A single-engine agricultural biplane crashed south of Hays Tuesday morning killing the pilot shortly after taking off from his private runway about a mile west of Schoenchen.
The pilot was identified as John Werth, 70, Schoenchen, who died in the crash according to Kansas Highway Patrol Trooper Tod Hileman.
“At about 9:15 a.m. he took off from his runway, on his farm,” Hileman said. “Not long after that, the plane crashed into a ditch about a mile north of the end of his runway.”
The crash is near the intersection of Smoky Hill River Rd. and 240th Ave.
Smoky Hill River Rd. will remain closed from 220th Ave. to 240th Ave. through Wednesday as the accident is investigated.
A KHP pilot will lead the crash investigation until the Federal Aviation Administration arrives to determine the cause of the crash, according to Hileman.
Deputies from the Ellis County Sherrif’s office and Ellis County EMS were also assisting at the scene.
The plane was identified as an Ag Cat 1985 bi-wing spray plane and was carrying chemicals for spraying at the time off take off.
The Ellis County Fire Department was on scene and was responsible for chemical cleanup, according to Hileman.
VICTORIA — Construction is set to begin soon on a $4.5 million water system revitalization project in Victoria that will replace the town’s water tower, revitalize two of their wells and replace aging water lines throughout the town.
The project will also connect the town’s supply to the Trego 2 Rural Water District.
The first stage in the project that is being completed by EBH Engineering is the replacement of the water tower.
“The water tower is 20 years past its estimated life span,” said Brad Schmidtberger, city superintendent. “We are going from a 50,000 gallon to a 150,000 gallon above ground. That fulfills the needs of growth for the town.
“The grant was approved, and the engineering firm is doing all of the surveying,” Schmidtberger added.
Bidding for construction should start soon and he said tower construction could start in September.
Waterline replacement is likely to come next as stage two of the system overhaul and will replace approximately 14,000 feet of waterlines and adding waterline loops to many existing lines.
“We have done water projects over the years and replaced a lot of the water lines around town naturally, and this would replace some of the ones that were not replaced in the most recent water project in the 1980s,” Schmidtberger said.
Adding loops to waterlines will help with water flow and water quality.
“We have some waterlines that are very dated, and we have a couple that are not looped in some lower-use areas. We are going to loop those in. That will produce much higher quality water in those lower-use areas,” Schmidtberger said.
Repairing two of the city’s wells and connecting to the rural water district will complete the project and will help ensure the water supply is sufficient for the expected growth in Victoria.
“We would have basically new wells,” Schmidtberger said. “They are both very dated and in need.”
“By offsetting these and re-drilling with new screens, new casings and so forth, it’s going to give us a better and a more efficient quality of water and a more efficient supply of water,” he said. “With the repairs, we will be able to capitalize more on what’s there.”
Adding water from the rural water district will add another water supply to the system and ensure the supply remains sufficient for future growth.
“That will allow us to feel comfortable with the amount of water we have, long term,” Schmidtberger said.
The decision to connect to the Trego 2 Rural Water District was based on location as the district runs lines through Ellis County and the properties of the water.
The rural district’s water is “the best match for our water,” Schmidtberger said. “It will blend very well with our water and our existing well field.”
Having water that is similar in makeup to the city well makes it the most cost-effective method of adding to the water supply, he said, as they can blend the water with the well water as it will not need additional treatment.
Once the connection is made, the water from the district will be added to the central reservoir for processing.
The RPM Speedway’s pit concession stand was destroyed during a storm that went through Ellis county Tuesday. (Photos courtesy Jill Pfannenstiel)
By JAMES BELL Hays Post
As cleanup continues across Ellis County from heavy sustained winds during a storm Tuesday, the Ellis County Fair Board is seeking help at 10 a.m. Saturday to begin work to clean up the heavily damaged fairgrounds.
“It took a whole set of bleachers and lifted them up over the rodeo arena and smashed them against the crow’s nest and bucking shoots,” said Jill Pfannenstiel, fair board president. “They are totally destroyed.”
