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Author: Becky Kiser

Silver for the Black and Gold Recognizes Hammond’s 25 Years at FHSU

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Dr. Ed Hammond is the longest serving president of Fort Hays State University–25 years.

A  “Silver for the Black and Gold” celebration was organized by the office of University Relations Friday.  Campus members and the public were invited to join the festivities in the quad.

Like any other anniversary party, there was cake and ice cream,  with root beer to wash it all down,  and party games,  in the form of inflatable slides and Velcro walls.  In the background, music and dancing lead by the FHSU pep band, cheerleaders , Tiger Debs and Victor E. Tiger himself.

There were speeches and a huge congratulations card signed by the party goers.

Highlighting the event, the Ed Hammond lookalike contest.  judged by Mrs. Ed Hammond, with help from Victor E. Tiger.  The winner–Vincent Bowhay, Director of FHSU Greek Life and Student Involvement.

Girl Scouts Go Greensburg This Weekend

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Girl Scouts of Kansas Heartland is commemorating the 100th anniversary of Girl Scouts by hosting an epic event in Greensburg, April 28-29. The theme for the celebration is Girl Scouts Go Greensburg.

More than 1,100 Girl Scouts and their families, from 80 Kansas counties, will be participating in the celebration. Saturday’s opening ceremony will include the “Young Women of Distinction” ceremony for girls who earned their prestigious Gold Award or Silver Award.

Throughout the day, attendees will enjoy a block party environment  with inflatable rides, tours of Green Town and a Girl Scout historical display.

Spread around town will be interactive educational programs such as healthy living, STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math), financial literacy, leadership, and Girl Scout traditions. To honor the tradition of community service, the Scouts will plant two community gardens, including a flower box in the shape of the Girl Scout trefoil.

“Girl Scouts continues to keep in step with girls’ needs while remaining true to the core values of the Girl Scouts movement that began 100 years ago. This anniversary event celebrates the on-going mission of building girls of courage, confidence and character and sets the stage for the next century of Scouting,” says Shelly Prichard, Girl Scouts of Kansas Heartland CEO. “I can’t imagine a better place to celebrate those traits then with the courageous citizens of Greensburg.”

Three Area Women Honored by Soroptimist International of Hays

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 Soroptimist  International of Hays honored three area women with its highest recognition at an awards banquet  April 18 at  Fort Hays State University.

Reesa Sumaya, Oakley, was presented with a $1,000 Soroptimist Women’s Opportunity Award. She is a single mother of four children and a graduate student in the FHSU Master of Science in Counseling Program. The Women’s Opportunity Award is presented to a woman who has faced economic and personal hardships and is seeking to gain additional skills, training and education. The program helps women who serve as the primary wage earner for their families so that they may enter or return to the work force, or improve their employment status.

Alisha Brownell, a Big Brothers/Big Sisters case manager, received a $200 Soroptimist Ruby Award in her name with the BB/BS organization. She was recognized for her dedication above and beyond her job responsibilities in helping make matches for children and offering other assistance to their families. The Ruby Award for Women Helping Women honors women who have worked to improve the lives of women and girls through their professional and/or volunteer work.

Alyssa Reed, Hays High student, is the recipient of this year’s Soroptimist Violet Richardson Award in the amount of $200. She volunteers numerous hours to assisting with the Prairie Land Food distribution, Westview Children’s Church childcare, St. Joseph’s Food Pantry, the Community Assistance Center’s Trick or Treat So Others Can Eat, and Special Olympics of Kansas.  The Violet Richardson Award is a recognition program for young women ages 14-17 engaged in volunteer action within their communities or schools. The award is given to young women whose activities make the community and world a better place.

Soroptimist International of Hays is an organization of approximately 40 professional women whose mission is to improve the lives of women and girls. Its recent annual melodrama dinner theater raises money each year to fund these recognition awards and other charitable causes in the community.

Driving Kansas into the 21st Century

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TOPEKA – The first week of May will be an exciting time for Kansas as our state’s Division of Vehicles drives into the 21st century with a significant system upgrade that will move all motor vehicle records into a single, modern system that is easier to use, maintain and enhance.

I tip my hat to those who have planned ahead and visited treasurer’s or driver licensing office in advance of this system upgrade that will cause our offices to be closed from May 1 to May 7. Because the systems that run vehicle titling and registration as well as driver licensing will be down, state driver licensing offices will be closed for the week, but county treasurers’ offices will be able to conduct non-vehicle related business.

I am excited about the new system and the benefits it will bring and appreciate people’s patience as we go through this necessary step.

With a little bit of planning the upgrade will not be a major problem for Kansans.

To avoid unnecessary inconvenience, we are suggesting that people whose vehicle registration will expire in April – those with last names starting with C and D – should renew their tags before Monday, April 30.

