The Ellis County Coalition for Economic Development has hired a new executive director. According to incoming chairman Tom Kotch, former director of business expansion and retention for the Salina Chamber of Commerce, Aaron White, will be on the job in Hays starting September 26th. The position has been vacant since last November following the resignation of Mike Michaelis.
It was a ground-breaking field trip Monday morning for students who walked off their bus and into the great outdoors for the Sternberg Museum of Natural History’s new education series in the recently opened eco-classroom. Fourth-graders from WaKeeney USD 208 and St. Mary’s Grade School, along with Hays O’Loughlin students visited several lesson stations scattered throughout the two miles of nature trails.
At the natural amphitheater, Zoological Collections Manager Curtis Schmidt talked to the classes about ecosystems and food webs. Schmidt waded into the nearby pond with his net, catching mostly microscopic organisms. The pond level is dwindling in the drought.
Students from area middle and high schools will visit the eco-classroom the next two Mondays.
PHILLIPSBURG — As part of the nationwide observance of the 10th anniversary of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, Phillips County and Phillipsburg plan a special program at 7 p.m. Sunday on the Phillipsburg Courthouse Square.
“Phillipsburg Remembers America’s Heroes” will feature a proclamation by Mayor Fred Robinson and speeches by Barbara and Merlin Dennis and Sherry Robinson, who spent time helping the Salvation Army and Red Cross at Ground Zero. Also, people directly involved in the day’s events will be honored, along with local firefighters and police, emergency medical technicians and past and present service men and women. A poem written for the occasion will be recited, and there will be music and a candlelight vigil.
A piece of New York’s Twin Towers which has graced the courthouse lawn for several years will be dedicated during the ceremony.
At midnight, just as the clock officially showed September 11, the 225 Girl Scouts enjoying their 2011 Lock-In at the Hays Mall took time out to observe the 10-year anniversary of the 9-11 terrorist attacks on the United States.
The girls invited local First Responders from the Hays Police and Fire Departments, Ellis County E-M-S, and National Guard soldiers for a quite flag ceremony in the Mall’s west parking lot.
Speakers included Hays Girl Scout Ambassador Jessica Pfeifer, who was just eight years old when the tragedy occurred.
Visitors to Saturday’s Old Iron Classic Tractor Show at Carrico Implement in Hays are enjoying nearly 100 years of tractor history. Antique tractors from throughout the Midwest are on display, along with old steam-powered machinery.
This is the second year for the show. Awards will be given for the youngest and oldest tractor owners, farthest-traveling participant, individual classes, different decades, non-tractor entries and best in show.
The new 120-acre Bickle-Schmidt Sports Complex in Hays is now open. A large crowd gathered for the official ribbon-cutting ceremony Friday afternoon by the Hays Area Chamber of Commerce.
The $8 million dollar facility features 8 softball/baseball fields, 8 soccer/football fields and 3 concession/restrooms. It was paid for in part by a 1/2 cent sales tax approved by Hays voters in November 2008, which will sunset in May 2013.
The first “official” events at the complex will begin next month with youth soccer games.
Construction will start this fall on a major facilities improvement and expansion at HaysMed. During a news conference Thursday morning, President and CEO Dr. John Jeter said the two-year plan addresses many issues related to the medical center’s growth and success.
Major project components include a new medical and office tower connecting the Miller and Bickle Pavillions; expansion of the Women’s Center labor and delivery services; renovation of the Dreiling/ Schmidt Cancer Institute to expand space and patient waiting rooms; and relocation of the Breast Care Center from Oak Park Plaza to the hospital main campus.
Project cost is $18.5 million dollars to be funded by HaysMed and the Hays Medical Center Foundation. A public capital campaign kicked off Thursday morning. More than $3 million dollars has already been raised during the initial campaign.
The new medical tower will be named in recognition of campaign co-chairman Don Bickle, who along with his wife Chris, have donated $1 million to the project.
The newest student housing at Fort Hays State University which is in foreclosure, has been purchased by Fort Hays State. University General Counsel Todd Powell made a bid of slightly less than 4 million dollars for Stadium Place Apartments during Tuesday morning’s Ellis County Sheriff’s sale.
Stadium Place Apartments opened in late 2005 between Lewis Field Stadium and Wiest Hall. It was built by Uniplace, a company created for the project using city industrial revenue bonds.
The managing member of Uniplace, Brooks Kellogg, was sentenced last week to six years in prison in a murder-for-hire plot.
Chairman Lance Albin dives right in to start the United Way of Ellis County 2011 fundraising campaign August 26. Thirty-five percent of the $475,000 goal has already been donated by United Way Pacesetter companies, including Eagle Communications.
During the kick-off luncheon at Smoky Hill Country Club, board president John Scheck introduced new Executive Director Jason Rauch from St. Joseph, MO. Rauch has has spent the last 12 years in non-profit management.
Yep, it was hot in Hays Thursday. A new record high of 110 degrees obliterated the former high for September 1 of 105 degrees back in 1922.
According to Joe Becker, keeper of the official weather information for Hays at the KSU Ag Research Center, Hays still has a ways to go to break the record number of 100+ degrees days in one year. The record is 55 days in 1935; so far in 2011, there’ve been 36 days hitting the century mark.
Seven principles have been developed as work continues on Ellis County’s first-ever Comprehensive Plan. Public comments from residents include a focus o n the economy, with agriculture, oil, and renewable energy as primary development areas.
The other plan principles are preservation of environmental resources, including water; efficient and cost-effective county operations; land use policies with urban development directed to unique settings within communities; preservation and improvement of existing housing; and development of an efficient road system for future needs.
Two more public workshops will be held Wednesday, 8-10a.m. and at 6p.m. in the county offices at 601 Main Street in Hays. Other workshops were held Tuesday morning in Hays and Monday night in Ellis.
The public is encouraged to attend any of the forums, hosted by the county’s consultant group RDG Planning & Design of Omaha, NE.
Traffic signal lights at the intersections of 11th & Main and 12th & Main in Hays have been shut down since Monday to upgrade the traffic signals. Temporary stop signs are in place at 11th and 12th Streets, while traffic on Main Street is unrestricted. The work is underway by the city of Hays Public Works Service Division and should be completed by Thursday.
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — Planned Parenthood says it plans to close its clinic in Hays unless it is advised this week that it will soon receive the Title X funding already ordered by a federal judge.
The group said in a court filing last week that it will stop providing services at the clinic this Friday unless it is told it will receive the money by Sept. 16. That also will be the last day the sliding fee scale will be available for its low-income patients in Wichita.
U.S. District Judge J. Thomas Marten on Aug. 1 blocked a new state law stripping Planned Parenthood of federal funds and ordered the state to continue funding. But the funds have been delayed amid legal maneuvering.