Trees and light poles were also destroyed, along with Rolling Plains Motor Speedway buildings.
The track grandstands were damaged, as well as the commercial building.
“In the race track pit area, they had a scale house that was totally destroyed, along with their concessions building,” Pfannenstiel said.
Damage at the track forced the cancellation of Mod Invasion night planned on Aug. 24, which was one of the larger events for the track with the planned inclusion of NASCAR legend Kenny Schrader.
There is a lot of trash across the fairgrounds, and the board wants to get the destroyed buildings cleaned up in the pit area, Pfannenstiel said. Once the cleanup starts, the full scope of the damage can be assessed.
“We are going to try to salvage what we can, but we want to get them off of there to see what kind of damage we have,” she said.
They are also awaiting an evaluation from their insurance adjuster and are hopeful insurance will cover the cost of repairs.
“It should be (covered), but at this point, I don’t know that if they are going to depreciate stuff so if we will get our money back to replace the bleachers,” Pfannenstiel said.
Even if insurance covers the repairs, planned revenue from the three race events planned at RPM Speedway will not arrive and will hurt not only the track but will have larger economic impact, according to RPM Speedway president Glenn Unrein.
“It’s a blow to the racers and our community,” he said. “Like with the Fall Nationals, you have people travel a long distance — last year from 13 states and Canada — they all come in and rent motels shop here and spend money lodging, food and everything else. It’s a real blow to us.”
Unrein is hopeful repairs can be completed before championship night scheduled for Sept. 21 — the final night for track points for the racers before Fall Nationals on Oct. 4.
“It’s a major event for this community and our race track,” he said of the nationals event.
Around 225 to 250 races cars typically participate in that event and the event cannot be moved to another track.
“No facility in several hundred miles of us could handle the amount of cars and people that come in for that,” Unrein said.
While the rodeo grounds were damaged more significantly, there were no more events planned there for the year.
“We’re lucky there,” Pfannenstiel said.
During the cleanup Saturday, she said she hopes they can get the rodeo bleachers off of the crows’ nest and bucking shoots and is asking that anyone that wants to participate in the cleanup bring gloves, power tools, impacts, socket sets and quick-e saws.
Despite the devastation to the grounds, Pfannenstiel was grateful it was not worse.
“We are thankful that it did not happen during the fair and that nobody got hurt,” she said.
Chance for additional storms returns in the coming days
By JAMES BELL Hays Post
The storm that moved through Hays on Tuesday brought hurricane-force winds with it, damaging homes and business throughout Ellis County and the region. But even though the storm did not produce tornados in the area, it demonstrates the destructive power of thunderstorms and associated winds.
“People see severe thunderstorm warning and get almost complacent,” said Bill Turner, lead forecaster at the National Weather Service in Dodge City. “They see the warning and think ‘Big deal, I have been through 84 million of those.’ ”
“When you get winds of 80 mph, we put different wording in the warnings, but it’s hard to get the message across that this wind is 80 mph,” he said. “There is a world of difference between a wind of 80 mph and a wind of 60 mph. It’s exponentially worse.”
Discussions about the destructive winds associated with Tuesday’s storm began early Tuesday morning, and the NWS had issued watches and warnings in advance of the approaching storm.
“The watch was up for damaging winds. Social media was covered with stuff,” Turner said. “I think we proved to a lot of people that you don’t need a tornado to rip some stuff down.”
The level of damage seen in Hays, he said, was directly related to the length of the wind gusting.
“One of the things that made this worse, that was working against us yesterday, wasn’t just the initial wind guests and then it was over, the initial wind gust hit and it continued to gust in some cases 20 to 30 minutes,” Turner said.
At the Hays airport, he said two wind gusts up to 70 were recorded for 20 to 25 minutes.
“There is a big difference between gusting for a few seconds than gusting for 30 minutes,” Turner said. “That’s a long time to batter stuff so stuff weakens and breaks, and the damage is amplified.”
The power transmission lines coming down near Interstate 70 was particularly telling of the strength of the winds.
