Jim Cosgrove, an award-winning children’s musician out of Kansas City, will appear at 6:30 p.m. Thursday at the Hays Public Library.
The Hays Arts Council is presenting Cosgrove in 11 school presentations this week in addition to the free public performance for children and families at the library. He was at O’Loughlin Elementary School on Tuesday morning.
Students at O’Loughlin Elementary School during Jim Cosgrove’s performance Tuesday morning.
Cosgrove, AKA “Mr.Stinky Feet,” has been rockin’ kids and families for almost two decades, performing for tens of thousands of students at hundreds of schools throughout the United States. His high-energy, interactive shows have delighted audiences throughout North America and Europe, including two performances at the White House for the annual Easter Egg Roll.
During his assembly performances, Cosgrove will engage students through music to help reinforce principles of respect for themselves and others.
In his interactive character education program, titled “Respect the Rhythm,” he encourages students to express personal rhythm in everyday activities, such as homework, music and sports while emphasizing respect for the rhythm of others and the earth.
In addition to entertaining families and children, Cosgrove is a motivational speaker who energizes educators and corporate audiences on topics that include creativity, communication and creating a joy-filled life. He is the author of “Everybody Gets Stinky Feet,” a collection of 32 essays from his time as a parenting columnist for The Kansas City Star.
A Poor People’s Campaign protest in 2018. Photo Courtesy of the Poor People’s Campaign
The Kansas Poor People’s Campaign will launch the ‘Everybody’s Got a Right to Live Reality Tour’ this week and includes a stop in Hays at 2 p.m. Sunday, April 7 at the Hays Public Library.
Kansas is one of 28 states participating in the national Poor People’s Campaign’s organizing tour, a push to highlight the urgent crises facing the nation’s 140 million poor and low-income people and hold accountable the elected officials who perpetuate policy violence against vulnerable communities.
“The Reality Tour comes amidst a barrage of attacks on the poor from Washington and states across the country, including attempts by the president to divert critical funds away from social safety net programs toward the military and the border wall. It marks the next phase of the campaign’s nationwide efforts to highlight the real emergencies of poverty, systemic racism, ecological devastation, militarism and our distorted moral narrative; build power in often overlooked and underserved communities; and impact policies and elections,” the campaign said in a news release.
Local stops are designed to shine a light on injustices facing poor Kansans. In Kansas, the group’s organizing committees will share stories that highlight issues such as education, health care, immigration, systemic racism, housing, and access to food in what many Kansans refer to as “food deserts” throughout our state.
The national bus tour launched March 23 in Charleston, South Carolina, on the 50th anniversary of the historic Charleston hospital strike. Throughout the tour, organizers will sign up poor people, clergy, and activists for a June Poor People’s Moral Action Congress in Washington, D.C.
Calendar of events below:
APR. 7, 2PM CT – Hays Public Library, 1205 Main St., Hays.
Join Hays community members as they share personal stories of life with low-wage jobs, living with a disability on a fixed income, unstable housing and more. The KS Poor People’s Campaign will also be leading a discussion on the the realistic effects of system poverty, racism, the war economy, ecological devastation and the distorted moral narrative.
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APR. 2, 6:30PM CT – Trinity United Methodist Church, 1602 N Main St, Hutchinson.
Come join us to hear your friends and neighbors of Hutchinson speak to their reality of low wages, discrimination, and life & death without healthcare. Facilitated group discussions will be held on these issues, along with a Call to Action.Organized by Hutchinson community members and supported by the Poor People’s Campaign.
APR. 11, TIME TBA – Location TBA, Dodge City.
Join Dodge City and surrounding area community members as they share personal stories of life with low-wage jobs, lack of insurance, living with a disability on a fixed income, high cost of housing, inadequate polling places, immigration, and more. There will be short presentations and group discussion!
The Poor People’s Campaign: A National Call for Moral Revival is co-organized by Repairers of the Breach, a social justice organization founded by the Rev. Barber; the Kairos Center for Religions, Rights and Social Justice at Union Theological Seminary; and hundreds of local and national grassroots groups across the country.
