn their diplomas and are prepared to successfully transition to postsecondary education, military service or into the workforce following graduation. It is a nonprofit that partners with schools, and most of the cost of program this year was paid for through federal funds.

JAG-K, which has 41 students enrolled at HHS this semester, takes student who are at risk of not graduating because of at least five risk factors. These can include being from a single-parent household, living in poverty, being in foster care, being behind a grade or having low academic achievement, among other factors, Matlock said.

The program focuses on 37 competencies, which are clustered into six areas: career development, job attainment, job survival, basic competencies, leadership development and self-development, and personal skills.

The program had a 98 percent graduation rate in 2017. Of 12 HHS seniors in the program, 11 are on track to graduate with their class. One will be transferring to the Learning Center to complete the requirements for their diploma.

Perryman said he now plans to go to college and is working toward paying for his higher education through scholarships. He hopes to follow in his grandfather’s footsteps and serve as an officer in the special forces in the Army. After his military service, he is considering service with the Kansas Highway Patrol.

He said he particularly found helpful the class’s trip to NCK-Tech and FHSU. He also participated in a project during which he had to budget for a month of college.

“I realized I had money left over,” he said, “so there is hope.”

Robinson is a junior who recently transferred into the district from Oklahoma. He is in foster care and is transferring into independent living. He said the program has been very helpful to him.

“Just to be able to communicate to people on a business level has made a huge impact on my life and on my soft skills,” he said. “JAG-K is a place where students can find out who they are and how to grow into mature adults.”

The students had a busy fall semester.

They participated in Trick or Treat so Others Can Eat, visiting 150 households, and recruited donors for the Battle of the Badges Blood Drive.

They have had multiple speakers, business tours and participated in the FHSU ropes course.

“All of these things that we do help students acknowledge all the good that can happen in life,” Robinson said, “and be able to make life-long friends who want to be as successful in life as you do.

“I don’t really know what I want to do for a living or how I am going to get there, but I do know I want to make a difference in someone’s life. I know I will be a somebody — a person that people can look up to.”

Robinson said he remembered days he was so tired and depressed he didn’t want to get out of bed in the morning.

“I remember when I used to sleep in a twin-sized bed with my three siblings in a house with no lights, water or heat. I remember moving back and forth to houses that never felt like home, trying to find out who I was,” he said.

“JAG-K gives people a purpose and helps with what students want to do or become in the future. It is just one of those stepping stones that sets you up for success in the end game — the program that will set me up for greatness — JAG-K.”

ARC

ELLIS – The Ellis community will host an American Red Cross blood drive Fri., March 29, at the Knights of Columbus, 1013 Washington, from 1-6 p.m.

Walk-ins are welcome.

Click here to make an appointment

Right now, the Red Cross has less than a three-day supply of most blood types, and blood products are being distributed to hospitals faster than donations are coming in. Donors of all blood types are urgently needed. A low blood supply may mean that critical medical treatments or emergency care may be delayed or canceled. Won’t you help ensure there is blood on the shelf for those in need?

The need for blood is constant and only volunteer donors can fulfill that need for patients in our community. Nationwide, someone needs a unit of blood every 2 to 3 seconds and most of us will need blood in our lifetime.

Hays Post

Hays native Mason Ruder has filed for a seat on the city commission.

There are three open seats — those of James Meier, Ron Mellick and Henry Schwaller.

Ruder is an Environmental Associate with the Ellis County Environmental/Planning & Zoning Office.

He was as born and raised in Hays, attending both public and private schools (Roosevelt Elementary and Kennedy Middle School), and graduating in 2010 from Thomas More Prep-Marian High School. Ruder attended Fort Hays State University before moving to Kansas City to explore some new ideas.

In 2017, he married his wife, Tori Mai, and they have a 2-month old daughter named Ryleigh. Tori is a licensed daycare provider in Hays.

The family are members of Immaculate Heart of Mary Parish and Ruder is a member of the Knights of Columbus.

He is also an elected precinct committeeman for the Ellis County Republican Party.

In a news release, Ruder explained why he is running for Hays City Commission.

“My family and friends were a huge encouragement in my decision to run. The final push I needed was the birth of my daughter. I’m running to serve the community that has done so much for my family and me. I want to do what I can to make sure Hays continues to be a place that my daughter can be proud of and one day raise her own family here.

“One of my main goals is to help figure out a solution to the ‘brain drain’ happening with our younger generation. I experienced it firsthand when I left Hays for Kansas City and realized the grass isn’t always greener. I missed Hays and not just my family. This town is special. I missed running into people I knew at the store, out to eat, and at various events. I realized Hays IS my extended family.

“I moved back and started finding ways to get settled here like my parents and grandparents before me. I got married and found a job with Ellis County where I can directly help the area that has been so good to me.

“With my county office job, I get to see how the city of Hays and Ellis County can work together.

“What I would like to do is find ways to get the college and high school graduates to stay here in Hays and give them a place to utilize the skills and knowledge attained at Hays High School, TMP, FHSU, and NCK-Tech.

“We have a community that is perfect for raising a family.

“We need to create an environment that is friendly to businesses and sustainable to back up these students, retain the people who currently work here, and potentially draw in others.

“I also want to help take care of the population that has been here through it all. We have an aging population and we should work together to help get them the resources they need to finish out their years in a community they helped build and sustain.

“Hays is on the right track and the city of Hays employees do a great job at providing the research and information needed to make informed decisions.

“I want to provide input on what we can do in the future and maintain the programs and systems in place that make me so proud to live in Hays, America.”

The filing deadline for the Nov. 5 election is June 3 at noon in the Ellis County Clerk’s office, 718 Main, Hays.

Incumbents Mellick and Schwaller have filed for re-election.