“It probably took 10 to 15 minutes of hurricane-force winds to take those down,” Turner said.
Because the wind associated with the storm was so significant, warnings were issued long before the storm front moved into Ellis County in order to give people time to prepare, he said.
“Sometimes we issue a warning and there is nothing going on,” Turner said. “(But) we had 100 percent confident that the thunderstorm complex was going to happen.”
But forecasters were not sure exactly which path those storms would take as they moved across Kansas. Tuesday’s storm began to pick up strength after two storm cells merged around Colby and traveled down the I-70 corridor.
“We weren’t exactly sure if it was going to go south toward Dodge, down 283 or go toward Hays,” he said. “One of the computer models we use a lot took it toward Hays, but it was off on its own, it wasn’t supported by anything else so we broad-brushed the thunderstorms for everybody.
“The details are what really get us in this industry,” Turner said, even with the current technology. “Exactly where that storm is going to go an hour or two in advance is tricky.”
With the severity of the storm Tuesday, Turner said Wednesday night in Hays will be “a lot quieter.”
“After these big events, it takes the atmosphere so time to recover,” he said but added a few small storms could pop up around the Colorado border.
Severe weather could be moving back into the Hays area on Thursday or Friday, Turner said, once the atmosphere has time to reload.
Taken by Brooks Barber approximately 7:30 PM from East 27th Street looking west toward Hays.A section of debris was blocking the road on 41st. Street west of Vine in Hays around 9 p.m.
By JAMES BELL Hays Post
UPDATE AT 6:25 A.M.: Midwest Energy crews got power lines up off I-70 and the interstate was reopened just before 2 a.m. Wednesday morning after a severe thunderstorm blew through the area about 7:15 p.m. Tuesday.
About 20 semi-trucks were reported overturned on I-70 with power poles and lines downed near Hays, although that information has not been verified by authorities. I-70 closed for several hours between Hays and WaKeeney.
Midwest Energy is reporting electricity is back on in Ellis. Some 20 power poles are down in Ellis County, with seven reported downed north of Exit 157 near Celebration Community Church which was heavily damaged. MWE crews from Colby, Colby, Oakley and WaKeeney will be in Hays this morning to help with repairs.
From Midwest Energy Tuesday night: I-70 earlier tonight… the driver stayed in his truck, and fortunately nobody was injured!
In the Great Bend area, at least 10 power poles are down.
Approximately 382 Midwest Energy customers are still without power in the Hays vicinity this morning according to the MWE outage viewer.
UPDATE AT 11:20 p.m.: Traffic remain closed on I-70, but a semi that overturned has been up-righted as the KHP works to clear the scene. Midwest Energy is working to restore transmission lines down across I-70 in order to reopen I-70.
“Crews are working hard to get wires crossing I-70 back up; fortunately everyone stayed in their vehicles and nobody was injured,” Midwest Energy said. “It will likely be 2-3 hours before wires are up and KHP can make a decision to open I-70 back up.”
They are also asking for any gas leaks to be reported immediately.
“We are also seeing reports of gas leaks due to fences and AC units hitting meters; please call those in ASAP at 1-800-222-3121 and follow prompts for gas leaks,” they said.
Traffic around Hays is causing delays to repairs, Midwest energy said.
Everyone is asking to remain off roadways if possible.
UPDATE AT 10:45 p.m.: Midwest energy said a transmission line came down atop a semi on I-70 two miles west of Hays.
“That is our priority, clearing that and getting I-70 cleared of wires so KHP can get it back open,” they said.
“We have the main line feeding Ellis with two known poles down; we are working on rerouting power, getting Ellis back on from the WaKeeney line. We have found 7 structures down near I-70 and Celebration Church in Hays, which also sustained heavy damage. Please avoid the area.”
They ask that anyone with a power outage to continue to call in and they are prioritizing problems.
“Please keep calling your outages in, but bear with us; heavy sightseeing traffic is slowing our ability to patrol lines,” they said. “We will prioritize restoration by transmission, then sub-transmission, then individual yard lines.”
