The Hays High School Hope Pantry was the recipient of the Young Children Priority One Project.
Kiwanis clubs from across the state collected donations to benefit the HHS Pantry.
Melissa Romme, president of the Kiwanis Club of Hays, presented checks, cash and gift cards totaling more than $1,000, as well as numerous non-perishable food and hygiene items.
The USD 489 Foundation for Educational Excellence recently donated $475 to the USD 489 Hope Pantry.
The donation will be used to aid the Hope Pantry in purchasing food items for spring break food boxes that will be distributed to families in need.
Sixty USD 489 families will receive food boxes this week for students who may not otherwise have sufficient food to eat over the extended break.
Several board members volunteered to help package the boxes before they were sent to the schools.
Hays USD 489 is showing strong results in directing students to post-secondary education.
Measuring post-secondary success is part of Kansas’ new state accreditation process. Hays staff released data compiled by the state during the school board meeting Monday.
In 2016, HHS had a 88.7 percent graduation rate. 69,9 percent of HHS students reported post-secondary advances in the two years after graduation.
This includes earning an industry-recognized certification while in high school, a postsecondary certificate, a postsecondary degree or being enrolled for two years in a postsecondary education program.
The district earned a 62.1 percent effective rate.
“We are not just responsible for getting the students across the stage during graduation, but we want them to be successful beyond graduation. … This is something to celebrate,” Shanna Dinkel, assistant superintendent, said.
The district had a significant jump from 2015 when the district’s effectiveness rate was 44.9 percent.
Although reporting is improving and that might have played a role in the increase, Dinkel also said she thought individual plans of study and an emphasis in the district in building relationships with students is affecting students’ success after graduation.
The school still has a long way to go to meet the Kansans Can state goals, which are a 95 percent graduation rate and at least a 70 percent effectiveness rate.
However, Hays is outperforming many of its comparable schools.
For example, Salina had a 50.7 percent post-secondary success rate and a 44.6 percent effectiveness rate. Manhattan had a 53.6 percent postsecondary success rate and 41.2 percent effectiveness rate.
Another measure of relevance in education is attendance.
“Are students wanting to come to school?” Dinkel said.
The district’s absentee rate is slightly higher than the state average.
The district is looking harder at students who are chronically absent, which is defined as students who miss 10 percent or more of their school days.
“That does impact at an early age if you are chronically absent,” she said. “Those gaps get wider and wider and will really make an impact on whether you graduate or not.”
Chronic absenteeism for the district is at 10.25 percent compared to 13.9 percent for the state.
Dinkel said schools will be looking at working with individual students as they approach or pass that chronic absenteeism mark to reduce missed days.
Patients reap many benefits from staying close to home to receive medical services.
Yet, some Ellis County patients still travel outside of the county to receive medical treatment.
Hospital officials spoke to Hays Post about the factors that might lead to patients leaving home for treatment and what local providers are doing to try to change perceptions that care is better elsewhere.
HaysMed market share in Ellis County is 80 percent to 85 percent, which is good, according to Ed Herrman, HaysMed CEO.
Herrman
For the hospital’s primary service area, the market share is about 77 percent. This includes Ellis, Russell, Rooks, Rush and Trego counties. The hospital also has a secondary market that extends about 75 miles from Hays and a tertiary market that encompasses most of northwest Kansas and some of southwest Kansas.
Herrman said some patients think they will receive better care in a metro area, but bigger is not always better.
“The care is not better,” he said. “Actually in many cases, from quality outcomes, the care is not as good as we are here. In Leapfrog, we are rated an A. We are rated as high as you can be rated on quality of care in our industry. There are many of those facilities that people are going to in Wichita or another metropolitan area that are not As on Leapfrog’s grading scale.
“That is our focus — quality and the patient.”
Issued twice per year, the Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grade empowers regular people to find a safer hospital in their community by using a A, B, C, D, F grading system.
The hospital has some of the best outcomes in the state on hip and knee surgeries, Herrman said. In orthopedics, HaysMed has a Durable Medical Equipment Accreditation and the DNV-GL Healthcare Hip and Knee Replacement Certification for Center of Excellence. It was the first in the state to obtain this certification. HaysMed also is certified in managing infection risk.
Staying at home for medical care can be better for your health, Herrman said.
“You’re close to home. Any time you don’t have to add the stressors of travel. … If you are going to have surgery, we are always going to hope the outcome is textbook and is just as they said it was going to be, but sometimes it is not that way because other things happen. We have patients and families who find themselves thinking they are going for a routine procedure who are now spending the next three or four days in a city they didn’t plan on staying in,” he said.
Staying close to home also means you are closer to care if you have a complication after a procedure.
“They are typically either in an emergency or some type of crisis, and our surgeons are not the ones who have dealt with the procedure to begin with. That always makes it a little more difficult,” Herrman said.
Staying locally also supports the local facility, he said.
“We always want to give people access to as much as possible, so they don’t have to travel, but when they are not utilizing the resources that are right here for them, it makes it much more difficult to provide all those resources in the future,” he said.
HaysMed has an especially strong oncology department, Herrman said. HaysMed follows the same protocols as the University of Kansas Medical Center and, in some instances, the Mayo Clinic.
