By BECKY KISER
Hays Post

“This is the first time I’ve ever worn a cap to a commission meeting,” said Hays City Commissioner Kent Steward with a grin as he donned an official Fort Hays State University gold cap.

The first item of business during Thursday night’s city commission meeting was not business at usual.

Instead, it was a proclamation read by Hays Mayor Henry Schwaller recognizing the importance of FHSU to the community and the endorsement of  TGOF–Tiger Gold On Friday– in which Hays residents are encouraged to wear gold on Fridays.

The atmosphere in the commission chambers was a little “wild” prior to the start of the meeting.  The TGOF committee members, along with FHSU president Dr. Mirta Martin, were seated in their chairs in the audience area.

Victor E. Tiger, the FHSU mascot, was not.

With camera phones clicking away, Victor “prowled” the room, giving out hugs and making sure everyone had a FHSU TGOF button to wear.

He greeted Mayor Schwaller with a full-frontal hug, lifting the mayor completely off his feet.  Assistant Hays City Manager Paul Briseno got a fist bump along with his gold button.

Victor went back to his seat for a moment, drawing his long tail up so he wouldn’t sit on it.

But he just couldn’t stay still.

Victor mugged for the Hays Post news camera and somersaulted around the room.  He quietly “stalked” up to the commissioners’ desk, suddenly springing up into sight to give a high-five to a delighted commissioner Shaun Musil.

Finally, Victor managed to quell his enthusiasm long enough to listen to the proclamation and then pose for pictures with the TGOF committee and mayor Schwaller.

President Martin thanked the commissioners, who all wished the FHSU Lady Tigers good luck in Friday’s NCAA regional tournament at Gross Memorial Coliseum.

Victor E. Tiger, along with his entourage, then left the city chambers, anxious for the next day’s TGOF.

By BECKY KISER
Hays Post

Randy Rodgers and his wife walk along the Big Creek dike nearly every day. Thursday morning they noticed some “very large, stately cottonwood trees with a white mark at the base of them.”

Rodgers, a retired KDWP wildlife biologist in Hays, made some calls and found out the trees are recommended for removal in the engineering for upcoming repair of the Big Creek levee from 8th Street to the Highway 183 Bypass.

The levee has a “minimally acceptable” rating by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, according to Hays Stormwater Specialist Steven Walters.

The project includes the removal of 74 trees and associated roots, varying in circumference from 4 inches to 96 inches, with the biggest trees reaching from 80 to 100 feet high.

Rodgers spoke to Hays City Commissioners Thursday night and offered an alternative to removing the trees, calling it a “quality of life issue.”

“I know lots and lots of people would be upset if they walked down there and discovered those tremendous trees were gone–particularly in my opinion–for no good reason…It’s one of the most beautiful areas of the city.”

“Those trees are old enough they have been there before the dike.  Their roots are down in the flood plain soil.  Because water runs off the dike, it’s unlikely those roots would have gone up into the dike,” Rodgers said.

He suggested using a Ditch Witch or trencher to cut a trench 10 to 15 feet out from the trees–between the trees and the dike–and shear off the tree roots within the trench.   Before the trench is filled in, putting in an impermeable barrier would prevent the roots from growing back into the trench.   Rodgers noted it would be much less expensive than cutting the trees which costs “thousands of dollars.”

The city is discussing the alternative with the engineers and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.  “We’ve told them we absolutely don’t want to remove any trees that we don’t have to,” said city manager Toby Dougherty

The city must meet certain conditions in order to qualify for the Corps program which “essentially insures the levy in case of a catastrophic event. They’ll pay for 80 percent of the cost of rebuilding it.   If we do have a catastrophic failure and they determine it was due to trees that were improperly located, then you don’t qualify for the reimbursement,” Dougherty explained.

City Commissioner Ron Mellick added “the bottom line is, we’re doing this to prevent levy failure and to protect the citizens of Hays.   A life is worth a lot more than a tree.  If this is necessary, I’m going for preservation of life.”

