The National Western Stock Show, established in 1906 and defined as the nation’s premier livestock, rodeo and horse show, will be partly officiated by Fort Hays State University’s Kevin Huser.
Huser, an instructor of agriculture and a livestock judging coach, will officiate Denver’s South Devon show, a part of the National Western Stock Show, in January.
The show, a celebration of western lifestyles and communities, strives to strengthen American agriculture through enrichment programs and youth education in livestock, equestrian, farming, ranching, animal awareness and appreciation.
Some people have the mistaken idea that farmers and ranchers are harming our environment. You hear it everywhere: at the coffee shop, church, public forums, even in the grocery store where people buy the food farmers and ranchers produce for us to eat.
Children arrive home from school and tell parents about harmful practices farmers are using on the land. It’s easy to understand why folks think the way they do about today’s agriculture.
Few businesses are as open to public scrutiny as a farm or ranch in the United States today. While farming and ranching practices occur in the open where anyone can see, the only picture many have of agriculture is what they read in newspapers or see on television. Even fewer people have set foot on a modern farm.
The fondest wish of most farmers and ranchers is to pass their land on to their children. They work years to leave a legacy of good land stewardship. Most farmers learned about conservation and respect for the land from their parents.
Today’s farmers and ranchers are doing their part to protect and improve the environment. They use agricultural practices including early planting, pest control, good soil fertility, conservation tillage and many other innovations that help grow more food while protecting the environment.
Farmers adjust practices to meet individual cropping conditions. Such practices can vary from farm to farm – even from field to field.
As in any other business, farmers and ranchers must manage their operations on a timely basis and use all the technology available to improve quality and productivity. If they don’t, they will not be able to stay in business for long.
Today’s farmer has cut chemical usage by approximately 40 percent in many cases during the last couple of decades. Many no longer apply chemicals before planting. Instead, as the crop matures, farmers gauge potential weed pressure and apply herbicides only if needed.
Throughout the growing season, farmers do their best to provide nutritious food. From planting through harvest, they battle weather, weeds, insects and disease. Efficiency is their best defense against change including unstable world markets, political barriers and fringe groups who may attack their farming methods yet know little about this vital profession.
Ted and Lisa Guetterman own and operate a 1,100-acre row crop farm in Miami and Johnson counties. Ted represents the fourth-generation to farm and care for the land in far eastern Kansas. He and Lisa have four sons. One has returned to the farm, and the others continue to learn about the farm and conservation as they grow.
The family’s farm includes amylose and waxy corn, soybeans and soft winter wheat. Ted also feeds approximately 400 head of steers each year. Throughout the past 35 years Ted’s family integrated new practices, converting to drills, planters and sprayers equipped with GPS to become more efficient and 100 percent no-till.
Ted and Lisa identified soil erosion as a major concern in all their fields so the family-built miles of terraces and waterways. Ted also assists his landlords and other farmers in the construction of similar conservation practices.
Cropland isn’t the only focus for conservation for the Guettermans. Their livestock pens are designed so all runoff is directed to the grass filtering strips. The use of cover crops on the farm improves soil health, water infiltration and reduces erosion, all while providing feed for the cattle to graze.
The couple is passionate about taking part in programs that will benefit the land. They have enrolled in the Conservation Reserve Program, the Environmental Quality Incentives Program, Carbon Sequestering and the Conservation Stewardship Program. The Guettermans were honored as the Natural Resources award winners at the recent Kansas Farm Bureau annual meeting.
Yes, farmers and ranchers like the Guettermans and their counterparts across Kansas must live in the environment they create. They can and will do more to improve their environment. They can continue to rely less on herbicides, insecticides and fertilizers.
Agricultural producers can also conserve more water, plug abandoned wells, monitor grassland grazing and continue to implement environmentally sound techniques that will ensure preservation of the land.
In the meantime, farmers and ranchers will continue to take their stewardship seriously. They’ve devoted their lives to safeguarding their farms and families, while providing us with the safest food in the world.
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.
Due to the observance of the Christmas holiday, Monday, December 24, 2018 and Tuesday, December 25, 2018, refuse/recycling route collection schedules in Hays will be altered.
Although collections may not occur on your normal day, collections will be completed by the end of the week. Crews anticipate that the collection route will be:
Monday, December 24, and Tuesday, December 25, refuse/recycling collections will be on Wednesday, December 26.
Wednesday. December 26, and Thursday, December 27, refuse/recycling collections will be on Thursday, December 27.
There are no anticipated changes to Friday, December 28th, refuse/recycling collection schedule.