“That is not a process of healing that you want try to have to do on the road,” he said. “It is very taxing and it is difficult and painful for those patients who are going through cancer treatment and radiation treatment.”
Herrman said the quickest way for local residents to get the care they need is to come to HaysMed.
“Because if our physicians diagnosis you with something that is not in their practice — it is not something that they do — they still already know the guys and the gals who are out there that do that speciality,” he said. “If we can’t take care of it here, we know who can, and we will set it up for you and make it easy and seamless.”
HaysMed has the advantage of being connected to the University of Kansas Medical System, which allows it to bring in more specialists and connect with specialists in the system in other parts of the state. HaysMed has been affiliated with the University of Kansas system for two years. The hospital still has its own board and manages its own strategic plan.
HaysMed is using its affiliation with the health system to increase access to specialists through telemedicine. Some of these specialties will include psychiatric and neurological evaluations, as well as oncology.
“The University of Kansas Health System is known for its oncology program,” Herrman said. “It is state of the art. It competes with the best in the nation. It gives the opportunity to get those super sub-specialists. They do things that no one else in the state or region does. It gives the ability to hopefully have access to those individuals, so people from western Kansas don’t have to drive to Kansas City to necessarily get that care or second opinion. If they don’t want to do that travel, we can set it up to do it here.”
When Colby lost its oncologist, HaysMed took over the program.
Telemedicine provides access to a limited resources. Medical schools can’t graduate doctors fast enough to replace the Baby Boomer physicians who are retiring in some specialties, Herrman said.
HaysMed was without an ENT for two years, but the University of Kansas Health System helped HaysMed secure a ENT who is at the hospital three out of four weeks a month and an advanced practice provider who works in Hays five days a week. Before that clinic was offered in Hays, patients from northwest Kansas would have had to travel to Salina or Hutchinson for treatment.
Telemedicine also helps manage a finite resources. If a specialist doesn’t have to drive or fly to a remote location, they can spend more time seeing patients.
Herrman said he saw telemedicine expanding with advances in technology.
Twelve-lead ECGs to monitor the heart and an otoscope, which is used to look into your ears, can already be hooked up to smart phones. He said he sees a time in the future when families will have some of theses devices at home so they can have telemedicine visits with doctors after hours.
Despite the use of telemedicine, Herrman said the hospital would still like to sign a contract with a neurologist and rheumatologist. There is only one neurologist in all of western Kansas.
Herrman said the hospital is constantly in the recruiting process. Recruiters follow students from pre-med all the way through their residencies.
“We are making sure that we are trying to connect with them early to get them to come back to western Kansas,” he said.
Rural Kansas has assets such as good schools, opportunities to connect in the community and a work/life balance. Yet, Herrman said living and working in western Kansas is not for everyone. The hospital tries to work with physicians and their spouses to make sure Hays is the right fit for their families.
The hospital is also unwilling to compromise on quality candidates, Herrman said.
“That’s why it takes us a little more time for some positions because we are not willing to accept someone that is substandard just to have someone,” he said. “We are selling ourselves short if we do that, and we are selling the community short if we do that. We have a wonderful community, and we have a wonderful facility. We know there is always someone looking for what we have to offer.”
Veach
Shae Veach, vice president of regional operations and marketing, said the affiliation with the University of Kansas Medical System is also helping the hospital recruit physicians. He added HaysMed is well below the national turnover rate for physicians.
“I think it is so much more magnified here because of the size of the community and the size of the medical staff,” Veach said. “One physician might leave, and everyone feels it.”
Hays USD 489 will receive bids Thursday on the installation of secured entrances to Hays High School and Hays Middle School.
The frames on the Hays High School entrance are rusted and need to be replaced.
After school starts in the morning, the new entrances for both buildings will funnel visitors through the office.
The district has received $75,000 in grant funds toward the HHS project.
The rest of the funds for the HHS project would come from the 2018-19 budget, and funds for the HMS project would come from the 2019-20 budget, but both projects would likely be completed this summer, Rusty Lindsay, buildings and grounds director, said at the school board meeting Monday.
Clocks, phones, cameras at HHS
The district also will receive bids this week on improvements on HHS clock, phone and camera systems.
HHS’s heatings system and parking lot lights failed recently during a game night because a fuse blew in the system that times the systems turning on and off.
The clock system will cost about $150,000 to replace.
When the district replaces the wiring for the clock system, building and grounds would also like to pull wiring for new security cameras and a new Voice over Internet Protocol phone system.
Lindsay said once the wiring for the cameras and phone system is in place, the district can replace those systems as the budget allows.
Roof bids
The board also reviewed bids for replacing roofs at Hays Middle School and Roosevelt Elementary School.
Lindsay said replacement of a portion of roof at HMS has been moved up,
A leak has developed over the HMS kitchen, resulting in the kitchen being cited for a health violation by the Kansas Department of Health and Environment.
The low bid for the HMS project came from Wray Roofing of North Newton for $46,120.
The low bid for the Roosevelt project came from High Plains Roofing of Hays for $241,298.
Both of the projects would be completed before the end of 2019 with the HMS roof being paid for out of the FY19 budget, and the Roosevelt project being paid for out of the FY20 budget.
Board policies
The board heard a report on Monday on possible changes in several board policies.
