Category: Local
Water issues to be discussed by Ellis City Council
ELLIS – Ellis city council members will hear a Comparative Water Report from the Public Works Dept. during their meeting tonight.
Also on the Oct. 15 agenda is a status report on the water exploration contracts.
The complete meeting agenda follows.
AGENDA
October 15, 2018
REGULAR MEETING OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF ELLIS
City Hall – Council Meeting Room
BILLS ORDINANCE REVIEW WORK SESSION BEGINS AT 7:00 P.M.
ROLL CALL AND MEETING CALL TO ORDER AT 7:30 P.M.
PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE
AMENDMENTS TO AGENDA (if needed)
- CONSENT AGENDA
- Minutes from Regular Meeting on October 1, 2018
- Bills Ordinance #2055
- September Manual Journal Entries
(Council will review for approval under one motion under the consent agenda. By majority vote of the governing body, any item may be removed from the consent agenda and considered separately)
PUBLIC COMMENTS
(Each speaker will be limited to five minutes. If several people from the group wish to speak on same subject, the group must appoint a spokesperson. ALL comments from public on agenda items must be during Public Comment. Once council begins their business meeting, no more comments from public will be allowed.)
- PRESENTATIONS OF AWARDS, PROCLAMATIONS, REQUESTS & PETITIONS (HEARINGS)
- Presentation of Service Awards
- SPECIAL ORDER
- Fire Department Monthly Report – Chief Dustin Vine
- UNFINISHED BUSINESS
- NEW BUSINESS
- Consider Approval of Public Property Permit Application and Event Request for Traffic Control – Trunk or Treat
- REPORTS FROM CITY OFFICIALS
- Administrative
- Public Works
- Comparative Water Report
- Consider Approval for Training
- Department Update
- Police
- Department Update
- City Clerk
- Health Insurance Savings Report for September
- September Financial Statements
- Department Update
- Attorney
- Update on Status of Code Violation Cases
- Status Report on Water Exploration Contracts
- Mayor Update and Announcements
- Update on PRIDE Committee Projects
- Update from LKM Annual Conference
- Public Works
- Administrative
EXECUTIVE SESSIONS
- ADJOURNMENT
LETTER: Phelps’ negative attack mailers make the choice clear
Recently, mailboxes in Ellis County received two pieces of campaign junk mail from Eber Phelps. The first came directly from Eber’s campaign, warning ‘attack dogs’ from special interest groups in Eastern Kansas were coming to harm his campaign.
The very next day, another piece of mail – this one from the Kansas Democratic Party – arrived, targeting his Republican opponent, Barb Wasinger, by name and with a photo of her darkened to look sinister.
This political flip-flopping by Eber is hypocrisy at its finest. To bemoan special interest involvement and negative campaigning on one day, only to turn around and do it yourself the following day! We think he holds Ellis County voters in low regard if he thinks they will be swayed by such dishonest characterizations.
We’ve known Barb Wasinger for several decades. Anyone who knows Barb also knows she’s a smart, strong conservative who thinks independently and will battle for what is right just as she has as an Ellis County Commissioner. She is firm, but fair. We also know she’s a decent and ethical woman who has promised to run a clean and positive campaign. BARB HAS NOT APPROVED OF, OR CONSULTED WITH, ANY GROUP ATTEMPTING TO PAINT HER OPPONENT IN A NEGATIVE LIGHT.
Frankly, she doesn’t need to. Her campaign is focused on the real issues facing our state and our district – issues like economic security, safe schools for our children and making Hays and Kansas a location of choice for future generations. You would think after 18 years Eber would bring forth solutions to these issues, rather than slinging negativity and invective.
Frankly, these mailers reek of desperation. Ellis County voters deserve better, and they will get it by voting for Barb Wasinger as State Representative for the 111th District.
Dean Haselhorst, Co- Chair Barb for Kansas
Sandy Jacobs, Co-Chair Barb for Kansas
Restored Wilcox School will be unveiled this month in Trego Co.
WAKEENEY — The City of WaKeeney Travel & Tourism Committee invites the public to the Wilcox School House, 15 miles south of WaKeeney on Highway 283 at 2 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 21. The restoration of the Wilcox School will be unveiled and the importance of the school in Trego County’s history will be recognized. The school will be dedicated to Harm Schneider, whose family donated the school in his memory. The 15th anniversary of the Smoky Valley Scenic Byway will be celebrated at the same time.
