Dena Patee is executive director of Ellis Alliance.
Merry Christmas to you all! I wanted to touch base this week and give you what I know, so that you can plan your busy week accordingly, so here we go:
Today: The residents of the Ellis Good Samaritan Center will be attending their Christmas Party today at 2:30pm. Arthur’s Pizza & Mexican Foods is having a Half Price Sale today and tomorrow. I know the kids (well, mine anyway!) are dying to eat at Arthur’s, so why not take them today! They will love you for it and as a bonus to you-NO DISHES!! Whoop! Whoop!! Also today and Tuesday, visit the Golden Belt Bank for their Christmas Open House. Jeff, Nathan, Mary Kay, Andrea, Vanesa, and Sandy want to wish you all a very Merry Christmas, and if I know those girls, there’s some pretty tasty treats to boot!
Tuesday: Today is Ugly Sweater Day at the Ellis Good Samaritan Center. If nothing else happens today, head out to the Good Sam and have a chuckle with the residents while you check out the …umm, beautiful sweaters.
Wednesday: It’s Christmas Eve! If you aren’t finished shopping, you’d best hurry! Santa will be packing up his sleigh and giving everything the once-over to make sure he’s ready to fly later on. Make sure you have cookies and milk ready for the night. The Ellis Church’s will all be having Christmas Eve Services. The following is the schedule that I have now:
Ellis United Methodist Church: 6pm
Ellis Baptist Church: 7pm Candle-light Service
Christ Lutheran Church: 7pm Candle-light Service
St. Mary’s Catholic Church: 5pm Children’s Mass, Midnight Mass
St. John’s Lutheran Church: 6pm Christmas Eve Program
Ogallah Christian Church: 6pm Candle-Light Service
Thursday: Merry Christmas to you and your family! Today, there are a few Christmas Services and they are as follows:
Christ Lutheran Church: 10am at the Parsonage
St. Mary’s Catholic Church: 9am
St. John’s Lutheran Church: 10:30am
Sunday: Chicken Dinner at the Knights of Columbus Hall from 10-1pm or when the food’s all gone. No leftover turkey today!
That’s it! That’s all I have!
Again, Merry Christmas to you all. If you are traveling, please be safe, we need you back! Have a great week everyone and if I’ve missed something, let me know. The Alliance office will be open until Wednesday at Noon, so if you need Chamber Bucks, come on down!
Dena Patee is executive director of the Ellis Alliance.
Twas the night before Christmas but our deer camp was shaken
Not a hunter was happy cause’ no deer had been taken.
Our deer tags were hung by the chimney with care
In hopes that some big bucks soon would be there.
We hunters all snoozed in our long johns of red
While visions of jerky swirled in our head.
Our snoring echoed like growling inside
And the air carried odors I shouldn’t describe
The moon on the crest of the new fallen snow
Made our junky old house trailer twinkle and glow
When out in the woods there arose such a clatter
I sprang from my bunk and fell down the ladder.
Lucky for me I lit’ on my head
But I horsed-up my back and busted the bed
I limped to the window and what did appear
But a miniature sleigh and eight TROPHY reindeer.
I yelled for the guys to bail out of bed
And they soon filled the windows to stare at the sled.
When they all saw the reindeer a hush filled the room
As their huge antlers gleamed in the light of the moon.
Could this be St Nick and his magic reindeer?
And what in tarnation are they doin’ out here?
Each hunter had scattered to get to his gun;
I had to work fast before the shootin’ begun.
I grabbed my own rifle as I ran toward the sled
And fired several warning shots over their head.
“That should do it” I thought, “That should chase them away”
But it scared them so badly they tipped over the sleigh.
I fell to the ground and covered my head
Certain there’d be shootin’ and the deer would be dead.
But instead all my buddies stood quietly by
And pointed at something bright in the sky.
A star in the east shone so brightly that night
That we all stood there awestruck, solemn and quiet.
St Nick and the “boys” used this chance to vamoose
And streaked through the woods like an on-fire caboose
As for me and the guys, we slunk back inside
And nothing was hurt that night but our pride.
So just as the star on that first Christmas eve
Brought a savior to us for all who believe,
Its brilliance tonight once again lit the way
For St Nick to escape with his reindeer and sleigh.
