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Welcome to Hays, Fort Hays State students

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By DIANE GASPER-O’BRIEN
FHSU University Relations and Marketing

In somewhat of a surprising scene Tuesday night, only a handful of 300-plus college students gathered in the Downtown Pavilion were on their cell phones. And the majority of those were either snapping selfies with their friends or video recording the band.

That’s the kind of captivation Sara Bloom wants Hays businesses to continue to provide for post-secondary students, including those attending Fort Hays State University.

Bloom, executive director of the Downtown Hays Development Corporation, held the students’ attention as she called out ticket numbers for $4,000 worth of prizes. It was all part of the annual March 2 Main welcoming event to get college students familiar with what downtown has to offer them.

After marching to Union Pacific Park from the FHSU campus, students from Fort Hays State, the Hays campus of North Central Kansas Technical College, and Hays Academy of Hair Design were treated to boxed dinners and swag bags.

While waiting for the band to begin playing and a drawing for prizes, students played outdoor board games provided by the Center for Student Involvement and hung out around and in the pavilion. The Hays Police Department handed out ice cream sandwiches. Girl Scouts of Kansas Heartland gave out free boxes of Girl Scout cookies.

A whiteboard with the winning ticket numbers sat on an easel near the stage, and the intent was for all to feel like winners on the pleasant late-summer evening.

“My job is taking care of visitors to Hays,” said Melissa Dixon, executive director of the Hays Convention and Visitors Bureau. “Tonight, you are our special visitors.”

If Bloom has anything to say about it, college students will be frequent visitors to downtown Hays.

Inside each of the student’s bags were discount or gift incentives to visit downtown businesses through Sept. 12. They will then be entered in a drawing for additional prizes the next day.

Sarah Cearley, owner of Simply Charmed on Main Street, said she always looks forward to students returning to town after the summer months. This year, she added more FHSU clothing and jewelry to her selection of women’s and baby clothing, accessories and gifts. And student traffic has picked up because of it.

“We touched on Tiger gear before, but we have a lot more assortment this year,” she said. “Even the weekend prior to students moving in, we noticed a pick-up in business.”

Bloom told the newcomers to town just how vital the college students are to the Hays community, using the history of the pavilion to stress that point.

The pavilion with a cathedral ceiling and clay tile roof was designed and built by FHSU students from the Department of Applied Technology. An electrical technology class from NCK Tech installed the electrical wiring and lighting.

It was finished in the spring of 2018 and is used weekly for numerous events.

FHSU freshmen Jason Pineda and Emily Maldonado from Emporia are glad they participated in March 2 Main as well as other activities with Forty Days at the Fort, a welcoming program with a variety of events to help students get connected to organizations.

“What a great start to the school year,” Maldonado said. “We’ve met a lot of great people already.”

They were part of a group that stayed to the very end Tuesday, waiting for the drawing for several larger prizes.

Pineda shouted and hurried to the front when his number was called for a 32-inch television. He smiled as he maneuvered the large box into the back of his car, saying it might go to Maldonado, his girlfriend, who gave him a TV she won in a drawing a couple of years ago.

Pineda lives in McMindes Hall, and Maldonado lives in Victor E. Village as a member of the All Rise!
Learning Community. All Rise! is geared toward students intrigued by legal issues and is considering a career in law.

Whoever lays claim to the new TV set, Pineda and Maldonado are here to stay.

Maldonado first heard about Fort Hays State when she received an acceptance letter from the Kansas Academy of Math and Science, the state’s premier early college program for high school juniors and seniors.

She decided not to attend KAMS but kept Fort Hays State in the back of her mind as a destination for college.

Maldonado liked FHSU’s political science program, and Pineda was just as impressed with the psychology department, his program of choice.

“I did research,” Pineda said, “and Fort Hays State looked like the place to be. Very affordable.”

“It just felt right,” Maldonado agreed.

Former art teacher, counselor recount story of Gus the therapy dog in print

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Hays resident and former art teacher Beth DeMont is the illustrator for “The Adventures of Gus: A Therapy Dog and So Much More” series.

By CRISTINA JANNEY
Hays Post

DeMont’s watercolors depict the story of the real therapy dog, Gus, in Cindy Cook Gant’s books on positive character traits.

A very special dog was the inspiration for a new series of children books aimed at teaching character and encouraging children to talk about their feelings.

Gus, a black goldendoodle, was a therapy dog who worked along side school counselor and author Cindy Cook Gant. When Gant decided to publish a series of books based on Gus, she tapped into the talents of Hays resident and former colleague Beth Arnold DeMont.

