By DIANE GASPER-O’BRIEN
FHSU University Relations

An effort to get the entire community involved in Fort Hays State University activities made a huge in-roads last week at Wilson Elementary School in Hays.

Nearly 400 students in kindergarten through fifth grade lined up with their teachers for an all-school photo Friday afternoon wearing gold shirts they had received earlier that day.

While the youngsters were more excited about hanging out with Victor E. Tiger — FHSU’s official mascot — the adults watching the interaction on the playground north of the school building were just as pleased about the significance of the event.

The shirts they wore bore their usual Wilson Warriors logo on the front. But the back tag between the shoulderblades said TGOF, signifying FHSU’s initiative to get schools involved in the Tiger Gold On Friday program.

“How do you put a price on this?” Taryn Leiker asked as she watched the excitement all around her. “I wish we could bottle this. This is the pride we need in our community.”

Fort Hays State — along with Eagle Communications as the corporate sponsor for T-shirts — began the TGOF program on campus three years ago, and FHSU started spreading it into the community through business partnerships.

When Dr. Mirta M. Martin arrived on campus as the university’s new president in the summer of 2014, she brought with her the goal of including the entire community as part of one big Fort Hays State family.

At a downtown community event later that summer, Leiker’s husband, James, then-president of the Hays USD 489 Board of Education, gave Martin one idea how to do that.

How about having students in our local schools wear gold on Fridays, getting the younger generation involved in Tiger pride, he suggested.

The idea sounded good to Martin, and Leiker knew just where to begin such a project.
He and his wife, Taryn, are the parents of two children attending Wilson Elementary, and Taryn Leiker is a former member of Wilson’s Home and School Association.

Taryn Leiker contacted all the elementary schools in the spring, but most of them had already chosen their design for spirit shirt orders for the coming school year.

But Leiker had a special connection with Wilson, where a friend of hers, Brenda Bickle, is current president of Wilson’s Home and School.

Bickle ran with the idea and had the Wilson Home and School group purchased shirts for all the students and staff and faculty.

“I thought, ‘Why not?’ ” Bickle said. “The more black and gold, the better.”

Bickle and her husband, Ryan Bickle, both are graduates of Fort Hays State and have become avid Tiger supporters over the years.

“I can remember going to Fort Hays State games as a kid,” said Ryan Bickle, a native of Hays. “It’s pretty cheap entertainment, and a way to have a lot of fun with your family. We’ve become full-blown fans.”

Currently, more than 20 businesses have jumped on board with the TGOF program as official members. So there is a lot of gold shirts around town on Fridays these days.
There promises to be a whole lot more at Wilson Elementary, the first school to become a TGOF partner.

“I had several parents email me or text me over the weekend who thought it was so great to have Victor come to school,” Bickle said, “and they really liked the shirts.”

Bickle — financial services coordinator for the CPA firm Adams, Brown, Beran and Ball — is used to wearing gold on Friday as ABBB is involved with the TGOF program.

The program was the brainchild of a focus group looking at designs for a generational T-shirt for the FHSU Alumni Association in 2012.

“People wanted a better way to show Tiger spirit on campus,” said Charlene Nichols, chair of that committee and assistant alumni director at FHSU. “Of the three T-shirt designs, people seemed to really like the gold.”

A partnership was born among the FHSU Alumni Association, FHSU Athletics, the Hays Area Chamber of Commerce and Eagle Communications. The committee, a subcommittee of FHSU’s BrandIT! Committee, promotes school spirit by encouraging the campus and Hays community to wear gold shirts on Friday.

“I think it’s starting to catch on,” Bickle said. “But I think we have a long ways to go. Within businesses, we need to promote it more, get more people active with it. Then it can be a snowball effect.”

That’s what Bickle and Leiker are hoping for with the Wilson shirts.

“If we get the kids involved and they want to go to games, their parents will take them,” Bickle said. “There are a lot of great family activities at Fort Hays State, and we have them right here in our back yard.”

The Wilson Warriors/TGOF shirts got a lot of exposure immediately. A lot of the students wore them that evening in the Hays High School homecoming parade.

“That was awesome to see,” Leiker said. “There was a lot of gold in our group of students.”

Among those lining up for an all-school photo Friday was Wilson’s principal, Tom Meagher, who earned both his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Fort Hays State. His wife, Patty, also is an FHSU graduate, and five of their six children attended the university in their back yard, including their youngest, Becky, a freshman this year.

