WAKEENEY — Just after 2 p.m. Friday, a call was received by Trego County Communications that flames were coming out of Trego County Rural Fire Station One.
WaKeeney City Fire Department crews were dispatched to the building, located on the west edge of WaKeeney.
All four fire vehicles were able to be cleared from the building. Both WaKeeney City and Trego County Fire department personnel were on hand to fight the fire. Crews were on scene until after 6 p.m. The building is a total loss, along with all the gear and equipment located in the building.
Western Cooperative Electric Association, WaKeeney, offered to provide housing for the fire vehicles and will allow the department use of a building. Many offers were received by citizens in the area, but Western Co-op had a building large enough to house all equipment.
Trego County Rural Fire Chief Chad Mann said that is a sad day for Trego County Rural firefighters after losing their home station. However, the department will continue to respond to fires and continue rescue on wrecks thanks to the generosity of Western Coop Electric. The department is humbled by all the offers of gear and help from area fire departments.
The State Fire Marshal was called to the scene and the cause of the fire is under investigation.
Check Hays Post for more as details become available.
At 8:30 p.m. Thursday, Hays dispatch was notified of an aggravated robbery, aggravated assault, aggravated battery and aggravated kidnapping that occurred in the 1300 block of Spring Hill Road in Ellis County.
Deputies identified the victim as a 20-year-old Hays man who was walking in the southwest area of Hays when a male acquaintance offered him a ride. After accepting the ride, the victim was intentionally driven into the county against his will. Another male emerged from the truck of the vehicle, through the back seat, and robbed the victim at gunpoint. After robbing the victim of $1,800 in cash, as well as personal belongings, the victim was forced to jump from the moving vehicle, causing him minor injury.
Ellis County Sheriff’s Office detectives have identified and arrested two Ellsworth County men in connection to the incident. The investigation is ongoing. Nothing further will be released at this time. All suspects are presumed innocent until proven guilty by a court of law.
Check Hays Post for details as information becomes available.
Project Manager John Braun shows Hays city commissioners a large vinyl map of the four proposed traffic roundabouts on north Vine Street.
By BECKY KISER Hays Post
Hays Mayor Henry Schwaller is “still a roundabout skeptic.” Vice-Mayor Shaun Musil is not a skeptic.
Commissioner Sandy Jacobs is encouraging the public to attend next Tuesday’s open house about the North Vine Street Corridor Improvement Project.
“It’s really exciting and that’s when some of the best stuff comes, when you bring people together and ask questions,” Jacobs said.
John Braun, city project manager, updated the city commission Thursday night about the plan, which includes three traffic roundabouts and one partial teardrop roundabout on Vine/U.S. 183 between 32nd and 41st streets.
The most recent addition to the plan is a partial roundabout called a “teardrop” at the eastbound exit ramp of Interstate 70.
The teardrop was added after consultant WSP Engineers asked for an independent review of the plan by Kittelson & Associates, a nationwide firm which specializes in transportation projects.
Traffic going eastbound will be able to pull off the interstate, go through the teardrop, and head directly north on Vine rather than having to drive further south to the 37th Street roundabout to then head north.
A teardrop partial roundabout has been added to the eastbound I-70 off ramp for the North Vine Street corridor traffic improvements. (Click to enlarge)
The median on Vine will be replaced by a roundabout at 41st and Mopar. Left turns and cross traffic are currently prohibited at the location. “The roundabout would provide excellent access to and from businesses in that area,” Braun said.
He noted the four roundabouts will accommodate semis with 53-foot trailers and oversized loads such as those carrying wind turbine blades and tower sections.
The 32nd and 37th Street roundabouts will disconnect the current frontage roads, which may cause increased traffic volume at 35th Street, where Arby’s and Hickok’s Steakhouse are located.
“To ease the congestion there, we’re changing to a 3/4 intersection which reduces the traffic conflict points from 66 to 28,” Braun explained. “It improves pedestrian safety north and south along the frontage roads.
“From Vine, you’ll still be able to make right and left turns onto the frontage roads, but you’ll only be able to make a right turn out to Vine. Therefore, motorists wanting to turn left will have to turn right, go to the nearest roundabout and make a U-turn.”
Discussion turned to the deteriorated west frontage road as Schwaller asked whether it should be repaved.