UPDATE AT 9:44 p.m.: The Kansas Highway Patrol was reporting Interstate 70 was closed between WaKeeney and Hays due to downed power lines and semi trucks blowing over due to the storm.
UPDATE AT 9:27 P.M. The National Weather Service in Dodge City has issued a Flood Warning for Central Ellis County until 12:30 a.m. Wed., Aug. 14.
As a large storm blew through Hays Tuesday evening storm damage was being reported across town with power lines down, debris littered across roads, flooding and about 6,200 without power around 9 p.m.
“As you can imagine we have a fair amount of damage across the county,” said Mike Morley, director of communications, Midwest Energy.
“There is also a fair amount of debris in the street,” he said.
“We have crews out right now doing damage assessments, trying to find where those wires are down, so we ask people to call in their outages to our 800 number.”
Midwest Energy’s outage line is 800-222-3121.
He suggested avoiding driving through the town as flooding was occurring throughout large portions of Hays.
Midwest Energy is currently assessing damage in Hays, but Morley said it may get worse before it gets better when looking at the outage map.
“As we fix one section of line, we have to take down a whole of city block or two city blocks as we make that connection and bring it back on,” he said.
But they are working as quickly as possible to get power restored.
“Folks should know we are going to be out there throughout the night as we do during outages and getting everyone on as quick as we can,” Morley said.
VICTORIA — As the city of Victoria gets ready for a new water tower and water system upgrades, a contest to submit a new logo to potentially be placed on the new tower is set to end Friday.
“It is open to anybody,” said Mary Pfeifer, city clerk. “We thought it would be fun to get some different ideas, some new ideas.”
“The tower is a spherical tower and examples can be seen by looking online,” the contest announcement said. “The winning design will be awarded a $50 Visa gift card.”
“I think what they are looking at is something that will go around the top part,” Pfeifer said.
If a new logo is chosen to be put on the tower, it will be sure to become quickly associated with the city of Victoria as it will be highly visible.
“People driving into town will see the water tower and see it from the interstate,” Pfeifer said.
The city council has retained the right to reject all designs.
The new 150,000-gallon water tower is part of a $4.5 million project that will replace a significant portion of the Victoria water system.
Submission can be made in person to the Victoria City Hall or emailed to [email protected].
The 22T, driven by Anthony Valium, Palmer Lake, Colorado, was involved in a mid-race crash with the 87, driven by Rich Tegethoff, Kirwin, in the modified feature race at Rolling Plains Motorspeedway Saturday.
By JAMES BELL Hays Post
It was a rough night of racing for many of the points leaders Saturday at Rolling Plains Motorspeedway, but even with less than stellar finishes, the top leaders in all classes held onto their No. 1 track standing.
Kyle Pfeifer, Hill City, driving the 54P stock car was optimistic before the race and was hoping for a fourth win at RPM and to build upon his successful season. Going into Saturday’s event, he was in the top spot in track points and ranked third in state and sixth in national IMCA points.
“We have had a pretty good season, especially the last half we have been running. We’ve been doing really good and working really hard,” Pfeifer said.
He attributed the team’s success this year to hard work.
“Last year at the end of the year, we started picking up a lot of steam, worked hard and got in with some good guys and figured some things out. That just transferred into this year,” Pfeifer said.
Pfeifer started in the eighth position and moved up a position a lap reach the third-place spot on the ninth lap.
But as the last half dragged on, he could not catch either the leader, the 25P driven by Mike Petersillie, Hoisington, in first place position or the 63C, driven by Travis Sherfick, WaKeeney.
They became spread around the track in remaining laps and would claim those spots at the checkered flag.
“I could have found the top line quicker,” Pfeifer said. “It was fun though … track was fast.”
But Clay Money driving the 7 in the modified class was not so sure the track was in top condition during the modified feature.
“It wasn’t much to work with on the track tonight, I’m not sure why they watered that much,” Money said.
Money started the race from the sixth position, ranking second in track points and first in the state and ninth in the national IMCA points standings.
By lap seven, Money had worked his way up a position but would get tangled with the 85 and would be cited for causing a caution, moving him to the rear of the field.
