FHSU University Relations

Dr. Jack Horner, technical adviser to and partial inspiration for the “Jurassic Park” movies, will speak at a fundraiser for Fort Hays State University’s Sternberg Museum of Natural History at 7 p.m. Friday, April 1, in the Beach/Schmidt Performing Arts Center.

Horner’s lecture, “Dinosaurs of the Past, the Present, and the Future,” will cover how perceptions on dinosaurs have changed over time and how more research will continue to change these perceptions.

Horner’s own research has greatly impacted the way dinosaurs are viewed. His team discovered the first evidence of parental care in dinosaurs. He was also the first to discover dinosaur embryos. This research has caused a transition from seeing dinosaurs as cold-blooded reptilian creatures to bird-like animals who interacted with each other and their environment in complex ways.

Horner has published eight books, 50 articles and more than 120 papers. New Scientist Magazine described his book “Digging Dinosaurs” as one of the 200 most important science books of the 20th century.

“Dr. Horner was my master’s advisor at Montana State University, and he has served as a mentor to me ever since,” said Dr. Laura Wilson, assistant professor of geosciences at FHSU and curator of paleontology at the Sternberg Museum. “To hear him speak on his research and future developments is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.”

Horner will also speak at a gala event at the museum on Saturday, April 2. All proceeds from both events will go directly towards renovating the Museum’s paleontology lab

Horner currently serves as curator of paleontology at the Museum of the Rockies and Regents Professor of Paleontology at Montana State University. He is also a senior adjunct scientist at the Smithsonian Institute.

Horner worked as the technical advisor for all four “Jurassic Park” movies and on the FOX television show “Terra Nova.” He has been featured on National Geographic, the Discovery Channel and the show “60 Minutes.”

Tickets to the event are $10 for general admission and $5 for museum members and FHSU students. To reserve tickets, contact the Sternberg Museum of Natural History at 785-628-4286.

                                Video courtesy USD 489 News

By JAMES BELL
Hays Post

At the most recent bond issue town hall meeting Thursday, a crowd of around 30 asked questions and discussed the need for the $94 million bond issue that would allow the district to repair and expand facilitates through the district. During the meeting, the crowd engaged positively with Superintendent Dean Katt, who led the presentation, asking a variety of questions throughout the meeting.

The positive interaction was likely a relief to the embattled administration and Hays USD 489 Board of Education members, as several high profile disagreements have plagued the groups in recent weeks and community support for the bond remains low.

Most recently an ongoing informal poll on Hays Post found support for the measure well under 40 percent. While that might seem low, many of the promotional aspects of the bond have yet to begin.

“We really haven’t started the bond campaigning,” Katt said. “We are in the infant stages of this campaign.”

The district cannot advocate for the bond, only share information.

And so a committee – called Fund Our Future First – will spearhead the campaign supporting the bond issue.

During this early parts of the bond issue campaign, the district, along with the FOFF committee, has worked to collect signatures in order to allow for the possibility of a sales tax question being put on the election ballot.

Signatures will be collected until Monday.

“We should know next week if the sales tax is even an option,” Katt said. “We’re working on that right now.”

The district would need 10 percent of eligible voters within Hays city limits in order to put the question on the ballot. That number is estimated to be around 1,200.

The sales tax, if approved, would begin after a current Ellis County sales tax would sunset, effectively leaving sales tax rates the same.

During the meeting, it was reported at least 838 signatures had been collected and many more had been reported, but not yet counted.

Volunteers will continue working through the weekend to collect signatures.

During the informational session, the topic of a planned “Art Court” at Hays High School was addressed.

Katt said while it might seem extraneous, in reality it is due to a concrete needing replaced. The concrete in place currently slopes toward the building, allowing water to collect on a classroom floor.

The art court in essence is replacing that concrete slab and adding a little bit of landscaping, Katt said.

The space would be used by art students working on projects suited for an outdoor setting.

The necessity of passing the full $94 million bond now, rather than piecing it out, was also discussed.

For every year the bond is not completed, the architects project a 6 percent cost increase, Katt said. With a $94 million project, a 6 percent increase would increase the project cost over $5.6 million every year.

