By Jon Zweygardt
Hays Post

Ellis County will hold the official opening of the new Emergency Services Building this morning at the 1105 East 22nd location in Hays.

Work began in July 2014 on the $3.5 million project. Ellis County Emergency Medical Services, Emergency Management and Rural Fire all began moving in last week, putting all three departments in the same location for the first time.

Tuesday’s ribbon cutting will begin a 10 a.m. and feature presentations from County Commission Chairwoman Marcy McClelland, Commissioner Dean Haselhorst and others.

Ellis County residents are invited to attend. Refreshments will be available with building tours following the ribbon cutting presentation until 4 p.m.

During their Monday night meeting, the commission signed a resolution creating the Buckeye Wind PILOT Fund. Payments received for the Buckeye Wind Project from Invenergy will go to the fund allowing to county to transfer the funds to the general fund and use them as they see fit. McClelland said the county will receive $600,000 per year for 30 years. The payments are in lieu of property taxes. The wind farm began producing electricity Oct. 9.

The commission also approved the purchase of a new set of scales for the transfer station from Salina Scale for $79,045. The company will also rebuild the current scales at the landfill office for $15,900.

Commissioner also approved the Public Works Department to bid on a 2003 Sterling boom truck through Purple Wave for no more than $27,000.

Kansas Department of Wildlife, Parks and Tourism

ROOKS COUNTY–The Rooks County Game Warden is asking for the public assistance with the loss of these three deer in northeast Rooks County.

The three deer were shot in the neck with a rifle and the antlers were removed.

RELATED: Phillips County case also being investigated.

According to KDWPT Game Wardens, they were found on private land Sunday by a sportsman who was getting ready to hunt the property. The sportsman then reported it to Rooks County.

If you have any information, contact Operation Game Thief at 1-877-426-3843. Callers may remain anonymous.

FHSU University Relations and Marketing

“Remembering Our Fallen,” a traveling photo memorial of each Kansas soldier fallen in the War on Terror, including Bryan Nichols from Hays, is traveling to Forsyth Library on the Fort Hays State University campus, where it will be on display from Monday, Oct. 26, through Friday, Oct. 30.

“We must remember these American heroes and speak their names when we see their family members. We can never forget those who sacrificed everything for our freedom,” said Bill Williams, co-creator of the memorial.

Students and faculty will honor service members as the display is set up Monday morning.

“We are excited to have the memorial at the library,” said Deb Ludwig, dean of Forsyth Library. “The memorial will be on the main floor where it will be very visible to students and community members.”

Viewing hours of the memorial start Monday at 1 p.m. and will end Friday at noon. From Tuesday through Thursday, the library is open from 7:30 a.m. to midnight.

Fallen heroes from the Hays area are: Sgt. Jessie Davila, Greensburg; Master Sgt. Bernard Deghand, Mayetta; Cpl. Brian Escalante, Dodge City; Sgt. Derrick Lutters, Goodland; Sgt. Joel Murray, Salina; Chief Warrant Officer 2 Bryan Nichols, Hays; Sgt. Ronnie Schmidt, Newton; and Spc. Clinton Upchurch, Garden City.

Patriot Productions, a non-profit organization headquartered in Omaha, Neb., created memorials for Kansas and 17 other states. The memorials represent half of the country’s war dead since 9/11. Their goal is to complete a memorial for every state.

FHSU Division of Student Affairs and Bellevue University, Bellevue Neb., sponsor the memorial for Hays. Also, the Forsyth Library, FHSU Military Friendly Committee and the Student Veteran Association provide additional support in bringing the memorial to the community.

By BECKY KISER
Hays Post

Residents are already setting out their unwanted junk and other trash not normally picked up by the city of Hays in anticipation of the fall alley cleanup, which starts Monday, Oct. 26.

The annual event is free for Hays solid waste customers, with four crews making one sweep through the city. One crew is dedicated to picking up tree limbs and brush.

According to Solid Waste Superintendent Marvin Honas, the cleanup will start with customers who have curbside refuse service.

