When you’re grocery shopping this Saturday, you’ll notice volunteers from Celebration Community Church near the doors of both Dillons stores and Walmart.
They’ll be collecting food items Nov. 22 from 9 a.m. until 5 p.m. The donations will be bagged next Wednesday, Nov. 26, and then given to people attending Thursday’s annual Thanksgiving Day Feast at the Rose Garden Banquet Hall, 2350 E. Eighth.
The free meal has been a 20-year tradition in Hays. It was taken over seven years ago by the Ellis County Ministerial Alliance, according to Celebration Community Church Pastor Kyle Ermoian.
“Last year, we filled 365 bags with the community’s food donations,” Ermoian said. “We feed them sumptuously on Thanksgiving Day, and they’ll be given a bagful of groceries to last the next couple of weeks.”
First Call for Help is scheduling all the volunteers for next Wednesday and Thursday. To help, call (785)-623-2800.
The Hays Golden Corral restaurant, 383 W. Mopar Dr., will participate in the 2014 Military Appreciation Monday this evening from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m.
Taft Yates, Master Sergeant, Ret., now the Ellis police chief, said all area veteran and active duty military members are invited to “enjoy the free meal and comradery served with a ‘Thank You’ for your service.”
Yates enlisted in the U.S. army in 1975 and retired in 1995. He spent 19 of his 20 years in various Ranger assignments.
Last year’s Golden Corral Military Appreciation Monday dinner honored honoring more than 433,500 veterans and active duty military nationwide with a free dinner buffet and beverage. All Golden Corral restaurants nationwide participated in the event to honor military heroes, past and present.
Golden Corral restaurants and guests contributed a record total of more than $1,409,000 for the Disabled American Veterans organization to be used by state and local chapters to assist veterans.
It was the fourth consecutive year that Golden Corral restaurants and their guests have raised over $1 million dollars for the DAV.
An official one inch of snow fell in Hays overnight as the Winter Weather Advisory which had been issued until noon Saturday was cancelled by the Dodge City National Weather Service.
This was the first measurable snowfall for the 2014-2015 winter season.
Records at the K-State Agricultural Research Center show the snow was topped with snow pellets, all yielding 0.05 inch of precipitation.
For the year, Hays has received 24.57 inches of precipitation.
Open enrollment for the Affordable Health Care Act’s Marketplace Health Insurance in 2015 starts Saturday and will end Feb. 15.
Coverage for 2015 can start Jan. 1.
But using the federal website — created as part of national health care reform — can be confusing.
Sayre Shuck is one of several trained “Certified Navigators” and “Outreach Specialists” in Kansas. Shuck is based at the Hays First Care Clinic, 105 W. 13th.
“I help people navigate through the Marketplace on the website, www.healthcare.gov, and I also help them choose what health care plan is best for them, whether they’re individuals or families,” Shuck explained. “If you need family coverage, only one person needs to make an appointment to see me.”
To buy Marketplace insurance outside of Open Enrollment, you must qualify for a Special Enrollment Period due to a qualifying life event, such as marriage, birth or adoption of a child, or loss of other health coverage. Shuck says the online enrollment process takes about an hour.
To make an appointment with Shuck, call the First Care Clinic, (785)-621-4990. There is no enrollment fee.
Built in 1936, the Rush County Line limestone bridge, straddles Russell County and is less than a mile from Ellis County. The deteriorating structure was torn down earlier this year, forcing its removal from the National Register of Historic Sites.
TOPEKA–As a popular southwestern Kansas tourist attraction was recently nominated by the Kansas Historical Society for the National Register of Historic Places, two northwest Kansas locations already on the national list had to be removed because they both were destroyed earlier this year.
The Rush/Russell County Line masonry arch bridge was demolished earlier this year after county officials determined it would be too expensive to repair the crumbling WPA project.
Rush County agreed to nominate to the National Register another similar New Deal-era bridge– the Sand Creek Tributary Stone Arch Bridge about 3 miles northwest of LaCrosse–to mitigate the loss of the Rush County Line Bridge. The Sand Creek Bridge was built in 1946; the Rush/Russell County Line Bridge was built in 1936.
The First Presbyterian Church in Abilene, operating as the Great Plains Theater, was destroyed by fire July 23, 2014.
Removals – National Register of Historic Places
The Rush County Line Bridge was demolished in 2014.
