By CRISTINA JANNEY
Hays Post

The NCK Tech culinary program allows students to participate in a nine-month program that opens up opportunities for jobs without a college education.

The food industry is the second largest employer in the United State behind the medical field, said Philip Kuhn, program director and chef.

The culinary program was moved from Beloit to Hays’ Hadley Center three years ago when Kuhn took over as director. Kuhn is from Hays but has worked in restaurants, conference centers and a casino.

He also owns and runs The Press restaurant in the Hadley Center. Although the restaurant sometimes hires students after graduation from NCK Tech, The Press is not connected to culinary arts program.

Job opportunities vary greatly for culinary graduates, Kuhn said. They can work on cruise ships or at resorts, casinos, mom-and-pop restaurants and corporate restaurants. They also can work on the other side of the food industry and sell food, working for corporations such as Cisco or U.S. Foods, or with chemical companies that supply restaurants.

“There are tons of jobs out there,” he said. “It is where you want to go and what do you want to experience. And how involved you want to be too, because (working in) restaurants is not an easy job. There is a lot of time spent. If you are going to go to a cruise ship, its 12 hours on and 12 hours off, six to seven days a week. … I was a food and beverage director of a casino. I worked anywhere from 80 to 90 hours to 110 hours a week. Most people don’t put that in in two or three weeks. …

“It’s a lifestyle. It is a fun lifestyle. You get to meet fun people. You get to work with food and interesting types of cuisines.”

Kuhn loves banquet cooking. In Hays, you might cook for 500 to 600 people at a time, but in a large city like Las Vegas, a chef might coordinate a meal for as many as 12,000 people.

Line cooking is more of an adrenaline rush, he said. You might have a list of 25 possible menu items, and you don’t know what is going to come at you.

Students in the program learn about preparation of a variety of food dishes, including meats, poultry, seafood and vegetables. They also do units on desserts and baking.

Instruction is a combination of reading, workbooks, lecture and lab work, during which students prepare dishes.

At present, the students are working on a seafood unit, something that Kuhn said many Kansas students aren’t familiar with because they are from a landlocked state. Kuhn said he tries to expose students to ingredients they might not deal with in home cooking, but might deal with in their professional careers. This could include lobster, scallops, Kobe beef, foie gras, softshell crabs or caviar.

During the week the Hays Post visited, the students prepared a teriyaki salmon, rosemary grilled shrimp, shrimp wrapped in potato, catfish and lobster bisque. They also learned how to roll sushi.

However, food prep is not the only component of the program. The students also become ServSafe certified, which is a state and nationally recognized program on food safety. The students learn knife skills and about food purchasing.

“Me personally, I walk into restaurants all of the time. I like to go out to eat, and I see a lot of health code violations when I go out to eat. Anything I can (do to) help that go down, I will,” he said.

The program has been trending about 12 to 13 students per session, with classes ranging from as large as 18 to as small as six this session. Some students come into the program right out of high school, and other students come to program with experience.

Katherine Keene, 23, culinary student, said she hoped to own her own restaurant in 10 to 15 years. She has worked in the restaurant industry before.

“I love cooking,” she said. “You can learn to cook on your own, but it is nothing like learning from someone who has experienced it, who knows from past experiences what works and doesn’t work. It’s a lot of fun.”

Emily Corbett, 20, culinary student, came into the program right out of high school. She said she wants to gain some experience and travel, but she wants to eventually open her own bakery.

“I really like baking. I’m getting a lot of other experience, but I am excited to learn more about baking.”

By CRISTINA JANNEY
Hays Post

As Angel Colon lay shot, bleeding and trampled on the floor of the Pulse night club in Orlando, Fla., he could hear the shots — Pop! Pop! Pop! He thought, “I am going to die here. I’m going to bleed out. I’m going to die here.”

Colon is a survivor of what at that time was the worst modern mass shooting in the United States. He related his story to a group of mostly students at Fort Hays State University on Tuesday night. The event changed his life forever. However, despite an agonizing physical recovery and struggles with post traumatic stress disorder, he said that change has been positive.

The day of the shooting, Colon’s boss let him off early from work, so he rounded up some friends to go out for the evening. He invited his sister, who had just come back for a deployment overseas, but to his disappointed, she said she didn’t want to go.

Colon said he was having an awesome time at the night club. He saw many of friends from Orlando at the club and made the rounds talking with as many people as he could.

He picked up a last drink during last call and headed to the dance floor to say his goodbyes to his friends.

