Midwest Energy is one of just two electric cooperatives in Kansas still fully regulated by the Kansas Corporation Commission.  The Board of Directors and management are encouraging cooperative members to vote for self-regulation in a mail ballot next month.

“Self-regulation enables local control,” says Mike Morley, Midwest Energy Director of Corporate Communications.  “Most decision-making authority would be removed from the KCC and return it to the member-elected Board of Directors.”

If customer-owners approve the change, self-regulation would also lower costs and improve efficiency, according to Morley.

“Midwest Energy currently spends about $400,000 a year on KCC and Citizens Utility Rate Board (CURB) fees and legal fees for routine regulatory compliance,” says Morley. Rate changes and terms of service are currently made through KCC “dockets.”  “It’s an expensive administrative process that can take months or years to complete,” he explains.

Midwest Energy will conduct a series of public information meetings for members in March and April with mail balloting to take place in April and May.

Part of  Seventh Street in Hays was blocked off Monday afternoon about 4p.m. as emergency personnel responded to reports of a suicidal subject at High Plains Mental Health Center, 208 E. Seventh.

According to the Hays Police Department, officers successfully restrained the woman who reportedly stabbed herself multiple times.

She was taken by ambulance to Hays Medical Center for surgery.

Friends of the Hays Dog Park continue to look for ways to raise money for something they believe will enhance the quality of life for many residents, and of course, for their dogs,

“We’ve raised $15,000 so far, ” says member Tiffany Reddig.  “To try and get more grants and other donations, we’re going to partner with the Heartland Community Foundation,” she says.

The group met Sunday afternoon at the Hays Public Library to discuss new ideas for fundraisers and elect new officers.

The city of Hays is reserving six acres at the Bickle/Schmidt Sports Complex for building the dog park.   The group has two years to come up with the $127,000 necessary for a basic facility.

“We’ve had bake sales, a huge garage sale and we’re selling t-shirts, ” Reddig says.  “We’re also selling engraved bricks for $100 which will pave walkways in the dog park.”

The biggest expense is 78-thousand dollars for a six-foot perimeter fence.

People interested in joining Friends of the Hays Dog Park should check the group’s Facebook page.

 

As you run errands at the Hays Mall, you can also pick up Girl Scout cookies for the next four weekends.

Girl Scouts of Kansas Heartland opened shop Friday afternoon in the former Foot Locker location  following a ribbon-cutting by the Hays Area Chamber of Commerce.

From the national best-seller Thin Mints, to the brand-new Mango Creme with NutriFusion vitamins, you can purchase your favorite Girl Scout cookies for $3.50 a box.

“This year is the first time the Girl Scouts already have the cookies before they start selling them,” according to Communications Director Muriel Berry, Wichita.

No waiting and longing for your order to be delivered.  “We call it ‘Cookies On Demand!'”

Within the first 30 minutes of opening, Hays Junior Girl Scouts Joella and Sydney sold 48 boxes of cookies.

Their sales goals this year?  “250 boxes!”, say both girls.

The Girl Scout Cookie Store is open February 15–March 10:  Fridays 4-8p.m., Saturdays 11a.m.-7p.m., and Sundays 12-4p.m.

 

A task force has been named to review the student media needs at Fort Hays State University.

The move comes after the final printed edition of the campus  newspaper “The Leader” was published last week, although an online version is still available.

In a Friday morning news conference, President Ed Hammond named a task force of faculty, staff and S-G-A members to review the media needs of the university, which also has campus radio and TV stations.

Despite reports of alumni criticisms on social media bout the Leader’s demise, Hammond says he hasn’t had any complaints.

“I was expecting some,” he said, “but I’ve talked to many alums who say they support this, and understand that traditional dissemination of news and other information is changing.”

The task force will also  look at multi-media models and strengthening the cross-curriculum academic components.  A symposium next month will seek the advice and input of local and regional media professionals.

The FHSU yearbook, “Reveille,” ceased publication in 2005.

