It’s time to knock down pins in hopes of raising up youngsters in need.

Big Brother Big Sisters of Ellis County will have its annual Bowl for Kids’ Sake on May 5 at Centennial Lanes.

A kickoff luncheon for the fundraiser will be at noon March 12 at Thirsty’s. RSVPs are requested today by calling (785) 625-6672.

The organization is seeking teams to participate in the event and lane sponsors.

The Hays chamber is ready to tee off.

The fifth annual Hays Area Chamber of Commerce Golf Tournament, presented by Eagle Communications, will be May 2 at Smoky Hill Country Club.

Registration for the four-person scramble will begin at 8 a.m., with a tee time of 9 a.m.

For more information on the tournament or sponsorship opportunities, call Celeste at (785) 628-8201.

Hays Medical Center announced Monday in a news release that Dale Montgomery, vice president for support services, will retire effective June 30.

Montgomery began his career at HaysMed in 1966 at Hadley Hospital as a certified nursing aide in the in-patient rehabilitation department working evening and nights as he was still in high school. He later earned certification as a physical therapy technician.

In 1973, he moved to a purchasing agent position in the purchasing department and became department head in 1983.  While in that position, he led the automation and centralization of all procurement for the medical center and eventually became director of materials management.

A year after Hadley Regional Medical Center and Saint Anthony Hospital merged in 1991, Montgomery assumed the director duties for plant services, which included not only purchasing but also maintenance, grounds, environmental services and dietary. In 1993, he joined the administrative team as vice president of support services.

“Dale has been a solid resource for us for many years,” said Dr. John Jeter, president and CEO of HaysMed. “He has overseen all the major building projects at HaysMed. His expertise and contributions in all areas of the hospital will be sorely missed.”

Montgomery will be spending his retirement time with his wife, children and grandchildren and traveling with friends. He also plans to continue working with a foundation he helped start 22 years ago — the Project Perfect World Foundation, which delivers orthopedic and spine surgery to needy children in Third World countries. In addition, he will continue to be active in the community, maintain his ties with the NCK Technical College board and assist with the Health Care Supply Chain of Kansas.

FHSU University Relations

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 & Sexual Violence Services, two local organizations dedicated to fighting and exposing domestic abuse.

The pageant will be at 6 p.m. today at FHSU’s Memorial Union and will feature speakers from Jana’s Campaign and Options before the culmination of the night when the men from FHSU Greek Life, student organizations, faculty, staff and athletic teams will literally walk 1 mile in women’s shoes.

FHSU University Relations

Sixteen senior graphic design students in Fort Hays State University’s Department of Art and Design are exhibiting their work in the Moss-Thorns Gallery of Art in Rarick Hall, room 102, on the FHSU campus. The students will showcase their talents in print, packaging and multimedia.

The exhibit will run through March 21.

The exhibit is free and open to the public from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday.

By NICK BUDD
Hays Post

On Thursday, the Hays City Commission awarded bids for the 2014 street maintenance program. The proved include a $219,784 bid to Hi-Plains Sand for chip seal, a $124,872.16 bid to Stripe and Seal for the reconstruction of 11th Street, a $42,400 bid to Sweeney Pavement Maintenance for polypatch, and a $71,509 bid to Stripe and Seal for curb and brick repair.

By awarding the bid, the city will also allocate $75,000 for in-house work and $20,000 for the sidewalk rebate program. It will also leave approximately $44,785 for any unforeseen work or cost overruns.

Public works director I.D. Creech reported the 11th Street repairs will happen in two phases, which will benefit the business owners on the street.

“We talked to the business owners that will be effected by this project and the construction will occur in two phases; an east half and a west half.” John Braun, assistant director of Public Works said. “That was built into the bid documents, that the contractor would be required to do it so that businesses could be accessed.”

Commissioner Henry Schwaller expressed concerned there were still other streets that needed repairs in the Hays area.

“We typically spend a lot more on street repairs. This is quite small, yet our needs are pretty large.” Schwaller said. “There are streets that need a certain level of care, and if we don’t get to them, they’ll just continue to deteriorate.”

City Manager Toby Dougherty  said the city usually spends extra funds from the general fund for street repairs, but the plan is to save that money for future projects such as the 13th Street repairs, the possibility of subsidies for the KDOT essential air service program, and for the final design of the airport terminal.

“We would love to have the extra money,” Dougherty said. “I would just caution that we get some of the other things wrapped up and then, assuming we don’t have to spend extra money on those other projects, we will be the first ones coming back asking for additional allocations.”

The money for the street repairs will come out of the gas tax the city collects.