PARK — K-State Research and Extension and CHS Quinter will host the Gove County Field Pea Plot Tour southwest of Park, Interstate 70 Exit 99, at 8:30 a.m. Friday. The tour will be led by Northwest Regional Agronomist Dr. Lucas Haag and will focus on field pea variety selection and performance as well as weed and disease pressures.

This tour is open to the public, and there is no cost for admission.

For more information about the tour, call Clint Bain at 785-743-6361.

Wednesday Sunny, with a high near 73. Breezy, with a north wind 11 to 20 mph, with gusts as high as 30 mph.

Wednesday Night Mostly clear, with a low around 49. North wind 5 to 10 mph becoming light and variable in the evening.

ThursdayMostly sunny, with a high near 75. Light south wind increasing to 10 to 15 mph in the morning. Winds could gust as high as 26 mph.

Thursday NightA 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms after 1am. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 58. South wind 13 to 16 mph, with gusts as high as 26 mph.

FridayPartly sunny, with a high near 86.

Friday NightA 40 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms, mainly before 1am. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 62.

SaturdayMostly sunny, with a high near 87.

By JAMES BELL
Hays Post

Throughout the day Monday over 800 riders from Biking Across Kansas rolled into Hays to enjoy the sites and sounds of the city.

On the outside of town, members of the Donlay family greeted riders as they passed by hoping to see friends that were participating in the ride.

“We’ll see some of the bikers and head home,” said Chelsea Donlay.

Donlay said she believes the ride encourages healthy behaviors and with her three children — Rowyn, Brynn and Ethan — she waved and greeted riders as they passed by.

“I think it tries to show people to get healthy and fit and just encourages people,” she said, adding she felt the brief words shared as the riders passed by help motivate them on their journey.

She saw it as a benefit to Hays as well.

“It brings some people that may not normally travel through Hays. It shows them what we have as far as our community and our downtown area,” she said.

Melissa Dixon, executive director of the Hays Visitor and Convention Bureau, agreed.

“If it is people that have not been here before, we want to show off what we have and to show them a good time,” Dixon said.

While local attractions extended hours and days for the riders to enjoy, Dixon also noted the benefits to the community by having the tour come through and hopes they will request to come through Hays again.

“They are definitely going to visit our attractions and eat at our restaurants while they are here, so we want to take care of them and show them a good time and have them back again,” she said.

To read more about the event click here.

By CRISTINA JANNEY
Hays Post

Sixteen outside agencies presented requests Monday night to the Ellis County Commission for a total of $1.073 million.

The commission is facing a budget shortfall for the coming budget year and has already indicated cuts to outside agencies will be between $150,000 and $300,000.

Despite the prior notification the agencies’ funding would be reduced for 2020, few agencies presented reductions in their requests.

The Aging Council recommended total reductions for all its programs from $133,627 in 2019 to $112,750 for 2020. The Humane Society of the High Plains decreased its request from $4,500 to $3,000.

The county is required by law to fund High Plains Mental Health, which has the largest allocation at $280,000. Its uses a formula to determine its request based in part on population, resident usage and county valuation. Its request was down about $1,000.

The Ellis County Historical Society requested $96,767 in 2020, the same amount it requested in 2019.

Lee Dobratz, historical society director, received sharp criticism from Commissioner Butch Schlyer for its lack of a long-rang plan for sustainability.

A portion of the plaster on a wall collapsed in historical society’s main brick building June 1, Dobratz said. The damage was caused by water seepage. Emergency repairs were made, but collections from two rooms had to be moved to the adjoining brick church for safe keeping.

“We currently face two large obstacles, Dobratz said. “Our building is becoming direly in need of replacement and our funding continues to lower. Just a few years ago, we were allocated $120,000 per year from the county. … When  I took over in 2016, thrifty spending was not as common as it is now. I immediately cut expenses until I better understood the needs of our organization.

“By the time I created the budget proposed here for 2020, I had cut line items to the bare minimum that it takes to stay open. Our fixed costs of utility, maintenance, insurance and off-site rental are rising mostly due to emergency repairs to the structures we possess.”

Dobratz said the historical society is working on a plan for a new building as well as a fundraising for an endowment.

