Dennis C. Wilhelm, 73, Rush Center, Kansas, died Sunday, Feb. 10, 2019, at his home.
Dennis was born May 3, 1945, in La Crosse, Kansas, the son of John and June (Dumler) Wilhelm.He was a lifelong resident of Rush County, Kansas.A 1963 graduate of La Crosse High School, La Crosse, Kansas, he was a farmer/stockman.
He was a member of the United Methodist Church, La Crosse, Kansas; Walnut City Lodge No. 215, Rush Center, Kansas; and the Ft. Hays Shrine Club, Hays, Kansas.
On Nov. 4, 1967, he married Marilyn Foos at the United Methodist Church, La Crosse, Kansas.
Survivors include:his wife, Marilyn Wilhelm, Rush Center, Kansas; one son, Eric Wilhelm (Hilary), Rush Center, Kansas; one daughter, Carmen Wilhelm, Garden City, Kansas; one grandson, Tristen Wilhelm, Rush Center, Kansas; and one brother, Donald Gene Wilhelm (Sondra), Waverly, Nebraska.
He was preceded in death by his parents.
Per Dennis’ wishes, the family has chosen cremation.
Visitation will be from 4 to 8 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 13, 2019, at the Janousek Funeral Home, La Crosse, Kansas, with the family receiving friends from 6 to 7 p.m.
Memorial service will be at 11 a.m. Thursday, Feb. 14, 2019, at the Janousek Funeral Home, La Crosse, Kansas, with Brother Terry Warner officiating.
In lieu of flowers or plants, the family request memorials to Shriners Hospitals For Children, or Children’s Mercy Hospital, Kansas City, Missouri.
Update: The Hays USD 489 school board extended a two-year contract offer to Herington Superintendent Ron Wilson to become the new superintendent.
Wilson accepted the contract, and the school board voted Monday night to unanimously approve the contract with Wilson.
The district interviewed four candidates for the position. They also included Keith Hall, Hays interim director of finance; Jamie Wetig, Ashland superintendent; and Mike Gower, Logan and Philipsburg superintendent.
“Ron comes in with a really great attitude, a very positive, uplifting attitude,” Board President Mandy Fox said. “He has culture on the forefront. He really wants to build that culture for this district. He referred back each time to the same phrases, ‘We are here for the kids, ‘Is that is what is best for the kids?’
“I think he is going to work hard to instill that culture, not only to staff, but administrators and with the kids even. I think his focus is to bring everyone together and to bring some new ideas to what we are doing now with the board too.”
Wilson in his last two years in Herington has engaged in interest based bargaining with teachers. The board at one time used IBB, but has moved away from it in recent years. Board member Paul Adams recently suggested the board move back to IBB.
“I think he is excited to come,” Fox said. “I think his wife is really excited to come. They were very energetic when I made the offer, and we look forward to having them this July.”
Wilson will take over as the superintendent in Hays on July 1.
Current Hays Superintendent John Thissen will serve out the remainder of his contract, which runs through June 30.
Thissen resigned in October, citing personal reasons.
Adams said he thought Wilson was a very good candidate.
“I think his personality and his inclusiveness in bringing the teachers into his vision and building a culture is going to be very important for us as we are moving forward.”
Adams said he also thought Wilson’s desire to work with the board to find efficiencies is important.
Board member Mike Walker said of the four candidates, Wilson seemed to exhibit the most energy and be the most positive.
“I think that will be a good thing for our district—to have a real go-getter,” Walker said.
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The Hays USD 489 school board in its final agenda for Monday’s meeting will vote to extend a two-year superintendent contract to the Herington Superintendent Ron Wilson.
Wilson has been the superintendent in Herington for two years.
He will take over as the superintendent in Hays on July 1.
Current Hays Superintendent John Thissen will serve out the remainder of his contract, which runs through June 30.
Thissen resigned in October, citing personal reasons.
Watch the Hays Post for more on this story as it becomes available.
Current Hays Superintendent John Thissen resigned in October, citing personal reasons. He will serve the remainder of his contract, which ends June 30.
Oak Park Medical Complex
The board will see plans Monday for renovations for the Oak Park Medical Complex.
The board purchased the property, which it plans to use to house the Early Child Connections program. The program is now housed in the former Washington school, which the district will close and has sold.
The Washington building was purchased by a developer to be renovated into low-income housing.
The school board purchased the Oak Park Complex for $2 million. It received a $1.47 million federal grant to renovate the facility. HaysMed, which was the primary owner of the complex, also donated $500,000 toward the renovation project.
The federal grant money must be used by June 30. The school district hopes to have the renovated space open for fall classes.
Driver’s education fees
The board is set to vote on a change in driver’s education fees. The program is doing well and has a significant reserve. The recommendation is to reduce the fees by $25 to $225 for district students and $275 for non-district students. Administration has recommended to keep summer school fees the same as they were last year.
