By BECKY KISER
Hays Post

So, it turns out the two new Hays monument signs that will be erected on I-70 cannot include the word “America.”

City commissioners were considering 10 different designs for the huge limestone markers by Tobin Rupe Stoneworks in Wichita, some of which read “Hays, America” as the city location.

However, commissioners found out during their meeting Thursday night that the Kansas Department of Transportation does not allow such verbiage.

“KDOT has a policy for city-owned signs in their right-of-way, like these would be,” City Manager Toby Dougherty explained. “It (must say) ‘Welcome to The City’ or ‘The City of Blank Welcomes You’ with all or a portion of the (city’s) logo involved within it. So, yes, we think ‘Hays, America’ would be out.”

Compounding the decision difficulty, commissioners were given six more designs to consider just prior to the start of their meeting. The artwork had been submitted by Scott Gross, an artist who has done other work for the city.

After Rick Rekoske, Convention and Visitors Bureau director, reviewed all 16 designs, commissioners voted 3-1 for one of Gross’s designs, which reads simply “Welcome to Hays.”

The 18′ by 10′ welcome signs will be placed just east of Commerce Parkway on the north side of westbound I-70, and on the south side of I-70 between Exit 157 and the Hall Street bridge for eastbound traffic approaching Hays.

Tobin Rupe Stoneworks was the low bidder for the two signs for a total of $48,300, considerably less than the original budgeted amount of $90.000. The money comes from the CVB budget and is generated by the guest bed tax.

Commissioner Henry Schwaller was absent from the meeting.

By James Bell
Hays Post

After 14 negotiating sessions, two failed votes and a declaration of impasse, the Hays National Education Association and the USD 489 Board of Education came to another agreement for the 2015-2016 contract during mediation Tuesday evening.

Following hours of closed discussions the board offered the HNEA negotiators a simple solution to alleviate the repeated requests for movement on the vertical pay scale – six months of vertical movement, payable in June, contingent upon the State making no further cuts to education. The HNEA also had to agree to all other terms of the negotiations set in January.

The January agreement simplified sick day payouts and reduced retirement health benefits.

“We’re trying to show you we are serious in giving you this money,” said Lance Bickle, Board president.

While the HNEA negotiators were nervous about the contingency of cuts impacting the vertical movement, it serves as insurance for the district that funding cuts would not significantly damage the budget.

“If there’s cut in June we are in worse shape than we are now,” said Bill Jeter, Board attorney.

The HNEA negotiators questioned the board on the insecurity of passing this on to the voting block, without a guarantee of vertical movement.

“This is not very solid,” said Kim Schneweis, HNEA Bargaining Committee co-chairwoman.

But with uncertainty at the state level any guarantee may be moot.

“There is no way to make this positive, based on what the state is doing to you,” said John Doern, the mediator assigned to the district.

The HNEA negotiators will now present the negotiated contract to USD 489 teachers to vote on accepting the contract.

“We present it fairly and factually,” Schneweis said.

The HNEA hopes to hold votes in each district building this week.

                                        Video Courtesy USD 489 News

By JAMES BELL
Hays Post

“We are listening.” That was the message from the Hays USD 489 administration and Board of Education during Monday’s work session, as they contemplated separating out the Hays Middle and High School gyms from the $94 million bond issue, along with a variety of other issues facing the district.

“We’ve heard the public loud and clear,” said Lance Bickle, board president, as additional gyms have been a frequent topic of concern heard by board members.

And according to Superintendent Dean Katt, separating out a piece of the issue is not uncommon and could help residents understand the need for the bond. Katt also noted that putting the gyms on a separate question did not mean they are not needed.

The tax impact for the two gyms is $2.52 a month for a $150,000 home with a stand-alone cost of $8.8 million.

The board also discussed the need to get the resolution for the election set at the next meeting.

The resolution was pushed back in an effort to collect enough signatures to allow for a sales tax question that would fund a portion of the bond to be put on the ballot.

An effort to collect the required 10 percent of registered voters in Hays would put a sales tax question on the ballot.

“We should know soon,” Katt said, if enough signatures were collected to put the put the sales tax question on the bond issue ballot. The county election office is currently canvassing the over 1,600 signatures collected for verification. Ten percent – or slightly over 1,200 signatures – will need to be certified to put the question on the ballot.

