Independence Day has come and gone and with it, the annual Hays Wild West Festival.

Watch scenes from this year’s festival below, or watch the parade here.

One of the most attended events of the Wild West Festival in Hays is the annual Fourth of July Parade.

Watch video of the parade below and scenes from the festival here.

FHSU University Relations

A pioneer in developing home-style living for the elderly has made three separate gifts to support Fort Hays State University. The gifts were announced in a news conference Thursday in the Dreiling Lobby of Sheridan Hall on the university campus.

Steve Shields, a Manhattan resident who attended Fort Hays State University from 1974 to 1976 and is an emeritus member of the FHSU Foundation Board of Trustees, is an internationally recognized specialist in the world of senior living. Shields pioneered the “household model,” which transforms institutional nursing homes into comfortable houses that provide an ideal living condition for elders.

Shields’ gifts include:
• $30,000 to the FHSU Foundation in support of the Sigma Phi Epsilon fraternity at Fort Hays State;
• $20,000 in support of FHSU’s nursing program; and
• A deferred commitment to the Department of Art and Design.

“It is people like Steve who help make Fort Hays State the destination of choice for our people of excellence. Whether it is the student seeking to learn from our programs of distinction, or the faculty and staff who wish to impart knowledge, support and encouragement, these individuals come to Fort Hays State because they want to use their abilities and talents in our community, our state, our nation and the world,” said Dr. Mirta M. Martin, FHSU president.

“Steve has generously supported Fort Hays State throughout the years. He is passionate about giving others opportunities he did not have. He is an exceptional example of all that is great in philanthropists,” she said. “He gives because that’s what is in his heart. I am so very thankful his heart is helping the next generation of leaders at Fort Hays State. He’s making a difference.”

A sought-after keynote speaker and workshop presenter on leadership and transformation in senior living and hospital care, Shields is a visionary whose contributions have benefited FHSU for many years.

“I am really pleased to have rekindled the relationship with Fort Hays State I had in the ’70s,” said Shields. “Those two years I spent here were absolutely formative for me. There is something about Fort Hays State that hits me.” He said that he thinks that academic environments are “becoming increasingly laden with internal bureaucracies” but that “Fort Hays State is different.”

He commended FHSU on its progressive efforts in getting students involved in civic activities as part of their curriculum, and he talked about his experience as a member of Sigma Phi Epsilon while attending FHSU. “I learned about relationships you make with people who have a joint purpose,” he said, adding that civic engagement is still a big part of education at FHSU. “You can taste it, you can feel it, you can smell it,” he said. “It’s not just about the education. It’s about citizenship.”

He said FHSU’s brand of “World Ready” is not just a fancy tagline, saying that what students take with them from Fort Hays State — such as social skills, people skills, technology skills, “the readiness to be of service” — will take them far.

In mentioning his gift to the art department, which will be an endowed gift, not available until his passing, he asked: “Do you know how good your art department is here? You leave everybody in the dust in the entire Midwest.” He then added of the delayed gift, “I leave it with pride, but hopefully you’re not going to get it for awhile.”

Dr. Jeff Briggs, dean of the College of Health and Behavioral Sciences, spoke on the benefit to the Department of Nursing and its influential role in Shields’ career path.

“Steve Shields’ career has been defined by his caring about the well-being of others, with a special commitment to the elderly,” said Briggs, who noted that when Shields speaks about his work for the elderly at events and conferences, there is not a dry eye in the house. “This generous gift will allow us to build out our simulation activities in the Department of Nursing, with a special emphasis on simulation space dedicated to developing skills and competencies in the care of older adults.”

FHSU students will benefit greatly from the gifts. “On behalf of the students and Tiger family, I would like to thank Steve for his generosity towards the FHSU community and the Kansas Zeta Chapter of Sigma Phi Epsilon,” said Brandon Taylor, a Greensburg graduate student who is pursuing a Master of Business Administration. Taylor noted that he had personally received more than $8,000 in scholarships during his time at Fort Hays State. “I wouldn’t be here today if it wasn’t for kind-hearted individuals like Steve.”

Tim Chapman, president and CEO of the FHSU Foundation, sought out his friend Steve Shields for advice nine years ago when he was considering making the move to Fort Hays State. “He told me, ‘Tim, make a commitment to make a change, and you will.'”