For those turning 21 during the shut-down who cannot renew their driver’s license before their birth date, the state provides an automatic 45 day extension which will allow them to have a valid driver’s license and get their new license later in the month from any of the state’s 111 driver licensing stations.

Anyone else whose license expires from May 1 to May 7 should be sure to renew their licenses no later than April 27 as driver licensing offices are closed on Mondays.

During the upgrade week we will transfer 6.8 million records onto the new system. The new system will replace three aging mainframe systems used for driver licensing, motor vehicle titling and registration and inventory management.

While those records are being converted, state and county offices will close out of the old mainframe system, install new computer equipment, and get set up to serve customers again on May 8

This is the product of a three-year, $40 million project that has included participation and input from county treasurers, law enforcement officers, vehicle dealers and others from across the state.

It is also the first step in the upgrade process. This fall, there will be a second week-long shut down while the system that handles driver’s license and driver control records is merged into the first phase of the upgrade. Once this is completed we will be able to see all of a person’s vehicle and driving records at once.

We could not have built the system without help from those who will be using it. We also commend the foresight of state legislators in 2009 who enabled us to make this investment in the future, as it will allow us to improve customer service and efficiency.

We appreciate everyone’s cooperation as we work to build a better, more efficient system for Kansas drivers and vehicle owners that can grow with our state in the future.

Donna Shelite

Director of Vehicles

Locales Readying for Friday’s Annual Hays Arts Council Spring Gallery Walk

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The 43rd annual Smoky Hill Art Exhibition Opening and Spring Gallery Walk is this weekend in Hays. Twenty-six downtown locations will host work by Kansas artists.

Even the alley behind the Hays Arts Council will be filled with “Doortraiture, ”  a multi-artist installation under the direction of Gordon Sherman and Joel Dugan.  Sherman and some of his Fort Hays State University students were hard at work Friday afternoon, readying the locale between 10th and 11th Streets.  The exhibit will also include sculpture by Stacey Rathert.

The gallery walk is Friday night from 6:30 t0 9:30.  About half of the locations will also be open Saturday.  There is no charge to attend.

This year’s event is dedicated to the memory of Ann Jeter, a former president of the Hays Arts Council.

Family Fun Fest Celebrates Week of Young Child

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Children and their families attending Saturday’s Family Fun Fest enjoyed all types of activities, while also learning a little bit about how to keep the kids healthy and safe.

Early Childhood Connections is the annual event sponsor and offered drumming fun for the little ones while the adults could get information about the importance of  nutrition, exercise and play in the development of a child’s growth.

Family Fun Fest, at The Mall in Hays, is a celebration of the Week of the Young Child.

HAYP Project Plants More Trees at New Sports Complex

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Fifty more trees now grace the north end of the new Bickle-Schmidt Sports Complex west of Hays, thanks to a civic project organized by the Hays Area Young Professionals of the Hays Area Chamber of Commerce.

HAYP members, their families, Hays Parks Department crew members and other volunteers got right to the task Saturday morning, which was made easier with holes already dug by HDP.

The trees are of several varieties known to standup well to western Kansas wind and sun.

Jackie Flemming chairs the HAYP Civic Volunteer Committee and says many members have children who utilize the soccer, baseball and softball fields, and the project is a contribution to the entire community.

Donors gave $100 for each tree to be planted.  Another 24 trees are still on order from local nurseries.

During planting, and for the next couple of weeks, water must be hauled in buckets to the trees.  Water lines are already in place, and Parks Department Director Jeff Boyle says his employees will install drip irrigation within the next couple of weeks.

See more of the project next week on Street Beat, Eagle Community TV Channel 14.

 

Estimated 3,000 Fans in Hays for 46th Annual FHSU Rodeo

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Nearly 600 cowboys and cowgirls from 26 colleges and universities across Kansas, Oklahoma and Missouri are participating in this weekend’s 46th annual Fort Hays State University Rodeo.  

Slack started Friday morning with the full action kicking off Friday night at Doug Philip Arena.  Performances resume Saturday afternoon at 1:30, and the evening event at 7:30p.n.  The short-go, or championship round, starts Sunday afternoon at 1:30. 

Featured events include bareback riding, calf roping, breakaway roping, saddle bronc riding, steer wrestling, goat tying barrel racing, team roping and bull riding. 

FHSU Rodeo sponsor Bronc Rumford estimates nearly 3,000 people are in Hays for the rodeo, along with plenty of horses, cattle, and goats.

National Work Zone Awareness Week April 23-27

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Orange barrels along Kansas highways are a positive sign – they show that improvements are being made to roadways, that jobs and economic development opportunities are increasing across the state and that motorists will be able to get where they are going more efficiently for years to come.

