The Hays school board will vote on the purchase of three new buses at 6:30 p.m. Monday at the Rockwell Administration Center.
Two of the buses will be diesel route buses and one will be a gas route bus. The purchase is part of the district’s five-year transportation plan.
The total cost for the buses will be $283,987, which is $20,013 under budget.
Munjor school
The board will also consider transferring ownership of Munjor school to the Salina Catholic Diocese. A portion of the property is already owned by the Catholic church.
The early childhood program that was located at the school has moved to the newly renovated USD 489 Early Childhood Complex on 13th Street in Hays.
The board will also hear a report from the Hays Middle School Peer Tutor Program.
Spencer Mohler, left, of Randall shakes hands with James Arnold, right. Mohler and his wife have donated the use of the camper to James, who was homeless.
Jewell Co. couple donates camper, RV park owner offers a place to live
By CRISTINA JANNEY Hays Post
James Arnold’s friend Preston Wolf said James was almost in tears when a stranger pulled in at Wolf Furniture Galleries on Friday morning with a camper — a camper that was going to be James’ new home.
James has been homeless for 16 years. About a year and half ago James moved into a makeshift shelter cobbled out of cardboard, shipping pallets and sheets of plastic behind the Hays furniture store
Caroline von Lintel, owner of the RV Village on Vine, read a story Hays Post about Arnold and offered a camper pad at her park with all fees and utilities paid.
She was looking for a camper when Spencer Mohler of Randall, Kan., contacted von Lintel after seeing the story about James on social media. He let her and Wolf know Arnold could use his family camper indefinitely.
James Arnold in his new camper.
Mohler and his wife cleaned out the camper Thursday night, and Spencers drove the camper to Hays this morning for James.
“James was kind of peaking around the corner and tip toeing around, and when he found out that was his, it was if he just got issued a new lease on life,” von Lintel said. “There’s a spring in his step, and he said ‘I’m going to have a barbecue for everybody in the summer time.’ ”
The von Lintels also own the Wendy’s in town, and she said she would look into hiring him at the RV park or at Wendy’s.
“We want to get him in front of the people he needs to figure out where he’s at and what he needs,” she said. “Once we have that and feel he has his feet on the ground, we’ll just offer more opportunities as he is able to take it on.”
Now that James is no longer homeless he hopes to get a job and save some money.
Von Lintel has a history of working with homeless shelters, including Esther’s House and another shelter in Arizona.
“I’ve had some hard times myself. I’ll be honest with you,” she said. “When I read that, I know that feeling. I know what he felt. I just felt it. I said, ‘No, no, no, we are Hays. We can do this. Maybe Hays doesn’t have something in place now, but maybe this will create the synergy to get something in place. We are not a cold-hearted community. We care.’ ”
She continued, “People want to help. They just don’t know how. Hays is an amazing community. You don’t know how many calls I have got about clothes and food and bedding and whatever he needs.”
Von Lintel said she got more out of helping James than he did, because she knows now he can have some peace and start rebuilding his life.
“There is no one who needs to be homeless in Hays,” von Lintel said. “We can figure something out.”
Spencer Mohler, 26, said his family did not have much invested in the camper, were not using it and saw a chance to help someone else.
“I have never been homeless and I hope I never am homeless, but things do happen,” Mohler said. “I’ve been in lower places, and I know what it’s like trying to get out of whatever might be going on to get back on your feet and sometimes you need a little bit of help. I only had $1,500 in the camper, and that probably felt like $1 million to him.”
James’ former homeless encampment behind Wolf Furniture Galleries.
Mohler said they have opted to retain ownership of the camper for now, so James doesn’t have to pay the taxes.
When Mohler first brought up the idea of letting James use the camper to his wife, she said he was nuts. However, she read the story about James and the couple ultimately decided allow James to use the camper.
“If I can help someone who just a little worse off than I am, it’s all worth it,” he said.
Von Lintel and Wolf said they were flooded with calls and contacts of people hoping to help James in some way.
Someone donated an ACCESS bus pass. On the Rocks has offered him meals. Someone from LINK has offered to help James fill out paperwork to apply for assistance with medical needs.
James had few words Friday. He seemed overwhelmed, but happy and grateful. He talked about his goals of finding work and saving money. “Security,” he said excitedly. He knows know he has a place he and his belongings can be safe.
“I have knots in my stomach,” he said. “I have butterflies.”
Sitting on the couch in the camper, a huge grin curled over his wrinkled face.
“I ain’t homeless no more,” he said. “I have a home.”
John F. Kennedy changed the way politicians campaign in his historic run up to the the presidency, said Pulitzer Prize-winning author Thomas Oliphant.
Kennedy’s presidential campaign made a sweep through Kansas in 1959, which included a stop in Hays.
Thomas Oliphant, co-author of “Road to Camelot,” will be the keynote speaker at a banquet at 7 p.m. Nov. 20 at the former Kennedy Middle School, commemorating the 60th anniversary of JFK’s campaign trip to Kansas.
“What we discovered in our research that the collection of almost exclusively young people around him starting basically in 1956, they invented modern politics on the fly,” Oliphant said in an interview via phone with Hays Post.
“So many of the things we see today — for better and for worse — polling, how you organize in non-primary states, how you organize in primary states, the use of television advertising on a scale that had never been attempted before and on and on — the modern game that we watch today essentially begins in 1960.”
Oliphant said northwest Kansas at that time had a pocket of Democratic support despite Kansas over time being generally a conservative state.
Thomas Oliphant
“In the 1950s and in 1960, northwest Kansas for the Democrats was a sort of isthmus of strength or an island of strength. Getting out to where the Democrats were made all the sense in the world,” Oliphant said.
JFK also made stops during his trip in Wichita, Kansas City, Dodge City and Salina, but almost never made it to Hays, Oliphant said. Hays didn’t have an airport big enough at the time to accept his DC-3 airplane. A Hays resident flew to Salina in a small plane and picked up Kennedy and flew him back to Hays to land on what was then a grass landing strip.
JFK was greeted upon his arrival to Hays by the marching band from the local Catholic school, which would eventually became Thomas More Prep-Marian. Oliphant noted Kansas was not particularly Catholic at the time, either, but Hays and the surrounding rural communities were strongly Catholic, based on the settlement of Catholic Volga Germans immigrants in the area.
