By JAMES BELL
Hays Post

The Golden Griddle, 230 W. Ninth, has been open for three weeks and has already been a hit with locals, but what makes the new breakfast establishment stand out is not its food or service, but rather the family attitude that permeates through the staff.

For Hays residents, this attitude should be familiar, as the Griddle is an offshoot of the popular Golden Q bar and grill.

The goal of the Griddle is to be a “nice local restaurant that people can bring their families into,” said Brady Herman, general manager of the Q and the Griddle.

“We consider everybody here at the Q a little family and we do the same over there,” he said. “We want everyone to enjoy their experience that comes in, we also want our help and (wait staff) to have a good experience as well.”

When it comes down to it, Herman said the restaurant serves the public, and the staff has a goal to make a community establishment.

“It’s a win-win for everybody,” he said.

So far, business has been good for the new restaurant, but Herman said it can do better, with the last few weeks serving as a learning experience. The Griddle is Herman’s first with a full wait staff — meaning he is learning as business picks up, as well.

“I’ve gotten a lot of advice and a lot of pointers in the last two, three weeks,” he said, coming from the hiring of seasoned staff. “Luckily, we’ve had a really good front of house staff hired with some experience.”

Despite the ups and downs of opening any new restaurant, Herman said the last weeks have been going well — but living up to expectations set by the Golden Q isn’t easy.

“We’re gaining every week,” he said. “The hardest part I think is just getting everyone on the same page as far as cooking, learning the items, cooking the same way.”

Part of that process is making sure diners receive meals “as fresh as it can possibly be when it goes out.”

Even with the Griddle being part of the legacy of the Q in Hays, they are generally ran independently.

“We kept it separate,” Herman said. “Everyone started fresh, and I feel like we have a really good staff over (at the Q) now. Especially with school starting … I didn’t want to jeopardize that at all.”

And it shows. It’s hard to find a time when the Q isn’t busy. And if the Griddle experiences the same kind of popular support from the community, it is likely to succeed.

“We just rely on word of mouth. We obviously do a little bit of advertising, but we don’t feel like we need to force it a whole lot,” Herman said. “If we put out good food and give everyone a good experience, then that should generate the same thing as far as somebody asking where a good breakfast place is.”

The Griddle is open 6 to 11 a.m. daily, with hours until 1 p.m. Sundays.

BY JAMES BELL
Hays Post

At Monday night’s work session, the Hays USD 489 discussed technology and a future bond measure in a short session.

The board first heard a brief technology update concerning the iPad rollout through the elementary and middle schools and saw the video being shown to students with proper usages tips for the equipment.

Sixty-five percent to 70 percent of K-2 grades have already been through the iPad rollout, and grades 2-8 are nearly complete, according to Marie Henderson, who presented the information to the board.

Following the information, board member Sarah Rankin asked about keyboard implementation for the iPad’s after two English teachers had asked about using the iPads for composition.

The district currently is in a wait-and-see mode as to whether the keyboards will be needed, but if it is decided later they are necessary, they can be made available.

“There is money available,” said Superintendent Dean Katt.

Teachers are now sending in app requests to the district for evaluation.

“Overall,” Katt said, “rollout has gone well.”

The board also discussed a potential bond issue to fund a series of building improvements throughout the district.

At this point, however, there is little that can move forward.

“We don’t really have any idea,” Katt said, in terms of how much money might be requested for a bond issue. At this time, the architectural firms handling the upgrade plans will be brought in to discuss where they are with the board to begin outlining a timeline for facility upgrades.

The board also looked at the results of the board retreat last week, with Katt suggesting there might be too many goals outlined to achieve measurable success for each.

“The things we have available we want to maximize,” Katt said.

Rankin suggested to prioritize the goals in order to make them more manageable rather than take some off the table. In response, Katt asked the board members to send to the administration each of their priorities to be looked at during the next board meeting.

By JAMES BELL
Hays Post

The Hays USD 489 Board of Education will meet at 6:30 p.m. Monday in their first work session of the academic year in the Toepfer Board Room in the Rockwell Administration Center, 323 W. 12th.

The board will hear a technology update from Marie Henderson, who will share iPad usage information in the district’s elementary and middle schools.

The board will also continue discussions on a proposed bond issue — estimated to be in the $100 million range — that would be used to fund upgrades to the district’s facilities. The proposal has been floated by the district for several years and, in a previous meeting, the 2015-16 board heard from HTK architects on the district-wide upgrades.

The original plan, however, will need adjusted before the board can move forward as the closing of Washington Elementary last year has made significant changes to the plan necessary.

Click HERE for information gathered by the district’s Facilities Needs Committee, formed in 2012 for the purpose of recommending building upgrades throughout the district.

By JAMES BELL
Hays Post

The Thomas More Prep-Marian school’s drama department is getting ready for the fall production, “The Sound of Music,” and a key first step – casting  – has occurred and the roles have been announced.

The show will run Nov. 6, 7 and 8.

“The fall play and spring musical create diverse skill building for the students, such as stage acting and singing or playing instruments in the pit orchestra, makeup/hair, behind the scenes work building sets or painting design, and technology advancement in our state of the art sound and light booth,” according to their department webpage.

The department is headed by Travis Grizzell who has been at TMP since 2007 and Drama Director since 2009, directing students twice a year to produce a fall musical and a spring play.

The shows are open to the public and are performed at the Dreiling Theatre.

 

The full cast list for the “Sound of Music:”

Maria – Elly Lang

Mother Abbess – Dominique Rupp

Sister Berthe – Lauren Moeder

Sister Margaretta – Hannah Michaud

Sister Sophia – Lizzie Leiker

Capt. Von Trapp – John Drees

Franz the Butler – Ethan Rohr

Frau Schmidt the housekeeper – Katy Walters

Liesl – Anna Speno

Friedrich – Trae Megaffin

Louisa – Gracie Schmidt

Kurt – Jensen Brull

Brigitta – Madighan Norris

Marta – Natalie Loftus

Gretl – Jenna Brull

Rolf – Matthew Moeder

Baroness Elsa Schraeder – Taylor Dinkel

Ursula/Baroness Elberfeld – Laura Krug

Max – Justyce Briney

Admiral Von Schreiber – Jagyrd Briney

Baron Elberfeld/Herr Zeller – Paul Brull

Neighbors/Nuns/Postulants/Contestants – Alison Helget, Taryn Rupp, Laura Casey, Taylor Drees, Allison Campbell, Kaitlyn Burd, Alexandra Herrman, Morgan Olmstead, Annie Wasinger, Hannah Trevethan, Isabel Peine, Joelle Pfannenstiel, Brooke Leiker

Few things excite children like a race car and from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, at Hays Chevrolet, 2917 Vine St., children will get the opportunity to explore a race car as part of an event promoting RPM speedway and the Boy Scouts of America.

Steve Richardson, who is making the car available, drives the number 0 wing sprint car in races across the area.

“I got approached by the Boy Scouts of America to bring the race car out before the race tomorrow at RPM, let the kids interact with the race car a little bit,” Richardson said.

While the event is new this year, the hope is to stage other events in the future as the Sprints Car series returns to the area.

“This is our first year doing it, but we have plans to do it next year,” Richardson said.

Along with the car and promotional giveaways, including shirts and tickets to the Saturday race, members of the Boy Scouts will be on site to help build an interest in the local troop.

Scouts that attend will also be given tickets to the race.