My name is Kevin Daniels and I would like to publicly declare my candidacy as a write-in candidate for the USD 489 Board of Education this November.

Since not earning the appointment for the open board seat a few weeks ago, many people: teachers, staff, administrators, parents, business people, and community members, have encouraged me to run as a write-in candidate this November. They believe in me as a candidate and as a person they can trust.

I am currently serving as president of Roosevelt Home and School, and I have worked hard to support our students, but also our teachers and staff. I have been in the classrooms and seen the needs first-hand for smaller class sizes and better facilities. I have talked with parents and teachers on a regular basis, listening to their concerns and making the tough decisions when necessary.

I believe that I will be an asset to the USD 489 Board of Education. I believe I will bring honesty, transparency, and trust to the position, and I will fight for what it is right.

My campaign slogan is “Working with Teachers to put Students First.” There are three parts to that statement that are important to me. The first word is “working.” I am a hard worker and give 110 percent to everything that I do. I am active in the community, serving on several boards and committees, working hand-in-hand with people to better our community. I will give my whole heart to serving on the board.

The second part of the statement is “with teachers.” If I could make the slogan longer, it would say, “with teachers, staff, and administrators.” There is a feeling by many that the board is in an adversarial relationship with the teachers and staff. I believe something needs to be done to fix that. We need to listen to one another and work together for the common goal of educating our students. I have demonstrated at Roosevelt that much can be accomplished when parents, teachers, staff, and administrators work together in unison. Yes, disagreements come up, but I will listen carefully to both sides and then make the best decision possible. I have the support of many teachers and staff in the district, and it’s important to me to have that support. But that support doesn’t mean that I will make decisions just to make people happy. What I have promised my supporters—all of them—is that I will listen to their concerns and that I will be transparent and honest with them about my decisions.

The third part of the statement should perhaps be at the beginning, because it is the most important: “put students first.” The whole reason we who support our schools do so is for the sake of the students. Nothing comes before what is best for the safety, security, and education of our students. If students stay in Hays, there are entrusted to us for 7 plus hours a day for 13 years. We have an incredibly important responsibility to use that time wisely, preparing them for the world beyond K-12.

To serve on the board would be a great honor for me. It has been humbling these past several weeks, having so many people share with me their support and encouragement. I am looking forward to a win in November so that I can continue serving our Hays community, this time as a board of education member.

I would humbly ask for your support as I embark on this uphill write-in campaign. My name will not appear on the ballot, so each person will have to manually enter my name. It’s going to be a battle, but it’s one that I’m prepared to win. For more information about me, visit kevindanielsfor489.com or on Facebook.com/kevindanielsfor489. You can email me at [email protected]. I’d love to hear from you. Thank you for your support!

Submitted

Candace Sage, second-grade teacher at Wilson Elementary School, has received a $500 grant from author James Patterson to support her classroom library. Scholastic Book Clubs will match each dollar of Patterson’s donation with “bonus points” that Sage can use to acquire books and other materials for her classroom.

Sage was selected from 82,622 applications for the funding grant.

Earlier this year, James Patterson announced a personal pledge of $1.75 million to save classroom libraries in the third installment of his School Library Campaign in partnership with Scholastic Book Clubs.

He is distributing these funds to 3,500 teachers across the country in individual grants of $500, matched with “Bonus Points” from Scholastic Book Clubs to further assist teachers in acquiring books and other materials needed in their classrooms.

While past campaigns awarded funding to school libraries, this year’s program focused specifically on teachers, who will use grants to enhance and supplement their classroom libraries. The pledge drew a record 82,622 applicants – more than three times the amount received in 2015 and 2016 combined.

In addition, 500 runners-up will receive a collection of age-appropriate James Patterson titles for their classrooms. The full list of grant recipients is available online at www.scholastic.com/pattersonpartnership.

“We saw a huge increase in the number of applications to this year’s campaign, and it was both humbling and concerning to see just how many teachers lacked basic materials — most notably, books — for their classrooms,” Patterson said. “The incredible response demonstrated just how resourceful teachers are, and how vital to they are to student development. I’m happy to be able to acknowledge their contributions in some way, and in doing so, hope to bring more awareness to the clear and immediate need for school funding.”

The Patterson Pledge program was launched in 2015 in partnership with Scholastic Book Clubs as part of an ongoing effort to keep books and reading a priority for children in the United States. To date, Patterson has personally donated $5.25 million to school libraries. These grants have been used to purchase new books, add bookshelves, make improvements to catalog systems and expand programing. With this third round of donations, Patterson and Scholastic aimed to give even more children in America access to books, whether or not their schools have a functioning central library.

“Classroom libraries are unique in their ability to provide kids direct access to high-quality books every day, but many people may not realize that it is typically the individual teacher’s responsibility to find the resources—often using their own personal money—to fill their classroom libraries,” said Judy Newman, president of Scholastic Book Clubs, a division of Scholastic, the global children’s publishing, education and media company.

