NetWork Kansas

WICHITA – NetWork Kansas’ Entrepreneurship (E-) Community Partnership announces the 2018-2019 Youth Entrepreneurship Challenge Series.

The YEC Series consists of local-level youth entrepreneurship competitions hosted by volunteers. The goal of the competition is to expose Kansas middle school and high school students to entrepreneurship. Forty-one local events in Kansas cities and counties will culminate in a state championship hosted at Kansas State University on April 30, 2019.

High school students in Ellis County can take part in the challenge on March 20, 2019, at BriefSpace, located at 219 W. 10th in downtown Hays. More details on the local program will be released soon.

“After organizing this event several times and watching it grow and gain interest each year, I am amazed and impressed at the ideas that are presented from the participants. It is important for us as a community to plant the entrepreneurial seed so that the businessperson spirit can develop. I am certain that we will see some of these ideas become viable business ventures,” says Suzanne McClure, Economic Development Director in Goodland.

Local YEC Series events require students to prepare an executive summary and four-minute presentation, and often feature interactive tradeshows or elevator pitches. Students compete for awards and prizes. Students’ work is judged by local entrepreneurs, public sector partners, teachers, and other community members. The first place business idea at each local YEC Series competition qualifies to compete at the state championship. Up to fifteen additional business ideas can earn the right to participate at the state championship through a wildcard application process.

“The YEC Series helps students gain experience with creative problem solving and confidence in presenting their ideas to others. The competitions can help students feel more connected to their community as they think of needs they could fill in their local area. This year we expect the YEC Series to involve over 1,000 students,” says Amara Kniep, Product Manager of E-Community Programs.

Competitions in the 2018-2019 YEC Series will be hosted in: Barton County, Chase County, Chautauqua County, Cherokee County, Cheyenne County, Clay County, Cowley County, Douglas County, Edwards County, Ellis County, Ford County, Greeley County, Leavenworth County, Lincoln County, Logan County, Lyon County, Marion County, McPherson County, Montgomery County, Morton County, Norton County, Pawnee County, Phillips County, Pottawatomie County, Rawlins County, Reno County, Republic County, Rice County, Riley County, Rooks County, Saline County (both Fall and Spring events), Scott County, Sedgwick County, Shawnee County, Sheridan County, Sherman County, Thomas County, and Wichita County. KC BizFest is also participating in the YEC Series.

During 2017-18, 709 students from more than 35 Kansas communities participated in thirty-one local entrepreneurship competitions as part of the YEC series. The 2018-2019 academic year marks the sixth annual YEC series coordinated by NetWork Kansas and the E-Community Partnership.

Come see Santa up close and personal from 1 to 3 p.m. Saturday in Center Court at Big Creek Crossing.

The mall and United Way of Ellis County will offer milk and cookies, coloring and story time with the Big Guy.

This event is free. Free-will donations go to United Way of Ellis County.

The 29th annual Fred P. Ruda Teaming Up for Tots Day is set for Saturday, Dec. 1, in Fort Hays State University’s Center for Applied Technology.

Students and staff in the Department of Applied Technology will host volunteers to assemble about 200 wooden toys for children ages 2 to 6 years.

The program is designed to spread holiday cheer to local children who may otherwise not receive Christmas presents. This year’s toy is a piggy bank on wheels.

All ages are welcome to volunteer for the toy production, but children 12 years and under must be accompanied by an adult.

Jobs include sanding, running parts from station to station, putting on wheels, attaching parts, finishing and some machine operations by those who have experience in that area.

Start time is 9 a.m. and will run through about 1 p.m. Volunteers can come and go as it fits into their schedules.

K-State Research and Extension is seeking an EXTENSION AGENT, Family and Community Wellness, in the Cottonwood District.

Primary office located in Hays, KS, with other office in Great Bend, KS.

See www.ksre.ksu.edu/jobs for responsibilities, qualifications, and application procedure.

Application deadline: 12/14/18.

K-State Research and Extension is an EOE of individuals with disabilities and protected veterans. Background check required.

McDonald’s of North Hays and McDonald’s of South Hays will have collection points set up from Dec. 1 to 21 for residents who bring in items for the Ronald McDonald House Charities of Wichita’s Wish List.

The items will be delivered to the Charities in January, and they will be used to provide basic goods to families who use the houses during the time their child is in the hospital.

Wish list items being collected include coffee, laundry soap, deodorant, disinfectant wipes, fruit, Jell-O, and pudding cups, cookie and muffin mix, frosting, pepper, disposable cups and bowls, disposable razors, paper towels, Crock Pot liners, multi-purpose spray, travel sized shampoo and conditioner, hair ties, computer paper, chip clips, and disposable aluminum pans.

