Leadership Hays is a program made possible by the Hays Area Chamber of Commerce through it’s affiliation with the Kansas Leadership Center. The goal of the program is to train individuals and teach them skills to become leaders of the 21st century.
Leadership Hays begins in February and wraps up in May, so within a few months you will have the leadership skills to last a lifetime.
Space is limited in each class so submit your application now.
Deadline to turn in applications for the current class is Friday, Jan. 4.
You can find more information and an application on our website at this link or call the Chamber office at 785-628-8201.
Heartland Community Foundation, which serves Ellis, Rooks and Trego Counties, recently awarded over $163,000 in fall grants to area organizations across the three counties.
Grants were funded through the foundation’s Heartland Area Action Fund, Dane G. Hansen Community Action Fund, Heartland Healthy Living Fund, Kansas Health Foundation Fund and the Legacy Funds for Ellis, Rooks and Trego Counties.
The following organizations received funding:
Ellis County –
The Arc of Central Plains, $15,000 to purchase sensory equipment for a new Accessible Recreation Complex playground.
O’Loughlin Elementary PTA, $10,000 for new playground equipment at O’Loughlin Elementary.
Grow Hays, $10,000 for technology upgrades to BriefSpace meeting facilities.
Community Foundation of Ellis, $7,308 for lighting updates to The Little Engine That Could.
Thomas More Prep-Marian High, Inc., $5,080 for security upgrades.
Western Kansas Child Advocacy Center, $5,000 to build a basement bathroom and shower for child abuse victims.
USD 489, $3,562 for preschool hearing screening equipment.
USD 489, $3,419 to purchase and implement a social-emotional learning curriculum for Kindergarten through fifth grade.
Developmental Services of Northwest Kansas, $3,378 to purchase hearing screening equipment for children and adults with developmental delays.
USD 489, $2,050 to purchase an early childhood curriculum for the Head Start program.
Bethesda Place, Inc., $1,500 for accessibility updates to Bethesda Home.
USD 489, $1,000 to purchase materials for STEM Pals, a program for fifth grade students and residents of assisted living facilities.
First Call for Help of Ellis County, Inc., $533 to support event costs of The Amazing Race.
Thomas More Prep-Marian High, Inc., $400 for the TMP-M Biology Club’s Ecological Field Study.
Rooks County –
USD #270, $15,000 to purchase and install an electronic access control security system for USD 270.
Main Street Development, Inc., $8,946 to repair the former Cindy Lou’s buildings for conversion into business incubator spaces.
Main Street Development, Inc., $7,320 to purchase materials for the Crossroads Quilt Guild’s Quilt of Valor initiative, which seeks to provide a quilt to all Rooks County veterans and those currently serving.
City of Stockton, $5,531 to replace bunker gear for the fire department.
Plainville Recreation Commission, $5,000 for improvements to the Plainville Recreation Commission Fitness Center.
USD 269, $3,200 for Beyond the Classroom, a day for junior high and high school students to learn life skills and activities not generally taught in the traditional school setting.
Rooks County Healthcare Foundation, $2,514 to purchase bedside medication computer scanners for labor and delivery.
USD #270, $2,236 to purchase crisis kits for classrooms, gyms and administrative offices.
Housing Authority of Plainville/Country Lane Apartments, $2,000 to initiate planning for an upcoming improvement project at Country Lane.
Stockton Area Chamber of Commerce, $2,000 to help expand and develop several annual community events, including The Peony Festival, Stockton’s Pumpkin Patch and Olde Tyme Christmas.
USD 271, $1,449 to purchase quilting machine templates for the Leadership Service in Action through Quilts program.
Trego County –
USD 208, $13,808 to purchase several pieces of new educational technology.
USD 208, $6,598 to purchase student heart rate monitors for Trego County High School and Trego Grade School physical education classes.
WaKeeney Lions Club, $5,000 to support Toys for Tots and Lions Club holiday food basket distribution in Trego County.
Trego County-Lemke Memorial Hospital, $4,906 to purchase a 3D printer.
Zion Lutheran Church – Trego Food Pantry, $4,800 to purchase non-perishable groceries and frozen food for Trego County residents in need.
City of WaKeeney, $3,800 to replace a steel windmill downtown that was destroyed by a hailstorm in August 2017.
Church of God in WaKeeney, $1,552 to purchase an AED (Automated External Defibrillator) for WaKeeney Church of God.
The Hays Public Library will host a screening of the film “Thof’s Dragon” at 1 p.m. Saturday in the Schmidt Gallery.