“It’s on our priority list,” said Toby Dougherty, city manager, “either the top year or the second year.”
Commissioner James Meier also asked if the city should add dedicated parking along the frontage road.
“Maybe parallel parking between Vine and the frontage road. Drivers have created it themselves. I don’t think it’s actually supposed to exist,” he said.
Commissioner Ron Mellick pointed out the plan calls for a sidewalk. It would run the full length of the west frontage road similar to what is on the east frontage road.
“The sidewalk is actually very important. I don’t want to take away from that,” Meier said. “If there’s a way we can accommodate some of those businesses with parking, such as Freddy’s, I think we should take a look at it. Maybe we could do it on both sides.”
“If you have off-street parking and a sidewalk, there’s going to have to be some sort of separation there,” Mellick said. He also wondered if the businesses would be assessed the additional cost of the parking.
Assistant City Manager Jacob Wood has been in meetings with all the affected Vine Street business owners.
“Not a single one has said anything about the parking through there,” he told the commission. “Nobody has said we’d like to have parking or we think it’s necessary. Nobody said that.”
“This is just me thinking out loud,” Meier said.
“I don’t think there’s anything wrong with that,” Jacobs said. “When we start these projects, I think sometimes we need to think outside of the box and outside of the project about what we can do because we’re doing work at that time. It doesn’t make sense to finish something and then say why didn’t we do that?
“What’s extra bad about those streets is when it rains, people don’t stay on that street. So you have these big gullies right off on the side. Not only are they unattractive, they’re dangerous.
Vice-Mayor Shaun Musil looks at printouts of informational posters that will be at the Vine Street project open house Feb. 12.
“I think we should look in to possibly doing it,” she concluded. Musil agreed with Jacobs, noting there are often vehicles pulling trailers parked in the grass and gravel.
“We’ll take a look at it,” promised Dougherty. “People are obviously parking there now and we’ve struggled with that.”
The “peanut” roundabout at 32nd and 33rd Streets allows the two intersections to operate as one.
“The hourglass shape has a smaller footprint to minimize the amount of additional right of way required and slows the travel speed as compared to an oval,” explained Braun. “Disconnecting the north and south frontage streets at 32nd reduces conflict points by two-thirds of what they are now.”
With the addition of the teardrop roundabout, the overall project cost estimate has increased from $7.6 million to $9.3 million, plus the expense of acquiring right of way. The city has been awarded a federal BUILD grant of $6,057.827 to cover construction costs. The remaining amount will be paid with a dedicated 20-year two percent increase in the transient guest tax.
Preliminary design is expected to be completed in March, with a final design in November. Bid opening would begin in April 2020 with construction planned to start in June 2020. The project is scheduled to be finished in November 2021.
An extra-large map of the traffic corridor between 32nd and 41st streets will feature the proposed four roundabouts. Numerous poster boards will suggest topics for discussion.
City staff, engineers and KDOT representatives will be on hand to answer questions.
“We don’t know what’ll come out of it. But please take the time to come and attend,” urged Jacobs.
The updated information about the traffic corridor plan is available on the city’s website, www.haysusa.com.
ES&S Sales Rep. Angie Frison shows a group of Ellis Co. residents the DS200 Tuesday in Hays
By JONATHAN ZWEYGARDT Hays Post
Ellis County election officials, workers and voters all got a chance this week to look at the possible future equipment of elections within the county.
Sales representatives from Election Systems & Software (ES&S) of Omaha, Neb., were in Hays on Tuesday to demonstrate new voting equipment as the county and County Clerk and Election Officer Donna Maskus prepares to purchase new equipment.
The representatives showed off a paper ballot scanner and tabulator, the DS200 and the ExpressVote voting system, a touch screen voting machine, to a large group of interested parties at the County Administrative Center.
Among those in attendance were commissioners Butch Schlyer and Dustin Roths, Administrator Phillip Smith-Hanes, Hays Mayor and Chair of the Ellis County Democratic Party Henry Schwaller, and several poll and election workers.
The one major difference between the machines presented Tuesday and the current iVotronic machines owned by the county is that the ES&S machines use of paper ballots.
Legislation approved in 2018 requires that all Kansas counties be able to perform a post-election audit. The audit will require a hand recount of paper ballots. The iVotronic machines do not produce a paper ballot.