And I heard him exclaim as they raced out of sight
Rudolph you blockhead, what were you thinking?
Of all the stupid places to land, in a deer hunting camp no less?
You nearly made this the last Christmas for all of us!
Seriously, if you try that again, I’ll personally hang your head in MY workshop
Bright red nose and all!
Merry Christmas from Steve and Joyce at Exploring Kansas Outdoors!
The “Night at the Museum” franchise is a well-marbled combination of crowd pleaser and box office success. While none of the entries in this series have reviewed anywhere near Academy Award level, there’s no denying the draw of these family-friendly films.
This is actually my first “Night at the Museum” experience; even though I was working at the Hays movie theatre when the first film came out in 2006, I never got around to seeing it, or it’s 2009 followup. Even though I’m not typically a fan of Ben Stiller, I rather enjoyed “Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb.”
First and foremost, the film makes good use of its special effects, costumes and set design. The production staff has done an admirable job representing the various creatures and historical figures that come to life each night with believable effects that are appropriate to the setting.
“Secret of the Tomb” sports a strong and varied cast that are, unfortunately, not utilized to their full potential. Rebel Wilson, who played Fat Amy in “Pitch Perfect” joins the cast as a security guard at the British Museum. Wilson, while funny, is cast to play yet another incarnation of the same bumbling character. There’s an undercurrent of sadness to Robin Williams’ performance that was more noticeable than it should have been, given unfortunate recent events. The point being, I know that this cast is capable of better performances, given better direction.
All in all, “Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb” was a short, enjoyable trip to the movies. There’s nothing Academy Award worthy here, but the experience did elicit a smile from time to time and that, in and of itself, is worth the price of admission. If a film can make you smile, make you think, inspire you, or give you a deeper appreciation for the things you have in your life – those feelings alone are worth the price of admission.
Ron Wilson is director of the Huck Boyd National Institute for Rural Development at Kansas State University.
By RON WILSON Huck Boyd National Institute for Rural Development
Culbertson, Nebraska. A state-of-the-art grain handling facility is being installed, with the capacity to unload 105 railroad cars at a time. The innovative construction company which is installing this new grain handling facility is found in rural Kansas.
Mike Frisbie is president and chairman of the board of Frisbie Construction, the company that is building this new facility. The company began in 1949 when Mike’s father George Frisbie came back to his hometown of Gypsum after World War II. George started building houses with carpenter’s hand tools and a wheelbarrow.
In 1954, at the request of a friend in Salina, George Frisbie built a concrete slip form elevator in Gypsum. That would make the elevator 60 years old. Is it still standing? “I can see it through my office door,” Mike Frisbie said.
In fact, it went so well that Frisbie Construction now specializes solely in building and remodelling elevators for the grain trade. Mike studied electronics and worked for other companies before joining the family business. He became president and chairman when George retired in 1992.
The business has grown and changed. “When I got started, a machine which could move 8,000 bushels per hour was a big piece of equipment,” Mike said. “Now we are moving 50 to 70,000 bushels per hour. “Our customers may have only 36 to 48 hours to sample and weigh a bunch of grain cars.”
Frisbie Construction has designed new products to assist in that process. One is the Frisbie swivel rail loadout spout, which is like a series of funnels to direct the flow of grain. Another is the Frisbie unloading augur, which is a tubular augur that controls grain flow. Systems have become automated and computer-controlled. Bearings now have monitors, for example, so a technician can identify problems immediately.
“We build new elevators and we speed up old ones,” Mike said. “If you’re selling grain, you need to move it more quickly. If you’re storing grain, you need more storage.” Either way, Frisbie Construction can help.
Frisbie Construction maintains a manufacturing plant to build new or hard-to-find replacement parts. “We are one of two companies that do 24-hour-a-day, seven-day-a-week emergency repair,” Mike said.
Today Frisbie Construction serves primarily a five-state region centered on Kansas. The company maintains 11 crews of two to four people who travel to jobs in the region. “My crews are here at 7 a.m. Monday and are back late Friday,” Mike said.
Along the way, the company has learned lessons for success. “My dad said, ‘take care of the customers and take care of the employees,’” Mike said. In one of the early years, a crew took a brand new pickup truck to a jobsite and proceeded to damage the truck by overloading it on its very first time out. Ouch.
