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UPDATE: Hoxie native, NASA astronaut Nick Hague safe after emergency landing

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BAIKONUR, Kazakhstan (AP) — A booster rocket failed less than two minutes after launching an American and a Russian toward the International Space Station on Thursday, forcing their emergency — but safe — landing on the steppes of Kazakhstan.

It was the latest in a recent series of failures for the troubled Russian space program, which is used by the U.S. to carry its astronauts to the station.

NASA astronaut Nick Hague of Hoxie, Kansas and Roscosmos’ Alexei Ovchinin were subjected to heavy gravitational forces as their capsule automatically jettisoned from the Soyuz booster rocket and fell back to Earth at a sharper-than-normal angle and landed about 20 kilometers (12 miles) east of the city of Dzhezkazgan in Kazakhstan.

“Thank God the crew is alive,” said Dmitry Peskov, the spokesman for Russian President Vladimir Putin, when it became clear that they had landed safely. He added that the president is receiving regular updates about the situation.

NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine, who watched the launch at Baikonur along with his Russian counterpart, tweeted that Hague and Ovchinin are in good condition. He added that a “thorough investigation into the cause of the incident will be conducted.”

Hague and Ovchinin lifted off as scheduled at 2:40 p.m.  (4:40 a.m. EDT)Thursday from the Russian-leased Baikonur cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. The astronauts were to dock at the International Space Station six hours after the launch.

But the three-stage Soyuz booster suffered an unspecified failure of its second stage about two minutes after launching. Search and rescue teams were immediately scrambled to recover the crew and paratroopers were dropped from a plane to reach the site and help the rescue effort.

It was to be the first space mission for Hague, who joined NASA’s astronaut corps in 2013. Ovchinin spent six months on the orbiting outpost in 2016.

While the Russian space program has been dogged by a string of launch failures and other incidents in recent years, Thursday’s mishap marked the program’s first manned launch failure since September 1983, when a Soyuz exploded on the launch pad.

The astronauts were flown by helicopter to Dzhezkazgan and will later be taken to Baikonur and on to Star City, Russia’s space training center outside Moscow.

NASA posted pictures of Hague and Ovchinin undergoing a medical check-up at Dzhezkazgan’s airport. One of the pictures showed Hague smiling and another had him sitting next to Russia’s space agency chief Dmitry Rogozin.

Dzhezkazgan is about 450 kilometers  northeast of Baikonur, and spacecraft returning from the ISS normally land in that region.

Russian Deputy Prime Minister Yuri Borisov said all manned launches will be suspended pending an investigation into the cause of the failure. He added that Russia will fully share all relevant information with the U.S.

Earlier this week, Bridenstine emphasized that collaboration with Russia’s Roscosmos remains important.

Relations between Moscow and Washington have sunk to post-Cold War lows over the crisis in Ukraine, the war in Syria and allegations of Russian meddling in the 2016 U.S. presidential vote, but they have maintained cooperation in space research.

The Russian Soyuz spacecraft is currently the only vehicle for ferrying crews to the International Space Station following the retirement of the U.S. space shuttle fleet. Russia stands to lose that monopoly in the coming years with the arrival of SpaceX’s Dragon v2 and Boeing’s Starliner crew capsules.

The last time the Russian space program had a manned launch failure was in 1983. Soviet cosmonauts Vladimir Titov and Gennady Strekalov jettisoned and landed safely near the launch pad after the Soyuz explosion.

Russia has continued to rely on Soviet-designed booster rockets for launching commercial satellites, as well as crews and cargo to the International Space Station.

While Russian rockets had earned a stellar reputation for their reliability in the past, a string of failed launches in recent years has called into doubt Russia’s ability to maintain the same high standards of manufacturing.

Glitches found in Russia’s Proton and Soyuz rockets in 2016 were traced to manufacturing flaws at the plant in Voronezh. Roscosmos sent more than 70 rocket engines back to production lines to replace faulty components, a move that resulted in a yearlong break in Proton launches and badly dented Russia’s niche in the global market for commercial satellite launches.

