Fort Hays State University will recognize approximately 1,100 graduates during its third annual fall commencement Friday (in person) and Saturday, Dec. 16 and 17, for the virtual ceremonies.

Graduates who have chosen to participate in person will be honored in two ceremonies on Friday at Gross Memorial Coliseum. All graduates will be recognized in two virtual ceremonies Saturday.

The ceremonies will begin at 9 a.m. Friday for undergraduate, master’s, and Ed.S. candidates in the Robbins College of Business and Entrepreneurship, the College of Health and Behavioral Sciences, and the Werth College of Science, Technology and Mathematics.

The 11 a.m. ceremony will be the College of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences and the College of Education for undergraduate, master’s, and Ed.S. candidates.

Saturday’s virtual ceremonies will begin at 9 a.m. for the Ed.S. and master’s students. The undergraduate virtual ceremony will follow at 11 a.m.

All ceremonies — in-person and virtual — will be broadcast on the Tiger Media Network (<a href="https://link.mediaoutreach.meltwater.com/ls/click?upn=-2BFJoAhsjp8losQfY8t-2BZtI3zIckflvbZurtB1Fa58GmEra9SMpn67r-2BYdNmU-2FwtjfhHfBOCAFHRocesDLNX24Q-3D-3Dmey2_-2FnwFlkKVzcKMOkDYhP8GUyFUplsqhIzQPvqFQr864lE6mcAzErX0FzZi5JGU6rvvK6MLOuHK4jhl5V61fmGkhToZRMbpEKBDAFMZ0jElT3tJmz7vmG2Oh1wrxpMGOIem7eiS4aYDgqMgDSfjzFBFgUn6sSX31OZcXn-2B2mFCA8P9fm3Z8vDThaYNcJzTXFS7vgDCYQJ8w4Cg8yoXrcBKc6EccoxjAVJAs-2Fl0gV257SRbpOyVGodAQ-2FRaFPcfSlTCO9Ruqgv8nPwFnTlr9Y-2B60nI8vue1yZtNvzhNcTozIuxLJQUHCtdY3xbrF6aTXzSezwMyP-2BRLTuKNF0chrvPe3ycbVeKMQ07vdbDrQraol2uuxpq28ZjH4An-2FmOqFzNtrqhk0bogudcy-2BFuBA2JWdhgQ-3D-3D">https://www.youtube.com/@TigerMediaNetwork</a>)&nbsp;

Recordings of the virtual ceremonies will be archived on the TMN YouTube channel, with the link provided on the commencement website under the “Programs and Videos” tab.

Doors to GMC will open at 8 a.m. Graduates will check in at Gate 2 or Gate 3. The graduates will enter the area that says, “Graduate Entrance Only,” and guests will be asked to enter the door labeled guest entrance (located at both gates).

Students are asked to wear their regalia into GMC. Graduates may arrange to pick up their regalia prior to Dec. 15 at the Victor E. Apparel &amp; Gift Co. in the Memorial Union by emailing&nbsp;<a href="mailto:victore_co@fhsu.edu">victore_co@fhsu.edu</a>. Regalia will also be available before Friday’s ceremony at the Robbins Center (directly north of the GMC parking lot) from&nbsp;8&nbsp;to 10 a.m.

Graduates and faculty will be seated on the main floor of Gross Coliseum. Guests will be seated in the balcony. The elevator is accessible by Gate 3. Seating for persons with mobility impairment and patrons in wheelchairs are available on the main floor; a commencement staff member will escort the individual(s) and one guest to the disability seating area on the GMC floor. There are no reservations for this area, and seating is limited. Drivers will find Gates 2 and 3, at the northwest and southwest corners, most convenient for dropping off passengers with disabilities.

An ASL interpreter for those who are hearing impaired will be visible within the commencement livestream video feed.

Graduates, families, and friends are encouraged to sign and write a message on the&nbsp;<a href="https://link.mediaoutreach.meltwater.com/ls/click?upn=-2BFJoAhsjp8losQfY8t-2BZtL7F3Y6gAACH2hXHFu5O9j7YiSGdvjlLeJLHBPo0d9485VDTJ1k4Tc261IGTJ1ZoEXPVuKvbirQvT9JQxWswAeU-3Dv463_-2FnwFlkKVzcKMOkDYhP8GUyFUplsqhIzQPvqFQr864lE6mcAzErX0FzZi5JGU6rvvK6MLOuHK4jhl5V61fmGkhToZRMbpEKBDAFMZ0jElT3tJmz7vmG2Oh1wrxpMGOIem7eiS4aYDgqMgDSfjzFBFgUn6sSX31OZcXn-2B2mFCA8P9fm3Z8vDThaYNcJzTXFS7vgDCYQJ8w4Cg8yoXrcBKc6Nk-2FzF-2FLQFpuPGryP98s20Y-2BKKjU9Bq3gVWTDita9aunl4EYYnhYSBeeMc02EllQKwuDj3r5Tv5CzbJkZEG8NSukvtOsAZtYdbwCfwKHTknnGsJ2Z5qXqKiGt2RSX6UhFervNh4sIH78ma-2BJjrG7dluZte5p5mOMk7bLnNYwBQ0DyQb6Zvi-2BgJ86LUFk3ZDMnA-3D-3D">Kudoboard</a>.&nbsp;Share photos and messages on Instagram, Snapchat, and Facebook by using the hashtag #tigergrad.

New 10’ x 10’ photo backdrops available for use by graduates, guests, faculty, staff, etc.&nbsp;will be available outside GMC on Friday, Dec. 16.&nbsp;They will also be available December 5 to 14 on the first floor of Hammond Hall for use by these same constituents.

The in-person commencement ceremonies will be broadcast live at&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="https://link.mediaoutreach.meltwater.com/ls/click?upn=-2BFJoAhsjp8losQfY8t-2BZtI3zIckflvbZurtB1Fa58GmEra9SMpn67r-2BYdNmU-2FwtjfhHfBOCAFHRocesDLNX24Q-3D-3D1wHA_-2FnwFlkKVzcKMOkDYhP8GUyFUplsqhIzQPvqFQr864lE6mcAzErX0FzZi5JGU6rvvK6MLOuHK4jhl5V61fmGkhToZRMbpEKBDAFMZ0jElT3tJmz7vmG2Oh1wrxpMGOIem7eiS4aYDgqMgDSfjzFBFgUn6sSX31OZcXn-2B2mFCA8P9fm3Z8vDThaYNcJzTXFS7vgDCYQJ8w4Cg8yoXrcBKc6IhZxKvXO7lPlGIFdV1nsgADzeZKiCtq5h5ihf9KF9wj42AlXdjBynYVAYfOWlaaA-2FLXH7d-2FW5ihQ450DwAj9YXvhgiwQZZdfi8-2FiiPUTIpj-2BMIfuWHQEbdEFVs-2BtJD6gh5yEI8nePDpR-2FVNRg-2FRAtGY77Ih7-2Baj3Xh-2FgqAJIgQZks9RoZVWkuJ-2B4fdj3TX-2FSA-3D-3D">https://www.youtube.com/@TigerMediaNetwork</a>.&nbsp;

The commencement schedule, maps, directions, links to accommodations in Hays, and general information can be found at&nbsp;<a href="https://link.mediaoutreach.meltwater.com/ls/click?upn=-2BFJoAhsjp8losQfY8t-2BZtKwGCSEfb6-2Fx37KuxE5mpJcnq3UXO20ENBhx-2B1UVzGlSuITR_-2FnwFlkKVzcKMOkDYhP8GUyFUplsqhIzQPvqFQr864lE6mcAzErX0FzZi5JGU6rvvK6MLOuHK4jhl5V61fmGkhToZRMbpEKBDAFMZ0jElT3tJmz7vmG2Oh1wrxpMGOIem7eiS4aYDgqMgDSfjzFBFgUn6sSX31OZcXn-2B2mFCA8P9fm3Z8vDThaYNcJzTXFS7vgDCYQJ8w4Cg8yoXrcBKc6FhtyjhLsX7WEoQ0jlJoz8QqLEzGUjNPtVuGrL-2BGtEjA-2Fotxhvp3bEzsv8B-2FY64A2annWD7MwL9ptKhGhuZ1nSv3um55bwecV2gzj28PW2wni9dLTQhRCgteVgHm-2BDsq3nfgd0lqFO4IJvJTHvLTEzGTvkGaPpoZiEY743Q8zG8xFLZ0ZBlxJw1-2B5-2FLbUR5zJQ-3D-3D">www.fhsu.edu/commencement/</a>.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/11/1669141383905.jpeg" alt="" />
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 </figure>FHSU University CommunicationsFort Hays State University will recognize approximately 1,100 graduates during its third annual fall commencement Friday (in person) and Saturday, Dec. 16 and 17, for the virtual ceremonies.Graduates who have chosen to participate in person will be honored in two ceremonies on Friday at Gross Memorial Coliseum. All graduates will be recognized in two virtual ceremonies Saturday.The ceremonies will begin at 9 a.m. Friday for undergraduate, master’s, and Ed.S. candidates in the Robbins College of Business and Entrepreneurship, the College of Health and Behavioral Sciences, and the Werth College of Science, Technology and Mathematics.The 11 a.m. ceremony will be the College of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences and the College of Education for undergraduate, master’s, and Ed.S. candidates.Saturday’s virtual ceremonies will begin at 9 a.m. for the Ed.S. and master’s students. The undergraduate virtual ceremony will follow at 11 a.m.All ceremonies — in-person and virtual — will be broadcast on the Tiger Media Network (<a href="https://link.mediaoutreach.meltwater.com/ls/click?upn=-2BFJoAhsjp8losQfY8t-2BZtI3zIckflvbZurtB1Fa58GmEra9SMpn67r-2BYdNmU-2FwtjfhHfBOCAFHRocesDLNX24Q-3D-3Dmey2_-2FnwFlkKVzcKMOkDYhP8GUyFUplsqhIzQPvqFQr864lE6mcAzErX0FzZi5JGU6rvvK6MLOuHK4jhl5V61fmGkhToZRMbpEKBDAFMZ0jElT3tJmz7vmG2Oh1wrxpMGOIem7eiS4aYDgqMgDSfjzFBFgUn6sSX31OZcXn-2B2mFCA8P9fm3Z8vDThaYNcJzTXFS7vgDCYQJ8w4Cg8yoXrcBKc6EccoxjAVJAs-2Fl0gV257SRbpOyVGodAQ-2FRaFPcfSlTCO9Ruqgv8nPwFnTlr9Y-2B60nI8vue1yZtNvzhNcTozIuxLJQUHCtdY3xbrF6aTXzSezwMyP-2BRLTuKNF0chrvPe3ycbVeKMQ07vdbDrQraol2uuxpq28ZjH4An-2FmOqFzNtrqhk0bogudcy-2BFuBA2JWdhgQ-3D-3D">https://www.youtube.com/@TigerMediaNetwork</a>)&nbsp;Recordings of the virtual ceremonies will be archived on the TMN YouTube channel, with the link provided on the commencement website under the “Programs and Videos” tab.Doors to GMC will open at 8 a.m. Graduates will check in at Gate 2 or Gate 3. The graduates will enter the area that says, “Graduate Entrance Only,” and guests will be asked to enter the door labeled guest entrance (located at both gates).Students are asked to wear their regalia into GMC. Graduates may arrange to pick up their regalia prior to Dec. 15 at the Victor E. Apparel &amp; Gift Co. in the Memorial Union by emailing&nbsp;<a href="mailto:victore_co@fhsu.edu">victore_co@fhsu.edu</a>. Regalia will also be available before Friday’s ceremony at the Robbins Center (directly north of the GMC parking lot) from&nbsp;8&nbsp;to 10 a.m.Graduates and faculty will be seated on the main floor of Gross Coliseum. Guests will be seated in the balcony. The elevator is accessible by Gate 3. Seating for persons with mobility impairment and patrons in wheelchairs are available on the main floor; a commencement staff member will escort the individual(s) and one guest to the disability seating area on the GMC floor. There are no reservations for this area, and seating is limited. Drivers will find Gates 2 and 3, at the northwest and southwest corners, most convenient for dropping off passengers with disabilities.An ASL interpreter for those who are hearing impaired will be visible within the commencement livestream video feed.Graduates, families, and friends are encouraged to sign and write a message on the&nbsp;<a href="https://link.mediaoutreach.meltwater.com/ls/click?upn=-2BFJoAhsjp8losQfY8t-2BZtL7F3Y6gAACH2hXHFu5O9j7YiSGdvjlLeJLHBPo0d9485VDTJ1k4Tc261IGTJ1ZoEXPVuKvbirQvT9JQxWswAeU-3Dv463_-2FnwFlkKVzcKMOkDYhP8GUyFUplsqhIzQPvqFQr864lE6mcAzErX0FzZi5JGU6rvvK6MLOuHK4jhl5V61fmGkhToZRMbpEKBDAFMZ0jElT3tJmz7vmG2Oh1wrxpMGOIem7eiS4aYDgqMgDSfjzFBFgUn6sSX31OZcXn-2B2mFCA8P9fm3Z8vDThaYNcJzTXFS7vgDCYQJ8w4Cg8yoXrcBKc6Nk-2FzF-2FLQFpuPGryP98s20Y-2BKKjU9Bq3gVWTDita9aunl4EYYnhYSBeeMc02EllQKwuDj3r5Tv5CzbJkZEG8NSukvtOsAZtYdbwCfwKHTknnGsJ2Z5qXqKiGt2RSX6UhFervNh4sIH78ma-2BJjrG7dluZte5p5mOMk7bLnNYwBQ0DyQb6Zvi-2BgJ86LUFk3ZDMnA-3D-3D">Kudoboard</a>.&nbsp;Share photos and messages on Instagram, Snapchat, and Facebook by using the hashtag #tigergrad.New 10’ x 10’ photo backdrops available for use by graduates, guests, faculty, staff, etc.&nbsp;will be available outside GMC on Friday, Dec. 16.&nbsp;They will also be available December 5 to 14 on the first floor of Hammond Hall for use by these same constituents.The in-person commencement ceremonies will be broadcast live at&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="https://link.mediaoutreach.meltwater.com/ls/click?upn=-2BFJoAhsjp8losQfY8t-2BZtI3zIckflvbZurtB1Fa58GmEra9SMpn67r-2BYdNmU-2FwtjfhHfBOCAFHRocesDLNX24Q-3D-3D1wHA_-2FnwFlkKVzcKMOkDYhP8GUyFUplsqhIzQPvqFQr864lE6mcAzErX0FzZi5JGU6rvvK6MLOuHK4jhl5V61fmGkhToZRMbpEKBDAFMZ0jElT3tJmz7vmG2Oh1wrxpMGOIem7eiS4aYDgqMgDSfjzFBFgUn6sSX31OZcXn-2B2mFCA8P9fm3Z8vDThaYNcJzTXFS7vgDCYQJ8w4Cg8yoXrcBKc6IhZxKvXO7lPlGIFdV1nsgADzeZKiCtq5h5ihf9KF9wj42AlXdjBynYVAYfOWlaaA-2FLXH7d-2FW5ihQ450DwAj9YXvhgiwQZZdfi8-2FiiPUTIpj-2BMIfuWHQEbdEFVs-2BtJD6gh5yEI8nePDpR-2FVNRg-2FRAtGY77Ih7-2Baj3Xh-2FgqAJIgQZks9RoZVWkuJ-2B4fdj3TX-2FSA-3D-3D">https://www.youtube.com/@TigerMediaNetwork</a>.&nbsp;The commencement schedule, maps, directions, links to accommodations in Hays, and general information can be found at&nbsp;<a href="https://link.mediaoutreach.meltwater.com/ls/click?upn=-2BFJoAhsjp8losQfY8t-2BZtKwGCSEfb6-2Fx37KuxE5mpJcnq3UXO20ENBhx-2B1UVzGlSuITR_-2FnwFlkKVzcKMOkDYhP8GUyFUplsqhIzQPvqFQr864lE6mcAzErX0FzZi5JGU6rvvK6MLOuHK4jhl5V61fmGkhToZRMbpEKBDAFMZ0jElT3tJmz7vmG2Oh1wrxpMGOIem7eiS4aYDgqMgDSfjzFBFgUn6sSX31OZcXn-2B2mFCA8P9fm3Z8vDThaYNcJzTXFS7vgDCYQJ8w4Cg8yoXrcBKc6FhtyjhLsX7WEoQ0jlJoz8QqLEzGUjNPtVuGrL-2BGtEjA-2Fotxhvp3bEzsv8B-2FY64A2annWD7MwL9ptKhGhuZ1nSv3um55bwecV2gzj28PW2wni9dLTQhRCgteVgHm-2BDsq3nfgd0lqFO4IJvJTHvLTEzGTvkGaPpoZiEY743Q8zG8xFLZ0ZBlxJw1-2B5-2FLbUR5zJQ-3D-3D">www.fhsu.edu/commencement/</a>.