“I think they realized that Fort Hays State was as good of school as others they were looking at,” Meagher said, “and Mom and Dad had both gone there and gotten good educations.”

The Meaghers still attend FHSU events regularly, and Tom is pleased that Wilson is the first to be a school TGOF partner and that other schools get on board next year.

Leiker knows it’s a start. As she watched the students jostling for position to visit with Victor E. Tiger Friday, she talked about how she hopes the idea of TGOF shirts catches on with other schools.

“It’s grass roots,” she said. “Wouldn’t it be great to get this many adults on a playground, displaying this kind of spirit?”

Any schools or businesses wishing to become a TGOF partner can visit the FHSU website at www.fhsu.edu/TGOF/registration or call Melissa Dixon, co-chair of the TGOF committee, at (662) 694-1076.

By JONATHAN ZWEYGARDT
Hays Post

Hays residents will once again see an increased police presence this weekend with Oktoberfest celebrations beginning Friday and Fort Hays State Homecoming on Saturday.

Because of the increased of number of people who return to Hays for this weekend, the Hays Police Department and other local law enforcement agencies are stepping enforcement.

Hays Police Chief Don Scheibler said officers understand that it is a big weekend for the community, adding patrols will be on hand to help keep people safe. He added they are stressing that people limit their alcohol consumption.

“We see a lot of these crimes being committed — batteries, assaults, sexual assaults — all occurring when the parties that are involved are highly intoxicated,” Scheibler said, “If they limit their intake, it will be much safer for everyone else.”

During the busy weekend, the police department will get assistance from the Ellis County Sheriff’s Office, FHSU Police, Alcoholic Beverage Control and Union Pacific Police Department.

There will be an increase in bike patrols, vehicle patrols and saturation patrols throughout the weekend.

Scheibler said it is important to remember that Hays has an open container ordinance, making it illegal to carry an open container on public sidewalks, streets and alleys. With the Oktoberfest celebration moving to the north side of Municipal Park, it could be easy for people to forget they have an open container and leave the park.

Oktoberfest goers “need to stay in the park with open containers throughout the day,” he said.

The department says it is best to have a plan before you start drinking and make sure you have a designated driver or use SafeRide.

Scheibler said with the increase number of people and the amount of alcohol involved, the police department is there to keep people safe and serve as a deterrent.

Law enforcement officials will not tolerate any violence, Scheibler said, noting anyone taking part in or threatening violence will face arrest.

The department is calling on people use good judgement and be polite, courteous and respectful to everyone and everybody will have a good weekend.

At 9 a.m. today, it became official — the building that has been known simply as The Mall will take on a new persona as Big Creek Crossing.

The name was announced at a naming celebration in the mall’s central court.

The process began in early March as Katie Dorzweiler, property manager, and Cody Dale, marketing director, began discussions on what the shopping center’s new image should be.

“On March 4, 2015, Cody Dale and I had an opportunity to sit down with our parent company’s management and marketing team with one goal in mind: to create a new name for The Mall in Hays, Kansas,” Dorzweiler said in an open letter to the community.

After seeing a trend in feedback about the shopping center, the team saw a need to adjust everything about the center.

The community “felt deflated, let down and frustrated,” Dorzweiler said. And so mall managers moved forward with “a group of experienced retail management minds” to work on how to make the property relevant again.

That group worked “to make this name stand for something to our community, something that they could be proud of again,” Dorzweiler said.

Through exploring why area residents shop at the Hays mall, the desired experience, demographics and comparative analysis a theme came through to the team.

“As we thought about our community, we kept coming back to words such as ‘neighborhood’ and ‘family’,” Dorzweiler said. “Our families actively invest in their children and they value traditions and togetherness. We aspire to include families in our activities and our family focused leasing strategies will continue to add backing to our brand. We want our shoppers to know and feel that this is their mall; their place to shop.”

With the new name the team developed a new brand promise.

“A friendly face, a warm smile, a person you know and that is a big deal. A new perspective on life, afresh look at who we are, where we fit and where we live and that is a big deal. A big part of the conversation is ‘We are your mall, your place to shop with family and friends, we are your neighborhood,’ ” she said.

Beside the change in attitude location also played a big part of the naming decision.

“The property itself is centrally located between the intersection of U.S. Highway 183 and Interstate 70,” Dorzweiler said. “While we still have our small town values, we are well aware of the mark we can leave on visitors to our neighborhood. We can be the destination for family activities and family fashion, for you and other surrounding communities.

