In a 3-2 vote Thursday night, Hays city commissioners agreed the city will move ahead with the purchase of 91 acres in the northeast corner of the 27th Street and Commerce Parkway intersection at the east Interstate 70 Exit 161.
In April 2018, the city purchased an 18-month irrevocable option to buy the land. The option expires this year on Sept. 19.
Although Vice-Mayor Shaun Musil and Commissioner James Meier previously said they would be voting against the purchase, Thursday they both said they understand why the majority of the commission supports it.
“At this time, I think we could get better use out of this money somewhere else,” Meier said.
“In my opinion, from what I’ve heard from Retail Strategies (the city’s retail consultant) and all the information you read, is that retail is just not expanding anywhere in the United States,” said Musil. “I don’t think it’s a bad deal for Hays, but I don’t think we’re desperate. … I want to help Hays grow, and I think it will. We need to grow faster, but I don’t think this is the answer.”
Commissioner Ron Mellick read a statement focusing on the high cost of land in Hays hampering development.
“A few years ago, we extended 22nd Street from Canterbury east to Commerce Parkway for better traffic flow … and we hoped that we could get retail businesses and affordable housing developed along that street. Taxpayers paid for the land, right of way, and utilities along that stretch,” Mellick said. “Overnight, this $4,000-an-acre farm ground is suddenly $80,000 to $130,000 price per acre. … I don’t have a problem with the private sector making a profit, but it is starting to hinder the city of Hays’ growth.”
Meier agreed with Mellick but said “it’s developing into a kind of chicken or egg situation.”
“I don’t think it’s a bad model to wait for the development and then put in the infrastructure,” Meier said. “On the one hand, we say that we want to put in a bunch of infrastructure. But then the land costs goes up and we feel like that’s hindering development and so then we have to buy the land. I’m just not really sure where that stops.”
Mellick noted the land would have to be sold by the city for development before the city would put in the infrastructure.
Hays will purchase 91 acres just north of I-70 and east of Commerce Parkway for future development.
“We can buy this land for $8,800 per acre,” Mellick figured. “We can purchase this 91 acres for the same price that you can only buy one-and-a-quarter acres on north Vine Street.
“We could then offer this land for retail, manufacturing, business and even affordable housing development. … Now is the time and place for us to invest in the future of Hays.”
Sales tax is the primary driver of the city’s budget.
The city will pay the remaining $782,608 to the landowner, the Cathy A. Braun Revocable Trust of Hays, along with shared closing costs and title insurance. The money will come out of the Commission Capital Reserve fund.
By DIANE GASPER-O’BRIEN FHSU University Relations and Marketing
It’s a bit of de ja vu for Paige Lunsford this week.
Lunsford, then a junior, was a starter on the Fort Hays State University women’s basketball team in 2015 when the Tigers earned the right to host the NCAA Division II Central Regional Championships for the first time in program history.
Now a graduate assistant coach for the Tiger women, Lunsford plans to tell the players to savor every single moment.
FHSU again was selected to host a regional this year. The Tigers will take a 30-1 record into Friday’s 5 p.m. quarterfinal game vs. No. 8-seeded Pittsburg State University. A complete schedule and other tournament information can be found at fhsuathletics.com.
Playing in front of a large, vocal crowd back in 2015, the Tigers made it all the way to the regional championship game. Injuries to two major backcourt players late in the season hit FHSU hard, but the Tigers still played second-seeded Emporia State University a tough game before falling by five points in the finals.
Lunsford credits part of the Tigers’ success at home – both during her playing days and now – to the huge crowd support. Fort Hays State has ranked second in the nation in attendance among NCAA Division II teams four years running.
Lunsford
“It’s so unique what we get to experience here,” said Lunsford, a Hays native and four-year starter for Hays High School. “The support we get from the community and surrounding communities is incredible.”
Starting with 2012-13, the Tigers have never lost more than one game in a season at Gross Memorial Coliseum. During that time, they have amassed a staggering home record of 107-5.
In fact, FHSU’s only home loss Lunsford’s junior year was that regional championship game. Her senior season, the Tigers won all 15 of their home games, and that mark was surpassed this year (16-0).
Having the home court advantage is not lost on the players and coaches, Lunsford said.
“The atmosphere here is hardly like this anywhere else we play,” she said. “Some places, there are more Fort Hays fans than, or at least as many as, there are for the home team.”
Lunsford doesn’t expect that to be any different this weekend, and she is looking forward to watching her players experience it.
“I didn’t realize at the time back then how special it was to get to host the regional,” she said. “When you’re in the moment, you’re busy taking care of business at hand.”
Looking back, Lunsford definitely sees the significance of that experience now and is thoroughly enjoying this year’s run.
FHSU was seeded second to Southwestern Oklahoma State University in the regional rankings heading into last week’s MIAA tournament in Kansas City, Mo.
The Tigers went 3-0 to win their first-ever MIAA tourney crown, but they still were unsure of what their final ranking would be. SWOSU also won its conference tournament. Both the Tigers and Bulldogs are 30-1, and SWOSU had entered conference tournament week with the slightest of edges over the Tigers in the regional rankings.
The national selection show was scheduled for 9 p.m. Sunday, but the top-seeded teams were to be notified by Twitter about 8.
The Tigers were on their way home from Kansas City about that time, and the team bus made a stop in Topeka for dinner. The coaches told the players to shut off their phones so they all could learn of their fate together.
“We had just gotten back on the bus about 8:10,” Lunsford said. “We coaches looked at Twitter and saw it, and told the girls. They were so excited.”
The team arrived in Hays after 11:15 p.m., and the next day, it was down to business – after a day of rest, that is.
“After five days in Kansas City, they were tired,” Lunsford said. “With this week being spring break, it gives them a chance to get some rest.”
The Tigers practiced Tuesday and will do so every day leading up to Friday, “trying to keep everything as normal as possible,” Lunsford said.
She thinks playing in the tough MIAA will help those five conference teams that were given regional berths. Playing at home also should help the Tigers, although Lunsford admitted that taking the court for that first regional game is a thrill like no other.
“I remember walking out on the court that first game (at the 2015 regionals) and seeing the amount of people in the stands and getting chills,” Lunsford said. “I was so in awe that all these people would come to watch us play. I think, growing up, every kid has a dream of playing in front of that kind of crowd someday. It was amazing.”
