The Post Podcast

Forward Ever: Kan. Sen. Rick Billinger

On this episode of Forward Ever: Leading in Challenging Times, host Gary Shorman speaks with Kansas Sen. Rick Billinger.

Hays Chamber awarded leadership grant

On this episode of the Post Podcast Hays Chamber president and CEO Sarah Wasinger shares details about a recently awarded leadership grant.
 
Transcript
 
James Bell 
A recent grant to the Hays Chamber will help strengthen leadership in the area president and CEO Sarah Wasinger stops by to talk to us about that and more on this episode of the Post Podcast.
 
Sarah Wasinger 
I don't know if you've heard but the chamber was awarded a leadership transformation grant from the Kansas Leadership Center.
 
James Bell 
Oh, very cool. No, I hadn't heard about this. I don't know anything about this. What is it again.
 
Sarah Wasinger 
So it's a leadership Transformation Grant, the Kansas Leadership Center is based out of Wichita, Kansas. And part of their focus is working with community partnerships to really expand leadership principles and concepts across the state of Kansas. And last year, our chamber was successful in receiving 46 spots for from them. And we're very close to utilizing all those spots up this year. And the grant that we wrote for 2022, however, we wrote a grant for 50 spots, and we were awarded those spots, which is very exciting. Nice. So leadership Haze is actually something that many of our listeners might be familiar with. It's a leadership program that was started by the Chamber, the Hays area, Chamber of Commerce, then, um, to really just help businesses and organizations help their folks that are maybe at the beginning of their careers in the middle or, you know, even the seasoned pros, bringing folks together to talk about leadership concepts, how we work together as a community to address issues, or needs, or just in general to kind of strengthen ourselves and better ourselves. One of the things that our leadership, hey, students go through is step one of the KLC process. And that is your leadership edge. And that's a two day course. And normally yours, we actually take the students to Wichita, Kansas for that, that because of COVID. Last year, we did that virtually. But we're excited for this year, because they're going to let us go back to Wichita and take them in person, again, awesome, they'll have a blended approach. So there might be some folks who still feel more comfortable doing things virtually. And that's okay. But we're very excited to have that in person capacity. Again, I can very much tell you that being an alumni of the leadership Hayes class, that the in person experiences I felt to be pushed me outside of my comfort zone a little bit more. And I was probably able to get a little bit more out of my experience with it.
 
James Bell 
Well, sure. I mean, because it's human nature, I think you get uncomfortable and you've got the screen and all you got to do is close it or shut the camera off. And but if you're in the room is hard to you can't scrunch down enough to not get called on sometimes, right,
 
Sarah Wasinger 
I'm not going to hide underneath that chair. But the exciting thing about this is we are actually in the window right now for folks to turn in applications. So I was just actually talking to Joe in the lobby. And this is really significant, because some of these trainings are actually worth $800. Wow. And so we're actually offering them to folks who fill out the grant application form for free, I'm really the only investment that they would actually have outside of of course, their time. And there is a workbook and a guide book that are used in conjunction with the course nicely enough, those workbooks and guide books are the same for all three steps of the KLC path. And so you really had that investment only one time. But December 15 is kind of the deadline that we're hoping folks will fill out those applications. So we've got a little over two weeks now. And it's a very simple application, we're just going to ask a little bit of information from you, kind of what you would hope to gain from the leadership course and why you're wanting to apply for it. And then as long as we have enough spots, we'll grant everybody their application. But if we have a certain amount of spots, we'll of course, look at different things like, you know, maybe putting a cap on a number of people per employer, or things of that nature. And we might also look at a few things to, you know, with this person, I'm taking this leadership course, perhaps set our community up to be a little bit stronger based on what they're doing. And you know, the different organizations that they're a part of. So that will all be taken into consideration. Our hope, then, is to actually have all those spots kind of identified and communicated back out with folks by the end of this year. And then I'm really we're gonna give everybody the opportunity to register for their courses by June 30. Our hope is that if we have them registered by that point in time, if anyone changes their mind and says, Hey, I applied for this, but my schedule has changed. I don't think I'll be able to take a course between now and then that gives us time as a chamber to make sure that we're utilizing all this 50 spots.
 
James Bell 
Very cool. thought of everything. Oh, I get so organized down there at the chamber.
 
Sarah Wasinger 
Oh, well, we try. Except for emails not coming through. We'll work on that.
 
James Bell 
Well, that's probably our system. That's yeah. But very cool. Very cool. Well, um, so, you know, for now, is there a like a website? Or do you have more information on your website for this, if people want check it a little bit more detail?
 
Sarah Wasinger 
We do so they can go to Hayes chamber.com. And then our news and announcements page, we've got our resources on the right hand side of that page. And there's a 2022 leadership transformation grant application. And for those folks who also kind of pay attention to our emails and get our news blasts, we'll be sending that out as well as another attachment in our December newsletter. So a couple of different reminders Coming out folks this way, and I do believe will anticipate doing a Facebook post to just to kind of give people another step to apply for that. But yeah, so they arranged like I said, between 408 $100. So it's significant value. And quite frankly, I feel like anytime you have a chance to better yourself, you should do it. A few of the things I did want to talk about is kind of the core concepts and leadership principles that KLC has. So they define leadership as an activity and not a position. And they share that anyone can lead anytime, anywhere, it starts with you and must engage others, and your purpose must be clear. And last, and probably most important, it's risky. So Leadership isn't always easy. And so we have to make sure that we are able to exhibit great patience and understanding with others. So I think those are all different concepts that I struggle with and try to improve on every day. And I'd imagine if I had those considerations and things I need a benefit from, and could improve on that others would, too. And so that's really kind of the why behind why we applied for the grant. And our hope is to continue to apply for the leadership Transformation Grant, year after year. So we can keep moving forward that leadership needle in our community, and give as many businesses and organizations exposure to those leadership concepts as possible.
 
James Bell 
Very cool. Yeah. And you know, I don't know if you want to talk a little bit about this. But I think for a lot of people, when you when you hear that term leadership, you think about the old traditional style boss, you know, the coming down the mountain, somebody's telling you what to do. And that's not necessarily the entire experience and leadership. It's it can be at any level, it can be a, you know, an on any size of project, right.
 
Sarah Wasinger 
Yeah, that's more management actually versus leadership. And there's going to be some great debate and discussion through the courses on that as well. Yeah, well, they're needed just at different times in different places.
 
James Bell 
Yeah, exactly. Love it. All right. Well, Sarah, what else? Well, I think we got to talk about this. The childcare survey is out now. Ready, ready for people to take it? I've seen a couple different places that where you can get to that, right.
 
Sarah Wasinger 
Yes. So thank you so much for bringing that up. Yes, we are working with the childcare task force of Ellis County and have constructed a survey that takes no more than 10 minutes, this survey essentially is going to help that task force to be able to collect data that really gives us a good vantage point as to what needs access for childcare in our community, how many spots we need, how many more providers we need, and then that committee will really assess, you know, how do we support the people who are currently providing childcare? And what things must we do to possibly incentivize others to do childcare because we, of course, have people looking for childcare every day. And we know that there's a lot of waiting lists going on. So the survey is important for people to understand, you don't just have to be a parent to take it, you could be a grandparent, you could be an employer, you know, you're going to know the needs of your staff. And if they're not coming to work, because they don't have daycare lined up, obviously, you can express that, you know, you know that this is needed in your community. So the more people we can get to fill that survey out the better snapshot we get, and we'll be able to start then applying for grant funds, which we can use to help incentivize and start identifying and addressing this issue in our community. So it's also critical, I will have that conversation window open through the end of December. So folks can actually go to our Facebook page to find a QR code. If they have a cell phone, they can scan that. Or there's our direct link on that, too.
 
James Bell 
So funny story, I actually went and took your survey yesterday. Oh, thank you. And yeah, you're welcome. I was trying to figure out how I was going to scan the QR code with my phone because I'm on my phone. And I'm like, huh, and then I saw the link. I took me a minute, but they're both both way ways are right there in handy. It just yeah, you got to be smarter than me, I guess, to be able to get there quickly.
 
Sarah Wasinger 
Well, you know, we wanted it to be as readily accessible as possible, which is why we gave folks both options. But yes, thank you for bringing that up as well. And again, our goal is to have about 1000 survey responses if we can, obviously we have about 20,000 people in Ellis County. So we know that there's going to be a need for us to collect data for the whole entire county, not just Hayes, because there are folks coming over from LSE and Victoria getting daycare spots served on here and Hayes and vice versa. We know we have some families that are going out of town to for sure.
 
James Bell 
So everybody if you're hearing this, take a few minutes go find that survey and do it. It's really not a big deal. I think you say 10 minutes I think I did mine in five it's it's quick and easy. It's nothing. No no long form kind of questions. It's just put it that but the having that data is so vital for the green

FHSU impacts extend beyond education

On this episode of the Post Podcast Fort Hays State University provost, Jill Arensdorf speaks about the direct benefits to the are provided by the university.
 
Transcript
 
James Bell 
Fort Hays State University is more than just an education center for the region. It provides direct benefits to the community. Provost Jill Arensdorf stops by to talk a little bit about some of those benefits on this episode of the post podcast.
 
Jill Arensdorf 
Obviously, the purpose of a Fort Hays State University and really higher education is to educate primarily our student population. However, we also have part of our mission to serve the public good. And many of our outreach programs and impact that we make in Kansas, specifically western Kansas, focus on what you called the impact of teaching and learning. And so I'll share just a few examples. And if you have questions about them, please please ask. But we have the fhsu Literacy Center. And that may be one that people aren't that familiar with, because it's relatively new is a partnership with the Hayes Masonic Lodge, and they're providing virtual and face to face helped area schools that need additional assistance in their reading skills. And this was really primarily due to the COVID 19 shutdown and some of the needs that came from that. And so this Literacy Center has, has risen and been created in the last year or so to provide that assistance that that students may need. In addition, you know, we've got great programs at Sternberg Museum and many people in the community and outside of the community and enjoy those educational outreach activities throughout the year. And then we have a gem in Great Bend with the Kansas wetlands Education Center. And that is connected to Fort Hays and folks might not realize that connection to Fort Hays and the educational opportunities that that provides.
 
James Bell 
Yeah, that's something we talked about the events down there. And and I think that's one of those things. And I grew up near that region. I grew up in Stafford County. It is such a such a jewel down there. And it's really, you know, when you when I think about these events, you think about that drive, but my goodness, it's not that big of a deal, really, in the long run to get down there 45 minutes or so.
 
Jill Arensdorf 
Yeah. And they've got I mean, they've got indoor and outdoor excursion activities and things going on all year. So I really hope that people can take advantage of that. You know, one other thing that if you drive through campus, many days, you won't see the maker van there but many days you will meet the maker van has programs for STEM. And so that maker van allows us to take our STEM show on the road so to speak, and and go into schools and communities to teach students about physics and science and using robots and the mobile planetarium and then our ever popular high altitude blond balloon experiments which go on pretty regularly throughout the year.
 
James Bell 
Yeah, this stuff is so neat. I was I actually got to hang out with one of your Dean's Paul Adams the other day, the who's doing a robot session training session with some middle school teachers and may My goodness, how cool is this stuff? It's just, you know, and I'm pretty tech savvy, I'd like to thank but even the way that this is developing an education so quickly and rapidly, it's just It blows my mind.
 
Jill Arensdorf 
Yeah, if we can get students excited about science at an early age through things like the maker band through things like Sternberg through things like the wetland center, they're more apt to maybe find that as a career path and passion as they choose higher education and a career. So I mean, there's obviously a reason for this outreach. And it's an important part of our mission at Fort Hays State University.
 
James Bell 
Very cool. And that, you know, one other thing in that in that regard, we talked about the weekend center. I don't know that you want to talk a little bit about that one as well.
 