In August, the International Space Station crew spotted a hole in a Russian Soyuz capsule docked to the orbiting outpost that caused a brief loss of air pressure before being patched.

Roscosmos chief Dmitry Rogozin has raised wide concern by saying that the leak was a drill hole that was made intentionally during manufacturing or in orbit. He didn’t say if he suspected any of the current crew — an American, a Russian and a German aboard the station. The current crew’s stint in orbit will likely be extended following Thursday’s aborted launch.

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BAIKONUR, Kazakhstan (AP) — Two astronauts from the U.S. and Russia were safe after an emergency landing Thursday in the steppes of Kazakhstan following the failure of a Russian booster rocket carrying them to the International Space Station.

NASA astronaut Nick Hague of Hoxie, Kansas and Roscosmos’ Alexei Ovchinin lifted off as scheduled at 2:40 p.m. (0840 GMT; 4:40 a.m. EDT) Thursday from the Russia-leased Baikonur cosmodrome in Kazakhstan atop a Soyuz booster rocket. Roscosmos and NASA said the three-stage Soyuz booster suffered an emergency shutdown of its second stage. The capsule jettisoned from the booster and went into a ballistic descent, landing at a sharper than normal angle.

The launch failure marks an unprecedented mishap for the Russian space program, which has been dogged by a string of launch failures and other incidents.

“Thank God, the crew is alive,” Russian President Vladimir Putin’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters when it became clear that the crew had landed safely.

They were to dock at the orbiting outpost six hours later, but the booster suffered a failure minutes after the launch.

NASA and Russian Roscosmos space agency said the astronauts were in good condition after their capsule landed about 12 miles east of the city of Dzhezkazgan in Kazakhstan.

Search and rescue teams were heading to the area to recover the crew. Dzhezkazgan is about 280 miles northeast of Baikonur. Spacecraft returning from the ISS normally land in that region.

Bible translation ministry to host banquet in Hays

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Submitted

Wycliffe Associates, a ministry that has been accelerating the work of Bible translation around the world since 1967, will be in Hays Friday, Nov. 2.

Those interested in learning more about Wycliffe’s work are invited to a complimentary banquet from 7 to 8 that evening in the Black and Gold Room of the Fort Hays State University Memorial Union.

While the banquet is free, reservations are required by Wednesday, Oct. 24, to Mark Thowe, local banquet coordinator, at 785-483-8589 or [email protected].

Noel Davis, Wycliffe’s south central director, said, “God is working amid civil unrest, tribal wars, spiritual warfare, and persecution against Christians to advance Bible translation faster than ever before.” Davis will be speaking at the banquet.

With more and more regions of the world presenting very real dangers to Christians and Bible translation efforts, Wycliffe is using technology to protect mother-tongue Bible translators—those who have been raised in a particular country and are native speakers.

This initiative, called Tablets for National Translators (TNTs), places basic computer tablets loaded with Bible translation tools and other applications into the hands of mother-tongue Bible translators, including those who live in high-risk areas.

“A Bible in their hands is like a target on their backs,” said Bruce Smith, Wycliffe president and CEO. The computer tablets, however, enable these translators to work discreetly and safely and to back up their work online for safekeeping. The tablets also allow for secure online collaboration with other translators and consultants who monitor each other’s work to make sure the translation is accurate.

Tablets for Translators is accelerating the progress of Bible translation in conjunction with Wycliffe’s Mobilized Assistance Supporting Translation (MAST) workshops. These workshops teach a “pioneering new method to Bible translators,” Smith said, “which results in translating books of the Bible in parallel faster than ever before, while maintaining the highest levels of accuracy and quality.

“This groundbreaking technology, together with MAST, cuts years off of Bible translation,” Smith said. “Tablets for National Translators turns years into months.”

There are currently 7,097 languages spoken in the world. Wycliffe has Bible translations in progress in 3,703 of those.

Davis said another 2,000 people groups have no written language. Wycliffe is using Bible Translation Recording Kits to produce the Bible on small cards that fit into a cell phone, so that people can hear the word of God for the first time in their own language.

Wycliffe has a goal of having a Bible in every language in the world by 2025.