And, as an audience member pointed out, the needs that would be addressed by the bond will only continue to compile as years pass, so a lower bond amount would require another bond in the near future, at a significantly higher cost to taxpayers.

The next town hall meeting is scheduled for 6 p.m. Tuesday at Hays Middle School, 201 W. 29th.

                                             Video by Cooper Slough

By JAMES BELL
Hays Post

Dog grooming might not be a service everyone needs, but for those who do, it is a necessity. Now one of the top groomers in Hays has completed its move to 700 E. Eighth, allowing for more space for the popular business.

“We’re really happy here,” owner Bunnie Bowen said. “We’re on the corner of Eight and Riley.”

During the weeks following the move, Bowen and her small staff have already taken advantage of the much larger space.

“They can’t believe how spacious it is,” Bowen said. “In the space that we were in before, which is about a quarter of this size. Sometimes there was four of us working there all at one time.

“That got a little bit crazy.”

The new larger space will help the staff be more comfortable as they provide services to dog owners throughout northwest Kansas.

While the business works with dogs, for Bowen, it’s all about keeping clients happy – dogs and their humans alike.

“It’s a little bit different than other industries where you are just working with humans,” she said. “The dog has to be happy, and the human has to be happy as well.”

Good service is something Bowen is extremely familiar with. Before her ownership of Fur is Flying, Bowen worked in retail, working with well-known business like Macy’s and Dillard’s after completing a business degree at Rockhurst University in Kansas City.

“I always like to say that I always had clients that barked at me and now I have a few that bite as well,” she said.

While working with dogs all day might seem easy, Bowen said it is a serious business working to keep dogs looking good and being healthy.

“Although people think we play with dogs all day, we’re earning a living here,” she said.

That seriousness, however, does not stop the staff from having a little fun at work.

“It is a fun job. We say there is not a day we don’t laugh,” Bowen said. “There is not a day where something happens that we’ve never seen before.”

That is likely due to the numbers of new customers the business sees daily.

“The majority of the clients that we get are referrals,” adding she sees one to two new clients each day.

Tools of the trade

One of the most surprising aspects of the business might be the tools used – something Fur is Flying takes pride in.

“None of it is really required,” Bowen said, but said having good equipment means providing a better service. “When I was opening my business, it was very important to me to have all state-of-the-art equipment.”

That equipment includes an electric lift table, several types of blades and clippers, and a custom-built grooming tub, which also made the move from the old location.

“It’s just like any other job. You have to have the best tools in order to do the best work,” Bowen said.

Products used on the animals and by hand drying also factor into the way Fur is Flying does business.

The products used are professional grade and can’t be found at Hays retailers, Bowen said.

Tips for new dog owners

As a professional dog groomer, Bowen also has insight for new dog owners and the best ways to keep them looking their best.

“Often the biggest mistake that they make is that they don’t brush their dog often enough,” Bowen said. “That makes our job a whole lot easier.”

Working with a dog’s paws early on also helps keep a dog looking sharp.

“A lot of dogs are a little bit shy about having their nails or their paws done, but if owners start from the very beginning working with their paws when they’re a puppy, that makes it a lot easier to do,” Bowen said.

Through the business, Bowen also helps customers with guidance on best practices for dog grooming.

“We’re always here to rectify a bad situation and to work with them and educate them as to how their dog should be taken care of,” Bowen said.

For more information about the business or for information on how to schedule an appointment, visit the Fur is Flying webpage by clicking here.

Spring-like weather in Hays in recent weeks has allowed contractors to get a leg up on construction of a new Italian restaurant in Hays.

Chance Reeser, construction manager for Tebo Properties, said warm temperatures and sunny skies have allowed contractors to make up ground on work at Pasta Jay’s, which will anchor a new shopping development north of Interstate 70.

Tebo Villages will also feature a 12-storefront retail development at the northeast corner of 43rd and Vine.

While no tenants have been announced, developers have said leases are out and in consideration by several businesses.