Kennedy was only in Hays five or six hours, but was here long enough for a fundraising dinner.
All 645 people in attendance in 1959 that Friday evening ate chicken fried steak except for one person who requested fish — JFK. Norbert Dreiling, the Hays attorney and Sixth Congressional District Chairman who was instrumental in bringing JFK to Hays, had the bishop grant a dispensation allowing Catholics in attendance to eat meat on a Friday. That provision was noted in the banquet program.
Oliphant said Kennedy had been running for president for three years by the time he made his trip to Hays. He was making about 15 stops a year, Oliphant said.
“You have a very practiced candidate by the end of 1959 just almost on the eve of all the amazing things that happened the following year,” Oliphant said. “By then, his travel routine was really settled. He generally would have eaten a quick meal that included meat although he wouldn’t have on this Friday. He would eat in his hotel room so he wouldn’t have to worry about eating at the event.”
Kennedy did not stay the night in Hays, but when he did stay overnight, his staff would ask his host for a long board to place under his bed to help with his back problems. Kennedy stayed earlier in the 1950s with Gov. Docking, and his family saved the board they used to support Kennedy’s bed.
Oliphant said politicians are still using Kennedy’s campaign model today.
“All the most important aspects of national politics were really invented during those four or five years when JFK put his operation together,” Oliphant said. “Essentially everything they did had never been done before, but the success of it created a whole new generation of copycats.
“In fact, four years later, the successful Republican campaign by Barry Goldwater was organized along the same lines that Kennedy had used. The guy who put together the Goldwater operation, partisan differences aside, was an avid student of the way JFK did politics, and if you look at the Goldwater campaign, you kind of see the ultimate compliment, which is imitation.”
In researching the book on Kennedy, Oliphant said he became even more interested in the former president.
“I had not understood how political he was,” he said. “This guy did a lot more everyday than just make speeches that were written eloquently. He loved the game. He understood politics as the process that supplies the grease in our society to get things done.
“I was struck over and over again in the research how minutely he followed this kind of approach and how down to the tiniest detail. He loved the tactical infighting, actually.”
Kennedy used the theme of a new frontier in his campaign.
JFK delivered at stump speech in Hays, Oliphant said. One of the big lines in that speech was his vow to get this country moving again. He based that theme on a detailed analysis of the country’s condition that came to the conclusion that at the end of the 1950s American life was a little stuck in the mud and there needed to be a new burst of energy, Oliphant said.
Oliphant said the more he researched Kennedy, the more fascinated he became.
“All his accounts of him in Hays were that he was very vigorous and engaged in the hours that he was there, but the feeling was mutual. This would have been the fifth stop on a two-day swing through Kansas and apparently he was alive and vigorous at the end of it as he was at the beginning of it and that is typical of him.”
Oliphant said JFK had a knack for connecting with the average voter. He said the ability to connect likely started in the Navy during the war.
“You know he ran for Congress before he ran for president,” Oliphant said. “His first campaign was in 1946 and it was for a seat in the House of Representatives. You don’t win one of those fights with eloquence. Yo win it with hard work — sometimes door-to-door. The process forced Kennedy to either learn to relate to people or to be a failure. ”
Oliphant and his co-author were stuck when they looked at Kennedy’s early Congressional campaigns about how he used retail campaigning, including meeting with small groups, going door-to-door and doing walking tours.
“The more he did it,” Oliphant said, “the more it became apparent to us, the more he liked it. … It really helps if you like people, if you like meeting people you’ve never known before. Kennedy turned into one of those. He didn’t come by it naturally, but the time he arrived in Hays, he had been a practicing national politician for 14 years — by then, behaving in ways that ordinary Americans could relate to was second nature to him.”
The Nov. 20 event is being organized by the Ellis County Democratic Party.
General admission tickets to the banquet are now on sale at $50 each. Tickets for the banquet may be purchased at 1500 Vine or online by clicking here.
Other activities commemorating JFK’s visit
At 7 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 19, in the Fort Hays Ballroom, there will be a panel discussion about JFK’s trip to Hays, its impact, and the role of Norbert Dreiling, the Hays attorney and Sixth Congressional District Chairman who was instrumental in bringing JFK to Hays. Panelists will be longtime leader of local, state and national Democratic politics, Hays attorney John Bird; Larry Gould, chairman of Political Science Department at FHSU; and Randy Gonzales, who graduated in May from FHSU with master’s degree in history and who wrote his thesis on Kennedy’s trip to Hays. The event is free and open to the public.
At 3:30 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 20, in the Memorial Union, Oliphant will answer questions at a historical commemoration of Kennedy’s news conference 60 years ago. The location will be adjacent to where JFK held his press gathering. The event is free and open to the public.
Forsyth Library on the FHSU campus opened an exhibit on Nov. 7 on JFK’s trip to Hays and on Dreiling’s role. It can be viewed in the south study area.
Spencer Mohler, left, of Randall shakes hands with James Arnold, right. Mohler and his wife have donated the use of the camper to James, who was homeless.
Jewell Co. couple donates camper, RV park owner offers a place to live
By CRISTINA JANNEY Hays Post
James Arnold’s friend Preston Wolf said James was almost in tears when a stranger pulled in at Wolf Furniture Galleries on Friday morning with a camper — a camper that was going to be James’ new home.
James has been homeless for 16 years. About a year and half ago James moved into a makeshift shelter cobbled out of cardboard, shipping pallets and sheets of plastic behind the Hays furniture store
Caroline von Lintel, owner of the RV Village on Vine, read a story Hays Post about Arnold and offered a camper pad at her park with all fees and utilities paid.
She was looking for a camper when Spencer Mohler of Randall, Kan., contacted von Lintel after seeing the story about James on social media. He let her and Wolf know Arnold could use his family camper indefinitely.
James Arnold in his new camper.
Mohler and his wife cleaned out the camper Thursday night, and Spencers drove the camper to Hays this morning for James.
“James was kind of peaking around the corner and tip toeing around, and when he found out that was his, it was if he just got issued a new lease on life,” von Lintel said. “There’s a spring in his step, and he said ‘I’m going to have a barbecue for everybody in the summer time.’ ”
The von Lintels also own the Wendy’s in town, and she said she would look into hiring him at the RV park or at Wendy’s.
