ROOKS COUNTY — A small earthquake shook Rooks County Wednesday evening. The quake before 10p.m. measured a magnitude 3.0 and was centered just west of Plainville, according to the Kansas Geological Survey.

On May 22, the agency reported three earthquakes that measured from 2.9-3.0 in Rooks County. There are no reports of damage or injury from Wednesday quake according to the sheriff’s department.

Thursday A 50 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 78. Calm wind becoming east 5 to 8 mph in the morning.

Thursday Night A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms, mainly between midnight and 1am. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 60. East wind around 5 mph becoming calm in the evening.

FridayMostly sunny, with a high near 83. Calm wind becoming southeast 5 to 7 mph in the morning.

Friday NightMostly clear, with a low around 61. Southeast wind 6 to 9 mph.

SaturdayMostly sunny, with a high near 85.

Saturday NightA 50 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Partly cloudy, with a low around 58.

SundayA 40 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms, mainly before 1pm. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 71.

Robert Mollet Jr., Clinton, Ill., caught on camera the dramatic crash that ended a high-speed Kansas Highway Patrol chase on Interstate 70 last week that lead to the arrest of Starsky Dresch, 41, Colorado Springs, Colo.

Zack Stephenson, Decatur, Ill., was in the vehicle with Mollet and submitted the video to Hays Post Wednesday.

“We were coming from Colorado at the time, and there were two semis that were behind us trying to block the pass of the suspect vehicle,” Stephenson said.

“It was trying to get around the semi and ended up going down into the median right next to us.”

“It ended up hitting the culvert and went probably seven or eight feet into the air,” Stephenson said.

By BECKY KISER
Hays Post

The month of June brings summer fun throughout Hays.

Melissa Dixon, Convention and Visitors Bureau (CVB) Executive Director, has a look at some of the highlights.

An updated calendar of events is available on the CVB website www.visthays.com.

By DENA WEIGEL BELL
WaKeeney Travel Blog

As part of its yearlong Golden Anniversary celebration, the Trego County Historical Society and Trego Travel & Tourism will be welcoming two tourism experts from the Kansas Sampler Foundation  to share stories of the people, places, and activities found in their book, the Kansas Guidebook 2 on Sun., June 9th at 2 p.m. at the museum.

Marci Penner and WenDee Rowe have spent four years visiting every one of the 626 incorporated cities in Kansas. In their guidebook they detail stories, tips, and images from the road that are meant to stir your curiosity and get you excited for a summer of fun in the sunflower state.

“We will take the audience on a picture journey through the state, sharing road trip ideas and telling stories about our adventures,” said Penner. “From restaurant suggestions to art, architecture, history, geography and more, we’ll give you a sampling of what to see in Kansas.“

The guidebook offers a wide array of interesting stops to explore, including historic sites, specialty shops, little known points-of-interest, cemetery finds, bike trails and backroad scenic drives statewide. “There really is something for everyone,” Rowe tells us, “whether you are looking for outdoor sites or ways to get to know a town.”

After the program, the co-authors will sign and sell the Kansas Guidebook 2. The 480-page, coil-bound book can be used to plan your next Kansas road trip. The 4,500 entries provide descriptions, directions, hours, and contact information and there are more than 1,600 color pictures. You’ll even find information about our Trego County treasures.

Penner and Rowe are founders of the Kansas Sampler Foundation, where the mission is to preserve and sustain rural culture. The guidebook is a helpful tool they offer people who are interested in the history of our state and want information and tips to plan their own journey across the state. “Though the book reads like a travel guide, it’s intended to help people get to know the state and learn about Kansas towns of every size,” Penner said.

The museum is also currently featuring a unique souvenir china collection dating the early 20^th century and donated by Harold and Marcia Newcomer. The collection includes an array of pieces that will join the collection of souvenir china this is already part of the museum’s exhibition.

KDHE

TOPEKA – The Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE) has rescinded a boil water advisory for Russell County Rural Water District No. 3 located in Russell, Barton and Rush counties.

The advisory was issued for Russell RWD No.3 customers located West Galatia because of a loss of pressure in the distribution system. Failure to maintain adequate pressure may result in a loss of chlorine residuals and bacterial contamination.

Public water suppliers in Kansas take all measures necessary to notify customers quickly after a system failure or shutdown. Regardless of whether it’s the supplier or KDHE that announces a boil water advisory, KDHE will issue the rescind order following testing at a certified laboratory.

Laboratory testing samples collected from Russell County RWD No. 3 indicate no evidence of bacteriological contamination and all other conditions that placed the system at risk of contamination are deemed by KDHE officials to be resolved.

For consumer questions, please contact the water system or you may call KDHE at 785-296-5514. For consumer information please visit KDHE’s PWS Consumer Information webpage:https://www.kdheks.gov/pws/emergencyresponse/water_disruption.htm

By JONATHAN ZWEYGARDT
Hays Post

Residents living in rural Ellis County will be allowed to light fireworks during the Fourth of July holiday after the Ellis County Commission on Monday relaxed the ban on the discharge of fireworks in unincorporated areas of the county.

Fire Chief and Director of Emergency Management Darin Myers told the county commission several area counties are planning to allow fireworks in the county.

He added, however, that he always has his concerns.

“One accident, one fire, one property lost, one death, whatever it may be weighs hard on trying to say, ‘Yes let’s allow fireworks,’ ” Myers said. “But at the same time, I hate to put these restrictions on the public.

