Jon Armstrong always looks forward to Fort Hays State University’s Student Recognition Programs. But he is especially anticipating getting back on the road for the annual Tiger Road Show this year.

Armstrong, director of Admissions at FHSU, will join 30 to 40 university personnel on the month-long, 12-city series that recognizes high school and transfer students are interested in learning more about Fort Hays State. The SRPs tour is reverting to in-person events after pivoting to an online version last year.

“We are definitely ready to be back in person,” Armstrong said. “This is a way to have personal contact and start building relationships with our students and their parents.”

The SRPs, in their 34th year, span from one end of the state to the other – and beyond. FHSU also holds SRPs in Denver and Kearney, Neb. Local COVID-19 protocols for each location will be followed.

Armstrong said that registration numbers are steady this year, and he&nbsp;encourages all juniors and seniors in high school, as well as all prospective transfer students, to attend these free events. High school juniors, seniors, and transfer students have already been invited to SRPs in their areas.&nbsp;

There is still time for students and their families to sign up, if they haven’t already, by going to&nbsp;<a href="http://link.mediaoutreach.meltwater.com/ls/click?upn=-2BFJoAhsjp8losQfY8t-2BZtJQgSEc35-2FdcBL0tMQWS4czO3Q99-2FWoU2BEdmDSZhDH2YGRsKZG7-2FtQYWNAshASG-2BAYPeGBp4mq-2FBPV2nsEWdlo-3Dn5QY_-2FnwFlkKVzcKMOkDYhP8GUyFUplsqhIzQPvqFQr864lE6mcAzErX0FzZi5JGU6rvvK6MLOuHK4jhl5V61fmGkhToZRMbpEKBDAFMZ0jElT3tJmz7vmG2Oh1wrxpMGOIempgJt2Jo9YwsvKYS52jbIKkFc8G-2FE3XSfn1J825sLV92njAWNA-2F7kIhnTQa0-2FQuawWgTsTmBmzIqSbA0UGJbVD1BBmh-2B2sTGEL9xCRuH6zf03v5ENxPzr31C4eKyEFiD6nPtjTAXZkk18SeUxLOX9LbJdRqpGEUUrA3-2BYCVKcW2h0Nn05d4ICj58gZu5a5-2Fu9aptUPTIMaerrfWp7fKo6kd8LvSEkiBahQpif5H5MahfuY5MPsAE5qrAx9x17GtK8wxVnMX5nQ-2BUqfl8BUlTYtA-3D-3D">www.fhsu.edu/admissions/events/srp/hays-srp-registration.</a>

The 2022 series will began Sunday, Jan. 30, in Garden City and Dodge City, and conclude in Denver on March 6. The local Hays SRP, in the university’s Memorial Union, is set for Feb. 20. Other SRP locations are Beloit, Kansas City area (Olathe), Topeka, Colby, Wichita, Salina, Great Bend, and Kearney, Neb. Time, date, and location for each event can be found at&nbsp;<a href="http://link.mediaoutreach.meltwater.com/ls/click?upn=-2BFJoAhsjp8losQfY8t-2BZtJQgSEc35-2FdcBL0tMQWS4czO3Q99-2FWoU2BEdmDSZhDH2-2BiflmaYXvSelQEFO21XqWg-3D-3DkSZa_-2FnwFlkKVzcKMOkDYhP8GUyFUplsqhIzQPvqFQr864lE6mcAzErX0FzZi5JGU6rvvK6MLOuHK4jhl5V61fmGkhToZRMbpEKBDAFMZ0jElT3tJmz7vmG2Oh1wrxpMGOIempgJt2Jo9YwsvKYS52jbIKkFc8G-2FE3XSfn1J825sLV92njAWNA-2F7kIhnTQa0-2FQuawWgTsTmBmzIqSbA0UGJbVD9-2FmsI9qyVcoZRehb0xHXz-2Fy11pPVA-2FaY3FIVRNsPnyGlWvhGKDlp1bjO4eVxI4propMYaz4iNoNQH846NvSzTrew1Jk5E5bZEO8lmdTVUO2GZQJcAXDEFVXRDOjRYBUYJvqClvN64wmLWp7iJEmqRmgidtMZSv9R0VQIwi4KPFaboGxB36tGBn9o71zCj-2F3jA-3D-3D">https://www.fhsu.edu/admissions/events/srp/</a>.

Armstrong said he and his team learned a lot last year while transitioning to remote mode for the SRPs. His office received positive feedback with the switch, and plans are underway to furnish another virtual SRP option for other out-of-state students later in March. Nonetheless, Armstrong still favors the in-person format.

“Every student at each of the events are introduced personally, and it’s easier to speak one-on-one with them that way,” Armstrong said. “We hope that sends them a positive message that we care about them at Fort Hays State.”

Each of the 12 events will feature four scholarships with award levels ranging from $15,000 to $6,000 over four years, or $3,750 to $1,500 yearly. They are the $3,750 Tiger Pride Scholarship; the $2,750 Victor E. &nbsp;Scholarship; the $2,000 Black and Gold Scholarship; and the $1,500 Hays City Scholarship. These scholarships are not need-based, and there are no built-in award amount reduction for students who secure additional financial awards from other sources.&nbsp;

Fort Hays State’s enhanced scholarship program will include three levels of transfer scholarship awards, ranging from $500 to $1,500. &nbsp;These awards are based on the student’s cumulative GPA.&nbsp;

FHSU President Tisa Mason or another FHSU administrator will individually introduce all students attending each event. Those being awarded scholarships to Fort Hays State for the next academic year will be recognized. Other university officers, administrators, and faculty also attend the programs to answer questions and to visit with prospective students and their families and friends.

Pizza is served at each of the evening events, while the afternoon SRPs feature a dessert buffet. Students and their friends and families have the opportunity to mingle with FHSU faculty, staff, and administrators before and after the scholarship presentations.&nbsp;

Since its beginning in the 1988-89 year, Fort Hays State’s Scholarship Recognition Program – unique in higher education – has had the mission of recognizing all students interested in college, and their friends and families.&nbsp;

Each SRP event features three drawings – one for a $600 book scholarship, one for a $1,000 tuition scholarship, and another for a laptop computer.&nbsp;

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/1/1643227847113.png" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>FHSU University CommunicationsJon Armstrong always looks forward to Fort Hays State University’s Student Recognition Programs. But he is especially anticipating getting back on the road for the annual Tiger Road Show this year.Armstrong, director of Admissions at FHSU, will join 30 to 40 university personnel on the month-long, 12-city series that recognizes high school and transfer students are interested in learning more about Fort Hays State. The SRPs tour is reverting to in-person events after pivoting to an online version last year.“We are definitely ready to be back in person,” Armstrong said. “This is a way to have personal contact and start building relationships with our students and their parents.”<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/1/1643564263321.png" alt="Armstrong" />
 <figcaption>Armstrong</figcaption>
 </figure>The SRPs, in their 34th year, span from one end of the state to the other – and beyond. FHSU also holds SRPs in Denver and Kearney, Neb. Local COVID-19 protocols for each location will be followed.Armstrong said that registration numbers are steady this year, and he&nbsp;encourages all juniors and seniors in high school, as well as all prospective transfer students, to attend these free events. High school juniors, seniors, and transfer students have already been invited to SRPs in their areas.&nbsp;There is still time for students and their families to sign up, if they haven’t already, by going to&nbsp;<a href="http://link.mediaoutreach.meltwater.com/ls/click?upn=-2BFJoAhsjp8losQfY8t-2BZtJQgSEc35-2FdcBL0tMQWS4czO3Q99-2FWoU2BEdmDSZhDH2YGRsKZG7-2FtQYWNAshASG-2BAYPeGBp4mq-2FBPV2nsEWdlo-3Dn5QY_-2FnwFlkKVzcKMOkDYhP8GUyFUplsqhIzQPvqFQr864lE6mcAzErX0FzZi5JGU6rvvK6MLOuHK4jhl5V61fmGkhToZRMbpEKBDAFMZ0jElT3tJmz7vmG2Oh1wrxpMGOIempgJt2Jo9YwsvKYS52jbIKkFc8G-2FE3XSfn1J825sLV92njAWNA-2F7kIhnTQa0-2FQuawWgTsTmBmzIqSbA0UGJbVD1BBmh-2B2sTGEL9xCRuH6zf03v5ENxPzr31C4eKyEFiD6nPtjTAXZkk18SeUxLOX9LbJdRqpGEUUrA3-2BYCVKcW2h0Nn05d4ICj58gZu5a5-2Fu9aptUPTIMaerrfWp7fKo6kd8LvSEkiBahQpif5H5MahfuY5MPsAE5qrAx9x17GtK8wxVnMX5nQ-2BUqfl8BUlTYtA-3D-3D">www.fhsu.edu/admissions/events/srp/hays-srp-registration.</a>The 2022 series will began Sunday, Jan. 30, in Garden City and Dodge City, and conclude in Denver on March 6. The local Hays SRP, in the university’s Memorial Union, is set for Feb. 20. Other SRP locations are Beloit, Kansas City area (Olathe), Topeka, Colby, Wichita, Salina, Great Bend, and Kearney, Neb. Time, date, and location for each event can be found at&nbsp;<a href="http://link.mediaoutreach.meltwater.com/ls/click?upn=-2BFJoAhsjp8losQfY8t-2BZtJQgSEc35-2FdcBL0tMQWS4czO3Q99-2FWoU2BEdmDSZhDH2-2BiflmaYXvSelQEFO21XqWg-3D-3DkSZa_-2FnwFlkKVzcKMOkDYhP8GUyFUplsqhIzQPvqFQr864lE6mcAzErX0FzZi5JGU6rvvK6MLOuHK4jhl5V61fmGkhToZRMbpEKBDAFMZ0jElT3tJmz7vmG2Oh1wrxpMGOIempgJt2Jo9YwsvKYS52jbIKkFc8G-2FE3XSfn1J825sLV92njAWNA-2F7kIhnTQa0-2FQuawWgTsTmBmzIqSbA0UGJbVD9-2FmsI9qyVcoZRehb0xHXz-2Fy11pPVA-2FaY3FIVRNsPnyGlWvhGKDlp1bjO4eVxI4propMYaz4iNoNQH846NvSzTrew1Jk5E5bZEO8lmdTVUO2GZQJcAXDEFVXRDOjRYBUYJvqClvN64wmLWp7iJEmqRmgidtMZSv9R0VQIwi4KPFaboGxB36tGBn9o71zCj-2F3jA-3D-3D">https://www.fhsu.edu/admissions/events/srp/</a>.Armstrong said he and his team learned a lot last year while transitioning to remote mode for the SRPs. His office received positive feedback with the switch, and plans are underway to furnish another virtual SRP option for other out-of-state students later in March. Nonetheless, Armstrong still favors the in-person format. “Every student at each of the events are introduced personally, and it’s easier to speak one-on-one with them that way,” Armstrong said. “We hope that sends them a positive message that we care about them at Fort Hays State.”Each of the 12 events will feature four scholarships with award levels ranging from $15,000 to $6,000 over four years, or $3,750 to $1,500 yearly. They are the $3,750 Tiger Pride Scholarship; the $2,750 Victor E. &nbsp;Scholarship; the $2,000 Black and Gold Scholarship; and the $1,500 Hays City Scholarship. These scholarships are not need-based, and there are no built-in award amount reduction for students who secure additional financial awards from other sources.&nbsp;Fort Hays State’s enhanced scholarship program will include three levels of transfer scholarship awards, ranging from $500 to $1,500. &nbsp;These awards are based on the student’s cumulative GPA.&nbsp;FHSU President Tisa Mason or another FHSU administrator will individually introduce all students attending each event. Those being awarded scholarships to Fort Hays State for the next academic year will be recognized. Other university officers, administrators, and faculty also attend the programs to answer questions and to visit with prospective students and their families and friends.Pizza is served at each of the evening events, while the afternoon SRPs feature a dessert buffet. Students and their friends and families have the opportunity to mingle with FHSU faculty, staff, and administrators before and after the scholarship presentations.&nbsp;Since its beginning in the 1988-89 year, Fort Hays State’s Scholarship Recognition Program – unique in higher education – has had the mission of recognizing all students interested in college, and their friends and families.&nbsp;Each SRP event features three drawings – one for a $600 book scholarship, one for a $1,000 tuition scholarship, and another for a laptop computer.&nbsp;

Fort Hays State back on the road for annual SRP tour

By RON FIELDS <a href="https://hayspost.com/pages/post-news-network">Post News Network</a>

Even before the COVID-19 pandemic, mental health challenges among young people were the leading causes of disability and poor life outcomes, <a href="https://www.hhs.gov/sites/default/files/surgeon-general-youth-mental-health-advisory.pdf">according to the U.S. Surgeon General. </a>

But now after almost two years of enduring a life-changing pandemic, area mental health professionals say the need for mental health services has increased dramatically — compounded by factors such as social media, political divisions in communities and an overloaded mental health care system.

