PRATT – In response to Kansas House Bill (HB) No. 2280 – which was signed by Governor Jeff Colyer, M.D. on May 18, 2018 and became law on June 7, 2018 – the Kansas Wildlife, Parks and Tourism Commission will begin meeting more frequently.
The Commission, which previously met six times a year, will move to a new schedule beginning with its November 15, 2018 meeting in Russell so that the Commission has ample time to meet the legislation’s demands, and not adversely affect the business of the Commission, which includes approving statewide hunting and fishing seasons.
HB 2280 poses new requirements for the addition or modification to the rules and regulations of Kansas’ Executive Branch agencies, including the Kansas Department of Wildlife, Parks and Tourism (KDWPT), which will lengthen the period of time it takes KDWPT to complete the regulatory process. New changes as a result of HB 2280 include, but are not limited to:
Revisions to the way economic impact statements are written
Prior approval from the Director of the Budget before the proposed rule or regulation is submitted to the Secretary of Administration and Attorney General
An additional public hearing for proposed rules and regulations determined to have an economic impact exceeding $3 million
At its August 2, 2018 meeting in Medicine Lodge, the Kansas Wildlife, Parks and Tourism Commission agreed to cancel its previously scheduled October 25, 2018 meeting to adhere to the new requirements.
The Commission will resume its meetings as follows:
November 15, 2018 – Russell (Exact location to be determined), 1:30 p.m.
December 13, 2018 – Wichita, Great Plains Nature Center, 6232 E 29th St. N, 1:30 p.m.
January 17, 2019 – Lawrence (Exact location to be determined), 1:30 p.m.
February 21, 2019 – Salina (Exact location to be determined), 1:30 p.m.
March 28, 2019 – Topeka (Exact location to be determined), 1:30 p.m.
April 25, 2019 – Colby (Exact location to be determined), 1:30 p.m.
The Ellis County Commission once again will consider purchasing a new fire truck for Company 6 in Ellis at Monday’s commission meeting.
Earlier this summer, the commission delayed a vote on the purchase and instructed Director of Fire and Emergency Management Darin Myers to reach out to the Kansas Forestry Service about purchasing a used truck.
According to information provided to the commission by Myers, the Kansas Forestry Service they do not have a truck that fits the department’s current needs.
In other business, the commission will consider a conditional use permit for a bed and breakfast on Munjor Road south of Ellis and a permit for a Midwest Energy Substation on Mount Pleasant Road south of Hays.
The commission will meet at 5 p.m. as the Public Building Commission with the regular meeting to follow at the County Administrative Center at 718 Main St.
Steve Gilliland
My farmer friend whose underground irrigation tubing has become chew toys for the local gophers called me this week with yet another development. His home had inexplicably been without natural gas for a couple days, and the gas company crew found the problem to be holes also chewed in the underground PVC gas line near the corner of a soybean field. This all reminded me of a past story concerning squirrels and a plastic deer feeder.
A few years back we embarked on an adventure to build a simple and inexpensive deer feeder. A friend had an old unused fuel tank stand made from angle iron – the kind that once held a three hundred gallon drum on its side. I bought it for a song, and then came the challenge of what to use for a hopper to hold the corn. I’m not sure my wife has ever thought INSIDE the box, and she came up with the idea of using a poly cart like the ones that hold our weekly trash. I called the local solid waste utility company, found an old one with a broken axle and bought it for another song. We wanted to use a “flinger” style mechanism to dispense the corn, and since the bottom of poly carts are flat, that required somehow making the inside of the poly cart funnel shaped to funnel the corn down to the mechanism. That problem was solved by cutting two pieces of scrap plywood to fit inside the hopper, making the inside wedge-shaped.
We purchased the dispensing mechanism which consists of a small wheel mounted above a motor that’s driven by a square six volt battery. It’s all controlled by a timer which turns the dispenser on and off at programed times, spinning the wheel and flinging corn around onto the ground. A thick plastic funnel comes with the dispenser and bolts around a hole cut into the bottom of the hopper. That funnel is specially designed so that when it’s positioned the right height above the flinger, it allows corn to run out of the hopper onto the flinger wheel, but causes it to “bridge-up” and stop until the wheel spins. In other words, if the funnel was wider or placed too far above the wheel, the corn would just pour constantly onto the ground until it had all run out.