It is anticipated that heavy volumes of refuse/recyclables will be encountered around the holidays. Please be sure to have your refuse/recycling out by 7:00 a.m. on the specified collection day, and keep in mind the trucks have no set time schedule.
City of Hays customers who may have any questions regarding this notice should contact the Solid Waste Division of the Public Works Department at 785-628-7350.
A southwest Kansas woman was injured at 10 a.m. Dec. 25 during a one vehicle accident in Pawnee County.
According to the Kansas Highway Patrol, Jessica Trejo, 19, Liberal, was driving a 2001 Pontiac Firebird north on U.S. Highway 183 ten miles northeast of Kinsley. The car left the roadway to the right, over corrected and crossed the center line, left the roadway before overturning, and landed on its top.
Trejo was transported to Pawnee Valley Community Hospital in Larned.
Today Rain, with thunderstorms also possible after 10am. High near 46. East wind 7 to 12 mph increasing to 13 to 18 mph in the afternoon. Chance of precipitation is 90%. New rainfall amounts between a half and three quarters of an inch possible.
Wednesday NightRain and possibly a thunderstorm. Low around 33. Southeast wind 9 to 15 mph becoming north after midnight. Chance of precipitation is 90%. New rainfall amounts between a quarter and half of an inch possible.
ThursdayRain and snow likely, mainly before noon. Some thunder is also possible. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 37. Breezy, with a northwest wind 14 to 23 mph. Chance of precipitation is 60%. Little or no snow accumulation expected.
Thursday NightMostly cloudy, with a low around 20. Blustery, with a northwest wind 15 to 20 mph.
Karen Nowak teaches communications and life skills at Hays Middle School.
By CRISTINA JANNEY Hays Post
Karen Nowak, Hays Middle School teacher, is asking kids the big questions — questions that many adults would have difficulty answering.
She poses these big questions in her new life skills class, which is like ethics, philosophy and debate all rolled into one. Nowak gave some examples of the of the class’s topics.
Would you want to know the exact date you would die?
Is success in life about who you know or what you know?
Is second place synonymous with losing?
Would you support the death penalty even if a personal friend had been sentenced to death?
Discuss an occasion in which you took responsibility for your actions and paid the consequences.
Do African Americans discriminate just as much as white Americans?
“They are things that kids have really never thought about, so it makes them really think,” she said. “They use a lot of their life experiences to help them. It is amazing how much some of the kids will open up. I think just being able to talk about things that go on in their lives knowing that they are not going to be judged [is important]. I think talking about it just helps.”
For her work in the life skills as well as advanced communications, Nowak was nominated as December’s teacher of the month. She was nominated by fellow teacher, Cade Scott. He student-taught under Nowak before taking a job as a social studies teacher at HMS.
In Scott’s nomination of Nowak he wrote, “In her classes, she teaches very relevant life skills for kids these days to know. She teaches how to have good face-to-face conversations with one another. She also teaches how to express feelings verbally with conversation with one another.
“These skills are somewhat lost with students these days due to technology. There are many character and leadership skills built in her classes that are applicable to any part of student life. She does a great job teaching role model skills and also is a great model for kids to follow. She has worked extremely hard to get this new curriculum going. It has been a very valuable addition to our school’s curriculum and education.”
Nowak has both general education and special education students in her life skills class, which focus on a character and leadership curriculum. The class looks at character traits and role models who exhibit those traits.
“The kids really open up,” Nowak said, “and the best part about it is that I feel I have been able to connect with the kids.”
Some of the discussions Nowak has with her students in class have thrown up flags that the children need more help and support than they are getting.
“I really have a soft spot for kids who struggle and have a rough home life,” she said.
Nowak has been a middle school teacher in the USD 489 Hays School District for 22 years. She has taught all the core classes — math, science, language arts and social studies. She also coached volleyball, basketball and track for many years, but left coaching when her own children began playing sports.
However, she said she has never been happier than she is this year.
“I will tell you this is the happiest I have been in 22 years with my teaching assignment,” she said, “and mostly because of my life skills class. The passion and the love I have for that class is amazing.”
Nowak said her ultimate goal as a teacher is to earn the trust of her students so they feel they can come to her if they have problems. She said there were people who supported her when she was a child and this her way of giving back.
Nowak’s father died when she was only 16 months old. Her mother and siblings were loving and supportive, but her mother often worked two and three jobs to support her family. She couldn’t always be very involved in Karen’s school activities. Her fifth-grade teacher, David Ottley, and his wife, Andrea, were neighbors and took Karen under their wings. She often ate dinner at the Ottleys’ home.
David Ottley, who recently retired as the superintendent at Victoria, encouraged Karen in school and was her inspiration to become a teacher.
