Ellis County Emergency Medical Services will add two new ambulances to its fleet in the next two years after the county commission approved the purchase of the ambulances from Osage Ambulance in Jefferson City, Mo., on Monday.
The ambulances will replace two others with more than 150,000 miles.
Health Services Director Kerry McCue said his department has delayed buying new ambulances in an effort to save money but those need to be replaced.
“Our fleet, currently of seven ambulances, has almost half of those vehicles (with) over 100,000 miles, so we’re trying to get as much mileage out of each vehicle as we can,” McCue said.
One of the ambulances, a 2003 Ford, was scheduled to be replaced in 2013 and the second, a 2010 Chevy, was scheduled to be replaced in 2018. Both scheduled replacements were delayed in an effort to save the county money.
“We have moved those back to get more mileage and more use out of those vehicles,” McCue said. “We’ve gone to really the end of those vehicles’ useful life.”
McCue said ambulances experience a lot of wear and tear.
“While they have 150,000 miles on them, you pretty much have to double that mileage in the fact that they sit and idle for extended periods of time,” McCue said.
The commission approved the bid from Osage Ambulance for $373,080 for the two ambulances.
The first ambulance was used as a demo and will be fitted to meet Ellis County needs and be ready in mid-August. The second ambulance will be built and delivered in 2020.
Both purchases were planned replacements through the county’s capital improvement plan.
McCue said the next scheduled ambulance replacement is 2021 but currently the capital improvement plan funds “are going to be tight.”
In past years, the commission has reduced the amount of money transferred into the capital improvement fund as a way to save money, but Commissioner Butch Schlyer warned against that.
“We have to make those transfers so we keep up-to-date on capital (improvements),” Schlyer said.
The public hearing for the proposed 2020 budget for the city of Hays will be held Thursday during the regular meeting of the city commission.
The balanced budget of $41,966,419 keeps the mill levy at 25.000, where it’s been for several years. Total assessed valuation for the city is up 1.6% from 2019.
Immediately following the public hearing, the commission is expected to adopt the budget which must be sent to the Ellis County Clerk by Aug. 23.
Also on the Aug. 8 agenda are recommended amendments to the National Electrical Code and the International Residential Building Code.
Local electricians and city staff have determined certain requirements in existing homes for arc fault circuit interrupters, smoke detectors, and carbon monoxide detectors are too burdensome, according to Jesse Rohr, public works director.
The meeting begins at 6:30 p.m. in Hays City Hall, 1507 Main.
“You can’t live with them, but you can’t live without them.” This is often what I hear from homeowners when referring to their pine trees.
The needle and pine cone clean-up is monotonous, but the aesthetic they can provide for a lawn or break from the wind makes it all worth it. This summer our Pines have struggled to stay alive because we have gone from one extreme (rain) to another (hot temps). Now to add to that mix, I am starting to see a lot of pine trees fall to Pine Wilt. This is not a new disease to Western Kansas, but some may think it went “dormant” over the last several years because we haven’t seen it as often. If you are unfamiliar with Pine Wilt I have provided adequate information about the disease below including how to prevent the disease.
Pine Wilt is a very serious disease that is considered to be a problem in Scots pine trees in landscape settings, windbreaks, Christmas tree farms, and recreational plantings. Pine wilt has also been reported on Austrian and white pines.
In Kansas, the symptoms for pine wilt usually appear from August through December. In general, the trees wilt and die rapidly within a short period of time. Occasionally, trees may survive for more than one year. The needles turn yellow/brown and remain attached to the tree. The early stages of the disease are subtle and may vary. The pinewood nematode is transmitted from pine to pine by a bark beetle, the pine sawyer beetle.
Needles initially show a light grayish-green discoloration, then turn yellow and brown. The disease may progress uniformly through a tree or branch by branch, depending upon the size of the tree and the environmental conditions during the growing season. The needles remain attached for up to six to twelve months after the tree has died. The rapid death of a tree contrasts with other pine problems such as fungal diseases, insects, or environmental stresses.
There is one option to potentially save unaffected Scots, Austrian, and white pine trees from Pine Wilt. According to Colorado Extension two compounds are labeled for the prevention of pine wilt. These products are directed towards killing/immobilizing the nematode and not for killing the pine sawyer beetle vector. They are not effective if the tree is symptomatic or once the PWN has colonized the tree. Several commercial injection systems are available, but pine injections are almost always done by professional arborists. Yearly injections provide the greatest protection, but the cost and potential damage associated with the injection process are issues to consider.
