2019 – Page 904 – Hays Post Archive

🎥 Ellis Co. Commission: ‘Growth comes down to two things’

Posted on January 29, 2019January 29, 2019

Keith Marvin, Marvin Planning Consultants, talks with Ellis Co. commissioners Monday about their ideas for future growth in the county.

By BECKY KISER
Hays Post

Jobs and water.

That’s what Ellis County commissioners believe are the two most important factors affecting business and population growth in the county.

“We’ve been constantly growing, sometimes small steps at a time,” said Dean Haselhorst, commission chairman. “We have a lot to offer here in Ellis County.

“Water supply is always a big thing in western Kansas. I know the city of Hays has been working to address that issue. But for us to attract industry, we need water. And for growth, we need water also.”

The commission met in a special session Monday afternoon with Keith Marvin of Marvin Planning Consultants, David City, Neb., to give their input into an update of the county comprehensive plan.

Marvin and a representative of MSA Professional Services, Ankeny, Iowa, also met with the Ellis County Joint Planning Commission Monday evening.

County commissioners talked about bringing young people back to Ellis County who have moved to a large metropolis.

People with young families are attracted by the “top-notch schools” in Ellis County, believes Commissioner Dustin Roths, as well as the ability to keep a job using the internet.

“There has to be a financial possibility for those people when they come back.”

Commissioner Butch Schlyer said his daughter was job hunting in December and was able to remain in Ellis County when she was hired by an insurance company to work out of her home. “She makes a very good salary doing it.”

When he was the Ellis County Health Administrator, Schlyer said “many mature clientele ended up leaving the area to go be with their kids. … We have good wireless networks here in Eagle Communications and Nex-Tech and I think that whole technology issue needs to be marketed harder.”

Keith asked commissioners what their role would be in helping with affordable housing, although “most of the time that’s going to be up to the communities” Keith noted, “but I’m always curious to hear what county folks are thinking in that direction as well.”

“A lot of it is gonna go back to affordable ground to build housing on,” answered Haselhorst. “I know there’s different individuals now looking to put some additions in the northwest part of the county.

“That’s his reason (one individual) for doing it there. It’s more affordable. He owns the ground,” Haselhorst said. “He can put up affordable housing to accommodate just the people that work for him that he’s bringing in from out of county.”

“We’ve almost built a bottleneck in some businesses where they can’t expand because they can’t find help,” added Roths.

“I think we will grow in Ellis County over the next 20 years or so, but probably to the lessening of the rural communities around us.”

Roths also talked about the possibility of promoting Ellis County as a regional shipping hub, taking advantage of the major highways that intersect in Hays, the Hays regional airport, and an opportunity to increase railroad transport.

Fort Hays State University and HaysMed are great partners with the county, commissioners also agreed.

Town hall meetings will be held Tue. Jan. 29 and Wed., Jan. 30 for public input. Both meetings will begin at 7 p.m. in the basement of the Ellis County Administration Building, 718 Main.

Ellis County residents are also asked to fill out a survey about their opinions of county growth at https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/EllisCountyCompPlan. The online survey is open until Feb. 17.

Marvin said more than 400 online surveys have been completed to date.

Paper copies of the survey are available at the Ellis County Administration Building, and the city halls in Hays, Ellis and Victoria.

The consultants will meet with other stakeholders this week including city officials in Hays, Ellis, and Victoria, Fort Hays State University, Grow Hays, Hays Area Chamber of Commerce, and other county officials.

NCK TECH offers CDL course

Posted on January 29, 2019January 28, 2019

NCK TECH

A two-day CDL (Commercial Driver’s License) Course offered through NCK TECH will be held Feb. 18-19. The course will be eight hours per day and located on the Hays campus at 2205 Wheatland Ave.

Instruction will take place on obtaining a CDL learners permit. Upon successful completion, drive–time may be scheduled to complete the training.

Tuition cost is $750 plus $50 application fee. For details, contact NCK TECH, Hays Campus at 785-625-2437 or 1-888-567-4297.

