DEADLINES FOR JUNE 12TH
If a class is full PLEASE put your name on the waiting list. We always do our best to accommodate everyone so if you are not on the waiting list and we add an additional class you will miss out!

SWIM LESSONS
Private Swim Lessons
The HRC will offer private swim lessons this summer. All private lesson times will be arranged by you and an instructor. Lessons need to be finished by August 4.
Entry Deadline: June 12
Entry Fee: 5 half-hour lessons: $45.00
Held on: June and July
Times: 8:00am – 12:00pm Monday – Saturday or by special arrangement
Ages: All Ages

BABY TAS (2-5 YEAR OLDS)
Messy Hands (outside)
Put your swimming suit on and enjoy of messy hand activities outside. Jump into a pool of shaving cream and a bucket of slime or just paint the sidewalk with beautiful cools. After you’re done playing wash off with the garden hose or run through the sprinkler. This will be a picture taking day so don’t forget your camera.
Entry Deadline: June 12
Entry Fee: Friday, June 21
Time: 9:30 – 10:15am
Ages: 12 – 24 months w/an adult
Location: Recreation Center
Limitations: Min. 5 Max. 15

TINY TAS (2-5 YEAR OLDS)
Bring a Grandchild to Lunch
Grandparents bring your child for a day of crafts, lunch, prize bingo, and ice cream sundaes. The party starts at 11am with crafts, games, then lunch at noon, bingo with prizes and end with an ice cream social.
Entry Deadline: June 12
Entry Fee: $7.00 a couple
Held on: Monday, June 17
Time: 11:00 – 1:00pm
Ages: 2 & older w/ 55 older adult
Location: Recreation Center
Limitations: Min. 5 Max. 15

Lunch Bunch
If you enjoy moms morning out then your child will enjoy this class. There will be plenty of art, music and literature to round things out. We will also plan outside play and a picnic. Your child will enjoy learning and having lunch with his/her friends.
Entry Deadline: June 12
Entry Fee: $5.00
Held on: Friday, June 14
Times: 9:00 – 11:30am
Ages: 3 – 5
Location: Recreation Center
Limitations: Min. 5 Max. 10

Messy Hands (outside)
Put your swimming suit on and enjoy of messy hand activities outside. Jump into a pool of shaving cream and a bucket of slime or just paint the sidewalk with beautiful cools. After you’re done playing wash off with the garden hose or run through the sprinkler. This will be a picture taking day so don’t forget your camera.
Entry Deadline: June 12
Entry Fee: $3.00
Held on: Monday, June 17
Time: 9:30 – 10:15am
Ages: 3-5 w/an adult
Location: Recreation Center
Limitations: Min. 5 Max. 15

Splish Splash
Kids and parents join us at the Hays Aquatic Park for a morning of pool safety tips. We will start with a book, craft, and a summertime snack. We will have a pool safety lesson from a lifeguard and end with some water games.
Entry Deadline: June 12
Entry Fee: $5.00
Held on: Thursday, June 13
Times: 10:00 – 11:00am
Ages: 3 & older w/an adult
Location: Hays Aquatic Park
Limitation: Min. 5 Max. 20

Wee Wigglers
Wee Wigglers is a fun way to develop gross motor skills and social interaction in young boys and girls. In this fun filled class, children will utilize parachutes, foam balls, bean bags, scooters and more at the HRC gym in fun and exciting ways.
Entry Deadline: Session 2: June 12
Entry Fee: $10.00
Held on: Session 2: Wednesday’s – June 19 – July 17
Times/Ages: Time A: 10:15 – 11:00am
Time B: 11:15am – 12:00pm
Ages: Time A: 3
Time B: 4 & 5
Location: Recreation Center
Limitations: Min. 5 Max. 12

TWEEN TAS (5 & OLDER)
CSI: Hays
You’ve watched it on TV, now’s your chance to try out your detective skills! Register now for a 2-day crime scene investigation. New this year… interview interrogation techniques, crime scene photography, and much more! Meet real life responders, officers and detectives and learn about their real life experiences. Then put your skills to work in solving a crime! This session is taught by Ellis County Sheriff’s Office, Ellis County Rural Fire Department, Ellis County Emergency Management, Kansas Bureau of Investigation and Ellis Co. 4-H Youth Development .Please send a sack lunch both days.
Entry Deadline: June 12
Entry Fee: $25.00 includes t-shirt, snacks & workshop supplies-participants will need to bring a sack lunch both days
Held on: Monday & Tuesday – July 1 & 2
Times: Day 1: 8:30am – 3:00pm
Day 2: 9:00am – 4:00pm
Grades: Entering 7th, 8th, & 9th grades
Location: Ellis County Fairgrounds
Limitations: Min. 6 Max. 24