It is important to confirm the presence of the pinewood nematode if pine wilt is suspected to be the cause of a tree death. Early confirmation will allow the owner to act quickly to prevent the spread of the pinewood nematode to nearby pine trees. In established pine plantings such as landscape settings, windbreaks, and Christmas tree farms, the only control measure is to remove affected trees and burn, bury or chip the wood before April 1. Trees should be removed to ground level. No stumps should be left. This prevents further spread of the nematode and its vector before they emerge from the trees in the spring.
If you have further questions regarding Pine Wilt please reach out to Lauren Walz, the Cottonwood District Horticulture Extension agent by calling 785-628-9430 or by e-mail [email protected]
Annie Wasinger, Center Stage camp director, sings with her brother, Joel, at camp on Tuesday at the HCT venue in Hays.
By CRISTINA JANNEY Hays Post
Camper Jason sings “What a Wonderful World” Tuesday at the Center Stage camp while director Annie Wasinger looks on.
The Hays Community Theatre was filled with music and laughter during a special theater camp organized by a Thomas More Prep-Marian junior this week.
What is unique about this camp is that all 20 campers are developmentally disabled adults.
Annie Wasinger, 16, has been working to pull the camp together for about a year. She has been actively involved in community theater from the tender age of 3. However, she noted her older brother, Joel, who has cerebral palsy, could only listen to her belt out show tunes and run lines, but never participate himself.
When the HCT installed a handicap accessible bathroom at its new venue on Eighth Street, the idea struck her to organize the camp.
“I was really excited about it, because I thought he could finally come to shows. That would be so good. I thought more about it, and thought if he can come to shows, he has always wanted to perform. But in all 13 years I have been with Hays Community Theatre, we have only had one person in a wheelchair, and it wasn’t my brother. I thought it would be really cool to create a camp for everybody in the community,” she said.
Campers read the play “Princess and the Dance Crew” at the HCT venue Tuesday as part of the Center Stage theater camp. The campers, all who have disabilities, will perform at 6 p.m. Friday at Celebration Community Church.
“Since it is Hays Community Theatre, I think we should branch out and be here for any individual whether they have a disability or not.”
Students at TMP have special time during their school day called “20 time” during which the students are encouraged to work on a community service project or learn a new skill. Wasinger chose to use that time to organize the Center Stage camp. She wrote grants, sought donations, organized a presentation to the HCT board and found a curriculum from an online company, Fourth Wall, specially geared for adults with disabilities.
Her mother, Becky, who is also her brother’s limited license provider, said she has been impressed with Annie’s commitment and efforts to organize the camp.
The camp runs Monday through Friday this week, culminating in a free hour-long public performance at 6 p.m. Friday at Celebration Community Church.
A Center Stage camper sings “Let it Go” from the movie “Frozen” during camp on Tuesday.
“I really want to press we need the community to support this and come to the show,” Annie said. “Each [camper] is so very excited to have their chance on stage and feel the way you do when you get audience reaction.”
The campers are participating in a variety of games to help them learn about acting, theater and stage directions.
“We teach them there are three aspects of theater — singing, dancing and acting,” Wasinger said. “So we are going to do three acting pieces. We have one where everyone is a superhero, and that is a little skit. Then we have one where everyone is a detective. Then we have an actual script that is 20 minutes long, and it is called ‘The Princess and the Dance Crew.’ ”
“Princess and the Dance Crew” is a variation of “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.” Also on Friday, one camper will also sing “What a Wonderful World” as the rest of the campers sign the words.
So far this week, the campers have played four corners using stage directions. They played Pass the Hat on Tuesday. Each person put on a police hat and had to say something a police officer would say. Pictures were projected on a screen for a game called Act it Out, and the campers had to act out a scene based on the image. The campers had to pretend they were eating spaghetti or pretend they were a bunny, etc. The campers will also do a variety of improv exercises.
Annie has been concluding the camp sessions daily with a game, A Minute of Fame. Each camper comes in front of an audience of other campers, care staff and volunteers, and they can sing, dance or tell a story. On Tuesday, the campers chose to sing.
Annie worked with DSNWK to hand pick about half of the campers from the Reed Center. The others came from the community. She said the campers from the Reed Center spend most of their time in a classroom setting.
A camper sings Tuesday. Twenty campers were invited to participate in a non-profit theater camp this week at the Hays Community Theatre venue on Eighth Street. The camp is organized and directed by 16-year-old Annie Wasinger, a junior at TMP.