“After that we made a commitment to owning our own cranes and getting the equipment we need,” Mike said. “We want our employees to work smarter and longer. Safety is a big part of what we do.”
He also recalls a time when there was a steel shortage. Frisbie Construction had an exclusive relationship with one particular supplier who could not get steel, even though it was available otherwise. “Now we work with all dealers,” Mike said. “Our goal is to build the proper elevator for the customer, not a particular brand we might be trying to sell.”
Some employees have been with the company for 30 or 40 years. The company is jointly owned by family and employees. “We’ve had a great run of good people here,” Mike said. It’s great to see a business thrive in a rural community like Gypsum, population 409 people. Now, that’s rural. For more information, go to www.frisbieinc.com.
It’s time to leave Culbertson, Nebraska where a new grain handling facility is being installed by an innovative company from rural Kansas. We salute Mike Frisbie and all those involved with Frisbie Construction for making a difference with entrepreneurship in the grain handling industry. They have demonstrated how rural America can gain by handling grain.
With the holiday hustle and bustle requiring so much of your precious time, how can you find opportunities to walk throughout your day to reach your goal of 10,000 steps? There are ways to search out those elusive minutes for movement. They are scattered throughout your morning, afternoon and evening, but with a little ingenuity and thought, these tiny spurts of time can add up to extra steps and more holiday calories burned.
Here are 10 smart, practical and easy tips that can help you stay active during this busy– and calorie-laden– time of year:
1. Wear a Pedometer. Get a pedometer or add a pedometer app to your mobile phone and use it every day. This inexpensive tool is a terrific motivator. It helps you keep up with exactly how much you are actually moving. Being able to monitor your movement will help you to move even more. Try adding 500 extra steps the next day. This is equivalent to about 5 minutes of steady walking.
2. Do Your Chores on Foot: Resist the urge to delegate household tasks which involve walking, such as getting the mail, walking the dog, taking out the trash, or simply fetching something from the car. Asking the kids or your spouse to do it may seem quicker and easier sometimes, but it doesn’t help your pedometer reach its goal!
3. Decorate with Added Steps: When putting up and taking down the Christmas tree and other seasonal decorations, leave the box of trinkets and ornaments on the opposite side of the room. Walk to the box for each item then back to where it will go. All that back and forth really adds up.
4. Cook on the Move: While cooking or baking those delectable holiday treats, consider jogging or marching in place while the timer ticks away. An added plus– this will burn some of the calories you might gain from sampling your products.
5. Park Far Away When Shopping: Not only do you add steps going back and forth, you are saving time not having to search for a space AND you will save your car from being bumped by carts or other car doors.
6. Move in the Morning. Make sure your exercise time isn’t eaten up by daily surprises. Get up a few minutes earlier each day, stretch and take a few deep breaths. Then walk or jog in place, even if only for a few minutes. You’ll wake up quickly and log a few hundred steps at the start of your day.
7. Walk Through Those Holiday Shows: Forgo the recliner as you watch your favorite holiday TV programs. Move during your movie instead. Pace around your living room while keeping an eye on the screen, or walk or jog in place. Two hours will pass quickly and that can add up to several thousand steps. Not up for two solid hours of moving? Vow to move the first few minutes of each show and during commercials.
8. Pace on the Phone: Pace through the house as you enjoy a chat on the phone. Steps add up when you form this simple habit. This is another example of using hidden minutes. Commit to move during your next telephone calls.
9. Stand Through Your Sit-Down Tasks: Make it a point to stand as you fold laundry, go through the mail, or write out your bills. You’ll find you can add many steps to your overall day this way. Then when the laundry needs to be put away and the bills put in the box outside – don’t delegate those duties! Think of them as a few more chances to reach your steps or miles goal for that day.
10. Work to the Beat. Turn on some great fast music while you cook, clean or manage other chores. Feel your mood instantly lift and get more movement out of your tasks. Time flies when you are listening to enjoyable music.
A century ago, without all our modern conveniences, a person didn’t need to make extra time for exercise. Moving was just a given. Now, however, with all our time-saving contraptions and sedentary jobs, we have to include exercise in our day. It has to become and remain a priority on your own to-do list.