Pasta Jays’ owner Jay Elowsky was in Hays a few weeks ago, Reeser said, meeting with contractors and seeing the progress on his third restaurant first-hand.

“Everything’s going well,” Reeser said. “We’re anticipating the building being done in June.”

By JAMES BELL
Hays Post

The final portion of phase one of the Big Creek Crossing redevelopment will be completed soon, with the installation of a new sign in front of the shopping center.

With the phase one completion, developers will move to phase, which includes installation of a new facade and landscaping to be completed this summer.

Phase one was new tile throughout the mall, new LED lighting, a repaved parking lot and new LED lighting outside said Josh Vickery, DP Management development investment specialist.

The capstone for phase one is new signage for BCC and its tenants.

The old sign came down last week, with a replacement scheduled to be installed by the end of March.

Originally, the new name for the shopping center was to be accompanied with the new sign, but development delays forced BCC to push the naming ahead of the signage.

The mall unveiled its new name in October.

“We probably jumped ahead on unveiling a name, but wanted to give them something,” said Katie Dorzweiler, BCC property manager. “We’re going through all this rebranding, and we didn’t want to not have a name to brand. So we did that piece hoping that the sign would come down sooner, but it just didn’t.”

She noted the process of getting the new sign involved bidding the project out and working with tenants to finalize the individual parts of the sign.

“There was a ton of behind-the-scenes with the anchor (stores),” Dorzweiler said. “Before we could even send the sign to production, between owner and corporations, they had to nail out the specifics on leasing.”

With the sign going up soon, the focus will now shift to phase two of the overall project.

“We’re working on architecture for the phase 2 for the EIFS (exterior insulation and finishing system), which is the frontage of the mall, which will span from Stage all the way through the end of the building,” Vickery said. “There will be some stone, brick, awnings and the whole front will have a new look to it.”

The property will also get new landscaping with islands placed throughout the parking lot.

New entrances will also be a part of the project.

“They’ll look a lot nicer and up to date,” Vickery said.

BCC also hopes to be able to repave the east parking lot during phase two.

“There wasn’t enough funding in the CID to do the back parking lot. We’re going to be doing that through capital reserves,” Vickery said. “They’re in the process of building that fund.”

While there will not be any noticeable differences at BCC until this summer, the process is well underway to begin the exterior revamp.

“The architect has begun the architectural and structural engineering for the facade of the mall, and we will be bidding that out in 30 days,” Vickery said.

Construction is expected to begin in May or early June with a completion of late summer or early fall.

“That will complete everything that we promised to the city and to future tenants that we are working with now,” Vickery said.

After the redevelopment, BCC is working on bringing in new tenants for the property, but Vickery said that is not a quick process, but the upgrades are helping in discussions.

“In development, tenants typically start looking at different locations probably 18 (months) to two years out,” Vickery said. “Then they prioritize their list on where they want to go. … So definitely the CID and the upgrade of the mall is helping us move up on priority list for some of the tenants that we’re working with.”

Vickery said he expects in the next three to six months the community will see three tenants that were high on the community want list announce their move to the area, but nothing is assured.

“It gets tricky and cumbersome, but we have a lot of momentum with our leasing activity right now. We’re moving in the right direction,” he said. “The mall is getting upgraded. We think Hays is a great place to do business and so do a lot of our tenants that we are talking to,”

Eagle Communications was proud to help bring the Kansas City Royals World Series trophy to Fort Hays State University on Monday as part of the World Series Trophy Tour, presented by the Missouri Lottery and the Kansas Lottery. Check out scenes from the event below!

                                                  Video by Cooper Slough

By JAMES BELL
Hays Post

A flourish in music is an embellishment, something a little extra that brings life to a piece of music. The same might be said about Allison Lint, a nationally recognized violist, who recently set up a studio in Hays.

“I had been here a few times for various visits, and there was something about this town that really stuck with me,” Lint said. “I think the people are wonderful, friendly, welcoming and inviting, and they’re excited to have me here, which says a lot.”

Part of the appeal of Hays for Lint, is the size of the town.

”Everyone calls it a small town, but I find it to be very comfortable. It’s a good size. It has everything we need,” she said.

