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

<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/2022/11/1669243434563.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>

Three-day weather outlook

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>
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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

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 

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

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;

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>.

<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>.

Will strawberry plants survive a cold winter? 

TOPEKA — The Supreme Court appointed one and reappointed four others to the Kansas Continuing Legal Education Board. Bach Tho Hang, deputy public defender, Sedgwick County Public Defender Office, Wichita, was appointed to serve a three-year term. Reappointed are:

All new and reappointed members will serve through June 30, 2025.

Office of Judicial AdministrationTOPEKA — The Supreme Court appointed one and reappointed four others to the Kansas Continuing Legal Education Board. Bach Tho Hang, deputy public defender, Sedgwick County Public Defender Office, Wichita, was appointed to serve a three-year term. Reappointed are: <ul>
 <li>Gillian Chadwick, Topeka, associate professor of law, Washburn University School of Law; director, Washburn Law Clinic; associate director, Children and Family Law Center, Washburn University School of Law</li><li>Susan Norton, Haysville, retired director of adult learning, Wichita State University</li><li>Charles Peckham, Atwood, lawyer, Brown, Creighton &amp; Peckham</li><li>Meredith Schnug, Lawrence, clinical associate professor and associate director of the Legal Aid Clinic, University of Kansas School of Law</li>
 </ul>All new and reappointed members will serve through June 30, 2025.

NW Kansas attorney reappointed to legal education board

Lucas' historic Garden of Eden art site is a recipient of an unrestricted grant from newly formed Ruth Foundation for the Arts.

Honoring the legacy of Ruth DeYoung Kohler II, Ruth Arts announced Friday 140 arts organizations have been recognized by two new grants and one legacy fund. The Garden of Eden was honored to be among the fall 2022 recipients with an RDK Art Environments grant.

Th grant also includes Thought Leaders, which awards recipients $300,000 in the next three years, and the Core Grant, which awards recipients $50,000.

The Ruth DeYoung Kohler Legacy Fund, mirrors the support Ruth DeYoung Kohler made to arts institutions throughout her lifetime.

“These programs are at once forward-facing and anchored in Ruth DeYoung Kohler II’s inimitable legacy,” said Executive Director Karen Patterson. “We’re proud to honor Ruth’s lifelong commitment to the arts by continuing to fund the organizations she personally supported, and to develop new programs in her spirit of experimentation and community-building.”

This fall’s inaugural Core Grant is providing approximately $50,000 in funding to each of 84 nonprofit arts organizations—$4.5 million in total. The one-year program builds out the foundation’s programmatic scope and geographic reach.

The multi-year Thought Leaders grants total $4.5 million in funding to 14 nonprofit arts organizations. Each organization is slated to receive approximately $300,000 within the next three years. Through this substantial, sustained level of support, these multi-year grants uplift organizations undertaking ambitious initiatives with long-term impact. 

An integral aspect of the program is its emphasis on generosity and thought leadership—that the participating organizations commit to public knowledge sharing throughout their term.

Supported by a generous bequest from the late Ruth DeYoung Kohler II, Ruth Arts relaunched in June 2022 with the Artist Choice Grant, which features a unique nomination process guided by a panel of more than 50 artists.

The inaugural Artist Choice Grant provided a total of $1.25 million in funding to 78 nonprofit arts organizations across the United States, and will be awarded annually in the spring.

“We understand this field to be a continuum, in which our activities are intertwined with and built upon the incredible work that these organizations have accomplished and continue to pursue,” aid Kim Nguyen, program director of Artistic Initiatives. “The Thought Leaders are engaging in transformative pursuits, with a willingness to reimagine and re-envision the future of art, and we are so grateful we get to learn alongside them.”

“It is a tremendous honor for the Toshiko Takaezu Foundation to be included in the inaugural Ruth Foundation for the Arts Thought Leaders cohort,” said Darlene Fukuji, president of Toshiko Takaezu Foundation. “Their team, particularly Karen Patterson, Rachel Reichert, and Kim Nguyen, have been incredibly supportive, taking a collaborative approach to navigating the unique complexities of an artist-endowed foundation. My great aunt Toshiko Takaezu paved the way for many artists, especially women, and with this opportunity with the Ruth Foundation for the Arts, it feels like we are now paving the way for other artists who have been overlooked in history to finally have their legacies cemented.”