Background of Ronald McDonald House Charities of Wichita

The Ronald McDonald House Charities of Wichita provide families with ill or injured children a place to stay while their child is being taken care of by the hospital. They provide a supportive and home-like atmosphere not only for families in Wichita, but families throughout the state.  There are two Ronald McDonald Houses in Wichita: “Sleepy Hollow,” built in 1983, and “Midtown,” which was built in 1985. Wichita was the first town in Kansas to have two houses because of the lack of space in one house. Since 1983, the two houses have provided a “home-away-from-home” for 54,671 families, 1,182 of those families being from Ellis county.

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DECA, an association of marketing students, enhances the education of students with interests in marketing, management and entrepreneurship. The course prepares students for future careers, develops their skills and helps them practice community service. The local DECA chapter is located at Hays High School, and this year it has a total of 32 chapter members.

For more information on Wish List.

https://rmhcwichita.org/get-involved/wish-list/

WICHITA – Susan G. Komen’s Greater Kansas City & Kansas affiliates have joined forces to form a new, more comprehensive entity: Susan G. Komen Kansas & Western Missouri, to better serve existing service areas and in anticipation of expanding efforts throughout state.

The combined organization, which will be headquartered in Leawood, KS and retain its Wichita office, will incorporate the current staff, volunteer leadership, grant-making relationships and fundraising capacities of both organizations. While the name has changed, the services offered and annual events hosted by each former affiliate remain the same.

“Joining forces with our partners in Wichita will only strengthen our efforts, increase our impact, and allow us to continue our mission on a larger scale,” remarked Kristin Cargin, Board President of the affiliate. “Realigning Greater Kansas City with Kansas makes good business sense. As the Kansas & Western Missouri affiliate we will be able to leverage our combined talent and resources to continue working to save lives and end breast cancer forever.”

“Combining our resources in a collaborative, strategic way will help us to not only increase revenue and make a more significant impact on breast cancer and breast health in our current service areas, but also better position us to expand our impact throughout the state,” said Michael A. Levine, Interim Executive Director of the Greater Kansas City affiliate. “Aligned with Komen’s ‘Bold Goal’ to reduce current breast cancer deaths by 50% by 2026, the new organization will continue the affiliates’ focus to fund grants that help remove financial barriers to screening and those that meet identified gaps in breast health care and education.”

The new affiliate will now oversee 112 counties: 17 counties in Eastern Kansas & Western Missouri currently covered by Komen Greater Kansas City as well as the remaining 95 counties in the State of Kansas previously led by Komen Kansas. The new affiliate plans to strategically expand over time to include counties not currently being served between these locations and in other parts of the state.

“While we have worked closely with the Greater Kansas City affiliate in the past, we are thrilled to now officially unite to better serve those throughout the state,” added Jeremy Mock, Interim Executive Director of the Kansas affiliate.

The annual Race for the Cure events will remain in each former affiliate location, including Kansas City, Hays and Wichita. Komen Kansas & Western Missouri will continue to offer valuable programs and resources, such as its grant and research funding, and educational efforts.

About Susan G. Komen® Susan G. Komen is the world’s largest breast cancer organization, funding more breast cancer research than any other nonprofit outside of the federal government while providing real-time help to those facing the disease. Komen has set a Bold Goal to reduce the current number of breast cancer deaths by 50% in the U.S. by 2026. Since its founding in 1982, Komen has funded more than $988 million in research and provided more than $2.2 billion in funding to screening, education, treatment and psychosocial support programs serving millions of people in more than 60 countries worldwide. Komen was founded by Nancy G. Brinker, who promised her sister, Susan G. Komen, that she would end the disease that claimed Suzy’s life. That promise has become Komen’s promise to all people facing breast cancer. Visit komen.org or call 1-877 GO KOMEN. Connect with us on social at ww5.komen.org/social.

About Susan G. Komen® Kansas & Western Missouri Komen Kansas & Western Missouri is working to better the lives of those facing breast cancer in their local communities. Through signature events like the Race for the Cure®, More Than Pink Walk, BigWigs and Rock the Ribbon, Komen Kansas & Western Missouri has invested more than $27.5 million in breast health programs in their 112-county Kansas and Missouri service area and has helped contribute to the more than $988 million invested globally in research. For more information, call 816.842.0410, visit komenkswmo.org or behindtheribbon.org. Connect with us on social media: Facebook, Twitter or Instagram.

KDOT

The Kansas Department of Transportation announces approved bids for state highway construction and maintenance projects in Kansas. The letting took place Nov. 14 in Topeka. Some of the bids may include multiple projects that have been bundled based on proximity and type of work.