In other business:
• The board is set to vote on contracts for Shanna Dinkel, assistant superintendent, and Chris Hipp, director of special education, for the 2019-20 school year.
• Thissen will share the district-wide KESA educator, student and parent survey results with the board.
• Keith Hall, interim director of finance, will share the five-year Capital Outlay Resolution with the board.
• The board will consider the approval of negotiating agents for the 2019- 20 school year contract.
For 140 individuals with intellectual disabilities, Friday night was their Night to Shine.
Night to Shine is a program made possible in part by the Tim Tebow Foundation. The event gives a prom-like experience for community members 14 and older who have intellectual disabilities.
Hays’ 2019 Night to Shine was conducted at Celebration Community Church.
Organizer Brent Kaiser said about 140 guests were invited to the event and about 400 volunteers joined in to make the event possible.
With loved ones and friends watching, the event was expected to draw about 800 people.
The guests were cheered as they walked a red carpet, then were honored and photographed during a promenade. The guests had dinner with a volunteer “buddy” before ending the evening with a dance and activities.
Hays USD 489 Superintendent candidate Ron Wilson said he centers all his work on what is best for kids.
Wilson is the fourth of four candidates to be interviewed by the Hays school board for the position of superintendent. He was interviewed by the school board Thursday night.
Mike Gower, Logan and Phillipsburg superintendent, interviewed Wednesday. Keith Hall, USD 489 interim director of finance, and Jamie Wetig, Ashland superintendent, interviewed last week.
Wilson, 53, has been the superintendent in Herington for the last two years. He was the Abilene Middle School principal for 18 years and also served as a K-8 principal at North Ottawa County. He won the Kansas Association of Secondary School Principals Principal of the Year Award in 2006 and the Kansas Association of Middle School Administrators Principal of the Year Award in 2015.
He received his undergraduate degree at Bethany College and master’s degree and superintendent certification from Kansas State University. He said he made the move to becoming a superintendent later in life, because he wanted to wait until his youngest child graduated high school before moving the family. A job in Hays would move Wilson closer to his aging mother-in-law in Colorado. The Wilsons also have a son who is a senior at Fort Hays State University.
School was canceled Thursday due to cold weather, so Wilson did not have the opportunity to see the schools operating with students. He said he still thought the schools where similar to the Herington district even though the Herington district is much smaller.
“It is a 2A district. This is a 5A district, but I would say it is still people working in schools and working toward student success. Although there are more students and staff, they still have the same mission, the same goal. There are so many great support people all over this district, it is really amazing to see what is going on.”
Wilson has not been through a bond issue as a superintendent, but the Herington district recently moved forward with a lease purchase agreement using capital improvement funds to remove asbestos from the high school and upgrade floors, lighting and labs.
The Hays school district has had two failed bond attempts in the last three years. It has discussed attempting a third that would include improvements to the Hays High School HVAC system, expansion of the Hays Middle School cafeteria and expansion of Roosevelt Elementary School to accommodate five sections of each grade.
“I think I see my role as more a consensus builder,” Wilson said of a possible bond issue, “to try to bring everyone together into a consensus of what is the best possible plan that will meet the needs of the school and people but, at the same time, what the community desires. I think in my skill set that is my strength in being able to work with people and get them to understand there are not ulterior motives. It is just trying to figure out how we can best serve kids.”
Wilson acknowledged it’s tough convincing people to vote for a bond issue that includes a tax increase.
“Once people understand that we are trying to do the best we can with what we have and they trust we are telling them the right thing, I think that is how you get over the hump,” he said.
Wilson said he would also support a long-range facility plan as has been advocated by some school board members.
The school board has been split on how to move forward on facilities. They had a notable split vote on the purchase of the Oak Park Medical Complex, which is being renovated for use by Early Childhood Connections.
“I think we need to create a situation where people are focused on kids and doing what is best for kids,” he said. “I think if we have that as our ultimate goal, it is really easy to unite people as they can see that is what we are aiming for is to do what’s best for kids.”
Wilson also talked about relationships with teachers.
“I would be disappointed if I did not have a great relationship with teachers,” Wilson said. “I am very supportive of teachers, and I feel strongly that when it comes to teacher pay, that has got to be a priority of the district.”
He said raises are not always possible, but teachers make the biggest impact with students.
Herington participates in interest-based bargaining. Hays used to participate in interest-based bargaining, but has moved away from that style of negotiations in recent years. Wilson said he really liked IBB negotiations. In IBB, both parties focus on what is best for the good of both sides. Kathy Rome, KNEA UniServ director, said she and Hays KNEA also supported IBB. Board member Paul Adams asked the board at its last meeting to consider using IBB again. The full board has yet to discuss the move.
Under Wilson’s leadership in Herington, the district implemented Multi-Tiered Systems of Support. The district dedicated time to allow students who need more help to receive it. Those children who are at grade level in reading and math can use that time for enrichment activities. The schools also use some of that time for character-building activities.
Wilson said he would bring being a champion for kids to the Hays school district.
