Hays Post

Commerce Bank of Hays is doing its Random Acts of Commerce for second consecutive year in 2018.

Here’s how it works: during the holidays, a Commerce banker will be out and about ready to randomly pay for things for people in our community.

Friday morning, Audrey Werth, commercial banker, was at Lincoln Elementary with Principal Kerri Lacy to buy $300 worth of school lunches.

Raymond Haas, Hays Commerce vice president, said Commerce has the advantages of the resources of a big bank, but the service of a local bank.

“Sometimes people think corporate banks aren’t local banks, but we are a local community bank and very involved in our community,” he said. “We do a lot for the community, so this is another way can show that we are a community bank and our employees live, work, shop and are fully vested in the community.”

Last year, the bank randomly paid for items at the ARC Thrift Store, Walmart, Dillons, Orscheln Farm and Home, and a bill at Midwest Energy.

This year’s giving will be a surprise. Be on the lookout in the next couple weeks for more Random Acts of Commerce. Videos of the Random of Acts of Commerce will be posted on the Hays Post Facebook site.

“We appreciate what everybody else does for the community. We just want to be a part of that,” Werth said. “This is one small token that we can do for the area we all live in to make it a better place.”

By CRISTINA JANNEY
Hays Post

Angela Horn, 34, of La Crosse is in the fourth year of a tradition to honor her brother, Timothy.

Timothy passed away in 2011 at the age of 29.

“He would have given the shirt off his back if they had asked,” she said.

Angela started honoring her brother’s memory by adopting families at Christmas, but she wanted to do more.

Angela her friend, Heather Smith, her family as well as other friends and community volunteers offer free gifts with no questions asked at Christmas. They call it the Pay It Forward Store.

“I like to help people and my brother would like to help people,” she said. “To me, it makes his memory live on.”

Timothy’s son, who is 9, helps at the store. Angela said he has no real memory of his dad, but he feels connected to his father through the store.

The Horns take donations of gently used toys, household decorative items, electronics, used gaming systems, baby items, as well as coats, hats, gloves and scarves leading up to Christmas. This year, the store will have a drawing for an American Girl doll.

There is no application process to receive items at the store. You do not have to be from Ellis County to participate.

Hours for the store are 4 to 9 p.m. Fridays, 1 to 9 p.m. Saturdays and 1 to 8 p.m. Sundays Dec. 1 through Dec. 23. The store is in the former RUE 21 location at Big Creek Crossing. The store will not be open if volunteers are not available.

Parents can shop for their kids. Kids can shop for parents or siblings.

The store works with the Norton Correction Facility, which refurbishes used bicycles for children. Horn will have a few bikes in the store, but had a preregistration process for the bulk of the bikes. About 30 children signed up for the bikes this year.

Shoppers can also wrap their presents for free at a wrapping station at the store.

Angela does not keep track of the number of people she helps with the store, but she estimates she is averaging about 75 to 125 shoppers. Angela sponsors an annual Pay It Forward Pageant. She uses any proceeds from the pageant to buy items for the store. The store is otherwise supported through donations and run by volunteers.

Horn said the store is filling a void in the community that other non-profits are not.

Shirley Horn, Angela’s mother, said some people who have used the store are too proud to ask for assistance from other agencies. They make a small cash donation of what they can, donate other items or volunteer time at the store.

Horn gave several examples where the store was able to provide just what families needed at Christmas. A family last year lost their home in a fire before Christmas, and the store provided them all the items they could to get them back on their feet.

A women came in last year who was eight months pregnant and took home a crib.

“It was the one thing she didn’t have and really needed,” Angela said.

This year, the store has a rocking chair in its baby section.

In a previous year, a father was laid off in early December.

“He had missed every deadline,” Angela said of other assistance programs.

The father used the store to provide Christmas to his family.

“We had a women come in. We had a keyboard donated last year,” Angela said. “The only thing her daughter wanted for Christmas was a piano. They don’t live someplace where she could have a piano. She came in the day that keyboard was brought in and was able to give her daughter exactly what she asked for. She left in tears because it meant so much that she was able to give her daughter a Santa gift.”

