During the snow storm last December 19-20, Kansas Department of Transportation (KDOT) crews from northwest and southwest Kansas were instrumental in helping transport a heart attack patient from Scott City to the Hays Medical Center.

For their efforts, the KDOT Life-Saving Relay Team was recognized as a Example of Excellence by Kansas Transportation Secretary Mike King during a recent ceremony in Oakley.

When Chad Griffith, 44, a farmer/rancher and father of four, had a heart attack at 9:45 p.m. December 19, he needed to get to the closest hospital that could perform life-saving surgery as quickly as possible.

That was Hays Med, 120 miles away, and air ambulances were grounded. As the blizzard worsened and 12 to 15 inches of snow piled up, a number of state roads were being closed, limiting travel options. That’s when workers at Scott County Ambulance called KDOT for help.

While some crews were shifted to help clear roads in the affected area, other crews were busy coordinating the life-saving trip on alternate routes due to the closing of Interstate 70.

Doctors at the Hays hospital performed a heart catheterization on Griffith and inserted a stent. He was home before Christmas and is now back tending to his cattle.

“Without the dedication and cooperation of all the KDOT employees, this story could have had a much different ending,” Griffith said.

Members of the KDOT team include:

-Mark Davis, Dodge City, Superintendent

-Max Dirks, Hays, Superintendent

-Jason Gerstner, Hays, Equipment Operator

-Jerry Glassman, Oakley, Superintendent

-Larry Kjellberg, Ness City, Equipment Operator Specialist

-Burke Koehn, Scott City, Equipment Operator Specialist

-Jason Lawrence, Dighton, Equipment Operator Senior

-Brent Little, Hays, Equipment Operator

-Dave Marsh, Syracuse, Supervisor

-Ron Munyan, Syracuse, Superintendent

-Tom Plummer, Oakley, Engineering Technician

-Tim Weigel, Hays, Supervisor

Hays Police Department officers are increasing Seatbelt/Child Seat enforcement efforts May 21 through June 3.

Sergeant Mitch Berens says the a grant from the Kansas Department of Transportation will be used to fund additional officers on Hays streets to aggressively enforce Kansas traffic laws.  They will be especially alert for occupants who are not properly restrained.

The Hays event is being conducted in accordance with the Kansas Department of Transportation “S.T.E.P.” – Special Traffic Enforcement Program.

Kansas law enforcement officers commenced the annual statewide “Click it. Or ticket.” program Tuesday.  Highway Patrol troopers, sheriff’s deputies and police officers statewide are working overtime now through the Memorial Day weekend specifically to make sure people are buckled up.

The accounting manager in the Ellis County Treasurer’s office has filed to run for the Treasurer’s position.

Ellis resident Ann Pfeifer, a Democrat, has worked for the office since November 2010.  Pfeifer is a Hays native, graduating in 2007 from Fort Hays State University with degrees in accounting, math and leadership studies.

Longtime Ellis County Treasurer Mick  Billinger will not run again.

Waddell & Reed’s “Honoring Our History” Traveling World War I Exhibition is in Hays Friday and Saturday for its 46^th stop on a national 75-city tour.

The exhibit is on 7^th Street in front of the Ellis County Historical Society Museum Friday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Saturday, May 19, from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.  Admission to the World War I Exhibition is free.

The tour is designed to raise funds and awareness for cultural institutions across the country during tough economic times.  Funds raised at this stop will be divided between the Ellis County Historical Society Museum and the National World War I Museum, based in Kansas City, Mo.

The event is coordinated by Waddell & Reed in Hays.  Waddell & Reed is one of the country’s oldest mutual fund companies.

The two founders – Chauncey Waddell and Cameron Reed – were WWI veterans.  The exhibit includes Chauncey Waddell’s flight gear, his flight suit and log book.

For three consecutive years, Klineesha Nix, now age 9, is the biggest “Little” fundraiser at the annual Ellis County Big Brothers Big Sisters Bowl For Kids’ Sake.

Her donations in 2012 totaled $232.

Klineesha had the honor Thursday evening of rolling out one of the ceremonial first balls for the 2012 event at Centennial Lanes, Hays. Then she was joined by the rest of her team, including her Big Sister Brittney Jacobs, a Fort Hays State University student from Iola.

The two High Plains Mental Health Center teams were the number one and number two top team fundraisers.

The annual Hays Arts Council Creative Writing Contest for Prose and Poetry is open to all Ellis County students in kindergarten through grade 12.

The numerous entries are judged by Fort Hays State University’s English faculty using the “Six-Trait Analytical” which most area schools have adopted to assess student writing.

This year’s winners were recognized April 29 in a special ceremony and reception with their families and teachers in the FHSU Memorial Union Ballroom.

Hays Arts Council president Jennifer Sauer presented ribbons to the winners and posed for pictures with them.  The students, along with their teachers, were also given a book in which all the winning entries are published.

Roosevelt 4th-grader Emily Goetz won for her prose “Ocean Friend.”  Emily says she’s been writing since she was 5 years old and plans to become an author of chapter books.

The HAC Creative Writing Contest is sponsored by the Hays Optimist Club.

It was narrowed down to 31 Ellis County 5^th graders who competed last Friday for top honors in the annual Famous Figures contest under the direction of the Hays Arts Council.

This is the 17th year for the popular event.  It’s a cross-curriculum program  utilizing creative thinking, research skills, writing and public speaking skills as the students work to present themselves in character and costume as a famous person in history.

Portrayals ranged from Sir Isaac Newton,  who proved the theory of gravity, to modern-day country singer Taylor Swift.

The judges,  United Way of Ellis County Executive Director Jason Rauch, who has years of theater experience himself , FHSU Theater Professor Bruce Bardwell and Kansas historian Mary Ann Thompson of the Hays Public Library, watched nearly three hours of performances and asked each presenter questions about their persona.  Finally they selected the winner, O’Loughlin’s Kallie Leiker as young adult author Judy Blume.

The top five finishers performed Monday  for the Hays Rotary Club, which helps fund Famous Figures.

Topeka –  Hays City Prosecutor Glenn R. Braun was appointed Thursday by Governor Sam Brownback to to the 23^rd District Court of the State of Kansas.  Braun will replace Judge Thomas L. Toepfer on the court.

Toepfer, also of Hays, stepped down from the position about two months ago due to health concerns.  He died April 30.

Braun is a partner in Glassman, Bird, Braun & Schwartz, LLP, where he has practiced law for the past 30 years.

He serves on the Kansas Racing and Gaming Commission as well as a prosecutor for the City of Hays and previously was elected two terms as Ellis County Attorney.

Braun is a graduate of Kansas State University and received his juris doctorate, with honors, in 1981 from Washburn University School of Law, where he was the Student Bar Association President. He was twice-selected by the Supreme Court Nominating Commission for a position with the Kansas Court of Appeals.

The state’s 105 counties are organized into 31 Judicial Districts.  The district courts serve as the trial courts for the state, overseeing all civil and criminal cases. The 23^rd District Court manages Ellis, Gove, Rooks, Trego counties.