“Our ultimate goal is to give every kid opportunities … to do things more than they even thought possible. That is one of things I will bring right away. We will talk about what we are doing, what we can do better, what do you need to do better.
“I will bring a vision of everyone to bring their best every day,” he said. “I think that is so important. That is not just staff. That is making sure students bring their best and even parents in some regards. That is what our expectations are.”
He also said he believes in building a positive culture.
“Everyone has to be on the same page in terms of our goal and that is to give kids the best. … Negativity just sucks the life out of school district. There are going to be some tough days, and you are going to need someone to be positive to get you through those tough days. If you have more negativity right around the corner, it is going to take you down.”
He said many of thing he spoke about he already sees in the Hays school district. He would just hope to reinforce that vision.
Dylan Werth as Theodore Laurence in Hays Community Theatre’s presentation of “Little Women.” File photo
By CRISTINA JANNEY Hays Post
If you have been to a Thomas More Prep-Marian or Hays Community Theatre performance in the last four years, you have probably seen Dylan Werth.
Werth’s extensive involvement in local theater has helped him land a $15,000 per year, four-year scholarship to Sterling College.
Werth, 18, a senior at TMP, signed with Sterling College on Wednesday for the scholarship, which is a combination of a music, theater and dean’s academic award.
Werth had been looking at larger public schools, including Fort Hays State University, but Werth, who is also a state champion in improvised duet acting, attended a forensics workshop at Sterling last spring.
“I just fell in love with the place. I think the first thing that got me was that it was a good time of year because it looked beautiful. It was the people there. They were so nice, and I genuinely felt like they cared about the people. It was like ‘You are here. You are in the arts. We like you already.’ We could leave everything at the door and just have fun.”
TMP student Dylan Werth with his parents as he signs for a theater scholarship at Sterling College. Courtesy photo
Werth started with HCT’s performance of “Shrek,” and has been involved with every show TMP and HCT has staged since.
Some of Werth’s more notable roles in the last few years included Jack in TMP’s production of “Into the Woods,” Will in TMP’s “Oklahoma!” and Theodore Laurence in HCT’s “Little Women.”
He was nominated for a theater Jester award for his portrayal of Jack in “In the Woods.”
“It’s a passion,” he said. “It’s what I like to do.”
Werth’s favorite part was Will in TMP’s “Oklahoma!”
“It was very consuming on all parts and all surfaces,” he said. “I had to sing, act and dance and all of that. I helped a lot backstage too with teaching choreography and with the set and props. I liked that best because I got to take all that in and learn all those different areas I haven’t before.”
He said his favorite show was “Into the Woods.”
“The music is amazing, There was no sad part about him,” he said of his character Jack. “He wasn’t happy, but he was too stupid he couldn’t be sad because he didn’t know what was going on. He was always in that la la land stage. That was fun to have fun with and be creative.”
This semester Werth is in three shows as well as participating in forensics at TMP.
He is an assistant director on HCT’s upcoming performance of “Steel Magnolias.” He is Ryan, a suspect, in HCT’s Feb. 15 and 16 show, “Murder Can be Habit Forming.” He will be Tony Kirby, the son of a business mogul, in TMP’s spring comedy “You Can’t Take it With You.”
“My mom always tells me ‘Don’t spread yourself too thin or work yourself to death,'” he said. “But if I am doing what I love, I don’t count it as work. Sure it is work, but I don’t count it as so hectic and time-consuming. I would want to be here anyway.”
When he graduates college, Werth hopes to land a job in live theater.
“I just want to go somewhere and get paid to do what I love,” he said.
He said he would choose live theater over TV or film.
“Nothing else can take it,” he said. “You don’t know what is going to happen when you do live theater. Sure you can practice and practice, but you can’t account for everything. I think that bring a sort of charm to live theater.”
Werth said theater allows you to experience different times and places.
“I think that is why I like theater so much, because you get to travel without moving.”
Werth said Travis Grizzell, TMP drama teacher and active HCT member, has been a role model for him in the last several years.
Werth is in Grizzell’s forensics class. He competes in duet acting and improvised duet acting. Werth and his partner’s piece for duet acting is a selection from a musical comedy, “The Big Bang.” It tells the tale of the history of civilization through campy song and dance.
“It is fun to do. We laugh a lot, and we are being weird characters,” he said.
He said he prefers comedy.
“There is something relaxing about a good comedy,” he said, “to watch them just laugh. Laughter is the best medicine.”
You can buy tickets now to see Dylan in HCT’s “Murder Can be Habit Forming.” Click here to access the HCT webpage for tickets. HCT’s “Steel Magnolias” is set for March 22-24. Tickets will also be available on the HCT website.
Watch the TMP website for more information on “You Can’t Take it With You.” Performance dates are April 12, 13 and 14.
A former Hays woman who has been charged with mail fraud for allegedly trying to gain millions from her former employer’s estate is set to change her plea in federal court in March.