Big Creek levee was built in 1950 and has never had any work done to it.

See a related story here.

By BECKY KISER
Hays Post

Hays City Manager Toby Dougherty is now receiving the same pay bonus as other city employees have been given.

During their meeting Thursday night, city commissioners authorized an increase of 2.0% of Dougherty’s base salary of the year 2014 as a bonus to be paid in equal amounts on each payroll in 2015, effective as of December 21, 2014.

Mayor Henry Schwaller said the commission is “very pleased with the work of the city manager” and specifically mentioned the city’s finances.

“He’s not only kept us on strong financial ground–we have over $50 million in the bank–we have adequate reserves for a rainy day fund or in case of a crisis. We also have adequate reserves to pay for our projects in cash rather than by issuing bonds and debt.

“In addition, his work on many, many issues involving the community and his ability to get along with people are all very valuable,” Schwaller said .

In late July, the city of Hays and the Service Employees International Union Local 513 agreed to an addendum to give members a one-time 2 percent bonus for 2015.

The bonus affects 51 employees and cost the city approximately $41,000.

By BECKY KISER
Hays Post

With little discussion, Hays City Commissioners Thursday night unanimously approved a low bid of $399,453.20 with J Corp for construction of street, water, and sanitary sewer improvements within the 46th Street Second Addition, Phase 2, for the lots along Coolidge Ct. and Adams Dr.

The city’s share is $32,883.00 to be funded out of Water/Sewer Capital.

The area finishes out the development north of 41st and west of Hall Street by Western Plains Service Corp.

Assistant Public Works Director John Braun explained the city is paying the difference in cost between the oversized 12-inch sewer main line that has already been installed along Smoky Hill Drive and the smaller 8-inch line required by the city’s residential development policy.

The extra cost to put in the larger line, $32,000, is absorbed by the city-at-large so that it’s “not an overburden for the property owners living along that line who would have to be paying a special assessment,” Braun said.

“It (the 12-inch sewer line) doesn’t cross I-70 but it puts it in position for future development to the north.  It would be ready to go for any potential growth,” he added.

By BECKY KISER
Hays Post

Children’s vision problems, if detected at an early age, are 95 percent correctable. If not treated, vision disorders in children may lead to blindness and may result in development issues.

Young children in Hays will soon benefit from the Kansas Lions Sight Foundation Children’s Vision Screening program. “The goal,” according to Hays Lions Club member Jim Huenergarde, “is to try to get all kids screened before they enter kindergarten.”

The Hays Lions Club, together with Hays First Care Clinic, have purchased a portable $7,800 Spot Vision Screener made by Welch Allyn.

The handheld device looks similar to any other digital camera, with a couple exceptions.

“Spot” emits an audible upbeat chirping noise while the lens screen is filled with a miniaturized laser light show. The noise and blue lights work to attract attention toward the camera.  The patient may be an infant as young as six months, or an uncooperative child. It takes just one-second for Spot to capture a binocular (both eyes) screening. The patient is a noninvasive three feet from the screener.

The new technology also allows for names and dates of birth to be entered.

Spot screens for potential indication of seven eye problems: myopia (nearsightedness), hyperopia (farsightedness), astigmatism (blurred vision), anisometropia (unequal refractive power), strabismus (crossed eyes), amblyopia (lazy eye) and anisocoria (pupil size anomalies).

The information is sent to a wireless printer for an immediate color printout of a vision screen summary. The information can also be retained on a thumb drive and handed over to an early childhood teacher, for example, who would print out the results later for parents.

If an anomaly is detected, the results will include the statement “Complete Eye Exam Recommended.” “Vision screening does not replace a complete eye examination by an ophthalmologist or optometrist” is printed at the top of each report.

Seven Hays Lions Club members are trained to use the portable device. Huenergarde is training the staff at First Care Clinic this week.

