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Armistice Day/Veterans Day celebration set in Kensington
Submitted
KENSINGTON — At the 11th hour on the 11th day of the 11th month in 1919 the Armistice was signed ending the Great War, the War to end all Wars; World War I. Cities and town throughout the USA celebrated that day; one of those towns was Kensington, Kansas.
On November 11, 1919, the Kensington community celebrated the first anniversary of that great day. On November 9, 2019 (closest Saturday to the 11th) they will celebrate for the one hundredth year. During the 100 years, there have been only two cancellations, one during World War II and one due to a blizzard. It is believed this the oldest celebration of Armistice Day/Veterans Day in the Nation
The pattern for this year’s celebration follows the 100-year tradition of a special speaker, a salute to all veterans, a huge parade and the best roast beef and navy beans anywhere around. There are afternoon activities and a dance in the American Legion Hall to wind up the Day. The event is hosted by the Sons of the American Legion of Fred Marran Post 166. Post 166 is also celebrating their centennial year.
The Speaker is Retired MSG Marti Mace with nearly 30 years of service in the US Army; carrying the title, “American Military Piper.” She is a third-generation military veteran, joining the Army just out of high school. She has been playing the bagpipes since childhood and now plays them to honor veterans, living and dead around the World. Her latest honor was to be the only American Piper invited to play on the Beaches of Normandy, France in recognition of the 75th Anniversary of D-Day. She is a native of southwest Kansas and has never forgotten her roots.
All are invited to come to Kensington, Kansas on November 9, 2019 to enjoy a great celebration and meet an outstanding veteran of the Armed Forces. You can visit a small rural community that has maintained a patriotic tradition for 100 years solely through private donations and volunteer labor.
Ellis County receives $6.5M grant for Northwest Business Corridor
Hays Post
Ellis County has been awarded a $6.5 million grant to help fund the proposed Northwest Business Corridor, according to the office of Sen. Jerry Moran, R-Hays.
The county submitted an application for the U.S. Department of Transportation grant in July. The project will reconstruct and improve approximately 4 miles of 230th and Feedlot Road and construct a new curved section where the roads meet. The project primarily is designed to give large-load vehicles an alternate route around Hays.
The project would also address the width and steepness of the hills in the road.
The total project cost is just less than $11 million. Ellis County has set aside $900,000 for the project from its Special Road and Bridge Fund. Hess Services, which sits on the route, has pledged $300,000 to the project, while the Kansas Department of Transportation has pledged $1 million in matching funds.
Midwest Energy’s Goodman Energy Center is also located on the route.
The city of Hays also received a $6 million-plus BUILD grant to fund its Vine Street reconstruction.
“I am pleased to announce that I have helped secure a BUILD grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation that will provide new resources to improve the Northwest Business Corridor,” Moran said. “Congratulations to county officials and those across Ellis County for their commitment and dedication to the project. The resources provided in this grant will allow for increased economic development in the region and help existing businesses expand through improved infrastructure that has the capacity for more freight. I look forward to continuing to work in close partnership with officials in Ellis County to see the corridor project through completion for the future of the community and all of northwest Kansas.”
Moran toured the area with local officials in August to learn more about the project.
Check Hays Post for more as details become available.
HPD: Two arrested after police pursuit and theft
By JAMES BELL
Hays Post
Two people from Illinois were arrested after an alleged theft and subsequent police chase near Hays.
On Nov. 3 at 12:15 p.m. officers were dispatched to Walmart for a report of a robbery.
After police arrived, they found a purse had been stolen from a shopping cart by a woman who ran from the victim and entered into a nearby black Chevy Trailblazer, with possible Missouri license plates, according to Hays Police Chief Don Scheibler.
The vehicle pulled onto Interstate 70 when a Kansas Highway Patrol trooper near the area began pursuit as the vehicle traveled west. As the vehicle was moving, items were being thrown from the vehicle.
Those items were later recovered by the HPD and found to be stolen property, according to Scheibler.
After a short chase, including the unsuccessful deployment of stop sticks, the vehicle came to rest in a ditch.