There are hundreds of flexible minutes in our day for extra steps; we only have to look to find them. As you rush around handling all the last-minute details of the holidays, be sure to make time for your health, too, even if it is in small increments. Then as the colder, winter days pass and the bright, new days of spring approach, your fitter, more energetic body will thank you.
Linda K. Beech is Ellis County Extension Agent for Family and Consumer Sciences.
It’s bad enough when politicians fabricate stories for political gain, but it’s especially appalling coming from a university professor. A recent column by Emporia State professor Michael Smith claimed that the Kansas Policy Institute budget plan for the state of Kansas used dynamic scoring to “…forecast revenues nearly $400 million higher in FY 2016 than do the state’s economists.” That is an absolute fairy tale.
Dave Trabert
KPI did not use dynamic scoring in our budget plan and the revenue estimates we use are the official estimates. Professor Smith is simply concocting the story to suit his political purpose. Our budget plan for Kansas uses official spending and revenue estimates as the starting point and suggests some legislative changes to increase revenue and reduce spending without impacting services.
Professor Smith also poses a false question: “Are we in a huge budget hole, created by the tax cuts championed by Governor Brownback? Or, will economic growth save the day?”
Tax revenue did decline but it is still running ahead of the ten-year inflation track. Even after allowing citizens to keep more of their hard-earned money, tax revenue for FY 2014 was 28% higher than in FY 2004; inflation over the period was 24%. And tax revenue is expected to stay ahead of inflation; official revenue estimates put FY 2017 tax revenue 39% ahead of FY 2014 whereas inflation would be 29% higher if it continues at the current pace.
The budget ‘hole’ would not exist if the majority of legislators in both parties and Governor Brownback hadn’t declined to reduce the cost of government when they reduced income taxes. As has long been the case, Kansas has a very big spending problem. Indeed, if FY 2004 spending had simply increased for inflation and population growth, General Fund spending would be $1 billion less this year!
Professor Smith apparently believes that government couldn’t possibly operate on less money, as he claims that reducing government spending will cause serious service cuts. The citizens of Kansas and even government employees beg to differ; a recent public opinion survey showed that 74% of Kansans (and 74% of government employees) believe state government could operate 5% to 10% more efficiently – and the data supports their belief. In 2012, Kansas spent 37% more per-resident than the states without an income tax. Every state provides public education, highways and social services, but some of them do so at a much better cost to taxpayers.
We need to reduce the cost of government, but it can be done by implementing a Better Service, Better Price culture that provides quality services at a better price and passes the savings on in the form of lower taxes. In other words, focus on maximizing value for citizens instead of growing government.
Across the country and throughout the Heartland, most people take it for granted: Turn the tap to quench your thirst, and you can be reasonably assured that your water is clean and safe to drink. It’s an assurance greatly bolstered by the Safe Drinking Water Act, a landmark environmental protection law passed by Congress 40 years ago on December 16, 2014.
Safe drinking water is absolutely essential for healthy and thriving communities. In Region 7, more than 12.5 million people rely on regulated public drinking water systems every day.
EPA Region 7, with midwest regional headquarters in Lenexa, includes Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, Iowa and nine tribal nations.
Congress passed the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) on December 16, 1974, and directed EPA to implement a series of regulations and standards to protect public drinking water from source to tap. The law was amended in 1986 and again in 1996 to include additional actions to protect drinking water, including those that recognize the needs for source water protection, training for water system operators, funding for water system improvements, and public information about the quality of treated water to inform water consumers and hold water delivery systems accountable.
Four decades ago, America’s drinking water simply wasn’t as safe as it is today. Sewage, chemicals and trash were freely dumped into our rivers and streams. The regulation of public water supplies was too often limited or, in some places, practically non-existent.
In 1974, more than half of the water treatment facilities surveyed by the federal government had major deficiencies involving disinfection, clarification, or pressure in their distribution systems – all dangerous conditions that posed potentially serious public health hazards.
Today, the United States is recognized as a world leader in providing safe drinking water. Under the authority of the SDWA, EPA has drinking water regulations in place for more than 90 contaminants, including microorganisms, disinfectants, disinfection byproducts, inorganic and organic chemicals, and radionuclides.