The device can detect vision issues on patients from six months of age through adults.

According to Huenergarde, “the plans are to keep it at First Care Clinic to be used on their patients on a regular basis.

“As we (Hays Lions Club) schedule screenings with preschools, day cares or the school system,  we’ll be screening 50 to 200 people at a time,” he said.

Huenergarde demonstrated the Spot Vision Screener at Tuesday’s Lions Club pancake feed fundraiser so supporters could see how their donations are used.

THe Hays Police Department responded to 9 animal calls and 23 traffic stops Tuesday, March 10, 2015, according to the HPD Activity Log.

Drug Offenses–300 block W 9th St, Hays; 2:09 AM
Abandoned Vehicle–1400 block Pine St, Hays; 4:49 AM
Animal At Large–2500 block E 21st St, Hays; 6:54 AM
Animal At Large–100 block W 10th St, Hays; 7:49 AM
Animal At Large–2700 block Epworth St, Hays; 8:06 AM
Assist – Other (not MV)–2900 block Skyline Dr, Hays; 8:25 AM
Found/Lost Property–3500 block Vine St, Hays; 9:34 AM
Animal At Large–1000 block Reservation Rd, Hays; 10:00 AM
Animal Cruelty/Neglect–2500 block Canterbury Dr, Hays; 11:43 AM
Animal Cruelty/Neglect–2200 block Canterbury Dr, Hays; 12:08 PM
MV Accident-Private Property–4300 block Vine, Hays; 12:06 PM
Suspicious Activity–2400 block E 13th St, Hays; 1:11 PM
Civil Dispute–Hays; 2:44 PM
Juvenile Complaint–100 block E 28th St, Hays; 2:42 PM
Assist – Other (not MV)–Hays; 4:52 PM
Violation of Restraining Order/PFA–1000 block Reservation Rd, Hays; 5:21 PM
Welfare Check–400 block E 17th St, Hays; 6:44 PM; 7:07 PM
Welfare Check–500 block Halladay St, Hays; 9:00 PM
Welfare Check–200 block W 4th St, Hays; 10:23 PM

By BECKY KISER
Hays Post

“As of noon today, our collections are at the $9,000 mark.”

Heartland Community Foundation Executive Director Tammy McClellan had a big smile on her face as she tallied the morning’s donations for the first HCF “Match Madness.”

The one-day event is designed to generate new gifts to HCF endowed funds for local non-profit organizations in Ellis, Rooks and Trego counties. Donations from the public are being matched proportionally by HCF from a total match pool of $9,000.

“It’s a great way to stretch your gift,” McClellan added.

“Many of the 16 participating organizations worked ahead to gather donations and the program directors have brought those in to us today in one bunch,” she said.

McClelland accepted in-person donations until 4 p.m. this afternoon at the Hays Welcome Center, 2700 Vine St. Other volunteers were at Heritage Insurance Group, 416 Main St., Stockton; First State Bank, 120 W. Mill St., Plainville, and TWI & Dietz Insurance, 120 N. Main St., WaKeeney.

Donations may also be made online at until midnight tonight at www.heartlandcommunityfoundation.org.   All donations are tax deductible.

Non-profit funds participating in Match Madness include: Hays Arts Council Fund, Hays Area Children’s Center Fund, Damar Community Historical Foundation, Hays Recreation Commission Youth Programs Fund, USD 489 Foundation Fund for Educational Excellence Fund, Plainville Community Foundation Leadership Fund, Plainville Community Foundation Youth Fund, Hays Dog Park Fund, Coronado Area Council of Boy Scouts of America Fund, Big Brothers & Big Sisters of Ellis County Fund, Leadership Hays Fund, Leadership Hays Children’s Fund, Hays Area Chamber of Commerce Development and Civic Engagement Fund, First Care Clinic Fund, Hays Community Theatre Fund, and the Stockton Community Fund.

