kansas – Page 7 – Hays Post Archive

Reception for second FHSU presidential candidate is today

Posted on March 27, 2014March 27, 2014

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.

Youth track club will have signup meeting Sunday

Posted on March 26, 2014March 26, 2014

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.

Second FHSU presidential candidate is Virginia State dean

Posted on March 26, 2014March 27, 2014

FHSU University Relations

The second of five candidates selected as presidential finalists for Fort Hays State University will visit Hays and meet with campus and community groups on Thursday and Friday.

The second finalist, Dr. Mirta M. Martin, who will be accompanied by her husband, John N. Martin Jr., currently serves as dean of the Reginald F. Lewis School of Business at Virginia State University.

Since 2009, Dr. Martin has been responsible for strategic and administrative oversight of the Lewis School. She is a professor of management and a member of the president’s cabinet. Prior to her current appointment, Dr. Martin served as special assistant to the chancellor of the Virginia Community College System (2009), was executive vice president at John Tyler Community College and executive director of John Tyler Community College Foundation, Chester, Va. (2005 to 2009), and served as associate dean of the Robins School of Business at the University of Richmond, Richmond, Va. (2000 to 2003), among other positions.

A native of Havana, Cuba, she received her Ph.D. from Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, a Master of Business Administration from the University of Richmond, and a Bachelor of Science from Duke University in Durham, N.C. In 2009, Dr. Martin was appointed to serve on the Virginia Council on Women; in 2010 she was appointed to serve on Virginia’s Commission on Higher Education Reform, Innovation and Investment; and in 2011 she was appointed as a member of the State Board for Virginia’s Community Colleges. She received the 2013 Metropolitan Business League Humanitarian Award for Educational Excellence, was a 2012 alumni inductee in the Phi Kappa Phi Honor Society, and in 2009 was acknowledged as the first female Hispanic dean in the Commonwealth of Virginia.

The community is invited and encouraged to meet the candidate for a reception at 4:30 p.m. Thursday in the Fort Hays Ballroom of the Memorial Union, 700 College Drive, on the FHSU campus.

FHSU President Edward H. Hammond announced his retirement effective June 30, 2014, after serving the university since 1987. Shortly thereafter, the Kansas Board of Regents initiated the search process by selecting Denis Miller, Phillipsburg, chairman of the FHSU Foundation Board of Trustees, to chair the Presidential Search Committee. In December, the Regents selected the members of the search committee, comprising 19 individuals representing FHSU constituencies, such as faculty, students, administration, staff, alumni, the Hays community and the Board of Regents.

“We are pleased with the number of outstanding candidates that have applied for the presidency at Fort Hays State University,” Miller said, “and we look forward to continuing the process that will lead to selection of a new president.”

The dates for the other three presidential finalists’ visits are as follows: April 1 and 2, April 7 and 8 and April 10 and 11. Details will be forthcoming.

For more information about the FHSU Presidential Search process, click HERE.

The Search Committee will submit to the Board of Regents its candidate recommendations at the conclusion of the campus interviews. The Board anticipates naming the next Fort Hays State University president in late April.

Story corrected per FHSU University Relations, March 27

FHSU horticulture class will sell eco-friendly rain barrels

Posted on March 25, 2014March 25, 2014

FHSU University Relations

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.

For more information on water-quality protection, visit www.mykansaswatershed.com.

Kansas communications tower collapse claims lives of two workers

Posted on March 25, 2014March 25, 2014

Highway 16 and Rock Creek Road, near Blaine, KS

Location of Tuesday;s tower collapse -click for a closer look at the map

BLAINE (AP) — Authorities in northeast Kansas say two people have died after a communications tower they were working on collapsed.

The Pottawatomie County sheriff’s office says four workers were at the site near Blaine when the tower fell around 9:30 a.m. Tuesday. Another communications tower also collapsed.

Emergency personnel said one of the towers was recently built and the other was an older structure that was being dismantled by the two workers who died.

Both victims were more than 250 feet above the ground when the tower fell. One was pronounced dead at the scene and the other at a hospital.

The workers’ names and details about the towers were not immediately released. The two workers on the ground were unhurt.

Blaine is located about 50 miles northwest of Topeka.

Leona (Landwehr) Schulte

Posted on March 25, 2014

VICTORIA — Leona (Landwehr) Schulte, 81, died Sunday March 23, 2014, at Hays Medical Center.

