On Thursday, the Hays Police Department found an unconscious male in the middle of the street.

Witnesses reported that the male had been body slammed to the ground. The male suffered a severe head injury and was life-watched to Wichita.

Tyson Martinez was identified as the suspect and was located near the scene. Martinez was arrested for aggravated battery and was placed in the Ellis County Jail.

“The Hays Police Department would like to remind everyone that Martinez is presumed innocent until proven guilty in the court of law,” the HPD said in a news release Friday evening. “The Hays Police Department would like to thank the Ellis County Sheriff’s Office, Fort Hays State Police Department, and the Wichita Police Department for their assistance with this investigation. The Hays Police Department is requesting that anyone with any information or video of the incident contact the Hays Police Department at (785) 625-1011.”

— HPD

PLAINVILLE — Sunday marks the official opening of Rooks County Health Center’s new dedicated Rehabilitation Center and a key piece of the hospital’s two-phase expansion. RCH invites the public to attend an open house from 3 to 5 p.m. Sunday offering tours of the new facility, demonstrations and light refreshments. Visitors to the open house, as well as all patients attending rehabilitation appointments, are encouraged to use the new north-side parking lot and entrance for direct access to the new hospital wing at 1210 N. Washington.

After an 18 month construction process, RCH received its certificate of occupancy from the fire marshal’s office which enabled the Rehab department to start seeing patients in the new building on October 21.

“We moved all the Rehab equipment in as soon as we could after getting the OK from the fire marshal so that those attending appointments for Cardiac Rehab, Physical Therapy, Occupational Therapy and Speech Therapy were able to start using the space last week,” commented AJ Thomas, the CEO of RCH. “We still have some final touches before interior construction is completed but we can work around those areas for now.”

Visitors to the open house will see live demonstrations of the new zero-entry aquatic therapy pool with treadmill floor. The pool is the only one in western Kansas. Unlike most therapy pools which requires stairs or a hoist, RCH patients can walk or be wheeled onto the flat surface of the pool floor that then submerges to the desired depth for therapy work. According to Sumearll, aquatic therapy is desirable because it gets patients moving sooner and faster with less pain.

“Water supports the weight of the patient, lessening the force of gravity on the body, so that the prescribed therapy can work more efficiently on improving your strength and balance,” stated Scott Carpenter, RCH Rehabilitation Department director. The pool utilizes underwater cameras so that therapists can monitor a patient’s progress, while patients can observe how well they are responding to the therapist’s direction.

The spaces being vacated by the expansion will be renovated to provide expanded outpatient services, a larger cafeteria and two new conference rooms. This final phase of construction, scheduled for completion in April of 2020, will take the spaces formerly housing Cardiac Rehab, Physical Therapy, Occupational Therapy and Speech Therapy and transform them into their new roles.

The capital campaign being conducted by the Rooks County Healthcare Foundation to help fund the cost of this expansion will continue until the final $250,000 is raised to meet the original $2,000,000 goal.

— Rooks County Health Center

FHSU University Relations

More than 300 graduates will cross the stage at Fort Hays State University’s first-ever fall commencement ceremony. The event begins at 1 p.m. Friday, Dec. 13, in Gross Memorial Coliseum on the FHSU campus.

The ceremony is free and open to families of graduates and to all friends of the university. No tickets are required. All seats in Gross Memorial Coliseum are first-come, first-served and are normally filled one hour before the start of the ceremony. Graduates and faculty will be seated on the main floor of Gross Coliseum.

The doors to the coliseum will open to the public at 11 a.m. Persons other than degree candidates attending Commencement are asked to enter through the four coliseum gates and not through Cunningham Hall.

Graduates can pick up name cards, caps, gowns and tassels in Gross Memorial Coliseum from 11 a.m. until 12:15 p.m. Students will begin lining up in Cunningham Hall at 12:15 p.m. The procession will begin promptly at 1 p.m.

Individuals with disabilities should enter through Gates 2 and 3, on the northwest and southwest corners. Seating arrangements for the disabled are available on the main floor on either side in front of the stage. If necessary, one person will be allowed to accompany an individual in this seating area. A sign language interpreter will be available in Section C of the main floor.

Traffic in the Gross Coliseum area is generally extremely heavy for Commencement. Parking lots adjacent to Gross Coliseum typically fill up quickly, but ample parking is available on the main campus. In the event of rain or snow, unpaved lots near Gross Coliseum will be closed, making it necessary to park on the main campus.

Shuttle bus service will be provided between the campus and Gross Coliseum. The shuttle buses will stop in parking lots and wherever drivers see people walking to or from Gross Coliseum.

For more information about Commencement, visit: https://www.fhsu.edu/commencement/index