By BECKY KISER
Hays Post

The 2019 fundraising campaign for the United Way of Ellis County is off and running.

A kickoff luncheon Friday afternoon with the Hays Area Chamber of Commerce and Eagle Communications at the Rose Garden Banquet Hall featured a quick game of “3 Truths and 1 Lie.” Representatives of the 17 United Way partner agencies tried to stump a panel of four volunteers with one incorrect statement about their non-profit group and its work for Ellis County residents.

The panel did well, knowing most of the history of the agencies and their community support.

Kelly Lewis, 2019 Campaign Chair, has served on the United Way Board of Directors for three years. She joked that she missed just one meeting this spring, and that’s how she became campaign chair.

“It’s a title that I’m honored to accept,” Lewis told the audience.

“This year our campaign goal is $400,000 and I have no doubt that with a little hard work, we’ll be able to hit that goal.

“We have 17 partner agencies providing Ellis County with all these wonderful opportunities that wouldn’t be available without all your kindhearted donations.”

Lewis, vice-president of Bank of Hays, has also been a volunteer on the CARE Council. “It’s a way to find out a little bit more about each of our partner agencies.”

Each group goes through an extensive funding request process with the CARE Council. Its recommendations are sent to the United Way Board of Directors which awards the funds to the select agencies.

A search is underway for a new executive director of the United Way of Ellis County.

Sherry Dryden will step down Sept. 6 after four years to become executive director of the American Red Cross serving central and western Kansas. Erica Berges, United Way administrative assistant, will serve as interim executive director.

Dryden spoke briefly at the lunch, saying it had been “an honor to serve the United Way.” She added she will continue working with the United Way through the Red Cross which is one of its partner agencies.

Dryden turned the microphone over to Berges, who talked about four major accomplishments of the United Way in 2018.

“We have a new downloadable app for Ellis County Resource,” Berges reported. ” This helped expand the access of our Ellis County Resource Directory, which was in paper form and is still online at www.elliscountykshelp.com.”

RealityU held in the spring on the campus of Thomas More Prep-Marian school brought a little bit of life’s realities into focus for Ellis County high school students.

“It taught them about personal finance in an interactive and engaging way.” The students imagined themselves to be 26 years old and completed a lifestyle questionnaire about their occupation, marital status and use of credit cards, and then found out what their monthly expenses would be.

“It was very interesting to watch the students watch their monthly income go down,”Berges said with a smile. “The number one thing they found out is expensive – kids,” she laughed along with the audience.

TMP, Ellis, Victoria and Hays high schools will participate in RealityU this fall.

A new website  — www.nwksvolunteers.org —  was launched in the spring for people wanting to volunteer and pairs them with agencies needing volunteer help.

More than 100 volunteers have already signed up and Berges can vouch for the program’s success.

“These brochures at your tables, we have to stuff each one of them individually with the pledge cards. Within 10 minutes of the task being on the website, I had a response. This guy came in and stuffed all 5,000 of those for us over the course of a week. It was awesome. It saved us so much time.

“We probably have a volunteer for life. He’s already responded to several other things.”

Berges also talked about the Wonder Women League.

“Since they’ve started, they’ve done the learning trail in Sunrise Park and last fall they held a self-defense course for women. Their newest project, “Matthew’s Gift,” was launched this winter.

“It’s a bag given out to families who are having a loved one flown out of Hays Med to another medical facility,” Berges said. “The bag contains items like snacks, bottled water, notepads, toiletries, a gas card and other essentials that a family might need so they don’t have to leave their loved one while in the hospital.”

The United Way of Ellis County 17 partner agencies are:

• American Red Cross
• ARC of Central Plains
• Big Brothers/Big Sisters
• Cancer Council
• Catholic Charities
• Center for Life Experience
• Cerebral Palsy Research Foundation
• Court Appointed Special Advocates
• Developmental Services of Northwest Kansas
• Early Childhood Connections
• First Call For Help
• Hays Area Children’s Center
• KVC Wheatland
• OPTIONS
• Parents and Children Together
• Western Kansas Association on the Concerns of the Disabled
• Western Kansas Child Advocacy Program

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

By CRISTINA JANNEY
Hays Post

The former Oak Park Medical Complex is now filled with bright colors and children’s laughter after  a $2 million renovation.

USD 489 purchased the complex for $2 million last year, and received a $1.47 million grant plus a $500,000 donation from former owner HaysMed for the renovations.

Early Childhood Connections moved from the Washington school several weeks ago. Donna Hudson-Hamilton, ECC director, said the new space is a great improvement over Washington, a 90-year-old building that had significant infrastructure issues, including problems with plumbing, sewer, the roof, and heating and air conditioning.

Although Hudson-Hamilton said converting the former medical complex, 2300 E. 13th, into a school was challenging for the architect, it has meant the new classrooms are right-sized for the programs and children who will be using them.

