Mary Margaret (Kroner) Giebler, 88, Catharine, died Sunday, May 28, 2017, at Good Samaritan Society of Hays.
She was born Nov. 13, 1928, in Ellsworth to Katherine Werner. She was adopted by her great aunt, Beata Kroner and her husband, Anton. He died when Mary was 3 years old and Beata later married Ferdinand Ubert and they raised her on the farm north west of Catharine. She attended Hopewell School, north of Hays.
She married Celestine “Celly” Giebler on Feb. 14, 1948, in Emmeram. He preceded her in death April 16, 2001 She was a farmer’s wife, homemaker and operated Mary’s Kountry Kitchen out of her home, making homemade noodles for area grocery stores for more than 20 years. She moved to the Good Samaritan Society of Hays in 2011.
She was a member of St. Catherine Catholic Church, Christian Mothers and St. Catherine Choir. She enjoyed embroidering, cooking, baking and her family and grandchildren.
Survivors include three sons, Larry Giebler, Victoria, David Giebler, Hiawatha, Iowa, and Rick Giebler and wife, Marilyn, Catharine; a daughter, Shirley Brungardt and husband, Earl, Hays; a daughter-in-law, Lois Giebler, Salina; a half-brother, Leo Behm, Canada; five half-sisters, Agnes Learmonth, Christina Burrows, Matilda Caruso, Clara Hollihan, Patricia Thorburn, all of Canada; nine grandchildren, Steve Brungardt, DeAnn Baldwin and husband, Robert, Kristi Lutters and husband, Dan, Lacy Bruggeman and husband, Doug, Anne Fleischer and husband, Bill, Scott Andrews and wife, Joy, Tessa Scheck and husband, Justin, Tyler Giebler and wife, Meagan, and Trevor Giebler and wife, Erin; 20 great-grandchildren; and five great-great-grandchildren.
She was preceded in death by her mother; her adopted parents; a daughter-in-law, Colleen Giebler; two half-brothers, George and Tommy Behm; two half-sisters, Leona Behm and Hilda Dyck; five stepbrothers, Ferdinand Jr., Elmer, Roderick, Paul and Herbert Ubert; and two stepsisters, Bernadette Dreher and Julia Voltz.
Services will be at 10 a.m. Thursday at St. Catherine Catholic Church, Catharine; burial in St. Catherine Cemetery.
Visitation will be from 5 to 8 p.m. Wednesday at Cline’s-Keithley Mortuary of Hays, 1919 E. 22nd, Hays, KS 67601 and from 9 to 10 a.m. Thursday at the church.
A Christian Mothers rosary will be at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, followed by a vigil at 7 p.m., both at the mortuary. Memorials are suggested to St. Catherine Catholic Church or Good Samaritan Society of Hays, in care of the mortuary.
Condolences can be left by guest book at www.keithleyfuneralchapels.com or can be sent via e-mail to [email protected]
The shiny, riveted curves of the machine shuddered and rattled and then the four 1,200 horse power engines roared to life.
A lucky few veterans and other passengers had the opportunity to fly aboard the Sentimental Journey B-17 Bomber over the skies of Hays Tuesday.
The Commemorative Air Force is a non-profit organization that is the guardian of the restored B-17.
The B-17 was the work horse of the bomber fleet during World War II, dropping more than 640,000 tons of bombs during WWII.
Boeing, Vega and Douglas produced 12,731 B-17 aircraft in five years during the war. The Sentimental Journey is one of only 10 B-17G’s still flying today.
The Sentimental Journey did not serve in combat. It rolled off the Douglas line in Long Beach, Florida, in November 1944, and by the time the military took possession, the war was over.
The plane was headed for the scrap heap but ended up being sent to Pacific to do mapping missions. The plane also was used for atmospheric nuclear weapons testing drone control. The plane finally did a stint in firefighting before in became a part of the Commemorative Air Force fleet.
It took five years to restore the aircraft to its World War II fighting strength.
Charles Vsetecka, 94, leaned on his cane in the shade of the B-17’s massive wing, as he waited for his turn to ride in the B-17.
Vsetecka, of Victoria, was a radar operator in a B-24 in the Pacific Theater during the war.
His mission was to detect enemy ships and relay them to the pilot, who would radio the positions to the headquarters.
Vsetecka recalled engaging the enemy and loosing comrades in arms.