“It caused a caution on us,” Money said, “But we will move on, learn from it and try again next week.”
The 66D, driven by Dylan Sherfick, would take the checkered after holding the top spot following a mid-race restart after a red flag in the race from a crash that would take the 22T, driven by Anthony Valium, Palmer Lake, Colorado and the 87, driven by Rich Tegethoff, Kirin out of the race.
The win would move Sherfick into second in track standings.
Just at the edge of Hays down a little dusty road off Old U.S. 40 sits a modest automotive shop, but out of that non-descript space, comes some highly tuned, fully restored classic cars that would make anyone turn and to notice.
“Primarily, we are in the business of restoring vehicles, so all things automotive,” said Trisha Haskell, who owns Show Me Restoration, 1930 Louie Road, with her husband, Jason.
“Jason can do bottom-up work, pretty much anything you can dream up of doing to a car we’re in the business of doing,” she said.
Later this year, the effort of the shop will be highlighted by the Specialty Equipment Market Association in their 35 under 35 awards that will come out later this year.
“To us, it is a big deal,” she said. “We are over the moon to get an honor like that.”
While the business is located in Hays, their clients come from all over the country.
“It’s anybody and everybody,” Haskell said.
She said they work with a community of people that identify with vehicles.
“We have a nice selection of vehicles that we get in that people identify with and want to be restored,” Haskell said.
Those vehicles range from the common old vehicle, such as a Studebaker Goldenhawk, to the much more rare, such as a classic Shelby GT 500 – both currently being restored in their shop.
“The automotive industry is unique in that a lot of people if they find out you do good work, they will travel from all ends of the earth to come find you,” she said. “It’s kind of neat the array of people we get to meet.”
While both Trisha and Jason are transplants to Hays, they grew up in western Kansas. Jason is from Kinsley and Trisha from Garden City.
After Jason was recruited from Northwest Kansas Technical College in Goodland to work in Skeeter’s Body shop in Garden City, the pair met in Garden City and decided they liked Hays. They set up shop in 2013 shortly after moving into town.
“It’s been great. We really enjoy it,” Haskell said.
While Hays might not be the center of the automotive restoration world, being recognized by SEMA shines a light on the shop that will be seen across the world.
“SEMA is known worldwide,” she said. “There is a lot of buzz going on there,” Haskell said.
SEMA is best known for its annual trade show, which will begin on Nov. 5 in Las Vegas.
“We love old cars and restoring them and doing anything with them,” she said. “I think that is what is exciting about SEMA is that it gives a news twist on allowing you to see some of the creative things that people are doing with these resto-mods and that sort of thing.”
Haskell said the organization is a lynchpin in the wide field of car restoration.
“They encompass the entire industry and what everyone is trying to do. It’s nice to have that when you are so specific in a very broad industry such as automotive,” Haskell said.
The SEMA 35 under 35 will come out next month and will feature Jason and his restoration work including what he has done in the automotive industry and where he sees it going she said.
More about SEMA can be found at their website semashow.com.
More about Show Me Restoration can be found on their facebook page, @SMRHAYSKS.
The fourth annual Lovegrass Music Festival is set to kick off at 5 p.m. Friday at Wilson State Park, offering family-friendly fun set to Bluegrass music and beautiful scenery.
Aimee Riegel, president of the Lovegrass Music Festival, said this year’s event is their biggest yet.
“We jumped into a whole new realm this year,” she said. “It’s much bigger.”
Around 300 attended last year’s festival, and Riegel estimates this year might be closer to 500.
Previous years have included blues, Americana and red dirt country, she said, but this year the event has a theme — “Back to the Roots” — and will exclusively feature bluegrass bands.
Selecting the bands that will perform is the work of the event’s board of directors and is a collaborative effort.
“We have an idea of who we would like to have and we have a board of five of us and each of us brings some ideas, bands we have heard, bands we have liked, new or something different,” Riegel said.
Riegel said the location can be tricky to find, but it’s the setting is too perfect to move the event.
