It might only be a temporary location, but the Downtown Hays Development Corp. celebrated the move to its location at 109 E. 11th with a ribbon-cutting ceremony Thursday afternoon.
The DHDC moved from the Hays Welcome Center at 2700 Vine in February.
“We’re doing the ribbon cutting for a couple of reasons,” said Sara Bloom, DHDC executive director.
“DHDC is very excited to finally be downtown. As the Downtown Development Corp., we always knew there was a need for us to be downtown. We’re very happy to finally be here,” she said.
Liberty Group, a major developer in downtown Hays, suggested the building to the DHDC while the group was searching for a downtown location.
“Myself and my board really fell in love with the space, and we approved the move to go down here,” Bloom said.
Knowing the cost of moving to the new building would create a significant impact on the DHDC budget, Liberty Group helped facilitate the move by donating six months rent to DHDC.
But even going into the new location, Bloom knew it would not be permanent. Development plans for a proposed hotel and restaurant nearby would use the building location as a breezeway, but another opportunity arose that will move the DHDC to another location much sooner than expected.
“We knew this location was going to be temporary. We just didn’t know how temporary,” Bloom said, announcing the DHDC will move to a new location in the 100 block of West 12th on July 1.
“This is a great location for us, but 12th Street is just a lot better,” Bloom said. “It’s a little bit more visible. It’s got a lot of windows. It feels more like a welcome center.”
During the event, Bloom said another reason for the sudden move was the another business expressing interest in the location.
“We were approached about the location on 12th Street, and we were really torn because we just moved in here and we were really contemplating whether we should make another move,” she said. “But there is very likely a new business coming in right after us and, when we found out there was interest from this new business to move in here, we felt it was our duty to go ahead and move to 12th Street.”
After a week of advanced voting in Hays USD 489 for a proposed $94 million bond issue, over 5 percent of eligible voters already have cast ballots.
“We’ve mailed out 241 ballots and in-person, as of this time, we have had 535 people in,” Ellis County Clerk Donna Maskus said early Thursday afternoon.
There are 14,788 eligible voters for the bond issue, she said.
Advanced voting will continue through noon June 6, with regular voting beginning at 7 a.m. Tuesday, June 7, ending at 7 p.m.
Qualified voters within the city limits of Hays will poll at the American Legion, 1305 Canterbury, and qualified voters from the district outside of the city will poll at St. Nicholas of Myra Parish, 2901 E. 13th.
The ballot has three questions: One totaling $8.9 million for new multi-purpose rooms at Hays High and Hays Middle Schools, one for $85 million to be used for deferred maintenance, classroom expansion, renovations and safety and security upgrades, and a sales tax proposal that would help fund the bond issue through a sales tax within the city of Hays.
The half-cent sales tax would only apply within the city of Hays, and if passed, would take effect next year after the expiration of a countywide sales tax that was used for county projects, including renovations at the Ellis County Courthouse and a new Emergency Services building.
The first two questions can be passed independently, but the sales tax question is contingent upon a successful bond election.
Local senior center Ellis Estates has recently completed a second building next to its existing facility. Located at 1301 E. 33rd in Hays, it offers brand-new 1,400 square-foot double and single apartments.
Ellis Estates is owned by Bainter Housing based in Hoxie. The facility houses 32 total rooms, with six rooms to a section in the new addition. The original red structure holds 12 rooms with four to a section, and was completed just over a year ago, according to general manager Vince Newell.
Newell also serves the role of handyman and is the only employee on the property.
Single rooms start at $1,000 per month, and double rooms start at $1,425 per month. Rooms include all bills paid, a washer and dryer, and an attached garage.
For more information or to get a tour, contact Vince Newell at (785) 623-0584.
Aviation enthusiasts rejoice, because the type of fast, muscular aircraft made famous in the 1942 Doolittle Raid and the film “30 Seconds Over Tokyo” will be on public exhibition at Hays Regional Airport from June 7 to 12.
The B-25J Mitchell Maid in the Shade is one of the Commemorative Air Force’s combat aircraft from its world-famous flying museum based at Airbase Arizona.
Built in early 1944, Maid in the Shade is one of 34 B-25Js still flying. Missions flown include 13 over Italy and two over Yugoslavia.
The B-25J will arrive the afternoon of June 6 and be open for tours Tuesday, June 7, through Sunday, June 12. Living history flights are being scheduled for Friday, June 10, Saturday, June 11, and Sunday, June 12.
