By CRISTINA JANNEY
Hays Post

Hays USD 489 school board candidates were asked Tuesday night about a proposed $78.5 million school bond that will be up for a vote Nov. 7.

A candidate forum was hosted at the Fort Hays State University Memorial Union by the Hays Area Chamber of Commerce and the FHSU Student Government Association. The four participants are vying for three open seats on the board.

Kevin Daniels, a minister at the Hays Christian Church and a write-in candidate, focused on the importance of storm shelters and secure entrances that would be added if the bond passes.

“To not have storm shelters at our schools is unacceptable,”  Daniels said. “I heard someone saying earlier today only one student has ever died at a school during a tornado. That is appalling to me because what if that was your student? What if that was your child? We need storm shelters in our schools.”

Daniels also noted the schools need to be Americans with Disabilities Act compliant. Roosevelt Elementary School has a storm shelter, but it is in the basement, which makes it inaccessible to children in wheelchairs.

“We have to make sure we are providing an equal education to all students regardless of their abilities,” he said.

Daniels also said schools need to hope for the best and prepare for the worst and that means secure entrances at all schools.

Mike Walker is the director of the Docking Institute for Public Affairs and was a member of the Community Vision Team that created the current bond issue. He noted the Hays school district has not had a successful bond issue since 1992 when a small bond was passed for repairs and HVAC upgrades for several schools.

“While nobody wants to increase their own taxes,” he said, “I think we have to realize that is time for a new bond to be passed.”

Walker said this bond is totally different from the $94 million bond that failed in 2016. This is a 30-year bond with improvements that will last 40 to 50 years, he said.

Lance Bickle, current school board president, said the most important part of the bond is the education piece.

“As Mr. Walker alluded to — taxes. Nobody likes them, and I am right there with you. I don’t like taxes any more than the next person. I also think we need to look at this as a long-term investment in our community,” he said.

Bickle also noted Hays has not had a bond in many years, whereas peer districts have had two, three or four bonds.

The vision team that put the bond together listened to input about school needs from community members, parents and teachers, he said.

Sophia Rose Young is a parent of two and the donor communications manager at Developmental Services of Northwest Kansas.

“I really believe the district does need a bond,” she said. “What that bond looks like … if this is the bond or not, I don’t know. That is up to the community vote. I think the board made the right decision to put it in front of the community and let them decide because the Vision Team did put a lot of energy into it.”

Young noted the state has placed a limit on amount of bond debt that can be issued in the state each year. Hays is exempt from that law for this bond because it has been more than 25 years since its last bond issue. The bond is large, but the district might not be able to secure funding in the future if the district split the work into two or more smaller bonds.

The candidates were also asked what they thought the board should do to address facilities needs if the bond does not pass.

Walker said the board is already taking steps to address some facilities needs separate from the bond issue.

“If the bond does not pass, there are going to have to be some hard decisions what to do because the money will have to come out of capital outlay,” he said.

One of the issues the bond would address would be more classroom space. An alternative to building expansions could be temporary classrooms. The cafeteria at the middle school will still need to be expanded because it was constructed to handle a great deal fewer students than it is handling today.

When Bickle was elected to the board four years ago, he said his priorities were long-range planning, budgeting and maintenance. He said the board is addressing maintenance issues and will continue to do so if the bond fails.

“I did not think it was responsible from a board perspective to think that we were going to pass a bond or if it failed that it was just going to fix all our problems,” he said. “I really felt we needed to get a maintenance plan in place and to begin working on things regardless of what happened with the bond and proving we were fiscally responsible with the taxpayers’ money.”

Some of the projects the board has approved were upgrades to the middle school HVAC system and upgrades to LED lighting at the high school.

“Having said that,” Bickle added, “there is a long list of things that need to be addressed in this district, and we can eventually get to them, but I can’t tell you when that will be because we only have so much money each year to go around to do that. We need to put that toward the most dire needs possible. I think that is something we are continuing to do, and I think we need to continue to do regardless if (the bond) passes or not.”

Young said she believes, if this bond fails, the district would come back with another bond. She said the district would have to re-evaluate maintenance if the bond fails, because some of the needs are tied to the bond at this time.

Daniels said if the bond fails, the district needs to get in a room with people who voted no and ask them why they didn’t vote for the bond.

“If we keep coming up with these great plans, and we try to communicate the benefits of the bond and all the benefits of the things that we are trying to do without actually listening to people and listening to the voters,” he said, “we are going to be in the same boat a year down the road and a year down the road and a year down the road every time we bring up a bond.”