“I am very thankful I had the Ottleys because I think they made a huge difference in the person that I am today,” Nowak said. “Truly I feel that losing my dad at such a young age molded me also to be the person that I am. In the back of your mind, it was always, ‘Would he be proud of me?’ ‘What would he think of this decision I am making?'”
Nowak said she tries to reinforce that kids are going to make mistakes, but it is important to reflect and learn from those mistakes.
“I had a kid come with her mom to parent teacher conferences and she broke down crying because of how much she loves my life skills class just because she feels like it focuses on life skills, on how to function and situations that they will encounter as they get older,” Nowak said.
The life skills students’ latest assignment is to write to a role model in their lives. The role model has to be someone they know personally. They will be mailing the letters soon.
“What has been hard is there are some kids who couldn’t think of somebody,” Nowak said. “That was really eye-opening. A lot of them were grandparents, aunts, teachers, parents, but there are some kids that unfortunately struggle to pick somebody in their life because some of these kids, the stuff they go through at home and in their lives is unreal.
“So many kids go home to situations that are really hard. I can’t tell you how many kids I wish I could take home because their lives are tough at home. Ever since I started teaching, I tried to reiterate that school should be every kid’s safe place — that every kid should be accepted and treated with respect because we don’t know what these kids go home to and go through on a daily basis at home.”
“It is so important to me that even if they come from situations like that they can overcome them. There is hope that they can make their lives better and have a better life.”
Nowak has consistently gone above and beyond in and out of the classroom to make this a reality for kids. She had one student whose mother was legally blind. She picked him up after school and took him home after she finished coaching at night. She visited his home, ate dinner with the family and even encouraged the boy to clean his room.
She’s been called to the police station when a couple of her students were in trouble. She takes calls even from former students to just talk about difficult times in their lives.
Nowak also encourages other students to help and accept their fellow students.
Nowak has students in her classes from the special education program. One student was not able to tie his shoe. Nowak said a big burley eighth-grade football player helped him do it. The students in her sixth-grade class are learning basic sign language so they can communicate with people who are hearing impaired and other students helped a young man who has struggle with his wardrobe.
“People say that kids have changed, but I can’t think of one kid who doesn’t have good in them. We just need to find it. The compassion and empathy kids have for others … I think kids are still the same, I think it is just the lives they are thrown into is what has changed. There is so much more that they have to deal with and go through.”
————-
Submit your nomination for Hays Post’s Teacher of the Month honor!
Hays Post and Eagle Communications seeking nominations for the next Teacher of the Month!
From October through April, Hays Post will solicit nominations from through the area from parents, students and colleagues. Fill out the form below to nominate your favorite educator!
The winning teacher will receive a Chamber Cheque and Hickok’s Steakhouse gift certificate.
[contact-form to=”[email protected]” subject=”Teacher of the Month”][contact-field label=”Your name” type=”name” required=”1″][contact-field label=”Your email” type=”email” required=”1″][contact-field label=”Teacher’s name” type=”text” required=”1″][contact-field label=”Teacher’s school and grade” type=”text” required=”1″][contact-field label=”Tell us why you are nominating this teacher” type=”text” required=”1″][/contact-form]
OK, it’s the holidays, which means cheer, gifts, family gatherings…and starting to figure out what scraps the Kansas Legislature is going to have in its upcoming session, who is on which committees, how the tilt looks on those committees, and what issues we’re likely to see starting at noon on Jan. 14.
Yes, there are gifts to be opened, dinners to cook, pets to keep away from the Christmas tree, and all that…plus preparing for New Year’s Eve celebrations.
But for a group of Kansans, the holidays mean time to figure out just what is possible from this session’s Legislature.
It’s going to be tricky. There are brand new members who are going to learn that life in the Statehouse probably isn’t what they thought it was when they were sweating on the doorsteps of voters in August.
And there are returning members who are going to be sizing up those new members to see whether they can scooch them from one position to another on issues and convince them that it’s possible—often good politics—to trade votes on issues so both have something to carry home to their constituents.
Atop all that legislative shuffling with new committees and new members, there’s Democrat Gov. Laura Kelly. She’s still putting together her cadre of Cabinet secretaries, making sure that they will be supportive of her positions on issues, and can find a way to carry them out.
Kelly
Oh, and then there are those new Cabinet secretaries who are going to have to hire their top-level staffers—and make those very important decisions on which staffers they inherit, who though not part of the campaign, have the technical and management skills to make sure that the agencies operate fairly and efficiently.
Over the holidays, Kelly is going to have to make a major decision on the upcoming budget.
