By CRISTINA JANNEY
Hays Post

The Hays Post chose four home-grown businesses to highlight as innovators in the local community. These included RANS Design, Joe Bob Outfitters, Pat’s Beef Jerky and Diamond R Jewelry. If you have a local business you would like to see profiled, email Cristina Janney at [email protected].

RANS Design

RANS Design, an innovator in aircraft design, has been located in Hays since 1974. Randy Schlitter, who grew up in Russell, is founder and creative force behind RANS. He started the business by designing and manufacturing sail trikes.

Now the company, located at 4600 Highway 183 Alternate, is designing all-metal kit aircraft for flight hobbyists around the world.

Flying is a more accessible sport than some may realize, Schlitter said. You can purchase an airplane for about the same cost as a new car. Most municipal airports have a flight-school, which makes learning to fly accessible to even those in rural areas. The Hays airport passes dozens of new pilots through every year.

A drafting board sits in the corner of Schlitter’s office, but most of his designing is now done on computer.

“It has become an art form,” he said of the designs.

The company’s latest release is its new Outbound series. RANS intends to offer it in two- and four-seat versions.

Schlitter said he has loved and hated being in Hays. The community is clean, friendly and easy to get around on his bicycle. However, Hays is far away from many amenities available in large cities.

The company moved some manufacturing away from Hays a few years ago, but the company is considering bringing it back. RANS currently employs 20 workers in Hays.

“Hays has an advantage that it has a good workforce. Employees have a good work ethic locally,” Schlitter said.

Schlitter is reaching retirement age, and said he hopes in the next few years to hand off the leadership to others in his company.

Joe Bob Outfitters

Joseph Boeckner started Joe Bob Outfitters in 2010 Hays with just $5,000 and 14 products. The company has since grown to a national online force that has shipped more than half a million orders to all 50 states, Puerto Rico and Guam.

Although Boeckner has a storefront on Vine, about 90 percent of his business is online. The business has tried to find a niche by offering hard-to-find parts, accessories and ammo that are not carried by big box outfitters like Cabela’s or discount stores like Walmart.

“We have evolved quite a bit,” Boeckner said. “I had not intended us to be this large, but the market decided.”

Joe Bob tries to be a one-stop shop for gun enthusiasts with top customer service and quick shipping. Logistically, Hays is in a good location for Joe Bob’s online business. He can ship to either coast within two to three business days.

The business tries to keep lots of eggs in lots of baskets. Boeckner said diversity helps him weather downturns in the economy as guns are a luxury and not a necessity.

Boeckner served in the Army National Guard. When he left the Army, he enrolled at Fort Hays State University. However, he found he was doing much of what he was being taught in class in his business. He decided to leave school and concentrate on Joe Bob Outfitters.

Boeckner said he has had to learn to flex his business model and change the businesses inventory based on the demands of the market. Some of the main lines Boeckner started with just seven years ago have already been discontinued.

“You can’t paint yourself into a corner” he said. “You have to be efficient and stay in your wheelhouse.”

Pat’s Beef Jerky

Pat’s Beef Jerky in Liebenthal has been cranking out its signature beef jerky for 27 years.

Pat Carver and his crew make about 30,000 pounds of jerky each year. Not only can you pick up the jerky at Carver’s small processing facility off U.S. Highway 183 in Liebenthal, but Carver ships jerky all over the United States.

Among his customers have been NBA and NFL players and Tiger Woods’ caddy. Pat’s has even shipped to the White House.

Although Liebenthal is a small place, 70 percent of Pat’s business still is walk-in. Carver used to have a map hanging in the shop that showed the hometowns of all his customers. They included places as far away as Japan and Alaska.

Although Carver had worked in meat processing for grocery stores, he fell into the jerky business by accident. Someone asked Carver to make some beef jerky. He experimented with recipes until he developed the famous formula he sells today.

The business started out as a part-time job for his parents, Ray and Velma Carver. However, what was supposed to be a two-to-three-day-a-week job quickly became a full-time business. Pat quit his job working for the city of Hays and went to work full time making jerky.

The beef for the jerky is sourced locally from Kansas. Pat’s offers four flavors: regular, peppered, hot and teriyaki. The business also sells ring bologna, summer sausage and brats.

He would not reveal the formula but said, “We have a good quality jerky. It’s tender and a little easier to chew, so you don’t have to pull your teeth out.”

