RUSSELL – The Kansas Wildlife, Parks and Tourism Commission conducted a Public Hearing at their November meeting on Nov. 15 to hear recommendations on Park fees and fishing regulations. The meeting agenda, briefing and a recorded video of the proceedings can be found HERE.
In response to rising utility costs, commissioners approved a staff recommendation to increase recreational vehicle seasonal (long-term) camping permit fees by $150 per month at five state parks (Clinton, Milford, Sand Hills, Tuttle Creek and El Dorado) and $100 per month at most others (KAR 115-2-3). Commissioners also approved repealing the regulation requiring a Trail Access Pass (KAR 115-2-5), which will allow access of the Prairie Spirit Trail without a permit. Visit www.ksoutdoors.com, “State Parks” for a complete listing of state park fees.
In other business, the Commission approved an amendment to the regulation governing the take and use of baitfish or minnows, increasing the maximum mesh size on dip or cast nets used to catch baitfish to 1 inch (KAR 1150-7-3). Common carp and koi were removed from the list of live species allowed to be sold for bait (KAR 115-17-2), and finally the marbled crayfish (Procambarus virginalis) was added to the list of species that may not be imported or possessed (KAR 115-18-10).
The next meeting of the Kansas Wildlife, Parks and Tourism Commission is scheduled for Dec. 13, 2018 at the Great Plains Nature Center, 6232 E 29th St. N, in Wichita. The afternoon session will be begin at 1:30 p.m., and the Public Hearing will begin at 6:30 p.m. Items to be voted on at the December Public Hearing include setting Free Park Entrance an Free Fishing Days; establishing a Backcountry Access Pass; fishing regulations, including methods of take, possession, and creel and length limits for various water bodies; the fall turkey season, bag limits and permits; and the spring turkey season, bag limit, permits and game tags.
The Winter Session of Athletic Edge at HaysMed, part of The University of Kansas Health System, will run from Dec. 3 through Feb. 23.This program is designed for ages 10 – 18 to increase their skills in a fun, positive environment.Our certified professional trainer will determine your individual strengths and weaknesses and then guide you through an intense program. Workouts are designed to motivate and challenge athletes while providing age-level safe and appropriate techniques and corrections that set a foundation for good life-time habits. We will also teach you how to decrease your chance of injury so that you’re able to stay in the game as long as you want. Whatever your sport of choice is, we can help you turn small gains into big results.
Workouts are held every Monday and Thursday from 6-8 pm and Saturdays from10 am to noon. There are three program options to choose from.
The Weights & Gym Workout is a full 2 hours per session.It consists of a signature workout program plus individualized weight training program.The training is deal for inexperienced lifters who need more guidance.This option is also great for highly motivated athletes who want to supplement their school’s weight training with a more sport-specific or need-specific program.The cost of the program is $200.
A second option, Gym Workout only is a 1 hour per session. This option is ideal for athletes who are already involved with weight training at their school but want to supplement their program with our speed and agility workouts.This option also works well for younger athletes who do not feel they are ready for weight training.The fee is 125.
The third program is the Weights Workout only which is 1 hour per session. This option is great for athletes who want an individualized weight training program that is sport specific.For athletes who are busy with school workouts, open gyms and rec games, our weight program offers a great way to
still improve strength and ability while avoiding burn out.In addition, our certified strength and conditioning specialists focus on proper lifting techniques to avoid injury.Cost for this program is $125.
There is a special discount offered for those families with multiple kids enrolled in the program.The first child is full price and all other kids receive $25 off the session they are enrolled in.
In addition to the three programs the Athletic Edge also offers individual and small group training session.If you’d like a one on one training program at a great price or a small group training program with friends, please contact us for more information and pricing and dates/times available.You can contact The Center for Health Improvement to sign up or for more information can contact me @785-623-6369 or [email protected]
WILSON — The Post Rock Opportunities Foundation announced this week that Kansas Originals will have an open house from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday at the Wilson location.