In 2018, the campaign waged 40 days of direct action, marking the most expansive wave of nonviolent civil disobedience in U.S. history, calling attention to the issues facing the nation’s poor and disenfranchised communities. More than 30,000 people participated in over 200 direct actions at statehouses from coast-to-coast and in Washington, D.C. Over 3,000 people participated in nonviolent civil disobedience.
For the past two years, leaders of the Poor People’s Campaign: A National Call for Moral Revival have carried out a listening tour in dozens of states across this nation, meeting with tens of thousands of people from El Paso, Texas, to Marks, Mississippi, to South Charleston, West Virginia. Led by the Revs. Barber and Theoharis, the campaign has gathered testimonies from hundreds of poor people and listened to their demands for a better society.
A Poor People’s Campaign Moral Agenda, announced last year, was drawn from this listening tour, while anaudit of America conducted with allied organizations, including the Institute for Policy Studies and the Urban Institute, showed that, in many ways, we are worse off than we were in 1968: 23 states have passed racist voter suppression laws; 140 million people live in poverty; each year more than 250,000 people die in the United States from poverty and related issues; and the share of national income going towards the top 1 percent of earners has nearly doubled.
Capuchins Joseph Mary Elder and Christopher Popravak, Ellis Co. Attorney Tom Drees, and Bishop Jerry Vincke listen in Hays Tuesday night to public comments about sexual abuse of minors by clergy of the Salina Diocese.
By BECKY KISER Hays Post
The pews in Hays’ St. Nicholas of Myra Catholic Church were nearly filled Tuesday evening as people gathered for a public listening session about substantiated allegations of clergy abuse of minor children in the Salina diocese.
Salina Bishop Jerry Vincke opened and closed the 90-minute session with prayers.
“We (the Catholic Church) messed up,” he said after the first remarks were made by an attendee.
Joining Vincke were Fr. Christopher Popravak, Provincial of the Denver Province of Capuchins, and Fr. Joseph Mary Elder, O.F.M.Cap., Director of Communications, Denver.
The Capuchins are a Catholic religious order with a strong presence within the Salina Diocese, particularly in the Hays and Victoria area.
Popravak opened with an apology.
Capuchins Elder and Popravak, Denver. Popravak previously taught at TMP Catholic School and served the St. Joseph parish in Hays.
“I’d like to offer my deepest apologies to everyone here for the harm some of our brothers have inflicted on the community. We Capuchins have always treasured people here in Ellis County.”
Popravak said he served in Hays at the then-Thomas More Prep Catholic high school for boys and the St. Joseph parish “many, many years ago.”
“This is very distressing for all of us about the abuse that occurred,” Popravak continued, “and I’m here to publicly ask for your forgiveness, and for your prayers, especially for those that suffered the abuse and the after-effects of the abuse.”
Late last week the Capuchins and the Salina Diocese released separate lists of clergy who have been investigated for “substantial” or “credible allegations” of sexual abuse of a minor.
Thirteen Capuchin friars are listed. Of the 13, two are deceased and five have since left the order. None are in active ministry. Twelve of the 13 suspects had ties to Hays or Victoria.
The 13 listed clergy from the Salina Diocese served in more than 16 other northwest Kansas towns in various capacities.
Eleven of the clergy are deceased; two have been laicized – removed from the status of being a clergy member. The alleged abuses took place between 1907 and 2002, with most occurring in the 1960s and 1970s.
Bishop Vincke listens as Elmer tells his story of abuse by a Salina Diocese clergy member.
More than 20 people talked about the abuse allegations, including one gray-haired man who identified himself as Elmer saying he had been molested many years ago by one of the named clergy.
Elmer’s family did not believe it happened.
“I was told I was stupid, that I didn’t know what I was talking about, by my own mother,” Elmer recalled. The bishop at the time wrote a letter to Elmer saying “it was none of my business.”
“People are going through suicides. It’s tough,” Elmer said. He asked Bishop Vincke “how to forgive somebody.”
“It’s just incredibly tragic,” Vincke responded. “You’ll never forget.” After a long pause with his eyes cast down, Vincke looked up and thanked Elmer for sharing his story.