Chapman added: “Steve’s love and loyalty for the arts, his fraternity and long-term care, through the nursing program at FHSU, have and will continue to benefit students in perpetuity. His support of scholarship and departmental needs has, and will, change lives. I thank Steve for all he does, for his passion of life, and for being a friend to FHSU and to me personally.”

Shields is the founding CEO and chair of Kinmundy Ralston Corp., Milwaukee, and is CEO and principal of Action Pact Development LLC, an international company with offices in Manhattan, Kan., Atlanta and Milwaukee, that specializes in organizational and strategic planning, architectural design and construction, financial forecasting, and project development for the senior-living service sector.

From 1994 until January of this year, he was CEO and president of Meadowlark Hills Retirement Community, Manhattan, which grew from a $3 million to a $60 million company and became an internationally known senior-living provider that initiated and then shaped the household model into reality.

Shields conducted a two-year international speaking tour in 28 states and abroad to communicate the need for change in long-term care. He has been featured on CBS, the Public Broadcasting System, and in the national video series of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. He is co-author of the book, “In Pursuit of the Sunbeam: A Practical Guide to Transformation from Institution to Household,” which has sold in all 50 states and numerous foreign countries.

Shields is a founder of the Pioneer Network of Rochester, N.Y., a network formed in 1997 to advocate for “person-directed care” of the elderly.

To learn how you, too, can make a difference at Fort Hays State University, contact the FHSU Foundation at (785) 628-5620 or [email protected]. The Foundation website is at foundation.fhsu.edu.

By JAMES BELL
Hays Post

Eventually it happens to everyone.  The lifeline to the world, the primary communication tool everyone carries with them – the cell phone – gets dropped and stops working.

And when it breaks it leaves long waits, as chain locations try to replace the phone, or insurance sends a new-to-you version, straight from a refurbishing factory overseas.

Now, a locally owned business in Hays is giving consumers a choice and after a week of being open, the Hays Phone Doctor, 218 W. 8th St., is ready to save sick or broken phones, cheaper and faster than the chain stores.

“I decided that Hays needs something like this,” said Ryan Sadeghi, Hays Phone Doctor owner. Before moving back to his hometown of Hays, he worked in a similar business, helping his employer open seven retail locations.

“There’s a few places available (like this in Hays), but most of them don’t keep parts in stock so it takes three to five days to get your phone fixed,” he said. “In my life that’s unacceptable, I can’t live without my phone for a few hours, which is the service I try to provide for everyone else.”

The business is set to offer any type of service on phones.

“I do screen repairs, cracked screens, broken screens that don’t turn on anymore. I also fix charging ports, (when) the phone won’t charge. Basically anything that goes wrong with the phone I can fix,” Sadeghi said, adding he also does software service or is available for customer questions, if needed.

Even with most people having insurance through their phone provider, and servicing will void any manufacturer warranty, Sadeghi said his service is still a better option.

“All of our repairs void the manufacturer’s warranties. Now it has nothing to do with your separate insurance service that you have through say, Verizon or Nex-Tech, what I do does not that affect that,” he said. But, “nine times out of 10 if you have to bring a phone to me the warranty is already voided because of the damage – it’s in their clause – and then I offer a lifetime warranty on all the parts I repair.” In effect he said, his warranty is similar to the manufacturer’s warranty on the parts Sadeghi repairs, only his are for the lifetime of the phone.

The main advantage of coming to the Hays Phone Doctor, he said, is that his store is open to the public and all repairs are made in view of customers, not in a secluded back room. Most repairs done in the shop can also be completed within one day, as long as customers bring the phone in at least an hour before closing time.

The location is open seven days a week, 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 12 p.m. to 5 p.m. on Sunday. The store’s website is still in development, but more information can be found on their facebook page.

James Bell
Hays Post

In an email sent to Fort Hays State University faculty Thursday, Graham Glynn, FHSU Provost, announced the Kansas Board of Regents has approved the renaming of several colleges and departments across the campus as FHSU moves to restructure the academic functions of the university.

