KDOLS

Preliminary estimates reported by the Kansas Department of Labor and Bureau of Labor Statistics show a seasonally adjusted unemployment rate of 3.5 percent in April. This was unchanged from March and up from 3.4 percent in April 2018.

“Kansas job growth bounced back in April after a slow start in 2019,” said Secretary Delía García. “This was positive news along with strong growth in hourly earnings over the last 12 months.”

Seasonally adjusted job estimates indicate total Kansas nonfarm jobs increased by 6,900 from March. Private sector jobs, a subset of total nonfarm jobs, increased by 5,600 from the previous month.

Since April 2018, Kansas gained 12,400 seasonally adjusted total nonfarm jobs and 10,500 private sector jobs.

“Job growth in Kansas rebounded in April, following weather-related declines in early 2019,” said Labor Economist, Emilie Doerksen. “Two industries showed significant growth over the month, with professional and business services increasing by 2,900 jobs and the construction industry adding 1,600 jobs in April.”

Ellis County’s rate was down .4 percent from March. The unemployment rates, which were up in March for Trego and Rooks counties, but decreased in April. Trego County’s rate went from 4.1 percent to 3.6 percent  and Rooks County went from 4.3 percent to 3.6 percent.

Unemployment rates for Ness and Barton Counties fell to below 3 percent, and Russell County was at 3 percent, and Rush County was at 3.4 percent, which were all decreases over the previous month.

However, Rush, Rooks, Russell and Trego counties all had slight increases in unemployment year over year.

SHPTV

BUNKER HILL – Smoky Hills Public Television’s local program, The Kansas Legislature, will be hosted by Michael Walker, director of the Docking Institute at Fort Hays State University.

Our guests will be State Representatives Barb Wasinger of the 111^th District, Ken Rahjes of the 110^th District, and Senator Rick Billinger of the 40^th District.  Tune in May 17th at 7 p.m., and call in with your legislative questions.

You can now watch The Kansas Legislature LIVE on ANY DEVICE by subscribing to our YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/user/SmokyHillsPBS.

The show airs during the legislative session, which gives the legislators and viewers the opportunity to discuss up-to-date issues.  During the program, viewers can call 800.337.4788 with their legislative questions.

Matthew A. Hayes, 43, yesterday pleaded no contest in Ellis County District Court to one felony count of mistreatment of an elder person.

The case stemmed from an investigation by the attorney general’s Fraud and Abuse Litigation Division and the Ellis County Sheriff’s Department, which discovered that between December 2016 and September 2018, Hayes served as his mother’s power of attorney and used her funds for his personal benefit rather than for her benefit.

As part of the plea, Hayes agreed to pay $39,396.17 in restitution to the victim’s estate.

Chief Judge Glenn Braun took the plea, and sentencing will be scheduled at a later date by the court.

FHSU University Relations

A student from Beloit, Remington Behrends, was named last night as the winner of Fort Hays State University’s Torch Award as the outstanding graduating senior for 2019.

Behrends will receive a Bachelor of Science in communication sciences and disorders at Commencement.

The year’s top graduating graduate student, the winner of the Lighthouse Award, is Jessica Johnson, Larned. She will receive a Master of Science in health and human performance.

Dr. Mitch Greer, associate professor of biological sciences, was given the Pilot Award as the year’s outstanding faculty member. The Navigator Award, presented to the year’s outstanding academic advisor, went to Troy Terry, academic advisor for the Department of Leadership Studies.

The winners were announced at the Graduate and Faculty Dinner, sponsored by the FHSU Alumni Association, in advance of Commencement. All four recipients will be recognized at both Commencement ceremonies.

The first Commencement ceremony begins at 9 a.m. today in Gross Memorial Coliseum when university President Tisa Mason will confer degrees on graduates from two colleges, the College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences and the College of Health and Behavioral Sciences.

She will confer degrees Saturday on graduates from three colleges: the College of Education; the Peter Werth College of Science, Technology, and Mathematics; and the W.R. and Yvonne Robbins College of Business and Entrepreneurship. Saturday’s ceremony also begins at 9 a.m. in Gross Coliseum.

Alumna Betty Johnson, president of the Alumni Association Board of Directors,  introduced the finalists and presented the 2019 Torch Award to Behrends, who will begin work on her master’s degree in speech-language pathology in the fall.