"Especially toward the fall of 2020, we were starting to see an increase after kids were at home for six months," said Carie Brown of Great Bend-based <a href="https://heartofkansas.com/">Heart of Kansas Family Heath Care</a>. "Symptoms have been more exacerbated by the pandemic."

Brown, a licensed specialist clinical social worker and licensed clinical addictions counselor, said the isolation caused by stay-at-home orders was traumatic for many young people. 

"We have kids whose home lives are not good. Food is an issue or safety is an issue," said Brown, a Fort Hays State University graduate and Logan, Kan., native. "During that pandemic time, they were all alone in that."

If you’re in crisis, get immediate help: Call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273- 8255,&nbsp;<a href="https://suicidepreventionlifeline.org/chat/">chat</a>&nbsp;with trained counselors 24/7, or&nbsp;<a href="https://suicidepreventionlifeline.org/help-yourself/">get help in other ways through the Lifeline.</a>&nbsp;You can also contact the National Crisis Textline by texting HOME to 741741.

Pediatric psychologist Matthew Wassom of <a href="https://www.katieswaymanhattan.com">Katie's Way</a> in Manhattan agreed.

"From March 2020 through the summer and into the fall of 2020 ... they were losing the routine and structure of life," he said. "And then, obviously, you take away one of the most valuable things, which is social functioning.

"Children were spending more time with family. ... That's nice for some families, but not for all families, especially in vulnerable populations," he said.

In rural northwest Nebraska, Catherine Jones-Hazledine, a psychologist with <a href="https://www.westernnebraskabehavioralhealth.com/">Western Nebraska Behavior Health</a>, said mental health issues among her patients have been magnified by current circumstances.

"We see all of the normal things that we would see, but they are just intensifying. A lot of us as providers are worried about parent-child interactions because there were no breaks, worried about parents coping and increases in maladaptive parenting," she said. "We are seeing depressed kids, really lonely kids, especially in high school, where those kids lost milestone after milestone after milestone."

School referrals make up a significant portion of the juvenile patient loads for most mental health providers. Brown said that during the early days of the pandemic, juvenile cases actually saw a slight decrease. 

"Kids with behavior or emotional issues, those issues tend to come out in a school setting, in a a structured setting," Brown said. "During that March of 2020 to the fall, there were not a lot of new referrals. But once kids got back into schools, that's when we really started seeing that influx in referrals."

Wassom said his patient load was a mixed bag during that time period.

"Some vulnerable populations had less access to care ... but kids with better resources, more involved parents, more financial resources, we saw them seeking out care for the first time," he said. 

The situation was different for Jones-Hazledine, whose practice is integrated in medical settings along with other health providers.

"The doctors are still the first person that people call when they're concerned about their kids out here, that and their pastors and priests," she said. "The kids were still finding their way to us."

Jones-Hazledine said the politics of COVID, coupled with other events on a national scale, have "coalesced into this big ball of conflict" — adding to the stressors for young people.&nbsp;

"We're in a very rural red areas, and there's a lot of division about what it all means and what to think. That's been hard for everybody, but especially to the young people. It's super confusing," she said. "There are kiddos out there whose family believes in the science, and those kids go to school and go to class with kids who believe differently. ... And can be teased or mocked.

"Bullying is always something with young people, but it's jut different now," she added. "The kids see there are adults often engaging in conflict over medical issues, issues of what students should learn."

Social media and "screens" also have played an enormous role in mental health challenges, the providers said. 

"Electronics are a huge issue. They've become the babysitter. They've become an easier method than actively engaging and trying to do things as a family," Brown said. "As parents, we all have to look at that and be honest about it. ... It creates more obstacles than people realize."

During the isolation period, young people used social media increasingly to stay connected with their peers, but also faced a heightened risk of being bullied or engaging in risky online behavior.

"Digital stuff is always worse," said Jones-Hazledine. "As a society, we'll say things to each other and treat each other on social media that we would never say in person. It's grown over time, and there is no consequence. "

One of her student patients recently paraphrased a quote from Oscar Wilde: "Give a man a mask, and he'll tell you the truth."

"Not just the positive, but the negative. ... It's more honest, but we are also more harsh," she said.

While Wassom said he doesn't have "blanket hate" for screens and social media, he agreed the isolation drove more kids to increased screen time, often to the detriment of those children.

"If a family system doesn't have a good process set up, then you see the negative side of social media and the internet," he said. "We've seen a higher rate of tech addiction-type behaviors and a lot of issues of negative side effects of social media platforms."

Wassom compared device use among young people to driver's education. 

"It's about social media literacy, trying to teach children before they ever lay hands on a device how to use that device in an healthy manner," he said, noting no one would give the keys to a car to an untrained child an expect them to drive safely away.

While those in junior high and high school are experiencing a "new normal," some younger children will retain little, if any, recollection of what life was like pre-COVID — which could be a positive, Wassom said. 

"If you have a 5- or 6-year-old who is now 8 or 9, they have a good stretch of their early elementary development done during a pandemic," he said. "They may not have a clear picture of how things are when there is not a pandemic, and maybe some of them are doing a bit better, and they've adapted in their resilience."

In Jones-Hazledine's area of western Nebraska, one of the most troubling aspects of COVID is what she is hearing from teachers and schools.

"We have heard over and over again that the kids they're teaching right now are a good year behind socio-emotionally. The year of isolation really took a toll on everything," she said. "Kids are resilient, but to hear that across the board in all different kinds of schools, it's kind of mind-blowing.

In a June 2021 study, the U.S. Surgeon General's office reported depressive and anxiety symptoms double during the pandemic, with 25 percent of young people experiencing depressive symptoms and 20 percent experiencing anxiety. Suspected suicide attempts increased 51 percent for girls and 4 percent for boys compared to 2019.

"It's a combination of everything we've talked about — feelings of isolation, exposure to things through screen time, this extremely difficult situation for kids and for parents," Brown said. "There's been an increase in suicidal behaviors and that is very concerning."

Like most every sector in the U.S. economy, mental health health providers are struggling with staffing issues in their clinics.

"We are absolutely overwhelmed, much more so than we were in the first year of the pandemic. The need is through the roof," Jones-Hazledine said. "Most practices out here, there are two- to three-month waiting lists. This is source of great stress to the providers in my practice."

Wassom said Katie's Way sees patients from eastern to far western Kansas.

"It speaks to the shortage of certain types of providers across the whole state," he said. 

Brown agreed, noting her clinic is seeking an additional behavior health professional, as well a additional nursing staff.

Jones-Hazledine said she had to enforce a mandated break over the holidays. Her staff is actively doing things to prevent what she called "compassion fatigue" and burnout. &nbsp;

The U.S. Surgeon General's office said "there is much to be done" to support the mental health of children, including:

•&nbsp;Recognizing mental health is an essential part of overall health. •&nbsp;Empowering youth and their families to recognize, manage and learn from difficult emotions. •&nbsp;Ensuring every child has access to high-quality, affordable and culturally competent mental health care. •&nbsp;Supporting the mental health of children in educational, community and child care settings. •&nbsp;Addressing economic and social barriers to care. •&nbsp;Increasing data collection to more rapidly identify mental health needs.

Brown said access to services is crucial, as well as shaking the concept that mental health concerns is viewed through a stigmatized lens.

"Mental health has been seen like it's something to be ashamed of forever. The reality is it's nothing to be ashamed of," she said. "Everyone has felt sad, anxious, depressed —&nbsp;but there is help. It's important for people not to enter with that bias that it's something wrong.

"The more open people are to getting help, the more likely it is that it can be overcome and it can get better."

Wassom said there might be a silver lining in the pandemic for some children.

"I've got some hopeful optimism. When you look at research of adverse events, there are still a lot of kids out there who have good resiliency, good support and positive relationships," he said. "They can come through fairly stressful situations fairly well developed. They could be strengthened and have developed new skills that other generations don't have."

<a href="https://www.hhs.gov/sites/default/files/surgeon-general-youth-mental-health-advisory.pdf">The U.S. Surgeon General's report</a> issued a series of recommendations for schools, families, communities, the media, providers and others to help more young people navigate mental health issues.

"If we each start reorienting our priorities to create accessible space in our homes, schools, workplaces, and communities for seeking and giving assistance, we can all start building a culture that normalizes and promotes mental health care," the report said. "This is the moment to demand change — with our voices and with our actions. Only when we do will we be able to protect, strengthen, and support the health and safety of all children, adolescents, and young adults — and ensure everyone has a platform to thrive."

Cover image by&nbsp;<a href="https://unsplash.com/@vesky?utm_source=unsplash&amp;utm_medium=referral&amp;utm_content=creditCopyText">Vesky</a>&nbsp;on&nbsp;<a href="https://unsplash.com/s/photos/teen-depression?utm_source=unsplash&amp;utm_medium=referral&amp;utm_content=creditCopyText">Unsplash</a>