Fall FHSU commencement set for Dec. 16 and 17

<a href="https://hayspost.com/pages/state-farm-weather-window">For a full look at the weather forecast click here.</a>

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/11/1669409694292.jpeg" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure><a href="https://hayspost.com/pages/state-farm-weather-window">For a full look at the weather forecast click here.</a>

Three-day weather outlook

By STACY CAMPBELL Cottonwood Extension District, Hays

Kansas is primarily an agriculture state with&nbsp;about&nbsp;87 percent of all Kansas land contributing to some form of agriculture production.&nbsp;More than 21 million acres in Kansas is harvested for crops and over 14 million is pastureland for grazing animals.

Most&nbsp;agriculture producers&nbsp;(tenants) lease ground from multiple landlords. In Kansas the average number of landlords that tenants have is approximately seven.&nbsp;The last time farmers and ranchers in Kansas were surveyed, over two thirds of all crop and pasture land was leased.&nbsp;You can imagine the struggles that tenants and landlords alike can experience in trying to communicate effectively with each other.&nbsp;Especially given the fact that one, two or more generations of families may be removed from the farm or ranch and live&nbsp;a few hours away or&nbsp;out of state but still own the land and thus lease it to others.&nbsp;

One of the best ways to create a better understanding between tenant and landlord in most cases is to have a written lease. &nbsp;Having a written lease can lead to many topics for discussion that otherwise might not be considered. These, would include but are not limited to:

• Hunting/fishing rights&nbsp; • Recreation access&nbsp; • Payment due dates&nbsp; • Termination procedures&nbsp;

In addition to the previously mentioned items, a written pasture lease for example can spell out responsibilities of both parties in regards to:&nbsp;

• Care of fences&nbsp; • Noxious weed control • Water supply maintenance&nbsp; • Grazing capacity restrictions and beginning and ending date of grazing season

A bonus of a written lease is that it documents the terms of the business relationship in case the contract is questioned. This can be especially important if the land changes hands.&nbsp;

Obviously, it is not necessary to have a written lease in order to have good communication between tenant and landlord but it can be helpful in spelling things out and avoiding misunderstandings and hard feelings.&nbsp;This is especially true when there is a death of either party, and the spouse&nbsp;or relatives are uninformed as to any details about the lease,&nbsp;particularly&nbsp;if it is an oral lease. If there is a written lease have it filed away and let&nbsp;your family&nbsp;know where it is.&nbsp;

There may be some cases when introducing the possibility of implementing a written lease might&nbsp;<a></a>damage the business relationship. Whether you have a written lease or not, make sure those lines of communication are kept open, visit with each other at least a few times a year.&nbsp;

Lastly if you are thinking about terminating a lease. For all leases, except written leases signed by the parties that provide otherwise, Kansas law provides that notice to terminate farm and pastureland leases must be given as follows: 1. In writing. 2. At least 30 days prior to March 1, and 3. Must fix March 1 as the termination date of the tenancy. &nbsp;If you want more specifics on Kansas Agricultural Lease Law refer to a publication at&nbsp;<a href="https://bookstore.ksre.ksu.edu/pubs/c668.pdf">https://bookstore.ksre.ksu.edu/pubs/c668.pdf</a>&nbsp;or stop by your Extension Office for a copy.&nbsp;

K-State Research &amp; Extension Agricultural Economics Department has a plethora of information on Kansas Agricultural Land Leasing at&nbsp;<a href="http://www.agmanager.info/">www.agmanager.info</a>&nbsp;then hold your mouse/cursor on the Farm Management tab and a drop-down menu will appear.&nbsp;

If you have any questions you can contact your local County or District Extension Office.&nbsp;

Stacy Campbell is a Crop Production Extension agent in the Cottonwood District (which includes Barton and Ellis counties) for K-State Research and Extension. You can contact him by e-mail at scampbel@ksu.edu or by calling 785-628-9430.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2019/11/1574181994278.png" alt="Campbell&nbsp;" />
 <figcaption>Campbell&nbsp;</figcaption>
 </figure>By STACY CAMPBELL Cottonwood Extension District, HaysKansas is primarily an agriculture state with&nbsp;about&nbsp;87 percent of all Kansas land contributing to some form of agriculture production.&nbsp;More than 21 million acres in Kansas is harvested for crops and over 14 million is pastureland for grazing animals.Most&nbsp;agriculture producers&nbsp;(tenants) lease ground from multiple landlords. In Kansas the average number of landlords that tenants have is approximately seven.&nbsp;The last time farmers and ranchers in Kansas were surveyed, over two thirds of all crop and pasture land was leased.&nbsp;You can imagine the struggles that tenants and landlords alike can experience in trying to communicate effectively with each other.&nbsp;Especially given the fact that one, two or more generations of families may be removed from the farm or ranch and live&nbsp;a few hours away or&nbsp;out of state but still own the land and thus lease it to others.&nbsp;One of the best ways to create a better understanding between tenant and landlord in most cases is to have a written lease. &nbsp;Having a written lease can lead to many topics for discussion that otherwise might not be considered. These, would include but are not limited to:• Hunting/fishing rights&nbsp; • Recreation access&nbsp; • Payment due dates&nbsp; • Termination procedures&nbsp;In addition to the previously mentioned items, a written pasture lease for example can spell out responsibilities of both parties in regards to:&nbsp;• Care of fences&nbsp; • Noxious weed control • Water supply maintenance&nbsp; • Grazing capacity restrictions and beginning and ending date of grazing seasonA bonus of a written lease is that it documents the terms of the business relationship in case the contract is questioned. This can be especially important if the land changes hands.&nbsp;Obviously, it is not necessary to have a written lease in order to have good communication between tenant and landlord but it can be helpful in spelling things out and avoiding misunderstandings and hard feelings.&nbsp;This is especially true when there is a death of either party, and the spouse&nbsp;or relatives are uninformed as to any details about the lease,&nbsp;particularly&nbsp;if it is an oral lease. If there is a written lease have it filed away and let&nbsp;your family&nbsp;know where it is.&nbsp;There may be some cases when introducing the possibility of implementing a written lease might&nbsp;<a></a>damage the business relationship. Whether you have a written lease or not, make sure those lines of communication are kept open, visit with each other at least a few times a year.&nbsp;Lastly if you are thinking about terminating a lease. For all leases, except written leases signed by the parties that provide otherwise, Kansas law provides that notice to terminate farm and pastureland leases must be given as follows: 1. In writing. 2. At least 30 days prior to March 1, and 3. Must fix March 1 as the termination date of the tenancy. &nbsp;If you want more specifics on Kansas Agricultural Lease Law refer to a publication at&nbsp;<a href="https://bookstore.ksre.ksu.edu/pubs/c668.pdf">https://bookstore.ksre.ksu.edu/pubs/c668.pdf</a>&nbsp;or stop by your Extension Office for a copy.&nbsp;K-State Research &amp; Extension Agricultural Economics Department has a plethora of information on Kansas Agricultural Land Leasing at&nbsp;<a href="http://www.agmanager.info/">www.agmanager.info</a>&nbsp;then hold your mouse/cursor on the Farm Management tab and a drop-down menu will appear.&nbsp;If you have any questions you can contact your local County or District Extension Office.&nbsp;Stacy Campbell is a Crop Production Extension agent in the Cottonwood District (which includes Barton and Ellis counties) for K-State Research and Extension. You can contact him by e-mail at scampbel@ksu.edu or by calling 785-628-9430.

CAMPBELL: Farm & pasture land leasing arrangements

By CRISTINA JANNEY Hays Post

Hays artist Dennis Schiel in October finished the last of the Brush the Bricks murals in downtown Hays. 

The last mural is on the north side of the Midland Marketing building, 219 E. Ninth. It depicts a farmer and horse team along with sunflowers, wheat and milo. The co-op helped choose the farm scene, Schiel said.

The mural is 38 feet at its tallest point by 32 feet.&nbsp; The height of the mural was a challenge, Schiel said. He had to use a lift to paint much of the mural.

The intent was that this piece would be a community mural, but Schiel struggled to find volunteers and ended up doing most of the painting on his own.

Schiel worked on the painting in September and October. 

Schiel helped raise $100,000 toward the Brush Bricks mural project, which included six murals: <a href="https://hayspost.com/posts/c249f967-7e8d-4a80-897e-25bccb78992e">• The three amigos mural on the S&amp;W building by Schiel</a> <a href="https://hayspost.com/posts/274e05fe-f437-4c8a-95f7-2d33bdfb4c44">• The Arc mural on the Arc Thrift Store building by Schiel</a> <a href="https://hayspost.com/posts/6bb3bfe4-ed00-43eb-87ed-eee70888ac9a">• The buffalo dance mural on the State Glass Co. building by Matt Miller</a> <a href="https://hayspost.com/posts/d8987c98-30c5-4304-8b88-cabf4ef0efb4">• The Hays postcard mural on the side of the Golden Q building by Schiel</a> <a href="https://hayspost.com/posts/f3f18a37-8dd4-4b1c-a934-490422d12346">• The dragon mural on the side of the Sake2Me building by Matt Miller</a> • The farmer mural on the side of the Midland Marketing building by Schiel

Schiel said he hopes people will stop in Hays not only to see the murals but also Pete Felten's statues. 