“Thof’s Dragon” is a docudrama, filmed in Logan and Wallace counties, that tells the story of the discovery of an elasmosaurus platyurus in Wallace County in 1867 during the height of the Indian Wars.
The fossil was discovered by Fort Wallace surgeon Theophilus Turner and is considered one of the more significant finds of paleontology in Kansas.
Screenwriter and director Deb Goodrich and Ian Trevethan from the Sternberg Museum will be on hand to discuss the film and answer questions about the discovery.
Martin HawverTwo weeks before state Sen. Laura Kelly, D-Topeka, is sworn in as governor, she’s already accomplished an amazing feat…darn it.
Besides hiring a handful of administration staffers, she’s managed to keep her Cabinet secretaries who will run state agencies confidential and she has kept quiet on the initiatives that will become the headlines for what is likely to be a dramatic change in the way the state operates.
It’s all generalities so far. No details, just pretty much repeating the same issues that she holds important—and has for years…darn it.
It means little hot news as outgoing Republican Gov. Jeff Colyer makes sure that he didn’t leave anything embarrassing in a desk drawer that Kelly is going to get the keys to in two weeks.
And that’s why the handful of remaining Statehouse reporters are scurrying around trying to find out what’s going on. Call it secret, call it businesslike, call it what you want, but this is one of the quietest not-quite-yet changeovers in the governor’s office in recent memory.
Just how long things keep quiet is not-quite unclear.
Kelly will appoint her Cabinet probably a couple days before she takes the oath of office—or maybe not. The state pay period ends on Jan. 12, and you gotta figure that current Cabinet officers are going to want to buy that new car while they are still on the state payroll, and that new Cabinet officers aren’t going to be getting a car loan before they officially have a job.
Kelly, as a first-term governor, has 21 days from swearing-in to release her first budget according to the Kansas Constitution. (Carryover governors have just eight days after the Legislature convenes for the session to issue their budget.)
So, we could be looking to Feb. 3 (a Sunday, so probably a day or two earlier) for release of her budget. And that’s the real key to the session. The Inaugural Address, well, that’s largely where she wants the state to go, not tax-dollar by tax-dollar how she intends to get it there.
Of course, we know she wants to finance at a constitutional level K-12 public education. She and the rest of the state have a Kansas Supreme Court order that says the state needs to spend about $90 million a year more to get it to that level. And everyone wants the kids to get a good education, so they can support themselves and their families, and the state prospers with a good work force right here at home.
And Kelly wants to expand Medicaid (call it KanCare) in Kansas, to take full advantage of federal assistance to provide health care to the poor, the elderly, the disabled and their children. Call it public health, call it assisting health-care providers, so we keep hospitals open in small rural towns. Call it what you want, but it’s a priority for Kelly and depending how you phrase it, it’s a priority for Kansas.
Don’t forget that she also wants good highways and other transportation for Kansans driving to work and to visit their relatives, and…for the transport of goods to keep the Kansas economy strong.
Nothing there most Kansans don’t want…but it’s how much and whose money is used to achieve those priorities that will be the scrap this session.
So that’s why this pre-session secrecy is tantalizing.
Who’s going to run what, what’s going to be funded, who is going to pay for it and what Republicans do in the way of agreeing with Kelly or painting her vision for the state as “un-Kansas” or unaffordable?
But—at least we Statehouse reporters—would like a drib or drab of news in the meantime…
Syndicated by Hawver News Company LLC of Topeka; Martin Hawver is publisher of Hawver’s Capitol Report—to learn more about this nonpartisan statewide political news service, visit the website at www.hawvernews.com
Register yourself and a friend for this hands-on cooking series.
Cost is $10 per class.
You must be 18 years old. The classes are limited to 18 participants each. Each participant is required to register. You and a partner are preparing, cutting, cooking and eating what you make.
Arrive to each session 10 minutes early to set up.
If you are unable to attend, please give a 24 hour notice. If a replacement is not found, you will not be refunded.
Each class will be at 6 p.m. on the third Thursday of the month in the Education Room of The Center for Health Improvement on the HaysMed campus.
Jan 17
Citrus
Feb 21
Rice
April 18
Honey
May 16
Beef
July 18
Olive Oil
Aug 15
Tomatoes
Oct 17
Blueberries
Nov 21
Dairy
You can register online, call 623-5900 or use the app.
A series of Healthy Cooking demonstrations and tastings will also be offered.
They are free for Center members and $3 each for non-members.
The Christmas tree disposal site is open through Jan. 14.
