By C.D. DESALVO
Hays Post

The second annual Brews on the Bricks will be Saturday in downtown Hays. The event is put on by the Downtown Hays Development Corp., which collaborated with local breweries in Hays to showcase locally brewed craft beers.

“We approached Gella’s and Defiance Brewery pretty early on and asked them if this was something they would be interested in and if they could help us out in organizing — so it is kind of a DHDC and brewery brainchild. It was so successful last year that we expanded it again this year,” said Sara Bloom, DHDC executive director.

The event has been a hot ticket from the start. In 2016, DHDC sold all 400 general admission tickets and all 75 VIP tickets in four hours.

“Last year exceeded our expectations. It was a new event, but we did a lot of marketing for it. Tickets went on sale on Feb. 1 and sold very quickly — or what we thought was very quick at that time,” Bloom said. “This year, we sold out all 150 VIP tickets and all 800 general admission tickets in 10 minutes. We had 30 people lined up outside in the cold for three hours for tickets.”

Brews on the Bricks is a citywide celebration where people can sample different beers they normally could not find in the community and appreciate the art of brewing and what it takes to craft these beers.

A new feature this year will be a home-brewer competition, featuring home-brewers from around the state. The winner will be decided by attending brewers, and second place will be determined by the general public.

“We actually have a very active Hays home-brew club and they approached us with the idea,” said Bloom. “We have 21 home-brewers participating in this event from all over the state and even one from Nebraska.”

Brews on the Bricks will also have numerous local food vendors and live music. The popular downtown event will close off 10th Street from Fort to Main on Friday and Saturday.

The VIP Reception will be held from 11 a.m. to noon and includes, for the first time this year, an exclusive hour of sampling. General admission will be from 2 to 5 p.m.

“This event continues to exceed our expectations, and we are trying to grow it as gradually as we can so we can keep it a well-organized event. We look forward to expanding it next year and adding more tickets,” said Bloom.

For more information, visit https://dhdc21.wixsite.com/brews.

The Ellis County Drug Enforcement Unit will again be sponsoring two collection sites for community members to anonymously drop off their unused or unwanted prescription and OTC drugs on Saturday, April 29, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

The sites will be located in the parking lots at the Hays Visitors Center, 27th & Vine Street, and the Good Samaritan Center, 27th and Canal.

All tablets, capsules, caplets and patches are accepted. Liquids will be accepted if in spill-proof containers. No needles or aerosols can be collected.

“Prescription drug abuse is a growing problem in our communities and this is the perfect opportunity for people to help reduce the threat,” the unit said in a news release.

In the previous 10 Take-Back events, local sheriffs deputies and police officers have taken in over 1,000 pounds of unwanted drugs.

“Please clean out you medicine cabinets, closets, bedside tables and vehicles and make your home and cars safe from drug theft, accidental consumption, and abuse,” the unit urged.

NATOMA — In Natoma on Friday, March 17, the Natoma SAFE (Seatbelts Are For Everyone) and FADD (Families Against Destructive Decisions), in conjunction with local and state agencies and businesses, hosted a “Mock Accident” and SAFE Day.

This was an educational event and the accident was fictional. Students, parents, and residents of Natoma were informed about the event prior to the day.  The “Mock Accident” scenario was a distracted driver trying to use his phone to take a video while driving. None of the occupants were wearing seatbelts, plus one student was standing in the back of the pickup. They “hit” the electrical pole northeast of the Ag Building at the corner of 6^th and Baum Street.

The day begin with a presentation by the Kansas DUI Impact Center for 7-12th grade students.  Around 9 a.m. a pre-recorded 911 call from one of the students involved in the accident was heard by students.  Students then went out to the “Mock Accident” scene.  The mock page from Osborne County was heard over a speaker system followed by the arrival of emergency vehicles with lights on and sirens blaring.  

The scene’s “casualties” included one student “deceased”, one student “ejected” out through the windshield and unresponsive, and two students with minor to severe injuries who were conscious and talking with rescuers.

The mother of the “deceased” student arrived acting quite distraught as she had heard the page.  Trooper Tod tried to console her after giving the notification that her son had been ejected from the back of the pickup and had died from the wreck only weeks from his senior prom and high school graduation.