Schiel also hopes a local organization will produce a brochure that will highlight the Hays murals so visitors can tour the mural sites. Schiel also painted three other Hays murals that were not part of Brush the Bricks —&nbsp; a bison mural on the side of the Fox Theatre, a patriotic mural on the side of the Hays VFW and a small mural at the Hays Recreation Center.

How long the murals will last is highly dependent on how much sun and weather they receive. Murals on north walls tend to last longer — some as long as decades, Schiel said. However, he also had a mural that had to be touched up after a year. 

Schiel is planning another large mural on the grain elevator that sits across from the train depot in downtown Ellis. That mural will depict the Ellis High School mascot, the Railroaders. A train will be breaking through a rock wall with athletes from the different EHS sports riding on the train. 

Fundraising is ongoing for this project through the Ellis Foundation.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/11/1669059521628.jpeg" alt="Hays Artist Dennis Schiel's latest mural graces the north side of the Midland Marketing building, 219 E. Ninth. Photo by Cristina Janney/Hays Post " />
 <figcaption>Hays Artist Dennis Schiel's latest mural graces the north side of the Midland Marketing building, 219 E. Ninth. Photo by Cristina Janney/Hays Post </figcaption>
 </figure>By CRISTINA JANNEY Hays PostHays artist Dennis Schiel in October finished the last of the Brush the Bricks murals in downtown Hays. The last mural is on the north side of the Midland Marketing building, 219 E. Ninth. It depicts a farmer and horse team along with sunflowers, wheat and milo. The co-op helped choose the farm scene, Schiel said. The mural is 38 feet at its tallest point by 32 feet.&nbsp; The height of the mural was a challenge, Schiel said. He had to use a lift to paint much of the mural. The intent was that this piece would be a community mural, but Schiel struggled to find volunteers and ended up doing most of the painting on his own.Schiel worked on the painting in September and October. <figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/11/1669059703635.jpeg" alt="Dennis Schiel's painting on the side of the Midland Marketing building is the last of six murals in the downtown Hays Brush the Bricks project. Photo by Cristina Janney/Hays Post " />
 <figcaption>Dennis Schiel's painting on the side of the Midland Marketing building is the last of six murals in the downtown Hays Brush the Bricks project. Photo by Cristina Janney/Hays Post </figcaption>
 </figure>Schiel helped raise $100,000 toward the Brush Bricks mural project, which included six murals: <a href="https://hayspost.com/posts/c249f967-7e8d-4a80-897e-25bccb78992e">• The three amigos mural on the S&amp;W building by Schiel</a> <a href="https://hayspost.com/posts/274e05fe-f437-4c8a-95f7-2d33bdfb4c44">• The Arc mural on the Arc Thrift Store building by Schiel</a> <a href="https://hayspost.com/posts/6bb3bfe4-ed00-43eb-87ed-eee70888ac9a">• The buffalo dance mural on the State Glass Co. building by Matt Miller</a> <a href="https://hayspost.com/posts/d8987c98-30c5-4304-8b88-cabf4ef0efb4">• The Hays postcard mural on the side of the Golden Q building by Schiel</a> <a href="https://hayspost.com/posts/f3f18a37-8dd4-4b1c-a934-490422d12346">• The dragon mural on the side of the Sake2Me building by Matt Miller</a> • The farmer mural on the side of the Midland Marketing building by SchielSchiel said he hopes people will stop in Hays not only to see the murals but also Pete Felten's statues. Schiel also hopes a local organization will produce a brochure that will highlight the Hays murals so visitors can tour the mural sites. Schiel also painted three other Hays murals that were not part of Brush the Bricks —&nbsp; a bison mural on the side of the Fox Theatre, a patriotic mural on the side of the Hays VFW and a small mural at the Hays Recreation Center.How long the murals will last is highly dependent on how much sun and weather they receive. Murals on north walls tend to last longer — some as long as decades, Schiel said. However, he also had a mural that had to be touched up after a year. <figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/11/1669059738753.jpeg" alt="Hays artist Dennis Schiel said the murals that were painted for the Brush the Bricks project could last for decades, depending on weather exposure. Photo by Cristina Janney/Hays Post " />
 <figcaption>Hays artist Dennis Schiel said the murals that were painted for the Brush the Bricks project could last for decades, depending on weather exposure. Photo by Cristina Janney/Hays Post </figcaption>
 </figure>Schiel is planning another large mural on the grain elevator that sits across from the train depot in downtown Ellis. That mural will depict the Ellis High School mascot, the Railroaders. A train will be breaking through a rock wall with athletes from the different EHS sports riding on the train. Fundraising is ongoing for this project through the Ellis Foundation.

Midland Marketing mural last in Hays Brush the Bricks series

The Hope Tree is now up at Hays Emprise Bank, 1011 E. 27th, for anyone interested. 

 The Hope Tree is comparable to the Angel Trees you see in stores. 

 The kids on the Hope Tree are foster children&nbsp; that Saint Francis Ministry works with. They brought the tags to us later this year so there’s a shorter time to pick up the tags and purchase the gift. 

 The gifts are due back by Thursday, December 1.  Please stop by and pick up a tag or two to help a foster child have a Merry Christmas!

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/11/1669398506210.jpeg" alt="The Hope Tree at Hays Emprise Bank means Christmas presents for foster children at Saint Francis Ministry. (Courtesy photo)" />
 <figcaption>The Hope Tree at Hays Emprise Bank means Christmas presents for foster children at Saint Francis Ministry. (Courtesy photo)</figcaption>
 </figure>SubmittedThe Hope Tree is now up at Hays Emprise Bank, 1011 E. 27th, for anyone interested. The Hope Tree is comparable to the Angel Trees you see in stores. The kids on the Hope Tree are foster children&nbsp; that Saint Francis Ministry works with. They brought the tags to us later this year so there’s a shorter time to pick up the tags and purchase the gift. The gifts are due back by Thursday, December 1. Please stop by and pick up a tag or two to help a foster child have a Merry Christmas!

Hope Tree at Hays Emprise Bank offers a merry Christmas to area foster children

The National Weather Service in Dodge City is calling for an extended period of seasonable weather for the Hays area, with moderate temperatures and sunny to partly cloudy skies through the weekend.

While forecasters are predicting rainfall in Kansas beginning Saturday, forecasters expect any precipitation will stay east of a U.S. 183 line.&nbsp;

High temperatures through Monday will be in the upper-40s to mid-50s, with overnight lows in the upper-20s to low-30s. Winds are expected to increase through the weekend, with Sunday winds of 15 to 20 mph expected.

Tuesday will bring a cooldown, with a high of 41 predicted, dropping to a high of just 38 on Wednesday.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/11/1669388963435.png" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>The National Weather Service in Dodge City is calling for an extended period of seasonable weather for the Hays area, with moderate temperatures and sunny to partly cloudy skies through the weekend.While forecasters are predicting rainfall in Kansas beginning Saturday, forecasters expect any precipitation will stay east of a U.S. 183 line.&nbsp;High temperatures through Monday will be in the upper-40s to mid-50s, with overnight lows in the upper-20s to low-30s. Winds are expected to increase through the weekend, with Sunday winds of 15 to 20 mph expected.Tuesday will bring a cooldown, with a high of 41 predicted, dropping to a high of just 38 on Wednesday.<div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">More seasonable temperatures over the weekend with the best chance for any liquid precipitation for eastern counties west of Hwy 183 into south central Kansas. Mostly cloudy skies Saturday becoming mainly clear Sunday with light winds all weekend expected. <a href="https://t.co/4ssWdknWlb">pic.twitter.com/4ssWdknWlb</a>&mdash; NWS Dodge City (@NWSDodgeCity) <a href="https://twitter.com/NWSDodgeCity/status/1596145192033144833?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 25, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script> </div>

NWS: Seasonable weekend, rain expected to stay west of Hays

Downtown Hays will soon be completely decorated for the Christmas season after the Annual Frostfest Tree Lighting ceremony at 5 p.m. Nov. 26 at the Downtown Pavilion, 10th and Main.

During the event, attendees will be treated to coca and carolers along with a visit from "someone extra special," according to the event details.

The Hays Public Library will also participate again this year with a reading of the library mascot, Chilly the Penguin's, new book planned during the event.

And the library bookmobile will also be on site.

New to the festivities this year, following the downtown event, Tree Top Security Dallas Haselhorst will host a Hometown Holiday just down the street, in the south parking lot of 507 Main from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m.

"We're hoping to bring some folks on down and have a little bit of a holiday spirit there as well at our newly revamped building," Haselhorst said. "There will be lots of special characters and lots of things for the kiddos to do."

The free event will feature cookie decorating, ornament crafts, a station to send letters to Santa and more.

"So a little bit of everything," Haselhorst said. "Victoria's school is actually coming over to do some Christmas carols for us."

He said he was happy to engage with the community to create a fun holiday event.

And while work continues to get the building ready for tenants, including his own Tree Top Security and STEM Harvest, he said creating an event like this downtown was very much a part of the reasoning behind purchasing and revamping the building that had been the longtime home of the Hays Daily News.

"We're we're signing the contract and everything else to purchase the building, and my wife looks over me and she's like, 'Hey, now we can do this,' " Haselhorst said.

He said being a part of the community, and especially downtown Hays was always a desire of the longtime Hays business owner.

"There's a ton of amazing things going on there already," Haselhorst said. "So hey, maybe we can join in on the fun, kick this up a notch and,&nbsp; make it really, really special and work with a lot of the businesses and the folks and the energetic people that are already doing amazing things there."

Fort Hays State University will also kick off its holiday events from 5 to 8 p.m. Nov. 29, with a tree lighting in front of Sheridan Hall.

"The university’s Dickens Carolers will perform," according to the event announcement. "A variety of activities will follow the tree lighting, including crafts and cookie decorating, a coloring page contest, kids’ train rides, and photos with Santa Claus. The first 200 people will have the opportunity to receive a holiday-themed FHSU long-sleeved T-shirt and coffee/ hot chocolate from Breathe Coffee."

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/11/1669242213018.jpeg" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>By JAMES BELL Hays PostDowntown Hays will soon be completely decorated for the Christmas season after the Annual Frostfest Tree Lighting ceremony at 5 p.m. Nov. 26 at the Downtown Pavilion, 10th and Main.During the event, attendees will be treated to coca and carolers along with a visit from "someone extra special," according to the event details.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/11/1669231777516.jpeg" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>The Hays Public Library will also participate again this year with a reading of the library mascot, Chilly the Penguin's, new book planned during the event.And the library bookmobile will also be on site.New to the festivities this year, following the downtown event, Tree Top Security Dallas Haselhorst will host a Hometown Holiday just down the street, in the south parking lot of 507 Main from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/11/1669231743922.jpeg" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>"We're hoping to bring some folks on down and have a little bit of a holiday spirit there as well at our newly revamped building," Haselhorst said. "There will be lots of special characters and lots of things for the kiddos to do."The free event will feature cookie decorating, ornament crafts, a station to send letters to Santa and more."So a little bit of everything," Haselhorst said. "Victoria's school is actually coming over to do some Christmas carols for us."He said he was happy to engage with the community to create a fun holiday event.And while work continues to get the building ready for tenants, including his own Tree Top Security and STEM Harvest, he said creating an event like this downtown was very much a part of the reasoning behind purchasing and revamping the building that had been the longtime home of the Hays Daily News.<div><iframe title="Christmas season kicks off in Hays with tree lightings and more" allowtransparency="true" height="300" width="100%" style="border: none; min-width: min(100%, 430px);" scrolling="no" data-name="pb-iframe-player" src="https://www.podbean.com/player-v2/?i=qttmt-13208b1-pb&from=pb6admin&square=1&share=1&download=1&rtl=0&fonts=Arial&skin=3267a3&font-color=auto&logo_link=podcast_page&btn-skin=3267a3&size=300" allowfullscreen=""></iframe></div>"We're we're signing the contract and everything else to purchase the building, and my wife looks over me and she's like, 'Hey, now we can do this,' " Haselhorst said.He said being a part of the community, and especially downtown Hays was always a desire of the longtime Hays business owner."There's a ton of amazing things going on there already," Haselhorst said. "So hey, maybe we can join in on the fun, kick this up a notch and,&nbsp; make it really, really special and work with a lot of the businesses and the folks and the energetic people that are already doing amazing things there."<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/11/1669234066383.png" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>Fort Hays State University will also kick off its holiday events from 5 to 8 p.m. Nov. 29, with a tree lighting in front of Sheridan Hall."The university’s Dickens Carolers will perform," according to the event announcement. "A variety of activities will follow the tree lighting, including crafts and cookie decorating, a coloring page contest, kids’ train rides, and photos with Santa Claus. The first 200 people will have the opportunity to receive a holiday-themed FHSU long-sleeved T-shirt and coffee/ hot chocolate from Breathe Coffee."<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2021/12/1638566107135.jpeg" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>

🎙 Christmas season kicks off in Hays with tree lightings and more

Fort Hays State University is looking for volunteers to participate in the university’s annual toy-building event.