By RON FIELDS <a href="https://hayspost.com/pages/post-news-network">Post News Network</a>Even before the COVID-19 pandemic, mental health challenges among young people were the leading causes of disability and poor life outcomes, <a href="https://www.hhs.gov/sites/default/files/surgeon-general-youth-mental-health-advisory.pdf">according to the U.S. Surgeon General. </a>But now after almost two years of enduring a life-changing pandemic, area mental health professionals say the need for mental health services has increased dramatically — compounded by factors such as social media, political divisions in communities and an overloaded mental health care system."Especially toward the fall of 2020, we were starting to see an increase after kids were at home for six months," said Carie Brown of Great Bend-based <a href="https://heartofkansas.com/">Heart of Kansas Family Heath Care</a>. "Symptoms have been more exacerbated by the pandemic."Brown, a licensed specialist clinical social worker and licensed clinical addictions counselor, said the isolation caused by stay-at-home orders was traumatic for many young people. "We have kids whose home lives are not good. Food is an issue or safety is an issue," said Brown, a Fort Hays State University graduate and Logan, Kan., native. "During that pandemic time, they were all alone in that."If you’re in crisis, get immediate help: Call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273- 8255,&nbsp;<a href="https://suicidepreventionlifeline.org/chat/">chat</a>&nbsp;with trained counselors 24/7, or&nbsp;<a href="https://suicidepreventionlifeline.org/help-yourself/">get help in other ways through the Lifeline.</a>&nbsp;You can also contact the National Crisis Textline by texting HOME to 741741.Pediatric psychologist Matthew Wassom of <a href="https://www.katieswaymanhattan.com">Katie's Way</a> in Manhattan agreed."From March 2020 through the summer and into the fall of 2020 ... they were losing the routine and structure of life," he said. "And then, obviously, you take away one of the most valuable things, which is social functioning."Children were spending more time with family. ... That's nice for some families, but not for all families, especially in vulnerable populations," he said.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/1/1643306004920.png" alt="Wassom" />
 <figcaption>Wassom</figcaption>
 </figure>In rural northwest Nebraska, Catherine Jones-Hazledine, a psychologist with <a href="https://www.westernnebraskabehavioralhealth.com/">Western Nebraska Behavior Health</a>, said mental health issues among her patients have been magnified by current circumstances. "We see all of the normal things that we would see, but they are just intensifying. A lot of us as providers are worried about parent-child interactions because there were no breaks, worried about parents coping and increases in maladaptive parenting," she said. "We are seeing depressed kids, really lonely kids, especially in high school, where those kids lost milestone after milestone after milestone."<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/1/1643306047888.jpeg" alt="Brown" />
 <figcaption>Brown</figcaption>
 </figure>School referrals make up a significant portion of the juvenile patient loads for most mental health providers. Brown said that during the early days of the pandemic, juvenile cases actually saw a slight decrease. "Kids with behavior or emotional issues, those issues tend to come out in a school setting, in a a structured setting," Brown said. "During that March of 2020 to the fall, there were not a lot of new referrals. But once kids got back into schools, that's when we really started seeing that influx in referrals."<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/1/1643306132278.png" alt="U.S. Surgeon General" />
 <figcaption>U.S. Surgeon General</figcaption>
 </figure>Wassom said his patient load was a mixed bag during that time period."Some vulnerable populations had less access to care ... but kids with better resources, more involved parents, more financial resources, we saw them seeking out care for the first time," he said. The situation was different for Jones-Hazledine, whose practice is integrated in medical settings along with other health providers."The doctors are still the first person that people call when they're concerned about their kids out here, that and their pastors and priests," she said. "The kids were still finding their way to us."<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/1/1643306082797.jpeg" alt="Jones-Hazledine" />
 <figcaption>Jones-Hazledine</figcaption>
 </figure>Jones-Hazledine said the politics of COVID, coupled with other events on a national scale, have "coalesced into this big ball of conflict" — adding to the stressors for young people.&nbsp;"We're in a very rural red areas, and there's a lot of division about what it all means and what to think. That's been hard for everybody, but especially to the young people. It's super confusing," she said. "There are kiddos out there whose family believes in the science, and those kids go to school and go to class with kids who believe differently. ... And can be teased or mocked."Bullying is always something with young people, but it's jut different now," she added. "The kids see there are adults often engaging in conflict over medical issues, issues of what students should learn."<h2>Social media</h2>Social media and "screens" also have played an enormous role in mental health challenges, the providers said. "Electronics are a huge issue. They've become the babysitter. They've become an easier method than actively engaging and trying to do things as a family," Brown said. "As parents, we all have to look at that and be honest about it. ... It creates more obstacles than people realize."<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/1/1643306305522.png" alt="U.S. Surgeon General" />
 <figcaption>U.S. Surgeon General</figcaption>
 </figure>During the isolation period, young people used social media increasingly to stay connected with their peers, but also faced a heightened risk of being bullied or engaging in risky online behavior."Digital stuff is always worse," said Jones-Hazledine. "As a society, we'll say things to each other and treat each other on social media that we would never say in person. It's grown over time, and there is no consequence. "One of her student patients recently paraphrased a quote from Oscar Wilde: "Give a man a mask, and he'll tell you the truth.""Not just the positive, but the negative. ... It's more honest, but we are also more harsh," she said. While Wassom said he doesn't have "blanket hate" for screens and social media, he agreed the isolation drove more kids to increased screen time, often to the detriment of those children."If a family system doesn't have a good process set up, then you see the negative side of social media and the internet," he said. "We've seen a higher rate of tech addiction-type behaviors and a lot of issues of negative side effects of social media platforms."Wassom compared device use among young people to driver's education. "It's about social media literacy, trying to teach children before they ever lay hands on a device how to use that device in an healthy manner," he said, noting no one would give the keys to a car to an untrained child an expect them to drive safely away.<h2>Outcomes</h2>While those in junior high and high school are experiencing a "new normal," some younger children will retain little, if any, recollection of what life was like pre-COVID — which could be a positive, Wassom said. "If you have a 5- or 6-year-old who is now 8 or 9, they have a good stretch of their early elementary development done during a pandemic," he said. "They may not have a clear picture of how things are when there is not a pandemic, and maybe some of them are doing a bit better, and they've adapted in their resilience."<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/1/1643306361441.png" alt="U.S. Surgeon General" />
 <figcaption>U.S. Surgeon General</figcaption>
 </figure>In Jones-Hazledine's area of western Nebraska, one of the most troubling aspects of COVID is what she is hearing from teachers and schools."We have heard over and over again that the kids they're teaching right now are a good year behind socio-emotionally. The year of isolation really took a toll on everything," she said. "Kids are resilient, but to hear that across the board in all different kinds of schools, it's kind of mind-blowing.In a June 2021 study, the U.S. Surgeon General's office reported depressive and anxiety symptoms double during the pandemic, with 25 percent of young people experiencing depressive symptoms and 20 percent experiencing anxiety. Suspected suicide attempts increased 51 percent for girls and 4 percent for boys compared to 2019."It's a combination of everything we've talked about — feelings of isolation, exposure to things through screen time, this extremely difficult situation for kids and for parents," Brown said. "There's been an increase in suicidal behaviors and that is very concerning."<h2>Staffing </h2>Like most every sector in the U.S. economy, mental health health providers are struggling with staffing issues in their clinics."We are absolutely overwhelmed, much more so than we were in the first year of the pandemic. The need is through the roof," Jones-Hazledine said. "Most practices out here, there are two- to three-month waiting lists. This is source of great stress to the providers in my practice."Wassom said Katie's Way sees patients from eastern to far western Kansas."It speaks to the shortage of certain types of providers across the whole state," he said. Brown agreed, noting her clinic is seeking an additional behavior health professional, as well a additional nursing staff.Jones-Hazledine said she had to enforce a mandated break over the holidays. Her staff is actively doing things to prevent what she called "compassion fatigue" and burnout. &nbsp;<h2>Solutions</h2>The U.S. Surgeon General's office said "there is much to be done" to support the mental health of children, including:•&nbsp;Recognizing mental health is an essential part of overall health. •&nbsp;Empowering youth and their families to recognize, manage and learn from difficult emotions. •&nbsp;Ensuring every child has access to high-quality, affordable and culturally competent mental health care. •&nbsp;Supporting the mental health of children in educational, community and child care settings. •&nbsp;Addressing economic and social barriers to care. •&nbsp;Increasing data collection to more rapidly identify mental health needs.Brown said access to services is crucial, as well as shaking the concept that mental health concerns is viewed through a stigmatized lens."Mental health has been seen like it's something to be ashamed of forever. The reality is it's nothing to be ashamed of," she said. "Everyone has felt sad, anxious, depressed —&nbsp;but there is help. It's important for people not to enter with that bias that it's something wrong."The more open people are to getting help, the more likely it is that it can be overcome and it can get better."Wassom said there might be a silver lining in the pandemic for some children."I've got some hopeful optimism. When you look at research of adverse events, there are still a lot of kids out there who have good resiliency, good support and positive relationships," he said. "They can come through fairly stressful situations fairly well developed. They could be strengthened and have developed new skills that other generations don't have."<a href="https://www.hhs.gov/sites/default/files/surgeon-general-youth-mental-health-advisory.pdf">The U.S. Surgeon General's report</a> issued a series of recommendations for schools, families, communities, the media, providers and others to help more young people navigate mental health issues."If we each start reorienting our priorities to create accessible space in our homes, schools, workplaces, and communities for seeking and giving assistance, we can all start building a culture that normalizes and promotes mental health care," the report said. "This is the moment to demand change — with our voices and with our actions. Only when we do will we be able to protect, strengthen, and support the health and safety of all children, adolescents, and young adults — and ensure everyone has a platform to thrive."Cover image by&nbsp;<a href="https://unsplash.com/@vesky?utm_source=unsplash&amp;utm_medium=referral&amp;utm_content=creditCopyText">Vesky</a>&nbsp;on&nbsp;<a href="https://unsplash.com/s/photos/teen-depression?utm_source=unsplash&amp;utm_medium=referral&amp;utm_content=creditCopyText">Unsplash</a>

Children's mental health an increasing concern as COVID lingers

Three-day weather outlook

A couple winters ago, I was given the opportunity to do some nuisance beaver trapping at Turkey Creek Golf Course in McPherson. I’d been helping a local lad, Jared Austin learn the do’s and don’ts, and the in’s and out’s of trapping as I knew them, and he became a constant companion as the very first morning we caught what I hoped was the only beaver left there on the golf course. But, as is usually the case, more damage appeared in the form of chewed trees and shrubs, so our quest was not over.

For starters, it’s difficult enough to catch every single beaver on any given property, and when the water source is a stream or a river that obviously runs for miles, it’s nearly impossible. Turkey Creek Golf Course is named for Turkey Creek which runs completely through the course and for miles in each direction, plus the grounds also sports several acres of pond water to boot, so there can theoretically be a constant supply of predators and beavers. &nbsp;

The new chewing was on the opposite end of the creek from where our first beaver was caught, so we began by scouting there. Most beaver dwellings in our part of the country are dens in the bank of a pond, river or stream, and are often hard to spot because beavers attempt to conceal openings to their dens by placing them where they’ll be under water except during very dry times. We walked the creek bank for a time but spotted no den openings, so a couple traps were placed at points where the creek narrowed down, theorizing the beavers would encounter the traps as they cruised up and down through their neighborhood. Jared lived just a hop, skip and a jump from the golf course, so he checked the traps each morning, saving me lots of time and miles. After a week of checking empty traps, he was on the phone with me one afternoon as he had donned waders and was in the creek checking under every tree stump and looking under every single wad of overhanging grass, searching for a beaver den entrance (I vaguely remember when I still had that kind of exuberance.) Catching your quarry the first day like we had that first beaver is great, especially for building enthusiasm in a youthful apprentice like it had in Jared. But it also offers a teaching moment for the mentor to impress upon their apprentice how success in hunting, fishing and trapping is often not immediate. He found a couple likely looking locations, and although I silently thought them “iffy” at best, I encouraged him to move traps there and see what happened (yet another learning opportunity.) The next couple days he caught raccoons but no beavers, then a rain and ice storm raised the water level in the creek too high to find the traps for a day or so. The following Thursday morning I set several traps around the biggest pond on the golf course and the two of us made plans to meet early Friday to check them all.

I remember Friday morning was foggy with a light mist falling as we commandeered a golf cart to make our rounds. Our first stop was where he had moved traps a few days prior, and we parked the cart beside a chewed-up tree the beaver had cut completely down. I think the cart was still moving when Jared dove out and all-but-sprinted down the bank. I was still stumbling around trying to wipe the mist and fog from my glasses when I heard him splashing across the creek, followed by hoots of “Got one, alright, finally!” The traps we use kill a beaver very quickly, so with my glasses still foggy and propped onto my nose, I blundered across the creek to find a kid with a smile on his face the size of a crescent moon holding up a gigantic old beaver. I estimated the old monster to weigh 45 – 50 pounds with immense front incisor teeth an inch long and as wide as my thumb nails. No wonder it had caused so much damage and was capable of completely toppling trees. Who knows how long that old rascal had lived there and how many of the problem beavers we were after it had apprenticed itself. We continued on, checking traps I had set around the pond and were rewarded with one more average sized beaver. I explained to Jared why I’d put each trap where I had, and he helped me set a couple more. He also got to sense my frustration with not catching as many as I’d hoped in the traps I had set.&nbsp;

Beavers are amazing critters that get themselves in trouble just doin’ what God created them to do. Beaver colonies cutting down trees to dam up streams in mountain meadows somewhere create ponds that actually do Nature a favor by providing homes for trout, ducks and other wildlife. But here in Midwestern farm country, beavers damming up streams and rivers that flood productive farm land, or chewing and cutting down trees on the local pristine golf course are not going to be tolerated. It’s kind of ironic that my apprentice’s first beaver was so big, as the first beaver I ever caught was just as large and required my wife and I hauling it up a steep river bank, through a briar patch and a couple hundred yards to the waiting pickup. I don’t know the average life span of a Kansas beaver, but thanks to the exuberance of my young friend, that one won’t be cluttering the golf course any more. Continue to Explore Kansas Outdoors!