“So it is with great honor and pride that we not only present to you a new name, but a new perspective, a new persona and a new way to experience shopping with your family,” she added. “We wanted this name to tie back to the strong values and tradition Hays is based on, but even more than that, we want Big Creek Crossing to be where you return to shop and make memories with your family.”

By JAMES BELL
Hays Post

Residential life at Fort Hays State University is about to see big changes as this weekend ground-breaking will begin on the first of many projects aimed at improving on-campus housing at the university.

The first project will kick off with a ground-breaking ceremony for the Dane G.Hansen Scholarship Hall at 11 a.m. Saturday.

The 31-bed facility is expected to be ready for students in the fall of 2016 and seeks to serve enterprising students in an inclusive environment to foster entrepreneurship.

The hall is a small piece of the overall upgrades to FHSU’s student housing. The university is also planning to replace Weist Hall and build themed housing on campus – all within the next two years.

“It’s themed housing, and themed is the important word, because it’s not just Greek row,” said Joey Linn, vice president of the Division of Student Affairs.

“By naming this a themed housing plan, we have flexibility in what we want to do,” Linn said.

Although the building will be open to other groups, fraternities and sororities will be the first to take advantage of the housing, with two sororities and one fraternity having already signed housing agreements.

The Sigma Phi Epsilon fraternity and the Sigma Sigma Sigma sorority were the first two groups to sign on.

“Neither of those groups had a current house off campus. I think it was a pretty easy decision for them,” said Jacob Ternes, coordinator of Student Involvement and Greek Life.

The Delta Zeta sorority has also signed on, moving from their current off-campus house.

“We’re excited about the opportunities it’s going to give our students,” said Becky Peterson, director of Residential Life.

With three of the four units already occupied, another building nearby can be easily added.

“We have an opportunity with building one,” Linn said. “We could put another building up there,” in the footprint of the area if more are needed.

“That’s not just the Greek need, but if there is additional needs we see on campus for special groups,” Linn said.

The building will have four units, with 21 beds per unit.

The housing will not only increase housing at FHSU, but might also help make fraternity and sorority life more appealing to students.

“It’s going to relive some of that housing burden from the advisers,” Ternes said, allowing the advisers to focus less on housing issues on more on Greek life.

“I think we’re going to see our students get more connected,” Peterson said.

The last decade hit local fraternities and sororities hard, but FHSU hopes the housing will help kick off a revival of a traditional part of campus life.

“The 2005 to 2008 years were a pretty low spot for our community here,” Ternes said. “But since then, our sororities have been growing exponentially.”

FHSU currently has three sororities and four fraternities, but more are coming back to FHSU.

“This spring, we’re adding Alpha Kappa Lamda fraternity,” Ternes said. “In 2017, we’ve got an agreement with Alpha Sigma Alpha to come back.”

“After 2017, we’ll have nine,” he said.

“I think there’s is demand for it on this campus. We’re currently about 5 percent of the on-campus student population,” he added. “If you look at Emporia or Pittsburg State, we could grow that to 10 percent of the on-campus population and be comparable.”

While students in the housing will likely benefit from the university oversight, questions still remain as to exactly how policies will be implemented, but in general,FHSU housing rules will apply to member of fraternities and sororities that live in themed housing.

“We’re still in conversations figuring out what the policy will be like, but our expectation is that the baseline will be residential life policies,” Ternes said. “It’s kind of a blended model between self policing and residential life oversight. Our goal is to train one of the members living in there as a resident assistant.”

Another large piece of the picture is the replacement of Weist Hall, which is happening in conjunction with the building of the themed housing.

While “it’s still in the construction document stage,” Barnett said, a spring or late spring ground-breaking is expected.

Both are expected to be ready for move in fall 2017.

“The new building will be in front of Weist, where it exists right now,” he said.

Building in front of the current building will allow it to be occupied during construction, with demolition planed after the new building is occupied.

Funding for the project will mostly come from bonds, but residential life and and university funds will also contribute to the $34 million budget including parking and the two buildings.

The replacement for Weist Hall will have 405 beds and with themed housing the university is looking at a gain in available housing overall.

“Once we get these projects competed, I think our student residential life facilities are from top to bottom are going to be first class,” Linn said. “I would put our facilities up against anyone in the Midwest.”

By DIANE GASPER O’BRIEN
FHSU University Relations

Charles “Cy” Moyer admits he doesn’t have much cause to use an umbrella very often, and he doesn’t mind if he has to bring one along on his trip to Hays on Saturday.

