Due to the observance of the New Year’s holiday, Tuesday, January 1, 2019, refuse/recycling route collection schedules in Hays will be altered as follows:
Monday, December 31, 2018 and Tuesday, January 1, 2019, will be on Monday, December 31, 2018.
There is no anticipated change to Wednesday, Thursday or Friday’s collection schedules.
Although collections many not occur on your normal day, collections will be completed during the week. It is anticipated that heavy volumes of refuse/recycling will be encountered around the holidays. Please make sure your refuse and recycling are out by 7:00 AM, and keep in mind that the trucks have no set time schedule.
City of Hays customers that may have any questions regarding this notice should contact the Solid Waste Division of the Public Works Department at 785-628-7350.
Little Jerusalem Badlands State Park, Logan County (Andrea Etzel / KDWPT)
KDWPT
WICHITA – The Kansas Wildlife, Parks and Tourism (KWPT) Commission conducted a Public Hearing to hear proposed regulations during the evening session of its meeting in Wichita on Dec. 13, 2018.
Commissioners heard Secretary’s Orders setting Free Fishing Days, June 1 and 2, 2019, as well as dates proposed for Free Park Entrance Days. All Kansas state parks will be open to free entrance (camping fees still apply) on May 4, 2019. Additional free park entrance days were also set and are available at individual state park’s pages at ksoutdoors.com.
The commission approved the addition of a $50 Backcountry Access Pass for Little Jerusalem Badlands State Park, the newest state park, which is located in Logan County. When the park opens later this year, visitors will only need a $5 daily vehicle entrance permit or annual vehicle entrance permit to enjoy the overlook trails. However, to ensure the fragile Niobrara chalk formations are not degraded, access to the interior of the 330-acre park will be limited. The $50 Backcountry Access Pass will allow visitors to participate on a guided tour into the heart of the park. Only hikers age 16 and older will be required to purchase the pass for guided hikes.
Commissioners approved fishing regulation amendments, including prohibiting the take of channel catfish, blue catfish and flathead catfish with bowfishing equipment in streams and rivers. Catfish can still be taken with bowfishing equipment in lakes and reservoirs that don’t have a length limit for any species.
A regulation limiting the amount of paddlefish eggs that may be possessed was approved to help prevent the poaching of paddlefish for their eggs. The regulation also prohibits transporting a paddlefish carcass out of the state without first removing the entrails.
Two Type 1 Trout Waters were added to the list of waters to be stocked with rainbow trout during the Nov. 1-April 15 trout season: Coffeyville LeClere Lake and Eisenhower State Park Pond.
Various fishing length and creel limits were approved, including a 35-inch minimum length limit for blue catfish at Kanopolis Reservoir, a 10-inch minimum length limit on crappie at Glen Elder Reservoir, and a 10-inch minimum length limit and 20-fish daily creel limit at Lovewell Reservoir. Anglers can view a complete listing of length and creel limits for all public waters in the 2019 Kansas Fishing Regulations Summary that will be available in January.
The current structure for the fall turkey season was maintained, establishing the 2019 dates: Oct. 1-Dec. 3, 2019 and Dec. 16, 2019-Jan. 31, 2020 and is open in Turkey Management Units 1, 2, 3, 5 and 6. The bag limit is one turkey per fall turkey permit. See complete fall turkey regulations, as well as a management unit map, at ksoutdoors.com.
The current structure for the spring turkey season was maintained, establishing the 2020 seasons: Youth and hunters with disabilities – April 1-14, 2020; archery – April 6-14, 2020; and regular season – April 15-May 31, 2020. Bag limit is one turkey per permit and one turkey per second turkey game tag.
The next KWPT Commission meeting is scheduled for Jan. 17, 2019, Foley Meeting Room, Douglas County Fairgrounds.
MondayA slight chance of snow between noon and 5pm, then scattered flurries after 5pm. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 31. Wind chill values as low as 4. Windy, with a north wind 8 to 13 mph increasing to 21 to 26 mph in the afternoon. Winds could gust as high as 37 mph. Chance of precipitation is 20%.
Monday Night Scattered flurries before 11pm. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 7. Wind chill values as low as -13. Blustery, with a north wind 20 to 24 mph, with gusts as high as 34 mph.
New Year’s Day Mostly cloudy, with a high near 17. Wind chill values as low as -12. North wind 10 to 18 mph.
Tuesday NightPartly cloudy, with a low around 7. North wind 5 to 10 mph becoming west southwest after midnight.
RUSSELL – Palma and Co. Mercantile, one of Russell’s great antiques, vintage and gift stores, is proud to announce Package Express Shipping through UPS and FedEx package drop-off services are now available, as well as FedEx Express. The roll out comes a month after the announcement of our agreement to offer convenient access to UPS and FedEx drop off as well as Shipping through Package Express exclusively with UPS.