Jill Arensdorf 
Yeah, it's relatively new. So this is a cooperation with USD 489. And the west central Kansas Special Education Cooperative, and several other regional school districts, and the Heartland Community Foundation, so a partnership with many entities. And it is a center where preschool and 18 to 21 year old transition programs occur where students are working with these populations preschool and then the 18 to 21 year olds, adults as they prepare to become teachers. And so it's just a, it's a unique new opportunity that for Hayes's has gotten involved in here in the local community, downtown, at the Hadleys at the Hadley old Hadley hospital, that Hadley building, and it has been a fantastic partnership thus far to create opportunities both for our students to learn but also to impact the community. Very cool.
 
James Bell 
Yeah. And in schools, those economic are about I mean, educational opportunities are there's also some real economic benefits to having the university here and we hear about the Small Business Development Center and you know, Management Development Center as well. And I think that's a huge way that Fort Hays can help and especially right now with so many people going remote work and looking at those kind of things are working for themselves. It's got to have like a tremendous benefit on the area.
 
Jill Arensdorf 
It is and you know, for higher education specifically for Hey, does make an impact on our business and economic development, as you said, and so, through the pandemic, and as we've come out of it, the Small Business Development Center and our management development center, have pivoted, and then they've grown from that and and have expanded their services and expanded the way that they're serving the western Kansas population. So I'll just give you a couple of quick examples. James, the Small Business Development Center for Hayes's the statewide host, but we also have a regional center. And so the numbers I'll share with you our regional numbers, for Hayes, the regional Small Business Development Center establishes and helps startup businesses. So lots of workshops and counseling services that can be done in person, but that also can be done remote now, because of our learning through the pandemic. And so this past year, the center has developed 78 workshops, assisted 124 established businesses in their regional area, which is primarily western Kansas, and then helped 14 new entrepreneurs launch business in this area, which is exciting for the economic drivers that we need to be as an institution and in our in our region. The Management Development Center is housed at Fort Hays State University as well provides lots of public workshops, the focus on customer service, managing people mastering business and communication software and applications. So really serving anyone that has needs in management leadership areas.
 
James Bell 
Yeah, that's we talked about leadership earlier this week on the show and the difference between leadership and management and, and how that works and how it develops. And it is such an interesting field and Fort Hayes has been a leader, I think in in Leadership Studies and how that all not only academically, it comes together, but how it works in the practical world as well.
 
Jill Arensdorf 
Yeah, you're right. Of course, I have some affinity for the Leadership Studies program since it's my home department. But the management development center that I think one of the beautiful things about that center, is that it utilizes expertise of not only our faculty, but business people and other people in the community that have a skill set that they can share with other folks. So they basically contract a facilitator. And then that facilitator uses their expertise to teach others about one of the areas that that we already discussed within the Management Development Center. One of the things I'll quickly mentioned, James, kind of connected to the business and economic development piece is an online bank management contest that the Robins banking Institute hosts each year, in coordination with Robins College of Business and Entrepreneurship. This institute actually engages community banks in Kansas, in this friendly bank simulation competition. So everyone likes a little healthy competition from time to time. And so this online bank management contest has been a fun way for the Institute in our community banks to compete and sharpen their banking skills as they compete.
 
James Bell 
That's very fun. You know, it's one of the things I imagine it is, it is difficult to turn that into a fun activity. But that's a good time. You know, and the other thing speaking of, you know, the activity in the university helping the area, you know, a lot of ways I think the university just kind of generally makes life better out here, right?
 
Jill Arensdorf 
Yeah, no, one of the things that I've always appreciated about living in western Kansas, and specifically now in Hays is that the quality of life is so good here. And our university contributes to that in a way that I'm certainly very proud of. An example of that would be the Herndon Speech Language Hearing Clinic, the clinic, His home is on campus, but the clinic is actually in its fifth year of providing mobile hearing screenings. This is a program sponsored again by the Kansas Masonic Foundation. And so in the last five years, the Herndon clinic, students, faculty and staff have actually provided over 830 free screenings in western Kansas communities, which is an amazing service. And it's amazing learning opportunity for our students who are in those programs. So that then when they're going out into their career, they have experience working in rural Kansas and rural communities and see the need out there and can help serve that need. Another example of just raising the quality of life in western Kansas is our Department of Geosciences is doing some research that's actually been funded by the Kansas Department of Health and Environment to test private wells for contamination in western Kansas. So again, a great way for our students and faculty to connect to western Kansas communities and ensure that our water water is of high quality and is safe to drink and use.
 
James Bell 
Yeah, because I mean, otherwise, those resources are harder to find. I mean, I've done some some water testing and I know you have to ship that off and it's, you know, it gonna be a few days where you're doing a locally, just quicker and easier and And again, they're great learning.
 
Jill Arensdorf 
Absolutely. Do we have time to talk about more? Yeah. Okay. So as I, as I came over to the station today, I walked literally walked by the senior companion and Foster Grandparent Program Office, which is now housed in rare at call. These are programs for our local seniors that fill a need on our community for services for our citizens over 55. And so if you're interested in getting involved, we have a director that that would be very anxious to visit with with you if you're interested in getting involved with our senior companion and Foster Grandparent Program. And then we have just ongoing partnerships with the pace Public Library in our downtown art and event venues to host exhibitions and poetry readings and author book signings which all contribute to the quality of life in the community. And so we have lots of students in lots of different departments that are collaborating with downtown Hayes, to to raise, raise our appreciation, maybe for the arts, but also to allow people to participate in a unique way. this coming Saturday is another great event that we have, probably you've probably talked about, in fact, I think I heard about it on the radio on my way up here, the teaming up for Tots toy assembly that will occur this Saturday in the Department of Applied Technology. I can't remember James how many years this has been going on. But it's been going on for many, many years. 200 wooden toys will be assembled from start to finish for children ages two to six. And those will be delivered just in time for Christmas. But if you haven't, if you haven't ever been to that event, it's it's it's really powerful to go in and see the community come together with students and faculty to contribute in a meaningful way and also honor a former Applied Technology faculty member Fred Ruda, the toy, the teaming up for Tots toy assembly is named after him. And he started that program. And it's just a really cool way to get into the spirit of the season, but also to contribute to the community.
 
James Bell 
Absolutely. Yeah, I remember even as an undergrad here, I think it was a student reporter for the student newspaper, and I wrote some stories with with Dr. Ruta when he was doing that program back then. Yeah, it's it's cool. And I love that it's been able to continue and even expand and grow a
 
Jill Arensdorf 
little bit. Yes, yes, I and there's, I think they sometimes have more volunteers than they then they have toys, but but it's just because people find the work so meaningful. And so I believe this year, there's a team of students that's working with Big Brothers Big Sisters. And so they're connecting that project into the teaming up for Tots toy assembly as well. Which actually leads me to another example. Our university athletes, many of them serve as Big Brothers and Big Sisters are for the Big Brothers, Big Sisters of Ellis County programs spending their time with students that need to mentor in their lives. And so that's a way that our, many of our students and many of our faculty and staff are connected to youth in the community through the Big Brothers Big Sisters program.
 
James Bell 
Yeah, that's awesome. Cool program and and even cooler when you got to Fort Hays athletes, you know, leading the charge. Exactly,
 
Jill Arensdorf 
exactly. I think I think in some ways, in some of those pictures, I see I think, impacts probably the Big Brother or Big Sister just as much as it impacts the little already cool. Yeah, very cool.
 
James Bell 
Well, we've just got just about a minute or so left, we got to get over to weather. But any last thoughts before we go?
 
Jill Arensdorf 
Well, James, thank you so much for this time that you afford to us on a very regular occasion to talk about Fort Hays State University. I respect our university and love it very much. And we have a very much a shared commitment to service. President Mason often often refers to this as the ethic of care. That's what makes for hasty different. And I think the examples we've talked about here, show that we really care about our students, our faculty and staff, but also our community and that that mission that we hold as high in higher education of the public good. speaks through these examples of outreach that we've talked about this morning, and we can talk probably for 30 more minutes and not cover everything. But as people get into the spirit of the season, I hope that you find a way to get connected to your community and appreciate the outreach that we all bring in.

Ellis Co. Sheriff shares holiday shopping safety tips

On this episode of the Post Podcast, Ellis County Sheriff Scott Braun shares tips on how to keep safe during the busy holiday shopping season.
 
Transcript
 
James Bell 
The holiday season means increased shopping and increased risk of theft. Ellis County Sheriff Scott Braun stops by to talk to us a little bit about how to stay safe while out collecting those holiday guests. On this episode of the Post Podcast.
 
Scott Braun 
You know, there's a couple of things we can do to protect ourselves. One, if we're buying gifts online, go to a reputable site, make sure that you're using some type of card or something that has some security to it, monitor your, your purchases through that. Get on some of those sites that will tell you if you have some things to charge to you is monitored closely. As we know scams go up during this time, this year will be no different than any other year, that will be a large percentage, a large percentage of fraud cases being reported to law enforcement to investigate the pretty difficult for us to do. Typically, they're out of our jurisdiction. But unfortunately, you know, the card companies are pretty good about working with people, but monitor that because they can get away from you pretty quick, cancel those cards, if it happens. Regards to gifts, you know, everybody's going to all of the stores around town or out of our community or wherever they might be. Make sure that when you're parking your car, that it's secure. Try to cover those gifts in the back. You know, it just takes a brief moment for somebody to break a window. Or if you leave that door open by accident, kids getting in and out. We're busy. We forgot, forget to check our doors and our kids. Did you lock your door? Yes, well, we all know that sometimes happens, right? And they take the gifts and it cost you some money. And we have some kids unhappy and so just make sure that you're covering those items up and securing your vehicle. And And ladies, please make sure your purses when you're in the stores that you're not letting them by themselves in the cart while you're trying on something or you're dealing with your kids. I know what happens. But please be cautious. You know, those increase every year also. And if anybody's been watching the news, we've been seeing a lot of that stuff in the eastern and western part of the states. Not in Kansas necessarily. We'll knock on wood on that. But there's been a lot of thefts from from stores, a lot of looting and things of that nature. And so unfortunately, that's a trickle effect. Sometimes we hope that doesn't enter our community, but we just want everybody to be cautious.
 
James Bell 
Yeah. And, you know, I heard a story a while back about some booze, doing some shopping and turned her back just turned her back from home to grab the purse out of the car. And then somebody tried to grab it from her. And more or less.
 
Scott Braun 
Yes, you know, and and that's a good point. I know my reaction is to fight that person or, or the ad and I and I get that I can't say that I would be any different. But you know, it is a purse. And I don't want anybody to be harmed, because there are some people that will harm other people to get that item. So just be careful with that. And you just got to be aware of your surroundings. When when, during this time or any time to be for that matter of fact, just be careful around your surroundings. And if you get that kind of funny feeling. Probably something not right.
 
James Bell 
Yeah, better safe than sorry.
 
Scott Braun 
Yeah. So you know, the last the other thing, and we'll kind of get off because I talked about it briefly of people traveling. Again, and I know I spoke about this a long time ago, but please have some precautionary items in your vehicle. Let's get some blankets in there. And let's make sure we have a you know, charger cell phone might have some type of heating item in there. If you're stuck, watch the weather in, you know, years ago, it may have been more difficult. But now we get weather notifications, they pop up all the time on our phones, if you have a smartphone, make sure people know when you're going to arrive approximately at a location. So if you're extended a significant amount, they can start making some phone calls and say, hey, my loved ones not here. Please keep in contact with them. But travel safe. Take a little extra time if the roads aren't good, because the last thing we want to do is have someone injured and and we do see quite a few accidents. There's a lot of travel during Christmas time. And our weather changes in Kansas as we know 30 seconds from now. It could be snowing, who knows? You know? Yeah. So just take a few extra minutes.
 