He thought he might lose his own life when a typhoon hit Okinawa. A friend reinforced their tent with boards, and it was one of a handful that were not blown away in the storm.
Vsetecka said the B-17 flight was different than his days in the B-24. He spent most his time starring at the radar screen and not peering out at blue sky and green fields.
Each of the B-17 bombers carried a crew of 10. Most of the crew were 17 to 19. A pilot might be as old as 22. Most of the men were small to enable easier mobility in the tight spaces of the B-17, usually about 5’2” to 5’4” and 120 to 140 pounds.
The smallest crew member was usually the ball torrent gunner.
Each crew member was expected to fly 25 missions in a tour, but some crew members flew 100s of bombing runs.
The B-17 could carry 8,000 pounds of bombs on short-range missions (400 miles or less) or 4,500 pounds for long-range missions (800 miles).
The bombers flew in box or diamond formations in groups of up to 250 to 300 planes per mission.
The plane’s max range was 3,259 miles with a service ceiling of 36,400 feet, which made for a long, cold ride for the crew.
Temperatures were measured as much as 40 below zero during B-17 missions. The crew members wore fleece-lined flight suits to stay warm. They also had oxygen tanks on board in the time before pressurized cabins.
The “Flying Fortress” was so called for its heavy armaments, which were needed in the time before fighter escorts.
The B-17 was equipped with 13 .50 M2 Browning Machine Guns.
The Sentimental Journey will be available for public flights at the Hays Regional Airport on Saturday and Sunday.
Cost is $425 per person for radio room/gunner seats (six total); $850 for bombardier seats (two total) – highly coveted in the nose of the airplane enclosed in see-through plexiglass.
Passengers must be able to climb into aircraft.
Radio room/waist gunner seats require climbing a three-step ladder; bombardier/navigator seats require climbing a six-step ladder.
Earplugs are provided or bring your own.
For more information on the Sentimental Journey or the Commemorative Air Force click here.
Laverna Margaret (Brown) Schulte, age 88, passed away May 25, 2017, at the Graham County Hospital in Hill City, Kansas. She was born August 6, 1928, on a farm south of Victoria, Kansas, the
Laverna M. Schulte
daughter of Nicholas J. and Mariann (Dreiling) Brown.
Her family later moved north of Gorham, Kansas where she spent the majority of her early years. She attended schools in the area through the eighth grade and graduated from Walker. She didn’t get to go to high school because her dad didn’t think girls needed more education, but they should stay home, and learn life skills for when they were married and had children.
There were so many happy memories of life in the hills north of Gorham with her many brothers and sisters. Laverna was the youngest in the family of eleven: six boys and five girls. They fished, hiked and went horseback riding in addition to the work that went along with living on a farm. Laverna always spoke wistfully of those days even though most of her childhood was spent in the hard times of the “Dirty Thirties”.
On December 17, 1942, when Laverna was 13, the family lost their dear mother. It was a terrible blow to Laverna because she felt the sun rose and set with her. This date would always remain a special day for remembering her mother.
After she left home, Laverna held various jobs including household work for farmers and working in the Hays hospital with a group of young women. She made many friends and had such a love for life. Laverna never met a stranger, always enjoying people from all walks of life. It was amazing the close connections she had with family and friends.
She began dating, found she loved to dance, and went to many barn dances held in that era. Because she was the youngest of the family, many of her older nieces and nephews were actually her age. She loved spending time with them while also helping care for the younger ones. She had a natural affinity for babies and children.
A tall, sandy haired sailor by the name of Virgil Schulte came into her life and there would be no other man for her. On a beautiful, sunny day, they were married April 20, 1948, at St. Bonaventure Church in Vincent, Kansas. They began their married life on a farm outside of Norton, Kansas. Laverna was a home-maker and worked alongside Virgil on the farm.
Marcia, Connie, Janet, Janice, Linda, Dianna and Keith were all born in Norton where Laverna and Virgil lived until 1959. A new job in the oil fields brought them to Hill City where they lived for the remainder of their lives. Many job opportunities came up for Virgil and they attempted to move a number of times, but it was not meant to be. Hill City was always home. Mary was the first to be born in Hill City, but died at birth; Jackie and Mike came later.