Glynn announced the following changes were approved following a meeting of the regents earlier this month:

Renaming of the College of Arts and Sciences to Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences (AHSS)
Renaming of the College of Health and Life Sciences to Health and Behavioral Sciences (HBS)
Renaming of the College of Education and Technology to Education (E)
Split of the Department of Sociology and Social Work into separate departments and move Social Work to HBS
Rename Institute of Applied Technology to Department of Applied Technology
Rename Department of Management and Marketing to Department of Management
Rename Department of Justice Studies to Department of Criminal Justice

The university has worked this year to prepare for the changes in academic structure, however, not all proposed changes have been approved. In his email Glynn addressed those changes that have yet to become a reality at the university.

“The split of the Management and Marketing Department into the Department of Management and the Department of Applied Business Studies has not yet been approved as the formation of a new department with a new name needs full board approval,” Glynn said in the email. “There were no objections to forming the new fifth college, however, the inclusion of Engineering in “Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM)” did cause some contention. At the May board meeting the Council of Chief Academic Officers were supportive of STM but not of STEM. This was subsequently discussed by the Council of Presidents meeting in June where they voted in favor of STEM. The final decision on these two issues must now be made by the Board, which cannot occur until September as they do not hold business meetings in July or August.”

While waiting for board approval, Glynn has announced an alternate plan for the proposed College of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics.

“The approved changes listed above take effect on July 1 but we cannot form the new college until its name is officially approved,” he said. “As an interim solution I am appointing Dr. Greg Farley as a special assistant to the Provost effective July 1, 2015. The departments assigned to the new unnamed college will report to Dr. Farley as of that date. Once the college name is resolved Dr. Farley will transition to the Interim Dean – hopefully in September. I will also start the search for the permanent dean at that time.”

By James Bell and Cooper Slough
Hays Post

Along with the carnival and the fireworks, this year’s Wild West Festival in Hays will feature legendary lawman Wild Bill Hickok – played by Dave Wood, Ft. Morgan, Colo. – interacting with participants through July 4, at the Ellis County Historical Society.

Each day, at 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. Wood will appear as Hickok, presenting programs about the life of the man who served as the Ellis County sheriff in 1869.

On Saturday the program will step up with the addition of Abraham Lincoln – played by Russell resident Steve Burns – in commemoration of the Civil War sesquicentennial.

“We have got the most awesome, realistic, Abraham Lincoln you will ever want to meet,” said Janet Keller, receptionist for the Ellis County Historical Society, 100 W. 7th.

The Saturday show will also add Will Johnson, an ECHS Trustee, who will speak on the wild women of the west at 2:30 p.m.

During the events this week the society is also holding a raffle for an 1873 Colt .45 reproduction, complete with a handmade leather holster and display case. Tickets for the raffle are $5 each or 5 for $20. The drawing will be held at 3 p.m. Saturday.

The events are free to the public with a signature in the guest book at the society according to Keller.

For more information visit the Ellis County Historical Society website.

By JAMES BELL
Hays Post

Following last week’s decision by the Shawnee County District Court that Gov. Sam Brownback’s block funding of Kansas schools violates the Kansas Constitution, Hays USD 489 is now being forced to wait to finalize next year’s budget.

Superintendent Dean Katt is now waiting to see what Brownback will do — and trying to plan for the upcoming school year, which begins in less than two months.

In response to the court’s ruling, Katt said “I can’t say it’s a big surprise,” adding “everything that the governor and the legislators, I guess leadership, has done, has just added onto this.”

After the long legislative session, the Legislature suggested Brownback’s school funding plan was equitable, while school officials and the court found Brownback’s funding plan less than desirable for the state.

“They try to spin that and make that sound like all of this money is going into the classrooms, and it’s far from the truth,” Katt said.

Brownback was quick to criticize the ruling, issuing a statement saying the court exceeded its authority with the decision.

“The three-judge panel has once again violated its constitutional authority with this ruling,” Brownback said. “It has now taken upon itself the powers specifically and clearly assigned to the legislative and executive branches of government. In doing so, it has replaced the judgment of Kansas voters with the judgment of unelected activist judges. For the first time ever, the state will invest more than $4 billion in K-12 education in Kansas in fiscal year 2016.”

But Katt agreed with the court.

“The judges have seen through the smoke and mirrors again and trying to hold them accountable, then you hear about all the activist judges,” he said. “I guess an activist judge is one that you don’t agree with the decision. If it was going the way the governor wanted, then they would be great.”

While political wrangling over school funding continues in Topeka, USD 489 is finding it difficult to even plan for next year. Hays USD 489 had budgeted expenditures of just more than $42 million in 2014-15.