Making the jerky is a three-day process. The meat is sliced and marinated, dried and then packaged.

Celebrities have tried to partner with Carver to market his jerky nationally, but Carver declined. The big names wanted to significantly mark up the cost to consumers, and Carver didn’t want to be associated with that.

Carver is nearing retirement age and said he hopes to eventually hand off the business to someone younger.

“I have enjoyed it,” he said. “I have enjoyed meeting the people.”

If you can’t make it to Liebenthal, Pat’s jerky is available locally at Cerv’s locations.

Diamond R. Jewelry

Dustin Roths started Diamond R Jewelry in 2011 with $12,500 and a 300-square-foot space in the Hadley Center.

A few friends pitched in $2,500 each for a 2.5 percent share in the company.

He knew breaking into the fine jewelry business would be tough, but he hoped he could parlay his experience working at a local jewelry store in college and a high-end store in Overland Park and a business plan that focused on customer service into a successful business.

Diamond R is now located downtown at 807 Main and is selling more than three times his initial investment every month.

The store carries 1,500 engagement sets and wedding bands and has been popular with students in the area seeking engagement sets. Diamond R is a diamond broker, which allows the store to offer competitive prices and design pieces that fit each couple’s budget. The store also offers a selection of estate jewelry as well as colored gem stones such as rubies and emeralds.

Roths knew he had to be very aggressive on price and marketing as he was trying to break in against stores that had been the community 80 and 20 years.

“My thought process was I knew a lot of people in Hays, and that would help us get started,” he said.

Roths said he has enjoyed the store’s downtown location and participating in many community events. He wants the business to be a part of the community.

“Because we have someone in here for a drink and to hang out,” Roths said, “they may see something, and when Christmas rolls around and it is still in the case, they come in and buy it.”

Hays’ regional pull as a shopping center has helped Roths build his business. His customers have been willing to travel, and he is pulling customers from as far away as Salina.

Although Diamond R has an online presence, it’s the in-person personal touch that has been the business’ bread and butter. The store is using the website to market one-of-kind pieces. He used the example of a pink/peach padparadscha sapphire. A $4,000 ring like that might sit on the shelf for two years, but the store could find someone online that would love and cherish it, Roths said.

Roths is considering expanding to another location and has considered Wichita, Lawrence or Kansas City. However, he worries about being able to replicate the customer service experience he has developed in Hays.

“The big question is training,” he said. “Can we find the same kind of help that will offer the same kind of service and quality we offer? I am not sure if we can replicate what we do here.”

Hays Post

Carla Eddie Barber, McPherson, formerly of Hays, will sign copies of her recently published fantasy fiction novel, “Brennem Wild,” from 9 to 11 a.m. Saturday, Nov. 18 at Craft Coffee, 120 N. Main St., McPherson.

Barber, a Fort Hays State University grad with bachelor’s and master’s degrees in English, was curator and then director of the Ellis County Historical Society for 10 years, from 1995 to 2005.

Also on hand to sign their work will be the book’s illustrators, Dr. Alisha Mervyn, who created the cover, and graphic artist Britny Arnett, who created the six interior illustrations.

In addition to copies of the book for sale, artwork from both artists will be on display. The trio welcomes fantasy fiction fans, friends and well-wishers to stop by for a cup of coffee and a chat. The book is also available online at Amazon.com and on Kindle. For more information, visit the Brennem Wild Facebook page.

“Brennem Wild” is the first of a series focusing on a smart but introverted Chicago native who finds herself suddenly on another world, in some ways similar, but in others highly different from her own. Her quest to find a way home leads her into some dangerous, and some awkwardly hilarious, adventures.

Barber calls this series a salute to her hero, C.S. Lewis’s, Narnia series. Some elements, such as the switch of worlds and talking creatures, are similar, but so is the use of the novel to discuss deeper topics. However, while Lewis’s series was written for children, “Brennem Wild” is intended for adults, although appropriate for younger voracious readers who’ve enjoyed fantasy such as J.R.R. Tolkein’s Ring series.

By CRISTINA JANNEY
Hays Post 

The Fort Hays State Presidential Speaker series brought three prominent military leaders to campus for a panel discussion titled “The US Military’s Role in Global Security,” and the discussion quickly turned Thursday night to North Korea.

