By CRISTINA JANNEY
Hays Post

Big Creek Crossing has five pop-up stores in the mall this Christmas season as well as a full slate of holiday activities.

The retail stores include Simple Pure Aromatherapy, Christmas Kiosk, Go! Calendars, Silver Fox Sports Cards & Collectibles, and The Nut Place.

Simple Pure Aromatherapy

Barb and David Pitcock of rural Hays have a wholesale bottling company for essential oils and CBD oils and products. The couple has opened a temporary store in the mall at the former Snow Cone Express location for the holidays.

The couple’s products are National Association for Holistic Aromatherapy certified and 100 percent organic. The CBD oil is mixed with coconut oil.

Barb Pitcock said she is trying to educate the public about CBD oil. Although CBD comes from hemp, it does not contain THC, which is the substance in marijuana that gets you high. CBD oil is legal in Kansas, you do not need a prescription to purchase it and it should not make you fail a drug test, Pitcock said.

The FDA considers CBD a dietary supplement, and Pitcock and her husband are not medical professionals. However, products containing CBD have been used by people for anxiety, arthritis, cramps, to control appetite, nausea, Alzheimer’s, diabetes, depression, inflammation, insomnia, ADHD, headaches, Parkinson’s and asthma.

The store also carries CBD salves, roller balls, massage oil, lotions, dog drops and a variety of bath products.

Pitcock uses the products herself, and she said her nephew has used CBD oil to treat his ADHD.

The Pitcocks hope to have an assortment of other essential oils in stock soon. Some of these include blends for stress, insomnia, energy and appetite control.

“It’s worked for me, and it’s worked for other people. I have a high belief in the healing properties of essential oils,” she said.

If the store proves popular, the Pitcocks will consider keeping the it in the mall on a long-term basis.

Hours are noon to 8:30 p.m. Mondays through Sundays.

Christmas Kiosk

Christmas Kiosk was a kiosk at the mall last year and has expanded into a full store space this year. It is on the north end of the mall.

Dennis Wilson and Ron Keller, both of Hays, are partners in the store, which carries a mishmash of merchandise.

Some of their items include bamboo sheets, Amish-crafted indoor and outdoor furniture from Indiana, rocks, fossils, gemstones, marbles, arrowheads, deer antlers, handmade jewelry, antiques, dolls, records, swords, knives and framed pictures.

“There is lots to look at,” Wilson said.

Wilson especially plugged the bamboo sheets, which he carries to fit all sizes of beds. They are 30 percent bamboo, which makes them cool in the summer and warm in the winter. They also help wick away perspiration.

The store will be open noon to 6:30 p.m. Wednesdays through Sundays through Christmas. During special mall events, the store will have extended hours.

Go! Calendars

Go! Calendars and Games is a return business. It is located in the center aisle of the south end of the mall near Maurices. It carries wall calendars, as well as plush toys and games.

Caitlyn Patterson, Go! Calendars manager, said the calendars run from $8 for small calendars to $17 for the largest calendars.

“I think there is a gift for everyone who is in here,” Patterson said. “There are things that range from little kid things all the way up to adult items. I think there is definitely something in there for everybody.”

Go! Calendars is open mall seasonal hours, seven days a week through Christmas.

Silver Fox Sports Cards & Collectibles

Larry Sander of Hays recently retired and has set up a kiosk in the mall across from Tradehome Shoe Store to sell his  30-year collection of sports memorabilia and toys.

He has baseball cards, autographed baseballs, replica championship rings, a vintage Darth Vader toy, Hot Wheels, and Starting Lineup collectible figurines.

“You name it, we might have it,” he said.

Sander said price is negotiable.

Hours will be seasonal mall hours Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays through Christmas.

 

The Nut Place

The Nut Place is in the center court at Big Creek. It is a return vendor this year and carries an assortment of cinnamon roasted nuts, as well as fudge.

 

 

 

 

 

Pay it Forward Store

The Pay It Forward Store will give away Christmas gifts again this year. The store is located in the former Rue 21 location.

Mall events

The mall is hosting an Angel Tree for needy children as well as is a collection point for gifts for children served by the CAC. Find the trees and collection boxes in the center aisle in the south portion of the mall.

