Keen Umbehr, the Libertarian candidate for governor, met with Kelly Lenz, Farm Director for WIBW Radio, on August 21, 2014, to discuss the station’s criteria for inclusion into the Kansas State Fair Gubernatorial debates which is scheduled to be held at 10 a.m. on Saturday, September 6, 2014.

Mr. Lenz and Umbehr had a frank discussion about the history of the radio station’s debate criteria and their decision not to modify the one portion of their criteria which required a candidate to raise $50,000 of non-personal campaign funding.

Umbehr has committed $50,000 of personal money to his campaign and raised approximately $16,000 in non-personal campaign funds.

During their discussion, Umbehr expressed his belief that the citizens of Kansas have the reasonable expectation that the Kansas State Fair debate would allow voters to hear from all three gubernatorial candidates on the ballot in the general election, not just from the Republican and Democrat candidates.

WIBW Radio’s decision to exclude the Libertarian candidate from the debate, Umbehr says, “denies thousands of Kansas voters the opportunity to hear the exchange of ideas on the serious issues facing the state of Kansas, such as: the governor’s discriminatory income tax plan, school finance and the denial of due process for teachers, RPS funding, the SEC complaint against Kansas and governmental accountability and transparency – just to name a few.”

Ultimately, Mr. Lenz declined to modify WIBW’s debate criteria but did offer an accommodation option in recognition of the fact that the Libertarian party had achieved general ballot access and that Keen Umbehr’s name would appear on the November 4th ballot. The accommodation included a one-hour radio program on September 9, 2014, between 6:00 to 8:00 a.m.  Mr. Umbehr accepted Mr. Lenz’s invitation.

Umbehr stated that although he is disappointed about not being able to debate his two opponents at the Kansas State Fair, as a Libertarian he fully supports the freedom of a private enterprise to develop policies which they believe best suit their company goals. “That’s what liberty is about,” Umbehr said.

Keen Umbehr went on to say that he hoped Governor Brownback and Democrat candidate Paul Davis would make a request to WIBW Radio asking them to relax their criteria for inclusion and allow the Libertarian candidate for governor to participate in the Kansas State Fair debate.

“There will be three names on the November ballot and in the interest of fairness, Kansans should be allowed to hear from all three candidates.”

A recent Public Policy Poll showed Umbehr at 9% with 15% undecided.  Umbehr stated that he believes the 9% represents Kansans who have heard about his common sense, middle-ground vision for Kansas, and the 15% are those who are looking for such a candidate.

“I’ve got some oceanfront property in Arizona. If you buy that, I’ll throw the Golden Gate in Free.”

The lyrics of George Strait’s No. 1 hit set the theme for this month’s session.

Part I: Imagine for a moment that you are planning a trip that requires a flight to somewhere. You begin checking the price of flights, and ordinarily it would make sense to opt for the cheapest price. So for example, round trip to China for $49. Sounds like a great deal! Oh, but if you’d like to take shoes along, that will be an extra $50. If you wear glasses, please add $75 additional dollars. Clothes (that you wear on the plane), are another $50. And if you decide to take a third bag — don’t, as you can buy the items cheaper at your destination than paying the exorbitant extra baggage fees. Possibly a bit of an exaggeration, but the point being, shop around, as the initial marketing cost may be a small part of your overall expense.

This same philosophy can relate to motels. And it does not get better in other countries. Canada, for instance has a seniors rate, accommodation tax, (whatever that is), Provincial tax, goods and services tax, heart a(tax), thumb tax, etc. which would make a $90 room cost more than $140. The only way to avoid some of these costs would be to stay home.

In doing your due diligence in shopping for an item, it’d probably be wise to stay away from the following phrases:

1) “The World’s Best Selling” (Let’s face it everyone can’t have the world’s best-selling product.)
2) “The Invention of the Century.” (Really!)
3) “Millions have already taken advantage of this.” (Let’s see the names of those millions).
4) “Buy in the next 10 minutes and we’ll give you the Golden Gate Bridge.” (What would you do with a bridge that big?)
5) “The 50-year guarantee” (Most of us won’t even be here).