The panel was moderate by Jamelle Bouie, Slate’s chief political correspondent and a contributor to publications such as The Atlantic, The Washington Post, The New York Times, TIME and the New Yorker. The panelists were Cdr. Kirk Lippold, Gen. Barry McCaffrey and Gen. Peter Pace.

Cdr. Kirk Lippold retired from the U.S. Navy in 2007 after 26 years of service. He was commanding officer of the USS Cole when it came under a suicide terrorist attack by al Qaeda in the port of Aden, Yemen, in 2000. Lippold’s personal awards include the Defense Superior Service Medal (three awards), Combat Action Ribbon, Navy Commendation Medal (two awards), Joint Service Achievement Medal and Navy Achievement Medal (two awards), in addition to various campaign and service ribbons.

Gen. Barry McCaffrey served in the U.S. Army for 32 years and retired as a four-star general. At retirement, he was the most highly decorated serving general, having been awarded three Purple Hearts, two Distinguished Service Crosses and two Silver Stars for valor. For five years after leaving the military, McCaffrey served as the director of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP).

Gen. Peter Pace retired from active duty on Oct. 1, 2007, after more than 40 years of service in the U.S. Marine Corps. Pace was sworn in as 16th Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff in 2005. In this capacity, he served as the principal military adviser to the president, the Secretary of Defense, the National Security Council and the Homeland Security Council. Prior to becoming Chairman, Pace served as Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. He holds the distinction of being the first Marine to have served in either of these positions.

In June 2008, Pace was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian honor a president can bestow. He is a member of the Director of National Intelligence (DNI) Senior Advisory Group, and has served on the president’s Intelligence Advisory Board, and the Secretary of Defense’s Defense Policy Board.

Pace began the discussion by saying the president has many tools to contain North Korea.

“The truth of the matter is that North Korea is not going to be dictated to on the outside by Twitter or any other way,” he said.

Pace said China and other countries in the region are going to need to be brought on board to form a regional response to North Korea. Some of these can include China, the United States, South Korea, Japan and other countries that are interested in the South China Sea, including Vietnam, Malaysia, the Philippians and Indonesia.

The Chinese are not happy with U.S. support of Taiwan. Pace said the U.S. could use trade, or the manner in which it discusses Taiwan, as leverage to entice China to be more forthcoming with its influence on North Korea. With United States focused on North Korea, China is free to do what it wants in the South China Sea, including building up artificial reefs in attempts to expand its territory and influence, Pace said.

China may be motivated by the possibility of America troops on its border with North Korea.

“If there were a war, we would certainly prevail, and if we did prevail, that would put U.S. troops on the north border of North Korea,” Pace said.

With North Korea firing missiles over Japanese territory, the Japanese at some point could seek to obtain nuclear capabilities. This too would not be in the interest of the Chinese, Pace said.

“Some combination of things that are important to China, things that are important to South Korea and Japan and the United States, some combination of that will get us to a dialogue that will allow diplomacy to take hold that can get us to where we want to be, and the president will have more tools at his disposal to get us to that dialogue,” Pace said.

McCaffrey described North Korea as the most desperately cruel place on earth — a poor country wrapped around an army. Over three generations, the North Koreans have been molded to the mindset they would gain nuclear weapons, unite the peninsula and drive the U.S. out of the region.

“They have learned that if you provoke South Korea or the U.S. and then demand negotiations, you will get rewarded and you can provoke again. Essentially, in that period of time, we never took military retaliations, neither the United Sates or South Korea,” he said.

McCaffrey said if North Korea engaged the U.S. in open war, they would destroy North Korean army and its government in less than six months with terrible humanitarian consequences, and in the end it very well may go nuclear.

“There is this tremendous potential for a literal regional armageddon, which we would win, but none of us want to go down that route. The South Koreans and the Japanese and Australians are never going to agree to a pre-emptive conventional strike to take out the nuclear capability, so we are going to have to go back to diplomacy and economic power.”

McCaffrey said he was very concerned about the president’s use of language, calling Kim Jong Un, “little rocket man,” and threatening the use of military force.

“Two years ago, I would have said there was a 5 percent chance of war. As of this time around and listening to the president talk, I am saying 51 percent by next summer unless the Chinese come to their senses and realize their purposes are ill-served by conventional war in the region,” he said.

Lippold said the real two players in the region are the United States and China. There is a tremendous amount that can be done diplomatically and economically and to inform people in the United States, Japan, South Korea and even China that our intentions are not to drive North Korea out of power.