The Dr. Fred P. Ruda Teaming Up for Tots (TUFT) Day is set for 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 3, in the woodshop of FHSU’s Center for Applied Technology.&nbsp;

The Department of Applied Technology is asking Santa’s helpers of all ages to come and participate in the year’s TUFT Day. All are welcome to volunteer for the toy production. Children 12 and under must be accompanied by an adult.

Since 1990, faculty, staff, and community members have gathered on the first Saturday in December to assemble toys for children ages 2 to 6 who might not otherwise receive gifts for the holidays. Jobs will include sanding, running parts from station to station, putting on wheels, attaching components, and finish work. Those with experience will be able to run some machine operations. Volunteers can come and go as it fits into their schedule.

Students in Materials, Processes, and Production class – taught by Associate Professor Zach Pixler – produced several designs for the toy. Pixler and Mr. Kim Stewart, department chair, then chose the design. The winning design for this year is a space shuttle.

Like all the toys made for this event over the years, this year’s toy will be hand-crafted entirely of wood. Wilson’s students cut out the individual pieces beforehand in preparation for the Saturday toy-building event.&nbsp;

“This event is an opportunity for our students to give back to the Hays community, which does so much to support our program,” Pixler said. “Our students get the opportunity to practice manufacturing principles while providing a custom, hand-produced toy for children in the Hays community.”

The many hours of planning and pre-production put in by the FHSU students will allow volunteers to complete more than&nbsp; 200 toys in one morning.

“It is very rewarding for our students to see their sketches and ideas come to life,” Pixler added. “So much work goes into preparing the production run, and it is very satisfying to see the end result of hundreds of toys getting boxed up and sent to kids in our community.”

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/11/1669042836032.jpeg" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>FHSU University CommunicationsFort Hays State University is looking for volunteers to participate in the university’s annual toy-building event.The Dr. Fred P. Ruda Teaming Up for Tots (TUFT) Day is set for 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 3, in the woodshop of FHSU’s Center for Applied Technology.&nbsp;The Department of Applied Technology is asking Santa’s helpers of all ages to come and participate in the year’s TUFT Day. All are welcome to volunteer for the toy production. Children 12 and under must be accompanied by an adult.Since 1990, faculty, staff, and community members have gathered on the first Saturday in December to assemble toys for children ages 2 to 6 who might not otherwise receive gifts for the holidays. Jobs will include sanding, running parts from station to station, putting on wheels, attaching components, and finish work. Those with experience will be able to run some machine operations. Volunteers can come and go as it fits into their schedule.Students in Materials, Processes, and Production class – taught by Associate Professor Zach Pixler – produced several designs for the toy. Pixler and Mr. Kim Stewart, department chair, then chose the design. The winning design for this year is a space shuttle.Like all the toys made for this event over the years, this year’s toy will be hand-crafted entirely of wood. Wilson’s students cut out the individual pieces beforehand in preparation for the Saturday toy-building event.&nbsp;“This event is an opportunity for our students to give back to the Hays community, which does so much to support our program,” Pixler said. “Our students get the opportunity to practice manufacturing principles while providing a custom, hand-produced toy for children in the Hays community.”The many hours of planning and pre-production put in by the FHSU students will allow volunteers to complete more than&nbsp; 200 toys in one morning.“It is very rewarding for our students to see their sketches and ideas come to life,” Pixler added. “So much work goes into preparing the production run, and it is very satisfying to see the end result of hundreds of toys getting boxed up and sent to kids in our community.”

Annual toy-building event at FHSU around the corner

TOPEKA — Governor Laura Kelly&nbsp;this week appointed&nbsp;Rebecca Faurot&nbsp;of&nbsp;Scott City&nbsp;to the&nbsp;judgeship position in the&nbsp;25th&nbsp;Judicial District.&nbsp;The&nbsp;position was created by&nbsp;the retirement of Judge Wendel Wurst.&nbsp;&nbsp;

“Faurot&nbsp;is a level-headed and dedicated public servant,” Kelly said.&nbsp;“I am confident the&nbsp;25th&nbsp;Judicial District will benefit from&nbsp;her continued public service from the&nbsp;bench.” &nbsp;

Faurot&nbsp;is&nbsp;the County Attorney&nbsp;for&nbsp;Scott County&nbsp;and&nbsp;the City Attorney for&nbsp;Leoti&nbsp;and Scott City. Faurot&nbsp;is active in the legal community&nbsp;serving on the Kansas Board for Discipline of Attorneys and as a member of&nbsp;the&nbsp;City Attorney’s Association of Kansas, the County&nbsp;Counselor’s Association of Kansas, and the Kansas Bar Association.&nbsp;

“I am truly honored to be chosen from such distinguished applicants,”&nbsp;Faurot&nbsp;said. “I will work hard to serve the 25th&nbsp;Judicial District as an objective and open-minded judge.”&nbsp;

District court judges in the&nbsp;25th&nbsp;Judicial District are appointed by the governor and selected from nominees chosen by a district nominating commission. Judges in nominating commission districts are subject to retention elections every four years.  &nbsp;

The other nominees selected by the district nominating commission were&nbsp;Brian R. Sherwood, Christopher J. Velez, and Lara Blake Bors.&nbsp;&nbsp;

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/11/1669047971859.jpeg" alt="Rebecca Faurot / Scott County photo" />
 <figcaption>Rebecca Faurot / Scott County photo</figcaption>
 </figure>Office of the GovernorTOPEKA — Governor Laura Kelly&nbsp;this week appointed&nbsp;Rebecca Faurot&nbsp;of&nbsp;Scott City&nbsp;to the&nbsp;judgeship position in the&nbsp;25th&nbsp;Judicial District.&nbsp;The&nbsp;position was created by&nbsp;the retirement of Judge Wendel Wurst.&nbsp;&nbsp;“Faurot&nbsp;is a level-headed and dedicated public servant,” Kelly said.&nbsp;“I am confident the&nbsp;25th&nbsp;Judicial District will benefit from&nbsp;her continued public service from the&nbsp;bench.” &nbsp;Faurot&nbsp;is&nbsp;the County Attorney&nbsp;for&nbsp;Scott County&nbsp;and&nbsp;the City Attorney for&nbsp;Leoti&nbsp;and Scott City. Faurot&nbsp;is active in the legal community&nbsp;serving on the Kansas Board for Discipline of Attorneys and as a member of&nbsp;the&nbsp;City Attorney’s Association of Kansas, the County&nbsp;Counselor’s Association of Kansas, and the Kansas Bar Association.&nbsp;“I am truly honored to be chosen from such distinguished applicants,”&nbsp;Faurot&nbsp;said. “I will work hard to serve the 25th&nbsp;Judicial District as an objective and open-minded judge.”&nbsp;District court judges in the&nbsp;25th&nbsp;Judicial District are appointed by the governor and selected from nominees chosen by a district nominating commission. Judges in nominating commission districts are subject to retention elections every four years.  &nbsp;The other nominees selected by the district nominating commission were&nbsp;Brian R. Sherwood, Christopher J. Velez, and Lara Blake Bors.&nbsp;&nbsp;

Western Kansas attorney named judge in 25th Judicial District

​“The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The second best time is now,”&nbsp;declares&nbsp;an old Chinese proverb&nbsp;that makes regular rounds&nbsp;on social media. I can’t think of amore apt&nbsp;statement for our times.&nbsp;

​In&nbsp;the last few years, I’ve heard more and more people&nbsp;comment the&nbsp;world rages out of control and that scares them.&nbsp;If lack of control frightens even heroes,&nbsp;then&nbsp;it really frightens&nbsp;youngsters&nbsp;who haven’t survived the natural, societal, and familial cycles that older folks&nbsp;slogged through.&nbsp;Boomers born to Depression and WW II&nbsp;survivors&nbsp;grew up living lessons of how to&nbsp;outlast&nbsp;hard times, but our kids and grandkids know a different world.&nbsp;So, what can we&nbsp;manage while&nbsp;the list of what we can’t grows longer?

​We can plant trees.&nbsp;Performing this simple action adds beauty, increases shade in the yard, creates humus to&nbsp;nurture&nbsp;soil&nbsp;and pollinators,&nbsp;and&nbsp;invites birds&nbsp;into&nbsp;the&nbsp;neighborhood.&nbsp;Best of all, nothing so simple does a better job converting carbon dioxide to oxygen&nbsp;than a tree.&nbsp;

While a drought cycle dominates&nbsp;western Kansas&nbsp;weather,&nbsp;we can use&nbsp;ingenuity&nbsp;and rain barrels&nbsp;to&nbsp;offer&nbsp;newly established&nbsp;saplings a decent start.&nbsp;Such a simple action&nbsp;shows&nbsp;our little ones we&nbsp;believe in&nbsp;their&nbsp;future and that&nbsp;one&nbsp;person can improve&nbsp;the world.

​One&nbsp;reason we&nbsp;considered this&nbsp;house before we bought it was the fact&nbsp;someone decades ago planted&nbsp;five pines, an ash, an elm, and a mulberry tree out back. That&nbsp;ash shades&nbsp;us&nbsp;from morning&nbsp;sun. It and the other trees offer nesting sites&nbsp;and performance venues&nbsp;when&nbsp;birds&nbsp;feel like singing&nbsp;or fussing&nbsp;up a storm.&nbsp;

When&nbsp;we&nbsp;purchased&nbsp;the house,&nbsp;a sapling&nbsp;silver maple&nbsp;and&nbsp;two&nbsp;small&nbsp;lindens&nbsp;stood&nbsp;out front&nbsp;along with a mature&nbsp;locust&nbsp;that&nbsp;shades&nbsp;our neighbor’s house in the late afternoon. Although we water it, it&nbsp;doesn’t offer us a reprieve from&nbsp;late day&nbsp;heat.&nbsp;

​To solve that dilemma,&nbsp;we&nbsp;strategically planted&nbsp;two oaks trees&nbsp;that&nbsp;in time will block sun rays from hitting&nbsp;our living area and front bedroom&nbsp;on&nbsp;scorching afternoons.&nbsp;Currently our&nbsp;acorn producers&nbsp;stand about 6&nbsp;feet tall,&nbsp;so&nbsp;they have some growing to do before they offer&nbsp;effective shade. &nbsp;

Because we&nbsp;live by&nbsp;a&nbsp;highway,&nbsp;we wanted&nbsp;to muffle&nbsp;passing vehicles&nbsp;and create a privacy fence that looks nice. &nbsp;For help,&nbsp;we visited Ponderosa Nursery west of Ellis to&nbsp;get suggestions for something that&nbsp;would grow big enough to screen&nbsp;traffic&nbsp;noise&nbsp;and still&nbsp;look nice from&nbsp;both the front window and the highway. They understood exactly what we needed and returned&nbsp;from a buying trip up north with&nbsp;blue-eyed spruce trees that&nbsp;while still&nbsp;small&nbsp;have&nbsp;already grown.

​When we talk tree planting,&nbsp;the&nbsp;realist&nbsp;lurking in our brains&nbsp;reminds&nbsp;us&nbsp;we won’t live long enough to see&nbsp;our&nbsp;recent&nbsp;transplants&nbsp;reach&nbsp;maturity. That voice&nbsp;speaks truth.&nbsp;Then we consider&nbsp;expense and physical labor.&nbsp;Planting hope for the future requires&nbsp;budgeting money and energy.&nbsp;Despite the negatives,&nbsp;we know&nbsp;a&nbsp;future&nbsp;family&nbsp;will&nbsp;enjoy&nbsp;shade we planted&nbsp;as we&nbsp;rest under&nbsp;the ash and pines out back.&nbsp;I’m grateful to that&nbsp;soul who planted those trees decades ago. I don’t know if that person&nbsp;saw&nbsp;their efforts reach&nbsp;full growth, but&nbsp;he or she&nbsp;made our lives better.&nbsp;

If you didn’t&nbsp;do it&nbsp;20 years ago, now is the best time to&nbsp;plant a tree.