Part II: On this same trip you’re planning, you check the weather on different locations, and find the place you’d like to visit has an average temperature of 80 degrees. But upon visiting this Oasis you find that it’s 120 degrees one day and 40 degrees the next, and alternates like this every other day.

Although this average still can be marketed as an average of 80 degrees, you find out it’s less than the favorable weather you expected. The stock market can work in a similar fashion. One year it may be very healthy and the next year a substantial correction may occur. And yet the average rate of return may not tell you the whole story. Since 2008, we have had a very strong market. The people, supposedly in the know, will tell you there’s a correction on the horizon. They are correct — there will be a correction, as historically we’ve experienced one on an average of every 3 years. You could predict that it will eventually rain in Western Kansas and at some point you would be correct about this prediction, also. The question is, however, how far away is that horizon? Does the prediction come true 5 years later?

There are two problems with this emotional timing-related decision. One, if you get out of the market, then you will need to know when to get back in. No one can accurately predict exactly when to get in and out of the market.   Secondly, many people look at their time frame on a retirement plan, for instance, as now until the time they retire. Unless all the retirement dollars are going to be spent the first day of retirement (that’d have to be a heck of a retirement party), these dollars need to last till the day you die. So if you are 64, for instance, and retiring at 65, the appearance of a one year time-frame is actually from now until the end of your life and your dollars should be invested accordingly.

Part III: In the state of Kansas, to drive without car insurance is against the law. But to live without life insurance is not. With many people, and the responsibilities they have (kids, house and car payments, etc.) along with the little life insurance they own, apparently they don’t plan on being dead very long.

Tim Schumacher represents Strategic Financial Partners in Hays. [email protected]

The tragedies unfolding in Ferguson, Mo., are doubly infuriating.

First, there is the obvious outrage of yet another unarmed black teenager being stopped by one of the town’s white police officers as he was walking to his grandmother’s home.

A scuffle ensued, and Officer Darren Wilson fatally shot Michael Brown (six times, including twice in the head, according to an autopsy report). The young man’s corpse was then left lying in the street for hours, during which time the police didn’t even bother to notify his family. Understandably, furious citizens have erupted in protest.

Outrage No. 2 is that Ferguson’s police, practically all of whom are white in a town that’s two-thirds black, responded to the public outcry like an occupying army.

Instead of the calm, professional and empathetic approach required, the police confronted Ferguson with full military force, rolling out in armored “Bearcat” vehicles, hovering helicopters, riot gear, camouflage outfits and body armor.

They approached the unarmed citizens with assault riffles, grenades, tear gas, night sticks and a macho attitude. It was a tactical, commando assault on civilians, the vast majority of whom where doing what they should be doing: calling autocrats to account.

But wait: Where did this tiny town’s police force  — supposedly made up of peace officers  — get such weaponry and a military attitude? From the Pentagon.

The Defense Department has quietly been militarizing America’s police departments for the last two decades, sending billions of dollars worth of Bearcats, helicopters, machine guns, etc. to any Mayberry police chief with Rambo fantasies.

Your town and mine are being militarized too. We must halt this perversion of policing, or we’ll be the next Ferguson. For starters, tell your governor: “Don’t militarize my block.” You can do it at change.org/petitions.

OtherWords.org columnist Jim Hightower is a radio commentator, writer and public speaker.

Imitation dairy products may account for nearly 70 percent of the items a shopper finds in the dairy case today. That’s according to the latest data from the dairy industry.

A trip down the grocery aisle will quickly reveal the often-copied dairy products. There are products that mimic butter, cream, whipped cream, sour cream, ice cream and yogurt. Imitation milk is not a new item and neither are the knock-offs for real cheese, including Colby, Cheddar, Mozzarella, Swiss and even American pasteurized, processed cheese.