Moyer, a longtime trustee of the Dane G. Hansen Foundation in Logan, will be on hand for a historic groundbreaking on the Fort Hays State University campus.

As one of the activities for Homecoming 2015, FHSU will break ground on a new scholarship hall funded mostly by the Hansen Foundation. The FHSU family, Hays community and general public are all invited to the ceremony, set for 11 a.m. Saturday just north of Wiest Hall.

Construction on the Dane G. Hansen Scholarship Hall is scheduled to begin in October, with completion planned in time for the start of the 2016 fall semester.

First things first, though. Rain is predicted for the Hays area Saturday. But rain or shine, there is going to be a groundbreaking ceremony.

“I haven’t used an umbrella in so long,” said Moyer, retired president of the First National Bank and Trust in Phillipsburg and co-chair of the Dane G. Hansen Board of Trustees. “I carry one in my car. I guess I’ll have to dig it out.”

Moyer and others attending the ceremony won’t have to worry about getting too wet if it’s raining because an alternate location has been set. In case of bad weather, the ceremony will be held in Heather Hall, located across the street north of the Wiest Hall parking lot.

Moyer will speak at the ceremony, along with FHSU President Mirta M. Martin, Student Government Association President Ulises Gonzalez and Mark Bannister, dean of the College of Business and Entrepreneurship.

Groundbreakings can sometimes be somewhat pedestrian. But this one is of special historical significance.

The Hansen Foundation, celebrating its 50th anniversary this year, is well known for its philanthropic efforts toward the betterment of communities and has been especially generous toward educational endeavors.

Since 1965, the foundation has awarded more than $15 million in scholarships to students in the 26 counties in which Hansen conducted his road and bridge construction and oil business.

Moyer said the foundation has partnered with other schools and groups for remodeling projects on buildings in the past, but this will mark the first scholarship hall the foundation has been a part of. The $3.95 million building will be funded by the $3 million donation from the Hansen Foundation and other private donations.

“This is definitely a historic event for Fort Hays State University, to have the first scholarship hall at our university,” Martin said. “We are humbled by the support of the Dane G. Hansen Foundation, which has embraced the new-beginnings vision of our university.”

The 12,775-square-foot, three-story building will provide individual bedrooms for 32 entrepreneur-minded students and a resident assistant.

“We welcome students ranging from agriculture to zoology and every major in between alphabetically to apply,” Bannister said.

Bannister said the Hansen Foundation “has been following our entrepreneurship curriculum development and is interested in the many entrepreneurship extracurricular activities we are offering students.”

“Both the Hansen Foundation and Fort Hays State are aware how important entrepreneurship is to the future of northwest Kansas, to the state of Kansas and to America,” Bannister said. “For northwest Kansas to have population growth and economic opportunities, we need to prepare students who are capable of starting their own businesses.”

Moyer agreed.

“We have found that most of the young people who graduate from Fort Hays State have a higher percentage to go back to northwest Kansas,” Moyer said. “So we wanted to do something to spur on the economy of northwest Kansas in the 26 counties which we do most of our granting in.”

Bannister chaired the committee that drew up the proposal that was presented to the Hansen Foundation, whose mission is “to provide opportunities for the people of northwest Kansas to enjoy the highest possible quality of life.”

One of the opportunities on the list is education. The foundation wants a proposal to show how it will “enhance the learning environment and expand opportunities of the public school system.”

Bannister thinks the new scholarship hall at FHSU fits that description to a “T.”

“Our expectations are that this will help us attract students who are very interested in entrepreneurship, who will likely be highly successful in their careers,” Bannister said.

Not surprisingly, Bannister — a graduate of FHSU himself — is excited about the opportunities such a living arrangement will offer students.

“My goal,” Bannister said, “is that with this facility we will become one of the top entrepreneurship universities in the nation.”

By JAMES BELL
Hays Post

After decades of being simply known as “The Mall” in Hays, the shopping center currently being rehabilitated through a Community Improvement District is ready to unveil a new name that reflects the desire to become a gathering place for the community.

At 9 a.m. Thursday, The Mall will have a Hays Area Chamber of Commerce ribbon-cutting ceremony, with entertainment by the Fort Hays State University Band, dance team and a local orchestra.

The public is encouraged to attend the event and enjoy coffee provided by Culligan of Hays.

The event will kick off a full weekend of events for the Mall, in conjunction with the FHSU Homecoming and Oktoberfest.