For information and to learn more about NCK TECH, visit www.ncktc.edu.

KZ Country Cheesy Joke of the Day 1/29/19

Posted on January 29, 2019January 29, 2019

A woman tells her priest, “Father, I have a problem. My two female parrots only say, ‘Hi, cutie. Wanna have some fun?'”

“Don’t worry,” says the priest. “I have two male parrots who only pray and read the Bible. We’ll put them in the same cage. Your parrots are sure to stop saying that horrid phrase.”

The next day, the woman takes her parrots to the priest’s home. The male parrots are inside their cage holding rosary beads and praying. When the woman places the female parrots in the cage, they cry out, “Hi, cutie. Wanna have some fun?”

One male parrot says to the other male parrot, “Put the beads away, Frank. Our prayers have been answered!”

Join fans of 99 KZ Country on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/99KZCountry

Ellis meets in special session Tuesday

Posted on January 29, 2019January 28, 2019

CITY OF ELLIS

ELLIS – The Ellis City Council will meet in special session Tue., Jan. 29, 2019, at 6 p.m.

The agenda follows.

Call to Order
Pledge of Allegiance
Consider Approval of Engineering Services for Swimming Pool
Council Orientation
Adjournment

Hays PD to conduct SSRT training Tuesday

Posted on January 29, 2019January 29, 2019

HPD

The Hays Police Department will be conducting training between 1 and 4 p.m. Tuesday at 810 E. Eighth.

“Police officers will be training with special tactical equipment. This training is being done with great care and safety,” the HPD said in a news release. “As a home or business owner, you may see law enforcement officers move through your area. There is no need to be alarmed. The officers are merely conducting a realistic training exercise and there is no danger to the community.”

If you have any questions or concerns, you may contact the on-site supervisor (Team Commander Tim Greenwood or Team Leader Aaron Larson), or Chief Don Scheibler at 785-625-1030.

SCHLAGECK: A reason to believe

Posted on January 29, 2019January 29, 2019

John Schlageck writes for the Kansas Farm Bureau.

After 45 years covering agriculture in Kansas and Missouri, I will “pull the pin” (retire) from Kansas Farm Bureau Jan. 31. I’ll put my pen in the desk drawer, close my computer, hang up my camera and turn off the phone. Don’t worry, Insight will continue.

But I will not forget this vocation of agriculture and more importantly the men, women and children who call this vocation their own.

Who knows?

After a few months, I may put pen to paper and write about this most honorable profession once more.

The opportunity to advocate on behalf of agriculture for 45 years has given me a reason to believe. No other career I could have embarked on would have fulfilled my inner need to remain connected to a life I was born into 70 years ago in northwestern Kansas.

My family and four others literally carved the community of Angelus out of the prairie during the waning years of the 19th Century. Before settling in northwestern Kansas, they’d settled in up-state New York by way of Germany in the early 1830s. From there they moved to a small farm near Milwaukee, Wis. A decade later, on to Wein, Mo. and finally the short-grass prairie on the great High Plains.

Growing up in a family of hard working, dedicated German and French immigrants, I was destined to “tell the story of agriculture.” I will carry a place in my heart for the farmers and ranchers who remain a part of this vocation as long as I inhabit this old world.

After four decades of writing a weekly column, starting “Kansas Living” magazine, producing “Insight” on the radio, “Voice of Ag” radio spots, writing speeches for three Kansas Farm Bureau presidents, video production and managing KFB’s print media department, far too many events occurred to mention them all. Here are a few highlights:

Droughts, killing freezes, brutal winters with blizzards and loss of livestock, farm bills including the Freedom to Farm spearheaded by Kansas’s own Sen. Roberts, Russia’s Boris Yeltsin cutting wheat at the Rau farm in Sedgwick County followed by a visit from the white combine.

The advent of animal welfare including PETA and HSUS, Waters of the U.S. in a semi-arid western Kansas, the over appropriation of irrigation out of the Ogallala Aquifer, yearly Governor’s tours, Farm Bureau members lobbying congress in D.C. led by KFB President John Junior Armstrong in ’78.

