April is Child Abuse Prevention Month and I encourage everyone in the community to join me this month and stand up for the future of children in our state.
Each of us has the ability to help children and families in our neighborhoods. When you mentor a child or parent, advocate for policies that support the next generation, or donate time or money to local child-serving organizations, you are actually helping to prevent child abuse and neglect. These actions do make a difference.
By donating time and money to prevention organizations, taking the time to volunteer for before- or after-school programs, or offering to help families in your own neighborhood, you can have a meaningful impact on the lives of children throughout the community. Actions like these help bring communities together, reduce isolation and help children and families succeed.
Research shows most Americans are already involved in helping to prevent child abuse and neglect through one of those actions. If you’re not already, April is a great time to start!
As we observe Child Abuse Prevention Month this April, I hope you’ll take one of three simple steps to make a difference: mentor a child or parent, advocate for family-friendly policies, or donate to a child-serving organization.
If we all pledge to do each of these activities at least once during the month of April, we can make a real difference. More importantly, if we all continue to take steps like these beyond April and into the future, we can help grow the next generation of American leaders, entrepreneurs and innovators.
Please join me!
Tabitha Wolf, CASA of the High Plains, Inc., Intern
Julie Zollinger, school psychologist, was honored with the Hays USD 489 Best of the Best staff award for March.
By CRISTINA JANNEY Hays Post
Julie Zollinger, school psychologist, was honored with the Hays USD 489 Best of the Best staff award for March.
Zollinger was nominated by Hays Middle School Principal Craig Pallister. Zollinger has worked at both HMS and Wilson Elementary School, serving 19 years as a school psychologist in Hays.
“She is the bridge between special education and regular education, between administration and teachers, between families and our teachers. There are so many things that she does to make things right for kids,” Pallister said.
Although Zollinger does a lot of testing and has to keep up with mounds of paperwork, Pallister said Zollinger’s integral work is working with students and teachers and making a bridge so families are secure their children are getting what they need to be successful.
Zollinger also has served on the crisis safety committee at Hays Middle School, and now is on the district-wide safety committee. She recently received training in PREPaRE, a safety program that helps schools prepare for crises.
Zollinger thanked Pallister and the selection committee for the award.
“I have experienced great satisfaction facilitating change in our school district, whether it be at the individual, family, department, building or district level from behind the scenes,” she said. “Demonstrating integrity, enlightening and empowering others to be the best they can be have always been my professional goals.
“I have had administrators who have supported me in implementing evidence-based practices in my schools to promote safe, healthy development and academic achievement for students,” she said. “We have a great team of school psychologists who support our students academically, behaviorally and emotionally through prevention and intervention activities.”
She said school psychologists are also beneficial to the district by providing therapeutic services and resources to families and school staff.
“Through this work, school psychologists have enhanced the skills and others to be their best at home and at school. I have had the privilege of working next to phenomenal special education teachers who wholeheartedly commit themselves to meeting the needs of their students. Many of them go above and beyond to understand and help their students even when what they may discover is traumatic life experiences.”
She said she looks forward to continue to work to improve school safety through the PREPaRE model.
Finally, she thanked family members, who were present at the meeting, for supporting her in her in her work.
Kadalen Unrein, student a Lincoln Elementary School, was honored as the district’s student Best of the Best for March.
Kadalen Unrein, third grader a Lincoln Elementary School, was honored as the district’s student Best of the Best for March. She was nominated by Julie Mohi, Lincoln third-grade teacher.
“Kadalen is not only a bright student, she is also a very, very hard worker,” Mohi said. “She takes learning seriously and puts in the extra effort to get the job done and done well. She displays many qualities of a leader. She listens to others, demonstrates by example, she is open to suggestions and she focuses on the task that needs to be done while thinking outside the box to reach the end goal.
“She is someone who could be partnered with any other student to make them feel special and included. Kadalen’s hard work, determination and personality are essential to our classroom, and we are so lucky to have her as a Lincoln Leopard leader.”