“It’s just hard to even know where we are,” Katt said. “We need to see what happens, and every day it’s a little bit less time to prepare and have our budget completely done by August. … It’s going to be difficult.”

“We keep waiting to hear something more. In a webinar I listened to, there’s a lot of speculation what would happen. … Obviously, it’s going to be appealed, so that process will take months,” he added.

This long wait for a new state funding plan has created chaos in the Kansas Department of Education, as they scramble to figure out what is going to happen, then pass that information along to districts.

“I know the Kansas State Department of Ed waited and waited and waited until the legislators made a decision, and they started doing all their budget documents and changing formulas and doing all those things — and then Friday all of that changed again, Katt said. “Next week we’ll be going to the budget workshop the State Department of Ed puts on, and really I don’t think we will have a clear understanding of what even the budget document is going to look like.”

Meanwhile, Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt filed a request with the Kansas Supreme Court this week asking for a stay on the district court’s ruling. Schmidt calling the district court’s ruling unprecedented. While that battle is just beginning, USD 489 is operating under the assumption that funding will remain similar to last year, no matter how the funding formula is created.

“What I’m thinking, whether it’s right or not I don’t know, but they will go ahead and continue with the block grant philosophy right now and see what happens later,” Katt said. “On the other hand, they could just decide we’re going to take care of it and see a big change in what the budget document will look like.”

The unconstitutional funding plan would not have had much impact on Hays schools, but now that could change.

“We don’t receive a lot of state aid. I had stated previously that the block grant didn’t hurt Hays as much as some of the other options, so now my fear is again if the governor comes in and says ‘Well, I’m going to do allotments’ then that could hurt us,” Katt said. “(Block funding) didn’t hurt us that much, the mill levy and the local option budget would have gone up if the state goes ahead and pays for capital outlay state aid, we don’t receive any, so that’s not going to make any difference, but if they do fund the local option budget, it’s not more money, it’s just keeps the mill levy down for us.”

Without knowing what will happen in the upcoming weeks, USD 489 must prepare to open its schools, with contingency plans already in place.

“We’re in the process of closing the last fiscal year out right now, and we’ll have some carryover funds that we’ll put in contingency reserve with the anticipation that we’re going to receive some sort of cut next year,” Katt said. “I just wish I knew what to expect next week. … We thought we knew with the block grant how much money we would see to the penny, basically what we received last year would be the same and started the budget process on that.”

By JAMES BELL
Hays Post

Another new retail location is set to open this fall in an area currently under development north of Interstate 70 and just east of Walmart. The building will house two businesses.

Building on the site is just beginning, after being pushed back about a month due to substantial rainfall in the area, but letters of intent have been signed, and the lease agreement for the tenants is being completed now.

“It’s an out-of-town owner,” said Jesse Rohr, superintendent of Planning, Inspection and Enforcement for the city of Hays.

But while Joe Redetzke, owner of Coal Creek Investments, lives in Buena Vista, Colo., he is familiar with Hays, graduating from Fort Hays State University and having served on the FHSU Foundation Board of Directors in the mid- to late-1990s.

The two business set to move into the completed location will be a franchise hair salon and an AT&T retail store, according to Curtis Deines, an inspector in the office of Planning, Inspection and Enforcement. He believes the locations will “be in and going in September-October.”

The former owner of the property, Steve Robl, who had worked with an investment group to purchase the land originally, confirmed that AT&T would lease the property, as would Great Clips. Robl owns the construction company, Robl Commercial Construction, that is developing the property. He expects construction at the property to be completed in 90 to 120 days, with the tenants moving in shortly after.

Redetzke has developed other properties with Robl and decided to purchase the property for development after seeing the growth in Hays. The pair recently collaborated to develop the USSA Financial Center in Junction City.

The city’s P.I.E. division oversees the inspectors that will regularly inspect the location as it is developed. Once a potential building owner identifies a space to be developed they must design and work with a construction company to get a proposal sent to the city for review. Once construction begins, regular inspections of the site are conducted by the P.I.E. staff.

By JAMES BELL
Hays Post

Republican candidate for the Kansas first congressional district Roger Marshall was in Hays earlier last week as part of the Kansas Wildlife, Parks and Tourism commission. During a break in the sessions, Marshall shared with Hays Post how the campaign is going and what he has learned since his official announcement a little over a month ago.