To get the other two students out, the rescue crew took the top of the pickup cab off and pried the door using the “Jaws of Life.”  While the driver was being loaded into the ambulance, the mourning parent went to confront him and she had to be calmed and restrained by Trooper Tod.

The “deceased” student was loaded into a hearse and taken to the south entrance of the school building.  After the accident, students had to proceed past the open body bag as they returned to the school building.

Trooper Tod Hileman gave a presentation on seatbelts, distracted driving, and the impact of poor decision making when behind the wheel of a vehicle.  Then students then got the chance to ride in the “Convincer”, a KHP demonstration trailer that “riders” strap into an inclined seat with seatbelt that rolls down at 5 mph and jolts to a stop.  Two SAFE members (Dylan Pruter and Erika George) wearing Crash Dummy costumes “Vince & Larry”, provided by the Kansas Traffic Safety Resource Office, showed up and also rode the KHP Convincer and visited the Natoma Elementary classrooms to encourage seatbelt usage.

The day was very impactful and emotional for all involved.  Emergency workers explained the difficulty of working an accident involving people and families that they know.  SAFE Sponsor Jeremy Long said “even though everyone knew that the scene was only a mock accident, the realization of the effect an actual event like this would have on our community was really evident.  Everyone knows that texting and driving is a problem.  This mock hopefully helped students realize the real responsibility you take on when you get behind the wheel of a vehicle.  Hopefully it makes them stop and think about texting and driving.”  

Natoma SAFE was started in September 2016 by the Natoma FFA to promote seatbelt use & traffic safety.  The FADD organization was started in 1988 primarily to host a safe after-prom event.  It has grown to include events for all ages at the school such as Red Ribbon Week events and Bike Safety Program.  The Mock Accident also reemphasized the impact from the Todd Becker Foundation presentation brought in to Natoma by the SADD chapter earlier in the school year.

A big THANK YOU to those volunteering their time and efforts for this event:  The actors — Tyler Lund, Jennifer Lund, Austin Murphy, Grady Dickerson, and Taitem Zeigler; Natoma SADD; Don Snyder, Osborne County Emergency Manager; Keith Haberer, Russell County Emergency Manager; Natoma Fire Department; Waldo Fire Department; Lucas Fire & Rescue Department; Natoma EMS; Osborne EMS; Pohlman-Varner-Peeler Mortuary; Trooper Tod Hileman; Eagle Med; Osborne County Sheriff Department; Russell County Sheriff Department; USD 399; Shop on the Corner; A & D Towing; George Fencing; and Auction One Inc.

OFFICE OF SEN. MORAN

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Jerry Moran (R-Kan.) announced today that the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has authorized emergency grazing on Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) lands located in Kansas, Oklahoma and Texas to help ranchers impacted by the wildfires.

“Ranchers need every available acre of grass to feed the surviving cattle,” said Sen. Moran. “Allowing emergency grazing of CRP acres will give producers additional options as they search for grassland for their livestock. I appreciate USDA’s continued attention on relief efforts and will continue to urge them to utilize every tool available to assist families devastated by the fires.”

USDA Acting Deputy Secretary Michael L. Young issued a memorandum authorizing the emergency grazing of cattle by ranchers. Click here to read the details of the authorization.

Sen. Moran recently met with Acting USDA Secretary Michael Young to discuss the challenges facing farmers and ranchers impacted by the wildfires.

According to USDA, estimated damages thus far for Kansas:

Counties affected include Clark, Comanche, Ellis, Ellsworth, Ford, Hodgeman, Kiowa, Lane, Lincoln, Meade, Ness, Russell and Seward;
An estimated 630,000 acres burned, primarily pasturelands;
Estimated livestock loss: between 3,000 and 9,000 head of cattle;
Large volumes of hay and feed destroyed; and
Estimated cost of fencing destroyed exceeds $36 million.

FHSU University Relations and Marketing

Cuisine and culture from China, Japan and Bulgaria will be featured beginning at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, April 5, in the Trails Room of Fort Hays State University’s Memorial Union at the 2017 International Spiced Up event.