The general election is Nov. 7. Advance voting will begin Oct. 23.

See one-on-one video interviews with the school board candidates Thursday through Saturday on the Hays Post.

By CRISTINA JANNEY
Hays Post

Fort Hays State University students and community members packed more than 30,000 meals bound for Puerto Rico during the Numana Swipe Out Hunger event Saturday.

Based in El Dorado, Numana, is a nonprofit formed in August 2008, as an international hunger relief organization. Since then, it has packaged over 37 million meals across the United States with the help of over 197,000 volunteers.

Organizers estimated 120 people, mostly students, volunteered to pack meals on Saturday at Forsyth Library. This is the sixth year Numana has packed food with Fort Hays.

Numana partners with an organization called Convoy of Hope, which ships the food to areas in need. Numana already sent a shipping container full of 285,000 meals to Puerto Rico, which was hit hard by Hurricane Maria.

The meals packed Saturday will be in the next shipment to Puerto Rico, which will likely make it to the island in the next three to six months.

Numana also has regular partnerships with relief organizations in Haiti and Africa.

The volunteers Saturday helped pack a special meal bag that contains precooked pinto beans, soy and a vitamin packet. Each meal bag can feed up to six people. There are 36 bags in a box and 216 meals in a box.

The meal bags might not look like much, but the contents are designed for nutrition and ease of cooking.

Ashley Burns, event manager, said the meal packs are often mixed with local ingredients to make a stew or casserole.

“We sometimes get a hard time because they are so bland, but in Haiti they add chicken and fish and hot sauce. In Africa, they add vegetables and things they grow in their own harvest,” she said.

Reilly Franek, one of the student coordinators of Global Leadership Project at FHSU, helped organize the event.

“Really, we want to put a focus on how students can make an impact even from here in Kansas on global issues around the world and acute hunger issues around the world,” she said. “Numana provided us with an avenue to do that and get a large amount of students involved at the same time.”

Franek said the sorority Alpha Gamma Delta partnered with Numana and the Global Leadership Project to host the event, and Sigma Sigma Sigma also provided a group of volunteers for the event.

Ashley Templeton, a graduate student in the higher education student affairs program, said she became involved through one of her sorority sisters.

“This is an annual event, and we always want to support (it), and of course, this is a really important cause,” she said of why she came out to volunteer Saturday.

Rachel Ashbaugh, senior in business management, said, “I feel that it is important to give back to others. I wanted to be a part of what is going on today. With everything that is going on with natural disaster, I think it is important not to forget who needs help.”

Sierra Eichman, freshman in biology and pre-med, said “I have helped with something like this with other organizations, and I have seen how this can help other people in other countries.”

Numana packed food with the Hays Rotary this spring and is already planning for an event next year at FHSU.

If you wish to donate to Numana or volunteer for a future event, visit its website at https://numanainc.com/.

By CRISTINA JANNEY
Hays Post

The dark sky was slowly lightening into morning over Hall Street as a group of kids from O’Loughlin Elementary School took to the dewy field outside their school to run.

Local Army reservists and parent volunteers shouted encouragement as the children passed the starting line. Children, with their arms and legs flailing with fun in motion, earned brightly colored popsicle sticks for every lap, which they clutched tightly like tiny trophies.

Members of the 388th Multi-functional Medical Battalion, which is based in Hays, recently partnered with O’Loughlin to create the Morning Mile program. Lt. Johnathan Clark and his wife recently moved to Hays from Florida and duplicated a program they started there.

Children run laps in the field between O’Loughlin and Thomas More Prep-Marian on Tuesday and Friday mornings. When the weather is bad, they run inside in the gym. Every 30-minute session, which starts at 7:15 a.m., begins with warm-ups.

Clark said the collection of the lap sticks can be pretty competitive. It helps encourage the kids to get just one more lap in before they go in for school. At the end of the school year, the battalion hopes to conduct an awards ceremony and honor the girl and boy in each grade who ran the most laps.

The goal of the program, which includes kindergarten through fifth-graders, is to build healthy minds and healthy bodies.

Clark said he was inspired by a book titled “Spark” by John Ratey. It discusses what cardio aerobic activity does for the brain.

It highlighted a project in Indiana, which linked physical activity with improved test scores.

The school had unranked test scores, but a running program helped increase the students’ scores to some of the best in the world in math and science. The Indiana program is very similar to the O’Loughlin program, except the Indiana program had heart monitors.