Marshall is from Great Bend and works as a practicing physician there. He announced his candidacy in a tour of the state stopping at locations across the district.

Watch Marshall’s candidacy announcement here.

“We finished 22 cities in a weeks time, traveled 2,000 miles, great reception where ever we went to,” Marshall said, adding feedback during those announcements was invaluable and people are now seeking him to speak at their venue.

While the campaign is just firing up, Marshall has already promised to do things differently than two-term incumbent Tim Huelskamp.

“What I’ve learned in my life, whether I’m leading a church, or leading a Rotary club, which are volunteers, or leading a cooperation, is that if I genuinely listen to and respect other peoples views and use their ideas to find a better solution for everybody, that we get much better buy-in,” Marshall said.

For Marshall creating working relationships is vital to making government work and that message stands in stark contrast to Rep. Huelskamp’s hard-line negotiating. Marshall said what he is good at and what he would bring to the office, if elected, would serve western Kansas well.

If elected, Marshall has a simple plan for working with other lawmakers.

“(We need to) identify the problem clearly, leave the things that we disagree on out of the way, let’s figure out what the goal is for this country, and for this state, and let’s move in that direction and leave some of our personal differences aside,” he said.

Even with his message of working together, his campaign message is in line with mainstream Republican views that permeate western Kansas. He said one of the areas of policy he hears about regularly, is government overreach.

“Whether you’re in farming or banking or insurance, no matter what business you’re in, there’s just a big concern about government overreach,” he said.

More information about Marshall can be found at his campaign website.

By JAMES BELL
Hays Post

– Part one of a series on the Hays Arts Council’s Sizzlin’ Summer art classes –

Even though school is out for the summer, plenty of learning is going on at the Hays Arts Council with its “Sizzlin’ Summer” art classes going through July for area youth. The first classes wrapped up last week.

Michael Knutson, an adjunct instructor of art at Fort Hays State University, taught two drawing classes during the first week of courses.

“I’ve been working with the Hays Arts Council for youth summer art classes for children ages 6 to 12 in two different sections and out for the first class is the summer, working with basic drawing classes, where we’re starting off with very simple fundamentals up to some more basic stuff perspective and shading with the older kids,” Knutson said.

Visitors to the Hays Arts Council Annex, 1010 Main, during the Summer Art Walk saw completed projects from the students during last Friday’s event where the classes decorated the windows of the space in preparation for the art walk.

While each class during the summer is different, students for the drawing classes met met regularly for a two week period.

“These classes were running for four days a week for an hour each day Monday through Thursday and then there’s two sections each day.”

The two drawing classes had a different focus for the students.

“We have a more traditional drawing class that’s got most of the basics then we are running a fun drawing class called Zen-Tangles, Doodling and Cartooning where we’re kinda doing more, I guess, intuitive drawing or fun drawing as apposed to learning how to do certain tasks and kinda setting the bar and trying to have them work up to that bar, Knutson said. “It gives it a little bit more.”

“The cartoons in particular have become pretty awesome, we started to move on to comic books from the cartoons, which have become pretty popular and awesome,” he said.

Knutson noted a distinct difference in working with his regular college-age students and working with the younger students in the summer classes.

“Working with the kids has been great,” Knutson said. “So far they’re a ton of energy and a ton of ideas they are going every direction and we might start off doing two and one thing and it could be completely different. Their minds move so quick and they’re not afraid to admit failure or admit to not knowing anything or admitting that they’re bored, they’ll come right out and say that, so we’ll move on to something real quick. Compared to working with college students, a complete different level is, you know, they just kinda bite the bullet and stick with it and these young kids their minds are just moving so quick and they love discovering new things their ability to find joy in the most mundane thing or coming up with really creative combinations of things and staying active and enthusiastic about it is really enjoyable to watch.”

 

By JAMES BELL
Hays Post

It’s summer and with the hot blowing breeze comes something special to western Kansas – fairs and carnivals – and the first of the season in Hays begins tonight at 6:30 p.m. at The Mall, 2918 Vine.

