By BECKY KISER
Hays Post
Although they say you can’t go home again, Jeff Colyer did.
He was back home in Hays Wednesday morning before he was sworn in this afternoon as the next governor of Kansas.
The Hays native started the day with a 9 a.m. Mass at TMP-Marian, where he attended Catholic high school. Several of his former classmates were able to join him.
“That was very special,” said Colyer.
Mass was celebrated by priests who had been Colyer’s teachers.
“Fr. Mike Scully was my calculus teacher and also taught religion,” Colyer noted, “and he will also give the invocation at my swearing-in ceremony in Topeka today.
“I also had Fr. Gilmary Tallman who taught Shakespeare, Fr. Earl Befort who taught economics and Fr. Blaine Burkey, who was the yearbook and journalism adviser. To have those very special men come back and spend a little bit of time with us was important.”
Colyer graduated from TMP in 1978. He also attended John F. Kennedy Middle School, which is now closed. He describes himself as a “fifth-generation Hays kid who never imagined he would become the governor.”
Living in Hays and being a student at TMP is where Colyer says he got his sense of service.
“You got idealism, and that was the great secret here in Hays. You wanted to serve to make a difference in people’s lives. I decided I wanted to be a doctor and I also got interested in public policy.”
Colyer is a Johnson County plastic surgeon who has traveled to war-torn countries to fix the battle wounds of children.
As lieutenant governor, Colyer has recently been touring mental health facilities and programs in the state. While in Hays, he visited Westside School, 323 W 12th St., an alternative mental health center for severely emotionally disturbed K-12 students in Hays USD 489.
The Westside program was just the second in Kansas when it began 25 years ago.
“We identified these kids who were being placed in foster care outside the community,” explained Walt Hill, High Plains Mental Health Center executive director.
“They couldn’t stay at home, couldn’t stay in school. We wanted to do something locally to keep kids at home and coordinate intensive services for them, along with educational support,” Hill said. “We also provide support for the parents as well. The program started as and remains a partnership of the Hays schools, the local courts, HPMHC, and the state child welfare department.”
During a roundtable discussion that included Westside Program Coordinator Mark Dinkel, USD 489 Superintendent John Thissen, Ellis County Attorney Tom Drees, and 23rd Judicial District Chief Judge Glen Braun, Colyer was told Westside would expand its 30-student population if space became available in the district.
Colyer toured a couple classrooms and met several students and invited them to “come visit me in the state capitol.”
“This is one of the great things that is happening in Kansas, thinking outside the box to help kids with mental health issues,” Colyer said after his tour. “I really like the concept that ‘local problems need local solutions,’ and you guys did that. This is an amazing program.
“As you know, I’m serious about solving problems and empowering people to do so. I think these are ways we can tackle tough problems. It takes a long time, but there’s a lot of commitment in the state.”
Following his stop at Westside, Colyer and his entourage ate lunch at Al’s Chickenette. Front of the House Manager Jessie Frasier served up his fried chicken, fries and corn. Colyer joked he “needed another plate,” adding that “my daughters will be really jealous I got to eat here.”
Colyer’s lunch companions included Hays residents Elaine and Ron Adams, along with Errol Wuertz. Elaine Adams chairs the Ellis County Republican Party. The three were also invited to greet Colyer at Westside, where they held signs that read “Welcome Home, Governor Colyer!” and “To the Next 5 Years, Gov. Colyer!”
Before departing Westside, Colyer reflected on this important day.
“In the path that has led me to governor, I grew a lot. I see great things happening in the state. Being in Hays today was a way for me to say thank you to a lot of friends and highlighting just what a great state we are.
“I had to come home today and just touch base,” he ended with a smile.