Lack of notice delays USD 489 school board vote on building financing

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UPDATE: A new meeting to consider the ECC financing has been scheduled for 5:30 p.m. Monday, Oct. 15 at the Rockwell Administration Center.

By CRISTINA JANNEY
Hays Post

The Hays USD 489 school board met Wednesday night for a special session but was unable to take action due to an issue over the meeting’s scheduling.

The board was set to take action on financing for a new building for Early Childhood Connections.

State statute requires board members to be notified of meetings at least two full days before the meeting unless board members sign a waiver of notice.

The board president opened the meeting, but board member Greg Schwartz refused to sign the waiver of notice.

The board consulted the board attorney Michael Baxter who said he was uncertain what effect Schwartz not signing the waiver would have on any action the board might take in the meeting. He recommended the board adjourn and reschedule the meeting.

The board met in a special session because it is under a tight timeline to move forward with the ECC project. It has received a $1.47 million federal grant to renovate the Oak Park Medical Complex. The district only has until the end of June to use the grant funds.

The board has already voted to move forward with the purchase of the former medical complex and to accept the grant. The board was to vote Wednesday on a resolution for a $2 million lease agreement to pay for the building. The district was waiting on bids to come in from banks on interest for the lease agreement before it could meet to approve the financing. Those numbers became available Wednesday afternoon.

After the lease agreement resolution is approved, a 30-day period begins that would allow registered voters to mount a protest petition. The lease agreement will be for $250,000 per year for 10 years. Anything more than $100,000 per year requires a protest period.

The district can’t move forward with the project until after the protest period. If a protest petition is signed by at least 5 percent of the registered voters in the school district, the issue wold have to go to a public vote.

However, because of the extra time it would take to mount a special election, Superintendent John Thissen said a successful protest petition would mean the district would not be able to complete the project in the time allowed by the grant. The district would have to give back the grant money.

Schwartz and Lance Bickle voted no on both the purchase of the medical complex and acceptance of the grant.

After the Wednesday meeting was adjourned, Schwartz said his refusal to sign the waiver was not an attempt to block the ECC project. He said he still opposes the ECC project and would like more information on the project, including an appraisal of the building and further discussion on how the medical complex building would fit into the district’s long-range plan.

Schwartz continued, saying he wanted more notice of the meeting and time to prepare and he had only been informed of the meeting at 10:30 Wednesday morning.

Thissen said emails had been sent to all board members, including Schwartz, about possible meeting times and dates, and the board members agreed on the Wednesday time. Options on meeting times had included times on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday.

Thissen said the meeting will be rescheduled with more notice. Although the district is still under a time crunch to use the grant funds, he said the delay in the approving the financing resolution will not be enough to kill the project.

Hollywood screenwriter returns to Hays

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Hays native and screenwriter and casting director Scotty Mullen talks to Brenda Meder, Hays Arts Council director, at the HAC Sunday night.

By CRISTINA JANNEY
Hays Post

Although screenwriter Scotty Mullen said he felt out of place growing up in Hays, he credited the community with his early development as a writer.

Mullen shared some of his experiences making it in Hollywood during a talk at the Hays Arts Center Sunday night. He thanked his parents, who attended his talk, but said raising him must have been like ground hogs raising a peacock.

Mullen wrote “Sharknado 5 and 6,” and serves as casting director for The Asylum film studio.

Mullen was back in Hays this weekend for his 25th high school reunion.

“We have so many hidden resources in this town, or maybe not hidden, but I think people don’t take advantage of and know about,” he said. “We have a college. We have the Arts Center here, and really, really good teachers who care. You don’t get that in other places.”

Mullen plays a cameo in one of the Sharknado movies.

Mullen said he was first inspired to write in the second grade when his teacher, Mrs. White, assigned the students to write stories. Every Friday the kids got to get up and read one of their stories to the class.

“I was just blown away,” he said. “I was probably the most excited kid in the class because I thought that was amazing. I thought it was so crazy that I could take things I only see in my head, I could write them down and I could tell them and other people could see it. That was just like magic to me.”

His first story was a parody of Superman called “Super Pooper.” He named the characters after his friends.