“We want to get him in front of the people he needs to figure out where he’s at and what he needs,” she said. “Once we have that and feel he has his feet on the ground, we’ll just offer more opportunities as he is able to take it on.”
Now that James is no longer homeless he hopes to get a job and save some money.
Von Lintel has a history of working with homeless shelters, including Esther’s House and another shelter in Arizona.
“I’ve had some hard times myself. I’ll be honest with you,” she said. “When I read that, I know that feeling. I know what he felt. I just felt it. I said, ‘No, no, no, we are Hays. We can do this. Maybe Hays doesn’t have something in place now, but maybe this will create the synergy to get something in place. We are not a cold-hearted community. We care.’ ”
She continued, “People want to help. They just don’t know how. Hays is an amazing community. You don’t know how many calls I have got about clothes and food and bedding and whatever he needs.”
Von Lintel said she got more out of helping James than he did, because she knows now he can have some peace and start rebuilding his life.
“There is no one who needs to be homeless in Hays,” von Lintel said. “We can figure something out.”
Spencer Mohler, 26, said his family did not have much invested in the camper, were not using it and saw a chance to help someone else.
“I have never been homeless and I hope I never am homeless, but things do happen,” Mohler said. “I’ve been in lower places, and I know what it’s like trying to get out of whatever might be going on to get back on your feet and sometimes you need a little bit of help. I only had $1,500 in the camper, and that probably felt like $1 million to him.”
James’ former homeless encampment behind Wolf Furniture Galleries.
Mohler said they have opted to retain ownership of the camper for now, so James doesn’t have to pay the taxes.
When Mohler first brought up the idea of letting James use the camper to his wife, she said he was nuts. However, she read the story about James and the couple ultimately decided allow James to use the camper.
“If I can help someone who just a little worse off than I am, it’s all worth it,” he said.
Von Lintel and Wolf said they were flooded with calls and contacts of people hoping to help James in some way.
Someone donated an ACCESS bus pass. On the Rocks has offered him meals. Someone from LINK has offered to help James fill out paperwork to apply for assistance with medical needs.
James had few words Friday. He seemed overwhelmed, but happy and grateful. He talked about his goals of finding work and saving money. “Security,” he said excitedly. He knows know he has a place he and his belongings can be safe.
“I have knots in my stomach,” he said. “I have butterflies.”
Sitting on the couch in the camper, a huge grin curled over his wrinkled face.
“I ain’t homeless no more,” he said. “I have a home.”
James Arnold has been given notice to leave the only home he knows — a makeshift encampment behind Wolf’s Furniture in Hays.
If you weren’t looking for it, you probably won’t see it. The encampment is made out of shipping pallets, sheets of plastic and cardboard. The makeshift shelter has just enough space for James to crawl into for the night. He has a small space heater that kept his hideaway warm even as the temperature dipped into the single digits this week.
He has squirreled away a few possessions — dishes and a few household items he hoped to use to start a new life in his own apartment — in a couple truck toolboxes. He recently adopted a mother cat who took advantage of the warmth of his shelter to have her kittens.
Preston Wolf, owner of Wolf Furniture and James’ friend, received a letter on Oct. 30 from the City of Hays Planning Inspection and Enforcement Department saying James could no longer stay in his encampment because the area was not zoned for residential use. Wolf was given until Friday to have James out.
James, who has been homeless for 16 years, wants to stay in Hays. His face tells the tale of those years, mostly lived in similar makeshift shelters. A long white beard stretches halfway down his tall, lean frame. The heavy lines in his weather-worn face make him appear much older than his 57 years.
James has been in Hays for the last year and half, working odd jobs, hoping to save up enough money to get an apartment of his own.
Wolf befriended James. He helped him apply for and receive a new ID and Social Security card, which took almost a year. Although James said he prefers his encampment, Wolf put James up in a hotel last winter at his own expense.
James said he doesn’t want to keep taking advantage of Wolf’s kindness.
“I can stay back there and it doesn’t cost him as much money. … I’m homeless. I’m used to this stuff back here by now,” James said. “The first three or four years I wouldn’t have made it, but now it’s been 15 years and I’m used to it. It doesn’t bother me as bad. He’s so nice. I’m not going to let him spend that much money on me this winter. I’d rather stay back there if he’ll let me and do it cheaper and save more money.
“This guy’s like a gift — like a banker, but I don’t want to abuse him,” James said.
James said he has made a connection with people in Hays.
“I have people who I like now and a lot of people I enjoy being around,” he said.
The inside of James’ shelter. There is just enough room to crawl in and lie down.
James appears to have no family ties or support system outside of what Wolf has offered him here in Hays. He has mentioned an ex-wife and kids, but James’ mind wanders from one grandiose topic to the next. It’s hard to nail down a history and tell what is truth and what is fantasy. Wolf said he suspects he might have mental health issues.
Wolf expressed great distress about what might happen to James after Friday. James said he plans to hitchhike to another encampment up north, but Wolf has tried to dissuade him.
“It’s just a field,” Wolf said.
James has COPD, a lung condition, which means he is winded easily. Wolf said he doesn’t think James will last long out on the road.
“If he leaves here, he is probably going to die because he has no place to go and no help,” Wolf said. “If there was someplace he could go where he would have a roof over his head … We understand that is not the ideal out there.”
“It’s not harming me,” James said of his Hays encampment. “If he ain’t mad about, it ain’t harming me. I have been saving a little money.”
Few resources in Hays for homeless
The City of Hays says James Arnold can no longer stay in this makeshift shelter behind Wolf’s Furniture because it is not zoned for residential use.
Linda Mills, director of First Call for Help, which helps transients in the community, said Hays unfortunately has little to no resources for a person in James’ predicament.
“It’s frustrating,” Mills said. “The thought of someone sleeping outside when it was a cold as it was last night … I couldn’t do it.”
There are housing programs for veterans, but the veterans have to have proof of service. Hays also has a housing program for people who have mental illness, but recipients must have a diagnosed mental illness and meet other criteria to qualify.
First Call needs $215,000 to remodel the rear of its building into transitional living areas for its new First Step housing program. Now that First Call has a firm bid in hand, it hopes to start applying for grants for the project. You can donate to that project by clicking here.