The store also had a Barbie dollhouse that they set up in the window last year.

“The little girl only wanted a Barbie house. They came in probably an hour after we got it all set up in the window. The mom and dad were in tears because they got to give their daughter exactly what she wanted,” Angela said. “Things like that make me happy.”

Angela, who is a dispatcher for the Rush County Sheriff’s Office, said “People might take advantage, but I don’t care if they do because for those other people like those two couples, that is what matters most to me.”

The store will accept donations until Dec. 18. You can drop items off at the store at Big Creek Crossing when it is open. You can also arrange for pickup through the store’s Facebook page.

The store is always in need of gifts for teen girls and boys, especially boys 8 and older. Angela said she often uses monetary donations to purchase items for boys.

If you wish to volunteer at the store, you can sign up for a time slot on the store’s Facebook page. Angela likes to have at least two volunteers in the store at a time.

Items that are not given away during the holiday are distributed to other charitable organizations, including the ARC Thrift Store or the Mary Elizabeth Maternity Home. Stuffed animals go to the Rush County Sheriff’s Office and EMS to be given to children who have contact with law enforcement. Some items are stored until the following year.

Horn’s goal for 2019 is to apply for nonprofit status for the store. All the funds for the store are currently going back into operations and gifts. There will be a collection jar in the store this holiday to raise at least $400 that is needed for the store’s nonprofit start-up.

Corrected Sunday, Dec. 2 for county where Angela Horn works as a dispatcher to Rush County.

By CRISTINA JANNEY
Hays Post

Briney Motorsports is celebrating its new expanded location Friday and Saturday with a grand opening.

The business, which is now located a 1000 E. Highway 40 bypass, carries UTVs, ATVs, personal watercraft, and racing parts and accessories.

Owner Billy Briney said the business outgrew its former location on Eighth Street in Hays when the company became a Can Cam ATV and UTV dealer.

The building on Eighth Street was about 5,000 square feet compared to the 18,000-square-foot-building the Brineys are now leasing on the bypass.

Briney is also now a Sea-Doo dealer. The company provides sales and service for both brands and service for all UTV, ATV and personal watercraft models.

Briney will rent Sea-Doos and trailers this summer. You can also pick up watercraft accessories, such as lifejackets, towables, tubes and tow ropes at the business.

“We do the winterizing and the service of the (Sea-Doos), and now we can offer storage for the winter,” Briney said. “So we can put together a whole package, drop it off at the end of the year when you’re done with it, forget about it until it is time to go back on the water and we will have it ready for you.”

The business also can do high-performance upgrades for UTVs and ATVs.

“We are a full dealership,” Briney said. “We want everyone to know we do work on everything. No matter what it is. Bring it in here, and we’ll take care of them.”

Billy, who grew up in Ness City, was an off-road racer who converted his hobby into a career. He and his wife, Jodi, travel to local tracks to offer parts, fuel and tires to racers up and down Interstate 70. The couple opened their first brick-and-motor store in Hays in 2015.

“We have expanded. It went from me sitting there by myself every day in the store to we have my wife here full time now. … Alongside that, we now have four full-time employees,” Billy Briney said.

The mobile portion of their business will continue. However, the new building will allow Briney to expand his racing parts inventory. Briney is also ramping up his online business for people who are used to working with the mobile store at the track but might not be able to make it to Hays in between races.

“We are going to keep that same service,” he said. “I know I have heard people say people get bigger and the service goes away. That’s not going to happen here. I pride myself on everyone being happy when they leave here, and that is how it is going to stay.”

In addition to working with racers at RPM Speedway on a regular basis, the Brineys sponsored two UTV races at Bunker Hill this year. They hope to sponsor another event in 2019.

The grand opening will be 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Friday and 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday with a Hays Area Chamber of Commerce ribbon cutting at 4 p.m. Friday.

The store will have 10 percent off storewide and $300 toward accessories if you by a new machine during the grand opening. People can enter both days for a drawing at 2 p.m. Saturday. Some of the prizes include action cameras, free service and a watercraft rental. The business will also give away T-shirts.