We’ve made great strides as a nation in protecting our drinking water over the past 40 years, and EPA will certainly play a key role in keeping this vital resource safe and in supply, both now and in the future. While we celebrate four decades under the protection of the Safe Drinking Water Act, we recognize the challenges ahead of us are significant.
For example, EPA estimates that the U.S. currently has $384 billion in drinking water infrastructure needs – the unmet costs of maintaining, repairing and replacing systems that treat and deliver water to the public. Fully 97 percent of all public water systems in the country are categorized as small – serving less than 10,000 people – and many of those systems face acute problems related to funding, operations and maintenance.
Since its inception in 1997, the Drinking Water State Revolving Fund, which EPA administers, has provided $25.8 billion in funds for more than 10,000 local drinking water infrastructure projects, including treatment systems, pipes for transmission and distribution, and storage. In EPA Region 7, the Agency has provided more than $947 million for such projects over that time.
Whether provided by local utilities or drawn from individual wells, the water we drink ultimately comes from groundwater, streams, rivers, springs or lakes – all of which may be threatened by pollution or development. EPA works with states, local government and public-private partnerships to protect those resources, promoting compliance and, when appropriate, taking enforcement actions. Through its Waters of the U.S. initiative, EPA has proposed new regulatory authority to ensure those protections are adequate.
Advances in science and technology are helping EPA and its partners, including local water systems, to discover and better understand previously unknown contaminants in water, including chemicals, toxins and pharmaceuticals. EPA evaluates these unregulated contaminants to determine whether new national drinking water standards are needed for public water systems.
Last but not least, climate change poses challenges to the protection of water sources and water infrastructure alike, as systems adapt to warmer temperatures, rising sea levels, stronger storms, more droughts and changes in water chemistry. EPA is meeting those challenges on a variety of fronts, such as by working with the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Office of Rural Development to increase the sustainability of rural drinking water and wastewater systems, and by promoting use of the Climate Resilience Evaluation and Awareness Tool (CREAT), which helps water utilities evaluate climate change impacts to their facilities and build greater resilience into their systems.
EPA has some very robust efforts underway to make drinking water even safer over the next 40 years, and beyond. We invite everyone to play a part with us.
Karl Brooks, Lenexa, is Administrator of EPA Region 7 which includes Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, Iowa and nine tribal nations.
As we approach the end of the year, many individuals are continuing their efforts of gifting local charities or organizations that are dear to their hearts. The Community Foundation of Ellis would like to encourage individuals to invest in their community also.
During the month of November, the foundation started their first annual Campaign-“Giving Back to Ellis,” designed to invest in Ellis and its future.
As we reflect on all the ways we are thankful for the community we love and enjoy, the end of the year also brings with it an opportunity for each of us to be part of our continuing effort to enhance the quality of life for all who live in Ellis.
By giving to the foundation, you are able to make a tax-deductible donation that will provide for local grants, Food Boxes and pantry, and other projects and improvements around Ellis. Because of your support and the support of the community, the Foundation has distributed over $187,000 to Ellis over the past several years enriching our community. One hundred percent of all donations stay in Ellis. There are no administration fees.
In November, each Ellis resident received through the mail the Foundation’s Giving Form. The Foundation depends on the generosity of our community. Please show your support through a cash gift or through a non-cash charitable gift. Donate now before the end of the year and your donation can be directed now or at a later date. Please join your neighbors and invest in Ellis and its future.
To donate or obtain a giving form, stop by 820 Washington, P.O. Box 181, Ellis, call (785) 726-2660, or visit the foundation website at www.ellisfoundation.net.
Without question, agricultural research is one of the most vital investments we can make to feed our increasing population and protect our planet.
Agricultural research has been helping people by fighting hunger and lowering food costs for years. It also aids rural America which has a higher wage structure than some of developing countries and faces competition in the world marketplace.
High-yield farming is the result of agricultural research and some would say it’s the greatest achievement of human civilization for the environment.
Increased crop yields since 1960 are saving millions of square miles of wildlife habitat around the world from being plowed down for low-yield crops. Latest estimates put this saving in land areas equal to the United States, Europe and Brazil.
We cannot return to an earlier time period when new technology and research were not as much a part of the agricultural scene.