McClellan said HCF is “hoping to make ‘Match Madness’ an annual event.”

 

By BECKY KISER
Hays Post

Harold Schmeidler wasn’t the first one through the doors this year, but he was in line by 7 a.m. and soon enjoying his pancakes at the annual Hays Lions Club Sausage and Pancake Feed at the National Guard Armory, Second and Main.

“I don’t think Harold has ever missed one of our breakfasts,” said Lions Club member Jim Huenergarde.

“I suppose I’ve seen ‘The Pancake Man’ at least 15 years,” Schmeidler said in between bites of pancakes slathered in syrup, with sausage to the side.

“The Pancake Man” is Jim Kupar, Council Bluffs, Iowa, who has worked with the Hays Lions Club for many years. Kupar brings  the fresh ingredients with him, mixes the pancake batter on site, and starts flippin’ flapjacks, literally.

Tuesday morning, Schmeidler got his breakfast for free, as a “thank-you” from the Lions for his many years of financial support.

Schmeidler enjoyed it along with orange juice and coffee.

“I’ll be drinking coffee all day,” he said.

Schmeidler had already watered his cattle and once he finished eating, joined by his son Kevin Schmeidler and a couple nephews, the elder Schmeidler would head back to feed his cattle on his farm north of Walker.

“Eighty-eight years old and still actively farming,” Keven said of his father with a smile.

The Hays Lions Club Standlee Dalton Sausage and Pancake Feed and Broom Sale continues until 1 p.m. and will resume for supper from 4:30 to 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $6.50 for adults and $4.75 for children younger than 10.

Proceeds support 4-H, Boy Scouts, sight conservation and glasses for children, Dan Rupp Park and other community projects.

By BECKY KISER
Hays Post

It’s time to get in the game. “Match Madness” is Tuesday.

The one-day event sponsored by the Heartland Community Foundation will match new donations to endowed funds for 16 participating local charities in Ellis, Rooks and Trego Counties.

All gifts will be matched by Heartland from a pool of $9,000 for participating funds, according to HCF Executive Director Tammy McClelland.

“Our Match Madness event is a great way to make your local giving go even farther,” said McClellan. “Local participating organizations will be looking to their donors, board members, staff and volunteers to support their funds during Match Madness. When donors give during Match Madness, participating organizations will receive a matching contribution from Heartland.”

Nonprofit funds participating in Match Madness include: Hays Arts Council Fund, Hays Area Children’s Center Fund, Damar Community Historical Foundation, Hays Recreation Commission Youth Programs Fund, USD 489 Foundation Fund for Educational Excellence Fund, Plainville Community Foundation Leadership Fund, Plainville Community Foundation Youth Fund, Hays Dog Park Fund, Coronado Area Council of Boy Scouts of America Fund, Big Brothers & Big Sisters of Ellis County Fund, Leadership Hays Fund, Leadership Hays Children’s Fund, Hays Area Chamber of Commerce Development and Civic Engagement Fund, First Care Clinic Fund, Hays Community Theatre Fund, and the Stockton Community Fund.

Donors can make contributions in person Tuesday, March 10, at four are locations from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Checks and cash donations can be earmarked for one or more of the participating charities and accepted at: The Welcome Center, 2700 Vine St., Hays; Heritage Insurance Group, 416 Main St., Stockton; First State Bank, 120 W. Mill St., Plainville and at Dietz Insurance, 120 N. Main St., WaKeeney.

Contributions can also be made online on March 10 at heartlandcommunityfoundation.org. Processing fees will apply to the online contributions.

The Heartland Community Foundation, serving Ellis, Rooks and Trego counties, was established in 2007 and is one of 12 affiliates of the Greater Salina Community Foundation. All endowed contributions made to Heartland in 2015 will qualify for additional matching contributions from the Kansas Health Foundation.

For more information contact Tammy McClellan, HCF executive director, at (785) 621-4090.