For more information or to reserve flights, contact (602) 448-2350 or [email protected]. Rides are being scheduled now.
Flight deck area seats are $650 each, and waist gunner seats are $395 each.
Storm clouds near Park on Tuesday evening. Photos courtesy Shirley Heier
The rain fell hard, but a short-lived downpour brought less than an inch of rain to portions of Hays on Tuesday evening.
Reports from around Hays ranged from about three-quarters of an inch on the eastern side of town to 1.25 inches at the Eagle Media Center.
A report south of Ellis showed 1.53 inches of rain in the gauge, while the Victoria area received about 1.2 inches of rain.
La Crosse reported 1.3 inches of rain. The rain dropped off dramatically between Ellis and WaKeeney, with the eastern portions of Trego County receiving about a half inch of rain and the western portions just 0.02 inches.
Rooks County, which had reports of 3 to 4 inches of rain Monday, had another half inch of rain Tuesday evening.
Among the early reports, Ness City had the highest regional rainfall total of 1.92 inches.
The temperature is expected to soar on Wednesday, with highs reach the mid- to high 80s.
FORD COUNTY -Areas in Southwest, Northwest, and South Central Kansas have sustained various levels of damages including downed trees, downed power poles and lines, and various levels of damages to outbuildings and rural homes. Storm damages occurred as a result of large hail, wind, and tornadoes.
County emergency management officials in Ford County reported two persons were critically injured and taken to Western Plains Medical Center in Dodge City, according to the state emergency operations center.
Other damages reported by the Kansas Highway Patrol includes emergency vehicles damaged due to baseball sized hail, a semi-trailer blown over at US 50 bypass with no injuries, and roadway damage on a bridge over U -56 where tornado ripped up asphalt.
Rural buildings, and homes also suffered damage along U.S. 283 in Ness County. Power lines are down in many areas.
Storm Damage on Road 110 north of Dodge City- photo KHP
Additional information will be collected as ongoing damage assessments occur in affected areas on Wednesday.
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FORD COUNTY -A spring storm brought several tornadoes, large hail and heavy rain to areas of Ford County on Tuesday evening.
After the community was under a tornado warning for over an hour, the National Weather Service issued a tornado emergency for Dodge City and surrounding communities just after 6:30 p.m.
The primary part of the storm moved just west of Dodge City.
There were reports of some damage to rural buildings, homes and power was out in many areas, according to the sheriff’s department.
There were reports of possible injuries.
The Kansas Highway Patrol reported a truck on the U.S. 50 bypass was blown over during the storm.
Check Hays Post for additional details as they become available
Fort Hays State University Marketing and Relations
Two public relations projects produced by students from Fort Hays State University won a first and a second-place award in the recent 2016 Kansas Professional Communicators statewide contest.
Both entries were produced in 2015 in classes taught by Hsin-Yen Yang, assistant professor of communication studies.
State winners were announced at the KPC Conference in Winfield. First-place winners will advance to the National Federation of Press Women communications contest. Winners in the national contest will be awarded at the national conference in Wichita from Sept. 8 through Sept. 10.
Twelve students won first place in the collegiate division for “Building the Future of Public Relations Student Society of America at FHSU.” The students are listed by hometown with current classifications and high schools.
Burdett (67523): Scarlett Olsen, senior, is a Pawnee Heights High School graduate.
Calhan, Colo. (80808): Christina Munster, junior, is a Calhan High School graduate.
Colorado Springs, Colo. (80919): Chelsea Payne, junior, is an Air Academy High School graduate.
Colwich (67030): Chase Kear, senior, is an Andale High School graduate.
Garden City (67846): Carla Parra-Martinez, sophomore, is a Garden City High School graduate. Jayden Speer, junior, is a Garden City High School graduate.
Goddard (67052): Marina Witt, senior, is a Northeast Magnet School graduate.
Hays (67601): Cody Luebbers, junior, is a Hays High School graduate.
Lenexa (66227): Sophia Young, senior, is a De Soto High School graduate.
Medicine Lodge (67104): Zach Larkin, senior, is a Medicine Lodge High School graduate.
Osborne (67473): Katherine Hindman, senior, is an Osborne High School graduate.
Toledo, Ohio (43606): Libby Flores, senior, is a St. Ursula Academy graduate.
“It is an honor to win first place in this statewide contest. Our team worked diligently to produce a thoughtful, informative and creative campaign to launch the PRSSA Chapter at FHSU,” Flores said. “It was a privilege to work with such a creative team, and we are all extremely thankful for all of Dr. Hsin-Yen Yang’s support and guidance throughout this project and the semester.”
