The annual Hays Alley Cleanup is done.

Crews began picking up discarded items October 14 and finished the job yesterday afternoon, a total of seven work days.

One sweep was made through town starting with residential curbside customers followed by residential alley customers.

Workers collected tree limbs, construction and demolition debris, white goods and metals, and municipal waste–all items not normally picked up in the weekly trash collection.

The alley cleanup is free to residential solid waste customers. 

No word yet on how many tons were collected.

The Hays Fire Department has cut back the amount of water it uses in training exercises, but not the number of drills.

Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday mornings this week, the Hays fire department is training at 17^th and Harvest near Kiwanis Park. Chief Gary Brown explains how reducing water usage affects the drills:

This week’s drill is slow-going, just two firefighters operating one ladder truck.  That’s not an ideal situation, according to Brown, but it happens in real-life.  “This scenario is as if we’re short-handed.  We want to get water on a structure fire as soon as possible to keep it from spreading to adjacent buildings,” he says.

The public is invited to stop by and watch the training tomorrow morning between 9:30 and 11:30a.m.  You may notice the firefighters seem to be walking slowly when hauling hoses:

“You can’t run in this equipment without becoming overheated, and then you can’t work anymore.   So part of this training is for the firefighters to learn to pace themselves since they may be on a scene for three or four hours with no relief,” explains Brown.

Work place violence was one of the topics addressed during Summit 2013 this week in Hays.

About 100 people from across the state gathered to discuss how to confront violence in our communities.

Kansas Highway Patrol Technical Trooper Tod Hileman, Troop D-Hays,  told the attendees that homicide is the leading cause of death for women in the workplace:

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, there were 506 workplace homicides in the United State in 2010.

Snow this morning in Hays and Russell; sunny and 64 degrees Saturday, and 70 degrees Sunday:

According to 120 years of official weather records at the K-State Ag Research Center, October snow is not unusual in Hays.

So says Official Weather Guy, Joe Becker.

Hays actually has had snow in September.  Both 1985 and 1995 had two inches of the white stuff during September.

The last measureable snow for Spring 2013 was two and half inches which fell April 23.  The average seasonal snowfall in Hays is 19.47 inches.

October 16 was National Fossil Day.  Of course, at the Sternberg Museum of Natural History in Hays, every day is Fossil Day.

Still, Wednesday was even more special by the official recognition of a sea turtle fossil donated to Sternberg by the Bird Ranch in Gove County.

Adjunct Paleontologist Mike Everhart explains it’s the oldest know example of the Protostega gigas Cope:

Extended members of the Bird family were on hand for the ceremony, as well as the three amateur paleontologists who first discovered the fossil toe bones.

City workers will get a little wet today as they continue with the Day 5 of the Hays annual alley cleanup.

Public Works Director I. D. Creech says the job is nearly done:

Click on the map above to see areas of Hays remaining to be cleaned up.

Ellis County residents age 18 and older voted for new members of the Ellis County Extension Council on Thursday:

Each year, council members are publicly elected to serve on program committees in agriculture, family and consumer sciences, community development and 4-H and Youth.

“We have a really nice slate of good candidates this year,” said FACS Agent Linda Beech.

The 24 Extension Council members assist Extension agents in identifying targeted issues and developing educational programs to meet local needs.

Candidates are:

AGRICULTURE

Ron Amrein, David Dreiling, Ryan Flax, Landon Leiker, Nathan Leiker

COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT

Gary Aufdemberge, Michelle Kieffer, Jeanie Michaelis, Eber Phelps

FAMILY AND CONSUMER SCIENCES

Connie Braun, Judy Brummer, Thomas Decker, Julie Haselhorst, Ellen Schmidt, Marlene Windholz

4-H YOUTH AND DEVELOPMENT

Chantelle Arnold, Stephanie Eckroat, Mandy Fox, Vanessa North, Allen Park, Rae Smith

Residents were able to cast their ballots at the Ellis County Extension office and during the Hays Area Chamber of Commerce Farmers Appreciation Thursday evening.

