Two servicemen were honored by the Kansas Grateful Stitchers with Quilts of Valor Saturday night at RPM Speedway.

The mission of the Quilts of Valor is to honor service members and veterans who have been touched by war with comforting and healing Quilts of Valor.

In 2003, a quilter named Catherine Roberts started the movement that became Quilts of Valor when her son was deployed in Iraq. Since that time, more than 225,000 Quilts of Valor have been awarded.

Kansas Grateful Stitchers, a local chapter of the national Quilts of Valor National Foundation, awarded quilts to Speedway Volunteer E-6 Staff Sergeant Terry Lee Quint of Hays and  Sergeant Dalton Louis Bauer of Ness City.

Sargent Quint started his military career in the U.S. Army Reserves February 1996 and was called to active duty in 2005 to serve in Iraq. Sargent Quint was a motor pull SSG while serving in Iraq.

During his deployment, he was asked to put armor on trucks to help protect the trucks during convoys. The day after he completed one of his assignments, one of the trucks was hit by an IED and the armor he applied saved a young man’s life. He was awarded a Bronze Star. He retired from active duty in 2005.

Sergeant Bauer started his military career in the U.S. Marine Corp, Aug 2013 at Camp Pendleton, Calif.  SST Bauer served in Japan, Republic of Korea, Camp Pendleton and NSB Kings Bay, Ga. He served in many areas: infantry rifleman, security forces, combat marksmanship coach and foreign weapons instructor.

He received many military honors, including Meritorious Unit Commendation, National Defense Service Medal, Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, Good Conduct Medal, Korea Defense Service Medal and Navy Sea Service.

SST Bauer retired from active duty in July 2018.

“This Quilt of Valor unequivocally says thank you for your service, sacrifice and valor in serving our nation,” the Kansas Grateful Stitchers told Quint and Bauer as volunteers presented the men with their quilts.

 Kansas Grateful Stitchers also thanked RPM Speedway for allowing the group to award the Quilts of Valor Saturday.

— Submitted

“I wanted to give our students a better start than having to paddle their way to the first day of school.”

By CRISTINA JANNEY
Hays Post

New Hays USD 489 Superintendent Ron Wilson spent what was supposed to be the first day of a new school year assessing empty schools for storm damage.

The storm that barreled through Hays on Tuesday night, bringing winds of up to 78 mph, blew out windows in a classroom at Hays Middle School. The school’s gymnasium took on water, although Wilson said school officials did not think the floor was damaged. Hallways at HMS also were flooded with water.

Lincoln Elementary School, which is in an older, low-lying area of Hays, also had flooding issues. Water blew in under doors and in through Lincoln’s aging windows. A hallway and several classrooms also took on water. Covers were blown off the school’s roof, which Wilson said also contributed to the school’s water issues.

The Learning Center in the basement of Rockwell Administration Center also flooded.

The rest of the schools took on smaller amounts of water, but Wilson said all schools will be open for business for a second try at the first day of school Thursday.

“At this point, I feel really good we have been able to get everything where it needs to be, so we are ready to roll tomorrow morning,” he said.

Elementary students will go for a half day on Thursday and middle and high school students will go a full day on Thursday.

Wilson said he took in several factors when deciding to close school Wednesday.

Not only were several buildings dealing with damage and power outages, he was concerned about the ability of parents, children and staff to get to school safely considering the street flooding, downed power lines and tree damage of Tuesday night.

“I wanted to give our students a better start than having to paddle their way to the first day of school,” he said.

He also hoped to give the students and staff the opportunity to help their families with cleanup at their homes.

The Hays High School football team volunteered Wednesday to help with cleanup, which Wilson said he thought was an important lesson for the students in civic duty.

Wilson also praised the custodial and maintenance staff who where at the schools past midnight and back at the schools early Wednesday morning working on cleanup.

“They left their homes and families in the middle of the night to attack the issues in the buildings,” Wilson said. “I can’t understate these are great people doing great things for our schools. I can’t give enough credit for what they do at our schools. I want everyone to know that the custodial and maintenance crew were amazing last night.”

Wilson said he did not have an estimate at this time of the total cost of the damage in the district.

By BECKY KISER
Hays Post

Two of the 70 or so members of Celebration Community Church who showed up to help salvage items last night from the main sanctuary — heavily damaged by Tuesday’s severe storm that went through Hays — had also lost part of the roof on their own house.

The church’s two-year-old metal roof over the main sanctuary was peeled off by northwesterly wind gusts up to 77 mph as recorded at the Hays Regional Airport at 7:56 p.m. last night and steady northwest wind of 56 mph.

Fortunately, no one was in the church at the time.

“We have a regular Tuesday night women’s Bible study group that meets, but they canceled because of the severe weather threat,” Senior Pastor Brant Rice said Wednesday morning. “We feel blessed nobody is hurt.”

Rice, along with associate pastor Derek Mayfield and youth pastor Kael Bloom, gathered again shortly after 8 a.m. Wednesday to assess damage in the daylight. They also met with the church’s insurance agent. Other church employees and volunteers also arrived to begin the cleanup process.

“We’ve told people for so many years the church isn’t a building, it’s the people,” said Rice. “No sooner did we get up here last night that we had dozens of people from the church that were already here cleaning up stuff, getting water out of the building, moving equipment out.”

The church is located just north of the Interstate 70 157 Exit west of Hays at 5790 230th Ave.

Four portions of the roof were blown to the south. One large piece wrapped around a light pole in the parking lot. The section tossed the farthest landed just north of the I-70 westbound lanes. Piles of rain-soaked insulation littered the parking lot and were wrapped around trees.

“It looks like we’re going to have to pretty much start from metal and concrete and build it back up again. We’ve got good insurance coverage,” Mayfield added.

Mayfield was the project manager for the new sanctuary and seeing the destruction hit him hard.

“It was tough coming up here last night but as Brant said, the church is the people, not the building,” he said.

“So my sour thoughts of all the hard work that went into getting the building ready changed pretty quick when I saw how our church family and the people responded, coming up here to lend a helping hand however they could. That changed my perspective real quick,” Mayfield said with a wry smile on his face.

Volunteers arrived last night after the storm using the flashlights on their phones to light their way because the electricity was off.

“We had people moving 400-500 chairs out as quick as they could out of the worship space, pulling TVs and projectors off walls just to get things out so if the walls collapsed we salvaged what we could,” said Rice said, noting work continued until about 12:30 a.m. “We’re so proud of our church family and people from the community already who have offered their help, their equipment. We know it’s going to be good.”

“We’re going to have church this weekend, no doubt about it. I don’t know where. We’ll make it work,” Mayfield added.

Hays High School football players were among the volunteers helping with the parking lot cleanup that began mid-morning.

“We just want to thank everyone for reaching out,” Rice said. “We know there’s damage throughout the community. Just know we’re praying for everybody that’s been affected by this.”

Celebration Community Church has a weekly Sunday service attendance of about 1,100 people during the school year. A number of members are from outside Hays and Ellis County.

1,500 electric customers remain without power

Update 11:35 a.m. from Midwest Energy

Roughly 1,500 customers, mainly in Ellis Co., remain without power at this time. Crews from Hays, Colby, WaKeeney, Oakley and several contract crews are working on this, primarily in NW Hays near Celebration Church, the Highway Patrol office on the bypass, the Fairgrounds, and in east Hays off Victoria Road. We have roughly 50 poles down in the Hays district.

Additionally, we have five service crews in Hays and Ellis responding to dozens and dozens of calls about downed yard lines, limbs on wires, etc. Thanks for being patient – the guys are working through these as quickly as possible, and will stay on the job until all are done.

Great Bend area crews are busy working on 20 poles that were downed there.