James Bell 
Yeah. And you know, I was talking to some friends of mine that are a little bit younger, just the other day about this very thing. And they said well, we have a cell phone failing happens. Let's make a phone call. And I'm like, oh gosh, I remember growing up and you know, we lived in a real small town. So travel was part of our daily life 30 minutes, 40 minutes every day. And we didn't have any way of contacting so those those that like the candle in the can and the blankets and all that you know still lives in my trunk. But these younger folks, I think they rely on the cell phones and just think well if I get in trouble I'm going to call but sometimes in service There's situations, you're going to wish that you had some way of staying warm, at least till somebody gets there. And you know, if you're stuck, pros are terrible, whatever it might be.
 
Scott Braun 
You know, technology fails us. And maybe that cell phone's not working, or you were on an all day, and you're gonna make that last phone call. And for whatever reason, your battery just died and you're in this snowstorm, and you can't make that phone call. We don't know where you are, we can't get to you. So you're absolutely right, we've got to take care of ourselves a little bit. We got to make sure we have some means of staying for a period of time. I remember a few years ago, we had some pretty good it's been a number of years ago, pretty good blizzards where I 70 was shut down and, and we were having a hard time getting to people stranded, we actually had to call the National Guard and they started running up and down the road because they had the vehicles to do it. So those people sat there for a couple hours before we get to him. But the point is, is we've got to gotta have some precautionary things and it doesn't take anything, throw something in a bag and put it in the trunk.
 
James Bell 
And just sit there for multiple years if you're like me.
 
Scott Braun 
Yeah, correct. And you have it when you need it. So yeah, so just a few things to think about. And probably last but not least, I know we're probably close on time. On behalf of the Ellis County Sheriff's Office, we'd like to wish everyone a happy, happy New Year and Merry Christmas and I kind of turn those around but I think you get the idea. We want everyone to travel safely and want everyone to have a joyous Christmas for sure. We've had some tough years and everyone gets together as just a wonderful holiday.
 

Ellis County COVID-19 update: Dec. 3, 2021

On this episode of the Post Podcast Ellis County Health Services Director Jason Kennedy shares recent information about COVID-19 in Ellis County.

Winter Art Walk scheduled for Saturday

On this episode of the Post Podcast Hays Arts Council executive director Brenda Meder shares details from the upcoming Winter Art Walk in downtown Hays.

Weekend Setlist Dec. 3, 2021

On this episode of the Weekend Setlist host Jeffery Leiker checks in with Wade Richards, who is scheduled to perform in Hays this weekend.

Downtown Hays ready for Small Business Saturday

On this episode of the Post Podcast Downtown Hays Development Corporation executive director Sara Bloom and director of events and operations, Allie Glidewell shares information about Small Business Saturday and more.
 
TRANSCRIPT
 
James Bell 
As the holidays are quickly approaching the downtown Hays Development Corporation is getting ready for their series of events. Executive Director Sara Bloom and director of events and operations Allie Glidewell. stopped by to talk to us about a little bit what's going on this season on this episode of the post podcast.
 
Allie Glidewell 
So right now we have the downtown dollar giveaway, which is going on participating businesses. So what that is, when you when you shop participating stores, whenever you spend their denote $1 amount, it could be $10, it could be $100. Depending on the store, you get a ticket, this ticket enters you to win in the downtown dollar giveaway, which is taking place on December 18, where you could win $1,000 or $2,000 in Downtown dollars.
 
Sara Bloom 
and other great prizes are participating businesses.
 
Allie Glidewell 
Yes, so that's going on that started that first weekend in November the fourth all the way through December 18. So you have so much time to gather bunches of chances to win.
 
Sara Bloom 
And if you want to get at like the top of the pile and earn double tickets, that customer appreciation weekend starts on December 9 10th and 11th. When you shop at those businesses you get not one but two tickets every time you spend that minimum amount which ranges from everything from like $10 It breeds to $50 at Refine and Simply Charmed and 
 
Allie Glidewell 
It's 100 at the Furniture Look it's actually only 25 It's Simply Charmed, Breath, The Gamers Guild there's a ton of places,
 
Sara Bloom 
So and lots of different ways in amounts that you have to spend. So yeah, check that out. coupon books are also happening.
 
Allie Glidewell 
Yep. So many of those participating businesses also are selling coupon bucks or $10. But they have hundreds and hundreds of dollars in saving. So if you're trying to get some Christmas shopping done, but also want to earn tickets, the coupon bucks are great way to do that.
 
James Bell 
Awesome win win win. Yeah, it'll relate. Yeah, and no wait for wins because it's a win for the community. Because you're shopping local. We're gonna talk more about that as well.
 
Sara Bloom 
I mean, I think we promote shopping local all the time, especially in downtown Hays supporting your friends and your neighbors you're supporting the people that are supporting your auctions and your sports teams and your fundraisers, all the things.
 
Allie Glidewell 
Great way to segue into Small Business Saturday, which is November 27, and the day after Black Friday. So we understand that you can't get necessarily every single product in downtown Hays or Hays America, we get that. But also, there's so much that you can't get so remember to keep your very small businesses top of mind this year, we will actually be doing a fun little giveaway the beginning of that week, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday on social media where we're giving away a cute little tote bag and coupon books as well. And then Sara is actually gonna be going around on Small Business Saturday.
 
Sara Bloom 
I'm very excited about this nicely. So we have partnered with brief Coffee House in downtown Hays. And if you don't know if you weren't at one of the parade, they have purchased a coffee mobile it's so cute. Very cute. So I get to drive around in the coffee mobile for three hours on Small Business Saturday literally yelling Thank you for shopping small Thank you for shopping downtown Hayes and giving away coffee and hot chocolate and cookies. So watch for the automobile. I'll be wearing a Santa hat and driving around and they will be very big.
 
Allie Glidewell 
It does it reminds me something like a Dr. Seuss mobile. I just keep calling it the put put mobile.
 
Sara Bloom 
We better lighten it up we better make it look pretty fast. 
 
Allie Glidewell 
It's going very fun. Yeah. And then immediately after Small Business Saturday, we have a Giving Tuesday campaign which is gonna start on November 30. So we our office did several things last year or this year that supported small businesses or the teacher program things like that. We want to do something to help the nonprofits as well. So Sarah contacted Redeem Design. If you want to finish those you can sure so.
 
Sara Bloom 
With redeem designs, and basically said we want to sell something really cool that we can you have have support nonprofits so essentially they have created this really unique graphic T design. It has a bison it's a little hard on his chest. It says together we give which is the National Giving Tuesday slogan and then it's got 67601 which is of course our zip code on it. And you can purchase it in three different styles and three different colors so short sleeve T Long Sleeve tee or hoodie in black, navy or maroon. So we've got something for the Hayes Hi Pam, we've got something for P fans. We've got something for generic. We did make it a very simple design so men or women can wear it you don't have to worry about the soft pink. Yeah interview. Good luck. But essentially you can go to downtown hayes.com backslash Giving Tuesday. You can check out the designs now. But then we will the store will open on the 30th it will last for six days through that Sunday, December 5 And then you can select from a drop down every time you make a purchase and it will support a local nonprofit And we did not limit it to downtown nonprofits. Any nonprofit in Hays can get signed up for this. I think we have almost 20 signed up right now they have until November 29. To sign up was like, literally the day before we start selling these T shirts. If you're not on our list, you can still get on our list. And then hopefully, at the end of that week, we can write some pretty large tricks. And we loved getting to support the retailers and restaurants. And now we're excited to support the nonprofits as well. And if it goes, well, maybe this is an annual thing. Maybe we do a GivingTuesday shirt every year. But we're a 501 C three nonprofits reached out to us and asked what are you doing? And we thought, you guys are really smart. We should really do that. We should we should support ourselves, maybe. So we're excited for that. I'm 30th.
 
Allie Glidewell 
Yeah, it'll be very cute. So that will end on December 5. December 3, though, so taking just like a little step back is our annual frost fest. Christmas tree lighting, which is very fun. Last year, our organization tripled the amount of lights on that tree in Union Pacific park next to the pavilion. So it's gonna be huge and beautiful. And they're actually already up. The city took advantage of all the warm weather. So the the lights are there. We're just gonna wait until the third to light it up.
 
Sara Bloom 
Thank your parks department.
 
Allie Glidewell 
Honestly, because they're the best. But we'll have a storytime from the library. There. They're a little chilly mascot there penguin will come down, read a story, his little book that they put out every year. We'll have little carolers Tiger tots are going to Carroll, which is going to be very cute. I'm very excited about that. Santa Mrs. Claus will be their breed again. We'll be giving out hot cocoa.
 
Sara Bloom 
And the sunflower Clydesdales. carriage rides
 
Allie Glidewell 
Are back baby. Nice. Yeah,
 
Sara Bloom 
 
We're excited. That's so popular. Yes. They were excited a lot. We're really excited.
 
Allie Glidewell 
We're always excited. If we aren't excited, we're not doing something right. Because we can't get excited about our own stuff. What are we doing?
 
Sara Bloom 
Yes, but yeah, lots of things happening that night as well. Yeah, so
 
Allie Glidewell 
that'll be from five to seven. But the Clydesdales the carriage rides are going to go until eight.
 
Sara Bloom 
And the tree will actually be lit by our mayor at 6 pm. So make sure you're there before six if you want to see the lights turn on but we'll have activities throughout the night.
 
Allie Glidewell 
Yeah, should be really good. The following day, that Saturday, December 4 Is the winter Artwalk. We are we do not organize, just promoting.
 
James Bell 
We had Brenda on actually this week, Brenda Meder from the Arts Council. we talked a little bit about this. So yes, well, yeah, shouldn't be in tuned in on that one. Hopefully,
 
Sara Bloom 
perfect. But we'll be hosting a winter craft fair and market in conjunction with the artwork that's inside the fox, you can sign up now if you'd like to be a vendor for just $25 runs from 9 am to noon, check it out. There is a Facebook event already. You can sign up with Fox. They're the ones accepting the payments in the forums. Yeah.
 
Allie Glidewell 
So that should be really fun.
 
James Bell 
Yeah, very cool scenarios, super small business. 
 
Sara Bloom 
Those crafters that you know, that's equally as important and also pay. I mean, they're still paying take sales tax as well. They're still supporting the economy and putting money back in our community. So yeah, equally as important.
 
Allie Glidewell 
Yeah. December 9 is our customer appreciation weekend that Sarah was talking about where you get double tickets. Again, just keep shopping local.
 
Sara Bloom 
And if you're listening to this in your business, we highly encourage you to get signed up for the process parade as well. We'll be back on to talk about all of the events happening on December 18, which include the parade and movie nights and stuff at the library. But right now, we need you to sign up for that illuminated parade and get excited that we're back in person this year, because we weren't last year and are back in person. They should again, once again, we're very excited to be back in person and to bring the fastest parade back.
 
Allie Glidewell 
Yeah. Yes. So if you have any questions about registration for the parade, like feel free to go ahead and reach out but it's a story Christmas night is the theme. So it should be very, very live up this year. Very beautiful, very fun. I love that.
 
James Bell 
It's like that's, to me. Frost Fest is like the epitome of living in Hays. When it comes together. You know, it's just it's a beautiful celebration. It's it's not commercial. I mean, there is some commercial aspect to it. But it's just a great way to get the community together. And there's always the hot cocoa and the I don't know, it's just It warms the heart warms my heart anyway, I can't speak for anybody else. I love
 
Allie Glidewell 
We love it too. Also, if you want to volunteer for the frost fest parade, if you want to help guide traffic, maybe judge a float, helped you registration, things like that we have we have corn and a movie night, Movie Night, all sorts of things. Feel free to reach out because we love it when the community gets involved.
 
Sara Bloom 
That's the case. In any event, we are always looking for volunteers whether you want to sit on a board or a committee or just volunteer that day. Get involved. We love seeing you downtown and helping out and we really try to make it worth your while and we do Yeah, we usually have pretty good freebies for our volunteers to try to use. Yeah.
 
James Bell 
Very cool. Well, guys, we got to get over the news. Any last thoughts where we go?
 
Sara Bloom 
Shop local, think downtown first downtown, he's calm. We're on Facebook. We're on Twitter, we're on Instagram, all the things check us out and thanks for supporting local Happy holidays.
 