These so-called dairy products are made from soybeans to rice to hemp and many do not contain milk. Still the average shopper would find it almost impossible to know that from the labels these products use.

Federal law requires milk, yogurt, ice cream, sour cream and cheese be made with milk from cows. An increasing number are made from products including soybeans, nuts and plants.

These imitators are packaged like real dairy products and the words “milk” or “dairy” often appear in their names. They pretend to be natural dairy products, but they’re not.

Before you “get your bowels in an uproar,” I’m not suggesting such products shouldn’t be sold. Today’s consumers choose food for many reasons – allergies, ethics, personal preference, religion, etc.

Another major reason imitation dairy products thrive in today’s grocery stores is the lower price. Budget-conscious consumers literally eat this up.

Food product names should be informative, not deceptive. When shoppers opt for a non-dairy alternative, many do so thinking it has the same nutrient value as real milk.

Let’s call a spade a spade, putting a white fluid into a similar package as milk, with pictures showing uses for it just like milk and phrases on the carton like, the perfect alternative for milk confuses shoppers and tends to lead them to believe these imitation products are the real deal and they’re not. And while we’re at it, let’s move these imitation items out of the dairy case as well.

These products can be sold but should be renamed so consumers better understand the differences between these imitations and real dairy products. The term milk, cheese, yogurt or ice cream should be used for foods that come from cows.

Consumers interested in eating real foods should remember three categories of food where imitations crop up consistently: dairy foods, juices and processed meats. Always check the label for the word imitation.

Check the first ingredient listed on the label. This ingredient usually constitutes the greatest amount of the food item. An example, the first ingredient of real cheese is milk.

Another thing to look for is the REAL® Seal on the package of the food product you buy. You can be confident you are purchasing a genuine dairy product that starts with milk from cows on U.S. dairy farms. The REAL® Seal guarantees the product was produced in this country, meets strict federal standards for milk and dairy products and contains no casein, vegetable oil, non-domestic dairy protein or ingredient or any cheese substitute.

Remember, every time you pay for a food item you plop down real money. Make sure you know what you’re buying.

John Schlageck, a Hoxie native, is a leading commentator on agriculture and rural Kansas.

Dear Dave,
I’m retired, and my husband plans to work for several more years. We have $130,000 in savings accounts, plus a rental property. The rental property has a $150,000 mortgage, but we have no other debt. Should we sell the rental and reinvest in the stock market?
Barbara

Dear Barbara,
If I were in your shoes, I’d be investing in mutual funds and paying off the rental property as fast as possible. That would be my game plan.

When it comes to mutual funds, you shouldn’t be jumping in and out. The key is to find good ones with long track records of success and stability. Then, leave the money alone for several years and let it do its thing!
—Dave

Dave Ramsey is America’s trusted voice on money and business. He has authored five New York Times best-selling books: Financial Peace, More Than Enough, The Total Money Makeover, EntreLeadership and Smart Money Smart Kids. The Dave Ramsey Show is heard by more than 8 million listeners each week on more than 500 radio stations. Follow Dave on Twitter at @DaveRamsey and on the web at daveramsey.com.

Remember those stories that start with the “a guy walks into a bar with a duck under his arm?”

That idea can go a bunch of ways…and if you buy the premise (that duck under his arm), you’ll enjoy the story.

Well, selling an idea worked for now-Gov. Sam Brownback four years ago. He had a roadmap for Kansas and the campaign based on that premise got him elected over meagerly financed Democrat State Sens. Tom Holland/running mate Kelly Kultala.

His initial roadmap? It was essentially platitudes: Lower taxes, more jobs, third-graders who read better and there may have been something in there about losing weight and having more good hair days. Everyone was for it. Yes, even Democrats looked at all the stuff Brownback proposed and liked the premise, though there were some among the voters who kept saying, “where is that duck?”