“The whole nation is focused on paper,” Angie Frison, Kansas Sales Manager for ES&S said. “Real soon, our whole company thinks that it’s going to be mandated that any touchscreen, or any DRE, is what they call the touch screens without paper, are going to be banned from the nation entirely.”
ES&S Account Manager Chris Kurland shows County Commissioner Dustin Roths, former Commissioner Marcy McClleland and Clerk Donna Maskus the DS200
When using the voting machines demonstrated Tuesday, the voter is given a paper ballot. If the voter choses a regular ballot, they would fill it out like normal and then insert it into the DS200.
The Express voting machine, which also meets all Americans with Disabilities Act requirements, also uses paper. The voter is given a blank sheet that is inserted into the machine and the voters selections are then transferred to the ballot through a thermal process. That ballot is also inserted it into the DS200.
The DS200 scans the ballots and then results are saved on an encrypted USB flash drive while the paper ballots are stored in a locked bin located in the bottom half of the machine.
The USB drive and the paper ballots are all the election workers have to collect at the end of the day and return to election headquarters.
The USB is then inserted into a secure computer that contains ES&S election software that helps to tally the votes. It also has the ability to gather write-in votes that will be counted.
The machines are not connected to the internet, so they cannot be accessed by hackers through the web, and the computer that contains the software that produces the results does not have internet access and the user can only access the ES&S voting software.
Currently the county has 69 iVotronic machines that are deployed at 10 polling sites throughout the county.
Frison said because they estimate it takes about the same time to vote on the current iVotronic machine as it does to vote on a paper ballot, they believe the county would need to have a similar number of paper ballot voting booths.
Frisen and Kurkland demonstrate the ExpressVoting machine
She also said they recommend one DS200 for 3,500 voters.
Clerk Maskus said they do not plan on changing the number of polling locations and expect they could have one of each machine at each polling site.
According to the ES&S sales representatives the DS200 costs approximately $5,700 and the ExpressVote will cost $3,700 — money that both Clerk Maskus and Commissioner Roths said the county has set aside to purchase new voting equipment.
“I like the idea of paper ballots, it gives the voters that reassurance that there is a paper trail,” Roths said.
He also added that he liked the ES&S was from the Midwest and that they are the company that has been selected by states such as Utah to handle all of their voting equipment.
Maskus said the county plans on having one more vendor demonstrate equipment before making a purchase later this year.
The Hays City Commission is finalizing plans for north Vine Street improvements, which include roundabouts to ease traffic congestion. What do you think of the plan?
KPERS Funding
The budget that was submitted by Governor Laura Kelly is contingent on the reamortization of the Kansas Public Employee Retirement System’s (KPERS) unfunded liability. This proposal has not been well received by the legislature since the cost of reamortization over thirty years would be an additional cost to the Kansas taxpayers of approximately $7.4 billion.
There was some movement this week regarding KPERS when the Kansas Senate passed Senate Bill 9, which will transfer $115 million from the state general fund to the Kansas Employees Retirement Fund to alleviate some of the reduced contributions from past years.
During the 2015 legislative session, a total of $97.4 million in KPERS contributions were not made into the retirement system. When that decision was made, it originally required the state to repay this contribution in fiscal year 2018, plus interest. However, at the time we were experiencing financial difficulties and that contribution was never made and added to the KPERS unfunded liability.
Senate Bill 9 passed out of the Senate with a vote of 40-0. This bill has now been sent to the House and the House Appropriations committee will have a hearing and work this bill.
Kansas Sports Betting
Last Wednesday, the House Federal and State Affairs Committee heard testimony on House Bill 2032, which would require that any sports gambling authorized by the Kansas Lottery be conducted exclusively at racetrack facilities. Essentially, this would legalize sports betting through the Kansas Lottery which would be able to conduct and operate sports betting. The lottery would also be allowed to enter into contracts with lottery vendors and the racetrack facilities. The language of the bill states that 0.25% of the total amount wagered is paid to the appropriate sport governing body, for example the NFL, MLB, or NBA. The amount of 6.75% of the wagered amount is deposited into either the Sports Wagering Receipts Fund or the Lottery Operating Fund.