“They don’t usually get time to truly display all their talents and do stuff individually,” Wasinger said, “So when we do stuff like One Minute of Fame, they are so excited to get the chance to go up in front of everybody and sing. I think acting is escapism. I think everybody needs that. I think it has been really nice for them to come everyday and know that they are going to have fun. …
“For me, it has been really cool because I have known most of these people all of my life through Joel, and I have seen them break out of their shells.”
One of the campers, David, wanted to talk about his horse, so he got up in front of the audience and neighed.
“I have been so impressed by going over scripts and seeing how they inflect lines,” Wasinger said. “The stuff they have done there — it has just been really important. … I think it is just good to see what they can do, since it is something they have never been given the opportunity to do.”
Staff from the Reed Center have accompanied their clients, and the camp has about 40 additional volunteers. Annie said everyone seems to be having fun.
“I think people my age are benefiting so much because they are volunteers … I am fortunate that I have had the background that I have with people with disabilities, but a lot of these people are coming from my youth groups or church or I know them from school and theater or I know them from another background. I think it is so cool for them to interact with people with disabilities because they never have before. I have been really proud of my volunteers for how they have worked together.”
Wasinger said she hopes the Center Stage camp can become an annual event.
Luann Evert, APRN, has joined the staff of HaysMed, part of The University of Kansas Health System, seeing patients at the DeBakey Heart Clinic.
Evert graduated from Fort Hays State University with a bachelor’s degree in nursing, pre-med classes and also a master’s in nurse practitioner and nursing education.
“We are very happy to have another provider to accommodate the increasing number of heart patients we are seeing at the DeBakey Heat Clinic,” said Dr. Jeffery Curtis, cardiologist and administrative director of cardiology. “It’s exciting that our program continues to grow every year.”
If you turn on the news, you will find one story after another about murder, drugs, theft and other crimes. These incidents are not only happening in big cities; rural areas and small towns are dealing with an increasing amount of crime.
Our young professional group recently toured the offices of our police, sheriff and county jail. The visit was eye opening because I have almost no interaction with law enforcement. An important takeaway was the officers’ request for our participation in public safety and community vigilance. Law enforcement officials often rely on community informants and private security footage to capture criminals.
There is a lot of truth to the saying nothing goes unnoticed in a small town. If crime or anything else is happening in your neighborhood, someone knows about it, and they will probably tell you about it. Unless they don’t know you.
Growing up in a very small community, I knew almost everyone in the whole town. In adulthood, that has not been the case. My education and career took me from coast to coast through several big cities over the course of a decade. During that time, I can count on one hand the number of neighbors I met.
Honestly, I avoided them. I was busy, tired from work, had enough people in my life, I felt safer not knowing them and any other excuse that came to mind. None of my neighbors ever knocked on my door either. We were all content in our isolated lives.
This seems to be a trend even in small communities. How many people actually take the time to welcome new neighbors or go door-to-door to meet people if they are new to the neighborhood?
The technology and culture of our connected world have negated the need to interact with others because of their proximity. The unintended consequence of this is our neighborhoods are now filled with strangers who have no loyalty or reason to care.
The problems this causes are deeper than just an occasional awkward interaction. Not knowing our neighbors is eroding communities.
A podcast on the subject, featuring a crime prevention specialist Stephanie Mann, made me realize this unwillingness to meet neighbors is part of the reason crime is seeping into our neighborhoods.
Mann says fixing community’s problems begins by the small step of meeting your neighbors. Simply knock on their door, ask what concerns they have about the neighborhood and if they are willing to help.
She highlighted multiple examples of this simple step working to bring neighbors together to stop vandalism by supporting the family of troubled teens. Another community documented license plate numbers for visitors to a known drug house while getting the mail and walking their dogs.
Crime is not inevitable. Each one of us has the ability to help protect our family, friends and neighbors. Going outside our comfort zone to get to know our neighbors can create relationships and shared commitment to the goal of a achieving a safe and healthy community.
“Insight” is a weekly column published by Kansas Farm Bureau, the state’s largest farm organization whose mission is to strengthen agriculture and the lives of Kansans through advocacy, education and service.
Employers must come from the Dane G. Hansen Foundation Service area. Student applicants are not geographically restricted.
FHSU University Relations
Businesses and organizations in northwest Kansas can now apply for a fall, spring or summer intern from Fort Hays State University through the FHSU/Dane G. Hansen Internship program.
FHSU students may apply for a fall internship beginning Sept. 9.
A grant from the Dane G. Hansen Foundation made 30 paid internships possible for the 2019-20 academic year, including the summer 2020 term.
