Dr. Krug is his daughter, Laura Krug (left) and Dr. Julie Toon, Wichita, KOA President (center)WICHITA — Dr. Kendall Krug, Hays, was recognized as the 2018 Optometrist of the Year during the Kansas Optometric Association Annual Convention and Seminar in Wichita. This is the highest award an optometrist can receive from the KOA and is in recognition of personal sacrifices to advance the profession and the welfare of the public.
A 1985 graduate of the Southern College of Optometry, Dr. Krug was recognized for his work with the Kansas Optometric Association, including his service through the organization’s Low Vision and Third Party committees, as well as his contributions as a lecturer on low vision and other topics around the country.
Dr. Krug has also played a key role in the KanLoveKids Program. Through this program, which is coordinated through the Kansas Lions Club and Lions Club International Foundation, Dr. Krug provides low vision services to children in their communities. Dr. Krug was recognized through his contributions to this program with the Claude DeVorss Fellowship, a humanitarian service award presented by the Kansas Lions Sight Foundation.
Dr. Krug is currently part of a task force working to update the school screening standards in the state and is active in educating policy makers about vision care issues affecting patients across Kansas.
Previously, Dr. Krug was recognized by the Kansas Optometric Association with the Distinguished Service and Legislative Service awards.
The government reported the highest monthly US crude production ever, a whopping 10.47 million barrels per day in March, up nearly 15% year on year. Texas production jumped 25%. Here in Kansas, the U.S. Energy Information Administration report lists 97 thousand barrels per day, nearly five percent lower than last year at this time.
The Kansas Corporation Commission reports 143 intent-to-drill notices filed during the month of May (706 so far this year). That’s two more than the month before, but down four from May of last year. Barton County reported three new intents filed last month. Ellis County notched six. There was one in Russell County and four in Stafford County.
Operators in Kansas produced more than 2.2 million barrels of crude oil in February, just over 5.6 million barrels for the first two months of the year. The Kansas Geological Survey said the two-month total in Barton County was 277-thousand barrels plus. Ellis County’s total was over 431-thousand barrels. Production in Russell County increased to 256-thousand through February, and in Stafford County, operators produced a two-month total of 164-thousand barrels.
Over the last two years, the average price for a barrel of Kansas Common crude in McPherson has increased more than $23. The May monthly average at CHS in McPherson was $60.17/bbl. That’s more than $21 higher than the average in May of last year, which was more than two dollars over the May average the year before. The peak monthly average price for Kansas Common dates back to June of 2008, when the former NCRA refinery shelled out an average of more than $124/bbl.
London Brent reached its largest premium over U.S. futures prices in more than three years, suggesting U.S. exports are becoming more competitive. The spread between Brent and U.S. crude stands at more than ten dollars a barrel, its widest since 2015.
Amid U.S. demands to offset China’s $335 billion trade deficit, that country’s Ministry of Commerce has granted import licenses to eleven new private or “teapot” refiners, bringing the total to 28. China has called off refinery production to clear the air in the refining hub hosting a major trade show. Reuters reports that Exxon may have been late to the “teapot party,” but made up for it with a huge marketing blitz at the show. Their booth was manned by the global crude marketing manager and a dozen traders and marketers. They also hosted dinner for 200 prospective customers and traders. Observers note this as a dramatic departure from Exxon’s traditional, more private, sales pitches.
A firm is starting up an oil-sands project in eastern Utah in hopes of tapping into an estimated 30-billion-barrel reserve there. The Grand Junction Sentinel reports the company Petroteq is touting a new way to separate bitumen from sand, using no water, no high temperatures and no high pressure, without producing greenhouse gases. According to the newspaper the process extracts up to 99% of all hydrocarbon contents and recycles up to 99 percent of the benign solvents it uses. The company says the leftover sand can be returned to the ground, or used for construction or fracking.
The North Dakota Public Service Commission approved a pipeline conversion project to deliver more crude oil to the Dakota Access Pipeline. The Bismarck Tribune reports Hess Corporation will convert about 19 miles of gathering pipelines in McKenzie County to transmission lines. The company plans the addition of three booster pumps as well as new pipeline monitoring systems.
In Colorado, activists are circulating a petition for a ballot initiative to change state law, requiring setbacks of 25-hundred feet, between oil and gas development and occupied structures, playgrounds and water sources. That’s five times the current setback rule. The group has about nine weeks left to collect more than 100-thousand signatures needed to place the question onto the ballot. Big oil is spending big bucks to fight the initiative which they say, if passed, would cost thousands of jobs and billions of dollars in economic impact. KMGH-TV7 reports an industry-friendly PAC opposing the measure has collected millions from big oil firms. The state’s largest, Anadarko, wrote a check for more than two million dollars. Nobel Energy and Extraction Oil and Gas added another four million. The industry as a whole since January has given more than eight million dollars.
Beginning Monday, seal coating will begin on various streets throughout Hays. See the map below for street locations and anticipated dates.
Seal coat is a spray applied in two coats with a dry time of 2 to 3 hours per pass, so the streets being sealed will be temporarily closed during this time.
On the date scheduled for treatment, all cars need to be moved from the street by 8:00 am. Streets being sealed will be closed from approximately 8:00 a.m. until 5:00 p.m. Access can be achieved in cases of emergency. Parking on adjacent streets is recommended during the daytime. Parking in driveways is OK if you DO NOT plan on moving the vehicle between 8:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m.
The seal coat treatment should not be driven on until it has set up (dried). It will stain surfaces such as concrete, carpet, or flooring if tracked from construction areas.