That following spring we were using the feeder to feed corn to turkeys prior to spring turkey season. I remember going there one evening to check the amount of corn in the hopper and was surprised to find it empty with lots of corn on the ground. I backed up to the feeder and climbed up onto it with a bucket of corn like I had done numerous times before, but when I dumped the bucket into the hopper the corn all ran straight through onto the ground. Upon inspection, I found that the plastic funnel had been chewed off by some critter making it much shorter and allowing the corn to just pour through the hole. The feeder was now useless until a new funnel of some sort was put onto the bottom of the hopper.
A couple weeks later we headed out to pick up our then-useless deer feeder for repairs. It dawned on me that the hopper was made to be easily removed and that’s all we needed anyway, so we began removing the bolts that held it to the frame. As we worked, it seemed like I could hear an occasional rustling sound inside the hopper. Each time I stopped to listen, the rustling noise stopped too, so I dismissed it to my imagination. When the hopper was finally loose we toppled it over into the bed of the pickup, and Joyce began hearing my “imaginary” rustling noise also.
Supposing a no-good packrat was inside, I pulled the hopper to the back of the pickup and started to open the lid. My plan was to stand to the side and let the open lid dangle over the back of the bed in hopes that our freeloader would jump out the back and be gone without incident. While rolling the hopper around, the rustling inside turned to scratching and clawing and with the hole in the hopper facing away from us, I prepared to open the lid and confront the intruder. I unsnapped the tarp strap that held the lid closed, but before I could fling it open, a squirrel bailed out the hole in front, clearing the side of the pickup in one bound like Rocky the flying squirrel. Joyce and I starred at each other in disbelief; I think her only words were” I didn’t see that comin’!” The critter had actually chewed a hole through the half-inch plywood inside and had quite the cozy little nest built within; we pulled grass and leaves out of there for five minutes.
The most amazing thing about the whole squirrel-nest-inside-the-deer-feeder-hopper thing is that the only way into it was up through the hole in the bottom. I know squirrels can squeeze their bodies into some impossible places, but I’d loved to have watched it leap from the frame of the feeder onto the motor, then stuff itself up through the gnawed-out plastic funnel and into the polycart. This gives a whole new meaning to the term “squirrel corn.” So, as you continue to Explore Kansas Outdoors, if something seems squirrely, it probably is!
Steve Gilliland, Inman, can be contacted by email at [email protected].
ELLIS – A public hearing for the city of Ellis’ 2019 proposed budget will be held at 7 p.m. Mon., Aug. 13 prior to the start of the regular meeting at 7:30 p.m. Following the hearing, city council members will consider adopting the budget.
In other business, recommendations from the Planning Commission property rezoning will be considered along with an ordinance that would establish a fund for tourism.
The complete agenda follows.
AGENDA
August 13, 2018
REGULAR MEETING OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF ELLIS
City Hall – Council Meeting Room
PUBLIC HEARING – 2019 BUDGET DOCUMENT – 7:00 P.M.
BILLS ORDINANCE REVIEW WORK SESSION BEGINS AT 7:15 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 July 16, 2018
Bills Ordinance #2050
Manual Journal Entries for June
(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)
SPECIAL ORDER
UNFINISHED BUSINESS
Consider Approval of 2019 Budget Document
Consider Bid for Land Lease
Discuss Cost Estimates for Repairs on North Truck Route
NEW BUSINESS
Consider Recommendation from Planning Commission Regarding Rezoning of Property
Consider Approval of Ordinance Adopting the 2018 Edition of the Standard Traffic Ordinance
Consider Approval of Ordinance Adopting the 2018 Edition of the Uniform Public Offense Code
Consider Approval of Ordinance Establishing Tourism Fund
Consider Approval of Resolution Adjusting Fixed Percentage Increase to Utility Rates
Consider Approval of Credit Card Resolution
Consider Repair to Washington Street from 5th Street to 6th Street
Determine Voting Delegates for the League of Kansas Municipalities
The Hays Public Library will host a screening of the award-winning docudrama “Home on the Range” on Aug. 25 at 1 p.m. in the Schmidt Gallery. Members of the community are invited to attend the free program. Contact the Hays Public Library at (785) 625-9014 for more information.