That same strategy is apparently on the road again with Brownback’s Roadmap 2.0—which so far is being released in pieces, and ought to be all wrapped up by the time Brownback and his Democratic challenger House Minority Leader Paul Davis, of Lawrence, meet at the State Fair in Hutchinson for a public debate.

Davis? No roadmap, or real platform yet, but he’s still capitalizing on the severe budget crunch that the first roadmap created, the sharp cut in revenues that have squeezed budgets and threaten even more cuts in services to Kansans unless those massive tax cuts suddenly spur new spending and a flood of new non-income tax revenues to the state’s coffers as Brownback is hoping. Worth remembering, of course, is that the tax portion of that roadmap was dramatically changed by the Legislature—but Brownback signed the bill anyway…

But mostly, in small groups and through a massive social media campaign so far (not much in the way of TV ads), Davis has been telling Democrats, independents and moderate Republicans that there is no duck, and not to fall for the same general, if updated, campaign again.

It’s uphill for Davis, of course…there being fewer Democrats than Republicans in Kansas, and though recent polls put Davis ahead this early in the campaign, his key will be to pare off moderate Republicans, warning them that the first roadmap caused the fiscal problem we’re in now and pointing out that the chance of the second edition working is slim.

That’s why the new Brownback roadmap is predicted to be centrist and soft-focus—to provide little traction for Davis’ campaign.  Look for pleasantries, goals that everyone can support, and no rear-view mirror, because Davis is going to spend much of his time telling Kansans that the first map was off-course.

Interesting to watch to see whether the very conservative Tea Party-infused Republicans will stay under Brownback’s arm and whether he can keep a grip on them as he works to attract the moderates he’ll need to make his story work the way he’s hoping.

Historically, Republican primary elections tilted to the right, and then the candidates pulled toward the center for the general election, and this is the first time that there is real doubt that the technique will work.

For Davis? This is probably the first chance that a prime voting bloc for the Democratic nominee will be those centrist Republican voters who this election cycle are genuinely up for grabs. He’ll have to vow that under his administration they’ll see repairs made to the budget and increased emphasis on financing education and public services as painlessly as possible. Delay scheduled further tax cuts? Is that a tax increase if nobody’s received those cuts yet, or is it just a slowdown until the state’s economy—and budget that the governor proposes—strengthens?

This election cycle has a different feel than in the past…and so far, the ducks are still in the air, not strong enough to open the bar door themselves, but not sure who they want to carry them in…

Syndicated by Hawver News Co. 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.

The final 4-H recipe from the 2014 County Fair is a decadent cake exhibited by Haley Robben from the Victoria Vikings 4-H Club. This beautiful 3-layer cake was the senior champion in the 4-H Foods division. Try it for your next special occasion.

Pistachio Cake
For the cake:
1 cup shelled pistachios
2-1/2 cups cake flour
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 Tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup butter, softened
1-3/4 cups sugar, divided
1 Tablespoon pure vanilla extract
2 large eggs
1-1/2 cups ice water
3 large egg whites, at room temperature
1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
For the frosting:
1-1/2 cups sugar
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1-1/2 cups whole milk
1/3 cup heavy cream
3 sticks unsalted butter, softened, and cut into small pieces
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
3 Tablespoon  honey

For the cake: Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Butter three 9-inch cake pans. Line the bottoms with circles of parchment paper, dust the pans with flour and knock out the excess.  In a food processor, pulse the pistachios into a coarse grind, remove 2 tablespoons, and set them aside in a medium bowl. Process remaining pistachios just until finely ground to a powder. Sift cake flour, all-purpose flour, baking powder, salt, and baking soda into the same bowl with the 2 tablespoons chopped pistachios. Stir in pistachio powder.

In a stand mixer using the paddle attachment, beat butter on medium speed until creamy, about 1 minute. Add 1-1/2 cups sugar and vanilla and beat until fluffy, 4 minutes. Scrape down the bowl, and with mixer on low speed, beat in eggs one at a time until well blended. Beat in the flour mixture in 3 additions, alternating with the cold water, beginning and ending with flour mixture. Beat until blended, scraping bowl; then beat batter 15 more seconds. Scrape into a large bowl.