The KHP and the Ellis County Sheriff’s Office were on scene when the vehicle stopped and arrested Kristiana M. Delgado, 25, Illinois, on suspicion of theft.
The driver of the vehicle — Aaron D. Gullo, 31, Illinois — was also arrested on suspicion of felony flee and elude and theft.
Gullo faced theft charges in Lincoln, Ill., last November.
“The Hays Police Department is grateful for the cooperation of the Kansas Highway Patrol and the Ellis County Sheriff’s Office in arresting the suspects,” Scheibler said, adding “the Hays Police Department would like to remind everyone that the suspects are innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.”
Suspect arrested after allegedly threatening Hays homeowner and his dog
By JAMES BELL
Hays Post
A La Crosse man was arrested in Hays after reportedly threatening to cut the throat of a local resident and kill his dog after being asked to leave his property.
Just before 1 a.m. Nov. 3, officers were dispatched to the 400 block of East 12th for a report of a disturbance, according to Hays Police Chief Don Scheibler.
The resident reported two males were wrestling in the front yard of the home. When he asked them to leave, one of the men — later identified as Christian D. Suppes-Trimmer, 18, La Crosse, allegedly threatened cut the property owners throat and kill his dog.
When officers arrived, they searched the area and located Suppes-Trimmer, who then fled the scene.
After briefly losing sight of him, officers located him near the railroad tracks, but he refused to comply with police commands, Scheibler said.
After a brief foot chase, Suppes-Trimmer stopped running and turned toward the officers, but still refused to get on the ground.
Officers pulled tasers and informed Suppes-Trimmer they would be used if he continued to ignore commands.
He then allowed officers to approach, but as they attempted to secure him with handcuffs he once again began to struggle, Scheibler said.
He was then placed under arrest without further incident on suspicion of criminal threat, interference with a law enforcement officer, battery on a law enforcement officer, and possession of alcohol by a minor.
The other individual at the scene was cooperative with police and was not arrested.
“The Hays Police Department is thankful to the Ellis County Sheriff’s office for assistance during the investigation,” Scheibler said, noting suspects are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
🎥 2 newcomers, 1 incumbent elected to Hays City Commission
By BECKY KISER
Hays Post
Hays residents voted for change during yesterday’s local city and school board election.
No USD 489 incumbents were re-elected and only one of two Hays City Commission incumbents made the cut.
The top vote-getters in both races are political newcomers.
Just 32 votes separated the top two vote-getters for Hays City Commission. Both Mason Ruder, 28, and Michael Berges, 39, will serve four-year terms. The third place candidate, incumbent Ron Mellick, 67, will serve a two-year term.
The bottom two candidates for the three open seats were newcomer Ryan Rymer and incumbent Henry Schwaller IV.
Ruder and some of his family members waited for the results at the Ellis County Administrative Center from Donna Maskus, election officer and county clerk.
After reading the printout, Ruder got a big hug and kiss from his mother who had been by his side all evening.
“My wife is at home with our baby. I just called her,” Ruder said with a huge grin on his face. “I’m still in shock. This is so fantastic.”
Ruder and his wife, Tori, who operates an in-home daycare, have a nine-month old daughter, Ryleigh. Ruder is the Ellis County environmental supervisor.
“I appreciate everybody that got out and voted and took the time to look at the candidates,” he said.
Ruder believes voters were “looking for someone who wants to listen.”
“That’s the biggest thing you can ask for from your politicians is someone who’ll actually listen to you and who actually wants to get some stuff done.
“It’s time and people are ready,” Ruder said, “and I’m ready to do that for them.”
Berges is a financial adviser with Ameriprise Financial Services. He and his wife, Erica, the United Way of Ellis County executive director, have three young sons.
As he campaigned, Berges also heard from Hays residents who want officials who “listen to them more and voice out when they’re making a decision on why they’ve made a decision.”
“I think there’ve been some times when decisions have been made (by city commissioners) and people don’t know about it until maybe they read it in the paper or they hear it second-hand,” Berges said Wednesday morning.
“They just want more openness when decisions are made.”