“It was kind of a challenge because there were so many rooms,” she said. “We tried to use as many existing walls and doorways and restrooms as possible. I have to give all the kudos to the architect because that is something he worked on doing, using as much as we can. This was quite a maze before we came in here it being a medical facility with all of the exam rooms. He did a great job with that.”

USD 489 also tried to use as much of the existing cabinetry to reduce costs. Playground equipment was moved from the former location at Washington school.

Every nook and cranny in the complex is being used for something — classrooms, offices, storage, an indoor activity room for indoor recess, a sensory room, nurses station, meeting rooms and a breastfeeding room.

The project also included a tornado shelter, which Washington did not have. The ECC now has off-street parking, and the ECC was able to expand its classroom space to facilitate the addition of all-day Headstart, which is being required by the federal government.

The renovated complex has secure entrances. During regular drop-off and pick-up times, doors are unlocked. However, during school hours, visitors will need to be buzzed in through the office, which is in building one (right front building as you enter the parking lot).

Once all four buildings are complete, ECC will house Headstart, Early Headstart, state pre-kindergarten, services through the Early Childhood Block Grant, USD 489 tuition-based preschool, Parents as Teachers and Early Childhood Special Education programs for a total of about 180 kids.

Although programs have already moved into the complex, finishing touches are still being done on buildings one, two and four. Building three is yet to be completed. That will house the district’s infant and toddler program, which is now located at Munjor school. Hudson-Hamilton said she anticipates work will be complete and that program will move to Oak Park by the end of September.

She said having all the children in one location will mean parents with children in more than one program will have only one drop off. It also means all of the staff will be in one building, which should be more efficient and allow for more collaboration.

Once Munjor is vacated, that building will go back to the Catholic Church. An Overland Park company has a contract to buy the Washington school building. The developer hopes to renovate the building into low-income apartments, contingent on receiving tax credits for the project.

If you have questions about ECC’s programs or how to apply, Hudson-Hamilton urged parents to contact the ECC.

USD 489 has a Hays Chamber of Commerce ribbon cutting set for 10 a.m. Oct. 24.

 

 

 

 

 

By CRISTINA JANNEY
Hays Post

Your son has a better chance of being an NFL player than your daughter being Miss Rodeo America.

Hays resident and recent FHSU graduate Tiffany McCaffrey, 23, will be one of 30 young women to vie for that title next year, after being elected Miss Rodeo Kansas 2020 on Aug. 3.

The Miss Rodeo Kansas is held in conjunction with the Dodge City Roundup Days. McCaffrey will be a lady in waiting until Jan. 1 when she will assume her full duties as rodeo queen. She will serve a year and will compete for Miss Rodeo America in December 2020.

“I am so excited,” she said. “I have spent so many years watching rodeo queens and following their journeys on Facebook, and now that I get to go do that, I am so awestruck. I have spent so many years imagining, but now I get to go live it.”

McCaffrey grew up on a small farm near Burlington, Colo., participating in 4-H and FFA.

She fell in love with rodeo while attending the local county fair, which hosted an annual PRCA rodeo. However, she didn’t learn to ride until she was a senior in high school.

“I always loved horses. From the time I can remember, my favorite animal was a horse,” she said. “Learning how to ride when I was a senior in high school, I was coming late to the game, but one thing I like to say is no matter how old you are or what you want to do, if you have a dream, if you have a passion, you should go ahead and do it no matter how old you are.

“It started at a really young age that I loved horses, so I knew someday my life was going to be involved in rodeo. The fact that I am here now is kind of God’s plan.”

On her road to her current title, she won a local rodeo title and then was named Miss Rodeo Fort Hays State for 2018.

McCaffrey’s degree is in tourism and hospitality management. She just finished an internship with the Hays Convention and Visitor’s Bureau. She said her studies at FHSU and internship were good foundations for the role as Miss Rodeo Kansas.

“My job is to spread awareness of rodeo and teach people what it’s about and keep our Western heritage alive,” she said.

“One great thing I like about rodeo is its rich history. Rodeo is based on agriculture, farming and our ranching background. I grew up on a ranch raising cows and bucket calves, so that really resonated with me. As cowboys, that is where it all really started was with ranching and the competitive side to see who could tie the calf the fastest and stuff like that.”

As Miss Rodeo Kansas, McCaffrey also will fundraise for the Justin Cowboy Crisis Fund, which helps injured professional cowboys financially when they are unable to perform.

McCaffrey said she hopes her year as Miss Rodeo Kansas will help jump-start her career. Her dream job is to be a hospitality director for the PRCA.

She said she thinks the rodeo queen system is a good place for girls and young women to develop leadership skills.

“Having a passion for leadership and helping others is right along with what I believe as a rodeo queen,” she said. “Rodeo queens are servant leaders. You are there to serve your purpose of helping the rodeo committee and teaching others. With that leadership comes responsibility. It teaches you to be the best leader possible.”