“The itch never left me,” he said of writing.

In his high school days, Mullen wrote thousands of pages. He said it was like laying down fertilizer for what he would do later.

“Writing professionally is much like being an athlete and training everyday,” he said. “And the biggest thing to train your brain is to write even when it is not fun, even when you get up and the muse is not there.”

Mullen with Jackie Collins, who he cast in “Sharknado 3.”

Mullen has created a routine for himself.

“I have found my rhythm. I can write five pages of a script in an hour and a half, but if I write 10 pages, it takes me all day long,” he said.

Mullen entered the Hollywood realm working as publicist when he was in college at Georgia State. The college had a TV station. They told him if he was willing to put the time and effort in to do interviews, they would put them on the air.

Mullen remembered sitting on the couch at the TV station and the phone rang. It was a publicist that later would become Mullen’s boss.

“She said, ‘Do you want to come out here? We have this girl. You probably don’t know her. She’s Goldie Hawn’s daughter, Kate Hudson. It is her first movie. Why don’t you guys come out here, bring a camera and you can ask her any questions you want,'” Mullen said.

He starting interviewing stars when they came through Atlanta for press junkets. The interviews became so popular he was being flown to New York, Miami and Los Angeles to do publicity. He was so spoiled doing this work that he stretched his senior year at Georgia State to two and half years.

Mullen’s boss at the publicity firm finally told him he needed to go to LA and go write because he was never going to go anywhere if he stayed in Atlanta. She threatened to fire him. When he finally left for LA, he did so in such a hurry he didn’t apply for graduation. It wasn’t until 2013 that he reapplied to college and finally received the degree he completed in 2005.

Mullen worked in publicity as a publicity model and as an actor, but didn’t write for five years. He was flying back and forth to New York and had a lavish expense account but said he eventually realized he was not happy with that lifestyle.

“If you drink too much gravy, you get sick,” he said. “I was getting unhappy. I was, ‘Why am I not happy? I am good at this job. I am meeting some good people. I could do this for the rest of my life.’ I was getting very unhappy, and I was getting depressed.”

Mullen ran into a woman he went to middle school with who was now a life coach in LA. She gave him her card.

“I had that card for a year. I was walking down the street to my apartment one day, and it was like God grabbed me and jerked me and was like, ‘Stop!'” he said. “I remember walking and physically stopping. You want to go to Buenos Aires, but you are almost at Anchorage, Alaska. You are going completely the wrong way. You have got to stop and turn around. I had all of the momentum, but it was in the wrong direction.”

Mullen called the life coach and started seeing her on a weekly basis.

“I had shoved those dreams so far back that I didn’t know,” he said. “She had to dig it out.”

His life coach asked him who he would like to work with, and he said Jackie Collins. Three years later he would work with her when he cast her in “Sharknado 3.”

“You have to be very, very specific in what you want,” he said. “If you are too broad, nobody knows what to give you. I still work on that today.”

He said he was almost ashamed to admit it, but he told his life coach that he wanted to be a writer.

“It just seemed so impossible. It seemed very irresponsible. It seemed ‘How in the world are you going to do that?’ There is a lot of competition,” he said. “I realized I wanted to be a writer, but I had never really given it 115 percent of everything.”

He started writing a half hour each day while still working as a publicist. That slowly increased. Then he was having so much fun he would go to bed earlier so he could get up earlier and write.

He took some workshops and an online class from ScreenwritingU.com. The point of this course was to get a professional writing assignment. Most TV shows and movies are not that writer’s original idea. They are hired to write screenplays by someone else who has an idea and the money to produce it.

His adviser for the class urged him to write a screenplay called “Double D Island.” He based the script on his work with models during his publicity days. He said it was raunchy, but it showed his writing style and humor.

He took the idea to a pitch fest, which is like a combination of speed dating and a job interview. Asylum was impressed and picked him to do his first screenplay for “The Co-ed and the Zombie Stoner.” When he finally landed the gig, they  gave him only two weeks to write the screenplay.

After that, Mullen said he learned to not be afraid of failing.