Staff has recommended a change in the district policy to allow groups of athletes to take district vehicles to travel to summer activities. Presently, parents are using private vehicles to transport students. This policy change would match new KSHSAA rules.
Board members said they wanted trips for all activities to have the same policy, and whether the district should pay for gas for the vehicles was also discussed.
The staff has also recommended changes in the student and staff tobacco policies.
The proposed change would prohibit staff from using any nicotine product in any district facility; in school vehicles; at school-sponsored activities, programs, or events; and on school owned or operated property.
The policy currently only prohibits nicotine use for staff in school buildings.
The proposed change for students would alert the consequences for students caught using nicotine products.
Student violations could result in parent/guardian notification, participating in tobacco education program, suspension and/or expulsion from school and/or extracurricular activities, community service, and/or notification of law enforcement.
Currently the policy states administrators may report students who are in violation of this policy to law enforcement as appropriate.
The policy changes are set to come back to the board for a vote in April.
In other business, the board:
• Approved the 2019-20 school calendar
• Heard a report on board goals.
• Heard a report on assessments and state accreditation
The Hays USD 489 school board approved a $1.76 million contract with Paul-Wertenberger Construction Monday night for renovations of the former Oak Park Medical Complex.
The complex is being renovated for use by the Early Childhood Connections program.
Construction work should start any day at the Oak Park property.
The district is still trying to finish the project so at least three of the buildings can be opened by the start of school in August.
The fourth building is going to be used by the program at Munjor, which runs year-round. Superintendent John Thissen said the work on that portion of the project may go into the fall.
The school district purchased the complex for $2 million, which will be paid for through a lease agreement out of capital outlay funds.
The district received a $1.47 million federal grant and a $500,000 donation from HaysMed, the primary owner of the complex before it was sold, for the renovations. The district has until June 30 to use the federal grant funds.
The district is behind its original time table on the project. However, Donna Hudson-Hamilton, ECC director, said the district could file for an extension on the use of the funds if needed.
The board also received architectural plans for the project. Thissen said the district went through several drafts with the architects to make sure classroom sizes were what was needed for the programs that would use them.
The district plans to use much of the existing plumbing, cabinets and hardware to be as efficient as possible with its funds.
Board member Paul Adams suggested the district try to include CTE students from the high school in the renovation process.
Hudson-Hamilton said the district had not considered doing that yet. However, ECC will need to have some cubbies built and installed, and the HHS students might be able to help with that project.
The district applied for two more grants for the project, including funds to pay for construction of a storm shelter at the complex and money to move playground equipment. The district did not receive the shelter grant and has not heard back on the playground grant.
The district will still include those two components in the project. They are a part of the existing budget.
Laura Gaughan, reading specialist at O’Loughlin Elementary School, has been honored as a 2019 Kansas Master Teacher.
By CRISTINA JANNEY Hays Post
Laura Gaughan, reading specialist at O’Loughlin Elementary School, said she thinks being a teacher and shaping young lives is the most important thing a person can do with his or her life.
Gaughan has been honored as one of only seven Kansas Master Teachers for 2019.
To earn this honor, an educator must be first selected by fellow NEA members in their school. She was then selected as a district Master Teacher. Finally Gaughan, a teacher for 27 years, submitted an application to the state level. The honorees were announced last week.
“I am so honored and humbled to have that,” Gaughan said of her award. “I work with such great, great people. I don’t think people know how hard teachers work.”
Gaughan, 52, is a reading specialist, which is a federally funded position. She spends part of her day as a reading recovery teacher. In this program, she works one on one with first graders to help them develop their reading skills. She also works with groups of students in grades kindergarten to second grade on early reading intervention.
Yet another portion of Gaughan’s day is consumed with English language arts support for other teachers.
Teaching is a family affair for Gaughan.
Gaughan’s mom and dad were both teachers in St. John. Her father taught middle school and high school math, and her mom taught middle school social studies, second grade and was also a reading teacher. Her brother, sister and sister-in-law are all also teachers. Her parents were role models and inspired her to go into the profession.
“It is the most important thing you can do with your life — to make an impact on kids and be able to shape the future,” she said. “If one child grows up and remembers you, that is pretty special. If they grow up and say, ‘That teacher made a difference in my life,’ that’s pretty special.
“It is a wonderful way to live your life — kids running up to you and hugging you. It is a great way to live your life to feel like you are impacting kids.”
Having a foundation in reading is especially important to student confidence and success, Gaughan said.
“Kids are forming ideas about their own self-esteem and what they think about themselves — ‘Do I think I am a good reader? Am I a good writer? Am I good at math?’ They are forming those opinions of themselves, and we never want them to have any negative thoughts about themselves about being a reader and a writer. We want to boost that in first grade before they start to struggle. …
“We are all about making a difference in kids’ lives, not only as readers and writers, but just as kids and as people. We want them to be the best they can be. To make them a good reader and a good writer, that is going to enhance the rest of their lives. It is going to make the whole rest of their lives easier, because they will be reading and writing for the rest of their lives.”
Enjoying books and literature enhances your life and makes you a better person, Gaughan said.
“Reading shows all of us about emotions and love and hate and judgment,” she said. “It gives us a window to all of those emotions and just makes our lives better.”