“Along with all the hype going on with Oktoberfest, the Fort Hays game and the parade, we are also having a home-based business fair on Saturday,” said Cody Dale, marketing director for The Mall.

Avon, Pampered Chef, DIY furniture and crafts will be available at the fair.

“The list goes on and on,” Dale said.

The fair will be held from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday. There are still spots available for vendors. To secure a spot interested parties can call The Mall office, visit facebook, or email at [email protected].

What the new name will mean

The events will help kick off the new name and attitude at the property.

“We wanted it to stand for something in the community,” said Katie Dorzweiler, property manager for The Mall. “We want it to feel like a neighbor and a family here.”

As the property is being rehabilitated, so is the mission of the property.

“This isn’t just a place to shop,” Dorzweiler said. “We make it, in essence a community center, and so this is a neighborhood hub. This is where families can shop, get everything for school, get their family photo wardrobes, find the latest fashions.”

Frequent events will also help make the property a draw to area residents.

“The reason that outside shopping is so big right now — Legends and those things — is because it’s an adventure,” Dorzweiler said, noting part of her mission is to bring that same vision to a dated interior shopping property and the new image at the property will help.

In general, The Mall is becoming “family oriented with something for dad, mom and the children,” Dorzweiler said.

Changes at The Mall will give residents what they want

A recent survey by the Ellis County Coalition for Economic Development shows shopping is a draw for area residents and the work at The Mall may help alleviate some of the desire to leave Hays for a good retail experience.

“Just the persona The Mall has had … The Mall as a whole has changed,” Dorzweiler said. “What I read is people want these things, and they are already things that are present here in our mall.

“What I would say to that survey: We have it here.”

But the property managers understand why area residents are hesitant to come to The Mall after so many years of neglect by previous property owners.

“One of the things we really want to do is invite people back to our mall,” Dale said. “We really encourage people to come back, because the feel has changed and the attitude has changed.”

The name may help draw a crowd initially, but the improved experience, they hope, will keep people coming back.

“Revisit us,” Dale said. “We have changed some things physically,” adding the more significant change may be in the attitude and the service at The Mall.

By JAMES BELL
Hays Post

VICTORIA — Two people were injured in an accident just after 11:30 a.m. Tuesday in Ellis County.

The Kansas Highway Patrol reported a 2004 Buick passenger vehicle driven by Myra J. Kirkelie, 75, Colorado Springs, Colo., was westbound on Interstate 70, approximately 1 mile east of Victoria.

The sedan, traveling west on I-70, drifted onto the north shoulder, according to an eyewitness report. The vehicle then overcorrected and drove across the roadway into the median, hitting the eastbound guardrail. The vehicle flipped in the median trapping the driver inside the overturned vehicle.

Kirkelie and a passenger, Dennis K. Kirkelie, 75, Colorado Springs, were transported to Hays Medical Center.

They were properly restrained at the time of the accident, according to the KHP.

City of Hays

The reconstruction of 13th Street from Main to Milner continues.

13th Street remains closed from Pine to just west of Milner, and traffic is restricted to one-way east bound from Main to Oak.

The intersection of 13th and Allen is expected to be open to traffic by the end of this week on Friday, Oct. 2. Paving work will be done at the Allen and Pine Street intersections, from Allen to Pine, and Oak to Main north of the street center line. Next week, starting Monday, Oct. 5, 13th Street between Pine and Oak will be closed as well.

The City appreciates the public’s patience and understanding during the course of this project. If there are any questions, contact the Public Works Department at (785) 628-7350 or the contractor, APAC, at (785) 625-3459.

By JAMES BELL
Hays Post

Once a crown jewel of Hays, the Hays Ambassador Hotel & Conference Center, 3603 Vine, has been sold and is set to be razed by the end of the year, replaced by lots for commercial development.

The property has been purchased by Werth and Jennings LLC, made up of local owners Andy Werth and Emery Jennings.

Werth is owner of Andy’s Mud Co., 719 E. 12th, and Jennings works as a real estate broker and co-owner of Rural American Realty Co., 1900 E. 25th.

“Its been purchased by Andy Werth and myself. We’re partners on this project,” Jennings told Hays Post.

Both parties have longtime connections with Hays.

“Andy is a lifelong Hays resident and owns several commercial properties in town,” Jennings said. “I have lived in Hays for about seven years.”

While the hotel is still open for business and is expected to remain open until the sale completes on Dec. 1, work is expected to begin on the property shortly after.

Demolition will be completed by a local contractor.