“You’ve just got to do it,” he said. “There is something that I have on my wall, ‘Don’t worry if this is going to be good enough. Just ask yourself, ‘Am I up to the challenge?’ Am I up to the challenge of writing the script in two weeks?”

Mullen said working with Asylum was like meeting his tribe.

The work on the zombie movie led to work on jokes for “Sharknado 3,” which was also made by Asylum.

Mullen’s employer was not happy that he was moonlighting as a writer and trying to also work his full-time job as a publicist, so they fired him. Asylum knew Mullen’s background, so they sought his help in casting “Sharknado 3.”

He helped Asylum land stars such as Ann Coulter, Jackie Collins and Mark Cuban for the movie.

When a spot opened up for a full-time casting director for Asylum, Mullen was tapped for the job. He went on to write and cast “Sharknado 5 and 6.” He continues to work with Asylum both casting and writing.

On the “Sharknado” movies, he also worked with Bret Michaels, Olivia Newton-John, Fabio, who played the Pope, Charo, Margaret Cho and Tony Hawk.

“I was part of the club and they respected me,” he said. “What I realized about all of these people was how nice they were and also how hard they worked. All of these people, they work really hard, and I had that in common with them. That felt very, very good.”

Mullen has also written “Zoombies,” “Sinbad and the War of the Furies,” “The Fast and the Fierce,” “King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table,” which is now showing on Showtime, and “Nazi Overlord,”  which is in post production.

He said when his high school reunion was nearing, he realized how grateful he was to be from Hays. He said Hays has a charm with a lot of creative energy and rural rawness.

“I had this gratitude for this town I always thought I wanted to get away from,” he said. “I thought, ‘Thank God, I was born here. Thank God I was raised here.'”

And he continues to dream bigger and bigger.

Mullen, who as a youth dreamed of being a romance writer, is vying for an assignment to write a Hallmark movie. He said he is excited about the possibility of a new challenge.

 

FHSU New Music Festival will feature Dr. Paul Rudy

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Dr. Paul Rudy

FHSU University Relations

The second annual Fort Hays State University New Music Festival, presented by the university’s Department of Music and Theatre, will be Friday, Nov. 2, and Saturday, Nov. 3, at the university.

The concluding event, “An Evening of the Music of Dr. Paul Rudy,” will begin at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 3, in the Beach/Schmidt Performing Arts Center in Sheridan Hall on the FHSU campus. Complimentary tickets will be available in the lobby 30 minutes prior to the concert or in advance at the Hays Convention and Visitors Bureau.

Rudy (b. 1962) is a Rome Prize (2010), Guggenheim (2008), Fulbright (1997) and Wurlitzer Foundation (2007 and 2009) Fellow. He has been called “The High Priest of Sound” and “Sage.”

“In addition to composing instrumental and electronic art, he practices sacred sound, sound immersion and sound healing, and leads meditations,” said Dr. Kristin Pisano, associate professor of music and director of the New Music Festival at FHSU.

“His music and sonic art balance conservatory training with shamanic practices, subtle energies and technology, each of which guide his intuitive performances and compositions, bridging science and spirituality,” said Pisano.

As part of the New Music Festival, Rudy will give a lecture at 2:30 p.m. Friday, Nov. 2, in the university’s Malloy Hall, room 115. The lecture is free and open to the public.

The evening performance on Saturday will include the world premiere of Rudy’s “Arise!,” which was commissioned by the FHSU New Music Ensemble, a group of FHSU music faculty who share a passion for the music of living composers.
Other works on the program include “Peacefully,” performed by the FHSU Concert Choir, under the direction of Dr. Terry Crull, associate professor of music, and “Grandchild of Tree,” performed by Rudy on electronics and cactus.
“Yes,” said Pisano. “Cactus!”

One aim of the annual FHSU New Music Festival is to engage, educate and inform the community about new music.
“We are excited that Dr. Paul Rudy, a Curators’ Professor and coordinator of composition at the University of Missouri at the Kansas City Conservatory, will serve as composer in residence for the 2018 festival,” said Pisano.