The board plans on presenting the signatures to the Hays City Commission later this month.

While the public relations portion of the bond issue is just beginning, collecting the sales tax signatures is a big win for the district.

“It’s been the opposite of the town-hall meetings,” Bickle said. Community members have been saying that with the sales tax question on the ballot, more people have been supportive of the bond.

The board will take up the question at their next meeting, as well as discussing the resolution that would allow a June 7 bond issue election.

In the meantime, the board is looking forward, discussing options for construction if the bond issue is successful.

There are three options available, according to Jon Pahl, executive vice president of operations for Nabholz Construction — design-bid-build, construction manager-agent and construction manager-at risk.

The significant difference between the three is the way the district would interact with the construction workforce.

The more traditional design-bid-build, Pahl said, is not very transparent and would operate as a “lump-sum contract,” meaning the contractor would be the only one to see subcontractor costs – and would benefit from any project savings.

If a construction manager is selected instead, that person would work with the district, more like an employee.

Either a manager-agent or manager-at risk option would allow the district to recoup any savings during construction and a manager-at risk would also allow the manager to oversee the hiring of subcontractors, meaning the manager would be responsible for cost overruns.

Paul also informed the Board the sooner a construction manager is hired, the more potential the manager has to reduce cost, due to decisions being made before designs are finalized.

 

Other action items:

The Board unanimously approved bills in the amount of $142,782.94.

The Board unanimously approved the Kansas Early Head Start Partnership grant application.

The Board unanimously approved a bid for the purchase of nutrition services point-of-sale software.

The Board unanimously approved Consent agenda items:

• Board Meeting Minutes February 15, 2016
• Financial Report: Petty Cash Report
• Early Childhood Connections Eligibility Recruitment Priority Grids
• Federal Early Head Start Grant
• Early Childhood Connections 1-25-2016 Minutes
• Early Childhood Connections 2-29-2016 Director’s Report
• Approval of Bills in the Amount of
• Personnel Transactions
• Surplus Items

 

By BECKY KISER
Hays Post

Chris Heisler is nearly unstoppable. In Hays last Wednesday after driving from St. Louis, he and his service dog Major stopped to rest overnight and to visit with his friend, Bill Ring, the Ellis County Emergency Manager.

The next morning, Heisler headed out again in his specially-wrapped Chevrolet pickup with the U.S. Honor Flag securely stored in the vehicle in a biometric-lock safe.  Heisler drove west on I-70 to Denver, accompanied by Kansas law enforcement, until the “handoff” at the state line, where Heisler and Major were welcomed by Colorado law enforcement and a cascading water salute by firetrucks.

For the fifth time in less than 10 months, Heisler was taking the U.S. Honor Flag to the funeral of a law enforcement officer killed in the line of duty as the result of a felony action–this time in Denver.  “He died protecting his community and we’ll bring a national honor to him.”

(James Bell, video editor)

“It’s unfortunate,” Heisler acknowledged, “but this flag that travels all over the country in this truck is a special U.S. flag that flew during recovery effort at Ground Zero following the September 11, 2001 attacks in New York City.  Since then, this flag has traveled more than seven million miles to honor fallen police officers, firefighters and soldiers.”

Those 7,000,000 miles include travel on U.S. Navy aircraft carriers, submarines, and the space shuttle’s last mission to the International Space Station.

The U.S. Honor Flag, transported by Heisler and Major, was part of 143 funerals, tributes and memorial events last year.

“It represents the selfless service of the men and women who served our communities and our country.”

Heisler is himself a disabled veteran who served in the Army’s 101st Airborne Division in Iraq.  He took the flag with him to Iraq, which had been given to Heisler by the Texas House of Representatives shortly after 9-11.  “At that point, it was just a flag we used in Iraq for promotion ceremonies, enlistment ceremonies, and memorials for soldiers who were killed,” he said.  Heisler, a Texas native, returned stateside with the flag.  In 2007, it was used during the funerals for three Midland police officers killed in the line of duty.  “When the flag went to honor them, it was done so reverently the flag has never been back to my house since.  It’s always moving.”

