KDA

MANHATTAN — The Kansas Department of Agriculture has been awarded $373,525.24 through the Specialty Crop Block Grant Program. Funds for the program are presented by the U.S. Department of Agriculture Agricultural Marketing Service to increase opportunities for specialty crops.

According to the USDA, specialty crops are defined as “fruits, vegetables, tree nuts, dried fruits, horticulture and nursery crops, including floriculture.” KDA has selected other recipients to further utilize the funds.

“We have a wide variety of specialty crops grown in Kansas, and these awards will help provide resources to producers that can enhance their individual growing operations,” said Secretary of Agriculture Mike Beam. “The specialty crop sector has a bright future in our state, and we celebrate these recipients.”

The following is a list of Kansas projects that will be funded by the grant:

Kansas State University: Improving the Yield, Quality, and Economic Potential of Strawberries Growing Under High Tunnels in Kansas, $67,990.32 — The project will study the economic potential of growing day-neutral strawberries under high tunnel in comparison to high tunnel tomato production.

Johnson County Extension Council: Enhancing Density Apple Production in Eastern Kansas with Drape Netting, $35,084.36 — The council will partner with local tree fruit producers to research and provide education on high density apple production systems and the adoption of drape netting management practices.

Kansas State University: Novel and Sustainable Wash-Water Systems for Improving the Safety and Quality of Leafy Greens, $54,174.96 — A team will collaborate with growers to implement cost-effective and sustainable antimicrobial wash-water systems to increase the safety, shelf-life, and competitiveness of leafy greens.

Kansas State University: GAPs Certification Funding and Produce Safety Outreach for Kansas Growers, $57,875.04 — This project will also assist in improving the safety of Kansas fruits and vegetables and assist producers to receive GAP (Good Agricultural Practices) certification.

Douglas County Research and Extension: Enhancing Beginning Farmer Training and Market Access in Northeast Kansas, $44,739.00 — A collaboration will work on a long-term Sustainability Action Plan for an improved beginning specialty crop farmer training program, including a series of hands-on workshops for beginning producers.

Kansas Department of Agriculture: Specialty Crop Conference Education Support, $25,500.00 —Kansas specialty crop growers will receive assistance to attend a conference on specialty crop growing techniques to increase their knowledge base, to help develop a plan of action for their operations.

Kansas State University: Identifying Best Management Practices for Upright Dry Bean Production, $38,223.36 — Research will establish best management practices for upright dry edible beans, evaluate management questions, and communicate findings to current and potential future dry bean growers.

Greater Northwest Kansas Community Foundation – Bird City: Increasing Regional Vegetable Production and Distribution Capacity for Western Kansas, $42,250.00 — A local collaborative group will assist producers in northwest Kansas scale up vegetable production and prepare to deliver to local grocery markets.

For more information about the Specialty Crop Block Grant Program including more detail about these grant projects, visit agriculture.ks.gov/specialtycrop.

The Eagle Radio Auction kicks off Thursday morning at 8 a.m. on radio stations 101.9 KKQY and 94.3 FM and 1400 AM KAYS.

There are thousands of items to bid on and buy, including a Floral Platinum Wedding Set from Diamond R Jewelry.

Retail Price $6000

This is a Floral Platinum Wedding Set with approx. 1.00ctw of diamonds, fit with a 6.5mm Round Pink Sapphire. The wedding set is a size 6. Can be sized up or down approximately 1 finger size.

 

Dancook 1500 Charcoal Grill from Crawford Outdoor

Retail Price $570

Dancook Charcoal Grills are designed to last a lifetime. Exclusive design with solid quality and high functionality, making for the very best cooking results. The extended worktop allows the space needed to prep and plate straight from the grill. Features stainless steel lid and work surfaces. And aluminum kettle with stainless steel liner. Dancook 1500 Charcoal Grill from Crawford Outdoor.