“Works will be performed on the upcoming Nov. 3 concert that are unlike anything the Hays community has heard before. It will be an evening of diverse and exciting music, and will introduce audiences to a truly unique musical experience.”

Sunny, cool Thursday

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Today Widespread frost, mainly before 9am. Otherwise, mostly sunny, with a high near 48. North northwest wind around 6 mph becoming light and variable.

Thursday Night Rain, mainly after 8pm. Low around 41. South southeast wind around 7 mph. Chance of precipitation is 90%. New precipitation amounts between a tenth and quarter of an inch possible.

Friday Rain, mainly before 2pm. High near 55. East wind 6 to 9 mph becoming northwest in the afternoon. Chance of precipitation is 90%. New precipitation amounts between a tenth and quarter of an inch possible.

Friday Night Mostly clear, with a low around 37. North wind 5 to 7 mph becoming south after midnight.

SaturdayA 20 percent chance of rain after 8am. Mostly sunny, with a high near 59.
Saturday NightRain likely before 5am, then rain and snow likely. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 33. Chance of precipitation is 70%. New precipitation amounts of less than a tenth of an inch possible.

Sunday Snow likely, possibly mixing with rain after noon, then gradually ending. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 37. Chance of precipitation is 70%. New precipitation amounts of less than a tenth of an inch possible.

Letter to editor: Kansas Chamber responds to ‘dark money’ comments

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Alan Cobb, Kansas Chamber President and CEO

I read Dr. Ed Hammond’s recent letter (LETTER: ‘Dark money’ group’s push polling in Ellis Co. filled with untruths) with disappointment. There was lots of misleading and inaccurate information in that letter that I wish to correct.

For the record, neither the Kansas Chamber nor the Kansas Chamber PAC have participated in any “push” polling.

The Kansas Chamber PAC has endorsed Ellis County Commissioner Barb Wasinger because she understands the fundamental role business plays in the economic health of Kansas and her community.  It would appear Dr. Hammond’s outrage is based on ideology or partisanship, not geography.

I find it quite unfortunate Dr. Hammond chose to use such divisive rhetoric; I am not exactly sure what “Eastern” money is. The Kansas Chamber is proud to have members all over Kansas, including Ellis County.

As for the entire silliness of the term “dark money,” every penny the Chamber and PAC spend on elections and advocacy and every company or individual that contributes to the PAC is 100 publicly disclosed. You can find that information on the Kansas Secretary of State’s website.

There is nothing nefarious or complicated about what the Kansas Chamber PAC does. It does what the teachers’ Union PAC does, and dozens of other organizations that engage in Kansas legislative races. It endorses candidates who support issues important to the Kansas business community.

During the last two years, Rep. Eber Phelps voted with the Kansas business community just 11 percent of the time. He voted for tax increases on Kansas families and small businesses several times. He voted against returning a tax-windfall to Kansas citizens and businesses that resulted from the federal tax reform passed last year. He voted against reforming teacher tenure in Kansas; voted against legal reform as well as voted against business interests related to workers compensation.

Elections matter and the policy makers we send to Topeka determine whether Kansas businesses will thrive or suffer under the burden of an ever-expanding government. We must elect and maintain in office, legislators who will lead the charge for business, so our state and local economies can grow and create more jobs and prosperity for all Kansans.

Certainly, people can have disagreements on policy. But to do so, it helps to at least be reasonable and accurate.

Alan Cobb,
Kansas Chamber
President and CEO

🎥 FHSU football holds weekly football press conference

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Fort Hays State Weekly Football Press Conference
October 10th, 2018

Fort Hays State head coach Chris Brown conducted his weekly press conference in advance of the Tiger’s upcoming game with Pittsburg State Saturday afternoon in Hays. Brown and select players met with the media inside Lewis Field on Wednesday, a session that can be seen by clicking on the video below.

(00:00 Head Coach Chris Brown, 10:36 Quarterback Jacob Mezera, 16:37 Defensive Lineman Wyatt Parker) 

HPD Activity Log Oct. 5-8

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The Hays Police Department responded to 5 animal calls and conducted 14 traffic stops Fri., Oct. 5, 2018, according to the HPD Activity Log.

