As part of its celebration of Black History Month, USA Today has recognized a northwest Kansas landmark.
The Nicodemus National Historic site in Graham County made USA Today’s list of 15 Black History Sites You Don’t Know.
The Hays Arts Council has issued a call for entries for the 45th annual Smoky Hill Art Exhibition.
The deadline for entries is March 7, and the juried exhibition will anchor the HAC’s 2014 spring art walk from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m. April 25.
A total of $2,500 in cash prizes will be awarded. The juror will be Sherry Leedy, director and curator of Sherry Leedy Contemporary Art in Kansas City. She holds an MFA degree from the University of Kansas and a BFA degree from the Kansas City Art Institute.
An entry form and complete rules is available HERE.
By KARI BLURTON
Hays Post
Director of Police at Fort Hays State University Ed Howell now has another title.
Howell won a recent election making him Sergeant of Arms of Kansas Association of Chiefs of Police. The position enables him to step up to vice president of the KACP next year.
Howell says he is honored to be representing northwest Kansas in his new role.
“Four other well-qualified gentleman ran for the same office I did and, fortunately, I was elected,” Howell said.
Howell is a fifth-generation law enforcement officer and has worn the badge for more than 20 years.
Howell noted he thought his dad would be proud of his new position.
The KACP has more than 500 members from across the state. Howell said the association’s functions include law enforcement training regulations, legislative activities and homeland security.
Hays public safety officials responded to a precautionary landing Friday morning at Hays Regional Airport after receiving reports of a plane with engine trouble.
Airport Manager Robert Johnson said this morning the private Cessna called in reporting a problems and landed safely.
Johnson added the plane was looked at and the pilot departed without incident.
He did not have information about where the plane originated.
The Hays Fire Department, Ellis County Rural Fire Department, Ellis County EMS, Hays Police Department and Ellis County Sheriff’s Department all deployed to the scene as a precautionary measure — prepositioning assets in accordance with a standard plan for airport emergencies.
WICHITA — Meet Kim McDowell, associate professor in the Department of Curriculum and Instruction in Wichita State University’s College of Education. She has a Ph.D., is a mother of seven – and a beauty queen.
She knows what you’re thinking, but it’s for a good cause. McDowell is a long-time advocate for Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals, a cause that is as much a passion as it is her profession, and in July she’ll compete for the title of Mrs. International, a beauty pageant for married, professional women who champion important causes.
“When I first decided to do this,” said McDowell, “I was worried that it would reflect negatively on me professionally. A lot of people have misperceptions about pageantry and what it is, especially involving a married woman who is 41, but when they see that this is just an extension of what I already do they’re very supportive.”
McDowell’s area of expertise is elementary and early childhood education, as well as communication sciences and disorders. She’s a graduate of Wichita State, and she attributes her passion to an experience as a 19-year-old undergraduate tutoring for a group called Partnership Assisting Student Success.
“We were going to the homes of at-risk kids in the community,” she said. “Ever since then, my entire professional career and all of my philanthropic activities have revolved around kids who are at risk – kids who need help or assistance – and their families.”
‘I was kind of hooked’
McDowell was involved in her first pageant in 2006 when she won the title of Mrs. Kansas. She entered the contest as a way to motivate herself to get back in shape after the birth of her sixth child. She was surprised to win the state title and went on to place in the top 10 at the Mrs. USA pageant.
“After that I was kind of hooked,” she said. “I’m a bit competitive, so this is a nice way to continue to do what I love, which is working with kids and families, but then, occasionally, I get to put on a pretty dress, some fake eyelashes and a big smile.”
McDowell says her involvement with CMN Hospitals started off as a parent in need of services. Her now 10-year-old was born preterm and spent time in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, which resulted in developmental delays and a need for speech therapy.
“As we needed less and less help,” she said, “I realized the need for increased advocacy and fundraising was great. I’ve spent several years being an advocate and spokesperson for Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals. As a mother of a child with exceptionalities and a professor preparing teachers to teach children with exceptionalities, I feel like my work with CMN Hospitals and the pageant is an extension of what I do in the classroom.”
Additionally, McDowell is executive director for Models for Miracles, which is having a fashion show of its own at 4:30 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 23, at the Doubletree Hilton in Wichita. Local teens will participate in the event, each raising $50 as part of the community service. The event has already raised $15,000 for CMN Hospitals.
The Mrs. International pageant will take place in Jacksonville, Fla. McDowell says she’ll be in Florida for five days with her husband, doing some sightseeing, lots of rehearsals and the pageant itself. The areas of competition will include an interview, eveningwear and fitness wear – but no swimsuits.
“It will be a great opportunity to talk about my platform and the things I believe strongly in,” said McDowell. “Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals has been great in letting me continue to champion them in my crown and sash.”
Of course, McDowell still hasn’t picked out her evening gown for the pageant.
