Kansas Department of Agriculture Division of Water Resources

MANHATTAN — A public informational meeting will be held on Thursday, June 21, to discuss the applications submitted by the cities of Hays and Russell to change the use made of water, points of diversions, and places of use for the R9 Ranch water rights. The meeting will be conducted at 1:00 p.m. at the Twilight Theater, 200 S. Main Street in Greensburg, Kansas.

The meeting will include presentations by the city of Hays, its consultants, and the Kansas Department of Agriculture Division of Water Resources. Discussion will center around understanding the cities’ change applications; the proposed terms and conditions being considered for the change applications’ contingent approval (i.e., the master order and its incorporated individual change approvals); and the cities’ technical work supporting their applications. There will be an opportunity to ask questions during the meeting.

The presentations will be followed by an opportunity for attendees to make public comments related to the change application process. Submission of written comments will also be allowed through July 12. Video of the presentations will be available for viewing via the KDA-DWR website following the meeting.

For more information about the change application, including all documents related to the application and the form to submit written comments, please visit the KDA-DWR website at agriculture.ks.gov/HaysR9. Persons who require special accommodations must make their needs known at least five days prior to the meeting.

KDOT

A portion of U.S. 24 from the K-18 junction in Graham County to Stockton will reopen to one-lane traffic on Wednesday, June 13. The road was previously closed because of damage to a box bridge structure and adjacent roadway located approximately 1 mile west of Nicodemus caused by heavy rains and flooding on Memorial Day.

Crews from the Kansas Department of Transportation are currently making repairs to the damaged section. Traffic will be controlled through the work zone by stoplights and a 14-foot width restriction will be in place. Minor delays not exceeding 5 minutes should be expected.

Motorists are reminded to slow down and be alert when approaching and driving through work zones.

Midwest Energy is seeking Board of Directors approval for proposed electric rate changes, effective Jan. 1. A public meeting to discuss the changes is being held in Hays on Thursday, June 21, at 6 p.m. in Robbins Center at Fort Hays State University. All Midwest Energy customers are welcome to attend.

The rate changes, if approved, would be revenue-neutral for the company. This is Midwest Energy’s first general electric rate change since 2011. It is needed to address significant differences between similar customers on the M and W Systems, as well as simplify rate structures. If approved, the proposed rate changes will take place over a three-year period.

Details on the proposed rate changes are available on the Midwest Energy website at www.mwenergy.com/residential/electric-rate-changes.

Other public meetings scheduled to discuss the rate changes include: Great Bend, July 3, at 6 p.m., Barton Community College Fine Arts Building, Room #30; and Macksville, July 5, at 6 p.m., American State Bank & Trust Building.

— Midwest Energy

TOPEKA — Acting State Librarian Eric Norris announced today the 13th annual selection of Kansas Notable Books. The fifteen books feature quality titles with wide public appeal, either written by a Kansan or about a Kansas-related topic.

“I am proud to present the 2018 Kansas Notable Book list. Choosing only 15 books is no easy task,” said Eric Norris, Acting State Librarian. “The selection committee began with a pool of over 100 submitted titles and worked diligently to identify the year’s best works by authors and illustrators from Kansas, as well as those works that highlight our history and heritage. Kansans are encouraged to visit their local public library and celebrate the artists and the artistry of Kansas.”

Kansas Notable Books is a project of the Kansas Center for the Book, a program of the State Library. The Kansas Center for the Book is a state affiliate of the Center for the Book in the Library of Congress. Throughout the award year, the State Library promotes and encourages promotion of all the titles on this year’s list at literary events, and among librarians and booksellers.

An awards ceremony will be held at the Kansas Book Festival, Saturday, September 8, 2018, 9:30 a.m., at the State Capitol to recognize the talented Notable Book authors. The public is invited.

For more information about Kansas Notable Books, call 785-296-3296, visit kslib.info/notablebooks or email [email protected].

2018 Kansas Notable Books

Bad Kansas: Stories by Becky Mandelbaum (Rockport WA), University of Georgia Press
In this darkly humorous collection, Kansas becomes a state of mind as the characters struggle to define their relationship to home and what it means to stay or leave, to hold on or let go.