Safe and Secure Schools Update
Last session, House Republicans, in an initiative to keep the children of Kansas safe and secure at school, drafted the Safe and Secure Schools Act. This act requires the State Board of Education to work with other agencies to develop statewide standards for safety and to craft security plans for each school district in the state. The contents were signed into law in May, 2018. Since that time, the Kansas State Department of Education and the State Board of Education have worked on creating, refining, and adopting standards. A total of $5 million was allocated in fiscal year 2019 to help schools make their buildings more secure. The districts requested a total of $13 million in improvements, unfortunately, the Governor recommended defunding this program entirely in her proposed budget for fiscal year 2020.
The federal government has also been looking into the School Safety issue, having recently published the final report of the Federal Commission on School Safety. The Commission focused on three broad categories: preventing school violence; mitigating the effects of violence on students and faculty; and responding to and recovering from attacks.
Contact Information
As always, if you have any concerns, feel free to contact me (785) 296-7672, follow on twitter at @waymaster4house, visit www.troywaymaster.com or email me at [email protected]. Also, if you happen to visit the statehouse, please let my office know.
It is a distinct honor to serve as your representative for the 109th Kansas House District and the state of Kansas.
Please do not hesitate to contact me with your thoughts, concerns, and questions. I always appreciate hearing from the residents of the 109th House District and others from the state of Kansas, as well.
Troy Waymaster (R-Bunker Hill) is the 109th Dist. state representative and chairman of the House Appropriations committee. The 109th District includes Osborne, Russell, and Smith counties and portions of Barton, Jewell, Lincoln and Rush counties.
BUNKER HILL – Smoky Hills Public Television’s local program, The Kansas Legislature, will be hosted by Michael Walker, director of the Fort Hays State University Docking Institute.
Our guests will be State Representatives Don Hineman of the 118th District, Russ Jennings of the 122nd District, and Leonard Mastroni of the 117th District, and Senator Randall Hardy of the 24th District. Tune in Friday at 7 p.m., and call in with your legislative questions.
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.
The Kansas Legislature will air on Fridays at 7 p.m. To find a list of legislators that might be on the show each week, go to www.shptv.org where you will find the 2019 season schedule.
Hays USD 489 Superintendent candidate Ron Wilson said he centers all his work on what is best for kids.
Wilson is the fourth of four candidates to be interviewed by the Hays school board for the position of superintendent. He was interviewed by the school board Thursday night.
Mike Gower, Logan and Phillipsburg superintendent, interviewed Wednesday. Keith Hall, USD 489 interim director of finance, and Jamie Wetig, Ashland superintendent, interviewed last week.
Wilson, 53, has been the superintendent in Herington for the last two years. He was the Abilene Middle School principal for 18 years and also served as a K-8 principal at North Ottawa County. He won the Kansas Association of Secondary School Principals Principal of the Year Award in 2006 and the Kansas Association of Middle School Administrators Principal of the Year Award in 2015.
He received his undergraduate degree at Bethany College and master’s degree and superintendent certification from Kansas State University. He said he made the move to becoming a superintendent later in life, because he wanted to wait until his youngest child graduated high school before moving the family. A job in Hays would move Wilson closer to his aging mother-in-law in Colorado. The Wilsons also have a son who is a senior at Fort Hays State University.
School was canceled Thursday due to cold weather, so Wilson did not have the opportunity to see the schools operating with students. He said he still thought the schools where similar to the Herington district even though the Herington district is much smaller.
“It is a 2A district. This is a 5A district, but I would say it is still people working in schools and working toward student success. Although there are more students and staff, they still have the same mission, the same goal. There are so many great support people all over this district, it is really amazing to see what is going on.”
Wilson has not been through a bond issue as a superintendent, but the Herington district recently moved forward with a lease purchase agreement using capital improvement funds to remove asbestos from the high school and upgrade floors, lighting and labs.
The Hays school district has had two failed bond attempts in the last three years. It has discussed attempting a third that would include improvements to the Hays High School HVAC system, expansion of the Hays Middle School cafeteria and expansion of Roosevelt Elementary School to accommodate five sections of each grade.
“I think I see my role as more a consensus builder,” Wilson said of a possible bond issue, “to try to bring everyone together into a consensus of what is the best possible plan that will meet the needs of the school and people but, at the same time, what the community desires. I think in my skill set that is my strength in being able to work with people and get them to understand there are not ulterior motives. It is just trying to figure out how we can best serve kids.”