“It’s about the scenery here, it’s gorgeous,” she said.
While the festival is free, Reigel recommends attendees bring cash for activities and merchandise that will be available through the weekend.
Events include kayaking, hiking, musical instrument construction, a drum circle, and a band performing from a pontoon boat on the lake, along with the concerts and music planned for the entire weekend.
Even with a possibility of rain in the area forecast for this weekend, Riegel said the event will go on as planned.
“We are a rain or shine event,” she said. “But the weather looks great, so fingers crossed, the weather will stay like it is now.”
Riegal said the event would not be possible without support from numerous sponsors from the area.
“Each year, it is a struggle to raise the funds necessary to host such an event,” according to the event’s website. “However, due to the tremendous support of local agencies, businesses, and individuals coupled with the diligent efforts of our volunteer board of directors and committee, the event always becomes a memorable reality and a pure grassroots extravaganza.”
“We have several Hays area sponsors,” Riegel said, and without those sponsors, the event would not be possible. “We would like to thank those individuals for helping us out,”
When the previous owner was ready to sell an established beer bread mix business, four Hays family members saw an opportunity to have fun and maybe even turn a little profit.
The owners, Shaun and Heather Musil, along with Shaun’s sister Tina Hansen and her husband Bruce, make the mix at The Paisley Pear, 1100 Main, after purchasing the business on June 21.
“Long story short, a young lady from Goodland started this when she was 11 years old,” Shaun said.
“If we had not bought this business, she would have closed up shop,” Bruce said.
“We were excited to keep it going,” Shaun said.
Musil is also connected to the area where the previous owner was located and had already sold the product.
“We grew up in that area,” he said. “Since we’ve been open, we’ve been buying the beer bread from her. My mother-in-law brought it down to me and I sell it at my market.”
When she was ready to sell, Shaun thought it would be a good opportunity to capture another local product to sell at The Paisley Pear, but also do something together as a family.
“We like to sell Kansas stuff, so on our days off we make beer bread,” Shaun said.
“This is crazy but we bought it for fun,” Heather said. “We hope to go on some adventures, the four of us.”
“We always have such a good time doing things together,” Tina said. “This is a good way to do it again.”
The mix is currently sold wholesale to a few area shops outside of The Paisley Pear, and Shaun hopes to expand the product’s reach.
“We’re trying to gain wholesalers and, in time, we will try and sell it online,” Shaun said. “But there’s a somewhat different process to that.”
Currently, the mix is also sold at Hideout Coffee in Osborne, Mr. K in Plainville, the Oasis Travel Shop and Kansas Country Store in Colby, and the Cowboy Corner in Goodland.
The mix is made in The Paisley Pear after hours by the group after they got some training from the previous owner.
“That was funny,” Heather said. “She was the one-man show. She did it all, and she would do 300 bags at a time — and we did 50 in four hours.”
Since then, they have figured out how to speed up the process.
“We’ve learned,” Musil said.
Their first production run filled 300 bags in about four hours and sold out.
So far, feedback on the product has been encouraging.
“It is a really good product,” Shaun said.
He also said the store staff is proud to offer something made right there in the shop.
“Everybody that we have given it to to try, or they have tried it, we have had nothing but good reports coming back that they think it is delicious,” Tina said.
While the venture is a way for the family to connect doing something they enjoy, it is a business and they hope to steer their investment in the right direction.
“It would be nice to show a little profit,” Bruce said.
“And grow distribution,” Shaun added.
As they work to find the right mix of distribution and sales, they said there is no difficulty in making the bread.
“We put all together in the pack, you mix it up with a can of beer or Sprite or pop and then you just bake it and it’s done,” Shaun said. “Forty-five minutes later and you’ve got a loaf of bread. I mean if I can do it, anybody can.”
Ellis swimming pool tour May 6 (Photo courtesy Travis Kohlrus)
By JAMES BELL Hays Post
ELLIS — To a standing-room-only crowd and after hearing numerous comments in support of building a new pool Monday, the Ellis City Council voted 4-2 in favor of approving a contract with the Kansas Department of Commerce to accept a $1 million grant that would fund a major portion of a new municipal pool.