Reading from a nomination letter, Johnson said of Behrends, “Remi exemplifies everything the Torch Award represents. She is a natural leader in the classroom, the community and within the profession. Remi’s resumé speaks to the many outstanding accomplishments as an undergraduate student at Fort Hays State, but perhaps the thing that speaks even more volumes about her accomplishments is how universally she is appreciated and respected within her chosen department. All the faculty in the department, whether they have had Remi in class or not, know who she is because she has made a conscious choice to be a part of and a leader within the student community.”

“She is the student who volunteers when a call goes out,” said Johnson, “the one who can always be counted on to go the extra mile on class assignments, the one who is willing to serve as needed for the on campus professional organization, the one who eagerly takes on a challenging research project with a new faculty member because she wants to learn and grow as a student.”

Johnson also introduced the finalists and the winner of the Lighthouse Award, Jessica Johnson (no relation). Jessica earned a Bachelor of General Studies from FHSU in 2017.

“She represents a well-rounded, conscientious student-citizen who has demonstrated her capacity for leadership and academic achievement as well as being active in community and campus service,” said one nominating letter. She will begin work on her doctorate at Baker University in the fall.

Student Government Association President Adam Schibi, a Hays senior majoring in accounting, introduced the finalists for the Pilot Award for outstanding faculty member, Betty Johnson announced Greer as the winner.

One nominating letter cited by Johnson called Greer “an excellent teacher.”

The letter continued, “Students understand how what they are learning can be applied in their careers. Enthusiasm and enjoyment for course material can readily be seen in the attitudes of his students. Dr. Greer expects students in his classes to be young professionals. Students in Dr. Greer’s classes respond with increased maturity, confidence in their abilities, and overall improved professionalism. After having completed Dr. Greer’s courses, the students hold themselves to higher expectations and do better in subsequent courses.”

Terry, winner of the Navigator Award as outstanding academic advisor, was announced by Student Government Association Vice President Kayelani Kirschbaum, a Merino, Colo., senior majoring in biology and organizational leadership.

The Navigator Award was created by the university in 1998 to recognize an outstanding academic advisor based on how closely he or she adheres to the university goals for academic advising. Candidates are nominated, interviewed and selected by graduating seniors in a process conducted by the Student Government Association.

Terry is an advisor to online students.

“In the nominations this individual received,” said Kirschbaum, “students noted the amount of personal touch they receive in planning out their degrees. His time and energy helped one of his nominators finish their degree in the most efficient and academically worthwhile manner, after attending four other institutions. His advising has been noted as being ‘awesome’ in working with students to achieve what they believed was impossible.”

The FHSU Alumni Association instituted the Torch and Pilot awards in 1974 to emphasize the importance of excellence in teaching and learning.

Torch Award candidates are nominated by members of the faculty on the basis of classroom excellence, participation in professional organizations, and involvement in student or civic activities.

The Lighthouse Award, approved by the Alumni Association in 2017 and first awarded in 2018, honors an outstanding student who is completing graduate studies. The award was named the Lighthouse in honor of the late Dr. James Forsythe, a former dean of the Graduate School and the university historian, whose book “Lighthouse on the Plains” documents the history of Fort Hays State.

The Pilot Award is given on the basis of classroom excellence, ongoing research and service activities. Candidates are nominated by graduating students.

Update 3:22 p.m. Friday, May 17: The location of this event has been changed to the Hays High School multipurpose room.

USD 489

USD 489 is partnering with the United Way of Ellis County and nwksvolunteers.org to better facilitate and organize volunteers for various events within the school district and the community next year.

Join the school district on Tuesday, May 21 in the Hays High School multipurpose room to see how you can help have a positive impact on the Hays community. The informational meeting will start at 6 p.m. and should only last one hour. A hot dog feed will be provided to guests who attend.

Adults 18 and older are invited to register as a volunteer. Children are welcome to attend with their parents if childcare is not available that evening.

Volunteers who sign up to work directly with children will be required to pass a background check. Please have your photo ID/driver’s license and social security number available for the background check that evening if you wish to volunteer for events over the summer that work directly with children.

CITY OF HAYS

Beginning Friday, May 17, 2019, traffic control on 43rd Street west of Vine Street in Hays will change to allow further reconstruction of 43rd Street.

Traffic will be moved onto the new pavement along the north side of 43rd Street to allow for the reconstruction of the south side of 43rd Street. The intersection of 43rd and Roth Avenue (east entrance to Walmart) will remain closed. The west entrance will remain open to northbound (entering traffic) only. Traffic leaving the Walmart parking lot must still go north via 45th Street.