Karen is a retired teacher, writer, photographer, outdoors lover, and
 sixth-generation Kansan. After a time away, she’s glad to be home.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/11/1668787977534.jpeg" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>​“The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The second best time is now,”&nbsp;declares&nbsp;an old Chinese proverb&nbsp;that makes regular rounds&nbsp;on social media. I can’t think of amore apt&nbsp;statement for our times.&nbsp;​In&nbsp;the last few years, I’ve heard more and more people&nbsp;comment the&nbsp;world rages out of control and that scares them.&nbsp;If lack of control frightens even heroes,&nbsp;then&nbsp;it really frightens&nbsp;youngsters&nbsp;who haven’t survived the natural, societal, and familial cycles that older folks&nbsp;slogged through.&nbsp;Boomers born to Depression and WW II&nbsp;survivors&nbsp;grew up living lessons of how to&nbsp;outlast&nbsp;hard times, but our kids and grandkids know a different world.&nbsp;So, what can we&nbsp;manage while&nbsp;the list of what we can’t grows longer?​We can plant trees.&nbsp;Performing this simple action adds beauty, increases shade in the yard, creates humus to&nbsp;nurture&nbsp;soil&nbsp;and pollinators,&nbsp;and&nbsp;invites birds&nbsp;into&nbsp;the&nbsp;neighborhood.&nbsp;Best of all, nothing so simple does a better job converting carbon dioxide to oxygen&nbsp;than a tree.&nbsp;While a drought cycle dominates&nbsp;western Kansas&nbsp;weather,&nbsp;we can use&nbsp;ingenuity&nbsp;and rain barrels&nbsp;to&nbsp;offer&nbsp;newly established&nbsp;saplings a decent start.&nbsp;Such a simple action&nbsp;shows&nbsp;our little ones we&nbsp;believe in&nbsp;their&nbsp;future and that&nbsp;one&nbsp;person can improve&nbsp;the world.​One&nbsp;reason we&nbsp;considered this&nbsp;house before we bought it was the fact&nbsp;someone decades ago planted&nbsp;five pines, an ash, an elm, and a mulberry tree out back. That&nbsp;ash shades&nbsp;us&nbsp;from morning&nbsp;sun. It and the other trees offer nesting sites&nbsp;and performance venues&nbsp;when&nbsp;birds&nbsp;feel like singing&nbsp;or fussing&nbsp;up a storm.&nbsp;When&nbsp;we&nbsp;purchased&nbsp;the house,&nbsp;a sapling&nbsp;silver maple&nbsp;and&nbsp;two&nbsp;small&nbsp;lindens&nbsp;stood&nbsp;out front&nbsp;along with a mature&nbsp;locust&nbsp;that&nbsp;shades&nbsp;our neighbor’s house in the late afternoon. Although we water it, it&nbsp;doesn’t offer us a reprieve from&nbsp;late day&nbsp;heat.&nbsp;​To solve that dilemma,&nbsp;we&nbsp;strategically planted&nbsp;two oaks trees&nbsp;that&nbsp;in time will block sun rays from hitting&nbsp;our living area and front bedroom&nbsp;on&nbsp;scorching afternoons.&nbsp;Currently our&nbsp;acorn producers&nbsp;stand about 6&nbsp;feet tall,&nbsp;so&nbsp;they have some growing to do before they offer&nbsp;effective shade. &nbsp;Because we&nbsp;live by&nbsp;a&nbsp;highway,&nbsp;we wanted&nbsp;to muffle&nbsp;passing vehicles&nbsp;and create a privacy fence that looks nice. &nbsp;For help,&nbsp;we visited Ponderosa Nursery west of Ellis to&nbsp;get suggestions for something that&nbsp;would grow big enough to screen&nbsp;traffic&nbsp;noise&nbsp;and still&nbsp;look nice from&nbsp;both the front window and the highway. They understood exactly what we needed and returned&nbsp;from a buying trip up north with&nbsp;blue-eyed spruce trees that&nbsp;while still&nbsp;small&nbsp;have&nbsp;already grown.​When we talk tree planting,&nbsp;the&nbsp;realist&nbsp;lurking in our brains&nbsp;reminds&nbsp;us&nbsp;we won’t live long enough to see&nbsp;our&nbsp;recent&nbsp;transplants&nbsp;reach&nbsp;maturity. That voice&nbsp;speaks truth.&nbsp;Then we consider&nbsp;expense and physical labor.&nbsp;Planting hope for the future requires&nbsp;budgeting money and energy.&nbsp;Despite the negatives,&nbsp;we know&nbsp;a&nbsp;future&nbsp;family&nbsp;will&nbsp;enjoy&nbsp;shade we planted&nbsp;as we&nbsp;rest under&nbsp;the ash and pines out back.&nbsp;I’m grateful to that&nbsp;soul who planted those trees decades ago. I don’t know if that person&nbsp;saw&nbsp;their efforts reach&nbsp;full growth, but&nbsp;he or she&nbsp;made our lives better.&nbsp;If you didn’t&nbsp;do it&nbsp;20 years ago, now is the best time to&nbsp;plant a tree.Karen is a retired teacher, writer, photographer, outdoors lover, and
 sixth-generation Kansan. After a time away, she’s glad to be home.

MADORIN: Now is better than never

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/11/1669243434563.jpeg" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure><a href="https://hayspost.com/pages/state-farm-weather-window">For a full look at the weather forecast click here.</a>

By RON WILSON Huck Boyd National Institute for Rural Development&nbsp;

“We deliver the male.” No, I’m not referring to the U.S. Postal Service.&nbsp;

In this case, it refers to a business that delivers selected male genetics to pork production operations across the Midwest. This same innovative farm family is also pursuing blockchain and bitcoin mining from its location in rural Kansas.&nbsp;

Lannin Zoltenko is president and managing partner at Zoltenko Farms and Wildcat Blockchain. His family’s farm is in Jewell County, just one mile from the Nebraska state line. Five generations of the family have lived here. The farm became a century farm in 2017.&nbsp;&nbsp;

Zoltenko’s folks are James and Sherryl Zoltenko. Lannin and his wife Melanie have two boys: Chandler, who is farming, and Taran who is at Kansas State University, which is also her father’s alma mater.&nbsp;

For decades, the Zoltenkos had a traditional diversified livestock farm raising cattle, crops and pigs. The hog operation was farrow-to-finish, meaning that the males (boars) were bred to the females (sows), which gave birth to piglets that were then raised to market weight.&nbsp;

In 1997, Zoltenko was considering whether to come back to the farm. His parents were trying to decide whether to retire or expand.&nbsp;

That year in December, they received an inquiry from a business named Pig Improvement Company, or PIC, which was looking for a location for a 50-head boar stud farm in north central Kansas. This would be like a racehorse stud farm, only with swine.&nbsp;&nbsp;This company was seeking a place where selected male hogs could be raised to collect semen for artificial insemination of sows by other hog producers.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;

The Zoltenkos decided to give it a try. “It was a real faith walk,” Lannin Zoltenko said.&nbsp;&nbsp;He credits veterinarians Steve Henry and Lisa Tokach at Abilene Veterinary Hospital for providing key help in starting the operation.&nbsp;

“By February 1998, the sows were gone, and by May the boars were here,” Zoltenko said. They developed a process for collecting semen and distributing to other producers, and adopted the slogan, ‘We deliver the male.’&nbsp;

Today, Zoltenko Farms has 1,382 boars, most of those in Kansas. Since herd health and biosecurity are so important, their rural location is an advantage. The farm is located 17 miles north of the rural community of Courtland, population 294 people. Now, that’s rural.&nbsp;

For producers seeking maternal traits of good litter size and high milking ability, the Large White and Landrace breeds are preferred. For those producers who are raising hogs for harvest, Duroc and Berkshire hogs are the breeds of choice.&nbsp;

The semen collected from the Zoltenko’s high quality boars can serve some 300,000 sows annually. The farm operates 11 delivery routes to hog producers in Colorado, Kansas, Nebraska, South Dakota, Iowa, Wisconsin, Missouri, Minnesota and Illinois.&nbsp;&nbsp;“Our drivers will put on a million miles a year,” Zoltenko said.&nbsp;

In 2020, the Zoltenkos started to pursue an additional enterprise as they looked at the direction of the national economy. “I was looking for sound money,” Zoltenko said. They decided to focus on bitcoin and bitcoin mining.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;

Bitcoin is a type of cryptocurrency or digital money. According to Investopedia, bitcoin is created, distributed, traded and stored using a decentralized ledger system called a blockchain. In February 2021, the Zoltenkos set up a business known as Wildcat Blockchain.&nbsp;

Bitcoin mining is the process of creating new bitcoins by solving extremely complicated math problems that verify transactions in the currency. This requires high level computer capacity. “We look for sub-stations that have unused electrical capacity and set up bitcoin data centers there,” Zoltenko said.&nbsp;

As these computers solve the math problems, bitcoin is generated for the discoverers.&nbsp;&nbsp;“We have clients from California to Florida,” he said.&nbsp;

“Our greatest success is to positively impact the lives of our team members, our partners, and our community.”&nbsp;

For more information about the stud farm, see&nbsp;<a href="http://www.zfistud.com/">www.zfistud.com</a>.&nbsp;

We deliver the male – in this case, male genetics for leading pork producer operations across the Midwest. We commend Lannin Zoltenko and all those involved with Zoltenko Farms and Wildcat Blockchain for their innovation and entrepreneurship.&nbsp;

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/11/1669214992365.png" alt="Melanie and Lannin Zoltenko" />
 <figcaption>Melanie and Lannin Zoltenko</figcaption>
 </figure>By RON WILSON Huck Boyd National Institute for Rural Development&nbsp;“We deliver the male.” No, I’m not referring to the U.S. Postal Service.&nbsp;In this case, it refers to a business that delivers selected male genetics to pork production operations across the Midwest. This same innovative farm family is also pursuing blockchain and bitcoin mining from its location in rural Kansas.&nbsp;Lannin Zoltenko is president and managing partner at Zoltenko Farms and Wildcat Blockchain. His family’s farm is in Jewell County, just one mile from the Nebraska state line. Five generations of the family have lived here. The farm became a century farm in 2017.&nbsp;&nbsp;Zoltenko’s folks are James and Sherryl Zoltenko. Lannin and his wife Melanie have two boys: Chandler, who is farming, and Taran who is at Kansas State University, which is also her father’s alma mater.&nbsp;For decades, the Zoltenkos had a traditional diversified livestock farm raising cattle, crops and pigs. The hog operation was farrow-to-finish, meaning that the males (boars) were bred to the females (sows), which gave birth to piglets that were then raised to market weight.&nbsp;In 1997, Zoltenko was considering whether to come back to the farm. His parents were trying to decide whether to retire or expand.&nbsp;That year in December, they received an inquiry from a business named Pig Improvement Company, or PIC, which was looking for a location for a 50-head boar stud farm in north central Kansas. This would be like a racehorse stud farm, only with swine.&nbsp;&nbsp;This company was seeking a place where selected male hogs could be raised to collect semen for artificial insemination of sows by other hog producers.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;The Zoltenkos decided to give it a try. “It was a real faith walk,” Lannin Zoltenko said.&nbsp;&nbsp;He credits veterinarians Steve Henry and Lisa Tokach at Abilene Veterinary Hospital for providing key help in starting the operation.&nbsp;“By February 1998, the sows were gone, and by May the boars were here,” Zoltenko said. They developed a process for collecting semen and distributing to other producers, and adopted the slogan, ‘We deliver the male.’&nbsp;Today, Zoltenko Farms has 1,382 boars, most of those in Kansas. Since herd health and biosecurity are so important, their rural location is an advantage. The farm is located 17 miles north of the rural community of Courtland, population 294 people. Now, that’s rural.&nbsp;For producers seeking maternal traits of good litter size and high milking ability, the Large White and Landrace breeds are preferred. For those producers who are raising hogs for harvest, Duroc and Berkshire hogs are the breeds of choice.&nbsp;The semen collected from the Zoltenko’s high quality boars can serve some 300,000 sows annually. The farm operates 11 delivery routes to hog producers in Colorado, Kansas, Nebraska, South Dakota, Iowa, Wisconsin, Missouri, Minnesota and Illinois.&nbsp;&nbsp;“Our drivers will put on a million miles a year,” Zoltenko said.&nbsp;In 2020, the Zoltenkos started to pursue an additional enterprise as they looked at the direction of the national economy. “I was looking for sound money,” Zoltenko said. They decided to focus on bitcoin and bitcoin mining.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Bitcoin is a type of cryptocurrency or digital money. According to Investopedia, bitcoin is created, distributed, traded and stored using a decentralized ledger system called a blockchain. In February 2021, the Zoltenkos set up a business known as Wildcat Blockchain.&nbsp;Bitcoin mining is the process of creating new bitcoins by solving extremely complicated math problems that verify transactions in the currency. This requires high level computer capacity. “We look for sub-stations that have unused electrical capacity and set up bitcoin data centers there,” Zoltenko said.&nbsp;As these computers solve the math problems, bitcoin is generated for the discoverers.&nbsp;&nbsp;“We have clients from California to Florida,” he said.&nbsp;“Our greatest success is to positively impact the lives of our team members, our partners, and our community.”&nbsp;For more information about the stud farm, see&nbsp;<a href="http://www.zfistud.com/">www.zfistud.com</a>.&nbsp;We deliver the male – in this case, male genetics for leading pork producer operations across the Midwest. We commend Lannin Zoltenko and all those involved with Zoltenko Farms and Wildcat Blockchain for their innovation and entrepreneurship.&nbsp;They definitely deliver.&nbsp;

Now That’s Rural: Zoltenko Farms and Wildcat Blockchain 

The Hays Police Department responded to 79 calls from Nov. 13 through Nov. 19, 2022 according to the HPD Activity Log.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/6/1592410704431.jpeg" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>The Hays Police Department responded to 79 calls from Nov. 13 through Nov. 19, 2022 according to the HPD Activity Log.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/11/1669384299772.jpeg" alt="" />
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Hays PD Activity Log, Nov. 13-19 

“Is that one of the people who owns this school?”

