When asked to describe her son, Shane, in a few words, Patricia Gottschalk didn’t even hesitate — “outgoing, strong, hard-working, warm-hearted” were just a few of the words that she came up with.
Shane Gottschalk
It was almost three years ago when the Gottschalk family received heart-breaking news that Shane, the 20-year-old son of Patricia and Gregg Gottschalk, had been diagnosed with stage four non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. Shane passed away not too long after that, leaving those he touched not to grieve, but to celebrate the great man that he had become.
“We, as a family, were very close. His sister, father and I miss his company and advice. We miss his great bear hugs, quick wit and smile that could brighten a room,” Patricia said.
Now his parents, with the help and support of Shane’s fiancée, Macy Ziegler, have established the Shane Gottschalk ShaneSTRONG Memorial Scholarship with the Fort Hays State University Foundation.
“I miss everything about Shane. He was lovable, passionate, driven, brave, intelligent,” Ziegler said. “He had so much love to give and always had people’s best interest at heart.”
The scholarship fund will aid a junior or senior student majoring in athletic training, with preference given to students with a GPA of 3.0 or higher. The ShaneSTRONG Memorial Scholarship celebrates not only the memory of Shane, an inspiring young man, but also students who are hard-working and give 110 percent of their energy, just like he did.
“Shane would think this is an awesome way to remember him and to help other students with dreams like the ones he had,” Patricia said. “We hope to aid others in developing leadership roles in memory of Shane’s own leadership.”
To support the Shane Gottschalk ShaneSTRONG Memorial Scholarship, contact the Fort Hays State University Foundation.
An investigator from the Kansas State Fire Marshal’s office has been called to investigate Wednesday evening’s grass fires, according to Ellis County Sheriff Ed Harbin.
Harbin said detectives from the Ellis County Sheriff’s Department visited the scenes this morning.
When asked if the fires are related to the 20 fires beginning in early March Harbin said, “We believe so.”
Investigators already have determined those 20 fires were set intentionally.
According to Dick Klaus, Ellis County Rural Fire director, crews started responding to the fires just after 6 p.m. Wednesday.
Klaus told Hays Post on Wednesday the fires occurred at Yocemento and River View, the 2400 block of Yocemento , and 170th and Riverview and 400th and Wiles Road.
He said the Wiles Road fire was the largest, with approximately 60 acres were burned.
A private reward of approximately $2,500 is being offered for information leading to the arrest and conviction of those responsible for the rash of fires. Anyone with information about the incidents should call the Ellis County Sheriff’s Department at (785) 625-1040.
While the United States continues to face one of the slowest economic recoveries in the nation’s history, Republican strategist Karl Rove said Wednesday he believes Americans will find a way to get it turned around.
Karl Rove
Rove’s appearance Wednesday night was the second installment of the Keith Sebelius Lecture Series at Fort Hays State University. It was originally scheduled for February but was canceled due to a winter storm.
Rove opened the night joking he was able to make it to Hays the first time — but no one showed up.
He called for an open debate on health care, saying the nation cannot go back to the way things used to be “nor do we want to.”
Rove said while the Obama administration celebrates reaching its goal of 7 million people signed up for health care under the Affordable Care Act, there are still a number of questions surrounding that number.
One of the issues Rove brought up was the number of people who have paid for the coverage. He said there a number of those who have not and will not pay the premiums. Rove also questioned how many people who signed up had insurance that was cut due to the new health care law. He said there also will be a number of people who lose their health plan after extensions delaying implementation expire.
Rove predicted premiums will be on the rise because there have not been enough young people sign up under the law to balance costs for the number of older Americans who have signed up.
Rove also questioned the number of people who actually signed up under the Medicare expansion, because most states did not differentiate between those who signed up for the first time and those who renewed coverage — a figure he said federal officials will not release.
Rove presented some of his ideas to help cut healthcare costs in the county:
• Make health care portable: Allowing people to take their coverage from job to job.
• Allow the sale of coverage across state lines.
• Allow small businesses can combine their risk pools.
• Allow people to save more tax-free for healthcare — he said the ACA allows for less.
• Require more transparency in prices at hospitals.
• Pass nationwide liability reform.
Rove also spent time discussing rising debt and the need to cut government spending.
During the question-and-answer portion of the forum, Rove was asked about immigration, one issue on which Rove said he doesn’t see eye-to-eye on with the Republican Party. Rove said reform needs to be comprehensive.