“I appreciate your courage for coming forward. I really admire you.” Vincke then offered a prayer for Elmer about his mistreatment. “Lord, fill him with your peace.”
Vincke said he has often heard from victims that they are not believed. “They and their parents are often also so embarrassed about what happened.”
Ellis Co. Attorney Tom Drees
Encouraging children to report abuse and helping families to believe them is paramount to stopping sexual child abuse, Ellis County Attorney Tom Drees told the crowd.
Many times the crimes are reported years after the abuse and the Kansas statute of limitations has changed over time.
“Today, if you have a rape or if you have a aggravated criminal sodomy, that would be unlimited. So that’s within a lifetime, if you find that out, you can prosecute it,” explained Drees.
But that’s a fairly recent change in state law. Previously, the statute of limitations was 10 years.
Other sexual violent crimes against children can be prosecuted until the victim turns age 18, or 28 if a suspect is identified through DNA. There are some exceptions, Drees noted.
Rev. Ron Gilardi, who taught at Thomas More Prep-Marian High School in Hays, was charged in 2001 with criminal sodomy, indecent liberties with a child, and other sexual offenses of a male student who left the school in 1994.
A five-year statute of limitations existed at that time.
Although the charges were made beyond the five-year statute of limitations, “we were able to prosecute Gilardi because it was a repressed memory recall situation made with the victim’s psychologist.” The victim recalled the abuse during a counseling session in 1999.
Again, the statute of limitations has changed since then, and charges can only be filed in a repressed memory recall case until the victim turns 28.
Gilardi was subsequently removed from the ministry and is currently under supervision, according to the abuse report.
Bishop Vincke reads a statement from a Victoria man who said his female cousin was raped in the mid-1970s by one of the Capuchin friars on the abuse list.
Two audience members identified themselves as they talked about sexual abuse of the relatives by men on the list.
One man wanted to know why the identified priests and friars have not apologized for their sexual abuse of children.
“We have tried to contact them but got no response,” Bishop Vincke said. Gilardi is one of the two accused Diocesan clergy still living.
“They have not accepted responsibility for what they’ve done, I’m sorry to say,” added Fr. Popravak about the Capuchins.
“I think people are feeling there’s still a cover-up right now,” Vincke said in an interview after the meeting.
Bishop Vincke hugs a woman after Tuesday’s meeting in Hays’ St. Nicholas of Myra Church.
“There was a major cover-up many years ago,” Vincke acknowledged, “but I think we’ve corrected that and we’re not trying to cover up anything anymore.
“We’re trying to be open about everything that’s happened. All of our sins, we’re laying out for the people.”
Vincke also thinks the Catholic Church needs to do a better job of relating to the public what abuse has happened in the Church, when it happened, and what is now being done about it.
The bishop liked the suggestion from a man in the audience that the laity – people of faith distinct from the church – get more involved in the church.
“We’re doing that but I think we could use more of their incredible resources for the good of our church as well,” Vincke smiled.
One young woman at the meeting talked about the good memories of priests she has from attending Catholic schools.
“We have some great priests,” Vincke agreed, “doing incredible work and service for the people. And we have some great seminarians. They’re excited to get started. They know what happened in the Church but they want to be part of the solution. They really want to help.”
RUSSELL COUNTY — Four people were injured in an accident just before 5p.m. Tuesday in Russell County.
The Kansas Highway Patrol reported a 2005 Honda van driven by Debra K. Nolan, 61, Ashland, Mo., was eastbound on Interstate 70 and exited at the east Russell exit.
The driver stopped at the stop sign at the bottom of the ramp, continued onto U.S. 281 and made a left turn in front of Kenworth semi driven by Phillip James Reece, 31, Larned. The semi collided with Honda.
Nolan and passenger Karen L. Hanley, 64, Mexico, Mo.; Rodney T. Nolan, 61, Ashland, Mo. And Donald E. Holt, Mexico, Mo., were transported to Russell County Hospital. Reece was not injured. Holt was not wearing a seat belt, according to the KHP.