Even if the transitional housing project was ready, Mills said James would likely not qualify for the program because he has not been able to hold down steady work.
In addition to his COPD, which makes it difficult for him to do physical labor, his mind tends to wonder, Wolf said.
“I definitely don’t mind him staying there,” Wolf said. “He causes no problems. What we were trying to when we got his ID and his Social Security card, we were try to get him a job at Walmart or someplace. The ideal thing was to try to get him back into society to find a little one-bedroom apartment or something. We are trying. We just haven’t got that — with the job application. I don’t know if James could work eight straight hours.”
Mills said James might qualify for disability, but that process can take months or even years. Initial applications are often denied and applicants have to appeal and even employ an attorney to secure disability payments.
“If he doesn’t want to leave Hays, I’m not sure unless people are willing to set up a GoFundMe or something and match what he has saved up to get into an apartment,” Mills said. “But even if he gets into an apartment, how is he going to pay for the rent month to month? It probably doesn’t makes sense to raise money to get him into the apartment unless they are going to raise money to keep him in the apartment because he’ll get evicted.”
Mills said the best First Call could do for James is to offer him a bus ticket to Salina, the location of the nearest men’s shelter.
James said he has been in shelters in Denver and Wichita, and said they were like being in prison. He doesn’t want to go.
It’s the law
Curtis Deines, superintendent of Planning Inspection Enforcement, said Arnold’s situation was unfortunate and he hoped Arnold would be OK, but he had to follow the law. He said the city had worked with Wolf to try to resolve the situation, noting it’s Wolf’s obligation as the property owner to remove Arnold from the property, according to Deines.
Deines said the the city was first made aware of Arnold’s encampment when police were called to the area because of a civil disturbance involving Arnold. He allegedly pulled a knife, threatened another individual and was arrested.
“I know it can seem like the city is going after somebody, and that is not the case,” Deines said. “There was an unfortunate event there and that prompted the situation.”
Wolf described James as mild-mannered and said he has never had any issues with him since he took up residence behind the store. James doesn’t drink or use drugs.
James said he just wants the city to leave him alone until summer comes and he can move to his encampment up north — home.
Wolf said, “We just don’t know what to do. That’s what it boils down to.”
Billy Crocker (Gabe McGuire) gives Reno Sweeney (Shirley Lee) a kiss in the Hays High production of “Anything Goes.”
By CRISTINA JANNEY Hays Post
The Hays High cast of “Anything Goes” is sure to tap and croon their ways into your heart this week.
Shows will be at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Friday and Saturday and 2:30 p.m. Sunday at the Twelfth Street Auditorium.
“Anything Goes” is a 1934 musical that features notable tunes such as “Anything Goes,” “You’re the Top” and “I Get a Kick Out of You.” The musical is a romantic comedy that takes place aboard a vessel en route to London from New York.
“I chose this musical for a handful of reasons. First of all, I think it fits our students incredibly well. There are lots of roles for many students to have opportunities, which I really like,” Alex Underwood, director, said. “Beyond that, I think it is important for students to get to explore cultures, time periods, and utilize skills that are different from their own. In this case, they get to study 1934 New York and learn some pretty significant tap dancing.
“Finally, it’s just a lot of fun. The music is charming, and the comedic bits are hysterical. It’s a wonderful way to spend a few hours.”
Lord Evelyn Oakleigh (Tom Drabkin) takes notes as his fiancee Hope Harcourt (Alisara Arial) and two reporters (Zach Chance and Tegan Hartman) look on.
The principle roles in this show are Reno Sweeney, an evangelist-turned-night club singer whose brassy personality drives the plot, Underwood said. That role is double cast — played by Shirley Lee and Caitlin Leiker.
Billy Crocker is the leading man in this production, played by Gabe McGuire. Finally, Moonface Martin is a second-rate gangster disguised as a minister who drives quite a bit of the mayhem and fun in the show. Moonface is played by Kai Kaufman.
The show features a slew of dancers — Reno’s four angels and a quartet of dancing sailors. Beyond that, there are tons of other bit parts that are quite hilarious, Underwood said.
The challenges with this show revolved around the difficult production numbers — particularly the tap dancing, Underwood said.
“We hired a choreographer from New York to teach the students, and we’ve spent hours and hours working on it. Once it’s all said and done, it looks incredible!” he said. “I’m so proud of them for pulling off super tricky choreography. And we didn’t cut the dance breaks even one measure — it’s the full Broadway orchestration.”
Passenger and crew perform “(There’s No Cure Like Travel)/Bon Voyage” in HHS’ production of “Anything Goes.”
Underwood said he has been proud of the work the students have put in thus far.
“I think these students bring some amazing skill as well as heart and commitment,” he said. “So many of them are fiercely dedicated to the success of this production and have been working tirelessly for months in preparation. It’s inspiring to watch, honestly.”
Tickets can be purchased at www.ticketsource.us/hays-high-school, at the box office at Twelfth Street Auditorium between 3:30 and 6:30 p.m. this week, or at the door. They are $10.
Evangeline Harcourt (Katelyn Engel), Elisha Whitney (Andrew Duke), Hope Harcourt, (Alisara Arial), and Lord Evelyn Oakleigh (Tom Drabkin) sing as their vessel is about the cast off.
Cast list
Henry T. Dobson (Carson Brooksher) advises his converts , Luc and Jean (Alexis White and Matthew Bollig).
Reno Sweeney – Shirley Lee (Nov. 14 and 16) and Caitlin Leiker (Nov. 15 and 17)
Hope Harcourt – Alisara Arial
Evangeline Harcourt – Katelyn Engel
Lord Evelyn Oakleigh – Tom Drabkin
Elisha Whitney – Andrew Duke
Billy Crocker – Gabe McGuire
Moonface Martin – Kai Kaufman
Erma – Hanna Dannar
Luc – Alexis White
Jean – Matthew Bollig
Captain – Ashley Vilaysing
Purser – Sierra Adkins
Reno’s Angels
Purity – Anna Brull
Chastity – Marie-lyn Castaing
Charity – Jessica Leiker
Virtue – Savanna Lawson
Dancing Sailors – Nathan Leiker, Alex Flavin, Sydney Wittkorn, Stanna Flinn
After more than 38 years in the printing business Marvin Rack, and his wife, Jennifer, sold their business, Northwestern Printers to longtime employee Josh Zweifel on Aug. 1.