Steve Gilliland, Inman, can be contacted by email at stevenrgilliland@gmail.com.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2019/11/1574696211722.png" alt="Steve&nbsp;Gilliland" />
 <figcaption>Steve&nbsp;Gilliland</figcaption>
 </figure>A couple winters ago, I was given the opportunity to do some nuisance beaver trapping at Turkey Creek Golf Course in McPherson. I’d been helping a local lad, Jared Austin learn the do’s and don’ts, and the in’s and out’s of trapping as I knew them, and he became a constant companion as the very first morning we caught what I hoped was the only beaver left there on the golf course. But, as is usually the case, more damage appeared in the form of chewed trees and shrubs, so our quest was not over.For starters, it’s difficult enough to catch every single beaver on any given property, and when the water source is a stream or a river that obviously runs for miles, it’s nearly impossible. Turkey Creek Golf Course is named for Turkey Creek which runs completely through the course and for miles in each direction, plus the grounds also sports several acres of pond water to boot, so there can theoretically be a constant supply of predators and beavers. &nbsp;The new chewing was on the opposite end of the creek from where our first beaver was caught, so we began by scouting there. Most beaver dwellings in our part of the country are dens in the bank of a pond, river or stream, and are often hard to spot because beavers attempt to conceal openings to their dens by placing them where they’ll be under water except during very dry times. We walked the creek bank for a time but spotted no den openings, so a couple traps were placed at points where the creek narrowed down, theorizing the beavers would encounter the traps as they cruised up and down through their neighborhood. Jared lived just a hop, skip and a jump from the golf course, so he checked the traps each morning, saving me lots of time and miles. After a week of checking empty traps, he was on the phone with me one afternoon as he had donned waders and was in the creek checking under every tree stump and looking under every single wad of overhanging grass, searching for a beaver den entrance (I vaguely remember when I still had that kind of exuberance.) Catching your quarry the first day like we had that first beaver is great, especially for building enthusiasm in a youthful apprentice like it had in Jared. But it also offers a teaching moment for the mentor to impress upon their apprentice how success in hunting, fishing and trapping is often not immediate. He found a couple likely looking locations, and although I silently thought them “iffy” at best, I encouraged him to move traps there and see what happened (yet another learning opportunity.) The next couple days he caught raccoons but no beavers, then a rain and ice storm raised the water level in the creek too high to find the traps for a day or so. The following Thursday morning I set several traps around the biggest pond on the golf course and the two of us made plans to meet early Friday to check them all.I remember Friday morning was foggy with a light mist falling as we commandeered a golf cart to make our rounds. Our first stop was where he had moved traps a few days prior, and we parked the cart beside a chewed-up tree the beaver had cut completely down. I think the cart was still moving when Jared dove out and all-but-sprinted down the bank. I was still stumbling around trying to wipe the mist and fog from my glasses when I heard him splashing across the creek, followed by hoots of “Got one, alright, finally!” The traps we use kill a beaver very quickly, so with my glasses still foggy and propped onto my nose, I blundered across the creek to find a kid with a smile on his face the size of a crescent moon holding up a gigantic old beaver. I estimated the old monster to weigh 45 – 50 pounds with immense front incisor teeth an inch long and as wide as my thumb nails. No wonder it had caused so much damage and was capable of completely toppling trees. Who knows how long that old rascal had lived there and how many of the problem beavers we were after it had apprenticed itself. We continued on, checking traps I had set around the pond and were rewarded with one more average sized beaver. I explained to Jared why I’d put each trap where I had, and he helped me set a couple more. He also got to sense my frustration with not catching as many as I’d hoped in the traps I had set.&nbsp;Beavers are amazing critters that get themselves in trouble just doin’ what God created them to do. Beaver colonies cutting down trees to dam up streams in mountain meadows somewhere create ponds that actually do Nature a favor by providing homes for trout, ducks and other wildlife. But here in Midwestern farm country, beavers damming up streams and rivers that flood productive farm land, or chewing and cutting down trees on the local pristine golf course are not going to be tolerated. It’s kind of ironic that my apprentice’s first beaver was so big, as the first beaver I ever caught was just as large and required my wife and I hauling it up a steep river bank, through a briar patch and a couple hundred yards to the waiting pickup. I don’t know the average life span of a Kansas beaver, but thanks to the exuberance of my young friend, that one won’t be cluttering the golf course any more. Continue to Explore Kansas Outdoors!Steve Gilliland, Inman, can be contacted by email at stevenrgilliland@gmail.com.

Exploring Outdoors Kansas: Oh, for the exuberance of youth

On this episode of the Post Podcast, Hays Post reporter Becky Kiser recaps this week's Hays city commission meeting with vice-mayor Michael Burgess and city manager Toby Dougherty.&nbsp;

Infrastructure in Hays was on the agenda during this week's
City Commission meeting. Hays Post reporter Becky Kiser speaks with Vice Mayor Michael
Burgess as well as city manager Toby Doherty, about that on this episode of the Post Podcast.

Congratulations, Michael, on being the vice mayor. What are
your duties as Vice Mayor? People want to know.

To pick on Mason to make sure he's at all the meetings so
that way he can run them? Because if he's not at the meeting that I go to the
gavel, and I'm not sure I prepared to do that. Oh, I'm sure there. Other than
that, it's kind of just succession, you just kind of take your tournament in
the seat next to you.

Well, we're glad to have you in that seat. Let's talk a
little bit about some of the agenda items at last night's meeting several of
them regarding development in Hays and one of the big ones. And we'll I'm going
to ask Toby a question about this too. But first of all, let's talk about a pre
annexation agreement with property owner of four tracts of land Michael, just
north of I 70. Near the exit 157. There's a lot of stuff that's already
happened up there. And this will help with continued growth. 

That's the same exit that on the west side of that property
that we annexed last night is where the the truckstop and hopefully hotels,
restaurants and truck washes going in the counties already. We've already done
some road repair in that area. Now the county is also doing their their bypass
construction out there. So this kind of fits with that whole puzzle of
developing that area, hopefully more industry to track more trucks and kind of
grow that area.

And Toby, you talked last night and also the week before
about this is a little bit different type of pre annexation agreement between
the property owner BBj and the city of Hays, How's it different.

It's a little bit different, because development typically
happens, likes what's happening on the west side there, we have an undeveloped
piece of property. developer comes in in and the city gave some financial
incentives in order to help subsidize the water and sewer and road
infrastructure to serve the development and then stuff is built. Well, this is
a little different, because the Peterbilt dealership located out there before
there was any infrastructure at all. So they were on real water, they are on a
septic system. And they existed in the in the unincorporated area in the county
outside the city. And so at that time, it was cost prohibitive for the
infrastructure to be extended for a Peterbilt dealership. But with the infrastructure
being pushed on to the north side of the interstate, the intersection being
rebuilt, essentially, the fronted a lot of this property. That's when we took
the opportunity entered into negotiations with the property owner and said, You
know, it's just a couple short extensions, if you're willing to call share a
couple short extensions of infrastructure, we can get your property's ready to
develop, and then we could annex the dealership into the city and get the
property tax and sales tax off of that. So that's how we resulted in the in the
agreement last night. So it was a little bit atypical, but I think it was
advantageous for everybody.

And there's one other thing that you pointed out a couple of
scenarios that might delay the annexation of at least one of those tracks.
There is actually a CID out there that the county has imposed.

Yeah, the property owner asked the county to institute a CID
which the Community Improvement District and they're charging an extra two
cents. And that's to help offset some of the development costs initially when
the Peterbilt dealership was put there. So the property owner has no problem
coming into the city. But wanted a little bit of time to collect that Tucson Cid
before asking the city to consider lowering it to make sure they're they're
competitive. So that's why we we settled on three years after the the
infrastructures put in to annex. But then there was a couple a couple ways in
which the developer could push that back a year or two, if other properties are
developed, or if the infrastructure cost comes in lower than we planned.

And how soon might this infrastructure get underway? Is
there more steps? Yeah, this is kind of just the start.

So according to the agreement that was adopted last night by
the Commission, we have 12 months from the date of adoption, before we issue
the no later than 12 months where we issue the request for proposals to put the
infrastructure in. And then we give some, the developer the actual property
owner some latitude to tell us go ahead and issue the RFP. So if the developer
wants to do it tomorrow, then we'll get it out as soon as possible. So Nobel
Prize says let's wait 10 months and then get it out, then we're going to show
some deference to them.

Alright, Michael, let's talk about another area actually
down at South Hayes. We had some interest for a relocation of a metal recycling
facility which has not been in Hays all that long, but they're looking at
growth and they want to go down to the south part of Hays doing that has
enabled has required a rezoning request in the area from egg to head heavy
industrial and then also the final plat that the commissioner approved last
night.

Yeah, this is another development, as you said that hadn't
been in haze too long, but they're looking to expand their operation. And
that's kind of the exciting thing about being on the commission and seeing
these things. That's what we talked about for years is to try to attract
businesses, and that will grow and add employment. So this made a lot of sense.
It's, it's in the industrial part of town already. So yes, it's, from our standpoint,
a fairly simple just change from AG. I don't know what was out there. We fields
in hay and whatnot to do allow them to build onto and build buildings for
recycling. And I think they have some plans to put in a rail routes, spikes, so
that way they can ship out and allow and that was kind of the nice thing, the
last meeting, and they did talk about allowing other businesses to use that
railroad spike to help their operations. So this is going to be a very
symbiotic relationship. I think of the community.

Yes. And now we're talking about property on estab. 16 At
ease 10th With Langar, industrials solutions, I think, is the proper name. And
they've been there for the past two meetings, told me what that seems like a really
big deal to have a new railroad spur, and then actually they're willing to have
other people utilize that. Does the city get involved with that?

At all? No, not No. Actually, the city's involvements done.
Now, once the Platina zoning was adopted, the city's involvement is done. It's
not in the city, right. So this will take place outside of the city limits in
the in the, in the, in the county as as the the other entities along there are
not in the city limits either. So it's maintaining consistency with the
development that's there. The railroad spur is a big deal. And it's it's fairly
costly to construct. And so I think, you know, Mr. Langer wants to generate
some revenue with the construction by letting other people utilize it. But you
also need a big piece of property adjacent to railroad tracks. So you're very
limited of how you can put a spring in this property actually worked out
perfect for it. So we're we're pretty happy for him and we think it's going to
be a good asset.

And this is actually a Hays. Hays Post reporter Christina
Janney did a story with Mr. Langer when it when they first opened up their
facility much closer to I 70. East 37th Street near the intersection up there.
And this is not really a they're more I guess, more of a storage of big metal
pieces that will get shipped out

They are commercial recycler. But I mean, if you're old
enough to remember the year gave you the words junkyard or scrap yards, you
know, that's not what they are. They are commercial recycler. But they get
product in and out very quickly, they collect different types of metals. And
then they they process them, they get them out very quickly. That's how they
make their monies, they turn those, they get them to the the to the venues
where they sell them. And so the property haven't been 37th it just isn't big
enough for the scale they want. And so ever since I located on 37th, they've
been looking for a larger property because they want to operate at a at a much
larger scale than they are now.

Exciting. Let's talk a little bit about the airport we had
some information and actually approval Michael have more land has that the city
purchase the opportunity came up to do that it's just east of the airport. And
this is fitting in extremely, perfectly I should have to say with the airport
growth plan. Tell us a little bit about it.

It'ss a piece that the property owner approached us. It is a
piece that makes a lot of sense because on three, three of the four sides
already it it already abuts airport property. So this just squares it off
another 20 acres, that at this point, there's certainly no plans on what to do
with it. But again, it squares it off with the property that we purchased last
year. For future development the airport I know there's going to be some talk
about expanding hangars or adding hangars and fuel farm and some of those. So
this just allows allows the airport and the city to to continue to build on
those ideas.

And then Toby last night some good news was shared about the
number of employments passengers we had out at the airport last year maybe a
little surprising.

It was the rebound came, came back fairly quickly and fairly
steady throughout the year. We flew a little over 11,000 passengers in 2021.
And that was slightly higher than I thought we would we would get but our
employments have have remained steady and steadily grown throughout 2021 So we
see no sign of that slacking off in 22.

And there is a benchmark that pays tries to reach and has
over the years with at least 10,000 boardings. Why is that important to us?