The council took action on the contract after the pool was closed by the city nearly two weeks earlier than planned due to water loss.
Justine Benoit, Northwest Kansas Planning & Development Commission, was at the meeting and answered the council’s questions about the contract.
After hearing feedback from some in the community that the new pool should be bigger, Benoit took questions from the council about the ability to change the contract.
“You have the opportunity to make some changes, however, they did rate our application on this design,” Benoit said.
She cautioned the council that changes in the plan could cause the application to be declined, especially considering the Dane G. Hansen Foundation grant that will cover another $300,000 of the project.
The engineering firm that designed the new structure estimated the cost to be $1.85 million, but the final cost could change.
“It’s quite feasible that it could come in under,” said Mayor David McDaniel.
“I think our last street project came in almost $150,000 below the estimate, so the engineers are normal a lot higher than what we see,” said council member Holly Aschenbrenner.
“The funding level is what drove the size of the pool,” she said. “I know that is the biggest concern in town is that this pool is smaller, but the funding level is what is driving the size of the pool, plus it actually doubles our swim load, plus some, so it’s still adequately sized for our community … It’s more functional with the different design spaces that we have.”
She pointed out that trying to make a change now would be a risk, and the funding for a larger pool is not guaranteed.
And while the new pool is smaller in total volume, its design will allow for higher capacity.
“In terms of comparing this size to a lot of the communities around, it is very comparable,” said council
member Jolene Niernberger. “We are just used to big, big.”
As long as the project totals over $1.6 million, the full amount of the $1 million grant will be allocated to the city. If the final price is less, the difference will be split between the city and the grant.
While the council members considered approving the contract, there was discussion on early observations from the current pool as the liner was being removed and areas of concrete were being inspected.
Councilman Bob Redger said it did not appear the concrete was a degraded as they had been led to believe by the engineers and the liner was not installed correctly and questioned the other members if they should consider replacing the liner.
“The thing is we can’t accept either grant to fix our pool,” Aschenbrenner said.
“I realize that,” Redger said. “We are not even looking at a liner. They should have fixed it right to start with.”
Other council members agreed the liner should have been properly installed, but the grant funding is too good to walk away from.
“At what point do quit bandaging the issue and fix the pool?” Aschenbrenner said. “We heard a report a while back that it started leaking in 1981. It’s 2019 and we are still dealing with the same pool.”
“I’m just thinking we have $1.3 million handed to us and you know we are not going to have that another time,” Niernberger said. “And we have a significant amount of the community in support of it, and even if we don’t have everything that we would like paid for by this, how can you turn away that kind of support?
“I don’t see us ever frankly being handed that kind of funding again,” she said.
The community has already rallied around the new project after the sudden closure of the current pool
City Clerk Amy Burton said, even though they won’t officially start fundraising until the Splash Bash, sponsorship forms had already gone out and money was coming in.
“I wanted to report that in the last 10 days, we’ve received over $8,700 in community support,” she said.
Burton also reminded the council they were informed they should not accept the Hansen grant if they did not intend to move on building the new pool.
The city council committed $500,000 in April to fund the project, leaving only $50,500 to be raised by the pool committee at the time of the pool closure to reach the estimated cost of $1.85 million.
With over $450,000 in the city’s special project fund, Burton told the council she believes the project will be able to be completed without impacting any other capital improvement projects.
Originally the current pool was planned to be used for another year, so the council could get potentially lower bids during the winter. But with the old pool permanently shut down, the council is planning to speak with the engineering firm to see about a quicker timeline with the hope of having the new pool open in time for next summer.
In the vote to accept the contract, Bret Andries, Niernberger, Aschenbrenner and Redger voted yes. Steve Ferland and Martin LaBarge voted no.
Wednesday’s fourth annual Duck Derby promises to be a lot of fun, but will also help support a good cause as the event serves as one of the biggest fundraisers of the year for Big Brothers Big Sisters of Ellis County.