Please have all lawn watering devices turned off the evening before the scheduled date.
Please help keep the streets clean and dry for a smooth and lasting project.
Traffic control will be set in areas of work being completed and picked up by the end of the work day. This project is scheduled to be completed within two weeks (pending weather conditions).
The city of Hays regrets any inconvenience this may cause to the public. If there are any questions, please call the Office of Project Management at 785-628-7350 or the contractor, Circle C Paving, at 316-570-4652.
The Ellis Count Relay for Life was Friday night at the Downtown Pavilion.
Mary Ann Randa was recognized with a community engagement award. Bernita Kinderknecht was also honored. She was a long-time supporter of Relay for Life. She died last year, and her family dedicated her memorials to this year’s Relay for Life campaign.
The Ellis County Relay For Life has been going since 1999. Nationally it started in 1986 by a single individual and others started joining in.
All donations made are 100 percent tax deductible.
All the profits go to the American Cancer Society to be used in research. Money comes back to the locals in many forms. Here are a few:
“Road to Recovery” – provides transportation for cancer patients to their treatment.
“Hope Lodge” – provides lodging for patients and their caregivers when treatment is away from home at no cost.
“tlc” – provides wigs and mastectomy products
“Look Good Feel Better” – volunteer cosmetologists help women to cope with skin changes.
Cancer Survivor Network
This year’s local goal is $35,000. The Relay will have its annual golf tournament next weekend. The total amount raised will be available after that.
Donations can still be made online by going to the Relay for Life website.
The Hays City Band is organizing for the summer season on the direction of new Fort Hays State University professor Peter Lillpopp.
The band accepts community members high school age and older of all skill levels. Lillpopp urged potential band members not to be afraid of the difficulty level of the music. The band includes college students and faculty who can play the more difficult parts.
The band’s first rehearsal will be 7 to 9 pm. Monday, June 4, at the newly remodeled FHSU Dilley Rehearsal Hall in Malloy Hall. Other rehearsals will be the Mondays before performances on June 11, 18 and 25, also at the rehearsal hall.
Musicians do not have to attend all rehearsals or participate in all performances.
If you don’t own an instrument, one can be provided through the college.
The free performances will be:
7:30 p.m. Tuesday, June 12 at the Hays Downtown Pavillion
7:30 p.m. Tuesday, June 19 at the WaKeeney VFW
7:30 p.m. Tuesday, June 26 at Washington Elementary School in Ellis
The band will play a range of music, including Sousa marches, jazz, movie scores and tunes from Broadway musicals.
“I really like it when I go into to communities and they have something going on downtown, and if it is great music, even better,” Lillpopp said during an interview this week on the KAYS Morning Show. “It really showcases the community and community pride. It is patriotism really. Short of going into the military, there is nothing more patriotic than you can do than join a community band.”
Lillpopp has conducted other community bands, including the Boulder Community Band and Windham Concert Band in Connecticut.
“So this is something that I really believe in—community bands,” Lillpopp said. “I have played in many as a tuba player and conducted many. I am really excited to get to work with them.”
Lillpopp just completed his first year teaching at FHSU. He is the director of athletic bands and low brass. He recently graduated from the University Colorado with a PhD. He received his undergraduate degree from University of Southern California, where he also was involved with the marching band.
“They have a really good tradition here that was started by my predecessor, Lane Weaver, so I have been trying to just continue the really good things that are going on here in Hays,” Lillpopp said.
The FHSU band has already met to discuss shows for the fall football season, he said.
For more information on the community band or its concerts, contact Lillpopp at 785-628-5353 or by email at [email protected].
Larissa and Kris Munsch renovated this historic home at 117 W. 13th. It is now operating as the Inn at 117.By CRISTINA JANNEY Hays Post
A historic home in downtown Hays has a new look, thanks to a local couple.
Larissa and Kris Munsch spent the bulk of last summer working on the exterior of the house at 117 W. 13th. They have reopened the home, formerly the bed breakfast the Tea Rose Inn, as the Inn at 117.
Larissa, who bought the house two and half years ago, runs a group on Instagram called Oldhouselove, which has more than 84,000 followers.
“I have always been obsessed with old houses and loved old houses,” she said. “This was a dream house for me when I purchased it.”
Larissa met Kris at another old house. The couple joked Kris, who also has a love for old houses, married Larissa just to get the house.
The home was built in 1909 by early Hays entrepreneur Justus Bissing Jr. He owned the local mill and built other homes in the city, including the Mary Elizabeth Maternity Home. Bissing was involved in bringing electricity to the City of Hays, and he also designed and built furniture, some of which is in the collection of the Ellis County Historical Society. This included an intricate wooden light fixture.
The John Basgall family owned and loved in the home from the early 1900s to the 1990s.
Larissa has a special affinity for old lighting and has restored several antique pieces for the house.
Bissing lived in the home for about two years before it was purchased by the John Basgall family. Generations of the Basgalls lived in the home until the 1990s when attorney John Bird bought the house.
The Basgalls owned a grocery store that was in the building now occupied by The Paisley Pear. The grocery store was then moved to 13th Street behind the house.
One of the family’s descendants, Dale Wolf, the great-grandson of Irene Basgall Wolf, gave the Munsches a number of antiques that had been used in the home. These included rugs, a Tiffany-style lamp, rocking chair, a shoe shine kit and a family photo.
Eventually the house was turned into a bed and breakfast, the Tea Rose Inn.
Larissa said she would like to work toward having the house placed on the National Register of Historic Places. The home is already located in the historic downtown Chestnut District, which is on the national registry.