She was born September 6, 1932, in Ransom, Kansas, to Frank and Elizabeth (Friess) Landwehr. She married Raymond Schulte on December 27, 1960, at Ransom, Kansas. He died July 18, 20ll.

She was a music teacher and taught in Logan, Palco, Russell County schools and Victoria. She retired from teaching in 1994 from Victoria. She also taught private piano for over 60 years.

She was a 1950 graduate of Ransom High School and graduated from Fort Hays State College with a Bachelor’s Degree in Music Education and a Master’s Degree in Music. She has been a church organist at St. Ann’s Catholic Church in Walker and St. Fidelis Catholic Church in Victoria since 1976. She was a church organist at Messiah Lutheran Church in Hays from 1983 until 2010.

She was a member of St. Ann’s Catholic Church and St. Ann’s Christian Mothers, both in Walker, Kansas, Sigma Alpha Iota (Women’s Professional Music Fraternity), American Guild of Organists and National Education Association.

Survivors include three sons, Douglas Schulte and wife, Stacy, Hays, KS; Alan Schulte, Victoria, KS; John Schulte, Victoria, KS; one daughter, Marthann Schulte and husband, Todd Zwolensky, Portsmouth, VA; six grandchildren, Brent Schulte, Breanna Schulte-Weber and husband Cory, Lauren Schulte, Joshua Schulte, Elizabeth Zwolensky, Andrew Zwolensky; and two great grandchildren, Rylan Schulte and Paxton Weber; two sisters, Berniece Pfannenstiel, Ransom, KS; Arlene Langer, Ness City, KS; three sisters-in-law, Sue Landwehr, Boring, OR; Josephine Schulte, Hays, KS; Edna Schulte, Hays, KS.

She was preceded in death by her parents, husband, and five brothers, Leander, Urban, Mark, Gilbert, and Laverne Landwehr.

Services are 10:00 A.M. Thursday, March 27, 2014, at St. Fidelis Catholic Church, Victoria, Kansas. Burial in St. Ann’s Cemetery, Walker, Kansas. A St. Ann’s Christian Mothers rosary is at 7:00 P.M. Wednesday followed by a vigil service at 7:30 P.M. Wednesday both at St. Fidelis Catholic Church Victoria, Kansas.

Visitation is from 6:00 to 9:00 P.M. Wednesday at St. Fidelis and from 8:30 to 9:45 A.M. Thursday, at Cline’s Mortuary, 412 Main, Victoria, Kansas 67671.

Memorials to St. Ann’s Catholic Church or St. Fidelis Catholic Church. Condolences can be sent via email to [email protected].

HPD activity log, March 24

Posted on March 25, 2014March 25, 2014

The Hays Police Department conducted 18 traffic stops and received seven animal calls on Monday, March 24, according to the HPD activity log.

Burglary/business, 1000 block Milner, 8:36 a.m.
Animal at large, 2500 block East 21st, 8:43 a.m.
Found/lost property, 300 block West 23rd, 8:49 a.m.
Found/lost property, 1500 block Commerce, 10:53 a.m.
Phone/mail scam, 100 block East 19th, 11:04 a.m.
Animal at large, 1300 block Oak, 12:31:38 p.m.
Animal at large, 2000 block Metro, 12:58 p.m.
Animal at large, 500 block Ash, 2:04 p.m.
Abandoned vehicle, 1600 block East 28th Street Terrace, 2:46 p.m.
Traffic stop, Main and Elm, 3:35 p.m.
Motor vehicle accident, 1200 block Vine, 4:05 p.m.
Drug offense, 2900 block Vine, 4:15 p.m.
Water use violation, 2200 block Centennial, 6:04 p.m.
Found/lost property, 2700 block Vine, 6:28 p.m.
Found/lost property, 500 block West Seventh, 7:07 p.m.
Animal call, 200 block West 36th, 7:28 p.m.
Intoxicated subject, 500 block East Eighth, 7:32 p.m.
Welfare check, 500 block East Eighth, 9:22 p.m.

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Support of East 22nd apartment complex on city agenda

Posted on March 25, 2014March 25, 2014

At Thursday’s regular meeting, the Hays City Commission will consider a resolution of support for a housing developer planning rental housing south of East 22nd Street near Hays Medical Center.