Rush County Line Bridge – Rush/Russell County Line
The Rush County Line Bridge was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1986 as part of the Masonry Arch Bridges of Kansas multiple property nomination for its local significance in the areas of engineering and transportation. The bridge plaque indicated it was a project of the Works Progress Administration (WPA) and was completed in 1936.
The bridge was demolished in 2014. The proposal to demolish the bridge required a permit from the Army Corps of Engineers, a federal agency, and was reviewed under Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act. Rush County agreed to nominate to the National Register another similar New Deal-era bridge (Sand Creek Tributary Stone Arch Bridge) in their county to mitigate the loss of the Rush County Line Bridge.
The First Presbyterian Church/Great Plains Theater in Abilene was destroyed by fire July 23, 2014.
First Presbyterian Church of Abilene – 300 N. Mulberry Street, Abilene, Dickinson County
The First Presbyterian Church of Abilene was listed in the National Register of Historic Places May 25, 2001 for its local significance in the area of architecture. The limestone building was built in 1882 and 1883 and reflected the Gothic Revival and Romanesque styles. A new wing was added to the building in 1931. The Presbyterians moved to a new church in 1968 and the Southern Baptist Church congregation later purchased the building. In 1994, Terry Tietjens purchased the building for use as a Center for Performing Arts. The building was destroyed by a fire July 23, 2014.
At its regular quarterly meeting held at the Kansas Historical Society in Topeka on Saturday, November 8, the Historic Sites Board of Review voted to forward seven nominations to the office of the Keeper of the National Register of Historic Places in Washington, D.C., to be evaluated by its professional staff. If staff members concur with the board’s findings, the properties will be included in the National Register. The board also voted to list one property in the Register of Historic Kansas Places and to remove two properties from both registers.
The National Register of Historic Places is the country’s official list of historically significant properties. Authorized by the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966, the National Park Service’s National Register of Historic Places is part of a national program to coordinate and support public and private efforts to identify, evaluate, and protect America’s historic and archaeological resources.
Below are summaries of the nominations and related documents:
National Register of Historic Places
Young Buck Site (14RY402) – northwest quarter Section 14, Township 10S, Range 7E, Manhattan, Riley County
The Young Buck site (14RY402) along the wooded south bank of Wildcat Creek in Riley County is the location of a prehistoric American Indian settlement. Recent archaeological investigations led by Kansas State University Research Associate Professor Brad Logan have yielded evidence of prehistoric habitation dating to the Woodland (AD 1-1000) and Late Prehistoric (AD 1000-1500) periods. The investigation targeted areas of potential future development identified by the City of Manhattan. The 2.5-acre site is nominated for its potential to yield significant information in the area of prehistoric archaeology.
Hotel Roberts – 120 W. Fourth Street, Pratt, Pratt County
Built in 1930, Hotel Roberts is the largest and most highly styled historic hotel in Pratt. Construction of the hotel was initiated by the Pratt Chamber of Commerce, which formed a committee in the late 1920s specifically to facilitate the construction of a large new hotel. Seen as a potentially valuable asset for the community, the hotel was financed in part through a public subscription campaign and constructed on land provided by the Chamber. The Pratt Hotel Company owned and operated the hotel and hired Wichita architect Samuel S. Voigt and Kansas City contractor Webster L. Elson to design and build the building. Elson not only supervised the rapid construction of the “fire-proof” building, he was a founding member of the Pratt Hotel Company and retained an ownership interest in the property for many years. The community hospital was established on the eighth floor of the building in 1932, complete with an operating room and an x-ray machine. Architecturally, the building is significant as an early and sophisticated example of the Art Deco style in central Kansas. The hotel opened as the Hotel Roberts in 1930 and continued under that name until 1959, when it was purchased by Monte Parrish and renamed the Hotel Parrish. It is nominated for its local significance in the areas of architecture and community planning and development.
Ray L. Smith House – 812 W. Central Avenue, El Dorado, Butler County
Pipeline engineer Ray L. Smith commissioned the construction of this Colonial Revival-style residence in 1936. The P. T. Cortelyou Construction Company of Wichita built the residence, which is speculated to have been designed by Topeka-based architect Thomas W. Williamson who was overseeing the construction of El Dorado’s high school and junior college that was completed in 1937. Smith’s residence is located in the Cooper Park Addition to El Dorado, which was platted in 1877 but not fully developed until the 1920s and 1930s. The residence is an excellent local example of the side-gable subtype of the Colonial Revival style. Its characteristic features include a pedimented front door, many plain and fluted pilasters, multi-light sash windows, end chimneys, cornice returns, and working shutters. It is nominated for its local significance in the area of architecture.