“That usually takes a day, to a day and a half, although there is no set schedule,” Honas said. “Sometimes we run behind with picking up brush and tree limbs. Then we’ll start into the alleys.”

Customers are asked to separate their discarded materials into four piles.

“If it’s separated, it makes it easier than having to rummage through a pile of stuff. It saves us a lot of time,” Honas explained.

The commodities are:

1) Tree Limbs and Brush–No longer than 12 feet in length or 6 inches in diameter; All yard and garden waste must be bagged.

2) Construction and Demolition Debris–Includes lumber, drywall, bricks, sinks and toilets, wiring, etc.; Nails should be pulled or bent over; Place small quantities of concrete, bricks, and plaster in containers.

3) White Goods/Metals–Includes guttering, siding, washing machines, dryers, refrigerators, metal swing sets, etc. Freon does not have to be removed from refrigerators. The Ellis County Transfer Station will do the removals. Bicycles will be collected, sorted and taken to Ellsworth for refurbishing and then returned to Hays for distribution.

4) Municipal Waste (all other items)–Includes furniture, carpet, electronic equipment, Styrofoam, etc.

The number of employees committed to the cleanup may vary from day to day; therefore, crews are unable to predict when they will be at a residence. There is a time limit per residence.

The tree limbs and brush will be chipped and taken to the Hays Parks Department, 1546 E. U.S. Highway 40 Bypass, for free pickup by residents.

The city will not pick up tires, medical waste or household hazardous waste. Tires should be disposed of at the Ellis County Landfill, and hazardous waste items should be disposed of at the Ellis County Hazardous Waste Facility. Call (785) 628-9460 or (785) 628-9449 for detailed information.

Honas recommends removing any items from the collection area that residents want to keep in order to avoid wrongful pickup.

For more information, contact the Hays Public Works Department at (785) 628-7350.

On Monday, Nov. 2, Be Made completes a historical transition, quadrupling in size to 6,000-plus square feet by expanding to the full footprint of its 801 Main location, just as the original building owners did a century ago.

A family affair, Be Made owners Sue Karlin and Jordan (Karlin) Ottley are the mother/daughter duo behind the business’s success. Together with family members, they renovated the former A.A. Wiesner Building, named for their great-grandfather, whose original landmark general store at that location grew to encompass two of the neighboring storefronts on the same block.

“We’re honored to be the ones to preserve the concept of a general store, in a historic Hays location and transition it into the next century,” Ottley said. “It’s even more special because it was once in our family.”

The décor pays homage to Hays and the family’s agricultural heritage. Original wood floors, brick walls and tin ornate ceilings provide authentic backdrops for textured barn wood, naturally weathered metals and industrial items. Upon entrance, railroad tie lighting fixtures with glass globes, windmill head wall ornamentation and green auger leg shelving are a few of the massive visuals contrasting against a variety of product displays engineered throughout the store floor.

“We like items built with an old standard of quality, solid with great character, but due to their age or condition can no longer be used as originally intended. There’s a challenge and reward in repurposing, reinventing and reincorporating these pieces back into every day life again,” said Ottley in regards to the store’s innovative displays.

Be made originally opened April 2014 using just 1500 square feet of the building.

“We love living in a rural agricultural driven community, but for shopping, we’d find ourselves going out of town in search of original or different products,” Karlin said. “We felt Hays and northwest Kansas was missing out on unique brands and product created by individuals and small businesses, because they’re not represented in large chain stores.”

Karlin and Ottley continually seek new artists and unique product lines they discern as affordable, every-day usable and good quality. The expansion allows for broadening existing collections within kitchen, bath, stationery and kids to also introducing new collections for men, bedding, edibles and laundry/utility.

To complete the transition, Be Made will close temporarily Oct. 28 to Nov. 1 before the big reveal 10 a.m., Monday, Nov. 2. Snacks and hot cocoa will be served at the Nov. 7 grand opening celebration. Regular business hours continue Monday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., and additional holiday hours will be forthcoming on social media.