With a clean bowl and using the whisk attachment, beat egg whites and cream of tartar on medium speed until foamy. With mixer on medium-high speed, add remaining 1/4 cup sugar and beat just until soft peaks form, taking care not to over beat. Gently fold whites into batter just until no white streaks remain.

Divide batter between prepared pans (or about an inch into each pan) and spread evenly. Bake 35 to 40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in center of cakes comes out clean. Transfer pans to wire racks and let cool 20 minutes. Turn cakes out onto racks, remove parchment paper, flip them over, and let cool completely. Cake rounds can now be covered in plastic wrap and stored in the refrigerator overnight.

For the frosting: In a heavy, medium saucepan, whisk sugar and flour until well blended. Add milk and cream and cook over medium heat until mixture thickens and comes to a boil, about 10 minutes. Reduce heat to low and cook, stirring, for 2 more minutes.  Transfer the mixture to the bowl of a stand mixer. With the paddle attachment, beat the mixture on high speed until it cools completely, about 10 minutes. On medium speed, beat in the butter. It will gradually start incorporating into the mix and look more and more like frosting; it takes about 5 minutes. Increase the speed to medium-high until the frosting is fluffy and smooth, about 1 minute. Beat in honey and vanilla until incorporated. Taste for the honey and add more if necessary.  The frosting can now be refrigerated, covered, but before you use it, let it come to room temperature and mix it until it regains its fluffiness.

Linda K. Beech is Ellis County Extension Agent for Family and Consumer Sciences.

$200 would buy your college books for a whole year in 1960. Today, a single book can exceed that cost. Why is textbook cost so high when the actual costs of printing have declined?

The answer is two-fold: 1) the digital “revolution” and 2) the professors select the textbook and the students have to buy it.

In the late 1980s, we adopted a biology text that sold for $50 new and was available used for the next four years for $15–25 dollars. It had a four-year cycle between editions.

Most students could buy used books after the first semester of a new edition. But publishers only made big sales the first semester a book was released. Many moved to producing new editions every-two-years. Half of our students were shortchanged: the first semester they had to buy all news books and the fourth semester they could not sell them back.

I told a publisher’s representative at the exhibitor’s hall at a biology teaching convention that although they had the best textbook, we would not adopt it until it went from a two-year cycle back to a four-year cycle. I recall the book rep having a fit and yelling down the aisle “You won’t buy our textbook even though it is the best just because we update each two years!” His colleagues restrained him. I wondered if I should not have baited him. I got over it.

Textbook companies usually provided professors with printed instruction manuals and test item files. These few printed copies added little to the cost. But with the arrival of electronic ancillaries, textbook companies began including a wide array of videos for teachers and tutoring services for students.  The cost of these bells-and-whistles drove textbook prices up dramatically.

Very few students used these services. I asked our book representatives: “If the students’ book cost was just based on the printed book, would the price to our students be cut in half?”

“Less that half,” was their reply. “But we have to spread the high cost of the extras across all buyers. We can’t charge you less just because you aren’t using them.”

They would not drop the bells-and-whistles because they felt they would be at a disadvantage against other book companies that touted this hi-tech.  My colleagues and I have surveyed our students on how much they used these add-ons—virtually not at all. Still, the publishers dazzle the professors and the students pay the high price.

Many of our textbooks without tech support are legally sold overseas by U.S. publishers at a small fraction of the U.S. price. When U.S. courts ruled that those texts could then be imported and sold here, publishers found another scam to keep prices high: the eText. That $50 science textbook that now costs a student $250 is offered as an e-Text by download at just $150 or $200. Publishers love this. At the end of the semester, the e-Text goes away and there is no book to enter the used-book market.