Please continue to call in your outages to 1-800-222-3121 if you’ve not done so, or if you spot a dangerous condition like wires on the ground. Thank you!

Update 10:38 a.m. Cristina Janney/Hays Post

Some county roads closed due to downed trees; most to reopen today

Feedlot Road and Antonino Road were closed temporarily Tuesday night due to downed trees as where other county roads.

230th Road was closed Wednesday morning at the request of Midwest Energy as crews worked on overhead power lines.

Bill Ring Sr, Ellis County Public Works director, said all county roads should be reopened today with the exception of road that may have to be closed temporarily for work on power lines.

Although roads were closed due to downed power lines and limbs and trees in roadways, no county road had to be closed due to wash outs, Ring said.

Road signs are down throughout the county. Ring said the county is still receiving sign damage reports. Stop signs will be replaced first. He said there is a list in the works of repairs that need to made.

RPM Speedway and the Ellis County Fairgrounds received substantial damage. Watch the Hays Post for more information on that story as it becomes available.

Update 10:27 a.m. Cristina Janney/Hays Post

Limb pick up to start Monday in Hays

The Hays Public Works Department will begin picking up limbs on Monday. Limbs must be placed at the curb. City officials urged residents to keep limbs out of streets and off of sidewalks. Limbs will not be picked up from allies.

Update: 9:39 a.m. Cristina Janney/Hays Post

Old Ellis High School damaged; trees uprooted in Ellis

Although the old Ellis High School building received substantial damage, the Ellis High/Junior School and Washington Elementary School buildings were not damaged.

School will start on time on Thursday, Aug. 22, a school official said this morning.

A school officials said a portion of the brick from a wall came down at the old high school and the wall was now bowed. She said insurance adjusters will be on site today, but it is too early to determine what will become of the building.

Limbs were also down over the school’s track and in the football practice field.

Dan Wickham, Ellis Public Works foreman, said trees were down across town, but especially on the west end of town. Some roads were initially blocked, but are open now and power is back up to the city, he said.

Memorial Park had power poles snapped and cleanup was continuing today at the Ellis campground.

Wickham said the limb burn site will remain open throughout the week and into next week. The city will pickup limbs, but they must be placed at the curb.

Update 8:50 a.m. Cristina Janney/Hays Post, video by Amy Burton

Hays Fire Department

The Hays Fire Department responded to 12 storm-related calls Tuesday night. The bulk of these calls were related to arching power lines and tree limbs on fire in power lines, Shane Preston, Hays deputy fire chief, said.

The HFD was called to a structure fire in the 2200 block of Fort Street. That ended up being a downed power line that was causing appliances in a home to short out and filling the home with smoke. No fire was discovered. No one was hurt.

The HFD responded to one person stranded by flood waters in a car on Canal Street. That person was able to escape their vehicle unhurt by the time the HFD arrived.

Preston said they had a report of water inside at least one apartment in town, but Preston did not have the exact address.

Preston said the HFD responded to no major injuries as a result of the storm. He described Tuesday night as a “fortunate night.”

Preston urged residents to be cautious during cleanup in the coming days. He encouraged property owners to be vigilant that tree limbs they are removing are not touching power lines.

“Wear long pants and gloves. Look up as you are removing trees to make sure you are not around power lines,” he said. “It is still wet. Look above as you carry off limbs to make sure you don’t get in power lines.”

UPDATE 8:30 a.m. Midwest Energy power outage report

From Midwest Energy’s Facebook page

Crews worked through the night and got power back to Ellis, most of Hays, and many rural areas. From 7,000 down at the storm’s peak, we currently have 1,800 meters without power.

If you still don’t have power, please call that in first thing today at 1-800-222-3121. We have crews from WaKeeney, Oakley and Colby coming to help, as well as several contracted crews.

As always, treat any downed wires as live; don’t move them yourself, and keep people and pets away. If you have tree branches on wires, call us and we will come assist. Stay safe, and thanks for your patience! We’ll update again later this morning.

Update 8:31 a.m. Cristina Janney/Hays Post

Ellis County Emergency Management

Darin Myers, Ellis County Emergency Management director, said no one was seriously hurt in the county in the storm last night that he was aware of.

County first responders extracted a person from a semi that was blown over o Interstate 70 near Ellis, but that person was not seriously hurt.

Myers confirmed that the multiple semis where blown over on the interstate last night, but an exact number had not yet been confirmed.

Myers said power outages in the county were widespread. County public works is compiling a list of rural rod closures. County officials said Wednesday morning that multiple stop signs had been toppled by winds that peaked at 78 miles per hour, according to the National Weather Service Tuesday night.

Although last night’s storm was reported to have only contained straight-line winds. 78 mph winds rival an EF-0 tornado, which includes winds of 68-85 mph. The winds would also be equal to a category one hurricane.

Weather information from the Hays Regional Airport shows the squall coming through with a peak wind gust of 77 mph at 7:56 p.m. Tuesday.

The official weather report from K-State Extension was of 1.34 inches of rain Tuesday night.

Rainfall at the Hays Regional Airport was measured at 0.92. Other reports from Hays residents range from (1.55 to 2.5 inches)

RELATED STORY: Hays High football team helping with cleanup efforts

RELATED STORY: City to pick up storm-downed tree limbs at curbside next week

RELATED STORY: 🎥 Fort Hays State weathers storm, open for business despite damage

RELATED STORY: Images from Ellis County storm

By JAMES BELL
Hays Post

UPDATE AT 6:25 A.M.: Midwest Energy crews got power lines up off I-70 and the interstate was reopened just before 2 a.m. Wednesday morning after a severe thunderstorm blew through the area about 7:15 p.m. Tuesday.

About 20 semi-trucks were reported overturned on I-70 with power poles and lines downed near Hays, although that information has not been verified by authorities. I-70 closed for several hours between Hays and WaKeeney.

Midwest Energy is reporting electricity is back on in Ellis. Some 20 power poles are down in Ellis County, with seven reported downed north of Exit 157 near Celebration Community Church which was heavily damaged. MWE crews from Colby, Colby, Oakley and WaKeeney will be in Hays this morning to help with repairs.

In the Great Bend area, at least 10 power poles are down.

Approximately 382 Midwest Energy customers are still without power in the Hays vicinity this morning according to the MWE outage viewer.

UPDATE AT 11:20 p.m.: Traffic remain closed on I-70, but a semi that overturned has been up-righted as the KHP works to clear the scene. Midwest Energy is working to restore transmission lines down across I-70 in order to reopen I-70.

“Crews are working hard to get wires crossing I-70 back up; fortunately everyone stayed in their vehicles and nobody was injured,” Midwest Energy said. “It will likely be 2-3 hours before wires are up and KHP can make a decision to open I-70 back up.”

They are also asking for any gas leaks to be reported immediately.

“We are also seeing reports of gas leaks due to fences and AC units hitting meters; please call those in ASAP at 1-800-222-3121 and follow prompts for gas leaks,” they said.

Traffic around Hays is causing delays to repairs, Midwest energy said.

Everyone is asking to remain off roadways if possible.

UPDATE AT 10:45 p.m.: Midwest energy said a transmission line came down atop a semi on I-70 two miles west of Hays.

“That is our priority, clearing that and getting I-70 cleared of wires so KHP can get it back open,” they said.

UPDATE AT 9:44 p.m.: The Kansas Highway Patrol was reporting Interstate 70 was closed between WaKeeney and Hays due to downed power lines and semi trucks blowing over due to the storm.

UPDATE AT 9:27 P.M. The National Weather Service in Dodge City has issued a Flood Warning for Central Ellis County until 12:30 a.m. Wed., Aug. 14.