Mellick said Wednesday morning he’s looking forward to working with the two new commissioners. All three will be seated in January, joining current city commissioners Shaun Musil and Sandy Jacobs.
“The people who voted for me are concerned, as am I, about the R9 Ranch (long-term water supply for Hays), making sure we maintain the 25 mill levy and keeping our pay-as-you-go policy so we have ‘rainy day funds’ and we’re not caught in a budget bind,” Mellick said.
Rymer offered his congratulations to Berges and Ruder Wednesday, saying they’ll be a “wonderful addition to the city commission.” Rymer also thanked the Hays residents who encouraged him to run.
“I won’t discount a possible run in 2021,” he added. Rymer has been active with the 37th Street neighborhood group which opposes the proposed westward extension of the street from Vine Street.
Henry Schwaller, IV, the current Hays mayor, was not re-elected.
“I’ve had 18 good years serving (in local offices) and wish the new commission my best,” Schwaller said Tuesday night at the administrative center. “I’m looking forward to some free time.”
The election results are unofficial until canvassed by the Ellis County Commission on Nov. 14.
The Post Podcast: Ribbon cutting planned for Prospectively Healthy on Wednesday
2019 election unofficial results: City, school incumbents out
Three of four incumbents voted out of office, according to unofficial results
Here are the results of Tuesday’s most significant local races in Ellis County.
Results are unofficial until votes are canvassed by the Ellis County Commission. Unofficial winners are in bold.
Hays City Commission (three open seats)
Nine of nine polling locations reporting
Advance voting totals included
• Mason Ruder: 1,834
• Michael Berges: 1,802
• Ron Mellick, incumbent: 1,746
Ryan Rymer: 1,492
Henry Schwaller IV, incumbent: 1,413
Write-ins: 16
The top two vote-getters will each serve a four-year term while the third highest vote-getter will serve two years.
Hays USD 489 Board of Education (four open seats)
Nine of nine polling locations reporting
Advance voting totals included
• Tammy Wellbrock: 2,535
• Allen Park: 1,913
• Craig Pallister: 1,689
• Lori Ann Hertel: 1,317
Cole Engel: 1,228
Paul Adams, incumbent: 1,223
Luke Oborny, incumbent: 1,211
Alex Herman: 836
Jessica Ann Berg Moffitt: 522
Write-ins: 11
Check Hays Post on Wednesday for more on election results and reactions from candidates.
New Hays school board members facing tough issues in January
By CRISTINA JANNEY
Hays Post
Two incumbents on the Hays USD 489 school board are out, and four new faces were elected to seats during Tuesday night’s election.
The new board members will be facing a rewrite of the capital outlay budget, which is due back to the board and January, and strained relations with teachers. The board has yet to come to a contract agreement with the union.
Tammy Wellbrock, Allen Park, Craig Pallister and Lori Hertel all won seats on the Hays school board as the top four of nine candidates. Incumbents Luke Oborny and Paul Adams did not retain their seats. Incumbents Mandy Fox and Greg Schwartz chose not to run for re-election.
Wellbrock, a business owner, said she has a unique view of the economic impact schools have on the community and attributed that in part to her win.
“I think that is a distinctively different advantage that I’ve had over some of the other candidates,” she said, “in just being able to see where the school district kind of plays a factor in all of that— in the bigger scope of what our community needs and what is looking at in terms of progress.”
Wellbrock said her first goal as a newly elected official will be to learn more about her new post. She plans to attend the Kansas Association of School Boards training in January.
“It is not just me coming on. There are four of us,” she said. “I have to figure out what that group of people, this new group of seven, starting in January, what we need to accomplish.”
She acknowledged the school board is going to be facing some difficult issues come January, including infrastructure and teacher relations, but she said even in two months those are going to be evolving issues.
Wellbrock said she thinks there is a need for another attempt at a bond.
“There is a need to focus on the bond and what should or could that bond be,” she said, “but what makes a passible bond is different from a bond that is going to address needs. Those are two different conversations, and I think we are going to need to look at what makes a passible bond.
“What is needed, but is not necessarily going to be addressed at the bond level, is going to have to be discussed separately. The board is going to have to move forward as if there is not a bond.”