Other publishers are using small online “press runs” in an unholy alliance with some professors who get an exorbitant cut of the high cost of an online “text.” While professors who wrote a printed textbook twenty years ago could legitimately require their text for their class, it had to be of high quality and be sold at many universities; the small royalty on each printed book did not drive up costs. Now a student goes to the college bookstore and buys, not a printed book, but a card with an access code to download the eText that was written by their teacher and is only used on a few campuses. By conspiring with professors to require an online text, there is nothing sold back to provide used books. But instead of these eTexts being cheaper, some publishers and professors have colluded in greed to charge even more.

Another subtle and longstanding technique is to seduce professors into adopting a text by asking them to “review it” for an honorarium. But the publisher’s “review questions” are more about what is needed to get it adopted than about any academic quality. This few hundred dollar “bribe” works often enough and the publisher can sell tens of thousands of dollars in textbooks when their book is adopted.

Professors should take the time to consider their students’ economic plight. This college textbook racket is a problem that professors can go far to solve. Indeed, no one else can solve it.

What in the heck is going on with the police in Ferguson, Missouri, and journalists?

The St. Louis suburb has been the scene of peaceful protests and charged emotions, and nightly chaos and rampant looting, following the Aug. 9 shooting death of a black teenager, Michael Brown, by a yet-to-be-identified police officer.

In the confusion and violence of the first nights of violence, journalists first reported being ordered away from where rioting occurred or barred from entering the city. A St. Louis Post-Dispatch photojournalist who had been assaulted Sunday night by a looter sought refuge in a police line — only to be asked later by an officer “why are you here?”, taken into custody and transported to a police station.

On Wednesday night, incidents involving journalists involved tear gas and arrests:

A KSDK TV crew reported that seconds after filming police tussling with a man, their video camera was hit by a “bean-bag round,” the type of non-lethal weapon police were reported to be using to break up demonstrations. The crew later was approached by police with drawn weapons and ordered to leave the area.
A tear gas canister was fired at an Al Jazeera America TV crew, which had set up a camera on a sidewalk outside an established police perimeter. As the journalists fled the gas, armed officers were videotaped tilting the crew’s camera toward the ground.
Wesley Lowery, a reporter for The Washington Post, and Ryan Reilly of The Huffington Post, were detained and led away by armor-clad police carrying assault weapons who ordered journalists to leave a McDonald’s where news media were working and recharging equipment. Both were later released without explanation, with one report saying their release came after the city police chief was asked by The Los Angeles Times about the arrests.
At a midday press conference Thursday, Ferguson Chief of Police Jon Belmar said, in response to questions about the various incidents, “The media is not a target.”

But David Boardman, president of the American Society of News Editors, said just hours earlier in a posted statement that “from the beginning of this situation, the police have made conscious decisions to restrict information and images coming from Ferguson. Of course, these efforts largely have been unsuccessful, as the nation and the world are still seeing for themselves the heinous actions of the police. For every reporter they arrest, every image they block, every citizen they censor, another will still write, photograph and speak.”

Reilly said the scene during his arrest Wednesday was “madness.” In a account posted by Politico, he said he “was not moving quickly enough for their liking … I was told I had 45 seconds, 30 seconds, pack up all my stuff and leave, at which point the officer in question … held me back, grabbed my things and shoved them into my bag.” After being handcuffed, Reilly said, “The worst part was he slammed my head against the glass purposely on the way out of the McDonald’s then sarcastically apologized for it.”

Martin D. Baron, executive editor of The Washington Post, said “there was absolutely no justification for Lowery’s arrest” and that the organization “was appalled by the conduct of the officers involved.” Baron said that Lowery “was illegally instructed to stop taking video of officers (and) … after contradictory instructions on how to exit, he was slammed against a soda machine and then handcuffed.” Baron said police behavior was “wholly unwarranted and an assault on the freedom of the press to cover the news.”

On Twitter, Lowery wrote, “Apparently, in America, in 2014, police can manhandle you, take you into custody, put you in cell & then open the door like it didn’t happen.”