It's it's a part of the FA entitlement program. Your your
entitlement monies, which is your grant Is that you you have entitled us to and
they can't give them to somebody else, are based off of boardings and so 10,000
boardings, we receive an a guaranteed million dollars in FAA grant funds every
year. And we have to match that at 10%. And so we spend, we spent $100,000, to
get a million dollars worth of benefit from FAA for and it's for FAA authorized
projects, so airfield, things that have to do with the planes actually taking
off and landing and the safety of it. And then like snow equipment and RF stuff
and things like that. So, it's really important for us to get that 10,000
boardings otherwise, we are completely subject to the whim of FAA for funding.
And am I like, yeah, we're competing with everybody else's projects. And we may
not, you know, be able to align the projects up the way we want them to.

And airport director, Jamie Salter, was neat to see a
picture of the new snow removal equipment that was approved by the commission a
while back. And it apparently made a huge difference in the amount of time they
have to spend working out there.

Yeah, absolutely. And that's one of the things FAA does call
Cherian is a lot of that snow removal equipment. And, you know, it did, it's
expected by our airlines, you know, you don't have to go back too far where we
had I'm not gonna say sketchy but very non consistent service in the
wintertime, if there were snow events, and that's part of that is because we
didn't have adequate snow removal equipment to address things like we needed
to. But the expectation of like, the current care we have right now is you're
going to have a ready to go, we're we're gonna come in, we're gonna land we're
gonna let our people off, get our people and we're gonna, we're gonna take off.
And so we have to have adequate equipment to do that. And, and I think we have
it now.

And Michael, finally, we wanted to touch base and let people
know that the wealth rehabilitation program continues, Jeff Crispin has been
working on this started back in 2019. This is the fourth consecutive year and
water wills are very important. But at some point, they become a little bit
more than city workers than our can handle as far as rehab and keeping it
clean, got to call them the professional.

Professionals, we've done six to eight, I think every for
every year for the last 40 years, I think that'll continue. And that's, that's
part of it just getting deep clean, to keep our water flowing efficiently,
which then, you know, we just pass those efficiencies on throughout the system.
So it makes a lot of sense, it's easier to budget as well, you don't have to
wait for wells to go down and then repair it. So

&nbsp;So get the deep
cleaning and work on the wells and and then that does allow our city staff
between, you know, four or five years to go in there and do regular routine
maintenance.

It's been working out well for us. And real quickly, Toby,
we're gonna have

Can I add one thing to that do that? I really want to stress
the importance of this because those people that around the 1991 may remember
the drought that caused us to get into the water conservation world, that we've
been pretty much leading in Kansas ever since. That, well, that was a drought,
it wasn't a severe drought. The issue upon upon reflection, the issue was, we
weren't taking care of our wells the way we needed to. They weren't as
efficient as they should be. We weren't doing stuff like this to have them
either rehabbing in the house or professionally rehabbing them. And so it
wasn't so much the drought but more of the fact that our wells were only
producing at you know, 30 40% capacity. And so then when the drought hit it
compounded that. So it's extremely important to do stuff like this because when
we do hit a drought, we want those wells as efficient as possible. We don't
want to have any self inflicted wounds.

<div><iframe title="Additional development north of I-70 in Hays approved" allowtransparency="true" height="450" width="100%" style="border: none; min-width: min(100%, 430px);" scrolling="no" data-name="pb-iframe-player" src="https://www.podbean.com/player-v2/?i=mk54r-11901a1-pb&from=pb6admin&square=1&share=1&download=1&rtl=0&fonts=Arial&skin=3267a3&font-color=ffffff&btn-skin=3267a3&size=450" allowfullscreen=""></iframe></div>On this episode of the Post Podcast, Hays Post reporter Becky Kiser recaps this week's Hays city commission meeting with vice-mayor Michael Burgess and city manager Toby Dougherty.&nbsp;<h2>Transcript</h2>James Bell&nbsp; Infrastructure in Hays was on the agenda during this week's
City Commission meeting. Hays Post reporter Becky Kiser speaks with Vice Mayor Michael
Burgess as well as city manager Toby Doherty, about that on this episode of the Post Podcast.Hays Post Reporter Becky Kiser&nbsp; Congratulations, Michael, on being the vice mayor. What are
your duties as Vice Mayor? People want to know.Michael Burgess&nbsp; To pick on Mason to make sure he's at all the meetings so
that way he can run them? Because if he's not at the meeting that I go to the
gavel, and I'm not sure I prepared to do that. Oh, I'm sure there. Other than
that, it's kind of just succession, you just kind of take your tournament in
the seat next to you.Hays Post Reporter Becky Kiser&nbsp; Well, we're glad to have you in that seat. Let's talk a
little bit about some of the agenda items at last night's meeting several of
them regarding development in Hays and one of the big ones. And we'll I'm going
to ask Toby a question about this too. But first of all, let's talk about a pre
annexation agreement with property owner of four tracts of land Michael, just
north of I 70. Near the exit 157. There's a lot of stuff that's already
happened up there. And this will help with continued growth. Michael Burgess&nbsp; That's the same exit that on the west side of that property
that we annexed last night is where the the truckstop and hopefully hotels,
restaurants and truck washes going in the counties already. We've already done
some road repair in that area. Now the county is also doing their their bypass
construction out there. So this kind of fits with that whole puzzle of
developing that area, hopefully more industry to track more trucks and kind of
grow that area.Hays Post Reporter Becky Kiser&nbsp; And Toby, you talked last night and also the week before
about this is a little bit different type of pre annexation agreement between
the property owner BBj and the city of Hays, How's it different.Toby Dougherty&nbsp; It's a little bit different, because development typically
happens, likes what's happening on the west side there, we have an undeveloped
piece of property. developer comes in in and the city gave some financial
incentives in order to help subsidize the water and sewer and road
infrastructure to serve the development and then stuff is built. Well, this is
a little different, because the Peterbilt dealership located out there before
there was any infrastructure at all. So they were on real water, they are on a
septic system. And they existed in the in the unincorporated area in the county
outside the city. And so at that time, it was cost prohibitive for the
infrastructure to be extended for a Peterbilt dealership. But with the infrastructure
being pushed on to the north side of the interstate, the intersection being
rebuilt, essentially, the fronted a lot of this property. That's when we took
the opportunity entered into negotiations with the property owner and said, You
know, it's just a couple short extensions, if you're willing to call share a
couple short extensions of infrastructure, we can get your property's ready to
develop, and then we could annex the dealership into the city and get the
property tax and sales tax off of that. So that's how we resulted in the in the
agreement last night. So it was a little bit atypical, but I think it was
advantageous for everybody.Hays Post Reporter Becky Kiser&nbsp; And there's one other thing that you pointed out a couple of
scenarios that might delay the annexation of at least one of those tracks.
There is actually a CID out there that the county has imposed.Toby Dougherty&nbsp; Yeah, the property owner asked the county to institute a CID
which the Community Improvement District and they're charging an extra two
cents. And that's to help offset some of the development costs initially when
the Peterbilt dealership was put there. So the property owner has no problem
coming into the city. But wanted a little bit of time to collect that Tucson Cid
before asking the city to consider lowering it to make sure they're they're
competitive. So that's why we we settled on three years after the the
infrastructures put in to annex. But then there was a couple a couple ways in
which the developer could push that back a year or two, if other properties are
developed, or if the infrastructure cost comes in lower than we planned.Hays Post Reporter Becky Kiser&nbsp; And how soon might this infrastructure get underway? Is
there more steps? Yeah, this is kind of just the start.Toby Dougherty&nbsp; So according to the agreement that was adopted last night by
the Commission, we have 12 months from the date of adoption, before we issue
the no later than 12 months where we issue the request for proposals to put the
infrastructure in. And then we give some, the developer the actual property
owner some latitude to tell us go ahead and issue the RFP. So if the developer
wants to do it tomorrow, then we'll get it out as soon as possible. So Nobel
Prize says let's wait 10 months and then get it out, then we're going to show
some deference to them.Hays Post Reporter Becky Kiser&nbsp; Alright, Michael, let's talk about another area actually
down at South Hayes. We had some interest for a relocation of a metal recycling
facility which has not been in Hays all that long, but they're looking at
growth and they want to go down to the south part of Hays doing that has
enabled has required a rezoning request in the area from egg to head heavy
industrial and then also the final plat that the commissioner approved last
night.Michael Burgess&nbsp; Yeah, this is another development, as you said that hadn't
been in haze too long, but they're looking to expand their operation. And
that's kind of the exciting thing about being on the commission and seeing
these things. That's what we talked about for years is to try to attract
businesses, and that will grow and add employment. So this made a lot of sense.
It's, it's in the industrial part of town already. So yes, it's, from our standpoint,
a fairly simple just change from AG. I don't know what was out there. We fields
in hay and whatnot to do allow them to build onto and build buildings for
recycling. And I think they have some plans to put in a rail routes, spikes, so
that way they can ship out and allow and that was kind of the nice thing, the
last meeting, and they did talk about allowing other businesses to use that
railroad spike to help their operations. So this is going to be a very
symbiotic relationship. I think of the community.Hays Post Reporter Becky Kiser&nbsp; Yes. And now we're talking about property on estab. 16 At
ease 10th With Langar, industrials solutions, I think, is the proper name. And
they've been there for the past two meetings, told me what that seems like a really
big deal to have a new railroad spur, and then actually they're willing to have
other people utilize that. Does the city get involved with that?Toby Dougherty&nbsp; At all? No, not No. Actually, the city's involvements done.
Now, once the Platina zoning was adopted, the city's involvement is done. It's
not in the city, right. So this will take place outside of the city limits in
the in the, in the, in the county as as the the other entities along there are
not in the city limits either. So it's maintaining consistency with the
development that's there. The railroad spur is a big deal. And it's it's fairly
costly to construct. And so I think, you know, Mr. Langer wants to generate
some revenue with the construction by letting other people utilize it. But you
also need a big piece of property adjacent to railroad tracks. So you're very
limited of how you can put a spring in this property actually worked out
perfect for it. So we're we're pretty happy for him and we think it's going to
be a good asset.Hays Post Reporter Becky Kiser&nbsp; And this is actually a Hays. Hays Post reporter Christina
Janney did a story with Mr. Langer when it when they first opened up their
facility much closer to I 70. East 37th Street near the intersection up there.
And this is not really a they're more I guess, more of a storage of big metal
pieces that will get shipped outToby Dougherty&nbsp; They are commercial recycler. But I mean, if you're old
enough to remember the year gave you the words junkyard or scrap yards, you
know, that's not what they are. They are commercial recycler. But they get
product in and out very quickly, they collect different types of metals. And
then they they process them, they get them out very quickly. That's how they
make their monies, they turn those, they get them to the the to the venues
where they sell them. And so the property haven't been 37th it just isn't big
enough for the scale they want. And so ever since I located on 37th, they've
been looking for a larger property because they want to operate at a at a much
larger scale than they are now.Hays Post Reporter Becky Kiser&nbsp; Exciting. Let's talk a little bit about the airport we had
some information and actually approval Michael have more land has that the city
purchase the opportunity came up to do that it's just east of the airport. And
this is fitting in extremely, perfectly I should have to say with the airport
growth plan. Tell us a little bit about it.Michael Burgess&nbsp; It'ss a piece that the property owner approached us. It is a
piece that makes a lot of sense because on three, three of the four sides
already it it already abuts airport property. So this just squares it off
another 20 acres, that at this point, there's certainly no plans on what to do
with it. But again, it squares it off with the property that we purchased last
year. For future development the airport I know there's going to be some talk
about expanding hangars or adding hangars and fuel farm and some of those. So
this just allows allows the airport and the city to to continue to build on
those ideas.Hays Post Reporter Becky Kiser&nbsp; And then Toby last night some good news was shared about the
number of employments passengers we had out at the airport last year maybe a
little surprising.Toby Dougherty&nbsp; It was the rebound came, came back fairly quickly and fairly
steady throughout the year. We flew a little over 11,000 passengers in 2021.
And that was slightly higher than I thought we would we would get but our
employments have have remained steady and steadily grown throughout 2021 So we
see no sign of that slacking off in 22.Hays Post Reporter Becky Kiser&nbsp; And there is a benchmark that pays tries to reach and has
over the years with at least 10,000 boardings. Why is that important to us?Toby Dougherty&nbsp; It's it's a part of the FA entitlement program. Your your
entitlement monies, which is your grant Is that you you have entitled us to and
they can't give them to somebody else, are based off of boardings and so 10,000
boardings, we receive an a guaranteed million dollars in FAA grant funds every
year. And we have to match that at 10%. And so we spend, we spent $100,000, to
get a million dollars worth of benefit from FAA for and it's for FAA authorized
projects, so airfield, things that have to do with the planes actually taking
off and landing and the safety of it. And then like snow equipment and RF stuff
and things like that. So, it's really important for us to get that 10,000
boardings otherwise, we are completely subject to the whim of FAA for funding.
And am I like, yeah, we're competing with everybody else's projects. And we may
not, you know, be able to align the projects up the way we want them to.Hays Post Reporter Becky Kiser&nbsp; And airport director, Jamie Salter, was neat to see a
picture of the new snow removal equipment that was approved by the commission a
while back. And it apparently made a huge difference in the amount of time they
have to spend working out there.Toby Dougherty&nbsp; Yeah, absolutely. And that's one of the things FAA does call
Cherian is a lot of that snow removal equipment. And, you know, it did, it's
expected by our airlines, you know, you don't have to go back too far where we
had I'm not gonna say sketchy but very non consistent service in the
wintertime, if there were snow events, and that's part of that is because we
didn't have adequate snow removal equipment to address things like we needed
to. But the expectation of like, the current care we have right now is you're
going to have a ready to go, we're we're gonna come in, we're gonna land we're
gonna let our people off, get our people and we're gonna, we're gonna take off.
And so we have to have adequate equipment to do that. And, and I think we have
it now.Hays Post Reporter Becky Kiser&nbsp; And Michael, finally, we wanted to touch base and let people
know that the wealth rehabilitation program continues, Jeff Crispin has been
working on this started back in 2019. This is the fourth consecutive year and
water wills are very important. But at some point, they become a little bit
more than city workers than our can handle as far as rehab and keeping it
clean, got to call them the professional.Michael Burgess&nbsp; Professionals, we've done six to eight, I think every for
every year for the last 40 years, I think that'll continue. And that's, that's
part of it just getting deep clean, to keep our water flowing efficiently,
which then, you know, we just pass those efficiencies on throughout the system.
So it makes a lot of sense, it's easier to budget as well, you don't have to
wait for wells to go down and then repair it. SoHays Post Reporter Becky Kiser&nbsp; Is less expensive planning ahead.Michael Burgess&nbsp; &nbsp;So get the deep
cleaning and work on the wells and and then that does allow our city staff
between, you know, four or five years to go in there and do regular routine
maintenance.Hays Post Reporter Becky Kiser&nbsp; It's been working out well for us. And real quickly, Toby,
we're gonna haveToby Dougherty&nbsp; Can I add one thing to that do that? I really want to stress
the importance of this because those people that around the 1991 may remember
the drought that caused us to get into the water conservation world, that we've
been pretty much leading in Kansas ever since. That, well, that was a drought,
it wasn't a severe drought. The issue upon upon reflection, the issue was, we
weren't taking care of our wells the way we needed to. They weren't as
efficient as they should be. We weren't doing stuff like this to have them
either rehabbing in the house or professionally rehabbing them. And so it
wasn't so much the drought but more of the fact that our wells were only
producing at you know, 30 40% capacity. And so then when the drought hit it
compounded that. So it's extremely important to do stuff like this because when
we do hit a drought, we want those wells as efficient as possible. We don't
want to have any self inflicted wounds.