The store has expanded its regular hours to 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Mondays through Fridays and 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturdays. The service department is closed on Saturday. Contact the business at 785-301-2678.

Hays Post

The Hays USD 489 honored Olivia Goetz, fifth-grader at Roosevelt Elementary School, with the Best of the Best Award Monday night.

She was nominated by her teacher Michaela Gower.

“Olivia is a student who pushes herself to be the best version of herself each and every day. Olivia comes to class prepared and has a willingness and hunger to learn,” Gower said in her nomination.

“Olivia exemplifies a growth mindset, which is something we have focused on throughout the beginning of the school year. This is exhibited specifically in her writing, where she has been working on a personal narrative piece describing her time at the Kansas State Fair. Olivia knows the importance of pushing herself each day to take the story to new heights.

“As Olivia progresses into middle school, I have no doubt she will continue to experience academic success with the work ethic and growth mindset that she brings to school with her each day,” Gower said. “I’m honored to have the opportunity to be a part of Olivia’s journey as a student at Roosevelt.”

Matt Brooks

Abby Gillan, HHS teacher, nominated Matt Brooks, social science teacher at Hays High School, as the staff Best of the Best.

Brooks and Gillan were unable to be at the school board meeting Monday night.

Gillan wrote the following in her nomination letter:

“In a district and school our size, it gets difficult to notice the acts of people around us that are subtle and consistent.  Matt Brooks, besides his BOOMING voice that penetrates walls, can be characterized as both subtle and consistent. 

“Matt is consistently doing the little/subtle things for his students to give them an extraordinary learning experience. As our district focuses on ‘relationships’ I think there is no better example of how to build positive and meaningful relationships than Matt and his students.

“He consistently greets his kids at the doorway, asks them about their activities, hobbies and families. He takes the time to see kids. To see through a kid sleeping during his lecture to find that kid works late to help support his family, sees through the seemingly unprepared kid who doesn’t ever bring his computer to class to find out that kid cannot pay his fees, and the withdrawn girl who is battling depression.

“He does it every single day, and he does it consistently. So much so, that if you don’t look for it, you may miss it. It challenges all of us to be consistent not only in our instructional efforts, but in building meaningful rapport with all students every single day.”

By CRISTINA JANNEY
Hays Post

The Hays USD 489 school board approved the contracts for the $2 million purchase of the Oak Park Medical Complex at its meeting Monday night.

The district will use a $1.47 million federal grant to renovate the complex for use by the Early Childhood Connections program.

The district will pay back a lease agreement on the complex $217,000 per year for 10 years using capital outlay funds. District taxes will remain the same. HaysMed owns the most significant portion of the complex and has agreed to donate $500,000 back to the district from the purchase price to be used for the renovation of the complex.

Because the lease agreement was more than $100,000, it required a protest period for taxpayers. That period ended Sunday, Nov. 25, without a petition being presented.

The project will allow the district to expand its ECC program as well as vacate the 94-year-old Washington Elementary School building and Munjor school building.

The federal government has a goal of all Head Start positions moving to full day. On Monday, Donna Hudson-Hamiiton presented a grant application to the board, which it approved, for funds to expand 21 slots to full time.

This will mean 45 percent of the ECC’s Head Start slots will be full-time. Hudson-Hamilton projected more grants will follow to bring the rest of the slot to full-time within the next five years.

The ECC grant also requested $185,000 in start-up costs for the program to move playground equipment from the Washington location to the new Oak Park complex on 13th Street.

Preference for the all-day slots are given to parents who work or are going to school. Hudson-Hamilton said Head Start helps fill a gap for child care, as there is not enough private child care available in the community.

Board member Paul Adams described the increase in Head Start slots as an economic development issue because the Head Start spots keep parents employed.

The ECC program is available to all children in the district. This includes children who will go on to private school or to be home schooled.

There is currently not enough classroom space at Washington to house moving all the Head Start children to full-time attendance.

Only part of Washington school can be used for student classrooms. Law prohibits small children from attending classes on the second floor of a building because of the difficulty in evacuating them in case of an emergency.

Washington is also not handicap accessible and has had significant infrastructure issues, including problems with water and sewer. Superintendent John Thissen said the district questioned whether it was worth putting money into renovations of a building that was so old.