MV Accident-Hit and Run–2100 block Canterbury Dr, Hays; 7:46 AM
Lost Animals ONLY–2700 block Hickory, Hays; 9:49 AM
Battery – Domestic–3600 block Vine St, Hays; 11:10 AM; 11:40 AM
Lost Animals ONLY–200 block W 5th St, Hays; 1:37 PM
Unwanted Person–1200 block Main St, Hays; 1:57 PM
Mental Health Call–1500 block Milner St, Hays; 2:19 PM
Theft (general)–300 block E 8th St, Hays; 10/4 5 PM; 10/5 2:44 PM
Theft (general)–1200 block Motz Ave, Hays; 10/3 12 PM; 10/4 5 PM
MV Accident-City Street/Alley–15th and Fort St, Hays; 4:37 PM; 4:39 PM
MV Accident-City Street/Alley–1700 block Oak St, Hays; 5:30 PM
Civil Dispute–3500 block Canal Blvd, Hays; 6:47 PM
Found/Lost Property–Hays; 7:05 PM
Assist – Other (not MV)–100 block W 12th St, Hays; 8:06 PM
Disturbance – Noise–3400 block Vine St, Hays; 9:29 PM
Prowler–200 block E 24th St, Hays; 10:02 PM
Disturbance – Noise–400 block W 5th St, Hays; 11:26 PM

The Hays Police Department responded to 5 animal calls and conducted 26 traffic stops Sat., Oct. 6, 2018, according to the HPD Activity Log.

Drug Offenses/DUI–500 block E 20th St, Hays; 12:26 AM
Overdose–1500 block Henry Dr, Hays; 10/5 11 PM; 10/6 8:40 AM
Counterfeit currency/documents–2900 block Vine St, Hays; 10:02 AM
Criminal Trespass–2700 block Broadway Ave, Hays; 10:03 AM
Disturbance – Noise–2700 block Cottonwood Ln, Hays; 10:24 AM
MV Accident-City Street/Alley–400 block W 11th St, Hays; 12:02 PM
44 – Traffic Stop–200 block W 15th St, Hays; 12:57 PM
Animal At Large–300 block Lewis Dr, Hays; 1:14 PM
Animal At Large–2700 block Hickory St, Hays; 6:21 PM

The Hays Police Department responded to 1 animal call and conducted 9 traffic stops Sun., Oct. 7, 2018, according to the HPD Activity Log.

Curfew Violation–2700 block Hickory, Hays; 12:05 AM
Driving Under the Influence–800 block Fort St, Hays; 12:59 AM; 1:23 AM
Driving Under the Influence–500 block W 7th St, Hays; 1:48 AM
Disorderly Conduct–100 block W 7th St, Hays; 1:53 AM
Disturbance – General–200 block E 13th St, Hays; 2:53 AM
Disturbance – Noise–1300 block E 33rd St, Hays; 3:10 AM
MV Accident-Private Property–3700 block Vine St, Hays; 4:48 AM
Credit Card Violations–Hays; 9/28 6 AM; 10/7 8:14 AM
Drug Offenses–1000 block E 41st St, Hays; 10:45 AM; 10:51 AM
Criminal Damage to Property–200 block E 23rd St, Hays; 10/5 5 PM; 10/6 8 AM
MV Accident-City Street/Alley–2200 block E 17th St, Hays; 6:40 PM
Suspicious Person–200 block E 25th St, Hays; 9:47 PM

The Hays Police Department responded to 3 animal calls and conducted 14 traffic stops Mon., Oct. 8, 2018, according to the HPD Activity Log.