Gaughan’s favorite books when she was a child included the “Clifford the Big Red Dog” series, “Corduroy,” and “Pretzel.”
She read books such as “Poppy,” “Where the Red Fern Grows,” and “Stone Fox” to her children.
Once upon reading “Stone Fox” to a group of second graders, she was so moved by the book, she started to cry.
“It happens to teachers. It’s OK,” she said. “I think it shows your personal side, and I think kids love to see that — that their teacher is a person and they love books too and that is how books can touch us.”
Gaughan taught middle school in Green, Kansas, before she and her family moved to Hays. She taught second and third grade, but then the district opened training for reading teachers in 1997.
“That changed my career,” she said of the reading training. “I absolutely loved teaching reading. I fell in love with that and love what I do.”
Gaughan’s love of books was also inspired by her mother who always had a large library. She read to her and her siblings when they were young and Gaughan’s children when they were little.
Gaughan’s son is now in medical school and continues to be an avid reader and suggests books to his mom.
“He’ll sometimes write notes in the margins and give me his books,” she said, “and that just makes me emotional to read books he has read and he has his notes in the margins. That really touches me.”
The best reading learning is in the context of a story, Gaughan said. She has boxes upon boxes of books in her small office at all levels and on all topics. She tries to get to know her students and find books on topics they are interested in.
“We are always promoting a love of reading and a love of books,” she said.
After 27 years, Gaughan said the children continue to surprise her.
“I have laughed with kids. I have cried with kids. I have celebrated with kids,” she said. “There have been so many kids through the years. What is so amazing to me is that after 27 years when I have kids walk in here and I work with them, it is like every single one of them is unique.
“You would think after 27 years, ‘I would have had a student like this,’ or ‘I’ve had a student do that.’ You would think it would fall into a routine of repeating the past, but it doesn’t. Each single child who walks in here is unique and different and their needs are different, everyone one of them.”
She said being a teacher is a great responsibility.
“You have to love kids. You have to care about them deeply for them to try,” Gaughan said. “They need that. They need to see you as someone they trust and absolutely it makes them a better person overall. This is just a short piece of the long road they are going to be on in life, but we want to make a difference for them if we can.”
Gaughan is also working on her national boards, which she hopes to have completed in the next few years.
Gaughan and the other master teachers will be honored at the state capitol in March. She will also travel to Emporia State University where she will be honored at a luncheon, participate in an educator panel discussion and receive a check for $1,000 from the Bank of America Charitable Foundation.
At Monday’s meeting, the Hays USD 489 school board will hear an update on the renovation project at the former Oak Park Medical Complex.
The complex is being renovated for use by the Early Child Connections program. The school district purchased the property for $2 million.
The district received a $1.47 million federal grant for renovation of the complex, as well as a $500,000 donation from HaysMed, which was a primary complex property owner before it was sold. A developer has signed a $500,000 contract on Washington school building, where ECC is currently housed. The developer intends to renovate the school into low-income apartments.
In addition, the ECC program has applied for grants to pay for moving playground equipment and renovating space at the Oak Park Complex into a storm shelter. If the district receives that money, it could mean another couple hundred thousand dollars for the project. This money would be used for contingency for the project if it is received.
The renovation project is behind its initial timetable. The district is under a tight schedule to complete the project and has until June 30 to spend the federal grant money.
The district had hoped to have at least three buildings in the complex open when school starts in August.
In other business, the board is set to:
• Vote on the school calendar for 2019-20.
• Hear a report on Roosevelt Elementary School and Hays Middle School roof bids
• Hear an update on board goals
• Hear a review of board policies
• Hear an update on assessments and Kansas Education Systems Accreditation
Members of the Alpha Gamma Delta Amazing Race team interview Vera Storer at Homestead Assisted Living on Saturday.
Members of the Amazing Race teams took a step back in time Saturday during the fundraiser for First Call for Help.
Seven teams raced through Hays Saturday completing challenges for the fundraiser.
One of the challenges included interviewing residents at the Homestead Assisted Living Center.
Virgil Howe, 86, shared pieces of his life with the racers.
He grew up on a farm in northwest Missouri near St. Joseph. He always had an interest in animals. However, his parents determined because of his health, he would attend college instead of working on the farm. He ultimately studied plant pathology.
He said the person who had the most impact on his life was Dr. Irene Mueller at Iowa State University.
The Circle K International Amazing Race team packs a saddle bag at Doerfler’s Harley Davidson on Saturday.
He had just come back from the service. He had been studying pre-med, but after serving as a hospital corpsman, he decided that was not the way he wanted to go.
“This lady made plants living things to me,” he said.
The racers asked Howe what he liked to do in high school.
“Do you really want to ask me that?” he said. “I still had to work on the farm, but at night there were some very pretty girls I liked to keep the company of and there was some guys that I would get together with on Saturday and Sunday night. Occasionally, I would like to read. I read most of my life.”
He said his favorite gift was when his granddaughter made him a great-grandfather on Christmas Eve.
A member of the Crazy Kiwanis putts at Precision valley Golf during the Amazing Race Saturday.
“How could you have anything better than that?” he said.
When he was about 12 or 13, he wanted a BB gun in the worst way. He opened up all his gifts at Christmas and he had socks and jeans.
“I tried to act like that was fine,” he said.