The City of Hays Fire Department will be inspecting and flow testing fire hydrants on Friday in the area of Canterbury Drive to Metro Streeet between 27th Street and I-70 and Hall Street to Fort St. between 16th St. & 27th St. This is part of a coordinated effort by the City of Hays to inspect all fire hydrants in the city and flush all water mains annually.
Inspecting fire hydrants ensures that the valves operate properly and there is no damage or obstructions that will prevent or interfere with the prompt use of fire hydrants in an emergency.Firefighters are also checking the pressure and volume of water mains in each neighborhood for firefighting purposes. The associated flushing of water mains allows chlorine to be distributed throughout the system to eliminate bio-filming in the water mains.
Slight discoloration of the water supply may be encountered although there will be no health risks to the consumer.All reasonable efforts will be taken to minimize the inconvenience to the public.Drivers are asked to avoid driving through water discharging from a fire hydrant during the short flushing period.
For more information, please contact the Hays Fire Department at 628-7330.
Tera Pflaum, special education at La Crosse Middle/High School, stands in front of a bulletin board of dozens of her former students.
By CRISTINA JANNEY Hays Post
LA CROSSE — Tera Pflaum wants her students above all else to know there is someone on their side.
She not only tries to get to know and encourage students in her classroom as a resource teacher at La Crosse Middle/High School, she is in the hallways greeting other students. She notices things like new haircuts and congratulates kids on the school play.
“I always say buying in to me is 90 percent of their learning. They have to know that I truly care and I am here for the right reasons,” she said.
She loves her job, but she has more than a passion for teaching. She really cares about her students and their success in academics and life.
Pflaum, 41, has been named the Hays Post Teacher of the Month. She has been a teacher at La Crosse Middle/High School for 18 years. She first taught 11 years of middle school science and then she returned to Fort Hays State University to earn her master’s degree and began teaching special education.
Pflaum’s son, who is 10, recently asked her if she knew what she wanted to be when she was his age. She happily chimed in that yes, she did. She knew she wanted to be a teacher when she was in the second grade. She said her teachers were her rock when she was growing up.
“I had really good teachers growing up,” she said. “They inspired me. I wanted to be for somebody else what they were for me in my education.”
Her greatest inspiration was her Spanish teacher at Cimarron High School, Patricia Howard. She was very involved in the school, and she cared about kids.
“She cared about the subject matter too, but the whole child came first,” Pflaum said, “our needs, our social emotional needs. She cared about us, so I will remember her forever.”
Especially in a small school, Pflaum said teaching is more than just academics.
“There is more to your classroom than just textbooks and notebooks and paper,” she said. “It is knowing the students and knowing their families, knowing their favorite sports team and knowing what kind of birthday cake they like on their birthday. You get to know so much about the population you teach. I think that also helps in the success because these students want to work hard for you. They want you to be proud of them. They have that personal connection.
“I want them to know no matter what obstacle they face or what path they go down, there is always a way to the right path. There is always someone who will lead you in the right direction or push you to be the best you can be.”
She tells her students they don’t have to be a doctor or a lawyer or a teacher. They just need to be the best they can be.
“Nothing less than your best,” she said. “I tell my kids all of the time as long as they are giving me nothing less than their best, that is all I can ask for.”
Pflaum pulls from the struggles in her own life.
“I get these kids,” she said. “I get when they have a rough night or their parents are divorced or their parents are fighting. I understand. Sometimes when they walk in these doors, science, math, English is the last thing on their mind. I think if we meet those social emotional needs… If we meet those basic needs for them, the rest just falls into place for them.”
After years of teaching general education, Pflaum said she felt drawn to students who needed extra attention or needed to learn in a different way. She recalls coloring in the parts of a cell so a student could identify its parts.
“It was always a goal of mine to see a light bulb go on for them,” she said.