The sale had been part of the Racks’ succession plan for years. Marvin said he knew he and Jennifer would eventually want to step away from the business, but the couple did not want to see the company they built together close.
The Racks began to discuss a possible sale with Zweifel years ago, and slowly allowed him to be more involved in the management of the company.
Doug Williams, director of Grow Hays, said succession planning is one of the most difficult topics to discuss with small business owners, but can be one of the most important issues to those businesses and the communities they serve.
“Our mission is business creation, business retention and expansion and business recruitment,” he said. “I view succession planning as a big part of retention and expansion.”
Hays has a number of Baby Boomer-owned businesses, and those owners are nearing retirement, Williams said.
“Unfortunately, not enough of them have planned very well about what their strategy is as far as how they will exit their businesses, and in my opinion, that leaves all those businesses at risk of not continuing on,” he said.
In some cases, there is an obviously family member to take over, but in a lot cases there isn’t, Williams said.
“They haven’t in all cases done what they need to make sure that their businesses can continue on and prosper and thrive and hopefully grow,” he said, “as opposed to they just get to the point where they say, ‘I’m tired. I’m ready to be done, so I’m just going to have a going-out-of-business sale.’ ”
When a business closes, it is not an optimum outcome for the community, Williams said. It gives the community fewer options for shopping. Employees are laid off. It is one less attraction that will bring people to a community, and it reduces the tax base.
“All the positives of businesses opening and growing are just the opposite when businesses close,” he said.
Tony Gabel, associate professor in the department of management at Fort Hays State University, gave a talk to a conference of the western Kansas Rural Economic Alliance in September in Hays and noted when business owners start to develop a succession plan a “cloud” of advisers can be helpful in assisting them. This can include their attorney, accountant and a financial adviser.
Succession planning is not always an issue of retirement — it can be about death. And that death may be unexpected.
“Can your business continue without you?” Gabel said, “(That) is the question.”
Estate planning and succession planning might go hand in hand, but they are not the same thing, he said.
Gabel listed several items to consider in a succession plan:
Family harmony
Income taxes and estate taxes
Facilitation of retirement for the current management
The ability to maintain control of the business
Succession plans are also important in passing on farms and ranches.
Gabel said his family has been dealing with this issue recently as his mother passed away a year ago. The family is transitioning their farm. Gabel said he has been fortunate in that his family gets along and has agreed on how to proceed with the farm.
“Perhaps the very first thing you need to do in order to convince people to think about this is ask the question ‘What do you think is going to happen after you die?’ ” he said. “Let’s go with the worst case scenario. ‘After you die will your children get along with each other?’ Most people are going to be honest enough to say, ‘Probably not.’ ”
Business owners need to ask themselves what their end goal is and how are they going to get there, Gabel said.
More aspects to take into consideration in creating a succession plan include:
Management talent assessment
Compensation planning
Formal directorship roles for family and non-family
Stock transfer strategies
Corporate structure
Communication planning
Estate planning
Valuation of the company
If your children are a part of the management team, will they be ready to run the company when you are ready to leave? A rule of thumb is that a family business will only last three generations and then it will collapse, Gabel said.
The Racks said they wanted their children to be able to pursue their own dreams. They have seen other businesses in which the children had to take over a business from their parents and were miserable.
If the source of the management talent is not coming from family, it might come from inside the company or it from recruiting new talent or an outside buyer.
“You have to communicate with all of the interested parties,” he said. “This is where most things go south — a lack of communication, a lack of candid communication. People will say certain things, but they won’t give all the details.”
Williams compared talking to business owners about succession planning is like trying to talk to people about life insurance.
“I think it is just one of those things that is very easy to push onto the back burner,” he said. ” ‘I’ll worry about that a later date,’ but all of the sudden, that date is here and they haven’t laid the plans for it.”
Need for a succession plan can arise for a variety of reasons: sale of a business, death of an owner, health issues for an owner, retirement or other changes in circumstances.
It is not only the transfer of the assets, but the maximization of the assets, Williams said.
“People work their entire lives in a business and to just close it if it’s doing well and prosperous is really sad,” he said.
Maximizing what you receive from a transfer of your business could mean you have to exit at a time that is not perfect for you.
Marvin said he and Jennifer could have spent more years running the business, but now was the right time to step aside.
“I will be 61 this year — too early to retire, but when you have an opportunity, such as we did with Josh … It was 22 years of him seeing the shop. I am not sure if I would be a good business owner in 22 more years,” Rack said.
He said if you wait to do succession planning, you have to take what you are given. It takes time to find and train the right person to step into a leadership role.
Williams said the day is going to come when business owners are going to exit their businesses in one way or another.
“It can be feet first, which means you die in your business, which is not the best,” he said, “or you can plan and determine what the best way to exit your business is.
“Most people want to maximize the value of their business and exit with as much as they can. To do that takes a lot of planning, and it takes some thought ahead of time in order to make that happen. Rarely does it happen that someone comes waltzing down the road with a whole pile of money and hands it to you and says, ‘I want to buy your business.’ “
Hays school board members toured Wilson Elementary School on Monday and learned that space is an issue throughout the school.
By CRISTINA JANNEY Hays Post
The Hays school board toured Wilson Elementary School during its work session Monday night and discovered space is one of its significant challenges.
Wilson is housing more students now than it ever has, said Principal Anita Scheve. The school’s enrollment is 408 students. The school has three sections of each grade kindergarten through fifth grade.
A teacher has carved out a reading area in her room to promote the district’s reading and writing curriculum.
Although the enrollment at the other three-section elementary schools in the district are similar, the total square footage at Wilson is much less. Wilson has about 39,000 square feet. The square footage at O’Loughlin Elementary is 49,000 square feet and the square footage at Roosevelt is 59,000 square feet.
“If you think about it, Roosevelt has almost the same enrollment but almost 50 precent more square footage to work with,” Scheve said. “A common theme you are going to see tonight is lack of storage and we are crowded.”