James Bell 
Have you excellent Yeah. So Thanksgiving are all the holidays. Oh, it's ever except for Halloween is gone. My kids very sad about that he doesn't care about Christmas for Thanksgiving he just wants to
 
Sara Bloom 
Trick or treat was amazing. Just thanks for everyone. That was awesome.

Weekend Setlist Nov. 26, 2021

On this week's Weekend Setlist host Jeffery Leiker checks in with Santa and his plan in the area.

Forward Ever: Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt

On this episode of Forward Ever: Leading in Challenging Times, host Gary Shorman speaks with Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt.

Small steps keep food safe during Thanksgiving holiday

On this episode of the Post Podcast Fort Hays State University's Glen McNeil stops by to talk about cooking and eating a safe Thanksgiving meal.
 
Transcript
James Bell 
Small steps can help keep food safe during the holiday weekend, Glen McNeil, from Fort Hays State University stops by to talk to us about that on his nutrition health and wellness segment on this episode of the Post Podcast.
 
Glen McNeil 
We are a social people, you know, they call social animals we are because we like to get together. And one of the things that generally happens when we get together is food. Because food shows comfort, it shows love, it shows respect, you know, it shows that we like and enjoy the people we're around. So we offer them something, and then that encourages them to stay for longer periods of time. And, and visit and so you know, we have a lot of food and holidays and, and a lot is what tends to be there and it tends to be around quite a bit. And since you know we're off, so to say work, or we're with family, we tend to spend a lot more time sitting in the same locale. And that's when we find more snacking going on. And a lot of times, especially when you look at Thanksgiving, somebody does a really good job on making a particular order or a particular dessert or whatever that that food item it is. And we as individuals feel whether we acknowledge it or not, we feel a little bit of responsibility to eat something of everything. Now, except me, I don't eat sweet potatoes. So I don't like sweet potatoes. So how can you not okay, well, we'll talk that would be a whole two or three days.
 
James Bell 
We got to know the story behind that.
 
Glen McNeil 
Well, they're good for you. Okay, we're good for well, they're good for you in the fact of like any potato, they're good for you if you just eat the potato. But when you put all those other toppings and sweets and marshmallows and brown sugar, you sort of take away the good from it, and they're good source of vitamin A good, they're good source of beta carotene if you skins are a good source of fiber. So you know all of that I know that I just don't really like sweep. So okay, why do you do that? And I guess that's true. I tell my wife that. So she makes it every year. And they she says they're good. So I'll buy into that. But in other words, we we feel a responsibility to eat something that people repair to show that. Oh, well, thank you for bringing it. Yes, it's, it's good. Yes, I respond to the love and time you put into that food product. And so at Thanksgiving, of course, you know, it's traditional Turkey in a traditional meal. So first thing is, if you have not yet been to Turkey, good luck. Okay, they're tough to get right now the stores have them. Prices are up a little bit. We haven't seen any of these fantastic Turkey sales we've seen in the past, but kind of like everything else that's going on right now. It's tough to get items and products like that. So if you haven't watched turkey for, you know, a week from in essence a week from today, probably got to get your shopping done, okay to do that. And then if you're going to cook your turkey, next Thursday, take it home and put it in the refrigerator. Okay, don't put it in the freezer, it's gonna take a while for that to thaw out. Right. And we usually say about seven days, okay. And depending upon the size of the bird, you know, if you get a, if you get a, you know, a 15 to 20 pound bird, it's probably gonna take about seven days, in the average refrigerator, when you put it in the refrigerator, put it on a pan, put it on the bottom shelf. Okay, make sure there's no raw food product or anything below it, just in case those juices would have to spill over the pant would spill over the pan a little bit because like any poultry, you have the concern of salmonella, okay. But they're usually you know, in a plastic case or whatever. And part of the reason it takes so long for them thaw out, they're big. They're frozen all the way through, and you leave them encased in that wrapping. Okay, you don't want to unwrap it and put it in the refrigerator laying out, you leave it in case in the wrapping. So that kind of traps some of that cold in there in that process. So give it a good, I mean, now's a good time to put it in there. Give it seven days or so to thaw out. And if your refrigerator is not one that gets opened frequently, it may take a little longer than the recommended time that's on the turkey or the information because the temperature of the refrigerator doesn't go up and down very much. Terry and I learned that a few years ago with the kids all gone. You know the refrigerator doesn't get open as much as it used to. So it takes an extra day or two for our turkey to thaw out. So ours is sitting in the refrigerator now getting ready for we're going to host it next weekend. So we're giving it about 10 days to get good and thought out and you're okay so long as it sits in there and thaws. Depending upon how you're going to cook it then that that has an effect to the popular method these days is deep frying your turkey. Biggest key when you deep fry that Turkey is make sure it's completely thawede out. Okay, there's no water and there's no ice crystals. Ttapped in the cavity of that Turkey, because if there are, you're going to get a, not just a foaming of that oil, when you put it in there, you're gonna, you're gonna get a little pop that goes a big pop that goes along with it. And that the immediate thaw of that moisture coming out through the cavity where the neck is causes that oil to shoot up. Okay, and so it's very dangerous process. So it's a good idea to make sure it's really thought out, you know, open the cavity, take the giblets out of there, there in the giblets and make sure the cavity is somewhat dry and thought out on the inside. If your bird is not completely thought out, okay, you can thaw it out under running water, don't put it on the counter, you can use a microwave. I've never been real fond of, of using the microwave to thought that big of an item. Okay, in terms of that, but she thought under cold running water, you don't throw it under hot water, because that causes part of the bird to come up to a warmer temperature. And if there's bacteria present, it may allow some minor growth there. So you just put it in a pan big enough that it can stay submerged in, let the turn the faucet on cold and get it full, get that pan full, and then turn it down to just a little bit of a dribble so that the water continually runs off of it. And you'll find that it will fall very quickly. You know that that water is considerably warmer, it's cool to the touch, but it's considerably warmer than the bird. And so that will thaw your bird out relatively quickly. Okay, I mean, it's not super fast and don't use hot water. Okay, from from that process, and then it comes down to how you're going to cook it, whether you're going to smoke it, you're going to barbecue it, you're going to bake it in the oven, you're going to defend fry it, you know, I don't know whether never I've never thought about air frying, full size Turkey, but I suppose you could do it these days? Probably a little bit, it's probably a little bit big and thick. To actually air fry, you could use your air fryer, I suppose if your oven has an air fryer in it, you could use it to crisp the outside of the turkey. Okay, I don't know, I have not researched that part hadn't thought about that. And the other reason that brought up is we just our oven of 30 some years died. Oh, so we had to replace it here. And we got one with an air fryer in it. And you know, I hadn't thought about that. But you know, we're usually not big on that. If you do not have a $2 stick thermometer, go by. Right it is worth it. And it'll tell you I'm not going to say temperature. What I'm going to say is right on that thermometer, it's going to say Turkey. Okay, you cook it until it reaches turkey. Alright, until you reach that point get out. If you buy one that has one of those pop up thermometers in it. You know, the little pop up stick thermometer is when the birds done it, it pops up. I still say go get you a stick thermometer. And it's a you know, they're about five inches long with a dial on the end. And don't do not I had a friend of mine one time called me says Glenn I went out bought one of those thermometers, but it's just I don't understand it, it melted in the oven. Well said they're not designed to be used some of them. That's a pretty special thermometer, not the $2 one not to $2 one and he said oh, okay, but you know, put it in, I usually encourage people to put a right in the center of the breast, okay, and the largest part of the meat, make sure that that is up to temperature. When you take that bird out of the oven or out of the fryer or whatever, let's meet continues to cook for approximately five minutes, the temperature will continue to rise for approximately five minutes after you take it out. Now you can take it out and what I think is good, you take it out, you cover it with some aluminum foil, and you put a towel on top of it and you just let it sit there on the pan for about five minutes. So many people take it out of the oven set on the table and slice it right away. Wow, look at the juices run that's going to be so good. And then what they find out is it sits there for a while it gets dry. Okay, well, the meat, the protein that cooks when you cook protein, meat butter is forced out of it. And then when you let it sit and as the temperature starts to drop, some of that water is pulled back in. So then when you slice it after about five minutes, yes, you're still gonna see some of the juices run. But your meats gonna be more tender, it's gonna be juicy from that standpoint so that that's a good process. Recommendations these days if you're going to stuff your turkey you know whether you make your stuffing or you use stovetop or whatever it is you do, smart thing to do is cook the turkey when it's nearly done, okay stuff or wait until it's done and then put the stuffing in it and let it sit in there for that five minutes or so and absorb some of that taste. Problem is that sometimes in the cavity especially the bigger birds, the as The juices cook out of the turkey during during the heat process, they get absorbed by the stuffing, sometimes that stuffing doesn't reach 165 degrees. So you have a little bit of an issue there. So that you know, just the safe thing is to fix your stuffing separately. And then stuff your bird if you want, but most people I know now just make a pan of stuffing and put it on the table. You know, and of all things left over after Thanksgiving.
 
James Bell 
Yeah, yeah, I mean, who doesn't?
 
Glen McNeil 
Well, some people,
 
James Bell 
I well, I don't want to associate with them. People I'm sorry. I'm sorry, folks,
 
Glen McNeil 
Kind of like sweet potatoes. Some people don't like stuffing, you know, leftover stuffing. So you know, if you're going to do that make your bird so you know, you can display it. And it looks really good in terms of that process in which you're going to do. So we've got turkey and we've got stuffing and then you know, cranberry sauce, if you really, if you want to go along with it, you know make it and some people make their own cranberry sauce or they buy real cranberry sauce or, you know what's popular is the jelly cranberry sauce and they can that's the good stuff. That's the good stuff. You know why it's the good stuff. For sugar? Yeah, there we go. So that's, that's one of those things you want to be a little bit careful with about how much you're going to consume as a commercial product, it does have some more sugar in it. And whether you do mashed potatoes or twice baked potatoes, or just plain baked potatoes, you know, that's that's up to you and how you fix them and fresh and to get the most nutritional value out of your potatoes leave the skins on. Now a lot of people don't like mashed potatoes with the skins on him. But you know, that's the the fiber component component of the potato, that's also the little little piece in there between the skin and the potato itself where the true nutritional value is. And, and I understand that, I mean, I like my mashed potatoes to be real fluffy and soft. And you kind of don't get that if you leave the skins on that process. But I know some people who basically bake their potatoes first, and then peel the skins off and make mashed potatoes that way gives a different tastes a little bit different texture, and then they fry the skins and eat the skins later, you know, as a snack later in the day. So there's a lot of things that you can do. Remember, the two hour rule, okay, from the time you put it out, two hours needs to be after that two hour time period, it needs to be broken down into smaller portions put in the refrigerator or the freezer, you know, because the longer you leave it out there past that two hour time period, the longer it's in that danger zone that 40 to 140 Danger Zone for bacterial growth. And that's true as appetizers you set out ahead of time. You know, if you set things out ahead of time, like you know, we like to put cheese and crackers and vegetables and dip out kind of the first thing in the morning. So those things to snack on, you know, while you're fixing the dinner and everybody's The kitchen is the center place because everybody's around the food the kitchen in the dining room, you know, so we have those kinds of snacks out you just want to be careful that you don't leave them out too long. I know it's it's it's tough to throw food away. So you always kind of need to watch the times a little bit and and some things that are smoked or fermented you know, can last a little longer because they're in essence they have enough preservatives in them but I always remind people that the two hour time limit you know just when you get past that that's the real safe side can go somewhat past that but usually with a and especially with colds and flues on the way up COVID still around. The fact is you don't want to leave all that food out exposed so people can read on it. It's gonna happen you know, and hopefully nobody gets sick but but you want to do that. What else we need?
 
James Bell 
I think that's it.
 
Glen McNeil 
You're quiet today.
 
James Bell 
Well, your have given us so much good information. I keep writing notes. I notice that you're just checking them off as I'm I don't even have to ask your just on it.
 