“It’ll go until about 11 p.m. on weeknights and then perhaps midnight on Friday and Saturday — it just depends,” said Katie Dorzweiler, property manager for The Mall. Originally, Dorzweiler believed the carnival would begin earlier, but with the intense heat predicted in Hays this weekend, the carnival will not begin until later in the evening.

Rickey Moore, owner of Moore’s Greater Shows, added that it was best for children not to come to early during the heat, and so the carnival opening time was pushed back, encouraging safety.

While the intense heat may stifle a bit of the fun, Dorzweiler said bringing these kinds of events to Hays is important.

“When it first began, they did have carnival and different festivals and things here to promote for the community,” she said. “The Mall is neighborhood and community and so this is the hub of Hays, and Hays is the largest city in western Kansas and so, when everything that I do, every action I take I think about what is the brand, what is our personality and so I think of family and community activities. And so when Moore contacted me … it felt right aligned with what I wanna stand for here.”

Having a carnival might bring people out to The Mall, but it’s set up and run completely independently from The Mall operations, with no expense to bring the carnival here.

“They foot all the cost. They have generators that power their entire production,” Dorzweiler said. “We do offer water and things of that nature for fire hazards or anything like that but, we don’t provide any electricity, we just provide them the property and so, yeah, it’s pretty low maintenance. It takes up a good portion of our property, but it’s really really fun for families, so it works out.”

As fun as the carnival is already, Moore, who is working on site during the carnival, made the carnival even better for Hays residents this year.

“He normally sets up one specific day that’s wristband night but for our community and making it more fun and more interactive for all the families involved he’s making it wristband every night so they’ll be available Wednesday through Sunday,” Dorzweiler said.

“We’ve got quite a few rides for the family,” Moore said. “They’ll really enjoy it.”

For Moore, carnivals are more than a business, it is a way of life.

“We have been in the business, our family, for over 90 years,” Moore said. “My grandfather was in the business. He started it in 1920-something, then my father, now it’s me and then hopefully my kids will take over.

“I’ve been coming to Hays off and on for 30 to 40 years,” he said. “Hays has always been a nice town. I like Hays.”

By JAMES BELL
Hays Post

Keeping Kansas lakes safe from aquatic nuisance species was the focus at last weeks Kansas Department of Wildlife, Parks & Tourism commission meeting at the Robbins Center, located on the Fort Hays State University Campus in Hays.

The topic of invasive species brought serious discussion for the board after hearing from an expert in the field as well as concerned audience members.

“It’s difficult and we’ve tried,” said Robin Jennison, secretary of Wildlife, Parks and Tourism. “When you talk about Asian carp and even when you talk but zebra mussels a number years ago, we prohibited the use of wild caught bait in our reservoirs and and we felt like that was the best thing that we could do from a biological standpoint and from a law enforcement standpoint. The fact of the matter is, socially, the anglers in Kansas really objected to that and so the Commission did come back and backed that up a little bit and allowed for an exemption of three species of fish that are really a pretty common bait-fish. They are not fish that can be easily mistaken for the main fish we were concerned about, the Asian carp, and so we made that exception and there is some concern that that we probably should have not gonna ahead and made that exception.”

The problem, as presented at the meeting, may be more complex than simply moving toward more regulations for fishermen and tourists visiting the lakes and treatment options at this time have been shown to present unintended consequences to the treated bodies of water.

“The transfer of water from our federal reservoirs to different reservoirs that have not been invaded with these species that’s what happens and typically the way we are right now in Kansas it goes down stream in these Western Kansas lakes,” Jennison said.

While the topic of invasive species was a highlight of the meeting, the commission addressed several other topics during their day long meeting as well.

There is “actually two sessions in our commission meetings, there is an afternoon session which is a what we call a workshop session and this afternoon they talked about aquatic nuisance species, they talked about the migratory bird seasons, they talked about ducks on boundaries, they heard from the public on on those issues as well as for request to have them take a look at some falconry issues as well,” said Ron Kaufman, director, information services division of the Department of Wildlife, Parks and Tourism.

Later the commission discussed deer hunting seasons, bag limits, permits, and migratory bird hunting seasons.

The commission has a long history in Kansas and is set up in a manner to keep the commission addressing issues throughout the state, meeting in various locations throughout the year.