🎙Post Podcast: Additional development north of I-70 in Hays approved

Annual conference set for Feb. 9-11 in Manhattan&nbsp;

MANHATTAN – Organizers of a conference that helps prepare women to successfully participate in multiple farm roles have announced the full lineup of speakers for 2022.&nbsp;

<a href="http://womenmanagingthefarm.com/">Women Managing the Farm</a>&nbsp;will be held Feb. 9 to 11 at the Hilton Garden Inn in Manhattan. The conference provides training, risk management tools and professional resources to help women and men successfully manage the farm.&nbsp;

<a href="http://womenmanagingthefarm.com/registration">Registration costs $175</a>&nbsp;and includes all sessions, materials and meals. Pre-conference sessions are available for an additional $25.&nbsp;

Conference officials announced the final two speakers of this year’s conference.&nbsp;

Shannon Ferrell, a professor of agricultural economics at Oklahoma State University will kick off the Feb. 11 agenda at 7:45 a.m. with a talk on the legal elements of farm business management and transition planning.&nbsp;

Tanner Ehmke, the lead economist with CoBank’s Knowledge Exchange research team, will give an industry outlook at 12:45 p.m. on Feb. 11, talking about sectors that are currently affecting the rural economy.&nbsp;

In early January, organizers announced that Courtenay DeHoff -- known widely as the “Fancy Lady Cowgirl” -- will give a keynote talk on Thursday, Feb. 10 at 8 a.m. A Kansas cowgirl-turned-television-host, DeHoff will bring her inspirational message of how she has embraced rural and urban lifestyles through a cowgirl spirit. Her&nbsp;<a href="http://courtenaydehoff.com/">website</a>&nbsp;proclaims her belief that “a cowgirl is not defined by what she wears or where she lives.”&nbsp;

The conference has been held every year since 2005, though last year’s event was online only due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Nearly 300 women attended the conference in-person in early 2020.&nbsp;

This year’s breakout sessions feature several topics, including:&nbsp;

Conference updates also are&nbsp;<a href="http://www.facebook.com/womenmanagingthefarm">available on Facebook.</a>&nbsp;

<h2>Annual conference set for Feb. 9-11 in Manhattan&nbsp;</h2>K-State Research &amp; ExtensionMANHATTAN – Organizers of a conference that helps prepare women to successfully participate in multiple farm roles have announced the full lineup of speakers for 2022.&nbsp;<a href="http://womenmanagingthefarm.com/">Women Managing the Farm</a>&nbsp;will be held Feb. 9 to 11 at the Hilton Garden Inn in Manhattan. The conference provides training, risk management tools and professional resources to help women and men successfully manage the farm.&nbsp;<a href="http://womenmanagingthefarm.com/registration">Registration costs $175</a>&nbsp;and includes all sessions, materials and meals. Pre-conference sessions are available for an additional $25.&nbsp;Conference officials announced the final two speakers of this year’s conference.&nbsp;Shannon Ferrell, a professor of agricultural economics at Oklahoma State University will kick off the Feb. 11 agenda at 7:45 a.m. with a talk on the legal elements of farm business management and transition planning.&nbsp;Tanner Ehmke, the lead economist with CoBank’s Knowledge Exchange research team, will give an industry outlook at 12:45 p.m. on Feb. 11, talking about sectors that are currently affecting the rural economy.&nbsp;In early January, organizers announced that Courtenay DeHoff -- known widely as the “Fancy Lady Cowgirl” -- will give a keynote talk on Thursday, Feb. 10 at 8 a.m. A Kansas cowgirl-turned-television-host, DeHoff will bring her inspirational message of how she has embraced rural and urban lifestyles through a cowgirl spirit. Her&nbsp;<a href="http://courtenaydehoff.com/">website</a>&nbsp;proclaims her belief that “a cowgirl is not defined by what she wears or where she lives.”&nbsp;The conference has been held every year since 2005, though last year’s event was online only due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Nearly 300 women attended the conference in-person in early 2020.&nbsp;This year’s breakout sessions feature several topics, including:&nbsp;<ul>
 <li>Employee management for farms in Kansas.&nbsp;</li><li>Farm Service Agency programs.&nbsp;</li><li>Soil health.&nbsp;</li><li>Farm tax update.&nbsp;</li><li>Land transition.&nbsp;</li>
 </ul>Conference updates also are&nbsp;<a href="http://www.facebook.com/womenmanagingthefarm">available on Facebook.</a>&nbsp;

Women Managing the Farm finalizes speaker lineup 

HaysMed MRI received another three-year accreditation in MRI Breast Imaging by the American College of Radiology.&nbsp; The ACR uses a standardized scoring procedure in reviewing of all the submitted images for evaluation.&nbsp;

HaysMed met all the testing criteria established by the ACR committee on Breast MRI Accreditation.

The clinical cases must be passed by two radiologists reviewers to receive accreditation. Image quality is scored in the categories of pulse sequences, image contrast, positioning and anatomic coverage, artifact, spatial and temporal resolution, and exam identification.&nbsp;&nbsp;

ACR Accreditation is&nbsp;recognized as the gold standard in medical imaging. ACR Accreditation helps assure patients that your facility provides the highest level of image quality and safety by documenting that your facility meets requirements for equipment, medical personnel, and quality assurance.

Members of the MRI team include Riana Bates, Meghan Brown, Tania Deets, Amy Feldt, Christy Gillogly and Chad Heslet.

Congratulations to the MRI team Riana Bates, Meghan Brown, Tania Deets, Amy Feldt, Christy Gillogly and Chad Heslet for successfully completing the MRI Reaccreditation Survey.&nbsp;

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/1/1642628587034.jpeg" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>HaysMedHaysMed MRI received another three-year accreditation in MRI Breast Imaging by the American College of Radiology.&nbsp; The ACR uses a standardized scoring procedure in reviewing of all the submitted images for evaluation.&nbsp;HaysMed met all the testing criteria established by the ACR committee on Breast MRI Accreditation.The clinical cases must be passed by two radiologists reviewers to receive accreditation. Image quality is scored in the categories of pulse sequences, image contrast, positioning and anatomic coverage, artifact, spatial and temporal resolution, and exam identification.&nbsp;&nbsp;ACR Accreditation is&nbsp;recognized as the gold standard in medical imaging. ACR Accreditation helps assure patients that your facility provides the highest level of image quality and safety by documenting that your facility meets requirements for equipment, medical personnel, and quality assurance.Members of the MRI team include Riana Bates, Meghan Brown, Tania Deets, Amy Feldt, Christy Gillogly and Chad Heslet.Congratulations to the MRI team Riana Bates, Meghan Brown, Tania Deets, Amy Feldt, Christy Gillogly and Chad Heslet for successfully completing the MRI Reaccreditation Survey.&nbsp;

HaysMed successfully completes MRI accreditation survey

On Jan. 10, Chief Judge, Glenn Braun announced that Mike Smith would become the next district court administrator of the 23rd Judicial District.&nbsp; The 23rd Judicial District includes Ellis, Rooks, Trego and Gove counties. Smith was promoted from his previous position as the chief court services officer for the district. &nbsp;

“I am excited about the opportunity to lead the district at this time.&nbsp; There are a lot of positive changes coming to the court system, and I look forward to the challenge ahead,” Smith said.

Smith has been with the district since 2004 where he was hired as a Court Services Officer I. Before coming to Hays, he was a parole officer in southeast Kansas.&nbsp;He is a 1999 graduate of Pittsburg State University.&nbsp; Smith and his wife, Cindy, have two daughters, Shannon, 20, and Cassidy, 14.&nbsp;

Smith’s first order of business was hiring his replacement in the Court Services Office. Teresa Greenwood has been promoted from her position as Court Services Officer I, to the Chief Court Services Officer in the district.&nbsp; Greenwood has been with the Court Services for six years.&nbsp; 

In 2019, she was awarded the Rick Land Mental Toughness and Extra Effort Award from the Kansas Association of Court Services Officers for her work in developing the Ellis County Drug Court.&nbsp; She has served as the Drug Court Coordinator since the specialty court began in 2018.&nbsp; Greenwood is a 1998 graduate of Fort Hays State University. Greenwood and her husband Tim have four children: Clayton, Mackenzie, Mary and Morgan.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/1/1643313063704.png" alt="Smith " />
 <figcaption>Smith </figcaption>
 </figure>News releaseOn Jan. 10, Chief Judge, Glenn Braun announced that Mike Smith would become the next district court administrator of the 23rd Judicial District.&nbsp; The 23rd Judicial District includes Ellis, Rooks, Trego and Gove counties. Smith was promoted from his previous position as the chief court services officer for the district. &nbsp;“I am excited about the opportunity to lead the district at this time.&nbsp; There are a lot of positive changes coming to the court system, and I look forward to the challenge ahead,” Smith said.Smith has been with the district since 2004 where he was hired as a Court Services Officer I. Before coming to Hays, he was a parole officer in southeast Kansas.&nbsp;He is a 1999 graduate of Pittsburg State University.&nbsp; Smith and his wife, Cindy, have two daughters, Shannon, 20, and Cassidy, 14.&nbsp;Smith’s first order of business was hiring his replacement in the Court Services Office. Teresa Greenwood has been promoted from her position as Court Services Officer I, to the Chief Court Services Officer in the district.&nbsp; Greenwood has been with the Court Services for six years.&nbsp; In 2019, she was awarded the Rick Land Mental Toughness and Extra Effort Award from the Kansas Association of Court Services Officers for her work in developing the Ellis County Drug Court.&nbsp; She has served as the Drug Court Coordinator since the specialty court began in 2018.&nbsp; Greenwood is a 1998 graduate of Fort Hays State University. Greenwood and her husband Tim have four children: Clayton, Mackenzie, Mary and Morgan.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/1/1643313083752.png" alt="Greenwood" />
 <figcaption>Greenwood</figcaption>
 </figure>

23rd Judicial District announces new court administrator

The state Legislature has passed a new congressional district map reflecting population changes, as they must every 10 years. While a veto by Governor Kelly, further tweaking in the legislature, and lawsuits over racial representation are all likely, the general outlines of this proposed map are likely to stick, which makes some things frustratingly clear, especially for Democrats.

