PLANT OPERATOR (WATER PLANT)

Are you interested in helping provide safe drinking water to the citizens of Hays? If so, the City of Hays is looking for you! Hays is looking for a reliable Plant Operator to help maintain water operations.

Typical work schedule includes 5 days a week, including every other weekend. Twice a week this position covers 3^rd shift (12 am – 8 am). The other three days are 1^st shift (8 am – 4 pm). Employee may choose to move to a M-F 8 am – 4 pm schedule when an internal position opens.

Requirements

Valid driver’s license & High School Degree or GED required.Dependability, great attendance record, and a positive attitude is a must. On the job training provided for the technical skills. This position requires a CDL Class B and has a residency requirement of Ellis County within 6 months of employment.

Compensation

Entry Level Pay: $13.65/hour with opportunities to advance to Plant Operator II and Senior Plant Operator based on skills and required certifications. Pay based on experience. Guaranteed raises every year. The City of Hays offers great benefits including health insurance, KPERS, Paid Time Off & Holidays. For a full list of benefits visit www.haysusa.com.

How to Apply

Applications will be accepted in City Hall, 1507 Main, Hays, KS or online at www.haysusa.com until position is filled. Questions about the position may be sent to Alissa at [email protected] or by calling 785-628-7320.

MCPHERSON — McPherson College, a four-year private college located in central Kansas, has announced the names of students earning degrees and graduating from the college in May.

Area students include:

Hays
Brooke Russell, Bachelor of Science, Bus Admin:Mangmt/Marktg

Osborne
Parkes Wolters, Bachelor of Science, Biochemistry

Portis
Brandt Wolters, Bachelor of Science, Bus Admin:Mangmt/Marktg

Stockton
Justin Wiltfong, Bachelor of Science, Phys Ed:Sports Mngmnt

— Submitted

Today Sunny, with a high near 76. West northwest wind 9 to 15 mph.

Tonight Increasing clouds, with a low around 55. North northwest wind 6 to 11 mph becoming light and variable.

Friday A 20 percent chance of rain and thunderstorms after 2pm. Mostly sunny, with a high near 83. South southwest wind 5 to 11 mph.

Friday Night A slight chance of rain and thunderstorms before 8pm, then isolated showers and thunderstorms between 8pm and 2am. Partly cloudy, with a low around 58. South wind 6 to 13 mph. Chance of precipitation is 20%.

Saturday Sunny, with a high near 85. Southwest wind 6 to 8 mph becoming north northeast in the afternoon.

Saturday NightIsolated showers and thunderstorms after 8pm. Partly cloudy, with a low around 58. Chance of precipitation is 20%.

RUSSELL COUNTY —An EF-2 tornado moved across Russell, Osborne, and Mitchell Counties Tuesday, according to a preliminary estimate from the National Weather Service. The tornado at 5:20p.m. touched down just south west of Waldo and stayed on the ground for 24 miles lifting near Tipton.

The tornado was 0.5 miles wide at its maximum. There were no reported injuries.

By JAMES BELL
Hays Post

A high-speed chase and crash on Interstate 70 led to the arrest of a fugitive from justice Monday morning after a warrant was found from Colorado Springs, Colo.

At 7:41 a.m. Monday, a Kansas Highway Patrol trooper in Sherman County clocked the speed of a 2009 Chevy pickup at milepost 20 at 102 mph, according to Kansas Highway Patrol Trooper Tod Hileman.

The trooper attempted to stop the truck and the driver fled eastbound on I-70 reaching a top speed of 112 mph.

The trooper continued pursuit of the vehicle on I-70 approaching Oakley.

“At that point, at 8:14 in the morning, a little more than 30 minutes later, the driver entered the median and drove in the median for a while until he hit a culvert,” Hileman said. “That ended up crashing the vehicle out, and the vehicle rolled several times.”

The driver — Starsky Dresch, 41, Colorado Springs — was placed under arrest, and an ambulance was called.

He was taken to the Logan County Hospital and later flown to St. Anthony’s Hospital in Denver.

A female passenger in the vehicle was not charged. She was taken to the hospital, but no other information on her condition was made available.

While investigating the incident, it was discovered the vehicle had been stolen in Colorado Springs and Dresch had an outstanding warrant from Colorado for being a fugitive from justice.

His condition is unknown at this time.

By JONATHAN ZWEYGARDT
Hays Post

A Hays man pleaded no contest to three sex-related crimes Wednesday and is expected to be sentenced to more than two and a half years in prison.

Hunter Gonzales entered the no contest pleas to two counts of reckless aggravated battery, a level five person felony, and one misdemeanor count of sexual battery in Ellis County District Court.

As a result of the pleas and evidence presented by the Ellis County Attorney, District Judge Glenn Braun found Gonzales guilty.

Gonzales originally was charged with rape and aggravated criminal sodomy after a Hays woman said Gonzales forced himself on her in November 2017.