The vote was split on approval of Oak Park purchase with board members Mandy Fox and Greg Schwartz voting against. Board member Lance Bickle was unable to attend the meeting but sent a letter to Fox outlining his concerns about the project and his objection to the purchase.

Bickle said in his letter he thought the district was overpaying for the property based on the fact that it had been on the market for some time with little interest expressed in its purchase. He was also concerned about the condition of the roof, HVAC system and parking lot. He expressed concerned about a rush to purchase the property as well as a potential loss in tax revenue when the property comes off the tax roles. The taxes on the complex were almost $48,000 in 2017.

He also said he did not think this was the greatest need in the district at this time.

Schwartz also bemoaned a lack of a long-term plan.

“I don’t think we have addressed what we are going to forgo to get there,” he said of the Oak Park purchase.

He noted at one time the district had discussed moving the ECC program to O’Loughlin Elementary School if it were to no longer be used as an elementary school.

Adams said he believed the project was a proactive step to prepare local children for kindergarten, which is being emphasized by the Kansas Department of Education.

“This is not new. It is not out of the blue. This is a way to move forward with something that we have on our docket for a few years and do it,” Adams said.

He continued, “There is a risk, but there is not often that there is $1.5 million to mitigate that risk.”

Schwartz also expressed concern that one of the entities the district has a contract with is not the current owner of that portion of the property. Board Attorney Bill Jeter said that person has a contract to buy the property and will close on the property with the current owner and then sell the property to school district.

“I have concerns about the appraisal,” Schwartz said. “I have concerns about the overall project. I have mentioned those before. I would happy to go back over those, but I think everyone here knows my position on it.”

The federal grant funds for the renovation must be used by June 30. The new space is expected to be open for ECC students in fall 2019.

Washington school will be closed and put up for sale. If the building can’t be sold, money will be included in the project for the building to be demolished. The Munjor building will go back to the Catholic church.

By CRISTINA JANNEY

Hays Post

The Hays USD 489 school board approved raises for teachers, administrators and classified staff at its meeting on Monday.

However, not everyone received the same amount.

The board approved the teachers’ contract, which was ratified on Nov. 14. That contract included a 3.7 percent raise, a $200 one-time payment for insurance and vertical and horizontal movement on the pay scale. The raises will be retroactive to the beginning of the fiscal year in June.

The board approved a 4.6 percent raise for classified staff and 3.7 percent raise for administration.

The administration and classified received a 4.6 percent pay increase in error in June. On Nov. 1, the board stopped that raise, but agreed the staff would not have to pay back the salary increase that was paid in error.

The board in the past has given administration and classified staff the same percent raise as it has negotiated with teachers. However, the Hays NEA can’t legally negotiate on the behalf of other staff.

Board member Greg Schwartz made a motion to increase pay for classified and administrative staff by 3.7 percent. That failed on a vote of 5 to 1. Board member Lance Bickle was absent.

Luke Oborny proposed increasing classified staff by 4.6 percent and increasing administrative staff by 3.7 percent.

A wage comparison that was included in the board packet indicated some of the classified staff are being paid less than comparable positions in Ellis County.

The district budgeted a 4.6 percent increase for all staff. The difference between a 4.6 and 3.7 percent raise for the classified staff would be $20,000 total. Board member Paul Adams said the difference in hourly rate for classified staff on a 4.6 percent raise would be between 9 and 23 cents.

Although that might not seem much to the board, he said he that might mean something to the staff members.

Board member Sophia Rose Young said she could not live on the amount some of the classified staff are being paid.

Schwartz said, “Where are you going to draw the line? $50,000?”

Schwartz voted against the split raises. He said the pay system needs to be evaluated, but the board needs the facts before making any significant changes in the pay scale.

However, he and other board members agreed a committee needs to be formed to review staff pay.

Board member Mike Walker said it would be very bad for morale if the board took action Monday and then did nothing to evaluate and revise staff pay. Superintendent John Thissen said he would work to form a committee to bring back recommendations to the board.