So much history, so much fun and so many wonderful farm families. The opportunity to visit farms and ranches in all 105 counties. The chance to visit with members – in their pickups, combines or drive through a pasture filled with fleshy momma cow-calf pairs – as they proudly showed me their farms and shared the intimate details of their lives and livelihood.

I also witnessed the sorrow and pained hurt in the eyes of a wheat farmer a few minutes after a hailstorm hammered his crop into the ground. Followed by his vision and hope for the next great year. I’ll never forget and always cherish these moments.

I will remember always the friendships forged with farmers and ranchers throughout Kansas. We all share a love of this business of agriculture, each other and our Farm Bureau organization.

This continues to make Farm Bureau the best. We care on a personal level. Our families and lives became intertwined.

We share common concerns. Kansas agriculture remains a moving target, always changing. What’s right for you, may be wrong for me. Still, in Farm Bureau, we work together to find solutions for our shared industry.

At the end of the day, week, month or year, we love our great organization. We’re unafraid to tilt at windmills like the brave Don Quixote. We toil behind the scenes “to finish the task,” driven by dedicated farm and ranch leaders and dedicated staff, we make a difference in the agricultural vocation.

While it may seem like a long, hard road, it’s been an exhilarating ride. One I wouldn’t change for anything. I’m truly honored and humbled to have served with each one of you.

God bless.

John Schlageck is a leading commentator on agriculture and rural Kansas. Born and raised on a diversified farm in northwestern Kansas, his writing reflects a lifetime of experience, knowledge and passion.

Expanded, re-equipped fossil prep lab to open at Sternberg Museum

Posted on January 29, 2019January 28, 2019

FHSU University Relations

With help from 58 donors and an $81,000 matching grant from the Dane G. Hansen Foundation, the Sternberg Museum of Natural History at Fort Hays State University is ready to officially open its newly renovated and equipped fossil preparation lab.

The ribbon cutting ceremony will be at 1 p.m. Monday, Feb. 11, at the museum, 3000 Sternberg Drive in northeast Hays. Representatives of the Hays Area Chamber of Commerce will cut the ribbon. The public is invited.

The Hansen Foundation grant, awarded in January 2017, was combined with proceeds from museum galas in 2016 and 2017.

Construction was completed in 2018, and custom equipment was then installed. The prep lab is now up and running with a graduate student lab manager and undergraduate volunteers.

“We plan to offer workshops for the public to those interested in being trained in fossil prep and becoming a museum volunteer,” said Dr. Reese Barrick, museum director.

The fossil preparation lab is where collections, research, exhibits and education intersect, said Barrick.

“It is where staff, volunteers, and students clean, stabilize, and repair fossils for long-term preservation before they are ready for research, educational use, or exhibit,” he said.

“The lab is a fundamental part of the museum, and having a large, safe, and state-of-the-art lab allows us to provide more hands-on education, volunteer opportunities, and professional development to students and the community,” he said.

The new lab is more than three times the size of the original lab, and Barrick said that will allow the space to be used as a hands-on classroom for K-12 programming and summer camps as well as for FHSU students.

Students will get hands-on experience cleaning and studying fossils that can spark their interest in the sciences and, said Barrick, “set them apart as they advance into college and careers.”

“Working with fossils is a big attraction to many museum volunteers and students and it a great way to get the community involved in science,” he said.

The lab is also a key resource needed to sustain the high-level of scientific research undertaken by museum students and staff and scientists from around the world. Because the lab is integrated into exhibit space, museum visitors are able to get an in-depth view of the scientific process not offered at other museums in the state, said Barrick.

The new space actually incorporates two lab spaces, the main the fossil prep lab and a smaller research lab. The research lab, occupying the old lab space, is a “clean” lab with computer, microscope, fume hood, and equipment for student, staff, and faculty research projects.

The labs together are named the Dane G. Hansen Paleontology Research Center. The prep lab is the Oceans of Kansas Fossil Prep Lab, named by Mike and Pam Everhart. The small research lab is currently unnamed.