To help with the growing number of children, they built a coin operated Laundromat to make ends meet. Laverna knew how to stretch a dollar better than anyone. When Virgil was the manager of the Hill City Elks Club, she ran the kitchen which began her career in kitchen management. During the time she managed the Elks kitchen, she made time to coach the girls’ softball team, which earned her the nickname, “Casey Stengel”. While working as the kitchen manager for Graham County Hospital and Dawson Place, she studied for and obtained her GED and her Certified Dietary Manager Certification. She was so proud of her diploma. Some of that came from the hardworking thriftiness of the Volga German people. She was very proud of her heritage and spoke German before she learned English. She was a long time member of the Gorham, Kansas Chapter of the Daughters of Isabella. This heritage and rock solid faith carried her through many difficult times in her life. She never lost faith that Keith would talk and walk even when the doctors said otherwise. She taught us all by her example and prayed that we would return to the Church when some of us went astray or lost heart.
Laverna was well known for her cooking abilities and never tired of spending time in the kitchen at home, even after a long day’s
work. And oh the many jars of vegetables she canned, the fruit she picked and froze for her famous pies! She rolled oodles of noodles and placed them on every horizontal area in the house. She also made bierocks and cinnamon rolls which had no equal. Other specialties included her German dishes, especially green bean dumpling soup, and dumplings and beans. Mike’s boys loved her fried bread.
Laverna always sang and whistled when at home. The old country and western classics by Ray Price, Webb Pierce, Patsy Cline, and Kitty Wells were her favorites. She always let the kids choose the radio stations in the car, but she drew the line at “What’s New Pussycat?” and “I’m Henry the VIII, I Am.” Those songs drove her straight up the wall!
About three years ago, with a heavy heart, Laverna chose to enter the nursing home because of health issues. She discovered a whole new family there with the other residents and the staff. She was content, received excellent care, and loved them all in return.
Laverna was preceded in death by her parents; her husband; a son, Mike Schulte; an infant daughter, Mary; six brothers; and four sisters. Survivors left to celebrate her life and cherish her memory are: daughters Marcia (John) Ashmore, Connie (Tom) Walz, Janet (Terry) Payne, Janice Perkowski, Linda (Lloyd) Toll, Dianna (Bob) Gatz, and Jacqueline (Mike) Neff; a son Keith Schulte; 17 grandchildren; 27 great grandchildren, one great-great grandchild, and many other relatives and friends.
Laverna loved her family with a continual, unconditional love. She had a wonderful way of always making them feel better. Her endurance through tough times and her sacrifice made for others set a beautiful example for all of us. She never stopped caring for her family. Even this past week she woke up in her hospital bed, looked at them and asked, “Have you guys had something to eat yet?” As a friend, she had an easy rapport with everyone. Laverna had what was known as the “Brown gift of gab.” She could converse with anyone and find out everything about them in one sitting.
Laverna was a woman of strength and always met challenges head on with the Lord’s help. She was a pillar of her church and her community. May you rest in the arms of the Lord.
Cyrill Paul Herrman, age 85, of Hays, passed away Sunday, May 28, 2017 at Via Christi Village, Hays.
Funeral services will be 10 a.m. Friday June 2, 2017 at Our Lady help of Christians Catholic Church in Antonino, Kansas. Burial will follow services in the church cemetery with military honors.
Visitation will be Thursday 6-8 p.m. with a combined rosary and vigil service at 7 p.m. all at Brock’s-Keithley Funeral Chapel 2509 Vine St., Hays, KS 67601.
Friday visitation will be 9 a.m. until service time at the church.
Lucille Gertrude Coupal, age 102, of Hays, Kansas, passed away Saturday, May 27, 2017 at Trego Lemke Memorial Hospital in WaKeeney, Kansas. She was born October 1, 1914 in Ellsworth County,
Lucille G. Coupal
Kansas to John and Katharine (Hermreck) Kueser. She married Raymond “Tom” Coupal on August 19, 1941 in Hays. He preceded her in death July 9, 1993.
She was a homemaker and cook. She was a member of Immaculate Heart of Mary Church in Hays. Her hobbies included gardening, sewing, cooking, crossword puzzles and she was an avid sports fan especially the Kansas City Royals and Chiefs.
She is survived by four daughters, Janice (Leland) Werth of Ellis, Mona Coupal of Hays, Sandy (Gerald) Riedel of Oshkosh, Nebraska, and Kathy (Bob) Atkisson of Stockton; a son, Raymond Coupal of Hays; five granddaughters, six grandsons, 27 great-grandchildren and seven great-great grandchildren.