Check Hays Post and listen to Eagle Radio news for election results when they’re released.

Local farmers and ranchers are enjoying a free dinner tonight, courtesy of the Hays Area Chamber of Commerce.

The HACC annual Farmer’s Appreciation is underway at the KSU Ag Research Center.

HACC volunteers grill the brats and hamburgers and serve them up, along with baked beans, potato chips and drinks:

Door prizes are also given away to participants.

The dinner continues until 7p.m. tonight.

There’s a lot of teamwork going on behind the microphones during the annual Hays Eagle Radio Auction.

The fall auction is underway on KAYS 1400AM and KHAZ 99.5FM.  You can also listen live on Hays Post–just click the KAYS radio logo or 99KZ Country radio logo in the top right corner.

All the Eagle Radio DJs take their turn auctioning a huge variety of items, ranging from ATVs, to massages, to vacation packages.

Then, the other Eagle team members and volunteers swing into action to answer phones, confirm bids and keep track of the paperwork.

Bidders can call 625-2578 or 800-569-0144.  “Saving is just a phone call away, ” says Eagle Radio General Manager Todd Lynd.

The radio auction continues until 5p.m. this afternoon and will resume Friday just after 8a.m. until 5p.m.

Two consecutive nights of freezing temperatures are a reminder that winter is around the corner, and, the annual downtown Hays FrostFest celebration.

The 2013 FrostFest lighted parade will be held Saturday, December 7 starting at dark, or approximately 6:00 p.m.

This year’s theme is “Inside Santa’s Workshop” and parade entry forms will be available in November.

Megan Colson, the new Executive Director of the Downtown Hays Development Corporation, says plans are already underway for next year.  “As in years past, the FrostFest committee is hosting a Parade Theme Contest for next year’s lighted parade,” she says.

To enter a theme for the 2014 Parade, stop into the Hays Welcome Center for an entry form, find the “Chestnut Street District” page on Facebook (www.facebook.com/ChestnutStreetDistrict)and submit the entry form or email it to [email protected]. Entries are due by Monday, November 4 to the DHDC Office.

Other dates to remember for this season are:
Downtown Hays Holiday Open House Weekend
Thursday, October 31– Sunday, November 3
Downtown Hays “Bright Friday” Lighting Celebration and Competition
Friday, November 29
Downtown FrostFest Finale Weekend
Friday, December 6 – Sunday, December 8
13th Annual FrostFest Illuminated Parade in Downtown Hays
Saturday, December 7 at Dark (6:00pm)

As of Wednesday, all curbside collection of unwanted items and tree limbs is complete.

The Hays annual Alley Cleanup started Monday.

City workers have also picked up “junk” in most of the alleys.  Click on the map to see what areas remain.

The alley cleanup is scheduled to run through tomorrow, October 18.

October 16 is National Fossil Day.  At Sternberg Museum of Natural History in Hays,  every day is Fossil Day.

The museum’s many fossil specimens and exhibits are front and center today as students from Hays, WaKeeney, Quinter and Wheatland tour five activity stations pairing fossil specimens with living animals.

Curator of Paleontology Dr. Laura Wilson,  adjunct curator of paleontology Mike Everhart, museum director Reese Barrick, and Fort Hays State University graduate students are explaining how fossil are studied and the use of fossils to understand changes over time.

This afternoon at 2p.m., Sternberg’s new fossil sea turtle will be unveiled.  It was found in 2011 south of Quinter on private land and has been donated by the landowners.

The public is invited to attend evening presentations  by the curators as well as Education Director David Levering.  The Discovery Room will feature activities for kids.  Tonight’s events are from 6:30-8p.m.

Admission is free the entire day.

Find out more about National Fossil Day tonight on Hays Post, Eagle Community TV Channel 14.