As a large storm blew through Hays Tuesday evening storm damage was being reported across town with power lines down, debris littered across roads, flooding and about 6,200 without power around 9 p.m.

“As you can imagine we have a fair amount of damage across the county,” said Mike Morley, director of communications, Midwest Energy.

“There is also a fair amount of debris in the street,” he said.

“We have crews out right now doing damage assessments, trying to find where those wires are down, so we ask people to call in their outages to our 800 number.”

Midwest Energy’s outage line is 800-222-3121.

He suggested avoiding driving through the town as flooding was occurring throughout large portions of Hays.

Midwest Energy is currently assessing damage in Hays, but Morley said it may get worse before it gets better when looking at the outage map.

“As we fix one section of line, we have to take down a whole of city block or two city blocks as we make that connection and bring it back on,” he said.

But they are working as quickly as possible to get power restored.

“Folks should know we are going to be out there throughout the night as we do during outages and getting everyone on as quick as we can,” Morley said.

By JAMES BELL
Hays Post

It was a rough night of racing for many of the points leaders Saturday at Rolling Plains Motorspeedway, but even with less than stellar finishes, the top leaders in all classes held onto their No. 1 track standing.

Kyle Pfeifer, Hill City, driving the 54P stock car was optimistic before the race and was hoping for a fourth win at RPM and to build upon his successful season. Going into Saturday’s event, he was in the top spot in track points and ranked third in state and sixth in national IMCA points.

“We have had a pretty good season, especially the last half we have been running. We’ve been doing really good and working really hard,” Pfeifer said.

He attributed the team’s success this year to hard work.

“Last year at the end of the year, we started picking up a lot of steam, worked hard and got in with some good guys and figured some things out. That just transferred into this year,” Pfeifer said.

Pfeifer started in the eighth position and moved up a position a lap reach the third-place spot on the ninth lap.

But as the last half dragged on, he could not catch either the leader, the 25P driven by Mike Petersillie, Hoisington, in first place position or the 63C, driven by Travis Sherfick, WaKeeney.

They became spread around the track in remaining laps and would claim those spots at the checkered flag.

“I could have found the top line quicker,” Pfeifer said. “It was fun though … track was fast.”

But Clay Money driving the 7 in the modified class was not so sure the track was in top condition during the modified feature.

“It wasn’t much to work with on the track tonight, I’m not sure why they watered that much,” Money said.

Money started the race from the sixth position, ranking second in track points and first in the state and ninth in the national IMCA points standings.

By lap seven, Money had worked his way up a position but would get tangled with the 85 and would be cited for causing a caution, moving him to the rear of the field.

“It caused a caution on us,” Money said, “But we will move on, learn from it and try again next week.”

The 66D, driven by Dylan Sherfick, would take the checkered after holding the top spot following a mid-race restart after a red flag in the race from a crash that would take the 22T, driven by Anthony Valium, Palmer Lake, Colorado and the 87, driven by Rich Tegethoff, Kirin out of the race.

The win would move Sherfick into second in track standings.

Money would finish ninth and drop to third.

Results from all six classes from Saturday’s races can be found here.

By JAMES BELL
Hays Post

Just at the edge of Hays down a little dusty road off Old U.S. 40 sits a modest automotive shop, but out of that non-descript space, comes some highly tuned, fully restored classic cars that would make anyone turn and to notice.

“Primarily, we are in the business of restoring vehicles, so all things automotive,” said Trisha Haskell, who owns Show Me Restoration, 1930 Louie Road, with her husband, Jason.

“Jason can do bottom-up work, pretty much anything you can dream up of doing to a car we’re in the business of doing,” she said.

Later this year, the effort of the shop will be highlighted by the Specialty Equipment Market Association in their 35 under 35 awards that will come out later this year.

“To us, it is a big deal,” she said. “We are over the moon to get an honor like that.”

While the business is located in Hays, their clients come from all over the country.

“It’s anybody and everybody,” Haskell said.

She said they work with a community of people that identify with vehicles.

“We have a nice selection of vehicles that we get in that people identify with and want to be restored,” Haskell said.

Those vehicles range from the common old vehicle, such as a Studebaker Goldenhawk, to the much more rare, such as a classic Shelby GT 500 – both currently being restored in their shop.

“The automotive industry is unique in that a lot of people if they find out you do good work, they will travel from all ends of the earth to come find you,” she said. “It’s kind of neat the array of people we get to meet.”

While both Trisha and Jason are transplants to Hays, they grew up in western Kansas. Jason is from Kinsley and Trisha from Garden City.

After Jason was recruited from Northwest Kansas Technical College in Goodland to work in Skeeter’s Body shop in Garden City, the pair met in Garden City and decided they liked Hays. They set up shop in 2013 shortly after moving into town.

“It’s been great. We really enjoy it,” Haskell said.

While Hays might not be the center of the automotive restoration world, being recognized by SEMA shines a light on the shop that will be seen across the world.

“SEMA is known worldwide,” she said. “There is a lot of buzz going on there,” Haskell said.

SEMA is best known for its annual trade show, which will begin on Nov. 5 in Las Vegas.

“We love old cars and restoring them and doing anything with them,” she said. “I think that is what is exciting about SEMA is that it gives a news twist on allowing you to see some of the creative things that people are doing with these resto-mods and that sort of thing.”

Haskell said the organization is a lynchpin in the wide field of car restoration.

“They encompass the entire industry and what everyone is trying to do. It’s nice to have that when you are so specific in a very broad industry such as automotive,” Haskell said.

The SEMA 35 under 35 will come out next month and will feature Jason and his restoration work including what he has done in the automotive industry and where he sees it going she said.

More about SEMA can be found at their website semashow.com. 

More about Show Me Restoration can be found on their facebook page, @SMRHAYSKS.

USD 489

SABINA HOFFMAN

• 

  Where are you from? I’m originally from Manhattan, Kan., but have lived in the Hays/Victoria area for nine years.

• What did you teach before coming to our district? I taught kindergarten for the last five years in Russell, Kan.
• Where in the district will you be located? I will be teaching at Early Childhood Connections. I’ll be teaching preschool in the morning and then working as a SPED teacher in the afternoon in the collaborative classroom.
• Where did you go to school? I went to school at Fort Hays State University.
• What do you do in your spare time? In my spare time, I love to spend time with family, cook, go on walks, work on projects around the house and enjoy the great outdoors when I can!
• Feel free to provide any information about your family (children, dogs, etc.) or any other random fun fact about yourself.  I’m married to my high school sweetheart, and together we have one daughter who is 3. We also have two dogs, Ace and Doc, who keep up on our toes as well. We are also huge Chiefs fans and love going fishing together!

KYLE PORTER

• 

  Where are you from? Holton, Kan.

• What did you teach before coming to our district? Taught at Royal Valley High School in Hoyt, Kan., for the past six years – high school social studies
• Where in the district will you be located?  I will be located at Hays High School — teaching PE and social studies and will be the head girls basketball coach and assistant football coach.
• Where did you go to school? Washburn University
• What do you do in your spare time?  I enjoy coaching, reading, and spending time with friends and family.
• Feel free to provide any information about your family (children, dogs, etc.) or any other random fun fact about yourself.  I have one daughter named Jori who just turned 1 year old.  My wife, Crista, is an occupational therapist at Hays Med and played basketball at Fort Hays State.  Our family loves the small-town feel of Hays and are enjoying becoming part of the community.

NICOLE LINENBERGER

• 

  Where are you from? I was born and raised in Stockton, Kan., but my husband and I have lived in Hays since 2007.