Screen Shot 2014-03-25 at 10.10.35 AM — From the city of Hays agenda packet, a look the proposed project area for Overland Property Group.

Overland Property Group is seeking tax credits to help finance the project, which would consist of two buildings and either 32 or 48 new apartments.

The developer, which owns 63 rental units in Hays including Stonepost Apartments on South Main, has sought and received similar resolutions of support from the city in the past.

According to a memo to commissioners, the development is consistent with the city’s comprehensive plan, which points out a dearth of higher-density housing.

Overland Property expects to find out whether the tax credit request has been approved in May.

In other business at the meeting, scheduled for 6:30 p.m. Thursday at City Hall, commissioners will consider:

• A request for proposal from Arthur J. Gallagher for a five-year renewal term for broker and risk management services.

• An addendum to an agreement with Nex-Tech that would obligations to maintain a website for Bickle-Schmidt Sports Complex to the Hays Daily News. As part of a naming rights package, Nex-Tech would maintain responsibilities for Internet, telephone and marketing.

• Clarification of the city’s sewer service definitions to more accurately define a business user.

Click HERE for a complete agenda and supporting documents.

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FHSU’s Encore Series will present ‘H.M.S. Pinafore’

Posted on March 24, 2014March 24, 2014

FHSU University Relations

Tickets are now on sale for “H.M.S. Pinafore,” or “The Lass Who Loved a Sailor,” which promises an evening full of music and laughter as romantic sailors, sisters, cousins and aunts sing and dance their away across the deck of the British ship, the H.M.S. Pinafore, at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday in the Beach/Schmidt Performing Arts Center at Fort Hays State University.

The Gilbert and Sullivan Players, New York, perform the classic comic opera as part of FHSU’s Encore Series.

The captain’s daughter, Josephine, falls in love with Ralph Rackstraw, a lower class sailor, despite the fact that her father expects her to marry Sir Joseph Porter, first lord of the admiralty. At first, Josephine is willing to follow her father’s wishes, but Sir Joseph encourages Josephine to overturn social order and elope with Ralph. The captain discovers this plan, and the way true love works its way out provides an evening of entertainment.

To purchase tickets, visit or call the Student Service Center in the Memorial Union at (785) 628-5306. Tickets also can be purchased online by visiting www.fhsu.edu/encore.

Reserved tickets are $30 for the public, $28 for seniors and children 5 to 17, and $21 for FHSU students. Unreserved tickets are $26, $24 and $17, respectively.

Hays High qualifies 17 journalists for state competition

Posted on March 19, 2014

Seventeen Hays High School students qualified for state after placing in the top six at the Class 5A/6A Regional Journalism Competition on Feb. 28 at Wichita State University.

Journalism adviser Bill Gasper said in a news release Wednesday several of the students were multiple winners, so the total number of qualifying entries equals 25.

“It was a good day for the program,” Gasper said. “I have excellent students who are very creative in a variety of areas, including writing, photography and graphic design. I’m very pleased with the results and the overall effort of my students. I’m particularly proud of the fact that we compete well against much larger 6A schools, many of which have more than three times the number of students.”

Gasper said two students from each school can enter in one or more of 19 categories, which test a variety of journalism skills. Hays entered contestants in 18 of those categories and qualified students in 17.

Six awards are given in each category — first, second and third, as well as three honorable mentions. All six qualify for state.

“Sometimes the kids get down when they get an honorable mention, but I quickly remind them that they placed in the top six, which is a heck of an accomplishment,” Gasper said. “I’ve had people in the past get honorable mention at regionals and place in the top three at state. It kind of depends on the judges and what kind of day the students are having.”

State competition will be May 3 at the University of Kansas.

“State is really competitive,” Gasper said. “That’s where we run into the Kansas City schools, which have excellent resources and lots of students in their programs. But we hold our own pretty well. Good journalists are good journalists, no matter how big the program. My students continue to amaze me with their talent, and I certainly appreciate their efforts in making me look a lot smarter than I am.”