Wirkler-Krehbiel House – 2727 N. Main Street, North Newton, Harvey County
The history of the Wirkler-Krehbiel House is intertwined with that of Bethel College located across the street. Christian and Elizabeth Wirkler were charter members of Bethel College, which formed in 1887 and opened its doors in 1893. Wirkler erected the Queen Anne-style residence in 1898, and he served the college by housing student boarders. It was later home to Wirkler’s daughter Mary and her husband C. E. Krehbiel, an important local figure in early 20th century Mennonite circles and whose father had played a key role in the Mennonite settlement in the area. Bethel College acquired the home in 1958 and sold it in 1992 for use as a private residence. The house was built toward the end of the period during which the Queen Anne style was popular. The stylistic features include its irregular form, asymmetry, fishscale shingles, and turned spindles on the porch and balustrade. It is nominated for its local significance in the areas of education and architecture.
Little Stranger Church and Cemetery – Leavenworth County
The Little Stranger Church congregation built this wood-frame house of worship in 1868, and at the time of nomination, it stands to be the oldest wood-frame church in Kansas listed in the registers. The congregation traced its roots back to a group of settlers from Farley, Missouri, who arrived in Leavenworth County in 1858. Frequent announcements in the newspapers regarding various guest preachers suggest the church may have relied on the assistance of area churches for Sunday sermons. Despite the apparent success of the church in the 1910s, it closed in 1919 during the flu epidemic, never to reconvene again. The building remained shuttered until 1929 when a 4-H club requested to use the building for its meetings. Various organizations held meetings in the building through the mid-20th century. The church stands as a reminder of mid-19th century building techniques. It has a rectangular form and gable-front roof that presents a straight-forward image of utilitarian design. The associated cemetery includes more than 100 known graves, with the earliest deaths dating from the late 1850s and early 1860s, suggesting the cemetery may have pre-dated the construction of the church. It is nominated for its local significance in the areas of early settlement history and architecture.
Ira E. Lloyd Stock Farm – 1575 Avenue JJ, Ellsworth, Ellsworth County
Ellsworth attorney Ira E. Lloyd, who settled in Ellsworth in 1873, developed a stock farm east of town in the early 20th century. Lloyd served as the city’s attorney in 1874 and as the county’s attorney from 1875 to 1878. He had a brief political career in state-level politics, serving in the Kansas Senate representing District 30 from 1885 to 1887. He remained active in Republican Party politics, but he developed other interests in real estate, stock breeding, and horse racing. He partnered with W. H. Huntington to manage his Ellsworth Horse Farm north of town until 1902. Lloyd slowly acquired parcels of land that eventually became his 172-acre stock farm on the eastern outskirts of Ellsworth. Although the timeline of development and land acquisition is not fully known, it is speculated that after his wife’s death in 1899, Lloyd transitioned away from the horse farm north of town and focused on his new stock farm east of town. At this property, Lloyd managed a rather diverse small farm raising shorthorn cattle, chickens, and turkeys, and growing crops such as wheat and corn. It is nominated as part of the Historic Agriculture-Related Resource of Kansas multiple property nomination for its local significance in the area of agriculture.
Dalton Gang Hideout and Museum – 502 S. Pearlette Street, Meade, Meade County
The Dalton Gang Hideout and Museum is a product of the auto-tourism era of the early and middle 20th century. The Meade Chamber of Commerce, with assistance from the Work Projects Administration (WPA) and the National Youth Administration, developed the site in 1940 around the former residence of John and Eva (Dalton) Whipple, a sister of the famed outlaw Dalton brothers known for their robbery of trains and banks. Though stories of the Dalton Gang visiting Meade in the late 1800s surfaced in the early 20th century, primary source evidence to support these claims has remained elusive. Nevertheless, local officials hoped to attract visitors using the colorful Dalton Gang tales and showcase history through the collections of local history buffs at this site. WPA officials reportedly turned down the community’s first proposal because it romanticized a gang of outlaws. The plans were resubmitted under the name Meade Historical Park, and greater emphasis was given to developing local history at the site. This mid-20th century roadside attraction is nominated as part of the New Deal-era Resources of Kansas and Roadside Kansas multiple property nominations under Criterion A for its local significance in the areas of social history, government, and tourism.