Local bar association donates to local charities

Posted on January 29, 2019January 28, 2019

Colton Eikenberry, Secretary/Treasurer, ECBA; Theresa Hill, Co-Director, Community Assistance Center; Christopher Lyon, ECBA President

The Ellis County Bar Association (ECBA) has made charitable donations totaling $2,000 to three local charities.

First Call for Help, Saint Francis Community Services, and the Community Assistance Center were designated to receive donations by a committee comprised of attorneys appointed by the president of the ECBA, Christopher Lyon. Members on the committee included Colton Eikenberry, Alex Herman, and Todd Powell.

The Ellis County Bar Association is comprised of attorneys and judges from Hays and the surrounding area. The group has regular meetings for the benefit of the members, organizes and presents an Annual Continuing Legal Education Seminar open to all attorneys, and makes charitable contributions to area organizations.

– SUBMITTED –

Hays Symphony Orchestra Valentine’s concert

Posted on January 29, 2019January 28, 2019

By RUTH FIRESTONE
Hays Music Lover

Attention all music lovers. Please mark your calendar for the Hays Symphony Orchestra’s free Valentine’s Concert at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 9, in Fort Hays State University’s Beach/Schmidt Performing Arts Center, featuring an evening of ravishingly romantic music.

The orchestra will perform three exciting suites, all of which are fantasies of a sort.

Modest Mussorgsky’s “Pictures at an Exhibition,” originated as a series of piano pieces memorializing the paintings of his recently deceased friend Victor Hartmann. The suite remained nearly as unknown as Hartmann’s art until it was orchestrated by Maurice Ravel. Led by conductor Shah Sadikov, the orchestra will play the Ravel adaptation.

“Carmen Fantasy,” an arrangement of Bizet’s opera by Pablo de Sarasate, will follow. Sarasate was a world famous 19-century violinist and composed the fantasy as a virtuoso piece for himself – today, it is his best-known work. Internationally famous violin soloist Veronique Mathieu will join Sadikov and the orchestra for the stirring fantasy.

“Pelleas et Melisande” began as a drama by the French author Maurice Maeterlinck. The suite, composed by Gabriel Faure, was commissioned as incidental music for the British version of the play. Guest conductor Mark Bartley of West Texas A&M University, also an associate conductor of the Amarillo Symphony, will lead the orchestra in the suite.

The post-concert reception will give the audience and performers an opportunity to meet and greet while enjoying refreshments sponsored by Insurance Planning.

Free tickets are available online at www.hayssymphony.org, at the Hays Convention and Visitors Bureau, or at the Downtown Hays Development Corporation.

GOP lawmakers in Kansas pushing ahead with tax relief plan

Posted on January 29, 2019January 29, 2019

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Republican legislators in Kansas expect to push forward this week with an income tax relief proposal in defiance of Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly’s call for lawmakers to avoid adjusting state tax laws this year.

A Senate committee is set to open hearings Tuesday and could vote Thursday on a bill aimed at preventing individuals and corporations from paying more to the state because of changes in federal income tax laws at the end of 2017. Top Republicans in the GOP-dominated Legislature have made tax relief a priority.

Republicans argue Kansas is receiving an unanticipated revenue “windfall” because its income tax laws are tied to the federal tax code. While the changes championed by President Donald Trump cut rates, they also included provisions that could keep many residents from claiming itemized deductions on their state tax forms.

GOP leaders also are pushing to have their proposed changes apply retroactively, so people benefit when filing their taxes this spring for 2018. The Kansas Department of Revenue told legislators Monday that taxpayers would save $192 million during the fiscal year that begins July 1.

“Whose money is it? It’s the taxpayers’ money,” said Sen. Larry Alley, a Winfield Republican and member of the special Senate committee reviewing the legislation. “Let the individuals and corporations get that money back that was intended for them.”

The GOP’s push sets up a political confrontation with Kelly, whose top priorities are increasing spending on public schools and expanding the state’s Medicaid health coverage for the needy.