Guest artist Joan Searles will be throwing pottery on a wheel, and Michelle Weigel will demonstrate how she paints her exceptional ornaments.
Both artists make their items from start to finish.
Donna KrugThe saying, “A picture is worth 1000 words” is so true. In the case of our four grandchildren the texts and FaceTime minutes help us manage in between visits. Still nothing compares to actually seeing, hugging and interacting with the kids. As we enter the holiday season, families across the country hardly need a reminder that the week of Thanksgiving is designated as National Family Week.
National Family Week got its’ start in Canada and was adopted in the U.S. during the Regan administration. It embraces the premise that children live better lives when their families are strong, and families are strong when they live in communities that connect them to economic opportunities, social networks, and services. These “connections,” celebrated during National Family Week, include access to reliable transportation, employment opportunities, education, child care, housing, health care, and support from community networks and institutions.
When America’s diverse families and children are healthy, our nation prospers. That is why we hope everyone will take time during National Family Week to honor the connections that support and strengthen families year round.
I am reminded of parenting classes I have led in the past and the need to encourage families of all kinds to provide a nurturing and safe environment for their children. Putting struggles from the past behind them and starting fresh with new ideas to build self- esteem and good communication skills is a worthy goal.
We have an excellent resource titled, “100 Ways to Celebrate your Family.” If you feel like you need some fresh ideas to try out with your family, stop by for your free copy of this poster that is appropriate to share throughout the holiday season.
Something else I want to mention in my column space today is that the Cottonwood Extension District has a Family and Community Wellness position open. Our offices are in Great Bend and Hays and the primary location for this position will be the Hays office. The person in this position will provide programming related to: strengthening families and individuals, building community capacity, family and community health and wellness, and local volunteer development. Follow this link for more information and the application procedure: www.ksre.ksu.edu/jobs
Donna Krug is the Family & Consumer Science Agent and District Director for the Cottonwood Extension District. You may reach her at: [email protected] or (620)793-1910.
Partly sunny, then gradually becoming sunny, with a high near 65. Windy, with a northwest wind 14 to 19 mph increasing to 23 to 28 mph in the afternoon. Winds could gust as high as 39 mph.
Tonight
Mostly clear, with a low around 31. West northwest wind 5 to 15 mph.
Saturday
Mostly sunny, with a high near 60. West wind 5 to 11 mph becoming southeast in the afternoon.
Saturday Night
Rain, mainly after 1am. Low around 30. Windy, with an east wind 8 to 13 mph becoming north 20 to 25 mph after midnight. Chance of precipitation is 80%. New precipitation amounts between a tenth and quarter of an inch possible.
Sunday
Rain and snow, becoming all snow after 7am, then gradually ending. Areas of blowing snow between 7am and 10am. High near 35. Windy, with a north northwest wind 23 to 28 mph decreasing to 17 to 22 mph in the afternoon. Winds could gust as high as 39 mph. Chance of precipitation is 80%. New precipitation amounts between a tenth and quarter of an inch possible.
Les KnollYup, miracles do happen. What better subject and proof than President Donald J. Trump.
Just maybe a higher power intervenes.
Miracle number one was Trump winning the presidency back in 2016. Miracle number two is his survival against all odds.
No president in this country’s history has been hated by more people and mostly just for who he is. It’s all about feelings and emotions. What Trump does to make America great again is meaningless to half this country. Conservatives and most Christians love the man, but the many other elements against him are overwhelming. Yet he survives.
Trump has survived a press that obviously has chosen not to be a free one. I concur with many others that most media “are enemies of the people.” Trying to tell us how to vote during elections against Trump with fake news, even lies, is not what is supposed to happen in a democracy.
Since day one, 95% of media is negative toward our president 95% of the time. Case in point, even small town newspapers like our local one, print the same horrific stuff that we read in the New York Times and Washington Post.