The public is invited to this free event sponsored by the International Student Union and the office of International Student Services. Spiced Up is an opportunity to taste traditional food and get informed on some of the cultures and traditions of the home countries of FHSU students.

By C.D. DESALVO
Hays Post

For job seekers in the area, the annual Hays area job fair is set to take place on Wednesday, April 5, at Big Creek Crossing in Hays. The fair is open to all ages and anyone in the area that is looking for their dream job or a new career path.

“Last year, we had close to 140 people attend,” said Ernee Sly of the Ellis County Coalition for Economic Development. “It is open to anybody – high schoolers, college kids, anyone looking for employment either part-time or full-time. Anyone can attend.”

The job fair is host to a number of different businesses looking to hire positions ranging from nurses and electricians to food services and police officers. According to Sly, there are some booths that are consistently looking for employment.

“We have several businesses that are always hiring. Manufacturers are looking for help, a lot of health care jobs. This time of the year there is seasonal work and hotel jobs,” Sly said. “We open this up to businesses in several area counties.”

For a full list of companies attending the job fair and the positions hiring, visit www.hayshasjobs.com/JOBFAIR.aspx.

The 2017 Hays area job fair will be on April 5 from 3 to 6 p.m. at Big Creek Crossing in Hays. The first 30 minutes are reserved for military members and their families.

For more information or if you have questions, contact Sly at 785-628-3102 or email [email protected].

Anyone needing help preparing a resume, tips on attending a job fair, interviewing tips, etc., can visit www.kansasworks.com or call 785-625-5654.

“Our Town” this week looks at the important topic of veteran suicide prevention. Let’s Promote Hope, a nonprofit group in Kansas, has teamed up with the Eisenhower Presidential Library and Museum to raise awareness of this topic. Find out more at their Facebook page, Let’s Promote Hope – Operation Veteran Suicide Outreach.

For more episodes of “Our Town” and other programs from Eagle TV’s Eastern region, click HERE.

KU News Service

LAWRENCE — Oil and natural gas production in Kansas declined significantly in 2016 as prices for both stayed down, according to estimates from the Kansas Geological Survey at the University of Kansas.

Statewide, production of oil dropped about 17 percent in 2016, following an 8 percent decline in 2015. Natural gas production fell about 14 percent in 2016, following a 1 percent decline in 2015.

Between 2007 and 2014, rising oil prices and a boom in horizontal drilling with hydraulic fracturing, popularly known as fracking, in south-central Kansas boosted oil production in the state. Starting in 2010, companies increasingly used hydraulic fracturing there to pump primarily hard-to-reach oil, but also natural gas, from a producing zone known as the Mississippian limestone play. Most of the activity occurred in Harper and Barber counties.

“The decline isn’t surprising since production in both counties was greatly augmented by about 300 horizontal wells drilled from 2012 to 2014,” said KGS geologist David Newell. “Then the price for oil plummeted in late 2014 from about $100 a barrel to around $45 a barrel, where it hovers even now, and exploration declined.”

Production from a typical Mississippian play well drops off about 80 percent after the first year, Newell said. When new drilling nearly stopped, overall production from the play fell rapidly.

Due to lower prices and possible overestimation of the productivity of the Mississippian play in Kansas, the number of intent-to-drill permits for horizontal wells requested by companies and issued by the state dropped from one to two dozen per month in 2014 to just two or three per month in 2015. In 2016, only eight permits were issued. Traditional vertical drilling in the state also was down.

Harper County, which rose from the state’s 33rd-highest producing county in 2010 to first in 2015, dropped back to second in 2016 as production there declined 40 percent. Ellis County, which led in oil production for all but three of the last 50 years, regained the lead even though production there fell almost 11 percent.

Following Ellis, the top-10 oil-producing counties, in order, were Harper, Barton, Haskell, Finney, Russell, Rooks, Ness, Barber and Stafford. Production in each of the 10 counties fell at least 10 percent, except in Haskell County, where a decline of just 0.7 percent propelled the county up from eighth-highest producer in 2015 to fourth in 2016.