Aug. 30 is the deadline for employers to apply for a fall intern. Applications for spring and summer interns will be accepted through Oct. 1.
Eligible employers must be located in the Hansen Foundation’s 26-county service area: the block of counties stretching from the Cheyenne-Wallace County area east to include the Republic-Saline County area, including Ellsworth County. Students do not have to be from the northwest Kansas area.
A participating employer invests $500 toward the student intern’s wages, and the remaining funding is through the Hansen Foundation grant. Each internship is for one semester. Fall and spring interns will work 240 total hours, and summer interns will work 300 total hours.
The interns are paid $10.31 per hour. In addition, five of the students whose internships are outside Hays will also receive stipends to assist with short-term housing costs.
“We appreciate the generosity of the Hansen Foundation in creating these opportunities for FHSU students and area employers,” said Lisa Karlin, career advisor and internship coordinator.
Interested employers should go to the Career Services page on the FHSU website (fhsu.edu/career/employers/hansen-internship-program) to learn more about the program and complete the application. The employer must also provide a detailed job description for the internship.
Beginning Sept. 9, students may apply for a fall internship through their Handshake account at fhsu.joinhandshake.com. The internships will be posted under the Jobs tab and can be found by selecting Employers and then searching the keywords “Hansen Internships.” The application deadline for students is Sept. 30.
The Hays Area Chamber of Commerce (HACC) is seeking qualified applicants for the full-time position of Vice President of Marketing and Communications.
This position reports to the President/CEO and works closely with the rest of the HACC staff, Board of Directors, Chamber members and other stakeholders. This position is responsible for effectively marketing the Chamber, its businesses, and the Hays area.
The Vice President of Marketing and Communications will maintain the Chamber’s social media accounts, photograph and video record events, assist in website maintenance, create advertisements and ads, send weekly correspondence to the membership, and write and design the monthly newsletter and annual Community Guide.
Applicants must be proficient in Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Publisher, InDesign, and Photoshop. Preference will be given to candidates who possess strong written and oral communication abilities.
Candidates should be highly energetic, organized, self-motivated, and pay strong attention to detail, as well as understand, assist, and promote the Chamber in achieving its mission. Please send cover letters and resumes to:
Sarah Wasinger
Hays Area Chamber of Commerce
2700 Vine Street
Hays, KS 67601 [email protected]
Resumes will be accepted until position filled.
NORTON COUNTY — One person was injured in an accident just before 6p.m. Tuesday in Norton County.
The Kansas Highway Patrol reported a 2003 Volkswagen Jetta driven by Tamara Johnson, 49, Redford, MI., was westbound on U.S. 383 two miles east of Long Island.
The vehicle entered the north ditch and the driver over corrected and entered into a broadside skid. It traveled south across the highway, entered the south ditch and rolled,
EMS transported Johnson to the hospital in Alma, Nebraska. She was properly restrained at the time of the accident, according to the KHP.
A Hutchinson man with a lengthy criminal history will spend nearly 11 years in prison for threatening a man with a hatchet during an armed robbery in Ellis County.
David Hunter, 37, was sentenced Monday to 130 months in prison after pleading no contest to the March 29 robbery in June.
Hunter initially was charged with kidnapping, aggravated robbery, aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, drug possession, and interference with law enforcement after threatening a man he knew with a hatchet and robbing him of $150.
As a result of pleading guilty to aggravated robbery and possession of methamphetamine, the other charges were dropped.
Hunter has 34 prior convictions, 16 felonies and three person felonies (crimes committed against another person.) He has spent 12 of the last 16 years in prison.
At Monday’s sentencing hearing, Hunter pleaded with Chief Judge Glenn Braun to run the sentences concurrently, or at the same time. Hunter told the court that he was “so high” at the time of the robbery.
He said he had a problem with drugs starting at the age of 13 and said that he and his wife, Hollie, had been sober for nearly a year when they came to Hays and encountered a man who allegedly sold them methamphetamine.
The alleged dealer was the victim in the case.
Hunter also said he would get to see his son graduate if the sentences were run concurrently.
Braun elected to run the sentences concurrently for the 130 total months in prison.
In 2018, Hunter was found guilty of two counts of aggravated assault in Rice County for threatening a group of teenagers with a hatchet. He threatened them after they tracked him down when he took off after failing to pay for fuel. He was given probation.
While on probation, he was charged in Reno County with forgery, theft by deception and mistreatment of a dependent adult.