It defies logic for mainstream media to claim they are accurately reporting about our current president. If Trump is making America great again in a number of ways, and facts prove it, how is it that most news is negative? That in itself proves media is the enemy of Trump – and the people who voted for him. End of debate on that score.
From day one, Democrats in Congress vote against Trump on all issues. Now, following the election, along with being obstructionists, there is even more talk of subpoenas and impeachment. Dems will do anything and everything, obviously, to destroy this presidency.
No president has been under the microscope like this one. What Dems want to do to a Trump presidency rises to the level of one of the most outrageous and unconscionable agenda’s in American political history.
Media and their partner in crime the Democrat Party top the list of Trump’s enemies, but there are many more who want to take him out. Speaking of the Democrat Party, no other existing president has had to put up with a past president like Obama publicly chastising Trump on everything.
A partisan U. S. Department of Justice, in the tank for Hillary and Obama, created a Special Counsel with unheard of unlimited powers. Rush Limbaugh describes the Robert Mueller investigation as political prosecution of Trump. It’s an investigation looking for a crime simply because of dislike for Trump, with no evidence a crime has even been committed. Clearly a witch hunt.
Hard to believe, but there are Never Trumpers who are Republicans. I’m embarrassed to admit my own Arizona senators, that being Republicans John McCain and Jeff Flake, despised Trump and worked hard against him. Even Republican House Majority Leader Paul Ryan, half the time would not cooperate with Trump and a good case can be made that Ryan’s lack of good leadership in the House led to Dems taking over the majority, thus impeachment in the works.
Most, in and around D.C. are Democrats, as evidenced by Trump only getting 5% of their votes in 2016. Federal government workers are not pro Trump.
There is indisputable evidence our Department of Justice and Federal Bureau of Investigation unethically and illegally tried to prevent a Trump presidency. When that did not happen those agencies took measures to destroy his presidency. A miracle Trump survives.
For good measure, let me throw in to the mix, the fact that most of higher education is anti Trump and indoctrinating students to be liberals, not conservatives, consequently anti Trump. Social media like Facebook and Google are obviously anti conservative as well. Liberal Obama judges do everything they possibly can to obstruct Trump’s executive orders. The beat goes on and on!
The obstacles appear to be insurmountable but miracles, obviously, do happen. He survives!
Donald J. Trump will be one for history books like no other president.
Shelly Huser, Victoria Elementary fifth-grade teacher, has been named November’s Hays Post Teacher of the Month.
By CRISTINA JANNEY Hays Post
VICTORIA — Shelly Huser, a 22-year veteran teacher, learned firsthand how hurtful bullying can be.
Her brother, Ross, is physically and developmentally disabled. He was bullied when they were kids. She remembers the uncomfortable stares, the things people would say.
“The ‘retard’ word still makes me cringe when I hear it,” she said.
Huser, 48, shares that story with her fifth-graders on their first day with her at Victoria Elementary School in hopes they will learn to be kind to each other. She has an all-star board with pictures of her family on it. Her parents also used to bring her brother to games at the school, so many of the kids have been able to meet him.
“You don’t know what other people are going through,” she said.
It was this core of kindness and caring that earned Huser this month’s Hays Post Teacher of the Month award.
She was nominated by Shauna Chance. Both of her sons have been in Huser’s class.
“Ms. Huser is an amazing teacher,” Chance wrote in her nomination. “She has been part of the Victoria Elementary School that went above and beyond to care for the children in need of extra attention. … She makes learning fun and memorable. She is patient and supportive. My son tells me every day how amazing of a teacher she is. She makes each kid in class feel special.”
Huser has been at Victoria for 16 years, and also taught for a time at Otis-Bison.
Her fourth-grade teacher — Mildred Hladek at WaKeeney Elementary School — inspired her to be a teacher.
“She had baskets of extra papers on her windowsill, and we could take them if we wanted to. I would take those papers home, and my poor brother had to be my student. I had a classroom, and he would be my student. From that time on, that is what I wanted to do. I love it. I can’t imagine doing anything different.”
