Cole Engel, Fort Hays State University assistant professor of accounting, wants the Hays USD 489 school district to propose a smaller bond issue that only includes needs.

Engel, 36, joins a field of eight other candidates for four open positions on the board, including incumbents Paul Adams and Luke Oborny and newcomers Lori Hertel, Tammy Wellbrock, Alex Herman, Allen Park, Jessica Moffitt and Craig Pallister.

USD 489 has had two failed bond attempts in the last three years — in 2016 and 2017. The board is discussing moving forward with a third attempt.

Engel said he did not support the bond issues in 2016 and 2017.

“I think the school district has a responsibility to educate the public on what exactly the needs are and differentiate the needs from the wants,” he said, “and I don’t think they have done that because if they had, the bond wouldn’t have failed twice.”

Engel said he thought the district underestimated the economy.

“They didn’t have a good feeling or a good temperature of the citizens at the time or what they were willing to support,” he said. “I think they asked for too much, and I don’t think they convinced the citizens what the true needs were versus the wants. I think we went too big too fast and our local tax base just didn’t support it. I didn’t either.”

He said he would like to see the school district find more efficiencies in its budget. If it has made cuts, the district needs to better communicate that to the community, he added.

“I would kind of like to know how we got here. How did we get to the point where we have let deferred maintenance go so long? It seems like we are in this devastating situation financially, but I wonder if it is really that bad?” he said.

Engel said he was encouraged to run for school board by district faculty and staff. At the time he filed, he said he was concerned about what appeared to be a lack of community interest. Only four people had filed for four open positions on the board leading up to the final day to file.

On the day of the deadline, four other candidates filed besides Engel for the race.

“I think another reason why I decided to run is because part of our mission here at the university — our mission statement says — we develop engaged, global citizen leaders,” he said. “Part of our mission as faculty is to encourage our students to participate in their communities and get involved, and I think as faculty members we need to lead by example.”

Engel graduated from Hays High School.

“Service and sacrifice is important. I certainly didn’t get where I am on my own,” he said. “It is time to pay it forward and make sure USD 489 continues to provide the quality education it provided me and the foundation for my success academically, professionally and personally well into the future.”

Engel said now is a good time for education in Kansas and the board has the opportunity to make serious improvements.

“I think the school board needs to remember what its purpose is, and the purpose of the school board is to govern, to set policy, not to manage,” Engel said. “The superintendent and the principals and administration manage, not the school board.”

Engel said one of his goals is to have the board work together.

“We work together as one cohesive board of education, and we are not just a group individual board members,” he said.

The USD 489 school board went to impasse during negotiations with the Hays NEA last year.

Engel has served on the university’s negotiating team for two years and will be the lead negotiator for the faculty next year.

“I think the administration and the faculty should be on the same team,” he said. “There are some different interests there for which the team needs to bargain, but I think it is important that we don’t think of it as sides. We think of it as what’s the issue we’re trying to solve.”

He said faculty is the most important aspect of a school district.

“We have to have good teachers. We have to have dedicated teachers, and we have to take care of those teachers, and it is important that they’re happy,” he said. “If there are communications issues between the board and the teachers or there are communication issues between the administration and the teachers, that needs to be addressed.”

The board also has had split votes recently on purchases for its one-to-one student computer program.

“I think we have to integrate technology,” Engel said, “but it can be over done. I don’t think we need to be using technology for technology’s sake. I don’t think we need to use the newest, most flashy tool just because it’s new and great and flashy.”

Engel does not have children.

He earned bachelor’s degrees in business administration in computer information systems and accounting and his MBA from FHSU and his doctorate in advanced accounting from Northcentral University.

He is a member of the FHSU Faculty Senate, advises FHSU student groups and is a trustee for the FHSU Foundation.

Over 22 earthquakes recorded in Ellis, Rooks and Russell counties since June 1

By JAMES BELL
Hays Post

There is no need to rush to buy earthquake insurance, according to earthquake expert and Palco resident Don Steeples, despite the 22 earthquakes that were recorded by the Kansas Geological Survey through Ellis, Rooks and Russell counties since June 1.