A historic photo of the home.
When Larissa bought the house, the interior was in good condition, but the home need extensive work to its exterior.
Larissa spent a couple of days at the Ellis County Historical Society researching Bissing, the Basgalls and the house. She was able to find a couple of historic photos of the homes on which the couple has based the renovation.
The Munsches aided by a couple of Fort Hays State University students spent a month and half scrapping old paint, power washing and replacing damaged wood on the exterior of the house.
“Had we wrapped the house in hardy siding,” Larissa said, “you just lose so much character. You lose the character. You lose the history of the house. It is wasteful … more material to the landfill. We knew the right thing to do was to fix the siding.”
Kris said, “Putting vinyl siding on an old house is like putting dress pants on a pig.”
For every square nail in the wood siding on the 3,200-square-foot Victorian home, the Munsches drove new modern nails. This required the entire house to be recaulked.
The Munsches still need to do some work on the porch, but thus far they have put 68 gallons of paint on the house.
The entryway of the Inn at 117.
The house had been originally painted tan, brown and white. Larissa wanted to be a little more colorful, but maintain the historic integrity of the house. She researched historic color pallets and decided on four colors, a mint green, gray, maroon and white. Trying to decide where to put different colors was like a giant puzzle, they said.
The Munsches also replaced the crestings on top of the house. Kris said he thought the crestings had originally been wood and rotted away. The couple replaced them with iron. In an effort to bring the house back to as near as possible to Bissing’s, original vision, the square supports on the porch were replaced with round columns with crestings.
“The whole time we worked on the outside and the whole time I built those porch columns,” Kris said, “I am thinking about Mr. Bissing—Justus Bissing, the guy who originally built this house. That guy was a craftsman. Every time we would finish something, we would step back and say, ‘I think Mr. Bissing would like this.’ There is a lot of that and a lot of pride.”
Larissa said, “It is like I don’t own this house. I am just a steward of this house. I am a steward of keeping the architecture alive, the history alive.”
The Munsches needed to replace the wooden skirt molding than ran along the outside of the house. The Munsches went back to the old mill in Hays and were able to find the original cutter head used to make the original boards. New boards were made using that cutter head.
On the interior, the couple added stenciling to one bedroom and the entryway ceiling. Larissa said the original home would have had wallpaper, but she did not want to burden future owners with stripping wallpaper.
Larissa said she wanted to restore the home as much as possible to original, but over the years the home has been updated with modern comforts the couple wishes to keep, including modern bathrooms and kitchen and air-conditioning. The home is still heated by a boiler through radiators, which the couple said keeps the home toasty in the winter.
One of the next projects for the house is the replacement of the oriole window that originally faced 13th Street. Larissa said she believed the window was probably damaged in a storm and removed.
“What we are cursed with is that she finds these original things …” Kris said. “The challenge is that she finds something like that and learns more about it. I love to build stuff that is a challenge, so instantly I started thinking in my mind, ‘Can I build this? Could I build this?’ Now that we know that was on the house, without a doubt, we know that it has to be put back on the house.”
Larissa said, “If you go outside and look at that side of the house, it changes the whole look of the house. It is just so amazing and beautiful. We feel it just has to be put back on.”
Larissa said she can’t imagine ever selling the house, but the couple already has another project. The couple is getting ready to move a 1910 Craftsman 70 miles from Ness City to their workshop in Hays so that it also can be restored. They hope to eventually move into that home and will open up the fourth bedroom at 117 to boarders.
“I have probably redone 50 house in town, but somewhere along the line, I don’t want to flip houses anymore,” Kris said. “I don’t want to just buy a house, clean it up and sell it. There is no challenge in that.”
The Munches currently live at the Inn at 117. They use the kitchen and living room and the third-floor bedroom. The three bedrooms on the second floor, which each have private baths, are rented through Airbnb. The inn can be booked directly through Airbnb or the inn’s website will redirect you to the Airbnb site.
The Munsches have been steadily booked and have had guests from all over, including Taiwan, England and both coasts.
“You get to meet really cool people,” Kris said.
Cost to rent a room is $60 to $76 per night, depending on which room you choose and time of stay. This includes a cleaning fee. Airbnb offers discounts for extended stays. Although the inn no longer offers breakfast, the Munsches have partnered with the Golden Griddle, which offers a 10 percent discount to inn guests.
The Leiker family has turned a backyard into two money-making businesses.
James Leiker wanted to build a new garage for his business, Handyman for Hire, on the lot of their home at 106 W. 17th in Hays.
However, his wife, Taryn, wanted to maintain a little bit more financial security.
Taryn Leiker, owner, shows off one of the Chestnut Loft bedrooms.
The couple purchased a strip of land to add on to their lot from the former owners of Pools Plus. The couple agreed to build a loft above the garage, which they now book for short-term or extended stays through VRBO, HomeAway and Airbnb.
The Leikers opened the loft in November, but had to delay the open house until this month because it has been consistently booked.
Extending into the new business has allowed Taryn to work from home and home-school her children. The space, which they call the Chestnut Loft, pays their house payment.
The Leikers like to travel, so they incorporated many of the amenities they miss when they are away from home into the loft.
The 992-square-foot loft has a full kitchen with a full-size refrigerator, stove and dishwasher. Tucked into a corner of the bathroom is a full-size washer and dryer.
The loft has two bedrooms and will comfortably sleep four. One has a Murphy bed. For a business traveler, that bedroom could be used for office space. For families, the bed can be stored away for a play space for the children during the day.