She was preceded in death by her parents; two brothers, John “Bud” Kueser and Bill Kueser and five sisters, Helen Mullen, Marie Hawkins, Katharine Kratzer, Eleanor Ulrich, Mil Stefek and Monie Wallert.
Funeral services will be at 10 a.m. Thursday, June 1, 2017 at Immaculate Heart of Mary Church in Hays. Burial will follow in St. Joseph’s Cemetery in Hays.
Visitation will be Wednesday 4-8 p.m. and Thursday 9-9:30 a.m. at Brock’s-Keithley Funeral Chapel and Crematory 2509 Vine St., Hays, KS 67601.
A combined rosary and vigil service will be Wednesday at 7 p.m.
Memorial contributions are suggested to the Hays Community Assistance Center.
Joe Locker Jr., age 92, of Ellis, passed away Friday, May 26, 2017 at Trego Lemke Memorial Hospital in WaKeeney.
Joe Locker Jr.
Funeral services will be 2 PM on Thursday, June 1, 2017 at St. Mary’s Catholic Church in Ellis. Burial will follow in the church cemetery with military honors.
Visitation will be Wednesday 5 PM – 8 PM with a combined rosary and vigil service at 7 Pm all at Keithley Funeral Chapel 400 E 17th Ellis, KS 67637. Thursday visitation will be 1 PM until service time at the church.
Customers order at the reopened Professor’s Classic Sandwich Shop & More.
By CRISTINA JANNEY Hays Post
The Jensen family has brought back the famous Professor’s barbecue sauce along with all the other sandwiches that made the restaurant a Hays staple.
Professor’s first opened in 1976 and has had multiple owners.
Amy and Mike Jensen have owned Professor’s since 2003, but handed it off to another operator to spend more time with their family.
The Professor’s Steakhouse and Saloon, under that previous owner, closed about three years ago.
Jensen had tried to sell Professor’s for several years as they were focusing on their farm, honey and mushroom growing business.
Mike has long grown mushrooms in the family’s basement for their own use. These include morels and a variety of oyster mushrooms.
The family decided they would expand the mushroom operation to the Professor’s basement and use Professor’s as retail location for both their mushrooms and raw honey.
The Jensens are the only licensed mushroom growers in the state of Kansas.
The family decided they needed to do more with the restaurant than just a honey and mushroom outlet, so they decided to offer sandwiches again at Professor’s Classic Sandwich Shop & More, 521 E. 11th.
Professor’s Sandwich Shop & More is open from 11 a.m. to 4 pm. Mondays through Saturdays and also sells raw honey and mushrooms.
You can still order the some of the same traditional sandwiches, like the Panacea, which is billed as curing all ills, or the Regulator or Motivator.
Of course you can order Professor’s famed barbecue sauce on the side of any sandwich for 40 cents. The Jensens hope to eventually bottle the sauce for sale.
Salads are also on the menu, all between $6-$9.
Amy said the restaurant is committed to using as much locally sourced, fresh ingredients in their food as possible. She hopes to incorporate some foods from the Hays Market this summer in the menu items.
“We don’t serve any fried foods and we use clean label meats and cheeses,” Mike said.
They do not serve soft drinks. Instead you can order a house-made honey lemonade with a hint of lavender. The drink is made with Jensens’ own honey.
The restaurant serves a mushroom soup, which is made with Jensen farm mushrooms, and the Jensens also serve their own mushrooms on their salads.
Honey cookies that are baked by Amy’s mom are served with each meal.
The restaurant is defiantly a family affair. Amy and Mike’s daughter, Elissa also works at the restaurant and their son, Ethan, plans to attend NCK Tech culinary school in the fall.
The family got started in the bee business because Mike wanted pollinators for a garden. He struck gold when a local farmer offered up a barn full of beekeeping equipment for free.
Professor’s has maintained most of its original sandwich menu, including the Panacea, Motivator and Regulator.
“It changed our whole lives and how we look at everything,” Mike said.
Even though the Jensens are honey producers, they still see their honey as a finite resource and monitor its use at the restaurant.
The prevalence of chemicals in our environment, the use of herbicides and urbanization have all taken a toll on bee populations, Mike said.
Mike became interested in mushrooms at a young age. He started hunting mushrooms at about age 7 or 8.