Wilson acknowledged it’s tough convincing people to vote for a bond issue that includes a tax increase.
“Once people understand that we are trying to do the best we can with what we have and they trust we are telling them the right thing, I think that is how you get over the hump,” he said.
Wilson said he would also support a long-range facility plan as has been advocated by some school board members.
The school board has been split on how to move forward on facilities. They had a notable split vote on the purchase of the Oak Park Medical Complex, which is being renovated for use by Early Childhood Connections.
“I think we need to create a situation where people are focused on kids and doing what is best for kids,” he said. “I think if we have that as our ultimate goal, it is really easy to unite people as they can see that is what we are aiming for is to do what’s best for kids.”
Wilson also talked about relationships with teachers.
“I would be disappointed if I did not have a great relationship with teachers,” Wilson said. “I am very supportive of teachers, and I feel strongly that when it comes to teacher pay, that has got to be a priority of the district.”
He said raises are not always possible, but teachers make the biggest impact with students.
Herington participates in interest-based bargaining. Hays used to participate in interest-based bargaining, but has moved away from that style of negotiations in recent years. Wilson said he really liked IBB negotiations. In IBB, both parties focus on what is best for the good of both sides. Kathy Rome, KNEA UniServ director, said she and Hays KNEA also supported IBB. Board member Paul Adams asked the board at its last meeting to consider using IBB again. The full board has yet to discuss the move.
Under Wilson’s leadership in Herington, the district implemented Multi-Tiered Systems of Support. The district dedicated time to allow students who need more help to receive it. Those children who are at grade level in reading and math can use that time for enrichment activities. The schools also use some of that time for character-building activities.
Wilson said he would bring being a champion for kids to the Hays school district.
“Our ultimate goal is to give every kid opportunities … to do things more than they even thought possible. That is one of things I will bring right away. We will talk about what we are doing, what we can do better, what do you need to do better.
“I will bring a vision of everyone to bring their best every day,” he said. “I think that is so important. That is not just staff. That is making sure students bring their best and even parents in some regards. That is what our expectations are.”
He also said he believes in building a positive culture.
“Everyone has to be on the same page in terms of our goal and that is to give kids the best. … Negativity just sucks the life out of school district. There are going to be some tough days, and you are going to need someone to be positive to get you through those tough days. If you have more negativity right around the corner, it is going to take you down.”
He said many of thing he spoke about he already sees in the Hays school district. He would just hope to reinforce that vision.
The city of Hays will host an open house to provide information to the public on Vine Street corridor improvements, including proposed roundabout solutions. Refreshments will be served.
City of Hays staff and transportation engineers will be on hand to provide an opportunity for the public to learn about the North Vine Street Corridor Project. Detailed models of proposed changes will be on display to show the capabilities of roundabouts and how they improve safety for vehicles and pedestrians.
The event will be from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Feb. 12 at The Venue at Thirsty’s.
WAKEENEY – K-State Research & Extension’s Golden Prairie District is hosting a Weed Control Update at the Trego County Commercial Building on the Trego County Fairgrounds, 13th & Russell Ave., in WaKeeney on February 20 from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m.
The update will focus on new 2019 herbicide releases, weed control practices, and weed control research in dryland cropping systems. Presenters include Dallas Peterson and Vipan Kumar. CCA credits and CEU credits for Commercial Applicators are available.
This Update is open to the public and there is no cost for admission. Online registration is requested by going to goldenprairie.ksu.edu.
For more information about the Update, please call Clint Bain at 785-743-6361.
BUNKER HILL – Smoky Hills Public Television invites you to take part in the 2019 SHPTV PBS Kids Writers Contest. Smoky Hills Public Television encourages children in central and western Kansas to build critical literacy skills by creating their own stories.
Smoky Hills Public Television is looking for stories from kids throughout the viewing area to write and illustrate their own stories. The stories will be judged and winners will receive a visit at their school or home from a representative from SHPTV where we award them with a trophy and fun prizes. The SHPTV PBS Kids Writers Contest is designed to be a valuable, hands-on, active learning tool.
The contest is for children in grades K-3.
The contest is currently underway, and entries can be submitted to SHPTV through March 29, 2019. Smoky Hills Public Television will select local winners and award prizes in May. The rules and entry form are available at www.shptv.org.