The proposed map splits Wyandotte County, taking the northern half from the Third District and putting it in the Second, which now twists like a contorted “S” from the northern state border to the south. And it extends the First District all the way east to Douglas County, dipping south just far enough to grab Lawrence, meaning both K-State and KU, home of some of the state’s most liberal voters, would be politically counted as part of conservative western Kansas.

This may still change, of course. But if you’re a Republican who applauded when former Senate President Susan Wagle promised in 2020 that, with a super-majority, the Republicans could draw a map that would make impossible the re-election of Sharice Davids, the Third District’s Democratic representative, these changes probably make you happy. If you’re a Democrat, they don’t.

This kind of gerrymandering — drawing borders to include more voters of one party than the other — is an American tradition, however much it is attacked. Except in those few states that have made the redistricting process non-partisan, it has become predictable, with political and legal moves well practiced. Hence, it has also reached the point of diminishing returns.

Yes, Representative Davis will likely have a harder race this November, but not dramatically so; gerrymanders which completely change electoral outcomes are rare these days. Redistricting is governed by a host of rules rooted in the principle of “one person, one vote,” and while there are some ways around those rules, the requirement that the districts are drawn to provide relatively equal representation forces even the most aggressive partisans to deal with hard population realities. In a state with slow growth like Kansas, those realities are particularly stark.&nbsp;

American elections are of the “single-member plurality” type — we carve up the country (or state, county, city, etc.) into sections, and elect whichever single person gets the most votes within those borders. There are more proportional election systems, but so long as we use this one, the advantage will be on the side of voters that are spread out, occupying a lot of sectional space.

Over the past century, likely Democratic voters (racial and sexual minorities, immigrants, college students, etc.) have usually clustered in urban areas. Those urban votes add up — Kelly’s state-wide majority came from winning only nine of Kansas’s 105 counties, all of them more urbanized, and also the only parts of Kansas growing in population. But because those voters are densely clustered, they often find themselves easily packed into sections where their numbers are more than balanced out by Republican voters spread out over rural and suburban space.

Thus, aside from states with sprawling urban agglomerations like New York City or Chicago, redistricting usually fails to serve Democratic voters well. Kansas Democrats will rightly fight this structural bias, perhaps successfully. But our system just wasn’t built with urban living patterns in mind, a reality that even Democrats in a slow-growth, mostly rural state like Kansas can’t avoid.

Dr. Russell Arben Fox teaches politics in Wichita.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/3/1583339056495.jpeg" alt="Dr. Russell Arben Fox teaches politics in Wichita." />
 <figcaption>Dr. Russell Arben Fox teaches politics in Wichita.</figcaption>
 </figure>The state Legislature has passed a new congressional district map reflecting population changes, as they must every 10 years. While a veto by Governor Kelly, further tweaking in the legislature, and lawsuits over racial representation are all likely, the general outlines of this proposed map are likely to stick, which makes some things frustratingly clear, especially for Democrats.The proposed map splits Wyandotte County, taking the northern half from the Third District and putting it in the Second, which now twists like a contorted “S” from the northern state border to the south. And it extends the First District all the way east to Douglas County, dipping south just far enough to grab Lawrence, meaning both K-State and KU, home of some of the state’s most liberal voters, would be politically counted as part of conservative western Kansas.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2019/12/1575913663048.png" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>This may still change, of course. But if you’re a Republican who applauded when former Senate President Susan Wagle promised in 2020 that, with a super-majority, the Republicans could draw a map that would make impossible the re-election of Sharice Davids, the Third District’s Democratic representative, these changes probably make you happy. If you’re a Democrat, they don’t.This kind of gerrymandering — drawing borders to include more voters of one party than the other — is an American tradition, however much it is attacked. Except in those few states that have made the redistricting process non-partisan, it has become predictable, with political and legal moves well practiced. Hence, it has also reached the point of diminishing returns.Yes, Representative Davis will likely have a harder race this November, but not dramatically so; gerrymanders which completely change electoral outcomes are rare these days. Redistricting is governed by a host of rules rooted in the principle of “one person, one vote,” and while there are some ways around those rules, the requirement that the districts are drawn to provide relatively equal representation forces even the most aggressive partisans to deal with hard population realities. In a state with slow growth like Kansas, those realities are particularly stark.&nbsp;American elections are of the “single-member plurality” type — we carve up the country (or state, county, city, etc.) into sections, and elect whichever single person gets the most votes within those borders. There are more proportional election systems, but so long as we use this one, the advantage will be on the side of voters that are spread out, occupying a lot of sectional space.Over the past century, likely Democratic voters (racial and sexual minorities, immigrants, college students, etc.) have usually clustered in urban areas. Those urban votes add up — Kelly’s state-wide majority came from winning only nine of Kansas’s 105 counties, all of them more urbanized, and also the only parts of Kansas growing in population. But because those voters are densely clustered, they often find themselves easily packed into sections where their numbers are more than balanced out by Republican voters spread out over rural and suburban space.Thus, aside from states with sprawling urban agglomerations like New York City or Chicago, redistricting usually fails to serve Democratic voters well. Kansas Democrats will rightly fight this structural bias, perhaps successfully. But our system just wasn’t built with urban living patterns in mind, a reality that even Democrats in a slow-growth, mostly rural state like Kansas can’t avoid.Dr. Russell Arben Fox teaches politics in Wichita.

INSIGHT KANSAS: Redistricting woes — mostly for Democrats

<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/2022/1/1643401515326.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>

U.S. Department of Agriculture Rural Development Acting State Director Kansas&nbsp;Dan Fischer today announced that USDA is investing $22,965,600 to build and improve critical community facilities in 15 communities. This infrastructure funding will increase access to health care and public safety while spurring community development and building sound infrastructure for people living in rural communities.

These are the Kansas projects receiving financial assistance:

A&nbsp;$93,400 grant, along with a contribution from the applicant,&nbsp;will assist in&nbsp;replacing a fire engine. Currently southeast&nbsp;Rush County,
 including the town of Timken, is serviced by an old fire engine 
requiring a great deal of maintenance. Reliability of the truck in an 
emergency is questionable. The purchase of a new Quick Attack Fire Body 
truck will provide updated equipment to the volunteer firefighters.

A&nbsp;$34,500 grant, along with a contribution from the applicant,&nbsp;will assist in purchasing a new fully equipped vehicle for the City of&nbsp;Norton's
 Law Enforcement Department. This vehicle will replace an older vehicle 
with maintenance issues and outdated equipment. The new vehicle will 
come fully equipped with items that will meet the current needs of the 
department.

USDAU.S. Department of Agriculture Rural Development Acting State Director Kansas&nbsp;Dan Fischer today announced that USDA is investing $22,965,600 to build and improve critical community facilities in 15 communities. This infrastructure funding will increase access to health care and public safety while spurring community development and building sound infrastructure for people living in rural communities.These are the Kansas projects receiving financial assistance:A&nbsp;$93,400 grant, along with a contribution from the applicant,&nbsp;will assist in&nbsp;replacing a fire engine. Currently southeast&nbsp;Rush County,
 including the town of Timken, is serviced by an old fire engine 
requiring a great deal of maintenance. Reliability of the truck in an 
emergency is questionable. The purchase of a new Quick Attack Fire Body 
truck will provide updated equipment to the volunteer firefighters.A&nbsp;$34,500 grant, along with a contribution from the applicant,&nbsp;will assist in purchasing a new fully equipped vehicle for the City of&nbsp;Norton's
 Law Enforcement Department. This vehicle will replace an older vehicle 
with maintenance issues and outdated equipment. The new vehicle will 
come fully equipped with items that will meet the current needs of the 
department.<ul>
 <li>A&nbsp;$475,000 loan, along with a contribution from the applicant, will assist in completing street improvements, curb, guttering and storm water grading within the city of&nbsp;Cottonwood Falls. Streets have warped cross sections, reduced storm water capacity and irregular profiles resulting in potholes and ponding. This project will address the most immediate street needs through patching, replacement and storm sewer installation. The project includes approximately 13,850 square yards of asphalt milling, 2,710 tons of hot mix asphalt surface replacement, 3,510 square yards of concrete pavement, 31,200 square yards of chip and seal, 3,350 feet of sidewalk, and storm water grading and improvements.</li>
 </ul><ul>
 <li>A&nbsp;$14,600 grant, along with a contribution from the applicant,&nbsp;will assist in purchasing and installing&nbsp;a&nbsp;boiler system for the&nbsp;Hodgeman&nbsp;County Courthouse. The courthouse&nbsp;was built in 1929 and is on both the Kansas Historic Register and the National Historic Register. The new system will come with a one-year warranty and the county has entered a contract for continued maintenance, eliminating emergency costs of parts and labor.</li>
 </ul><ul>
 <li>A&nbsp;$98,300 grant, along with a contribution from the applicant,&nbsp;will assist in purchasing and installing heating and air conditioning systems and new lighting in the junior and senior high school facilities in&nbsp;Burlingame. Installation will include flat panel LED lights, to improve lighting quality and efficiency, and replacement of the entire heating and air conditioning system with a variant refrigerant flow zoning system.</li>
 </ul><ul>
 <li>A&nbsp;$175,000 grant, along with a contribution from the applicant, will rebuild and repair two existing boiler units and address a safety issue of a third at the&nbsp;Neosho&nbsp;Memorial Regional Medical Center. Two boilers must be repaired to prevent failure and possible hospital closure. Additional work to be completed includes new diesel pumps, new boiler skins and re-insulating two boilers. A third boiler will be repaired. This project will add an additional 20-year lifespan to the medical center's power infrastructure.</li>
 </ul><ul>
 <li>A&nbsp;$90,600 grant, along with a contribution from the applicant,&nbsp;will assist in renovating a facility for the City of&nbsp;Moundridge&nbsp;public library. The existing library is housed in a building that was constructed in 1929. The city's Public Building Commission purchased a 4,500 square foot facility, built in 1979, and would need interior renovations before becoming the city's new public library. The new facility will be Americans with Disabilities Act compliant and include accessible shelving, tables, chairs and other furnishings. The new facility will have interactive child and technology areas. The facility will have study spaces, community room and an outdoor classroom.</li>
 </ul><ul>
 <li>A&nbsp;$5,200 grant, along with a contribution from the applicant,&nbsp;will assist in purchasing a replacement sanitation truck for the waste department in the City of&nbsp;Sharon. The city's&nbsp;current truck, a 1999 GMC model, has reached the end of its useful life and is requiring weekly repairs and maintenance. The new truck is a&nbsp;2006 International model.</li>
 </ul><ul>
 <li>A&nbsp;$26,400 grant, along with a contribution from the applicant,&nbsp;will assist in purchasing a previously owned 2012 Ford F-450 4X4 Type 1 Wheeled Coach Ambulance for the&nbsp;Sedan&nbsp;area Emergency Medical Service. The new ambulance will replace a 1997 model. The old ambulance is not dependable and requires upgrades, that are cost prohibitive to keep it in service.</li>
 </ul><ul>
 <li>A&nbsp;$12,000 grant, along with a contribution from the applicant,&nbsp;will assist in purchasing a previously owned fire engine for the City of&nbsp;Sedgwick. This vehicle will replace a 1991 model with a water leak in its holding tank. The current truck does not meet testing standards leaving only one fully functional truck. The city is purchasing a 2009 LaFrance with only 600 hours of use.</li>
 </ul><ul>
 <li>A&nbsp;$15,900 grant, along with a contribution from the applicant,&nbsp;will assist&nbsp; the City of&nbsp;Cawker City&nbsp;in replacing the roof on their fire station. The existing roof leaks, causing damage to the structure of the building.</li>
 </ul><ul>
 <li>A&nbsp;$2,200 grant, along with a contribution from the applicant,&nbsp;will assist in purchasing and installing a new heating and air conditioning unit for the senior center in&nbsp;Burdett. This facility's current heating and air conditioning system is failing and has become financially more difficult to maintain. The facility provides the area's aging population with meals, services and activities for a better quality of life in the community.</li>
 </ul><ul>
 <li>A&nbsp;$50,000 grant, along with a contribution from the applicant,&nbsp;will assist in purchasing a new Jetter Vac truck for the City of&nbsp;Belleville. This will replace an existing, 18-year-old truck. This truck is used by multiple city departments and is critical for cleaning sewers and vacuuming wastewater. The new truck will hold 1,300 gallons of waste or water, has a ten-foot aluminum telescoping boom, debris tank and other features.</li>
 </ul><ul>
 <li>A&nbsp;$35,500 grant, along with a contribution from the applicant,&nbsp;will assist in purchasing equipment for the&nbsp;Neodesha&nbsp;Law Enforcement Department. Offices are currently housed in a temporary storage area at the city hall with evidence stored in a shipping container. The container is not climate-controlled, and evidence is deteriorating due to the conditions. Funds will be used to purchase security cameras, evidence equipment and office equipment.</li>
 </ul><ul>
 <li>A&nbsp;$19,869,000 direct loan&nbsp;and a&nbsp;$1,968,000 guaranteed loan&nbsp;through Western Alliance Business Trust, along with a contribution from the applicant,&nbsp;will construct a critical access hospital facility in&nbsp;Caldwell. The project will construct a new 41,000 square foot facility, with 16-beds and include clinic services.</li>
 </ul>