(Raw Video from the scene)

Hays emergency responders on Friday afternoon worked the scene of a multiple-vehicle traffic accident on 27th Street just west of the intersection of 27th and Donald.

Eyewitness reports said a car that had left the scene pulled in front of another car, the second car then swerved into a pickup truck that rolled onto its passenger side and into a culvert.

The driver of the truck refused medical service, but the driver of the car was transported to Hays Medical Center for treatment.

The extent of that driver’s injuries are unknown at this time.

Witness at the scene also reported the driver of the car that initiated the accident was stopped in a nearby parking lot with HPD on scene.

By approximately 4 p.m., the car had been cleared from the roadway and traffic was resuming to normal.

A second accident, this one at 27th and Broadway, was called in shortly after the 27th and Donald incident was reported, at this time it is unclear if the accidents were related.

Check Hays Post for details as they become available.

FHSU University Relations

Sixty-one percent of respondents to the 2015 Kansas Speaks survey of public opinion in Kansas think that Gov. Sam Brownback’s tax policy has been a “failure” or a “tremendous failure” in terms of economic growth.

“Neither success nor failure” was the opinion of 32 percent, 7 percent said it was at least “a success,” and only 0.2 percent said it was “a tremendous success.”

A summary of the survey can be seen by clicking here.

Kansas Speaks 2015 is the seventh in the series of annual surveys conducted by the Docking Institute of Public Affairs at Fort Hays State University.

About three-quarters (76 percent) of respondents to the 2015 Kansas Speaks survey of public opinion in Kansas still think Kansas is at least a “good” place to live, a number that is down almost 10 percent from a year ago, when 85 percent thought Kansas was at least a “good” place to live.

Meanwhile, the “poor” or “very poor” opinion was up slightly, to 5 percent in 2015 over 3 percent in 2014.

More than a third (37 percent) rated the Kansas economy as at least “good,” 38 percent said the economy is “fair,” and 26 percent rated the economy as “poor” or “very poor.” The rating was lower among Democrats and those leaning Democrat.

Over half of respondents, 51 percent, were at least “moderately concerned” that the Kansas economy would seriously threaten their or their family’s welfare over the next year, 27 percent were “slightly concerned,” and 23 percent were “not concerned at all.” Female respondents were more concerned than males, and concern was also high among respondents with lower household incomes. Overall, however, respondents were less concerned in 2015 than they have been since 2009.

The Docking Institute of Public Affairs at Fort Hays State University conducted the 2015 Kansas Speaks survey from Sept. 14 to Oct. 5. A random sample of adult residents of Kansas age 18 and older was surveyed by telephone to assess their attitudes and opinions regarding various issues of interest to Kansas citizens.

A total of 1,252 Kansas residents were contacted; 638 completed the survey, a 50.9-percent response rate. The margin of error was 4.1 percent at a 95-percent confidence level.

The full report in pdf form, is available HERE.

Some other findings in the 2015 survey:

• Asked who they would vote for in the next presidential election, 18 percent said Donald Trump, 11 percent said Hillary Clinton, 11 percent said Ben Carson, and 8 percent said Marco Rubio. Forty percent did not know who they would vote for.

• Almost half (47 percent) of respondents supported allowing same-sex couples to be legally married and have the full rights of heterosexual couples, 21 percent favored civil union that would give same-sex couples full spousal rights, but not marriage, and 32 percent opposed same-sex marriage in any way.

• Expanding Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act was supported “strongly” or “somewhat” by 62 percent; 38 percent “somewhat” or “strongly” opposed expansion.

• Allowing firearms on college campuses in Kansas except by security personnel was opposed by 58 percent, 26 percent favored allowing certain restrictions from colleges on the open and concealed carry of firearms, and 16 percent supported allowing open and concealed carry on college campuses.

• Fifty-six percent said the school funding system change resulted in them paying higher taxes and fees.

• Almost two-thirds (64 percent) of respondents said the state block grant system resulted in a lower quality of education for public school children in their school districts.