Six students took second in the Web and social media division for non-profit campaign for “Envision Volcanes: Breaking the Cycle of Poverty with Education.” Students are listed by hometown with classification and high schools.
Dodge City (67801): Tanner Schubert, senior, is a Hodgeman County High School graduate.
Garden City (67846): Melissa Galvez, a 2015 FHSU graduate, is a Garden City High School graduate.
Hays (67601): Alexis Pfannenstiel, senior, is a Hays High School graduate.
Hutchinson (67502): Victoria Hale, senior, is a Trinity Catholic High School graduate.
Kearney, Neb. (68845): Noelle Husmann, a 2015 FHSU graduate, is a Kearney Catholic High School graduate.
Lancaster, Texas (75146): Laura Calvillo-Martinez, a 2015 FHSU graduate, is a Ferris High School graduate.
“Advocacy, diversity and critical thinking are always the core values in our public relations courses,” Yang said. “The students created these campaigns to advance education, professionalism and social equality not only within the United States, but also cross-border. I am glad to see that their hard work has not gone unnoticed.”
Eagle’s Mike Cooper visits with David Levering of the Sternberg Museum of Natural History on some of the events taking place at the museum for the summer of 2016.
Back row: Robert Wickham, Dr. Troy Kerby, Carol Groen, Rhonda Klaus, Blakely Hillary, Brian Pfannenstiel Front Row: Jessica Pfeifer, Regina Borthwick, Dorothy Gideon, Lynette Pfannenstiel
HaysMed has received the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association’s Get With The Guidelines-Stroke Silver Plus Quality Achievement Award. The award recognizes the hospital’s commitment and success in ensuring stroke patients receive the most appropriate treatment according to nationally recognized, research-based guidelines based on the latest scientific evidence.
To receive the Silver Plus Quality Achievement award, hospitals must achieve 85 percent or higher adherence to all Get With The Guidelines-Stroke achievement indicators for at least 12 consecutive months and during the same period achieve 75 percent or higher compliance with five of eight Get With The Guidelines-Stroke Quality measures.
These quality measures are designed to help hospital teams provide the most up-to-date, evidence-based guidelines with the goal of speeding recovery and reducing death and disability for stroke patients. They focus on appropriate use of guideline-based care for stroke patients, including aggressive use of medications such as clot-busting and anti-clotting drugs, blood thinners and cholesterol-reducing drugs, preventive action for deep vein thrombosis and smoking cessation counseling.
“A stroke patient loses 1.9 million neurons each minute stroke treatment is delayed. This recognition further demonstrates our commitment to delivering advanced stroke treatments to patients quickly and safely,” said Terry Siek, vice president of patient care and chief nursing officer. HaysMed continues to strive for excellence in the acute treatment of stroke patients. The recognition from the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association’s Get With The Guidelines-Stroke further reinforces our team’s hard work.”
HaysMed has also met specific scientific guidelines as a Primary Stroke Center featuring a comprehensive system for rapid diagnosis and treatment of stroke patients admitted to the emergency department.
“The American Heart Association and American Stroke Association recognize HaysMed for its commitment to stroke care,” said Paul Heidenreich, M.D., M.S., national chairman of the Get With The Guidelines Steering Committee and professor of medicine at Stanford University. “Research has shown there are benefits to patients who are treated at hospitals that have adopted the Get With The Guidelines program.”
Get With The Guidelines®-S puts the expertise of the American Heart Association and American Stroke Association to work for hospitals nationwide, helping hospital care teams ensure the care provided to patients is aligned with the latest research-based guidelines. Developed with the goal to save lives and improve recovery time, Get With The Guidelines®-S has impacted more than 3 million patients since 2003.
According to the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association, stroke is the No. 5 cause of death and a leading cause of adult disability in the United States. On average, someone in the U.S. suffers a stroke every 40 seconds, someone dies of a stroke every four minutes, and nearly 800,000 people suffer a new or recurrent stroke each year
A signing ceremony of House Bill 2610 by Gov. Sam Brownback at 9 a.m. June 1 will officially designate the interchange of Interstate 70 and Commerce Parkway in Hays as Chief Warrant 5 David Carter Memorial Interchange.
The interchange will serve as a memorial to Carter, who was the co-pilot of a Chinook helicopter – Extortion 17 – that was shot down on Aug. 6, 2011, killing 30 American soldiers during Operation Enduring Freedom.