Hanging Stars
Decorate the ceiling of your bedroom with this five pointed star. Each star can be decorated with buttons, gems, paint or stickers. When you’re finished slide the two stars together, punch a hole at the top, and thread ribbon through the hole for hanging. After you finish your project enjoy some gym time.
Entry Deadline: June 12
Entry Fee: $3.00
Held on: Wednesday, June 19th
Times: 10:30 – 11:30 a.m.
Ages: 6 & older
Location: Recreation Center
Limitations: Min. 5 Max. 20

Knitting
Learn the basic stitches of knitting during this class. You will learn how to make a dishcloth. As part of the fee each participant will receive a pair of knitting needle and yarn.
Entry Deadline: June 12
Entry Fee: $25.00
Held on: Tuesday’s – June 18 & 25
Times: 7:00 – 8:30pm
Ages: 10 – 15
Location: Recreation Center
Limitations: Min. 3 Max. 6
Instructor: Deanna Newberry

School’s Out Wet & Wild
Come on out for a day of fun. Each day we have a full schedule of games, trips, crafts, cooking and trips to Centennial Lanes, Mini golf, Area Parks and Hays Aquatic Park. Space is limited so stop by the Hays Recreation to reserve your spot.
Entry Deadline: Wed. before each session
Entry Fee: $10.00 per session
Held on: Wednesday’s – Session 3: June 19 Wet/Wild
Session 4: June 26 Stars /Stripes
Session5: July 10 Sticky Fingers
Session 6: July 17 Upside down/ inside out
Session 7: July 24 It’s game time
Session 8: July 31 Master the Art
Session 9: August 7 Beat the Heat
Times: 1:00 – 5:00pm
Ages: 6 – 12
Location: Recreation Center
Limitation: Min. 5 Max.24

Golf Lessons
Do you want your son or daughter to learn a great lifetime sport this summer? If so, get them registered for youth golf lessons. Participants will need to bring their own clubs. Due to skill levels and numbers some participants may be moved into a different time slot. All participants will receive a t-shirt.
Entry Deadline: June 12
Entry Fee: $45.00
Held on: Monday – Thursday, June 17 – 20
Times: Session 1: 8:30 – 10:00am
Session 2: 10:30am – 12:00pm
Ages: Session 1: 6 – 10
Session 2: 11 – 17
Location: Precision Valley Golf Center, 1500 W. 27th
Limitation: Min. 3 Max. 15

ADULT LEISURE
Knitting
Learn the basic stitches of knitting during this class. You will learn how to make a dishcloth. As a part of the fee each participant will receive a pair of knitting needle and yarn.
Entry Deadline: June 12
Entry Fee: $25.00
Held on: Tuesday’s – June 18 & 25
Times: 7:00 – 8:30pm
Ages: 16 & older
Location: Recreation Center
Limitations: Min. 3 Max. 6
Instructor: Deanna Newberry

SPECIAL POPS
Adapted Day Camp
Campers in the Adapted Day Camp will participate in many activities such as movies, bowling, crafts, miniature golf and many other summer time activities.
The camps are open to USD-489 Special Education COOP students ages 7 – 21 only!
This Adapted Day Camp is not associated with USD 489. Please direct questions to Gail Wickham, Program Director and Instructor for the camp at Hays Recreation Commission 623-2650.
The Hays Recreation Commission does not provide services of a personal nature including assistance in eating, toileting, or dressing in any of its programs or activities. Persons who need services of a personal nature and who are participating in any programs or activities sponsored by the Hays Recreation Commission must provide his or her own personal assistant.
Entry Deadline: Session 2: June 12
Session 3: July 3
Session 4: July 17
Session 5: July 31
Entry Fee: $5.00
Held on: Session 2: June 20 – Stars & Stripes
Session 3: July 11 – Sticky Fingers
Session 4: July 25 – Master the Art
Session 5: August 8 – Beat the Heat
Times: 12:00 – 3:00pm – Lunch will be provided
Ages: 7 – 13 year olds
Location: Recreation Center
Limitations: Min. 5 Max 15