“Home on the Range,” a Western ballad that epitomized the American West and the dream of a new home in the wide-open frontier, was the most popular song in the United States in 1934. Its popularity led to frequent airplay on the radio by countless performers, but who wrote it? A lawsuit filed in 1934 set in motion a search attempt to establish the origins of the song and, more importantly, who would receive the lucrative loyalties. The film Home on the Range unites the unique story of the State Song of Kansas with its history and legacy.
The director of the film, Ken Spurgeon, will be at the screening to provide an introduction to the film. Spurgeon is the founder and executive director of Lone Chimney Films, the company that produced Home on the Range. Ken is originally from Wichita where he got a bachelor’s and master’s degree from Wichita State and became a teacher. El Dean Holthus will also be joining the presentation to talk about the site of the Home on the Range Cabin in Smith County, Kansas.
With stars like Rance Howard, Buck Taylor, and the voice of the Kansas City Chiefs, Mitch Holthus, Home on the Range tells the unforgettable story of the origin and legacy of Kansas’ beloved state song while also bringing awareness to the cabin where the song was written in Smith County.
For more information about the “Home on the Range” screening in Hays contact the Hays Public Library at (785) 625-9014 or visit www.hayslibrary.org.
Fort Hays State University-Energy Division Seeking Position – Skilled Trades Technician, Plant Operations
The FHSU Energy Division/Power Plant is looking for a dependable individual to hire in the Power Plant Department.This is a full time position with benefits.
TASKS
Operation, maintenance and repair of industrial equipment such as boilers, generators, pumps and valves.Work involves all aspects of boiler operation to include general maintenance and repair of related Energy Division/Power Plant equipment.Follow written and oral procedures, reading and recording gauges and water testing.Able to lift 30-50 lbs.
Working hours during the heating season require 24/7 operation during the months of October to April, requiring shift work for continuous operation.Working hours from May through September are usually Monday – Friday 7:00 AM to 3:30 PM.This position may be required to work a flexible work schedule as needed.
REQUIREMENTS
High school diploma or GED, valid driver’s license.Three years’ experience in some skilled trades area.Prefer experience in electrical or mechanical trades, but this is not required.Must be able to lift 30-50 lbs.
Application Process:To apply for this position, please visit https://fhsu.wd1.myworkdayjobs.com/CAREERS.Only electronic applications submitted through the webpage will be accepted.
Required Application Documents:Applicants should submit a resume and names and contact information for three professional references.Applicant documents should be submitted in one PDF.
Notice of Non-discrimination – Fort Hays State University is an Equal Opportunity Employer and does not discriminate on the basis of gender, race, religion, national origin, color, age, marital status, sexual orientation, genetic information, disability or veteran status.
Background Check: Final candidate will have consented to and successfully completed a criminal background check.
Notice to KPERS retirees applying for a position: Recent legislation changes working-after-retirement rules for both you and your employer if you go back to work for a KPERS employer. Please contact your KPERS representative or www.kpers.org for further information on how this might affect you.
Today Showers and thunderstorms likely, mainly after 4pm. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 81. Light southeast wind increasing to 5 to 10 mph in the morning. Chance of precipitation is 60%. New rainfall amounts between a quarter and half of an inch possible.
Slow moving storm system will produce multiple rounds of shower and thunderstorms beginning this morning through Tue eve. #kswxpic.twitter.com/47xpd6irkI
Tonight Showers and thunderstorms likely before 7pm, then showers likely and possibly a thunderstorm after 7pm. Cloudy, with a low around 65. East southeast wind 5 to 7 mph becoming north northwest after midnight. Chance of precipitation is 70%. New rainfall amounts between a half and three quarters of an inch possible.