There is no staff for the U.S. Honor Flag network, founded by Heisler. Donations to the non-profit organization can be made on its website. It’s now a large organization operated by volunteers from across the country. “It’s an incredible group of people who just do the right thing,” he said with pride.

One of those volunteers is Salina resident Patti Payne.  She and her daughter met up with Heisler while he was in Hays. Payne volunteers as a USHF Logistics Coordinator.  She has the connections.  Payne is a dispatcher for the Kansas Highway Patrol, where she’s worked for 17 years.

Special white gloves, with USHF embroidered in blue, are worn by the honor guards hold the flag.   All-white replica gloves are Replicas are placed on the hands of the deceased heroes and are buried or cremated with them. The gloves worn by the honor guard members–only once–are given to the family after the ceremony.

Major, a 16-month-old yellow Labrador and Heisel’s second service dog, also participates in the ceremonies.

“He’ll stand in formation with the officers and he does the salutes. He’s a great part of the team.” Major also accompanies Heisel on his visits to classrooms–“from kindergarten to college”-across the country to talk about the U.S. Honor Flag program.

Among the symbols and logos decorating Heisel’s transport truck is a closeup picture of gloved honor guard hands holding the U.S. Honor Flag.

Those are the hands of slain Topeka Police Cpl. Jason Harwood. Harwood was a member of the police color guard during funeral services for Topeka police Cpl. David Gogian and Officer Jeff Atherly who were shot to death on Dec. 16, 2012, in the parking lot of a Dillon’s grocery store. Hardwood was then killed Sept. 7, 2014, during a car stop in east Topeka. Harwood’s badge number–339–graces the front license plate of Heisel’s truck. It was given to him by Harwood’s brother, Jeremy Harwood, a Kansas Highway Patrol trooper.

Heisler said it’s the first time one of the U.S. Honor Flag honor guard members was later killed while on duty, and then, in turn, was honored with the same flag he once carried for another law enforcement officer.

By BECKY KISER
Hays Post

Family, friends and community members gathered Sunday night in downtown Hays to remember the two men killed in a trench collapse accident last Tuesday afternoon.

The candlelight vigil was organized by the Ellis County Ministerial Alliance and held on Main Street, just south of the Eighth Street intersection where sewer repair work had been underway March 1 in front of the Ellis County Administrative Center.

Killed when the dirt caved in from the walls of the 11-feet-deep trench were J Corp Construction Company employees Aaron Pfannenstiel, 44, and Jake Jacobs, 66, both of Hays. Pfannenstiel was the J Corp owner/operator; Jacobs was a construction supervisor. Funerals for both men were held Saturday.

One J Corp employee was rescued–Agustin Macias, who suffered a broken left arm. Macias attended Sunday’s ceremony with family.

Prayers were offered also for Macias, who attended the ceremony with family, for the emergency first responders who were at the scene, and for the Ellis County employees who offered their building to anxious family members during the rescue and recovery.

“We come together tonight to grieve and to remember,” said ECMA President Rev. Celeste Lasich, First Presbyterian Church as she welcomed the crowd, standing quietly in the middle of the block, just short of the fenced-off trench site.

“We offer prayer and support for the loving and extended Pfannenstiel and Jacobs families, for all the employees and partners of J Corp, for the emergency responders, and the city and utilities staff, the county building staff, the downtown businesses and too many people to name–all touched by this terrible tragedy,” Lasich said.

With a catch in his voice, Ellis County Commission Chairman Dean Haselhorst offered condolences.

“I realized this past week the impact J Corp had in so many communities across the state. From Atwood to Coldwater, to Hesston to Salina, to Russell to Gorham and back to Hays–the support of the elected officials and department heads that all called offered their prayers to be shared with the families. They shared stories of the times that J Corp was in and around their communities doing work or just serving others in those communities.

“For Jake and Aaron, it was building miles of roads, miles of sidewalks, countless curbs that they redid in the city of Hays for handicap accessibility, parking lots, laying pipe, doing maintenance, and all the day-to-day activity that J Corp did as a construction company.

“And on Tuesday morning when they were called to the corner of Eighth and Main again, they were serving the community of Hays, doing what they loved, and helping out where they could.

