By BECKY KISER
Hays Post

Hays city commissioners are supporting an option for the city to purchase a 91-acre tract of property near Interstate 70.

The land is located in the northeast corner of the 27th Street and Commerce Parkway intersection at the east I-70 Exit 161. Total cost of the property is $800,000.

The exclusive irrevocable 18-month option cost is $50,000 and has been secured by a $15,000 payment to the land owner, City Manager Toby Dougherty told commissioners Thursday night. The remaining $35,000 would be prorated over the 18 months, with the option money paid from the Commission Capital Reserve fund.

“I think a lot of conversation needs to be had around it,” said Commissioner Sandy Jacobs, “but from my perspective it’s all pretty positive. There’s some really good possibilities, not only for that property, but enhance all the work we’ve done and the money we spent on Commerce Parkway.”

Vice-Mayor Henry Schwaller pointed out “the connection of Commerce Parkway to Vine Street.” It also helps the city “develop this land parcel and the work we’re doing on 41st Street, bringing these two together,” Schwaller added.

“We’d really like to see more growth in Hays, and not just in retail,” Schwaller continued. “We know because we are landlocked to the west and to the south, that the best path for growth is both north and east.”

Schwaller called the land parcel “affordable” and noted the city already has some infrastructure to Commerce Parkway on the south side of the interchange. “I’m very optimistic this is an excellent ace for us to hold and use in case we have something come back from Retail Strategies and we can move very quickly.”

Last month city commissioners approved a year-to-year contract with Retail Strategies of Birmingham, Alabama, to conduct a retail gap analysis and then recruit new businesses.

The city would have the choice of extending infrastructure and marketing the property, or to work with a developer for the property.

“The timing is very good with Retail Strategies,” agreed Jacobs. She also talked about the city of Salina with four exits off I-35, and “once you’re off you’re moving through the city. I don’t see why that can’t happen in our community as well.”

The recent property transaction further south on Canterbury Drive and the request to change its zoning from Agriculture to Light Industrial also bodes well, according to Schwaller. “Someone would not buy that piece of property and make that commitment unless they intended to build.”

“This option gives us time to see what happens there with the private development and could be a catalyst for that area. I’m very excited about it,” Schwaller said.

Commissioner Shaun Musil said the possibility to develop another I-70 exit in Hays “could be the greatest start to the future for us.” He said the residents he’s talked to “were extremely excited about what could happen.”

Commissioners will vote on the land purchase option at their April 12 regular meeting.

Commissioner Chris Dinkel was absent from Thursday’s work session.

By BECKY KISER
Hays Post

Starting Monday, travelers will be able to fly to Chicago from the Hays Regional Airport without changing planes.

Until now,  passengers have had to fly west to Denver International Airport, where they then had to board another plane to Chicago or other any other destination.

The eastbound flight has long been requested, especially by the local business community.

The additional flight is part of a new SkyWest contract at the Salina Regional Airport, according to Hays City Manager Toby Dougherty.

“Beginning April 9 also, we will be sharing, for lack of a better term, with Salina the Denver flights and the Chicago flight,” Dougherty said. “There’s more of an opportunity that plane could be full, which is a good thing. But that means you need to book early.”

The biggest advantage for passengers is “it’s quicker and more convenient,” said Assistant City Manager Jacob Wood. “There’ll be quick layovers in Salina but you won’t have to get off the plane.” Luggage will also remain on the airplane.

Wood said bookings on the 50-seat jets are filling rapidly with the addition of passengers boarding in Salina. “I’ve flown lots of times when there were just eight or so people on board. You can expect more people on the plane,” he added.

Flights can be booked online at www.united.com. The Chicago flight schedule is available at flyhays.com, along with the Denver schedule.

The city is hoping the new flight to Chicago will help increase boardings enough in 2018 to surpass 10,000. The last year that happened was 2011, when 10,912 passengers flew out of the Hays Regional Airport.

Passenger boardings in 2017 “just missed” the 10,000 mark, which would have made the city eligible for $1 million in airport funding from the Federal Aviation Administration. Otherwise, the city receives just $150,000 from the FAA annually.

According to a study by Volaire Aviation Consulting, the top three destinations from the Hays Regional Airport currently are Las Vegas, Orlando and Phoenix.

By CRISTINA JANNEY
Hays Post

Elaine Rohleder has a large bulletin board in her office dedicated to notes, pictures, stories and crafts that her students have made for her over the 24 years at Lincoln Elementary.

In the middle of the board is a large pencil drawing of Bambi created by a former fifth-grader in 2004. There also a little paper snowman and a snowflake.

All of the these treasures are soon to be packed. After 31 years in education, Elaine Rohleder will retire at the end of the school year.

Yet these simple mementos remind Rohleder she has made a difference in her students’ lives.