According to Rove, the borders need to be secured and legal immigration should be easier — and those who are already here illegally should want to become citizens.
He said the nation should not be educating students from other countries only to allow them to go back to their home countries and compete against America. It should, according to Rove, be easier for those students to get jobs, become Americans themselves and join the “American Dream.”
Rove also spent time talking about his first-hand experience of the 9/11 terrorist attacks in 2001.
SALINA — The National Junior College Athletic Association announced Thursday that 2015 will be the last NJCAA Division I Women’s Basketball National Championship.
The tournament will be relocated to Lubbock, Texas, for 2016 to 2018, the NJCAA said during its annual meeting in Colorado Springs, Colo.
The NJCAA greatly appreciates the hard work and passion that the city of Salina, its volunteers and tournament director Tiffany Benien have put in to this championship over the last 17 years,” said Mary Ellen Leicht, NJCAA executive director. “The decision to part ways was a difficult one and was not taken lightly.”
Benien, of the Salina Area Chamber of Commerce, said approximately 250 volunteers take part in the annual event, which
is held at the Bicentennial Center. The event is scheduled for March 16 to 21, 2015.
Ellis County Sheriff Ed Harbin wants kids in Ellis County to feel safe and said it is one of many reasons he wants to arrest the person or persons responsible for causing 20 fires in Ellis County.
“Obviously, we are angry about it, but what concerns me is the fear put into some of the residents in the county,” Harbin said. “I have talked to some people and their kids were just so terrified that they didn’t want to sleep at night because they were afraid someone was going to set their house on fire.”
It has been more than two weeks since the last round of arson fires in Ellis County – but the investigation into the fires, which began in early March, is in full swing by local law enforcement and the office of the Kansas State Fire Marshal.
“There is always a concern (the fires) will start up again, but (the arsonists) basically have the upper hand. They know what they are going to do and when they are going to do it,” Harbin said.
He said the department is following up on leads, conducting interviews and have sent out subpoenas seeking information, and there also is evidence being analyzed at a crime lab.
Harbin said group of concerned residents — led by one of the earliest victims of the fires — has raised a $2,500 dollar reward for any information leading to an arrest and conviction.
Harbin urged residents to use caution and not attempt to find the arsonist themselves. Anyone with any information that could aid the investigation is asked to call the sheriff’s department at (785) 625-1040.
Police officers are citing more residents with water use violations lately than is normal for this time of year, said Hays Police Chief Don Scheibler.
What makes this year different is the persistent drought increased water conservation efforts.
In February, Hays city commissioners moved the city from a water watch to a water warning, which restricts outside water use, such as watering lawns and washing cars, between the hours of 10 a.m. to 9 p.m.
“The key for us is to educate people,” Scheibler said. “We have had a change in watering times so (officers) are going to be out in full force to remind and educate.
“But also this is serious because of the drought, and we will have to take enforcement action,” Scheibler added. “People should not expect multiple warnings this summer. We just can’t afford it. There is not enough water out there to be wasting.”
Scheibler said his department is serious about water conservation and urges residents to think to the long term.
“This is about the future of my community,” he said. “It is truly not about whether or not I have a green grass this summer. Its’s about whether or not my children will have water in the future.”
Scheibler said an initial offense of the outside water restrictions will result a warning. If a water violation happens a second time, a $50 dollar fine will be issued. A third water violation results in a $200 fine, then a $250 fine for every subsequent. City officials also have the authority to shut off water supplies.
Scheibler said the city will be on the lookout for people who are watering lawns or washing cars within the restricted times and also will be looking for water wasting.
“If you are watering your lawn all night long and water is running down the streets, that is going to be a violation and we are going to have to address that,” he said.
For more information on city rules and tips on water conservation, visit the City of Hays website.
A tentative agreement between representatives of Eagle Communications and Viacom was reached Tuesday evening, although that agreement has yet to be finalized.
The National Cable Television Cooperative, representing approximately 5 million cable customers nationwide including Eagle subscribers, announced the agreement, which would replace the deal that expired March 31.
“We’re very happy to get the key points out of the way, but there are still a lot of moving parts,” said Travis Kohlrus, Eagle Communications Broadband Division general manager, noting approximately 800 cable providers are a part of the talks. “Things are looking good, but there’s a few details to work out.”