Tuesday Showers and thunderstorms. High near 79. North wind 6 to 11 mph. Chance of precipitation is 80%. New rainfall amounts between a quarter and half of an inch possible.
Tuesday Night Partly cloudy, with a low around 62. North wind 6 to 10 mph.
Wednesday Mostly sunny, with a high near 85. North wind 6 to 8 mph becoming east northeast in the afternoon.
Wednesday NightMostly clear, with a low around 65.
The National Society of Collegiate Scholars chapter at Fort Hays State University was recently recognized as a Gold Star chapter for the 2017-18 academic year.
“The achievement of Gold Star Status is highly coveted among our 320 chapters throughout the country,” said Mitchell Altman, public relations coordinator for the NSCS. “All Gold Star Chapters were leaders in implementing engaging, student-centered events on their campuses and in their local communities, including a new member induction ceremony, Integrity Week and Planning to Achieve Collegiate Success,” he said.
The ACHS-certified organization recognizes high-achieving undergraduates who show high academic performance during their first and second years of college. NSCS has three pillars of scholarship, leadership, and service. The organization gives out more than a million dollars in scholarships, awards and chapter funds annually, provides leadership and service opportunities along with career and graduate school connections.
“NSCS members are deeply committed to scholarship, leadership and service, and as a result, they are impacting their campus and local communities every day,” according to NSCS’s website.
NSCS, founded in 1994, is a member of the Association of College Honor Societies and is recognized at more than 330 campuses throughout the country.
“The chapter has truly proven their commitment to the ideals that NSCS holds dear,” said Altman. “Their exceptional work is not only a credit to them as a chapter, but as students of FHSU as well.”
LOGAN COUNTY —One person was injured in an accident just before 3:30p.m. Sunday in Logan County.
The Kansas Highway Patrol reported a 2000 Ford passenger vehicle driven by Chloe R. Paisley, 20, Perryville, MO., was westbound on Interstate 70 just south of Grinnell.
The vehicle entered the median. The driver overcorrected to the right and then back to the left and the vehicle entered the median striking a guardrail and rolled.
Paisley was transported to the Logan County Hospital. She was properly restrained at the time of the accident, according to the KHP.
SHERMAN COUNTY —One person was injured in an accident just after 3p.m. Sunday in Sherman County.
The Kansas Highway Patrol reported a 2006 Honda passenger car driven by Lewis R. Lambert, 71, Colorado Springs, CO., was westbound on Interstate 70 one mile east of Goodland.
The vehicle left the roadway to the right and struck a delineator post. The driver lost control causing the vehicle and trailer to overturn. Vehicle came to rest on the passenger side in the middle of the driving lane. The trailer came to rest in the westbound ditch.
Lambert was transported to the hospital in Goodland. He was notwearing a seat belt, according to the KHP.
HATTIESBURG, Miss. (AP) — A man whose death sentence was overturned in 2014 has been resentenced to life in prison.
Gillett photo Forrest Co. Mississippi Sheriff
State prison records show 44-year-old Roger Gillett was resentenced in July.
Gillett and then-girlfriend Lisa Jo Chamberlin were convicted of killing Gillett’s cousin and the cousin’s girlfriend in 2004 because they wouldn’t open a safe. Dismembered bodies of Vernon Hulett and Linda Heintzelman were found stuffed in a freezer on a farm near Russell, Kansas.
The Mississippi Supreme Court voided Gillett’s death sentence, finding jurors wrongly considered Gillett’s attempted escape from a Kansas jail.
Forrest County District Attorney Patricia Burchell consulted victim families before deciding against the death penalty.
Chamberlin’s death sentence was reinstated in March after a federal appeals court dismissed accusations of racial bias in jury selection.
Several new Hays city employees and others who have recently been promoted were introduced during Thursday’s commission meeting by their department heads.