“It is the little things that the kids do. They draw you pictures. They put them in your mailbox. They write stories about you. It is just the neat things that kids do that make you know that you are making a difference. It’s the simple things that they say. Just little things all of the time like a hug.”

Rohleder, 54, didn’t always want to be a teacher. She entered Wichita State University as a freshman to study social work.

However, after a year at Wichita State University, she felt she wasn’t going in the right direction. The Russell native decided to move back to western Kansas and enroll in Fort Hays State University as an education major. She did her internships for her undergrad degree in the Hays school district.

Her inspiration was her first-grade teacher in Russell, Mrs. Robertson, who she described as a sweet lady who always cared for her students. Rohleder said she wanted to be able to give some of that caring back to her students.

“It was just the right fit for me,” she said. “I loved working with kids. I loved seeing the difference I could make in the classroom and helping kids who were struggling or kids who were exceeding and being able to find ways to challenge them.”

Rohleder started her career as a substitute teacher in Russell and then in Dorrance. From there, she went to Westmoreland where she was a fifth-grade teacher for six years. While at Westmoreland, her husband studied toward his vet degree and she went to summer and night school at K-State to earn her master’s degree.

Her decision to study education administration rose out of a desire to reach more children.

“I felt I was making a difference with the students in my classroom,” she said. “I thought rather than making a difference with 25 students, I could make a positive impact on an entire school full of students, and that was the reason why I went into administration.”

After Rohleder and her husband graduated from K-State, they moved to Savannah, Mo., where she was the principal at very small school in Helena, Mo., for a year.

Rohleder and her husband missed being near family in western Kansas, so they moved back to the area in 1993, and Elaine took the position as principal at Lincoln Elementary where she has been ever since.

Rohleder said after so many years working in schools, her favorite aspect of being a principal is still working with kids every day. It has been easy to do her job, because she has loved it.

“There are challenges, but just being able to be a positive role model or a positive influence in their lives and letting them know they can be whatever they want to be if they dream it,” she said. “If they can dream it, they can be it. They just have to work hard.”

Education and the Hays district has changed much in the 24 years that Rohleder has led Lincoln. She said one of the most significant and challenging transformations has been in the area of technology.

When Rohleder came to Lincoln, the school office was still using a typewriter. When she was an elementary school teacher, her classroom had one computer for 28 students. The students worked in teams and took turns using the computer to type articles for a monthly classroom newspaper. Their stories were printed on a very slow, noisy tractor-fed, ribbon printer.

However, Rohleder talked about finding one of those classroom newspapers recently and remembered her students and co-workers at the school fondly.

“I was reminiscing about what a great place it was to teach and begin my career and seeing what the kids produced in the newspaper and the writing,” she said. “It was a good reminder of where I started and how times have changed.”

Today, schools have acknowledged the importance of integrating technology into education to prepare students, even at a young age, for work after graduation.

“I think the Hays district has always been a very progressive district. We have always looked for ways to  be on the cutting edge — just making sure that the curriculum we choose for our students is challenging. We know technology is a direction society is going and work is going, so we have added that into our curriculum as well.

“But you have to find a balance between studies and the integration of technology. Sometimes that can be difficult, but I think we have done a great job in this district of finding a balance between teaching curriculum and the basic skills and incorporating technology to build on those skills.”

What has not changed and what has kept Rohleder at Lincoln for so long has been the family atmosphere.

“It was the family atmosphere that kept me here at Lincoln,” Rohleder said, “not just the staff being a family, but taking in all of our students’ families. It was just a place where people felt comfortable and liked being. They trusted each other and our students’ families trusted us to help them and give them guidance. The staff leaned on each other if they had things happening. It’s a great place to be.”

Rohleder’s children, who are now adults, attended Lincoln.

She asked herself each year if she was the kind of teacher or principal she would want for her own sons, Samuel and Thomas.

“I wanted to be that person if one of my kids had gotten in trouble at school, did I treat them honestly and fairly if there was a discipline issue. I wanted people to know I wanted the best for their kids because I only wanted for them what I would have for my own children.”

A number of the longtime Lincoln teachers and staff returned last week to see Rohleder be honored by the Kansas Association of Elementary School Principals as 2018 District 5 National Distinguished Principal honoree during an assembly at the school.

Hays Superintendent John Thissen said at the assembly, “I love working with individuals who are smart—intelligent people who know what they are doing and are organized—and Elaine has those characteristics. But the piece that has really made the difference and why I love working with Elaine and really miss the idea of her not being around next year is her heart. She has the most beautiful heart, not just working with the children but also her staff.”

Rohleder was nominated by fellow USD 489 principal Anita Scheve of Wilson Elementary School for the award. The National Distinguished Principal Program recognizes principals for their school leadership, school improvement, dedication, professionalism and service to students.

“It is rewarding because the people who you work with, the colleagues who you work with have the same goals as you,” she said. “We want the best for our kids, and we want our kids to succeed and be successful citizens. It starts at the elementary level. To be recognized by your peers is very rewarding and humbling at the same time.”