A thriving art community was also a draw to the area.

“As far as the arts are concerned the arts community here is so wonderful, it is incredibly culturally oriented,” she said.

“The combination of music, theater and dance that is in this town – that I have seen only in the few weeks of being here – has been astounding. That’s something that I want to be a part of, and that’s something I’ve found people are willing to let me be a part of.”

Prior to her arrival in Hays, Lint has made music an almost lifelong pursuit and was especially drawn to the violin.

“I’ve essentially been a musician my whole life,” she said. “I started playing violin when I was 7, I picked up piano at 8 and a little bit later also started on viola and cello, so I consider myself pretty proficient at those four instruments and that’s also what I teach.”

Lint graduated from the prestigious Oberlin Conservatory with a bachelor’s degree and continued her education at the University of Akron earning a master’s degree in music. But even before school, Lint was surrounded by music through a family of musicians.

“I’ve had a lot of music in my family,” she said. “My father is a guitarist and his mother was a church organist, so we have a lot of music generations back.”

With the musical family and the fondness for string instruments, the scene was set for a young Lint to become enamored with the violin. After seeing a violin performance, Lint’s direction in life was forever changed.

“When I was about 8 or 9 years old, my dad took me to see a woman to see a women named Leila Josefowicz, who to this day remains my favorite virtuoso performer,” Lint said “She is wonderful. I try to emulate her in my playing.

“She’s the one who made me realize that’s what I want to do. I saw her on stage, and I loved everything about her.”

After college, Lint focused on freelance performing, but a unique opportunity changed the young musician’s path.

She auditioned for the Akron Symphony and won a seat in the second violin section. This year marks her third with the group.

“Through the symphony came a lot of other avenues,” Lint said, but the symphony “has been the bedrock of my performance over the last few years.”

On top of performing and teaching, Lint is an advocate for a little-known disease, one that she has worked to overcome herself.

“When I’m not performing or teaching, the other thing I do is run a nonprofit called Violin for Vasculitis, through that I’m traveling to every state in the country, to raise awareness of vasculitis, which is a rare autoimmune disease,” she said. “That as also really boosted my performance career, traveling nationwide to bring music to lots of different places and lots of different audiences.”

Not only did her advocacy boost her performance opportunities, she garnered national attention when CNN made her the subject of a piece in 2014. That piece can be viewed by clicking here.

ON MAKING IT IN HAYS

“I know that Hays already has a lot to offer, in the area of music and arts, that’s why I’m here. That’s why I chose this place out of anywhere in the country I could have gone. If I can come in and establish myself and become a part of what’s already happening, that would be wonderful,” Lint said. “There’s something about the community that’s more important to me.”

While a successful studio is important, she said, “it’s more important that I take root here, then reach out and make connections with parts of the community — the arts, dance, theater and certainly the college.”

“That’s another really neat thing I found about Hays, is that everybody I’ve talked to about Hays, loves it and is excited to be here. That creates this kind of energy in the town,” she said. “Everybody likes where they are. Everybody likes being a part of it. Everybody likes what they do and they want to do more. They want to continue to build what’s already happening in Hays. That’s what I wanted to be a part of.”

Lint offers flexible lessons Monday through Wednesday in her studio in the Hadley Center, 205 E. Seventh, Ste. 124. For more information, visit allisonlint.com or on Facebook at allisonlintmusic.

 

SHERMAN COUNTY – Law enforcement authorities in Sherman County reported a weekend drug arrest.

Another suspected drug dealer was taken off the road in Sherman County through a simple traffic stop for speeding, according to a social media report by the Sherman County Sheriff’s office.

Officers found marijuana, heroin, scales, cash and a weapon – tools of the trade.

The report also credited Sherman County Sheriff’s Deputy Bob Juleson and K-9 Gadar for doing a great job.

No additional details on the arrest have been reported.

By BECKY KISER
Hays Post

Those attending baseball games in Larks Park will enjoy major improvements to the concession stand this year.