This construction is expected to be complete in three weeks pending weather conditions.

Signs will be in place to direct the traveling public. Motorists should use caution in these areas.

The city of Hays regrets any inconvenience this may cause to the public. If there are any questions, please call the Office of Project Management at 785-628-7350 or the contractor, Vogts-Parga Construction, at 316-217-1961.

By DIANE GASPER-O’BRIEN
FHSU University Relations and Marketing

Brady Stephenson didn’t have a lot of extra time to spend with his family Saturday afternoon.

A quick lunch at a local restaurant was sandwiched between his late-morning graduation from the Kansas Academy of Mathematics and Science and a mid-afternoon final in his statistics class at Fort Hays State University.

Such is the life of a dedicated 18-year-old who will begin his junior year at FHSU in the fall.

Stephenson was one of 42 students honored at Saturday’s ninth annual completion ceremony. It was the largest graduating class to date for KAMS, a premier early college residential program for juniors and seniors on the Fort Hays State campus.

Students in KAMS finish their high school requirements while living on the FHSU campus and earning nearly 70 hours of college credit. They receive a certificate of completion from KAMS, a diploma from their home high school and can choose any four-year institution at which to continue their education.

Stephenson was so impressed with what he experienced the past two years at FHSU that he decided to return this fall to continue working on a degree in finance.

That wasn’t near as tough a decision as he had made a few years earlier when he was weighing the options of finishing high school where he grew up or stepping out of his comfort zone and enrolling in KAMS. That would mean being away from his parents and three younger siblings druing the school year.

Stephenson also was entrenched in school activities at Little River. He was a three-sport athlete, and he was elected for – and served as – student body president his sophomore year.

“I decided that in the end, academics were going to get me farther than sports,” Stephenson said, “and with independence, you learn a lot of responsibility.”

Leaving behind his red and white athletic uniforms from Little River didn’t keep Stephenson from participating in sports, though.

He played intramural flag football, basketball and softball at FHSU and plans to do the same next year. He also is a member of several organizations on campus: Finance Club, Tiger Pals and Catholic Disciples, and he was elected president of the Economics Club.

“For me, coming in I had that mindset to go to Harvard or Yale,” he said. “Once I got here, I now understand the quality of the education you can get right here at Fort Hays State.”

In KAMS, Stephenson got a head start on some educational opportunities outside of the classroom. He was involved with numerous research projects and gave several presentations at conferences the past two years.

Stephenson just completed an internship with Grow Hays, a nonprofit economic development organization.

Grow Hays interviewed three FHSU students who had applied for the internship funded partially by a grant from the Dane G. Hansen Foundation.

“We felt Brady was the best fit for what we had in mind,” said Doug Williams, executive director of Grow Hays, who complimented FHSU on the opportunities it offers students to learn out of the classroom.

Stephenson was exposed to a variety of business ventures, including marketing, social media, video-taping and editing. He even cut some commercials.

“He was willing to do anything we asked him to do,” Williams said. “He’s mature beyond his years, and we hope to possibly to have him back with us in the fall. He offers a lot of value to us.”

The internship was just as valuable for Stephenson as he was exposed to the business environment.

“It was a great place to better my time management skills and to make connections,” he said. “It really helped build on my communication skills.”

Stephenson will graduate with his class of 26 seniors at Little River High School this weekend. He will be able to give his former classmates some advice about their first year in college.

“This has been great,” he said. “Besides all the other obvious opportunities, KAMS has been like a cushion, getting to figure things out and organizations you want to join.”

This fall, when most students his age will be feeling their way and learning the ins and outs of college life, Stephenson will be an FHSU upperclassman.

First up, though, is an internship this summer – at another nonprofit organization, Soul Bloom Lending, in Salina.

Stephenson said he is looking forward to the next two years at Fort Hays State, where he plans to live in the Dane G. Hansen Scholarship Hall, built in 2016 for entrepreneurially minded students. He was accepted into the Honors College, an opportunity for high achieving students, and has received several scholarships that will help pay for the rest of his undergraduate instruction.

Stephenson is unsure of his plans after graduation but thinks his experiences on and off campus will help guide him in making that decision.

“It was instilled in me at a young age that it doesn’t matter whatever you end up doing, as long as you are helping other people,” Stephenson said.

“I can see Brady doing any number of things in finance,” Williams said. “He’s got the intelligence to go to Wall Street if he wanted, but I think he likes rural America. And his social skills will serve him well in whatever he does.”