Wanda Oborny was scheduled to be in U.S. District Court in Wichita for a hearing on Feb. 19. However, her attorney has filed an notice intent for Oborny to change her plea. Her next court date has been set for 10 a.m. March 1 in Wichita.
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 and the rest going to Field’s attorney, Joseph Jeter.
The original will left the bulk of the estate to the FHSU Foundation for use in providing scholarships. After a lengthy court battle, the Kansas Supreme Court refused to hear Oborny’s appeal in November.
This left in force a lower court’s decision Oborny or someone on her request forged Field’s name on the codicil to the will. As a result, the bulk of the $20 million estate will go to the Foundation.
Oborny’s attorney has not responded to a request for comment.
Candidate for the Hays USD 489 superintendent position Michael Gower said he believes in the three Rs — relationships, relationships, relationships.
Gower is the third of four candidates interviewing for the top job at USD 489. He interviewed Wednesday. Herington superintendent Ron Wilson will interview Thursday, and Keith Hall, USD 489 interim director of finance, and Jamie Wetig, Ashland superintendent, interviewed last week.
The school board is set to vote on its selection for superintendent at its meeting Monday.
Gower is the superintendent at Phillipsburg and Logan. His daughters both teach in the Hays school district. Michaela Gower teaches fifth grade at Roosevelt Elementary School, and Mindy Gower is a third-grade teacher at O’Loughlin Elementary School.
In part because of his family connection and close proximity to Hays, Gower said he was familiar with the Hays school district. He said his daughters were concerned about the turnover in leadership within the Hays school district and urged their father to apply for the superintendent job. He said he thought he could bring more stability to the position.
“I am a western Kansas person, and I believe in this area of the state, and I want to see it succeed. If I am hired, I am not going anywhere,” he said. “I will stay here as long as they’ll have me.”
Gower and his wife are also graduates of Fort Hays State University. Gower has a master’s degree and a superintendent endorsement from FHSU.
“I just wanted to stretch myself a little bit,” he said. “I have been at Phillipsburg now for about 20 years as a teacher, principal and superintendent. I have always admired the Hays district and just felt that is some place I would like to be.”
Gower took on the additional responsibility as superintendent at Logan six years ago.
Despite leading two districts, he tries to visit and interact with the students and staff in each of the districts’ buildings each week.
“I try to get in each building and see the students, interact with the students and the teachers,” he said. “That helps remind me of why I am actually doing this job. … Our main reason of being in education is to work with kids and to do what is best for kids.”
Kathy Rome, KNEA UniServ director, attended the public meet-and-greet with Gower on Wednesday and she asked about his relationship with teachers and the teachers’ unions in Logan and Phillipsburg. Rome acknowledged she had not been called in to assist with negotiations in either of Gower’s districts in recent years.
The Hays school board reached impasse with teachers in negotiations last year over a pay, and a federal meditator had to be brought it to resolve the dispute.
“We have always come to an agreement sooner or later. I think it has been mutual respect,” he said of past negotiations in his district. “We have been able to see both sides — see what works for the teachers and what also works for the district so both districts could stay in a good financial setting, but also compensate teachers and well enough you are able to keep quality people at both districts.”
After two failed bond attempts in the last three years, the Hays school board has been discussing attempting a third bond to address some of its many facility needs.
Gower said he did not have any experience with bonds as a superintendent.
“You have to be visible in the community and get input from stakeholders and teachers and staff as well,” he said. “Look at what has and hasn’t worked. The last two haven’t, so what can we do differently? Back to the teacher negotiations, if we can find common ground somewhere, we can get enough people to support it.”
Gower said he did not think the latest $29 million plan that would include HVAC improvements at the HHS, an expanded cafeteria at HMS and an expansion at Roosevelt Elementary School went far enough to address the district’s facility needs. However, he acknowledged that may be what the district is able to pass.
“That would be my job,” he said, “to try and unify the voters, the parents, the stakeholders, the board and get everybody behind the bond, but I also understand you don’t just keep beating your head against the wall and doing the same thing. If the other two didn’t pass, then you do have to adjust and look at something different.”
He said even with a 10-year plan, the district is going to have a group of students that will make it all the way through school before they see more improvements in facilities. He also noted construction costs are only going to increase with the passage of time.
He said he supported the development of a long-range facilities plan.
The Hays school board also has had some high-profile votes recently that have been split, most notably the votes to purchase the Oak Park Medical Complex that will be renovated for use by Early Childhood Connections.
Gower said he will try to educate the board on the facts, but in the end, every board member has their own vote.
“Really the voters need to speak,” he said. “If the voters think board members are against whatever the case may be — these board members are against the bond or these board members aren’t supportive — then those voters need to get out and support board candidates they do think will support what they want.”
Four Hays school board seats are up for election in November. They include the seats held by Luke Oborny, who has filed for re-election, Mandy Fox, Greg Schwartz and Paul Adams.
Although his districts are different in size compared to the Hays district, he said he thought the districts were much the same, but with different faces.