Now as a special education teacher, she thrives on seeing her students improve. Sometimes that is increasing their reading ability and others it is being able to go back into a general education classroom.
Pflaum described the most rewarding aspects of her job.
“Definitely seeing students make progress. Having a student who coming in as a seventh grader and is reading at a third- or fourth-grade level and by Christmas we are almost up to a sixth-grade level and closing that gap between them and their regular ed peers is very rewarding,” she said.
Pflaum lives in Hays and her three children attend school in Hays, but she drives back and forth to La Crosse because she loves the school and staff.
“There is something about the family atmosphere down here with the staff,” she said. “I have excellent paras, and it would be very hard to leave that. I would be almost like leaving your family.”
Chelsey Smith, fellow teacher, nominated Pflaum for the Teacher of the Month award.
Smith said in her nomination, “She shows each student the respect and positivity they deserve! In addition to being an amazing full-time teacher making a difference in the lives of all students, she serves as a mentor to new teachers and the Stuco sponsor. Tera is all around an amazing teacher who couldn’t deserve this award more!”
Pflaum has been highly involved in extracurricular activities at the school. She also coordinates the concession stand for all school activities. She is a former middle school basketball, volleyball and cheerleading coach as well as high school cheerleading coach.
Pflaum said being involved shows students that you are committed to them and the school. She might go to a ball game or attend a school play or sponsor a school dance. Between her own children (she also has twin girls at Hays High) and activities at La Crosse, she rarely has an evening at home.
Pflaum’s advice to new teachers?
“Get to know the whole child. It will make you a better teacher, and be a communicator. If you get to know the whole child and let them know you are in it 100 percent and be a good communicator with your peers and parents, you will be a successful teacher. The rest of the stuff just falls into place. …
“Having empathy and getting to know the whole child is not something you are going to learn in a textbook. It is something that has to come from within.”
Some students are hard to reach because they have struggled at school or they have struggled at home and they don’t trust. She is not afraid to talk to her students, sit down on the floor with them or go for a walk with them, and she encourages other new teachers to do the same.
“When they realize that you are in and they are realize you are in it for the long run, they will open up,” she said. “They will trust in you. They will care about you. They will look up to you.”
The City of Hays Fire Department will be inspecting and flow testing fire hydrants on Thursday in the area of Thunderbird Drive to Vine Street between 27th Street and 32nd Street. This is part of a coordinated effort by the City of Hays to inspect all fire hydrants in the city and flush all water mains annually.
Inspecting fire hydrants ensures that the valves operate properly and that there is no damage or obstructions that will prevent or interfere with the prompt use of fire hydrants in an emergency.Firefighters are also checking the pressure and volume of water mains in each neighborhood for firefighting purposes. The associated flushing of water mains allows chlorine to be distributed throughout the system to eliminate bio-filming in the water mains.
Slight discoloration of the water supply may be encountered although there will be no health risks to the consumer.All reasonable efforts will be taken to minimize the inconvenience to the public.Drivers are asked to avoid driving through water discharging from a fire hydrant during the short flushing period.
For more information, please contact the Hays Fire Department at 628-7330.
There are plenty of opportunities for both retail and industrial development in Hays, the area’s economic development director said on a community tour Monday.
Aaron White, executive director of the Ellis County Coalition for Economic Development, talks about retail and industrial development in Hays on the second-annual Community Cruise on Monday.
Aaron White, executive director of the Ellis County Coalition for Economic Development, outlined some of these during Hays’ second-annual Community Cruise for public officials on Monday. The Cruise is hosted by the Hays Area Chamber of Commerce.
Big Creek Crossing is very close to on an agreement to develop the south end of its lot. Big Creek is pitching a separate development for the former G&L Tire building, which may be broken into several smaller shops, similar to the configuration of HaysMed and Starbucks on the north end of the lot.
White said there are no new developments on the former Ambassador Hotel site on north Vine Street. The owner is asking $3.3 million for that 5-acre site.
