By CRISTINA JANNEY
Hays Post

Downtown Hays Development Corp. is selling more tickets and will offer more beer than ever for its fourth-annual Brews on the Bricks Craft Beer Festival on May 4.

“We are super excited because every year this festival continues to surprise us and change and evolve,” said Sara Bloom, DHDC executive director. “Four years ago, we were thrilled when the tickets sold out in four hours. And then we were completely caught off guard the next year when they sold out in 15 minutes. Now they are selling out closer to four minutes.”

There will be 2,000 tickets available, of which 250 will be VIP tickets.

Tickets go on sale Friday, Feb. 1.

Ticket sale times and locations are below:

• 7 a.m., Downtown Visitors Center, 1200 Main, Suite 102 (The DHDC office will open at 5 a.m. to start handing out numbers, but you must be back in line at 6:45 a.m. to purchase your tickets.)  Two hundred general admission tickets and 50 VIP tickets will be available at this time.
• 8 a.m., online sales at www.downtownhays.com. The remaining 200 VIP tickets and 1,250 general admission tickets will go on sale.
• 5 p.m., Gella’s Diner and Lb. Brewing Co., 117 E. 11th. 150 general admission tickets for sale.
• 5 p.m., Defiance Brewery, 2050 East U.S. 40. 150 general admission tickets for sale.

Both breweries will be handing out numbers for ticket purchases. People can purchase and enjoy a brew while they wait for tickets to go on sale, Bloom said.

There will be a total four-ticket purchase limit per person, per location.

Ticket prices are:

• VIP, $80 in office, $85 online
• General admission, $40 in office, $45 online

General admission tickets get you in from 2 to 5 p.m. and a small sampling glass. You can try samples from 50 breweries this year. Brewers usually bring two to four beers each.

VIP ticket holders get in early at 12:30 p.m. They receive a small sampling glass as well as a full-size commemorative beer mug.

The event also hosts food trucks and food vendors that will provide samples.

“It is pretty special to be VIP,” Bloom said, “because instead of fighting 2,000 people, we only let about 250 to 300 in. It is a very nice, intimate part of the event. You get to enjoy the food pairings along with the brews that are there at the event.”

The Home Brew Competition is coming back for the third year. VIP ticket holders are the only ones who get to sample the home brews. The Home Brew tent will be moved to the west side of 10th Street, so VIP ticket holders won’t have to cross Main Street.

The event will be judged by the experts on Friday night, so the VIP ticket holders can sample from the winners on Saturday. Brews goers will still be able to vote for a People Choice winner on Saturday.

Bloom talked about other changes in the event this year.

Because the date has bee moved to May 4, which is also known as Star Wars Day, DHDC will sell a limited number of Star Wars-themed Brews T-shirts. Green T-shirts will feature Yoda, and a black T-shirts will feature Darth Vader.

May 4 is also National Home Brewer Day. To her knowledge, there are no other craft brew festivals in the area on that date, Bloom said. The later date hopefully will be more convenient for the brewers and warmer than last year’s event.

Bloom explained why the event is important to DHDC and downtown Hays.

Further information on the event is available on DHDC website, including forms if you are a brewer or food vendor who wishes to attend or company who wishes to sponsor the event. The DHDC is also always looking for volunteers.

Eagle Communications, which owns and operates the Hays Post, is the Golden Stein Sponsor for this event.

By CRISTINA JANNEY 

Hays Post

The Hays USD 489 school board  Monday night heard a summary of projects from its architect and construction manager that could be the district’s next bond issue.

DLR Group along with Nabholz Construction presented a list of projects totaling $29.4 million that would include finishing air conditioning projects at the Hays High School, expanding the cafeteria at Hays Middle School and renovating Roosevelt Elementary School to accommodate five sections of each grade.

Roosevelt now holds three sections of each grade. The expansion would allow the district to close Lincoln Elementary School, which is one of the oldest schools in the district and has had serious infrastructure problems in recent years.

Some work on the HHS HVAC system has already been finished with capital improvement funds, but an additional $6.7 million is needed to complete the work.