The Kansas Byway Program designated the Smoky Valley Scenic Byway as a Kansas Scenic Byway in August 2003. Then in May 2006 the Wilcox School was listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Once it was on the National Register of Historic Places we could start applying for Heritage Trust Fund Grants through the Kansas Historical Society to restore the property.
The Smoky Valley Scenic Byway and WaKeeney Travel & Tourism applied for several grants. Two grants were received. The first grant was received in 2011 to restore the stonework and the roof. Metzker Restoration of Ness City reset the foundation and actually replaced some of the damaged stones, repaired the brick chimney, and put a new roof on the school. The second grant was received in 2015 to restore the windows, door, fascia, and soffit. Schamber Historic Preservation LLC of Damar built new windows and replaced the front door, fascia, and soffit earlier this year. After much deliberation, the committee decided to not restore the interior of the school at this time. Interpretive panels are currently being installed in the windows so visitors can learn more about the building and its history.
There will be a short program followed by displays highlighting the school and the byway. The displays will feature memorabilia from the Wilcox School and the families that settled the surrounding area, the Hi-Plains Gravel Grinders Motorcycle Club, the native wildflowers and grasses that can be found along the Smoky Valley Scenic Byway, and information about the Smoky Valley Scenic Byway and the Kansas Byways.
The preservation efforts were led by the WaKeeney Travel & Tourism Committee and the Smoky Valley Scenic Byway Committee.
— Submitted
Former standout athlete finds new passion through entrepreneurial opportunities
By DIANE GASPER-O’BRIEN
FHSU University Relations and Marketing
Growing up in a baseball family in Hays, Hayden Hutchison mastered a multitude of pitches at an early age.
From the time he started playing organized baseball, Hutchison usually was penciled into the cleanup spot in his team’s lineup. By the time he graduated from Hays High School in 2013, Hutchison was being recruited by colleges as a top-notch infielder and had set school records in hitting and pitching.
But nothing could have prepared him for the curveball that derailed his athletic career and forced him to readjust his plans.
Baseball for Hutchison now consists of watching his younger brother play for HHS and catching some Major League games on TV.
A potential MVP for any team he was a part of, that all changed for Hutchison when a broken hand, recurring knee injuries and a stress fracture at Neosho Community College in Chanute sidelined him indefinitely.
A talented athlete whose passion added another dimension to his arsenal, Hutchison now has found a new passion – entrepreneurship. Following that series of injuries, Hutchison returned to his hometown and Fort Hays State University.
Similar to the way he tackles any challenge, Hutchison dove head-first into his major of business administration and soon became involved in the Center for Entrepreneurship.
Scheduled to graduate in May 2019 with his bachelor’s degree, Hutchison’s newest venture is helping charter a CEO chapter on campus. CEO, the Collegiate Entrepreneurs Organization, happens to be the acronym on Hutchison’s radar these days.
While he is interested in pursuing logistics positions, Hutchison said he would like to own his own business someday – be the CEO of his own company.
“I would love to do that, but I’m not at that level right now,” he said. “I want to spend five to 10 years in a career and get some experience to understand the business process. That way I can obtain the skills to maybe branch off and start my company.”
It’s a sharp contrast to his goals when he graduated from high school in 2013.
“My main attention was on sports, and I was going to breeze by with some easy major,” he said. “I knew at some point I wasn’t going to keep playing baseball, so I knew I should get a degree. That time just came faster than I was expecting.”
Coincidentally, Fort Hays State was an option for Hutchison all along, as he was being recruited as a student-athlete to play for the Tiger baseball team where his dad, Matt, had excelled in the early 1990s.
But the younger Hutchison’s mind was set on playing at a Division I school. So he took the path of playing for a nationally known community college program, hoping to be seen by some D-I recruiters.
Hutchison will tell you now that the university in his own backyard has more to offer him as a student than he could have ever imagined.
“As I began spending more time on academics once I got to Fort Hays State, I realized the return of time investment,” he said. “I had never really cared about that, was just interested in athletics. Now, by being involved as much as I have been, the return has been extraordinary in my opinion.”
“I credit Fort Hays State for offering these opportunities,” Hutchison continued. “Once you take advantage of them, FHSU continues to support you through them.”