If the United States farmer attempted to produce the crops we harvest now with the technology that prevailed in the ‘40s, it would require an additional area of approximately 200 million hectares of land of similar quality, say those in USDA agricultural research. To find such land, most of the forests east of the Mississippi River would have to be chopped down and most pastures would have to be plowed up and these lands would have to be planted to annual crops.
With the use of innovative practices, farmers have reduced soil erosion. Today, most farmers are using systems that leave at least 40 percent or more crop residue after planting. No-till, ridge-till and mulch till account for the reduction in soil loss.
The most sustainable farming in the world today is that done with hybrid seeds, chemical fertilizer, integrated pest management and conservation tillage, according to the Soil and Water Conservation Society of the United States.
Kansas farmers, and their counterparts across the United States, take responsibility for the conservation of valuable topsoil seriously. This country has as much of the planet’s valuable cropland as any other nation. U.S. farmers also have the infrastructure needed to make this land productive.
Farmers can, and will, do more to improve their environment. They will conserve more water, monitor grassland grazing and continue to implement environmentally sound techniques that will ensure preservation of the land.
Farmers will adopt new techniques spawned by agricultural research. High-yield farming works and will continue to work because it is flexible enough to accept and adapt to change.
No agricultural system, or any system, is perfect. Farmers must continue to search for better ways to farm through research and education.
John Schlageck, a Hoxie native, is a leading commentator on agriculture and rural Kansas.
John Richard Schrock is a professor at Emporia State University.
The plot was simple. A store Santa named Kris Kringle was hired at Macy’s. But he steered some customers to a rival store: Gimbels. On the verge of being fired, Kris is kept and rewarded when his action generates good publicity. The Gimbels store even institutes the same referral policy and the race to generate goodwill is on. Eventually, longtime enemies Mr. Macy and Mr. Gimbel even become friends.
Miracles may occur on 34th Street, the location of Macy’s main New York store and the movie’s namesake. But they do not occur in the real business world—you will not hear Apple recommend a Samsung phone to a customer, nor Samsung return that favor.
But Kansas public universities, working with at least some public money, should not be businesses. And students should not be customers.
Some university programs are clearly special. As our land grant university, Kansas State University is charged with offering the agricultural programs. The University of Kansas has jurisdiction over graduate medical training, and has a respected pharmacy program as well. Wichita State University and K.U. both have advanced aeronautical engineering programs. The only research office of Kansas Wildlife and Parks is adjacent to Emporia State University and that is where future fish and game researchers are trained. And Pittsburg State University has an especially strong technology program. But no single Kansas campus offers the complete range of programs.
It is easy to play Kris Kringle and send student “customers” onward to such programs when you are at an institution that does not offer them.
But Kansas students enter college with the widest of interests. Just as campuses have super strong programs, they also have some fields that are weakly staffed. So when prospective students visit campuses, faculty advisors have to decide whether to be naughty or nice. Naughty is keeping a student in a second rate program. Nice—for the student—would be advising them to go to another university.
And every Kansas tertiary institution should offer solid core courses in writing and speaking and math reasoning and the beginning sciences and humanities. They should. But sometimes they don’t. Some community colleges offer excellent instructors. But some are hiring teachers who lack the content qualifications to teach their subject in high school!
“So you had better watch out.
Better not cry.
Better save your money.
‘Cause tuition’s gettin’ high.
Tuition-based funding has come to town.
We know what a student is wantin’
And weak programs they shouldn’t take.
But regardless of whether it is bad or good,
Keep ‘em here for goodness sakes.”
Over two decades ago I heard a higher education administrator in Kansas tell his faculty that if he ever caught anyone recommending a student attend another school, he would fire them. I became particularly interested in just how he would do that. What grounds would he use to fire a professor who recommended a program elsewhere that was in the student’s best interest? And how would the Board of Regents view such an action, since they oversee policy for all Kansas public universities that are to serve all Kansas students. That administrator moved on to another state and I never had the opportunity to discover whether a Kansas professor could get away with advising in a student’s best interests.
But with the pressure on today’s campuses to recruit and retain every warm body with a credit card, finding a professor who recommends a program at another campus might be a genuine miracle!