CITY OF HAYS
Citizens are encouraged to bring Christmas trees to the free disposal site located north of the Public Works building at 1002 Vine Street. This area is right next to the bathrooms at Speier ball fields. Place the trees inside the orange snow fence area.
Signs will be posted to direct citizens.
Please remove all plastic, ornaments, and lights before leaving the tree.
The disposal site will be open Tuesday, December 18, 2018 through Monday, January 14, 2019.
Midwest Energy will provide personnel and a wood chipper to chip the trees to make mulch. The mulch will be placed at the Parks Department on the Highway 183 Bypass and is available for pickup free of charge.
If there are questions, please call the Solid Waste Division at 785-628-7350.
John Schlageck writes for the Kansas Farm Bureau.“I know farming is expected to be just another business. But I believe farming will always be a way of life as much as a business for me.”
A longtime farmer friend conveyed this message at Kansas Farm Bureau’s centennial annual meeting. He is not a retired farmer thinking of old ways and old days.
While he’s cultivated and no-tilled many an acre, harvested thousands of bushels of wheat, raised countless cattle and more importantly a wonderful family, this gentleman remains a vibrant, modern farmer from western Kansas.
Truth be known, there are many, many like-minded individuals who take pride in their chosen professions of farming and ranching.
Without a doubt today’s farmer/rancher knows very well his or her vocation constitutes a business. Many carry a ton of debt on their shoulders while at the same time realizing their livelihood hinges on the fickle fate of Mother Nature. Still, they understand this business of agriculture is more than dollars and cents.
“My most important possessions remain my family and way of life,” my sage friend said. “That’s who I am. That’s who I will always be.”
Some of his fondest memories include late suppers during the bustle of wheat harvest with everyone gathered around the back end of a pickup, eating cold cuts as the golden Kansas sun sinks under the horizon on the wide-open Kansas plains. Other recollections involve covered picnics in the hay field on a late summer Sunday.
How could he forget a story about a walk through the old red barn about midnight to check on a young heifer ready to calve while listening to other cows shifting in their stanchions and chewing their cuds.
And the smells – not just manure, but freshly turned soil, or new-mown hay, a just-filled trench silo full of silage or a barn full of Holstein cows on a cold, winter day.
It’s no secret the farm and ranch vocation may be one of the few remaining holdouts where those who toil on the land seek to balance the headlong search for economic viability with emotional and spiritual wellbeing.
Most family farmers and ranchers have not lost sight of this tight-rope act. They understand to stay in this business of farming/ranching, they must continue to learn how to farm more efficiently, and smarter. Without a profitable operation, they would be forced to leave their land. To exist anywhere else would be inconceivable.
Farmers and ranchers remain emotionally tied to the sights, sounds, smells and the rewarding performance of planting, growing and harvesting crops as well as feeding, raising and continuing the life cycle of healthy livestock. The indefinable desire to carve out a life with the earth and sky remains an overpowering force that belongs in their hearts.
Could it be when asked about their vocation, farmers and ranchers often refer to it as a “business,” rather than a way of life?
Or could it be they are wise enough to know – that must be their answer?
John Schlageck is a leading commentator on agriculture and rural Kansas. Born and raised on a diversified farm in northwestern Kansas, his writing reflects a lifetime of experience, knowledge and passion.
ATCHISON — Benedictine College has recognized those students who have distinguished themselves academically during the fall semester, which ended in December.
Area students included:
Bird City
Mary Anne Orten, Dean’s List
Hays
Bethany Kuhn, Dean’s List
Jordan Pfannenstiel, Dean’s List
Hoxie
Claire Friess, President’s List
Norton
Katelyn Engelbert, President’s List
Victoria
Makayla Crawford, Dean’s List
Any full-time student carrying a minimum of 12 hours and a perfect 4.0 grade point average through the spring term is named to the President’s list. Full time students with 12 hours and a grade point average of 3.5 are named to the Dean’s List. Of the 1,914 students on campus for 2018-2019 academic year, 127 made the President’s List and 623 made the Dean’s List.
Founded in 1858, Benedictine College is a Catholic, Benedictine, residential, liberal arts college located on the bluffs above the Missouri River in Atchison, Kansas. The school is proud to have been named one of America’s Best Colleges by U.S. News & World Report as well as one of the top Catholic colleges in the nation by First Things magazine and the Newman Guide. It prides itself on outstanding academics, extraordinary faith life, strong athletic programs, and an exceptional sense of community and belonging. It has a mission to educate men and women within a community of faith and scholarship.