As of March 31, Viacom offerings — including MTV and Nickelodeon channels — were scheduled to be pulled from Eagle cable systems, but extensions were granted until the agreement was reached.
Eagle joined other cable providers in contesting a significant proposed rate increase from Viacom. While carriers are restricted from disclosing actual rates, the initial proposal was an increase 40 times the rate of inflation.
“We’re hopeful that programming will remain part of the Eagle channel lineup,” Kohlrus said, “and we are proud to continue to look out for the best interests of our cable customers.”
Renowned civil rights activist Diane Nash said it takes more than “standing in a voting booth to be a responsible American citizen.”
Diane Nash
Nash, a keynote speaker at Fort Hays State University Thursday, was a leader in the non-violent sit-ins to end the segregation of lunch counters in downtown Nashville, Tenn., and part of the Freedom Rides to end segregation of interstate bus travel in the 1960s.
Nash was a 20-year-old Fisk University college student at the time of the movement and told Hays Post though it was scary at times, she feels lucky to have been a part of it.
Nash said lessons learned during the Civil Rights Movement can be used today to solve many of the country’s problems.
“American citizens need to change their attitudes,” she said. “In a democracy, people are the rulers of the country and, tragically, most Americans don’t see themselves as rulers of the country.
“I think the elected officials have not done what is necessary to serve the interests of the country, and they will not,” Nash said. “Can you imagine if we had waited for elected officials to segregate lunch counters and public accommodations and interstate bus travel and get the right to vote? I think 50 years later, we would still be waiting.”
Nash added if Americans do not “do what is necessary” to make positive changes concerning major issues including the economy and education, the status quo will reign.
“We need to make decisions and make changes and really take democracy seriously,” Nash said. “The founders of this country gave us a valuable framework to use and we should not stand idle and lose it.”
Nash encouraged Americans to “organize with their churches, community members and sit down and make decisions” on how to make positive changes in the country.
Diane Nash leading a demonstration march to City Hall in Nashville, Tenn., in 1960.
Nash admitted standing up for your beliefs can be scary and talked about her involvement in the Freedom Rides.
“It was scary because, at certain times, you had to risk your life,” she said. “After all the violence … people beaten, buses burned, you had to realize … your life was in danger.”
But Nash said there was no choice.
“Black people in the South were so fed up with the dehumanization and segregation at that point,” she said. “And the choice was to tolerate it or do something to change it. And if risking your life was necessary, then that’s what people were willing to do.”
Nash’s appearance was part of the university’s celebration of Women’s History Month and was hosted by the American Association of University Women.
Now you see it. Now you don’t … or don’t copy it, at least.
Magician Teller of “Penn and Teller” sued another magician in 2012 in federal court in Nevada over what Teller asserted was a copycat performance of Teller’s signature trick, “Shadows,” and his competitor’s offer to sell the secret behind the illusion.
Gene Policinski is senior vice president of the First Amendment Center
In a decision a few days ago, U.S. District Court Judge James C. Mahan found for Teller — who legally has changed to just the one name — by ruling that while “magic tricks are not copyrightable, this does not mean that ‘Shadows’ is not subject to copyright protection,” noting federal law does shield “dramatic works” and “pantomimes.”
Free speech rights always have existed in tandem, and at times in tension, with copyright law. Unique creations cannot simply be replicated by others without permission — but satirical works, for example, have legal protection even when they strongly resemble the original creation. Throw in some exceptions to allow for what’s called “fair use,” and sometimes, with not even so much as an “Abracadabra!” or “Presto Chango,” the stage is set for disputes over who has the right to use what.
Mahan wrote, “The mere fact that a dramatic work or pantomime includes a magic trick, or even that a particular illusion is its central feature, does not render it devoid” of protection.
The lawsuit revolves around an offer by a Dutch performer, Gerard Dogge, who court documents say “created two YouTube videos offering to sell the secret to one of Teller’s signature illusions.” The court record said Teller has claimed to have performed “Shadows” since 1976.
The judge ruled that Dogge’s “strikingly similar illusion entitled ‘The Rose and her Shadow’ infringed on Teller’s copyright,” and that Dogge will need to pay some yet-to-be determined damages.
In Teller’s illusion and Dogge’s similar trick, the shadow of a rose is projected by a bright light onto a light-colored screen some distance behind it. The magician then enters the scene, and in nearly-identical moves, Mahan said, proceeds to trim the shadow images’ leaves and petals of the rose, one by one, which similarly fall to the ground from the real flower.