The other bed, which James built himself from repurposed corrals, is equipped with underneath storage to give visitors more space.
“There were so many times when we were traveling, but there was no storage, and we didn’t like living out of a suitcase,” Taryn said. “So we built in all this storage, but it is repurposing something that is already going to be there.”
The 992-square-foot-loft can be reserved through several booking sites, including VRBO, HomeAway and Airbnb.
James also made other items for the home, including the Murphy bed, bathroom mirror frame and light fixture and reclaimed wood barn-door shades for the living room windows. The couple also used reclaimed wood to decorate the stairwell wall.
The couple custom designed the kitchen around a set of kitchen cabinets they bought from a family in Hays. The owners had just purchased a new home, which had a newly remodeled kitchen. The new owners didn’t like the cabinets, so the Leikers bought the kitchen at a deep discount.
Local artist Curly Leiker made several piece of metal sculpture that are displayed in the loft, including a small bison made of wrenches and spare implement parts.
The loft offers free wi-fi, but no TV.
“Our goal is not for people to stay here,” Taryn said. “It is to get them downtown and for them to go and experience the shops … to go and visit the restaurants and really see the people of the community. That is what people have done.”
Some downtown businesses have partnered with the Leikers to offer Chestnut Loft guests discounts for local goods and services. Munsch Fitness is offering free workouts for Chestnut guests.
In addition to overnight visitors, Leiker said she also wants to offer a place for new arrivals to test out the community.
“If people are experiencing a new community, this is their testing ground where they can really be here and experience it,” she said. “We have a family coming in a couple of weeks that will be here for five weeks.”
Daily cleaning is not included in the price of the stay, but it can be arranged. Towels, shampoo, soap and conditioner are provided.
The loft kitchen is equipped with a full-size refrigerator, stove and dish washer.
The loft has a separate private entrance with a key code and off-street parking. The Leikers insulated the floor to reduce noise from the shop and installed a separate ventilation system for the shop to reduce any fumes that might be created from work downstairs.
Taryn said she would recommend the rental concept to other families.
“I think it is phenomenal. It has taken the weight off our shoulders financially,” she said. “We have several different businesses. It has been something for us that the more income that it produced, it takes more weight off. People are so pressured financially. It is so paycheck-to-paycheck. If they have the space to do something like this … to be producing an income, why not?
Local artist Curly Leiker made several piece of metal sculpture that are displayed in the loft, including a small bison made of wrenches and spare implement parts.
“Five years ago we were really paycheck-to-paycheck. What really helped us was finding a business and then reinvesting those funds into other businesses. This alone pays more than I used to make in a year.”
The Leikers have considered opening up the space for other uses when it is not booked for overnight visitors, including wedding or baby showers, cooking classes or meetings. The space will fit about 30 people for gatherings.
Local law enforcement and domestic violence services advocates are praising a new Kansas law that prohibits those convicted of domestic violence or restrained under a protection order from possessing firearms.
The law went into effect the beginning of May and also bars illegal immigrants and fugitives from possessing guns.
Jennifer Hecker, director of Options Domestic and Sexual Violence Services, said the law was a positive step in keeping domestic abuse survivors safe.
In 2016, the most recent year for which data was available, 19 people died in Kansas as a result of domestic violence, according to the KBI. Half of those homicides involved firearms. Seventy percent of those women who were killed died when they were actively leaving their abusers or within of the first two weeks of leaving.
Federal law already prohibits convicted domestic abusers from possessing firearms, but Hays Police Chief Don Scheibler said a lack of state law created an issue with enforcement. Because the law was federal, all cases had to be prosecuted in federal court. The federal system is so overburdened with higher-level cases, the gun law was seldom prosecuted. The passage of the state law will allow violators to be prosecuted in local courts.
“I think anything we can to do in an effort by the state to prevent domestic violence and make families safer, I think we need to do those things,” Scheibler said.
Ellis County Sheriff Ed Harbin said he also supported the law. However, he noted some prohibited individuals will likely continue to own and use firearms.
Undersheriff Scott Braun noted most of the calls the department respond to involve physical altercations and not weapons. However, Harbin said when weapons are present during domestic disturbances, the incident becomes more dangerous for officers as well as victims.
Although the law affects those convicted of misdemeanor domestic violence, those prohibited individuals found in possession of firearms can be charged with a level 8 non-person felony, Harbin said. Under the law, law enforcement officers are allowed to confiscate the weapon as evidence and the violators can be arrested.
After five years, offenders would be able to legally own firearms again. Harbin said he thought this was reasonable for people who may have had a single incident.
Hecker said she would like to see the prohibition be longer.
Not only did the state NRA support the bill, they helped draft it. Travis Couture-Lovelady, state director with the National Rifle Association and northwest quadrant director for the Kansas State Rifle Association, worked for three years with Kansas Peace Officers Association leaders to develop the bill.
In an email Couture-Lovelady said, “This bill makes it so state law mirrors federal law to provide a more timely and efficient resolution. Rather than having to wait for the feds to handle the issue, this law now empowers state and local law enforcement to be able to handle the situation.
“This will increase efficiency and make sure that far fewer incidents fall through the cracks. We were happy to work with law enforcement to give them the tools they felt they needed to make Kansas a safer place while also making sure that the constitutional rights of Kansans were protected.”
Ed Klumpp with the Kansas Peace Officers Association said he thought the law will help protect victims.