Distributed in the fall alongside the Thought Leaders and Core Grants, the RDK Legacy Fund is dedicated to honoring and continuing Ruth DeYoung Kohler’s steadfast support of regional and craft-based organizations and artist-built environments.

The Fund will provide $2.5 million annually across 40 organizations historically supported by Ruth DeYoung Kohler II.

Collectively, these three streams total $11.5 million in funding across 138 nonprofit arts and cultural organizations.

These new grant programs, alongside the Artist Choice Grant announced earlier in 2022, total $12.75 million in grantmaking by Ruth Arts to date. Consideration for future grant cycles will continue on an invitation-only basis as Ruth Arts grows and develops.

Additional programs currently under development will be announced in the coming year.

For more information about the Foundation’s grants and programming, visit the Ruth Arts website.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/11/1668809082764.jpeg" alt="Garden of Eden in Lucas. Courtesy photo " />
 <figcaption>Garden of Eden in Lucas. Courtesy photo </figcaption>
 </figure>SubmittedLucas' historic Garden of Eden art site is a recipient of an unrestricted grant from newly formed Ruth Foundation for the Arts. Honoring the legacy of Ruth DeYoung Kohler II, Ruth Arts announced Friday 140 arts organizations have been recognized by two new grants and one legacy fund. The Garden of Eden was honored to be among the fall 2022 recipients with an RDK Art Environments grant. Th grant also includes Thought Leaders, which awards recipients $300,000 in the next three years, and the Core Grant, which awards recipients $50,000.The Ruth DeYoung Kohler Legacy Fund, mirrors the support Ruth DeYoung Kohler made to arts institutions throughout her lifetime.“These programs are at once forward-facing and anchored in Ruth DeYoung Kohler II’s inimitable legacy,” said Executive Director Karen Patterson. “We’re proud to honor Ruth’s lifelong commitment to the arts by continuing to fund the organizations she personally supported, and to develop new programs in her spirit of experimentation and community-building.”This fall’s inaugural Core Grant is providing approximately $50,000 in funding to each of 84 nonprofit arts organizations—$4.5 million in total. The one-year program builds out the foundation’s programmatic scope and geographic reach.The multi-year Thought Leaders grants total $4.5 million in funding to 14 nonprofit arts organizations. Each organization is slated to receive approximately $300,000 within the next three years. Through this substantial, sustained level of support, these multi-year grants uplift organizations undertaking ambitious initiatives with long-term impact. An integral aspect of the program is its emphasis on generosity and thought leadership—that the participating organizations commit to public knowledge sharing throughout their term.Supported by a generous bequest from the late Ruth DeYoung Kohler II, Ruth Arts relaunched in June 2022 with the Artist Choice Grant, which features a unique nomination process guided by a panel of more than 50 artists.The inaugural Artist Choice Grant provided a total of $1.25 million in funding to 78 nonprofit arts organizations across the United States, and will be awarded annually in the spring.“We understand this field to be a continuum, in which our activities are intertwined with and built upon the incredible work that these organizations have accomplished and continue to pursue,” aid Kim Nguyen, program director of Artistic Initiatives. “The Thought Leaders are engaging in transformative pursuits, with a willingness to reimagine and re-envision the future of art, and we are so grateful we get to learn alongside them.”“It is a tremendous honor for the Toshiko Takaezu Foundation to be included in the inaugural Ruth Foundation for the Arts Thought Leaders cohort,” said Darlene Fukuji, president of Toshiko Takaezu Foundation. “Their team, particularly Karen Patterson, Rachel Reichert, and Kim Nguyen, have been incredibly supportive, taking a collaborative approach to navigating the unique complexities of an artist-endowed foundation. My great aunt Toshiko Takaezu paved the way for many artists, especially women, and with this opportunity with the Ruth Foundation for the Arts, it feels like we are now paving the way for other artists who have been overlooked in history to finally have their legacies cemented.”Distributed in the fall alongside the Thought Leaders and Core Grants, the RDK Legacy Fund is dedicated to honoring and continuing Ruth DeYoung Kohler’s steadfast support of regional and craft-based organizations and artist-built environments.The Fund will provide $2.5 million annually across 40 organizations historically supported by Ruth DeYoung Kohler II.Collectively, these three streams total $11.5 million in funding across 138 nonprofit arts and cultural organizations.These new grant programs, alongside the Artist Choice Grant announced earlier in 2022, total $12.75 million in grantmaking by Ruth Arts to date. Consideration for future grant cycles will continue on an invitation-only basis as Ruth Arts grows and develops.Additional programs currently under development will be announced in the coming year.For more information about the Foundation’s grants and programming, visit the Ruth Arts website.