Under the agreement, Gonzales is expected to be sentenced to 32 months in prison for one count of reckless aggravated battery. Once he has served out his sentence, he will be placed on probation for five years.

Ellis County Attorney Tom Drees said if Gonzales violates his probation, he could face an additional 32 months in prison for the second reckless aggravated battery charge and 12 months for the misdemeanor sexual battery.

The 32-month sentence is contingent on a pre-sentence investigation.

He will also have to register as a sex offender for 15 years.

Gonzales is scheduled to be sentenced July 1.

By JAMES BELL
Hays Post

As tornado sirens sounded in Hays late Tuesday afternoon, the Ellis County Rural Fire Department was dispatched to fight a tank battery fire in rural Ellis County after a lightning strike.

At 5:13 p.m., the department responded to a fire at Toulon and Catharine Road, finding the tank battery on fire, But with the recent heavy rains, trucks were unable to get close to the fire, according to Darin Myers, Ellis County Fire Chief and Emergency Manager.

Instead, responders ran over 400 feet of water lines through a field to get to the tank.

“It seemed that the fiberglass top burnt off,” Myers said.

The crew was able to extinguish the fire using foam and water and had left the scene at 6:39 p.m.

With severe weather in the area, Myers said sometimes a decision needs to be whether the fire crew continues to fight a fire, or rather move to a safe location and let the fire burn until the situation is safe.

“We’ve had to do that,” he said, noting putting out a rural tank battery fire when the battery is already destroyed often does not necessitate risking firefighters’ safety.

“There is no reason to risk a lot to save a little,” Myers said.

With this fire, however, the crew was able to put out the fire before any weather hit the immediate area.

“They were able to get out of their trucks and fight the fire without the danger of another storm,” he said.

But a few weeks ago during a similar incident, crews were forced to wait for a storm to pass to put out the fire.

“Obviously, the best option is to put the fire out, but the primary concern for us is the safety of our personnel,” Myers said.

With a tank battery fire, there are sometimes concerns with not being able to put a fire right away that must be considered.

“The risk you have to look at by not putting the fire out right away (is) what else is going to happen?” he said, noting the possibilities oil leaking outside or a fire spreading to other tanks make the situation is more critical.

“In these cases, that didn’t happen,” he said.

Another risk with these types of fires is an explosion, which could spread to other tanks nearby.

“You have to be careful about accessing the situation to make sure you are not putting a firefighter up to a tank that is close to exploding,” Myers said.

Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly will be at the Sternberg Museum of Natural History, 3000 Sternberg Drive, for a town hall on Monday.

Kelly will discuss her priorities for Kansas and answer written questions submitted by the audience.

The event is scheduled for 5:30 to 6:30 p.m.

Kelly also is scheduled to take part in a Community Engagement Sessions focusing on the state’s early childhood system at Fort Hays State University on Tuesday. Click HERE for information on that event.

https://www.facebook.com/OBSO911/videos/483631408844802/

By CRISTINA JANNEY
Hays Post

Although several tornadoes were reported briefly on the ground in Ellis County north of  Hays on Tuesday night, no major damage was reported.

Chris Rhodes, Osborne Emergency Management director, said a storm moving northeast from Russell County through Osborne County and into Mitchell County repeatedly dropped tornadoes on rural areas of the region. The storm entered the area between 5 and 5:30 p.m.

No injuries were reported.

A farm was hit one to two miles north of Waldo. Out buildings were destroyed, and the farm home had minor damage. Rhodes said the tornado threw a portion of a telephone pole and stuck it in an outbuilding.

In the same area, power poles were down. A 115-volt transformer was damaged. About $70,000 damage was done to a substation, resulting in power outages.

Another farmhouse and outbuildings were hit at about Kansas Highway 691 and 197th near Tipton. The chimney for the home was torn down and windows were blown out. No one was home at the time. Two outbuildings received severe damage.

About 100 trees were snapped in half, Rhodes said.

Another tornado was reported later in the evening in Mitchell County, Rhodes said.

Below are photos from Mitchell County Emergency Management.

Meteorologist Dan Holiday said central Kansas was not initially targeted for severe storms Tuesday night, but conditions changed.

https://www.facebook.com/darren.stokes.98/videos/10157483203798243/

The K-State Ag Research Center only  reported 0.11 inches of rain in the last 24 hours at Hays. However, different areas of the county may have received more significant rainfall Tuesday. Some street flooding was reported.

That brings the total official rainfall for the month of May in Hays to 8.06 inches, which far exceeds the 3.24-inch average for the month of May.

Hays is also above its year-to-date average, which is 7.81 inches. As of today, the research center is reporting 11.69 inches of rain year to date for Hays.

The National Weather Service is predicting partly sunny skies for Wednesday and Thursday.

The NWS is predicting a 20 percent to 30 percent chance of thunderstorms Friday, Friday night, Saturday night, Sunday and Sunday night.

With unseasonably cool temperatures Wednesday, highs are forecast to warm to the 80s by the weekend.