Hays State Journalism Qualifiers
Cutline Writing: 2. senior Jessica Stoecklein
Editing: 1. senior Sana Cheema; 3. senior Nicole Feyerherm
Editorial Cartoon: 1. senior Rachel Moravek
Editorial Writing: 2. sophomore Sylina Zhang
Feature Writing: 1. senior Nicole Feyerherm; HM sophomore Brianna Mathias
News Writing: 2. senior Rachel Moravek
Newspaper Sports Writing: 2. senior Sara Nansel; HM sophomore Morgan Klaus
Yearbook Copy Writing: 2. sophomore Brianna Mathias; 3. senior Mackenzie Lewis
Yearbook Sports Writing: 2. sophomore Morgan Klaus
Advertising: 3. sophomore Meredith Martin
Headline Writing: HM senior Aislinn Walter; HM junior Thea Ferland
Infographics: HM junior Jasmine Lawson
Yearbook Layout: HM senior Sana Cheema; HM junior Jasmine Lawson
Student Life Photography: 3. senior Olivia Wiesner; HM senior Shelby Richmeier
Academics Photography: 1. senior Paige Coffman
Sports Photography: 2. sophomore Taylor Deboer; HM sophomore Morgan Klaus
Photo Illustration: HM sophomore Meredith Martin

Local, state investigators follow leads on rural fires

Posted on March 19, 2014March 19, 2014

By KARI BLURTON
Hays Post

Ellis County Sheriff Ed Harbin said he and an investigator from the state fire marshal’s office continue to follow leads into the cause of at least 18 fires occurring in Ellis County in the past two weeks.

Harbin said the leads mostly have consisted of various descriptions of vehicles callers claim to have seen at the scenes.

Meanwhile, Ellis County Rural Fire Director Dick Klaus reported he has accessed the damage of the latest three fires occurring north of Interstate 70 on March 15.

Klaus said the worst blaze burned 1,200 acres near the 700 block of Homestead. Another fire destroyed a trailer house used for storage on the 1700 block of Emmeram Road and a 1-acre blaze occurred on Dean Hill Road.

Klaus said every unit from Ellis County worked fires from 5 p.m. Saturday evening through 4 a.m. Sunday morning.

Fire crews from Trego County also were called to extinguish the fires.

Harbin encourages anyone with information to call the Ellis County Sheriff’s Department at (785) 625-1040.

Man arrested in Barton County on meth allegations

Posted on March 10, 2014

Great Bend Post

GREAT BEND — Just after midnight Saturday, Barton County Sheriff’s deputies seized a substantial quantity of methamphetamine.

According to the sheriff’s office, Deputy Brant Harms was on routine patrol in southeast Barton County, when he observed a vehicle driving in a field south of U.S. 56. After observing the vehicle for short distance, Harms conducted a traffic stop and identified the driver as Justin L. Peterson, 26, Wichita, formerly of Great Bend. During the course the traffic stop, it was learned Peterson had two outstanding warrants from Russell and Barton counties. Further investigation allegedly revealed approximately 250 grams of methamphetamine, drug paraphernalia and other items.

Peterson was arrested for the warrants and for possession with intent to distribute, as well as failure to comply with the Kansas Drug Tax Stamp Act. Peterson is being held in the Barton County jail in lieu of $300,000 bond.

Hays Public Library has a week full of events

Posted on March 10, 2014

The Hays Public Library is offering several programs for all ages this week.
Here’s a look at the upcoming events:

4 p.m. Tuesday: Minecraft Party. Join us to play games and create an edible Minecraft world. Open for all children.
6 p.m. Tuesday: Line Dancing Class. Come for the fun and learn some awesome dance moves. All ages are welcome. Remember to wear dancing shoes and bring a bottle of water.
6 p.m.Thursday: Libbie’s Story: A presentation by Marla Matkin. Matikin is a living historian who portrays Libby Custer, wife of Gen. George Armstrong Custer. Join us as we travel through time and explore life on the frontier with this military family.
3:30 p.m. Friday: Steampunk Civil War Fashion Show. In honor of the traveling Lincoln exhibit, the Young Adult Department has been working hard on creating Steampunk- and Civil War-inspired fashion from thrift shop clothing. Join us in the Schmidt Gallery to watch them strut their stuff down the catwalk.
4 p.m. Friday: Life in a Log Cabin: President Lincoln’s Childhood. Build a log cabin out of life-size Lincolnlogs. The cabin will remain in the Children’s Department until the close of the Lincoln Traveling Exhibit on March 21. The program also includes some information about Lincoln’s childhood and a cornbread snack.
2 p.m. Sunday: McPherson Pipe Band. Last year, the group literally filled Schmidt Gallery to the max, and now it is returning for another concert — just in time for St. Patrick’s Day.