When he went to put on the pants, his father had slid the BB gun inside the leg of the jeans.
Howe said his favorite president was fellow Missouri native Harry Truman.
“I thought he made momentous decisions and he accepted the responsibilities for them,” he said. “And then I always admired him as an ex-president. When people tried to hire him for things he was not qualified, he would always say, ‘You don’t want me. You want the president, and the president is not for sale.’
“I always thought he was a wise man even though he was defiled and criticized and poked fun at.”
He said he also admired Eisenhower and was able to meet his grandson.
The Alpha Sigma Alpha team dips ducks out of a hot tub at Pools Plus during the Amazing Race.
Howe said the happiest day of his life was when his daughter was born, but he it was also one of the longest days of his life.
His wife went into labor in the early hours of the morning, and Howe took her to the hospital. The staff at the hospital sent him home and said someone would call him when the baby was born.
At 6 that evening, he still hadn’t received a phone call. He went back to the hospital, and the nurse said he thought his wife had given birth that afternoon.
“I was a basket case,” he said.
He went to the hospital and saw his wife. She said they had a daughter.
He went to the nursery and recognized his daughter immediately based on her light-colored hair, just like his.
Another team interviewed Vera Storer, 83.
Store grew up in Garnett, Kansas, on a farm.
She said her favorite subject in school was biology. She went on to become a nurse.
She said she enjoyed going to basketball games when she was in high school. The FHSU students on the team asked her if she played basketball, and the Store explained her school did not have girls basketball when she went to school. The girls played for fun over the noon hour, but only half court.
She said her favorite gift was her wedding ring.
She said her mother had the most impact on her life. She raised six children mostly by herself because her husband was away working in the oil fields. The family did not have much money.
“She was a strong person,” Storer said.
President George HW Bush was her favorite president.
She said the happiest days of her life was when she got married and when she graduated from nursing school.
Storer, who has four children, said if she could have done anything differently, she would have enjoyed life, taken more trips and played with her kids more.
“I was a nurse. I was working. My husband was a teacher. We were busy, busy, busy,” she said.
Other challenges included throwing darts, counting money at Sunflower Bank, tasting popcorn at Popt, putting at Precision Valley Golf, stacking a pallet of cookies at the Girl Scouts of the Kansas Heartland office, identifying juice flavors at Otter Juice Company, gathering numbered duck from a hot tub at Pools Plus, shopping for school supplies at Walmart for the First Call for Help Backpack for Kids program, packing food boxes at St. Joe’s Food Pantry, gathering food for the First Call food pantry and packing a saddle bag at Doerfler’s Harley Davidson.
Teams included the Krazy Kiwanis Springer Style, Teddy Bears from the Kansas Highway Patrol, Circle K. International, Alpha Gamma Delta, People Be Crazy, Courage Caring Hearts and Alpha Sigma Alpha.
The Kiwanis were honored as the top fundraisers. Team members included Chris Springer, Ashley Springer, Jonathan Springer and Michele Springer.
The Hays Kiwanis Club donated $1,500 toward the Race, which sponsored four teams: Krazy Kiwanis Springer Style, The Circle K International Racers and two FHSU sororities: Alpha Gamma Delta and the Alpha Sigma Alpha Team.
Best costume/uniform went toPeople Be Crazy . Members on that team were Cassy Zeigler, Olavee Raub, Jamie Wolbert and Jen Schield. The team was sponsored by Raub & Zeigler LLC in Ellis.
Quickest time was People Be Crazy.
All the money raised will go toward First Call for Help’s rent and utility assistance program.
“Thanks also to the numerous volunteers who helped make this Race a success,” Laura Shoaff of First Call for Help said. “We would like to extend a huge thank you to the business locations listed below, who hosted a challenge this year and donated $25 or more to First Call For Help. Thanks also to the community members who donated food to the racers during our ‘Mr. Roger’s Neighborhood mini food drive challenge’ to benefit our First Call For Help food pantry. Thank you so much to all the businesses who also donated prizes to be handed out to the contestants and volunteers following the Race.”
For more information on First Call for Help, see its website.
Tractor Supply Company will celebrate its grand opening in Hays with a community celebration featuring entertainment, giveaways and special events.
The Hays store, 235 W. 48th St., had a soft opening on Friday, Feb. 22 and is now open for business 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Mondays through Saturdays and 9 a.m. t0 7 p.m. Sundays.
As part of the family-friendly celebration from Thursday, March 7 through Sunday, March 10, Tractor Supply customers will receive a 10 percent discount on all purchases made at the store.
During the main event on Saturday, March 9, visitors will have the opportunity to enjoy special events including a limestone sculpture and carving demonstration, pet adoption event as well as family-friendly activities alongside the local 4-H chapter. Additionally, the store will give away gift cards and Tractor Supply hats while supplies last.
“At Tractor Supply we understand the value of community, which is why we made it a priority to build a team with deep roots in Hays,” said Mark Brown, manager of the Hays Tractor Supply store. “Our team members live the same lifestyle as our customers, and we’re excited to supply them with the tools, information and resources they need to live life on their own terms.”
Despite frigid temperatures and snow, Brown said the store has already received a warm welcome from Hays area residents.
Brown said the store will offer products for “life out here.”