• What did you teach before coming to our district? This will be my first year teaching.
• Where in the district will you be located? I will be teaching special education at Hays High School.
• Where did you go to school? I went to Fort Hays State University for my bachelor’s degree and am currently going back for my master’s in special education.
• What do you do in your spare time? In my spare time I enjoy spending time with my family and friends, and  watching my boys play various sports throughout the year.
• Feel free to provide any information about your family (children, dogs, etc.) or any other random fun fact about yourself. My husband, Shaun, and I have been married for 15 years in September, we have two boys, Will and Parker, who attend Hays Middle School and we are expecting our third child in October, which we are all excited about.  When time allows, we enjoy traveling, camping and riding our motorcycle.

BECKY MEAGHER

• Where are you from? I was born and raised in Hays.
• What did you teach before coming to our district? I have actually never taught at a school.
• What did you teach before coming to our district? I will be the school counselor at Lincoln Elementary this year.
• What do you do in your spare time? I am the youngest of six children and will be married this coming February.  In my spare time I like to workout as well as spend time with my friends and family.

REBECCA KUEHL

• Where are you from? I was born and raised in Larned, Kan., and have lived in Hays for the past seven years.
• What did you teach before coming to our district? Previously I taught in Bucklin (grades three and four) and Larned (Middle School language arts and arts
• Where in the district will you be located? Wilson Elementary and Hays Middle School
• Where did you go to school? FHSU
• What do you do in your spare time? Quilt, scrapbook, read and travel

KALEIGH WENTWORTH

• 

  Where are you from? I am from Hays.

• What did you teach before coming to our district? This will be my first year teaching.
• Where in the district will you be located? I will be teaching third grade at O’Loughlin  Elementary School, which is fun because that is the elementary school I went to growing up!
• Where did you go to school? I just graduated with my master’s degree from Kansas State university in May. Before going back to school, I worked for Early Childhood Connections as a parent educator.
• What do you do in your spare time? During my free time, I enjoy spending time with my fiance, our three kids and two big dogs. Our kids are in many sports, and my fiance coaches, so we are usually attending games around town.

KAREN WILSON

• 

  Where are you from?  I am from Oklahoma.

• What did you teach before coming to our district? I’ve taught Spanish for 26 years. During that time, I have taught grades 1-12. The last 21 years were at Plainville High School. The last two years at Plainville I was 1/2 time Spanish, 1/2 time 7-12 librarian.
• Where in the district will you be located? I will be the Llbrarian at Roosevelt and Lincoln elementaries.
• Where did you go to school? I received a Bachelor of Arts in Spanish from Oklahoma State University and a Master of Library Science from Emporia State University.
• What do you do in your spare time? I like to spend time with my family, read and travel. I am also active in my church and a Girl Scout troop leader.
• Feel free to provide any information about your family (children, dogs, etc.) or any other random fun fact about yourself. My husband is from WaKeeney. I have a married daughter and two wonderful granddaughters who, lucky for me, live in Hays.

COLE CHERRYHOLMES

• 

  Where are you from? I am from Potwin, Kan.

• What did you teach before coming to our district? I am coming from Wichita Northwest High School. I taught interrelated science to  ninth through twelfth graders.
• Where in the district will you be located? I will be joining the Hays High staff teaching the same subject as well as a block of health. I will also be coaching football and track for the Indians this season.
• Where did you go to school? I went to Remington High School, bachelor’s degree from Fort Hays State and a master’s degree from Southwestern College.
• What do you do in your spare time? In my spare time, I enjoy traveling, spending time with my family and anything activity that can be done outdoors (golf, BBQ, hunt, fish, ect.).
• Feel free to provide any information about your family (children, dogs, etc.) or any other random fun fact about yourself. I am married to my beautiful wife Nikki Cherryholmes (Delzeit), and we have two wonderful children. Our son, Walker, is 2 and our, daughter, Kollins, is 2 months old.

EMALEE TAYLOR

• 

  Where are you from? I am from Holcomb, Kan.

• What did you teach before coming to our district?  This will be my first year teaching ever and I am so excited!
• Where did you go to school? I went to Fort Hays State University and just graduated this past May.
• Where in the district will you be located? I will be at Hays Middle School teaching seventh and eighth grade science.
• What do you do in your spare time? During my spare time I love to watch movies and spend time with family and friends, and going to FHSU sporting events!
• Feel free to provide any information about your family (children, dogs, etc.) or any other random fun fact about yourself. My husband and I met at FHSU and have been married for a little over a year now.

FRED WINTER

• 

  What did you teach before coming to our district? I just recently completed my second year as the principal at Horton High School. During my 21 years as an educator, I have enjoyed a variety of experiences in the classroom.  I have had the opportunity to instruct k-12 health/PE, strength and conditioning, American government, U.S. history, sixth-grade math and science, as well as 7-12 special education. While in the classroom, I have always enjoyed collaborating with other educators, parents, and community members to do what’s best for all students. Outside the classroom, I was involved as a head and assistant in high school football, basketball, track, FCA, and junior/freshman class sponsor.

• Where in the district will you be located? assistant principal at HHS
• Where did you go to school? I graduated from Turpin High School in Turpin, Okla. I received my Bachelor of Arts degree from Tabor College, while teaching and coaching at Valley Center High School, and I earned my Master of Science degree in School Leadership from Baker University. 
• What do you do in your spare time? We enjoy spending time as a family, traveling, playing golf, fishing, sporting events and watching our children in their various activities.
• Feel free to provide any information about your family (children, dogs, etc.) or any other random fun fact about yourself. Along the way I married the love of my life and best friend of 23 years, Charice Winter.  We have four children: Maddux, 21, and Connor, 19, both attend school at FHSU and play football, Avery will be entering Hays High as a freshman, and Zoe will be a sixth grader at Hays Middle School. Random fun fact: Coaching football in Australia

JENNIFER OLT

• 

  Where are you from? Milford, Kan.

• What did you teach before coming to our district? I have 13 years of teaching experience. I have taught science at the middle school, high school and post secondary level.
• Where in the district will you be located? Hays High School
• Where did you go to school? I got my bachelor’s degree from the University of Alaska Anchorage and my M.Ed from the University of West Florida
• What do you do in your spare time? I enjoy cooking, working out, reading books about WW2, and spending time with my family.
• Feel free to provide any information about your family (children, dogs, etc.) or any other random fun fact about yourself. I have been married for 16 years, and we have a 6-year-old daughter.

CHRISTINA SRAMEK

• 

  Where are you from? I am coming to Hays from Great Bend, but I am originally from Walker.

• What did you teach before coming to our district? I was a school psychologist and worked with preschool through 12th grade.
• Where in the district will you be located? I will be at Roosevelt and Holy Family.
• Where did you go to school? Fort Hays State
• What do you do in your spare time? I like to make craft projects and design T-Shirts. I also like going to K-State football and basketball games.
• Feel free to provide any information about your family (children, dogs, etc.) or any other random fun fact about yourself.  I live with my amazing husband, Ryan. We have two ornery cats, Pippy and Piper.

STU BOTT

• 

  Where are you from? Perth, Western Australia.

• What did you teach before coming to our district? I was a year six teacher for five years and a physical education specialist for two years.
• Where in the district will you be located? I’ll be grade five at Wilson Elementary.
• Where did you go to school? City Beach Primary and City Beach Senior High School in Perth, Western Australia.
• What do you do in your spare time? I love surfing, snowboarding, traveling and hanging out with my family. They told me the surf was great in Kansas!
• Feel free to provide any information about your family (children, dogs, etc.) or any other random fun fact about yourself. I have a beautiful wife, who I met in Hawaii, and a 20-month-old son who keeps me on my toes.  I am a probationary fourth degree black belt in Zen Do Kai martial arts. This is the longest time I’ve gone without seeing the ocean, 2 1/2 years.

LISA SCHROEDER

• 

  Where are you from? I am originally from Garden City.