Allen Park, former Washington Elementary School principal, said he is appreciative of the vote of confidence from the community.
“I think if we all work together, we can make a difference,” he said. “We are going to need to pull the community together to accomplish what we need to — the whole entire community. We need to involve them, inform them and be very open and request their assistance to move our district forward.
“I think people in Hays care, and I think they want what is best for our kids, but I also think they want to be involved more.”
Park expressed concern over the report given to the school board on Monday night, which indicated the district is going to need to rewrite its capital improvement plan. The director of building and grounds told the board the district can no longer wait to make repairs on some of its older buildings. District officials had hoped to address some of these issues with a bond, but two bonds have failed since 2016.
“We are going to need to prioritize what needs to be done,” he said. “The board is going to have to work together and cooperate and try to do what is best for kids.”
Park said building trust is going to be important with the district’s teachers, who have entered fact-finding in negotiations after being unable to settle on a contract for the second year in a row.
“I think it is going to take time to build that back,”he said. “Two years in a row — that really damages that relationship. That needs to be improved because that sets the culture, and if the teachers aren’t on board, it is hard to accomplish our board goals when we have that stress on our teachers.”
Craig Pallister, former Hays Middle School principal, also said building trust is going to be important for the board going forward.
“Several of the things that I mentioned during my campaign was building trust between the board and the teachers and all the staff because that is key because of where negotiations are right now,” he said.
“Also letting the people know in the community how good our school district is. We have an outstanding district with outstanding teachers and staff, and we need to get that information out. That is why I suggested maybe hiring a public relations person for the district, not only to talk about the good things that our district is doing, but also what our district needs are like our facilities.”
Pallister said the board needs to look at another bond issue, but issues such as leaking roofs and HVAC systems need to be addressed more immediately through capital outlay funds.
He said he thought the four candidates who were elected are all pro-public schools and should keep the district on track.
Hertel, a mental health professional, said she thought people believed she can make a difference and that was why she was elected.
“I think I have done that in this community on multiple occasions,” she said, “and I think people have known that about me. I think that I can do that over and over and over again and help children. I have a special feeling about children.”
She said she would like to turn the board to focusing on the children and the staff. She also said she was concerned about the inability of the teachers and the board to come to an agreement on a contract.
“I think that is not very good for the working relationship between the board and the employees,” she said. “I think the employees think the board is not looking at their needs. That may not be true, but I am sure that is how they feel.”
Hertel said the board is also going to need to study infrastructure needs and make sure the community is well informed about those needs. She said she thought the board needs to consider another bond attempt.
The new school board members will take their seats in January.
DISCLOSURE: Tammy Wellbrock is married to Gerard Wellbrock, Eagle Radio sports director. He is employed by Eagle Radio, which owns and operates Hays Post.
🎥 Developer of proposed hotel seeking CID incentive
By BECKY KISER
Hays Post
A developer wants to build a new hotel in Hays immediately west of Old Chicago and is requesting the city establish a Community Improvement District as an economic development incentive.
Saffron Hospitality LLC has submitted a petition to create the CID, which will be reviewed by the Hays City Commission during its work session Thursday.
A four-story, 79-room Avid-IHG (Intercontinental/Holiday Inn) full-service hotel would be built on two acres south of Walmart at 208 W. 43rd. The estimated project cost is $7,046,870.
The CID application is “pretty straightforward,” according to City Manager Toby Dougherty.
The requested 2 percent CID sales tax for 20 years would generate about $480,000 for the developer.
“It is an added 2-cent sales tax that is used to reimburse the developer for hard costs — everything above ground,” Dougherty explained.
If approved, the total sales tax within the new CID would be 10.25 percent, excluding the city’s transient guest tax.
The city commission has previously authorized CIDs for the Hilton Garden Inn,currently under construction west of Walmart; TownePlace Suites, 4001 General Hays; and Holiday Inn Express, 4650 Roth. All four hotels are north of Interstate 70.
Other agenda items for the Nov. 7 work session include information about construction of a classroom in the Hays Fire Department’s new fire/rescue training facility south of the water reclamation and reuse facility.