The Hays Fire Department will be inspecting and flow testing fire hydrants on Wednesday, April 3, 2019 in the area of Vine Street to Commerce Parkway between 27th Street and 22nd Street and Hall Street to Oak Strteet between 18th Street and Seventh Street.
This is part of a coordinated effort by the City of Hays to inspect all fire hydrants in the city and flush all water mains annually.
Inspecting fire hydrants ensures the valves operate properly and there is no damage or obstructions that will prevent or interfere with the prompt use of fire hydrants in an emergency.Firefighters are also checking the pressure and volume of water mains in each neighborhood for firefighting purposes. The associated flushing of water mains allows chlorine to be distributed throughout the system to eliminate bio-filming in the water mains.
Slight discoloration of the water supply may be encountered although there will be no health risks to the consumer.All reasonable efforts will be taken to minimize the inconvenience to the public.Drivers are asked to avoid driving through water discharging from a fire hydrant during the short flushing period.
For more information, contact the Hays Fire Department at 628-7330.
Wednesday A slight chance of showers, with thunderstorms also possible after 1pm. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 65. South southeast wind 11 to 18 mph, with gusts as high as 28 mph. Chance of precipitation is 20%.
**Corrected Rainfall Amounts on Image**
Thunderstorm chances Wednesday night and possibly rainfall totals from 6 pm Wednesday to 6 am Thursday. #kswxpic.twitter.com/rXE8Unx47U
Wednesday Night A chance of showers and thunderstorms. Cloudy, with a low around 45. Southeast wind 7 to 14 mph becoming north after midnight. Chance of precipitation is 40%.
Thursday Mostly cloudy, then gradually becoming sunny, with a high near 63. North northwest wind 7 to 11 mph.
Thursday NightMostly clear, with a low around 43. East northeast wind around 6 mph becoming south southeast after midnight.
FridayMostly sunny, with a high near 72.
Friday NightPartly cloudy, with a low around 53.
SaturdayA 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms after 1pm. Partly sunny, with a high near 73.
RUSSELL COUNTY— Four people were injured in an accident just before 5p.m. Tuesday in Russell County.
The Kansas Highway Patrol reported a 2005 Honda van driven by Debra K. Nolan, 61, Ashland, Mo., was eastbound on Interstate 70 and exited at the east Russell exit.
The driver stopped at the stop sign at the bottom of the ramp, continued onto U.S. 281 and made a left turn in front of Kenworth semi driven by Phillip James Reece, 31, Larned. The semi collided with Honda.
Nolan and passenger Karen L. Hanley, 64, Mexico, Mo.; Rodney T. Nolan, 61, Ashland, Mo. And Donald E. Holt, Mexico, Mo., were transported to Russell County Hospital. Reece was not injured. Holt was not wearing a seat belt, according to the KHP.
Alley collection of trash and recyclables in Hays will resume April 8.
The city implemented a temporary curbside-only pickup March 18 due to deteriorated conditions in alleys caused by snow, frost and rain.
“We had trash trucks getting stuck and some areas were completely impassible for a period of time,” said Jesse Rohr, public works director. “That forced us to go curbside for a short period of time. However, we’ll get back to normal collections starting Monday.”
Two crews have spent the last two and half weeks improving the alleys. The majority of the work has been completed and Rohr expects it to be done next week. Ongoing alley maintenance will continue for the next couple of months.
A road grader and a tractor with a box plate on the back are being used to smooth out tire ruts, “knocking the ruts down and getting the rock back on the surface of the alleys that has been driven below the surface,” Rohr explained. Rock is also being added to the alleys.
During the temporary change in pickup sites, some blue polycarts were not moved by residents from alley to curbside and the bins are overflowing, with more trash bags on the ground.
Rohr says communicating notice of the temporary change to 7,000 refuse customers was a “big challenge on short notice.”
“People who call who say they weren’t aware of it and their trash is full, we’re going and taking care of it. Just like if they say they need assistance moving their cart, we’re helping with that.”
As workers have seen overflowing polycarts and blue bags for recycling still in alleys the past three weeks, they’ve also taken care of those.