Hutchison it’s ironic that he probably never would have realized those opportunities if it hadn’t been for his injuries.
“I didn’t really have another plan. Hays is home to me, and I had done three semesters of school already,” he said. “I thought, ‘Why not finish my degree in my hometown at an affordable university?’ ”
Hutchison said he soon learned affordable was just one of the many positive features that make FHSU a postsecondary gem. He also learned how to put the competitive nature that is part of his DNA to good use on a different playing field.
Hutchison hit a home run, so to speak, when he applied for the $5,000 Robbins Ambassador Scholarship sponsored by the W.R. and Yvonne Robbins College of Business and Entrepreneurship. Only two students received the award, and he was one of them.
He also was chosen as one of 20 to 25 who participate each year as a VIP Ambassador, a prestigious group of student leaders chosen to represent FHSU at official campus events.
It was at one of the ambassador events when Dr. David Snow, director of FHSU’s Center for Entrepreneurship, told Hutchison about CEO, a national organization for entrepreneurial-minded students.
“I was excited about getting something like that going,” Hutchison said. “Entrepreneurship is in our college title, and of all the things we have for students here at Fort Hays State, we don’t have a student-led organization for entrepreneurship. I thought we needed that.”
Snow said he was impressed with Hutchison’s organizational and leadership skills even before he met him. When Hutchison learned that Snow was named the new director of the Center for Entrepreneurship, he emailed Snow at his former university in Pikeville, Ky.
“He was thinking of creating a student group from scratch,” said Snow, who suggested to Hutchison that connecting with an established organization with bylaws and procedures already in place would be easier than to launch a new chapter.
So Hutchison soon became the one leading the charge for establishing a CEO chapter at Fort Hays State. In two months time, the new CEO now has between 15 and 20 active members, several who are preparing for the CEO Global Conference and Pitch Competition Nov. 1-3 in Kansas City, Mo., as well as the Kansas Start-Up Challenge in November on the FHSU campus.
Hutchison had to put his project on hold for a couple of weeks in September after being selected a finalist for the 2018 Homecoming royalty. After being chosen as a representative for the VIP Student Ambassadors for Homecoming king, Hutchinson and other nominees went through an extensive process including an application and interview with the royalty selection committee to even reach the finalist list.
It was one more item added to Hutchison’s growing list of things to get done during the first semester of his senior year. But he said he thought it was worth the effort.
“I think we need to take advantage of all that FHSU has to offer,” Hutchison said. “The resources and opportunities have really turned my entire educational experience around.”
Hutchison said he is excited about building the CEO for the future.
“Hayden has not made himself the focus of CEO,” Snow wrote in a letter nominating Hutchison for Outstanding CEO Chapter Leader Award which will be announced at the global conference. “Rather, he is working to build an entrepreneurial organization on the FSHU campus that will prosper and impact this community long after his departure.”
Nonetheless, Hutchison is dead-set on making CEO’s first year at Fort Hays State a memorable one, too. He has been busy helping organize fundraising events for the FHSU chapter.
Fort Hays State’s CEO has already had a nationally acclaimed speaker in Matt Moody, founder of SalinaPost.com and HaysPost.com and current president of Bellwethr. At the CEO’s last meeting, Hutchison urged fellow members to take in two upcoming presentations.
Daymond John from Shark Tank, a reality show where budding entrepreneurs introduce their ideas, is part of the FHSU Presidential Series this year. He will talk at FHSU on Nov. 7, and he is giving CEO members an hour-long question-and-answer session beforehand. The next day, Peter Werth, founder and CEO of ChemWerth Inc., will speak at the Entrepreneur Direct speaker series at the Robbins Center. Werth is an FHSU graduate for whom the Peter Werth College of Science, Technology and Mathematics is named.
“It’s going to be busy this year, but I’m looking forward to everything,” Hutchison said. “All these opportunities at Fort Hays State have definitely laid some bricks for my career in the long run. I know it’s not the pinnacle, but it’s definitely another building block, one more step moving forward.”
Sunny, cool Monday
Today Sunny, with a high near 45. Northwest wind around 10 mph.
Tonight Clear, with a low around 29. West wind around 7 mph.
Tuesday Sunny, with a high near 59. West wind 7 to 9 mph.
Tuesday NightClear, with a low around 36. Northwest wind around 7 mph.
WednesdaySunny, with a high near 59.