“They’re a regulatory body, so any regulations we want to put forth the Commission has to agree to or change. At this point it’s pretty routine for us, we have to,of course, adjust for regulations every year for seasons and bag limits on a variety of species, set the ducks zone limits. Typically the meetings occur then the public hearings occur in the evenings and any issue that requires a regulation change or or season adjustment requires three different meetings. The first is a general discussion with the commission, second meeting as a workshop session, which we had today, consumer issues and then the public hearing in the evening as for those issues that have come before a discussion in a workshop and now the commission is being asked to make decisions.”

The board has also been set up to ensure consistency in policy.

“They’re on rotating four-year terms so there’s never one situation where all the commissioners leave for instance. There’s always seasoned commissioners on duty and they meet six times a year.” Kaufman said.

Full commission meeting

Due to the process of getting regulations passed through the commission, only two actions were brought to vote during the Hays meeting. The commission approved early migratory bird seasons and KAR 115-25-9a, which addressed deer hunting season, bag limits, permits, and considerations at Fort Riley. Both measures were passed unanimously.

The next commission meeting is scheduled for 1 p.m., Aug. 20, at the Kansas Wetlands Education Center, 592 NE K156 Hwy, in GreatBend.

By JAMES BELL
Hays Post

The Hays USD 489 Board of Education continued contract talks Tuesday night with the Hays National Education Association negotiating team, addressing several topics as the groups continue to work toward agreements on issues for the upcoming school year.

The way teachers are paid for university credit courses was among the first matters of discussion.

USD 489 Superintendent Dean Katt suggested that money saved could be used to pay for course materials for concurrent classes. Currently, the district pays for textbooks that are provided if the course is not for college credit.

Three options were presented as potential work-arounds for the way teachers are paid for college credit courses, including the university paying directly to the teachers, but that topic will be looked at again at a later date.

Time off from work was also a big topic of discussion during the meeting, as board members looked at a wide variety of systems across the state including some with only paid-time-off leave, others differentiating between sick and personal days. While the meeting looked at how many days off a teacher would be eligible for during their tenure, the larger issue was how unused days may be paid out.

On that issue, committee members informed the board they had not received the counter-proposal dealing with how to pay out accrued sick leave at retirement. One of the main concerns of the committee is teachers could lose the payout for accrued days if the policy is changed.

The committee suggested the new payout plan could have length of tenure grandfathered in, rather than across-the-board maximums for every teacher in the district. Under that plan, length of service would determine the rate of pay for leave days, including sick and personal, if those days are paid out as part of the end of service with the district.

The committee had previously asked for 100 days as the cap, while the board suggested 80.

“Eighty days was still workable,” said Zach Butte, member of the negotiating committee, adding “the teachers would still be able to request days out of the sick leave pool.”

At 100 days, the cap would allow only one sick leave request, while under the 80-day plan they would need to ask twice in order to make it to a disability claim.

With time-off policy left to be discussed another day, the meeting turned to arbitration and grievance policy in the district.

The current proposal from the committee is to make the loser of the arbitration pay the cost of the arbitration.

“It would incentivize people to do the right thing” said Kim Schneweis, co-chair of the negotiating committee.

Currently, the district does not have a due process statement, which would alleviate some of the concerns for the committee as to the way arbitration is handled.

“We look at this binding arbitration as security (since) we don’t have through due process,” Butte said.

The last — and most heated — discussion of the evening surrounded health insurance for the district, with a divisive line being draw between the two groups. The negotiating team suggested strongly that the current contract through the state should continue to its end, while the board wants to look at other options to cut substantial expenses.

The current insurance provider was voted to continue through next year as part of a three-year agreement signed with the insurer Blue Cross/Blue Shield, who manages the state group plan that includes USD 489. There is one year left in that agreement. While there is no financial penalty to ending insurance through the state plan, doing so would remove the ability to return to the state plan for five years.

“We feel like we need to honor that,” Schneweis said.

A change in insurance provider first was looked at as a way to increase salaries across the district. Last year, a change would have saved the district approximately $600,000, according to the board. However, the current provider makes getting other quotes difficult, because claims data is not released until after the sign-up window at the beginning of the school year. That policy has created a question mark in the amount, if any, a change in provider would save the district. The district would need to have a private insurer for at least a year before data would become available to see what plans and insurers would be the most fiscally responsible.

“That’s a very big cliff to jump off of if we don’t have to,” Schneweis said.

The next negotiating session will be at 5 p.m. July 7.