She thinks it will hit home for this year’s players on Friday, somewhere about 4:45 p.m.
“I think it will hit them during the starting lineup, at that moment when you have a second to look around at the crowd,” Lunsford said. “I get chills now, just thinking about it. I can hardly wait.”
Northeast corner of Commerce Parkway and 27th Street (Click to enlarge)
By BECKY KISER Hays Post
In April 2018, the city of Hays purchased an 18-month irrevocable option to buy 91 acres in the northeast corner of the 27th Street and Commerce Parkway intersection at the east I-70 Exit 161. That option expires September 19 of this year.
The property, currently owned by the Cathy A. Braun Revocable Trust of Hays, has significant potential for future retail, commercial, and business park development.
City commissioners will vote Thursday on whether to exercise the purchase option after discussing it during last week’s work session.
Sandy Jacobs has supported the proposed city purchase from the beginning.
“I think we made the decision to take the option for all the right reasons. I think we still have those same reasons in front of us today,” said Jacobs. “We have an opportunity to save some money on the purchase price. Let’s get it done.”
Vice-Mayor Shaun Musil has backed off his earlier support.
“I originally was a big fan of this. I’ve seen nothing to where, in my personal opinion, it’s a gain to having this property,” Musil said. “So if we do move it one, I will be voting no.”
Another “no” vote was promised by Commissioner James Meier.
“After speaking with our retail consultant, I don’t think this is something I can support,” said Meier.
“But I think the majority here supports it.”
According to City Manager Toby Dougherty, the cost to exercise the option is the original price of $800,000, less the credited option payment of approximately $17,500 if paid the day following the regular March 14 commission meeting, and prorated taxes of $108. The total remaining purchase price would be $782,608 plus shared closing costs and title insurance.
Staff is recommending the city commission approve the purchase.
Other agenda items for the March 14 meeting include:
Holding a public hearing to hear comments regarding special assessments in the Heart of
America Second Addition and King’s Gate First Addition
Approving an ordinance assessing the cost of improvements to Heart of America Second Addition and King’s Gate First Addition as presented for water, sewer, street, and park improvements
Approving an ordinance amending the current city of Hays Code of Ordinance to include a reference to beer containing not more than 6% alcohol in accordance with changes in state law
There is only one 16-inch line providing water to properties north of Interstate 70 in Hays.
The city is planning to build another 12-inch water main for redundancy.
There were only a few businesses to be served in the area when the 500,000 gallon water tower was built and city water was extended north of I-70 in 1993.
Since then, many businesses vital to the economy and daily needs of Hays residents and the surrounding area have located north of I-70, and more new businesses are planned.
“The economic impact of being without water service north of I-70 for any length of time would be significant,” said John Braun, project manager. “A failure of the current water main could have catastrophic consequences in case of fire.”
The city has been working since 2017 with Bartlett & West Engineers, Topeka, on a study of how to address the deficiency in the municipal water system.
The study result presented four options.
(Click to enlarge)
City staff has selected the option that crosses I-70 at Hall Street and connects a new 12-inch water main from 45th and Hall to an existing dead-end line along Hall Street at the west property line of Carrico Implement.
The plan also calls for installation of a new booster pump station on city-owned property along W. 41st Street just east of Post Road near city water well C-32. The new booster station would serve as a backup to the existing booster station.
It would also create the ability to provide higher water pressure to the northwestern area of the city, “which is much needed,” according to City Manager Toby Dougherty.
Staff solicited fee-based proposals from engineering firms for design services related to the project. Kaw Valley Engineers, Junction City, had the low bid of $59,860.
The waterline project was listed in the Capital Improvement Project of the 2019 Budget with a cost estimate of $2 million to be funded out of Water Capital.
The current design schedule calls for a construction bid opening in October 2019 with construction to begin in 2020.
Braun noted inspection of the project is not included in the scope of work and would be added later at a negotiated fee or solicited from other qualified firms.
“Due to anticipated work load during the time this project is under construction, in-house inspection is not likely,” Braun told Hays city commissioners. “Overseeing construction of a booster station would be beyond the expertise of our existing inspection staff.”
He estimated the cost for outsourced inspection would be in the range of eight percent of the total project cost, although he thinks the “2-million-dollar cost is a little bit high. But we’re probably talking about somewhere between a million and a million and half dollar cost. So we could be talking $80,000 or more [for the construction inspection].”
Commissioners will review the design engineering proposal at their March 14 meeting.
The complete agenda is available here. The meeting starts at 6:30 p.m. in Hays City Hall, 1507 Main.
A declaration of “Fix a Leak Week” will precede the meeting at 6:15 p.m.
Fort Hays State Athletics has announced ticket information and game times for the NCAA Division II Women’s Basketball Central Regional at Gross Memorial Coliseum this weekend in Hays, Kan. (Mar. 15, 16, 18).
All tickets for the tournament are general admission. Advanced ticket sales begin at 12 pm on Tuesday (Mar. 12). Tickets are $10 for adults and $5 for students/youth each session of the tournament. Advance tickets are available at the FHSU Athletic Office, by phone at (785) 628-4050, or online at the following link… Purchase Tickets Online.
Friday, March 15 Session 1
Game 1 – 12:00 pm – No. 3 seed Central Missouri vs. No. 6 seed Lindenwood
Game 2 – 2:30 pm – No. 2 seed Southwestern Oklahoma State vs. No. 7 seed Emporia State
Session 2
Game 3 – 5:00 pm – No. 1 seed Fort Hays State vs. No. 8 seed Pittsburg State
Game 4 – 7:30 pm – No. 4 seed Minnesota Duluth vs. No. 5 seed MSU Moorhead
Saturday, March 16 Session 3
Game 5 – 5:00 pm – Winner of Game 1 vs. Winner of Game 2
Game 6 – 7:30 pm – Winner of Game 3 vs. Winner of Game 4
Monday, March 18 Session 4 Game 7 – 7:00 pm – Winner of Game 5 vs. Winner of Game 6
INDIANAPOLIS – After winning both regular season and postseason MIAA championships, the third-ranked Fort Hays State women’s basketball team has been selected as the No. 1 seed in the Central Region of the 2019 NCAA Division II Women’s Basketball Championship. As a result, the Tigers will host the Central Region tournament for the second time. The tournament will be played inside Gross Memorial Coliseum March 15, 16 and 18.
