By CRISTINA JANNEY
Hays Post

The Hays City Commission heard a report Thursday night on a bid to replace concrete on the Fort Hays Municipal Golf Course cart paths.

Jeff Boyle, parks director, is proposing concrete replacement for the back-nine cart paths. The current paths were installed in 1998.

Morgan Brothers Construction of La Crosse has submitted the low bid of $100,000. The repairs are being paid for through trail fees from all members and nonmembers who use their own carts on the paths.

Mayor Shaun Musil asked why staff was not doing the project.

“It is a continual process that we had so many projects going on that we can’t get enough people focused and concentrated on that job long enough to get it done, to be truthful about it,” Boyle said. “We have a lot of golfers who are concerned at this point that they are spending this money every year for cart path trail fees and not enough is getting done. That is why we are asking for this money.”

The work is anticipated to start in January and be completed by May 15.

Specific holes might have to be temporarily closed during construction, but Boyle said the complete back nine will not have to be closed while the work is being done. Players will be allowed to drive the fairway during the work.

Two smaller areas along hole 17 and the path back to the cart shed will still need to be repaired and will be done as the funds become available.

By CRISTINA JANNEY
Hays Post

The Ellis County fire chief and emergency manager met with the Hays City Commission on Thursday night to discuss improvements to the 911 communications system.

The city has an agreement with Ellis County by which the city provides the dispatchers and Ellis County provides the consoles and 911 radio trunking equipment. Within the last five years, Ellis County has made a significant investment in upgrading not only the radio trunking equipment, but also the consoles and communication equipment.

The 911 system can now take information through voice call or text. The information for a 911 call shows up on a series of screens for the dispatcher, said Darin Myers, Ellis County fire chief and emergency manager. The system uses GPS to identify an area where the call is coming from. It will ping the phone several times during the call to narrow the location.

The county recently upgraded to an NG-911 system. Instead of having a standard phone line that comes into the dispatch center, they are all connected via fiber.

Emergency personnel are paged from two towers in the county via a data line. One tower is at 230th and Feedlot, and the other is southwest of Hays on Spring Hill.

The new equipment being used in the 911 center is more compact, but the county has retained the old equipment with the idea it might install it as a backup system in case the new system would ever go down, Myers said.

The Hays Fire Department is supposed to have a certain amount of dispatch circuits because of the numbers of calls it receives. The department has to have layers of redundancy to make sure the system is working. Before this year’s upgrade, it only had one. Now it has the required two.

Another upgrade was the addition of 4G-LTE backup so if the fiber line goes down, the dispatch center can still receive phone calls.

There is also now a backup generator and equipment at the north tower to help the equipment there last longer.

Further upgrades allowed the county more flexibility with the type of radios that are purchased.

“If we would not have upgraded that when we bought these radios, it would have limited us to what type of radios we would have to buy, which would have increased the price for each radio,” Myers said. “That cost would be distributed to everyone in Ellis County that uses it, including the city of Hays for the fire and PD and Ellis and Victoria PD. … It gives us more ability to buy a cheaper radio now to save money in the future.”

The county also upgraded its recorder. It records all its phone calls and radio channels.

The city has re-formed a joint city/county emergency communications group, which is developing a strategic plan for communications. In addition to identifying the importance of the continuance of the new group, the group identified funding, enhanced data and mobile data terminals as goals.

The upgrades that were completed last year cost more than $800,000. Radios that were approved for purchase Monday night would have cost $760,000 without the discount the county received. Myers said funds for future infrastructure improvements need to be identified.

Enhanced data uses GPS to help locate calls. The county is buying radios with the GPS functions, but money has not been identified for the infrastructure on the dispatch side. That upgrade would likely take another couple of years, Myers said.

Mobile data terminals reduce radio traffic because it uses GPS to automatically track emergency personnel. When personnel arrive on scene, the computer shows dispatch they are there and they don’t have to call in. It also automatically changes your radio channel so you are on the right tactical channel among many other features.

By CRISTINA JANNEY
Hays Post

A Wichita developer announced today the intent to build a new 500-seat, 8,400-square-foot conference center and hotel west of the Hays Walmart.

The Hilton Garden Inn will have 100 beds and contain a small restaurant and bar. It would employ the equivalent of about 35 full-time employees.

Ground could be broken as soon as April on the new $12 million to $14 million facility with the center opening in 12 to 14 months, developer Raju Sheth said.

The project will be located in the Ottley Addition, which is being considered for annexation by the city. City staff recommended the annexation to the city commission during a work session Thursday night, saying it was contiguous with the current city limits, was a likely location for future development and was readily accessible to the extension of city services.

The Hays Area Planning Commission is scheduled to have a public hearing on rezoning the land from Agricultural to C-2 Commercial on Dec. 18. The property is surrounded by existing Commercial (C-2) zoning, Walmart, Carrico Implement and Mid Kansas Auto Auction. Ottley is the owner of Mid Kansas Auto Auction.