The HMS cafeteria was built to hold about 450 children, but is now accommodating about 700 students. Expansion of the cafeteria would cost $1.3 million.

The suggested renovation and expansion at Roosevelt would cost about $21.3 million and include new classrooms, an expanded cafeteria to meet the needs of the increased student population and a new gym that would serve as a storm shelter. Roosevelt does not currently have a storm shelter.

Existing classrooms would be renovated, the HVAC system improved and some exterior improvements would be made.

The entrance of the school would be relocated to the new addition. This would allow for separate lanes for car and bus drop off.

“Roosevelt, it really had the best assets. The one issue it did have was that it didn’t have a storm shelter, and we are solving that,” said Amber Beverlin, principal senior architect DLR Group. “It had great classroom spaces. The classrooms that are there now are perfect size. We can build on all the great things this building already has.”

The Roosevelt project would take 16 to 18 months to complete.

Dustin Avey, senior vice president Piper Jaffray, presented options for 10-, 15- and 20-year financing. He noted the district would pay less in interest under a shorter term, but the taxpayer would pay a higher per moth tax for a 10-year versus 15-year bond.

The district would pay $5 million more in interest by increasing the bond term from 1o year to 15 years.

The cost per month on a $150,000 home for a 10-year bond would be $16.32, $12 per month for a 15-year bond and $10.06 for a 20-year bond.

The mill levy would be 11.35 mills for a 10-year bond, 8.35 mills for a 15-year bond and 7 mills for a 20-year bond.

The bond amount would include design and bond fees, and costs for furnishing the renovated spaces.

The board members asked the presenters questions, but did not discuss the merits of the proposal nor did they vote on moving the proposal forward.

The district would not need approval from the state to move forward with a bond vote. Beverlin said if the board wished to pursue the proposal, they would only need to notify the county clerk of its desire to call a special election. This requires 60 days notice. Beverlin recommended a mail-in ballot.

Hays has had two failed bond issues in the last three years. A $78.5-million bond failed in November 2017, and a $94-million bond failed in June 2016.

See related story: Hays USD 489 school bond fails; another bond likely on the horizon

See related story: Voters soundly reject Hays USD 489 bond issue

Parent concern

A parent addressed the board about his daughter being bullied at Lincoln Elementary School. He said someone at the school was supposed to contact him about his concerns, but no one called him. Board members expressed concern about the issue and directed Superintendent John Thissen to take the parent’s information and follow up on his concerns.

Check presentation

The school district recently purchased the former Oak Park Medical Complex, which it plans to renovate for use by Early Childhood Connections.

HaysMed had a majority interest in the complex and Monday donated $500,000 of the $2 million purchase price back to the school district to be used for renovations. The district has also received a $1.47 million federal grant for renovations.

Superintendent search

Gary Sechrist, field specialist for the Kansas Association of School Boards, provided the superintendent applicant information to the board during an executive session. Current Superintendent John Thissen has resigned. He will serve out his contract, which ends June 30.

At the next board meeting, the board is scheduled to vote on the administrative contracts for Shanna Dinkel, assistant superintendent, and Chris Hipp, director of special education, for the 2019-2020 school year.

Teacher negotiations

Board member Pauls Adams also asked the board to consider moving to interest-based bargaining with teachers. Thissen said he would contact the Hays NEA to see if they were interested in the change. The issue will be discussed at a future meeting.

By CRISTINA JANNEY
Hays Post

Tariff wars, low commodity prices, weather and isolation all take their toll on farmers and rural residents who depend on the agriculture economy.

Those stresses are starting to show in some alarming statistics in northwest Kansas.

Between 2014 and 2017, the suicide rate in the 20 northwest counties served by High Plains Mental Health increased by 64 percent. In addition, a Centers for Disease Control study released in July 2016 reported farmers, fisherman and forestry workers as a group had the highest suicide rate of any occupation in the U.S.

High Plains Mental Health is trying to reach out to this affected population through new printed materials, telemedicine services and Mental Health First Aid training.

The suicide rates are not just getting attention from community mental health professionals.