The first book, which was released in 2018, is titled “Gus Gets a New Home.” It will be one of six books each highlighting character traits in “The Adventures of Gus, A Therapy Dog and So Much More” series.

Gant,62, based the books on the same character trait program she taught when she was a counselor in public schools. Gant and DeMont, 61, worked together in White City, where DeMont worked as an art teacher, Gant worked as a counselor and Gus served as a therapy dog.

An illustration from “Gus Gets a New Home,” which was released in 2018. The next book in the series, “Gus Goes to School,” will be out in September. DeMont also illustrated that book. Courtesy art

The first book teaches the character trait of caring. The book highlights that Gus was the only black dog in a litter of blonde pups. He overcomes challenges and difficult feelings to embrace his new home with the Gants. Questions in the book encourage adults to ask children about how they feel about the story or times in their own lives when they have felt left out, dealt with change or felt scared or nervous.

Gant said she hopes the book will allow adults and children to more freely talk about their feelings.

DeMont described Gus as the light of the school. He was a comfort for both students and staff.

Gant said children would often lay on her office floor and use Gus as a pillow. They would talk about the their problems as Gant would work on her computer. Depending on the child’s age, Gant would pretend as if Gus was whispering something into her ear and then she would tell the student what Gus thought about their problems.

“What might take be two or three sessions to accomplish without Gus,” she said, “I could do in one with Gus.”

She said Gus was very loving and seemed to know exactly what a child needed. She gave a couple of examples of when Gus aided children.

One child was crying and inconsolable. Gus licked his tears, and the child started to giggle.

Hays resident and artist Beth DeMont works in her basement studio.

Another child had missed a dose of medication. His mother thought he had taken it, but he hadn’t. The mother was on the way with the medication, but, in the meantime, the child was tearing up the principal’s office. He was throwing papers on the floor and screaming. Gus came in the office, and the boy laid down on the floor and began calmly petting him.

“His sense of what people needed was very rare and unbelievable,” Gant said of Gus.

Sadly, Gus died from cancer after Gant’s retirement from the school district.

DeMont said her hope for the books and her illustrations is they will help kids, “because Gus helped kids.”

“The main thing is that Gus was such a loving, caring dog with the kids and adults. There were a lot of adults that would need time to go pet Gus,” DeMont said. “Just to see him took your concerns away from the day if it was a bad day. He helped so many kids with anxiety and grief. It is amazing how he worked in that school. …

“You couldn’t help but love Gus,” she said. “Even if you didn’t want to, he made you. He was just one of those dogs.”

Gant said when she decided to write the books on Gus, she knew she wanted DeMont to illustrate them because she knew Gus. DeMont said she initially didn’t want to do the artwork, because she had never done book illustrations before, but this project was special.

The first book was terrifying, DeMont said. She said she had no idea about illustrating a children’s book. She reached out to a Facebook group of children’s book illustrators for feedback.

“A lot of the younger people said they really liked it because it had a vintage feel,” she said. “I think I really drew that from my Golden Books when I was little. I loved books.”

Now that she has the second book under her belt, the work is becoming more enjoyable, she said.

DeMont said she always loved to draw even when she was little. One of her early memories is getting in trouble for drawing on the side of her school building when she was in kindergarten. Art was her favorite class in school. However, in 1971 DeMonte’s family lost their home in Ashland to a fire. The family moved to Kendall, Kan., which had no art program.

She continued to pursue art in her free time, and the journalism instructor allowed her to draw illustrations for the yearbook. Her small high school closed after her junior year, so she started college a year early at Garden City Junior College. She thought she might study pre-vet, but decided she didn’t have the math background the complete that program. Her mother suggested art classes.

The first day of college art class the instructor told the students to create a color wheel and the left the room.

“I was just sitting there because I didn’t know what a color wheel was,” she said. “He came back in and said, ‘Why are you still here?’ I said, ‘I don’t know what a color wheel is,’ and he looked at me like I was crazy.”

DeMont’s teacher, Bob Scott, was kind and helped her through the assignment and mentored her through her time at the college. She eventually transferred to Fort Hays State University where she earned a degree in art education. She worked for 33 years as an art teacher before retiring in 2014.

She said teaching did not leave her as much time to pursue her own art as she would like, but it did force her to experiment with many media. She was constantly working with new media and techniques so she could pass those on to her students. She is a sculptor, a painter, has worked in oil, pencil and collage.