Under the Senate proposal, the state’s revenue loss — and taxpayers’ savings — would be far higher during the next budget year because of refunds of taxes already paid for 2018. The bill would reduce state revenues by $113 million in the fiscal year that begins in July 2020.

“The question is: Can we afford it at this point in time?” said Senate Minority Leader Anthony Hensley, a Topeka Democrat. “You have to put it in the context of the entire budget.”

Kelly won the governor’s race last year by running againstformer GOP Gov. Sam Brownback’s unpopular fiscal policies. Brownback successfully pushed legislators to slash state income taxes in 2012 and 2013, and most of them were reversed in 2017 after persistent budget woes.

State officials have struggled to calculate the effects of the federal tax changes. Last summer, legislative researchers projected $146 million in additional revenues during the next budget year, but Democrats have been skeptical.

“This is not the time to be making any substantial changes in our tax structure,” Kelly said during a news conference last week. “We have no idea if there’s a windfall.”

But Kelly also has consistently refused to say whether she would veto a tax relief bill. Spokeswoman Ashley All said Monday only that Kelly would review any bill to “determine if it’s in the best interests of the state.”

The bill before the Senate committee would allow Kansas taxpayers to claim itemized deductions on their state income tax forms even if they don’t itemize on their federal tax forms.

The federal standard deductions have increased, discouraging taxpayers from itemizing. But the state’s standard deductions aren’t changing — a hit for some taxpayers who formerly itemized on their federal forms. Their savings would average about $60 million a year.

The bill also would make changes to keep Kansas from taxing foreign income earned by individuals and corporation — saving them $137 million during the next budget year, when they could claim refunds on their 2018 taxes, but dropping to less $60 million a year after that. Republicans argue that without such changes, businesses would be encouraged to leave the state for a more favorable tax climate elsewhere.

“I have a sense of urgency,” said Senate President Susan Wagle, a Wichita Republican and chairwoman of the special tax committee.

She noted that individuals are preparing to file returns and added, “Businesses certainly need certainty.”

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Hays USD 489 school board hears proposal for a $29.4 million bond

Posted on January 29, 2019January 29, 2019

By CRISTINA JANNEY

Hays Post

The Hays USD 489 school board Monday night heard a summary of projects from its architect and construction manager that could be the district’s next bond issue.

DLR Group along with Nabholz Construction presented a list of projects totaling $29.4 million that would include finishing air conditioning projects at the Hays High School, expanding the cafeteria at Hays Middle School and renovating Roosevelt Elementary School to accommodate five sections of each grade.

Roosevelt now holds three sections of each grade. The expansion would allow the district to close Lincoln Elementary School, which is one of the oldest schools in the district and has had serious infrastructure problems in recent years.

Some work on the HHS HVAC system has already been finished with capital improvement funds, but an additional $6.7 million is needed to complete the work.

The HMS cafeteria was built to hold about 450 children, but is now accommodating about 700 students. Expansion of the cafeteria would cost $1.3 million.

The suggested renovation and expansion at Roosevelt would cost about $21.3 million and include new classrooms, an expanded cafeteria to meet the needs of the increased student population and a new gym that would serve as a storm shelter. Roosevelt does not currently have a storm shelter.

Existing classrooms would be renovated, the HVAC system improved and some exterior improvements would be made.

The entrance of the school would be relocated to the new addition. This would allow for separate lanes for car and bus drop off.

“Roosevelt, it really had the best assets. The one issue it did have was that it didn’t have a storm shelter, and we are solving that,” said Amber Beverlin, principal senior architect DLR Group. “It had great classroom spaces. The classrooms that are there now are perfect size. We can build on all the great things this building already has.”

The Roosevelt project would take 16 to 18 months to complete.

Dustin Avey, senior vice president Piper Jaffray, presented options for 10-, 15- and 20-year financing. He noted the district would pay less in interest under a shorter term, but the taxpayer would pay a higher per moth tax for a 10-year versus 15-year bond.