By CRISTINA JANNEY

Hays Post

The walls of Willie Pfeifer’s workshop are covered with squiggles of wood contorted into all sorts of freeform shapes.

Willie says he gets inspiration from all kinds of places — a leaf, a penguin, a strange knot in the wood. He said he has no style.

“Whatever you see, whatever you imagine,” he said of his inspiration.

He says the sculptures are not based on people, but he often refers to them as “he” or “she” as he rotates them in the light and describes how the curves and bends emerged from rectangular blocks of walnut, pine or mahogany.

“Remember the walk of the penguins to the ocean …” he said holding up a sculpture. “This particular penguin here. They usually just lay one egg, but this one has two. You add an egg and then some ice to support the thing. You don’t even see the penguin, but the ‘March of the Penguins’ is what brought this on. Just the way they walk. Dalk, dalk, dalk.”

Pfeifer, 91, will have an exhibit, “Fascinating Forms: Six Decades of Sculpture in Wood & Metal,” from 6 to 9:30 p.m. Friday at the C.A.T.S. Gallery at Fort Hays State University as part of Hays Arts Council Fall Art Walk. The main art walk will be from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m. Friday (See full schedule below), but the C.A.T.S. gallery is opening early for Pfeifer’s show.

Some of Pfeifer’s pieces just start as doodles. As we were talking, he sat down with a piece of paper and drew an infinity symbol. From there he started subtly changing the curves with a few scratches here and a rub of the eraser there. He talked as he molded the form into shape. Within a few minutes, something akin to one of his sculptures emerged from the page.

“You just run with it,” he said.

His has a file containing several hundred drawing, He has some labeled “pursue when in a good mood” or “pursue when in a bad mood.”

Everyone sees something different in his art. Pfeifer’s wife told him once one of his sculptures was immoral.

“I said, ‘What? It is a duck that fell over.’ She said, ‘What I see is my dad bending over the tub without any shorts on,” he said chuckling as he tuned the sculpture in his work-worn hands.

Pfeifer attributes his longevity to woodworking, which he considers a hobby.

He began working with wood when he was only 4. He picked up the trade from his grandpa Dreiling, who was a carpenter and lived across the street. He said he hated memorizing when he was in school, preferring to work with his hands. He got kicked out of Latin at St. Joseph Military Academy and banished to the industrial arts department. He loved it.

The country was embroiled in World War II and all the abled-bodied young men where off fighting. This left Ed Davis, the head of the Fort Hays Industrial Arts Department with no students, so he started teaching the students at St. Joe. Pfeifer spent his high school years learning from Davis at St. Joe and then another three and half years studying with him at FHSU. However, he never earned his degree.

At that time, Fort Hays was a teacher’s college, and the industrial arts degree required a semester of student teaching. Pfeifer had a good job offer and he wanted to get married, so opted not to complete the program.

“I tell people I am working on a doctorate,” he said. “They say, ‘Oh you are? What kind of doctorate is it?’ Well it’s getting time on a doctorate of hard knocks.”

Pfeifer went to work as a woodworker and eventually bought the Hays Planing Mill in 1957. The mill specialized in handcrafted furniture for churches — pews, pulpits, etc. Pfeifer expanded the mill’s work into architectural mill work, and he often worked as a general contractor. This required Pfeifer to spend hours reviewing architectural plans.

“I would sit so long. I would get up and walk around the shop, grab a piece of would and go cut something,” he said.

The diversion slowly grew into a hobby of making sculptures and 3-D puzzles using a band saw. He sold the pieces on the side. He thought at one point he might make a living out of his hobby. He could make about $500 on a large batch of puzzles, but he needed to earn about 10 times that to pay the bills. His accountant urged him to keep his day job.

“I’ve know too many starving artists,” Pfeifer said.

In 1970 he was asked to do a show along side another artist, but he hasn’t done a major art show since.

Pfeifer sold the Planing Mill in 1993. Although Pfeifer stayed active in his retirement, he said he got bored easily.

He didn’t really like to watch TV. He taught himself to speed read to digest all the architectural specs when he was working, so he reads two newspapers daily plus downs the eight magazines he subscribes to. He is a self-described golf nut, but age ultimately ended that as a regular pastime. He volunteers, managing maintenance at Castillian Gardens where he lives and served as the president of the Ellis County Historical Society multiple times.

He also used to play poker with some buddies, but at 91, he has outlived several of those friends.

“Sitting around the house was driving me and my wife crazy,” he said.

He kept woodworking through everything, about four hours a day, seven days a week. He cleaned out a garage at Castillian Gardens, which he transformed into a small shop.

Pfeifer had never spent any time in the hospital and never taken any regular prescription medication until several years ago when he was diagnosed with cancer. He underwent major surgery. His doctor sent him to Ascension Via Christi in Hays for rehab after the surgery. He had done volunteer work at the nursing center and knew how to get in and out of all the doors, so he wandered the halls at night when he couldn’t sleep.