“I tend to wait until the last minute for wardrobe,” she said. “I’m busy doing the things that mean the most to me, which is working with the kids and their families.”
K-State Research and Extension
MANHATTAN — “Service” would be a common theme among the five Kansans who were recognized at a Feb. 19 luncheon by Kansas State University’s Huck Boyd National Institute for Rural Development as 2014 Leaders of the Year.
“Whether advocating for agriculture on social media, adding value to honey as an energy food, customizing flower arrangements for families, leading a statewide organization, or attracting hunters to our state from far away, these Kansans have demonstrated outstanding service in diverse ways,” said Clare Gustin, chairwoman of the board of directors of the Huck Boyd National Institute for Rural Development.
Gustin is a vice president at Sunflower Electric Cooperative in Hays.
This year’s award categories, winners and their home communities are:
• Agribusiness: Greg, Nathan and Kendal, the Peterson Brothers, Assaria;
• Business and Entrepreneurship: Jerry and Debbie Brown, RevHoney, Haddam;
• Leadership: Brenda Chance, city clerk, Phillipsburg (past president of League of Kansas Municipalities);
• Local Retail: Matt and Bronwyn Douglas, Kistner’s Flowers, Manhattan; and
• Tourism: Carlos Navarro, Santa Maria Ranch, Junction City.
As agriculture students from a farm near Assaria, Greg, Nathan and Kendal Peterson depicted agricultural life in a catchy Youtube video and music parody called “I’m Farming and I Grow It.” The video went viral, generating 7.6 million views in five months and paved the way for them to be flown to New York for an interview on Fox News. Another music parody called “Farmer Style” generated 13 million views. Altogether, their videos have generated some 30 million views. The Peterson Brothers see their ongoing efforts as a way to educate urban consumers and others about agriculture. For more information, go to www.facebook.com/PetersonFarmBros.
Jerry Brown’s grandfather started beekeeping in north central Kansas in 1948 and his father started Brown Honey Farms in 1963. They grew the business into the largest beekeeping operation in Kansas by the 1980s. In 2006, Jerry, his wife Debbie and son Nate launched an initiative to add value to that honey by using it as an energy food. They founded a company named RevHoney which offers flavored honey snacks and honey-based energy drinks. These products are now sold in more than 500 stores and coast to coast through online sales. For more information, see revhoney.com.
Brenda Chance joined the City of Phillipsburg as a waste water treatment facility operator in 1981 and gradually worked her way up through the organization. She was appointed city clerk in 1987 and became active in state municipal organizations. She was named Clerk of the Year in 2008, served as president of the City Clerks/Municipal Finance Officers Association, and president of the League of Kansas Municipalities in 2012-13. She is one of only eight women to have held that position since the organization was founded in 1910, and is the first female city clerk to ever be president of that organization. For more information, go to www.cityofphillipsburg.com.
Matt and Bronwyn Douglas both worked at Kistner’s Flowers in Manhattan while students at K-State. The business had been founded by the Kistner family in 1946 and purchased by the Orr family in 1973. In 2006, Matt and Bronwyn came back and purchased the business themselves. Kistner’s Flowers now offers fresh flower arrangements, plants for indoor use, and interior plantscape for business clients. Matt and Bronwyn especially enjoy creating personalized, customized arrangements for weddings and funerals. Kistner’s won the Lux award for best outdoor weddings in northeast Kansas. For more information, go to www.kistnersflowers.com.
Carlos Navarro loved hunting as a boy in Mexico and arranged hunting trips with his friends. He moved to Kansas City, became a U.S. citizen, and took up bowhunting. In 2000, he bought the Santa Maria Ranch south of Junction City and began operating a guided hunting business. He now leases 10,000 acres for hunting for his clients. An accomplished hunter himself, he is one of approximately 300 people in the world who have accomplished a World Slam (bagging one bird from each of the six subspecies of wild turkeys) and one of only 10 people who have accomplished this task with a bow. For more information, go to wwwsantamariaranch.com.
The 2014 Huck Boyd Leaders of the Year winners were selected by students in an entrepreneurship class in K-State’s College of Business. Each year the Huck Boyd Institute selects its leaders of the year from among those featured on its weekly Kansas Profile radio program and column during the previous 12 months Kansas Profile is distributed by the K-State Radio Network and K-State Research and Extension News Media Services to radio stations and newspapers statewide.
The Huck Boyd Institute is a public/private partnership between K-State Research and Extension and the Huck Boyd Foundation. The foundation office is at the Huck Boyd Community Center in Phillipsburg. The Institute office is at Kansas State University in Manhattan.
By PHIL CAUTHON
KHI News Service
TOPEKA — A program that provided oral health care to kids in Head Start before being effectively terminated by KanCare is nearly set to resume, officials say.