“I heard a big pop, super loud, something that I had never heard before and super close to me. I didn’t know what happened. I dropped my drink,” he said.

The pops continued. He turned around and started running but did not make it far. He took a few steps and was shot. He fell face forward, and in all the chaos, he was trampled by other people trying to escape.

“At that moment, I heard my left femur just snap in half— a pain I never felt before, a pain that I thought I never was going to feel. So loud that I could hear it over the gun shots, over the music, and I just fell back down to the floor,” he said.

At that moment, Colon couldn’t move. He couldn’t drag himself to safety.

“As I covered my head, I could feel bodies dropping on top of me. Chaos. People screaming. Shots are going on. I could smell the gunpowder. I could feel the heat,” he said. “At that instant, a lady fell to my right. I could see that she was panicking. I grabbed her hand and told her, ‘It is going to be fine. It is going to be fine. Just stay still. It is going to be fine. It’s going to be over. It’s going to be over.’

Her son was on the floor too. They had decided to go out together.

“He yelled at me, and I told him she was fine,” Colon said.

During those few minutes, one of the son’s friends dragged him out of the club, leaving his mom behind.

“I felt it was my job to now take care of her,” he said. “And the shots continued. It slowly stopped, and I could hear the shooter outside. I decided to lift my head up and look around. I couldn’t believe what happened. I couldn’t believe I could hear the shots going on outside. I see bodies. No one is really moving. There is blood everywhere. I’m numb. I can’t move.”

The woman next to Colon was panicking. He told her to relax.

“They’re going to get us out of here. They are going to get us out of here,” he told her.

“I heard some footsteps coming in, and I told her to, ‘Be quiet! Be quiet!’ I decided to put my head back down. I put my hands over my head, and I stopped breathing, and I hear the shots start. But this time it was slow. I could hear, ‘Pop! Pop!’ It is getting closer and closer every time. Not noticing that he is now shooting at the bodies on the floor, making sure that we are all dead. And the shots are getting closer and closer.

“As the shots got closer, the lady next to me was panicking more and more, and I told her, ‘Calm down, calm down. Act you’re dead. Pretend like you’re dead.’ The shots got closer and closer and then I hear the shot really loud, ‘Pop! Pop!’ And my eyes are open and I see the lady’s body jump up and down. A few seconds later, I looked into her eyes and her eyes are closed. I couldn’t believe what was happening right in front of my face. This lady just died.

“Now I am thinking I’m next. I’m next. What am I going to do? I’m next.”

He said he could feel the shooter’s presence behind him.

“I heard a loud, ‘Pop! Pop!’ I felt a big heat in my midsection. I couldn’t believe I just got shot again.”

Colon laid as still as he could and did his best to pretend that he was dead. He could hear the shooter continue to shoot people on the floor. Colon was close to the door, but he couldn’t drag himself out. He could hear shots in the other room now.

“A few minutes go by, and I think that I am going to die here. I’m going to bleed out. I’m going to die here.”

At that moment the police entered the club and started yelling to see if anyone was alive. Colon used all his strength to throw his hands up, and Corporal Omar Delgado came running to his aid. Colon begged the officer to get him out of the night club.

Because of the bodies and debris on the floor, Corporal Delgado could not carry Colon to safety. He had to drag him. There was broken glass and bottles all over the floor.

“I started to feel pain, and I see that it is the glass, and it is ripping through my wounds,” he said.

Colon continued to beg for the officer to get him out of the night club, because he could still hear shots and was panicking the shooter was coming back. Even as Colon was taken across the street to paramedics, he could still hear the shots.

Once Colon arrived at the hospital, he thought he was safe, but the nurses suddenly all ran out of the room and left him and the other victims alone. The hospital staff had been alerted to an active shooter in the hospital. Colon couldn’t move, but other victims were climbing out of their beds, trying to hide.

“I thought I made it out of the club, but I am going to die here. I’m going to die here,” he said.

After a few minutes, the alert was determined to be a false alarm. He was finally taken into surgery at 11 a.m. Colon had bullet fragments in his right hip, a shattered femur and bullet fragments on his left side. He had to have a metal rod inserted into his left side. He still uses a cane.

Colon naturally thought, “Why me? What did I do to deserve this?”

Colon described his life before Pulse as “messy.” He partied and didn’t take a lot of time to spend with his family, but when his family came into his room after his surgery, he said, “That is the day a smile came back to my face.”