He noted the Hays district is working on student social and emotional development as part of the KESA accreditation process, just as Logan and Phillipsburg are.
Phillipsburg High School has initiated a Passion Project in response to KESA requirements. Students are periodically paired with staff members at PHS, including classified staff, such as maintenance or custodial workers. The students are split into groups and learn skills from the adults. It could be how to fix a car, how to bake a cake or how to play a guitar.
“You might identify better with a custodian than you do with a teacher,” he said. “It just builds relationships throughout the school building. …
“It is all about relationships. All of that stuff we are talking about is a fancy way of say build relationships. I believe in the three Rs — relationships, relationships, relationships.”
Hays USD 489 Superintendent candidate Ron Wilson said he centers all his work on what is best for kids.
Wilson is the fourth of four candidates to be interviewed by the Hays school board for the position of superintendent. He was interviewed by the school board Thursday night.
Mike Gower, Logan and Phillipsburg superintendent, interviewed Wednesday. Keith Hall, USD 489 interim director of finance, and Jamie Wetig, Ashland superintendent, interviewed last week.
Wilson, 53, has been the superintendent in Herington for the last two years. He was the Abilene Middle School principal for 18 years and also served as a K-8 principal at North Ottawa County. He won the Kansas Association of Secondary School Principals Principal of the Year Award in 2006 and the Kansas Association of Middle School Administrators Principal of the Year Award in 2015.
He received his undergraduate degree at Bethany College and master’s degree and superintendent certification from Kansas State University. He said he made the move to becoming a superintendent later in life, because he wanted to wait until his youngest child graduated high school before moving the family. A job in Hays would move Wilson closer to his aging mother-in-law in Colorado. The Wilsons also have a son who is a senior at Fort Hays State University.
School was canceled Thursday due to cold weather, so Wilson did not have the opportunity to see the schools operating with students. He said he still thought the schools where similar to the Herington district even though the Herington district is much smaller.
“It is a 2A district. This is a 5A district, but I would say it is still people working in schools and working toward student success. Although there are more students and staff, they still have the same mission, the same goal. There are so many great support people all over this district, it is really amazing to see what is going on.”
Wilson has not been through a bond issue as a superintendent, but the Herington district recently moved forward with a lease purchase agreement using capital improvement funds to remove asbestos from the high school and upgrade floors, lighting and labs.
The Hays school district has had two failed bond attempts in the last three years. It has discussed attempting a third that would include improvements to the Hays High School HVAC system, expansion of the Hays Middle School cafeteria and expansion of Roosevelt Elementary School to accommodate five sections of each grade.
“I think I see my role as more a consensus builder,” Wilson said of a possible bond issue, “to try to bring everyone together into a consensus of what is the best possible plan that will meet the needs of the school and people but, at the same time, what the community desires. I think in my skill set that is my strength in being able to work with people and get them to understand there are not ulterior motives. It is just trying to figure out how we can best serve kids.”
Wilson acknowledged it’s tough convincing people to vote for a bond issue that includes a tax increase.
“Once people understand that we are trying to do the best we can with what we have and they trust we are telling them the right thing, I think that is how you get over the hump,” he said.
Wilson said he would also support a long-range facility plan as has been advocated by some school board members.
The school board has been split on how to move forward on facilities. They had a notable split vote on the purchase of the Oak Park Medical Complex, which is being renovated for use by Early Childhood Connections.
“I think we need to create a situation where people are focused on kids and doing what is best for kids,” he said. “I think if we have that as our ultimate goal, it is really easy to unite people as they can see that is what we are aiming for is to do what’s best for kids.”
Wilson also talked about relationships with teachers.
“I would be disappointed if I did not have a great relationship with teachers,” Wilson said. “I am very supportive of teachers, and I feel strongly that when it comes to teacher pay, that has got to be a priority of the district.”
He said raises are not always possible, but teachers make the biggest impact with students.
Herington participates in interest-based bargaining. Hays used to participate in interest-based bargaining, but has moved away from that style of negotiations in recent years. Wilson said he really liked IBB negotiations. In IBB, both parties focus on what is best for the good of both sides. Kathy Rome, KNEA UniServ director, said she and Hays KNEA also supported IBB. Board member Paul Adams asked the board at its last meeting to consider using IBB again. The full board has yet to discuss the move.
Under Wilson’s leadership in Herington, the district implemented Multi-Tiered Systems of Support. The district dedicated time to allow students who need more help to receive it. Those children who are at grade level in reading and math can use that time for enrichment activities. The schools also use some of that time for character-building activities.
Wilson said he would bring being a champion for kids to the Hays school district.
“Our ultimate goal is to give every kid opportunities … to do things more than they even thought possible. That is one of things I will bring right away. We will talk about what we are doing, what we can do better, what do you need to do better.
“I will bring a vision of everyone to bring their best every day,” he said. “I think that is so important. That is not just staff. That is making sure students bring their best and even parents in some regards. That is what our expectations are.”