“I enjoy it, so when I get tired of one thing, I jump to another,” she said. “I have a lot of variety. I am not afraid to try something new. I like the challenges.”

DeMont said her favorite media continues to be drawing, just as it was when she was drawing horses in her bedroom as a child out of the Western Horseman magazine. However, these days she is working more in paint and collage, which stems from her love of color.

“The thing about illustration is that it is such a different type of art,” she said. “It is hard to explain. You are expressing yourself when you do your own artwork, but when you are doing a book, you are doing what someone gave you.”

DeMont had an exhibit in the Hays Art Council Fall Art Walk titled “Daring to Change.” She and Gant also sold autographed copies of the first Gus book at the event. DeMont will be a part of show with Hays Society of Layerists in October and another show with the group in April at the Deines Cultural Center. She also has a show coming in September 2020 with her sister at the Deines.

Gant and DeMont have another book launching in about a month in the Gus series, “Gus Goes to School.” In this book, Gus learns responsibility as he attends school to become a therapy dog as well as starts attending school with Gant.

The Gus series is published by Dorrance Publishing and is available from the publisher, Amazon, Barnes and Noble, or personally from Gant or DeMont. You can contact the author at [email protected] or the illustrator at [email protected].

MASON: Storms awaken us to the presence of blessings

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Dr. Tisa Mason, FHSU president
I am sure I will remember the storms of the summer of 2019 for a long time, not as a whipping from mother nature but as an opportunity to witness the resilience, the kindness and the blessings of living in this community.

The storms arrived with a fierceness – and frequency – that required us to stop our busyness, even if just for a moment. Perhaps, if you are like me, you actually stopped to count your blessings.

In those moments of blessing counting, other things began to occur. We stopped to check in with our loved ones and renewed our gratitude for our friendships. We shared a common experience that facilitated sharing stories and building relationships with a wider circle of people. That fierce storm created moments for us to help others or to be helped.

And no surprise to me, people in this community stepped up.

My “day” began the evening of fierce storm No. 1 with a phone call from our VP of Administration and Finance Mike Barnett letting me know he and his team (university police, energy plant personnel, and the facilities and ground employees) were all on campus making sure our students were safe, actively conducting assessments, and managing vulnerabilities.

Throughout the night I learned about the implosion of the wall at the Akers Energy Center, the efforts put in place to restore electricity and ensure our students had access to hot water, and reports of water damage and trees down. Our crews worked throughout the evening and early morning safeguarding our campus, removing debris and repairing damage.

By early morning the campus was fully operational. We were ready to help new students move in to their residence hall as well as welcome our faculty and staff to a new academic year.

As the day continued, I learned that the roof was torn off of Celebration Community Church, and I heard stories of blessings and miracles and how people rallied to help. We were reminded that a church is not a building – it is people. The same can be said for the university, businesses and families.

I was grateful, thankful and happy for the kindness and selfless service all around me. The storms continued to arrive in bursts and so did the resilience and kindness of our community. Frequency did not wear us down. People still showed up.

Here in Western Kansas, we believe in the value of strong families, hard work, innovation and compassion. These characteristics also define who we are at Fort Hays State University. When one of our neighbor’s faces challenges, we all pitch in to help.

Upon reflection, I think what I grew to understand most is that although moments of adversity tend to shine a spotlight on our compassion and resilience, when such moments pass and we return to our everyday lives, we still watch over one another. We just do it without the need for a spotlight.

I came to realize that people who seem to be extraordinary in moments of disruption – our employees, students, and neighbors – are actually extraordinary every day. We are not perfect, but we are humble, reliable and kind.

I am so grateful to be surrounded by extraordinary people and small acts of kindness every single day. Thank you to my Fort Hays family, my church family, and my Western Kansas family for your own unique way of being everyday heroes.

Blessings counted. Roses smelled.

KRUG: Medicare basics program planned

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Donna Krug

Are you turning 65 in the next six months to a year? Or do you assist your parents with their medical options? Perhaps you are confused about your options and what to expect once your insurance changes.

If you answered “yes” to any of the questions above, then the Medicare Basics Program is for you. This free class will help you gain the knowledge you need to make informed decisions about your health care coverage.

The Medicare Basics program will be presented Friday, September 13th, at the basement of the Ellis County Administrative Center, 718 Main. The program will be presented twice to accommodate those working around their lunch hour. The first presentation will run from 11:30 a.m. to 12:20 p.m. and the same information will be presented at 12:30 to 1:30.

Donna Krug, Cottonwood Extension District Agent and her husband, John, will be the presenters. They have been certified SHICK counselors the past five years. They received update earlier this summer and are happy to share those updates with the public.