The preliminary plat of the Ottley Addition was approved Nov. 20.

The city commissioners had no questions on the project Thursday night.

Sheth said Hays is in need of conference space, and the developers would like to get the project off the ground sooner rather than later.

“It makes the most sense in Hays,” he said. “There is no space for big weddings or small conventions to fit other than the university.”

Sheth said he thought the new space would be complimentary to Fort Hays State University and might be used by the school to bring in future events. The center will include the latest in video and audio equipment.

In addition to the hotel and conference center, the development will have space for a new stand-alone restaurant and strip mall.

Developers have included plans for additional parking as well as work on 43rd Street.

Aaron White, executive director of the Ellis County Coalition for Economic Development, said the Coalition and the Hays Convention and Visitors Bureau have been trying to get a convention center in Hays since at least 2011. White has been working with this developer since this summer.

“We are very excited to see this project go forward,” he said. “A product with a full-service hotel and conference center has great potential, and we are glad to see it happening.”

Multiple conferences over the years have expressed interest in staging in Hays, but there was not space for them, White said. One of these has included the Kansas Department of Commerce Rural Opportunities Conference, which draws about 200 to 250 attendees.

The economic impact of a facility such as this does not just come from the taxes generated by the center but by the secondary spending by people who use the center on things such as gas, restaurants and shopping while they are here.

Research indicates Hays has room for another hotel, White said. If a community has 30 or more days per year in which all the hotel rooms are full, market research indicates there is room for more hotel rooms. Hays is averaging about 50 days full per year.

Even though the rooms at the now demolished former Ramada Inn were sub-standard, their removal left a 200-bed void in the city’s hotel stock, White said. The new Hilton Garden and another hotel going in next to JT Travel Plaza is merely replacing the rooms that were lost, White said.

Related story: New $9.64 million hotel project approved by city

By CRISTINA JANNEY
Hays Post

The historic Hays bar the Brass Rail is for sale.

The bar, 114 E. 11th, has operated in downtown Hays since 1943, according to current owner Eric Schuette.

Schuette, who also owns the Sip ‘N’ Spin, wanted to dispel rumors either bar was in financial trouble.

“Basically I am getting older, and the wear and tear of running two bars is getting to me,” said Schuette, 45. “I just want to lighten my load as I get older.”

The Brass Rail remains open and will remain open until such time as a new owner can be found. Schuette said he is under no pressure to sell.

He said he has mixed feelings about the future of the Brass Rail. He said he would like to see the historic bar remain a bar, but he is not opposed to considering a deal from someone who would like to buy the space for another purpose. He said he has soft spot for the historic business, but a new use would mean that the bar would not compete with the Sip ‘N’ Spin, which he intends to continue to run.

“My accountant keeps reminding me that nostalgia doesn’t pay the bills,” he said.

Schuette has been a part of Sip ‘N’ Spin for 22 years and owned the bar for 17 years. He has owned the Brass Rail for 11 years.

He said buying and running the Brass Rail was like owning a piece of Hays history. Schuette has tried to restore the bar to what it was like in previous years.

People often come in and say they met they met their husband or wife at the bar. One of Schuette’s friend’s grandparents and parents met at the local bar.

“It’s got a lot of history for one place,” he said.

Schuette was visiting Kansas City once and mentioned to some strangers that he operated two bars in Hays, Kansas. When he mentioned the Brass Rail, the men, who were from Missouri, smiled and told a story about visiting the bar in 1964.

“People remember that,” he said. “That is what I have always liked about it and that is why I continue to enjoy it over there too. It is a bit of history for Hays.

The 3,750-square-foot bar is listed for sale at $550,000. For more information, contact Tim Cossaart at RE/MAX Hays.

Share your memories of the Brass Rail in the comments.

By CRISTINA JANNEY
Hays Post

Hays USD 489 honored teacher Amy Wasinger with November’s Best of the Best award for her work with a student and his service dog.

Wasinger, a second- and third-grade teacher at O’Loughlin Elementary School, was nominated by parent Roberta Molstad for Wasinger’s help integrating her son Andrew’s service dog, Pickles, into her classroom and the school. Andrew has autism.

“It meant so much,” Molstad said. “You have to love animals, and you have to love children. We are so fortunate that she was willing to take that on.”

Wasinger also took time out of her own schedule to form a relationship with Andrew. During the summer, she met with him at the library, played trains with him and blocks and took him for ice cream, so his first days of school went better. She met him at the school in the summer to show him where his desk would be and where Pickles’ bed would be to reduce his anxiety.

“She always went above and beyond to help Andrew be included,” Molstad said. “She always went out of her way to make him feel loved. Andrew developed leaps and bounds with her. He looked forward to going to school every single day to see Mrs. Wasinger.”