• What did you teach before coming to our district? I just recently finished 16 years at Russell, where I had been teaching eighth-grade math and algebra. I have taught third, fourth, and fifth grade at the elementary level and sixth-, seventh-, and eighth-grade math at the middle school level throughout my teaching career.
• Where in the district will you be located? I will be teaching sixth- and seventh-grade math at Hays Middle School.
• Where did you go to school? I graduated from Fort Hays State University with my elementary education degree.
• What do you do in your spare time? My spare time has been spent attending school events, watching football, reading and cooking.
• Feel free to provide any information about your family (children, dogs, etc.) or any other random fun fact about yourself. My husband’s name is Steve, and we have three children: Brooke (25), Kyle (22) and Cole (19).

THERESA CLARK

• 

  Where are you from? I am originally from Salina. My husband and I moved to Hays 14 years ago from Alabama.

• What did you teach before coming to our district? I taught elementary and junior high in Salina. I had a private practice in counseling for 8-1/2 years and then became the school counselor for Thomas More Prep-Marian Junior High and Holy Family Elementary for the last seven years.
• Where in the district will you be located? For USD 489, I will be the school counselor at Wilson Elementary School. 
• Where did you go to school? I graduated from Kansas State University with degrees in life science and elementary education and from Fort Hays State University with a Master’s Degree in Counseling.
• What do you do in your spare time? In my spare time, I enjoy spending time with family and friends, sitting in a tree bow hunting or walking a field bird hunting with my husband and dogs.

MEGAN ENGLERT

• 

  Where are you from? I’m local, from Hays.
  What did you teach before coming to our district? I taught ELA and MTSS at Ruppenthal Middle School in Russell, Kan.
  Where in the district will you be located? I will be teaching seventh-grade reading at Hays Middle School.
  Where did you go to school? I received my English literature and secondary education degrees from Fort Hays State University.
  What do you do in your spare time? My spare time is spent having fun with my family and reading.

• Feel free to provide any information about your family (children, dogs, etc.) or any other random fun fact about yourself. I have a wonderful husband, two awesome kids and an adorable schnauzer. I am currently working on my master’s degree in English. I love learning, and I look forward to sharing my passion with my students!

JESSICA AUGUSTINE

• 

  Where are you from? Originally, I am from Ellis, Kan., but I just moved back to the area from Manhattan, Kan.

• What did you teach before coming to our district? For the past 11 years, I taught English and journalism at Rock Creek High School in St. George, Kan., and for six years before that, I taught journalism at Kapaun Mt. Carmel Catholic High School in Wichita, Kan.
• Where in the district will you be located? I will be at Hays High School, instructing journalism and advising publications, including the Guidon print and online newspapers and the Indian Call yearbook.
• Where did you go to school? For kindergarten through senior year, I attended Ellis USD 388 public schools; for my bachelor’s degree, I graduated from Kansas State University; and for my master’s degree, I graduated from Fort Hays State University.
• What do you do in your spare time? In my spare time, I enjoy playing with my two pups (Max Puppy and Mini Dog), reading non-fiction and cookbooks, baking and cooking, and swimming and working out.
• Feel free to provide any information about your family (children, dogs, etc.) or any other random fun fact about yourself. I am just so excited and so grateful to return to my home county and to work with Hays High School staff and students!

BRITTANY BALDWIN

• 

  Where are you from? I am originally from Jacksonville Beach, Fla.; however, I have lived in Hays for the past 20 years. I love aspects of each location and consider both places home!

• What did you teach before coming to our district? For the past seven years, I have been the technology instructor at Roosevelt Elementary. Prior to that I was a para-educator at Lincoln Elementary for one year.
• Where in the district will you be located? I will be teaching fifth grade at Roosevelt Elementary this year.
• Where did you go to school? I earned my bachelor’s degree in elementary education (K-6) and my master’s degree in instructional technology from Fort Hays State University.
• What do you do in your spare time? In my free time, I enjoy: reading, traveling, crafting and spending time with my dogs and family. I am also a huge storm enthusiast and love anything related to weather (such as: storm chasing, cloud observing, and binge watching shows on the Weather Channel).

ALYSA ERWAY

• 

  Where are you from? I am originally from Larned, Kan. Hays has been my home away from home for about four years now!

• What did you teach before coming to our district? This will be my first year teaching, and I am SO excited!
• Where in the district will you be located?  I will be teaching third grade at Lincoln Elementary.
• Where did you go to school?  I recently graduated from Fort Hays State University with a bachelor’s degree in elementary education.
• What do you do in your spare time? In my spare time, I like to read, go on adventures with my husband, and hangout with my friends and family.

• Feel free to provide any information about your family (children, dogs, etc.) or any other random fun fact about yourself. I recently got married this summer to Landon Erway, who is finishing up his business degree at Fort Hays.

ERIKA NORRIS

• 

  Where are you from? I am from Glade, Kan,, just an hour north of Hays.

• What did you teach before coming to our district? This will be my first year teaching!  While I was in college, I worked in the After-School Care program at Roosevelt Elementary.
• Where in the district will you be located? I will be a fifth-grade teacher at Roosevelt Elementary.  I will teach reading, writing, math and English language arts/grammar!  I am so excited to begin the school year and meet my students!
• Where did you go to school? I just graduated in May from Fort Hays State University with a bachelor’s degree in elementary education and special education.
• What do you do in your spare time? I enjoy spending time with my friends and family. I also love to go camping, fishing, kayaking. In the evening, I love to read and watch “Friends”!
• Feel free to provide any information about your family (children, dogs, etc.) or any other random fun fact about yourself. I have one border collie that lives at home in Glade named Jake!  My favorite animal is a buffalo since my family and I own a small buffalo herd!

CASSY WATSON

• 

  Where are you from? I am from Montezuma, Kan.

• What did you teach before coming to our district? This will be my first year teaching.
• Where in the district will you be located? I will be the early childhood special education teacher located at Early Childhood Connections.
• Where did you go to school? I went to school at Fort Hays State University. I graduated with my bachelor’s degree in early childhood unified education in May.
• What do you do in your spare time? In my spare time, I like to spend time with my family and friends, be outdoors, and watch sports.

ASHLEY BUTLER

• 

  Where are you from? I’m from Ellis, Kan.

• What did you teach before coming to our district? While I was a student, I worked as a para-educator, working with special education students and as a classroom para with kindergarten students leading up to my student teaching.
• Where in the district will you be located? I will be teaching second grade at O’Loughlin Elementary this fall!
• Where did you go to school? I just graduated from FHSU this May!
• What do you do in your spare time? In my spare time, I like to read, play Sudoku, and spend time with friends! I also love music and play the trumpet as well! I’m excited for my first year as a teacher and am happy to be here!
• Feel free to provide any information about your family (children, dogs, etc.) or any other random fun fact about yourself.

JARED MICK

• 

  Where are you from? I am from Ellis, Kan.

• What did you teach before coming to our district?
• Where in the district will you be located? I will be teaching special education at Holy Family Elementary this year (K-6).
• Where did you go to school? I received my bachelor’s degree from FHSU in May 2018, and I am currently working on my master’s degree.
• Feel free to provide any information about your family (children, dogs, etc.) or any other random fun fact about yourself. I am getting married in October and have a beautiful daughter who is 14 months old!

  HANNAH POLAND

• 

  Where are you from? Ellis, Kan., currently, originally from Plevna, Kan.,

• What did you teach before coming to our district? Speech language pathologist at multiple elementary schools
• Where in the district will you be located? LaCrosse and ECC (Oak Park)
• Where did you go to school? Fort Hays State University
• What do you do in your spare time? I enjoy crafting, reading, movies and walking my dogs.
• Feel free to provide any information about your family (children, dogs, etc.) or any other random fun fact about yourself. I am married to a veterinarian who also works in Hays, and we have three dogs.