District Three — Northwest

Osborne ‑ 24‑71 KA‑5027‑01 – U.S. 24, from where the road begins to widen west of the west city limits of Downs east to the Osborne/Mitchell county line, sealing, 4.1 miles, APAC-Kansas Inc Shears Division, Hutchinson, Ks., $211,936.27.

Sherman ‑ 70‑91 KA‑5137‑01 ‑ I‑70, from mile marker #19 east 3 miles to mile marker #22, pavement patching, 3.0 miles, Mccormick Excavation & Paving LLC, Stratton, Co., $110,487.44.

Statewide ‑ 283‑106 M‑0063‑01 – U.S. 283, from the Barclay Avenue/ U. S. 40B/U. S. 283/ U.S. 40 junction in WaKeeney north to 2.7 miles north of the Graham/Trego county line., stockpile bituminous material, 10.4 miles, APAC-Kansas Inc. Shears Division., Hutchinson, Ks., $5,292.00.

Statewide ‑ 283‑106 KA‑4967‑01 – U.S. 283, from the Trego/Graham county line, north to 0.7 mile north of local road MCS 03302 (old RS‑1724) and from approximately 422 feet north of the east intersection of U.S. 40B/ Barclay Avenue/ U.S. 283 (east city limits of WaKeeney), milling and overlay, 10.3 miles, APAC-Kansas Inc Shears Division., Hutchinson, Ks., $3,031,302.86.

EMPORIA — Dustin Bittel of Ellis is part of the Emporia State University production of “The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance.”

The play by Jethro Compton premiered in 2014 at the Park Theatre in London and is based on the 1953 short story of the same name by Dorothy M. Johnson, a longtime educator at the University of Montana in Missoula. A celebrated writer of Western fiction, Johnson’s other titles include “A Man Called Horse” and “The Hanging Tree.”

The play is a classic Western tale of good versus evil. It follows the story of Ransome Foster, an educated man from the East, who winds up in the western town of Twotress. Forced by circumstances, he stays and begins to change to the town through education. This catches the eye of the outlaw Liberty Valance who seeks to restore “order” to Twotrees by eliminating anything, and anyone, that threatens the “norms of society” as he views it.

A senior, Bittel is in the Ensemble.

This production is under the direction of Ashley Kobza, a freelance theatre artist based in Nebraska. For the past six years, she has been teaching in San Diego, California. Kobza wants the audience to know that this production “isn’t going to be the Liberty Valance from the big screen.” She attributes most of that to the playwright who based his adaptation very strongly on Johnson’s original story.

“The play mirrors a big chunk of our current sociopolitical climate fairly accurately,” Kobza said. “One man has most of the money and all of the power. And the way he keeps that money and power is through stopping progress dead – literally, dead – in its tracks. He doesn’t want equality, legislation or education in the town as all of those are a definite threat to his power. Keep people divided and uneducated and you keep the power; this isn’t a new concept and one doesn’t have to look hard to see it demonstrated in our very own country.”

The show will feature the scenic design of Nancy J. Pontius. It is under the technical direction of Chris Lohkamp, and Amanda Dura is the costume shop manager.

“The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance” is the second production of the 2018-19 ESU Theatre season. It will play in the Ronald Q. Frederickson Theatre at 7:30 p.m. Nov. 28 through 30, with a matinee performance at 2 p.m. on Dec. 1.

Tickets purchased in advance for “The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance” cost $12 for adults, $10 for seniors and $5 for students. Tickets purchased at the door on the day of a performance will increase to $15 for adults, $12 for seniors and $8 for students. Tickets for all ESU Theatre productions can be purchased online at tickets.emporia.edu. Tickets are also available in person from the University Ticket Office in the Memorial Union or by calling 620-341-6378.

Today Patchy fog before 9am. Patchy freezing fog before 9am. Otherwise, partly sunny, with a high near 43. North northeast wind 5 to 7 mph.

Tonight Patchy fog. Otherwise, mostly cloudy, with a low around 29. North northeast wind 3 to 6 mph.

Friday Patchy freezing drizzle before 9am, then patchy drizzle between 9am and noon, then a chance of rain after noon. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 40. East southeast wind 6 to 11 mph. Chance of precipitation is 40%.

Friday Night A 40 percent chance of rain before 4am. Cloudy, with a low around 33. East wind 6 to 13 mph becoming northwest after midnight.

Saturday Partly sunny, with a high near 44. West northwest wind 13 to 17 mph, with gusts as high as 28 mph.

Saturday Night Mostly cloudy, with a low around 26.

Sunday Partly sunny, with a high near 33.