The Tigers (30-1) will play No. 8 seed Pittsburg State in the regional quarterfinals on Friday, March 15. The Tigers and Gorillas are two of five MIAA programs to qualify for this year’s regional tournament, joined by Central Missouri, Emporia State and Lindenwood.
This is the Tigers’ fifth trip to the NCAA tournament and the fourth in the last five years. Fort Hays State is 3-4 all-time in the big dance.
After sitting in second in the final regional ranking, Fort Hays State’s MIAA tournament title was enough to convince the selection committee to bump the Tigers to the top spot. GAC champions Southwestern Oklahoma State, also 30-1, will enter the tournament as the No. 2 seed. Rounding out the tournament field are two schools from the NSIC – Minnesota Duluth and Minnesota State Moorhead.
The winner of the Central Region tournament will advance to Columbus, Ohio for the Elite Eight March 26, 27 and 29.
2019 NCAA Division II Women’s Basketball Championship Central Region Tournament Quarterfinal Matchups
No. 1 Fort Hays State (30-1) vs. No. 8 Pittsburg State (21-8)
No. 4 Minnesota Duluth (23-6) vs. No. 5 Minnesota State Moorhead (26-6)
No. 2 Southwestern Oklahoma State (30-1) vs. No. 7 Emporia State (22-8)
No. 3 Central Missouri (24-6) vs. No. 6 Lindenwood (21-7)
All games played inside Gross Memorial Coliseum on Friday, March 15. Game times TBA.
La Crosse native Vanessa M. (House) Sabee was recently featured in a story in the Martha’s Vineyard Times on her new role as head chef at the Ritz Cafe in Martha’s Vineyard.
She started working at restaurants in La Crosse as a teenager. She attended college for two years in Pratt before moving to Hays, where she attended Fory Hays State University for a time. She worked at the Golden Q, Sip N Spin, and Professor’s before going on to culinary school in Colorado.
Sabee’s mother, Kelly House, taught her how to cook.
“She was always working in restaurants when I was younger, and I guess it was just destiny that that’s where I am now,” Sabee said.
Her mother started her cooking lessons with gravy.
“She is very proud of it. At the time I didn’t know it, but she gave me the proper technique on how to make a roux correctly,” Sabee said.
Sabee said her family has been in Rush County for a very long time. Although she said she doesn’t make it home as much as she would like, most of her direct family still lives in either Hays or La Crosse.
Vanessa Sabee is the new executive chef at the Ritz. Photo by Gabrielle Mannino/ Martha’s Vineyard Times
Since the Ritz Cafe in Oak Bluffs changed hands in 2014, the bar has undergone a number of transformations, and there’s another one on deck: When the Ritz reopens its doors on March 14, after a three-week winter break, they will introduce a new executive chef, Vanessa M. Sabee, and a new menu. You may recognize Vanessa as the first of six chefs who lent their expertise and creativity to the Ritz’s recent six-week Kitchen Takeover series of Wednesday night pop-up dinners, which featured a different chef and menu each week.
Sabee, 34, hails from “middle of nowhere Western Kansas,” and spent five or six years in Boulder, Colo., before she and her then-boyfriend (now husband), Ross Sabee, also a trained chef, came to Martha’s Vineyard in the spring of 2017 to work as line cooks at the Sweet Life Cafe, owned by chef Hal Ryerson and his wife Erin.
“It was awesome,” Vanessa says. “Hal and I have a very similar style of food theory, and so it was really easy to transition into that kitchen.” Vanessa returned to the Sweet Life as the sous-chef for the 2018 season, and prior to being offered the head chef position at the Ritz, she had planned to return for a third season. “We cooked really, really great food that we were very proud of,” she says of her time at Sweet Life.
The couple met Ritz manager Kelly Feirtag while hanging out at the bar their first summer here, and Ross now works at the Ritz doing security. Feirtag, general manager at the Ritz since July 2017, has seen at least three kitchen changes since that time. She said she’s excited to bring Vanessa onboard. “I feel like I’ve been searching for her for a long time,” Kelly says, “and I feel very lucky that she was willing and interested, and up for the challenge.”
Vanessa Sabee, the new Ritz head chef, plates an entree in the kitchen. Photo by Gabrielle Mannino/ Martha’s Vineyard Times
Feirtag is thrilled to have a woman running the kitchen, which is in keeping with Ritz history. “I had a woman chef when we opened the kitchen in 1987,” says former Ritz owner Janet King. Local chef Christina Napolitan ran the kitchen for about six years, King says. More recently, Sai Mai, a Thai restaurant that leased the Ritz kitchen for about four years before closing in 2013, was also run by women.
Vanessa Sabee’s culinary roots go deep, starting with her childhood in Kansas, where her mother, who “was a cook forever,” got Vanessa her first job at 14, flipping burgers in a small local place that her mom was running. “I’ve always been in restaurants,” Vanessa says. “It was a part of my life.”
Eager for change, Sabee got an associate’s degree in journalism after high school. She then transferred to a four-year school, at which point she had to get a job. “I knew I could get one in a kitchen,” she says. After one semester, she decided not to go back to school, and to continue cooking.
Vanessa worked at a couple of sports bars and a steakhouse in Hays, Kan., and did occasional catering gigs. She spent about a year at the steakhouse, where she replaced another cook who left to attend culinary school. Vanessa was in her mid-20s when she started thinking about going to culinary school herself. That meant relocating. “In order for me to further my culinary technique and skill and knowledge,” she says, “I had to move.”
Sabee attended the Auguste Escoffier School of Culinary Art in Boulder, Colo., a six-month program that she describes as “boot camp for the culinary world.”
After completing school, Sabee stayed in Boulder and worked at Shine Restaurant and Gathering Place, where she moved from prep cook to line cook, and departed as head line cook. After Shine came Bramble and Hare, a gastropub focusing on farm-to-table “modern American” food.
Bramble and Hare, sister restaurant to the well-known Black Cat Bistro, also in Boulder, had a farm that raised pigs, and they grew their own vegetables. “Whatever was in the walk-in was what you had,” she says. At times it was easy, particularly in summer, but “in the winter you had to get really creative,” Vanessa said. The restaurant also focused on pickling, preserving, processing, and freezing ingredients from the summer’s abundance so they were available for winter.