District custodians had already negotiated a 4.6 percent pay raise. This is the last year the district will negotiate with the custodian’s union, SEIU. The board also already approved a $2 per hour raise for paraprofessionals. The move was aimed at reducing turnover among special education staff.

Chris Hipp, special education director, told the board Monday the coop has had a 4 percent reduction in open positions since the raise was instituted in August.

The board also approved the contracts for the Oak Park Medical Plaza. The property will be renovated for use by Early Childhood Connections. See a complete story on Tuesday.

By CRISTINA JANNEY 
Hays Post 

The Hays USD 489 school board is set to vote on a contract with teachers as well as pay for classified staff and administrators at its meeting at 6:30 p.m. Monday at Rockwell Administration Center.

The teachers and board reached impasse, met with a mediator on Nov. 8 and were able to come to an agreement. Teachers voted on the contract on Nov. 14.

The contract will add $1,250 to the teacher base pay and a one-time $200 bonus toward district insurance for certified staff. The teachers were also offered horizontal and vertical movement on their pay scale.

The raise amounts to about an 3.7 percent increase in pay for teachers.

The classified and administrative staff were given a 4.6 percent pay increase in error in June without board approve. The board voted Nov. 1 to step that raise, but did not require those who had receive the raise to pay back any of the funds paid in error.

The board members said in the past, pay increases for administrators and classified staff had been equal to those for teachers. However, legally the teachers can’t negotiate for those groups.

The district had budgeted a 4.6 percent pay increase for all staff. Board President Mandy Fox asked the administration to provide a financial review of how the teachers’ contract would affect the budget.

The teachers’ contract freed up $115,000 from the 2018-19 budget by paying $1,250 on the base for teachers instead of $1,665. $15,000 would be freed up from the 2018-19 budget by paying 3.7 percent as an increase for administrators instead of 4.6 percent.

There is a $20,000 total difference in pay for the classified staff when comparing a 4.6 percent raise to a 3.7 percent raise. Eighteen of the 141 staff (around 12 percent) work less than 30 hours.

Fox also requested an analysis of how classified staff pay compares to pay for similar positions in the community. The pay was compared for starting hourly wage.

Those positions that stood out as being much lower than comparable positions were administrative assistants and IT staff.

Principal’s secretaries and administrative assistants for USD 489 are being paid $11.42 to $12.18, but those in Ellis County are being paid $13.74 to $16.43. IT certified technicians for USD 489 are being paid $10.95 per hour, but their counterparts are being paid $18.70 plus benefits. Network/server certified technicians for USD 489 are paid $12.95 per hour compared to $17.91 per hour plus benefits.

No recommendations were included in the board packet on changes to classified pay.

Oak Park Plaza project 

The protest period for the financing for the renovation of the Oak Park Medical Plaza ends Sunday, Nov. 25.

On Monday, the school board will vote on the final financing for the project as well as the purchase contracts.

The complex will be renovated for the Early Childhood Connections program.

The district preliminarily approved $2 million in financing for the purchase of the building on Oct. 15. The district will pay back the lease-purchase agreement $216,000 per year for 10 years.

The district has received a $1.47 million federal grant for the renovation of the property.

ECC expansion

The board will hear from Donna Hudson-Hamilton, ECC director, about a grant that would allow the district to expand its full-time Head Start slots. The $324,000 grant would also require the hiring of an additional teacher and two additional teacher assistants.

Slots that are currently half-day slots would be converted to full-day slots. The slots would be opened for enrollment in spring for the fall 2019 semester.

Superintendent search

The Hays USD 489 school board is set to vote on a firm to help it conduct a search for a new superintendent.

Superintendent John Thissen gave his letter of resignation to the board on Oct. 19. He will finish out his current contract, which runs through June 30.

Thissen cited personal reasons for his resignation.

The district has bids from three entities to aid in the search: Kansas Association for School Boards, $5,850; McPherson and Jacobson, $4,850; Ray and Associates, $24,250. Ray and Associates specializes in multi-state searches.

The board has worked with KASB on previous searches.

In other business, the board will hear a report from special education director Chris Hipp.

ELLIS — On Monday, Ellis High School inducted three juniors and six seniors into the local chapter of the National Honor Society.