“And be assured when Aaron and Jake were greeted at the gates of heaven, our Lord told them ‘Well done, my good and faithful servants. You may now come in and rest, for this eternal kingdom is yours.'”

Hays Mayor Eber Phelps, Ellis County Commissioner Barb Wasinger and Ellis County Emergency Medical Services Director Kerry McCue also spoke to the crowd. Other prayers were offered by Deacon Scott Watford, St. Nicholas Church, and Pastor Patrick McGinnis, Dialogue Ministries.

As dusk fell, Rev. Kevin Daniels, Hays Christian Church, asked the mourners to light their candles as Chris and Ervis Dinkel, Liberty Church, led the crowd in singing “Amazing Grace.”

As the final notes faded and the candle flames flickered in the breeze, Daniels talked about the power of light.

“Sorrow, and now dark, fills the street. In this, our hour of need, we turn to light. Light offers protection. Light offers hope. Light offers life…Light gives us God’s peace,” Daniels said. “Together we have grieved, and together we move forward.”

Liberty Church Pastor Steve Dinkel then asked those holding candles to blow them out and for everyone to “join hands and draw strength from each other” during the closing prayer.

“We’ve experienced such a loss in our community, Lord,” Dinkel prayed, “and it reminds us to slow down and do the things that matter. To give one more hug hello or goodbye, and to appreciate each other.”

The memorial services lasted little more than half an hour. Thirty minutes later, the tears were still falling, the hugs were still heartfelt, and the mourners still stared down at the now-filled trench.

APAC-Hays contractors will resume completion of the sewer line repairs Monday.

TOPEKA – Debra Fisher was honored Feb. 15, at a reception at the State Capitol Building, Topeka, for having been named employee of the 2015 fourth quarter for the Kansas Department for Children and Families’ (DCF) West Region.

An accountant in DCF’s Budgeting and Fiscal department, based in the Hays Service Center, Fisher joined four other DCF employees who were recognized by Governor Sam Brownback for their service to the State.

Fisher has served the State for 10 years, overseeing and tracking a budget of just under $30 million. She trains and supervises five staff across a region of 65 counties and 17 service centers.

“Debra’s ability to quickly pull information from a variety of sources and present it in a clear and concise manner is highly valued and appreciated in the West Region,” said DCF Secretary Phyllis Gilmore.

Outside of work, Fisher enjoys being active with family and friends. Some of her favorite activities include boating, reading, word games and watching movies.

By BECKY KISER
Hays Post

The Ellis County Ministerial Alliance is organizing a community candlelight vigil Sunday, March 6, at 6:30 p.m. following Tuesday’s tragedy in Hays when a sewer trench collapse killed two men and injured a third.

“This is a time for our community to come together to grieve and support each other in the aftermath of the tragic trench accident,” said Celeste Lasich, ECMA president. “ECMA is working with the city of Hays, Ellis County and Ellis County EMS,” she added.

The ceremony will be held in front of the Ellis County Administrative Center, 718 Main Street. The accident occurred on Main Street just in front of the Center.

Two J Corp Construction Company employees died–44-year-old Aaron Pfannenstiel, the owner/operator of J Corp, and 66-year-old James “Jake” Jacobs, a construction supervisor at J Corp. A third J Corp employee was rescued and transported to HaysMed.

According to Lasich, the pastor at First Presbyterian Church in Hays, guest speakers will include Kerry McCue, Ellis County EMS director. McCue was at the accident scene throughout the rescue and recovery search. Hays Mayor Eber Phelps will also participate. Representing the staff and employees who work in the Ellis County Administrative Center will be Ellis County Commissioners Dean Haselhorst and Barb Wasinger.

The vigil will include familiar hymns and special music.

Some candles will be provided, but Lasich suggested attendees bring their own.

A memorial fund for the Pfannenstiel family has been organized on gofundme.

By BECKY KISER
Hays Post

Hays city commissioners ended their Thursday night work session with somber thoughts and prayers for the families and friends of the two Hays men killed Tuesday afternoon while working in a sewer trench on Main Street. A third man was injured and taken to Hays Medical Center.

All three men were employees of J Corp Construction Company in Hays.