Register of Historic Kansas Places – Nominations
Ritz Theatre – 1145 N. Military Avenue, Baxter Springs, Cherokee County
The Ritz Theatre opened in 1926 in a converted two-story commercial building along Route 66 in downtown Baxter Springs. The building had previously housed John M. Cooper’s Dry Goods and Clothing Store, which opened in the 1880s, and the upper floor had served as a gathering space for various social organizations. Under the guidance of Joplin architect T. E. Martinie, the building was converted to a theater in 1926 and officially opened on April 30, showing The Ancient Highway, distributed by Paramount Pictures. A packed house heard music from Mrs. Roy Brooks, an organist at the Victory Theatre in Rogers, Arkansas. The popularity of drive-in theaters throughout the tri-state area likely contributed to the closing of the theater in the mid-1950s. The building then functioned as the Blue Castle Restaurant from 1957 to 1980. At the time of nomination, the building is being renovated to reflect its former use as a theater. It is nominated to the Register of Historic Kansas Places under Criterion A for its local significance in the area of entertainment/recreation.
Related Internet Links:
National Register of Historic Places: https://www.nps.gov/nr/
Kansas Historical Society (National and State Registers): kshs.org/14638
To read drafts of these nominations and links to photographs, see this link: kshs.org/14633
Turns out, the voter turnout in Ellis County for the Nov. 4 election was even a little higher than first thought.
As the polls closed and votes were tabulated last week, Ellis County Clerk Donna Maskus was “thrilled” with the 57.41 percent local voter turnout.
“There was just a 17 percent turnout in the April primary, so we improved considerably,” she said.
After the Ellis County Commission officially canvassed election results Monday, Nov. 10, the percentage went up a little bit. Maskus reported the final and official “voter turnout in Ellis County was 58.67 percent.”
That’s slightly more than a 1 percent increase.
According to Maskus, a total 10,490 ballots were cast in Ellis County.
Post Traumatic Stress Disorder has a lifetime prevalence among the U.S. general population of 8.7 percent, and the rate can be higher for military veterans, according to Ken Loos, High Plains Mental Health Center Manager of Community Education and Outreach.
PTSD is also tough on family members.
Family members should be “as supportive and patient as possible,” Loos advised, but cautioned “it can be very hard to do.”
“A lot of individuals who come back from serving in Iraq and Afghanistan are first-responders who continue to be exposed to trauma in their jobs–firefighters, law enforcement, EMTs, doctors and nurses.
“Whether it’s the VA system, your family doctor, the local health department or community health program, reaching out for help (for PTSD treatment) is not a sign of weakness. In fact, it’s a sign of strength, and something you’re doing not just for you but also for your family and your community,” Loos said.
“Try very, very hard not to take anything personally. But as you see your loved one perhaps becoming more and more agitated, more paranoid, pulling back from family and children– that can hurt any of us when we really care about someone we love. They don’t do it to be mean necessarily. The issue might be they’re afraid of hurting others, they’re afraid of getting close, they’re just not quite ready to be back in the ‘normal’ world.
“When you think about it, our soldiers are trained to do some pretty tough things, and then they come back to a world where those skills may not transfer exactly.
“The bottom line for family members is to know when your limits are reached. We can’t be therapists or counselors to the ones we love. That’s when it’s time to reach out for professional assistance and not to be afraid to do that,” urged Loos:
“At High Plains Mental Health Center, we’ve seen some veterans more willing to come in for a first session when a family member comes with them so it doesn’t feel like ‘yeah, I’m the whole problem.’
“They can feel that ‘it doesn’t just impact me; it impacts my family too, and I want to improve for them, maybe even more so than just for me.'”
Loos said some counselors at High Plains Mental Health are veterans themselves.
Others, like Loos, who do not have military experience, have participated in a National Council of Behavioral Health program, which teaches about military culture and what military members and their families go through.
“I feel better prepared to understand and to listen. In order to help, we don’t all have to go through the same thing.”
Late fall is the peak season for deer movement in Kansas and as a result, deer-vehicle crashes also go up, according to Kansas Highway Patrol Technical Trooper Tod Hileman
“About half the deer-vehicle crashes we work all year long come in October, November and December — with November being the heavy one, ” Hileman said. “November really spikes (statistically) in deer crashes.”