SP Pottery Works
Come spend a relaxing afternoon painting at Pottery Works! In each session we’ll be painting different pottery; whether that’s mugs, bowls, figurines, etc. Instruction and assistance will be provided for everyone, so come ready to learn! Don’t miss out on a fun way to relax and CREATE!
Entry Deadline: Session 1: June 12
Session 2: July 17
Session 3: August 14
Entry Fee: $10.00 per session
Held on: Session 1: June 13
Session 2: July 18
Session 3: August 15
Times: 4:00pm
Ages: All Ages
Location: Pottery Works – 126 West 9th
Limitations: Min. 5 Max. 30

WELLNESS
Hell Creek on Heels Trail Race 15K & 5K
Join Hays Recreation in conjunction with Sara Kay Carrell of Wild Within You for the Third annual trail running series, Hell Creek on Heels! Once again, the full series of 10, 15, 25, and 30k+ trail runs will be offered. The 5k’s were such a success in 2012 that we will offer them again! Want to see what trail running is all about? Come out and test your skills with a 5k! Seasoned trail runner? Join us and test your will power and endurance! The Switchgrass Trail at Wilson State Park will NOT leave you disappointed! All trail runs will begin at the trail head for Switchgrass Trail, which is located in the Switchgrass Campground of Wilson State Park. All events are fully supported with aid stations. Come on out and give your Wild a try! There is great camping at the park! Camping located right near the trail head! Make it a weekend adventure! Run distances are approximate due to the nature of trail running. Be prepared for the event to be a tad bit longer! Check for most current trail conditions at Facebook Switchgrass Trail!
Entry Deadline: Session 2: June 12 – Trail 15k & 5k
Session 3: June 26 – Off-road Duathlon
Session 4: July 24 – Trail 25k & 5k
Session 5: August 7 – Trail 10k & 5k
Session 6: Sept 18 – Trail 30K & 5k
Entry Fee: $20 for each event, $5.00 late fee after the deadline
Held on: Trail 15k and 5k – Sunday, June 16
Duathlon (bike/run/bike) – Sunday, June 30
Trail 25k and 5k – Sunday, July 28
Trail 10k and 5k – Sunday, August 11
Trail 30k and 5k – Sunday, Sept 22
Time: race register at 7:00am, with a 8:00am start
Location: Wilson State Park – 5 mi. N. of I-70 – Exit 206 on K232

BICKLE-SCHMIDT SPORTS COMPLEX
NBC Baseball Featured Points Tournament
NBC boys baseball 9-14U open class tournament. 4 Game Guarantee.
Entry Deadline: June 14
Entry Fee: $225.00
Held on: June 22 – 23
Location: Bickle/Schmidt Sports Complex

UPCOMING DEADLINES
June 19
Beaded Suncatchers
Breakfast Bingo
Mystery Trip
Rustic Fruit Tarts
School’s Out Stars and Strips
Ultrathlon
SP Putt Putt
ASA Summer Sizzler Fast Pitch Tournament

Friday , June 7

All you need to know about Kansas politics: $777 million and $66 million

Last Sunday morning, the Kansas Legislature adjourned for the 2013 session and left a path of destruction in their wake.

While Governor Brownback and the Kansas GOP committed multiple transgressions against Kansas and its people, two broken promises stood out above the rest: $777 million in new taxes and $66 million in cuts to Kansas schools.

Staring at a looming $802 million projected deficit, Gov. Sam Brownback and Kansas Republicans spent the past few weeks arguing about how best to raise taxes on working Kansans.

In the end, Kansas Republican broke their campaign promises and voted to raise taxes $777 million by permanently raising Kansans’ sales tax rate to 6.15% from 5.7%, reducing income tax deductions like the home mortgage interest deduction, and cutting the standard deduction for married couples and heads of households.

The most shocking aspect of the Republican’s tax plan: it manages to raise the taxes of working and middle-class Kansans while cutting taxes for the rich.

The top 1% of Kansas wage earners will see their taxes cut on average $4,335 thanks to this legislature’s new tax plan. That will be balanced out by increases in income taxes on the poorest Kansans and increased sales taxes on all Kansans.