“Our solid waste crews have done a great job,” Rohr added.
WAKEENEY – Dive deeper into the history and landscape of the Smoky Valley Scenic Byway at each of our recently installed interpretive panels! Each one tells the story of the historical markers and significant natural features that make our byway a Kansas state treasure.
An Eight Year Project Becomes Reality
The Smoky Valley Scenic Byway allows travelers to explore the history and landscape of our Northwest Kansas region. They are part of a larger joint effort between several state and tourism agencies to provide more information at 39 tourist attractions on twelve routes located across the state.
In 2010, the Kansas Department of Transportation (KDOT) and the Kansas Department of Wildlife, Parks and Tourism (KDWPT) received a $220,000 National Scenic Byway grant from the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) for development of the Kansas Byways Interpretive Plan. Using this funding, Fermata, Inc. of Austin, TX began collecting the historical information & developed the storylines for the project.
In 2015, RDG Planning and Design of Omaha, NE began the design phase and, once finished, general contractor GSR Construction, Inc. of Lawrence, KS started working on the construction of the project. WaKeeney’s Travel and Tourism Director Cathy Albert gathered the stories and images included on the panels and in November 2018 the finished panels were installed at points of interest along the Smoky Valley Scenic Byway.
Interpretive signs at Eisenhower Park with F-14 jet in WaKeeney
Exploring the Smoky Valley Scenic Byway is now easier than ever! The 60-mile, U-shaped loop is one of the easiest routes included in the Kansas byways’ system. With starting points at either Exit 127 in WaKeeney or at Ogallah, Exit 135. If you begin your journey in WaKeeney, we recommend starting at the F-14 Jet in Eisenhower Park, where you’ll find three signs that tell the story of WaKeeney and Trego County.
Traveling Through the Smoky Valley
For over a hundred years people have been traveling through the Smoky Valley. Early trails brought settlers to our prairies and a few decades later the American love of the road got them out on the highways that followed those same routes. In 1956, Kansas native President Dwight D. Eisenhower directed his engineers to route his massive interstate project through the Smoky Valley, and, today, I-70 brings people from all over the world to Trego County.
Settling the Western Smoky Valley and the “Queen City of the High Plains”
Before WaKeeney was the “Christmas City of the High Plains” it wore the crown of a queen. Originally assigned the moniker of “Queen City of the High Plains,” WaKeeney began as a frontier town in 1878 and soon grew to be a center of trade in our county. All this information and much more is detailed on the panel entitled “Settling the Western Smoky Valley.”
“The Earth Provides Shelter and Beauty”
Ingenuity has always been a part of the history of the Smoky Valley. Evidence of this is found in the beautiful creamy-white limestone buildings that dot our landscape. Using rock cut from local quarries, our founding fathers created the churches, schools, and civic and government buildings that were the anchors of Trego County communities. Find out more about the sturdy construction and quality materials that were created by these innovative builders on the “Stone Buildings” interpretative panel. The Smoky Valley Scenic Byway
The kiosk located 12-miles south of WaKeeney on Hwy. 283 features a double-sided informative panel. It features facts and images about the natural beauty you’ll find along the landscape, as well as a replica of a Butterfield Overland Dispatch marker. The original markers helped to guide the earliest travelers along a pioneer trail.
Cedar Bluff Reservoir and State Park
A favorite stop along the byway is Cedar Bluff Reservoir and State Park. The reservoir and its dam were constructed in 1949 by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation to provide water for flood control, irrigation, and the region’s water supply, as well as for recreation. Throughout the decades it has become a natural wildlife reserve and popular playground for outdoor enthusiasts. Three interpretative panels placed in the parking area south of Smoky Hill River Bridge tell the story of Cedar Bluff and include a map of the many inlets where camping, fishing, and water sports are enjoyed.
Kiosk 12 miles south of WaKeeney on Highway 283
Planning Your Trip on the Smoky Valley Scenic Byway
Take a trip on the Smoky Valley Scenic Byway and look for our new interpretive signs to learn more about Western Kansas and the history of Trego County!