Garden of Eden in Lucas receives Ruth Arts grant

LOGAN — The <a href="https://www.facebook.com/DaneHansenFoundation">Dane G. Hansen Foundation</a> has been named the 2022 recipient of the Outstanding Foundation Award through the Greater Wichita Chapter of the Association of Fundraising Professionals.

Hansen trustees Carol Bales and Robert Hartman were presented with the award during a luncheon in Wichita on Nov. 15 — National Philanthropy Day.

Here is Bales talking about Hansen and the legacy his foundation is creating in northwest Kansas:

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/11/1668784585064.jpeg" alt="(Courtesy photo)" />
 <figcaption>(Courtesy photo)</figcaption>
 </figure>SubmittedLOGAN — The <a href="https://www.facebook.com/DaneHansenFoundation">Dane G. Hansen Foundation</a> has been named the 2022 recipient of the Outstanding Foundation Award through the Greater Wichita Chapter of the Association of Fundraising Professionals. Hansen trustees Carol Bales and Robert Hartman were presented with the award during a luncheon in Wichita on Nov. 15 — National Philanthropy Day.Here is Bales talking about Hansen and the legacy his foundation is creating in northwest Kansas:<div><iframe src="https://www.facebook.com/plugins/video.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2FDaneHansenFoundation%2Fvideos%2F503889575005295%2F&show_text=0&width=560" width="560" height="315" style="border:none;overflow:hidden" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="true" allow="autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowFullScreen="true"></iframe></div>

Hansen named Outstanding Foundation by fundraising professionals 

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/11/1669243247690.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>

Over the last few years,&nbsp;I have heard a lot about self-care. Taking care of ourselves is extremely important as we cannot care for others if we are tapped out.&nbsp;

One of the areas of self-care that I have worked on&nbsp;for several years&nbsp;is mindfulness. Mindfulness is defined as the practice of purposely bringing one’s attention to experiences in the present moment without judgement. The definition includes that it is a skill that develops through practice. In other words, it doesn’t just happen by accident.

Making time for being present –&nbsp;being&nbsp;in the moment – takes work and is a skill that I,&nbsp;as a people-focused, service-oriented individual,&nbsp;don’t do very well. I am getting better at it, however.&nbsp;

I am making time to sit with my cup of coffee and listen to the wind chimes&nbsp;severalmornings each week&nbsp;with my dog snuggled in my lap and just be quiet. I am making time to connect with family and be completely engaged in the conversation.&nbsp;This may mean turning off or putting&nbsp;away&nbsp;my phone.

When our daughter was small, we started a tradition of Saturday “Ladies Lunch”. Now, this wasn’t anything fancy and we were usually just picking up groceries. My only rule was that the restaurant had to be somewhere with waitstaff. Not only were we practicing table&nbsp;manners&nbsp;but our daughter knew that for that time, she had my undivided attention. We were building a wonderful (but certainly not perfect!) relationship. When she was in college, she would occasionally call to ask if I could meet her halfway for “Ladies Lunch” so that we could catch up and have some priceless, focused time together. This was one way to model mindfulness at its best!