But Kansas Republicans didn’t stop there. In addition to making Kansas tax policy even more regressive, GOP lawmakers slashed $66 million in funding for Kansas universities. At a time when middle-class Kansans are struggling to afford college tuition, this short-sighted cut guarantees to only make matters worse.

In response, all Kansas universities are proposing raising tuition.

Fort Hays State: 3%
University of Kansas: 4.4%
Emporia State: 6.5%
Kansas State University: 6.7%
Pittsburg State University: 7.5%
Wichita State University: 8.1%
The proposed tuition hikes are a direct result of Kansas Republicans’ budget cuts and guarantee that fewer and fewer Kansas children will have the chance to achieve the American Dream. Maybe that’s why the Kansas Board of Regents described the Kansas GOP’s education budget as: short-sighted, vindictive, hypocritical, and irresponsible.

There was more to the 2013 session than just taxes and education. But no other issues will have as long-lasting and damaging impact as these two.

And no other issues better highlight what today’s Kansas Republican Party is all about. Kansas Republicans raised taxes on working Kansans $777 million and cut $66 million in higher education funding to protect tax breaks for the wealthiest Kansans.

The Kansas GOP: reward those who achieve the American Dream, but refuse to lend a hand to help you make it there.

Stacy Campbell
K-State Research and Extension
May 30, 2013

Controlling Yucca & Woody Plants in Pastures

Yucca plants, which are also called soapweed by many people, have nearly
over ran some rangelands.

Across much of western and central Kansas, several years of drought plus grazing weakened many rangeland plants. A plant that stands out throughout the area, though, is yucca, which has nearly taken over some pastures. While able to produce attractive flowers, dense stands of yucca can devastate grass production.

Yucca plants develop rapidly once established on drier rangeland sites. They produce a deep taproot that competes aggressively for the limited water in these soils. Since cattle rarely eat it during summer, grass production decreases while yucca thrives.

Herbicides like Remedy Ultra, PastureGard HL, Pathfinder II, and Velpar L or Pronone Power Pellet Herbicides are all labeled in Kansas for control of yucca. General spraying of whole pastures for any type of weed control is cost prohibitive, although small patches or larger areas of yucca can and should be controlled before they expand.

In the past Velpar L or Pronone Power Pellet Herbicide which has the same active ingredient as Velpar L (Hexazinone) probably were used the most for individual soil applied treatment of yucca plants with pretty good results. Velpar L is in a liquid form and has to be applied with an exact delivery hand-gun applicator, 4 ml of product/inch of stem diameter which was a hassle, or the more convenient Pronone Pellets. Using either of these products you could expect to see some grass damage where the product was applied around the plants.

In the past few years some other herbicides Remedy Ultra, Pathfinder II and PastureGard HL have been applied as a growing point and leaf base (crown) treatment with better results on yucca at the same price or maybe even less than Velpar L or the power pellets. Pathfinder II is the same product as Remedy Ultra it is a ready-to-use product and therefore will probably be more expensive than Remedy Ultra. In yucca control trials conducted by K-State Research & Extension results of a spray solution of 2% Remedy Ultra or 1% PastureGard HL in diesel fuel has resulted in roughly 80% or greater control, with less damage to the surrounding grass since the product is sprayed in the center of the plant. Any of these products should be applied from April through June when the plants are actively growing.

If you are going to spray many yucca plants throughout a pasture a spray dye would help you to know which plants you have sprayed.

These same products Remedy Ultra , PastureGard HL and Pathfinder II can also be used as a basal bark application on controlling many woody plants including Osage orange (hedge), and locust trees. Basal bark application is simply thoroughly spraying the entire basal parts of brush generally to a height of 15 to 20 inches. Some products may have a limitation of 6-inch basal diameter for effectiveness. With this method there is a wide window of application Pathfinder II and PastureGard HL can be applied any time, except when snow or water prevent spraying to the ground line.

Most woody plants are susceptible to properly applied herbicides. Herbicides effectiveness depends upon using the proper chemical at the correct time and rate. Each species has a period when it is most susceptible. Environment factors such as precipitation, temperature, and wind also affect herbicide activity. For herbicide control of woody plant species there are basically five application methods foliar, dormant stem, soil applied, basal bark and cut stump or frill application.