If you begin your journey in WaKeeney we recommend starting at
F-14 Jet in Eisenhower Park.
Go South 12 miles on Hwy. 283 to the kiosk.
Continue South 14 miles to Hwy. 4 at Ransom.
Turn East and travel 9-miles on Hwy. 4 to Brownell.
Travel North 10-miles on Hwy. 147 to Cedar Bluff Reservoir.
Continue traveling North on Hwy. 147 for 16-miles to end at I-70 in Ogallah, Exit 135.
Each sign provides directions along the route where you can stop and enjoy the wonders of nature, historical sites, and geological wonders of the Smoky Valley Scenic Byway.
A cast of 27 Fort Hays State University students and Hays residents will bring “The Marriage of Figaro,” the opera by the great Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, to the Felten-Start Theatre stage from Thursday, April 4, through Sunday, April 7.
Directed by Dr. Ivalah Allen, associate professor of music and theatre, the cast has been rehearsing since being selected in late November. The entire cast has been rehearsing together since January.
Most of the parts have been double-cast, with one set of performers on Thursday and Saturday and another for the Friday and Sunday performances. For performances when they are not in character, they will sing with the chorus.
Performances are all in Malloy Hall’s Felten-Start Theatre. Thursday, Friday and Saturday, the curtain opens at 7:30 p.m. Sunday’s matinee begins at 2:30 p.m.
The cast: Count Almaviva:
Adam Flax, Hays senior majoring in music education. Countess Almaviva:
Kiran Muetz, Loveland, Colo., senior majoring in music education, performing on Thursday and Saturday. Shelby Matlock Laird, Hays, singing on Friday and Sunday. Susanna:
Dannielle Dickerson, Riley junior majoring in music education, Thursday and Saturday, and Raeanna Peacock, Hays senior, music performance, on Friday and Sunday. Figaro:
Cody Kreutzer, Hays senior, general studies (theatre), Thursday and Saturday, Braydon Boyer, Salina junior, music performance, Friday and Sunday. Cherubino:
Matea Gregg, Hays senior, communication studies, Thursday and Saturday, and Jenna Confer, St. Francis junior, elementary education, Friday and Sunday. Marcellina:
Ciara Calhoon, Beloit senior, music education, Thursday and Saturday, and Cheyenne Rowe, Dighton junior, music education, Friday and Sunday. Bartolo:
Andrew Burnett, Scott City junior, music, Thursday and Saturday, and Jeremy Claude, Hays sophomore, criminal justice, Friday and Sunday. Basilio:
Luis Valencia, Leoti freshman, music education, Thursday and Saturday, and Eric Adams, Hays sophomore, music, Friday and Sunday. Don Curzio:
Micheal Hernandez, Hays freshman, music technology, Thursday and Saturday, and Hayden Sillmon, Hays sophomore, music education, Friday and Sunday. Barbarina:
Rachelle Lumpkins, Hays junior, music education. Antonio:
Ryan Will, Hays freshman, psychology. Chorus:
Sarah Wyse, Hays freshman, music performance. Shelby Knoll, Hays freshman, elementary education. Alexis Karabinas, Salina junior, art education. Taylor Drees, Hays freshman, elementary education. Mackenzie Bowers, Westmoreland freshman, music education. Veronica Guerrero, St. George, Utah, music performance. Allison Muth, Great Bend sophomore, organizational leadership. Katy Walters, Hays freshman, music performance.
Sen. Billinger with Reps. Wasinger, Mastroni, and Rahjes at the Feb. Legislative Coffee in Hays
HACC
The Hays Area Chamber of Commerce (HACC) will host a Legislative Coffee Saturday, April 6 in the Fort Hays State University Memorial Union Stouffer Lounge from 8:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m.
Guests will include First Dist. Congressman Roger Marshall (R-Great Bend), and Kansas state legislators Sen. Rick Billinger (R-Goodland), Rep. Barbara Wasinger (R-Hays), Rep. Ken Rahjes (R-Agra), and Rep. Leonard Mastroni (R-La Crosse).
Light pastries and beverages will be provided.
There is no charge for the event and the public is encouraged to attend.