Cricket in the Thicket: Poems about Bugs by Carol Murray (Overland Park), illustrations by Melissa Sweet (Portland ME). Henry Holt & Co
Playful poems highlight surprising facts about the world of insects – from familiar ants and exotic dragonflies to cringe-worthy ticks and magnificent fireflies in this picture book for children.

Dodge City: Wyatt Earp, Bat Masterson, and the Wickedest Town in the American West by Tom Clavin (Sag Harbor NY), St. Martin’s Press
Cowpokes, desperadoes, and lawmen: it wasn’t always easy to tell which was which. This rollicking tale of Dodge City brims with colorful characters. From frontier settlement, to cattle drives, to a railroad town, the history of Dodge City is the story of how the West was won.
Feet of the Messenger: Poems by H.C. Palmer (Lenexa), BkMk Press Books
Between the horrors of the Vietnam War and the pacific silences of the Kansas prairie, these poems honor both the beauty of the English language and the ancient powers of poetry to speak experience without diminishing it.

Fireflies in the Gathering Dark: Poems by Maril Crabtree (Mission), Aldrich Press
These poems traverse landscapes, inner and outer: physical landscapes and metaphysical ones; the landscape of relationships; the landscape of age, from childhood to maturity; and the questing landscape that leads to new understandings.

Headlights on the Prairie: Essays on Home by Robert Rebein (Irvington IN), University Press of Kansas
These essays bring a storyteller’s gifts to life’s dramas, large and small. Moments of singular grace and grit encapsulate the lives of feedlot cowboys, long-haul truckers, and farm kids dreaming of basketball glory.

Ike and McCarthy: Dwight Eisenhower’s Secret Campaign Against Joseph McCarthy by David A. Nichols (Winfield), Simon & Schuster
This fast-paced account reveals President Eisenhower’s subtly clever role in the destruction of demagogue Joe McCarthy. Drawn from documents in the Eisenhower Presidential Library, Nichols presents a gripping story of a classic power struggle.

Kansas Baseball, 1858-1941 by Mark E. Eberle (Hays), University Press of Kansas
The early history of baseball in Kansas is the story of towns and the ballparks they built. It was a time when baseball was adopted by early settlers, then taken up by soldiers sent west, and finally by teams formed to express the identity of growing and diverse communities.

Kansas Guidebook 2 for Explorers by Marci Penner (Inman) and WenDee Rowe (Inman), Kansas Sampler Foundation
The ultimate guidebook for all things to see and do in Kansas features 4,500 attractions, 843 eateries, and more than 1,600 color photos. Counties are arranged alphabetically within six geographic regions as are the cities within each county. Entries include directions, hours and contact information.

The Man from the Train: The Solving of a Century-Old Serial Killer Mystery by Bill James (Lawrence) and Rachel McCarthy James (Lawrence), Scribner
A baseball statistician and his daughter deliver a provocative story that aims to solve a 100-year-old mass murder case. The two painstakingly scoured thousands of newspapers and records to discover and reveal the identity of one of the deadliest serial killers in America.

Midnight at the Electric by Jodi Lynn Anderson (Asheville NC), HarperTeen
While the stories of three women span multiple generations and thousands of miles, their lives are intertwined. Before leaving Kansas to go to Mars, Adri discovers Catherine’s journal of the Dust Bowl and Lenore’s letters about World War I. Each story weaves a unifying thread of hope.

The Shape of Ideas: An Illustrated Exploration of Creativity by Grant Snider (Derby), Abrams ComicArts
What do ideas look like? Where do they come from? These one- and two-page comics have been featured in the New Yorker, the New York Times, and the Kansas City Star. They are a colorful look into the creative process.

Stark Mad Abolitionists: Lawrence, Kansas, and the Battle over Slavery in the Civil War Era by Robert K. Sutton (Bethesda MD), Skyhorse Publishing
In 1854, Boston was in an uproar. Businessman Amos Adams Lawrence was inspired to put his efforts and considerable fortune toward keeping slavery out of Kansas. The town that came to bear Lawrence’s name became part of a bigger story of people willing to risk their lives and fortunes for freedom.