Which method to use depends on the plant species, size of invasion, topography, economics, adjacent land use, and management objectives. Combinations of methods often are less costly and more effective than a single method, particularly with mixed brush species. Prescribed burning followed by herbicide applications on the re-growth improves control of persistent species. Because successful brush control normally requires follow-up treatments, applying herbicides to prevent sprouting is more efficient than repeatedly killing re-growth. As always read and follow the label directions and if you want more information on controlling yucca or woody species in rangeland contact your local County Extension Office or go to www.oznet.ksu.edu

Second try at a shield law echoes the first

By Gene Policinski
Inside the First Amendment

An irony of timing twice has put U.S. Army Pfc. Bradley Manning in the headlines at critical moments in gaining congressional approval of a federal shield law that would protect journalists and their confidential sources.

On Capitol Hill, there’s new-found White House support and congressional action behind proposals to for the first time provide legal means in federal courts for journalists to keep secret their confidential sources and unpublished information. President Obama called for passage of federal shield law in the wake of two controversies in May involving Department of Justice moves to seize journalists’ phone record, e-mail and other data.

A long-standing goal of many journalism organizations for years, an earlier version of a shield law gained U.S. House approval in 2009. But it died the next year in the Senate, in large degree because of the then-breaking controversy surrounding Manning and his leaking of hundreds of thousands of secret military reports and diplomatic cables to the online organization Wikileaks.

Just as this latest attempt at the shield law gathers steam, along comes Manning and Wikileaks again. Just a few miles from the Capitol, in a military courtroom at Ft. Meade, Md., Manning faces court-martial proceedings about the Wikileaks disclosure. Prosecutors say classified information from that unprecedented disclosure then went from Wikileaks to Osama Bin Laden and others, endangered American lives and harmed relations with U.S. allies.
The Manning trial raises anew not only the previous specter of the massive Wikileaks disclosures, but the fear that any source protection in federal courts will make it just that much more difficult to find and prosecute those leaking documents that threaten American lives and the nation’s safety.

Such fear – which last time led to the White House withdrawing its support of the shield law – will just add to an already complex issue of defining who is covered by the revived “Free Flow of Information Act” —in effect, answering the root question of “Who is a journalist?

Wikileaks describes itself as “a not-for-profit media organization” that provides “an innovative, secure and anonymous way for sources to leak information to our journalists.” That self-definition could not be further from one favored by some members of Congress, who would see it labeled a terrorist organization.

Currently, two potential definitions are on the table: In the Senate bill, gathering information to distribute it to the public is all that’s required – which might or might not include Wikileaks. In the House version, there is an added condition: Newsgathering must be done “for financial gain or livelihood.” Wikileaks is funded by contributions for its work, but is that the kind of income the bill’s sponsors have in mind? And then there are bloggers and student journalists, many of whom neither work for commercial enterprises or are paid for their work. Would they be included or excluded by the proposed shield laws.

Both House and Senate versions exclude for “agents of a foreign power.” As Washington Post national security write Walter Pincus noted in a recent column, such a definition would exclude journalists working for organizations tied to terrorist groups, but might it also exclude “… the BBC, Agence France-Presse and some Russian government-owned services?”

Some First Amendment advocates see any description of a journalist as a form of government licensing – one of the very conditions that prompted the nation’s founders to provide such strong First Amendment shelter for a free press. And, as Pincus mused in that same column, such a law could be used by any given administration in the future to exclude reporters or media outlets disliked by government officials.

In the end, Congress should keep in mind that while recognizing an ultimate need for national security, the goal should be to keep our fellow citizens as well-informed as possible.

Gene Policinski is senior vice president and executive director of the First Amendment Center. Email him at [email protected]

If you missed last month’s TMP-Marian graduation, we have it for you here.

Consumer Corner: Check out your contractor before making home repairs

SEN. JEFF KING’S DISAPPEARING ACT: SENATE VICE PRESIDENT TAKES A POWDER TO AVOID CASTING LATE-NIGHT BUDGET VOTE

All but four members of the Kansas Senate voted early Sunday morning on a budget that cuts funding to the Department of Corrections by $7.3 million and reduces the budget for the judicial branch by $5.4 million. Three Senators were out of state while one, Senate Vice President Jeff King, went missing in action.