“We surely hope all laws like this improve public safety,” he said. “Persons who have engaged in a domestic violence incident or ones who have a protection order based on a violent act have the propensity when they have a gun in their hands to engage in a higher level of crime or assault. We take that seriously. We think this law is important to public safety, and we want to do everything we can to protect domestic violence victims.”
A new summer exhibit, “World of Giant Insects,” at the Sternberg Museum of Natural History in Hays will allow visitors to experience insects in ways they never have before.
Set in realistic habitats, animatronics insects will tower over people at 40 to 100 time their size in life. The blown-up examples will allow visitors to see intricate details of the insects’ anatomy that can’t be seen with the naked eye.
Among these displays will be male atlas beetles with their long horns that they use to battle each other for dominance, territory and mates.
“You will get to learn some about their behaviors,” Reese Barrick, museum director, said of the insects. “It is so bizarre. It is so weird. We don’t think about how does an insect smell, how does an insect hear, how does it make noise. People don’t think about how the insect world works.”
The Insect exhibits opened Saturday and will remain in Hays through Labor Day. The exhibit is included in regular admission to the museum. The museum is open seven days a week during the summer. See the Sternberg online for details on hours and admission.
“Insects have been here for 100s of millions of years,” Barrick said, “so there is a little bit of the depth of how long insects have been here and insect diversity. Insects are the most diverse animals on the planet.”
Science does not know how many species of insects live on Earth. New species are constantly being discovered even in our own backyard. A new bristletail species, which are also known as silverfish, was found five years ago on the Fort Hays State University campus, Barrick said.
“Bristletails are one of the old insects on the planet, yet there are new species of them being found now,” he said.
People often think of insects, such as ticks or mosquitoes as pests, but there is a great number of insects that are beneficial to agriculture and humans. An example of this is bees.
“The world would be completely out of fruit and vegetables if there were not honeybees or bees in general as pollinators,” Barrick said. “The whole world changed when insect diversity increased to a point and plants started to have flowers. Now plants are dependent on insects, bees specifically, to pollinate them. Without bees, there would be so much food we would not have as humans.
“Any type of bee crisis is a crisis for agriculture. That is something we are experiencing right now.”
Other insects that will be featured in the exhibit include stick bugs, praying mantises, swallowtail butterfly caterpillars and locusts.
“A lot of people, I think, are afraid of insects because they are creepy crawlies,” Darrah Steffen, Sternberg public relations assistant, said. “They can learn they are really beneficial and these insects are really cool creatures.”
Large closeup photos of a variety of insects and insect imposters, such as spiders, will allow visitors to see insects in detail. The exhibit also will have a section called “The Zoo,” which will include live insects in terrariums.
“With the butterfly, [visitors] will learn about the metamorphosis they go through,” Steffen said. “The caterpillar has to eat so much to go into the pupa or chrysalis and completely dissolves and becomes that butterfly. [The exhibit will describe] how that transformation happens.”
Barrick said now is the perfect time to experience this exhibit because it relates directly back to what is happening in our environment.
“We are heading into insect season here in Kansas,” he said. “People can go into their backyards. They can go out on our nature trail. They can go hiking anywhere, and they will have a little better understanding of what they will be able to see and be aware of after coming to our exhibit.”
The Sternberg has a number of other activities scheduled for this summer including summer camps for children, a summer science day in July, a murder mystery party for adults on Aug. 4, family shark tooth hunt on June 16 and a teacher STEM workshop.
Information on the teacher workshop and the summer camps are available on the website now. Look for details on the other events coming soon.
Iris Lang, left, and her husband, Lloyd, right, are fixtures at events that involve any of their 12 grandchildren in Hays. The Langs, usually joined by one or more of their grown children, are seen here at a regional track meet in Beloit with their oldest son, John.
By DIANE GASPER-O’BRIEN Contributing Writer
The month of May is usually busy for most families with school children, what with Mother’s Day, all kinds of end-of-the-school year activities, graduations and Memorial Day weekend all falling in the fifth month of the year.
This year has been especially hectic for Lloyd and Iris Lang.
The Hays couple use the words “blessed” and “fortunate” while describing their marriage of 46 years. And why not?
All five of their grown children and their families live in the Hays area, so Lloyd and Iris get to enjoy their 12 grandchildren at the drop of a hat.
The Lang children grew up working together with their parents on there family farm east of Hays, a family tradition Lloyd said he remembers from his childhood as well.
“We’ve been very lucky,” Iris said. “They were able to bond together growing up, and now all the first cousins have that opportunity, too.”
Following their college careers, the five Lang siblings either stayed in Hays to raise their families or returned home within a few years afterward.
Lloyd said he and Iris “were surprised with a couple of them coming back to Hays,” but definitely pleased.
“We are so blessed that they are all here,” Iris added.
With the Langs’ four oldest grandchildren all attending high school at Thomas More Prep-Marian this past year and another there in junior high, their parents and grandparents have been busy attending musical, scholastic and athletic events.
“Junior high sports, varsity sports, jayvee sports, we enjoy the all,” Lloyd said,
In the span of just a couple of weeks this month, three of the Langs’ grandchildren qualified for state competition in two different sports, and another won a state forensics title. They celebrated grandchildren’s promotions from kindergarten, sixth grade and eighth grade. And last weekend, their two oldest granddaughters graduated from Thomas More Prep-Marian High School, carrying on a long family tradition.
All five of Lloyd’s and Iris’ children are TMP-Marian alumni, following in the footsteps of their dad (St. Joseph Military Academy) and mom (Marian High School), predecessors of TMP-Marian.