The question came from a serious-looking young man as I was starting my tour of Jardine Elementary School as part of Topeka USD 501’s Principal for a Day program. I assume it was a combination of my tie and jacket and a previous alert that some strangers would be visiting that raised his interest.

My guide Angela Pomeroy, who is principal every day, quickly responded: “Well, he is a taxpayer, so in a way he is.”

It was a great answer and reminded me that all of us really are the owners of our public schools. Like any good owner, we want to know how our investment is doing. Is it accomplishing what we want? What return are we getting? &nbsp;

Spending a few hours with Jardine staff and students gave me small glimpses into the management of one of our schools. What I saw was a different world from when I went to school in the sixties and seventies; even from when my kids were in school in the nineties and 2000’s, and I suspect, different from the experience of many other “owners.”

Start with the nearly 700 students. “I have 176 special education students in this building,” said Principal Pomeroy. “That's 26% of my population, who have either a learning disability, an emotional disturbance, or some kind of instructional need that are behind. That's a fourth of my kids having diagnosed disabilities.

“And then I have about 75 students whose English is their second language. That's another subgroup. This year, I'm the site for the Ukrainian refugees, so I currently have 13 children who only speak Russian or Ukrainian. That jumps the English Language Learners up to almost 100. So that's almost 300 of my almost 700 students that are already going to be behind the eight-ball due to language challenges or disabilities.”

Jardine Elementary is also the location of the Jaguar Academy, a “Special Day School” for district students with extreme behaviors, which requires a one to three teacher to student ratio. The school has a state funded mental health intervention team that serves not only students but parents who don’t have the time, money or access for any other mental health service.

I don’t remember everything about my time at St. Joseph’s Elementary School in Hays, Kansas in the 1960’s, but I’m quite confident the number of special education students, ELL students and refugees from a war zone were zero, zero and zero. And while there certainly were children and families struggling, I don’t think there is much disagreement that depression, anxiety and other mental health issues, and social conflict are far worse than a generation or two ago. We didn’t have to lock the doors. Is a tornado drill as frightening to young minds as an active shooter drill?

Yet Pomeroy says it is not so much the students that have changed as the society they are living in. “When we were kids,” she said (generously including me in her age range), “we played with other kids in the neighborhood, we had constant interaction with others and learned how to manage conflict. A lot more children had a parent at home to supervise, but we had to amuse ourselves because our parents didn’t see it as their role to entertain us and occupy our time. If we had a fight with our friends or a problem at school, we could just come home and shut it out.

“Now, unless children have gone to preschool or have parents who can give them a lot of experiences, many kids come to school without having an interaction with other children or adults. They may have absent parents working multiple jobs, or others that try to meet every desire to keep them happy. Kids are constantly babysat, entertained, or distracted, by phones, tablets and TV screens. And because of social media, they are never disconnected.”

Like so many other veteran educators I have spoken to, over her career Pomeroy has seen a spike in children who come to school struggling to get along with others, follow directions and simply focus on a topic for a longer time than a video clip – because they have never had to. COVID has made things worse.

“I have some kindergarteners, I call them little COVID babies, because their parents really didn't leave their home, out of fear or otherwise, when these guys were three and four years old,” she said. “They're not eating in restaurants and being out at Target and having all the exposure to stimulus. Now they're in a school being expected to sit and follow rules and being around a ton of people. And they just can't do it.”

When young children start behind, it is hard to ever catch up – it is hard to learn much more than a year of learning in a school year, especially if a child is battling other issues. In fact, Pomeroy notes, as students become aware that they are behind, it creates more problems. “When kids see they can't read like their classmates, they have an awareness now. They can see what their peers are doing that they can't. So, they would rather act up and be out of class and have avoidance behaviors than to be in trying to figure it out and get it going.”

Compounding the challenge is that new Kansas standards, measured by state tests, are based on getting kids academically prepared for college. This is also vastly different from my childhood, when only about half the adult population graduated from high school and only about 15 percent had a four-year degree. In the workforce of the 1970’s, two-thirds of jobs required only a high school diploma or less; today two-thirds of jobs require more than a high school diploma. The percentage of Kansans with a four-year or more than doubled since I was in school but is still only 35 percent of adults over age 24. For a school like Jardine, where 60 percent of students are low income, many parents never attended any college. They feel ill-equipped to help their children prepare for more rigorous academic standards, and children may not see the need for college themselves.

So, when we evaluate students based on how they do on measures like state tests, it is important to remember that students come to school less prepared, but expectations on what they are supposed to learn are much higher.

These seemed like reasonable facts to me, but as an “owner,” I didn’t want just to accept excuses. I decided to compare my school to a similar private school in Topeka, because of arguments that public schools are failing to meet the needs of students who could do better in private schools.

Through the Kansas State Department of Education’s school building report card website, I found a private, accredited school in Topeka that reported 65.8 percent of students as low-income last year, a little more than Jardine’s 61.3 percent. But that private school had just 6.6 percent of students with disabilities, compared to 21.8 percent at Jardine last year.

Using state test scores as a measure, the private school had 41.9 percent of students at the lowest level in math, slightly worse than Jardine’s 39.3 percent. The private school had 43.7 percent of students in the lowest level in language arts, better than Jardine with 49.4. But Jardine had 21.8 percent of students at the highest two levels (on track for college) in math and 21.5 percent in language arts, better than the private school’s 10.5 percent in math and 18.4 in language arts.

In other words, Jardine’s state test scores are equal to, if not better, than the most comparable private school in the area.

That’s not a criticism of the private schools. It’s confirmation that the biggest challenges in education start with issues that students bring with them that the school can’t control but can only work to mitigate. It’s the challenge for both public and private schools of bringing more students to meet higher expectations than we have ever had in a society that supports learning less.

Because if we are honest, we know schools in the past didn’t really produce more college-ready students who graduated and took their Shakespeare-reading, essay-writing, calculus-preforming skills off to work on farm, in factories, be stay-at-home moms. That fact is, we simply tolerated lower performance, kicked kids out for bad behavior, isolated students with special needs and accepted more dropouts because the economy and society said we could.

But we can’t do that anymore. Kansas has set higher standards because more students will eventually need higher skills. There is no question students lost ground during COVID. Kansas is competing with other states that are stepping up their efforts and improving results.

At Jardine, we talked about what the school is doing to get better results. That includes continuing efforts to help students with self-regulation to improve both behavior and focus; training teachers on better ways to deal with the multiple needs of students at different levels; adding after school programs to give students more time and support; working to meet more rigorous academic standards and exposing students to more postsecondary and career options at younger ages, including a STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) focus.

I left hopeful because of the deep commitment, knowledge and focus I saw in Principal Pomeroy and her colleagues at Jardine Elementary. I’m sure they and their colleagues across Topeka had many other things they could have done in the two-plus hours they spent with me and 30 other “principals for a day.” But what I learned was invaluable. I would encourage all other districts to consider a program like this. Show the “owners” what is really going on in your schools. Answer their questions. Share your plans to help more students succeed.

In addition to writing "The Tallman Education Report," Mark Tallman also serves as the associate executive director for advocacy for the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.kasb.org/">Kansas Association of School Boards</a>.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/2/1582221969260.jpeg" alt="Mark Tallman. Photo courtesy Kansas Association of School Boards" />
 <figcaption>Mark Tallman. Photo courtesy Kansas Association of School Boards</figcaption>
 </figure>By MARK TALLMAN“Is that one of the people who owns this school?”The question came from a serious-looking young man as I was starting my tour of Jardine Elementary School as part of Topeka USD 501’s Principal for a Day program. I assume it was a combination of my tie and jacket and a previous alert that some strangers would be visiting that raised his interest.My guide Angela Pomeroy, who is principal every day, quickly responded: “Well, he is a taxpayer, so in a way he is.”It was a great answer and reminded me that all of us really are the owners of our public schools. Like any good owner, we want to know how our investment is doing. Is it accomplishing what we want? What return are we getting? &nbsp;Spending a few hours with Jardine staff and students gave me small glimpses into the management of one of our schools. What I saw was a different world from when I went to school in the sixties and seventies; even from when my kids were in school in the nineties and 2000’s, and I suspect, different from the experience of many other “owners.”Start with the nearly 700 students. “I have 176 special education students in this building,” said Principal Pomeroy. “That's 26% of my population, who have either a learning disability, an emotional disturbance, or some kind of instructional need that are behind. That's a fourth of my kids having diagnosed disabilities.“And then I have about 75 students whose English is their second language. That's another subgroup. This year, I'm the site for the Ukrainian refugees, so I currently have 13 children who only speak Russian or Ukrainian. That jumps the English Language Learners up to almost 100. So that's almost 300 of my almost 700 students that are already going to be behind the eight-ball due to language challenges or disabilities.”Jardine Elementary is also the location of the Jaguar Academy, a “Special Day School” for district students with extreme behaviors, which requires a one to three teacher to student ratio. The school has a state funded mental health intervention team that serves not only students but parents who don’t have the time, money or access for any other mental health service.I don’t remember everything about my time at St. Joseph’s Elementary School in Hays, Kansas in the 1960’s, but I’m quite confident the number of special education students, ELL students and refugees from a war zone were zero, zero and zero. And while there certainly were children and families struggling, I don’t think there is much disagreement that depression, anxiety and other mental health issues, and social conflict are far worse than a generation or two ago. We didn’t have to lock the doors. Is a tornado drill as frightening to young minds as an active shooter drill?Yet Pomeroy says it is not so much the students that have changed as the society they are living in. “When we were kids,” she said (generously including me in her age range), “we played with other kids in the neighborhood, we had constant interaction with others and learned how to manage conflict. A lot more children had a parent at home to supervise, but we had to amuse ourselves because our parents didn’t see it as their role to entertain us and occupy our time. If we had a fight with our friends or a problem at school, we could just come home and shut it out.“Now, unless children have gone to preschool or have parents who can give them a lot of experiences, many kids come to school without having an interaction with other children or adults. They may have absent parents working multiple jobs, or others that try to meet every desire to keep them happy. Kids are constantly babysat, entertained, or distracted, by phones, tablets and TV screens. And because of social media, they are never disconnected.”Like so many other veteran educators I have spoken to, over her career Pomeroy has seen a spike in children who come to school struggling to get along with others, follow directions and simply focus on a topic for a longer time than a video clip – because they have never had to. COVID has made things worse.“I have some kindergarteners, I call them little COVID babies, because their parents really didn't leave their home, out of fear or otherwise, when these guys were three and four years old,” she said. “They're not eating in restaurants and being out at Target and having all the exposure to stimulus. Now they're in a school being expected to sit and follow rules and being around a ton of people. And they just can't do it.”When young children start behind, it is hard to ever catch up – it is hard to learn much more than a year of learning in a school year, especially if a child is battling other issues. In fact, Pomeroy notes, as students become aware that they are behind, it creates more problems. “When kids see they can't read like their classmates, they have an awareness now. They can see what their peers are doing that they can't. So, they would rather act up and be out of class and have avoidance behaviors than to be in trying to figure it out and get it going.”Compounding the challenge is that new Kansas standards, measured by state tests, are based on getting kids academically prepared for college. This is also vastly different from my childhood, when only about half the adult population graduated from high school and only about 15 percent had a four-year degree. In the workforce of the 1970’s, two-thirds of jobs required only a high school diploma or less; today two-thirds of jobs require more than a high school diploma. The percentage of Kansans with a four-year or more than doubled since I was in school but is still only 35 percent of adults over age 24. For a school like Jardine, where 60 percent of students are low income, many parents never attended any college. They feel ill-equipped to help their children prepare for more rigorous academic standards, and children may not see the need for college themselves.So, when we evaluate students based on how they do on measures like state tests, it is important to remember that students come to school less prepared, but expectations on what they are supposed to learn are much higher.These seemed like reasonable facts to me, but as an “owner,” I didn’t want just to accept excuses. I decided to compare my school to a similar private school in Topeka, because of arguments that public schools are failing to meet the needs of students who could do better in private schools.Through the Kansas State Department of Education’s school building report card website, I found a private, accredited school in Topeka that reported 65.8 percent of students as low-income last year, a little more than Jardine’s 61.3 percent. But that private school had just 6.6 percent of students with disabilities, compared to 21.8 percent at Jardine last year.Using state test scores as a measure, the private school had 41.9 percent of students at the lowest level in math, slightly worse than Jardine’s 39.3 percent. The private school had 43.7 percent of students in the lowest level in language arts, better than Jardine with 49.4. But Jardine had 21.8 percent of students at the highest two levels (on track for college) in math and 21.5 percent in language arts, better than the private school’s 10.5 percent in math and 18.4 in language arts.In other words, Jardine’s state test scores are equal to, if not better, than the most comparable private school in the area.That’s not a criticism of the private schools. It’s confirmation that the biggest challenges in education start with issues that students bring with them that the school can’t control but can only work to mitigate. It’s the challenge for both public and private schools of bringing more students to meet higher expectations than we have ever had in a society that supports learning less.Because if we are honest, we know schools in the past didn’t really produce more college-ready students who graduated and took their Shakespeare-reading, essay-writing, calculus-preforming skills off to work on farm, in factories, be stay-at-home moms. That fact is, we simply tolerated lower performance, kicked kids out for bad behavior, isolated students with special needs and accepted more dropouts because the economy and society said we could.But we can’t do that anymore. Kansas has set higher standards because more students will eventually need higher skills. There is no question students lost ground during COVID. Kansas is competing with other states that are stepping up their efforts and improving results.At Jardine, we talked about what the school is doing to get better results. That includes continuing efforts to help students with self-regulation to improve both behavior and focus; training teachers on better ways to deal with the multiple needs of students at different levels; adding after school programs to give students more time and support; working to meet more rigorous academic standards and exposing students to more postsecondary and career options at younger ages, including a STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) focus.I left hopeful because of the deep commitment, knowledge and focus I saw in Principal Pomeroy and her colleagues at Jardine Elementary. I’m sure they and their colleagues across Topeka had many other things they could have done in the two-plus hours they spent with me and 30 other “principals for a day.” But what I learned was invaluable. I would encourage all other districts to consider a program like this. Show the “owners” what is really going on in your schools. Answer their questions. Share your plans to help more students succeed.In addition to writing "The Tallman Education Report," Mark Tallman also serves as the associate executive director for advocacy for the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.kasb.org/">Kansas Association of School Boards</a>.