• On immigration, 53 percent supported “a path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants with no criminal record,” 13 percent thought some undocumented immigrants should be deported, 7 percent supported “deporting most undocumented immigrants,” and 27 percent support “deporting all undocumented immigrants.”

• A little more than half (51 percent) of respondents said that a private business owner should have to provide the same services to same-sex couples as they provide to heterosexual couples.

• Respondents expressed high levels of satisfaction with their state senators, representatives and U.S. Sen. Jerry Moran, with more than 40 percent of them being “very” or “somewhat satisfied.” Twenty-eight percent of respondents were “very” or “somewhat satisfied” with President Obama, and 18 percent were “very” or “somewhat satisfied” with Gov. Sam Brownback.

• More than half of respondents did not know the name of their state representatives or senators.

• More than two-thirds (67 percent) of respondents said taxes on large corporations should be increased. Only 9 percent felt they should be decreased. Democrats and those leaning Democrat were more likely to feel taxes on large corporations should increase.

Russell County Sheriff
John Fletcher

On the morning of October 22, at approximately 5:30 a.m., deputies from the Russell County Sheriff’s office located a stolen vehicle in Bunker Hill..

The vehicle was stolen from Georgia and had been taken from its owner at gunpoint. Officers attempted to take the suspect into the custody, who was later identified as 19-year-old Tyreek Bowers-Rivera from Macon, Georgia. The suspect fled in the stolen vehicle.

Deputies and Kansas Highway Patrol Troopers pursued the stolen vehicle west on Interstate 70.

Officers with the Russell Police Department deployed stop sticks in the area of the 184 mile marker on I-70. The suspect struck the sticks but continued westbound on Interstate. The suspect exited I-70 at the Gorham exit and wrecked.

Bowers-Rivera fled the accident scene on foot and entered the city of Gorham. Officers from Ellis County, Kansas Highway Patrol, Kansas Bureau of Investigation and the Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks assisted with a manhunt in the city of Gorham. While in Gorham, Bowers-Rivera burglarized a residence and stole another vehicle.

Sheriff’s Deputies and KHP Troopers attempted to stop Bowers-Rivera as he left the residence in the second stolen vehicle. The suspect once again fled and another pursuit ensued. Bowers-Rivera again fled west on Interstate 70 and eventually wrecked and was taken into custody.

Bowers-Rivera is being held on local charges and has numerous warrants from Clayton
 County, Georgia, for armed robbery, kidnapping,  cruelty to children, aggravated assault, and theft.

Henry County, Georgia, also has warrants against Bowers-Rivera for armed robbery and theft.  The Russell County Sheriff’s Office is currently working with other jurisdictions in Georgia and additional felony charges are expected.

The Russell County Sheriff’s Office would like to thank all assisting law enforcement agencies as well as Russell County EMS and the city of Gorham for helping in the apprehension of this individual. We would also like to thank the citizens of Gorham for their patience and assistance during these events.

(Raw Video)

(Raw Video)

The suspect wanted in the Russell County manhunt has been captured after wrecking a stolen vehicle on Interstate 70.

According to the Kansas Highway Patrol the suspect took an SUV from Gorham and attempted to flee from authorities. The suspect led authorities on a pursuit westbound; driving in both the east and west bound lanes for approximately 10 miles.

KHP Trooper Tod Hileman said the suspect attempted to avoid stopsticks in the middle of the roadway and drove in the median before crashing onto the roadway below.

 

The suspect was transferred to HaysMed.

Click HERE for the updated story.

Click HERE for the updated story.

Ellis County Sheriffs and Kansas Highway Patrol on currently on the scene of a rollover accident following a police chase at mile marker 165 on Interstate 70, just east of Hays.

It is unknown at this time what led to the chase and the condition of the suspect.

Both east and west bound traffic is being slowed as emergency responders work to remove the car from a culvert running under the interstate.

Hays Post is on the scene and will provide updates as they become available.

Click HERE for the updated story.

GORHAM–Law enforcement officials are still in Gorham, according to Kansas Highway Patrol Trooper Tod Hileman of Hays.