“But it’s very wet this year and it’s green out there, so it kind of eases your concern a little bit.”

As in the past, the times and dates that the discharge of fireworks is allowed in rural Ellis County are the same as the city of Hays — 8 a.m. to 11 p.m. July 2 to 4.

In other business, High Plains Mental Health Executive Director Walt Hill presented the commission with the organizations 2018 annual report and approved a use agreement between the city of Hays and the Ellis County Fire and Sheriff’s departments and the county EMS department for use of the new fire training facility.

The commission also approved a 2 percent salary increase for all employees and a step adjustment for employees with five or more years of service in their position. The changes are effective July 14.

Commissioners also approved changes to the county’s personnel policy that changes the number of hours required for a person to be considered full-time from 40 hours to 36 hours.

RUSSELL — For the first time in history, the Russell Community Theater summer production will be at the RCT Playhouse at Fifth and Kansas. Patrons are invited to attend a pre-show reception to enjoy a variety of hors’ oeuvres and other refreshments. The reception will be from 6:30 to 7:30 pm, with the show following at 8 p.m.

Reservations are required for patrons wishing to attend the pre-show reception. Reservations may be made at Encore Antiques & Collectables, 590 S. Fossil, Russell or by calling 785-483-4057.

RCT will be presenting “The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (abridged) [revised]” June 25-29 at the RCT Playhouse. The production features all 37 of Shakespeare’s plays performed in under 90 minutes by three actors. Fast-paced, witty and physical, it’s full of laughter for Shakespeare lovers and haters alike.

The cast includes “the new, the old, and the in between.” Everett Robert will make his RCT debut, while John Dumler is an RCT veteran. Marc Hertel is returning to the RCT stage after a couple of previous appearances. First presented as an improv project, The Complete Works was created (and solidified and revised) by Adam Long, Daniel Singer and Jess Winfield.

Reservations for the pre-show reception open June 11. Patrons wishing to attend the show only are not required to make reservations. “The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (abridged) [revised]” is performed by special arrangement with Broadway Play Publishing Inc., New York, NY.

Russell Community Theater is a non-profit theater company in Russell, Kansas. The sole purpose of RCT is to produce theater for the community and the surrounding area. Completely volunteer-driven, RCT is supported financially solely through ticket admissions and gifts from those supportive of community theater. Since its inception in 1986, RCT has presented 96 full-scale theatrical productions.

By JAMES BELL
Hays Post

The Hays Public Library will host two stakeholder sessions to solicit input from the community to consider future services and events at the library.

Both sessions will be held on Monday, June 10. The first will begin at 1:30 p.m., the other will begin at 6 p.m.. The sessions are scheduled to last 90 minutes.

Brandon Hines, library director, said the sessions are an effort to develop ideas for ways the library can continue to develop as a community center.

“When I was hired on, we had a lot of projects we had already begun or had been discussed. They were teed-up and ready to go, so we set up a one-year plan to execute on quite a few of these,” Hines said. “We are kind of getting to the point now where we are wrapping those up so we need to transition to that next phase, and we know that we need to get some outside input.”

Some of the completed projects include a new digital sign located on 13th and Main, and the new RFID checkout system.

With the completion of those previous projects, now is a good time to consider services and features the community wants from the library, Hines said.

“We have many high-level ideas, but we really want the input from the community to help us hone that focus for the space and our services in general,” he said. “We see this as a three-year plan that will come out of this. We have our mission and our values established, and the idea now is to generate those specific actions we can take to uphold our goals.”

A large part of the changes Hines wants to see is better utilization of the layout of the library, noting major design changes have not occurred since the renovation that added a wing to the building and a new facade.

“So much has changed since then,” Hines said.

The reference section has transitioned to mostly digital, freeing room that could be utilized for other purposes.

“We know we want to recapture that space,” Hines said.

There are also more computers than are currently needed. At one point, there was a normally a waiting list to use a computer in the adult section, now many sit unused through the day.

“They don’t need to come to the library anymore because they can check (email) on their phones,” Hines said.

While Hines said input from the community will be important, they have some ideas for the space in mind, including smaller quiet rooms that could be used by patrons for a variety of purposes such as job interviews, proctored testing or phone calls.

Hines said another idea being considered is some type of a business center, with a coffee bar or a community space where people can be comfortable and engage with others.

“We are really lucky with the amount of space we have. That is not our problem, we just need design help right now is the way we see it,” he said.

Overall the goal is to create a library that continues to remain relevant in an ever increasingly digital landscape.

Events throughout the year help to keep traffic coming into the library, Hines said, with most focusing on literacy.

“We have probably the best events programming library in the state and probability beyond,” Hines said, driving an average of 450 people into the library daily. “The amount of programming we have drives our traffic at this point.”

RSVPs for the meetings are requested, but not required, and can be sent to [email protected].

Wednesday marked the end of the Orscheln Farm & Home’s Longest Turkey Beard Contest, which began March 27.

Congratulations to winners Amy Payne and Bob Carrow, placing first and second respectively.

Amy’s turkey beard measured in at 10.5 inches and earned her the first place prize of a Barronett Hunting Blind. Bob’s turkey beard measured in at 10.25 inches and earned him a HS Strut Turkey Call.

“We would like to thank all of our participants, and we look forward to another successful contest next year!”