The interchange of I-70 and U.S. 183 in Hays was previously designated the CW2 Bryan J Nichols Fallen Veterans Memorial Interchange in honor of Nichols, the pilot-in-command during the flight.
“It’s an amazing coincidence that two boys from Hays, Kansas, one a TMP grad, one a Hays High grad were in the same helicopter on that same expedition,” said Sue Boldra, Republican Representative for the 111 District. “I even had him when I was teaching at the junior high. He went through Hays Junior High, Hays High School and then Fort Hays State.”
The bill originated on Feb. 3 in the Kansas House, to designate the interchange, but before being approved by Brownback three other designations for memorials had been added.
“Since we started this, there were several other similar bills that were identifying other roads and so our bill has probably three or four different ones, but we were the start,” Boldra said.
The other memorials include:
• US-400 in Labette County, between Queens Road and Udall Road near Parsons, as the John Troy, Pete Hughes and Earl Seifert Highway, to honor gentlemen who were instrumental in the effort to have US-160 redesignated as US-400.
• The junction of I-235 and Central Avenue in Sedgwick County, as the Captain Chris Norgren Memorial Interchange, to honor a pilot who died in Nepal while delivering relief supplies in 2015.
• K-148 from the intersection with 23rd Road in Washington County north to the Nebraska state line, as the SGT Lavern W. Tegtmeier Memorial Highway, to honor the first soldier from Washington County to die in the Vietnam War, in 1968.
The bill also authorized the Kansas Secretary of Transportation to increase speed limits on some Kansas highways to 70 mph.
“I guess it has to do with transportation and roads so they figure anything was fair game when they start bundling,” Boldra said.
Now that the bill has passed, funds must be raised to cover the cost of the signs that will be placed at the interchange.
The estimated cost of the project is $15,750.
Boldra is now working to help secure funding for the project, contacting people from the Veterans Association and the U.S. Army, with the assistance of Operation Hawkeye – a group started by Virgina schoolboy Will Thomas – that works to raise awareness for fallen Special Operations Forces and their families. The group was formed as a way to honor the victims of the Extortion 17 attack.
“Obviously, the people of Hays will want to have a buy-in also, but they will also hook us up with some people and some organizations,” she said.
Fundraising for the Nichols interchange took over a year, Boldra said, but hopes securing funding for this newer memorial will be faster.
“We’re seeking donations. Nothing is too large or too small,” she said.
In an effort to address a shortage of homes available to medium-income families in Ellis County, the Ellis County Development Corp. has announced the development of a rehabilitation program in an effort the renovate existing housing stock through the county.
“We have available older, poor-quality housing, but we don’t have anything much in the middle, so the idea behind this program is to fill that gap,” said Aaron White, Coalition executive director.
The program was conceived after White realized there was a serious need for housing rehabilitation after speaking with local contractors and real estate agents.
The program, created with a grant from the Dane G. Hansen Foundation, will provide loans to real estate agents and contractors through a seven-person loan committee.
If the board approves a request, the parties can then use those funds to rehabilitate a house anywhere in the county.
“We can take some of the old, dilapidated houses and poor-quality houses and turn them back into prime housing stock,” White said.
But for applications to be accepted, developers have several requirements that must be met: a minimum of $10,000 in renovations, the project has to be completed in six months, and the home is capped at a $145,000 for sale price – right about the middle of the range of housing that is difficult to find in Ellis County, according to White.
Further, the remodeled home cannot be used for rental property.
“Our hope is that this will open up some new housing options in Ellis County,” White said.
While the ECDC will provide funding, they will not select housing for rehabilitation.
“We leave the project to come to us,” White said. “It’s up to professionals – contractors and Realtors. The loan committee will basically analyze each application to look to see if the projections if they feel like they are realistic.”
The seven-person board will be selected from leaders in the construction and lending industry, according to White.
Applications are expected to begin this summer, and funding available will allow for up to three housing projects to be carried out at the same time.
“The loan fund will rebuild itself as projects turn, and we’re hoping we can turn between six and 12 houses a year under this program,” White said.
While the impact will not be exceptionally large, White said it will assist the housing crunch as the city of Hays and Fort Hays State University continue to grow and new residents seek affordable housing.
“We have had a lot of employers have told us that housing has impacted their ability to recruit talent they need,” White said, adding he has heard from employers that employees recruited to come to Hays sometimes leave after failing to find housing.
“You don’t want housing to be another reason why you are potentially struggling to fill certain types of positions with employers in the area,” he said.