The Ritz kitchen has faced challenges over the years, one of which is its small size. Vanessa is accustomed to working in small spaces, particularly at Bramble, where her setup consisted of “an Easy-Bake oven, a two-plate burner, and a steam well,” out of which she did 40 to 60 covers a night. Of the Ritz, she says, “It’s luxurious!”
Sabee says she likes to construct dishes based on their cook time, “but also I like to put a lot of hot and cold elements together.” For Valentine’s Day, she prepared a pork belly dish, cured and smoked beforehand, and then, she says, “all we had to do was sear it.” The set was cold, and included a black-eyed pea purée, a salad of the same peas, collard green kimchi, and a charred pepper purée. “I don’t find the size of the kitchen challenging,” Vanessa says. “My kitchen surrounding basically builds my menu, based on what I think the kitchen, myself, and the staff are capable of executing.”
When the Ritz reopens on March 14, the menu will be mostly new, but will retain some popular staples — the Frito chili pie, wings with house dry-rub, and burgers made with locally butchered meat from Reliable Market, including the $5 burger special (without sauce or sides), which is available year-round from 12 to 2 pm, for dine-in or takeout. The $10 blue plate special, which changes daily, will also remain.
“I’m going to add a lot of vegetables,” Sabee says. She’s looking forward to incorporating produce from local farms, and catering primarily to locals looking for a good meal that won’t break the bank. “The summer people come, and they’ll do what they want,” she says, “but to cook at a year-round establishment, getting the locals back is more important than the weekender.”
There will be separate lunch and dinner menus, and Vanessa is hoping to have a happy hour menu by June, as well as an eventual Sunday brunch with “solid breakfast food” like biscuits and gravy, a build-your-own breakfast plate, and pork shoulder with grits and seared greens. “But that’s down the road,” she says.
Appetizers will include the wings, of course, as well as a pickle and cheese plate, a marinated olive dish, a black-eyed pea dip that is similar to hummus, and other “bar-friendly” items that you can eat “with your hands, in a crowd,” while catching a live band.
There will be a few new salads, sandwiches including a cod sandwich for lunch, chicken salad with roasted garlic aioli, and a vegan-friendly option made with the black-eyed pea spread. There will be a full dinner menu, with composed entrées at reasonable prices. Sabee looks forward to putting more emphasis on the food at the Ritz, but she’s not looking to reinvent the wheel. “Nothing fancy,” she says, “just really good, properly seasoned, properly executed [food].”
Dinner entrées will include dishes featured at the pop-up and on Valentine’s Day: Milk-braised pork shoulder with roasted Brussels sprouts, creamy grits, mustard cream sauce, and fried shallots; blackened cod; and chicken breast with orange-roasted beets, smoked mashed potatoes, and chicken jus (I tasted it, it’s phenomenal). Entrées will be priced at $16 to $21. There will be several dessert items, including a tahini-swirled brownie with salted caramel and fresh whipped cream.
For customers with allergies or dietary restrictions, Sabee is flexible and accommodating. “I’m not in the business of saying no,” she says. “I’d rather say yes.”
“I think it’s important for the community to have affordable, flavorful food that they might not necessarily expect to get from a place like this,” Vanessa says.
Kelly Feirtag agrees. Feirtag, herself a culinary school graduate in culinary management, has known she wanted to open her own restaurant someday, but never expected to get her start in a dive bar. “I love this place,” she says. “I love my job.”
Feirtag has put a lot of energy into growing the Ritz brand, introducing new bands and DJs to bring in new clientele, changing the decor to more accurately reflect the bar’s musical personality, and working to dispel the unsavory reputation that has followed the Ritz for years.
“It’s a safe place for a woman to come and have a drink by herself,” Kelly says. “Our staff doesn’t really put up with a lot.” Although the negative rumors aren’t accurate, she also insists, “We’re not fancy. That’s not at all what we’re going for; we are still a dive bar. We’re more quirky and funky … we don’t take ourselves seriously at all.”
“I don’t know anything about the past here,” Vanessa says. “I don’t want to focus on that. I want to focus on the future [and] my menu, and I think that it’ll be fun for people, to see what’s capable of coming out of this place.”
From left are: Dennis, Whitney, Kaylee, Maddie, Brenda and Lauren Cox. Courtesy photo
By RANDY GONZALES For Hays Post
Big things are happening for the family of a local former star basketball player – which shouldn’t seem out of the ordinary, since her family grows like Redwood trees.
Brenda (Bruggeman) Cox, a 1987 graduate of Hays High School and the star center on the Indian girls’ basketball team during her high school days, was a 6-foot-2 mountain in the middle for HHS. A three-year starter for the Indians, Brenda led her team to a third-place finish at state her senior year.
Brenda, now the mom of four tall, athletic daughters, is getting ready to watch her oldest play in the Big 12 basketball tournament, which begins today in Oklahoma City. Lauren Cox, a 6-4 junior forward, starts for the Baylor Bears.
Brenda’s parents – Mel and Karen Bruggeman from Hays – also will make the trip south to watch their granddaughter play.
Baylor (28-1 overall, 18-0 Big 12) is ranked No. 1 in the nation in the latest Associated Press poll. The Bears are on a 20-game winning streak and are one of only two teams to defeat national power Connecticut this season.
Baylor is the No. 1 seed in the Big 12 tourney and will play its first game at 1:30 p.m. Saturday, vs. the winner of today’s game between Oklahoma and Texas Tech. Saturday’s game will be televised on FSN. The semifinals are Sunday, with the championship game Monday night. The semifinals and title game will be shown on FS1.
Lauren Cox with the Big 12 trophy after Baylor won the regular-season title this year. Courtesy photo
Brenda said her family will attend Laura’s games in person starting Sunday. On Saturday, they will be watching one of her other siblings play in a volleyball tournament.
Lauren’s younger sisters are: Whitney, a 6-0 forward and a high school senior who has committed to play at Lubbock Christian next year; Kaylee, a 6-1 sophomore whose volleyball team won the Texas Class 6A state title; and Maddie, a 6-1 eighth-grader who plays both basketball and volleyball.
Brenda’s husband, Dennis, is 6-4; he also played basketball in college, at Central Methodist in Missouri.
Brenda followed in her father’s footsteps in taking her talents to the college level. Mel played basketball for St. Mary of the Plains College in Dodge City. Brenda played at Dodge City Community College for two years, then transferred to Southern Methodist University in Dallas.