However, Huser almost left the profession after student teaching for a kindergarten class.
“When I did my kindergarten student teaching, I thought, ‘What have I gotten myself into?’ Because they couldn’t cut, they couldn’t hold pencils, they couldn’t do things. I think I went home everyday and cried and thought, ‘What have I done? I have wasted four years of my life, and I don’t want to do this.’ ”
She was able to student teach a fourth-grade class during inter-term, and she realized that was the student level with which she really wanted to work.
Her fifth-graders are on the cusp of junior high, and Huser said she really enjoys seeing the children grow during her year with them.
“They come in dependent on me, but they leave independent, and I like that whole transition where they are able to figure things out on their own,” she said.
Huser’s two big words for her class are expectation and accountability.
“I am going to expect you to do it, and then I’m going to hold you accountable to get it done,” she said.
When her students come into the fifth-grade, they sign a job contract that includes Huser’s expectations of them. They have time-card pay. If they do their job, they get time outside to play.
Her favorite aspect of teaching is the “ah-ha” moment.
“I think it is probably when the lightbulb comes on for kiddos when they really get it — whatever I am teaching or some kind of skill. That is probably the most fun, when they finally figure it out and are excited about that,” she said.
Huser covers many subjects in her classroom, but one of her favorites is social studies. The students study Native Americans, explorers, the American Colonies and the Revolutionary War.
Huser tries to give the students hands-on learning activities. They kids do explorer talk shows, a Revolutionary War ABC book and make brochures to convince people to move to the Colonies.
“I feel I try to get them back into that time and put themselves there,” she said. “I think that helps them understand it more.”
Huser said she struggled with the subject when she was an elementary student. She was very nervous about reading aloud in class. Instead of listening to the other students, she focused on only her text.
“As I got into high school, I really had to study and work hard because it didn’t come very easy for me,” she said. “I think that helps kids too, because I struggled with things, so I am able to help them if they have those problems.”
Huser recently resigned as the Victoria Junior High volleyball coach after 16 years. Her record was 132-52. Her team won the CPL tournament this year and placed in the top three nine of the 16 years.
“It was not necessarily about winning,” she said. “We did win a lot because of the talent. It was the teamwork part of things. Kids got along. Even when they weren’t friends off the court, they got along on the court. We stress that and being coachable and having a good attitude.”
Huser also enjoyed being able to coach her own daughters. Kristen, 23, is now the Victoria High School girls basketball coach. Kristen is coaching Huser’s youngest daughter, who is a 15-year-old freshman. She had all three of her children in class.
“How many moms get to do that?” she said.
Although it was a very difficult decision to leave coaching, Huser said she feels she made the right choice. Kristen is expecting a child, and Huser said she looks forward to being a grandma in April.
Over her career, she said teaching has changed.
“Kids have changed, and times have changed,” she said. “I feel like anymore I am still teaching the regular subjects, but there are a whole lot of life skills that I think teachers are doing more of. My theme in here is humble and kind. I fell like we are spending more time on those kind of things maybe more than math and reading.”
Every day, Huser has an MVP that helps lead the class. The MVP holds the door for the class as they go to assembly each morning. The students are supposed to say “thank you.”
“They’ll count and tell be, ‘Ms. Huser, I got 15 thank yous,'” she said. “I think it is those little things. That, again, is holding each other accountable.”
A cattle truck rolled over on Interstate 70 on Thursday, closing the road for a time.
The Kansas Highway Patrol reported a 2000 Peterbilt semi driven by Jason Buttenhoff, 45, Chapman, was eastbound on I-70, just west of Yocemento, when the vehicle left the roadway into the median and rolled onto its side.
Buttenhoff was transported to Hays Medical Center for treatment. The KHP reported he was not wearing a seat belt.