 

$550 Rhinoliner Spray In Bedliner from KJ and G Customs

Retail Price $550

KJ and G Customs on East 13th in Hays is now the area’s exclusive Rhino Linings spray in bedliner source….With over 25 years of protecting your trucks, trailers, and other toys, Rhino Linings is the leader in durability, warranty, and resistance. Protection never looked so good. This spray-in bed-liner contours to your bed, bumper, fender or grill to create a tough, factory like finish. Standard black or custom colors are available. It is impact resistant, watertight and protects your covered area. KJ and G Customs will cover most short bed and long bed pickup, and can also be used on cabs, bumpers and other accessories. Get with Troy Robinson and the guys today at 614 E. 13th in Hays. KJ and G Customs, your exclusive Rhino Linings dealer in the area. Call 785-621-4949 to get yours scheduled today and enjoy forever!

SUBMITTED

PLAINVILLE – The city of Plainville will host the “Remembering Our Fallen” national tribute to post-9/11 military this weekend in Andreson Memorial Park.

Remembering Our Fallen is a photographic war memorial that honors our country’s military Fallen from The War on Terror (9/11/2001 – Present).  Unlike brick and mortar memorials, Remembering Our Fallen is designed to travel and includes both military and personal photos.  Its legacy will be that these men and women will be remembered and their names will be spoken, while helping to lessen the grief of their families.

The tribute towers will be escorted into Plainville Thursday afternoon by the Hays American Legion Riders. The towers will assembled and remain up and illuminated through Sunday afternoon.

Opening ceremony is at 10:30 a.m. Fri., Oct. 18 with a welcome by Mayor Quentin Meyers.

Guest speakers include Brigadier General David Weishaar, Kansas National Guard, Col. Thomas O’Connor, Jr., Fort Riley, and Gold Star Mom Noala Fritz.

Also participating in the ceremony will be the Fort Riley First Infantry Division Color Guard and Band.

Rooks County students will perform “America the Beautiful.”

Following the playing of “Taps,” roll call of the names of 5,000 fallen heroes depicted on the towers will be read by Plainville USD 270 high school students and other volunteers.

Gold Star families will meet with their pen pal classes from Rooks County and enjoy a luncheon with Fort Riley leadership, Brigadier General Weishaar and other dignitaries.

Guided or self-viewing of the towers begins at 11:30 a.m.

On Friday, the Kansas National Guard will have a static display.

A concert will be held in the park at 2 p.m. Saturday with Roger Cooper followed by The Three Jacks.

The closing ceremony is at 4 p.m. Sunday.

There will be parking by the schools along Cardinal Ave. and Auction City Limits on the south edge of town with a shuttle service.

The event is sponsored by the Plainville Ambassador Club with the support of citizens in Rooks County and northwest Kansas.

 

By CATHY EVANS
Kansas Geological Survey

LAWRENCE — The nearly 1,800 new oil and natural gas fields named in Kansas between 2009 and early 2019 are now featured — along with more than 6,000 fields discovered earlier — on an updated series of maps available from the Kansas Geological Survey.

The series includes 12 regional maps, each covering about 90-by-55 miles and named for cities within its perimeters, including Wichita, Dodge City, Goodland, and Lawrence. Oil and gas field locations and names as well as geographic names and boundaries are shown on the maps. All 7,818 field locations also appear on a revised wall-sized map of the entire state.

“These maps show, at a glance, where oil and gas has been discovered and produced in Kansas and where it hasn’t,” said Mike Dealy, manager of the KGS office in Wichita. “They provide useful information for the oil and gas industry, landowners, mineral-right owners, researchers and the public.”

Kansas became a significant oil-producing state with the discovery of the El Dorado field northeast of Wichita in 1915. The maps illustrate that a bulk of the subsequent oil-producing fields stretch from south-central Kansas to northwest of Hays along the Central Kansas Uplift, a subsurface geologic structure. Ellis County, which includes Hays, has been the state’s top producing county in all but three of the last 52 years.