A desire to be closer to her family is leading Rohleder out of education. For years, she has gone on vet calls with her husband, and now her son Samuel has joined his dad in the vet practice. Elaine will be joining the staff at Rohleder Vet Service so she can spend more time with her family.

Rohleder said she knows she will miss the school, the staff, the children and their families, but she is looking forward to spending the next stage of her life with her family and working side by side with her husband and son.

By CRISTINA JANNEY
Hays Post

Anthem insurance recently made headlines for its policy on denying payment for some emergency room visits for non-emergencies.

The Anthem policy initially was rolled out in four states, but that did not include Kansas.

Officials at HaysMed said its billing department has not had patients say they had problems with denial of payment for emergency room visits.

However, HaysMed emergency room doctor Dr. Derek Yarmer recently talked to the Hays Post about when it is appropriate to use the ER and what he thought the effect of possible denial of coverage for ER visits might have on patients.

Emergency rooms cover a wide array of conditions in part because they are always open and can usually perform diagnostic tests quickly, Yarmer said.

He said it can be difficult to distinguish if a person is having a health crisis until a doctor has run a battery of tests.

“It is so hard to define,” Yarmer said. “Someone falls awkwardly on their ankle. If it is a sprain, it is not an emergency. If it is broken, it needs to be splinted. You don’t know until you get the X-ray.”

Symptoms that definitely should result in a trip to the ER include chest pain, symptoms of a stroke and bad infections.

On the opposite extreme, maladies such as earaches, coughs, colds, and bumps and bruises are probably conditions that can be addressed by a primary care physician or at urgent care.

Cost is the primary reason insurance companies have sought to rein in emergency room visits.

The base charge for a trip to the ER is $1,000 in Hays. An office visit to a primary care provider runs about $105, and the cost of a visit to urgent care is the same.

In an addition to higher costs, ERs doctors complete more complex and often more costly tests than primary care doctors.

“I am boarded in emergency medicine, so if you come to the ER, you basically declare you have an emergency,” Yarmer said. “It is my job to prove you do or don’t. If you do, then I treat it. We do a lot more CT scans trying to find something wrong as opposed to the mindset of a primary care doctor where they will see you in clinic where they will do some blood work and see you back in a day or two. We don’t have that luxury. We have one shot to prove or disprove you have an emergency.”

Receiving care for non-emergent conditions from a primary care physician can not only be cheaper but better for the patient.

The American Academy of Family Physicians reported in 2015 that a study in California indicated those who maintained a relationship with a primary care physician were less likely to use the emergency room or be admitted to the hospital.

Nadereh Pourat, Ph. D, noted in an article for the AAFP on her study those patients who received regular primary care received preventive care such as medication management, weight management and exercise plans.

Data from the HaysMed indicated 23.6 percent people served in the ER did not report having a primary care physician, but it is not necessarily because they didn’t have insurance. Self-pay patients made up 9.5 percent of those served at the HaysMed ER.

Regardless of insurance or primary care status, the majority of Americans are saying they are using the ER because they think they have a condition serious enough to warrant it. A National Health Statistics Study released in 2016 indicated 77 percent of respondents age 18 to 64 went to the ER because of the seriousness of their condition, 12 percent went because their doctors’ offices were closed, 7 percent went because of lack of access to other care and the rest gave no reason.

Although there may be benefits in encouraging patients to seek care from a primary care physician, Yarmer said policies that create fear of denial for ER care can be detrimental. Yarmer gave another example.

“You don’t know if it is an emergency until we do some testing,” he said. “People come in for chest pain that ends up being acid reflux. Two totally different things, but if you are having a heart attack, that is definitely an emergency, but acid reflux isn’t. You don’t know until you get the testing done to rule it out.

“I think if you start limiting access to the emergency department or (create) fear of being penalized financially for it, then people probably won’t come in for their chest pain,” he said.

Attempts have been made in the past to curtail ER use, Yarmer said, but he said it is difficult for the average person to know when a condition is not an emergency.

“I think it is dangerous to threaten people with not paying for them to be seen. I can understand the insurance companies want efficient care. There are a lot of things that we see in the ER that could be seen in a different clinic, but I think once you start threatening to not reimburse, there are going to be people who have bad outcomes — missed heart attacks, missed strokes — things like that. People are going to be just too worried about the bill.”

 

 

By SHARRIS COOMES
TMP-Marian FBLA adviser and business teacher

Kansas Expocentre in Topeka hosted the Future Business Leaders of America statewide leadership conference focused on the theme “Elevate Your Future.” Thomas More Prep-Marian competed at the conference on March 28-29. Four students placed at State and will be advancing to Nationals in Baltimore, Maryland June 28-July 1. Placing first as a group were Trae Megaffin, Elly Lang and Anna Speno in Management Information Systems. Hunter Flax placed fourth in Help Desk. Not forwarding to Nationals, but placing tenth was Trae Megaffin in Personal Finance.