That is My Dream! by Langston Hughes and Daniel Miyares (Lenexa), Schwartz & Wade
Langston Hughes’s inspiring and timeless poem “Dream Variation” comes joyously to life in a gorgeously illustrated picture book. Follow one child on a walk through his small segregated town in the 1950s. Then watch his mind take flight as he images a brighter, more inclusive world.

To The Stars Through Difficulties by Romalyn Tilghman (Long Beach CA), She Writes Press
Inspired by the women who built fifty-nine Carnegie libraries in Kansas, the No Guilt Quilters overcome numerous obstacles to build the Cultural Center on the Plains- proving that New Hope is more than just the name of a town.

— The State Library of Kansas

The City of Ellis, Kansas, is accepting applications for a Full Time Entry Level Police Officer or a Lateral Transfer Police Officer. Police Officers are required to enforce local, state, and federal laws as well as serve papers and complete other various tasks.

Minimum requirements are U.S. citizen, High School diploma or GED, 21 years of age, valid driver’s license, no felony, serious misdemeanor or domestic violence convictions. Police Officer employed with the city of Ellis is required to establish residence with the Ellis School district USD 388. KLETC certification is required for lateral transfers. A background check will be conducted on each applicant. Applicant must pass a pre-employment drug screen, written test, oral interview, and physical and mental health evaluations. Applicant will provide a current driving history and current credit report.

The City of Ellis is an equal opportunity employer offering a highly competitive benefit package including paid family health insurance. Starting pay for Police Officers is $15.90 an hour. Lateral transfers will receive $17.22 an hour after they complete field training.

To apply, go to the city of Ellis Kansas web page click the job opportunities link and fill out the application. Send the application either by mail to the Ellis Police Department 815 Jefferson St. Ellis, Kansas 67637 or by email to Chief Taft Yates at [email protected]. You may also contact the Ellis Police Department by phone at (785) 726-4462 or the Ellis City Clerk by phone at (785)726-4812 for an application.

By LINN ANN HUNTINGTON
Contributing Writer

Désiré Nana grew up in a poor family of nine in Burkina Faso, West Africa. He walked three miles each way to school every day, often searching for discarded food along the way.

At the age of 8, Nana received an Operation Christmas Child shoebox gift. He said two items inside stood out in particular: a green toy car and a light-up yo-yo.

“That was the first time I had received a gift in my entire life,” he recalled.

Along with the box, Nana received a booklet called “The Greatest Gift,” which told him about the love of Jesus. He said he would read through the booklet several times a day.

Today Nana is a college student in the United States. He will be in Hays on Saturday, June 16, to share how that one Christmas gift changed his life completely.

Nana will be speaking from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. at the Downtown Pavilion, 10th and Main. Jared Thom, a local singer/songwriter, will be performing praise music.

The shoebox gift that Nana received as a child is part of Operation Christmas Child, a ministry of Samaritan’s Purse, headquartered in Boone, S.C.

Each Christmas season, individuals are encouraged to wrap a shoebox containing small gifts for a needy child. The shoeboxes are then dropped off at sites all across the U.S. and are sent to children in Third World countries. For many children, the small gifts inside those shoeboxes are the first gifts the children have ever received.

Last year, 2,933 boxes were collected from people in Hays and the surrounding area, said Rachel Albin, the ministry’s area director for Northwest Kansas. In all of northwest Kansas, 6,399 shoeboxes were collected.

This year’s shoebox National Collection Week is Nov. 12-19. Hays will have two shoebox drop-off sites, Messiah Lutheran Church, 2000 Main, and Cross Point Church, 1300 Harvest Road.

Nana said receiving that shoebox and learning about Jesus’ love ultimately inspired him to work with children. He eventually went on to serve with the team of volunteers who coordinate the efforts of Operation Christmas Child in Burkina Faso. Today Nana is studying at Victory Bible College in Oklahoma.

Hays will not be Nana’s only stop in northwest Kansas. He will be speaking at 11 a.m. Saturday, June 16, at First United Methodist Church in Norton. His presentation there will be followed by a free lunch. Although both events are open to the public, lunch reservations are required to Albin by Thursday, June 14, at (785) 639-1325 or [email protected].

The following day, Sunday, June 17, Nana will be speaking during the 10:30 morning worship service at Oakley Christian Church. Albin will also be presenting the church with an award for being a shoebox drop-off site for 10 years.