By BECKY KISER
Hays Post

Four years after the Fukushima nuclear accident in Japan, Hays resident Chuck Hindman remains alarmed about the consequences of radiation fallout in the United States, and he’s determined to convince the populace of the problems and to take action.

It was on March 11, 2011, that an earthquake and subsequent tsunami tore through coastal towns in northern Japan and set off meltdowns at Tokyo Electric Power’s Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant.

Hindman is conducting a week-long “education event” next to the Northwest District Kansas Department of Health and Environment office in Hays, 2301 E. 13th.

“We have to do what’s right so our grandkids’ grandkids have a chance,” Hindman said. “We’ll be there from noon to 6 p.m. each day handing out information about radiation effects on human beings, animal life and, particularly here in the nation’s breadbasket, the damage to our soil, air and water. In a nutshell, it’s an environmental issue … Mother Nature is on life-support.”

Hindman believes the federal government, especially the Environmental Protection Agency and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, have downplayed the dangers, while also increasing allowable safety limits for human exposure to radiation.

“There are no safe limits,” Hindman said with conviction.

Hindman is owner of Mid America Land Restoration, which uses natural microbes to remediate environmentally damaged soil and ponds. Restoring a natural ecological balance is of paramount concern to Hindman, particularly in areas of the nation where food crops are grown.

“The high levels of radiation that are plaguing this country as well as the whole northern hemisphere. … This is an educational event about that to show the people — to educate the people — things we can be doing all the way around. If we don’t do anything with it, it takes hundreds of thousands of years to break this down in nature. When you simplify things: What is in nature that breaks this down? It is microbes,” Hindman explained.

Hindman has a Facebook page in which he posts information from around the world about nuclear fallout concerns, including the Feb. 14, 2014, accident at the WIPP plant near Carlsbad, N.M., the nation’s only dump for nuclear weapons waste.

Hindman said he has worked with 1st District Congressman Tim Huelskamp, R-Kan., to bring national attention to the matter and he expects a “candidate for state office in Missouri” as well as 111th Dist. State Rep. Sue Boldra, R-Hays, to attend this week’s educational event in Hays.

Hays resident Darrel Goheen used a drone to shoot aerial video of Saturday’s early morning fire at the Heartland Truss Plant just south of Hays, and the scene again at about noon with some visible smoke still rising.

Approximately 30 firefighters responded and were on the scene from 4:40 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Saturday.

RELATED STORY: State fire marshal examines site.

Investigators from the state fire marshal ruled the cause of the massive blaze as “unknown” and as having “started in the break room,” according to Ellis County Rural Fire Director Dick Klaus.

There were no injuries.

See the video here.

By BECKY KISER
Hays Post

The main building where the trusses are built at the Heartland Truss Plant was completely destroyed by fire early Saturday morning.

The large 200 foot by 112 foot building is “a complete loss,” according Ellis County Rural Fire Chief Dick Klaus, “including five forklifts inside.”

The 30 firefighters from Ellis County, Hays, Victoria and Ellis, were able to save two other buildings to the east and south of the massive blaze.

Two investigators from the state fire marshal’s office arrived at the scene late Saturday morning and subsequently ruled the cause of the fire as “undetermined” and as having started “in a break room,” Klaus said.

“No telling when it started,” Klaus added.

A passerby called 911 at 4:40 a.m. thinking the fire was in a nearby trailer home park. When the Hays Fire Department arrived, they determined the fire was in the truss plant, located at 710 General Custer Road, which is south of the Highway 183 bypass and outside city limits.

Ellis County rural firefighters then were dispatched from companies 4, 5, 6 and 8. The cities of Ellis and Victoria also responded.

There were no injuries.

Klaus said firefighters were on the scene until 2:30 p.m. Saturday.  The American Red Cross was also on the scene for about eight hours and “served two meals to firefighters and law enforcement officers,” according to Hays ARC volunteer Pete Peterson.

A damage estimate was not immediately released.