“We see extremely tough competition at this conference each year. This was a great accomplishment and I am proud of these young men and ladies,” stated Sharris Coomes. Approximately 1,700 students and teachers and 112 schools attended the event.

“I was surprised about the outcome, but so glad and excited that we made it that far. It was a great way to finish our high school FBLA experience!” said Anna Speno.

Hunter Flax said, “I was quite nervous going in to both of my tests the first day, I was especially nervous going in to finals, and I was even more nervous going into the awards hoping I did good.”

Anne Wasinger added, “I’ve always been interested in medicine and FBLA gave me the opportunity to see the administration side of medicine. I took the Health Administration test. I learned a lot and overall had a great time at FBLA”.

“TMP-Marian provides a rare opportunity for one of the few northwest Kansas schools to participate in such a rewarding experience and offers our students a look into the business world. Business education teaches life-long skills and our FBLA club contributes to that. Many people are under the assumption that business education is only for students who expect to pursue a degree in business. It is my hope that every student will become a responsible adult that has a job; therefore, they will either work for a business or own a business. FBLA and business classes not only offer an education that is valuable to every student, but contributes to the success of our country. Everyone should have a general understanding of how our economy operates and the role that business plays in our country’s well-being, regardless of their career choice,” says Coomes. “It is essential for our students to be able to understand the importance of the various business aspects in both their personal and professional lives, like finance, technology, setting goals and creating fundamental skills in planning and decision-making.”

By CRISTINA JANNEY
Hays Post

Julie Zollinger, school psychologist, was honored with the Hays USD 489 Best of the Best staff award for March.

Zollinger was nominated by Hays Middle School Principal Craig Pallister. Zollinger has worked at both HMS and Wilson Elementary School, serving 19 years as a school psychologist in Hays.

“She is the bridge between special education and regular education, between administration and teachers, between families and our teachers. There are so many things that she does to make things right for kids,” Pallister said.

Although Zollinger does a lot of testing and has to keep up with mounds of paperwork, Pallister said Zollinger’s integral work is working with students and teachers and making a bridge so families are secure their children are getting what they need to be successful.

Zollinger also has served on the crisis safety committee at Hays Middle School, and now is on the district-wide safety committee. She recently received training in PREPaRE, a safety program that helps schools prepare for crises.

Zollinger thanked Pallister and the selection committee for the award.

“I have experienced great satisfaction facilitating change in our school district, whether it be at the individual, family, department, building or district level from behind the scenes,” she said. “Demonstrating integrity, enlightening and empowering others to be the best they can be have always been my professional goals.

“I have had administrators who have supported me in implementing evidence-based practices in my schools to promote safe, healthy development and academic achievement for students,” she said. “We have a great team of school psychologists who support our students academically, behaviorally and emotionally through prevention and intervention activities.”

She said school psychologists are also beneficial to the district by providing therapeutic services and resources to families and school staff.

“Through this work, school psychologists have enhanced the skills and others to be their best at home and at school. I have had the privilege of working next to phenomenal special education teachers who wholeheartedly commit themselves to meeting the needs of their students. Many of them go above and beyond to understand and help their students even when what they may discover is traumatic life experiences.”

She said she looks forward to continue to work to improve school safety through the PREPaRE model.

Finally, she thanked family members, who were present at the meeting, for supporting her in her in her work.

Kadalen Unrein, third grader a Lincoln Elementary School, was honored as the district’s student Best of the Best for March. She was nominated by Julie Mohi, Lincoln third-grade teacher.

“Kadalen is not only a bright student, she is also a very, very hard worker,” Mohi said. “She takes learning seriously and puts in the extra effort to get the job done and done well. She displays many qualities of a leader. She listens to others, demonstrates by example, she is open to suggestions and she focuses on the task that needs to be done while thinking outside the box to reach the end goal.

“She is someone who could be partnered with any other student to make them feel special and included. Kadalen’s hard work, determination and personality are essential to our classroom, and we are so lucky to have her as a Lincoln Leopard leader.”

By CRISTINA JANNEY
Hays Post

LA CROSSE — Tera Pflaum wants her students above all else to know there is someone on their side.

She not only tries to get to know and encourage students in her classroom as a resource teacher at La Crosse Middle/High School, she is in the hallways greeting other students. She notices things like new haircuts and congratulates kids on the school play.

“I always say buying in to me is 90 percent of their learning. They have to know that I truly care and I am here for the right reasons,” she said.

She loves her job, but she has more than a passion for teaching. She really cares about her students and their success in academics and life.

Pflaum, 41, has been named the Hays Post Teacher of the Month. She has been a teacher at La Crosse Middle/High School for 18 years. She first taught 11 years of middle school science and then she returned to Fort Hays State University to earn her master’s degree and began teaching special education.