The demolition of the property will open at least four commercial lots for development, which will then be sold to individual owners.

“We believe that that’s the best commercial lots for sale between Topeka and Denver,” Jennings said.

The commercial development could be a boon for Hays, as land on Vine has been sparse for large commercial development.

“We’re excited about this,” said Aaron White, executive director for the Ellis County Coalition for Economic Development.

“From an economic development standpoint, we’ve been getting a lot of inquires in the community from businesses that are interested in purchasing a location,” White said, “particularly restaurants.”

“They want to own property. They want to own the ground they’re on. They want to build their own facility based on their corporate requirements, and there’s little to no property available currently on the Vine Street corridor,” he said. “There’s a lot of property for lease in Hays, but not a lot for sale.”

Developing within the city is also attractive to the developers as no new services will need run to move new business onto the 5.4 acres of land that will become available after the hotel’s demolition.

“The utilities are already there, that’s why we bought it,” Jennings. “There won’t be a lot of hoops to jump through.”

“It’s got a good opportunity to bring in some restaurants that have been looking at the community of Hays, some of them for two years or more,” White said.

While White couldn’t name interested parties, he said several are already looking into building on the land.

“We working and looking forward to have a successful project on it,” Jennings said.

The road to here

While the development of the land is exciting for the interested parties and the city of Hays, many are likely to remember the grandeur of the facility in its heyday and are likely going to feel hints of nostalgia to see it demolished — but in its current state there are few other options.

“They’ve had a lot of troubles out there,” Jennings said.

The property has been through several owners through the years, and has begun to show its age after the current owner, Joshua Joseph, did little to rehabilitate the hotel after its purchase and online reviews since his purchase and renaming have been generally unfavorable.

Joseph owns several hotels through Texas, Oklahoma and Kansas, under a long list of LLCs, generally similar in structure to the Hays Ambassador Inn — many former Holiday Inn or Ramada convention centers with reviewers at many of the locations finding the hotels to be in disrepair.

City of Hays officials have publicly commented on the poor condition of the facility, going so far as to request bids for redevelopment of the property several years ago.

The closest hotel under Joseph’s ownership is the Atrium Hotel and Conference Center in Hutchinson.

Joseph is currently recovering after being shot in front of the Biltmore Hotel, one of his hotels located in Oklahoma City.

Still many are sure to remember the hotel’s former glory.

“It’s a landmark in Hays as far as I’m concerned,” Jennings said. “Years ago, it was the place to go and the place to be.”

Hotel management declined to comment.

At 1:52 p.m. Monday, the City of Hays Fire Department, assisted by the Hays Police Department and Ellis County EMS, was dispatched to an outbuilding on fire behind 3103 Thunderbird Drive. The Ellis County Emergency Manager also responded.

On arrival, firefighters found two yard sheds and the fence on fire at the rear of the building. Firefighters used one hoseline to extinguish the fire. One outbuilding was totally destroyed and the second, behind 3105 Thunderbird Drive, was damaged. The houses were not damaged.

The most probable cause of the fire was accidental but undetermined due to the extensive damage.

Four fire trucks and 15 firefighters responded. The last firefighters left the scene at 3:07 p.m.

By COOPER SLOUGH
Hays Post

Trick of Treat So Others Can Eat 2015 is just a few weeks away, and the Hays High DECA chapter is asking for community support to help restock shelves at the Community Assistance Center.

The center, located at 12th and Oak, helps those in need of groceries who might not qualify for other forms of assistance.

For those wishing to donate, simply leave nonperishable food items on your porch on Oct. 6, and various organizations will pick them up between 6 and 9 p.m.

“It’s just nice that we can give (those in need) a little more (food) when the shelves are full,” said Laurie Mortinger, co-director for the center. “If we don’t have it, we can’t give it out.”

DECA and the Community Assistance Center are still in need of more organizations to help.

To get involved, contact Shaina Prough at (785) 623-2600.

FHSU University Relations and Marketing

Authentic historical documents written by one of America’s greatest founding fathers, Benjamin Franklin, will bring 300 Ellis County fifth-graders to Fort Hays State University on Monday, Sept. 28.

A charitable donation to FHSU from an alumnus, Dr. Cecil Currey — two handwritten letters from Benjamin Franklin and two original pages of the Pennsylvania Gazette — has been the center of an annual educational event for the past nine years. Each year, college students from the Department of Teacher Education organize activities related to the papers.

The daylong event is designed to educate fifth-graders on Ben Franklin and his contribution to American Society.