China can’t afford any conflict with the United States and will be the linchpin, Lippold said.

“The United States cannot afford to let a country gain nuclear weapons for the first time in our history,” he said, “to threaten us with the offensive use of those weapons in the manner that they gain more capability and credibility to use them so that Kim Jong Un is in fact becoming that clear and present danger.

“China will not want to (go to war) because of the economic impact it would have not only on them but the United States as well. Let’s face it, there are billions of dollars in trade and trillions of dollars in debt that they hold of the United States. They would not want to engage in it,” he said.

“I believe if the North Koreans continue to threaten us with those nuclear weapons that China, with North Korea as their only political ally, would go right up to the brink of nuclear war and then they would negotiate back from there to bring the tensions down, but I think it is literally going to take up to that point to get there, and the United States is going to be in that unfortunately position. … We have spent 50 years negotiating and what has it accomplished? At the end of the day, nothing. That is going to have to be resolved, unfortunately by this administration,” Lippold said.

McCaffrey said despite threats of biowarfare, proliferation of nuclear weapons, terrorism and international crime the U.S. has the strongest and most prepared army in the world and the United States is safer than it has been its history.

Pace added, “When you are seeing military leaders go in front of Congress and ask for more of your tax dollars, it is not because they want to use those weapons in war. It is because we believe it is the strength of our military that prevents us from having to fight most places on the planet. The weaker your military, the more likely that someone is going to test you out.”

The U.S. can secure the world climate by being so clearly superior that nobody wants to take us on, Pace said, and therefore they will resort to terrorism or cyberwarfare, which is not good, but it is better than the devastation of conventional warfare or better they are going to realize that combat is not going to get them their aims and they will resort to diplomacy.

“What your military does best is not fight, and the reason they get to not fight is because they are the best fighters on the planet,” Pace said.

Lippold described the military as a weapon of last resort.

“We have to have the credibility, that when pushed, should the United States military need to or must be used to defend our national security or the surrounding world, we have the credibility that we are willing to exercise that option as a last resort and do it decisively, do it overwhelmingly and do it in a manner that ends the issue on a permanent basis,” he said.

The panel also discussed the need for adequate military funding and the need for long-term presence and support in countries in which the U.S. has been militarily involved.

By CRISTINA JANNEY
Hays Post

The CROSSROADS/Total Praise group from Hays has been invited to perform at Carnegie Hall as part of Distinguished Concerts International New York’s (DCINY) “Appalachian Winter: A Bluegrass Christmas.”

Joseph Martin, composer, has produced an original score for the event, which he will also conduct at 7 p.m. Monday, Nov. 27.

Caitlin Leiker, 14, a freshman at Hays High School, will be one of the youngest performers in the production.

Melody Barton, the Leiker’s next door neighbor, is a member of CROSSROADS/Total Praise and has worked with Martin before. She contacted Martin about Caitlin, and he suggested Total Praise bring Leiker along to perform in New York. Five people from the group, including Caitlin will perform at Carnegie Hall. They are Barton, Hannah Barrett, Lee Fisher and Lynn Fisher.

“I knew that she has been in Honor Choirs, the Ad Astra Festival Choir, competed in District and State Competitions, getting high ratings, and participating in community and school musical productions,” Barton said of Leiker. “I knew that she had a lovely voice and was able to read music very well!”  

Jodie Leiker, Caitlin’s mother, said the trip should be a good experience as Caitlin will be exposed to more mature voices through the show.

Leiker has been singing since she could talk. She also plays piano. She won the Hays Middle School talent competition two years running.

She performed this summer in “Mary Poppins” with the Hays Community Theatre and at the Ad Astra Music Festival in Russell. She is a citizen in the HHS’s upcoming performance of “The Hunchback of Notre Dame.” She taught herself to juggle for the festival scene of the musical.

Leiker loves to sing and perform. She said her favorite part of performing is seeing the end product.

“The hard work is tough going into to it, but the final product when it just all pays off …  You put in all this hard work, and just to see the polished product at the end of it … It just feels so good to perform,” she said.

She said she is nervous, but “It is a really good nervous. I am really excited to go.”

She has ambition to try out for the Hays High Chamber Singers next year. However, her ultimate dreams for her music are humble.