She met her husband, a software developer, in Dallas after her playing days at SMU. These days, Brenda is a stay-at-home mom who stays busy keeping up with her daughters’ athletic events.
Watching Lauren play on a national stage has been a treat for the family.
“It’s a lot of fun,” Brenda said. “It’s kind of unbelievable. When you have a child you think they will play sports, but she’s kind of a special athlete, a lot of God-given talent.”
Lauren was the nation’s No. 1-ranked player coming out of high school her senior year. She narrowed her college choices to Connecticut, Tennessee, Louisville, Notre Dame and Baylor.
“She pretty much had the option to go wherever she wanted,” Brenda said. “Those programs are all class acts, great coaches. I think it really came down to (playing) close to home.”
The drive to Waco for the Coxes to catch Lauren’s home games is about an hour and 45 minutes. Brenda and her husband also travel back to Kansas to watch Lauren’s games when Baylor plays at Kansas State and the University of Kansas.
The Bruggemans are diehard Baylor fans. They traded in their Buick Enclave with more than 200,000 miles on it for a 2017 model that already has traveled 40,000 miles to basketball games.
It’s no surprise that Brenda’s children are tall. The family tree has long limbs. Her dad, who played basketball at St. Mary of the Plains College in Dodge City, is 6-4, and her mom is 5-11. Brenda is the youngest of three Bruggeman children. Her older sister, Rhonda, is 6-0, and her brother, Mark, is 6-4.
“I really feel short with (Brenda’s) girls so tall,” Karen said with a laugh. “It’s been wonderful (watching Lauren play). It keeps us young.”
The Bruggemans are used to hitting the road to watch women’s college basketball. It was a relatively short drive when Brenda was playing for DCCC. But when she went to SMU, the couple would leave Hays after work on Friday, drive eight hours to Dallas for a game Saturday night, then drive back to Kansas on Sunday.
Laura (Flax) Hertel, a senior on the Hays High girls’ basketball team in 1985 when Brenda was a sophomore, is part of a group of former teammates and friends who gather in Manhattan when Baylor plays at Kansas State.
“She has quite the little following at those games,” Hertel said.
Hertel also remembers how dominating Brenda was inside the paint for the Indians.
“She was just a huge presence inside,” Hertel said. “By the time she got to be a senior, she was just amazing.”
Lauren has had an amazing first three years at Baylor. She is averaging 12.1 points, 7.2 rebounds, 3.4 assists and 2.4 blocks per game for the Bears. In Monday’s 63-57 win at West Virginia which capped an undefeated Big 12 regular season, Lauren recorded her 24th career double-double with 22 points and 10 rebounds while playing all 40 minutes.
“Lauren played her heart out,” said Karen, who watched the game on television. “She doesn’t like to lose.”
Lauren was an honorable mention AP All-American in 2018. She was selected to the Big 12 first team, was named the Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year and made the Academic All-Big 12 First Team.
Lauren has excelled in sports despite being diagnosed with type 1 diabetes when she was 7 years old. Daily insulin injections became part of her regimen as she managed the disease. At Baylor, the trainers have helped her manage the disease, and Bears coach Kim Mulkey recommended Lauren use her diabetes as a platform to inspire others. Lauren helps out with the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, and Brenda said it is not unusual for Lauren and her family to hear from young athletes with diabetes from all across the country.
“She has really become a role model for young type 1 diabetics,” Brenda said, adding that her daughter’s name often comes up in search results on the Internet about athletes with diabetes.
This weekend, Lauren and her Baylor teammates will be searching for a Big 12 championship.
Jeremy Green, 4112 Covenant Drive, objects to a special assessment for a new park in King’s Gate First Addition. Green said he and his neighbors were never notified by developer Covenant Builders of the upcoming fee.
By BECKY KISER Hays Post
Some homeowners in King’s Gate First Addition in northwest Hays are unhappy with the neighborhood’s local developer, Covenant Builders, and its president Katherine Burnett.
Jeremy Green, 4112 Covenant Drive, told Hays city commissioners Thursday night he and his neighbors were “blindsided” by a recent notice from the city about assessments the 52 property owners are liable for now that a park improvement district previously created in the city is completed.
Green, who built his house in January 2013, said “from day one, we were all told that Covenant Builders would pay for that park. That was stated by Burnett and several of her workers. We were under the understanding that this came under the current curb and guttering specials and that Covenant would take care of it.”
He gave the commission a number of signatures of his neighbors and said he would be getting more.
Efforts to contact Burnett were unsuccessful Friday morning.
King’s Gate Addition was platted and began development in 2010. In 2012, the developer petitioned the city for establishment of a benefit district to fund improvements to King’s Gate Park, a small neighborhood park at the north end of the development. A resolution was approved by the city commission allowing for special assessment of the park improvements.
There was no public notice of the petition in 2012.
“At the time, Covenant Builders owned the majority of the lots. There were maybe 4 or 5 that were sold,” recalled City Manager Toby Dougherty. “Burnett received signatures that were affixed to the petition which requested a waiver of public notice because of that.”
King’s Gate Park
Covenant Builders was awarded the low bid of $75,000 for the park construction project on June 28.
Design engineering, bond issuance and interest brought the total cost to $82,163.49, Finance Director Kim Rupp told the commissioners. The assessment is for 10 years split equally per square foot within the improvement district.
The neighborhood wants the park, according to Green, who added he has “no problem with paying taxes, but tell me I’m going to be paying taxes.”
“It’s only a few thousand dollars per house, but it’s the principal behind it.”
Information provided by Rupp shows the highest assessment in the district is $2,322.75; the lowest assessment is $810.27.
Rupp told the commission several of the affected homeowners had already talked to him and City Clerk Brenda Kitchen about the matter.
Mayor Henry Schwaller pointed out the city has a policy that “every development will have green space to be paid for by the developer or through specials, or the developer will give the city some money.”
“The validity of the proceedings is, I don’t think, questionable,” said John Bird, city attorney. “The fact of the matter is the city followed the rules, which include that public notice is given various times. What usually happens in these things, I think, is the developer because they have total control over the project at first, they’ll sign off on things that bind those lots later. But that’s really between the developer and the people that purchase the lots later.
“It sounds like you definitely didn’t have very good communication with each other. .. You weren’t blindsided by us,” Bird concluded.
“I get that,” Green agreed.