The district would pay $5 million more in interest by increasing the bond term from 1o year to 15 years.

The cost per month on a $150,000 home for a 10-year bond would be $16.32, $12 per month for a 15-year bond and $10.06 for a 20-year bond.

The mill levy would be 11.35 mills for a 10-year bond, 8.35 mills for a 15-year bond and 7 mills for a 20-year bond.

The bond amount would include design and bond fees, and costs for furnishing the renovated spaces.

The board members asked the presenters questions, but did not discuss the merits of the proposal nor did they vote on moving the proposal forward.

The district would not need approval from the state to move forward with a bond vote. Beverlin said if the board wished to pursue the proposal, they would only need to notify the county clerk of its desire to call a special election. This requires 60 days notice. Beverlin recommended a mail-in ballot.

Hays has had two failed bond issues in the last three years. A $78.5-million bond failed in November 2017, and a $94-million bond failed in June 2016.

Parent concern

A parent addressed the board about his daughter being bullied at Lincoln Elementary School. He said someone at the school was supposed to contact him about his concerns, but no one called him. Board members expressed concern about the issue and directed Superintendent John Thissen to take the parent’s information and follow up on his concerns.

Check presentation

Edward Herrman on behalf of the HaysMed University of Kansas Health System presents a check for $500,000 to USD 489 for renovations to the former Oak Park Medical Complex.

The school district recently purchased the former Oak Park Medical Complex, which it plans to renovate for use by Early Childhood Connections.

HaysMed had a majority interest in the complex and Monday donated $500,000 of the $2 million purchase price back to the school district to be used for renovations. The district has also received a $1.47 million federal grant for renovations.

Superintendent search

Gary Sechrist, field specialist for the Kansas Association of School Boards, provided the superintendent applicant information to the board during an executive session. Current Superintendent John Thissen has resigned. He will serve out his contract, which ends June 30.

At the next board meeting, the board is scheduled to vote on the administrative contracts for Shanna Dinkel, assistant superintendent, and Chris Hipp, director of special education, for the 2019-2020 school year.

Teacher negotiations

Board member Pauls Adams also asked the board to consider moving to interest-based bargaining with teachers. Thissen said he would contact the Hays NEA to see if they were interested in the change. The issue will be discussed at a future meeting.

Kansas man accused of blackmail, breach of privacy

Posted on January 29, 2019January 29, 2019

RENO COUNTY — A Kansas man made a court appearance Monday on two serious charges.

Police arrested 40-year-old Richard Andrew Petty for breach of privacy — disseminating sexual media of a person 18 or older — and blackmail for videotapes and photos of a person.

The state alleges the blackmail charge occurred Sept. 1 and Sept. 14, 2018. Petty tried to persuade a person against her will by threatening to disseminate pictures or videotape.

The breach of privacy charge occurred Sept. 13 when he released photos or videos of the victim in a sexual act.

Petty was arrested on warrant after an investigation by the Hutchinson Police Department.

The victim was in court Monday and said she wanted the charges dropped. Petty said it was a misunderstanding.

Petty has a stalking charge pending from an incident on Jan. 9.

Magistrate Judge Daniel Gilligan agreed to lower the $50,000 bond to $25,000.

Petty served some time for an aggravated battery case from 1997.

Sunny, windy Tuesday

Posted on January 29, 2019January 29, 2019

Tuesday Sunny, with a high near 38. Northwest wind 10 to 18 mph, with gusts as high as 28 mph.

Tuesday Night Partly cloudy, with a low around 9. Wind chill values as low as -2. North northwest wind 6 to 9 mph becoming east after midnight.

Wednesday Sunny, with a high near 31. Wind chill values as low as -3. East wind 8 to 10 mph becoming south in the afternoon.

Wednesday NightPartly cloudy, with a low around 17. South southeast wind 8 to 10 mph.

ThursdayMostly sunny, with a high near 43.

Thursday NightMostly clear, with a low around 22.

FridaySunny, with a high near 50.