Owner/operator Aaron “A.P.” Pfannenstiel, 44, and construction supervisor James “Jake” Jacobs, 66, both died. The other employee was rescued soon after the 911 call at 1:36 p.m. and was taken to Hays Medical Center.

Mayor Eber Phelps also noted that Jacobs was the brother of Hays City Clerk Brenda Kitchen.

Phelps, City Manager Toby Dougherty and Commissioner Shaun Musil were at the scene in front of the Ellis County Administrative Center, along with Utilities Director Johnny O’Conner, Public Works Director Greg Sund, Assistant Public Works Director John Braun and Finance Director Kim Rupp, the city’s Public Information Officer.

“It’s also a big loss for the community,” said Commissioner Henry Schwaller. “We’ve not had an accident like this in a hundred years–when we lost two firefighters–again, a century ago. So this is very serious for all of us and it’s uncommon.”

Vice-Mayor Shaun Musil also expressed his thanks to “all the firefighters and everyone else who was down there helping out and doing everything they could.”

Funerals for both Pfannenstiel and Jacobs will held Saturday in Hays.

A community candlelight vigil organized by the Ellis County Ministerial Alliance will be held Sunday, March 6, at 6:30 p.m. in front of the Administrative Center, 718 Main.

By JAMES BELL
Hays Post

On Saturday, politically minded citizens will gather for the 2016 Kansas presidential caucuses. Here is what you need to know to participate in either the Republican Party or Democratic Party caucuses:

DEMOCRATIC PARTY CAUCUS

Event details:

The 40th Kansas Senate District Democratic Caucus, covering most of northwest Kansas, will take place at 3 p.m. at the American Legion Post 173, 1035 Canterbury, Hays. The state is broken into 47 districts for the caucus, generally matching state senate districts.

Registration begins at 1 p.m.

How it works:

“All attendees must register from 1:00-3:00 p.m.. Everyone must be in line by 3:00 p.m. in order to participate,” according the Kansas Democratic Party website. “Eligible caucus goers divide to form Presidential preference groups. If a preference group does not have enough people to be considered ‘viable,’ 15 percent of total caucus goers, eligible attendees will have an opportunity to join another preference group or acquire people into their group to become viable. Delegates are then awarded to the preference groups based on their size.”

“Any person who is eligible to vote in state of Kansas and who will be 18 years old on Election Day, November 8, 2016, may participate in the Kansas caucuses. These individuals must reside in the Senate District in which they wish to participate, and they must be registered as a Democrat. Voter registration and party registration is available on the day of the caucus.”

The choices:

• Bernie Sanders
• Rocky De La Fuente
• Hillary Clinton
• Martin O’Malley (Campaign was suspended on Feb. 1)

The stakes:

To win the nomination for the Democratic Party, a candidate must procure 2,383 delegates of the 4,051 total. Kansas has 33 delegates to be chosen by the Caucus goers and four additional superdelegates.

Superdelegates consist of elected officials and party leaders who choose who to support outside of the caucus process.

Louisiana and Nebraska also hold Democratic Party delegate contests Saturday. At the end of Saturday, 1,130 Democratic delegates will be decided across the nation.

Current totals:

• Clinton has 1,034 pledged delegates; 576 from election processes and 457 superdelegates.
• Sanders has 408 pledged delegates; 386 from election processes and 22 superdelegates.

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REPUBLICAN PARTY CAUCUS 

Event details: 

The Republican Caucus for the counties of Ellis and Rooks will be held from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. at the Hays VFW, 2106 Vine. The Republican Caucus is split by county throughout the state, with some counties grouping into groups of two or three. Johnson and Leavenworth counties have multiple sites.

How it works: 

The Chair of the county central committee of the Caucus Chair opens the Caucus by opening the floor to the representative of each campaign for a discussion of positions on issues for no more than 10 minutes. The Chair will then allow ballots to be cast, with each voter being allowed one vote. Ballots can be cast anytime during the Caucus. Any Republican registered to the Party prior to Feb. 4, 2016 is eligible to participate.

Delegates are allocated by Congressional District and candidates with less than ten percent of the vote will not receive delegates.