He also said he believes in building a positive culture.
“Everyone has to be on the same page in terms of our goal and that is to give kids the best. … Negativity just sucks the life out of school district. There are going to be some tough days, and you are going to need someone to be positive to get you through those tough days. If you have more negativity right around the corner, it is going to take you down.”
He said many of thing he spoke about he already sees in the Hays school district. He would just hope to reinforce that vision.
Horses that emerge from a tangle of roots, bright bugs made of fused glass and dancers frozen in time by a single shutter click all will come together in a single show that opens Friday at the Hays Arts Center.
The main gallery is featuring “Intermittent Musings,” a career retrospect of glass and mixed media art from Stan Detrixhe. The Founders gallery will host “Unwrapping Life,” mixed media carving and ceramics by Terri Horner. Also featured will be “In Motion, Dance photography by Michael Strong.”
The opening reception for all three exhibits will be from 7 to 9 p.m. Friday at the Hays Arts Council.
Stan Detrixhe
Stan Detrixhe installing an art piece for an exhibit at the Hays Arts Center.
Detrixhe, 66, works in a variety of media including fused glass, reverse painted glass, oil and collage.
Detrixhe is a a Hays native, but studied at San Diego State before moving back to Kansas. He started working with in glass in 1983 when he working as a designer for High Plains Stained Glass. The company designed and repaired stained glass windows. Although there is not as much demand for it today, Detrixhe still offers commercial stained glass work as well.
One of the larger pieces of glass work in the exhibit includes several wire panes featuring bugs.
Detrixhe said he chose the subject because he saw them as a challenge.
“What is an extreme example of what you could do with fusing and still have it hold up?” he said. “So I thought of all the little legs on the insects coming off as being very, very delicate, and then the middles of the insects are very, very strong. I was trying to determine if those two things were compatible.”
Advances have been made in fused glass, but when Detrixhe started there were issues with compatibility in different colors of fused glass. One color of glass can solidify before another, which will cause the glass to crack.
A fused glass insect by Stan Detrixhe.
All the insects in this piece of artwork were modeled after actual insects. Detrixhe researched the anatomy and features of the insects as he was creating the pieces.
Another challenge for Detrixhe is painting reversed glass. As the name implies, all of the painting has to be done in reverse on the back of the piece of glass. He said he likes the effect that is achieved in the final product. As light hits the front of the finished pieces, it makes the color seem even brighter than the original paint.
Detrixhe has several large collage pieces in this exhibit. Some are abstract and others look more like a traditional paintings.
He created abstract brown, blue and green collage pieces by chance. He started snipping pieces out of magazines and gluing them on a background, and it just kept getting bigger until it was several feet tall. A second piece followed. The third green piece in the series he created from digitized images.
He said even if he is going to create a finished piece in another medium, such as oil or glass, he likes to use collage to create a first impression of what the finished piece will look like.
Two oil paintings will make a reappearance in this exhibit from a former Hays downtown bar. The bar used to be in the basement of what is now Coldwell Banker Executive Realty, 1001 Main. The paintings were donated to the HAC when the bar closed.
Terri Horner
Terri Horner of Great Bend with two of her art pieces that will be on exhibit at the Hays Arts Center.
Horner, 61, Great Bend, is a cosmetologist by trade, but went back to school and earned her bachelor’s degree in art from Fort Hays State University in 2009.
Although Horner’s formal education came later in life, she has always loved art and drawing. Today she is a sculpture. Her favorite media is wood, and she often uses cedar.
“Wood and stone are particularly nice because you uncover what is in there,” she said. “What I see I can bring to light for someone else to see that they might not otherwise find in there.”
Horner gave several examples. A piece that was chosen for the 2018 Smoky Hill Art Exhibition at the HAC depicts horses carved from the roots of a hydrangea bush. The roots were a gift from a friend’s garden. Horner said she turned the root around and around and upside down, but all she could see were the heads of horses in the tangled wood.
A horse sculpture by Terri Horner.
A thin sculpture of a women was inspired by a knot that Horner imagined as the women’s hair. In yet another piece depicting Eve, the nape of the woman’s neck, her hair and the curvature of her face were all determined by the grain that was naturally in the wood.
“The fact that I like three-dimensional work and it’s more comfortable to me, I think is because I have worked on a 3-D pallet my entire life working on hair,” she said, “because that is an art in and of itself.”‘
Another piece was inspired by her in-laws, Ralph and Edna Horner. The wood sculpture features a faded, ghostly image of the couple when they were young. A cast of their hands is in an opening in the wood below. On the back of the piece is inscribed a excerpt from a love letter Ralph wrote to Edna when he was stationed in Africa during World War II. He worked as mechanic in the Army Air Corps. They wrote to each other every day.
“I really wanted to honor them in a sense, because No. 1 they were awesome people,” Horner said. “They were just the kindest, sweetest people ever. They were also so in love. Dad died in ’93, and they were every bit in love at that moment as the day they met. They were such an inspiration and an example.”