Bird told Green he and his neighbors “probably have a remedy. It’s just not here.”
According to Rupp, there is a state statute requiring a seller to notify the buyer of any special assessment, even if it’s pending.
Green also said there are several lawsuits underway regarding flooding in King’s Gate First Addition.
“You can’t just keep giving, giving and giving to this builder when there’s issues. They need to be addressed. Something’s got to be done,” he said.
Commissioners thanked Green for bringing attention to the issue.
“It is important to note that we do use the general bonding authority of the city in order to make these developments happen,” commissioner James Meier said. “Even though it’s special assessed to the properties, it’s still a general obligation bond. I think we do need to be aware of when these sorts of things happen. We’re under no requirement to bond for developers. I think this is a good discussion and good information for us to have.”
A public hearing will be held March 14 during a regular commission meeting to consider an ordinance levying the special assessments.
A second public hearing will consider the Heart of America Second Addition (Resolution No. 2016-010) for water, sanitary sewer, storm sewer and street improvements included in the extension of Ninth Street east to Commerce Parkway.
Heart of America Second Addition will have a 15-year assessment of $277,836.51 spread against each lot.
The Final Master Order for the R9 Ranch long-term water project is off the desk of the Chief Engineer of the Division of Water Resources (DWR), announced Hays Mayor Henry Schwaller on Thursday night.
“He (David Barfield) finished the order as he said he would. It is now under consideration by Division of Water Resources attorneys and then we will get to look at it as well,” Schwaller said at the end of the city commission work session. “Once that Master Order is reviewed, it will be issued.”
“It will become official,” added City Manager Toby Dougherty, “and the start of the Water Transfer (Act) is contingent upon an approved change order.”
“So, we cannot start that process until it is approved.”
The Final Master Order is set up to be contingently approved with a clause that if the cities of Hays and Russell are not successful in negotiating the transfer process, none of the changes will take effect, Dougherty explained.
The next step, he said, is for the cities to “start pressing the three agency heads to begin moving forward with the water transfer process.”
By state law, once the Final Master Order is issued, the Water Transfer Act will be triggered. The act still requires approval within 18 months from a three-person panel consisting of the Kansas Department of Health and Environment Secretary or the KDHE Director of the Division of Environment, the head of the Kansas Water Office, and the chief engineer of the KDA/DWR. The state agriculture department oversees the Division of Water Resources.
“So one step is down. Two more to go. We’re very excited about that,” Schwaller added.
Last year was the third wettest year on record for the city of Hays.
In 2018, Hays received 37.55 inches of moisture, just a quarter-inch shy of 37.99 inches that fell in 1993 – the second wettest year.
Official daily records have been kept by the K-State Agricultural Research Center south of town since 1868.
Still, the abundant moisture does not mean an end or even slowdown of the city’s water conservation programs started in 1992.
Holly Dickman, Hays water conservation specialist
“We’re in really great shape right now. The seasonal drought outlook is good for us showing no drought at least through April,” said Holly Dickman, Hays’ water conservation specialist. “The soils are very saturated right now.”
She presented a wrap up of the water conservation programs in 2018 to city commissioners last week and talked about what will be done in 2019.
The high efficiency toilet rebate program was the most popular in 2018 and Dickman expects the same this year. Most of the rebates were for residences.
TOILET REBATES 2018
449 toilets replaced at a cost of $38,200 to the city
289 replaced in 2017
Potential 2,934,853 gallons of water saved
WASHING MACHINE REBATES 2018
91 washing machines replaced at a cost of $9,100 to the city
89 replaced in 2017
81% of machines had Integrated Water Factor (IWF) of 3.2 gallons or less
Potential 691,849 gallons of water saved
URINAL REBATES 2018
3 urinals replaced at a cost of $900 to the city
Potential 191,625 gallons of water saved
Urinal rebate eliminated for 2019
TURF CONVERSION 2018
9 turf conversions of 12,734 sq. ft. at a cost of $9,023 to the city
26 conversions in 2017
Average rebate of $931.40
Pending conversions of 18,864 sq. ft.
LOW FLOW SHOWER HEAD PROGRAM 2018
146 shower heads distributed
103 distributed in 2017
Potential 852,640 gallons of water saved
Last year was slow for turf conversions due to the plentiful rain. Several pre-inspections are pending. Property owners have one year to complete the work.
The urinal rebate is not a popular program according to Dickman and has been eliminated for 2019. She noted the Golden Q Sports Bar & Grill was the sole participant last year.
“If there is a commercial business that would like to replace their urinals, I encourage them to contact me. There are other ways we can help facilitate that,” she added.
Notable projects of 2018 included the change out in Jan. of 98 toilets by the Fort Hays Inn, 2524 Vine, to models with a 1.28 gallon per flush (gpf).
In 2017, the motel used an average 7,890 cu. ft. of water per month. In 2018, that was reduced to 2,704 cu. ft. per month.
Tiger Mart convenience store, 335 W. 8th St., changed out a water-cooled ice machine for an air-cooled model in Aug. Average monthly water use for the ice machine was reduced to 620 cu. ft. from 2,400 cu. ft.
“Those are phenomenal,” said Commissioner Sandy Jacobs.
Commissioner James Meier agreed. “Of course, we’re excited about the water savings, but the monetary savings. Think what that means to them. That has to be thousands of dollars.”
(Click to enlarge)
Dickman shared a list of 18 types of education and outreach she uses, “in all ways, shapes and forms,” saying it all comes down to communication. “The more variety, the better.”
Dickman also noted the revamped city of Hays website includes a blue topic button on the front page and a featured column for water conservation information.
A new mascot, Water$mart Wally,” was created last year and first introduced to the Lincoln School third-graders.
The city of Hays and KSU Big Creek Middle Smoky Hill River Watersheds will host a free World Water Day Fun Fest for children 10 a.m. – 12 p.m. Thu., March 14 in the lobby of the Sternberg Museum of Natural History, 3000 Sternberg Drive.
Patients reap many benefits from staying close to home to receive medical services.
Yet, some Ellis County patients still travel outside of the county to receive medical treatment.
Hospital officials spoke to Hays Post about the factors that might lead to patients leaving home for treatment and what local providers are doing to try to change perceptions that care is better elsewhere.
HaysMed market share in Ellis County is 80 percent to 85 percent, which is good, according to Ed Herrman, HaysMed CEO.
