UPDATE from Goodland National Weather Service and Ellis County Emergency Management:

SNOW WILL DEVELOP IN COLORADO THIS EVENING AND SPREAD INTO EXTREME NORTHWEST KANSAS AND SOUTHWEST NEBRASKA AFTER MIDNIGHT. SNOW WILL CONTINUE ON FRIDAY…HEAVY AT TIMES…AS IT CONTINUES TO GRADUALLY SPREAD EASTWARD. SNOW WILL CONTINUE THROUGH FRIDAY NIGHT BEFORE DIMINISHING ON SATURDAY. THIS WINTER STORM WILL PRODUCE VERY HEAVY SNOWFALL AMOUNTS. A SWATH OF ONE TO TWO FEET IS POSSIBLE ALONG A LIMON COLORADO TO MCCOOK NEBRASKA LINE…WITH UP TO A FOOT AS FAR SOUTH AS THE INTERSTATE 70 CORRIDOR. SNOW AMOUNTS RAPIDLY DIMINISH SOUTH OF INTERSTATE 70. IN ADDITION TO THE SNOW…NORTH WINDS GUSTING OVER 40 MPH WILL CREATE BLIZZARD CONDITIONS IN MANY OF THE SAME LOCATIONS. TRAVEL WILL BE HAZARDOUS IF NOT IMPOSSIBLE FRIDAY AND SATURDAY.

HaysMed has been verified as a Level III Trauma Center by the American College of Surgeons.  It’s the only such trauma center in Western Kansas and one of only four in Kansas.

With Level III Trauma designation, the resources and systems are in place at HaysMed to initially stabilize a patient and take care of more types of patient emergencies.   Emergency services and board-certified surgeons, as well as laboratory services, blood bank and radiology are available around the clock.

“Level III Trauma verification demonstrates better patient outcomes and saves lives, ” sys Carol Groen, RN, MSN, CEN, Director of Emergency and Outpatient Nursing Service. at HaysMed.  “We provide tertiary medical services for thousands of patients each year and now can serve as the  lead trauma facility for Western Kansas.”

The ACS does not actually designate the trauma center – the Kansas Department of Health and Environment provides that function.

 

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — A federal judge in Washington ruled Tuesday that an environmental impact statement must be completed before construction of a another Finney County power plant can begin by Hays-based Sunflower Electric Power Corp.

The ruling by U.S. District Judge Emmett Sullivan requires the Rural Utilities Service, part of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, to complete the environmental study before granting any approvals to Sunflower for the proposed $2.8 billion, 875-megawatt coal-fired power plant near Holcomb.

The decision is likely to delay construction of the plant, which has been the subject of a fierce partisan political fight in Kansas for years.

Sunflower spokeswoman Cindy Hertel said the utility’s officials don’t know yet how the ruling will affect its project outside Holcomb.

In March, Sullivan declared that RUS violated federal environmental law by failing to prepare an EIS before approving Sunflower’s proposal to build two 700-megawatt plants near the company’s current coal-fired plant in Finney County.

Tuesday’s ruling was aimed at coming up with a remedy for the violations he declared last year.

“The people of Kansas and downwind states will now get their legitimate public health concerns heard,” said Jan Hasselman of Earthjustice, who led the lawsuit on behalf of the Sierra Club. “Once the facts of this dirty and dangerous project are exposed to the public, we think that the federal government will have to just say no.”

 

The investigation continues by police in Hays and Wichita into the alleged abuse of a six-week-old Hays boy who was airlifted from Hays last Friday to Wichita’s Wesley Medical Center.

The infant , who had severe bleeding on both sides of the brain, is now in stable condition and improving.

Hays police say the injuries do not appear to be accidental.

No arrests have been made, as police try to determine what happened. Those being questioned are cooperative, say police.

It’s unclear who the child was with when the injuries occurred.  The baby’s parents have told police and doctors they don’t know what happened to him.

Two people were transported to Hays Med after a semi-truck overturns shortly before 8:30a.m.  Sunday on I-70 a half-mile east of the Commerce Parkway exit for Hays.  Injuries appeared to be minor.

According to reports from the scene, the truck was headed westbound on I-70, crossed the median and wound up overturned in the eastbound ditch.

Traffic was limited to one lane while officials worked the accident scene, and others collected the truck’s spilled cargo, which included household washers and dryers.

Beginning Monday at 8:00 a.m., City of Hays crews will be working on concrete repairs at East 8th Street & Montgomery Draw and at East 22^nd & Donald to East 22^nd & Felten. Traffic will be restricted in these area and the traveling public should use caution. 

Both projects are expected to be complete by February 10.

Golfing greats, Bat Boy, a buffalo and even a Jayhawk took the Polar Plunge into the frigid pool water at America’s Best Value Inn in Hays Saturday morning.  It was all part of the fun in a fundraiser for Special Olympics Kansas.

Ten teams participated, the divers dressed in crazy costumes while the cheering crowd surrounded the pool dressed in coats to ward off the 37 degree air temperature, plus a light wind, at the start of the annual event

Ice melt still lingered on the cement surrounding the swimming pool, ensuring a safe surface for the divers who wasted no time in exiting the pool and scurrying indoors to climb in to the much warmer water of a hot tub.

A 6-week-old Hays boy is in protective custody in the pediatric intensive care unit at Wesley Medical Center in Wichita.  He was flown by air ambulance with a serious head injury early Friday morning.

Police officers were called to the hospital after the child arrived about 1 a.m,  and were told the infant has bleeding on both sides of the brain.

According to Lt. Steve Kenney, when the parents arrived at the hospital, they told police they did not know how their child was injured. He was in the care of a babysitter at the time, they said.

Both police in Hays and Wichita are investigating the incident as possible abuse.

A special day for young schoolchildren Friday at Historic Fort Hays to mark the 151st anniversary of Kansas statehood, January 29, 1861.

In the fort blockhouse, Marla Matkin of Hill City played  her autoharp as the crowd sang along to period music, including the still popular “Home on the Range.”

A total of 141 elementary, middle school, and home-schooled students from Hays participated in the event.

Other presentations included lessons in flint knapping and Indian weapons, and an interpretation about Kansas cowboys.

It’s official.  The total audited boardings for 2011 at the Hays Regional Airport exceeded the 10,000  goal with a total of 10,912 passengers for the year. The numbers now qualify the airport for up to $1 million in federal funding for airport improvements.

The all-volunteer Fly Hays marketing committee revealed the goal during a Hays Area Chamber of Commerce Chat this morning at the airport.

Enplanement numbers audited by the Federal Aviation Administration for 2011 are:  Great Lakes, 9,900; Hays Aircraft, 318; Eagle Med, 510; DWTA Helicopters, 184.

Potential airport improvements eligible for the FAA grant include wildlife fencing, apron rehabilitation, snow removal equipment, a parallel taxiway to the crosswind runway, and terminal building improvements.