The former Carlos O’Kelly’s property next to Applebee’s is now for sale. Previously, the owner was only entertaining offers to lease the property. Two different national restaurant chains have expressed interest in the property, listed at $1.3 million.
White said that price may be high because most developers are looking at demolishing the building on the lot and constructing a new facility from the ground up.
On the other side of Vine, the new TownePlace Suites by Marriott opened Saturday.
Melissa Dixon, director of the Hays Convention and Visitor’s Bureau, said TownePlace Suites has added 81 rooms. Two more hotel projects are on the horizon. The Hilton Hotel, which will be west of Walmart on 43rd, and a La Quinta, which will be directly west of the former Golden Corral on 43rd. The Hilton project will include a conference center that will be able to hold up to 500 people.
“We decline a lot of conventions and groups, because we don’t have a place for them to meet or not enough rooms for their event,” she said.
A good example is Special Olympics, which just this month split its games between Hays and Topeka because Hays did not have enough rooms to accommodate all the visitors.
White said the ECC has identified a 6,000 people loss in visitors because of a lack of convention space.
“We are already getting calls from across the state and the region asking when is it going to be ready and can we book it now so we can start doing our conferences,” White said. “There is a lot of excitement about being able to come back into this area to do conventions.”
The La Quinta developers recently approached White about adding some type of attraction with the hotel at that site.
Tebo Village is still trying to land an anchor for its 16,000 square foot space at 43rd and Vine streets. The developer is also considering another major sit-down restaurant for the corner lot where the shopping center sign now sits. Stephen Tebo hopes to find something that will not compete with Pasta Jay’s, White said.
“The consistent message we get from developers and retailers is that Hays is a market that they want to be in, but it is not a good enough market that they will overpay for land,” White said. “So finding the right space and getting it priced at a reasonable level for what these guys are coming in for is always going to be the biggest challenge.”
Rail may be on the horizon for the Heart of America Industrial Park, which is a 85-acre development in about the 900 block of Commerce Parkway. ECC has looked at designs for a $2 million rail expansion. It would potentially turn the area into a transloading site. This would mean other manufactures could use the site to load and transport products by rail, which is often cheaper than by road. ECC is looking at tapping into KDOT funds for the project.
ECC is working with a manufacturer that wants to use about 30 acres at the south end of the industrial park. The manufacturer slits steel coils into narrower pieces that are then rolled and built into pipe. It could initially add a handful of employees. If the manufacturer expands to contract work, it could add 30 or 40 employees, White said.
“On the industrial side, one thing that we are trying to focus on is to be able to diversify our manufacturing base. We are heavily reliant on oil and gas. As we have seen with the oil and gas downturns, it impacts throughout the community. Retail feels it everybody feels it,” he said.
Diversification reduces risk and evens out some of the highs and lows, White said.
Rappelling training by the Hays Fire Dept. (Photo courtesy HFD)
The Dane G. Hansen Foundation has awarded the City of Hays $272,000 in grant funding for the construction of a Fire/Rescue Training Facility.
In 2016, the City of Hays Fire Department began to develop a training area behind the Wastewater Treatment Plant on the Highway 40 Bypass.
The 2018 City of Hays Budget includes funding to extend utilities and continue site improvement. The Dane G. Hansen grant funds will enable the city to develop a more robust training facility in a much shorter timeframe than what would be possible with city funds alone.
The City of Hays Fire Department intends to operate the training facility in a cooperative partnership with the Ellis County Fire Department to better serve the region.
The Hays Regional Fire/Rescue Training Facility will include a concrete pad, a three-story drill tower, a live-burn building, a classroom building and a Self-Contained Breathing Apparatus (SCBA) maze.
The training facility, once constructed, will be available for use by all fire departments and law enforcement agencies in the region. The Hays Regional Fire/Rescue Training Facility will have the ability to host larger regional trainings presented by the Kansas Fire and Rescue Training Institute and the Kansas State Firefighters Association. Currently, this type of training is costly to bring to Northwest Kansas.