Some of my favorite moments can happen in the next few weeks. I love to sit with just the Christmas tree lights on and soak&nbsp;up&nbsp;the flickering colors and shiny ornaments as I reflect on&nbsp;family and friends.

Have you ever watched a small child when they see something&nbsp;fascinating? The sheer delight on their face and&nbsp;contagious&nbsp;giggle is hard to beat – and&nbsp;it&nbsp;happens because they are completely in the moment!&nbsp;

It is hard as adults to put away our stresses, concerns, and fears to be completely in the moment. It is a good skill to model for young people. It does not mean ignoring our responsibilities but gives us the ability to better address the hard things in our days.

Over the next few weeks, make time to stop for a few minutes ... just listen to your heart, to nature, to your favorite music, to a child’s laughter.&nbsp;Pick up a book of inspirational quotes or devotions.&nbsp;If you are with family or friends, put your phone away and turn off the tv to be fully engaged in the conversation.&nbsp;

Mindfulness takes practice and now is a perfect time to get started!

Keep learning. Keep showing grace and kindness.

Michelle Beran is the 4-H Youth Development Agent in the&nbsp;Cottonwood&nbsp;Extension District. For more information on this article or other 4-H Youth Development resources, email Michelle at&nbsp;<a href="mailto:mberan@ksu.edu">mberan@ksu.edu</a>&nbsp;or call&nbsp;Cottonwood&nbsp;Extension District&nbsp;– Barton&nbsp;Office at&nbsp;620-793-1910.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/11/1668179445671.jpeg" alt="Michelle Beran is the 4-H Youth Development Agent in the&nbsp;Cottonwood&nbsp;Extension District.&nbsp;" />
 <figcaption>Michelle Beran is the 4-H Youth Development Agent in the&nbsp;Cottonwood&nbsp;Extension District.&nbsp;</figcaption>
 </figure>Over the last few years,&nbsp;I have heard a lot about self-care. Taking care of ourselves is extremely important as we cannot care for others if we are tapped out.&nbsp;One of the areas of self-care that I have worked on&nbsp;for several years&nbsp;is mindfulness. Mindfulness is defined as the practice of purposely bringing one’s attention to experiences in the present moment without judgement. The definition includes that it is a skill that develops through practice. In other words, it doesn’t just happen by accident.Making time for being present –&nbsp;being&nbsp;in the moment – takes work and is a skill that I,&nbsp;as a people-focused, service-oriented individual,&nbsp;don’t do very well. I am getting better at it, however.&nbsp;I am making time to sit with my cup of coffee and listen to the wind chimes&nbsp;severalmornings each week&nbsp;with my dog snuggled in my lap and just be quiet. I am making time to connect with family and be completely engaged in the conversation.&nbsp;This may mean turning off or putting&nbsp;away&nbsp;my phone.When our daughter was small, we started a tradition of Saturday “Ladies Lunch”. Now, this wasn’t anything fancy and we were usually just picking up groceries. My only rule was that the restaurant had to be somewhere with waitstaff. Not only were we practicing table&nbsp;manners&nbsp;but our daughter knew that for that time, she had my undivided attention. We were building a wonderful (but certainly not perfect!) relationship. When she was in college, she would occasionally call to ask if I could meet her halfway for “Ladies Lunch” so that we could catch up and have some priceless, focused time together. This was one way to model mindfulness at its best!Some of my favorite moments can happen in the next few weeks. I love to sit with just the Christmas tree lights on and soak&nbsp;up&nbsp;the flickering colors and shiny ornaments as I reflect on&nbsp;family and friends.Have you ever watched a small child when they see something&nbsp;fascinating? The sheer delight on their face and&nbsp;contagious&nbsp;giggle is hard to beat – and&nbsp;it&nbsp;happens because they are completely in the moment!&nbsp;It is hard as adults to put away our stresses, concerns, and fears to be completely in the moment. It is a good skill to model for young people. It does not mean ignoring our responsibilities but gives us the ability to better address the hard things in our days.Over the next few weeks, make time to stop for a few minutes ... just listen to your heart, to nature, to your favorite music, to a child’s laughter.&nbsp;Pick up a book of inspirational quotes or devotions.&nbsp;If you are with family or friends, put your phone away and turn off the tv to be fully engaged in the conversation.&nbsp;Mindfulness takes practice and now is a perfect time to get started!Keep learning. Keep showing grace and kindness.Michelle Beran is the 4-H Youth Development Agent in the&nbsp;Cottonwood&nbsp;Extension District. For more information on this article or other 4-H Youth Development resources, email Michelle at&nbsp;<a href="mailto:mberan@ksu.edu">mberan@ksu.edu</a>&nbsp;or call&nbsp;Cottonwood&nbsp;Extension District&nbsp;– Barton&nbsp;Office at&nbsp;620-793-1910.