Three men have been arrested in connection with an armed robbery in Hays late Wednesday night.

According to news release from Police Chief Don Scheibler, two armed men entered a house in the 2000 block of Walnut Street and robbed the occupants at gunpoint just before midnight.

Following an investigation  Thursday, search warrants were served with the assistance of the Special Situation Response Team.

The handgun used in the robbery was recovered and three arrests were made.

The suspects– Bobby Wilson, 22, David Draper, 26, and Clayton Staab, 26, all of Hays, are being held in the Ellis County Jail on charges of Aggravated Robbery and Aggravated Burglary.

One of the men arrested was in the house with five other people.

The suspects took a small amount of cash and drug-related items.

Information released Friday morning from the Hays Police Department about a car/pickup collision in Hays Tuesday night indicates only one vehicle was moving.

According to Lieutenant Brandon Wright, a Taco Shop delivery car  was southbound on Indian Trail about 8:50p.m. when it sideswiped a Chevrolet Silverado pickup legally parked southbound near the 28th Street intersection.

The Taco Shop Toyota Yaris then spun 90 degrees and rolled onto its top.  The driver, 21-year-old Drew O’Brien, Hays, was not injured.

Wright says O’Brien was cited for inattentive driving.

The pickup was owned by Phoenix Jenkins, Hays.

Both vehicles were towed from the scene.

 

 

 

Six Hays business people were honored for their contributions to the community during the Hays Area Chamber of Commerce annual banquet Thursday night at Fort Hays State University.

Emcee Jerry Haley introduced the winners, listing their many accomplishments.  Awards were presented by HACC Executive Director Tammy Wellbrock, with the help of HACC Chairman Travis Kohlrus and past chairman Eric Norris.

The 2013 award winners are:

Eagle Communications Rising Star:  Brian Weimer, IPI Financial Services

James Motor Company Small Business Achievement:  Summer Melvin and Danielle Markley, Hays Academy of Hair Design

Citizen of the Year:  Nikki Pfannenstiel, Sunflower Electric

Golden Belt Bank Hall of Fame:  Jean Ross, former Thomas More Prep-Marian High School president

Girl Scouts of Kansas Heartland Business Woman:  Deanna Doerfler, Doerfler’s Harley Davidson 

“We could have retired anywhere in the world.  We chose to come back to  northwest Kansas.”

That statement from Skip Yowell, co-founder of JanSport and the featured speaker at Thursday night’s Hays Area Chamber of Commerce annual banquet, brought a big round of applause from the crowd.

The Grainfield native went to Seattle, Washington, and turned a his passion for climbing and hiking into the top-selling daypack in the world.

He and his wife retired two years ago to Saint Peter and also have a home in Hays.

Yowell helped build one of the most recognized brand names, JanSport, sponsoring climbing expeditions, outdoor programs and recreating in Bhutan, Kenya, Mount Everest and other far-flung places.

He will also speak Friday morning at 9 during the HACC Chamber Chat at the Hays Welcome Center, 2700 Vine.  Yowell will discuss his book, “The Hippie Guide to Climbing the Corporate Ladder & Other Mountains.”

 

One in 6 Kansans, 15 % of the population, faces food insecurity–the lack of access, at times, to enough food for their  household.

In Ellis County the food insecurity rate is 12.1%,  or nearly 34-hundred residents.

The Center for Civic Leadership at Fort Hays State University is sponsoring a series of events this spring addressing the issue of hunger in Kansas.

Volunteer gathered Saturday to package 1600 “Bob Boxes” for senior citizens in 25 northwest Kansas counties.  The new program is funded by former U-S Senator Bob Dole of Russell.

Kansas Food Bank president Brian Walker, Wichita, says the free food boxes are available at the Ellis County Health Department.  “We’re look for seniors that won’t ask for help,” he says.  “We hear of  so many older people feeding their cat, the only family they have left, even when they don’t have enough food for themselves.”

Walker says about 96 “Bob Boxes” are distributed to Ellis County senior citizens each week.