He was told on a Friday he would be starting physical therapy on the following Monday. Over the weekend, he read up on PT and then practiced going up and down stairs. By Monday, he could go up and down the stairs backward. He was supposed to be in rehab for a month, but they sent him him home after 17 days. He said it was because he was such a trouble maker.

After the surgery, Pfeifer said he threw himself even more into his woodworking. He has also organized and cataloged all his work and patterns. None of his children are woodworkers, so he plans to donate the bulk of his pieces to the Industrial Arts Department at FHSU.

Even at 91, every day is a new day for Pfeifer, a new opportunity to create, to conjure something beautiful from wood that most people see as formless. He said he is inspired by all of his senses — sight, sound, touch, smell and taste.

“A lot of people go through life not stimulated by anything,” he said. “Other people are very aware of their surroundings and they feed on them.”

Pfeifer told the story of a nun he had as a teacher when he was in Catholic school. When she would walk the students to St. Joseph’s church from the school, she would often stop to point out things she saw along the way.

“She would say, ‘Look at that tree. See how it is leafing out. This is what it does in the summer …’ or ‘Stop look at the such and such bird.’ … She would just open up a whole new world for me. … She made me aware of the surroundings.”

Below is a complete schedule for the Fall Art Walk.

 

By CRISTINA JANNEY
Hays Post

The Hays USD 489 summer lunch program almost doubled the number of meals it served to children this summer after the program moved to the Hays Public Library.

This summer, the program served 8,101 children’s meals — an average of 168 daily. Last year, the program served a total of 4,866 children, a 101-meal daily average.

The lunch program offers free hot lunches to children 18 and younger. Adults can dine with children for a small fee.

Adult numbers were also up — 936 total meals this year compared to 671 total meals in 2018.

The program had been located in the former Washington school, but the program had to be moved this summer because the Early Childhood Connections program that is housed at Washington was being moved to its new home on 13th Street.

Jessica Younker, USD 489 director of nutrition services, said there were some challenges in the move to the library because the library does not have a full kitchen. However, after the first couple of weeks, the staff fell into a routine and worked out the issues with space and the influx of more children being served.

USD 489 was in its second year of a snack program offered at HPL. That program’s use was down slightly. The program served 2,939 snacks in 2019 compared to 2,977 snacks in 2018. That equals about 61 snacks per day.

Younker attributed the increase in the number of meals served to the change in location and the programming the library offered around the lunch program.

“It was a one stop shop for fun, enriching activities and a tasty meal,” she said. “It’s really a win-win for the families in our community!”

The library offered a program — Astronaut Training Academy — right before the lunch program opened for meals. Children learned about space and the planets and also did weekly exercise programs just as astronauts would have to do to stay healthy in space. The summer reading program theme was space.

Meagan Zampieri, HPL youth services manager, said she also thought having the lunch program helped boost participation in the library’s programs.

“I do think the lunch program brought more kids to the library for our offerings,” she said. “We had a significant increase in program attendance even outside of our lunch numbers. I believe we had an increase of about 300 registrations, and an additional several hundred at programs in July.”

The library had 1,665 youth who registered for the summer reading program. Of those, 785 children completed the program. The library received 1,727 reading logs, which was equal to eight hours and 20 minutes of reading each. 

Overall, 18,841 people attended youth services programs through the summer, and there were 1,534 adults at adult department events. 

Children’s programs will fire up again in September. After school activities are offered at the library. To learn more about the HPL programs, visit the library website or call the children’s department at 785-625-9014.

Both Younker and Zampieri said they intend to recommend a continued cooperation between the library and USD 489 on the summer lunch program.

“I do recommend that the library be the lunch site again next year,” Zampieri said. “We’ve learned a lot, and so far as I know, we are all in agreement at the value that the program has to our community.”

Younker said, “Our goal is to provide a great service to the community, and we hope it continues to grow.”

By CRISTINA JANNEY

Hays Post

The Ellis County Commission agreed to move forward Monday night with architectural plans for a new public works building adjacent to the county landfill.

During the 2018 commission retreat, commissioners identified upgraded facilities for public works as a high priority for future capital planning, according to the report in the commissioners’ agenda packet.

The county initially considered building a new metal building at the 280th Avenue location. Two options for a buildings at the site were estimated at $1.9 to $1.4 million. That includes converting the existing shop into cold storage.

However, the county has recently leased to purchase land adjacent to the landfill. All of the land the county plans to purchase is not needed to expand the landfill. Staff is proposing relocating the Public Works Department to 240th Avenue adjacent to the landfill.

Bill Ring, public works director, said locating the new public works shop at the landfill would create some opportunities for efficiencies. He gave the example of a backhoe breakdown this week that required both of the shop mechanics to go to the landfill to fix the equipment. This left public works without a mechanic.

He said he also hoped locating the shop adjacent to the landfill would allow office staff to be cross trained and more easily share documents.