MANHATTAN — Faith Tuttle, junior in political science and international studies, grew up in Gove, Kansas, with a population of only 80. Her graduating class had 12 people. Now at Kansas State, she is the state relations director for Student Governing Association and the de facto chair of legislative advocates.
“I wanted a new experience because I came from such a small town,” Tuttle said. “Everyone [there] goes to Fort Hays. If I would’ve [gone to college] closer, it would have been a continuation of high school. K-State was somewhere I could really blossom and be my own person.”
As the local relations director for SGA, Corbin Sedlacek, junior in accounting and management, has worked with Tuttle extensively. He first met her during their freshman year when they were in leadership studies.
“At first, she’s really quiet,” Sedlacek said. “I didn’t know whether that’s because she was shy, but then I quickly realized, ‘Oh, she’s just absorbing information.’ She’s absorbing information, but then, if someone asks a question, she’s able to just answer it like that. She has a unique presence in a room.”
Tuttle said she easily gets bored and hates just sitting and doing nothing. She wants to always be doing something productive.
“I really enjoy what I do,” Tuttle said. “I think that’s really what drives people. If you had to do something you hated, you just get burnt out and you don’t want to do it. I keep doing it because I enjoy it. You’ve got to find something that you enjoy in life.”
Through legislative advocates, Tuttle leads a group of students who go out to the capitol building in Topeka to advocate for the interest of K-State students. Last year, legislative advocates pushed for restoration of the funding cuts to higher education.
“I’m a facilitator really,” Tuttle said. “[This year] our committee decided on sexual assault, mental health and universal transfer credits. If you take a credit in high school, it will transfer to any major Board of Regents schools in Kansas.”
As a member of the College Republicans, Tuttle said sometimes the asks of legislative advocates conflict with her personal political ideals, but she pushes her own beliefs aside to represent the student body.
“It’s not easy,” Tuttle said. “I’m not representing my beliefs as a Republican, I’m representing the students’ beliefs. As chair of legislative advocates, I’m not advocating my own conservative beliefs, I’m a facilitator for the committee. I facilitate and they decide on what we’re going to do. I think people give bipartisanship a bad name, but I think really the answer is usually in the middle.”
Although she is involved in a partisan group, Sedlacek said he believes Tuttle works very well with those across party lines.
“Overall, she’s brought a sense of professionalism, in the sense that she’s able to be very diplomatic and isn’t afraid to address things that need to be addressed,” Sedlacek said. “She does so in a non-confrontational way — being able to have real conversations that don’t result in real conflict.”
While at night she’ll be eating popcorn and watching Netflix like anyone else, in her free time during the day, Tuttle said she enjoys doing her extracurricular work.
“I’m involved in extracurricular activities; that’s what I do for fun,” Tuttle said. “That’s my fun. That’s what I love to do.”
After she leaves K-State, Tuttle wants to go Washington to work potentially in the office at U.S. Rep. Steve Scalise. She interned in Washington last summer.
“Either there, start as staff assistant, work my way up or any member office,” Tuttle said. “Something like that I think would be really cool, but really public service, I think that’s really interesting. I love politics.”
For now, Tuttle is content to stay in Manhattan to advocate for her peers.
“She has an internal motivation,” Sedlacek said. “She strives to make the lives of students better in all that she does, and that’s really apparent.”
HaysMed and the The Center for Health Improvement have released their 2019 Walk with the Doc dates.
The walks are at 9 a.m. one Saturday per month. Walkers meet at 2500 Canterbury Drive at the Fitness Trail shelter house behind HaysMed. If the weather is inclement, they will walk indoors at The Center.
Dates for walks are Jan. 26, Feb. 23, March 30, April 27, May 18, June 29, July 27, August 24, Sept. 28, Oct. 26, Nov. 23, Dec. 21.
Walk with a Doc is a walking program for everyone interested in taking steps for a healthier lifestyle. What better way to start your weekend than on your feet making strides to help your heart and improving your general health to live longer! While you walk at your own pace, you’ll have the opportunity to have questions answered by local physicians.
This program was started in Columbus, Ohio, in April 2005 by Dr. David Sabgir and has now expanded throughout the country. You don’t need any special gear and there are no special rules. Just put on a pair of comfortable shoes and walk alone, with friends, a partner or family or with a group.
Leadership Hays is a program made possible by the Hays Area Chamber of Commerce through it’s affiliation with the Kansas Leadership Center. The goal of the program is to train individuals and teach them skills to become leaders of the 21st century.