Ellis County ranked second in 2015 oil production in Kansas.
KU News Service
LAWRENCE — Oil production fell sharply in Kansas during 2015 as oil prices continued to drop, although natural gas production fell only a fraction of 1 percent despite noticeable gas price declines, according to estimates from the Kansas Geological Survey at the University of Kansas.
Following a steady increase in oil production for the state as a whole from 2006 to 2014, production fell more than 8 percent to just below 45.5 million barrels in 2015 — down from 49.5 million barrels in 2014. At the same time, the number of oil and gas wells drilled in the state declined almost 64 percent, from 5,765 in 2014 to 2,080 in 2015.
“Kansas crude oil production began a dramatic downturn in October 2014 when monthly production was 4.4 million barrels,” said KGS geologist Lynn Watney. “Production in February 2016 was down to just over 3 million barrels — a decline that rivals the fall in late 1998 and 1999.”
“The current decline is another one for the record books, having impacted the industry, communities, states and countries alike,” he said.
The average monthly oil price fell to $39 per barrel in 2015 from $82 in 2014. As a result of the combined drop in production and price, the cumulative value of Kansas oil declined from $4 billion in 2014 to $1.8 billion in 2015.
Production in eight of the top-10 oil-producing counties fell. The two exceptions were Harper County, which led the state for the first time, and Finney County, which moved from fifth to third following a 6 percent rise in production.
Harper County rose from the state’s 33rd highest producer in 2010 to first in 2015 when annual production there rose to 3.4 million barrels. Most of the oil — and natural gas in the county is produced from the Mississippian limestone play using horizontal drilling with multistage hydraulic fracturing activities, popularly known as “fracking,”
“About 1,100 horizontal wells have been drilled in Kansas over several decades,” said KGS geologist David Newell. “However, 2010 marked the beginning of a new era in south-central Kansas where staged massive hydraulic fracturing was extensively used in long-reach horizontal wells.”
The focus of drilling in the play, colloquially known as the “Mississippi lime,” shifted from Barber County into Harper County in 2014. Barber County dropped from fourth in 2014 to ninth in 2015.
Ellis County, which has led the state in oil production in all but two years since 1966, dropped to second place as production there fell more than 10 percent, from 3.35 million barrels in 2014 to 3 million in 2015.
“Ellis County is a well-established producing area that now has many marginal wells,” Watney said. “Falling production levels there parallel the rate of the state’s production decline, which have brought production back to 2002 levels.”
Besides Harper, Ellis and Finney, the top-10 producing counties in 2015, in order, were Barton, Russell, Ness, Rooks, Haskell, Barber and Logan. Oil production was reported in 91 of the state’s 105 counties, with about 44 percent from the top 10.
Even though natural gas production in Kansas declined less than 1 percent — from about 288 billion cubic feet (bcf) in 2014 to 285 bcf in 2015 — production declines continued at a brisker pace in the state’s largest gas area, which is also one of the largest in the world.
“The Hugoton Gas Area in western Kansas, which accounts for a vast majority of the state’s gas production, has experienced a long-term, steady production decline of 7 percent a year since the late 1990s,” Watney said. “However, natural gas production from the Mississippian limestone play in Harper County increased to more than 30 bcf in 2015, up from about 5 bcf in 2011 just after the drilling boom hit the area.”
As Harper County moved up to first in the state in oil production, it also jumped from fifth to second in natural gas production, with an increase in natural gas production of 24 percent. Most of the wells in the Mississippian play produce both oil and gas.
Stevens County continued to lead the state in production, with a nearly 1 percent increase in 2015 following an 11 percent decline in 2014. Most of the natural gas there is produced from the Hugoton Gas Area. Grant County, which had a 6 percent increase, was third.
The other top-10 natural gas producing counties, in order, were Barber, Kearny, Haskell, Finney, Morton, Stanton and Seward. All had decreased production except Stanton, which had a slight increase. Gas production was reported in 55 of the state’s 105 counties, and about 74 percent was in the top-10 producing counties.
Production in southeastern Kansas, where natural gas is produced mainly from shallow coal beds, continued to decline. Coal bed methane (CBM) accounted for 9.1 percent of natural gas production in Kansas in 2015. Peak CBM production, in 2008, was about 49 bcf compared with just under 26 bcf in 2015.
The average monthly price of natural gas in 2015 was $2.63 per thousand cubic feet (mcf), and the cumulative value in Kansas was $755 million. In comparison, the average monthly price in 2014 was $3.92 per mcf, and the cumulative value in Kansas was $1.3 billion.