However, she said if funding is reduced at this time, the historical society would have to cut staff.

Schlyer reminded Dobratz the county already has left positions in many departments unfilled as a result of the budget crisis.

“If you have to eliminate positions, so be it,” he said. “I guess I am not going to be heart-felt for that at this point in time. Our staff in Ellis County could be looking at some real dire hardships coming next year.”

GrowHays, formerly the Ellis County Coalition for Economic Development, presented a request for $50,000. The agency did not request any funds in 2018 and 2019, but received between $125,000 and $47,500 in past years. It has been spending down reserves. However, director Doug Williams said that is not sustainable over time.

Despite changing its name, location, board makeup and director, the mission of the organization remains the same, Williams said — business creation, retention, expansion and recruitment.

“What it boils down to is growing the tax base — that is what we are supposed to do,” he said. “As I look at issues facing Ellis County, and I realize they are substantial, the most productive method of solving these problems is absolutely growing the tax base, increasing  taxes and sales tax. While cuts may be necessary, growing the tax base is overall the best long-term solution by far.”

GrowHays has enough funding to last through 2019 and part of 2020, depending on private funding. However, long-term, Williams said the organization will not be sustainable if it does not receive public funding.

Commissioner Dustin Roths served in the past on the Ellis County Coalition for Economic Development board.

“This is something at the most micro level of government we have to be aggressive about in terms of growing our tax base,” Roths said, “especially in western Kansas, northwest Kansas and rural America in general. If you are not aggressive, if you are not growing, you’re dying. …

“My thought for fellow commissioners is that if we don’t figure out a way to do some sort of funding for economic development for Ellis County, we are going to have to do it on our own with our own staff, and we can see the money they are asking for here —$50,000 … we all know that is basically one employee.”

During the KAYS Morning Show on Tuesday, Schlyer also said he thought supporting economic development is important.

County Administrator Phillip Smith-Haines said although funding is tight this year, if  the commission decides to fund GrowHays, the county will come up with the money in the budget.

The Center for Life Experience was not funded last year through the regular budget process, but received a $1,000 special allocation from the county commission. For 2020, it has requested $6,000 as it transitions from the umbrella of the First Presbyterian Church to an independent community nonprofit organization.

The center offers grief support groups as well is the support agency for the local chapter of the National Alliance on Mental Illness.

Roths said he understood the need for the center and other outside nonprofits for funds and valued the services they provide, but he said he thought nonprofits should be supported through donations and not taxes.

“One of my biggest concerns about government funding of a lot of these types of organizations that we are talking about for outside funding is the difference between a tax and a donation,” he said. “I think it is why we keep harping on it. I think anybody who has been successful and has extra money to give should look at this list of organizations that we are funding and really consider a donation to them.

“I love the idea of funding through church organizations,” he said. “The main reason for that is I feel that is coming from a point of love. It is not from coercion. It is great because it really ties into the people who give actually caring about the organization and becoming a part of the organization and becoming part of its success.”

Smith-Haines and Schlyer said Tuesday morning they did not anticipate cuts to the agencies would be across the board. The commissioners will begin to discuss specific funding amounts for the agencies at their meeting next Monday.

Last week’s inspection results from the Kansas Department of Agriculture:

Casey’s General Store 213 Washington, Ellis – June 6

An inspection following a complaint found two violations.

• In the self-service creamer station, there was mold present along the seals on the station. In the bottom side of the refrigeration section of the make-table, there was a small amount of mold present that could fall into open containers of food.
• In the back storage area, there were two gallons of paint that were being stored on a wooden shelf directly above a case of single-use cups. No evidence of leaking was found.

Starbucks Coffee 3126 Vine, Hays – June 6

A routine inspection found no violations.

Casey’s General Store 1301 Canterbury, Hays – June 5

A follow-up inspection from an administrative order found no violations.

The Otter Juice Company 2306 Vine, Hays – June 5

A routine inspection found one violation.

• In the back storage area on wire racks, there are two food grade plastic containers that had direct contact with food that are cracked along the corners and bottom side of the containers.

SNS Hays Public Library 1205 Main, Hays – June 5

A routine inspection found two violations.