“On the last bill of the session when the vote was gridlocked at 20 to 16, it was hard to believe that a key member of Senate Republican leadership would go missing,” said Senate Democratic Leader Anthony Hensley. “There’s no doubt in my mind that King purposely avoided voting on a budget that would cut judiciary funding when just a few short weeks ago he was accused of threatening similar cuts in exchange for support on changes to judicial selection.”

A request for a call of the Senate was made while attempting to locate King. After nearly 20 minutes passed and still no King, Sen. Steve Fitzgerald (R-Leavenworth) gave into pressure from the Senate Majority Leader and changed his vote from “no” to “aye.” The budget, in the form of Senate Bill 171, passed on a vote of 21-15.

“Sen. King got someone else to do his dirty work,” said Sen. David Haley (D-Kansas City), who serves as the ranking Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee. “I wouldn’t blame Sen. Fitzgerald for being angry because of King’s maneuver. He’s in his first year, and represents a district that includes Lansing State Penitentiary. He was forced to go against his personal convictions and those of his constituents to support a budget that makes significant cuts to the Department of Corrections. Meanwhile Sen. King, who is also the chairman of the Judiciary committee, avoided a vote to cut public safety by $7.5 million, which would make him look soft on crime.”

As it has been reported in the news media, King was in the building with Governor Brownback at the time of the vote. Moments after the vote closed, King reappeared in the Senate chamber to introduce his staff and to thank the Senate Secretary and her staff for their work during the session.

“I’ve never seen anyone in Senate leadership avoid casting a vote on the budget, especially when that vote was needed to pass the budget and adjourn the session,” said Hensley. “Jeff King should be ashamed of himself for his absence which resulted in forcing one of his colleagues to vote for a budget he didn’t support. Regardless of his reasons, this is inexcusable behavior for a person in King’s leadership position.”

Three veteran storm chasers were among the 10 people killed following Friday’s EF3 tornado in El Reno, Okla.

Renowned researcher and storm chaser Tim Samaras, 55, his son Paul Samaras, 24, and his chase partner Carl Young, 45, passed away after they were overtaken by the multiple-vortex tornado, which appeared to be in the midst of a sharp change in direction.

Not so fast

By John Schlageck, Kansas Farm Bureau

Pre-packaged, vacuum-packed, just add water…

Many of us in Kansas live in a world where food comes fast – so fast we forget how it arrives at our table. We also forget it comes from the hard labor and calloused hands of Kansas farmers. Our food also comes from Kansas ranchers who work miles of rangeland in rain, snow and blazing heat.

Fast food?

Not really.

Our lives wouldn’t be the same without the farmers and ranchers who put food on our tables. Just as meat, eggs and milk have always been part of our mealtime routine, caring and providing for the animals that give us these staples are part of a farmer’s daily activities.

These activities continue, often for long hours, throughout the day. Farmer/stockmen look after their animals the first thing in the morning and the last thing at night. In that sense, livestock producers often place greater emphasis on their animals than themselves.

There’s no doubt agriculture has changed throughout the years. Today’s farm animals live in carefully supervised environments. No longer do they need to struggle for survival in a driving snowstorm or search for nourishment on parched rangelands. Instead they have heat in the winter, cool ventilation in the summer and clean dry living areas with food and water all year long.

All of this is provided with hands-on care, education and a long tradition of animal husbandry. Farmers and ranchers go far beyond their role of humane guardians and demonstrate devoted concern for their animals’ health and safety.

They routinely stay up all night to help sows deliver piglets or to tend to newborn calves. When it’s 15 degrees below zero on a frigid Kansas winter morning, farmers and ranchers are feeding, watering and caring for their livestock.

They’re God’s creatures and a farmer and rancher’s responsibility. Proper care of animals is a time-honored ethic that also makes economic sense. In order for animals to increase efficiencies in meat, milk, wool and egg production, farmers must take all possible steps to ensure their animals live stress free.

The farmer’s creed has always been to nurture the land, improving it while coaxing forth a bountiful harvest. Farmers hold enduring respect for the land that sustains them and consumers in this country and around the world. Their reward is an abundance of the safest, most wholesome food on the planet.

Today’s American and world consumers enjoy ample yields from this nation’s farms. Success lies with the farmer’s ingenuity and stewardship ethic.