“Everybody dreams of making it big with the things that they love, but if I can find one person and be an inspiration to them — one person younger than me saying when I get older I want to be like them,” she said. “I am meeting all kinds of people just in the high school musical that I am looking up to — just amazing people with amazing talents. They have been there for me as friends. I want to be that friend, just somebody who is looked up to and inspires somebody to be better.”

Leiker also has an interest in visual arts and hopes to study graphic design while in high school. She could image herself as an art director for a magazine or movies.

The Leiker family plans to head to New York about a week in advance of the concert. Caitlin has never been to the city. They plan to see “Anastasia” on Broadway because Caitlin was in a past production of “Anastasia.” They also plan to go skating a Rockefeller Center, see the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade, see the Rockettes and go on a Christmas lights tour.

By CRISTINA JANNEY
Hays Post

The Hays USD 489 $78.5 million school bond failed Tuesday night by more than 1,000 votes, with 60 percent of voters casting ballots against the proposal.

Superintendent John Thissen said Tuesday night he thought the tax increase and the duration of the bond were factors in the bond’s defeat.

The 30-year bond would have increased taxes on a $150,000 home by $16.43 per month.

Thissen said the facility needs have not gone away, and the district will need to bring another bond forward.

“I would say the results are a point of reference we work from at this point,” he said. “We are about trying to create a plan that the community would support and this definitely indicates this was not, at this point. We need to end up doing more work. There is no question that the buildings still need attention.”

Lincoln Elementary School and Washington school, where the Early Child Connections program is housed, are both more than 90 years old. Lincoln had a major sewer line break Tuesday, which is being worked on today. The school has had significant boiler problems, and the boiler is difficult to repair because it is obsolete.

Thissen said he did not think the “no” vote was a vote against all facility improvements at Hays schools. He said the district needs to keep working on its plan.

Voters also rejected a $94-million bond issue in June 2016.

“A bond issue for schools is not like a competition between two teams to determine who is the visitor,” Thissen said in a written statement Wednesday. “It is actually more like the components of the same team trying to make decisions for the betterment of the whole team or community. The challenge is much like owners, managers or coaches have on professional teams. We have a range of feelings as great as people wanting for their children what other children have in other communities to people who see money put into to schools as having nothing to do with them. … The challenge is that we as school employees work for all of them.”

Thissen said school officials are public servants. He added it is common for districts to propose multiple bonds before one is accepted by the community.

“Roads, water and electricity are a few parts of a community that are viewed as essential and are regularly utilized by all,” he said. “Public education is compartmentalized much differently by many people. Our task is to work with everyone and develop a plan that can be embraced by the public. Our task also includes making sure the plan is responsible for the needs of our children for years to come. This will be accomplished.”

The district’s next steps will be to conduct surveys and review why those who voted no did so. Thissen said he did not think waiting to move forward with another bond issue would benefit the district.

“When you end up having that kind of number that is not for it, it is important to determine specifics of what were the main details about it that were just not agreeable,” Thissen said. “It may not be a matter of just the total dollars. It may have been other factors involved, and we need to move on from there.”

School Board President Lance Bickle, who was re-elected Tuesday night, said he was disappointed in the vote, but said the board will continue to move forward with maintenance and facilities improvements regardless of the bond defeat. The district still plans to move forward with a major upgrade to the Hays High School HVAC system in the coming year.

Mike Walker also won a seat on the school board Tuesday night. He served as a member of the Community Vision Team that helped develop the bond.

“I am frustrated that it went down,” he said. “I understand that anytime you are asking people to raise their own taxes, it is going to be a long shot. I am not shocked. … It is a little ridiculous to think it is a surprise it went down. I am a bit surprised it went down. I thought we had a better chance of getting it passed”

Chris Dinkel, also a member of the Community Vision team, said he thought the district put together a good plan and he was also disappointed the bond failed.

“The needs of the district aren’t going to go away,” he said. “A bond is never defeated; it is just pushed back. We are going to have to do something, but we are going to have to see what it is in the coming months and years.”

The bond would have built two new elementary schools to replace Lincoln and Wilson schools. Renovations would have been done to Roosevelt Elementary School, the middle school and high school, including the addition of a new auditorium at HHS.

O’Loughlin Elementary School would have been renovated to accommodate the Westside program, Early Childhood Connections and the Learning Center.

Secured entrances, storm shelters and right-sized classrooms were also part of the bond proposal.

It has been more than 25 years since Hays passed its last bond issue.