There are some things drivers can do to reduce the chance of hitting a deer.
“Be really alert around low-lying areas and around trees. Be especially cautious in areas where you see a deer-crossing sign and be on the lookout for deer particularly at dawn and dusk,” he said.
“Above all, slow down,” Hileman advised. “Allow yourself a little more time for your commute.”
Last year in Ellis County, there were 98 deer/vehicle crashes, with one fatality, according to statistics provided by Hileman:
“If you do hit a deer, stay in your vehicle. Put on your hazard lights and pull over to the right as far as you can. Call 9-1-1 and don’t try to move the deer,” advised Hileman. “I remember last year there were three fatalities in one morning involving deer. Two of them were when people got outside of their vehicle after the crash, and they were then struck by another vehicle.”
With temperatures predicted to plunge early next week, the city of Hays is reminding residents about the Emergency Snow Routes and Operational Plan.
“If the city manager declares a snow emergency, we ask you to get your vehicles off the emergency snow routes. It makes snow removal difficult trying to drive around them,” said Public Works Director I. D. Creech.
If you are out driving, make sure your vehicle is capable of moving around when the snow falls. Try not to become a traffic impediment because you get stuck someplace. Stay on the emergency snow routes as much as possible.
“Our crews will be out there as quickly as we think we can make a difference, providing some kind of successful snow removal. If the snow continues, we have a hard time keeping up.
We will also pretreat (the streets) when necessary, which is our first form of defense against the snow.
Then we’ll shove the snow out of the way on the main routes. The secondary routes we’ll hit as we can and then we have some auxiliary routes.
“Do not expect us in the residential areas. We have no place to push the snow , we have no place to pile the snow (in residential areas), so it makes it very difficult to move around parked vehicles.
Creech said complete information is in the newsletter included with the November utilities billing statement.
Orscheln Home and Farm assistant manager Shelly Whitman and other employees inspect the damage.
By BECKY KISER Hays Post
By the time an Orscheln Home and Farm Store employee grabbed a fire extinguisher and ran out the front door to put out a hay bale fire, she knew it was too late. Another employee called 9-1-1 shortly after 2 p.m. Friday as the flames started shooting up and towards an adjacent rack of filled propane bottles.
Several trucks from the Hays Fire Department responded, as Hays Police evacuated employees and customers from the store. Ellis County EMS waited in the parking lot.
Hays firefighters responded to a hay bale fire near the entrance of Orscheln, 2900 Broadway, early Friday afternoon.
“There was no damage to the building,” according to HFD Captain Aaron Ditter at the scene. “The fire origin is indeterminate at this time, although we do know it started on the top of the bales.”
“A guy came into the store and told us about the fire,” said Orscheln assistant store manager Shelly Wittman. “There were nine hay bales stacked in front of the building next to some stacks of bird seed. They’re all burned.”
After the all clear, employees and customers are allowed back inside by Hays police.
As Wittman and other employees inspected the burned remains, she discovered some of the plastic portions on the lawn sweeps along the store wall had melted.
“It still could have been a lot worse,” said Wittman.
“The fire department was really concerned about those propane tanks. We were really lucky.”
TOPEKA — Fifteen projects intended to encourage children to walk or bicycle to school have been selected for funding through the Safe Routes to School program administered by the Kansas Department of Transportation.
A total of $1,335,000 will be allocated for projects including development of a Safe Routes to School plan and infrastructure construction.
The federal program, created in 2005, has several purposes:
Enable and encourage children, including those who are disabled, to walk or bicycle to school
Make walking or biking to school safe and appealing
Facilitate projects that will improve safety and reduce traffic, fuel consumption and air pollution in the vicinity of schools.
The following cities have been selected for Phase I funding, which covers the costs of developing a Safe Routes to School plan: Cimarron, Dighton, Haven, Iola, Lawrence, Lewis, McPherson, Neosho Rapids, and Olpe. All cities will receive up to $15,000.
Receiving Phase II funding for infrastructure improvements are Beloit, Ellsworth, Erie, Fort Scott, Hutchinson, and Kinsley. All cities will receive up to $200,000.
Phase II projects can include sidewalk improvement or construction, pavement markings and signage.
By BECKY KISER