BERAN: Practicing mindfulness

By AMANDA RUPP ECHS&nbsp;

This fall, the Ellis County Historical Society was able to finish
the remodel of the office portion of the basement in their main brick building.


An anonymous donation of $25,000 jump started the project in June with the goal
of returning the staff back in the building by Nov. 1. 

A
generous unsolicited gift in September from the Beach-Edwards Family Foundation
of $5,000 was added to the budget for improvements. 

Even though the foundation
and board are now located in the Kansas City area, the Beach-Edwards Family
Foundation has been following the building struggles of the society and their
board has been active in offering financial gifts towards relocating or
renovating the museum for the past few years. 

Offering unsolicited gifts of
$5,000, $1,000 and most recently in September of 2022 another $5,000. 

Amanda
Rupp, ECHS Executive Director, says “the Beach family has strong ties to Ellis
County and ECHS is honored that they share in our goal to Save Our Past’s
Future. We are grateful for their dedication to this community that the family
was so instrumental in, and to see that the society rebuilds to displays the
stories of the peoples here.”

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2021/2/1614296143487.jpeg" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>By AMANDA RUPP ECHS&nbsp;This fall, the Ellis County Historical Society was able to finish
the remodel of the office portion of the basement in their main brick building.
An anonymous donation of $25,000 jump started the project in June with the goal
of returning the staff back in the building by Nov. 1. A
generous unsolicited gift in September from the Beach-Edwards Family Foundation
of $5,000 was added to the budget for improvements. Even though the foundation
and board are now located in the Kansas City area, the Beach-Edwards Family
Foundation has been following the building struggles of the society and their
board has been active in offering financial gifts towards relocating or
renovating the museum for the past few years. Offering unsolicited gifts of
$5,000, $1,000 and most recently in September of 2022 another $5,000. Amanda
Rupp, ECHS Executive Director, says “the Beach family has strong ties to Ellis
County and ECHS is honored that they share in our goal to Save Our Past’s
Future. We are grateful for their dedication to this community that the family
was so instrumental in, and to see that the society rebuilds to displays the
stories of the peoples here.”

Beach-Edwards Family Foundation Grant aids ECHS remodeling project

After a high expected to reach near 60 on Wednesday, the National Weather Service in Dodge City is predicting a cooler Thanksgiving Day.

The high Thursday is expected to be in the mid-40s, with blustery winds of 20 to 23 mph. Wind gusts could be as strong as 36 mph.

Through the weekend, high temperatures are expected to be in the upper-40s to mid-50s. There is a slight chance of showers after noon on Saturday, the NWS predicted, but otherwise skies are expected to remain clear well into next week.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/11/1669220156129.png" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>After a high expected to reach near 60 on Wednesday, the National Weather Service in Dodge City is predicting a cooler Thanksgiving Day.The high Thursday is expected to be in the mid-40s, with blustery winds of 20 to 23 mph. Wind gusts could be as strong as 36 mph.Through the weekend, high temperatures are expected to be in the upper-40s to mid-50s. There is a slight chance of showers after noon on Saturday, the NWS predicted, but otherwise skies are expected to remain clear well into next week.<div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">Thanksgiving day will be on the cooler side under mostly cloudy skies and gusty north winds. 30-40 percent light rain/mix coverage near the Oklahoma state line south of Hwy 400 into south central Kansas. <a href="https://t.co/eyK7UsUxb9">pic.twitter.com/eyK7UsUxb9</a>&mdash; NWS Dodge City (@NWSDodgeCity) <a href="https://twitter.com/NWSDodgeCity/status/1595418915110150145?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 23, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script> </div>

NWS: Expect a cool, blustery Thanksgiving Day on Thursday

The Kansas Department of Health and Environment on Wednesday reported 27 new COVID-19 cases had been identified in Ellis County from Nov. 12 to Nov. 18.