Thissen did not have the exact amount the district spent on the bond proposal. It paid for multiple informational flyers that were sent to residents. Money was raised separately through the vote yes campaign for other promotional efforts for the bond. The district architectural firm, DLR, also invested in the project, but passage of the bond was a condition of payment.

Unofficial results. Does not include mail or provisional ballots. Results will not be official until the canvas on Nov. 13.

Hays City Commission
3 positions

Dustin Glen Roths 1789
Roger Agnew 345
Christopher S. Dinkel 1806
Sandra Jacobs 2719
John C. Mayers 1084
Shaun Musil 3202
Write-in 93

Hays USD 489 school board
3 positions

Lance Bickle 3266
Sophia Rose Young 2583
Michael S. Walker 2726
Write-in 1607

Hays USD 489 bond issue 

No 3430  60.85 — percent
Yes 2207 39.15 — percent

Ellis mayor

David R. McDaniel 294
Dena Patee 236

Ellis City Treasurer

Faith Ann Scheck 500

Ellis City Council
3 positions

Bret Andries 337
Holly A. Aschenbrenner 299
Martin V. LaBarge 238
Brian Raub 184
Robert A. Redger 367

Ellis USD 388
3 positions

Vic Winter 213
Brian W. Fischer 209
Mike Gaschler 313
Jared Schiel 443
Write-in 463

Schoenchen city mayor

Schoenchen city council
5 positions

Victoria mayor

John Schulte 287
Write-in 10

Victoria City Council
3 positions

Jerry Brungardt 129
Zach Kanzenbach 151
Ryan Lichter 226
James L. Pfanenstiel 147
Harland Rupp 167
John P. Toth 83

Victoria USD 432 school board
3 positions

Ryan Mauch 228
Karen Nowak 207
Jennifer Pfeifer 207
Alan Schulte 242
Jeanna Wellbrock 260

By CRISTINA JANNEY
Hays Post

The United Way of Ellis County has just reached the halfway point of its campaign — but still needs your help.

The campaign has raised $227,000 of its $450,000 goal. The organization has two months to reach its goal.

The United Way is in its last week of its online fundraising auction, which will come to an end at 9 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 12. All proceeds of the online auction benefit the United Way and its partner agencies.

One of the signature items is a African photo Safari to Zulu Nyala private game reserve. The retail value on the trip is $5,950, and the minimum opening bid is $1,500. This does not include airfare, but there is an exclusive opportunity for an airfare discount through South African Airlines.

Situated near Hluhluwe, Kwa Zulu Natel, South Africa, the reserve will allow visitors to experience elephant, rhino, leopard, buffalo, cheetah, giraffe, hippo, zebra, nyala, dudu, crocodiles and other more plains game.

The trip includes six days and six nights accommodation at Zulu Nyala Heritage Safari Lode, or Heminway Luxury Tented Camp (depending on availability). Two game viewing drives per day on Zulu Nyala Game Reserve (morning and afternoon drives). Meals are included.

Two safari packages are up for bid. The high bidder will set the price at the auction and the back-up bidder should pay the same high bid price. The winners of the auction have up to two years to take the trip. More information is available on the bid site or call the United Way office at 785-629-8281.

Go to www.liveunited.us or www.auctionrules.com to bid. You can also donate directly online on the United Way website.

Some of the other items include a Traeger grill, a 32-inch Smart television, a $250 gift certificate to Ashley Furniture, a 3-piece entertainment center with a retail cost of $2,825, FHSU season basketball tickets, Dustin Colquitt Kansas City Chiefs autographed mini football.

Other items include restaurant gift certificates, home decor, apparel, sports memorabilia, service gift certificates and Hays Recreation Center gift memberships, among many other items.

Night of Giving

The United Way conducted its Night of Giving Friday night at Big Creek Crossing. The event raised $1,400 with 70 supporter tickets purchased, which was down from $2,000 last year.  There was music, wine tasting, and appetizers provided by each of the participating stores.  

“UWEC is very appreciative of the support of Big Creek Crossing and the participating merchants for the wonderful and entertaining atmosphere,” Sherry Dryden, United Way of Ellis County executive director, said via email Monday.

United Way has dine out days Tuesday at Pizza Hut (5 to 8 p.m.), Sip ‘N’ Spin all day on Nov. 13 and Whiskey Creek on Nov. 28 ( 5 p.m. to 9 p.m.). A percentage of each of these restaurants’ proceeds on these specified days will go to United Way.