The workshop is free and open to everyone, but pre-registration is helpful so that enough handout materials are available.

Interested participants may call (785) 628-9430 or email [email protected] with questions or to register.

Parents and adult fans: The biggest challenge facing high school sports today

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By Karissa Niehoff
Executive Director of the National Federation of State High School Associations
and Bill Faflick
Executive Director of the Kansas State High School Activities Association

Inappropriate adult behavior at high school athletic events in Kansas has reached epidemic proportion.

When more than 2,000 high school athletic directors were asked in a recent national survey what they like least about their job, 62.3% said it was “dealing with aggressive parents and adult fans.”

And the men and women who wear the black and white stripes agree. In fact, almost 80% of officials quit after the first two years on the job, and unruly parents are cited as the reason why. As a result, there is a growing shortage of high school officials here in Kansas, and in some sports like wrestling, soccer, and baseball/softball, the shortage is severe. No officials means no more games.

If you are a parent attending a high school athletic event this fall, you can help by following these six guidelines:

1. Be a Role Model. You are, after all, an adult. Act in a way that makes your family and school proud and teaches lessons we want our children to learn. They are watching. They will imitate.

2. Don’t Live Your Life Vicariously Through Your Children. High school sports are for them, not you. Your family’s reputation is not determined by how well your children perform on the field of play.

3. Let Your Children Talk to the Coach Instead of You Doing It for Them. High school athletes learn how to become more confident, independent and capable—but only when their parents don’t jump in and solve their problems for them.

4. Stay in Your Own Lane. No coaching or officiating from the sidelines. Your role is to be a responsible, supportive parent—not a coach or official.

5. Remember, Participating in a High School Sport Is Not About Getting a College Scholarship. According to the NCAA, only about 2% of all high school athletes are awarded a sports scholarship, and the total value of the scholarship is only about $18,000. In fact, there are more dollars available for more students with academic scholarships than what is available to athletes.

6. Make Sure Your Children Know You Love Watching Them Play. Do not critique your child’s performance on the car ride home. Participating in high school sports is about character development, learning and having fun—not winning and losing.

Purchasing a ticket to a high school athletic event does not give you the right to be rude, disrespectful or verbally abusive. Cheer loud and be proud, but be responsible and respectful. The future of high school sports in Kansas is dependent on you.

NWS warns of 80 mph winds in Ellis County area

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The National Weather Service has issued a severe thunderstorm warning for areas of Ellis, Trego, Rush and Ness counties until 10 p.m.

At 9:06 p.m., a severe thunderstorm was located along a line from Codell to 8 miles north of Utica, moving north at 35 mph.

There is the risk of 80 mph wind gusts, as well as half-dollar size hail.

Flying debris is expected, as well as extensive tree damage and possible power outages.

“For your protection, move to an interior room on the lowest floor of a building,” the NWS said. “Torrential rainfall is occurring with these storms and may lead to flash flooding. Do not drive your vehicle through flooded roadways.”

Stay tuned to you Eagle Radio stations for the latest on severe weather.

Hays man sentenced to jail, probation in animal cruelty, DUI cases

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By JONATHAN ZWEYGARDT
Hays Post

A Hays man was sentenced to 30 days in jail and more than two years of probation after pleading guilty this week to animal cruelty and assault charges connected to three driving under the influence cases.

Tucker Rhoades, 20, was originally charged with three counts of driving under the influence, felony fleeing and eluding, failure to report an accident, and cruelty to animals.

As a result of the plea agreement in July, Rhoades pleaded guilty to three counts of assault and one count of animal cruelty.

Animal cruelty, an unclassified felony, carries a mandatory 30 days in jail, a $500 fine, a mandatory psychological evaluation and anger management.

Rhoades had already spent 22 days in jail and another 29 days in treatment and was given time served on Monday.

He was also sentenced to a total of 30 months of probation on the four charges.

Rhoades was sentenced Monday to 15 months of probation for the three misdemeanor DUIs and 12 months of probation for the felony cruelty to animals.

If he violates the terms of his probation, Rhoades could be sentenced to 27 months in the county jail.

He will also be ordered to pay $4,000 in fines.

According to court documents, on Nov. 19, 2017, Rhoades threw a kitten against the ceiling, a wall, a trash can, up in the air and finally against a stone wall, killing the animal.

Ellis County Attorney Tom Drees said Rhoades was intoxicated at the time of the incident.