“At Scholastic Book Clubs, teachers tell us that now, more than ever, they desperately need help to build robust and inviting classroom libraries filled with new books and classics that are just right for their students. We were blown away by the more than 82,000 entries we received from teachers for this year’s Patterson Pledge grant, underscoring the significance of James Patterson’s personal commitment to helping kids discover a love of reading. Jim’s passion and generosity in awarding these grants to classroom teachers are making a real, lasting impact, and fulfill our joint mission to foster a community of readers in the classroom, at home and beyond.”

As exemplified by the record number of applicants, the need is dire – on average, classroom libraries across the country contain only half the recommended amount of books per class size, and are often funded by teachers themselves. Findings from the Scholastic Teacher & Principal School Report: Equity in Education reveal that regardless of school poverty level, 31 percent of teachers have fewer than 50 books in their classroom libraries and more than half of teachers (56 percent) use their own money to purchase books.

Patterson hopes that teachers and students will share their experiences in their communities using #pattersonpledge. Applicants were asked to share in 50 characters or less how they planned on using $500 dollars and 500 “bonus points” to help build their classroom libraries. All teachers in grades pre-K through 12 in U.S. schools could apply for the grant. All funds are being personally donated by James Patterson. To learn more about the program and see the full list of grant recipients, visit: www.scholastic.com/pattersonpartnership.

By CRISTINA JANNEY
Hays Post

The Hays USD 489 school board has accepted contracts from both of the custodians’ and teachers’ unions as of the this morning.

The board met in a special meeting this morning to accept the contracts. The board also voted to end its participation in the state insurance plan that is administered by Blue Cross Blue Shield in favor of an Aetna plan.

Insurance had been an issue in negotiations with both unions. The unions sent a letter to the school board on Aug. 28 saying leaving the state plan could leave the district open to legal action by the unions.

In the latest negotiations with the Service Employee International Union, which represents the custodians, the district was able to bargain the removal of specific language that required the district to provide the state plan.

The SEIU contract also included a 3 percent raise, adding language to the vacation and sick leave policy regarding leave start date and proration, and adding shift differentials.

Esau Freeman of SEIU said this morning by email, “SEIU has tentatively agreed on a contract with the school district. After extensively reviewing the information on the proposed health insurance changes, and securing a commitment that said the health plan will be equal to or better than the current state plan coverage we feel comfortable moving forward. We have always been open to the discussion of insurance benefits, and we are glad that we were able to come to an agreement that allows us to move forward willingly.” 

The teachers ratified a contract last week.

“We are happy that the board voted to accept the tentative agreements that were brought forth to them from their bargaining team. As for the health insurance, we look forward to bargaining the health insurance benefits as set forth in the Professional Negotiations Act,” Kathy Rome of the Hays NEA said. 

Kim Schneweis, teacher negotiations co-chair, added, “The teachers ratified the contract last week with a large majority in favor of the changes. I am glad the BOE also ratified the agreement. We have agreed to return to the bargaining table to discuss the health insurance benefits. We have always been, and continue to be willing to discuss important issues which affect our employees. The health care benefits impact hundreds of our employees and their loved ones. They also directly affect the ability of our community to attract and retain quality staff members for the benefit of our students.”

The district will be forming an insurance committee on the request of the unions, and the details of this will be worked out in the next several days.

The district proposed ending its participation in the state insurance plan after Blue Cross Blue Shield increased its premiums for the district by $1.4 million over two years. The district hopes the change will save the district money and give it more flexibility.

The district was having difficulty getting bids on its insurance policy, because the state plan does not require Blue Cross Blue Shield to provide claims histories.

The district will face a penalty for leaving the state plan, but Aetna has agreed to reduce its first-year premium, and the district believes that the fee reduction will be at least what the penalty will be.

SEIU and the Hays NEA both expressed concerns the district will not be able to rejoin the state plan for seven years after it leaves. However, Superintendent John Thissen has said the district could go back to Blue Cross Blue Shield if it wished under an independent contract.

By CRISTINA JANNEY

Hays Post

Celtic guitarist Jerry Barlow came to Hays on Saturday in hopes of changing some hearts.

Barlow, 67, of Golden Colorado began playing music when he was a teen and won a little money at church bingo, enough to buy a guitar. He played country music in his early days and had a song picked up by Conway Twitty.

He discovered Celtic music when he moved into the Smoky Mountains around Gatlinburg, Tennessee.

“So much of it has a primal quality, at least for me. It goes to the core of humanity,” he said. “A lot of it was born out of suffering, which gives it a lot of depth. I love the stories and all the histories and the legends behind that stuff as well.”

He did not know at that time if he had any Celtic blood. He later learned through genealogical research with the help of a friend he was part English and part Scottish on his father’s side.