Elly and Halle – daughters of the Langs’ two oldest sons, John (and his wife Stacey) and Greg (Lanae) – sat next to each other at graduation and will both continue their education at Kansas State University this fall.
During the graduation ceremony, Halle and her younger brother, Ethan, both were honored with special awards. Halle was a finalist for the Medal of Excellence, the highest honor given to a student at TMP, and Ethan earned the leadership award for the junior class. Elly won a state title in forensics earlier this month and will be busy this summer before heading off to college. She was one of four TMP students to qualify for competition at the Future Business Leaders of America National Leadership Conference in Baltimore, Md., in June.
If you think all that’s a lot to keep track of, add this to the Langs’ schedule.
Ethan qualified for two running events for this weekend’s Class 3A State Track and Field Championships in Wichita. He will compete in the 1,600-meter run today, as well as the 3,200-meter relay. Running one of the legs on that relay is cousin Lucas, John’s youngest son who just finished his freshman season.
Of course, Lloyd and Iris will be in the stands watching their grandsons compete in Cessna Stadium. They were hoping to make a stop in Newton on their way to Wichita to watch Halle, a member of the TMP girls’ soccer team the past four years, in the state semifinals. But the Monarch girls lost in the state quarterfinals at Topeka Tuesday, ending a stellar career for Halle, who helped her team win three regional titles in four years.
Grandpa and Grandma Lang will have plenty of youth baseball and softball games to attend this summer. Their three younger children, Mark (and wife Amanda), Gwen Hodges (Daniel) and Kevin (Tasha), have six children ages 1 to 7, most who are already involved in a lot of activities, too.
Then this fall, Ethan and Lucas will be joined in high school by another cousin, Lance, who will be a freshman. Lance, Mark’s oldest son, was a standout athlete in eighth grade this past year, and there is a possibility those three cousins could all run on the same relay team in 2019.
Ethan’s younger sister, Mia, also will be at TMP this next year, as a seventh-grader in the junior high school.
But that’s next year.
Lloyd and Iris have to concentrate on one year, one month, one week, one day at a time. And today is state track.
The couple plans to enjoy this event much like they did 20-some years ago when Greg was winning state championships as a sprinter at TMP, then went on to enjoy an All-American career at Fort Hays State University.
“No matter what happens,” Iris said of the state meet, “I think it will be really exciting.”
Scott Jordan and his mother Sue own the Pheasant Run restaurant, 3201 Vine. They’re concerned about losing traffic access if roundabouts are installed.
By BECKY KISER Hays Post
“This is the one proposal that solves the most problems for the most people on both sides of the interstate.”
That’s the conclusion of Hays Mayor James Meier who supports the hiring of WSP engineers, Lenexa, to design a series of three roundabouts on north Vine Street to improve traffic flow.
Scott Jordan, whose family owns the Pheasant Run restaurant at 3201 Vine St., is not among “most people.”
He and his mother, Sue Jordan, told the commission Thursday night they’re concerned about access to their 36-year-old restaurant if the roundabouts are built.
“With this, instead of having two access points to our business, we will only have one,” Scott Jordan said. “That’s basically hamstringing us.”
City commissioners voted 4-1 in favor of the $398,895.26 low bid. Vice-Mayor Henry Schwaller remained opposed as he had announced during last week’s work session, citing the need for public input.
The proposal, in collaboration with the Kansas Dept. of Transportation (KDOT), calls for a double roundabout at 32nd/33rd, another roundabout at 37th, and a third north of Interstate 70 at 41st Street.
Jordan was curious why the city had not purchased the former Montana Mike’s lot from the mall owners when the restaurant was closed in November 2013 and then razed. “It could have made the 32nd Street intersection go straight through (across Vine) and then we wouldn’t have to be messing with any of this junk,” Jordan said.
Schwaller is the only person on the current city commission who was also serving five years ago.
“We just didn’t have the money,” Schwaller told Jordan, “but now we do. The city was going to work with the owner of the mall and we estimated the project cost to be a certain amount. When it go to the point of actually making it happen, it exceeded that dollar amount. I don’t like this answer because it could have been done. We could have issued a bond, anything, but we just decided we couldn’t afford it.”
The space at the northwest corner of Big Creek Crossing’s property is now occupied by HaysMed Walk-in Clinic and Starbucks.
According to Hays Project Manager John Braun there are approximately 31 crashes per year in the roundabout study area between 32nd and 41st Streets, with most occurring at the intersection of 32nd and the west frontage road.
Jordan already knows that. It’s exactly where the Pheasant Run is located.
“The accident rate there is 2.5 times higher than the statewide average for urban intersections,” Braun noted, “and crashes will become more frequent as traffic increases if no action is taken.
Braun, who was asked to present a list of FAQs, Frequently Asked Questions, also said the “roundabouts present a safer road environment by disconnecting the frontage (access) roads and eliminating conflict points like left turns across traffic.”
According to Jordan, many of his customers use the access road to get to the restaurant.
Braun stressed several times the current design is still a concept. He told the commission WSP intends to bring in a third-party firm from Oklahoma to review and tweak the concept. “There’ll be another opportunity to review that concept plan before we go into full design.”
Another audience member, Ron Adams, who told the commission he previously worked for Bucher, Willis & Ratliff engineering in Hays, asked if 37th Street could be made into an on-ramp for I-70, and other entrance and exit ramps be eliminated.
“K-DOT won’t allow it,” commissioners responded.
Vine Street is also a federal highway, U.S. 183. “We asked about doing that at 41st and kind of sandwiching it with the off-ramp,” Meier said, “and K-DOT won’t allow anything like that.”