“We are thrilled to have reached this significant decision for our customers following the holiday season, and we look forward to working with Russell and the surrounding communities to offer convenient and secure pickup and drop-off services for the area,” said Dylan Palma. “As online shopping grows, our customers here in Russell and the surrounding communities are searching for flexible options, and we stand ready to deliver.
“Our offering with Package Express UPS Shipping is another way customers will find our store even more accessible to meet their needs. It helps our current and new customers by providing a safe and secure delivery option, while making it easy for them to ship returns and other packages through the UPS and FedEx networks.”
Our decision is part of the needs of our community to have a retail location offering UPS and FedEx drop off services. This holiday season a large percent of the U.S. population and specifically the Russell area will need to be able to drop off return packages with prepaid return labels. We are here for you and welcome you at our location at 604 N. Main in downtown Russell.
Sunny, with a high near 41. Wind chill values as low as 5. Southwest wind 7 to 15 mph.
Tonight
Partly cloudy, with a low around 22. South wind 7 to 13 mph becoming northwest after midnight.
Monday
A 30 percent chance of snow, mainly before 3pm. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 31. Windy, with a north wind 10 to 15 mph increasing to 20 to 25 mph in the afternoon. Winds could gust as high as 36 mph.
Monday Night
Mostly cloudy, with a low around 7. Wind chill values as low as -10. Blustery, with a north wind 20 to 24 mph.
New Year’s Day
Partly sunny, with a high near 17. Blustery, with a north wind 10 to 20 mph.
First Lt. Russel Mortinger, Hays native, receives his Quilt of Valor from the Kansas Grateful Stitchers.
By CRISTINA JANNEY
Hays Post
First Lt. Russell Mortinger received a special gift this holiday.
He received a Quilt of Valor on Wednesday night from the Kansas Grateful Stitchers while he, his wife Keegan and two young sons were home in Hays for Christmas.
He said he was very surprised by the tribute.
“It really means a lot,” Mortinger said of his quilt. “I don’t do my job for that. I didn’t think people would do that for service members. I don’t see that in other places. I think it is more typical in the Midwest. It is greatly appreciated. It is not just for the service members. It is also for family members and what they have to put up with. It is nice to know other people are thinking of us — people who we don’t even know.”
Quilts of Valor is a national organization. Volunteers make quilts for active service personnel as well as veterans in red, white, and blue patriotic patterns.
Local quilter Bev Glassman made Mortinger’s quilt. She has made more than 20 quilts for service personnel. She was inspired by her son, who is in the Air Force and returned from a deployment in the Middle East in July.
“I made a quilt for him,” she said. “It was very special to him and meant a lot to my own son. I wanted to do it for others.”
Mortinger’s mother-in-law Tammy Weigel nominated him to receive a Quilt of Valor.
“It really means a lot,” Mortinger said of his nomination for the quilt. “It was such a big surprise. I appreciate that my mother-in-law thinks greatly of my job and the sacrifice her daughter makes. She puts up with more and sacrifices, taking care of the kids and holding up the fort.”
This is Mortinger’s second stint in the military.
He enlisted in the Army in 2008. He was deployed to Afghanistan in 2010 and 2011, where he regularly engaged the enemy.
He left active duty in 2012 to return to school at Fort Hays State University.
He served in the Army Reserves and went back to active duty in 2016. He is now an infantry platoon leader.
“I missed it,” he said of his military service. “I had some unfinished business. I wanted to get some other training. I missed the community and bond military members share. I wanted to deploy again. I really like it.”
It has been about a year since he has been able to come home and visit family in Hays. Although he and his family will be headed back to Louisiana and likely be stationed stateside for the next year, he knows he will eventually be deployed again.
He said he hoped the quilt will be a reminder to Keegan and his sons, Ansen, 5, and Rone, 2 of why daddy has to leave.
“It is not just for me,” he said of the quilt.
You can nominate an active serviceman or woman or veteran for a quilt on the Quilts of Valor website. The national organization refers nominations to local groups like Kansas Grateful Stitchers to make quilts for recipients. You can also donate through the site. Monetary donations help purchase fabric for the quilts.
THOMAS COUNTY — One person died in an accident just after 2:30 p.m. Sunday in Thomas County.
The Kansas Highway Patrol reported a 2005 Ford pickup driven by Jarrod S. Taylor, 39, Colby, was southbound on Thomas County Road 11 eight miles north of Levant.
The pickup left the roadway to the left and the driver overcorrected. The pickup came back onto the roadway and rolled into the east ditch.
Taylor was transported to Citizen’s Medical Center where he died. He was not wearing a seat belt, according to the KHP.
Due to the observance of the New Year’s holiday, Tuesday, January 1, 2019, refuse/recycling route collection schedules in Hays will be altered as follows:
Monday, December 31, 2018 and Tuesday, January 1, 2019, will be on Monday, December 31, 2018.
There is no anticipated change to Wednesday, Thursday or Friday’s collection schedules.
Although collections many not occur on your normal day, collections will be completed during the week. It is anticipated that heavy volumes of refuse/recycling will be encountered around the holidays. Please make sure your refuse and recycling are out by 7:00 AM, and keep in mind that the trucks have no set time schedule.