The hydrangea roots from which Terri Horner carved her horse sculpture.
Several of the pieces in “Unwrapping Life” also depict animals, such as a lion, monkey, giraffe and elephant in wood and polar bears in Italian ice alabaster.
“I have just always been an animal lover or that’s just what’s there,” she said.
Horner is branching off in new directions. She is working on an independent study at Barton Community College in ceramics. Although it was not ready for this show, she hopes to be able to show that work soon.
Michael Strong
Mike Strong started shooting photos in the 1967 when he took a photojournalism class in college. That was the only photo class he took, but he had found his passion.
He couldn’t find a job as a photographer right out of college. He kept finding jobs for reporters, so he became a photographer who wrote. Today he is primarily a dance and performance photographer. Strong formerly lived in Kansas City, but is now living in Hays.
Photo b Michael Strong
His exhibition “In Motion: Dance Photography by Michael Strong,” shows examples from years of perfecting the art of photographing the movement and emotion of dance.
“It never, never stops for me,” he said of the dance photography. “This is always perfection. I am always perfecting. There is nothing else as interesting or exciting for me because there are always changes in moves.”
Strong said he didn’t really understand dance photography nor was he any good at it until he took tap lessons. He started to see new aspects in his photography and better understand the timing that goes into dance after he started to dance.
“I didn’t know what it was, but I knew my pictures were different from the normal newspaper people who came in, who clearly didn’t see what they were looking at,” he said. “To see something, you have to know something. To know something, you have to do something.”
American Youth Ballet (AYB) dress rehearsal #1 in Polsky Theater Wed 5 p.m. May 10, 2018 for performances May 12 and 13. Photo by Mike Strong.
When Strong is going to photograph a performance, he starts attending rehearsals as soon as possible. He makes notes about the timing of the movements.
When he shoots, he does not use continuous shooting. Every image is captured with a single click of the shutter. He said this has forced him to choose his shots more carefully and perfect his timing. Several photos in the exhibit will include consecutive frames of a single subject to show how this techniques shapes Strong’s photography.
Strong also shoots with an ultra-wide angel lens. This allows him to be very close to his subjects, but still capture a broader image.
“For me, this is about perfecting and never quite getting there,” Strong said of his photography, “but always staying on an edge. I have a tell I have for myself. If I find myself thinking it is too easy, I stop because it means that I am not paying attention. I start doing a quick little inventory of where I am at in the dance. I do a quick little inventory of all the setting on my camera. That puts me back in the mood. You have to be on edge in some way, shape or form.”
Photo by Mike Strong
He never shoots a posed shot. They are all images made in the moment.
“I call these my transitive [shots] like a transitive verb. You know you need an object that comes after it,” he said. “These are transitive in the sense they are coming from somewhere and going to somewhere rather than just jumping up and boom there you are.”
Although Strong started shooting ballroom dancing, today he photographs the American Youth Ballet, University of Kansas dance and University of Missouri Kansas City dance as well as other events and companies.
Ron Wilson will interview for the position of Superintendent with the USD 489 Board of Education Thursday night.
Wilson is the fourth of four candidates that the USD 489 Hays Board of Education will be interviewing. Wednesday the school board interviewed Michael Gower, Phillipsburg and Logan superintendent. Last week the school board interviewed Keith Hall, USD 489 interim director of finance,and Jamie Wetig, Ashland superintendent.
The board is set to vote on the new superintendent at its meeting Monday night.
Candidates were selected for interviews based on their fit with desired characteristics that were developed with input from focus groups that were utilized throughout the search process.
Wilson is currently serving as the superintendent of schools in Herington USD 487.Wilson is in his second year in the position.Previously, Wilson served as the Abilene Middle School Principal for 18 years in USD 435.
Schedule February 7, 2019
10 a.m. Arrive at Rockwell Administration Center
10:05 a.m. – 10:20 a.m. Meet with Superintendent Thissen
Receive schedule and information for the day
10:30 – 11 a..m Drive to Lincoln, O’Loughlin, and Early Childhood Connections
11 – 11:45 a.m. Hays High School – facility tour and meet and greet
noon – 1:15 p.m. Lunch with building and district administrators
1:30– 2:15 p.m. Hays Middle School – facility tour and meet and greet
2:30 – 3:15 p.m. Roosevelt Elementary School – facility tour and meet and greet
3:30 – 4:30 p.m. Community and parent meet and greet – Toepfer Board Room
4:30 – 5:30 p.m. Free time for the candidate (the district will provide transportation to and from the motel for the candidate and/or guest.
5:30 p.m. Dinner with board, candidate and guest, central administrative team
Wind turbines are thought of as environment-friendly sources of energy, but for bats, they are a death trap.
Amanda Adams, instructor of biology at Fort Hays State University, talked to a capacity crowd Monday night about the plight of the bats during a FHSU Science Cafe presentation titled “Bats: The Rock Stars of the Night.”