Dogge claimed Teller’s partner, Penn Jillette, opened the door to his near-identical performance by daring people to copy it by saying “No one knows how ‘Shadows’ is done and no one will ever figure it out.” But Mahan said that fell short of authorizing others to publicly perform the work. It “only demonstrates confidence that the illusion is so clever that its secret cannot be discovered.” And, Mahan said, even if Jillette was issuing a challenge, it merely “provokes other to unearth the secret, not perform the work.”
The judge also said Dogge was wrong to argue that Teller’s complaint should be rejected because the “secret” behind his trick was different than Teller’s. Focusing on “the aspects of his performance that are not perceivable by the audience” ignores that fact that “the court compares only the observable elements of the works in question. … Therefore, whether Dogge uses Teller’s method, a technique known only by various holy men of the Himalayas, or even real magic is irrelevant” since the two performances appear identical to an ordinary viewer, Mahan concludes.
While the amount of damages Teller might collect remains to be determined, the decision reaffirms some core principles of free speech and copyright: Ideas cannot be owned, but the unique arrangement or presentation of that idea can be copyrighted.
We see the same principle at work on the weekend, in golf tournaments. The scores and outcomes of this “serendipitous” competition cannot be owned, but the television broadcast account of the tourney — and even the unique way scores are reported from every hole on the course simultaneously — can be.
Some see copyright restrictions, particularly newer changes in the law that extend protections virtually forever, as antithetical to freedom of speech.
But the nation’s founders in creating U.S. copyright regulations were under no such illusion. Income from unique works fuels the engines of creativity that power a good deal of free expression. Nothing tricky about that.
Gene Policinski is chief operating officer of the Washington-based Newseum Institute and senior vice president of the Institute’s First Amendment Center. [email protected]
At an Inter-Fraternity Council judicial board hearing Wednesday at Fort Hays State University, the council agreed to recommend the release of the Tau Kappa Epsilon Chapter. The recommendation will be sent to FHSU’s Department of Student Affairs for final approval.
The university is taking steps to notify the chapter’s national headquarters, according to Jacob Ternes, Greek Life coordinator at FHSU. He said additional details will be forthcoming in an official news release later today.
Check HaysPost.com for further details as they become available.
Dr. Mirta Martin, the second announced candidate for the position of Fort Hays State University president, will meet FHSU officials, students and the community at a public reception at 4:30 p.m. Thursday in the Fort Hays Ballroom of the Memorial Union, 700 College Drive, on the FHSU campus.
Martin, a business school dean at Virginia State University, was announced as the second of five finalists for the position. Dr. Tisa Mason, vice president of student affairs at FHSU, was announced Sunday as the first candidate.
The third candidate is scheduled to be announced Monday.
Hays Striders Track Club will have an information and signup meeting at 4 p.m. Sunday at Hays Recreation Commission, 1105 Canterbury, according to a release this week.
The club is a nonprofit youth track and field team associated with the Missouri Valley USATF and AAU organizations. The Striders are sponsored and backed by interested parents who devote time and energy to help young people participate in track and field. The club also can receive donations from area civic and business organizations.
Participants compete in developmental and qualifying track meets throughout the state of Kansas. The club’s participation in the qualifying meets could qualify athletes for the Junior Olympic Games.
For more information on the meeting to club, visit https://www.haysstriders.com.
The “Roll Out the Rain Barrels” program has helped save water across the constantly water-deficient western half of Kansas since spring 2009. In the Fort Hays State University area, students in the home horticulture class will construct rain barrels in Hays on April 24.
Another construction area is planned for Ellis on April 27.
Landscaping on average uses nearly 40 percent of household watering during the summer. Rain barrels alleviate the load on a water bill by collecting rain water, typically collected from the downspout of a gutter, to be used for watering purposes.
Rain barrels offer other benefits which make it preferable to tap water. Because the water is straight from nature, no chemicals and chlorination contaminate the water. Also, any pollutants in tap water — such as nitrogen, phosphorous, sediment and E.coli — will not run off into local water sources when using rain water to irrigate.
Rain barrels cost $26 each, which covers freight and material cost. Only four barrels my be ordered per person. Contact Stacie Minson, Smoky Hill River Kanopolis-Lake Watershed specialist, at [email protected] for more information or to obtain an order form.