The event will begin at 5:30 p.m. at the Hays Aquatic Park, 300 Main, with hot dogs and snacks and will feature a variety of family-friendly activities.
“There will be kids games such as hula hoop contest, duck waddle races and other fun activities,” according to the event website. With “free swimming in the Hays Aquatic Park’s zero-entry pool starting at 5:00 p.m.”
“It’s a great community event,” said Jenny Bates, area director, Big Brothers Big Sisters.
The first heat of ducks is set to launch at 6 p.m., kids’ ducks will launch at 6:15 p.m., and the first cardboard races are set for 6:45 p.m.
“There will be thousands of ducks racing around the Lazy River at Hays Aquatic Park,” the event website said. “The ducks will be split into heats of about 2,500 ducks per heat. The top 500 ducks from each heat will get to compete in the big Championship Race. Prizes will be awarded to the first 10 ducks crossing the finish line at the Championship Race.”
While ducks have been on sale throughout the community in recent weeks, attendees will also have the opportunity to purchase ducks prior to the event.
“We will have ducks available until probability about 15 minutes before the first duck race starts,” Bates said.
The Auto World’s Man Overboard Challenge will feature boats made from cardboard and “duck” tape with awards for the fastest boat as well as the Titanic Award, Spirit Award and Best of Show.
All of the funds raised from the event will go to support the BBBS mission.
“Everything from the duck adoptions for the duck races to the boat races, everything goes back to support Big Brothers Big Sister here in Ellis County,” Bates said. “This is one of our biggest fundraisers during the year.”
BBBS works to support area children that may be struggling according to Bates.
“Big Brothers Big Sisters is a mentoring program,” Bates said. “We match children one-on-one in mentoring relationships with an adult in our community … who are needing some extra support and encouragement in their life to help them through what they may be going through at home, or if they are having some struggles at school.”
She said the organization currently has 120 matches in Ellis County, but another 50 children are waiting for a match.
“The Duck Derby and the funds from that help us to continue working to find volunteers for those kids so they can have their Big Brother or Big Sister,” Bates said.
About a year after the El Charro Convenience, 2020 E. Eighth, store closed its doors, new owners are to reopen the location with a new look and offerings.
Co-owner and manager Liz Smith said she was interested in purchasing the business last year after driving by the location.
“When we saw it was for sale, it sparked our interest,” she said.
Smith has a background in retail and thought this would be an opportunity to once again be self-employed.
“It’s nice to work for yourself,” she said.
Since completing the purchase on June 4, Smith began on full remodel on the building, bringing new life into the old solid brick walls.
“We have repainted, put in new floors, brought in all new appliances, all new countertops and shelving, everything is new,” she said.
That work is not expected to end when the store reopens, as Smith has plans to continue to grow the business with a kitchen that will be completed in the future, allowing the sale of freshly made breakfast and grab-and-go lunch items.
“I will be able to make anything I want,” Smith said. “It’s not just convenience store food.”
She is also excited about new fuel pumps installed at the location and new fuel options.
“They will be open 24 hours and will be card accessible and will have 91 octane with no ethanol in it,” Smith said.
She believes they will be the only location in town that will offer the ethanol-free 91 octane.
“There are a lot of people interested in having the no ethanol in the 91 for their motorcycles, their jet skis and their older cars,” she said.
They will also have treated diesel fuel.
“We have a diesel pickup and we know what it is like to have it untreated and trying to start it when it is cold,” Smith said.
Early interest is also encouraging, Smith said.
“We took the paper off the windows (Thursday), and we can’t believe how many people have tried to stop in, which is great.”
Once finishing touches are complete on the exterior and the kitchen is up and running, Smith said a grand opening will be planned, hopefully in about a month.
Some of the employees of the previous business have returned to work in the new business.
“There will be quite a few familiar faces for those that used to come in here,” Smith said.
Hours for the Ol’ 40 Express will be from 6 a.m. to 11 p.m. seven days a week, and the fuel stations will take card payments 24/7.
By JAMES BELL
By JAMES BELL
By JAMES BELL