“I would go to Irish jam sessions a lot and play. I would encounter a little attitude about my Englishness. It is strange though because the English are just as Celtic as the Irish and the Scots. It is built on a Celtic foundation, but the English were so cruel to the Irish and the Scots. It was hard to realize they were all Celtic, but they were. The way they subjugated the Irish and the Scots, it was just so brutal. It is hard to believe people who are brothers could do that to one another.”

Barlow worked on a project called Journeys, which highlighted how people immigrated to the United States over the last 150 years. The exhibit was going to museums and libraries, and Barlow performed at stops along the exhibit’s tour. He wrote songs for this tour that included “Voyage of Hope,” and “Crumbs for Crust,” which he performs with “Praties.”

Praties is an Irish word for potatoes and originates from the mid-1800s when the potato famine in Ireland drove hundreds of thousands of Irish to flee their home country for the United States.

Two-fifths of the Ireland’s population relied solely on the potato crop for their livelihood. The famine resulted in 1 million death and millions more emigrating from the country. Many Irish found hardship when they arrived in the States. White, protestants refused to employ the Irish immigrants, hanging signs in their windows that said, “Irish need not apply.”

Some Irish immigrants no sooner arrived in the U.S. when their were pressed into service to fight for the Union Army during the Civil War.

“The big thing, and I think this is why they came up with the Journeys project, is that immigration is such a hot-button topic,” he said. “You realize whoever comes over, the newest arrival, is going to be the lowest on the totem pole, and there is going to be bias and all that stuff. The Irish were just thought of as the scum of the earth. They were the lowest of the low for some time until they worked their way up. We tend to do that as human beings to the new arrivals until they make their way into American society.

“So much of what I saw visited upon them is what I see visited upon Hispanic and Middle Eastern populations now, but it is the same kind of stuff that the Irish were dealing with.”

Barlow encouraged the audience to join him in a round of “Waltzing Matilda,” whose tune is based on an old Celtic folk song. Barlow related the tale behind the song which is about a man wandering or “waltzing” around the Outback with his bag of possessions called Matilda. The man kills a stray sheep, and the wealthy landowner and mounted police pursue him. He jumps in the billabong or water hole and drowns himself rather than be captured. He haunts the billabong forever after.

Barlow admitted many of the Celtic folk songs are about oppression and tragedy and he tries to interject pieces that are a little more upbeat along with some of the classic ballads.

“My highest and best hope is that I will be able to give joy, healing, love and uplifting to an audience,” he said. “In a room full of 30 people, not everyone is going to have the experience. You hope for the people who are supposed to get it.”

Barlow plays acoustic versions of more modern songs from groups like the Beatles. Although bands like the Beatles and the Rolling Stones are not Celtic, Barlow said he can see some of the Celtic influences in their music. Drones on rock ‘n’ roll guitars are similar to the sound of bag pipes.

Barlow has performed in Hays before. During the concert at the library Saturday, a woman in the audience requested a song he had written, “Keepsake.” Barlow wrote the song after his parents died.  At the time the woman first heard the song, she had just lost her teenage son. She told him she has been listening to that song over and over almost daily since his performance in 2010.

“She played it today before she came,” he said. “That is what I hope—that the music has some therapeutic value to people. I realize that won’t happen for everybody that walks through the door. It doesn’t happen that way for any performer, but you just trust that it reaches who it’s supposed to. I just happen to hit someone who was going through that. That song did what I wanted it to do.”

You can learn more about Barlow and his music, including purchasing CDs, by going to his website.

Submitted

LEBANON, Ks—The Lebanon Bash will be celebrated this Saturday in downtown Lebanon with country music star Logan Mize.

Mize’s concert will wrap up a full day of events at sundown.

 The bash begins at 7:30 a.m. Activities include:

·         7:30 a.m.:  Lebanon Bash-Dash Fun Run

·         9:30 a.m.: Big Bash Kids Fishing Tournament

·         10 a.m.: Cake Decorating Class

·         1 p.m.:  Trap Shoot and Archery Activities      

·         2 p.m. Kids activities at city library and parks        

·         3 p.m. 1/5 Scale RC Buggies Racing  

·         4:30 p.m.:  Parade and special performance by the Middles team

·         6 p.m.:  Beer Garden

Sundown: Logan Mize concert  

Leading frozen garlic bread manufacturer, Cole’s Quality Foods, will join family households this fall with the nationwide introduction of its new Middles™ cheese-stuffed bread bites; a delicious new snack featuring savory and sweet varieties.

To celebrate the new product introduction, the Cole’s team will grab their bags, load up the bus, and travel to the geographical middle of the nation—Lebanon—for a celebration with the community, complete with bands, parades, buggy racing and Mize concert.

The town of 203 people is expected to gather as a community and celebrate the launch of Middles as a family, smack dab in the middle of the U.S.A.