“I think it is a great opportunity for myself and the community,” he said. “It gets the kids moving. It teaches them healthier habits and it gets their brains going in the morning. I’ve got a super-energetic kid, and I see a complete 180 in my son whenever we do this program.”

After five months of the Clarks doing the program in Florida, the student runners’ test scores improved 16 percent from the previous year. The testing was first thing in the morning when they could reap the most benefit from the physical activity, Clark said.

“What I try to do is push the kids hard and get their heart rate up and get them breathing hard, and then if their first few classes were their hardest classes, they would excel the most in those,” he said.

The physical activity can help children who struggle with depression or ADHD. The program helps children who are high energy or hyperactive get their energy out and focus during the day.

Vicki Gile, O’Loughlin principal, said she is very pleased with program in the short time it has been at the school and is already seeing results in the students.

“I think there are multifaceted benefits to that. Research has shown kids are not getting the same amount of exercise as they used to,” she said. “The physical health piece is great. Not only are those kids really getting an outlet for energy, they get focus to the day. It is a great start for the day.”

The program also gives the children the opportunity to participate with a group of their peers and have positive interactions with adults, Gile said.

Parent volunteer Matt Dumler has been coming out to the Morning Mile to participate with his son, Bryson, who is in the third grade. The reservists and parents both run with the children as well as track their laps and give encouragement.

“It prepares them for the day. It gets their blood flowing,” he said.

Dumler, a former cross country coach, grew up running and so did his wife. He said engaging the kids early to physical activity can help them develop a lifelong fitness habit.

Clark started in the Army as an enlisted man, but worked to become an officer so he could work on community-involvement programs like the Morning Mile.

“This gives our battalion a great opportunity to interact with the public and promote the Army in the way we want the Army to be perceived,” he said.

Children can still sign up for the program. Permission slip forms are available in the school office.

By CRISTINA JANNEY
Hays Post

BUNKER HILL — Eating at the Bunker Hill Cafe isn’t like having a burger and Coke in plastic seats off the interstate. When you come to the cafe, you are taking a seat at Tom and Janet Taggart’s family table, from the hand-breaded catfish to filet mignon sourced off the Kansas prairie.

Tom and Janet Taggart will close the iconic Bunker Hill Cafe on Nov. 4 after more than 43 years in business.

The cafe has been recognized multiple times in national publications. This has included “Roadfood and Goodfood,” which has been through multiple printings since 1986. On occasion, travelers stop in the cafe, eat and ask Tom to autograph copies of the book.

The cafe has been featured in the “Kansas Guidebook for Explorers,” by Merci Penner as well as “Off the Beaten Path: A Travel Guide to More Than 1,000 Scenic and Interesting Places Still Uncrowded and Inviting.”

The Taggarts’ daughter, Lacy, has helped the couple make a splash on social media, which has helped the out-of-the-way cafe connect with locals as well as travelers.

When asked what is the secret of the cafe’s food, Janet point to her husband saying, “The secret to the food is right here. The same guy cooks your food every time you come.”

Tom added it is the consistency of the product.

The cafe has much of what you might think you would find on a traditional Midwest cafe menu, including twice-baked potatoes, homemade sides, homemade dressings, chicken and steaks.

One of Tom’s specialities is catfish, which he said has always fascinated him because of its conversion to protein. The breading is Tom’s own special recipe as is the fish sauce.

Through its history, the cafe has made forays into other dishes, including quail, bison and elk steaks, but Tom said the traditional tried and true offerings remain the best sellers.

When you eat at the Bunker Hill Cafe, you definitely are going to get a bite of Kansas. Tom sources locally when he can.

The antibiotic-free beef comes from Creekstone Farms in Arkansas City, which Tom touts as being some of the best beef around. It is cut by a local butcher in Wilson. Organic flour for the cafe’s homemade honey raisin bread comes from Heartland Mills in Marienthal. Honey comes Labertew Apiaries in Sylvan Grove.

Tomatoes, which are grown locally, only appear at the cafe in the summer when they are in season. Occasionally during the summer, the cafe can get fresh greens from local residents, but it is hard for local gardeners to keep up with demand, Tom said.

“Are you hungry yet?” Janet joked.

Tom Taggart bought the limestone storefront at Sixth and Elm streets four decades ago because he loved the old stone building and thought it would be well-suited for a cafe. Janet said she just happened to fall in love with a guy who owned a cafe, and so their fledging business and family began.

The cafe building was constructed in 1916. It was originally a drug store with a soda foundation. The druggist lived upstairs. Some of the old wooden cabinets from the original drug store are still in use in the dinning hall of the cafe today. The building also at one time had a dentist and doctor’s office on the second floor and was a pool hall before Tom purchased the building in the ’70s.