Adams said bats are being killed by the millions by wind turbines.
Curious creatures, the bats are drawn to the turbines, where they are either struck or killed by a low pressure field that surrounds the turbines.
“When you go out and you are driving and you think ‘How majestic,’ in my head I think ‘It is a death count,’ ” Adams said. “It’s really awful.”
Amanda Adams, instructor of biology at FHSU talks about the diversity of bats at a Science Cafe lecture on Monday.
Researchers are trying to develop deterrents that will keep bats away from the turbines. They have investigated using sound to dissuade the creatures from approaching the turbines, but that has not been effective.
A type of fungus found in caves is also killing some species of bats by the millions. White-nose syndrome first appeared in U.S. caves in 2006. It has proven to be 99 percent fatal to bats in the caves were the fungus has been found.
Although researches have found chemicals that could kill the fungus, conversationists are concerned about the effect spraying would have on soil quality, Adams said.
Although bats are often confused with rodents, they are in a completely different mammalian group. They also live very different lives. Rodents have short lives and reproduce quickly. However, bats may only have one young per year, and can live anywhere from six to 20 years. The oldest bat on record lived to be 45.
Because bats’ reproduction is slower than rodents, killing a bat has a much greater impact on the bat population. They are also slower to rebound from environmental disasters, such as the white-nose disease.
A quarter of all mammal species are bats with 1,300 species. They live on all continents except Antartica. Sixteen species of bats are found in Kansas — eight in Ellis County.
“That is the reason why I am in love with them. The incredible diversity of bats that are out there makes it really fun to study them and learn about them, because they are always doing something weird and breaking rules and you can never make a generalization about bats,” Adams said.
Bats in that diversity have some incredible adaptations. California’s spotted bats can hear the footsteps of a cricket on the ground. Common vampire bats have specialized heat sensors in their nose that allow them to locate blood-rich areas in the skin of their prey.
A species of bats that lives in the tropics make their own tents out of banana leaves and then they “cuddle” together like a hand full of cotton balls.
A Central American species has suction cups on its wrists. This helps the bats stick inside leaves at night when they rest.
The largest bat in the world is the flying fox and has a wing span of 6 feet. The smallest bat is called the bumblebee bat, which weighs less than a penny and could fit on the tip of your thumb. Both of these bats overlap range in the Philippines.
All the bats that live in North America are insect eaters. Depending on species, bats prey on insects both from the ground and catch flying insects, such as moths, in mid-air.
Adams talks to a capacity crowd at the Science Cafe Monday night at The Venue in Hays.
Some bats are carnivores. They eat frogs, fish, birds, reptiles and rodents. Some species that eat frogs have an special adaptation to let them know they have preyed upon a poisonous frog before they eat it.
Sanguivores or vampire bats have all kinds of incredible adaptations to consume blood, Adams said.
Common vampire bats can run along the ground. They land on the ground and climb up their prey, such as a cow or goat. They make a very small incision in the animal’s skin. An anti-coagulant in their saliva helps keep the animal’s blood flowing while they “daintly and gently” lap up about a tablespoon of blood with a curled tongue, Adams explained.
The bat’s metabolism is so specialized they can’t skip a single night of feeding or they will die.
Bats are essential to the environments in which they live. Bats save U.S. farmers $23 billion annually in pesticide costs and reduce crop damage. Many bats eat their weight in insects each night.
They are helping regrow the Latin American rainforests. Up to 95 percent of “pioneer plants” in cleared land come from seeds dispersed by bats.
If you like tequila, you can thank bats for that too. Bats pollinate more than 500 species of plants, including the agave plant from which tequila is made.
Conservations are urging agave growers to become more bat friendly. Typically, agave is harvested for tequila before it blooms. This cuts off a food source for the bats and results in inbreeding of the agave plants.
Some growers are allowing at least some of their agave plants to flower to help the bats and promote biodiversity in their crops. When you are at the liquor store, look for bat-friendly stickers on tequila bottles.
Adams’ recent research has centered around echolocation. She has conducted research in which she has tried to determine how bats echolocate in groups. This line of research has indicated that bats use jamming avoidance. When they are in groups, they mutually suppress their signals in essence making fewer sounds to avoid conflict with other bats.
Bats will also shift their call on the sound spectrum to differentiate their signals from the bats around them.
The sounds bats use for echolocation is at a much higher frequency than can be heard by humans. However, in addition, to using sound to find objects and prey in low light, bats also use lower frequency sound, some of which humans may be able to hear, as social calls.
If you find a bat, don’t touch it. If you must move it, use gloves or a towel. Adams said she will not rescue you from the bats, but she will come rescue a bat from you. Call 979-393-2062.
The next Science Cafe will be at 7 p.m. March 18 at The Venue at Thirsty’s, 2704 Vine St., Hays. Cat Sartin, FHSU instructor of biological sciences, will present “The Bare Bones About Dinosaur Growth.” The lecture is free and open to the public.