Several letters of support were given from area fire departments stating the need for such a facility in Northwest Kansas.
“This facility will provide the City of Hays Fire Department, Ellis County Fire Department and entire region with the ability to develop the knowledge and skills needed to better protect our communities,” said Deputy Fire Chief Ryan Hagans. “We look forward to the development of this facility and the training that we will be able to provide and take part in.“
The City of Hays would like to thank the Dane G. Hansen Foundation for its support of this project. Without the generosity of the Dane G. Hansen Foundation this project would not be possible, the city said in its news release.
Fort Hays State University and NCK Tech signed an agreement Tuesday to create clear paths from degrees and certificates at NCK Tech to bachelor’s degrees at FHSU.
The agreement aligns curriculum of six NCK Tech programs with six FHSU bachelor’s programs. These include:
• Associate in Applied Science in General Business to Bachelor of Science in Organizational Leadership
Tisa Mason, Fort Hays State University president, and Eric Burks, NCK Tech president, aligning six programs at NCK Tech to align bachelor degrees at FHSU.
• Associate in Applied Science (career and technical education concentration) to Bachelor of Science in Technology Leadership
• Associate in Applied Science (business and industry concentration) to Bachelor of Science in Technology Leadership
• Associate in Applied Science (nursing) to Bachelor of Science in Nursing (RN to BSN)
• Culinary Arts Certificate to Bachelor of Science in Tourism and Hospitality Management
• Certificate in Carpentry/Cabinetmaking to Bachelor of Science in Technology Studies
Transfer guides are available through NCK Tech.
Tisa Mason, FHSU president, said the memorandum of understanding will save students time and money by laying out clearly and efficiently, which courses students need, so they can avoid enrolling in unnecessary classes.
“Indeed FHSU and NCK have had a long-standing successful partnership based on our shared focus on student success,” Mason said. “The partnership has been passed down over the years from president to president — a legacy of mutual benefit for which both President Burks and I are honored to both continue and enhance.”
NCK Tech and FHSU staff as well as NCK Tech students wait for the signing of an agreement between the two institutions on transferring into bachelor’s programs.
FHSU has a vested interest in increasing opportunities for NCK students, Mason said. She said the agreement also serves workforce needs.
“At FHSU, we prove that every day through resource allocation and programs and services designed for transfer students,” Mason said.
Some of these programs include transfer designated scholarships, transfer student orientation programs and an honor society dedicated specifically for transfer students.
“This partnership did not start today — nor does it end today,” Mason said. “In fact, we already have many NCK students taking classes on our campus, attending FHSU events and even residing in our residence halls. I look forward to returning to the NCK campus many more times in the future to celebrate additional new and revised partnerships for our students.”
Eric Burks, NCK Tech president, said the agreement made Tuesday was a continuation of years of collaboration.
“We have had a long-standings relationship and a lot of great things we are already doing together to provide great opportunities for students, and today is just another step in the right direction in that partnership,” he said.
Burks said the agreement gives students options beyond a linear path to a degree.
“So many times now we know students start and stop. There are many exit and entry points through their educational process,” Burks said.
He said this is a great opportunity for both current students and returning students—students who maybe have graduated from NCK Tech in the past who might want to look at furthering their education because they want to move up the ladder.
Scott Smathers, vice president of workforce development for the Kansas Board of Regents, also attended the signing ceremony. He said by 2020 an estimated 70 percent of jobs will require a certification or some type or a degree. He said this programs sets students up for success in their careers. He congratulated the two institutions on their accomplishment.
The City of Hays Fire Department will be inspecting and flow testing fire hydrants on Wednesday in the area of Ash Street to Vine Street between Eighth Street and 13th Street. This is part of a coordinated effort by the City of Hays to inspect all fire hydrants in the city and flush all water mains annually.