The choices:

• Jeb Bush (Campaign was suspended on Feb. 20)
• Ben Carson
• Ted Cruz
• Carly Fiorina (Campaign was suspended on Feb. 10)
• John Kasich
• Marco Rubio
• Donald Trump
• Uncommitted

The stakes:

To win the nomination for the Republican Party a candidate must procure 1,237 delegates of the 2,472 total. Kansas has 40 delegates.

Kentucky, Louisiana and Maine also hold Republican Party delegate contests on Saturday. At the end of Saturday 883 Republican delegates will be decided across the nation.

Current totals:

• Trump has 319 pledged delegates.
• Cruz has 226 pledged delegates.
• Rubio has 110 pledged delegates.
• Kasich has 25 pledged delegates.
• Carson has eight pledged delegates.

From Hays Police Chief Don Scheibler:

On Tuesday, March 1, 2016 at 1:36 p.m. the emergency communications center received a 911 call of a trench collapse in the 700 block of Main Street. Three J Corp workers were in the trench at the time of the collapse. Emergency personnel responded to the scene and one worker was rescued from the trench. Two other victims were trapped in the trench and rescue efforts were unsuccessful.

Hays Fire Department and the Ellis County Rural Fire Department were assisted by APAC Inc. in the recovery of the victims. The victims have been identified as James “Jake” Jacobs, 67, and Aaron Pfannenstiel, 45. Jacobs and Pfannenstiel were pronounced dead at the scene.

Downtown traffic was diverted for several hours as a safety precaution and to allow responders to work the scene. The scene is still under investigation and we ask that the public stays out of the work area.

On behalf of the Hays Police Department and the City of Hays, our condolences go out to J Corp and the families of the deceased.

By James Bell and Becky Kiser
Hays Post

What began as routine work on a sewer line in the 700 block of Main Street in Hays turned to tragedy Tuesday as the trench dug to access the line collapsed early Tuesday afternoon, killing two workers and injuring a third in the 11-foot deep trench.

Hays Public Information Officer Kim Rupp confirmed Tuesday night the three workers were employees of Hays-based JCorp.

Families of the three men were at the scene, sequestered in the nearby Ellis County Administration Center.  The building  was without water and sewer services during the operation, according to Rupp.

Rupp declined to identify any victims and said “a news release will be made available Wednesday.”

The call came into 911 at 1:36 p.m. alerting emergency responders to the accident.  “It was a trench collapse,” Rupp said. “The dirt caved in as the three were in the trench.” Underground work on sewer lines had been in progress in the area over the past several days.

RELATED: Ellis County offices will be closed Wednesday.

During the operation, Main was closed to traffic from Sixth to Eighth, along with several blocks to the east of the area.

Dozens of  law enforcement, fire fighters and city of Hays workers struggled to secure the hole and rescue the trapped workers.

A first victim was rescued shortly after the accident happened and transported to HaysMed.  By 4:30 p.m. Rupp had confirmed the operation had changed from rescue to recovery for the other two workers still trapped in the trench.

“The Hays Fire Department, Ellis County Rural Fire Department, Ellis and Victoria Fire Departments, and the Northwest Kansas Regional Technical Rescue Team are conducting a rescue operation of two victims in the trench.  The Ellis County Coroner, Dr. Lyle Noordhoek, is investigating the accident,” Rupp said in an announcement around 4:30 p.m.

“American Red Cross, Ellis County Emergency Management, Kansas Highway Patrol, and Ellis County EMS are also involved and working diligently to recover the victims,” he added.

One of the two bodies was recovered about 5:30 p.m. and transported to a local funeral home.

As darkness set over Hays, special lighting and large construction equipment from APAC-Hays were moved to the area to assist in the recovery efforts.  Hays officials, including Mayor Eber Phelps, City Manager Toby Dougherty, Utilities Director Johnny O’Connor, Public Works  Director Greg Sund, and Assistant Public Works Director John Braun were also at the scene.

It was another four hours before the second body was finally recovered about 9:25 p.m. and taken to a local funeral home.  A Hays priest said prayers at the site as the rescue workers removed their hardhats and bowed their heads.

“The rescuers were painstakingly removing dirt from the trench one bucket at a time,” Rupp said.  “APAC  lowered a large piece of equipment into the trench to shore up the trench walls so no more dirt could fall in while they were in there working.”