Last month, Patrick Lowry, Hays Daily News editor and publisher, penned an editorial critical of Dodge City Community College President Don Woodburn.
As Mr. Lowry speculated about a potential DCCC and Fort Hays State merger in his article, he mistakenly stated it would give “Dodge City a four-year institution for the first time since 1992 when St. Mary of the Plains College closed”.
In reality, Newman University has been meeting the higher education needs of southwest Kansas residents for more than two decades with its Western Kansas Center, featuring quality undergraduate and graduate programs.
Newman offers students in Western Kansas undergraduate degree programs in Elementary Education, Early Childhood Unified Education, Criminal Justice, Nursing, Business Studies and Pastoral Ministry. We also offer master’s degrees in Education and Theology.
Hundreds of teachers in Western Kansas have taken our five-course English as a Second Language endorsement program and now instruct thousands of non-native English speaking students. Many teachers stay on to complete their Master of Science in Education degrees.
The Teacher Education Program is one our most popular offerings. The program features evening classes for greater convenience and can be completed in just 16 months. A partnership with several area community colleges (Dodge City and Garden City included) allows community college associate degree graduates to enter Newman’s TEP to pursue a bachelor’s degree in elementary or early childhood education. Since 1992, more than 800 students have graduated from the TEP in Western Kansas.
Thanks to a partnership with the Diocese of Dodge City, Newman established an Interactive Television (ITV) Network to bring Newman’s undergraduate and graduate programs to several remote communities in Western and Central Kansas including Liberal, Ulysses, Great Bend, Garden City, Goodland, Hutchinson, Syracuse, Sharon, Pratt and others.
Our graduates are respected in the business community by employers who need critical thinking, well-trained workers. In addition, many of the region’s school children benefit from Newman-trained teachers and administrators. And speaking of teachers, a recent study shows that 75 percent of Newman’s teacher education graduates are still teaching in the classrooms five years after graduation – well above the state and national average of 50 percent.
We value our Western Kansas students and alums, and are proud of our longtime service to the region. When considering your four-year higher education options in Western Kansas, remember Newman and our longtime presence in the area and our reputation for quality, private education. I encourage you to visit us at 236 San Jose, Dodge City.
Noreen M. Carrocci, Ph.D., president, Newman University
Safeguarding our nation means both a strong national defense and a strong economy. The aerospace industry is where these two priorities combine. In today’s global economy, aerospace provides vital opportunities for America at home and abroad, and Kansas is fortunate to be at the crossroads of the aerospace industry.
In Kansas, we build world-class airplanes and build them well. According to the Kansas Aviation Museum, Kansas aviation workers have supplied 74 percent of all general aviation aircraft since the Wright Brothers’ first flight at Kitty Hawk. Today, roughly 32,000 Kansans support hundreds of aerospace companies – from large companies like Airbus, Spirit AeroSystems, Bombardier and Textron, to many smaller suppliers – and their work contributes more than $7 billion annually to our state’s economy.
The economic future of our state and nation depends on securing a vibrant aerospace industry, and it is important that Congress do all it can to support a robust future for aerospace. That is why I am honored to serve as co-chair of the Senate Aerospace Caucus.
The Senate Aerospace Caucus, founded in 2010, provides an important forum for U.S. Senators and aerospace representatives to discuss issues of importance to the nation’s defense, civil aviation and space sectors. This caucus strives to: provide critical oversight of the U.S. government’s aerospace defense industry program; promote increased government investment in U.S. aviation infrastructure and development; ensure a competitive industrial base; and promote education and workforce development programs that prepare Americans for careers in the aerospace industry.
The focus of the Senate Aerospace Caucus on the future of aerospace and aviation is especially important to the Wichita community. Known as the “Air Capital of the World,” Wichita is internationally recognized as one of the best cities for aerospace innovation and talent. In fact, more than half of all Kansans in the Wichita metro area are employed by aerospace companies, and the city boasts the third-highest concentration of engineers in the United States. This is because Wichita is the only place in the world that offers 90 years of experience in aviation manufacturing, access to the world’s largest supplier base, and a highly-skilled workforce. It’s no wonder global aviation manufacturers are eager to tap into the talents of Kansans.