Inspecting fire hydrants ensures that the valves operate properly and that there is no damage or obstructions that will prevent or interfere with the prompt use of fire hydrants in an emergency.Firefighters are also checking the pressure and volume of water mains in each neighborhood for firefighting purposes. The associated flushing of water mains allows chlorine to be distributed throughout the system to eliminate bio-filming in the water mains.
Slight discoloration of the water supply may be encountered although there will be no health risks to the consumer.All reasonable efforts will be taken to minimize the inconvenience to the public.Drivers are asked to avoid driving through water discharging from a fire hydrant during the short flushing period.
For more information, contact the Hays Fire Department at 628-7330.
Board member Paul Adams and Superintendent John Thissen at the school board meeting Monday night.By CRISTINA JANNEY Hays Post
The Hays school board continued to try to sharpen its focus on facility needs at its meeting Monday night.
Board member Paul Adams asked Superintendent John Thissen to invite key players in November’s failed bond attempt to a board meeting in April to discuss their insights on the last bond. This will include DLR, the district architect, and Nabholz Construction, the district’s construction manager at-risk.
Board member Mandy Fox also supported the meeting, adding she would like to hear from members of the community Vision Team about where they believed they had or did not have support during the last bond attempt.
Thissen also said there might be value in doing additional polling of residents.
The board has discussed the possibly of a third bond attempt after failed bond attempts in November and 2016.
Thissen has urged the board to create a committee to work on a new proposal with regular reports back to the board on its progress.
Board member Luke Oborny said he liked the concept of more interaction with the board, which would allow the board to suggest changes before any facilities committee became too far along in the process to make adjustments.
“We talked about it last time. The Vision Team went and did everything, and they came back to us and they presented the idea,” he said. “It is kind of hard for us to make adjustments or tweaks at that point because they have invested eight months of volunteer time and you hate to say, ‘We just hate that. Scrap this whole thing. Take another $20 million off.’ ”
Oborny said the board has already developed a time slot to discuss facilities. He suggested a facilities committee report to the board once a month or ever two months. This would allow the board to make guiding changes during the process, Oborny said.
Most of the discussion in recent months has focused on elementary schools, which are among the oldest schools in the district and those that are requiring the most maintenance.
In an interview on the KAYS Morning Show Tuesday, Thissen noted the district does not wish to put tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars into decaying schools that the district may eventually shutter.
The board has discussed consolidating elementary schools in order to save operational costs.
Board member Greg Schwartz said Monday he would like to see more on operation costs, and what savings could be reaped with different building configurations.
Thissen said he would bring that information back to the board during a meeting in April.
However, he noted the greatest savings would be through consolidating into one large elementary school and parents may oppose that option.
Adams said he hoped DLR and Nabholz might have some more insight on school trends, including what might be the best size for classrooms and what is working well with education spaces.
“They are not going to tell us we are going to take it down to two buildings or three buildings or we are going to build this new super elementary, but they can say here are some of the pros and cons that we have seen about what is going to happen, and we can begin to make those choices,” Adams said. “I would like that sort of information, as well as some of what they may have seen in the election process.”
Thissen said it is not about coming up with a perfect plan.
“What we are saying is we want to have the best plan possible, and that is what we are stumbling on— ‘What is that best plan? What can we do at this point to have the greatest possibility (for success)?'” Thissen said. “When I say success, success is just a matter of improving our facilities. It is not a matter of success of getting just what we want. I think it is a matter of getting what will help this school district and this community for the future and something the community feels it can support and back.”
Thissen said the process is important and open discussion is important.
Board member Sophia Rose Young said she hoped the board would continue to focus on developing a long-range facilities plan.
“My mind says we need a long-range plan of what we see for all the buildings in the district before we go 100 percent on one little bond. I like options,” she said. “For me to move forward, I need a long-range facility plan and the conversation not be so open.”
The Hays USD 489 school board approved a program Monday that would help at-risk students graduate and reach employment or post-secondary education goals.