Pflaum’s son, who is 10, recently asked her if she knew what she wanted to be when she was his age. She happily chimed in that yes, she did. She knew she wanted to be a teacher when she was in the second grade. She said her teachers were her rock when she was growing up.

“I had really good teachers growing up,” she said. “They inspired me. I wanted to be for somebody else what they were for me in my education.”

Her greatest inspiration was her Spanish teacher at Cimarron High School, Patricia Howard. She was very involved in the school, and she cared about kids.

“She cared about the subject matter too, but the whole child came first,” Pflaum said, “our needs, our social emotional needs. She cared about us, so I will remember her forever.”

Especially in a small school, Pflaum said teaching is more than just academics.

“There is more to your classroom than just textbooks and notebooks and paper,” she said. “It is knowing the students and knowing their families, knowing their favorite sports team and knowing what kind of birthday cake they like on their birthday. You get to know so much about the population you teach. I think that also helps in the success because these students want to work hard for you. They want you to be proud of them. They have that personal connection.

“I want them to know no matter what obstacle they face or what path they go down, there is always a way to the right path. There is always someone who will lead you in the right direction or push you to be the best you can be.”

She tells her students they don’t have to be a doctor or a lawyer or a teacher. They just need to be the best they can be.

“Nothing less than your best,” she said. “I tell my kids all of the time as long as they are giving me nothing less than their best, that is all I can ask for.”

Pflaum pulls from the struggles in her own life.

“I get these kids,” she said. “I get when they have a rough night or their parents are divorced or their parents are fighting. I understand. Sometimes when they walk in these doors, science, math, English is the last thing on their mind. I think if we meet those social emotional needs… If we meet those basic needs for them, the rest just falls into place for them.”

After years of teaching general education, Pflaum said she felt drawn to students who needed extra attention or needed to learn in a different way. She recalls coloring in the parts of a cell so a student could identify its parts.

“It was always a goal of mine to see a light bulb go on for them,” she said.

Now as a special education teacher, she thrives on seeing her students improve. Sometimes that is increasing their reading ability and others it is being able to go back into a general education classroom.

Pflaum described the most rewarding aspects of her job.

“Definitely seeing students make progress. Having a student who coming in as a seventh grader and is reading at a third- or fourth-grade level and by Christmas we are almost up to a sixth-grade level and closing that gap between them and their regular ed peers is very rewarding,” she said.

Pflaum lives in Hays and her three children attend school in Hays, but she drives back and forth to La Crosse because she loves the school and staff.

“There is something about the family atmosphere down here with the staff,” she said. “I have excellent paras, and it would be very hard to leave that. I would be almost like leaving your family.”

Chelsey Smith, fellow teacher, nominated Pflaum for the Teacher of the Month award.

Smith said in her nomination, “She shows each student the respect and positivity they deserve! In addition to being an amazing full-time teacher making a difference in the lives of all students, she serves as a mentor to new teachers and the Stuco sponsor. Tera is all around an amazing teacher who couldn’t deserve this award more!”

Pflaum has been highly involved in extracurricular activities at the school. She also coordinates the concession stand for all school activities. She is a former middle school basketball, volleyball and cheerleading coach as well as high school cheerleading coach.

Pflaum said being involved shows students that you are committed to them and the school. She might go to a ball game or attend a school play or sponsor a school dance. Between her own children (she also has twin girls at Hays High) and activities at La Crosse, she rarely has an evening at home.

Pflaum’s advice to new teachers?

“Get to know the whole child. It will make you a better teacher, and be a communicator. If you get to know the whole child and let them know you are in it 100 percent and be a good communicator with your peers and parents, you will be a successful teacher. The rest of the stuff just falls into place. …

“Having empathy and getting to know the whole child is not something you are going to learn in a textbook. It is something that has to come from within.”

Some students are hard to reach because they have struggled at school or they have struggled at home and they don’t trust. She is not afraid to talk to her students, sit down on the floor with them or go for a walk with them, and she encourages other new teachers to do the same.

“When they realize that you are in and they are realize you are in it for the long run, they will open up,” she said. “They will trust in you. They will care about you. They will look up to you.”

By CRISTINA JANNEY
Hays Post

There are plenty of opportunities for both retail and industrial development in Hays, the area’s economic development director said on a community tour Monday.

Aaron White, executive director of the Ellis County Coalition for Economic Development, outlined some of these during Hays’ second-annual Community Cruise for public officials on Monday. The Cruise is hosted by the Hays Area Chamber of Commerce.

Big Creek Crossing is very close to on an agreement to develop the south end of its lot. Big Creek is pitching a separate development for the former G&L Tire building, which may be broken into several smaller shops, similar to the configuration of HaysMed and Starbucks on the north end of the lot.

White said there are no new developments on the former Ambassador Hotel site on north Vine Street. The owner is asking $3.3 million for that 5-acre site.