Herrman
For the hospital’s primary service area, the market share is about 77 percent. This includes Ellis, Russell, Rooks, Rush and Trego counties. The hospital also has a secondary market that extends about 75 miles from Hays and a tertiary market that encompasses most of northwest Kansas and some of southwest Kansas.
Herrman said some patients think they will receive better care in a metro area, but bigger is not always better.
“The care is not better,” he said. “Actually in many cases, from quality outcomes, the care is not as good as we are here. In Leapfrog, we are rated an A. We are rated as high as you can be rated on quality of care in our industry. There are many of those facilities that people are going to in Wichita or another metropolitan area that are not As on Leapfrog’s grading scale.
“That is our focus — quality and the patient.”
Issued twice per year, the Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grade empowers regular people to find a safer hospital in their community by using a A, B, C, D, F grading system.
The hospital has some of the best outcomes in the state on hip and knee surgeries, Herrman said. In orthopedics, HaysMed has a Durable Medical Equipment Accreditation and the DNV-GL Healthcare Hip and Knee Replacement Certification for Center of Excellence. It was the first in the state to obtain this certification. HaysMed also is certified in managing infection risk.
Staying at home for medical care can be better for your health, Herrman said.
“You’re close to home. Any time you don’t have to add the stressors of travel. … If you are going to have surgery, we are always going to hope the outcome is textbook and is just as they said it was going to be, but sometimes it is not that way because other things happen. We have patients and families who find themselves thinking they are going for a routine procedure who are now spending the next three or four days in a city they didn’t plan on staying in,” he said.
Staying close to home also means you are closer to care if you have a complication after a procedure.
“They are typically either in an emergency or some type of crisis, and our surgeons are not the ones who have dealt with the procedure to begin with. That always makes it a little more difficult,” Herrman said.
Staying locally also supports the local facility, he said.
“We always want to give people access to as much as possible, so they don’t have to travel, but when they are not utilizing the resources that are right here for them, it makes it much more difficult to provide all those resources in the future,” he said.
HaysMed has an especially strong oncology department, Herrman said. HaysMed follows the same protocols as the University of Kansas Medical Center and, in some instances, the Mayo Clinic.
“That is not a process of healing that you want try to have to do on the road,” he said. “It is very taxing and it is difficult and painful for those patients who are going through cancer treatment and radiation treatment.”
Herrman said the quickest way for local residents to get the care they need is to come to HaysMed.
“Because if our physicians diagnosis you with something that is not in their practice — it is not something that they do — they still already know the guys and the gals who are out there that do that speciality,” he said. “If we can’t take care of it here, we know who can, and we will set it up for you and make it easy and seamless.”
HaysMed has the advantage of being connected to the University of Kansas Medical System, which allows it to bring in more specialists and connect with specialists in the system in other parts of the state. HaysMed has been affiliated with the University of Kansas system for two years. The hospital still has its own board and manages its own strategic plan.
HaysMed is using its affiliation with the health system to increase access to specialists through telemedicine. Some of these specialties will include psychiatric and neurological evaluations, as well as oncology.
“The University of Kansas Health System is known for its oncology program,” Herrman said. “It is state of the art. It competes with the best in the nation. It gives the opportunity to get those super sub-specialists. They do things that no one else in the state or region does. It gives the ability to hopefully have access to those individuals, so people from western Kansas don’t have to drive to Kansas City to necessarily get that care or second opinion. If they don’t want to do that travel, we can set it up to do it here.”
When Colby lost its oncologist, HaysMed took over the program.
Telemedicine provides access to a limited resources. Medical schools can’t graduate doctors fast enough to replace the Baby Boomer physicians who are retiring in some specialties, Herrman said.
HaysMed was without an ENT for two years, but the University of Kansas Health System helped HaysMed secure a ENT who is at the hospital three out of four weeks a month and an advanced practice provider who works in Hays five days a week. Before that clinic was offered in Hays, patients from northwest Kansas would have had to travel to Salina or Hutchinson for treatment.
Telemedicine also helps manage a finite resources. If a specialist doesn’t have to drive or fly to a remote location, they can spend more time seeing patients.
Herrman said he saw telemedicine expanding with advances in technology.
Twelve-lead ECGs to monitor the heart and an otoscope, which is used to look into your ears, can already be hooked up to smart phones. He said he sees a time in the future when families will have some of theses devices at home so they can have telemedicine visits with doctors after hours.
Despite the use of telemedicine, Herrman said the hospital would still like to sign a contract with a neurologist and rheumatologist. There is only one neurologist in all of western Kansas.
Herrman said the hospital is constantly in the recruiting process. Recruiters follow students from pre-med all the way through their residencies.
“We are making sure that we are trying to connect with them early to get them to come back to western Kansas,” he said.
Rural Kansas has assets such as good schools, opportunities to connect in the community and a work/life balance. Yet, Herrman said living and working in western Kansas is not for everyone. The hospital tries to work with physicians and their spouses to make sure Hays is the right fit for their families.
The hospital is also unwilling to compromise on quality candidates, Herrman said.
“That’s why it takes us a little more time for some positions because we are not willing to accept someone that is substandard just to have someone,” he said. “We are selling ourselves short if we do that, and we are selling the community short if we do that. We have a wonderful community, and we have a wonderful facility. We know there is always someone looking for what we have to offer.”
Veach
Shae Veach, vice president of regional operations and marketing, said the affiliation with the University of Kansas Medical System is also helping the hospital recruit physicians. He added HaysMed is well below the national turnover rate for physicians.
“I think it is so much more magnified here because of the size of the community and the size of the medical staff,” Veach said. “One physician might leave, and everyone feels it.”
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — After a banner year on the court, the Fort Hays State women’s basketball team picked up seven All-MIAA honors when they were released on Tuesday (March 5) by the league office. Senior forward Tatyana Legette was named the 2018-19 MIAA Women’s Basketball Player of the Year and earned a spot on the All-MIAA first team roster, while head coach Tony Hobson earned his third MIAA Coach of the Year honor.
Legette was one of five Tiger student-athletes to earn a spot on an All-MIAA team, joined by Kacey Kennett on the second team, Lanie Page on the third team and honorable mention accolades for Carly Heim and Belle Barbieri.
The Tigers picked up five all-conference nods for the second year in a row and the fifth time in program history. It is the first time the Tigers have placed three players on the first-through-third teams of an all-conference list since 1993-94.