The Jobs for America’s Graduates-Kansas program, which is also known as JAG-K, will begin at Hays High School this fall.
The program will cost the district $6,500, which is about 10 percent of the total cost of the program for one year. The rest of the cost is paid for through federal grant funds.
HHS Principal Martin Straub said it will take some extra effort from his staff to select students in time for a fall start, but he said the potential benefits far outweighs the effort and cost.
“It sounds too good to be true, but we have been able to talk to people in schools that you would say are tougher than Hays High that are saying that it is doing good things for their kids. It is doing good things for their community. I just don’t know what we have to lose,” Straub said.
The program helps students with remediation to help them graduate high school, works on career planning, and enhances leadership and job skills. Students visit workplaces and colleges, participate in a career club and perform 10 hours of community service.
The goal of the program is not only to help students graduate, but also to obtain full-time employment, enter the military or go on to post-secondary education. The program has an 89 percent success rate in students entering full-time employment, military or post-secondary education after high school. Post-secondary education or certification is a goal of the state’s new accreditation program.
If JAG-K students don’t graduate, the program works with them during the next year to earn their diplomas.
JAG-K students are enrolled in classes of 10 to 15 students during the school year, but the JAG-K specialists maintain contact with the students during the summer and for 12 months after graduation.
Straub estimated the first group enrolled in JAG-K might be small, maybe 25 or 30 students. However, the career specialist would have the capacity to work with up to 50 students.
Early intervention is important, Straub said. Although some programs choose to focus on juniors and seniors, Straub said he sees the greatest dropout rate among students who are 16 and no longer have to legally attend school. He said intervening with freshman or sophomores may reap the greatest returns from the program.
Hays High School has about an 87 percent graduation rate. New state accreditation standards have set a goal of a graduation rate of 95 percent. JAG-K had a 97 percent graduation rate for 2017.
Straub met with members of the Student Council to discuss graduation Monday. The class usually leaves an empty chair for any student that has passed away. Thankfully, the class of 2018 has not had any students pass away. However, the students noted they had fellow students missing who had dropped out.
“I thought it was very interesting that these high flyers said they remembered that a lot of their friends aren’t here,” Straub said. “They are alive, but they aren’t in school. They gave up or they had situations they couldn’t overcome or we just couldn’t give them enough individual attention.”
JAG-K is a national program with 68 programs in 33 school districts in the state of Kansas.
JAG-K reached out to Hays because it has no programs in northwest Kansas.
Straub said larger school districts in eastern Kansas have been using this program for years, noting northwest Kansas has needs, too.
“I think our students deserve some more help,” he said.
Visitors to downtown Hays will soon be able to eat German, work out and get a checkup as new businesses make their home on the Bricks.
Sara Bloom, executive director of Downtown Hays Development Corp., talked about what is on the horizon for downtown during a tour with local officials Monday afternoon as a part of the second annual Community Cruise.
Das Essen Hutte, a German eatery owned by the Charlie and Roxane Dorzweiler, is set to reopen any day at 110 W. 11th. The restaurant, which serves homemade German food inspired by classic Volga German recipes, had been located in Big Creek Crossing.
A new CrossFit center will be coming to the former Fire and Ice building at 229 W. 10th.
Sara Bloom, executive director of Downtown Hays Development Corp., talked about new businesses opening on the Bricks during the second annual Community Cruise Monday afternoon.
A new optometrist and dentist office also is going in at the corner of 13th and Main Street at the former All Seasons Heating and Plumbing building. This project will not likely be marketed until this summer with an expected opening sometime this fall.
Something Blue has expanded its business to 1012 Main and will be moving its wedding gowns to that location. The boutique at 1008 Main will be expanded and become Bluetique. Something Blue has had such a large demand for its gowns that it needed more space, Bloom said.
The building at 1012 Main once housed GypsyRose. Purses and jewelry that once were sold at GypsyRose can now be found at Salon Ten O Seven across the street.