If the county built at the site of the current shop, it would use all of the available space, leaving no room for expansion, Ring said. At the landfill site, public works would have space to have parking and for storage for materials, such as sand and crushed concrete.

Commissioner Dustin Roths said he supported exploring the location.

“The concern Phillip [Smith-Hanes] brought up about our ability to expand size is so constrained by the railroad track here, I do like the idea of us looking into this, at least seeing dollars,” he said.

Commissioner Butch Schlyer said, “I would like to see us proceed with this. I think there is no question we need to address the public works with their needs as far as space and storage. If this concept could create more efficiencies along with it, we should explore this and see where this will leads us.”

Haselhorst also said he supported moving forward with the architectural plans.

The additional architectural drawings for a building at the landfill site will cost $3,500. If the commission decides to build at the landfill site, it would likely sell the property where the current shop is located.

The commission also transferred $146,689 to the Capital Equipment Reserve Fund from the Budget Stabilization Account. The county budget for 2020 contains $56,144 as a transfer from Equipment Reserve Fund and an equivalent expenditure for six months’ salary and benefits for an assistant EMS director if hiring an assistant EMS director is deemed necessary.

By JAMES BELL
Hays Post

VICTORIA — Construction is set to begin soon on a $4.5 million water system revitalization project in Victoria that will replace the town’s water tower, revitalize two of their wells and replace aging water lines throughout the town.

The project will also connect the town’s supply to the Trego 2 Rural Water District.

A USDA grant, along with a low-interest loan will pay for the majority of the project, with the city set to pay around $100,000, according to the USDA.

The first stage in the project that is being completed by EBH Engineering is the replacement of the water tower.

“The water tower is 20 years past its estimated life span,” said Brad Schmidtberger, city superintendent. “We are going from a 50,000 gallon to a 150,000 gallon above ground. That fulfills the needs of growth for the town.

“The grant was approved, and the engineering firm is doing all of the surveying,” Schmidtberger added.

Bidding for construction should start soon and he said tower construction could start in September.

Waterline replacement is likely to come next as stage two of the system overhaul and will replace approximately 14,000 feet of waterlines and adding waterline loops to many existing lines.

“We have done water projects over the years and replaced a lot of the water lines around town naturally, and this would replace some of the ones that were not replaced in the most recent water project in the 1980s,” Schmidtberger said.

Adding loops to waterlines will help with water flow and water quality.

“We have some waterlines that are very dated, and we have a couple that are not looped in some lower-use areas. We are going to loop those in. That will produce much higher quality water in those lower-use areas,” Schmidtberger said.

Repairing two of the city’s wells and connecting to the rural water district will complete the project and will help ensure the water supply is sufficient for the expected growth in Victoria.

“We would have basically new wells,” Schmidtberger said. “They are both very dated and in need.”

“By offsetting these and re-drilling with new screens, new casings and so forth, it’s going to give us a better and a more efficient quality of water and a more efficient supply of water,” he said. “With the repairs, we will be able to capitalize more on what’s there.”

Adding water from the rural water district will add another water supply to the system and ensure the supply remains sufficient for future growth.

“That will allow us to feel comfortable with the amount of water we have, long term,” Schmidtberger said.

The decision to connect to the Trego 2 Rural Water District was based on location as the district runs lines through Ellis County and the properties of the water.

The rural district’s water is “the best match for our water,” Schmidtberger said. “It will blend very well with our water and our existing well field.”

Having water that is similar in makeup to the city well makes it the most cost-effective method of adding to the water supply, he said, as they can blend the water with the well water as it will not need additional treatment.

Once the connection is made, the water from the district will be added to the central reservoir for processing.

More information about the project was published in a city newsletter and can be found here.

By CRISTINA JANNEY 

Hays Post

Flame Engineering in LaCrosse celebrated 18 years with no loss-time accidents during a luncheon on Friday.

Flame, which is locally owned, has been in LaCrosse for almost 60 years and sells its products all over the world. Flame manufactures LP gas equipment. This includes torches for home, agriculture and tar roofing among other products.

Flame Engineering is currently recognized by the Kansas Department of Industrial Safety & Health along with OSHA as a SHARP (Safety & Health Achievement Recognition Program) company. This recognition was accomplished in October 2000 and maintained to date. Companies who are SHARP designated must renew their SHARP every two years.

SHARP is a national program. Kansas has the second largest number of SHARPs only behind Texas. Flame is one of 157 companies in the state to hold the prestigious SHARP designation. It has held that designation longer than any other company in the state.

“Achieving SHARP means that you are the best of the best for safety and health for your employees,” said Allen Vinyard, Kansas Department of Labor consultation program manager. “It means you are following all the rules and regulations, that you have all your written programs in place. It is very prestigious to achieve SHARP recognition. It is also very difficult to achieve SHARP recognition.”

Representatives of the Kansas Department of Industrial Safety and Health, the company’s insurer, Insurance Planning, and Sen. Jerry Moran’s office were all on hand to help the company celebrate its accomplishment.