He didn’t want the shooter to succeed in his attempt to spread hate. If this event caused him and the other survivors to be miserable the rest of their lives, the shooter had won.

“This is a second chance at life I have. I need to do something to make this better,” he said.

Colon kept focusing on three words — love, hope and positivity.

“As the days went by, I thought, ‘How can I show the love? How can I spur love?’ ” he said. “I saw this word happening every day after June 12 in my community. The love we had from our community, our state, our country was amazing. It was a love that I never have felt before, a kind of love that can’t be broken, a kind of love that heals pain. I thought to myself that I can use this.”

Colon saw the hope in the tens of thousands of pints of blood that were donated following the Pulse shooting. He knew he want to show positivity, but that was more than just smiling — it had to be action. He spoke at a press conference two days after the shooting and tried to show the world there was hope and that he could be positive after the tragedy.

But most of all he learned forgiveness, not only for the shooter, but for himself and the life he had been living.

“Forgiveness was something that I really fought with while I was in the hospital, something that I didn’t think I could do. Something that was building up inside was anger,” he said. “But I wanted to feel happy again. I wanted to know what it would take to get back to normal. Forgiveness was the one word that hope, love and positivity created in me. I will never forget it, but I can forgive, because I wanted a purpose and that is what I am doing today is spreading all the love, hope and positivity.”

Colon’s visit was sponsored by the Fort Hays State University Center for Civic Leadership, Office of Inclusion and Diversity Excellence and Gay Straight Alliance.

By CRISTINA JANNEY
Hays Post

After a failed bond election in November, the Hays school board is still working to refocus its facilities plan.

The board met in a special meeting Monday night in an attempt to further the discussion on facilities and a possible third attempt to pass a bond issue.

Superintendent John Thissen told the board voters who did not support the bond said they voted against it because it was too much money — $78.5 million — and was too long — 30 years.

The board discussed bonds from 10 to 15 years with a max increase in taxes on a $150,000 home of about $12 per month.

Board member Greg Schwartz said he thought the plan is the first priority, but recommended the least impact on the taxpayer.

“To me, if you could make it a seven year-bond, I would make it the shortest length of bond as you could,” he said.

A 15-year bond with a $12 increase per month tax increase would raise about $30 million.

Thissen said he and Board President Lance Bickle had both been approached by two members of the Hays City Commission about re-examining the school district using a local sales tax to partially fund a major capital project. The proposal that had been floated was a half cent for seven years with a quarter cent going to USD 489 and a quarter cent going to the city. This would raise an additional $8 million for the school district.

Prior to the last bond election, Thissen had approached the city about a sales tax, but the idea was quickly shot down by city commissioners.

Thissen said he was willing to approach the city commission about the use of a sales tax again. He said he would also work to determine how much money could be raised from a 10-year bond.

The board in the last few months have discussed various possible projects for a third bond attempt. Most of these have included some work on the elementary schools. The district’s oldest buildings are Lincoln Elementary and the former Washington Elementary, where Early Childhood Connections is housed.

Both these buildings are more than 90 years old and have serious maintenance issues.

“Our plumbing issues are even more severe than the public even knows,” Thissen said, referring to the elementary schools. “I don’t think you can responsibly put the high school as a project when you know how bad the facilities are at the elementaries. You’ve got to do something there, and that was what the committee work did when they were prioritizing.”

Hays High is the district’s newest building.

He added he and the district’s maintenance director are trying to patch some of maintenance issues at the district’s older buildings and not put a lot of money into them, because the district eventually might vacate those buildings.

The board members discussed Monday night how many elementary buildings the district needs. Opinions ranged anywhere from four to one.

Thissen said he thought the district did not need four elementary schools. Staff could be used more efficiently in three schools or two because the staff, such as music teachers, art teachers, PE teachers and counselors would not have to travel between schools as they do now. Fewer schools could also be more efficient from a maintenance standpoint.

Board members discussed creating two schools. One school would house kindergarteners through second graders and the other school would house third through fifth graders.

Shanna Dinkel, assistant superintendent, said centers like this could be positive for teacher collaboration. Thissen noted it would mean equity for all students, but it also would mean students would have to make more transitions between schools.

The board discussed several scenarios of how a two-elementary school facility plan might work. One suggestion was to expand Roosevelt, which is the newest elementary, and vacate Lincoln.

Another longer-range plan was to build a new high school, move the middle school students to the existing high school and turn the middle school into a large elementary school.

Mandy Fox, board member, said something needs to be done to address facilities, even it is small. People need to see progress and get back into the rhythm of paying taxes for schools, she said.