Meier also pointed out an earlier study which recommended reverse access roads “was a perfectly acceptable solution. It was expensive and involved the taking of private property, including houses on the west side of 33rd Street.”
“In the late ’90s, the commission had the opportunity to align 32nd and 33rd but because there were houses along there, they didn’t want to take property,” said Meier.
Commissioner Shaun Musil assured Jordan and his mother, who apologized for “being emotional,” that he was confident Braun, City Manager Toby Dougherty, and the city commission would stay in contact with the family as the engineering begins. “I don’t want to hurt your business. You guys have been known in Hays ever since I’ve been here, for years,” Musil said, “and I want you to stay around Hays.”
Jordan has previously had problems with customer access to his restaurant.
“Years ago when all the beautification was done (in the Vine Street medians), I know it was all Mom could do to keep the doors open because it just shut off the flow of traffic,” Jordan told commissioner. “And that’s what the roundabouts are, seemingly, kind of wanting to do to us, let alone with the construction.”
Engineering is expected to take about 18 months with construction to begin in 2020.
“I just want to make sure I get a chance to sit down and see if we can’t improve on this before I’m stuck,” Jordan said. “I want to keep the families that I employ employed and make sure this community grows.”
HHS senior Dustin Schneider, student Best of the Best honoree, with school board members on Monday. Courtesy photo
By CRISTINA JANNEY Hays Post
During Monday’s school board meeting, Hays High School senior Dustin Schneider was honored with the Hays school district’s student Best of the Best Award for going out of his way to help others.
Sue Rouse, high school receptionist, nominated Schneider, saying he was an exemplary young man.
He was president of FFA, vice-president of HHS Student Council, member of the National Honor Society and a member of the Chamber Singers.
Schneider was often in the school office working on projects for the various groups he was involved in, Rouse said.
“What Dustin knows is there is no ‘I’ in team,” she said. “I watched him last year as a Stuco officer. When something needed to get done and the person in charge didn’t do it, he stepped in and made sure it got done. It needed to get done, and therefore that is what he needed to do.”
Rouse said Schneider practiced service above self.
Schneider was always encouraging and prompted his other Stuco members to be positive and get excited about their projects.
“That is really awesome for a young man who doesn’t think about self, but what he can do to help others,” Rouse said. “He helped build and make a team.”
One day, Schneider happened to be in the office when a father needed to pick up some art supplies for his daughter. Rouse was busy with something else. Schneider gladly went to the art department, picked up the supplies and delivered to them to the father.
“The next thing I know he is in the office with the art supplies, giving them to the father. I am not even part of it any more. He is taking care of it in the most professional manner. The father left, and he was very happy. I was just grateful that Dustin was there in the hallway so I could ask him to do a favor for me.”
In another instance, on a cold spring day, Schneider helped two fellow students jump start their car.
“He was willing to step up and give his time and his knowledge and take care of two students he didn’t even know. That makes Dustin Schneider really one of the best of the best,” Rouse said.
Superintendent John Thissen also complimented Schneider. He said Schneider stayed late at the high school plant sale to make sure Thissen was able to purchase what he needed.
Physical education teacher Jay Sanders, staff Best of the Best honoree, shakes Hays school board member Luke Oborny’s hand on Monday.
Physical education teacher Jay Sanders was nominated by Paula Rice, Roosevelt principal, for the staff Best of the Best Award for May.
Rice said Sanders gave up his planning periods for four months to help during recess when the school was short staffed. He answers the phone in the office and with other duties as needed.
“He is always there when I need him for anything and everything,” Rice said. “You add on top of that he is a really phenomenal educator and you just get the best of the best.
“People tend to underestimate PE teachers. This incredible guy builds social skills every day.”
A student came to Roosevelt who did not speak English.
“He would take her and infuse her right into the class, and she felt supported, but never once was she babied,” Rice said.
“He sets his expectations high, and those students get there, every single one of them every single day,” she said. “But they know they are loved and they know they are cared for and they know how to make him happy. I am incredibly grateful to have him. Roosevelt is incredibly blessed to have him, and the district is far better off with him. He really is the best of the best.”
Blue Heron moved from 1013 Main St. to the former Philip Hardware building at 719 Main St. Co-owners Anissa Pfeifer and Sonia Larcom sit outside the new location.By CRISTINA JANNEY Hays Post
Downtown Hays is experiencing a building shuffle. Two businesses have moved into new locations and two more are moving later this summer.
Blue Heron moved from its location at 1013 Main St. to the former Philip Hardware building at 719 Main St. A2Z moved from 2703 Hall St. in Eagle Plaza to 115 W. Eighth St. The owners of Refine bought the former Kuhn’s jewelry store building at 109 Main St. and will be moving from its current location at 115 W. 10th St. in July. Regeena’s Flowers is moving from 117 W. 11th to 1013 Main St., the former Blue Heron Building.
All of the business owners said there is a growing synergy downtown for retail, entertainment and dining that make the Bricks a perfect place to locate a business.
Sister owners of the Blue Heron, Anissa Pfeifer and Sonia Larcom were delighted to be able to relocate into the historic Philip Hardware Building on Main Street.
The building was constructed by Hill P. Wilson in 1874 and is on the National Register of Historic Places.The Philip family ran the hardware store in that location from 1896 to 1996. It also has been a newspaper office and a land office.
“We have always loved this building,” Pfeifer said. “It just has so much charm and history and character. It is amazing to be a part of the history.”
Anissa Pfeifer and Sonia Larcom say their smaller space has challenged them to be more creative with their outfits.