About 2.7 million barrels of oil were produced in Ellis County, and 2 million were produced in Harper County. The other top counties produced between 1 and 2 million barrels. Statewide, total production was 37.9 million barrels, compared with 45 million in 2015 and nearly 50 million in 2014. Oil production in Kansas peaked at 93 million barrels in 1966 and continues to fluctuate as prices rise and fall.

Natural gas production in all of the top-10 gas-producing counties also was down, ranging from a nearly 9 percent decline for Morton County to a 20 percent decline for Barber County.

Stevens County, which produced 30 billion cubic feet of gas, was the top producer. It was followed, in order, by Harper, Grant, Kearny, Barber, Haskell, Finney, Morton, Stanton and Seward counties. All are in the Hugoton natural gas area except Harper and Barber counties, where natural gas was produced mainly from the Mississippian play.

Of the nearly 245 billion cubic feet (bcf) of natural gas produced in Kansas in 2016, two-thirds came from the Hugoton natural gas area. Decades of gradual production declines are due, in large part, to continued depletion in the area, which has produced more than 40 trillion cubic feet of gas since it was developed in the 1930s.

“Production in other gas plays in the state, including the Mississippian limestone play and the southeastern Kansas coalbed gas play, also have dropped as lower prices led to less drilling,” Newell said.

In southeastern Kansas, natural gas is produced mainly from shallow coal beds. Production of the gas, called coalbed methane, peaked there in 2008 when the price of natural gas reached $14 per thousand cubic feet. With prices today bouncing between $2.50 and $3 per thousand cubic feet, production of coalbed methane continues to drop as old wells are depleted and drilling has virtually ceased.

In 2016, only four wells were drilled in the southeastern Kansas coal beds compared with 1,596 in 2006 when prices were on the rise. From 2015 to 2016, coalbed methane production in Kansas declined 10 percent.

For the entire state, natural gas production fell from about 285 bcf in 2015 to 245 bcf in 2016.

“Few oil and gas exploration wells are being drilled in Kansas right now, and production volumes are declining generally in the state,” Newell said. “I estimate prices will have to be in excess of $55 a barrel for oil and perhaps $5.50 per thousand cubic feet for gas to see any start to a turnaround.”

BY BECKY KISER
Hays Post

PLAINVILLE–Plainville has made it to the Final Four.

It’s Round 5 of the 2017 Kansas Hometown Showdown presented by the League of Kansas Municipalities (LKM).

Plainville’s patriotic entry in the third annual photo competition on LKM’s Facebook page is “Honoring Those Who Serve.” The picture was taken November 11, 2016 during the dedication of the veterans’ memorial in Plainville.

Plainville is the lone holdout among a handful of northwest Kansas towns that started in the competition including Hays, Lucas, Hoxie, Wilson and Ellis.

The Rooks County town is pitted against Marysville. In the other bracket is Haysville, which beat out Ellis in Round 4, taking on Newton. Hays was knocked out of the competition in Round 3.

The Hometown Showdown is a photo competition among Kansas cities. It’s set up to mimic a sports competition with brackets and cities going head-to-head with each other in an effort to get the most “Likes” on the League’s Facebook photo album.

Click here to cast a vote for Plainville.

Voting for Round 5 of the Hometown Showdown ends on Sunday, April 2.

NORTON — 1980s teen icon and of-late performance artist Corey Feldman made an impromptu stop in northwest Kansas on Tuesday night.

According to social media reports and messages to Hays Post, Feldman’s vehicle had mechanical issues Tuesday in Norton and he stopped to have it repaired.

Feldman posed for pictures with fans at the local Love’s Travel Stop, and this photo with Norton Police Officer Jody Enfield was posted on the Norton Police Department’s Facebook page Tuesday evening.

https://www.facebook.com/NPD67654/photos/a.537423259767505.1073741828.530762773766887/792232687619893/?type=3&theater

Feldman posted this explanation on his Instagram account.