At several locations throughout the school, Scheve noted lighting. Many of the lights are original to the building when it was built in 1959. The district has been replacing lights at other schools with LEDs in attempts to save money.
The art and music wing was added to Wilson in 1966. An addition was built at Wilson in 1985 and one more classroom added in 1989, but the school has not had a significant renovation since.
The Wilson boiler is original to construction of the school in 1959. At least one room remains at 85 degrees year round because of the problems with the HVAC system.
The HVAC system in the building also dates to when the building was constructed in 1959. Scheve said at least one of the classrooms remains at 85 degrees year round.
Storage is a serious concern for the school. The fire marshal told the school officials after a recent inspection that it will have to move items that are being stored in hallways to other locations for safety reasons.
The school has two very small storage sheds. Scheve said she is working with buildings and grounds to move in a shipping container for more storage for the school.
The school is using smaller desks, because it needed to have some floor space for children to gather to work on reading and writing curriculum. Each classroom has its own library as a part of that curriculum. Those books take up space, which is at a premium. Teachers also have to carve out space for the storage of iPads.
The average size of classrooms at Wilson is 700 to 750 square feet, but designers today are recommended new elementary classrooms be a minimum of 900 to 1,000 square feet.
Outside, Scheve said she would like to have more cameras on the playground, because it is large and hard to supervise. She also said she would like less asphalt, because children have been injured by slipping and falling on the asphalt.
Plumbing and corroded pipes are problems at Wilson. Some of the pipes date back to 1959 when the school was built.
Plumbing is becoming an issue because much of it is also original from 1959. Much of the plumbing in the building is cast iron.
As part of the school’s trauma responsive practices, classrooms have calm-down corners for kids.
“Really just a space where they can use if they are feeling frustrated and they don’t know what to do with those feelings,” she said. “It is a space to stay in the class, but for the teacher to recognize and the student to recognize ‘I need some help or I need some time to figure things out or to get myself back to a learning state.’ ”
Wilson’s gym is also used as the cafeteria and auditorium. When the building was built, it only had two sections of each grade, so many more students are using the space than was originally intended.
Scheve said the school has to schedule everything around its gym classes, because the time in the gym/cafeteria/auditorium is at such a premium. She said the students and staff are pressed for a time on a daily basis, because there is a gym class 10 minutes after breakfast and a gym class that ends 10 minutes before lunch is served.
The schedule is further complicated because Wilson shares a PE teacher with Lincoln Elementary School.
Hay Middle School is hosting it’s annual Scholastic Book Fair. All the proceeds go to purchase books for the Wilson Elementary Library and Hays Middle School Library. The book fair is set up in the Hay Middle School Library and it is open to the public.
Maurice (Ben Pfannenstiel), center, meets Cogsworth (Hunter Flax), right, and Lumiere (Lane Werth), left, for the first time in Thomas More Prep-Marian’s production of “Beauty and the Beast.”
By CRISTINA JANNEY Hays Post
Belle (Madelyn Seiler) performs a solo in “Beauty and the Beast.”
A tale as old as time debuts tonight at Thomas More Prep-Marian’s Dreiling Theatre with the performance of Disney’s “Beauty and the Beast.”
Travis Grizzell, director, said this year’s fall musical has been so popular the school has added an extra performance. Show times will be at 7 p.m. Thursday, Friday and Saturday and 2 p.m. Sunday.
Madelyn Seiler, TMP-M sophomore, is playing the female lead of Belle. Grizzell said she has already had many years of experience in musical theater.
“I usually have singers who act or actors who sing, but she does both really well and has great stage instincts and is always prepared and well rehearsed,” he said. “She’s an amazing Belle!”
Mrs. Potts (Maggie Baalmann) and Chip (Avery Werth) take center stage in “Beauty and the Beast.”
Lucas Kraus, who is playing the Beast, unfortunately has had laryngitis. He practiced in costume with the cast on Tuesday night with Grizzell voicing his parts. He was off vocal rest just in time for the cast’s first performance for Holy Family Elementary on Wednesday.
“He’s done an amazing job of preparing, so I knew he’d be fine,” Grizzell said.
Grizzell added “There are plenty of scene stealers in this one. The enchanted objects, the vain villain, his lackey, the bumbling but golden-hearted father or the macabre asylum director … they’re all here.”
The Beast (Lucas Kraus) stares at his enchanted rose during the opening scene of “Beauty and the Beast.”
The tale of “Beauty and the Beast” is a fable. The story tells of a vain prince who is turned into the Beast. The spell can only be broken by someone finding true love in him, Grizzell explained.
A trip to see Salina Community Theatre’s performance of “Beauty and the Beast” might have finally been the inspiration for Grizzell to tackle such an ambitious project.
Gaston (Aakash Patel) threatens Lefou (Kooper Hudsonpillar) in “Beauty and the Beast.”
“I took my drama class to Salina Community Theatre’s production, and it definitely got my ideas going as far as set and costumes if we tackled it one day,” he said. “I look at about every show imaginable each year before picking one, and I kept coming back to B&B and could really start to see this group making it happen.”
Grizzell said costumes where one of the biggest challenges for this production.
Lumiere’s candles light up, and Cogsworth’s hands and gears spin. The school rented a few of the costumes, some of which have been used on Broadway. Grizzell’s wife, Pam, has been among the crew helping with costumes.
” ‘Beauty and the Beast’ is a show I’ve looked at for years and I finally gave in,” he said. “The costuming and set are major challenges, plus you’re up against a very well-known film and its iconic characters. Through very generous donations of time and money and talent, we’re in a position to pull it off, I think.”
Lumiere (Lane Werth) discusses Belle’s arrival with Babette (Morgan Olmstead)
Tickets can be ordered online by clicking here. Tickets can also be reserved by leaving a message at the Fine Arts Ticket Line: 785-621-5478. Tickets cost $8 each.
Tammy Wellbrock, center, and Craig Pallister, right, look at election results Tuesday night. Photos by Becky Kiser / Hays Post
By CRISTINA JANNEY Hays Post
Two incumbents on the Hays USD 489 school board are out, and four new faces were elected to seats during Tuesday night’s election.
The new board members will be facing a rewrite of the capital outlay budget, which is due back to the board and January, and strained relations with teachers. The board has yet to come to a contract agreement with the union.