Wednesday NightMostly clear, with a low around 38.
ThursdayMostly sunny, with a high near 56.
Thursday NightPartly cloudy, with a low around 42.
FridaySunny, with a high near 61.
PREVIEW: Eagle Radio Auction Oct. 18 & 19
The Eagle radio auction is coming up on October 18th and 19th on stations 101.9FM and 94.3FM KAYS. We will have thousands of items to bid on and buy beginning at 8 a.m. each day. To place a bid call 785-301-2211.
You can see a complete sale bill including when each item will sell by clicking HERE.
Below is one of our featured items on this year’s auction:
Bad Boy “Outlaw” zero turn mower from Farm Implement and Supply
Retail Price $9399
Features 61” cut, Yamaha 824 cc with 27 1/2 horsepower engine, solid steel deck, hydro-gear 4400 integrated drive system, dual lever steering-independent control, 19 position manual assist deck, 2”x 3” four rail frame construction, and steer Tek precision drive system. Manufactures Warranty.
That’s Bad Boy! Mow with an attitude.
Farm Implement and Supply, Plainville KS. 785-434-4824
$50 Certificate from Arthur’s Pizza in Ellis
This certificate is good for anything at Arthur’s Pizza except alcohol. Enjoy pizza, Mexican, appetizers, desserts, salad, challenge pizzas and new menu items.
Arthur’s Pizza and Mexican Foods, 109 W. 9th, Ellis, KS 67637. 785-726-4683 Use by October 31, 2019.
Now That’s Rural: Dan Senestraro, Kansas dairyman
Huck Boyd National Institute for Rural Development
“Go East, young man, and grow up with the country.” Actually, that is the opposite of the original saying made famous by editor Horace Greeley, who told his readers to go west in 1865. But in 1994, one entrepreneur found that his path to growth was to go east, and that led him to rural Kansas.
Dan Senestraro is the owner of Eastside Dairy in Stanton County, Kansas. Dan is the westernmost Kansan on the Board of Directors of the Dairy Farmers of America.
Dan grew up on a dairy farm in California. He went to veterinary school at the University of California at Davis. “I was determined not to be in the dairy business,” he said with a smile. He graduated in 1986. By 1989, he found himself in the dairy business again.
“I was in a partnership on 800 dairy cows in rented space in southern California,” Dan said. As California became more crowded and urbanized, he looked to relocate and grow.
Western Kansas was actively seeking to attract dairies, touting such advantages as dry climate, abundant feed, and a pro-agriculture state economy. In 1994, Dan moved to Kansas and became part of the dairy expansion.
Today, Dan and his partner Clayton Winger own and operate Eastside Dairy on the east side of Stanton County. They milk approximately 3,400 cows and have that many heifers being raised for future production, so they have roughly 7,000 total head of cows. Their heifers are custom raised up to four months of age. Each year they farm more than 800 acres of crop ground in corn, sorghum and wheat.
“We’re sustainable,” Dan said. “We have a closed loop system and we reuse all the waste water and nutrients. We catch every drop of runoff.” For example, water that is used to clean off pens is captured and fed through the water pivots to irrigate crops.
“We do nutrient recycling,” Dan said. “We do export some manure to neighbors who grow corn and silage for us. It’s a good business practice as well as environmentally sound.”
In 2000, Dan got involved in the governance of the dairy industry. Dairy Farmers of America, the nation’s largest dairy cooperative, is organized into several regions. All of Kansas was in the central region, but dairies in southwest Kansas were more similar to the ones in Texas and New Mexico so the regions were reorganized. Today in the DFA organization, Dan is chair of the southwest area, chair of the Global Trade Committee, and vice-chair of the overall organization’s Board of Directors.
Dan has seen many changes through the years, involving trade and other factors. “Fifteen or twenty years ago, we exported maybe three to four percent (of our production),” he said. “Today, 17 to 18 percent of production on a solids basis is being exported. We’re moving more and more into world markets.”
The DFA organization has also grown and changed. For years, the DFA headquarters was in a leased building in Kansas City, Missouri. In 2017, DFA built a building in the Legends area of Kansas City, Kansas. “The Kansas people bent over backwards to help us,” Dan said.
As milk production grew in southwest Kansas, opportunities grew for further processing. In September 2017, DFA opened a new milk processing plant in Garden City. “It handles four million pounds of milk a day,” Dan said. The milk is converted to whole milk powder which goes into the export market.