“They had to be very careful for their own safety and the victims.”

The trench and scene were finally secured by about 10:15 p.m.  Rupp said the street will remain closed Wednesday as the sewer line work is finished.

By JAMES BELL
Hays Post

UPDATE 9:25 p.m. The body of the second victim of the trench collapse in the 700 block of Main St. in Hays has been recovered. A local funeral home transported the body from the scene. The identities of the two men killed and a third that was injured have yet to be released. According to Hays Public Information Officer Kim Rupp, the three workers were employees of JCorp in Hays.

——————————————————

UPDATE 9:00 p.m. The search for the second victim continues as recovery workers continue to remove dirt and search the collapsed trench. A funeral home vehicle has just arrived on scene as screening blankets went up. EMS director Kerry McCue has moved inside the search area.

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UPDATE 7:20 p.m. Public Works Director Greg Sund has arrived on scene as dirt is still being removed from the collapsed trench in an effort to locate the second victim of the collapse.

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UPDATE 7:00 p.m. The dirt mover brought to the scene is in place above the collapsed trench. The machine has been outfitted with a special attachment to aid efforts. Extra lighting is also being set up to allow work to continue. Members of the HFD are moving buckets of dirt out of the trench.

                                                         Raw Video

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UPDATE 6:46 p.m. The search for the second victim is ongoing according to HPD Lt. Tim Greenwood.

——————————————————-

UPDATE 6:30 p.m. A dirt mover from APAC is working in the area as the search for the second victim continues. Assistant Director of Public Works John Braun has also arrived on scene.

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UPDATE 6:10 p.m. A contingent of City officials have arrived on scene, including Mayor Eber Phelps, City Manager Toby Dougherty, and Utilities Director Johnny O’Connor. Two priests are also with family members in the Ellis County Administration Building. The search for the second victim is ongoing.

—————————————————————————

UPDATE 5:45 p.m. The body of one of the two victims has been recovered from the collapsed trench. Crews are currently working in the trench to recover the second victim.

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UPDATE 4:33 p.m.  Hays Public Information Officer Kim Rupp says the scene of a trench collapse on south Main Street is now a “recovery operation.”

“The Hays Fire Department, Ellis County Rural Fire Department, and Ellis and Victoria Fire Departments are conducting a rescue operation of two victims in the trench.  The Ellis County Coroner, Dr. Lyle Noordhoek, is investigating the accident,” Rupp said.

“American Red Cross, Ellis County Emergency Management, Kansas Highway Patrol, and Ellis County EMS are also involved and working diligently to recover the victims,” Rupp added.

    Raw Video

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UPDATE 4:25 p.m. Officials say one man has been removed from the trench collapse that occurred about 1:36 p.m. this afternoon on south Main Street near the Ellis County Administrative Center.  He was taken to HaysMed.  The spokesman says two men remain trapped in the collapse.  The families of all three men have been notified.   Police officials confirmed one fatality shortly after 4 p.m.

——————-

UPDATE 4:03 p.m.  The Hays Police Department has confirmed the death of one man trapped in a trench collapse about 1:36 p.m. this afternoon on south Main Street between 7th and 8th Streets.  Another man remains trapped at this time.  Another update from the HPD is expected shortly.

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UPDATE 3:45 p.m.  Two men are trapped in a trench collapse on south Main Street in Hays as confirmed by an eyewitness at the scene.

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UPDATE 3:15 p.m.  Rescue work continues at the scene of a trench collapse about 1:36 p.m. Tuesday afternoon on Main Street between 8th and 7th Streets.  Sewer line repairs have been underway for several days.  According to notices from the city of Hays, the work is being done by Wichita-based Layne and Christensen.

The Hays Fire Department is still securing the trench hole.

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A section of Main Street between Seventh and Eighth streets, just in front of the Ellis County Administrative Building has caved in, trapping at least one worker.

Information is still sparse at this time, but a large contingent of Hays Police and Fire Department officials, along with Hays City workers, are working the area, trying to secure the hole and remove the trapped worker.

Main Street has been closed, along with Eighth Street two blocks east of the Main Street intersection.

Residents have been asked to avoid the area as work continues.