Since the maps were last revised in 2009, much of the new oil and gas activity has been along the Oklahoma border, mainly in Harper and Sumner counties. In 2013, increased drilling activity from a subsurface group of petroleum-bearing rocks known as the Mississippian Limestone play crossed the state line into Kansas.

“During the boom in south-central Kansas, more than 700 wells were drilled in a tier of counties just north of the Oklahoma state line between 2013 and 2015,” said Dave Newell, KGS geologist. “Both oil and natural gas production in the area escalated rapidly.”

Production in the south-central region has since slowed significantly due to the geologic characteristics of the Mississippian Limestone play.

The greatest concentration of natural gas production on the maps is in southwest Kansas in the Hugoton Gas Area, once the largest natural gas field in North America. Production there peaked in 1970 before declining, largely due to depletion.

“Unlike the 2009 map, which did not differentiate between the Hugoton Gas Area and the deeper Panoma Gas Area, the 2019 map shows the boundaries of each,” said KGS cartographer John Dunham.

Underlying much of southwest Kansas, the Hugoton and Panoma produce from different formations at different depths.

The newly revised maps also now include the boundaries of two large coalbed gas areas in eastern Kansas, where natural gas is produced from shallow coalbeds. In the early 2000s gas production in those areas increased as natural gas prices rose. After prices peaked in 2008, production there declined.

The Kansas Geological Survey is a research and service division of the University of Kansas. Its main headquarters, in Lawrence, is the repository for the more than 450,000 oil and gas records submitted or donated to the state. The KGS Wichita office maintains geologic samples from more than 144,000 oil, gas and exploratory wells drilled in Kansas. Data for fields and individual wells are available through an online interactive oil and gas map at https://maps.kgs.ku.edu/oilgas/index.cfm.

The new regional oil and gas fields maps and statewide map are available from the Kansas Geological Survey, 1930 Constant Ave., Lawrence, KS 66047-3724 (phone 785-864-3965) and at 4150 W. Monroe St., Wichita, KS 67209-2640 (phone 316-943-2343).

Cost is $10 per regional map and $20 for the statewide map, plus shipping and handling. Inquire about shipping and handling charges and, for Kansas residents, sales tax.

Maps courtesy Kansas Geological Survey

Westview Church’s youth group, also known as R3, is putting on a dodgeball tournament to help raise money for a church lock-in that is coming up on Dec. 27.

“The goal for R3 is to connect students into godly relationships in their everyday lives. We all know the importance of hanging with the right friends will help lead to a more balanced life and R3 is set out to help teenagers with their relationship with Jesus and their walk-in life,” said R3 youth pastor Tim Nunnery.

The dodgeball tournament will be from 6:30 to 9 p.m. Oct. 30 at Hays Middle School . All teams must have four boys and four girls making it an eight-person team. All teams must sign up before Oct. 27. There is a $40 entry fee, $45 if signing up after the deadline.

Teams are allowed to choose a team name, but it must be appropriate. There will be a middle school and high school division so any one from grades 6-12 are eligible to create a team.

Spectator admission is $3 or $2 with a canned food item

“This is part of the reason why we are having a dodgeball tournament. First, it’s to help raise funds for our lock-in December 27th which is free for all teens grade 6-12 that want to come. Second, it’s where they can come together and worship God, hang with friends and enjoy a powerful message from our speaker and students that help,” Nunnery said.

There will be free food, and games all night.

“Over the past years we have had teens make new friends, and better yet memories that they will be talking about for a long time,” Nunnery said. “For all the parents that are looking for something their teens can do over Christmas break. This is it!”

Download the “My Church” app and search for Westview Church. After downloading the app, click on the “Teens” tab to make a team and pay. Other ways you could sign up are come to R3 every Wednesday night at 7 p.m. or find Mrs. Dale at Hays Middle School, Mrs. Rough at Hays High School or members of the R3 youth group.