No, the government may not do that — to journalists or any other citizen, all of whom enjoy the rights guaranteed by the First Amendment. The nation’s founders provided constitutional protection for a free press precisely to keep authorities from figuratively or literally manhandling or muzzling what they intended to be a “watchdog on government.”

To effectively fulfill that watchdog role, journalists must be able to see and report to their fellow citizens what government is doing — whether that is a Grand Jury investigation into Brown’s death or how police are responding to what clearly is, at times, lawless behavior in the streets of Ferguson.

Local citizens and the nation need to know, from a variety of sources, what is happening in this strife-torn city, and to be sure no stone is left unturned in investigating how Brown came to be shot. And press conferences and official statements alone are not enough to overcome the distrust over yet another shooting of a black teen by a police officer.

Freedom to report the news necessarily means the freedom to gather it, whether a journalist for mainstream media or a citizen using a cell phone camera.

Police and others in Ferguson anxious about those reporting on their activities should know that “no news” is not “good news” — for them or anyone else in their city or in America.

Gene Policinski is chief operating officer of the Washington-based Newseum Institute and senior vice president of the Institute’s First Amendment Center. [email protected]

By RON WILSON
Huck Boyd National Institute for Rural Development

Can a barn be reborn? Today we’ll meet a man who believes strongly that barns are a vital element of our history and that they should be utilized and preserved. His personal journey in barn preservation has led him to rural Kansas.

Roger Hubert is a barn preservationist. He grew up in Johnson County. His grandparents farmed near Topeka.

One of his uncles had a large limestone barn and house on a farm near Alma where Roger spent his summers. “I was mesmerized by it,” Roger said. He was fascinated by the shape, scale and history of the old stone barn which had been constructed by a Civil War veteran.

Roger was especially interested in history. “My granddad would be diggin’ post holes for fence when I was a kid,” he said. “But I wasn’t much help `cause I was looking for arrowheads in the dirt.”

Roger attended the University of Kansas where he studied architecture, art history, and archaeology. He went on archaeological digs in Italy, Greece, Egypt, and Central America. He always was interested in saving and restoring old buildings. While in New Mexico, he found he could make an income from saving and selling old, historic structures.

One day, in an antique store in Lincoln County, New Mexico, he saw a nice painting of a small farmstead silhouetted in a sunset. He bought the painting for five dollars, took it home, hung it up, and said, “There’s my dream house.”

Meanwhile, a large, rundown ranch named Los Luceros was up for sale in New Mexico. Roger outbid a developer and found a way to buy the ranch and restore its historic buildings. That ranch is now part of the state’s museum and park system.

“I’m glad I was able to save Los Luceros,” he said.

His ultimate goal was to find and restore a genuine stone farmstead in an undeveloped area of the Kansas prairie. He made lots of trips back to Kansas and eventually moved back, but couldn’t find just the right place to restore. “I had lots of goose chases,” he said. “There were stone houses without barns and barns without houses. Some were too far gone, and some were too close to a highway for me.”

One day, Roger stopped in at an antique store in the rural community of Wilson, population 791 people. Now, that’s rural. As he had done at countless locations before, Roger asked the store owner if he knew of any limestone farmsteads for sale in the area. Directions were given to one possible place so Roger drove out to see. Unfortunately, there had been a house fire and the barn had fallen down. It was yet another dead end.
Roger ventured on down the dirt road a ways and then something caught his eye. It was a small stone house, barn, and pond with cattle grazing around it. No other development was in sight. To Roger, it looked just right. “The farm found me,” he said.

But there were a couple of problems: First, the buildings were very run down, and second, the place was not for sale.

“There were six brothers and sisters who had inherited the place, plus their spouses, and they hadn’t thought on selling anything,” Roger said.