Should a Democrat governor with a House and Senate run by Republicans offer up the former Gov. Sam Brownback-era two-year (biennial) budget, or should she propose a conventional one-year budget, which might politically give her a little more focused negotiation on just how the state is going to spend taxpayers’ money?
And there’s that new House committee that was established for the upcoming session, the Rural Revitalization Committee. It’s going to study specific rural development issues as the state’s rural population shrinks. There are issues out there that probably aren’t as thoroughly considered as they might be, but there’s also the background issue—reapportionment in 2022.
Beef up the rural areas, make it easier for those western Kansans and their children to stay at home, for businesses to have broadband access and find a way to keep schools open, and that remap of House and Senate districts ahead might just have a different outcome.
There’s lots of work to be done in the next three weeks, while most of us wonder when they’ll be able to use that new Christmas snow thrower on the driveway, or whether you can convince yourself that you can actually cook with one of those new air fryers that let you see through the plastic while the chicken browns.
So, while most Kansans have a holiday week ahead, there is intense work being done by those folks you elected back in November. They’ve fought for the right to represent you and start trying to figure out how do to that.
Might just keep that in mind as you run into legislators at events over the next week or so…
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
TOPEKA — The holiday season, when family members gather, can be a good time to have conversations about how to protect and insure relatives and property.
A focused family discussion about insurance considerations can be beneficial. With close relatives on hand, sharing how to protect your loved ones and your property will be most useful in the future.
The Kansas Insurance Department offers the following ideas for those family discussions:
Know where insurance and legal papers are. Policies, phone numbers, financial statements and legal documents such as Power of Attorney and home inventory checklists should be in a safe deposit box at your financial institution or in a fire-proof location within the home.
Know what medications are taken. Kinds, dosage, frequency, use of generics, pharmacy information — all can be important to share with close family members.
Know about the condition of family vehicles. Are they sound mechanically, serviced regularly, stocked accordingly with travel necessities?
Know what your teenagers and young adults are concerned about. Getting them to open up might take a while, but they could have questions about life situations and insurance that are important to them and to you.
Know a qualified insurance professional and financial adviser, and let him/her assess your insurance needs. Just like the generations of your family, insurance needs change.
Know when insurance premiums are due — yearly, semiannually, quarterly or monthly. Keep them on a centrally-located calendar. This idea can be truly helpful for a single adult, a young family or empty nesters on a fixed income.
Know, in the case of older family members, what their health insurance policies contain and what their medical preferences are for providers and institutions. Ask them if they have preferences on how to handle situations where they need assistance.
Discussions about these points during holiday gatherings can have a positive impact on finances, future choices and insurance needs. Whatever your life stage, it’s a comfort to know that trusted family members and financial advisers can assist you if you need it.
Ken Selzer, CPA, is the Kansas Commissioner of Insurance.
In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. (This was the first census that took place while[a] Quirinius was governor of Syria.) And everyone went to their own town to register.
So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no guest room available for them.
And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”
Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,
“Glory to God in the highest heaven,
and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.”
When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.”
So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart.
The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.
Christmas Day Mostly sunny, with a high near 45. Northwest wind around 6 mph becoming light and variable.
Tuesday Night Rain likely after midnight. Cloudy, with a low around 34. East wind 7 to 9 mph. Chance of precipitation is 60%. New precipitation amounts of less than a tenth of an inch possible.
Wednesday Rain. High near 49. Southeast wind 8 to 13 mph. Chance of precipitation is 90%. New precipitation amounts between a half and three quarters of an inch possible.
Wednesday NightRain. Low around 34. Southeast wind 8 to 15 mph becoming north northwest after midnight. Winds could gust as high as 26 mph. Chance of precipitation is 80%. New precipitation amounts between a quarter and half of an inch possible.
ThursdayRain and snow likely before 3pm, then a slight chance of snow. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 36. Breezy. Chance of precipitation is 60%. New precipitation amounts of less than a tenth of an inch possible.
Thursday NightMostly cloudy, with a low around 21.
TOPEKA – On Thursday, December 20, 2018, the Speaker of the House for the Kansas House of Representatives, Ron Ryckman, Jr., announced that Representative Troy L. Waymaster will retain his position as chairman of the House Appropriations committee.
“I look forward in working with the new and existing committee members in crafting budget solutions for the state of Kansas,” Waymaster said after retaining his chairmanship post.
“I would like to thank Speaker Ryckman for his trust and confidence in me for this post.”
“This session we will have a different administration in the Governor’s office. We will see Governor-Elect Kelly’s budget to the legislature shortly after the 2019 Legislative Session convenes,” Waymaster continued.
The 2019 Legislative Session begins on January 14, 2019.