Glen McNeil 
Desserts. You know, whatever your favorite dessert is. Mine's called butter finger dessert and it's made with pool whip and ice cream mixed together pushed, put on a graham cracker crumb crust, and then cooled it put on top and then crushed Butterfinger candy bars put all over it.
 
James Bell 
I'd never heard of that. I would eat that.
 
Glen McNeil 
My mother in law made makes it all the time. And my wife makes it and I just think it's.  Pumpkin pie is okay, I like pumpkin pie tube of Oh yeah, it's got French vanilla pudding in it too. Okay, so by the time you're all done, and you get all that together, I really don't mind if nobody else eats any of it because it's really good in the refrigerator for three, four or five days, you know as the flavors plan but that's that's my favorite but we always have pumpkin pie and we have like a fruit pie and apple pie or a cherry pie that that goes along with it. And so you you know if you spend the time to bake them yourself. You can do those things ahead of time. Do what you can ahead of time so the The person in the kitchen also has the time to interact with everybody else. You know, that's, that's a key don't don't lock somebody away in the kitchen. But some, some people want to be, you know that, that their this is their meal to fix yeah playing the role of the host. And yeah, you know, this, this is their meal to fix this is in our house, this is my wife's meal to take care of, I can help if she wants me to go get something or peel some this or peel some of that, but, but she's in charge in charge of the meal and the food because that's something that, you know, this she likes to do now when it comes to Christmas, and we're doing primary ever ham or something like that. And that's my part. Besides we don't get along in the kitchen, you can believe that. She does things her way. And I do things my way, which we've just learned, you know, from that, so we get along pretty good. And I will admit, she's a better baker. Much better. I'd rather eat her cookies and pies and cakes than mine.
 
James Bell 
Nice.
 
Glen McNeil 
So you know, a selection of variety of foods and desserts and what goes on the probably one of the biggest things is just watch how much you eat. Remember, the key one of the keys is, the smaller the plate you use, the fuller, it looks with smaller portions, right. So if you're trying to moderate that, always think of it in this way, I'm going to take a small portion, because I can always take more, there's plenty there, I don't need to fill my plate up here, you know, and really do this, what I can do is I can have a small portion, I can leave a little bit of everything I want. And then I can go back and have more of the things that that I really want, what we run into so often holiday times is is is people lose the awareness of what they're eating, there's, you know, so much communication, people who see having a good time, we just don't think about how long we've been snacking, how many times we've dipped into the dressing, or you know, the the sauce that goes along with the chips that are out there, or how many different types of cheese and sausage we've had with the four different types of crackers that are sitting there before and after the meal, you know, all of that thing, we tend to get lost in it and, and that's really that's good for us to get lost. You know that social aspect is good. But you need to have a little bit of awareness and spread out your your food intake during the day, you know, you're going to eat a big meal. It's just hard to do with all that food sitting around. It's not do that. But then you also know that there's going to be things brought out for the afternoon while you're around. Okay, and then there's going to be that evening meal that comes back. And for many people, it's tricky. You know, okay, well that's okay, so long as when you're done with lunch, you get that turkey broken down into smaller packages, put it in the refrigerator, so it can cool. And then when you pull it out in the evening, it's safe to, to eat from that standpoint. So you know, you that's that's what you do in that process is be able to do those things. And a lot of people say that, you know, the best part of Thanksgiving is two three days afterwards.
 
James Bell 
That's when my wife is she cooks way so much to eat way too much food just so we have it or so she can have it.
 
Glen McNeil 
Well yeah, you can eat it after break it down into small meals, you know, and just watches things cool, cool things in your refrigerator properly, don't leave things sitting out. That's what you really want to be careful of, you know, you want to think of the meal and at the same time, you want to think of what what's going to happen the next few days or time period where you're going to eat all those leftover foods and enjoy it. I mean, that's that's pretty much what we want to do. Especially the way things have been the past few years, make your favorite foods, take your favorite foods along with you snack just be careful. And it's a good idea for the afternoon while you're watching football and you're doing all those things and you have those chips and depths and vegetables and all of those things set out have small plates for people to use. That will help them eat less than if they just go and dip
 
James Bell 
Then you end up just standing there right watching.
 
Glen McNeil 
So you put it on a plate then you move. People tend when they put it on a small plate like that they tend to move away from the food and then he eat what's on their plate now maybe they go back but there's less likelihood that they will consume more so you can help your guests you know in in terms of that.

Chamber Cheques help keep gifts local

On this episode of the Post Podcast Hays Chamber administrative assistant Marlis Fletcher and Nathan Rohr, from Rohr's Carpet Cleaning talk about Chamber Cheques.
 
Transcript
James Bell  Chamber checks from the Hays Chamber can make an excellent gift to keep your money, local administrative assistant, Marlis Fletcher stops by to talk to us about that in more on this episode of the post podcast, and I'm got a special guest with us today. I'm excited to see him as well. I'll let you introduce your friend here.
Marlis Fletcher  So this is Nathan Rohr. And he is owner of Rohr Carpet and Sales. And he's going to talk to us a little bit about what they have to offer.
James Bell  Very cool, very cool. I'm excited to get into that. So, you know, we were talking a little bit before we got on air carpet cleaning, obviously is a some that I'm interested in, which is weird, but we'll talk more about that. But first, before we get there. One of the things we're gonna talk about right now a moralists is shopping local. How important is this time of year, especially in Ellis County?
Marlis Fletcher  You know, our businesses depend on us to shop local, we want to thrive in this town. And so, and we want our businesses to thrive. So let's keep them around and let shop local. And a good way to do that is come to the chamber and see us and buy chamber checks. Yes. Okay.
James Bell  So we're going to talk about these chamber checks. We've talked about them in the past, but in case somebody is listening, like wait a minute, I don't know what this is, I've heard the term, maybe you want to tell us a little bit about what these things actually are.
Marlis Fletcher  So they look kind of like a check. They come in 45, $10 and $25 increments. They spend it any chamber member business just like a checker like cash. If you buy $199 or less, there's a $1 fee. If you buy $200 or more in chamber checks, there is a $5 fee. They come with an envelope with a wire in it to tell you a lot of the businesses where you can spend that money. So we try to make it really easy and really nice. And that way you can give a gift and you don't have to pick something out for somebody that they have to take back you can just give them the gift and they can shop local and spend keep the money in a nice
James Bell  Yeah, I love that. And you know, unlike any other thing you might do if you get a gift card to a restaurant, you know, chain restaurant at one of the big stores here or if you buy some online. That's great. But I mean as a gift, but also not local this way, it's it's guaranteed to stay right here in the community.
Marlis Fletcher  It's guaranteed and you're not stuck at one. Like if you go buy a gift certificate to a certain restaurant, not that that's not a great thing if it's in haste. But this you can go to like a number of businesses and spend that money. You're not tied to just one certain business.
James Bell  Yeah.  I know Sarah has told me in the past how many members you guys have, but it's a lot. You know?
Marlis Fletcher  It's around 500. Yeah. Okay. A little bit over 500. 
James Bell  So you got some options to spend this chamber check you do. That's incredible. It blows my It blows my mind. I think the first time she told me that I was like, what? How are there even 500 businesses in Ellis County, let alone over me and Chamber members. I love it. One of those Chamber members that we're going to talk to here is is Nathan right.
Nathan Rohr  Yeah, thanks for having me.
James Bell  So chamber checks, like, you know, you guys would have to take them but I guess the question is like, what what would you what would you use a chamber check for it roars carpet cleaning.
Nathan Rohr  So we offer a lot of services. The first thing with the holidays coming around is we're offering 10% off gift certificates. So if you want to give the gift of a clean house for any family member or friends, you can come down to our store and we can give you a gift certificate and you get 10% off. You could use a chamber check for those. We are offering air duct cleaning specials, a new service we added an epoxy specials for epoxy floors. And of course we do our carpet cleaning and carpet sales that you could use the the chamber checks on for two.
James Bell  Very cool what's in it? What's an epoxy floor? Um, yeah, that far out of the trends. I don't know what that is.
Nathan Rohr  Yeah, so they're pretty new. You can do a lot of different things with them. You got your flake epoxies quartz, metallic floors. They're getting very popular. You're seeing them in some of the restaurant bathrooms. We've done a few garages, a few porches. They're pretty new, and they look really really cool when they're done. So you
Marlis Fletcher  Can use those indoor or outdoor? 
Nathan Rohr  Yes, you just got to watch what type of epoxy you're buying them make sure that you're getting the UV resistance. The help that way it's not fading.
Marlis Fletcher  So if I want to come down there and I want to look and see what different kinds of epoxy floors Do you have samples I can look at.
Nathan Rohr  Yeah, so at our showroom at 722 E 7th I have a whole show room where we have it all broke down into our luxury vinyl plank flooring, our carpet sales, our epoxy flooring. And then we also have some deodorizers and different cleaners if you're wanting just a basic cleaner for your home on your carpets or hard surface flooring.
James Bell  Very cool. You know and as we were talking a little bit before on air, you know what I think with your new With your basic service, your carpet cleaning service. But the time you know for most folks, you get the machine and the chemicals. And then you got to move furniture and do all that work you what you guys offer and I don't want to throw prices out there for him. But what you guys offer he, to me, it seems like almost a better deal. It's cheaper when you factor in all that other stuff to have a professional do it. And it's gonna do a better job. Oh, well, you're telling me right?
Nathan Rohr  Yeah. So I always tell my customers you pay for what you get. You know, there's nothing wrong with using a Rug Doctor, but it's not gonna be a deep clean. Yeah, there's my system quick like
James Bell  In between maybe like, if you're if you guys come out once a year, you do the Rug Doctor thing every six months or so. Right?
Nathan Rohr  Yeah. So if you actually look into your carpet manufacturer, when you buy new carpet, it's recommended that the carpets cleaned every 12 to 24 months. So and everybody does that, right? Yes, everybody. And actually, when you buy carpet from us, we give the first carpet cleaning for free, you just have to use it within that period to help keep your manufacturer's warranty. And our carpet cleaning machines get up to 200 degrees. So compared to when you were in a rug, doctor, you're not going to get near as hot water, so you get a better sanitizing effect out of your cleaning.
James Bell  If it's relatively quick to you guys, I think go into a house and you're there for a couple hours maybe?
Nathan Rohr  Yeah, I mean, depending on the size of the house, it usually if it's just a few rooms, you know where something we can do in the morning compared to a whole house may take us till you know, three quarters of a day or depending on the house, it may take us all day. But if you call me I can definitely you know talk about it. The other thing is we also have fans available to rent. So if you're worried about slow drying, I do run out my turbo fans to help speed up the drying process.
Marlis Fletcher  Very cool. Very good. Thank James You don't have to haul it to your house and then holla back.
James Bell  Yeah, really that's that's where it comes in. You know, for for some folks. I'm sure it makes sense. And maybe some folks do like doing it. But that's really where the value comes in is the time because you're doing that on your own. Oh, my goodness. Yeah, it could. You're talking about half a day, three quarters of a day. It will take me a full weekend. Yeah, doubt.
Nathan Rohr  Yep. Well, we definitely have the equipment that we're set up, you know, where we can go in and do a job, click quickly but efficiently and make sure that your carpets look great when they're done.
James Bell  Very cool. Okay, well, guys, we've got just another minute or two left. I don't know any last thoughts. Marlis. Do I know I know. There's no real events going on this week because of the holiday now at the chamber. 
Marlis Fletcher  So yes, and we're actually close Thursday and Friday, but we'll be back on Monday and we'll be there tomorrow too. So we'll be here today and tomorrow. We're closed Thursday and Friday and back on Monday. So come by some chamber checks.

USD 489 Board of Education recap: Nov. 22, 2021

On this episode of the Post Podcast Hays Post reporter Cristina Janney recaps this week's USD 489 Board of Education meeting with superintendent Ron Wilson.
 