KDHE reports updated case numbers weekly on Wednesdays.

Ellis County remained in the substantial-incidence category, the KDHE reported. (See map below).&nbsp; Several other northwest Kansas counties were in the substantial- or high-incidence category.

<a href="https://www.ellisco.net/97/Health">CLICK HERE</a>&nbsp;for information on how to receive a COVID-19 vaccination.

Since reporting began, there have been 8,121 cases of COVID-19 identified in Ellis County.&nbsp;

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/11/1669228281746.png" alt="Ellis County COVID-19 curve" />
 <figcaption>Ellis County COVID-19 curve</figcaption>
 </figure>The Kansas Department of Health and Environment on Wednesday reported 27 new COVID-19 cases had been identified in Ellis County from Nov. 12 to Nov. 18.KDHE reports updated case numbers weekly on Wednesdays.Ellis County remained in the substantial-incidence category, the KDHE reported. (See map below).&nbsp; Several other northwest Kansas counties were in the substantial- or high-incidence category.<a href="https://www.ellisco.net/97/Health">CLICK HERE</a>&nbsp;for information on how to receive a COVID-19 vaccination.Since reporting began, there have been 8,121 cases of COVID-19 identified in Ellis County.&nbsp;<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/11/1669228109411.png" alt="KDHE" />
 <figcaption>KDHE</figcaption>
 </figure>

KDHE: 27 new COVID cases in Ellis Co. this reporting period

By LESLIE EIKLEBERRY Salina Post

SALINA — A car fire early Wednesday morning in west-central Salina is being investigated as an arson.

Salina
 Police Captain Paul Forrester said Wednesday that officers and 
Salina Fire Department personnel were called to the 200 block of South&nbsp; Clark Street for the report of a car fire. 

When they arrived, 
they found a 2006 Pontiac G6 ablaze. Forrester said the front 
driver-side window was broken and a molotov cocktail was in the front 
seat. 

Firefighters were able to extinguish the blaze fairly quickly, however, the car sustained a great deal of damage.

Forrester said the owner of the car, a 41-year-old woman from Hays, told police that she had left the car there with a friend. 

By LESLIE EIKLEBERRY Salina PostSALINA — A car fire early Wednesday morning in west-central Salina is being investigated as an arson.Salina
 Police Captain Paul Forrester said Wednesday that officers and 
Salina Fire Department personnel were called to the 200 block of South&nbsp; Clark Street for the report of a car fire. When they arrived, 
they found a 2006 Pontiac G6 ablaze. Forrester said the front 
driver-side window was broken and a molotov cocktail was in the front 
seat. Firefighters were able to extinguish the blaze fairly quickly, however, the car sustained a great deal of damage.Forrester said the owner of the car, a 41-year-old woman from Hays, told police that she had left the car there with a friend. The car was valued at $3,000.

Police: Molotov cocktail damages Hays woman's car in Salina

The singer and Hays PD continue lighthearted jabs in latest round — this time with Ward Davis contributing to the Your Voice Through Cancer Drive during No Shave November.

The singer and Hays PD continue lighthearted jabs in latest round — this time with Ward Davis contributing to the Your Voice Through Cancer Drive during No Shave November.<div><iframe src="https://www.facebook.com/plugins/post.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2FHaysPD%2Fposts%2Fpfbid0euZcBVYLxoRx8ieURjba8uReg514nFsW21jVHjyyvuKKKD6C44EL1uHW3zWPW1eCl&show_text=true&width=500" width="500" height="494" style="border:none;overflow:hidden" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="true" allow="autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; picture-in-picture; web-share"></iframe></div>

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