The former Carlos O’Kelly’s property next to Applebee’s is now for sale. Previously, the owner was only entertaining offers to lease the property. Two different national restaurant chains have expressed interest in the property, listed at $1.3 million.

White said that price may be high because most developers are looking at demolishing the building on the lot and constructing a new facility from the ground up.

On the other side of Vine, the new TownePlace Suites by Marriott opened Saturday.

Melissa Dixon, director of the Hays Convention and Visitor’s Bureau, said TownePlace Suites has added 81 rooms. Two more hotel projects are on the horizon. The Hilton Hotel, which will be west of Walmart on 43rd, and a La Quinta, which will be directly west of the former Golden Corral on 43rd. The Hilton project will include a conference center that will be able to hold up to 500 people.

“We decline a lot of conventions and groups, because we don’t have a place for them to meet or not enough rooms for their event,” she said.

A good example is Special Olympics, which just this month split its games between Hays and Topeka because Hays did not have enough rooms to accommodate all the visitors.

White said the ECC has identified a 6,000 people loss in visitors because of a lack of convention space.

“We are already getting calls from across the state and the region asking when is it going to be ready and can we book it now so we can start doing our conferences,” White said. “There is a lot of excitement about being able to come back into this area to do conventions.”

The La Quinta developers recently approached White about adding some type of attraction with the hotel at that site.

Tebo Village is still trying to land an anchor for its 16,000 square foot space at 43rd and Vine streets. The developer is also considering another major sit-down restaurant for the corner lot where the shopping center sign now sits. Stephen Tebo hopes to find something that will not compete with Pasta Jay’s, White said.

“The consistent message we get from developers and retailers is that Hays is a market that they want to be in, but it is not a good enough market that they will overpay for land,” White said. “So finding the right space and getting it priced at a reasonable level for what these guys are coming in for is always going to be the biggest challenge.”

Rail may be on the horizon for the Heart of America Industrial Park, which is a 85-acre development in about the 900 block of Commerce Parkway. ECC has looked at designs for a $2 million rail expansion. It would potentially turn the area into a transloading site. This would mean other manufactures could use the site to load and transport products by rail, which is often cheaper than by road. ECC is looking at tapping into KDOT funds for the project.

ECC is working with a manufacturer that wants to use about 30 acres at the south end of the industrial park. The manufacturer slits steel coils into narrower pieces that are then rolled and built into pipe. It could initially add a handful of employees. If the manufacturer expands to contract work, it could add 30 or 40 employees, White said.

“On the industrial side, one thing that we are trying to focus on is to be able to diversify our manufacturing base. We are heavily reliant on oil and gas. As we have seen with the oil and gas downturns, it impacts throughout the community. Retail feels it everybody feels it,” he said.

Diversification reduces risk and evens out some of the highs and lows, White said.

 

By CRISTINA JANNEY
Hays Post

Fort Hays State University and NCK Tech signed an agreement Tuesday to create clear paths from degrees and certificates at NCK Tech to bachelor’s degrees at FHSU.

The agreement aligns curriculum of six NCK Tech programs with six FHSU bachelor’s programs. These include:

• Associate in Applied Science in General Business to Bachelor of Science in Organizational Leadership

• Associate in Applied Science (career and technical education concentration) to Bachelor of Science in Technology Leadership

• Associate in Applied Science (business and industry concentration) to Bachelor of Science in Technology Leadership

• Associate in Applied Science (nursing) to Bachelor of Science in Nursing (RN to BSN)

• Culinary Arts Certificate to Bachelor of Science in Tourism  and Hospitality Management

• Certificate in Carpentry/Cabinetmaking to Bachelor of Science in Technology Studies

Transfer guides are available through NCK Tech.

Tisa Mason, FHSU president, said the memorandum of understanding will save students time and money by laying out clearly and efficiently, which courses students need, so they can avoid enrolling in unnecessary classes.

“Indeed FHSU and NCK have had a long-standing successful partnership based on our shared focus on student success,” Mason said. “The partnership has been passed down over the years from president to president — a legacy of mutual benefit for which both President Burks and I are honored to both continue and enhance.”

FHSU has a vested interest in increasing opportunities for NCK students, Mason said. She said the agreement also serves workforce needs.

“At FHSU, we prove that every day through resource allocation and programs and services designed for transfer students,” Mason said.

Some of these programs include transfer designated scholarships, transfer student orientation programs and an honor society dedicated specifically for transfer students.

“This partnership did not start today — nor does it end today,” Mason said. “In fact, we already have many NCK students taking classes on our campus, attending FHSU events and even residing in our residence halls. I look forward to returning to the NCK campus many more times in the future to celebrate additional new and revised partnerships for our students.”

Eric Burks, NCK Tech president, said the agreement made Tuesday was a continuation of years of collaboration.