Advances in crop production enhance the farmer’s natural commitment to providing us all with food. These innovations allow farmers to harvest larger yields with fewer acres, in harmony with the environment.

Yes, it takes plenty of hard work and honest sweat to raise the grain, vegetables, fruits and livestock that provide this country’s food. Farm and ranch families take pride from their shared experience living, working and harvesting food from the land.

They believe that through their profession of producing food they are giving more to the world than they are taking from it.

John Schlageck is a leading commentator on agriculture and rural Kansas. Born and raised on a diversified farm in northwestern Kansas, his writing reflects a lifetime of experience, knowledge and passion.

Kansas Profile – Now That’s Rural
Jeff and C.J. Hanson – Muscotah

By Ron Wilson, director of the Huck Boyd National Institute for Rural Development at Kansas State University.

“These are the saddest of possible words: Tinker to Evers to Chance. Trio of bear cubs and fleeter than birds: Tinker and Evers and Chance.” These famous words come from a poem about baseball. The poem was written from the standpoint of a rival team, but it made famous the best double-play combination in baseball at the time. One of those great players, Joe Tinker, was born in rural Kansas. His hometown is now honoring that history in a big way – and I mean that literally.

Jeff and C.J. Hanson live in the Atchison County town of Muscotah where Joe Tinker was born.

Joe Tinker debuted with the Chicago Cubs as a shortstop in 1902. In the lineup, he joined second baseman Johnny Evers and first baseman Frank Chance. The defensive combination clicked. The fleet-footed Tinker would snag ground balls and throw them to Evers at second base who would throw to Chance at first to put out the runners: Tinker to Evers to Chance.

In 1905, Joe Tinker led the National League in double plays. Tinker, Evers and Chance led the Cubs to four pennants and two World Series championships. It motivated a rival fan to write: “These are the saddest of possible words: Tinker to Evers to Chance.”

More than a century later, people in Joe Tinker’s birthplace of Muscotah were looking for ways to help the community. After a carpentry career in Colorado, Jeff and C.J. Hanson had moved to Muscotah to be close to her aging parents (who are a mere 92 and 96 years old).

Jeff and C.J. had volunteered on a project done by Marci Penner and her Kansas Sampler Foundation in a nearby community. Marci wanted to help Muscotah as well. Her group noticed a sign saying that Muscotah was the birthplace of Joe Tinker. One person suggested that the round water tower be painted to resemble a baseball, but it wasn’t practical at the time.

Then when the municipality chose to upgrade its water system and replace the tank, Jeff Hanson had a creative idea. What if Muscotah could repurpose the old, round water tank to look like the world’s largest baseball, with a baseball museum inside?

Of course, there are a few zillion complications with such an idea, such as who would do this and who would pay for it? Rural communities like Muscotah don’t have big city staffs or budgets. But Marci Penner of the Kansas Sampler Foundation encouraged the idea.

When a contractor brought down the tank, Jeff Hanson bought it to save it from salvage and moved it to a location where it could be seen from the highway. Marci helped organize a weekend for volunteers to work on this project.

On May 17-19, some 25 volunteers came together to remake the water tank. The Kansas Sampler Foundation collected nearly $6,000 in donations to support the project, not counting donated labor and supplies. Not one penny of taxpayers’ money has been spent on this project. In the best tradition of rural Kansas, a group of volunteers came together to make it happen.

Now the giant, 20-foot diameter baseball is freshly painted, complete with red rebar which looks like stitching. Work is continuing on the interior and on the landscaping of a ¼-scale ball diamond. Joe Tinker-era memorabilia and local family histories are being collected for display in the museum, which will open when resources allow. The Guiness Book of World Records has been contacted. How remarkable it would be to find the world’s largest baseball in a rural community like Muscotah, population 200 people. Now, that’s rural.

“I hope this baseball will be a symbol of the rebirth of Muscotah,” Jeff said.

“These are the best of possible words: Tinker to Evers to Chance. Inspired a museum as today you have heard: Tinker to Evers to Chance.” That’s my variation on this famous baseball poem, featuring Muscotah’s native son Joe Tinker. We salute Jeff and C.J. Hanson, the people of Muscotah, Marci Penner, and all the wonderful volunteers who are making a difference by making this dream a reality. They are having a ball.