Before the launch of KanCare, Kansas Cavity Free Kids had for five years helped more than 7,000 children in 41 rural counties get regular cleanings, fluoride varnishes and sealants from dental hygienists in Head Start classrooms.
But the program was effectively shut down when day-to-day management of the state’s Medicaid program was turned over to three for-profit managed care companies on Jan. 1, 2013.
UnitedHealthcare, one of the three KanCare contractors, chose to not authorize payment for teeth cleanings performed at Head Start, a decision that effectively put the entire program on ice.
Timothy Spilker — president of United’s Kansas health plan — told KHI News Service that the company has been working for the last three months to resolve the problem and that work is nearly complete.
“We’ve revised all of our payment policies and the codes will be consistent with what was covered prior to KanCare,” Spilker said. “All of that should be effective here in the next week or two — mid-March at the absolute latest.”
Kathy Hunt, the Head Start official who coordinated Kansas Cavity Free Kids, said that it would then take some time to get the program back on its feet.
“Once the fix is in place, we’ll talk to the Head Start programs that were involved and they can work on rebuilding the system that they weren’t able to continue,” Hunt said. “It will take time. It’s been a year and the folks they had in place, of course, moved on to other things.”
Even so, Hunt said the glitch in the program may prove to be a good thing in the long run.
“Not only are they putting in this fix, but they want to work with the Head Start Association in other avenues, too, like helping promote oral health for pregnant women and finding other ways that we can help each other out,” Hunt said. “In the long run, I think this might have been good. It may be the start of a partnership that might not have come about otherwise.”
KIEV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukraine’s president has given in to pressure from European diplomats and is offering concessions to defuse the crisis that has divided his country and left scores dead.
After all-night negotiating in Kiev, President Viktor Yanukovych announced early presidential elections and promised to bring opposition members into the government, though he didn’t say when. He’s also promising constitutional reforms that would trim presidential powers, which has been a key demand of protesters.
Despite the concessions, the capital remains tense today. Shots rang out near the protest camp and skeptical members of the opposition massed in central Kiev, divided over what to do next.
One lawmaker allied with the opposition tells the Associated Press the deaths of 77 people yesterday in clashes between police and protesters “changes the stakes,” and nothing short of Yanukovych’s immediate resignation will satisfy the protest movement. She says protesters will not abandon occupied buildings until after the constitution is changed.
FHSU University Relations
Bringing attention to sensitive topics such as domestic abuse usually requires a somber attitude and an eye for tact and sensitivity. Sometimes, however, it simply needs frat boys walking around the student union and campus wearing women’s shoes.
Fort Hays State University’s fraternities will host the sixth annual “Walk a Mile in Her Shoes” event to raise awareness for the victims of sexual and domestic abuse. Proceeds will go to Jana’s Campaign and OPTIONS Domestic and Sexual Violence Services, two local organizations dedicated to fighting and exposing domestic abuse.
The pageant will be at 6 p.m. March 3 at FHSU’s Memorial Union and will feature speakers from Jana’s Campaign and OPTIONS before the culmination of the night — when men from FHSU Greek Life, student organizations, faculty, staff and athletic teams literally will walk 1 mile in women’s shoes.
Registration to walk is $15 and includes a T-shirt. Attendance is free and open to the public. For more information or registration information, contact the FHSU Center for Student Involvement at (785) 628-4664.
Hays Area Children’s Center will have free development screenings for children age birth to 5 on March 7 at Hays United Methodist Church, 305 W. Seventh.
The screenings help parents assess speech, language, vision, hearing, self-help, height and weight, thinking, behavior, and motor development.
Appointments can be made by calling Kathy or Debbie at (785) 625-3257 or emailing [email protected]. The HACC is located at 94 Lewis Drive.
By CASEY HUTCHINS
KU Statehouse Wire Service
TOPEKA — Fossils of the Tylosaurus and Pteranodon soon could resurface as dignitaries in classrooms across Kansas.
A legislative committee approved House Bill 2595 to declare these ancient creatures, who resided millions of years ago in what later became Kansas, the official state marine and flying fossils.
“It may seem like insignificant legislation and not worthy of the time in a day where there are many pressing issues, but the kids of Kansas deserve this,” said Steven Fisher, an 11-year member of the Manning Jayhawkers 4-H Club in Scott County.
Fisher, who endorsed nomination of the Tylosaurus and Pteranodon, has distinction of finding a Tylosaurus vertebrae in chalk beds of Scott County.
Other supporters of the bill included representatives of the University of Kansas Natural History Museum and the Fort Hays State University Sternberg Museum of Natural History. The Kansas Department of Wildlife, Parks and Tourism supported concept of the bill.
Each of these entities had a sense designation of official state fossils could promote tourism in Kansas. The bill isn’t expected to create any additional cost to the state.