TALLMAN: Principal for Day offers glimpse of public school changes

Officers with the Great Bend Police Department have made two drug-related arrests over the past week. On Nov. 17 at approximately 3:36 p.m, officers conducted a traffic stop on a Honda Civic for a moving violation. During the traffic stop, police K-9 Menta was deployed to perform a free-air sniff around the vehicle. Following a K-9 indication, officers performed a search of the vehicle. 

Officers located methamphetamine during a thorough search of the vehicle. The driver of the vehicle, identified as 40-year-old James Raab, was placed under arrest for possession of methamphetamine, no drug tax stamp, improper turn signal, and no current proof of insurance. Raab was transported to the Barton County Jail and booked in lieu of a $10,000.00 surety bond.

On Nov. 21 just before 5 p.m., a GBPD officer initiated a traffic stop on a vehicle in the 1000 block of Adams Street for an equipment violation. During the traffic stop, K-9 Menta was utilized to conduct a free-air sniff, where she alerted to the presence of illegal narcotics. 

Methamphetamine was also located in during the course of that search, as was a firearm. The driver of the vehicle, identified as 23-year-old Layton Brown, was placed under arrest for possession of methamphetamine, criminal possession of a firearm, no drug tax stamp, driving while suspended, and illegal window tint. Brown was transported to the Barton County Jail where he was booked in lieu of bond. 

These investigation are still ongoing. Anyone with information in reference to this case is urged to contact the Great Bend Police Department at 620-793-4120 or Crime Stoppers at 620-792-1300.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2021/4/1619705706781.jpeg" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>Officers with the Great Bend Police Department have made two drug-related arrests over the past week. On Nov. 17 at approximately 3:36 p.m, officers conducted a traffic stop on a Honda Civic for a moving violation. During the traffic stop, police K-9 Menta was deployed to perform a free-air sniff around the vehicle. Following a K-9 indication, officers performed a search of the vehicle. Officers located methamphetamine during a thorough search of the vehicle. The driver of the vehicle, identified as 40-year-old James Raab, was placed under arrest for possession of methamphetamine, no drug tax stamp, improper turn signal, and no current proof of insurance. Raab was transported to the Barton County Jail and booked in lieu of a $10,000.00 surety bond.On Nov. 21 just before 5 p.m., a GBPD officer initiated a traffic stop on a vehicle in the 1000 block of Adams Street for an equipment violation. During the traffic stop, K-9 Menta was utilized to conduct a free-air sniff, where she alerted to the presence of illegal narcotics. Methamphetamine was also located in during the course of that search, as was a firearm. The driver of the vehicle, identified as 23-year-old Layton Brown, was placed under arrest for possession of methamphetamine, criminal possession of a firearm, no drug tax stamp, driving while suspended, and illegal window tint. Brown was transported to the Barton County Jail where he was booked in lieu of bond. These investigation are still ongoing. Anyone with information in reference to this case is urged to contact the Great Bend Police Department at 620-793-4120 or Crime Stoppers at 620-792-1300.

Great Bend police officers make two drug-related arrests

I often smile when I think about the Winston Churchill quote,&nbsp;“We make a living by what we get. We make a life by what we give.” Fort&nbsp;Hays State University continues to be abundantly blessed by the generosity of so many philanthropists. Those gifts are&nbsp;game-changers. They help us provide state-of-the-art facilities, honor and inspire faculty and open doors of opportunity to many students.

I have a deeply grateful heart for our philanthropists. Because their imprint on our university is so profound, I often find myself searching for the right words and the right ways to say&nbsp;“thank you.”&nbsp;That is why I soaked up every word expressed by graduate student Tanner Callis, who is completing his master’s degree in English.&nbsp;

I’d like to share Tanner’s story in his own words.&nbsp;The following&nbsp;is&nbsp;his beautiful expression&nbsp;of impact:

Every scholarship carries with it a story. The gift of an alumna or alumnus. The goodwill of a loved one. The charity of a friend. And as scholarships are given and received by students, the stories attached to them become intertwined with our own personal experiences&nbsp;in&nbsp;academia.&nbsp;I believe the endowing of an educational scholarship is a reflection of our shared trust in one another across generations.

Today, I am pleased to share a bit about my story of scholarship.&nbsp;

Growing up in Hays, I was one of a blooming batch of annual Hays High School seniors who had to&nbsp;decide whether&nbsp;to pursue higher education either abroad—as in daring outside the comfort zone and finding a new school in a foreign city or state—or attend here at Fort Hays, my local college and the home of that familiar Tiger Gold.&nbsp;

Of course, I chose the latter, not only because Fort Hays offers&nbsp;a&nbsp;quality education at a student-friendly price&nbsp;but also because I had earned a scholarship that was transferable only&nbsp;to&nbsp;a handful of&nbsp;Midwest colleges. (And if I was going to go and do this college thing, I was convinced at the time that it had to either be&nbsp;here&nbsp;or somewhere along the coast.&nbsp;My decision-making process at the time was based on what I would call&nbsp;dreaming high-schooler logic.&nbsp;Ultimately, I went where the scholarship took me.&nbsp;

And I’m not alone in my decision. Many of us—hundreds of us, perhaps thousands, even—choose Fort Hays because this school offers attainable scholarships where many others do not. We’re here on basketball, soccer,&nbsp;and&nbsp;volleyball scholarships. We’re here on scholarships for painting, ceramics, graphic design.&nbsp;band, orchestra,&nbsp;and&nbsp;choir.&nbsp;Many of us are here on&nbsp;English, history, philosophy. Biology, chemistry, mathematics,&nbsp;business, communication, nursing,&nbsp;or&nbsp;teaching&nbsp;scholarships.&nbsp;I’ve talked to fellow students from all across campus, and&nbsp;many&nbsp;of them are here on scholarship for one craft or another.

So,&nbsp;there I am, standing amidst a handful of other psychology scholarship recipients my freshman year, none of us having formally met a single faculty member before the department had already considered us worthy of scholarships&nbsp;more than&nbsp;five months prior. And that’s because the committees involved in selecting these recipients read our resumes, report cards, and recommendation letters. They decided to invest in us before we even&nbsp;decided&nbsp;to invest in this school. It sounds like a risky environment, and it kind of is. But the risks, more often than not,&nbsp;are&nbsp;worth taking.&nbsp;

Thanks to scholarships from the Department of Psychology and the Department of Music (I play cello in the Hays Symphony), I did not have to disproportionately pay out of pocket for textbooks for&nbsp;any&nbsp;of my classes that first year. Not only that, there was runoff. Looking back, those departmental&nbsp;scholarships probably paid for the majority of the materials I needed for any of my amazing psych courses. Combined with my community scholarship, which covered fees and tuition, I didn’t drop a penny on Fort Hays classes. It’s almost ridiculous. Here in the 2020s, and no fees. Incredible. And it’s all thanks to scholarships.

Perhaps my hard work and&nbsp;resulting&nbsp;good fortune&nbsp;helped me&nbsp;decide&nbsp;to arrange&nbsp;for&nbsp;another investment in Fort Hays State University. In the fall of 2021, I enrolled in the English department’s program for a Master of Arts. Here again, I was presented with—you guessed it—a scholarship-the Eleanor Bogart scholarship. This scholarship bought me expert-approved copies of&nbsp;Le Morte D'arthur,&nbsp;The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano&nbsp;(with letters of critical review),&nbsp;and&nbsp;The Norton Anthology of English Literature&nbsp;covering The Middle Ages. There’s&nbsp;a lot&nbsp;to be excited about here—take my word for it. &nbsp;

The jump from psychology undergrad to English M.A. questions many, sometimes even myself. As an undergraduate, I continuously&nbsp;tacked&nbsp;on an English course every semester. World Fiction. Survey of American History. Advanced Composition. There was no pressing need to complete Gen Ed credits, so I know it had become a conscious decision at some point. Twenty-one credit hours later, I walked across the&nbsp;commencement&nbsp;stage with my B.S. in psychology, an English minor, and a cumulative 4.0 GPA, along with the confidence to start a new chapter in my life.&nbsp;

This chapter will just so happen to come to a close this spring. As I near the end of my M.A. degree, I look back on a six-year academic career at FHSU. “So many people got me to where I am today.” It’s a thought that often comes to mind when we begin to see the light at the end of a long tunnel. Family, teachers, colleagues, coworkers—even the retired neighbors on my block who see me getting in and out of my car five times a day. These people were all integral to&nbsp;my ability to&nbsp;complete&nbsp;my degree. But the&nbsp;failure&nbsp;to include scholarships in bolstering my academic and financial situation would be most erroneous.&nbsp;

Currently, I am using my writing and editing strengths as the publicity writer for the Hays Symphony here in town. I’ve been a cello player in the orchestra for almost a decade now, so it’s nice to be able to give back and&nbsp;get involved&nbsp;in a new way.&nbsp;As a publicity intern, I gained experience writing copy for posters and other promotional materials, generating content for our website, and managing content for our social media platforms, primarily Facebook and Instagram.&nbsp;Plus, I get to help out my longtime mentor Cathy Drabkin, the brilliant baker behind Cathy’s Breads, who was also once an English M.A. student herself. Maybe the similarities add up to why we get along so well.