HANNAH HESTON

• 

  Where are you from? I am from Topeka, but I have lived in Hays for two years.

• What did you teach before coming to our district? I have been an occupational therapist for six years. I worked for a school district in Wichita for one year and then a district in Omaha, Neb. for three years prior to moving to Hays. I worked for HaysMed for one year in the home health setting, and then I returned to pediatrics in January 2019. Currently, I work at a private clinic in Hays and do telehealth therapy with a school district in Texas.
• Where in the district will you be located? I will be based out of the Hays Area Children’s Center working with the Early Intervention Team. I will be serving infants and toddlers ages birth-3 through home visits.
• Where did you go to school? I graduated high school from Seaman High School, and my bachelor’s and master’s degrees are from the University of Kansas.
• What do you do in your spare time? Our spare time is spent with our two young sons (3.5 years and 10 months) and two dogs. We enjoy being outside, playing “harvest” with toy tractors, and tending to our garden!
• Feel free to provide any information about your family (children, dogs, etc.) or any other random fun fact about yourself.  My husband is a pediatrician at HaysMed, so we share a love for the little ones! I am looking forward to working with the youngest students in the district and am excited to be a part of the USD489 team!

JACK GARCIA

• 

  Where are you from? I am originally from La Crosse

• What did you teach before coming to our district? This will be my very first teaching job.
• Where in the district will you be located? I will be teaching at the middle school in LaCrosse teaching SPED.
• Where did you go to school? LaCrosse High School. I went to college at Ottawa University, where I received my bachelor’s degree in elementary education.
• What do you do in your spare time? I love to hangout with my family and dog.

JOHN NEAL

• Where are you from? I grew up in Colorado, born in Greeley but spent most of my youth in Castle Rock. Graduated from Douglas County High School in Castle Rock.

• What did you teach before coming to our district? (subject, grade level, etc.) Since 2001 I have taught in two districts. From 2001 – 2017 I taught in USD 437 in Topeka where I taught mainly chemistry but also Biology and Biotechnology. The last two years I have been teaching Chemistry, Biology and Biotechnology in USD 211 which is in Norton.

• Where in the district will you be located? I will be teaching at the high school

• Where did you go to school? After high school I attended two years of junior college at Otero JC in La Junta, CO and finished my undergraduate degree at Baker University in Baldwin City, KS.
• What do you do in your spare time? My wife and I bicycle and also enjoy watching KC Royals baseball and Denver Bronco football games.
• Feel free to provide any information about your family (children, dogs, etc.) or any other random fun fact about yourself. We have a 21 year old son who is currently serving in the Marine Corps and a dog, Bingo, who is an American Boxer.

Other new staff members who did not respond to Hays Post’s request for biographical information include:

• Dazi Moore-Daniels —SPED at HACC
• Suzan Hess — SLP at HACC
• John Neal — science teacher at HHS
• Carol Whisman — music teacher at HMS/O’Loughlin

By CELIA LLOPIS-JEPSEN
Kansas News Service

LAWRENCE — Before starting his CBD company Quiet Trees, Chris Brunin, Lawrence, researched the competition, the labs they used, the products they sold.

He checked out ingredient suppliers and organic hemp farmers. He took everyone’s pitches with a heapful of salt.

“The hemp industry is like the Wild West and Wall Street had a baby,” said Brunin. “You have to vet everything and everybody … to make sure you’re not getting messed with or lied to.”

Brunin advises consumers to do the same. Ask to see lab results. Ask how much actual CBD — not just, say, hemp seed oil — is in a bottle. Comparison shop. Is it overpriced? Often, he says, it is.

Kansas legalized CBD, the cannabis extract cannabidiol, last summer. Since then, the state that came late to this multi-billion dollar industry has seen the number of CBD vendors skyrocket.

Related: Mechanized Concepts hopes Russell will become national hub for industrial hemp production

Spas and massage parlors don’t want to miss their piece of an ever-expanding pie.

Last month, Dillons supermarkets rolled out non-edible CBD offerings — balms, lotions and the like — in its Kansas grocery stores with pharmacies.

But as Americans turn to CBD in search of help for everything from migraines to insomnia to cancer, scientists and regulators worry that some companies market unproven health claims, and that others sell products with inaccurate labels. What’s more, even though the products shouldn’t get you high, some might still make you flunk a drug test.

Meanwhile, people who see medical promise in CBD fret about incompetent or unscrupulous manufacturers tainting an industry that activists fought to legalize. Kansas is one of just four states with exceptionally tight laws on all things cannabis.

Related: CBD Oil With THC In It Is Now In Kansas Stores, But Good Luck Figuring Out If It’s Legal

“Honestly, I’m scared for people,” said Lisa Sublett, of medical cannabis proponents Bleeding Kansas Advocates. “I don’t trust the stuff at your gas station, sorry. You really have no idea what’s in the bottle.”

She recommends consulting The Patient’s Guide to CBD, a 50-page primer from Americans For Safe Access that explains labels, lab analyses and more.

Done right, advocates say CBD products can change an ailing person’s life.

Scientific studies suggest they’re right — at least for people with certain rare epilepsies, and maybe for others. But the vast majority of anecdotal claims piling up about CBD’s medicinal qualities don’t have backing from clinical trials to prove they’re more than sales pitches and the power of placebo.

“There’s some real value here,” Mayo Clinic physician Brent Bauer said. “But we have to do a lot of work to kind of chip away at the rough edges and find out: How big is the diamond? Is it one carat or is it 40 carats?”Definitive scientific studies will take time. A few intriguing leads include possible benefits for treating anxiety and pain.

Ask for lab results … but know they can be wrong

Quiet Trees, Brunin’s small-batch company, lives in an unassuming 1,500-square-foot lab-and-packing facility in southwest Lawrence.

Shelves line the walls with clear plastic boxes full of bath bombs, vaping mixes and gummy bears. A big blue barrel holds 55 gallons of organic hemp seed oil from Kentucky. A small crew in white lab coats produces, packages and ships products daily to customers — mostly retail shops — in a half dozen states.

One of the shortest routes the products take lands them at CBD of Lawrence. It sits on Massachusetts Street, the heart of the college town’s boutique and local shopping.

There, customers eyeing a bottle of tincture or packet of vape cartridges can whip out a smartphone and scan QR codes on the packaging. That takes them to a Google Drive copy of third-party chemical analyses by a lab in Massachusetts that tests the materials Quiet Trees uses.

Pharmacist Dustin Hothan wants that transparency. The co-owner of CBD of Lawrence says he won’t stock anything without independent lab results.

He pores over product reviews online, looking for any quality complaints about the CBD capsules, beverages and more on the shelves of his store.

Still, Hothan once got a tip that a product he stocked contained detectable amounts of THC, the compound in cannabis that can get you high, or, in smaller, non-intoxicating doses, still make you fail a drug test even weeks after discontinuing use.

“So we sent it off for testing,” he said. “It turned out, it did contain THC.”

The label had promised otherwise. The original lab results, too. Hothan dropped the product.

How can mistakes like these happen? Lab quality varies. The quality of manufacturers in this rapidly ballooning industry does, too. Even the best-intentioned retailers must figure out which names to trust, homing in on labs and brands that prove themselves.

All retailers great and small

Nationally, market analyst Brightfield Group estimates the value of the U.S. CBD industry multiplied seven times over in 2018. In a new report this month, it pegs the market at nearly $24 billion by 2023.

After all, national retailers have joined the action. Customers not drawn to vapes and tinctures will find new takes on old products, Brightfield says. Anti-aging creams. Dog treats. Bottles of multi-vitamin.