SO WE WERE DRIVING THE #ANGELICRV THRU KANSAS LAST NITE, & THE CEMENT JUMPED UP & ATTACKED R TRAILER! WE HAD A NICE MAN HELP US GET OUT, THEN WOKE UP N MUNCHKIN LAND…….LIFE ON THE ROAD! #justsayin #coreyfeldmanandtheangels #munchkinland #merryoldlandofoz #Kansas #angelic2theminitour2017 W @coreysangels #DJAC @courtanne89 @margotlanemusic @marisa_testa_musician @priestesspaige @jezebelsweet

A post shared by Corey Feldman (@cdogg22) on Mar 28, 2017 at 11:28am PDT

Feldman’s stop was confirmed by the Norton Police Department on Wednesday morning.

By C.D. DESALVO
Hays Post

On Monday at the Rockwell Administration Center, the Hays USD 489 Board of Education was presented with an update from the DLR Group, the architectural firm that the board unanimously hired to handle the new bond issue for the district after last year’s bond was soundly defeated by voters.

Amber Beverlin, project manager for DLR, updated the board on the schedule DLR presented to the board in January. The schedule features seven different workshops from February to May as a way to gauge where the USD 489 schools are at as far as observing facility conditions and educational environment and getting feedback from faculty, students, and community members.

“We had staff interviews at the very beginning. We stationed architects and planners at every one of your schools and met with as many staff members that wanted to come and bend our ear about any thoughts they had,” said Beverlin.

During the initial meetings with staff, Beverlin said that some teachers started to ask questions about what DLR was doing around the rest of the country to get a better idea of how other schools were upgrading learning environments. DLR added two extra workshops (a teacher workshop and a student workshop) at both the high school and middle school in Hays as a way to get better feedback and listen to what the students thought of the situation.

“We just wanted to get the flavor of what the kids were thinking, what their parents were saying to them and some of their own thoughts, which was fantastic,” said Beverlin.

DLR has conducted a total of 15 meetings so far at the halfway point of the five-month process. Through this process, the group has been able to hear opinions and thoughts from over 400 people in the community and has put together three committees (executive team, district planning team and community vision team) that collaborate in an effort to figure out what is best for the district.

“It is a three-tiered process,” Beverlin said. “The planning team is the voice for the educators, and the community vision team is obviously the voice for the community. So what we do is merge all that together and adjust and come back the next trip and talk through what we heard and how we will adjust and find out the direction we are going.”

At the heart of the process is the community vision team. DLR has had approximately 20 attendees at each meeting with people aged 20 to 60 years old represented. The vision team also consisted of USD 489 residents ranging from 1 year to 20 years spent in the district, parents and non-parents of current students, and a mix of “yes” and “no” voters from the last bond.

The three main topics DLR hits on consistently in the meetings are building assessments, what 21st-century learning looks like to the community and establishment of guiding principles.

“We walked as a team (engineers, architects, construction manager) through the buildings and looked at 19 categories and really investigated the state of the buildings,” Beverlin said. “Aside from bricks and mortar, we also assessed educational environments. This includes things like how much daylight there is, what kind of spaces are there to teach the way that they (teachers) want to be teaching, if there are project-based learning spaces or student-centered spaces — so all the things that a 21st-century school would have.”

DLR presented graphics indicating what areas the schools were good, average and poor in as far as facilities and learning environments.

Along with building assessments and explaining what 21st-century learning looks like in a modern school, DLR also used the community vision meetings as a way to gather guiding principles from teachers and staff.

“Right now, we have five guiding principles (safety and security, engaged learners, sense of community, plan for future needs and flexibility) and tomorrow (March 28), we will talk even more with the community group and confirm that these really are the top five guiding principles they want to go with,” Beverlin said. “These principles really help us decide what to do when we are at a fork in the road.”

The group will hold Workshop #4 today to confirm the five guiding principles with the community group and will return to Hays on April 11 and 25 and May 16 to conduct the final three workshops on the schedule.

In addition to the DLR update, the board also voted 6-0 to pass the continuation of the Head Start Program, which is in year three of a five-year grant.

The board also discussed briefly the recommended renewal of the Go Math curricular materials for grades K-5. The cost for the renewal will be $96,315.60 and will be voted on at the next board meeting.