“They have built a very good safety and health culture here,” Vinyard said, “and that starts at the top. It has to start at the top and work its way down to the employees.”

Both the representatives of the state and Insurance Planning said they routinely use Flame’s safety procedures as a model when working with other companies.

“We will point to Flame as a shinning star that, ‘Yes, look what they’ve done. Look how they maintain it every single year,'” Vinyard said. “We definitely use them as an example. If you want to achieve this, look at what this company has done.”

Stan Jackson, executive vice president at Insurance Planning, said one of the company’s annual trainings is a fork lift rodeo. Although the company was not able to shut down the plant for the annual rodeo this year because they were so busy, usually the rodeo is a fun day of training and competitions, which Jackson officiates, compete with a flag an officials jersey.

Although the company has had 18 years with no claims, it has only two claims in the last 30 years.

Flame Engineering has a Safety Committee. Members of that committee rotate every year so everyone has an opportunity to serve on the committee. It meets monthly and sets yearly goals. Mike Pivonka, owner and founder of the company, said any person in the factory has the authority to shut down a piece of equipment if they believe it is not being operated safely.

Pivonka said safety is not only good for the well-being of the employees, but it sustains productivity and decreases the company’s insurance costs.

He said he has had good buy in from the company’s 30 employees on the company’s safety initiatives.

“We probably have 95 percent buy in from our employees. They all realize they are the ones who are going to get hurt,” Pivonka said. “I’m not in the shop that much. I don’t have the exposure they do. I know everyone of our employees, most of their kids, know their wives and family, and I don’t want to have to call and say, ‘Hey, you have to go to the hospital because so and so got hurt. They all realize that it is their finger and toes and eyes.”

Although he does not spend much time on the plant floor these day, Pivonka said his employees will call him out if they see him without his safety glasses.

In addition to a luncheon, a half day off and T-shirts, the employees can also earn cash safety bonuses.

Pivonka said the company could operate anywhere in the country, but his family likes central Kansas and has found quality employees here.

“I am extremely proud of the employees that we have,” he said. “They just couldn’t be a better group of people.”

By JAMES BELL
Hays Post

VICTORIA — Construction is set to begin soon on a $4.5 million water system revitalization project in Victoria that will replace the town’s water tower, revitalize two of their wells and replace aging water lines throughout the town.

The project will also connect the town’s supply to the Trego 2 Rural Water District.

A USDA grant, along with a low-interest loan will pay for the majority of the project, with the city set to pay around $100,000, according to the USDA.

The first stage in the project that is being completed by EBH Engineering is the replacement of the water tower.

“The water tower is 20 years past its estimated life span,” said Brad Schmidtberger, city superintendent. “We are going from a 50,000 gallon to a 150,000 gallon above ground. That fulfills the needs of growth for the town.

“The grant was approved, and the engineering firm is doing all of the surveying,” Schmidtberger added.

Bidding for construction should start soon and he said tower construction could start in September.

Waterline replacement is likely to come next as stage two of the system overhaul and will replace approximately 14,000 feet of waterlines and adding waterline loops to many existing lines.

“We have done water projects over the years and replaced a lot of the water lines around town naturally, and this would replace some of the ones that were not replaced in the most recent water project in the 1980s,” Schmidtberger said.

Adding loops to waterlines will help with water flow and water quality.

“We have some waterlines that are very dated, and we have a couple that are not looped in some lower-use areas. We are going to loop those in. That will produce much higher quality water in those lower-use areas,” Schmidtberger said.

Repairing two of the city’s wells and connecting to the rural water district will complete the project and will help ensure the water supply is sufficient for the expected growth in Victoria.

“We would have basically new wells,” Schmidtberger said. “They are both very dated and in need.”

“By offsetting these and re-drilling with new screens, new casings and so forth, it’s going to give us a better and a more efficient quality of water and a more efficient supply of water,” he said. “With the repairs, we will be able to capitalize more on what’s there.”

Adding water from the rural water district will add another water supply to the system and ensure the supply remains sufficient for future growth.

“That will allow us to feel comfortable with the amount of water we have, long term,” Schmidtberger said.

The decision to connect to the Trego 2 Rural Water District was based on location as the district runs lines through Ellis County and the properties of the water.

The rural district’s water is “the best match for our water,” Schmidtberger said. “It will blend very well with our water and our existing well field.”

Having water that is similar in makeup to the city well makes it the most cost-effective method of adding to the water supply, he said, as they can blend the water with the well water as it will not need additional treatment.

Once the connection is made, the water from the district will be added to the central reservoir for processing.

More information about the project was published in a city newsletter and can be found here.

CRISTINA JANNEY

Hays Posst

About 90 dogs were already in the pool by 11:30 a.m. Saturday for the Hays Aquatic Park’s annual dog swim. The poll expected even more pouch paddlers before the event ended. Last year the pool welcomed 150 dogs for the last day of pool operation. The pool will be drained for the season after the dog swim.