“We have had a long-standings relationship and a lot of great things we are already doing together to provide great opportunities for students, and today is just another step in the right direction in that partnership,” he said.

Burks said the agreement gives students options beyond a linear path to a degree.

“So many times now we know students start and stop. There are many exit and entry points through their educational process,” Burks said.

He said this is a great opportunity for both current students and returning students—students who maybe have graduated from NCK Tech in the past who might want to look at furthering their education because they want to move up the ladder.

Scott Smathers, vice president of workforce development for the Kansas Board of Regents, also attended the signing ceremony. He said by 2020 an estimated 70 percent of jobs will require a certification or some type or a degree. He said this programs sets students up for success in their careers. He congratulated the two institutions on their accomplishment.

By CRISTINA JANNEY
Hays Post

The Hays school board continued to try to sharpen its focus on facility needs at its meeting Monday night.

Board member Paul Adams asked Superintendent John Thissen to invite key players in November’s failed bond attempt to a board meeting in April to discuss their insights on the last bond. This will include DLR, the district architect, and Nabholz Construction, the district’s construction manager at-risk.

Board member Mandy Fox also supported the meeting, adding she would like to hear from members of the community Vision Team about where they believed they had or did not have support during the last bond attempt.

Thissen also said there might be value in doing additional polling of residents.

The board has discussed the possibly of a third bond attempt after failed bond attempts in November and 2016.

See related story: Hays USD 489 school bond fails; another bond likely on the horizon

See related story: Voters soundly reject Hays USD 489 bond issue

Thissen has urged the board to create a committee to work on a new proposal with regular reports back to the board on its progress.

Board member Luke Oborny said he liked the concept of more interaction with the board, which would allow the board to suggest changes before any facilities committee became too far along in the process to make adjustments.

“We talked about it last time. The Vision Team went and did everything, and they came back to us and they presented the idea,” he said. “It is kind of hard for us to make adjustments or tweaks at that point because they have invested eight months of volunteer time and you hate to say, ‘We just hate that. Scrap this whole thing. Take another $20 million off.’ ”

Oborny said the board has already developed a time slot to discuss facilities. He suggested a facilities committee report to the board once a month or ever two months. This would allow the board to make guiding changes during the process, Oborny said.

Most of the discussion in recent months has focused on elementary schools, which are among the oldest schools in the district and those that are requiring the most maintenance.

In an interview on the KAYS Morning Show Tuesday, Thissen noted the district does not wish to put tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars into decaying schools that the district may eventually shutter.

The board has discussed consolidating elementary schools in order to save operational costs.

Board member Greg Schwartz said Monday he would like to see more on operation costs, and what savings could be reaped with different building configurations.

Thissen said he would bring that information back to the board during a meeting in April.

However, he noted the greatest savings would be through consolidating into one large elementary school and parents may oppose that option.

Adams said he hoped DLR and Nabholz might have some more insight on school trends, including what might be the best size for classrooms and what is working well with education spaces.

“They are not going to tell us we are going to take it down to two buildings or three buildings or we are going to build this new super elementary, but they can say here are some of the pros and cons that we have seen about what is going to happen, and we can begin to make those choices,” Adams said. “I would like that sort of information, as well as some of what they may have seen in the election process.”

Thissen said it is not about coming up with a perfect plan.

“What we are saying is we want to have the best plan possible, and that is what we are stumbling on— ‘What is that best plan? What can we do at this point to have the greatest possibility (for success)?'” Thissen said. “When I say success, success is just a matter of improving our facilities. It is not a matter of success of getting just what we want. I think it is a matter of getting what will help this school district and this community for the future and something the community feels it can support and back.”

Thissen said the process is important and open discussion is important.

Board member Sophia Rose Young said she hoped the board would continue to focus on developing a long-range facilities plan.

“My mind says we need a long-range plan of what we see for all the buildings in the district before we go 100 percent on one little bond. I like options,” she said. “For me to move forward, I need a long-range facility plan and the conversation not be so open.”

By CRISTINA JANNEY
Hays Post

Visitors to downtown Hays will soon be able to eat German, work out and get a checkup as new businesses make their home on the Bricks.

Sara Bloom, executive director of Downtown Hays Development Corp., talked about what is on the horizon for downtown during a tour with local officials Monday afternoon as a part of the second annual Community Cruise.

Das Essen Hutte, a German eatery owned by the Charlie and Roxane Dorzweiler, is set to reopen any day at 110 W. 11th. The restaurant, which serves homemade German food inspired by classic Volga German recipes, had been located in Big Creek Crossing.

A new CrossFit center will be coming to the former Fire and Ice building at 229 W. 10th.

A new optometrist and dentist office also is going in at the corner of 13th and Main Street at the former All Seasons Heating and Plumbing building. This project will not likely be marketed until this summer with an expected opening sometime this fall.