City of Hays customers that may have any questions regarding this notice should contact the Solid Waste Division of the Public Works Department at 785-628-7350.
Steve Urban, Eagle Communications sales, presents a check to Sherry Dryden, United Way executive director, for $1,296.
The Eagle Radio of Hays sales team in partnership with its Days of Giving sponsors raised $1,296 for the United Way.
The sales team sold a radio advertising package surrounding The Ellis County United Way Days of Giving, and a portion of the proceeds was donated back to The Ellis County United Way.
Spots featuring Sherry Dryden, United Way Executive director, will air on Eagle’s Hays area radio stations, 101.9 FM The Bull, 1400 AM KAYS, 103.3 FM The Mix, 99.5 K2 Country, and Hull Broadcastings 96.9 FM KFIX through Sunday for a push to make the agency’s fundraising goal.
“The United Way of Ellis County is continuously humbled by the dedicated commitment of support from Eagle Communications with their tireless efforts of building awareness for the United Way,” Dryden said. “The advertising supporters for this project are amazing in their understanding of the important work the United Way does for Ellis County. Everyone’s help and support on this project is so very much appreciated.”
The agency is only 50 percent to its $400,000 goal. It has extended its annual fundraising drive, which typically ends on Dec. 31, into January.
The agency fears funding will have to be cut to its partner agencies, which may mean the number of people served in the community and the number of services provided may have to be reduced.
In 2018, United Way supported local programs at 15 partner agencies.
These included the American Red Cross, Big Brother Big Sisters, Cancer Council of Ellis County, Catholic Charities, Center for Life Experiences, Cerebral Palsy Research Foundation, Court Appointed Special Advocates, Developmental Services of Northwest Kansas, Early Childhood Connections, First Call for Help, Hays Area Children’s Center, Options, Parents and Children Together, Salvation Army and Western Kansas Association on the Concerns for the Disabled.
There is still time to donate and there are several ways to do so.
You can donate online, call United Way at 785-628-8281, send checks to P.O. Box 367, Hays, KS 67601 or make a donation or pledge in person at the United Way office at the Hadley Center, 205 E. Seventh St., Suite 111, Hays.
Note: Eagle Radio is owned by Eagle Communications, which also owns and operated the Hays Post. Cristina Janney is a member of the CASA board, which receives funds from United Way.
RUSSELL – Russell County business owners are encouraged to apply for the storefront/signage grant and submit it by Friday, January 4 if you are going to be improving your storefront and/or business signage.
Seven storefront/signage grants will be awarded in 2019. Funds for the program come from the 1/2 cent sales tax for economic development and capital improvements.
The grant is a program of Russell County Economic Development and CVB.
Updated: 6:45 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 27 with quotes form Barb Wasinger.
By CRISTINA JANNEY Hays Post
All parties who sued to contest the 111th District Kansas House race have agreed to dismiss the case.
Attorneys for Barb Wasinger, who was declared the winner in the race after a recount and those who filed to contest the race said paperwork to dismiss the case will be filed in district court Thursday.
The move to dismiss was announced during a pre-trial hearing in front of District Judge Blake Bittel at 10 a.m. Thursday.
Democrat Eber Phelps lost to Republican Wasinger by 35 votes after a recount was conducted.
The attorneys said the group of Ellis County voters who filed the lawsuit still have issues with how the election was conducted, but agreed to dismiss for the sake of judicial efficiency.
A group of seven Hays residents filed a lawsuit against Wasinger alleging voting irregularities led to Wasinger improperly being named the winner of the election. The group most notably included former Kansas State Sen. Janis Lee. Lee currently serves as vice president of the Ellis County Democratic Party.
Wasinger was present by phone for the pretrial hearing Thursday.
She said later in an interview with the Hays Post, ” I’m just delighted this is done and I’m looking forward to serving the 111th district.”
“Just as I have since Election Day, canvass, recount, and now the dismissal, I look forward to serving my constituents in the 111th District in the Kansas Legislature,” Wasinger said.
The lawsuit had been set for trial Monday, Dec. 31.
This clears the way for Wasinger to take her seat when the Kansas 2019 Legislative session opens Monday, Jan. 14.
Audition call for “Murder Can Be Habit Forming”, a murder mystery spoof directed by Cheryl Glassman for the Hays Community Theatre.
Synopsis: A busload of passengers is stranded during a snowstorm at a secluded convent. A murderer is on the loose who only murders women named Mary. All the nuns are named Mary (Mary Elizabeth, etc.) and several of the travelers are too.
Auditions for high school age and up Jan. 9 and 10 from 7-9 p.m. at the Hays Community Theatre Venue, 121 E. 8th St.
There are 15 character roles ranging in age and interest for 7 men and 8 women. Those auditioning will read lines from the script. Show dates February 15 and 16 in Hays and Feb. 23 in Great Bend (with a practice in between).
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