“State symbols represent the magnificence of the great state in which we live and show other what we have to offer,” said Christopher Tymeson, chief legal counsel for the Department of Wildlife, Parks and Tourism. “This bill is a step to increasing visitation and awareness of Kansas.”
Forty U.S. states and Washington, D.C., have officially recognized fossils. Both the Tylosaurus and the Pteranodon are almost exclusively Kansas fossils as they were first most abundantly discovered here.
Fossilized skeletons of both creatures reside at the KU’s Natural History Museum and the FHSU’s Sternberg Museum of Natural History, as well as across the nation and globe.
“Here we get to see the actual skeletal remains,” said Rep. Tom Sloan, a Lawrence Republican and chairman of the House Vision 2020 Committee. “That makes it more of an attraction.”
“There are fossils in Harvard, Yale, England and other places that came from here,” Sloan said. “It’s where the best specimens are at. It will make people like paleontologists, archeologists and lovers of old stuff to come to Kansas to vacation.”
Other state symbols established in Kansas law include the Barred Tiger Salamander, state amphibian; Western Meadowlark, state bird; bluegill, state fish; Western Honey Bee, state insect; Plains Cottonwood, state tree; Ornate Box Turtle, state reptile; and American Bison, state mammal.
Fisher, the high school student, said creation of state fossils could teach children more about creatures of the past than what can be observed watching the movie “Jurassic Park.”
“As a 4-H geology project member and leader, I have had the opportunity to learn and teach other 4-Hers about the ancient seas and their inhabitants, but what about kids who aren’t in 4-H geology?” he said. “Only by the passage of this bill will many kids ever know who Kansas’ earliest inhabitants were or that they are sitting in the middle of an ancient ocean.”
Long-rumored, it is finally confirmed Hobby Lobby will open a Hays location this year.
According to Vincent Parker of Hobby Lobby Stores Inc., the arts-and-crafts/home decor store is expected to open mid-year in the former Walmart at 3300 Vine.
The 52,420-square-foot facility will be the 13th in Kansas and among the nearly 600 Hobby Lobby stories nationwide owned by the Green family.
“We feel that we can bring a very unique shopping experience to the area. We are looking forward to becoming part of the community,” Parker told Hays Post.
The store will employ between 30 and 50 local employees ranging from cashiers and stockers to custom picture framers and floral designers. Pay for full-time employees is expected to start at $14, with part-time employees beginning at $9.50 hourly. A call for applicants is usually made between three and four weeks of a store’s opening.
“The constant element throughout our 44 years of growth has been our loyal customers and our outstanding employees,” said Parker, Hobby Lobby’s director of training and customer service. “The foundation of our business has been and will continue to be strong values based on biblical principles, including integrity, service to others and giving back to those in need. We thank everyone who has contributed to our success during the past four decades and look forward to many more years of growth and service.”
Store managers and co-managers generally are trained at other Hobby Lobby locations and “come with the store,” Parker noted.
“Each new Hobby Lobby location enables us to become an integral part of the community by contributing to increased foot traffic, generating sales tax, and adding new jobs, while sharing in the growth of both the state and the city,” John Schumacher, assistant vice president of advertising, said in a press release Thursday.
Hays Post will have additional details on the development as they become available. For more on Hobby Lobby, click HERE.
The Hays Police Department conducted 15 traffic stops and received 8 animal calls on Wednesday, Feb. 19, according to the HPD activity log.
Abandoned vehicle 500 block West Eighth , 1:46 a.m.
Civil dispute, 700 block West 12th, 6:54 a.m.
Animal at large, 2600 block General Custer, 7:42 a.m.
Suicidal subject, 100 block East 23rd, 8:14 a.m.
Motor vehicle accident, 700 block Fort, 8:35 a.m.
Animal at large, 33rd and Country Lane, 9:15 a.m.
Found/lost property, 1100 Noose Road, 10:30 a.m.
Animal at large, Augusta and Hall, 11:35 a.m.
Theft, 1200 block Main, 4:50 p.m.
Found/lost property, 1300 block Vine, 1:52 p.m.
Fire, 20th and Fort, 2:51 p.m.
Motor vehicle accident/private property, 700 block East Seventh, 3:57 p.m.
Animal at large, 300 block West 15th, 4:46 p.m.
Animal at large, 2300 block Pershing, 5:20 p.m.
Animal at large, 1000 block East Eighth, 6:28 p.m.
Animal at large, 100 block West 14th, 6:28 p.m.
Motor vehicle accident/hit and run, 400 block West Fifth, 7:32 p.m.
Suicidal subject, 200 block East Sixth, 7:53 p.m.
Theft, 1100 block Canterbury, 8:35 p.m.
Shoplifting, 4300 block Vine, 8:40 p.m.
Welfare check, 100 block West 12th, 9:31 p.m.
Mental health call, Hays, 9:44 p.m.
Harassment, 3400 block Vine, 10:07 p.m.