Rhoades’ DUI arrests started when he was 16, with the latest arrest in September.

Kansas Water Authority to meet in Goodland

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KWO

The Kansas Water Authority (KWA) will meet Tuesday, Sept. 3, 2019 from 1-4 p.m. MT, and Wednesday, Sept. 4 from 8 a.m. – 12 p.m. MT at the Northwest Kansas Technical College, 201 NW 2nd Street in Goodland, Kansas.

Following the KWA meeting on September 4 will be the Northwest Kansas Technical College Water Tech Farm Field Day beginning at 1:30 p.m. MT.

For additional meeting or Water Tech Farm Field Day information, visit the Kansas Water Office website, www.kwo.ks.gov or call (785) 296-3185.

Ellis Co. restaurant and lodging inspections, 8/19 – 8/25

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Last week’s inspection results from the Kansas Department of Agriculture:

Early Childhood Connections 2501 E. 13th St., Hays – Aug 20

A licensing inspection found three violations.

  • Two cans of beans and three cans of green beans had class two dents along the top seams of the cans. Dents varied from a V shape to a flatting of the top seams.
  • Handwashing sink in the employee restroom does not have any hot water when the faucet is turned on.
  • In the drawer of the prep table, there was a first-aid kit that had squeeze ice packs and assorted liquid medications that were being stored in the same drawer as food contact equipment. No evidence of leaking was observed.

Hays Nutrition 205 E. 7th St. Ste. 133, Hays – Aug 20

A licensing inspection found no violations.

P-Dawg 230 E. 8th St., Hays – Aug 20

A licensing inspection found no violations.

Sport Haven 31094 KS-147 Hwy., Ellis – Aug 20

A routine inspection found one violation.

  • Directly next to the three-compartment sink on a table there was a bottle of bleach and bottle of liquid hand soap being stored on a solid wooden shelf directly above a brown paper sack of whole tomatoes. No evidence of leaking was observed.

HaysMed among first hospitals to support optimal infant nutrition training

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HAYSMED

HaysMed, part of The University of Kansas Health System is among the first hospitals in the nation to successfully complete the EMPower Training initiative, a skills-based competency training to advance knowledge and skills in evidence-based maternity practices supportive of optimal infant nutrition.

Funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the EMPower Training initiative is committed to safe implementation of maternity care practices to support optimal infant nutrition, including breastfeeding, toward the ultimate goal of improving the public’s health.

“As the new manager of the Women’s and Infant Care Center I have been inspired by the commitment of the OB/NICU associates and staff. HaysMed is very fortunate to have a team of nurses who are dedicated to improving and adapting to evidence based practices,” said Michelle Toogood, BSN, RN, Supervisor of Women’s services/NICU.

“We are thankful to have had the opportunity to participate in the Empower program, led here by Jill Rozean, RN, IBCLC Lactation Services and Jessica Seib, RN, IBCLC, Staff Educator, and continue to strive to provide the best care possible for the families we have the privilege of caring for.”

As part of this effort, HaysMed committed to training staff in accordance with the World Health Organization (WHO) and UNICEF Baby-Friendly Hospital Initiative (BFHI) guidance outlined in the Ten Steps to Successful Breastfeeding. With the help of the EMPower Training initiative, HaysMed is now equipped with skills needed to help support mothers in the safe implementation of optimal infant nutrition.

The EMPower Team is led by Abt Associates, Carolina Global Breastfeeding Institute, and the Center for Public Health Quality.

FHSU student selected for leadership by American Society of Radiologic Technologists

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Makynna Whyte and Denise Orth

FHSU University News

A Fort Hays State University student was selected to accompany an FHSU faculty member this year at the American Society of Radiologic Technologists educational symposium in Orlando, Fla.

Denise Orth, associate professor of allied health, was the senior delegate. Makynna Whyte, an Overland Park senior majoring in radiologic technology, was selected to participate in a student leadership development program sponsored by the American Society of Radiologic Technologists and was then eligible to attend the House of Delegates, also in Orlando.

The ASRT’s Annual House of Delegates involves technologists from across the United States, including from the military, and Puerto Rico. Whyte was one of only 93 students from across the country to participate.

“Makynna had the opportunity to be directly involved with the student activities, modality chapter meetings and the House of Delegates session, seeing first-hand how the professional organization’s leaders impact the medical imaging profession,” said Orth.

Orth said that Whyte, a 2016 graduate of St. James Academy, Lenexa, was the sixth FHSU radiologic technology student in the last six years to be selected to participate in the ASRT leadership development program.

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