But Kansas is not only a leader in aircraft manufacturing. Our state also supplies the workforce the aerospace industry needs through education and training facilities, the National Center for Aviation Training (NCAT) and Wichita State University’s National Institute for Aviation Research (NIAR). It is NIAR’s mission to conduct research, transfer technology and enhance education for the purpose of advancing the nation’s aviation industry, and to assist non-aviation industries that may benefit from aviation-related technologies. These facilities make Wichita a hub for future generations of aviation manufacturers and engineers – and help solidify Kansas’ aerospace reputation around the world.
As Kansas’ largest industry, general aviation generates nearly $2.9 billion annually in exports from our state. An estimated 11.2 percent of Kansas’ total private-sector employment are linked to manufacturing. This means Kansas jobs depend on aerospace exports – our state must continue to build quality products to stay competitive. By promoting education, workforce and research development, as well as increasing manufacturing within the aerospace industry, we can grow America’s economy and maintain our state’s competitive edge.
Kansas’ impressive record of accomplishment in aerospace did not happen by accident – it took hard work and innovation. I look forward to bringing those same attributes to my work as co-chair of the Senate Aerospace Caucus to make certain this historical and innovative American industry remains strong, secure and globally competitive.
Boy, how often do you get to write that about a governor?
Here’s how this shakes out.
Brownback, of course, signed into law massive income tax cuts two years ago, and while the cuts were bigger than he wanted, he’s got them. And, for a very conservative governor, he is safely into a second four-year term (unless some more attractive job pops up).
From that position, Brownback can pretty much decide how much government he wants Kansas to have. Brownback is a small government guy, or at least a smaller government guy.
So, he’s proposed that because the state can’t spend more money than it takes in each year, he’ll meet this year’s projected $278 million shortfall largely by drying up all the excess cash sitting around in state agencies. His tactic? Transferring about $200 million in those funds—ranging from the Bank of the Kansas Department of Transportation to new appropriations to the state’s pension system to the State General Fund, and actually cutting some expenditures this fiscal year.
If the Legislature goes along, Brownback will have met the duty to balance the state budget…and drained the state of virtually all spare change for use in the upcoming fiscal year.
If the Legislature goes for the plan (and some lawmakers want to go back into this year’s budget and make cuts, which Brownback is expected to discourage), Kansas will have to finance next fiscal year’s budget, which starts July 1, with just the tax revenues it takes in.
We’re looking at estimated spendable revenues for the upcoming fiscal year of $5.8 billion, compared to the $6.3 billion that the Brownback plan would see spent for this fiscal year which ends June 30.
Just doing the subtraction won’t show it, because there are other expenditures that are automatically going to rise, but it means the state will have to cut about $650 million from this year’s comfortable budget. That’s a dab over 10 percent in cuts that legislators will be looking at in the upcoming session.
If you’re a fan of smaller government, this is a brilliant ploy. If you’re not a fan of smaller government, well, Brownback has made sure you’ll have to prove it by raising revenues while mid-term Brownback gets to watch what sort of campaigns lawmakers muster for election to the House and Senate.
Here’s where the fiendishly clever business may come into play.
Brownback can suggest a budget that makes those cuts to keep the state in the black, which automatically means dramatic spending cuts or program shrinkage, or the elimination of programs…or he can restructure the state’s taxes to finance a smaller cut in state spending.
That’s taxes, yes, but taxes Brownback is interested in. Not income taxes, of course, or any increase in corporate taxes, but maybe sales taxes. And, hey, they’ll gripe, but cigarettes and booze probably don’t cost what they’re worth if you gotta have them…
Oh, and remember that there is more than $6 billion in economic activity that is exempt from sales taxes including most services ranging from legal and accounting to, apparently, lap dances, but nobody’s ever gotten a receipt for those…
So, it appears that Brownback is putting legislators into the position where they approve the spending cuts that are in the future—and how often have we heard the phrase “living within your means”—or finding some new revenue source. Or, of course, just not financing services Kansans demand, which means local units of government will have to pick up the cost of those services which means higher local property taxes or fees or some such.
This might just be devilishly clever. Or not.
Syndicated by Hawver News C. of Topeka, Martin Hawver is publisher of Hawver’s Capitol Report. To learn more about this nonpartisan statewide political news service, visit www.hawvernews.com.