Hays City Manager Toby Dougherty recently updated city commissioners about the activity that’s been going on at the facility on

“The Larks Park concession area is very undersized,” said Hays City Manager Toby Dougherty, “and when you’re at a game, it can be quite congested. They’re trying to do a lot of things in a very small building.”

“For many years we’ve had a group of concerned residents that truly take an interest in Larks baseball, and Hays baseball in general, as well as Fort Hays State University, wanting to do something different with that facility.”

Larks Park is home to the FHSU baseball team. The park, built in 1940 as part of a Work Projects Administration project, is owned by the city of Hays and operated by the FHSU Athletic Department. The facility hosts many college and high school baseball regular season games and tournaments as well as the Hays Larks semi-pro summer league team.

“There’ve been a lot of ideas for volunteer projects and group projects–none of them have ever seemed to get traction,” Dougherty recalled, until a year ago. An interested group had some money to match city money for improvements. Then they ran into a roadblock–the flood plain.

“When you’re constructing projects in the flood plain, it’s extremely difficult,” Dougherty explained, “and what they wanted to do was demolish the existing facility and rebuild. That would require adhering to National Flood Protection Act standards and Flood Plain standards, very difficult to do.

“So I challenged city staff to sit down with this group and figure out what their goals and expected outcomes are and see if we can make this work within the constraints of the flood plain regulations.

“We sat down with Parks staff, Planning, Inspection and Enforcement staff and the people interested in this project and they were able to come up with a plan of action that accomplished all of the needs of the Hays Baseball Association, Fort Hays, and the city. They put together a project that was approved by the city.

“It was done in a very economical manner with a lot of volunteer effort, a lot of people donating services and labor in kind,” he pointed out.

“When it’s done, as an attendee of either Hays baseball or Fort Hays events, you will see the concessions area much improved—enlarged with better seating and the foot traffic should move through there a lot better.

“We’re very happy with the project. It was a good effort, kind of indicative of what happens in Hays. We have a lot of community first-minded people and this is a good example of that.”

Dougherty said the Director of Parks, Jeff Boyle, and the volunteers will present a full report about the improvements to city commissioners when the project is completed.

By BECKY KISER
Hays Post

The six-year relationship between the city of Hays and NCKTech College is improving.

NCKTech president Eric Burks presented his annual report during the Thursday night city commission work session about operation of the NCKTech Big Creek Technical Training Center. The Center is housed at 101 S. Main Street in cooperation with the city of Hays.

“I almost didn’t include this because I really think these issues have been resolved,” Burks said, “but communication can always improve, so I left it there, and I really believe it’s improved at all levels.”

In exchange for utilizing the city-owned building, NCKTech, along with its students, is required to complete some projects for the city.

City Manager Toby Dougherty provides annual project lists to the college, which come from the city departments.

“We now know there is not an urgency behind these projects, and yet there is a need for them,” Burks said.

The list is reviewed by NCKTech instructors who help select the projects they think their students can handle successfully and do a good job.

“So I think the outcomes and expectations (by the city) are much more clear.”

Instructors work with department chairmen to make sure the timelines will work with other assigned work the students have. Together they figure out how the city’s projects can come to fruition.

“It is important, and I think this has been key, that (city) projects fit within the students’ skill level so we’re not taking them with more than they can handle.  I really think that’s been the key overall to this being a more successful relationship,” Burks told commissioners.

NCKTech carpentry student projects completed for the city of Hays include six cedar kiosks with Plexiglass fronts for the Parks Department.

Electrical Technology students this semester will be upgrading the lighting in one room of the Public Works building and moving a disconnect for a piece of equipment. They also plan to upgrade the lighting in the conference room at the Hays Regional Airport.

The Plumbing, Heating and Air-Conditioning (PHAC) students are currently working on the air conditioning system in the concession stand at Larks Park. Next, they will be retrofitting city buildings to low-flow toilets and urinals.

Commissioners commended Burks and new campus dean Sandy Gottschalk for “improved leadership” at NCKTech. Mayor Eber Phelps also thanked the college for participating in last fall’s “Core2Campus” event for the first time.

NCKTech also has a college in Beloit.