Larcom said, “Everyone knows Philip Hardware. I love it when people come in here and say they remember (Mr.) Philip here with his dog. They remember all the history behind it. It is rich in history.”
The new tenants are still working on signage. Because of the historical status of the building, they can not add signage to the front of the building. They plan to hang a sign from flanges on the side of the building and add more signage in the windows.
“It has this nice feeling to be downtown and on the Bricks,” Pfeifer said. “To see the downtown come alive … It is like a city within a city.”
The Blue Heron is in a smaller space, but the sisters said they have learned to better maximize their space and are even carrying a couple of new local lines.
Blue Heron has a new focus on local products, including Glam+Co. gift sets.
“We still carry the same amount of inventory,” Pfeifer said. “It gives us a nice feel to really utilize all our space and be creative in how we are putting outfits together.”
One of the new local lines is Glam+Co. , a company out of Victoria that sells gift sets and handmade cards for occasions such as bridal, baby showers and graduations. Blue Heron is also carrying hand-cut leather earrings from Fancy That Designs, which is also based in Victoria.
“I think it is important to give back to our local community,” Pfeifer said, “and I think they have such great artistic ability, and a lot of the lines fit in well with what we are doing here.”
In the fall, Blue Heron will roll out its own Fort Hays apparel, including T-shirts and sweatshirts.
The sisters, who are still in their mid-20s, continue to expand and hope to open a fulfillment center in Hill City for its online business and open more brick-and-mortar locations.
Blue Herons hours are 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesdays through Saturdays.
A2Z Escape has opened at its new location at 115 W. Eighth St.
A2Z Escape opened last year across town on Hall Street, but owners Janet Giersch, Judy Brummer, Jerry Braun and Emily Nuttle said they wanted to move downtown to gain more exposure for their business.
Braun said locating downtown places the business closer to complimentary businesses, such as bars and restaurants.
“I think one of the things I like about being downtown is people can make an evening of it,” he said. “They can go to eat at Gutch’s and walk over here or vice versa. There are other things they can do in the general vicinity, so they can weave it into an evening downtown, just to get away.”
The business moved to its new locale at 115 W. Eight St. in March and already has participated in several downtown events, including Brews on the Bricks, Shop Hop and the Spring Art Walk.
The business has added a Sink or Swim room that allows two groups of people to compete head to head to see who can escape from the room first.
Inside A2Z Escape’s gambling-themed High Limit Hostage room. The business changes its escape room puzzles every four to six months.
“I would describe an escape room as being inside a puzzle,” Braun said. “There is a story that unfolds and you are a character in that story. You are solving the puzzle as the story unfolds.”
The escape rooms challenge visitors to a series of puzzles that have to be solved to unlock locks. Participants are not locked in the rooms and can leave whenever they wish, but time does not stop if participants exit the room during the challenge.
A2Z creates new escape scenarios every four to six months and right now has a gambling-themed High Limit Hostage room in addition to the nautical-themed Sink or Swim rooms.
Cost for up to an hour of play is $20 per person. Easier challenges are available for children’s birthday parties.
Regular hours are 5:30 to 10:30 p.m. Fridays, 12:30 to 10:30 p.m. Saturdays and 12:30 to 5:30 p.m. Sundays. Other times may be available upon request. Reservations are preferred and can be made by calling 785-432-2958 or online.
The owners of Refine bought the former Kuhn’s jewelry store building at 109 Main St. and will be moving from its current location at 115 W. 10th St. in July.
Refine owners Brianne Sultzer and her mother Tonya Staab have purchased the former Kuhn’s Jewelry building at 109 Main St.
Sultzer and her mother had been renting the building on 10th Street and decided now was the right time to purchase a downtown property. Refine has been in its present location three and a half years, but Tonya Staab has been in clothing retail for 30 years.
The building will require extensive remodeling. Sultzer said she hopes to be open in the new space in July.
Refine is a ladies boutique, carrying apparel and accessories. They carry Kendra Scott jewelry and some gift and candle lines.
“I personally was really excited about owning a piece of historical property in downtown Hays,” Sultzer said. “You don’t see it come up for sale very often. That was part of the reason. I also wanted to be in the mix with all of the other stores downtown. I am right around the corner, but I feel it promotes all of us for all of us to be around each other.”
Other nearby businesses include Simply Charmed, Salon Ten O Seven, Paisley Pair, Bluetique and Something Blue.
“I definitely feel that downtown is the destination for shopping in Hays,” Sultzer said. “It continues and continues to grow. All of the events that we have downtown, the ability to walk from boutiques and restaurants and eateries … I think it all makes for a good family, couple, friend zone. It is definitely the place I would want to be. I don’t see myself ever leaving downtown. We all have a good camaraderie here and like to branch off of each other in terms of business tactics and customer base.”
The layout will be a different, but Refine will be in about the same square footage.
Sultzer said they will be weeding out some lines that have been poor performers and will be bringing in new lines when the store opens in its new location. Those products will be announced at a later date.
Regeena’s Flowers will open in the former Blue Heron Building, 1013 Main St. Further information may be released on that move and change in ownership later this week.
Other business that have recently moved downtown are Das Essen Hutte, which relocated from Big Creek Crossing, the Hays Community Theatre, which is now in the renovated Elks Lodge, and Bluetique/Something Blue, which opened a new bridal store at 1008 Main St.
“With change comes excitement,” Sara Bloom, Downtown Hays Development Corp., said. “We are excited about moves and expansions in every business in downtown Hays.”