“We are looking for a light skinned black male, 6’1″ and stocky build. The suspect is also possibly armed. If you have info please call 911 and report it,” Hileman said.

The town of Gorham and schools in Russell are on lockdown at the request of the Russell County Sheriff’s office.

The incident began before 6 a.m. morning as a vehicle chase on Interstate 70 westbound, resulting in a crash near the Gorham exit in western Russell County.

Reports from the scene indicate the suspect is now on foot.

By BECKY KISER
Hays Post

If you are six months of age or older, you should get a flu shot.

That’s the recommendation of the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) as the first and most important step in protecting against the flu, a serious disease which can kill people.

Free flu shots will once again be available to local residents Sunday, Oct. 25, courtesy of the HaysMed Foundation.

HaysMed pharmacist James Meier, who is also a Hays City commissioner, said he “knows a lot of hospitals and pharmacists throughout the state, and I can tell you there is no other community in the state of Kansas that does this.”

“It’s a great thing that the HaysMed Foundation does. It’s a great benefit to the community,” Meier said.

Mayor Eber Phelps said he’s participated in the drive-through flu clinic each year since it started. “Traffic used to get backed up on Canterbury Drive. Now, they have it down to an art. You’re literally constantly moving as you snake through the hospital parking lot, and are out of there in minutes.”

“It’s a wonderful program,” Phelps agreed.

There will be 5,000 flu shots available at the annual drive-through clinic which runs from 9 a.m. until 2 p.m. at HaysMed. Participants should wear a short-sleeved shirt, and drive into the hospital’s north entrance at 2220 Canterbury Drive.

“Last year, they also purchased 5,000 shots,” Meier recalled.

“All the people who will be out there–giving the flu shots, organizing the lines, setting up everything so people can drive through, drawing up the shots and putting the syringes on–they all do that for free. The hospital isn’t paying them to be out there,” he added.

Participants are encouraged to bring non-perishable food items which will be donated to the Community Assistance Center.

By JONATHAN ZWEYGARDT
Hays Post

It continues to be a busy month for the Ellis County Rural Fire Department, as crews have been called out four times in the last three days.

On Tuesday afternoon, firefighters were dispatched to a sizable grass fire outside of Hays north of Interstate 70 and east of Home Depot. The fire extended from I-70 to 41st St. just east of Home Depot, at 1310 E. 41st, burning up to the concrete behind the store.

Crews were also called out to a pair of vehicle fires over the weekend. The first one, according to Rural Fire Chief Darin Myers was reported in the 100 block of Sleepy Hollow Road, approximately 7 miles north of Ellis.

Myers said the fire was accidental/undetermined and the vehicle was a total loss.

A second vehicle fire was reported at the intersection of 260th Avenue and Buckeye Road Sunday at 1:45 p.m. Myers said the Ford pickup caught fire while the driver was traveling down the road. In an attempt to avoid the fire spreading, the driver stopped the vehicle in the intersection.

But the strong wind caused the fire to spread to wheat stubble and milo for about a mile. The fire also spread to two different groups of trees. Myers estimated one group of trees were about one acre, the second was approximately 2 acres with a number of large trees.

As it began to get dark, Myers said they pulled all firefighters out of the trees so nobody would get hurt by falling trees and broken limbs. They left a group of firefighters on scene for about five hours to make sure it didn’t flare up again. Crews were on scene for a total of 12 hours Sunday.

Monday afternoon at about 2:30 p.m., Myers was in the area and checked on the trees and found a considerable amount of flames coming from the trees. Crews were on scene for about an hour and a half Monday extinguishing the hot spots.

Plainville crews assisted with a tanker and a brush truck.

Myers said crews battled gusty winds, blowing at 45 mph Sunday, causing air filters and fuel filters to plug with dust and dirty air from the fire.

Crews were also called to the 800 block of Dorrance in Ellis to assist with a structure fire Saturday afternoon.

According to Myers, Ellis County Rural Fire has received more than a dozen calls so far in October, already more than last year.