Kris and Larissa Munsch are remodeling the home that used to be known as the Tea Rose Inn at 13th and Fort into a hotel. It is now called the Inn at 117. It currently has three suites available. It is not a bed and breakfast, so don’t expect a meal. However, Bloom said the hotel is a convenient walking distance from restaurants and the night life downtown.
“We are very excited. We get calls all of the time asking where people can stay downtown, and we finally have a place we can tell them,” Bloom said.
The tour also made a stop at the Downtown Pavilion. The ribbon cutting for the Downtown Pavilion has been postponed until April 27 because weather has delayed the last of construction on the project. DHDC still plans to use the pavilion for Brews on the Bricks, which is April 7.
Fort Hays State University’s Department of Applied Technology helped design and build the project, which substantially reduced costs.
Sandy Jacobs, a city commissioner who was on the tour, said the project was an excellent collaborative effort. The cost of the project was originally estimated at more than $400,000 and now will cost about $270,000 and be a gift from DHDC to the city of Hays.
The public/private project is funded by DHDC. Financial donations have come from the Robert and Patricia Schmidt Foundation, the Dane G. Hansen Foundation, and community supporters. The pavilion will go back to the city and will be managed as a public park. The public will be able to reserve the area as it does other city facilities.
The Ellis County Coalition for Economic Development also will soon move to 219 W. West 10th. The location will serve as a coworking space targeted to people who’ve been operating a home-based business or working at home. People will pay by the month like a gym membership to have access to office space, office equipment and a conference room.
Aaron White, executive director of the ECC, said he already has interest in the space from an attorney, a software designer and an app designer. He hopes to also work with the entrepreneurial program at Fort Hays State to connect new graduates with resources and keep tech startups in Hays.
“This gives them a place to do teleconferencing, to sit down and meet with a client in more of a professional setting instead of doing it in the living room of their house or at the local coffee shop. This gives them a more professional feel without the upfront costs,” White said.
Members will have 24/7 access. A full membership starts at $150 month. The center is set to open at the end of April.
The Hays USD 489 school board will consider a program Monday that would help at-risk students graduate and reach employment or post-secondary education goals.
Jobs for America’s Graduates-Kansas, which is also known as JAG-K, puts career specialists in schools to work with students.
The program is grant funded, but JAG-K asks participating schools to pay 10 percent of the cost of the program. In Hays, this would be $6,500 per year. The school district also has to provide a classroom and transportation. The JAG-K specialist is employed by the JAG-K program.
The program helps students with remediation to help them graduate high school, works on career planning, and enhances leadership and job skills. Students visit workplaces and colleges, participate in a career association club and perform 10 hours of community service.
JAG-K students are enrolled in classes of 10 to 15 students during the school year, but the JAG-K specialists maintain contact with the students during the summer and for 12 months after graduation. About 35 to 50 students would be enrolled in the program initially at Hays High.
The goal of the program is not only to help students graduate, but also to obtain full-time employment, enter the military or go on to post-secondary education after high school. The program has an 89 percent success rate in students entering full-time employment, military or post-secondary education after high school. Post-secondary education or certification is another goal of the state’s new accreditation program.
If JAG-K students don’t graduate, the program works with them during the next year to earn their diplomas.
JAG-K is a national program with 68 programs in 33 school districts in the state of Kansas. JAG-K reached out to Hays because it currently has no programs in northwest Kansas.
If the school district approves an agreement with the JAG-K, it would begin at Hays High School this fall.
In other business the board will:
• Consider approval of a lighting replacement bid for Roosevelt Elementary School.
• Discuss Long-range facilities planning
• Hear a report on board goals
• Hear a report on renewal of a contract with Assurance Partners, the district’s property/casualty and workers compensation consultant.
April is Child Abuse Prevention Month and I encourage everyone in the community to join me this month and stand up for the future of children in our state.