Mike championed mushrooms for their health benefits, saying they are a good, complete sure of protein, good for your cholesterol and have anti-inflammatory properties.
“It is something the body can break down,” he said.
Although Mike has only been selling his mushrooms on a small scale, he is reaching out to regional markets and chefs to expand.
He said he hoped to eventually to have a truck leaving Professor’s once a week to distribute mushrooms across the state.
The Jensens sell their fresh mushrooms for $5 per quarter pound and dried mushrooms for $5 per ounce.
Honey sells for $10 per pound.
The sandwich shop is open from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Mondays through Saturdays.
The venue is also available for rental for private parties.
Celeste Sander, membership coordinator for the Hays Area Chamber of Commerce, greets guests at her retirement reception Friday at the Chamber office.
By CRISTINA JANNEY
Hays Post
Celeste Sander, membership coordinator for the Hays Area Chamber of Commerce, celebrated her retirement Friday.
Sander was born and raised in Hays and has worked for the Chamber for 14 years.
She worked as a supervisor and in sales and marketing before coming to the Chamber.
At the Chamber she organized Chamber Chats, ribbon cuttings and built relationships between businesses.
“I love my job, and I will miss my job,” she said. “I couldn’t have done it without the community and all the relationships I have been able to build with all the good people in the community. I thank them from the bottom of my heart.”
She said she has seen the community grow and technology change the businesses. However, all the changes have been for the good.
Tammy Wellbrock, Chamber executive director, said Sander essentially trained her into her job when she assumed the role of director in 2011.
Wellbrock described Sander as an outgoing person that was more energetic than anyone else she knew.
“When you have a position that requires the ability to build strong relationships, it makes it so much easier when you have someone who is so effective and successful. She has an understanding of the community, the people and what makes up the community,” she said.
Kathy Heinrich, chamber administrative assistant, has known Sander for four years.
“She is full of spunk. She is always offering help whenever she can. She is outgoing and social,” Heinrich said.
Heinrich added,” We’ll miss her. She is a big asset to the Chamber.”
Sander said she plans to spend time with her children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren and also travel now that she is retired. Eventually she would like to become involved in the community again doing charity or volunteer work.
The chamber is in search of Sander’s replacement, but Wellbrock said she did not know when someone new will be hired.
However, Wellbrock did say Sanders will always be a part of the Chamber family.
“Once a Chamber Chic, always a Chamber Chic,” Wellbrock said.
Children at Wilson Elementary School assume the prone position in a hallway during a tornado drill.
By CRISTINA JANNEY Hays Post
Principal Anita Scheve pointed to a plastic skylight in one of the halls at Wilson Elementary School.
Just underneath these skylights is where her students have to shelter in the case of a tornado.
She said she worries about this space. Could something get sucked up through the skylights if a tornado hit? Could debris come through the openings?
Although the children here and all other district facilities drill for tornadoes at least three times a year, Scheve said the facilities at Wilson are not adequate to protect her students.
“I want us to be prepared and be able to stay safe in a F3 or F4 tornado, and we don’t have the facilities to do that,” she said.
In a paper offered by NOAA, Roger Edwards of the Storm Prediction Center, Norman, Okla., notes hallways can be unsafe if exposed to windows.
“For example, the idea of a relatively safe hallway becomes invalid if the hall is lined with plate glass, or if it has windows to the outdoors. Hallways can turn into wind tunnels filled with flying glass and other dangerous objects,” he wrote.
The Vision Team that is working to build a new bond issue for the district has placed a priority on creating storm shelters for all the district’s schools. Options considered by the team at its last meeting included a new multi-use storm shelter for Wilson.
Although a major tornado has never hit the city of Hays, Ellis County had 60 tornadoes between 1950 and 2015.
Four schools in the district do not have storm shelters, and in case of a tornado, would have to shelter in hallways. These include Wilson, O’Loughlin, Westside and the Learning Center.
Vicki Gile, principal at O’Loughlin Elementary School, also expressed concern about her students. O’Loughlin students and staff would also have to shelter in hallways in the case of a tornado.
“If a tornado happened, I just don’t know what the outcome would be,” she said. “Quite frankly, with the kids in the hallway, I am not sure what we might see.”
The district has considered closing O’Loughlin as an elementary school, renovating it and using it as a space for the Westside program, Early Childhood Connections and the Learning Center. If that occurs, the district plans to add a storm shelter to that building.