Behind those orange barrels are highway workers, and those workers deserve our respect and attention every time we enter a work zone. Having vehicles drive by within inches of you is scary and can be very dangerous.

What motorists don’t realize is that work zone safety is for them as well. In fact, nearly 90 percent of the people injured or killed in work zone crashes are not highway workers – they’re motorists. And the number one cause of crashes in work zones is inattention.

This is why we participate in National Work Zone Awareness Week, which is April 23-27. It’s a time to highlight the need for work zone safety for both highway workers and motorists, and it’s an important message that needs to be remembered all year long. You can learn more about this effort on our website at www.ksdot.org. Just click on the Go Orange logo on the main page.

We encourage motorists to slow down and pay extra attention every time they see these orange barrels along the highways. Lives are on the line in work zones, and the life you save could be your own.

Sincerely,

Mike King

Kansas Transportation Secretary

 

9-1-1 Lessons for Hays Third Graders

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Knowing when and how to call 9-1-1 is important for children to know.  The Hays Police Department has an education program about emergency phone calls that is presented to local third graders every year.

Communications Officer Kyla Jurgensen visited Wilson Elementary School Wednesday afternoon.  The students first watch a cartoon about the proper use 9-1-1;  then they practice some situations that occur in  real life.

Hope Schumacher used the scenario of her house being on fire, and made sure to give her address to the 9-1-1 dispatcher.  Even though he’s never had to actually call 9-1-1, Hunter Harris knows he should if someone were to break into his house.

Officer Jurgensen hopes the youngsters won’t be afraid when they call 9-1-1, and understand the importance of answering the dispatcher’s questions:  What is your emergency?  Where is the emergency? What is your telephone number?

During the program, Jurgensen also explains how cell phone and land-line calls are handled differently, and the Law Enforcement Center’s ability to communicate with the hearing impaired.

See more tonight on Street Beat Eagle Community TV Channel 14.

 

Rain Barrel Project Conserves Precious Precipitation

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Rain is precious in western Kansas.  A  rain barrel is the simplest way to collect and store rain water, which can then be used in gardens and the landscape.

Since 2009, Fort Hays State University agriculture students in Dr.  Jean Gleischner’s Home Horticulture class have helped build more than 3,500 rain barrels for the public. This week, they were at it again.

Gleischner gives her students a choice between writing a research paper about water conservation, or actually putting conservation into practice.  This year’s class also elected to do a a little bit of manual labor, while enjoying the outdoors at the KSU Agricultural Research Center where the barrels are constructed and distributed.

This student-learning project is in cooperation with Stacie Minson, the Smoky Hill River/ Kanopolis Lake Watershed Specialist from WaKeeney.  The 55-gallon barrels are donated by Coca-Cola once they’re empty of soda pop syrup.

Grant monies are used to purchase hardware to convert the barrels which are sold for $15.

Gleischner says the rain barrels also play a part in water quality.  Rain coming off a roof, through a down spout and directly into the barrels is free of  contaminants.

 

Hays 5th Graders Given Redbud Saplings by HBC

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Spring is a great time to plant trees, and the Eastern Redbud is perfect for this area’s climate.

This week, every Hays 5th grader is being given a redbud sapling of their very own for planting.

The annual Hays Beautification Committee project has been around at least since 1981, according to HBC member Terri MacDonald.

Nearly 300 redbuds are being distributed this week in Hays schools.

Project Chairperson Marlis Fletcher says HBC members first talk to the students about the importance of trees and how to successfully plant them.  They also learn about the city of Hays tree rebate program.

Last Thursday, committee members gathered at the Hays Parks Department garage to wrap each sapling in a wet paper towel and then place it in a plastic bag to keep it moist until they’re distributed.

The redbuds are ordered from the Kansas Forestry Service and paid for by the city of Hays Special Parks and Recreation Fund.  That money comes from the Ellis County alcohol sales tax.

There’s more tonight on Street Beat Eagle Community TV Channel 14.

Still a Freeze Chance for Ellis County Wheat

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Consistent rain the past few months has dramatically eased the drought in southern and western Kansas

Less than one-half of 1 percent of Kansas,  a small part of the  southwest corner, remains in extreme drought, compared to more than 28 percent of the state in late September.

Combined with warmer-than-normal temperatures this spring, the winter wheat crop is at least two weeks ahead of normal in Ellis County. KSU Agriculture Extension Agent Stacy Campbell has seen what could become 70-bushel wheat.

But Mother Nature may still have the final say.  According to the the official weather records kept at the Hays KSU Agricultural Research Center, on April 30 there is still a 50% chance of an overnight freeze.

With the weather reverting to cooler average temperatures and the possibility of more rain, Campbell also warns farmers about the possibility of leaf rust and stripe rust development in the wheat.

There’s more tonight on Street Beat Eagle Community TV Channel 14.

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