Transcript
James Bell  USD 489 will soon be soliciting feedback from the community for an upcoming a bond issue campaign. Hays Post reporter Christina Janney speaks with USD 489. Superintendent Ron Wilson about that and more as they recap this week's Board of Education meeting on this episode of the Post Podcast.
Cristina Janney  Well, one of the things that was discussed last night that's been kind of hovering around Headstart for a while, is the federal mat vaccine mandate. The board finally approved a policy that was going to give guidance to those employees. You want to tell our listeners a little bit about that? You bet,
Ron Wilson  Christina. You know, I think it was back in September where we, we received a letter from the Office of Headstart and this only applies to our all our employees' audit. This does not apply to all of our USD 49 employees who work in other buildings, but the office of a headstart is requiring that all of their employees get vaccinated by January 1. And so we have been working since September to try to put together, some guidance for employees on how best to handle this. And so Donna Hudson-Hamilton, who is the director of ECC, along with her team spent a considerable amount of time putting together a policy just to help navigate this kind of uncharted territory for us in terms of staph vaccinations. And I think what they did was they put together a policy that gives everyone opportunities to, you know, do what they feel is best for them. And so we are requiring vaccinations However, within that policy, we are all also offering a medical exemption or a religious exemption, should they choose not to get the vaccination. So I guess all in all, it's it's a good thing. It's like I said, this is something we've not dealt with, as a school district. It's not what was approved last night is not a board policy that will continue for district employees, but it will continue for the ECC employees, as long as this mandate is in place by the Office of Head Start.
Cristina Janney  And Donna Hudson-Hamilton, who is the director of early childhood connections, who this is affecting, said about there's about 90 employees that the mandate will affect in the number of roughly fit for about half of those have received all vaccinations at this point.
Ron Wilson  Yes, that's the information that we've received. You know, going forward, we anticipate there could be some that choose to get the vaccination or we hope that those that don't will file exemptions, either religious or medical, and will be able to go forward and continue as is.
Cristina Janney  And it's also my understanding that there will be no test-out option for anyone who is not vaccinated. You're either vaccinated or you're you have filed for an exemption.
Ron Wilson  Yeah, that's that. And that, once again, that is not a district policy. That is what the office of Headstart has indicated for their employees. And so it's kind of a unique situation because we do employ every as a district, USD 489 does employ these DCF employees. But the funding comes from the federal division to help support the Early Childhood Development Center.
Cristina Janney  So will employees who do not wish to comply with the vaccine mandate? Will they have any opportunity to be reassigned elsewhere in the district?
Ron Wilson  You bet we have, we've made it a statement to all the employees out there that we're going to work with everyone, should someone not meet the exemption list, we'll we'll try to find the spot within our district that that maybe they can work and not have to have a vaccination. So we're gonna do everything we can to keep employees working. And that's that is a priority for us. And it's a priority to have our full staff out at ECC.
Cristina Janney  If you want to read more about this. There's a story up on the Hays Post this morning about that. Moving on, I think there is another important thing that the board discussed last night, and that was a survey being released to the general public about some possible bond options. Can you tell our listeners a little bit about that?
Yeah, I mean, we're we're getting into a little more in depth in terms of what we're looking for. out as far as scopes of work for, for the bond issue, and once again, we're just looking for feet more feedback. As we move forward throughout this process, we have spent considerable time working with the community group that has met since the summer, about once or twice a month on, depending on what month it is. We've met with educators many times throughout the same period as the administrative group. And we've, we're really, we've worked so hard to try and whittle down and build this scope of work, which we feel are our most important needs in the district. And so now, what we're asked we're going to do is we're going to put it together this survey, and we're going to get it out in into our community. And so we'll be sending that out here, the first of December, we just appreciate everyone's feedback, of course, also won't be just a survey of as the only feedback opportunity or first event for the community to start commenting and giving us feedback, we'll start December 15. That will be at Rockwell Administration Center on December 15. And that will take place in the auditorium. And I think it'll be a great opportunity just for everyone to look and kind of get an idea and ask some questions if they do.
Well, nothing definite has been decided on any scope or any specifics. But do you want to talk a little bit about some of the options that will be discussed in that survey?
Sure. What many options and just like you said, none of the options are what we know was going to happen, we have just listed about seven options. And I don't know if I'll be able to pick all of them off the top of my head. But all of the options are just themes that have risen to the top. As we have progressed since starting this back in June. And working with the community, the educator group and the administrator group, these are there are certain themes that have risen. Of course, one of the options as we've that has risen to the top is that Lincoln Elementary is a school that's 100 years old, has a lot of needs and how we can move forward without Lincoln as one of our schools. So we're looking at possibly that as that could be an option to close Lincoln Elementary. We've we've talked about re-purchasing Hays Middle into an elementary school, and looking at how we could move students into there. And then possibly in a combination of, of even maybe looking at how we could move Hays metal, whether it's moving them out to Hays High School and looking at a new high school or building a new middle school and repurposing. You know that Hays High for some for some future needs. So lots of different options. Another option that is out there. Of course, Wilson Elementary is a great school. The one thing that if you look at our facility score scorecard of the school's Wilson Elementary, as far as educational scoring, it scores low. And it's basically because of space Wilson is a very small school, it would take a considerable amount of money to add space. And so there is a thought that maybe we could move Wilson and Lincoln students into the middle school, and then figure out what we can do with the middle school because of course, the middle school is our is a nemesis in itself because we're just squeezed at the middle school. And we definitely need more space at the middle school. So it's a combination of a lot of different things. We're just we're asking for feedback. And what we still don't know what's going to happen or what's going to be what would be brought to the board for consideration. But we're this is just the process and just throwing a lot of ideas out and some of them will stick and some of them won't.
Cristina Janney  Yes, and that's going to be available sent out to parents through your online alert system is going to be available on social media is going to be available on the district website online. So it's not just parents or teachers that get to take this survey. It's anybody in the community.
Ron Wilson  Yes, we want to give the opportunity for everyone to comment and give feedback. And so yes, if you like I said last night at the board meeting, if you have any type of social media, you will have the opportunity to see this, this survey.
Cristina Janney  Run. Is there anything else that you wanted to talk about in terms of the bond issue right now?
Ron Wilson  Well, I think the thing is from a bond perspective, you know, I, I feel really good about where we're at. I think it's it's been obvious that there's been a lot of support for, for, you know, a need to support the bond. It's been 30 years since Hays has passed a bond issue. I, one of the things that I do want to highlight is last, at last night's board meeting, we spent quite a considerable amount of time talking about some of the great achievements going on academically and within our district. And it's just, it is amazing how we're doing this with really a very condensed space, and we're packing kids in and we're really not we don't have opportunities to do some of the things that we really feel would be beneficial to student achievement. And so I think it just be another piece where we could just push our district further moving them to greatness.

Hays Chamber working to find solutions to lack of child care in Ellis County

On this episode of the Post Podcast, Hays Chamber president and CEO Sarah Wasinger speaks about the new Childcare Taskforce for Ellis County.
 
Transcript
Sarah Wasinger 
We have a very important community topic that keeps circulating. And it is so critical that we started addressing this before things get even much worse than they are already. So absolutely. Childcare.
 
James Bell 
Childcare.
 
Sarah Wasinger 
Yes.
 
James Bell 
It's a problem. And we were talking right before we went on air. Oh, you provided me some numbers.
 
Sarah Wasinger 
I did.
 
James Bell 
Startling numbers, terrible numbers. Yes, it looks bad.
 
Sarah Wasinger 
So in 2019, we Child Care Aware of Kansas are a chamber member, they work across the state to help connect resources to childcare providers. But also they try to connect families with childcare providers who are looking for them. And the point in time survey that they do every year is usually January 1, the last survey that they did showed that we have in 2019, the extent desired capacity meets potential demand was 64%
 
James Bell 
Sixty-four. That's the number that blew me away. And it's right there on top. And I'm thinking oh my gosh, I don't think it's any secret that we haven't need for more daycare here in Ellis County. But I mean, that's slightly over a half the need.
 
Sarah Wasinger 
Yes. So the other alarming fact is that we've lost 16 childcare providers since that same point in time count. And we have been meeting so the chamber in Hays, Kansas has started a Childcare Taskforce for Ellis County, we had our first meeting of the last week of October, we just had another meeting yesterday, actually. And this is just the discussion that we're having on how do we start to address the needs for childcare in our community, because we know they're vast, we're very excited, because we have a lot of different partners that we have kind of connected with. And in a short time already. So um, we have parents who are a part of that, obviously, Child Care Aware of Kansas, and they're a part of that conversation to early childhood education providers, we obviously would be remiss to not have childcare and daycare providers. So we have several folks representing them too. And then of course, our school districts need to be a part of this conversation, because obviously, they have a big role to play in the education of our kids and possibly have resources that maybe we haven't considered yet. Or if there are ways that we could partner further. We talked just before we got on air to James on legislative process and how our regulations in Kansas, are so stringent in comparison to our cohorts across the United States. And we have Barb Wasinger our representative from the 111th district has started to be a part of that conversation too, from the get go. And she's taking note, um, during these meetings and trying to very much listen to the challenges that are shared from a daycare provider standpoint. And, you know, we talked about, you know, as a childcare provider, if you have a shower in your house, obviously, you have to have a bathroom to be a childcare provider.
 
James Bell 
You can do it hope so.
 
Sarah Wasinger 
Yeah, you can't have things like shampoo or conditioner within five feet reach of children. And those are just some of the things that you know, you scratch your head at, well, why is that the case, you know, if you have your own kids in your home, you're not going to put the shampoo and conditioner out of reach. If you have a pet dog or a cat, you can't have the pet food on the ground for the pet to eat during the day. So these are just some things that make you scratch your head. And for our childcare providers. I can't imagine what they must be going through when they share some of their concerns on the issues that they face. And, you know, that probably adds to the fact of why people don't want to be in that industry in the first place.
 
James Bell 
I'm sure it doesn't help. But you know what I think maybe we want to speak a little bit about this. One of the eye opening things that I've had an experience with recently is these aren't daycares are not profitable.
 
Sarah Wasinger 
They are not.
 
James Bell 
It's really hard to make any money. And oftentimes, the discussion goes towards we need a facility we need a building. And that's not the problem.
 
Sarah Wasinger 
Right. So facilities are usually the easier fix to a solution. It's finding the actual people to run them. So there are two different models for childcare. There's obviously the for profit side, which you scratch your head on all day long, because if people are finding a way to make it profitable, and we need you to be a part of this conversation number one, so please come find me.
 
James Bell 
Yeah, if you've got the solution contact Sarah. Yeah, right away.
 
Sarah Wasinger 
Yes, but number two, there is the not for profit model. And that tends to be where most of them are aligned. Because, you know, just we're limited on the resources that we have. So, obviously, this problem isn't going anywhere. So there's the daunting question, well, where do we start? We just had a pick a point and start. So the other people that have been a part of the conversation, and we have the Kansas Department of Health and Environment, Heartland Community Foundation, The Hays Area Children's Center, of course, the city of Hays and Grow, Hays are a part of it. I know Doug has some things he's working on with his seniors facility that they have going on the north side of the Hays Med campus, which they are a part of the conversation to, and then Fort Hays State University as well as some of our local nonprofits. So those are the people who we've kind of pulled together as a chamber so far to start this discussion. Um, so if you can think of anyone else who maybe isn't represented in that list, who you feel would have strong resources and good conversation to add to what we're going through right now, please, by all means, connect them with us.
 
James Bell 
Yeah, very cool. I like that everybody seems to be coming together and realizing that, hey, only worked by working on this with everybody, are we going to find a way out of this solution. And we should also mention, it's not necessarily just an Ellis County problem. This is a statewide, this is a national concern, too.
 