Requirements to get into NHS are a 3.5 GPA, leadership in seven organizations within the school or community, accumulation of 40 hours of community service, and a positive character evaluation by teachers.

The following students were inducted into the National Honor Society:

Logan Shaw, son of Doug & Jill Shaw
Cassandra Waldschmidt, daughter of Pete & Sandy Waldschmidt
August Sinclair, daughter of Mark Sinclair and Katie Armstrong
Cameryn Kinderknecht, daughter of Tim & Rhonda Kinderknecht
Lane Fischer, son of Brian & Melanie Fischer.
Rylee Werth, daughter of Rodney & Cristi Werth
Clara Crawford, daughter of Kim Andries and the late George Crawford III
Cheyenne Born, daughter of Brock & Coleen Born
Dylan Brown, son of Heidi Schmidt

By CRISTINA JANNEY
Hays Post

VICTORIA — Shelly Huser, a 22-year veteran teacher, learned firsthand how hurtful bullying can be.

Her brother, Ross, is physically and developmentally disabled. He was bullied when they were kids. She remembers the uncomfortable stares, the things people would say.

“The ‘retard’ word still makes me cringe when I hear it,” she said.

Huser, 48, shares that story with her fifth-graders on their first day with her at Victoria Elementary School in hopes they will learn to be kind to each other. She has an all-star board with pictures of her family on it. Her parents also used to bring her brother to games at the school, so many of the kids have been able to meet him.

“You don’t know what other people are going through,” she said.

It was this core of kindness and caring that earned Huser this month’s Hays Post Teacher of the Month award.

She was nominated by Shauna Chance. Both of her sons have been in Huser’s class.

“Ms. Huser is an amazing teacher,” Chance wrote in her nomination. “She has been part of the Victoria Elementary School that went above and beyond to care for the children in need of extra attention. … She makes learning fun and memorable. She is patient and supportive. My son tells me every day how amazing of a teacher she is. She makes each kid in class feel special.”

Huser has been at Victoria for 16 years, and also taught for a time at Otis-Bison.

Her fourth-grade teacher — Mildred Hladek at WaKeeney Elementary School — inspired her to be a teacher.

“She had baskets of extra papers on her windowsill, and we could take them if we wanted to. I would take those papers home, and my poor brother had to be my student. I had a classroom, and he would be my student. From that time on, that is what I wanted to do. I love it. I can’t imagine doing anything different.”

However, Huser almost left the profession after student teaching for a kindergarten class.

“When I did my kindergarten student teaching, I thought, ‘What have I gotten myself into?’ Because they couldn’t cut, they couldn’t hold pencils, they couldn’t do things. I think I went home everyday and cried and thought, ‘What have I done? I have wasted four years of my life, and I don’t want to do this.’ ”

She was able to student teach a fourth-grade class during inter-term, and she realized that was the student level with which she really wanted to work.

Her fifth-graders are on the cusp of junior high, and Huser said she really enjoys seeing the children grow during her year with them.

“They come in dependent on me, but they leave independent, and I like that whole transition where they are able to figure things out on their own,” she said.

Huser’s two big words for her class are expectation and accountability.

“I am going to expect you to do it, and then I’m going to hold you accountable to get it done,” she said.

When her students come into the fifth-grade, they sign a job contract that includes Huser’s expectations of them. They have time-card pay. If they do their job, they get time outside to play.

Her favorite aspect of teaching is the “ah-ha” moment.

“I think it is probably when the lightbulb comes on for kiddos when they really get it — whatever I am teaching or some kind of skill. That is probably the most fun, when they finally figure it out and are excited about that,” she said.

Huser covers many subjects in her classroom, but one of her favorites is social studies. The students study Native Americans, explorers, the American Colonies and the Revolutionary War.

Huser tries to give the students hands-on learning activities. They kids do explorer talk shows, a Revolutionary War ABC book and make brochures to convince people to move to the Colonies.

“I feel I try to get them back into that time and put themselves there,” she said. “I think that helps them understand it more.”

Huser said she struggled with the subject when she was an elementary student. She was very nervous about reading aloud in class. Instead of listening to the other students, she focused on only her text.