Wine Wonderland

Local vineyards will serve free wine samples during Big Creek Crossing’s second annual Wine Wonderland from 6 to 9 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 8.

Tickets are $20 per person pre-event and $25 at the door. Buy three tickets and get a fourth one free. A limited number of tickets are still available. Only 200 tickets will be sold.

Free wine tote goodie bags will be given to all ticket holders.

All participants must be 21 years of age or older to participate. Don’t forget your license; ID will be checked for all participants on the night of the event.

Some food pairing will also be offered with the wine.

The wineries will have full bottles for sale to both participants and members of the public.

Tickets can be purchased from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Mondays through Fridays at the mall office at 2918 Vine. The office is on the south end of the mall near the restrooms.

For more information, call 785-625-3314 or e-mail [email protected].

Holiday Craft Fair

The annual Big Creek Holiday Craft Fair will be 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 15.

An estimated 45 crafters will be on hand. A few slots are still available. Cost is $40 for one table or $65 for two tables. Applications are due Friday, Dec. 7. Contact Branson Hoffman at the mall office at 785-625-3314 or e-mail [email protected] for more information.

 

 

 

Santa at the mall

https://www.facebook.com/BigCreekCrossing/videos/2089313337795329/

Santa arrived by Eagle Med helicopter on Black Friday.

Photos with Santa are $10.

Times Santa will be at the mall are below.

Pet night (dogs and cats only) 6 to 8 p.m. Dec. 5

1 to 5 p.m. Dec. 8-9

5 to 8 p.m. Dec. 14

2 to 5 p.m. Dec. 15

1 to 5 p.m. Dec. 16

4 to 5:30 p.m. and 6 to 8 p.m. Dec. 17

4 to 8 p.m. Dec. 18 and 19, pet photos (dogs and cats only) at 5:30 p.m. Dec. 19

1 to 8 p.m. Dec. 20, 21, 22.

1 to 6 p.m. Dec. 23

10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Dec. 24

 

Hays Post

Commerce Bank of Hays is doing its Random Acts of Commerce for second consecutive year in 2018.

Here’s how it works: during the holidays, a Commerce banker will be out and about ready to randomly pay for things for people in our community.

Friday morning, Audrey Werth, commercial banker, was at Lincoln Elementary with Principal Kerri Lacy to buy $300 worth of school lunches.

Raymond Haas, Hays Commerce vice president, said Commerce has the advantages of the resources of a big bank, but the service of a local bank.

“Sometimes people think corporate banks aren’t local banks, but we are a local community bank and very involved in our community,” he said. “We do a lot for the community, so this is another way can show that we are a community bank and our employees live, work, shop and are fully vested in the community.”

Last year, the bank randomly paid for items at the ARC Thrift Store, Walmart, Dillons, Orscheln Farm and Home, and a bill at Midwest Energy.

This year’s giving will be a surprise. Be on the lookout in the next couple weeks for more Random Acts of Commerce. Videos of the Random of Acts of Commerce will be posted on the Hays Post Facebook site.

“We appreciate what everybody else does for the community. We just want to be a part of that,” Werth said. “This is one small token that we can do for the area we all live in to make it a better place.”

By CRISTINA JANNEY
Hays Post

Angela Horn, 34, of La Crosse is in the fourth year of a tradition to honor her brother, Timothy.

Timothy passed away in 2011 at the age of 29.

“He would have given the shirt off his back if they had asked,” she said.

Angela started honoring her brother’s memory by adopting families at Christmas, but she wanted to do more.

Angela her friend, Heather Smith, her family as well as other friends and community volunteers offer free gifts with no questions asked at Christmas. They call it the Pay It Forward Store.

“I like to help people and my brother would like to help people,” she said. “To me, it makes his memory live on.”

Timothy’s son, who is 9, helps at the store. Angela said he has no real memory of his dad, but he feels connected to his father through the store.

The Horns take donations of gently used toys, household decorative items, electronics, used gaming systems, baby items, as well as coats, hats, gloves and scarves leading up to Christmas. This year, the store will have a drawing for an American Girl doll.