Rachel Kraus, Shift Lead Dispatch, introduced by Carolyn McCollum, director of the Communications Center
Johnny Rupp, PW Equipment Operator; Ed Weber, PW Maintenance Worker I; and Tanner Wulf, Maintenance Worker I were all introduced by Jesse Rohr, Public Works Director
Matt Windholz, Park Technician, introduced by Jeff Boyle, Director of Parks
Ethan Henderson, Hays Police Officer, introduced Don Scheibler, Police Chief
Ron Wilson is director of the Huck Boyd National Institute for Rural Development at Kansas State University.By RON WILSON Huck Boyd National Institute for Rural Development
The roller coaster drops and turns as the riders yell happily. But this roller coaster is not 40 feet up in the air or outside in a hot carnival. This roller coaster operates in virtual reality. It’s an example of the creative work of an innovative, high tech marketing company.
Jeff Hake is the founder of JNT Company and JNT VR, an interactive web and marketing agency that is also doing innovative work in virtual reality.
Jeff grew up at Beloit. He was an athlete in high school, even breaking a 30-year-old league record in the discus throw. Jeff studied information systems at Cloud County Community College.
While visiting Manhattan one day, he met a pretty blonde girl named Tara. Upon meeting her parents at their first date, he learned that her father was the man who set the 30-year-old discus record which he had broken: Awkward…
The relationship improved from there. Jeff ultimately married Tara. She earned her optometry degree in Memphis. One day while in Memphis, Jeff got word that he had been accepted for the K-State computing and telecommunications position for which he had applied. “That’s great, but what am I going to do?” Tara said. “One hour later, she got a call from Ron Janasek, asking if she would be interested in buying his optometry practice in Manhattan,” Jeff said. The timing worked perfectly for them, and Tara bought the business. Today, she is a doctor at Manhattan Eyecare.
Jeff worked in computing and telecommunications for K-State and founded a website company as a side project in February 2008. He called it JNT Company. Why? “Jeff’s Never Telling,” he said with a smile, but apparently Jeff `N’ Tara was the original source of the acronym. By September 2009, JNT Company became his sole focus.
JNT Company began as a website design business but it grew and expanded quickly. “We developed a content management system called Merlin,” Jeff said. The company now offers brand identity and social media, copywriting, print design, e-commerce, video production and advertising, search engine optimization, and web application development.
“Everything we do is backed by a promise to understand how marketing impacts business growth,” Jeff said. “Our work has touched industries including banking, telecommunications, professional services, consumer packaged goods, healthcare, real estate, agriculture and higher education — including being recently named one of Kansas State University’s official on-call agency partners,” he said.
In 2015, Jeff was researching virtual reality as a marketing strategy. “Marketing research tells us that a person has to read something 17 to 30 times for it to soak in,” Jeff said. “But virtual reality can generate the adrenaline and emotion that makes you remember.”
JNT Company developed the concept and built a virtual reality trailer in 2016. The trailer contains four moving seats linked to a virtual reality viewing system. “No one had synched multiple headsets with a single experience like this before,” Jeff said.
One of their first clients was Whoville, which sponsors the Christmas-tree lighting in downtown Manhattan. During the holidays, the trailer provided a virtual Santa sleigh ride experience. In the summer, it can be a virtual roller coaster ride.
In the trailer, people sit in the chairs, buckle up, and wear the headsets while the chairs move in coordination with the remarkably realistic image which appears on the screen. The trailer travels around Kansas, where it provides a lifelike experience at county fairs and elsewhere.
“There’s a thrill in seeing the eyes light up on the faces of these people,” Jeff said.
Jeff and Tara have two children of their own. They reflect the values of their small town roots. Jeff is from Beloit and Tara is from the rural community of Scandia, population 372 people. Now, that’s rural.
The virtual roller coaster rolls to a stop and the giddy riders remove their seat belts – as well as their virtual reality goggles. We salute Jeff Hake and all those involved with JNT Company and JNT VR for making a difference with marketing innovation and technology. That combination makes for a good ride.
KDWPT
