The Rooks County Health Center in  Plainville is one of five finalists for the Governor’s Award of Excellence, the top award given to a business by the state.

The Kansas Department of Commerce has named 27 Regional Business Excellence Award winners and 104 Merit Award winners as part of Business Appreciation Month, the Department’s annual celebration of Kansas businesses and their contributions to their communities and the state economy.

Each of the 131 businesses was nominated in one of four categories: Manufacturing/Distribution, Service, Retail and Hospital/Non-Profit.

Five of the 27 Regional Business Excellence Award winners have been named Finalists for the Governor’s Award of Excellence which will be announced June 29 at the Kansas Cavalry Encampment in El Dorado. The five finalists are:

Community HealthCare System (Onaga and five other locations)
Rooks County Health Center (Plainville)
Mid Kansas Coop Association (Moundridge)
AuBurn Pharmacy Inc. (Garnett and multiple other locations)
Neosho Memorial Regional Medical Center (Chanute)

Volunteers from Ellis County 4-H clubs spent their morning placing luminaries around Felten Middle School Track in Hays for the annual American Cancer Society Relay for Life.  It runs from 7p.m. Friday night through 7a.m. Saturday morning.  

Donations are accepted for the luminaries which are decorated with the names of people who have battled cancer.

The luminaries are lighted at dusk and the reading each name begins at 10p.m.

Members of the Hays Beautification Committee, assisted by the Hays Parks Department,  are hanging day-glo pink and yellow tags on trees qualifying for the city’s tree rebate program.

A long list of Preferred and Acceptable trees is available at the Parks Department, City Hall and on the city’s website.  Years of research by K-State and other groups indicate which species of trees grow best in western Kansas weather.

Rebates are available for homeowners who plant qualified trees purchased from an Ellis County seller.

Industry representatives from Midwest Energy, Sunflower Electric, Westar, Wolf Creek, KCP&L and Kansas Municipalities Utilities predict a 100-percent employee turnover in the next 10 years because of retirements.  That’s where the new Energy Network of Education and Training (EnergyNET) is stepping in to coordinate a network of public higher institutions across the state in providing enhanced hybrid and online workforce training.

Fort Hays State University coordinates and directs EnergyNET.  Sabrina William is the Online Course Developer.  Meet her and the rest of the staff tonight on Street Beat Eagle Community TV Channel 14.