“My parents in their adult life have never had to support (schools),” Fox said.

Board member Paul Adams said getting a bond passed may be a matter of getting the right people in the community behind it. He encouraged the board to have employers in the community come in and talk about what they need to prepare students for jobs after high school.

The board has not been able to come to agreement on who should put together a new bond package. Thissen has recommended the board assign the work to a committee with perhaps two board members on it.

Board member Greg Schwartz has repeatedly said he thinks the board is the most informed on issue and needs to make the decisions. He also suggested Monday hiring a professional firm to draw up a long-range facility plan.

Fox disagreed saying she thought the district needed some sort of community buy-in.

By CRISTINA JANNEY
Hays Post

Whether it was fighting a brain freeze while eating a snow cone, gingerly building a house of cards or relearning how to ride a tricycle, teams were out to win for a good cause Saturday during First Call for Help’s Amazing Race.

Seven teams of four took to the streets of Hays on Saturday morning to decipher clues and overcome challenges to raise money for the First Call for Help.

The Ellis County Sheriff’s Department’s team — Even Troopers Need Heroes — won the race with a time of 2:03:33. The name for the team was a jab at rival team, the Kansas Highway Patrol troopers.

Brian Shannon of the Ellis County Sheriff’s Department said the escape room at A2Z Escape was the most difficult challenge in the race. The team had to figure out how to unlock a series of locks. Shannon said he had the most fun at Centennial Lanes, where the team had to bowl granny-style wearing cotton winter gloves. The team was required to knock down 50 pins. They finished that challenge fairly quickly, despite the handicap of the slick gloves.

“We try to do a couple of these a year. This is the first time we’ve done it, and we thought it would be pretty fun. We put it together and went out and got some donations,” Shannon said.

The team raised $300 for the cause. Shannon said he thought the team worked well together and that was the secret to their success.

Sheriff’s Det. Brad Ricke said, “We had an enjoyable time, and it was fun seeing all the other different teams that are here. We have an attorney team here and another law enforcement team here and teams from Fort Hays. It created a lot of competition, and it’s a fun competition because everyone wants to be first. Everyone wants to get a little bit of ahead of the other team, but in the end, everyone is having a great time and sharing in the same great experience for all of us.”

SkyWest’s Lost Articles team won best costume. The team came in baggage handler safety vests and ear protection.

The largest fundraiser was the Kiwanis Club, which sponsored its own group as well as two other groups of sorority members and members of the FHSU football team.

“We at Kiwanis are definitely trying to let the community know that we are involved in the community. We do things in the community especially related to kids and families, so it was a great way to sponsor some teams and get more people involved. First Call for Help got some money also those teams were introduced to Kiwanis and what they do in the community,” said Kiwanis team member Michele Springer.

Springer said stacking cards at The Gamers Guild and riding a tricycle in an obstacle course at Big Creek Crossing were the most difficult challenges.

Sami Montgomery with the Sigma Sigma Sigma team encouraged others students to participate in the Amazing Race in the future. She said students can find sponsors as their team did this year with the Kiwanis.

“It is a real good way to get Fort Hays out into the community,” she said. “I know a lot of people don’t see that. In Greek life, not a lot of people see what we do. We not only helped a good cause like First Call for Help, but it also helped us get our name out there.”

Among the other challenges was a public service project. The team members helped paint sections of a wall in First Call for Help’s new building on 13th Street.

The money raised from the Amazing Race will go to a fund that will help local residents with rent and utility needs.

“I thought it was a really fun event. We had seven teams participate, and they did a good job for our emergency crisis fund to help Ellis County residents in need,” Laura Shoaff of First Call for Help and event organizer said.

Shoaff said she the amount raised has yet to be totaled.

HFD

At 4:44 p.m. Monday, city of Hays emergency dispatchers were alerted to a building fire at 202 East 17^th St. The city of Hays Fire Department, assisted by Ellis County Fire Department Company 5, the Hays Police Department and Ellis County EMS, was immediately dispatched.

Arriving firefighters found a fire in the first floor garage of a two-story dwelling. Two hose lines were used to control the fire. There were no injuries.

The most probable cause of the fire was the ignition of garden mulch by the improper disposal of smoking materials. The wind-driven mulch fire extended to combustible yard furniture and spread into the building.

 Six fire trucks and 28 firefighters responded. The last fire crew left the scene at 6:15 p.m. 