His Ellis County sentence will run consecutive to whatever sentences he will have to finish in both Rice and Reno Counties. He was remanded to the Ellis County jail pending pickup b Reno County authorities.
Hunter’s wife, Hollie Hunter was sentenced to three years probation for aiding and abetting a robbery.
Wednesday’s fourth annual Duck Derby promises to be a lot of fun, but will also help support a good cause as the event serves as one of the biggest fundraisers of the year for Big Brothers Big Sisters of Ellis County.
The event will begin at 5:30 p.m. at the Hays Aquatic Park, 300 Main, with hot dogs and snacks and will feature a variety of family-friendly activities.
“There will be kids games such as hula hoop contest, duck waddle races and other fun activities,” according to the event website. With “free swimming in the Hays Aquatic Park’s zero-entry pool starting at 5:00 p.m.”
“It’s a great community event,” said Jenny Bates, area director, Big Brothers Big Sisters.
The first heat of ducks is set to launch at 6 p.m., kids’ ducks will launch at 6:15 p.m., and the first cardboard races are set for 6:45 p.m.
“There will be thousands of ducks racing around the Lazy River at Hays Aquatic Park,” the event website said. “The ducks will be split into heats of about 2,500 ducks per heat. The top 500 ducks from each heat will get to compete in the big Championship Race. Prizes will be awarded to the first 10 ducks crossing the finish line at the Championship Race.”
While ducks have been on sale throughout the community in recent weeks, attendees will also have the opportunity to purchase ducks prior to the event.
“We will have ducks available until probability about 15 minutes before the first duck race starts,” Bates said.
The Auto World’s Man Overboard Challenge will feature boats made from cardboard and “duck” tape with awards for the fastest boat as well as the Titanic Award, Spirit Award and Best of Show.
All of the funds raised from the event will go to support the BBBS mission.
“Everything from the duck adoptions for the duck races to the boat races, everything goes back to support Big Brothers Big Sister here in Ellis County,” Bates said. “This is one of our biggest fundraisers during the year.”
BBBS works to support area children that may be struggling according to Bates.
“Big Brothers Big Sisters is a mentoring program,” Bates said. “We match children one-on-one in mentoring relationships with an adult in our community … who are needing some extra support and encouragement in their life to help them through what they may be going through at home, or if they are having some struggles at school.”
She said the organization currently has 120 matches in Ellis County, but another 50 children are waiting for a match.
“The Duck Derby and the funds from that help us to continue working to find volunteers for those kids so they can have their Big Brother or Big Sister,” Bates said.
Martha Becker, seated in chair, reads to Georgia the dog, along with her daughters Lanie, 11, left and Bella, 4, right, on Thursday afternoon at the Humane Society of the High Plains.
By CRISTINA JANNEY Hays Post
A family of three reads to a dog Thursday at the humane society as part of jointly sponsored program by the humane society and the Hays Public Library.
More than 100 kids and adults sat next to dog cages and curled up with cats Thursday at the Humane Society of the High Plains to read to animals.
Officials from the Humane Society and the Hays Public Library, which co-sponsored the event, said they thought the reading program benefited both the animals and the children.
Sara Schoenthaler, HPL early literacy librarian, said reading out loud helps build literacy skills.
“I think one of the big benefits is reading aloud and working on verbal language in a way that isn’t intimidating or frightening to the kids, because it can be scary when you are asked to read in front of the class and you are not good at reading,” Schoenthaler said. “This is a way students can read to animals. Maybe they can start doing it more. They can start coming out here more and really work on their verbal skills.”
A girl pets a cat as she reads her book Thursday at the humane society. The program was meant to give kids more confidence reading aloud.
Schoenthaler said the library was very impressed with the turnout. The library provided books for the event, although some children brought their own books. Youth of all ages from preschool to teens participated.
Betty Hansen, shelter manager, said shelter workers have found the animals seem to be more calm when people sit in front of their cages and talk to them.
“It would give the kids the reading and the dogs the company,” Hansen said of the project.
“The animals seem to love it,” she added.
Even though the shelter was swamped with many more people than it expected for the event, Hansen said she thought the dogs seemed to be more calm as the children read to them.
Hansen said the event also helps promote the humane society and its mission of encouraging responsible pet ownership and adoption.
A girl reads to two puppies at the humane society. The puppies fell asleep as she read to them.
Both Schoenthaler and Hansen said they were interested in repeating the reading program. However, in the future the program would likely require registration, so the shelter is not inundated with so many people all at once.
Kori Poe, 9, Hays holds a cat during a reading event Thursday at the humane society.