The USD 489 Hope Pantry kicked off the holiday season by spreading some holiday cheer to families in need throughout the district.
As family needs have increased during this school year, the need for boxes to distribute to families continues to grow. Seventy-two boxes were packaged with non-perishable food items and sent home to families.
The Hope Pantry will continue to provide assistance to families as long as resources allow.
Those wishing to contribute to help families in need, can donate non-perishable food items, hygiene products, and gently used clothing can be donated to the Hope Pantry at the district office.
Monetary donations will be used to purchase items for the holiday food and hygiene boxes.
In conjunction with NCK Tech’s Community Outreach initiative, which offers more short-term courses for community enrichment, a ServSafe food handler certification prep course will be offered on Saturday, Dec. 1.
The four-hour course will be held in Classroom D in the Business and Operations Center Building located on the NCK Tech Campus, 2205 Wheatland. Chef Philip Kuhn, instructor for the culinary program, will lead the course.
“The ServeSafe certifications are highly recognized in the restaurant industry and can help front and back of the house staff learn the proper and safe ways of handling food,” Kuhn said.
The deadline for registration is Nov. 28. ServeSafe Manager classes are being scheduled as well. For more information and registration, contact Logan Staab, Outreach Coordinator for NCK Tech at 785-623-6173.
The Ellis County Democrat Party has spent the last two weeks in an attempt to sow doubt and confusion into the electorate of the 111th House District. They have lowered themselves to investigating their own Democratic County Clerk, complained about the accuracy of our voting machines, and pushed conspiracy theories as to the handling of ballots.
If the Democrats had concerns about the integrity of the election or the competency of the office completing the process, they should have selected a different candidate two years ago to represent their party. We have no evidence that Donna Maskus has done anything but handle the election process professionally and lawfully. The only problem the Democrats seem to have is in losing. We wonder if Rep. Phelps would have any doubt about these results if he were holding a 35 vote lead?
The Ellis County Republican Party believes in the integrity of the election, and its leaders have taken the necessary steps to give us confidence that all votes have been counted accurately. We now ask that Eber Phelps and the Democrats concede this election result and forgo any further actions that will waste taxpayer money and place further doubt into the minds of the voters.
The desperation of their political leaders is showing in these attempts to undermine our newly elected State Representative before she is sworn into office. While all election losses are tough to handle, we expect more integrity and class from Rep. Phelps. It’s time for this fiasco to end. The people of the 111th district have chosen Barb Wasinger to be their Representative.
Ellis County Republican Party Leadership
Dustin Roths Chair
Sandy Werth Vice Chair
The TMP-Marian Junior High Natural Helpers helped the Kiwanis celebrate and thank area veterans at a lunch earlier this month at Smoky Hill Country Club.
The students helped carry food to the tables, ate and visited with the guests, presented a program, and gave thank you cards from the students of the entire school.
The junior high choir and instrumentalists from Monarch Music presented a program of patriotic and other songs with special meaning to all.
Thanksgiving Day
Sunny, with a high near 65. West southwest wind 7 to 12 mph becoming south 13 to 18 mph in the afternoon.
Tonight
A slight chance of rain between 3am and 5am. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 42. South wind 9 to 16 mph becoming west after midnight. Chance of precipitation is 20%.
Friday
Mostly cloudy through mid morning, then gradual clearing, with a high near 61. Windy, with a northwest wind 10 to 15 mph increasing to 21 to 26 mph in the afternoon.
Friday Night
Mostly clear, with a low around 32. West northwest wind 6 to 10 mph.
Saturday
Mostly sunny, with a high near 61. West southwest wind 5 to 14 mph becoming northwest in the afternoon.
Saturday Night
Rain likely before 2am, then rain and snow likely between 2am and 3am, then snow likely after 3am. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 30. Very windy. Chance of precipitation is 60%.
Sunday
A 20 percent chance of snow before noon. Mostly sunny, with a high near 36. Very windy.
Thanksgiving Day