Hays High and Hays Middle schools are the only schools in district that have rated storm shelters. Hays High’s library has a reinforced concrete ceiling and walls, which is rated to withstand winds of about 160 mph.
Classrooms at the middle school double as high wind shelters. Those were added about six years ago, according Superintendent John Thissen.
Federal Emergency Management Agency designates a high wind shelter as a space that can withstand between 150 and 250 mph.
On new community and residential construction, FEMA suggests specifications that withstand 250 mph winds and a 15-pound, 2-by-4-inch board missile traveling horizontally at 100 mph — the equivalent of an EF5 tornado.
Students and staff at Lincoln, Roosevelt and Early Childhood Connections can go into basements.
Although this may theoretically provide better protection, these locations can cause complications. All of the basements have to be accessed by stairs.
FEMA standards require that community shelters be handicap accessible and meet all standards of the Americans with Disabilities Act, which the district’s basement shelters do not.
Students who have mobility issues or are in wheelchairs are not placed at Lincoln because the building is not handicap accessible, Lincoln Principal Elaine Rohleder said.
Rohleder said if a child was on crutches, he or she would probably have to be carried down the stairs in the case of an emergency.
There is only one entrance from the interior of the school to the school’s cafeteria in the basement. That means all 260 students plus staff have to go through that one choke point to get to safety.
The students drill regularly to increase the speed of descent down the stairs. The children move in three lines, and the older children are taught to assist the younger children as they move to the basement, Rohleder said.
Schools are constantly working to improve their drill times. Lincoln can be evacuated to the basement within three to four and a half minutes.
However, Edwards, in his recommendations to school administrators, suggested four minutes could be too long.
Tornadoes can develop quickly. Despite advanced technology, warning of an imminent tornado may be short.
“If it takes more than 2 or 3 minutes to move all upper-floor people down, things get really risky!” he wrote.
The Vision Team and the district is still working to decide which rooms in each building will be built to storm shelter standards. However, Thissen said all storm shelters that are being built at schools at this time are multi-use.
They can be classrooms, gyms, auditoriums or cafeterias. These are facilities that would be used on a daily basis even when there are no storms.
Thissen also noted shelters at schools could be opened to the community in off-school hours if a tornado emergency arose.
During his tenure at the Herrington school district, that district built storm shelters at its schools. The district ordered key lock boxes that allowed school officials, law enforcement or fire personnel to open shelters at the schools when tornado warnings were issued.
During his time there, the schools were used several times as shelters after hours, and Thissen personally responded in some of these events.
He said the number of people who used the shelter were not large, but these were people who might have not had another place to go.
“I think that it is key to have the shelters open whenever there is a threat for the public,” he said.
Hays residents don’t have to look too far from Hays to see what kind of destruction a tornado can do to a school, including communities such as Chapman, Greensburg, Hoisington and Moore, Okla., Thissen said.
“Our community is sold on having insurance for cars and insurance for health and life insurance,” Thissen said. “I strongly believe that we need to have insurance for the safety of our children during the school day and the safety of our community in the off hours.”
The filing deadline for the 2017 school board member and city commissioner elections is noon Thursday, June 1 in the office of the Ellis County Clerk, 718 Main St.
Currently, two candidates, current Board President Lance Bickle, and Hays resident Michael S. Walker have filed for the election.There are three open seats that will be up for election on the Nov. 7 ballot.
Interested community members with questions can contact Superintendent John Thissen at 785-623-2400.
Hays Public School board members are tasked with the responsibility to maintain, develop, and operate all public schools located within district’s boundaries.
According to the Kansas Association of School Boards website at https://kasb.org/, candidates that possess the following skills make effective board members:
Have a broad background of experience and knowledge and a sincere desire to serve the community;
Be visionary, able to understand the forces of societal change and plan for the future;
Be tolerant and without prejudice, respecting diverse points of view;
Understand education today is complex, and simplistic approaches will not meet today’s challenges;
Be willing to invest the time and energy required for meetings, phone calls, conversations, visits to schools, professional development seminars and workshops;
Be responsive to human needs of individuals and groups;
Be willing to be part of a team, supporting group decisions;
Listen for real consensus and not confuse a few vocal constituents with a majority feeling;
Remember the responsibility is to all the children in the state, not solely to those in the local district; and
Learn and grow as you become more aware of your responsibilities.