Something Blue has expanded its business to 1012 Main and will be moving its wedding gowns to that location. The boutique at 1008 Main will be expanded and become Bluetique. Something Blue has had such a large demand for its gowns that it needed more space, Bloom said.

The building at 1012 Main once housed GypsyRose. Purses and jewelry that once were sold at GypsyRose can now be found at Salon Ten O Seven across the street.

Kris and Larissa Munsch are remodeling the home that used to be known as the Tea Rose Inn at 13th and Fort into a hotel. It is now called the Inn at 117. It currently has three suites available. It is not a bed and breakfast, so don’t expect a meal. However, Bloom said the hotel is a convenient walking distance from restaurants and the night life downtown.

“We are very excited. We get calls all of the time asking where people can stay downtown, and we finally have a place we can tell them,” Bloom said.

The tour also made a stop at the Downtown Pavilion. The ribbon cutting for the Downtown Pavilion has been postponed until April 27 because weather has delayed the last of construction on the project. DHDC still plans to use the pavilion for Brews on the Bricks, which is April 7.

Fort Hays State University’s Department of Applied Technology helped design and build the project, which substantially reduced costs.

Sandy Jacobs, a city commissioner who was on the tour, said the project was an excellent collaborative effort. The cost of the project was originally estimated at more than $400,000 and now will cost about $270,000 and be a gift from DHDC to the city of Hays.

The public/private project is funded by DHDC. Financial donations have come from the Robert and Patricia Schmidt Foundation, the Dane G. Hansen Foundation, and community supporters. The pavilion will go back to the city and will be managed as a public park. The public will be able to reserve the area as it does other city facilities.

For more on the Downtown Pavilion see related story: DHDC: Downtown pavilion has been a ‘neat project’

The Ellis County Coalition for Economic Development also will soon move to 219 W. West 10th. The location will serve as a coworking space targeted to people who’ve been operating a home-based business or working at home. People will pay by the month like a gym membership to have access to office space, office equipment and a conference room.

Aaron White, executive director of the ECC, said he already has interest in the space from an attorney, a software designer and an app designer. He hopes to also work with the entrepreneurial program at Fort Hays State to connect new graduates with resources and keep tech startups in Hays.

“This gives them a place to do teleconferencing, to sit down and meet with a client in more of a professional setting instead of doing it in the living room of their house or at the local coffee shop. This gives them a more professional feel without the upfront costs,” White said.

Members will have 24/7 access. A full membership starts at $150 month. The center is set to open at the end of April.

See related story: Grant given for first coworking space in western Kansas

By BECKY KISER
Hays Post

A public ribbon cutting celebrating completion of the new 40-by-80-foot open-air pavilion in Union Pacific Park, 10th and Main, will be held at 2 p.m. Friday, April 27. (UPDATED for revised ceremony date.)

Just prior to spring break, students in construction classes at Fort Hays State University’s Department of Applied Technology, were working in downtown Hays on the underside of the roof.

According to FHSU instructor Kris Munsch, the wood is tongue and groove boxcar siding “and every single piece is cut to fit.”

“The way the roof tilts underneath was designed by a Fort Hays State design class,” said Sara Bloom, executive director of the Downtown Hays Development Corporation (DHDC). “The roof design of the structure will pay tribute to our former railroad depot,” she explained. “It’s going to be gorgeous.

“This has been a really neat project from start to finish.”

The project, which had been envisioned as a “public gathering place” by downtown proponents since 2012, was brought to life in 2015 when Munsch and his students pitched their collaborative concept to the Hays city commission.

Groundbreaking was May 24, 2017.  Representatives from DHDC, FHSU, the city of Hays and Commercial Builders of Hays, the project’s general contractor, were on hand for the ceremony.

Each academic semester since then different FHSU classes and different students have been working on site during their scheduled class times.

The public/private project is funded by DHDC.  Financial donations have come from the Robert and Patricia Schmidt Foundation, the Dane G. Hansen Foundation and community supporters.

The pavilion will be given to the city by DHDC for use by the public. Reservations for private events may be made by contacting the Hays Parks Department at 785-628-7375.

Several public events are already scheduled to use the pavilion, including the Ellis County Relay For Life on Sat., June 1. The United Way of Ellis County will hold its 2018 campaign kick-off event at the pavilion, which will also become the new home of the Downtown Hays Market. It will be used during the Hays Arts Council’s art walks.

DHDC originally thought about adding a few benches under the rooftop and debated whether the seating should be permanent or portable. Then they decided against benches entirely, according to Bloom.

“We want it to be an open space and customizable. You’re going to be able to bring in tables, chairs and even grills.”

There will be, however, memorial benches in the area around the pavilion to rest and relax upon.

“We’ll reveal those benches during the ribbon cutting,” Bloom promised.

Along with speakers from the entities involved in building the pavilion, the ceremony will include the FHSU pep band and Victor E. Tiger.