Tammy Wellbrock, Allen Park, Craig Pallister and Lori Hertel all won seats on the Hays school board as the top four of nine candidates. Incumbents Luke Oborny and Paul Adams did not retain their seats. Incumbents Mandy Fox and Greg Schwartz chose not to run for re-election.
Wellbrock, a business owner, said she has a unique view of the economic impact schools have on the community and attributed that in part to her win.
“I think that is a distinctively different advantage that I’ve had over some of the other candidates,” she said, “in just being able to see where the school district kind of plays a factor in all of that— in the bigger scope of what our community needs and what is looking at in terms of progress.”
Wellbrock said her first goal as a newly elected official will be to learn more about her new post. She plans to attend the Kansas Association of School Boards training in January.
“It is not just me coming on. There are four of us,” she said. “I have to figure out what that group of people, this new group of seven, starting in January, what we need to accomplish.”
She acknowledged the school board is going to be facing some difficult issues come January, including infrastructure and teacher relations, but she said even in two months those are going to be evolving issues.
Wellbrock said she thinks there is a need for another attempt at a bond.
“There is a need to focus on the bond and what should or could that bond be,” she said, “but what makes a passible bond is different from a bond that is going to address needs. Those are two different conversations, and I think we are going to need to look at what makes a passible bond.
“What is needed, but is not necessarily going to be addressed at the bond level, is going to have to be discussed separately. The board is going to have to move forward as if there is not a bond.”
Allen Park, school board candidate, voted on Tuesday.
Allen Park, former Washington Elementary School principal, said he is appreciative of the vote of confidence from the community.
“I think if we all work together, we can make a difference,” he said. “We are going to need to pull the community together to accomplish what we need to — the whole entire community. We need to involve them, inform them and be very open and request their assistance to move our district forward.
“I think people in Hays care, and I think they want what is best for our kids, but I also think they want to be involved more.”
“We are going to need to prioritize what needs to be done,” he said. “The board is going to have to work together and cooperate and try to do what is best for kids.”
“I think it is going to take time to build that back,”he said. “Two years in a row — that really damages that relationship. That needs to be improved because that sets the culture, and if the teachers aren’t on board, it is hard to accomplish our board goals when we have that stress on our teachers.”
Craig Pallister, former Hays Middle School principal, also said building trust is going to be important for the board going forward.
“Several of the things that I mentioned during my campaign was building trust between the board and the teachers and all the staff because that is key because of where negotiations are right now,” he said.
“Also letting the people know in the community how good our school district is. We have an outstanding district with outstanding teachers and staff, and we need to get that information out. That is why I suggested maybe hiring a public relations person for the district, not only to talk about the good things that our district is doing, but also what our district needs are like our facilities.”
Lori Hertel reacts after her election to the USD 489 school board Tuesday night.
Pallister said the board needs to look at another bond issue, but issues such as leaking roofs and HVAC systems need to be addressed more immediately through capital outlay funds.
He said he thought the four candidates who were elected are all pro-public schools and should keep the district on track.
Hertel, a mental health professional, said she thought people believed she can make a difference and that was why she was elected.
“I think I have done that in this community on multiple occasions,” she said, “and I think people have known that about me. I think that I can do that over and over and over again and help children. I have a special feeling about children.”
She said she would like to turn the board to focusing on the children and the staff. She also said she was concerned about the inability of the teachers and the board to come to an agreement on a contract.
“I think that is not very good for the working relationship between the board and the employees,” she said. “I think the employees think the board is not looking at their needs. That may not be true, but I am sure that is how they feel.”
Hertel said the board is also going to need to study infrastructure needs and make sure the community is well informed about those needs. She said she thought the board needs to consider another bond attempt.
The new school board members will take their seats in January.
DISCLOSURE: Tammy Wellbrock is married to Gerard Wellbrock, Eagle Radio sports director. He is employed by Eagle Radio, which owns and operates Hays Post.
Dallas Haselhorst, founder of TreeTop Security, discusses cybersecurity at the Hays Public Library on Wednesday night as he wrapped up a series of sessions to mark Cybersecurity Month.
By CRISTINA JANNEY Hays Post
Your data is today’s gold.
Dallas Haselhorst, founder of TreeTop Security, discussed cybersecurity at the Hays Public Library on Wednesday night as he wrapped up a series of sessions to mark Cybersecurity Month.
“At the end of the day, there are a lot of people’s livelihoods that get affected adversely by getting hacked,” Haselhorst said.
Sixty percent of small business go out of business within six months of a major cyberattack, he said.
“That’s people’s jobs. That’s people feeding their families,” he said.
One misconception is that technology — anti-virus software or firewalls — will protect you from cyberattacks.
Attackers are going to go after wherever your business or home is weakest. If you are a business owner, Haselhorst suggested offering cybersecurity awareness training for your employees. At home, hackers will target the most vulnerable, too. That could be parents, kids or seniors.
“People say, ‘I don’t have anything that an attacker would possibly want,’ ” Haselhorst said. “That just couldn’t be further from the truth.”
Some of this information can include:
Credit card and financial information
Medical data and insurance information
Computer resources
Use or your email credentials
Medical data is seven times more valuable than credit card data, Haselhorst said. Credit card companies are getting exceptionally good at stopping fraud, he said. With medical data a scammer can perpetrate identity fraud, prescription fraud and insurance fraud.
You can change a credit card number, but you can’t change your Social Security number, Haselhorst noted.
Hackers can use your computer for nefarious purposes. They can use it to send ransomeware. They can use it as a jump point, which is when your computer is used to attack someone else.
“The FBI has unfortunately kicked down wrong doors before thinking someone has child pornography things on their computer,” he said.
Your email is tied to many other aspects in your life, such as resetting passwords on your bank account.
“If you think there is nothing on my computer,” he said, “there absolutely is in every single situation.”
Backups are one of the only guaranteed ways to get your information back from ransomware.
“In doing IT for the past 20-some years, one thing I can tell you is that I have seen time and time again somebody says, ‘We have backups. We have tons of backups.’ You go back and find they don’t have any backups and they haven’t been backing up for the last six months,” Haselhorst said.
Thirty-five percent of users never have backed up their data. Only 6 percent of users back up daily.