“We’ve made lots of progress out here,” Dan said. He serves on the city council and airport board at his rural community of Johnson City, population 1.495 people. Now, that’s rural. “Everybody needs to be involved to make things work,” he said.
“Go East, young man.” That’s the direction which Dan Senestraro took from California, and it has made it possible to grow the dairy industry. We commend Dan Senestraro, Clayton Winger, and all those involved with Eastside Dairy. Their move has enabled them to go and grow.
In coming weeks, we’ll learn more about the growth of the dairy industry in western Kansas.
WINKEL: Work garden soil in the fall
However, with exception to this year, the fall season is usually drier. This allows more time to work the soil when it is at the best moisture level. Even if you work the soil wet in the fall where clods are formed, the freezing and thawing that takes place during the winter will break them down, making it more malleable by the time spring arrives.
If your garden area still has the previous seasons plants laying around, insects as well as diseases often piggy-back on the old garden debris for the duration of winter. If that debris is worked well into the soil, those little critters will be less likely to make it through those cold months. Besides, that same garden debris will increase the organic matter content of the soil. Hint; turning the debris into the soil is often easier if you mow the old vegetable plants several times, forming an organic mulch. If that is not possible, at least chop the plants up by using your shovel.
As fall is an excellent time to add organic matter to the garden soil, there is more than just the old garden debris to use. There are dried leaves, rotten hay/silage, grass clippings, etc. Fresher materials (green) can also be added in the fall rather than in the spring because there is more time for them to break down before planting. As a rule of thumb, add 2 inches of organic material to the surface of the soil and till it in. Be careful not to over till the soil. You should end up with particles like grape nuts or larger. If you work your garden into the consistency of dust, you will have destroyed the soil structure.
Rip Winkel is the Horticulture agent in the Cottonwood District (Barton and Ellis Counties) for K-State Research and Extension. You can contact him by e-mail at [email protected] or calling either 785-682-9430, or 620-793-1910.
NW Kansas students among WKMA scholarship winners
DODGE CITY — Western Kansas Manufacturers Association, sponsor of the 3i SHOW, is proud to continue their support of western Kansas students furthering their education at area community colleges, technical colleges and universities through their annual scholarship program. The scholarships are for freshman students who are residents of western Kansas, have graduated from a western Kansas high school and are U.S. citizens. Preference is given to students enrolling in Agri-Business, Industrial or Mechanical Engineering, Pre-Engineering or Business Administration.
WKMA would like to congratulate the following 2018-2019 school year scholarship recipients Thomas Potter, a Hoisington High School graduate, was awarded a $500 scholarship to Barton Community College; Gerardo Ortiz-Chavez, a Wichita County High School graduate, was awarded a $500 scholarship to Colby Community College; Cora Tasset, a Spearville High School graduate, was awarded a $500 scholarship at Dodge City Community College; Jace Laswon, a Pawnee Heights graduate, was awarded a $500 scholarship to NCK Tech; John Gower, a Phillipsburg High School graduate, was awarded $500 to Northwest Kansas Technical College; Manuel Aguero, a Liberal High School graduate, was awarded a $500 scholarship at Seward County Community College; Emily Cranwell, a Ellis High School graduate, was awarded a $700 scholarship at Fort Hays State University; Britta Beesley, a Hugoton High School graduate, was awarded a $700 scholarship at Kansas State University; and Conner Lebeau, a Scott Community High School graduate, was awarded a $700 scholarship at the University of Kansas.
One scholarship remains available at Garden City Community College.
WKMA scholarships are partially funded each year by the sale of limited-edition belt buckles commemorating the 3i SHOW. A buckle order form is available online with buckles available dating back to 1984. Buckles will also be available for purchase at the 65th Annual 3i SHOW on March 21-23, 2019 in Dodge City at the Western State Bank Expo Center. Scholarship applications should be made directly through the individual school’s financial aid or scholarship department. Visit www.3ishow.com for specific school contact information or for a buckle order form.
For more information, contact the WKMA office directly toll-free at 877-405-2883 or locally at 620-227-8082. To receive continued updates and information about the 3i SHOW and upcoming events, follow the 3i SHOW on Twitter and Google+, and like the 3i SHOW Facebook Page.