By JONATHAN ZWEYGARDT
Hays Post

“This is a very important opportunity for Ellis County to continue to grow its workforce.”

That was the initial thoughts from Sen. Jerry Moran, R-Kan., following a stop in Hays Wednesday to tour Hess Services north of Hays.

Moran was joined on the tour by members of the Ellis County Commission, Hays City Commission, Fort Hays State University and Midwest Energy as the county looks to build support and spread awareness of the importance of the Northwest Business Corridor.

“I know a lot about Hays. I know a lot about Ellis County. This is home,” Moran said. “What I saw here today was not anything I knew about and nothing that I really expected.”

Hess Services is in its 30th year of operations and provides oil field and industrial equipment. They design and fabricate a variety of oil field equipment including storage tanks, pressure vessels and well servicing rigs, and drilling rigs.

They provide equipment for operators across most of the U.S., from the Bakken Oil Field in the Dakotas to Texas and California.

“Here’s somebody who capitalized on the oil and gas markets around the country and created hundreds of jobs in Ellis County, and it’s hometown boys who are doing it” Moran said.

“It is a great development and it’s what we need in every community and we need more of here, is people who have an idea. It’s called the American Dream — we have an idea and we take it to market and help other people pursue the American Dream,” he added.

With 400 employees, Hess Services is the largest business on the proposed Northwest Business Corridor, which also includes Midwest Energy’s Goodman Energy Center.

Last month, Ellis County submitted the grant application for a U.S. Department of Transportation BUILD grant for $8.7 million.

The grant money would help pay for improvements to 230th Avenue between Interstate 70 and Feedlot Road and Feedlot Rd. from 230th to U.S. 183. The total cost of the project is approximately $10.78 million.

Moran said the Hess’s did not ask a lot of the federal government but that the infrastructure needs to be improved in that area.

“So that there is a safer way to get to work,” he said. “(There is) lots of truck traffic on these roads and lots of other businesses are here and are coming here if we can get the investment in infrastructure.”

During the tour, Moran asked if there was a concern that Ellis County could receive two BUILD grants within two years. The city of Hays received a $6 million grant just last year to make improvement to Vine Street

County officials pointed out the money the city received and the $8.7 million Ellis County applied for combined still would not equal some of the costs of the other projects that have applied for the grant.

Ellis County Commission Dustin Roths said they really look at the two projects as one, completing the loop, or bypass, around Hays.

Moran said he has already has talked with members of the DOT about the importance of the project.

“We’ll work to get the Department of Transportation to understand that even better,” Moran said. “We’ll be back to the department of transportation advocating on behalf of this project.”

By JAMES BELL
Hays Post

As cleanup continues across Ellis County from heavy sustained winds during a storm Tuesday, the Ellis County Fair Board is seeking help at 10 a.m. Saturday to begin work to clean up the heavily damaged fairgrounds.

“It took a whole set of bleachers and lifted them up over the rodeo arena and smashed them against the crow’s nest and bucking shoots,” said Jill Pfannenstiel, fair board president. “They are totally destroyed.”

Trees and light poles were also destroyed, along with Rolling Plains Motor Speedway buildings.

The track grandstands were damaged, as well as the commercial building.

“In the race track pit area, they had a scale house that was totally destroyed, along with their concessions building,” Pfannenstiel said.

Damage at the track forced the cancellation of Mod Invasion night planned on Aug. 24, which was one of the larger events for the track with the planned inclusion of NASCAR legend Kenny Schrader.

There is a lot of trash across the fairgrounds, and the board wants to get the destroyed buildings cleaned up in the pit area, Pfannenstiel said. Once the cleanup starts, the full scope of the damage can be assessed.

“We are going to try to salvage what we can, but we want to get them off of there to see what kind of damage we have,” she said.

They are also awaiting an evaluation from their insurance adjuster and are hopeful insurance will cover the cost of repairs.

“It should be (covered), but at this point, I don’t know that if they are going to depreciate stuff so if we will get our money back to replace the bleachers,” Pfannenstiel said.

Even if insurance covers the repairs, planned revenue from the three race events planned at RPM Speedway will not arrive and will hurt not only the track but will have larger economic impact, according to RPM Speedway president Glenn Unrein.

“It’s a blow to the racers and our community,” he said. “Like with the Fall Nationals, you have people travel a long distance — last year from 13 states and Canada — they all come in and rent motels shop here and spend money lodging, food and everything else. It’s a real blow to us.”

Unrein is hopeful repairs can be completed before championship night scheduled for Sept. 21 — the final night for track points for the racers before Fall Nationals on Oct. 4.

“It’s a major event for this community and our race track,” he said of the nationals event.

Around 225 to 250 races cars typically participate in that event and the event cannot be moved to another track.

“No facility in several hundred miles of us could handle the amount of cars and people that come in for that,” Unrein said.