Where does all this effort lead? What’s the goal after this?” Those are the big questions. After graduation, I hope to attend the Denver Publishing Institute. There, I will be able to&nbsp;leverage&nbsp;my&nbsp;reading, writing, and editing experiences and become a more skilled professional. But also, the publishing&nbsp;world&nbsp;demands&nbsp;an&nbsp;understanding of different viewpoints, negotiation skills, presentation formality, business instinct, and a good eye for appealing content. I want to work with writers who articulate thoughts, feelings, and&nbsp;emotions through character, plot, and setting. I also want to try my hand at technical writing someday. And I think I’d like to work in writing and editing&nbsp;textbooks instead of solely reading them. Academia is, for many people, a circular journey.&nbsp;

And so,&nbsp;in this next chapter&nbsp;of my life,&nbsp;I will continue to experiment, explore, and acquire new knowledge. Fort Hays State University met me at a time&nbsp;when&nbsp;I didn’t know exactly what I wanted to do,&nbsp;and through challenge, helped me figure that out. Now, I plan to put my cumulative experience to the test. Tough times await, no doubt, but as I’ve been told before numerous times—and reinforced through being a scholarship recipient—I&nbsp;am&nbsp;a person who can meet these demands head-on.&nbsp;(Callis, 2022)

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2019/12/1575301942236.jpeg" alt="Dr. Tisa Mason, FHSU president" />
 <figcaption>Dr. Tisa Mason, FHSU president</figcaption>
 </figure>I often smile when I think about the Winston Churchill quote,&nbsp;“We make a living by what we get. We make a life by what we give.” Fort&nbsp;Hays State University continues to be abundantly blessed by the generosity of so many philanthropists. Those gifts are&nbsp;game-changers. They help us provide state-of-the-art facilities, honor and inspire faculty and open doors of opportunity to many students.I have a deeply grateful heart for our philanthropists. Because their imprint on our university is so profound, I often find myself searching for the right words and the right ways to say&nbsp;“thank you.”&nbsp;That is why I soaked up every word expressed by graduate student Tanner Callis, who is completing his master’s degree in English.&nbsp;I’d like to share Tanner’s story in his own words.&nbsp;The following&nbsp;is&nbsp;his beautiful expression&nbsp;of impact:Every scholarship carries with it a story. The gift of an alumna or alumnus. The goodwill of a loved one. The charity of a friend. And as scholarships are given and received by students, the stories attached to them become intertwined with our own personal experiences&nbsp;in&nbsp;academia.&nbsp;I believe the endowing of an educational scholarship is a reflection of our shared trust in one another across generations.Today, I am pleased to share a bit about my story of scholarship.&nbsp;Growing up in Hays, I was one of a blooming batch of annual Hays High School seniors who had to&nbsp;decide whether&nbsp;to pursue higher education either abroad—as in daring outside the comfort zone and finding a new school in a foreign city or state—or attend here at Fort Hays, my local college and the home of that familiar Tiger Gold.&nbsp;Of course, I chose the latter, not only because Fort Hays offers&nbsp;a&nbsp;quality education at a student-friendly price&nbsp;but also because I had earned a scholarship that was transferable only&nbsp;to&nbsp;a handful of&nbsp;Midwest colleges. (And if I was going to go and do this college thing, I was convinced at the time that it had to either be&nbsp;here&nbsp;or somewhere along the coast.&nbsp;My decision-making process at the time was based on what I would call&nbsp;dreaming high-schooler logic.&nbsp;Ultimately, I went where the scholarship took me.&nbsp;And I’m not alone in my decision. Many of us—hundreds of us, perhaps thousands, even—choose Fort Hays because this school offers attainable scholarships where many others do not. We’re here on basketball, soccer,&nbsp;and&nbsp;volleyball scholarships. We’re here on scholarships for painting, ceramics, graphic design.&nbsp;band, orchestra,&nbsp;and&nbsp;choir.&nbsp;Many of us are here on&nbsp;English, history, philosophy. Biology, chemistry, mathematics,&nbsp;business, communication, nursing,&nbsp;or&nbsp;teaching&nbsp;scholarships.&nbsp;I’ve talked to fellow students from all across campus, and&nbsp;many&nbsp;of them are here on scholarship for one craft or another.So,&nbsp;there I am, standing amidst a handful of other psychology scholarship recipients my freshman year, none of us having formally met a single faculty member before the department had already considered us worthy of scholarships&nbsp;more than&nbsp;five months prior. And that’s because the committees involved in selecting these recipients read our resumes, report cards, and recommendation letters. They decided to invest in us before we even&nbsp;decided&nbsp;to invest in this school. It sounds like a risky environment, and it kind of is. But the risks, more often than not,&nbsp;are&nbsp;worth taking.&nbsp;Thanks to scholarships from the Department of Psychology and the Department of Music (I play cello in the Hays Symphony), I did not have to disproportionately pay out of pocket for textbooks for&nbsp;any&nbsp;of my classes that first year. Not only that, there was runoff. Looking back, those departmental&nbsp;scholarships probably paid for the majority of the materials I needed for any of my amazing psych courses. Combined with my community scholarship, which covered fees and tuition, I didn’t drop a penny on Fort Hays classes. It’s almost ridiculous. Here in the 2020s, and no fees. Incredible. And it’s all thanks to scholarships.Perhaps my hard work and&nbsp;resulting&nbsp;good fortune&nbsp;helped me&nbsp;decide&nbsp;to arrange&nbsp;for&nbsp;another investment in Fort Hays State University. In the fall of 2021, I enrolled in the English department’s program for a Master of Arts. Here again, I was presented with—you guessed it—a scholarship-the Eleanor Bogart scholarship. This scholarship bought me expert-approved copies of&nbsp;Le Morte D'arthur,&nbsp;The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano&nbsp;(with letters of critical review),&nbsp;and&nbsp;The Norton Anthology of English Literature&nbsp;covering The Middle Ages. There’s&nbsp;a lot&nbsp;to be excited about here—take my word for it. &nbsp;The jump from psychology undergrad to English M.A. questions many, sometimes even myself. As an undergraduate, I continuously&nbsp;tacked&nbsp;on an English course every semester. World Fiction. Survey of American History. Advanced Composition. There was no pressing need to complete Gen Ed credits, so I know it had become a conscious decision at some point. Twenty-one credit hours later, I walked across the&nbsp;commencement&nbsp;stage with my B.S. in psychology, an English minor, and a cumulative 4.0 GPA, along with the confidence to start a new chapter in my life.&nbsp;This chapter will just so happen to come to a close this spring. As I near the end of my M.A. degree, I look back on a six-year academic career at FHSU. “So many people got me to where I am today.” It’s a thought that often comes to mind when we begin to see the light at the end of a long tunnel. Family, teachers, colleagues, coworkers—even the retired neighbors on my block who see me getting in and out of my car five times a day. These people were all integral to&nbsp;my ability to&nbsp;complete&nbsp;my degree. But the&nbsp;failure&nbsp;to include scholarships in bolstering my academic and financial situation would be most erroneous.&nbsp;Currently, I am using my writing and editing strengths as the publicity writer for the Hays Symphony here in town. I’ve been a cello player in the orchestra for almost a decade now, so it’s nice to be able to give back and&nbsp;get involved&nbsp;in a new way.&nbsp;As a publicity intern, I gained experience writing copy for posters and other promotional materials, generating content for our website, and managing content for our social media platforms, primarily Facebook and Instagram.&nbsp;Plus, I get to help out my longtime mentor Cathy Drabkin, the brilliant baker behind Cathy’s Breads, who was also once an English M.A. student herself. Maybe the similarities add up to why we get along so well.Where does all this effort lead? What’s the goal after this?” Those are the big questions. After graduation, I hope to attend the Denver Publishing Institute. There, I will be able to&nbsp;leverage&nbsp;my&nbsp;reading, writing, and editing experiences and become a more skilled professional. But also, the publishing&nbsp;world&nbsp;demands&nbsp;an&nbsp;understanding of different viewpoints, negotiation skills, presentation formality, business instinct, and a good eye for appealing content. I want to work with writers who articulate thoughts, feelings, and&nbsp;emotions through character, plot, and setting. I also want to try my hand at technical writing someday. And I think I’d like to work in writing and editing&nbsp;textbooks instead of solely reading them. Academia is, for many people, a circular journey.&nbsp;And so,&nbsp;in this next chapter&nbsp;of my life,&nbsp;I will continue to experiment, explore, and acquire new knowledge. Fort Hays State University met me at a time&nbsp;when&nbsp;I didn’t know exactly what I wanted to do,&nbsp;and through challenge, helped me figure that out. Now, I plan to put my cumulative experience to the test. Tough times await, no doubt, but as I’ve been told before numerous times—and reinforced through being a scholarship recipient—I&nbsp;am&nbsp;a person who can meet these demands head-on.&nbsp;(Callis, 2022)

Heart of a Tiger: FHSU student discusses the power of scholarships 

K-State's Upham says mulching strawberry plants can help plants adjust to the cold&nbsp;

By MADDY ROHR K-State Research and Extension News Service&nbsp;

MANHATTAN — Strawberry plants need time to gradually adjust to winter conditions and temperature drops to become cold resistant. Sudden changes in temperature can severely damage strawberry plants, said Kansas State University horticulture expert Ward Upham.&nbsp;

“Strawberry plants are better able to withstand colder temperatures in the middle of the winter than in the fall before they have gone through much cold weather,” Upham said. “For example, if temperatures suddenly plummet below 20 degrees Fahrenheit before the plants harden to the cold, they can be severely damaged. A drop to 15 degrees F may kill them.”&nbsp;

Strawberry plants should be mulched between Thanksgiving and Christmas to protect them from low temperatures and heaving damage.&nbsp;&nbsp;

“Heaving damage occurs when the alternate freezing and thawing common in Kansas winters heave plants out of the ground where the roots are exposed and the plants die from lack of water,” Upham said.&nbsp;

Wheat straw is recommended as mulch if it is free of weed seed and wheat kernels. Prairie hay also makes a good mulch, Upham said.&nbsp;

To apply the straw or hay, shake flakes apart to break down large chunks, which helps insulate the plants and avoid damage by delaying blooming in the spring, Upham said.&nbsp;&nbsp;

“Mulch should be removed gradually in the spring as plants begin new growth,” he said.&nbsp;

Some mulch can be left to keep berries off the ground and conserve moisture.&nbsp;

Upham and his colleagues in K-State's Department of Horticulture and Natural Resources produce a weekly&nbsp;<a href="https://hnr.k-state.edu/extension/info-center/newsletters/index.html" target="_blank">Horticulture Newsletter</a>&nbsp;with tips for maintaining home landscapes and gardens. The newsletter is available to view online or can be delivered by email each week.&nbsp;

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/11/1669308239743.jpeg" alt="Strawberry plants should be mulched between Thanksgiving and Christmas to protect them from low temperatures and heaving damage.&nbsp;

Image by&nbsp;<a href="https://pixabay.com/users/kathas_fotos-11174123/?utm_source=link-attribution&amp;utm_medium=referral&amp;utm_campaign=image&amp;utm_content=7323943">Katharina N.</a>&nbsp;from&nbsp;<a href="https://pixabay.com//?utm_source=link-attribution&amp;utm_medium=referral&amp;utm_campaign=image&amp;utm_content=7323943">Pixabay</a>" />
 <figcaption>Strawberry plants should be mulched between Thanksgiving and Christmas to protect them from low temperatures and heaving damage.&nbsp;

Image by&nbsp;<a href="https://pixabay.com/users/kathas_fotos-11174123/?utm_source=link-attribution&amp;utm_medium=referral&amp;utm_campaign=image&amp;utm_content=7323943">Katharina N.</a>&nbsp;from&nbsp;<a href="https://pixabay.com//?utm_source=link-attribution&amp;utm_medium=referral&amp;utm_campaign=image&amp;utm_content=7323943">Pixabay</a></figcaption>
 </figure><h2>K-State's Upham says mulching strawberry plants can help plants adjust to the cold&nbsp;</h2>By MADDY ROHR K-State Research and Extension News Service&nbsp;MANHATTAN — Strawberry plants need time to gradually adjust to winter conditions and temperature drops to become cold resistant. Sudden changes in temperature can severely damage strawberry plants, said Kansas State University horticulture expert Ward Upham.&nbsp;“Strawberry plants are better able to withstand colder temperatures in the middle of the winter than in the fall before they have gone through much cold weather,” Upham said. “For example, if temperatures suddenly plummet below 20 degrees Fahrenheit before the plants harden to the cold, they can be severely damaged. A drop to 15 degrees F may kill them.”&nbsp;Strawberry plants should be mulched between Thanksgiving and Christmas to protect them from low temperatures and heaving damage.&nbsp;&nbsp;“Heaving damage occurs when the alternate freezing and thawing common in Kansas winters heave plants out of the ground where the roots are exposed and the plants die from lack of water,” Upham said.&nbsp;Wheat straw is recommended as mulch if it is free of weed seed and wheat kernels. Prairie hay also makes a good mulch, Upham said.&nbsp;To apply the straw or hay, shake flakes apart to break down large chunks, which helps insulate the plants and avoid damage by delaying blooming in the spring, Upham said.&nbsp;&nbsp;“Mulch should be removed gradually in the spring as plants begin new growth,” he said.&nbsp;Some mulch can be left to keep berries off the ground and conserve moisture.&nbsp;Upham and his colleagues in K-State's Department of Horticulture and Natural Resources produce a weekly&nbsp;<a href="https://hnr.k-state.edu/extension/info-center/newsletters/index.html" target="_blank">Horticulture Newsletter</a>&nbsp;with tips for maintaining home landscapes and gardens. The newsletter is available to view online or can be delivered by email each week.&nbsp;Interested persons can also send their garden and yard-related questions to Upham at&nbsp;<a href="mailto:wupham@ksu.edu" target="_blank">wupham@ksu.edu</a>, or contact your&nbsp;<a href="https://www.ksre.k-state.edu/about/statewide-locations.html" target="_blank">local K-State Research and Extension office</a>.

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