The largest was rated a 4.5 on the Richter scale, the scale used to judge the intensity of an earthquake, in Rooks County early Saturday.

But despite the increasing frequency and intensity of late, there is little risk of a more damaging earthquake, Steeples said.

The fault lines that have caused recent earthquakes are a feature of the geological region called the central Kansas uplift, which is also responsible for the oil found in the area.

“There is a system of faults that run basically from Wichita up through this area and on up all the way through the Black Hills in South Dakota,” he said.

The recent 4.5 earthquake in Rooks County may be the largest residents have felt, but it is not the most significant earthquake known to have hit the area.

While there was no Richter scale at the time, he believes the largest earthquake in the area occurred in 1879, near Stockton, based on newspaper reports.

“If I were going to guess it, in terms of Richter scale, I would guess somewhere probability 4.7 to 5,” Steeples said. “So we know that earthquakes were occurring here before there were any effects from anything that humans have done.”

While the frequency of the earthquakes in the area is unusual, he is not worried about future earthquakes.

“Anytime you get multiple earthquakes in an area, in a month, that is certainly unusual compared to what we saw 30 to 40 years ago,” Steeples said.

The earthquake network Steeples operated in Kansas from 1977 to 1989 recorded about 200 earthquakes.

While the frequency might be increasing, he said the magnitude is limited by geology.

“I would speculate that the biggest earthquake that we could get in this part of the state, with a return period of several hundred years, would be somewhere in the Richter magnitude of 5.5 to possibly approaching 6,” Steeples said. “But certainly nothing above 6.

“I can tell you I don’t have earthquake insurance and don’t intend to buy earthquake insurance,” he said.

While western Kansas might be off the hook for a large, damaging earthquake, Steeples said an earthquake with a rating of around 6 on the Richter scale is possible around Manhattan every 200 years or so, but anything larger is unlikely and he does not expect a magnitude 7 or stronger earthquake to ever occur in Kansas.

“That is based on the maximum length of the faults that are present in the subsurface,” he said.

With earthquake intensity 6 or below, damage to structures is extremely limited when using frame construction, which is common in the area.

“The same thing that you build a building to withstand a 100 mph wind is the same construction that will withstand an earthquake up to a magnitude 6,” Steeples said. “In terms of structural damage that would cause someone to need to rebuild a part of a house, you really don’t start getting into that until you get into the magnitude 6’s in the U.S.”

Even cracked plaster noticed after an earthquake report is not likely a result of any single seismic event.

“It is really difficult to pin the responsibility for a crack in the sheetrock on a particular earthquake,” he said, but instead could be noticed after and attributed to the event.

Steeples obtained a Ph.D in earthquake seismology from Stanford and prior to his retirement served as the McGee Distinguished Professor of Applied Geophysics at the University of Kansas where he specialized in near-surface, high-resolution seismic reflection research, according to his KU bio page.

Hays Post once again will be offering the Virtual Golden Egg Hunt. Those finding the egg in articles published between June 30 and July 2 can enter for a chance to win two FREE VIP tickets to the 2019 Wild West Festival. Brought to you by JD’s Country Style Chicken.

Stay tuned!

The Kansas Department of Transportation has closed K-147 in Trego County to through traffic as of Wednesday.

The closure is necessary because of public safety concerns about structural deficiencies found during a recent inspection by KDOT and its engineering consultants on the bridge spanning the Cedar Bluff Reservoir spillway. Plans are currently being developed for an emergency bridge replacement project to be completed in 2020.

The road will be closed from Ogallah to Brownell.

Traffic will be detoured using I-70, U.S. 283 and K-4. For more information on the closure, contact KDOT area engineer Kevin Zimmer at 785-625-9718.

— KDOT

Check Hays Post for more on this developing story as details become available.

The National Weather Service in Dodge City has issued a significant weather advisory for Ness, Trego, Rush and Ellis counties until 11 a.m. Wednesday.

At 9:55 a.m., radar was tracking a strong thunderstom along a line extending from near Ogallah to 8 miles north of McCracken. The storm was moving east at 15 mph.

Winds in excess of 40 mph and frequent lightning could be possible.

Check the radar and latest conditions HERE.