While the rodeo grounds were damaged more significantly, there were no more events planned there for the year.

“We’re lucky there,” Pfannenstiel said.

During the cleanup Saturday, she said she hopes they can get the rodeo bleachers off of the crows’ nest and bucking shoots and is asking that anyone that wants to participate in the cleanup bring gloves, power tools, impacts, socket sets and quick-e saws.

Despite the devastation to the grounds, Pfannenstiel was grateful it was not worse.

“We are thankful that it did not happen during the fair and that nobody got hurt,” she said.

By CRISTINA JANNEY
Hays Post

Fifteen-year-old Sheena Zeng of Hays recently achieved a new accolade in a long list of awards for the chess prodigy — her National Master title with the U.S. Chess Federation.

Zeng is only the fourth Kansas native to earn the title and the first female Kansas native to earn the honor — a title that Zeng will hold for life.

She earned the honor after being invited to the Denker Tournament of High School Champions from Aug. 3 to 6 in Orlando, Fla., a tournament she was originally not slated to play.

Zeng had plateaued in her rankings and said she was struggling with her chess during the first six months of this year. Her coach since she was 10 died suddenly in February. Her mother, Michelle, said Zeng had spent hours via Skype training with chess Grand Master Predrag Trajkovic of Serbia. The two worked on Zeng’s chess two or three times a week and then daily closer to tournaments.

She was scheduled to play in a series of tournaments this summer, so Sheena said she really buckled down and concentrated on memorizing her openings (the first 10 to 20 moves of the game, which most chess masters memorize).

“I stopped playing with fear,” she said. “I was playing really passively.”

Zeng played in the Washington International Tournament where she tied for second and earned a $900 prize. She attended an invitation-only chess camp in New York, and she also played in the World Open and the Manhattan Open.

She placed fourth in her state tournament, which meant that she did not qualify for the Denker tournament. However, the first-place state qualifier was unable to attend the tournament at the last minute and the second- and third-place finishers declined the invitation.

Zeng had planned to play in an open tournament that was being conducted in conjunction with the Denker Tournament, so she and her family already had tickets and hotel reservations in Orlando, so Zeng was able to accept the invitation to play.

Zeng went undefeated in the tournament, wining two and drawing four games, one of which was to the highest ranking player in the field. She was awarded the Ursula Foster Award, given to top finisher younger than 16.

She attributed her success to her former mentor, Trajkovic. Her mother said Trajkovic had always dreamed of Sheena achieving her National Master title, but he sadly didn’t live to see his prodigy earn that honor. Sheena, a tough young women, did not cry when she spoke of her coach, but her eyes told that she was still grieving her mentor.

Zeng has tried to encourage younger players. She started a chess club at her former elementary school — O’Loughlin.

“I hope I am a good role model, but I don’t think anyone has taken up chess professionally because of my influence, although I hope that would happen some day. I feel there is a lot for me still to accomplish to become a better role model. I will try to work hard for that,” she said.

Zeng is not just exceptional as a chess player. She is also a budding scholar in the Kansas Academy of Mathematics and Science at Fort Hays State University.

SEE RELATED STORY: Hays teen earns national chess title, set to start college program at 14

KAMS generally admits students who are entering their junior years of high school. During their two-year residence at FHSU, KAMS students earn their high school diplomas and up to 68 hours of college credit. Having completed her sophomore year at Thomas More Prep-Marian, Zeng was admitted to KAMS last fall at age 14.

She is enjoying the more challenging classes, but said it was a bit shocking to go from high school to college. She said she really struggled with time management but is hoping to be on a better track this semester.

Zeng is at least a half decade younger than most of the other students in her classes, but she said most of the students don’t know her age. They think she’s just another college student.

She has contemplated several career paths, including becoming a doctor or biochemist. However, after a semester studying chemistry, Zeng said she is now leaning toward a degree in mathematics. She plans on doing a research project in mathematics this coming school year at KAMS.

“I wouldn’t say that I like math that much, but it is something that I am kind of OK at, so I am hoping the research will go well,” she said.

Her parents Hong Biao and  Michelle Zeng, who both teach math at FHSU, suggested math would give her more time to concentrate on her chess.

Sheena still has lofty goals for herself in chess with hopes of eventually becoming a Women’s Grand Master or an International Master.

However, she wants other girls who might be interested in chess or math to know she is not locked in her room studying all of the time.

She schedules her classes early, so she can spend time reading and enjoying time with her friends.

And even though she is required to live on campus as part of the KAMS program, she often walks home to visit her parents who live just off campus. She’s still pretty dependent on Mom and Dad.

Sheena said she is very grateful to her parents for giving her the opportunity to pursue her chess.

“It is definitely a big privilege for me,” she said of her parents help with her chess.

Zeng plans to take a gap year after she finishes the KAMS program in the spring. She said she just didn’t feel she was mature enough to head off to college on her own. During her gap year, she plans to continue to work toward her chess goals.