The state of Kansas tracks neither the value of CBD sales in the state nor the number of vendors. One hemp advocate guesses the compound is now available at hundreds of locations statewide.

Kelly Rippel, co-founder of Kansans for Hemp, has mixed feelings about that.

“There’s got to be an understanding from all institutions that it can’t be stigmatized anymore,” he said. “But it has to be done in a way that is going to protect public health.”

In reality, neither the state nor federal government check the contents of the tinctures, vapes and more flooding Kansas stores.

As far as the federal Food and Drug Administration is concerned, selling CBD in food and drinks remains illegal. It’s not even approved for dog food.

The sole FDA-approved use is Epidiolex, a CBD drug that proved itself in clinical trials as a treatment for rare types of epilepsy.

As for the booming wellness market, the FDA wants answers to questions about the effects of taking CBD long-term, and about product safety and reports of contamination by pesticides or heavy metals.

“We are looking into this,” the agency said in a recent consumer update.

It has tested a small number of the vast array of CBD products and found contents don’t always match labels. The agency issued warnings, too, to companies caught claiming their products can save people from cancer, Alzheimer’s, diabetes and more.

Scientists at the University of Pennsylvania and other institutions bought more than 80 CBD products online and found fewer than a third were accurately labeled.

CBD levels were off, and some products that claimed not to contain THC actually did.

Legal quandary and quagmire

Vince Sanders, CEO of national CBD retailer American Shaman, would love to talk about what his products do. But the risk for drawing ire from federal regulators held him back in a recent interview.

“Honestly, up until relatively recently, I said a lot of stuff I probably shouldn’t have in retrospect,” he said.

American Shaman recently pulled down thousands of testimonials from its website, Sanders said, to avoid any potential legal liability.

The Kansas City-based CBD heavyweight with franchises in about 25 states, and dozens of shops across Kansas, including Hays, kept only nebulous phrases on its home page.

“Positive effects.” “Pain management.” “Beneficial qualities.” CBD “helps in recovery from conditions,” the site says, but doesn’t specify any.

Yet, Sanders said in the interview: “There’s overwhelming evidence of what CBD does. … I can’t say it. I wish I could.”

Instead, he suggests, go to PubMed.gov, type in your condition, the keyword CBD, and hit enter. Or just drop by an American Shaman store for a sample. “They work very quickly,” he said. “If you find some relief during the 15 minutes or so you’re there, then you have a good idea.”

Indeed, the National Library of Medicine’s online research database, PubMed, offers a dazzling array of CBD articles, but far too few clinical trials to back the wide-ranging claims about the substance’s abilities.

Much of the work involves animals and petri dishes, or small-scale trials. CBD shows some promise for helping with pain, anxiety, and even schizophrenia, says Bauer, of the Mayo Clinic. But benefits in studies often came only with exceptionally high doses of CBD — and sometimes side effects.

The fact that “natural” substances can cause problems gets lost at times amid excitement for herbal remedies. St. John’s Wort shrub can help some people with depression, for example, but also messes with birth control.

Bauer, who founded and directs research at Mayo’s program for integrating alternative medicines such as acupuncture into health care there, recommends against CBD for young children, pregnant or breastfeeding women, and patients taking many medications. CBD can screw up dosage levels of certain prescriptions. Talk to your doctor if you plan to take it.

THC vs CBD

State laws bar Kansans from getting marijuana legally. So is CBD just a poor substitute?

Studies show CBD and THC work differently and have different potential medical benefits, says Mallory Loflin, a psychiatry professor at the University of California-San Diego who specializes in cannabis research. CBD also has a diffuse, lighter effect.

“You need a much bigger dose,” she said. “We don’t start seeing differentiation from placebo in clinical trials for things like anxiety until you get up in the 300- to 600-milligram range.”

That could mean an entire bottle of CBD oil a day, depending on the bottle, but studies with such high doses also give some patients diarrhea. Anecdotally, CBD vendors and consumers often say smaller doses work, but clinical data is lacking.

A vigorous placebo effect complicates research of both cannabis extracts. The risk? That trials can fail, even when the extracts work.

“You’re hearing that cannabinoids are so helpful for so many different conditions — people already believe they’re going to work,” Loflin said. “If everyone’s cured, I can’t compare groups because both groups were cured.”

Loflin is also leading a new Veterans Affairs Administration study in San Diego on the effects of CBD for treating post-traumatic stress disorder.

She worries that in today’s absence of settled science, patients don’t know what to get. Some studies point to taking low doses of THC for certain chronic pain, for example, while others suggest going the CBD route — possibly with a little THC, but not with higher doses — for anxiety and other mental health issues.

She studied veterans self-treating with cannabis products in California, where both THC and CBD are legal.  Most picked what was likely the wrong treatment for their conditions.  Some weren’t even sure what they used.

“Which frankly terrified me,” she said. “Because the effects of CBD vs THC are about as alike as chalk and cheese.”

Celia Llopis-Jepsen reports on consumer health and education for the Kansas News Service. You can follow her on Twitter @Celia_LJ or email her at [email protected]. The Kansas News Service is a collaboration of KCUR, Kansas Public Radio, KMUW and High Plains Public Radio focused on the health and well-being of Kansans, their communities and civic life.

By JAMES BELL
Hays Post

When the previous owner was ready to sell an established beer bread mix business, four Hays family members saw an opportunity to have fun and maybe even turn a little profit.

The owners, Shaun and Heather Musil, along with Shaun’s sister Tina Hansen and her husband Bruce, make the mix at The Paisley Pear, 1100 Main, after purchasing the business on June 21.

“Long story short, a young lady from Goodland started this when she was 11 years old,” Shaun said.

“If we had not bought this business, she would have closed up shop,” Bruce said.

“We were excited to keep it going,” Shaun said.

Musil is also connected to the area where the previous owner was located and had already sold the product.

“We grew up in that area,” he said. “Since we’ve been open, we’ve been buying the beer bread from her. My mother-in-law brought it down to me and I sell it at my market.”

When she was ready to sell, Shaun thought it would be a good opportunity to capture another local product to sell at The Paisley Pear, but also do something together as a family.

“We like to sell Kansas stuff, so on our days off we make beer bread,” Shaun said.

“This is crazy but we bought it for fun,” Heather said. “We hope to go on some adventures, the four of us.”

“We always have such a good time doing things together,” Tina said. “This is a good way to do it again.”

The mix is currently sold wholesale to a few area shops outside of The Paisley Pear, and Shaun hopes to expand the product’s reach.

“We’re trying to gain wholesalers and, in time, we will try and sell it online,” Shaun said. “But there’s a somewhat different process to that.”

Currently, the mix is also sold at Hideout Coffee in Osborne, Mr. K in Plainville, the Oasis Travel Shop and Kansas Country Store in Colby, and the Cowboy Corner in Goodland.

The mix is made in The Paisley Pear after hours by the group after they got some training from the previous owner.

“That was funny,” Heather said. “She was the one-man show. She did it all, and she would do 300 bags at a time — and we did 50 in four hours.”

Since then, they have figured out how to speed up the process.

“We’ve learned,” Musil said.

Their first production run filled 300 bags in about four hours and sold out.

So far, feedback on the product has been encouraging.

“It is a really good product,” Shaun said.

He also said the store staff is proud to offer something made right there in the shop.

“Everybody that we have given it to to try, or they have tried it, we have had nothing but good reports coming back that they think it is delicious,” Tina said.

While the venture is a way for the family to connect doing something they enjoy, it is a business and they hope to steer their investment in the right direction.

“It would be nice to show a little profit,” Bruce said.

“And grow distribution,” Shaun added.

As they work to find the right mix of distribution and sales, they said there is no difficulty in making the bread.