— Submitted
FHSU grad will take reins at Southeast Kansas Education Service Center
Corns, who has been superintendent for the Eureka and Erie school districts, currently serves as chief operating officer for Greenbush.
“I’m excited to play a role in shaping the future of an organization that’s made such an impact on education in Kansas,” Corns said.
The Greenbush board appointed Corns after accepting a letter from current executive director Mike Bodensteiner indicating his intent to retire at the end of the calendar year. Corns was Bodensteiner’s recommended successor.
“Randy’s knowledge of Greenbush, as well as his experience as a superintendent and former member of the Superintendent Advisory Council, will serve him well in the years to come,” Bodensteiner said.
Corns, who lives with his family in Altoona, has degrees from Pittsburg State University and Fort Hays State University.
Greenbush is governed by a board of education comprised of representatives from the five educational entities that signed the interlocal agreement creating the service center in 1976: USD 101 Erie, USD 248 Girard, USD 508 Baxter Springs, USD 366 Yates Center, and Fort Scott Community College.
Greenbush serves learners of all ages through partnerships with schools, communities, and agencies statewide. Underlying its diverse range of services and supports is one central mission: to ensure equal educational opportunities for all.
Cloudy, windy Sunday with rain and snow
Today
Rain before 9am, then rain and snow between 9am and 10am, then snow after 10am. Patchy blowing snow after 1pm. Temperature falling to around 32 by noon. Very windy, with a north wind 23 to 30 mph. Chance of precipitation is 100%. Total daytime snow accumulation of 2 to 4 inches possible.
Tonight
A 50 percent chance of snow before 10pm. Patchy blowing snow before 8pm. Cloudy, then gradually becoming partly cloudy, with a low around 25. Blustery, with a north northwest wind 15 to 20 mph decreasing to 9 to 14 mph after midnight. New snow accumulation of less than a half inch possible.
Monday
Sunny, with a high near 42. Northwest wind 8 to 10 mph.
Monday Night
Clear, with a low around 26. West wind 5 to 8 mph.
Tuesday
Sunny, with a high near 56. Northwest wind 7 to 9 mph.
Tuesday Night
Clear, with a low around 35.
Wednesday
Sunny, with a high near 59.
Wednesday Night
Mostly clear, with a low around 38.
Thursday
Mostly sunny, with a high near 57.
La Crosse FFA hosts Day on the Farm
Submitted
LA CROSSE — FFA members at La Crosse Middle/High School hosted the annual Day on the Farm event for La Crosse Elementary students on Oct. 1 at the Rush County Fairgrounds.
The event increased agricultural literacy and safety and was planned and executed by the FFA Chapter in partnership with the Rush County Farm Bureau. Students experienced many facets of agriculture with presentations that ranged from plant and soils to electrical safety and food science.
“It is important that our students gain a well-rounded education and being exposed to and understanding why agriculture is important is crucial for student future career options,” said Bill Keeley, La Crosse Elementary School principal and USD 395 superintendent. “Our students had a wonderful day, and everyone left with a greater appreciation for the many aspects of agriculture.”
Students in agricultural education classes led lessons on food science, plant and soil science and electrical circuits. Business and industry representatives presented on technology in agronomy and farming, indoor swine operations, livestock evaluation, the dairy industry, electrical safety, streams and the importance of streams and watersheds to the natural resources in the Rush County area.
“I loved getting my hands dirty by playing in the soil, learning about water streams, and I loved learning about electricity,” said kindergartner Dylan Schlegel.
The La Crosse FFA Chapter would like to thank the following business and industry partners for contributing to the success of the day: Southwest Dairy Farmers, John Georg, Rush County Conservation District, Wet Walnut Creek Watershed, Great Plains Precision Ag, LLC, and the Kansas State Research and Extension Walnut Creek District.
Agriculture programs prepare students for high-demand careers in cutting-edge industries like biotechnology, renewable energies, engineering and food production. They also teach students how to be leaders and prepare them to take on the challenges of the next generation.
The La Crosse Middle/High School Ag program has 55 students and 35 FFA members. The program offers a wide array of classes from welding to plant and animal science to agricultural research. The La Crosse Middle/High School FFA Chapter works in tandem with the ag program to develop premiere leadership, personal growth, and career success through agricultural education. The La Crosse Middle/High School agriculture teacher is Chelsey Smith.