This was the third wind-driven fire to which Hays firefighters responded Monday. At 9:43 a.m. firefighters were dispatched to a fire at 1914 Whittier Road. Arriving firefighters found a fire involving garden mulch that spread to a child’s ride-on plastic battery-powered car, threatening the building.

At 1:27 p.m. firefighters responded to the 300 block of Mopar Drive for a grass fire. The most probable cause of these fires was the improper disposal of smoking materials.

Your Hays firefighters would like to remind everyone to carefully dispose of smoking materials, especially on windy days. The smallest spark can be fanned into a large, fast-moving fire in just minutes. 

 

 

 

By CRISTINA JANNEY
Hays Post

Fort Hays State University graphic design students are highlighting the importance of collaboration in their annual show titled SYMBIO at the Moss-Thorns Gallery of Art.

“SYMBIO is the mutually beneficial relationship that we, as students, have come to know and live by. It is the act of combining different backgrounds, ideas, insights and resources to create unique connections with one another. SYMBIO adapts to perfect the balance of individuality and unity in order to create something beautiful,” the students said in their artists’ statement.

Graphic design work of 16 senior graphic design students is on display at the gallery through Friday, March 9. Gallery hours are 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Mondays through Fridays. The show is a culmination of all the students’ work toward graduation. Show catalogs, which the students also designed, are available at the gallery that discuss more about the students’ projects.

Michael Stueve, Erin Pascal and Jhoselin Dominguez created a 20-minute video that illustrates the students’ creative process and collaboration in creating projects for the show. The video is shown on a loop in the gallery during exhibit hours.

“We took the narrative of what it is like to receive projects and what the process is with them. We took the process of where people find inspiration … and the majority of the project is where they find inspiration and how they think through it. Our show (is) SYMBIO, which is taken off the scientific term symbiosis, which is a mutually beneficial relationship between two different animals. In people’s look for inspiration, they found inspiration most in each other.”

The video is also meant to showcase all of the students’ digital works.

Through setting up the show, Stueve said he learned cooperation and collaboration. He said he found, “the relationship we have with each other and the ability we have with each other and to inspire better, fresher ideas and talents from each other.”

Dominguez said she learned to better appreciate her fellow students’ work through creating the video.

Stueve said, “This whole show has allowed us to get closer to each other now than before, and we hang out more now. It is just a testament to that shared experience that we have here— the long nights and just often grueling work. There is a lot we have to do and a lot that is expected of us and a legacy that we have to uphold both in our work individually and in the show.”

Libby Reimer, Erin Pascal and Kollette Keeton created a branding project for a craft beer. They dubbed it Malster, the term for a brewer in medieval times.

The students used a medieval theme and horses for the beer packaging. They sandblasted the bottle and used a paper wrap for the outer packaging. The carrier resembles a barn and includes a drinking game called Drunkin’ Stallion with punch-out pieces on the rear of the box. The students also incorporated a green motif into their design to symbolize the green branch medieval brewers would place on top of their doors to signify the brew was ready.

“I think we worked really well together as a team,” Pascal said. “I have worked with other people before, and I think that this group was a really good combination of ideas, and I think we all have very similar work ethics.”

Ashley Hildebrand, senior, created CD packaging for the SWMERS “Drive North” album.

She was inspired by illustrator Jay Ryan, who has a cartoon style that often includes animals. The inside of the album opens up accordion-style to reveal a road heading north with various stops along the way denoting the track titles. The final stop on the road is Oakland, California, where the band was formed. The CD itself forms a setting sun in the package.

Hildebrand said her dream job would be to work in the music industry designing album covers, advertising and merchandise for bands.

“It helped me realize what I am most passionate about in design and what I want to strive for when I graduate,” she said.

Graphic design professor and exhibit director Karrie Simpson Voth said she was proud of the amount and quality of the work for this show, especially considering this year’s small senior class. She said the students learn much from putting on the show. They design and organize every aspect of the show, including creating tags and posters, taking photos and recruiting sponsors.

“The students learn professionalism and work in a team,” Simpson Voth said.

Students featured include Julia Blasdel, Jhoselin Dominguez, Rebekka Flax, Abby Garrett, Yichao “Rocky” Guo, Adily Hendricks, Jenice Hernandez, Ashley Hildebrand, Bryce Irvine, Kollette Keeten, Kaylea Nelson, Erin Pascal, Libby Reimer, Corbin Robinson, Michael Stueve, and Patrick Twiss. The graphic design professors also included Chaiwat Thumsujarit.