The project would involve student designers and builders from Fort Hays State University and NCK Tech.
The meeting begins at 6:30 p.m. in Hays City Hall, 1507 Main.
Kansas voters just shifted some political clout to college towns
Voters fill out ballots Tuesday at a polling place in Topeka. Stephen Koranda / Kansas News Service
By STEPHEN KORANDA
Kansas News Service
TOPEKA — Kansas will now have a streamlined census that counts people only where they’re living after voters decided Tuesday to end the practice of adjusting the numbers before state legislative districts are drawn up.
Voters approved a constitutional amendment, about 60% to 40%, according to the state’s unofficial count. The change does away with the state contacting college students and members of the military to ask them if they want to be counted where they are living or somewhere else.
Kansas first used the adjusted census count in the 1990s, with the idea that it could bolster representation for rural areas.
Republican Kansas Secretary of State Scott Schwab pushed for ending the adjustment, arguing it didn’t have a significant impact on rural populations and ultimately ended up benefitting urban counties the most.
“It really became costly, cumbersome and it didn’t have any result people wanted,” Schwab said in an interview last month.
The adjusted population numbers were used only for state legislative offices and the State Board of Education. Congressional districts are drawn using the federal census numbers.
The 2011 adjustment ended up reducing the total state population by 0.48%, as the process deemed some people residents of other states.
The biggest beneficiaries of the change will likely be communities with higher concentrations of students, like the Lawrence and Manhattan areas. Douglas County, home of the University of Kansas, lost nearly 11% of its population under the last adjustment of the census.
Riley County, home to Kansas State University, lost more than 15% of its population under the last adjustment.
The proposal faced little opposition in the Legislature, passing the Senate unanimously. Only seven of the 125 members of the House voted against the bill. Of those opposed, there were concerns that eliminating the adjustment would hurt rural areas.
Schwab said skipping the count will give Kansas lawmakers a leg up in the potentially contentious 2022 redistricting, because they’ll have population data earlier. Last time, in 2012, lawmakers deadlocked and federal judges eventually drew the districts.
“I got a feeling with a Democrat governor, a Republican Legislature, redistricting’s going to get a little bit bloody,” Schwab said. “The sooner we can get those numbers to the Legislature … that’s better for the state.”
Stephen Koranda is Statehouse reporter for Kansas Public Radio and the Kansas News Service, a collaboration of KCUR, Kansas Public Radio, KMUW and High Plains Public Radio covering health, education and politics. Follow him on Twitter @kprkoranda or email [email protected].
Unofficial results for Ellis County races
Unofficial complete results for Ellis County in the Nov. 5 election are also available on the Ellis County website.
Hays man sentenced to 5+ years for underage sex crimes
By JONATHAN ZWEYGARDT
Hays Post
A 26-year-old Hays man was sentenced to more than five years in prison Monday for having sex with a 14-year-old.
Robert Sanetta was originally charged with two counts of indent liberties with a child and one count of criminal sodomy for engaging in a sexual relationship with a 14-year-old in 2018.
As the result of a plea agreement, Sanetta pleaded no contest in September to the two felony counts of indent liberties and the criminal sodomy charged was dismissed.
Under the agreement, Sanetta was expected to be sentenced to probation Monday in Ellis County District Court, but Chief Judge Glenn Braun sentenced Sanetta to 64 months in prison.
The victim and her mother addressed the court before Braun issued his sentence. They both said they thought of Sanetta as a member of their family. Sanetta also said he felt like he was a part of their family but claimed that not all of the facts were brought to light in court.
His lawyer claimed the same thing, saying there was a lack of parental supervision.
Braun said he understood the reason County Attorney Tom Drees agreed to probation in the case. But he noted he did not see any mitigating factors, pointing out a 14-year-old cannot enter into a consensual sexual relationship, especially with someone who was 11 years older than her at the time.
Braun said probation was not in the best interest in this case and sentenced Sanetta to prison.
Sanetta will be subject to 24 months post-release supervision and must register and a sex offender for 25 years.