“We put all together in the pack, you mix it up with a can of beer or Sprite or pop and then you just bake it and it’s done,” Shaun said. “Forty-five minutes later and you’ve got a loaf of bread. I mean if I can do it, anybody can.”

More about the business can be found on their Facebook page here.

By CRISTINA JANNEY
Hays Post

Thousands of rubber ducks raced around the Hays Aquatic Park’s lazy river vying for a Ford Focus on Wednesday night.

The annual fundraiser benefits Big Brother Big Sister of Ellis County. Troy Burkhart’s Xibit Customs  was the winner of the car this year.

The car give away was sponsored by Car Zone, James Motor Co., Lewis Automotive, Hays Chevrolet, Auto World and Happy’s Auto. The Duck Derby race was sponsored by Paul Wertenberger Construction and Insurance Planning.

Auto World’s Man Overboard Challenge cardboard boat race, was won for the second year in a row by Auto World in a time of 42.13 seconds.

APAC took second, and Cloud Storage placed third. The Soroptimist Club won the Titanic Award. Great Clips won the Spirit Award. Cloud Storage won Best in Show with its NASA spaceship-themed boat.

This year’s presenting sponsor was Eagle Communications, which owns and operates the Hays Post.

By CRISTINA JANNEY
Hays Post

The Hays Community Theatre was filled with music and laughter during a special theater camp organized by a Thomas More Prep-Marian junior this week.

What is unique about this camp is that all 20 campers are developmentally disabled adults.

Annie Wasinger, 16, has been working to pull the camp together for about a year. She has been actively involved in community theater from the tender age of 3. However, she noted her older brother, Joel, who has cerebral palsy, could only listen to her belt out show tunes and run lines, but never participate himself.

When the HCT installed a handicap accessible bathroom at its new venue on Eighth Street, the idea struck her to organize the camp.

“I was really excited about it, because I thought he could finally come to shows. That would be so good. I thought more about it, and thought if he can come to shows, he has always wanted to perform. But in all 13 years I have been with Hays Community Theatre, we have only had one person in a wheelchair, and it wasn’t my brother. I thought it would be really cool to create a camp for everybody in the community,” she said.

“Since it is Hays Community Theatre, I think we should branch out and be here for any individual whether they have a disability or not.”

Students at TMP have special time during their school day called “20 time” during which the students are encouraged to work on a community service project or learn a new skill. Wasinger chose to use that time to organize the Center Stage camp. She wrote grants, sought donations, organized a presentation to the HCT board and found a curriculum from an online company, Fourth Wall, specially geared for adults with disabilities.

Her mother, Becky, who is also her brother’s limited license provider, said she has been impressed with Annie’s commitment and efforts to organize the camp.

The camp runs Monday through Friday this week, culminating in a free hour-long public performance at 6 p.m. Friday at Celebration Community Church.

“I really want to press we need the community to support this and come to the show,” Annie said. “Each [camper] is so very excited to have their chance on stage and feel the way you do when you get audience reaction.”

The campers are participating in a variety of games to help them learn about acting, theater and stage directions.

“We teach them there are three aspects of theater — singing, dancing and acting,” Wasinger said. “So we are going to do three acting pieces. We have one where everyone is a superhero, and that is a little skit. Then we have one where everyone is a detective. Then we have an actual script that is 20 minutes long, and it is called ‘The Princess and the Dance Crew.’ ”

“Princess and the Dance Crew” is a variation of “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.” Also on Friday, one camper will also sing “What a Wonderful World” as the rest of the campers sign the words.

So far this week, the campers have played four corners using stage directions. They played Pass the Hat on Tuesday. Each person put on a police hat and had to say something a police officer would say. Pictures were projected on a screen for a game called Act it Out, and the campers had to act out a scene based on the image. The campers had to pretend they were eating spaghetti or pretend they were a bunny, etc. The campers will also do a variety of improv exercises.

Annie has been concluding the camp sessions daily with a game, A Minute of Fame. Each camper comes in front of an audience of other campers, care staff and volunteers, and they can sing, dance or tell a story. On Tuesday, the campers chose to sing.

Annie worked with DSNWK to hand pick about half of the campers from the Reed Center. The others came from the community. She said the campers from the Reed Center spend most of their time in a classroom setting.

“They don’t usually get time to truly display all their talents and do stuff individually,” Wasinger said, “So when we do stuff like One Minute of Fame, they are so excited to get the chance to go up in front of everybody and sing. I think acting is escapism. I think everybody needs that. I think it has been really nice for them to come everyday and know that they are going to have fun. …

“For me, it has been really cool because I have known most of these people all of my life through Joel, and I have seen them break out of their shells.”

One of the campers, David, wanted to talk about his horse, so he got up in front of the audience and neighed.

“I have been so impressed by going over scripts and seeing how they inflect lines,” Wasinger said. “The stuff they have done there — it has just been really important. … I think it is just good to see what they can do, since it is something they have never been given the opportunity to do.”

Staff from the Reed Center have accompanied their clients, and the camp has about 40 additional volunteers. Annie said everyone seems to be having fun.

“I think people my age are benefiting so much because they are volunteers … I am fortunate that I have had the background that I have with people with disabilities, but a lot of these people are coming from my youth groups or church or I know them from school and theater or I know them from another background. I think it is so cool for them to interact with people with disabilities because they never have before. I have been really proud of my volunteers for how they have worked together.”

Wasinger said she hopes the Center Stage camp can become an annual event.

By JAMES BELL
Hays Post

Wednesday’s fourth annual Duck Derby promises to be a lot of fun, but will also help support a good cause as the event serves as one of the biggest fundraisers of the year for Big Brothers Big Sisters of Ellis County.

The event will begin at 5:30 p.m. at the Hays Aquatic Park, 300 Main, with hot dogs and snacks and will feature a variety of family-friendly activities.

“There will be kids games such as hula hoop contest, duck waddle races and other fun activities,” according to the event website. With “free swimming in the Hays Aquatic Park’s zero-entry pool starting at 5:00 p.m.”

“It’s a great community event,” said Jenny Bates, area director, Big Brothers Big Sisters.

The first heat of ducks is set to launch at 6 p.m., kids’ ducks will launch at 6:15 p.m., and the first cardboard races are set for 6:45 p.m.

“There will be thousands of ducks racing around the Lazy River at Hays Aquatic Park,” the event website said. “The ducks will be split into heats of about 2,500 ducks per heat. The top 500 ducks from each heat will get to compete in the big Championship Race. Prizes will be awarded to the first 10 ducks crossing the finish line at the Championship Race.”

While ducks have been on sale throughout the community in recent weeks, attendees will also have the opportunity to purchase ducks prior to the event.

“We will have ducks available until probability about 15 minutes before the first duck race starts,” Bates said.

The Auto World’s Man Overboard Challenge will feature boats made from cardboard and “duck” tape with awards for the fastest boat as well as the Titanic Award, Spirit Award and Best of Show.

All of the funds raised from the event will go to support the BBBS mission.

“Everything from the duck adoptions for the duck races to the boat races, everything goes back to support Big Brothers Big Sister here in Ellis County,” Bates said. “This is one of our biggest fundraisers during the year.”

BBBS works to support area children that may be struggling according to Bates.

“Big Brothers Big Sisters is a mentoring program,” Bates said. “We match children one-on-one in mentoring relationships with an adult in our community … who are needing some extra support and encouragement in their life to help them through what they may be going through at home, or if they are having some struggles at school.”

She said the organization currently has 120 matches in Ellis County, but another 50 children are waiting for a match.

“The Duck Derby and the funds from that help us to continue working to find volunteers for those kids so they can have their Big Brother or Big Sister,” Bates said.