“We thought if we had good food, we would do all right,” Tom said. “We didn’t realize how much work it was going to be, but we have maintained our quality over all these years. People appreciate it, so we have been here 43 years now.

“We’re tired. We are ready to call it quits,” he said.

When the Taggarts opened the Bunker Hill Cafe, Bunker Hill, which is located just off of Interstate 70, 37 miles east of Hays, was a thriving community. Today the only two businesses left on the town’s main drag are the cafe and the Smoky Hill Public Television building across the street. As of the 2010 census, there were 95 people living in Bunker Hill.

Much of the cafe’s floor-to-ceiling decorations suggest western Kansas prairies landscape and culture with taxidermied birds that Tom shot himself flying above diners, a bison head from a local ranch (which sometimes frightens children), elk, deer antlers, turkey feathers in full fan, and prints and photographs of other local wildlife.

Also adorning the front lawn of the cafe and other nooks and crannies inside are metal junk sculptures of a fish, dinosaur and hunting dog, created by Johnny Scott, who is from Bunker Hill.

The Taggarts said the best memories they have of the cafe are all the people who they have worked with over the years and all the people who they have fed.

“I think most of my favorite memories involve the people I have gotten to know, and a lot of them have been longtime customers. We have gotten to know them, their children and now their grandchildren. I think that is the thing I will miss the most. We’ve gotten to know a lot of really nice people here.”

People have eaten at the restaurant from both coasts. They have a priest from Boston who likes to stop in when he is in the area and eat a filet with fried rice. A couple of weekends ago, the cafe had a couple from New York who stopped at the cafe for dinner. The couple was on a coast-to-coast trip and had read about the cafe in “Roadfood and Goodfood.”

The cafe crew has as been a family.

Joyce Scott, who works at the cafe, has been with the business for 38 years. The Taggarts’ daughter, Lacy Hammack, is a teacher in Russell and works at the cafe on the weekends. Her daughter, Caitlyn, also worked at the cafe before she headed off to her first year at Wichita State this year.

Employees and the family all eat together when they are done with work in the evening.

Lacy said the cafe has been her second home. The Taggarts started bringing Lacy to the cafe when she was a baby. In kindergarten, the bus picked her up at the cafe.

“Some of my first memories were sitting on a chair in the back while Mom and Dad were working,” she said. “It was just part of my life, you know? All the people who worked here became family, and I had a bunch of moms here.

“It’s been a good thing to grow up here,” she said. “I’ve seen my parents work really hard and build this business. They taught me to work hard.”

Lacy started working out front bussing tables in her early teens and later as hostess and waitress. When she got back from college, she started working at the cafe again and continues to help her parents when they need her.

“I just love it. Just like they said, the people who come in and have been coming in for years and years, I have gotten to know them too. This is the only place I see a lot of those people. It is kind of fun. It doesn’t feel like it’s coming to a job. It’s just a good place to be.”

Many people have asked Lacy if she was going to take the cafe over, but Lacy, who teaches first-grade, said she has a passion for teaching and couldn’t imagine doing anything else.

Although Janet and Tom said closing the cafe has been a hard decision, Janet said she was happy her daughter has followed her dream to be a teacher, a dream she had since she was a little girl.

The Taggarts have been trying to find a buyer for the cafe, but have not been in luck yet. Tom said it is hard to find someone who is willing to put the work in to run a mom-and-pop store like the cafe anymore.

“It’s one business that fails 80 percent of the time, and there a few noticeable exceptions, and we’ve been one,” Tom said and broke into a smile.

When the cafe closes on Nov. 4, Tom said he thought they will be missed by local residents.

Janet said, “Main Street will be quieter in the evenings.”

Janet and Tom said they have no big plans for retirement but look forward to having Friday and Saturday nights off for the first time in four decades. Tom said he looked forward to going to his grandkids games.

Since the Taggarts announced the cafe’s closing, they have kept a journal, which friends and customers can sign and recount memories. Janet said she looks forward to reading it after the last meals are served.

“It’s been fun since we made public the fact that we were gonna close,” Janet said. “We have heard from so many people, and many of them are making an attempt to get here before we close.”

The cafe will be open 5 to 9 p.m. Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays through Saturday, Nov 4. The cafe accepts walk-ins or reservations. If you would like to make a reservation or are interested in buying the cafe, call the cafe at 785-483-6544. You can also connect with the cafe through Facebook.