Sen. Jerry Moran, R-Kan., championed  the Farmers First Act, part of the most recent Farm Bill. The act establishes helplines and suicide prevention training for farm advocates, and re-establishes the Farm and Ranch Stress Assistance Network through state departments of agriculture, state Extension services and nonprofits.

“We don’t know completely,” David Anderson, High Plains director of clinical services, said when asked why he thought the number of suicides had jumped. “I think we believe certainly the farm economy plays a role in that. It may be that they are being more accurately counted. There was certainly a time, because of the stigma around suicide, that corners, particularly in small communities, there was some desire to not attach a suicide to a what might have been called an accidental death.”

Brenda Seaman, High Plains assistant clinical director, comes from a farm family. She says she sees farmers facing many circumstances that are out of their control.

“What other profession do you have where you certainly don’t know what the commodity price will be for the product that you are making every year?” she said. “It could be $15 soybeans. It could be $6 soybeans. You don’t know when you plant them.”

If the price is good, that usually means other growers have had catastrophic crop loss due to weather. Regardless of the price of the commodity, the input prices go up every year.

“The weather is out of your control,” Seaman continued. “The overall political environment is out of your control, so now there is tariffs and trade wars. These are not predictable.”

Seaman said communities and loved ones should also remember those families whose livings depend on agriculture, because when the ag economy is down, they suffer too.

Farming is not an easy profession to walk away from when you are one of multiple generations who have lived on and worked a piece of land, Anderson said. There is an emotional attachment to the land.

“It is not just the economy of ‘Can you make this work?'” he said,” but it is the pressure of generations. This has been in the family for a long period of time. You don’t want to be the person who ends up losing that land or the farm.”

Technology is requiring fewer people to operate farms and farms are consolidating.

“My wife’s family farm is out near Collyer,” Anderson said. “Thirty years ago, there used to be several family farms in that area. Now there aren’t.

“More of the land is rented. Instead of a community of families in the area who relied on each other and helped each other, there may be more isolation. We know that across populations that is one of the factors that increases depression, anxiety and the risk for suicide.”

Population loss in rural Kansas counties is only projected to increase, further worsening isolation and leading to the lose of vital services for rural families, including local schools, hospitals and grocery stores.

Stigma is a serious impediment for farmers to receive help in a mental health crisis, Anderson said. They consider themselves independent, resilient and self-reliant, and it can be difficult for them to admit they need help.

Although rates are on the rise in Kansas for women, suicides in Kansas were highest among white men, age 25 to 64. During the farm crisis in the 1980s, Anderson said mental health workers were encouraged to try reach out to farm wives to reach men in farming communities that may be at risk.

High Plains is implementing a similar strategy today by putting information and resources in the hands of people who interact with farmers and their families the most.

A new brochure titled “Hope in the Heartland” is being made available to extension agents, rural bankers and grain elevators.

Kaley Connor, High Plains marketing director, said local county governments have reached out to the agency for Mental Health First Aid training courses for their employees. The 8-hour course helps to prepare people to help individuals who are experiencing a mental health crisis.

“A lot of what we are doing with the pamphlet and Mental Health First Aid is trying to raise awareness and break down the stigma surrounding mental health services — that it is OK to reach out for help if you are struggling, that mental illness is a real illness and it needs to be taken seriously. It is not a sign of weakness if you need to reach out to somebody.”

Farmers’ and ranchers’ schedules are also often not conducive for out-patient therapy visits. However, telemedicine, satellite clinics, and partnerships with rural hospitals and clinics are making mental health care increasingly accessible for rural residents.

The vast majority of clients are seen in the community on an outpatient basis, Anderson said. If a person who is suffering from depression or suicidal thoughts can ensure their safety, they will likely not be admitted to a hospital. Even those who do receive in-patient treatment for depression usually have very short stays.

If you or someone you know is at immediate risk of suicide, call 911. Call High Plains at 1-800-432-0333 to get started with a mental health screening or to access crisis services, which are available 24/7 with a qualified mental health professional.

High Plains also offers a sliding-fee scale for services based on income.

See related story: BOOR: Rate of suicide among farmers alarming