Disturbance – Noise–2700 block Epworth St, Hays; 12:15 AM
Battery – Domestic–500 block W 7th St, Hays; 12:46 AM
MV Accident-Private Property–2700 block Epworth Village St, Hays; 8:52 AM
MV Accident-City Street/Alley–2200 block Gen Custer Rd, Hays; 12:41 PM
Harassment (All Other)–1400 block E 29th St, Hays; 5:38 PM; 6:01 PM
Civil Dispute–200 block Castillian Blvd, Hays; 5:30 PM
Harassment (All Other)–1600 block E 27th St, Hays; 7:23 PM
Drug Offenses–2600 block Vine St, Hays; 9:35 PM
Traffic/Driving Complaint–Hays; 10:04 PM
MV Accident-Hit and Run–800 block of W 8th St, Hays; 10:28 PM
Mental Health Call–1400 block E 29th St, Hays; 11:46 PM

Piano duo to perform Friday in Beach/Schmidt

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FHSU University Relations

The next performance in the ongoing International Piano Series from the Department of Music and Theatre at Fort Hays State University will be a duo piano recital featuring Karina Avanesian-Weinstein and Anthony Weinstein.

The couple will perform at 7:30 p.m. Friday, Oct. 12, in the Beach/Schmidt Performing Arts Center in Sheridan Hall on the FHSU campus.

Admission is free.

The program includes works by Schubert and Tchaikovsky, said Dr. Irena Ravitskaya, associate professor of music at FHSU.

Hays USD 489 school board reaches impasse with teachers on contract

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By CRISTINA JANNEY 
Hays Post

The Hays USD 489 school district announced Tuesday it has reached an impasse with teachers over contract negotiations.

Superintendent John Thissen said the district will make a request through the Kansas Department of Labor to bring in a mediator to try to resolve the contract dispute.

Kim Schneweis, co-chair of the teachers negotiating committee, said the sticking point is over pay.

All other employees in the district received a 4.6 percent pay increase, but when the teachers looked at the pay schedule that was offered to them, the raise did not equal 4.6 percent, she said. Schneweis said the average increase per teacher was about 3.2 percent. The difference in the district proposal and the teachers’ request is $465 per person.

“We are not asking for more than anybody else,” she said. “We don’t feel that we are more deserving. We see how hard everybody else works, but we do feel we are as deserving.”

When the Kansas Legislature passed the increase in school funding, they noted it should go to classrooms, Schneweis said.

“That is us,” she said. “Teachers are in the classroom.”

She said it was her understanding the 4.6 percent increase for the teachers was budgeted, so the negotiating committee did not understand why the board would not approve the 4.6 percent. She said the board did not respond when asked where the difference in the budgeted raise and the offer was going to go.

Schneweis said the teachers worked with the district on several issues in the contract already this year, including a payroll procedural issue, removing a clause in the contract that prohibited Wednesday night meetings, as well as revising the coaches and sponsors pay schedule.

She noted the teachers worked with the district through several years in which they received no pay increase. They went through a major health insurance change last year and have weathered changes to retiree and severance benefits.

“We had board members saying these saving will come back to you in salary,” she said. “We never imagined they would give us a lesser increase than everyone else, because that has not been the practice in our district. It has always been to give a comparable raise to all employee groups.”

Schneweis said the board decided they no longer wanted to negotiate. She said the teachers had hoped to resolve the contract issue locally.

Thissen said he did not think he could elaborate on the negotiations at this time.

Teachers continue to work under their 2017/18 contract until the new contract is approved.

The district also reached an impasse with teachers in 2016.

See related story: Hays USD 489 declares impasse in teacher union negotiations

 

REPORT: 6th wettest year in Hays so far

Posted on
Hays Chetolah Creek Tuesday evening

By BECKY KISER
Hays Post

A week ago Wednesday, it was hot in Hays with the mercury reaching to 95 degrees.

Since then, much cooler temperatures, and lots of rain.

In the first 9 days of October, Hays has had 5.57 inches of rain. That’s the official report as of 9 a.m. today from the K-State Agricultural Research Center south of town.

Tuesday’s high was just 45 degrees with the overnight low dipping to 37 degrees.

A Flood Warning for the Smoky Hill River near Schoenchen was issued by the National Weather Service in Dodge City Tuesday night, but was cancelled at 9:15 a.m. Wednesday as flood waters receded.

The year-to-date precipitation for Hays is 33.29 inches.

According to record keeper Joe Becker, so far “the moisture amount puts 2018 as the 6th wettest year in Hays in the past 125 years.”

The weather forecast calls for rain returning Thursday night.

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