Sarah Wasinger 
It very much is, you know, when we talk about workforce and how we as a chamber can support workforce, we know that there are parents out there who are actually paying for childcare before they even have a child in the womb. Staggering. We also have families that are driving from Stockton to bring their kids to Hays for childcare, and then they're going back and working a full day. And then they're coming back to Hays again, to pick up their children. So this is such a huge issue for, like you said, our whole entire region, I'm so we asked ourselves the question, well, how do we get a full grasp of what's going on here. So as a committee, we've been working with Bradford Wiles from the Kansas State Research and Extension agency. And they have done community based surveys all across Kansas. And he's working with our committee to put together survey questions specific to Ellis County, the hope is that we will have those questions and that survey finalized by the end of next week. And then we would as a chamber and community, roll those out. And for folks, the biggest thing that people need to keep in mind with this survey, we know that everybody's time is precious, however, we're not going to address this issue. If we don't get some concrete data for what our true needs are as a county. With that data, then that gives us the flexibility and puts us in a position as a county to start applying for grants and things of that nature that could possibly use bees to start incentivizing childcare. So this is a huge, huge opportunity for us. And if we don't start finding ways to make the finances work for these folks, we're gonna struggle.
 
James Bell 
Yeah. So are these going to be these surveys mailed out? Or do people need to go get them from like a website or something.
 
Sarah Wasinger 
So we will be doing this survey digitally, we will have essentially a QR code attached. And of course, we'll do a media release. And we'll be working with you as the chamber to hopefully be doing some extra promotion for that through your guys's Hays Post. But all the agencies that I shared, will also be sharing that data in that survey across their communication channels. And then ideally, we'll have that survey wrapped up by the end of December. We know that timing, there's no great time to try to get a survey done. We know that people are busy with the holidays.
 
James Bell 
It's busy every day. Yeah, that's be real.
 
Sarah Wasinger 
So we're ripping off the band aid and we're just gonna get it done. And then once we had that survey data that really puts us in a good position. So Dane G. Hansen Foundation has a significant amount of funding right now available to give to communities for childcare purposes, as well as USDA. And then I believe there are still some ARPA funds that are set aside for childcare for communities. So bringing that back to our workforce, if we can start getting childcare addressed, you know, maybe that flexes some people who aren't currently in our workforce, it puts them in a position to where they can come back and work again.
 
James Bell 
Yeah, you know, that's one thing I wanted to ask about. Because we talk about unemployment, we see you know, every business in Hays almost seems like they're hiring. But if you don't have childcare, it doesn't matter. You could offer him $50,000 A year, $100,000, $200,000. You don't have childcare, you can't take the job.
 
Sarah Wasinger 
Moms and dads need to feel good about where they're sending their kids for childcare during the work day. So and to be fair, I just want to give a big shout out. If you are listening, and you were at home, or you are at a center and you're providing childcare, thank you for what you're doing. I don't think people really have a full appreciation of all that is required to do that. So know that we're here working on things in the scenes and behind the scenes, if you will, and we do have a Facebook group. I do want to put a little plug in there. For Tori Ruder Thank you. She provides childcare here in Ellis County. She put together a child care task force of Ellis County Facebook page. So if you want to follow this conversation, and be a part of that, from a provider standpoint, by all means go find that group on Facebook. If you aren't able to jot that down, feel free to give me a call at the Chamber office at 785-628-8201. Or email me at Sarah S-A-R-A-H at Hays Chamber dot com. And we'll start connecting you with that dialogue.
 
James Bell 
Excellent. And you know, I think maybe it's also important to mention you provided here I've got some of the survey questions. It's nothing, it's not, you know, complicated or hard. It's just a little bit of time to get that in to help everybody out.
 
Sarah Wasinger 
That's right.
 
James Bell 
Excellent. Well, before we move on, or guess anything else on that topic, before we move on, we got a couple other things we want to hit on there a little bit more fun.
 
Sarah Wasinger 
Well, I did want to just share, we do want to make sure that folks remember on that and we are going to do the survey anonymously. So know that the information that you share is not going to be broadcast with anyone, your information will be just essentially pulled together with everyone else who fills out that data survey. And then the final reporting will be what we use to apply for grants and really start assessing where we go from here.
 
James Bell 
Okay, very good. Now, as I mentioned, a little more fun. You've got somebody new in the office.
Sarah Wasinger 
We do! Her name is Mariah Legleiter.
James Bell 
Yay! And she is taking the Vice President of Marketing and Communications job, right?
 
Sarah Wasinger 
She is. She is hitting the ground running already. And we are so excited for her, she is going to be a dynamo. Um, we, when Scott told us he was going to move on to Fort Hays State University, sat down and looked at it as a team, you know, what is our next step for that position. So um, she brings a very, very strong communications background with her. So we're very excited for her to join. Um, she has that video experience. She enjoys doing graphics and design. And she's really very creative. So we're very excited to have her start, and just be a full part of the team. So if you see a new face around, be sure to say hello to her and welcome her to the team.
 

Forward Ever: Hays City Commissioner Shaun Musil

On this episode of Forward Ever: Leading in Challenging Times, host Gary Shorman speaks with Hays City Commissioner and restauranteur Shaun Musil.

Forward Ever: KIOGA President Ed Cross

On this episode of Forward Ever: Leading in Challenging Times, host Gary Shorman speaks with KIOGA President Ed Cross.

FHSU set to celebrate veterans during Military Appreciation Week

Transcript
James Bell 
Fort Hays State University is set to celebrate Veterans this week, President Tisa Mason talks to us about that and more on this episode of the Post Podcast.
 
Tisa Mason 
We're really excited. And actually, I would say a year or so ago, when the fabulous Senator Jerry Moran was on our campus, we talked about what we were doing with the National De-escalating Training Center, which we started actually in August of 2020. And we're a part of a national network that is definitely working on education to provide both in person and online, law enforcement professionals with some new skills in their toolkit and techniques to defuse potentially dangerous situations, which we know happens all the time. Or more often than we want. And not just with law enforcement, it happens in all of our lives. And so these are really, you know, great skills. And we're really excited about that. So this grant is going to help us as the $1.25 million grant from the Department of Justice, and really, Senator Moran was very instrumental in facilitating the awarding of this grant. So we're excited we're going to have on campus to celebrate his efforts and our ability to move forward. He'll be here on November 23, when we will, officially and ceremonially accept the grant.
 
James Bell 
Love it. Um, is there? Is there an event planned yet? Or is it still kind of in the works a little bit
 
Tisa Mason 
It is planned.
 
James Bell 
Okay. Well, we'll keep an eye out for some details there. Um, oh,
 
Tisa Mason 
4 p.m.
 
James Bell 
Yes. Okay, there we go.
 
Tisa Mason 
4 p.m. at the Fischli Wills Center.
 
James Bell 
I love that, because officially wills what a perfect opportunity, if you haven't yet to get in there and see that new building that thing is amazing.
 
Tisa Mason 
It's fun to have it there too, because it's about success. That's a building about student success. And this is about world of success.
 
James Bell 
Absolutely. And from my understanding, you had some contributions that kind of helped technology-wise with that whole thing, right?
 
Tisa Mason 
Well, you know, I'm a huge fan of our Teaching Innovation and Learning Technologies team, which are our instructional design teams that build and work with faculty on all our outstanding distance learning. And so the team that is working with the De-escalation Training Center, matched up with TILT the Teaching Innovation and Learning Technology so that they could create really immersive safe paced scenario based learning experiences for the people that will be going through this program. So again, we're I'm we're married, marrying, so to speak, rich content and skill building with a history of strong online learning platforms. And that's one of the things that we're really good at.
 
James Bell 
Yeah, I was gonna say online education. When you think online education, at least in the Midwest, I think Fort Hays is always the top of that conversation. Oh, very cool. Well, moving on. Also, you know, it's we're coming up on Veterans Day. Oh, I think it's a, you know, week or so week and a half away from now. And you're going to be celebrating that as well down at Fort Hays State.
 
Tisa Mason 
Yeah, I love the opportunity to say thank you to our military and of course, Veterans Day gives us the ability to do that, especially for those who are serving now. And we're going to have lots of activities on campus. Participants can see a flag in a poster display that celebrates our heritage with the connection to the military. We have a strong connection with military, military programs, and other ways that we work with our service members of whom we for whom we are very, very grateful for. That will happen in both the Memorial Union and Fishchli Wills Center for Student Success. We also have an opportunity to folks to leave messages in recognition of family members who have answered the call to duty. Again, very grateful I'm and the daughter and the sister of a veteran so it hits home with me for sure. On Thursday at 11 o'clock. We're going to host our annual Veterans Day ceremony on the quad side of the Memorial Union. And then at our outstanding we're going to win football game on Saturday. We will have a Military Appreciation and a Senior Day. I understand from Matt Cook will be managing horses, people and motorcycles for that game so it should be a fun football game.
 
James Bell 
Very cool. Yeah, go out it very least cheer on the Tigers and help us celebrate those military professionals that yes, are very important to us. Every, all of us really. There's one other thing we want to hit on before we go. And that's, you know, the COVID thing. Fort Hays State, you know you guys have done a pretty good job. I think down there you we haven't seen a whole lot of activity there. But one of the things that I think is been huge in the news is the D-one schools, the vaccine mandates they are mandating, but Fort Hays is going a different way, right?
 
Tisa Mason 
Yeah, we have not implemented a vaccine mandate. We did have an incentive program I think we talked about at this point, I think we are a little above approximately 80 percent of our faculty and staff. I don't recall the percentage off the top my head for the students, but I know that it's over 50 percent of our students as well. Most importantly, we have to be careful of our residential students, and isolation and our high has been well, it was three students till the other day, we're up to four students. But it's been very minimal. We've really done really well with people making local decisions. But what happened recently is the federal government said that they were going to put language in federal contracts. So research institutions are particularly going to have to make decisions about a vaccine mandate whether they wanted to do one or not, and turning down contracts from the federal government because there's a lot at research institutions. For Fort Hays State right now, although we have grants and contracts. At this point, we reviewed all of them, not one of them, includes the language. So we are watching, we are studying, if we get a contract that hasn't, we'll have a conversation about whether we turn it down or move forward. And our hope is not to have to do a mandate. It's really unfortunate, quite frankly, that we've been put in this position but so far, we're holding strong we do not have to mandate and we are going to continue with our excellent success on mitigating the spread of the virus on our campus. Another shout out to the doctors and Student Health and the faculty and the staff and everyone who has come together, our students to make our environment safe.

Lincoln Elementary plans Veteran‘s Day Celebration

Transcript
James Bell 
Lincoln Elementary is set to celebrate Veterans Day this week. Principal Kerri Lacy talks to us about that and more. On this episode of the Post Podcast.
 
Kerri Lacy 
Our school is going through a process called redesign where we're looking at how we do things at school and getting our community involved and our parents involved. And so we reached out to community members and we have several businesses that have adopted our classes. So I can name a few of those golden belt bank and Farm Bureau, the Hayes Police Department, Hayes, recreation taco shop, you know, if any other have others of you at businesses that would like to sponsor a class, you can sure just give us a call at our office and we would love to have you.
 
James Bell 
Yeah, that's very cool. Yeah. And we talked about this a lot here on the go morning show, but the sense of community around you know, as county it's just I think, tremendous, but it really takes a village to kind of make these things work. And one of the things I think that we're gonna chat hit on here is the Fall Festival that you talked about, or that occurred, I guess, last week, right?
 
Kerri Lacy 
Right. Um, instead of a Halloween parties, the traditional costumes, and costume parties and things like that. We a few years ago, before COVID, of course, we started what we call a Fall Festival. We invite community members to come in and share their talents with us. So there are several different stations around the building and the entire afternoon right after lunch. The kids rotate for about 20 minutes sessions and you know, we have ever this year we had Halloween bingo taco shop brought in the famous chili or queso and chips our kids loved that.
 
James Bell 
Who doesn't like CCQ from Taco Shop, right. No, I think everybody in the region knows what that is.
 