“Although natural gas and oil production in Kansas are virtually equivalent with regard to their energy content, the income generated from natural gas is presently only a fraction of that from oil,” Newell said.
The University of Kansas is a major comprehensive research and teaching university. The university’s mission is to lift students and society by educating leaders, building healthy communities and making discoveries that change the world. The KU News Service is the central public relations office for the Lawrence campus.
They all came to Fort Hays State University on football scholarships following all-state performances their senior year in high school.
Jesse Trent, Zack Gaughan and Garrett Holle also brought with them high academic credentials when they stepped foot on campus in fall 2011.
But it’s another activity that is referred to as both a sport and an art that the trio agrees proved to be its key to success.
“Juggling,” Trent said as Gaughan and Holle both nodded their heads.
They mastered the art of juggling responsibilities in their five years on campus so well that they all lettered four years in football, finished with high grade point averages, graduated at last weekend’s commencement and are headed to Kansas City this summer to further their education in medical professions.
Trent and Gaughan will attend the KU School of Medicine, and Holle is enrolled in KU’s physical therapy program — all at the University of Kansas Medical Center.
“You learn to juggle,” said Trent, a cellular molecular biology major from Dodge City, who played in 44 career games at defensive lineman for the Tigers. “If you didn’t, you wouldn’t survive.
“I think that’s what separated us from all other med school applicants,” added Trent, who graduated summa cum laude. “When you’re taking high-caliber classes and playing a college sport, you have to learn how to make the best use of your time.”
Besides the pursuit of medical careers, the threesome has something else in common. Trent, Gaughan and Holle were part of Coach Chris Brown’s first recruiting class in 2011 that has helped the Tigers rebuild a struggling program.
In Brown’s first five years, the team increased its number of victories by one each season. Trent had used up his football eligibility last fall, but Gaughan and Holle — who redshirted their freshman year — were instrumental in leading the Tigers to post-season action for the first time in 20 years.
FHSU posted an 8-3 record in the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association, one of the toughest conferences in NCAA Division II, and finished 8-4 after a bowl game loss to the University of Minnesota-Duluth.
While Trent, Gaughan and Holle are excited about moving on, they are looking forward to keeping up with FHSU football from here on out. After all, they are a big part of something special.
“It means the world,” said Gaughan, a physics major from Hays who played all 45 games of his FHSU career at tight end and graduated magna cum laude. “I don’t know of a better feeling than to look back and be so proud of what you and a group of people accomplished together.”
Another perk in staying home to go to college, Gaughan said, was that his family had to travel on game day only half the season.
“This was so great,” he said of the experience, “not just for us players, but for our fans to get to grow together as well.”
Holle said it was an adjustment for him coming to rural northwest Kansas from the Phoenix metropolitan area. In fact, his first night on campus, Hays was in a tornado warning. But, he said, it was football, and the people he hung around with day in and day out, that made him want to stay.
“Football taught me all sorts of life lessons, especially on accountability,” said Holle, a biology major who played wide receiver for the Tigers. “Sometimes when something goes wrong, people blame others. That’s not accepted on a sports team.”
Trent has aspirations of getting into sports medicine and becoming an orthopedist.
Gaughan has several dermatologists in his family, including one of his grandfathers and an uncle, so that’s a possible route he will take.
Holle, who rebounded from three knee surgeries while at FHSU to enjoy his best season his senior year, said he would like to own a physical therapy and strength and conditioning center some day.
Brown wasn’t surprised while listening to his former players’ career goals.
“They’re highly motivated guys who set their sights on something; they had a plan, and they stuck to it,” Brown said. “And they made it.”
“Impressive, amazing,” FHSU President Mirta M. Martin said. “That’s what Fort Hays State is all about — selfless, dedicated individuals on the field and off the field, and a strong commitment to excellence. They’re not only improving their lives but others around them. They make us proud.”
Trent has similar feelings about Fort Hays State. He was chasing the Division I dream until he visited FHSU.
“Coach Brown recruits players of high character who are good football players,” Trent said. “He has done a great job of blending western Kansas players with kids from all across the nation.
“Coach Brown is why I came here,” he added. “When I met him and some of the staff, I couldn’t say, ‘No.’ And I really liked the biology department. This was home from the get-go.”
Brown grinned. Hands in his pockets, he looked like a proud father while talking about the first med students of his coaching career.
“It’s huge,” Brown said of the trio’s impending success in the medical field. “I’m counting on them taking care of me someday.”