“As I got into high school, I really had to study and work hard because it didn’t come very easy for me,” she said. “I think that helps kids too, because I struggled with things, so I am able to help them if they have those problems.”

Huser recently resigned as the Victoria Junior High volleyball coach after 16 years. Her record was 132-52. Her team won the CPL tournament this year and placed in the top three nine of the 16 years.

“It was not necessarily about winning,” she said. “We did win a lot because of the talent. It was the teamwork part of things. Kids got along. Even when they weren’t friends off the court, they got along on the court. We stress that and being coachable and having a good attitude.”

Huser also enjoyed being able to coach her own daughters. Kristen, 23, is now the Victoria High School girls basketball coach. Kristen is coaching Huser’s youngest daughter, who is a 15-year-old freshman. She had all three of her children in class.

“How many moms get to do that?” she said.

Although it was a very difficult decision to leave coaching, Huser said she feels she made the right choice. Kristen is expecting a child, and Huser said she looks forward to being a grandma in April.

Over her career, she said teaching has changed.

“Kids have changed, and times have changed,” she said. “I feel like anymore I am still teaching the regular subjects, but there are a whole lot of life skills that I think teachers are doing more of. My theme in here is humble and kind. I fell like we are spending more time on those kind of things maybe more than math and reading.”

Every day, Huser has an MVP that helps lead the class. The MVP holds the door for the class as they go to assembly each morning. The students are supposed to say “thank you.”

“They’ll count and tell be, ‘Ms. Huser, I got 15 thank yous,'” she said. “I think it is those little things. That, again, is holding each other accountable.”

TOPEKA — On Saturday, Nov. 17, the Ellis High School cheerleaders competed in the KSHSAA Spirit Game Day Cheer Showcase in Topeka.

They competed against 21 other schools in Class 1-2A. The cheerleaders performed in crowd-leading, band chant, and fight song categories.

The Ellis High School Cheerleaders were named Class 1-2A Game Day Cheer Showcase Champions for the second year in a row. They are coached by Kristi Bittel.

By DIANE GASPER-O’BRIEN
FHSU University Relations and Marketing

A construction company out of Kansas City, Mo., was so impressed with its first student intern from Fort Hays State University last summer that it made him their poster child – literally.

McCownGordon Construction was one of 30 companies represented at a career day for FHSU’s Department of Applied Technology last month.

The company’s booth was one of the first that students could visit as they walked through the front door of the Center for Applied Technology building. Pictured on one of its banners – with a white hard hat atop his head and a big smile spreading across his face – was Micquille Robinson, a senior construction management major from Wichita.

It was McGownGordon’s first visit to FHSU’s career fair, and their representatives promised they would be back – especially after their experience with Robinson.

“We had never recruited from Fort Hays State, didn’t realize it had a construction management program,” said Emily Brown, director of talent development for McCownGordon. “But we stumbled upon Micquille, and he was a phenomenal intern. So we wanted to definitely come to this fair. He looks pretty good on that poster, don’t you think?”

Robinson sounded impressive to his new employer back in September 2017. Robinson was returning to Hays from a student-athlete leadership conference in Virginia and struck up a conversation with an employee of a concrete construction company in the Kansas City area.

“We just got to chatting, and he asked what I was studying in college,” Robinson said. “I told him, and he told me he had gone to Fort Hays State, and they didn’t have construction management back then. He said he would make some contacts for me.”

That gentleman reached out to McGownGordon. Within a couple of weeks, McGownGordon contacted Robinson to apply for an internship, which he successfully completed last summer.

Landing internships isn’t quite that smooth for all applied technology majors. But the department strives to guide students through the process and give them a variety of opportunities, including hosting events such as the career fair.

“The career fair gives our students an opportunity to visit with different companies and see what the strength of that company is and what type of work they do,” said Kim Stewart, chair of the Department of Applied Technology. “It allows the companies to visit with our students and get a feel for the type of student we have at our school.”

McGownGordon learned quickly what FHSU students have to offer.