Kerri Lacy 
Absolutely. And if they are from Hays, and they come back to visit, that's usually one of the staples. Absolutely, yes. On the punch list. I agreed. Yes. We had the Fort Hays State discipled group Sternberg Museum, Hays Public Library, they did a story walk. Our girl scout group came in and they built pumpkin catapults and had little pumpkins that they were shooting across the hallway upstairs.
 
James Bell 
Just the little ones not a massive like you see on the TV with a no. No, that would be cool. I think maybe next year, we should have them bring in a couple of big ones and we'll take them outside and see how far we can get them to go. So. You got if you're gonna if you're if that happens, call me because I want to be there to see that.
 
Kerri Lacy 
Alright, I will try Lincoln home in school. They sponsored the missus Lacey, human Banana Split challenge. That was fun. They challenged me to name every student in the school by name. Oh, man. And if I could not do that, then I was in a banana suit. They could get chocolate syrup, whipped cream, sprinkles, cherries, and decorate me as a human banana split. Although I did name every single student in the building, you got them all. I got them all. That's amazing. But I still let them decorate the Oh, that was fun. And Midwest standard. She brings out their money machine, which is really cool. We put real money in there real dollar bills. And I always tease the kids and say, did you know want to get that $100 bill? And they're like, no, no, no, I want to go again. So we have the money machine, which is a lot of fun. And then we have a dance party. So pretty cool.
 
James Bell 
Yeah, that's awesome. And that's, that's really cool that they those area businesses, they stepped up and helped make that possible. Because without those guys, you know, things like that really can't happen. Right?
 
Kerri Lacy 
Absolutely. And it's really cool to have them connect with our kiddos. And when our kids see them out. You know, these people from the businesses, they see them out maybe it's shopping the Dylan's or something and they recognize them and they're excited. And they tell their parents that this is what happened. And they were at my school. And so it really is a partnership and it really helps out everyone. Very cool.
 
James Bell 
Well, looking ahead a little bit. You've also got a veterans day of celebration coming up, right?
 
Kerri Lacy 
Oh my gosh, we are so excited about this. This is the first time for us to try this. But on Tuesday, November 9 from 6 to 7pm. Back on our playground, we are having what we call a Veterans Day celebration for active military. Community members are all invited to join Lincoln students and their families for the celebration. We will have free refreshments. There will be a local food truck there for food purchases. We will have live music by 80 Proof Alice for that hour. It's really going to be a fun time. We are also at that time taking donations for the Fort Dodge Soldiers Home. They greatly appreciate those donations that are needed, you know non perishable food items and things like that.
 
James Bell 
Ah, you know, I'm not familiar and I don't know that maybe maybe we want to share what is the Fort Dodge soldiers home?
 
Kerri Lacy 
Well, it is, I want to say kind of a place where they can where soldiers can go and, and get help if they need it. Their families can get help if they need it. You know, we are not close to a commensarry type, you know, on base, things like that. So they have a place where soldiers can reach out and get the help for their families.
 
James Bell 
Very cool. Very cool. So, you're looking for donations, or yes, you're looking for donations for the Fort Dodge Soldiers Home.
 
Kerri Lacy 
Oh, yes. Okay can bring donations that night. You know, things like non perishable food items. Kleenex, toilet paper, dish soap, laundry, soap, T shirts and sweatpants. Usually large, extra large, double extra large, those can be brought that night or if you can't come that night. You can also drop those donations for the soldier house to Lincoln at any time.
 
James Bell 
Very cool. Very cool. And I think one last thing we want to hit on tonight you got some going on as well, right? Oh, yeah.
 
Kerri Lacy 
If you come out to the north McDonald's from five to eight, our teachers will be selling to cookies for $1 and then also the proceeds of all the food sales comes back to our school for this event, so it's called Big teacher night I think about every elementary school has big teacher night here and we love it that McDonald sponsors us every year.

GUNS AND CAKE: Ellis Co. Historical Society celebrates 50 years

By JAMES BELLHays Post
As the Ellis County Historical Society continues to reinvigorate facilities and programming, the organization is set to host a 50th anniversary celebration Saturday, with historical re-enactments, presentations and more. 
"We've got (a lot) planned down there at the historical society," said curator Adam Conkey. "We're opening up our stone church. We're gonna have all of our outbuildings open."
But more than just an opportunity to explore buildings on the society's grounds, he said attendees would also experience history first-hand with gunfight reenactments and historical presentations.
"We'll have gunfights every two hours, 10 o'clock, noon, two o'clock, and four to close it out," Conkey said.
Throughout the day, a variety of speakers will discuss local history.
"We're going to have speakers on historical events, including Kansas history, Indian wars and Kansas forts," he said, including a representation of one of Ellis County's most famous residents George Sternberg and sessions about the Bissing Family.
"And we'll have Bukovina German immigrants, we'll have a discussion on that. Of course, we'll have Q and A after all of those as well."
He said the headline event would be James Drees talking about Jim Curry and vigilante violence.
"So if anybody wants to hear some real story about those gunfights, he's there to provide that," Conkey said.
Wrapping up the evening is a celebration from 7:30 p.m. to midnight at the Hays Community Theatre building, 121 E 8th.
"We're having a dance party, come in costume if you want, any, any timeframe," Conkey said. " It's the Historical Society, so you come from the 1980s if you wanted to. It's more of a celebration. We'll have cake there, and we also have a raffle for our Henry repeater rifle there as well."
All of the day's events are come and go and free to the public.
While the activities are a celebration of the 50th anniversary of the society, Conkey said it would also help kick off a new era, as work is ongoing to strengthen the society's connection to the community.
"We just want to remind everybody we exist," Conkey said. "It's been a difficult, rough, kind of few years. We haven't had our museum open for three years now, I believe, other than special events, and we're aiming to push forward and try to get our museum back on track.
"This 50th is our restart, if you will, for the museum," he said.
Most notably the society has struggled to open to the public as their main building, the Presbyterian church on the corner of 7th and Main has been closed due to water damage and then COVID and now will require significant investment before it can be reopened to the public.
"It's coming together. It's a process," Conkey said. "We are course writing a lot of grants to try to get things working again. And of course, we need a lot of community help as well."
He said in the last few months, many have stepped up from the community to help the society regroup.
"Even from high schools, high school age people are just as interested in this as the older people in the community," Conkey said. "So it's just more, more than I thought would happen in the last few months."
But he said more volunteers are welcome as work and planning continues.
"We want to get our main gallery situated, at least put back together," Conkey said. "That's a tough process. We've got plaster kind of crumbling into dust in there. So we're trying to get our walls repaired, getting our archives put back all together in the basement and everything. It's just going to be a process, that's going to take time."
He said while work in the main building continues, the stone church will serve as the main exhibit.
"As far as our grand design, there's still always going to be that need for a building," Conkey said. "We have that whole block on the north side of Seventh and Main. So we have a lot of room to expand. That's another exciting feature. Once we get the funding to do that."
"But there's a lot of plans in the works. They've had plans since the 70s to go forth with a reconstruction of old Front Street, kind of make it like a Dodge City type of deal. Our gunfighters are excited to be a part of this too. And all of it's just really going to grow from here."
Along with revitalizing their facilities, he said future events would also help solidify society as a valuable part of the community.
For more information or to volunteer for the society's efforts, email director@echshays.org or call 785-628-2624.
"We're happy to find places for everyone," Conkey said.

Showcase offers opportunity to explore local businesses

On this episode of the Post Podcast, Hays Chamber president and CEO Sarah Wasinger shares details of the ongoing Business Showcase.
 
 
By JAMES BELLHays Post
The latest Business Showcase Challenge is currently underway in Hays offering area residents an opportunity to explore local businesses, while at the same time offering the chance to win prizes from participating locations as well as from the Chamber.
"It just started last week Friday, so from October 29, to November 19," said Hays Chamber president and CEO Sarah Wasinger.
While this is not a new event for the chamber, she said this showcase features two premier sponsors, giving more opportunities to win prizes in time for the holidays.
"We are very excited because Adams Brown, and Sunflower Bank are actually our sponsors, our premier sponsors for the events that we get to we have to this time," Wasinger said. "So we figured with it being Christmas time, it would be nice to give away more money."
With the two sponsors, she said the chamber will have additional Chamber Check prizes given out.
"We'll be drawing for four $100 Chamber Check prizes, and then two $50 Chamber Check prizes on November 22."
Anyone interested in participating can visit any of the locations, or the Chamber office, 2700 Vine, to pick up a card that lists the participating businesses and relevant information for the showcase.
"This card has all the locations listed as well as the addresses for the participating businesses, and of course, their hours of operation," Wasinger said. "So we take the guesswork out for you, you know exactly where to go and when to go."
She said many of the businesses will also be offering their own prize drawings or discounts.
And while the chance to win prizes or save money is important, the aim of the program is to entice area residents to explore area businesses.
"So why we love Business Showcase so much is like you said there may be a business that you're not familiar with, you wouldn't normally have the opportunity to go in there or wouldn't perhaps think of that depending on what you're in the market for, for purchasing yourself or for your family," Wasinger said. "So these businesses would love to have folks come in."
With the selection of participating buisnesses, she said the time required to complete the showcase is minimal.
"If you have some extra time, it'll literally take you probably no more than an hour and a half to go visit all these nine different locations," Wasinger said. "And within that time, you're going to get a lot of different promotions and offerings, a chance to win extra prizes when you go to their locations, as well as just a great opportunity to do some early Christmas shopping."
And the participants also offer a diverse representation of operations in the area.
"So ABC Seamless, I know they're going to be having some discounts on their items in store so they are located at 1507 East 27th Street," Wasinger said. "Diamond R Jewelry is another one of our businesses this go around and they are going to be offering 20 percent off jewelry repair services through January 1 with a presentation of (the) card."
"Hays Med is one that I am very excited to go to because with COVID they of course have been limited on who and how they're letting people into the hospital. But their gift shop is back up and running. So the Hays Med volunteer corner gift shop, they have such a wonderful variety of different items in there."
In conjunction with the Business Showcase, they also have an open house planned on Nov. 11 and 12.
 "So you can go in there and actually register for a gift card while you're doing the business showcase too," Wasinger said.
"And Nex-Tech Wireless is another one. ... They're gonna have some special promotions on the Samsung S 21 and iPhone 13. And they're going to also have some in-store giveaways for participants. So they're located of course at 1101 East 43rd Street.
After celebrating a special anniversary at Rohr's Carpet Cleaning recently, she said she is excited they participated in the showcase as well.
"They're gonna have a lot of different sales on in-stock items and different promotions," Wasinger said. "Plus, they're doing a drawing for a mop kit that can be used to keep your house clean during the holidays. ... They're located at 722 East 7th Street."
"And then Sunflower Bank, their North location.  ... So you'll visit the North Branch at 4720 Ross Avenue and they're going to be actually doing a special drawing for different branded items, as well as doing different chamber check giveaways. I think they're doing a $25 giveaway, a $20 giveaway. And customers can also get $100 if they open up their first personal checking account and get rewarded with extra perks."
Thirsty's Brew Pub and Grill is also featured, in both the showcase, as well as on the chamber's Hot Deals.
"They are always great about having a Hot Deal every month," Wasinger said. "And I believe this month it includes a very tasty steak with some sides. So you'll have to go check out Hayschamber.com and hit the Hot Deals and you'll be able to see that special."
Rounding out the businesses is Vyve Broadband.
They're going to be doing an in-store drawing for branded products valued at $50," Wasinger said. "So they're of course located at 1007 West 27th Street and are open Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 5:30 p.m."
"But United Way of Ellis County is also going to be joining us this go around and this is a special one because the end of the year is really such an important time for them. So they'll be doing some different raffle tickets for purchase and for their dine-out day. So visit them at 205 East 27th Street Suite 111."
Once participants receive the stamp at each location, they can then return the filled-out cards to the chamber office.
"You'll have to make sure that you do that by November 19," Wasinger said. "And then, of course, on Monday, November 22, we're going to be doing that chamber check drawing on via Facebook Live."
For more information visit the Hays Chamber website hayschamber.com.