He also warned against leaving a USB drive or an external hard drive plugged into your computer. If your backup device is attached to your computer, it can be ransomwared too. Use the Cloud or disconnect your backup device.
Every day, 360,000 pieces of malware are released. Keep your devices updated. Most updates contain security updates. This includes operating systems on computers, tablets and cellphones.
Anti-virus software needs to be updated every few hours to keep up with the onslaught of malware. Browsers matter too. Haselhorst said Microsoft is no longer recommending using Internet Explorer.
Devices in the realm referred to as “the internet of things,” such as dog food feeders and surveillance systems, do not update automatically. Alexa, Google Home, a lot of the doorbells and thermostats do update automatically.
Passwords are still important to protecting your data. Don’t write down your passwords and stick them on your computer.
If you store passwords anywhere on your computer in a Word, Excel or Notepad document, these can be easily found by hackers.
You can use secure password managers, such as LastPass, KeePass and 1Password to keep your passwords safe. These applications will allow you to store all your passwords in one secure place. You unlock the program with one long password. The programs can also autofill passwords and usernames on your device.
If you use a password manager, you can use a different password for every account. If one account is compromised, that is the only data that is at risk. You can also use randomly generated passwords because you don’t have to remember them all.
“Everyone has heard about the breaches in the news. There is like a breach everyday. What happens is the systems get breached, and the hacker pulls down the password and username database,” Haselhorst said.
“What happens with that password and username data is you can get Gina’s email address and password and then I’m going to try it on Facebook. I’m going to try it on her bank account. I’m going to try it every single place I can think of that she might have an account for.”
Ninety-five percent of passwords are shared within their household. Fifth-nine percent of people use one password for all accounts.
Avoid using passwords that can easily associated with you. These include:
Address
Phone number
Pet name
Birthdate
Sports teams
Child’s name
Haselhorst recommends passwords of 16 to 18 characters. Length is more effective than complexity. He suggested using password phrases, such as MysonwasbornNovember1995! versus P@ssw0rd.
Haselhorst discussed ways to keep you safe from malicious links. These included verifying the link, hovering over the link, giving it the sniff test and finally clicking if it passes all of the previous three tests.
You may receive an email from someone you know, but red flags could be in the subject line, strange wording, an odd signature or a strange link, especially those outside of the U.S. To hover, let your cursor rest on the link without clicking. This will show where the link is actually going to take you.
Hackers can have a link that says anything in the text of an email or text, but it may take you to a completely different site. If there are numbers in the URL instead of letters, don’t trust it, Haselhorst said.
Scammers will also try to use condensed links to hide where they are really taking you. You can use www.linkexpander.com to find the expanded address.
You can also receive links through SMS messages. Is the message expected and from someone you trust? You can “hover” on a tablet or cell phone with a prolonged press on the link.
Scammers will also use a sense of urgency both online and over the phone to get you to click on links or had over sensitive information. Companies like Apple and Microsoft are never going to call or email you personally, Haslehorst said, although scammers are using their names.
Ninety-two percent of all malware is delivered by email. Stop and think before you click on attachments. Are you expecting the email? Are you expecting the attachment? Don’t enable editing if macros have been disabled.
Scammers will also using “phishing” or “whaling” to create a targeted attack. Haselhorst gave the example of a scammer using the name of the CEO of a company to send an email to the CFO of a company asking him or her to set up an illegitimate vendor or account. The scammer then asks the CFO to deposit money in the bogus account.
When individuals are targeted, scammers might ask for gift or prepaid credit cards or financial information. Technical safeguards are not effective in stoping these scam.
“These are emails. This is text,” Haselhorst said. “There is nothing on the planet that is going to stop these things except who is sitting in a chair. Somebody is going to have to think about that.”
Robocalls continue to be an epidemic in this country. Remember scammers can make the number look like it is coming from your local area. If you have any question about who you are talking to, hang up and call back on a published number.
Other general security tips include use caution when attaching phones or other devices to your computer that could infect your computer with malware. Be careful of WiFi hotspots and avoid public computers.
Haselhorst also noted even trusted websites can be hacked and be hosting malware.
The director of buildings and grounds told the Hays school board on Monday it could no longer wait to make repairs on some of its older buildings.
The school district had postponed some major repairs, especially on the older elementary schools, because it had hoped to pass a bond issue to build a new elementary school and make other repairs.
However, two bonds have failed since 2016. Although the school board discussed mounting a third bond attempt, no plan ever took shape.
Rusty Lindsay, buildings and grounds director, told the board he was going to have to significantly rewrite his capital improvements plan, because issues at Wilson and O’Loughlin elementary schools were becoming serious enough they could no longer wait.
Lindsay said he hoped to have the revisions to the school board by January.
Repairs to leaks at the transportation shop also can no longer wait, he said. The repairs are likely to be costly, Lindsay said, because there is asbestos that will have to be removed during the repairs.
Work to the Roosevelt Elementary School roof is set to begin in the next week and a half, weather permitting. The district also finally received an order of locks to finish replacing interior door locks at Roosevelt, Hays Middle School and Hays High School. The locks at Roosevelt will be replaced over Christmas break, and the locks at HMS and HHS will replaced over spring break.
Buses
Russ Henningsen, director of transportation, came before the board to request the purchase of two diesel route buses and one gas route bus as part of the district’s five-year transportation plan.
The bids on the buses were updated Monday. The total cost for the buses will be $283,987, which was $20,013 under budget.
Board member Greg Schwartz asked Henningsen about the possible purchase of a coach activity bus. He said that was a possibility, but he recommended the purchase of the route buses this year, because they are needed more. They also are less expensive than the coach buses, which can cost about $240,000.
Superintendent Ron Wilson acknowledged a new activity bus is needed. He said the district could include that purchase in its transportation purchases for the next fiscal year. If it ordered the bus in July, the district should have it delivered before the end of the fall semester 2020.
The school district transports about 335 students per day 541 miles per day on its regular daily route. When activities are added in, the district is averaging 1,900 miles per day and 561 passengers per day.
Henningsen said the district needs all of the buses it has now. It has eight route buses and five activity buses. He said it is not uncommon to have all five activity buses out at one time. The district also uses activity buses for spares when route buses break down.