The Hays Tractor Supply will provide a one-stop shop for the community, serving farmers, livestock and pet owners, ranchers, part-time and hobby farmers, gardeners, homeowners, tradesmen and others.
Chick Days are ongoing through May 5. The store has live chicks and ducks in stock now.
Tractor Supply customers will be able to choose from a wide range of products including workwear and boots, equine and pet supplies, tractor and trailer parts and accessories, lawn and garden supplies, sprinkler and irrigation parts, power tools, fencing, welding and pump supplies and riding mowers.
The store will carry brands such as Purina, Carhartt, Blue Buffalo and Hobart, as well as products exclusive to Tractor Supply. The Hays store will also include a pet wash station where customers will have access to professional-grade wash bays, grooming tables and tools.
Brown noted the store also can order products online to ship to the store or directly to the customer’s home.
In addition to supplying dependable products for farm, ranch and rural customers, the Hays Tractor Supply will regularly host events with community partners, including local animal shelters, area 4-H clubs and FFA chapters. Brown said the store has already signed on to be a sponsor of both the Trego and Ellis county fairs. The store will be accepting donations for area 4-H programs through its clover program. A clover will be posted in the store’s window for every donation made.
The store does not carry firearms, bows or ammo, but it does carry feed and salt block for deer hunters. The store plans to offer a deer event during hunting season.
Customers can also sign up for Tractor Supply’s new Neighbor’s Club loyalty program, which will make them eligible to receive member-only offers, birthday offers, personal purchase summaries and receipt-free returns.
Tractor Supply opens about 80 stores each year. Another store will be opening in Great Bend in May. Brown said Hays aligned with the brand’s values, and the company thought Hays could benefit from having a store in its community.
As of December 29, 2018, the company operated 1,765 Tractor Supply stores in 49 states and an e-commerce website at www.TractorSupply.com.
To learn more about Tractor Supply Company, visit TractorSupply.com. For additional information on the Neighbor’s Club program, visit NeighborsClub.com.
Tractor Supply Company also owns and operates Petsense, a small-box pet specialty supply retailer focused on meeting the needs of pet owners, primarily in small and mid-size communities, and offering a variety of pet products and services. As of December 29, 2018, the Company operated 175 Petsense stores in 26 states. For more information on Petsense, visit www.Petsense.com.
Abrienne Pince, USD 489 Best of the Best Award winner, shakes hands with school board member Sophia Rose Young at the school board meeting Monday night.
By CRISTINA JANNEY Hays Post
Abrienne Pince, Lincoln Elementary third-grader, was honored with the student Best of the Best Award for February for her friendship to other students and her natural leadership abilities.
She was nominated by her teacher Larissa Whitney.
“Abrie is someone who has stood out since the beginning of the school year,” Whitney said, “especially for her selflessness and her ‘How can I help you, Miss Whitney?’ and her overall demeanor. I have a classroom full of students who need a friend and Abrie accepts that challenge every day.
“I see her walking to school every day with her shoulders held high. She has this confident smile, and it is almost if she is on a mission.”
Whitney said Abrie helps other students when she can, befriending them on the playground or walking with them at school.
During a beginning-of-the-year get-to-know-you exercise, almost every student listed Abrie as a good friend.
“I thought that was amazing,” Whitney said. “She is already a natural leader and it was only the first week of school.”
Whitney continued, “She loves others so well, so I hope that tonight, Abrie, you are soaking this all up like a sponge, and I want you to know how much we love you and I hope you feel so loved. Honestly, we need more Abries in this world. I could see her sitting on a panel of a board some day. I could see her being our first lady president if that is what you want to do.”
Whitney also praised Abrie’s parents. Abrie’s father, Bill, bought pizza for the class after they completed their reading workshop. Whitney used the pizza as an opportunity to teach a lesson on fractions and division.
Abrie’s mom brought in Halloween treats and lead the class in make-and-take craft projects for both Christmas and Valentine’s Day.
“Our classroom has been blessed by this family,” Whitney said. “I am sad I only have a couple more months with Abrie, but I hope she will come back and help with our classroom every year in some sort of capacity.”
Kathy Wagoner
Kathy Wagoner, USD 489 Best of the Best Award winner with members of the Hays school board and Superintendent John Thissen.
Kathy Wagoner, Hays High language arts teacher, was honored with the February’s Hays USD 489 staff Best of the Best Award for her work on the HHS job fair.
She was nominated by Sue Rouse, HHS office staff member.
Wagoner also co-sponsors student council.
“She is one of the people who actually brings the community in, so they have a knowledge about of what is going on at Hays High,” Rouse said.
Wagoner started a program with the help of Tammy Wellbrock, director of the Hays Area Chamber of Commerce, to bring professionals into the high school to help students develop resumes and interview skills. This was the second year for the program, and about 50 professionals participated this year.
“As the office person, I was so excited … to see so many strong and professional people coming in. They were quality people doing the interviewing,” Rouse said. “When they came back to the office to sign out, they were so excited because they had met some really awesome kids with some awesome goals. Three of [the students] even commented they were thinking of going to technical college and coming back and working in Hays.”
Vera Elwood, young adult librarian with the Hays Public Library, was one of the professionals who interviewed students. She also attended the school board meeting Monday to speak on Wagoner’s behalf.