“That Midwest work ethic stood out right away,” Brown said. “We learned that their values align with our values – relationships, integrity, performance. We have already hired two more FHSU graduates besides Micquelle.”

Local companies also make use of having interns and potential future employees readily at hand at FHSU.

One of those companies is Paul-Wertenberger Construction, which started with two employees (both FHSU graduates) back in 1983 and has grown to about 50.

Paul-Wertenberger employs several Fort Hays State alumni full-time, as well as numerous students who work part time while going to college. The company sponsors two seminar rooms in the new Center for Applied Technology that was completed in August 2017, and a scholarship in PWC’s name is given to a construction management major each year.

“Fort Hays State has been developing its construction management program and is making headway all the time,” said Bob Wertenberger, co-owner of Paul-Wertenberger along with Steve Paul. “So we have been able to have numerous interns.”

Wertenberger said that the construction industry “always need good help,” making it a highly marketable career.

“Companies are looking for good people,” he said, “and they know that western Kansas – and Fort Hays State – is a great area to pick up dedicated workers.”

Paul-Wertenberger, which also hires FHSU graduates, has either built or remodeled several of the buildings on campus, including the current construction of the new art and design building scheduled to open in August 2019.

Wertenberger, whose company works in about a 90-mile radius, “loves doing projects on campus.”

“It’s nice to see the program growing so much,” he said. “They have been developing their construction management program and making good headway all the time.”

Stewart said his department is thankful for “all the companies in the Hays area that use our students as part of their labor force.”

Three other local companies that have employed students as interns since the fall 2017 semester are Commercial Builders, Hess Services and Sizewise.

The Applied Technology Department works hard at getting the word out about its department. In addition to its career day in the fall, Applied Technology also hosts a conference for high school and middle school teachers as well as a visitation day for high school juniors and seniors. About 130 11th- and 12th-graders took part in the 2018 Junior/Senior Day Wednesday.

Two more ways for prospective students from Kansas and sometimes even neighboring states to get a look at the FHSU campus are the High Plains ElectroRally in the fall and the Western Kansas Technology Education Fair during the spring semester. High school students from compete in the electrorally, an electric car race, as one of the races on their annual circuit. The technology education fair showcases projects from junior and high school students in technology education classes.

The career day held in October was just the third of its kind, and Stewart said it has more than doubled in numbers since year one.

“This is not only an opportunity to interview them for summer jobs, for internships and for fall and spring co-ops,” Stewart said,” but ultimately they can be hired for full-time employment.”

Robinson stressed the importance of internships at the teacher conference the week before the career fair.

“That is basically a three-month job interview, because they recruit from their interns,” he said. “The internships help us out so much because now I know how McGownGordon does things. I have a head start over other new hires who didn’t intern with them.”

Stewart said his department had 28 students involved with internships last summer. Since the fall of 2017, FHSU students have earned internships at companies in six different states.

Seventy students participated in the career day activities, and more than half of those interviewed with companies for 2019 internships. The applied technology program has grown from 117 majors in 2012, when Stewart took over as director, to 190 this fall.

More information about that program can be found at www.fhsu.edu/appliedtechnology. Its areas of study are construction technology, construction management, engineering design technology, manufacturing technology, and technology and engineering education.

“Our degree is unique; it’s about having enough skill set to know what the common laborer does in a job and enough communication and management to run those jobs,” Stewart said. “The students have to be able to step in and do those jobs as part of being a leader in our industry.”
Robinson said he and fellow students learn that leadership, as well as time management, from professors who stress being active in organizations and activities.

Robinson could be a poster child for the department as well as for McGownGordon.

An honors student with a perfect 4.0 grade-point average, Robinson also puts in a lot of hours with the Tiger wrestling team. Once again, he learned last week that hard work pays off. After going 9-0 and claiming championships in two tournaments to start the season, the 184-pound Robinson was named the MIAA wrestler of week.

Following the wrestling season, Robinson will take off for Kansas City to start on his new journey. But he hopes that isn’t until March.

The NCAA Division II Regionals are scheduled for late February, with nationals set for early March.

“I’m excited about the job and wrestling,” he said. “My last year of wrestling, I definitely want to do well. I might as well go out with a bang.”