Andrew built a car track at home for her, and Wasinger stopped by the Molstads’ home to look at the car track.

Andrew and Wasinger have matching puzzle piece autism shoes, and Andrew really likes her to wear the matching shoes.

“Amy was always positive about Andrew even when it was a bad day,” Molstad said. “She always found the positive in it. She took time to ask him what was bothering him. We were so blessed to have a wonderful, caring teacher who took on Andrew’s challenges and turned them into positive experiences. I honestly can’t say enough about Mrs. Wasinger. Thank you for all you do.”

Even though Wasinger is not Andrew’s teacher this year, she still helps out. They still exchange hugs. When Andrew is having a rough day and doesn’t want to go to school, Wasinger will meet Andrew at the van at drop off to encourage him.

In the nomination for Wasinger, Andrew also included a note, saying “I love you,” to his favorite teacher.

Hays High School sophomore Kenna Pfannenstiel was nominated by Sue Ann Tebo, Hays High School family consumer science teacher, and Sue Rouse, HHS staff member, for the student Best of the Best Award.

Pfannenstiel was a student in Tebo’s freshman life management class. She invited a guest from Jana’s Campaign to talk to the students about relationships. Jana’s Campaign set up bystander intervention training for the students, in which Pfannenstiel participated.

“Immediately after the training, Kenna came up to me and said, ‘Mrs. Tebo, I love this stuff. I want to get more involved. What can I do to help?’ ” Tebo said.

This year, the high school had two full days of training, and Pfannenstiel was fully involved. Jana’s Campaign coordinated eight trainings for all the HHS freshman, and Pfannenstiel volunteered for all eight of the trainings.

Pfannenstiel also helped raise money from community members and businesses so all the students who took the training could get free Jana’s Campaign bracelets and T-shirts.

“Kenna definitely has a strong desire to be the change that our society definitely needs today,” Tebo said.

Tebo described the training.

“Our bystander training helps individuals recognize inappropriate behaviors, and it teaches them how to step up, step in, if it is a safe situation, and try to intervene in the behavior and the situation. Keeping their safety in mind, students can direct or divert or delegate to defuse the unwanted situations,” she said.

Tebo praised Pfannenstiel’s work with Jana’s Campaign.

“Kenna was definitely an integral part of the domestic violence training,” Tebo said. “Her positive guidance and her eagerness to learn and help, not only helping with me, but all of my students as well along with her leadership abilities — it is just absolutely outstanding. Thank you so much, Kenna. She is awesome.”

 

By CRISTINA JANNEY
Hays Post

Within the next few months, Kuhn’s Diamond Jewelers will move from its downtown Hays location to Tebo Village north of Interstate 70.

Sari Reynolds, owner with her husband Randy, were looking at remodeling their store at 1009 Main when the Tebo Investment Group approached the family with a business opportunity, she said.

“For me, the bulk of the reason is that area is where the people are headed. It is more convenient. I just believe it will be a lot more traffic,” she said.

Reynolds’ family has been in the jewelry business for 87 years and in their present location since 1987. She said she has loved being downtown and will very much miss “The Bricks,” but this move was the right thing to do for the business at this time.

The business is still taking bids on the remodeling for its new location, so it should be sometime in March before the business moves.

The business will be moving from a 2,500-square-foot space downtown to a 2,000-square-foot space at Tebo Village. However, the new location — just east of Smallcakes at 4320 Vine St., Ste. 30 — will allow Kuhn’s to have more showcase area because of its configuration.

The business hopes to expand into new lines, which they will be exploring at an upcoming jewelry show in mid-January.

As the store works on the moving process, Kuhn’s has marked down its current inventory in hopes of starting with new items at the new store.

Although the business will be moving, it will keep its emphasis on providing quality diamonds and settings as well as jewelry design and repair.

“Diamonds will always be our feature, our expertise. That is what we do. Going along with that is going to be the custom design,” Reynolds said.

Brad Hendrich of Kuhn’s is a Gemological Institute of America graduate. All the jewelry repairs are done by Hendrich or Randy Reynolds on site usually in about two to three days.

“We feel we have that guest service here and that knowledge behind us,” said Trey Wentling, store manager and Reynolds’ son-in-law.

He said in-person service will always be something the store will have over internet retailers.

“We have jewelry for everyone — everywhere from the $20 bracelets to the highest-quality diamond engagement rings,” Wentling said. “We try to provide services for everyone and merchandise for everyone.”

Reynolds said the family and its employees will still be visiting downtown, but as customers instead of business owners and employees.

“We want to thank our customers and thank the people of our area, and we hope that they follow us and come see us at our new location,” Reynolds said. “We still provide the same great service and product, and we look forward to seeing them out north of I-70.”