“I have seen no one who has demonstrated a commitment to the Hays High mission statement of empowering all students for tomorrow’s challenges quite like Mrs. Wagoner does,” Elwood said. “Each year she puts in countless hours to create the mock job fair for seniors.”
Wagoner recruits local hiring professionals throughout the community as volunteers, works with the seniors in advance to prepare resumes, teaches them interview skills and talks to them about professional behavior and attire.
“Then she brings it all together for days of crazy scheduling to make it all work to have job skill panels and mock interviews for every senior in the high school,” Elwood said. “This allows the students to practice real-word skills and network with potential bosses in the community.”
Elwood interviewed dozens of seniors and sat on multiple panels during this year’s job fair.
“I have seen how serious the seniors take this exercise and how big of an impact it can have on their lives,” she said. “I interviewed a student who had just landed her first job. I interviewed a student who was in the process of applying for technical school and was very worried about the interview portion. I met a student who had already started her own business and met a student who already had eight years of working experience by his senior year because of working on his family farm, and we talked about how to translate that onto a resume.
“I even interviewed one student who I was so impressed by that when she emailed me a thank you note, I responded with an application to my library because I really wanted to keep her in the community.
“Every student I spoke to was so prepared to leave the halls of Hays High and represent their alma mater in the real world, and none of the that would have been possible without the work and dedication of Mrs. Wagoner.”
Wagoner acknowledged her fellow teachers Alicia Brungardt and Diane Mason who work as a team on the job fair.
A Hays bookkeeper who tried to claim millions from her former employer’s estate entered into a plea agreement Friday morning in U.S. District Court in Wichita.
Wanda Oborny, who was charged with seven counts of mail fraud, changed her plea from not guilt to guilty on one count of mail fraud. The other six counts were dismissed.
The charges stemmed form her mailing a fraudulent codicil for her employer’s will to Fort Hays State University and other parties who were beneficiaries in the will, including Field’s relatives.
Under the plea, Oborny will serve 12 months of probation, make a charitable donation of $100 each month for 12 months to Fort Hays State University and pay a mandatory special assessment of $100.
By taking the plea, Oborny avoids a sentence of up to 20 years of prison and $250,000 fine.
Oborny was a bookkeeper for Hays resident Earl O. Field. Oborny alleged 98-year-old Field signed a codicil to his will shortly before his death in 2013, leaving half of his $20 million estate to her with a quarter of the estate going to Fort Hays State University Foundation and the rest going to Field’s attorney, Joseph Jeter.
After a long court battle, the Fort Hays University Foundation received the bulk of the estate as was stated in the original will.
Author and Victoria native Tammi Sauer introduces children at Wilson Elementary School to her book’s character, Wordy Bird.
By CRISTINA JANNEY Hays Post
Tammi Sauer, children’s author and Victoria native, is home this week for school visits that will culminate in a performance based on her book, “Your Alien,” on Friday at Beach/Schmidt Performing Arts Center.
First and second graders will see a live performance of “Your Alien” at 12:45 p.m. Friday. A public performance will be at 7 p.m., also at Beach/Schmidt. Cost is $3 for children 12 and younger and $5 for those 13 and older. All seating is general admission, so tickets will be sold only at the door beginning at 6:20 p.m.
Sauer’s school visits and the performance are being sponsored by the Hays Arts Council.
Sauer said Wednesday she was excited to be home and sharing her stories with local children. Although several of her books have been adapted into live performances, this is the first time she will be able to see one of them on stage. She has invited members of her family from Ellis County to join her in watching “Your Alien” for the first time.
“It is going to be amazing to have something that I had this idea for come to life on stage,” she said.
Sauer also presented the schools with a copy of “Your Alien Returns,” the sequel to “Your Alien.”
Sauer travels all over the country giving presentations to schools, and she has had some of her books translated into foreign languages.
Wilson students react to Tammi Sauer’s presentation at their school on Wednesday.
During a visit this week to Wilson school, Sauer introduced the children to one her characters, “Wordy Birdy,” read several books to the children, talked about the inspiration for her books and offered second graders an extended session on developing their ideas into stories.
Sauer said much of her inspiration for her books came from growing up on a farm near Victoria. She told the children her job in the family was pig chaser. When the family’s pigs got out of their pens, she had to chase them back in.
A zoo of of other animals play prominently in her books, including chickens, ducks bears, a moose and a shark among others.
She told the second-graders she finds inspiration for her books in the “weird stuff” in her life.
“I have 27 books,” she said, “and most of those have started with something weird.”
Her first book was “Cowboy Camp,” which was inspired by a young man who knocked on her door one night trying to sell her a newspaper subscription to earn money to go to a cowboy camp. Sauer thought this young man did not look like the type of person that would fit in at a cowboy camp. The struggle of her main character was born.
Another idea for a book came from a plate. It had a picture of a bear in bright red underwear on it with the words, “Cake? What Cake?”
“When I saw this picture of the big hairy bear in the giant red underpants standing in a bunch of cake crumbs, I thought I need to write a book about an animal who likes cake as much as this guy,” Sauer told the children.
The book became “I Love Cake.”