Representative Waymaster served as the chairman of the Appropriations committee in the Kansas House of Representatives during the 2017 and 2018 legislative sessions. He and his wife, Crystal, and their son, Christian, reside south of Bunker Hill.
The 109th Kansas House District consists of the entire counties of Osborne, Russell and Smith and portions of Barton, Jewell, Lincoln and Rush counties. Representative Waymaster has served the 109th District in the Kansas House of Representatives since 2013.
Fort Hays State University freshman Dalton Kraus keeps an eye on the computer that controls the CNC router while cutting wooden shapes for the annual Dr. Fred P. Ruda Teaming Up for Tots toy building event earlier this month at Fort Hays State University.
By DIANE GASPER-O’BRIEN FHSU University Relations and Marketing
After landing a campus job in his area of study, Dalton Kraus already considered himself lucky. That word took on a whole new meaning for the Fort Hays State University freshman this fall.
As part of his campus job, Kraus cut out 243 wooden pigs on a computer numerical control (CNC) machine for an annual toy building event on campus.
A freshman majoring in construction management, Kraus had only heard about the Dr. Fred P. Ruda Teaming Up for Tots Day, earlier this month, which was in its 29th year. The toys, built by university and community volunteers, go to children in Ellis County – along with other items from TUFT – who otherwise might not receive Christmas gifts.
Excitement around the Department of Applied Technology grew as the toy-building day drew near. Kraus said he looked forward to the event as he cut more wooden pigs day after day.
He was even interviewed by an area television station in the week leading up to the day. Eric Deneault, assistant professor of applied technology, designed the toy, and Dr. Duane Renfrow, associate professor, made the jig for Kraus to follow while cutting out the pigs.
“My high school even shared the news, so a lot of people heard about it,” said Kraus, a 2018 graduate of Halstead High School.
Kraus soon learned that it’s hard to explain the impact of the event until a person witnesses it firsthand.
More than 100 volunteers, including entire families, gathered in the Social Cafe of the Center for Applied Technology for donuts, orange juice and coffee before everyone made their way to one of 14 stations in the wood technology room.
Eric Deneault, assistant professor of applied technology, helps volunteers sand one of the piggy banks.
Once inside their workroom, the elves began sanding, putting on wheels, attaching other parts and some machine operations as the piggy banks on wheels began to take shape.
For some, like 81-year-old Don Barton, this was old hat. It was easy to find his spot at a drill press.
Barton, who retired from FHSU in 1999 after 30 years teaching in the automotive department, could think of only one time when he missed the toy building, which has grown from about 20 volunteers the first year to 110 this year.
Barton reminisced about several of the other toys he helped build over the years as well as some of his former students.
“I taught both Fred Ruda and Kim Stewart,” Barton said.
Brady Schmeidler, 5, Victoria, hands a wooden toy part to Mike Michaelis, director of the Virtual College, at the toy building event.
Ruda, an FHSU alum, taught at his alma mater for nearly 40 years, the last 33 as chair of the department, before dying in an automobile accident in 2012. Stewart, current chair, graduated from FHSU in 1981 and returned to teach here in 1997.
With most of his responsibilities done, Kraus walked around the room the day of the toy building, watching in awe at the progress of the assembly lines and helping out wherever he was needed.
He said he had worked on some service projects in high school as a member of the Kansas Association for Youth – a leadership-training, service program.
“But those weren’t necessarily for kids,” he said. “This was even more meaningful, especially seeing the families that have been here multiple times.”
One such family was that of Carla Schmeidler, the younger sister of Rachel Harman, senior administrative assistant for the Applied Technology Department.
Schmeidler brought all four of her children, ages 5 to 15, from their home in Victoria to help for a second straight year.
“Every year we always do a calendar of things to do during the Advent season, and this was one event,” Schmeidler said. “The kids all enjoyed doing it, so we decided to come back this year.”
Even 5-year-old Brady Schmeidler was kept busy as he ran parts from station to station.
It was a family affair for several.
After completion, the piggy banks were lined up on a table for final inspection.
Coincidentally, Barton’s daughter, Shauna Zweifel, is the chairperson for TUFT, which delivered the toys to the Community Assistance Center for pick up.
After the toy building, Zweifel and other volunteers prepared them for delivery, along with other gifts from Angel Trees at four locations in Hays.
She was first introduced to the event as a youngster when her dad taught at FHSU.
“This is such a neat community event,” Zweifel said. “The volunteers are amazing.”
Throughout the week after the toy building, Kraus lined up the pigs on one large table and dropped eight nickels into each one.
He said it’s a Christmas he won’t soon forget.
“This was pretty awesome,” Kraus said. “You can tell it means something to the volunteers, coming back each year.”