Industrial technology students pose with their championship single passenger electric car.
The Hays High School Industrial Technology Association finished its fall and spring seasons undefeated.
The technology association creates, designs, and assembles a single passenger electric car each year and race that car in competitions throughout the fall and spring semesters.
The group of students is sponsored by industrial technology teacher Chris Dinkel.
Dinkel commented this is the first season any Hays High School team has been undefeated on both the fall and spring semesters.
Recently, the club competed at the Touchstone Energy Electro Rally sponsored by Westar Energy.
Noah Glendening placed second in car No. 320. Brent Koenigsman raced in car No. 20 and won the Standard Class and set a new course record.
This is Hays’ third Standard Class Championship since 2012.
A former teammate of Adam Pfannenstiel hugs his father Michael Pfannenstiel after giving him a plaque to commemorate Adam’s life and love of baseball during the Hays Rec Commission kick off Wednesday. Adam was killed in an ATV accident in 2016.
UPDATE:
Winners have been tabulated from last night’s Hays Recreation Commission Opening Day Celebration. Here are the results:
MLB Jr. Home Run Derby — Morgan “Big Stick” Berry
MLB Pitch Hit & Run Competition:
14 and under — Reagan Smith — 581 points
12 and under — Ashton Putz — 533 points
10 and under — Trace Jacobs — 600 points (overall winner)
8 and under — Brogan Albers — 421 points
In addition the competitions, the winner of the four Royals tickets was Carson Liles. Winner of our #hrcopeningday promotion was Monica Watson.
You can stop in to the rec and claim your prizes.
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By CRISTINA JANNEY
Hays Post
The Hays Recreation Commission honored Adam Pfannenstiel, a 15-year-old athlete that was killed last summer in an ATV accident, by beginning the Adam Pfannenstiel Inspirational Teammate of the Year Award Wednesday night.
This is a new award set to be given out annually to an HRC athlete who exemplifies what it means to be a great teammate as Adam was.
The Hays Recreation Commission, gave the award, to his family in honor of Adam at its annual kicked off to summer season Wednesday night at Bickle Sports Complex.
Keith Smith, youth sports director, said Pfannenstiel was “a good kid all around” and an “awesome teammate” who truly loved baseball.
Members of Adam’s K-18 team, the Roughnecks, gave Adam’s family a plaque to commemorate the award and took turns hugging and greeting his mother, father and grandmother.
The Mike Schippers Inspirational Coach of the Year Award was given to Travis Taggart, far right, and Brad Schumacher, middle in yellow, at the Hays Recreation kick off Wednesday night.
“He loved baseball,” his father, Michael Pfannenstiel, said after the ceremony. “It was very much his game. He was never the best at it, but he gave it all his heart.”
The Mike Schippers Inspirational Coach of the Year Award was given to Travis Taggart and Brad Schumacher. They continue the tradition of outstanding coaches who have a great understanding what the rec mission is here at Hays Rec, Smith said.
One of Mike Schippers’ daughters spoke about her father and she and members of her family were at the event to present the awards. This is the 25th year the award has been given.
She said her father was an avid baseball player and fan, and she has used the advice he gave her in coaching her softball team to grow throughout her life.
The coaches are nominated from the previous season’s teams.
Smith said of Schumacher in a prepared statement, “Brad not only lights up adults with his sense of humor, but he also has a special way to make kids feel comfortable. Numerous kids have been greeted by him with his signature line ‘What’s up buddy.’ As a coach, Brad strives to make every kid discover a love for the game. From rotating players to positive encouragement, the kids Brad coaches always want to come back for more.”
Of Taggart Smith said, “Travis in his many years of coaching through Hays Rec, has shown a calm demeanor and obvious care for each of the kids on his teams. His ethical coaching style allows every kid to feel as if they are an essential part of the team, whether or not they win or lose. I have overheard parents’ conversations with one another (as well as other coaches) say how their children are enjoying the game, sometimes for the first time, and are excited for the next year.”
In addition to the awards, the annual event included an MLB Pitch, Hit and Run Competition, MLB Jr. Home Run Derby, inflatables and Knockerball.
The Boy Scouts presented the colors this year, and the National Anthem was delivered by the McGuire Trio of Gabe, Hannah, and Eliana.
The sponsors of the event included Grand Rental Station, TK’s Smokehaus, Kennemer Orthodontics and Phase II, which provided the T-shirts.