Sauer studied elementary education at Kansas State University and was teacher before she started her writing career. Even before she graduated college, one of her instructors noted her talent with words and encouraged her to consider writing children’s books. In honor of that teacher, she named a chicken in one of her books after her.
Sauer said she placed the thought of writing on the back burner until a children’s author visited her daughter’s school. That reignited that dream of being an author. She squeezed in time to write when her children were napping. Her first book was published in 2005.
Sauer told the children,”I think my job is the best job in the world. I think being a children’s book author is better than being a race car driver and vooming around the curves. I think it is more fun that being an astronaut and blasting into outer space. I think my job is the best, because I love books.
“Books can take people on adventures. You can open up any book in your library and go on a new adventure.”
Sauer has made frequent visits to Victoria to share her love of writing and books.
“I just wanted those kids to see, ‘Hey, you can go to this little school and you can go do big things. You can do whatever you want. You just have to put in the time and the heart.
“It is my favorite,” she said of visiting her former school. “I have those feelings when I was in here. I know where some of my favorite books where on the shelf. It is a nice feeling to be back. When I walk in there, it even has the same kind of smell I remember when I was a little kid.”
Sauer can still remember some of her favorite books when she was a child. She loved the golden egg book when she was in first grade because of its beautiful cover, the Ramona books when she was a little older and “Are You There God? It’s Me Margret.”
“I have always been a big reader and just didn’t ever know I was going to be a writer,” she said. “It is just great to know all that reading I was doing helps me to be a better writer even now.”
Sauer acknowledged the children’s book market is very competitive. Less than 1 percent of the manuscripts that are sent to the major publishing houses make it to print. Sauer has an agent who helps find buyers for her books. Even with a children’s literature, revisions are extensive.
“I feel most of my job is not as a writer, but a reviser,” she said. “That is the truth for every writer out there who is trying to make a good thing better.”
Hays USD 489 school board members Luke Oborny and Sophia Rose Young inspect an iPad and Chromebook at the board’s meeting Monday night. The board is considering purchasing new computers for Hays Middle School.
By CRISTINA JANNEY Hays Post
Some Hays USD 489 school board members are questioning the need for touchscreens as a feature on computers for the Hays Middle School students.
The board was set to vote on the replacement of 680 computers at HMS at its meeting on Monday. The purchase is part of a four-year rotation of computer buying for the district.
The district technology committee looked at three different devices for the HMS students.
These included replacing the school’s iPads with new iPads. Over four years, the computers would cost $254,320, which is less than the $290,000 the district budgeted for replacement.
Chromebooks with the same capabilities would cost $317,612 with a significantly lower resale value at the end of four years. A Windows device was significantly above budget at a cost of $344,071.
If the district bought iPads, the technology committee planned on not buying new devices for teachers. The district also would not have to pay for professional learning time if it stayed with the iPads.
The technology committee conducted a study this fall on the use of Chromebooks at HMS, in an elementary classroom and at the Learning Center. After the study, the committee concluded the iPads better met the learning needs of the district’s students.
Members of the board still questioned if the iPads were the correct purchase for the district.
Board member Paul Adams said, “I am interested, and the other board members are, in the reasons touch is such a vital need.”
Adams wanted to know what touchscreens were being used for besides annotation while reading.
“It’s not what you want; it’s what you are using,” he said.
Nineteen HMS teachers out of 32 indicated in a survey PDF annotation was important to students mastering learning objectives.
Board member Luke Oborny suggested staff email teachers to gather more information about how the touchscreens are being used in their classrooms.
Scott Summers, technology director, said teachers provide worksheets to students via their tablets, and they use the touchscreen to write with a stylus or draw with their finger to complete those assignments. The teachers then use the touchscreens to grade the worksheets.
Superintendent John Thissen also said during an Eagle Morning Show interview Tuesday, teachers use a variety of free educational game apps that are touchscreen based.
The technology committee checked with other similar-sized schools to see what type of devices they were using.
Board member Lance Bickle noted 15 of 23 of the schools were using Chromebooks.
“If there was a big price discrepancy or a difference in there … We are not the only district that struggles with cost. I’m just curious of what they are doing differently that we are not seeing,” he said.
Bickle added, “At the end of the day, I am merely looking at this from a cost standpoint. That is the biggest part I have struggled with, especially seeing this list. I know that most of these other districts are not using touch. I am just trying to see how they are getting around it. I am sure there are advantages and pros and cons each way. I don’t know what those are.”
Bickle also questioned if district needed video editing software on all of the devices in the school. The editing software is included on the iPads but would have to purchased for the Chromebooks.
Board member Greg Schwartz said he thought the district is spending too much from the capital outlay budget on technology.
“In the time we have started the one-to-one initiative at the high school to now, I think we have spent probably between $15 to $20 million on technology. All of it is coming out of the capital outlay fund. The next item on our agenda is to look at the bond issue. If I am right and it is $20 million, that’s an elementary school.
“You could have had an elementary school that is still here and around as we are seeing most of our stuff last three years and it is worth between $10 and $60. It really has zero value. There were educational uses for that, and hopefully the students learned and got some benefits back out of that, but I am still waiting for that study that definitively shows our investment in technology is paying back dividends.”
Schwartz also questioned if other districts were paying for their technology out of capital outlay.
The board is set to reconsider the computer purchase at its March 25 meeting.