• In the (Shared) Single Door Kenmore Refrigerator there was a personal container of raw shelled eggs being stored on a solid plastic shelf directly above covered cut cucumbers. No evidence of leaking was found.
• On the buffet line, cooked corn and cooked peas were found at a temperature of 113 F.

Gutierrez/Trio Tap House 1106 E. 27th, Hays – June 3

A routine inspection found five violations.

• On the Gutierrez side of the establishment, the double-sided make-table on the main kitchen line had an ambient temperature of 41 F. On the south side of the make-table there were cut tomatoes found at 54 F, cut lettuce at 50 F and shredded cheese at 48 F.
• On the Gutierrez side of the establishment in the walk-in cooler, there was a container of shredded beef with a date of 5/22/19. On the Trio side of the establishment in the two-door Pepsi cooler, there were 2 containers of fully cooked pasta with no date of when it was cooked.
• The Trio’s Menu has the Consumer Advisory printed on the menu and there are a couple of menu items that have the asterisk and several “Steaks” that do not.
• In the Gutierrez prep kitchen on the wire shelf next to the mechanical ware washing machine, there were five plastic food grade containers that had imperfections present along the edges and corners. These containers come into direct contact with food.
• In the Gutierrez bar, there were two containers of sanitizing tablets that were being stored on wire racks directly above two containers used to foam heavy cream. No evidence of leaking was found.

GOVE COUNTY —Two people were injured in an accident just after 5p.m. Monday in Gove County.

The Kansas Highway Patrol reported a 2017 Nissan Altima driven by Randi Williams, 27, Oklahoma City, OK., was eastbound on Interstate 70 just east of Campus Road. The Nissan rear-ended a 2008 International Semi and then traveled into the median.

Williams and a passenger Cody Shaw, 26, Oklahoma City, were transported to the Logan County Hospital. Two children in the Nissan and the semi driver Jason Goodman, 26, Hays, were not injured. All five were properly restrained at the time of the accident, according to the KHP.

Join us for the Hays City Band!!!

Free concerts for June 2019:

June 11, 7:30 p.m. – Hays Downtown Pavilion
June 18, 7:30 p.m. – Washington Elementary School in Ellis
June 25, 7:30 p.m. – Hays Downtown Pavilion

– SUBMITTED –

U.S. CENTER FOUNDATION

LEBANON — On Saturday at 1 p.m., the ambassador of the country of Lebanon, Gabriel Issa, is coming to Lebanon, Kansas for a Cedar-of-Lebanon Tree planting ceremony.

Come to the geographic center of the continental United States for the ceremony and then afterwords to Lebanon’s Community Center for a reception hosted by Lebanon’s mayor Rick Chapin.

The public is welcome to attend.

CITY OF HAYS

The Hays Area Board of Zoning Appeals will meet Wednesday.

Agenda items include a special use permit request by Shining Stars Preschool to be re-located in a Neighborhood Conversation District (NC.3) at 1307 Schwaller Ave.

Owners Brooke and Curtis Deines were approved in 2010 for a special use permit at 2609 General Custer Road to operate Shining Stars Preschool.

According to information submitted by Brooke Deines, the school now needs to be relocated to 1307 Schwaller, currently a vacant lot. Deines says the school will be built with an exterior appearance similar to a single family home.

City staff is recommending a public hearing be scheduled for the request.

The June 12 agenda is available here.

The meeting begins at 8:15 a.m. Wednesday in Hays City Hall, 1507 Main.

SHPTV

BUNKER HILL – This summer Smoky Hills Public Television is working with public libraries throughout central and western Kansas to conduct summer reading programs through the Share a Story project.

Share a Story helps children become better readers by inspiring adults to read to children every day. Research shows that activities like these do make a difference. Children who are read to every day, from birth on, do better in school, become good listeners and writers, and have better language, critical and imaginative skills.

Share a Story is a 45-60 minute program geared toward children ages 2-7.

Each program consists of viewing a short clip from a PBS children’s program, reading a related book and doing a simple activity. Each participant receives his or her own book and related materials. The programs began May 29th.

The full schedule is available at shptv.org.