There is no application process to receive items at the store. You do not have to be from Ellis County to participate.

Hours for the store are 4 to 9 p.m. Fridays, 1 to 9 p.m. Saturdays and 1 to 8 p.m. Sundays Dec. 1 through Dec. 23. The store is in the former RUE 21 location at Big Creek Crossing. The store will not be open if volunteers are not available.

Parents can shop for their kids. Kids can shop for parents or siblings.

The store works with the Norton Correction Facility, which refurbishes used bicycles for children. Horn will have a few bikes in the store, but had a preregistration process for the bulk of the bikes. About 30 children signed up for the bikes this year.

Shoppers can also wrap their presents for free at a wrapping station at the store.

Angela does not keep track of the number of people she helps with the store, but she estimates she is averaging about 75 to 125 shoppers. Angela sponsors an annual Pay It Forward Pageant. She uses any proceeds from the pageant to buy items for the store. The store is otherwise supported through donations and run by volunteers.

Horn said the store is filling a void in the community that other non-profits are not.

Shirley Horn, Angela’s mother, said some people who have used the store are too proud to ask for assistance from other agencies. They make a small cash donation of what they can, donate other items or volunteer time at the store.

Horn gave several examples where the store was able to provide just what families needed at Christmas. A family last year lost their home in a fire before Christmas, and the store provided them all the items they could to get them back on their feet.

A women came in last year who was eight months pregnant and took home a crib.

“It was the one thing she didn’t have and really needed,” Angela said.

This year, the store has a rocking chair in its baby section.

In a previous year, a father was laid off in early December.

“He had missed every deadline,” Angela said of other assistance programs.

The father used the store to provide Christmas to his family.

“We had a women come in. We had a keyboard donated last year,” Angela said. “The only thing her daughter wanted for Christmas was a piano. They don’t live someplace where she could have a piano. She came in the day that keyboard was brought in and was able to give her daughter exactly what she asked for. She left in tears because it meant so much that she was able to give her daughter a Santa gift.”

The store also had a Barbie dollhouse that they set up in the window last year.

“The little girl only wanted a Barbie house. They came in probably an hour after we got it all set up in the window. The mom and dad were in tears because they got to give their daughter exactly what she wanted,” Angela said. “Things like that make me happy.”

Angela, who is a dispatcher for the Rush County Sheriff’s Office, said “People might take advantage, but I don’t care if they do because for those other people like those two couples, that is what matters most to me.”

The store will accept donations until Dec. 18. You can drop items off at the store at Big Creek Crossing when it is open. You can also arrange for pickup through the store’s Facebook page.

The store is always in need of gifts for teen girls and boys, especially boys 8 and older. Angela said she often uses monetary donations to purchase items for boys.

If you wish to volunteer at the store, you can sign up for a time slot on the store’s Facebook page. Angela likes to have at least two volunteers in the store at a time.

Items that are not given away during the holiday are distributed to other charitable organizations, including the ARC Thrift Store or the Mary Elizabeth Maternity Home. Stuffed animals go to the Rush County Sheriff’s Office and EMS to be given to children who have contact with law enforcement. Some items are stored until the following year.

Horn’s goal for 2019 is to apply for nonprofit status for the store. All the funds for the store are currently going back into operations and gifts. There will be a collection jar in the store this holiday to raise at least $400 that is needed for the store’s nonprofit start-up.

Corrected Sunday, Dec. 2 for county where Angela Horn works as a dispatcher to Rush County.

By CRISTINA JANNEY
Hays Post

Briney Motorsports is celebrating its new expanded location Friday and Saturday with a grand opening.

The business, which is now located a 1000 E. Highway 40 bypass, carries UTVs, ATVs, personal watercraft, and racing parts and accessories.

Owner Billy Briney said the business outgrew its former location on Eighth Street in Hays when the company became a Can Cam ATV and UTV dealer.

The building on Eighth Street was about 5,000 square feet compared to the 18,000-square-foot-building the Brineys are now leasing on the bypass.

Briney is also now a Sea-Doo dealer. The company provides sales and service for both brands and service for all UTV, ATV and personal watercraft models.