It was time consuming but Roger persisted. Eventually he bought the farmstead. One day he was taking pictures there as the sun was setting. When he saw the photos and shadowed house, he realized that they literally matched the scene in the five dollar painting he had purchased years before which depicted his “dream home.” Roger is restoring the home and barn while living there.

“That painting was my road map from Lincoln County, New Mexico to Lincoln County, Kansas,” Roger mused, as it gave him his own stone barn to rescue.

Can a barn be reborn? Yes, and saving the barn can save the homestead, Roger believes. We commend Roger Hubert for making a difference with his passion for preserving old barns.

And there’s more. His heart for saving barns has extended into a statewide organization. We’ll learn about that next week.

At long last, this Thursday at City Hall, Hays commissioners will be voting on modifications to ordinance No. 3749 on the use of portable shipping containers by businesses at specified commercial and industrial zoned locations.

The commissioners were made aware of the need for business to be able to utilize these cost effective, safe and secure storage facilities on a long term basis back in January of this year.  (I had previously thought it was October but that was when I received notice from the P.I.E. office that I could not have these on my property though zoned I-2 “heavy industrial”). I had personally contacted nearly 100 business owners on this and, although they did not all personally have the need for such facilities, most had no idea this ordinance was in place and thought it was rather a short sighted rule that could have a negative effect on business growth and needed changed. The ordinance seemed to be solely based on aesthetics and had little to no consideration given to business which is what fuels our economy. That being said, myself and a number of other business owners got together and decided this needed addressed. It has taken a total of eight long months to get to where we are at now so this change comes with much thought invested by all parties.

We as business owners agreed that number one, business should be allowed to utilize these facilities on a long term basis. We also agreed that since aesthetics seemed to be the primary concern, that we would be willing to remove all signage and paint these shipping containers a color that would blend in with the existing structures and also agreed that they should be located to the rear of our property. After presenting a proposal to the commissioners conceding to these conditions, they decided that this was a planning commission issue so a group of us presented the same information to our planning commission who overwhelmingly agreed with their only concern that they not be stacked, which we also agreed to (Thank you very much to the planning commission for their insight, thoughtfulness and expedience! Only one meeting!). That took from January to June! We again presented the findings of the planning commission to the city commission.

Now it is August. As far as we are concerned, the commissioners have all given us the nod that they are going to vote yes to an exemption to ordinance No. 3749 to allow long term business use of shipping containers as storage facilities within the parameters previously mentioned at the next meeting scheduled for this Thursday evening. Only one commissioner was somewhat argumentative over this change but seems to have settled down a bit now. We as business owners are by and large, very pleased with this anticipated outcome and would like to thank not only the City of Hays Planning Commission and the City of Hays Commissioners but also would like to extend a thank you to Jesse Rohr, Superintendent of Planning and Enforcement, for his informative presentation on this matter. We would also like to thank Toby Dougherty, City Manager, as well for seemingly remaining at least neutral so we could move forward with this upgrade to the ordinance. Last but not least, a personal thank you to all the business owners for their feedback and support on this much needed change.

I believe that city government and local business can work in harmony when all parties are willing to become mutually concerned about not only the welfare of each other but the promoting of business growth which again, fuels our local economy and provides jobs as well as taxes for city use. I believe we all want an attractive city but we cannot pass or allow to stand, ordinances that are prohibitive to healthy business growth. It’s just not a good idea.

Thank you again to all who participated in promoting this change!

Additional conditions for exemption to ordinance No. 3749: No plumbing of water or sewer; must be on side or rear lot, not between street frontage and existing structure; cannot be the primary structure, must be secondary to existing; cannot be used for secondary rental. Must be owned or rented by business/land owner or lessee; must purchase a permit to locate; must be painted within 60 days of locate; cannot be placed within 100 feet of bordering residential areas; allowed as long term on I-1, I-2 and C-2 zoned lots; fire inspections allowed.

Scott Simpson, d.b.a. Best Radiator, Hays

Click HERE for a complete agenda for Thursday’s Hays City Commission meeting.