Tony Hobson guided the Tigers to a 27-1 overall record in 2018-19, the fewest losses in a regular season in program history. Fort Hays State finished the difficult MIAA slate 18-1, earning 18 conference wins for the third time in the last five years. An MIAA team has reached 18 league victories just eight times since the Tigers joined the MIAA in 2006-07, with no other school reaching the milestone more than once. Hobson led the Tigers to their eighth-straight 20-win season, extending the longest such streak in program history. Before this stretch began in 2011-12, the team reached the 20 win plateau eight times in its first 42 years of existence. Hobson became the all-time winningest coach in Fort Hays State earlier this season when he earned his 218th victory as a Tiger. He also earned MIAA Coach of the Year honors in 2014-15 and 2015-16.
Tatyana Legette has been a constant force for the Tigers all season, leading the team in points, rebounds and assists. She scored in double figures 21 times in the regular season, including three games of 20 or more points. The forward averaged 13.6 points, 8.3 rebounds and 2.9 assists per game over the 28 contests to date, making her the lone MIAA player to rank in the top 11 in all three categories. She was also among the league’s best on the defensive end, ranking sixth in the league with 1.6 blocks per game and 14th with 1.4 steals each night. Legette brought her A-game night in and night out when it came to league play, boosting her averages to 15.1 points, 8.8 rebounds and 3.3 assists against MIAA opponents. It is the third time Legette has earned All-MIAA status after picking up second team honors as a junior and an honorable mention selection following her sophomore campaign.
This is the sixth All-MIAA first team honor for the Tigers, and the second time a Tiger has been named MIAA Player of the Year (Lehman, 2014-15).
Kacey Kennett was named to the second team after earning honorable mention status a year ago. The junior averaged 11.2 points and 4.5 rebounds per night, ranking third on the team in both categories. Kennett knocked down 38 three-pointers on the year, making at least one long-range attempt in all but six contests. The Olathe, Kan. native hit more than 35 percent from behind the arc, third best on the team. She added 39 steals, swiping 1.4 steals every outing.
Lanie Page picked up All-MIAA honors for the second year in a row, earning a spot on the third team after being named honorable mention as a sophomore. The Wamego, Kan. native tallied 333 points in the regular season, ranking second on the team with an average of 11.9 points per outing. Page scored 20 or more points a team-best five times, including a career-high 23 points against Rockhurst. She poured in a team-high 47 three-pointers, making at least one shot from behind the arc in all but five contests. Page ranked second with a free throw percentage of 81.4 percent. In addition to adding 3.3 rebounds and 1.8 assists every game, the junior was a leader on the defensive end. She paced the team with 45 steals and 45 blocks on the year, ranking in the top 10 in the conference in both category.
Carly Heim picked up honorable mention for the third year in a row. The senior served as the team’s floor general until an untimely injury in early February. She averaged a team-high 1.7 steals in her 20 appearances, ranking seventh in the MIAA. Heim added 7.1 points, 2.8 rebounds and 2.2 assists per outing. The Hoxie, Kan. native dished out multiple assists in all but five her appearances, including nine games with three or more dimes.
Belle Barbieri picked up her first All-MIAA award after taking a major step forward in her junior season. After averaging just over three points per game in her first two seasons, the Abilene, Kan. native quickly became a double-double threat as a junior. Barbieri ranked third on the team with an average of 10.4 points per contest while ranking second with 6.5 rebounds each game. The forward grabbed 73 offensive rebounds on the year, fourth most in the conference. Barbieri posted 17 double-digit games, third most on the team, while posting the first four double-doubles of her career.
Legette and Heim become the fifth and sixth Tigers to earn a trio of All-MIAA honors, joining Kate Lehman, Jill Faxon, Beth Bohuslavsky and Katelyn Edwards.
2018-19 MIAA Women’s Basketball Postseason Awards Player of the Year – Tatyana Legette – Fort Hays State, Senior
Defensive Player of the Year – Jessica Wayne – Emporia State, Junior
Freshman of the Year – Kaylee DaMitz – Pittsburg State Coach of the Year – Tony Hobson – Fort Hays State
All-MIAA First Team
Paige Redmond – Central Missouri, Senior
Morgan Fleming – Central Missouri, Junior
Tyra Jones – Emporia State, Senior Tatyana Legette – Fort Hays State, Senior
Kallie Bildner – Lindenwood, Junior
Katrina Roenfeldt – Missouri Western, Junior
Reflects Tie In Voting
All-MIAA Second Team
Jessica Wayne – Emporia State, Junior Kacey Kennett – Fort Hays State, Junior
Chelsey Henry – Missouri Southern, Senior
Shelby Lopez – Pittsburg State, Senior
Reagan Phelan – Washburn, Junior
All-MIAA Third Team
Megan Skaggs – Central Missouri, Junior
Micayla Haynes – Central Oklahoma, Junior Lanie Page – Fort Hays State, Junior
Maya Williams – Pittsburg State, Sophomore
Caylee Richardson – Southwest Baptist, Senior
All-Defensive Team
Megan Skaggs – Central Missouri, Junior
Madison Lee – Central Oklahoma, Senior
Jessica Wayne – Emporia State, Junior
Melia Richardson – Missouri Western, Senior
Joi Bertrand – Northeastern State, Senior
Honorable Mention All-MIAA Central Missouri: Sydney Crockett – Senior Central Oklahoma: Ireon Smith – Junior Emporia State: Addie Lackey – Senior, Emily Miller – Senior, Tiana Moala – Senior Fort Hays State: Carly Heim – Senior, Belle Barbieri – Junior Lincoln: Zhanesha Dickerson – Senior Lindenwood: Lexie Moe – Senior, Charisse Williams – Senior Missouri Southern: Chasidee Owens – Junior Missouri Western: Brittany Atkins – Senior, Melia Richardson – Senior Nebraska Kearney: Brooke Carlson – Freshman, Maegan Holt – Freshman, Kelsey Sanger – Sophomore Northeastern State: Cailyn Long – Senior, Cenia Hayes – Sophomore Pittsburg State: Athena Alvarado – Junior, Kaylee DaMitz – Freshman Southwest Baptist: Laura Vierkant – Junior Washburn: Hunter Bentley – Sophomore, Taylor Blue – Senior, Alexis McAfee – Junior