Briney will rent Sea-Doos and trailers this summer. You can also pick up watercraft accessories, such as lifejackets, towables, tubes and tow ropes at the business.

“We do the winterizing and the service of the (Sea-Doos), and now we can offer storage for the winter,” Briney said. “So we can put together a whole package, drop it off at the end of the year when you’re done with it, forget about it until it is time to go back on the water and we will have it ready for you.”

The business also can do high-performance upgrades for UTVs and ATVs.

“We are a full dealership,” Briney said. “We want everyone to know we do work on everything. No matter what it is. Bring it in here, and we’ll take care of them.”

Billy, who grew up in Ness City, was an off-road racer who converted his hobby into a career. He and his wife, Jodi, travel to local tracks to offer parts, fuel and tires to racers up and down Interstate 70. The couple opened their first brick-and-motor store in Hays in 2015.

“We have expanded. It went from me sitting there by myself every day in the store to we have my wife here full time now. … Alongside that, we now have four full-time employees,” Billy Briney said.

The mobile portion of their business will continue. However, the new building will allow Briney to expand his racing parts inventory. Briney is also ramping up his online business for people who are used to working with the mobile store at the track but might not be able to make it to Hays in between races.

“We are going to keep that same service,” he said. “I know I have heard people say people get bigger and the service goes away. That’s not going to happen here. I pride myself on everyone being happy when they leave here, and that is how it is going to stay.”

In addition to working with racers at RPM Speedway on a regular basis, the Brineys sponsored two UTV races at Bunker Hill this year. They hope to sponsor another event in 2019.

The grand opening will be 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Friday and 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday with a Hays Area Chamber of Commerce ribbon cutting at 4 p.m. Friday.

The store will have 10 percent off storewide and $300 toward accessories if you by a new machine during the grand opening. People can enter both days for a drawing at 2 p.m. Saturday. Some of the prizes include action cameras, free service and a watercraft rental. The business will also give away T-shirts.

The store has expanded its regular hours to 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Mondays through Fridays and 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturdays. The service department is closed on Saturday. Contact the business at 785-301-2678.

 

Hays Post

The Hays USD 489 honored Olivia Goetz, fifth-grader at Roosevelt Elementary School, with the Best of the Best Award Monday night.

She was nominated by her teacher Michaela Gower.

“Olivia is a student who pushes herself to be the best version of herself each and every day. Olivia comes to class prepared and has a willingness and hunger to learn,” Gower said in her nomination.

“Olivia exemplifies a growth mindset, which is something we have focused on throughout the beginning of the school year. This is exhibited specifically in her writing, where she has been working on a personal narrative piece describing her time at the Kansas State Fair. Olivia knows the importance of pushing herself each day to take the story to new heights.

“As Olivia progresses into middle school, I have no doubt she will continue to experience academic success with the work ethic and growth mindset that she brings to school with her each day,” Gower said. “I’m honored to have the opportunity to be a part of Olivia’s journey as a student at Roosevelt.”

Matt Brooks

Abby Gillan, HHS teacher, nominated Matt Brooks, social science teacher at Hays High School, as the staff Best of the Best.

Brooks and Gillan were unable to be at the school board meeting Monday night.

Gillan wrote the following in her nomination letter:

“In a district and school our size, it gets difficult to notice the acts of people around us that are subtle and consistent.  Matt Brooks, besides his BOOMING voice that penetrates walls, can be characterized as both subtle and consistent. 

“Matt is consistently doing the little/subtle things for his students to give them an extraordinary learning experience. As our district focuses on ‘relationships’ I think there is no better example of how to build positive and meaningful relationships than Matt and his students.

“He consistently greets his kids at the doorway, asks them about their activities, hobbies and families. He takes the time to see kids. To see through a kid sleeping during his lecture to find that kid works late to help support his family, sees through the seemingly unprepared kid who doesn’t ever bring his computer to class to find out that kid cannot pay his fees, and the withdrawn girl who is battling depression.

“He does it every single day, and he does it consistently. So much so, that if you don’t look for it, you may miss it. It challenges all of us to be consistent not only in our instructional efforts, but in building meaningful rapport with all students every single day.”