Rush County, Norton to receive USDA grants

On this episode of the Post Podcast, Hays Post reporter Cristina Janney speaks with Hays USD 489 superintendent Ron Wilson about the Bond issue proposal brought to the board of education this week.

<div><iframe title="Proposed USD 489 bond issue addresses need for space across the district." allowtransparency="true" height="315" width="100%" style="border: none; min-width: min(100%, 430px);" scrolling="no" data-name="pb-iframe-player" src="https://www.podbean.com/player-v2/?i=aw3dz-118ea3d-pb&from=pb6admin&share=1&download=1&rtl=0&fonts=Arial&skin=3267a3&font-color=ffffff&btn-skin=3267a3&size=315" allowfullscreen=""></iframe></div>On this episode of the Post Podcast, Hays Post reporter Cristina Janney speaks with Hays USD 489 superintendent Ron Wilson about the Bond issue proposal brought to the board of education this week.

🎙Post Podcast: Proposed USD 489 bond issue addresses lack of space

By CRISTINA JANNEY Hays Post

Kaleigh Wentworth goes that extra mile to show both her students and their families that they are loved.

Wentworth was nominated by Nicole Dopita, parent of one of Wentworth's third-grade students, for the Hays Post Teacher of the Month Award. 

"Students love her because she is kind, loving, fun and cares about them. Parents love her because she makes them feel like their student is the only one in her classroom,"&nbsp; Dopita said in her nomination.

"Ms. Wentworth gets to know every student in her class as a whole person," Dopita&nbsp; said."Kaleigh is able to see exactly what each child brings to the classroom, and her teaching methodology involves finding and using the children’s unique strengths to help them grow and thrive, as well as harnesses their personalities to overcome struggles."

Dopita said she involves not only the kids but also the parents in classroom learning by uploading pictures and videos throughout the day for parents to experience her teaching and the environment she creates. 

Wentworth said she doesn't want children to miss out on any special experiences in class. 

Wentworth exhibited this personal touch with Dopita's daughter, Emily.&nbsp; Wentworth personally delivered popcorn to Dopita's home when Emily was sick and missed the monthly popcorn Friday celebration. She told Dopita she was leaving her home and hitting another student’s lemonade stand.  

Dopita called it a true testament of her integrity and dedication.  

Wentworth was also nominated by Maia Gray.

"Ms. Wentworth takes a lot of time to figure out how each kid learns. She then takes that information and forms her learning around it, which is amazing," Gray said. "She is great role model for any child who wants to be a teacher. She cares for each one of her students as if they were her own."

Wentworth, 34, has only been an elementary school teacher for three years. A Fort Hays State University graduate, she worked at Early Childhood Connections before returning to college to earn her master's degree through Kansas State University in 2019.

Wentworth said she made the change to K-12 education because she wanted to have more of an impact on her students.&nbsp; Wentworth grew up in Hays and attended O'Loughlin as a student, and she said she remembers her second- and third-grade teachers well.

"I just enjoy working with kids and helping them learn and teaching them," she said. 

Wentworth said she loves the silly things that come out of kids' mouths.

"I get a lot of joy out of the innocence that they bring and how brutally honest they can be without realizing," she said.

It was a challenging time to come back into education. Wentworth taught one semester before COVID hit. Just as she gets used to doing things in a certain way, a wrench gets thrown in, she said.

"My entire career has been trying to shuffle that, as well as the normal responsibilities of a teacher," Wentworth said.

However, Wentworth said COVID has not been her biggest challenge. She worries about the well being of her students. 

"There are some kids who have it better on the home front than others," she said. "It was hard for me in the beginning, and it's still hard for me now, to mentally clock out. 

"There are some kids that I worry if they're doing well at home. The personal aspect of that I enjoy can also be a double-edged sword and leave me worrying when I should be spending time with my family and relaxing."

Wentworth said she strives to build a positive education environment that feels like a family.

"We work very hard on building positive relationships," she said, "because I am a firm believer that you can't learn well in an environment you don't feel safe and loved in."

It goes beyond lemonade stands and personal popcorn deliveries. Wentworth said she knows her students and her families are struggling right now with the added strains of illness and COVID.

She recently took JD's Chicken chicken and noodle dinners to a student's family who was in quarantined.

"I hope it leaves a positive impact on kids so they do those kind things for people too, just to give the world a little more kindness," she said. 

"I think that personal touch lets each kiddo know that I care, and I try to do that with everybody."

O'Loughlin uses a looping model, which means children have the same classroom teacher for two years. Wentworth said that model allows her to see children's growth.

"I was just grading their spelling and their writing and thinking where they have come from. I remember getting them in second grade to now," she said. "Sometimes I just stop and reflect over that with them. 'Look at how much you've grown. See, you know so much.'"

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/1/1643232786170.png" alt=" " />
 <figcaption> </figcaption>
 </figure><figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/1/1643231766510.jpeg" alt="Kaleigh Wentworth, O'Loughlin second- and third-grade teacher, is the January Hays Post Teacher of the Month. Photo By Cristina Janney/Hays Post " />
 <figcaption>Kaleigh Wentworth, O'Loughlin second- and third-grade teacher, is the January Hays Post Teacher of the Month. Photo By Cristina Janney/Hays Post </figcaption>
 </figure>By CRISTINA JANNEY Hays PostKaleigh Wentworth goes that extra mile to show both her students and their families that they are loved.Wentworth was nominated by Nicole Dopita, parent of one of Wentworth's third-grade students, for the Hays Post Teacher of the Month Award. "Students love her because she is kind, loving, fun and cares about them. Parents love her because she makes them feel like their student is the only one in her classroom,"&nbsp; Dopita said in her nomination. "Ms. Wentworth gets to know every student in her class as a whole person," Dopita&nbsp; said."Kaleigh is able to see exactly what each child brings to the classroom, and her teaching methodology involves finding and using the children’s unique strengths to help them grow and thrive, as well as harnesses their personalities to overcome struggles."Dopita said she involves not only the kids but also the parents in classroom learning by uploading pictures and videos throughout the day for parents to experience her teaching and the environment she creates. Wentworth said she doesn't want children to miss out on any special experiences in class. Wentworth exhibited this personal touch with Dopita's daughter, Emily.&nbsp; Wentworth personally delivered popcorn to Dopita's home when Emily was sick and missed the monthly popcorn Friday celebration. She told Dopita she was leaving her home and hitting another student’s lemonade stand. Dopita called it a true testament of her integrity and dedication. <figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/1/1643232150059.jpeg" alt="Teacher Kaleigh Wentworth with third-grade student, Emily. " />
 <figcaption>Teacher Kaleigh Wentworth with third-grade student, Emily. </figcaption>
 </figure>Wentworth was also nominated by Maia Gray."Ms. Wentworth takes a lot of time to figure out how each kid learns. She then takes that information and forms her learning around it, which is amazing," Gray said. "She is great role model for any child who wants to be a teacher. She cares for each one of her students as if they were her own."Wentworth, 34, has only been an elementary school teacher for three years. A Fort Hays State University graduate, she worked at Early Childhood Connections before returning to college to earn her master's degree through Kansas State University in 2019.Wentworth said she made the change to K-12 education because she wanted to have more of an impact on her students.&nbsp; Wentworth grew up in Hays and attended O'Loughlin as a student, and she said she remembers her second- and third-grade teachers well. "I just enjoy working with kids and helping them learn and teaching them," she said. Wentworth said she loves the silly things that come out of kids' mouths."I get a lot of joy out of the innocence that they bring and how brutally honest they can be without realizing," she said. It was a challenging time to come back into education. Wentworth taught one semester before COVID hit. Just as she gets used to doing things in a certain way, a wrench gets thrown in, she said."My entire career has been trying to shuffle that, as well as the normal responsibilities of a teacher," Wentworth said.However, Wentworth said COVID has not been her biggest challenge. She worries about the well being of her students. "There are some kids who have it better on the home front than others," she said. "It was hard for me in the beginning, and it's still hard for me now, to mentally clock out. "There are some kids that I worry if they're doing well at home. The personal aspect of that I enjoy can also be a double-edged sword and leave me worrying when I should be spending time with my family and relaxing." Wentworth said she strives to build a positive education environment that feels like a family."We work very hard on building positive relationships," she said, "because I am a firm believer that you can't learn well in an environment you don't feel safe and loved in."It goes beyond lemonade stands and personal popcorn deliveries. Wentworth said she knows her students and her families are struggling right now with the added strains of illness and COVID.She recently took JD's Chicken chicken and noodle dinners to a student's family who was in quarantined."I hope it leaves a positive impact on kids so they do those kind things for people too, just to give the world a little more kindness," she said. "I think that personal touch lets each kiddo know that I care, and I try to do that with everybody." O'Loughlin uses a looping model, which means children have the same classroom teacher for two years. Wentworth said that model allows her to see children's growth."I was just grading their spelling and their writing and thinking where they have come from. I remember getting them in second grade to now," she said. "Sometimes I just stop and reflect over that with them. 'Look at how much you've grown. See, you know so much.'" <figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/1/1643232786170.png" alt=" " />
 <figcaption> </figcaption>
 </figure>

Teacher of the Month: Teacher shows love with chicken and noodles

The Hays Symphony will be presenting a Winter Concert at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 19, in the Fort Hays State University Beach/Schmidt Performing Arts Center. The ensemble is under the direction of Dr. Brian Buckstead, Assistant Professor of Violin and Viola at FHSU.

The concert features Sergei Prokofiev’s&nbsp;Symphony No. 1, Igor Stravinsky’s&nbsp;Pulcinella Suite, and conductor Brian Buckstead as violin soloist on Max Richter’s&nbsp;The Four Seasons Recomposed.

The Symphony No. 1 in D major, Op. 25, also known as the "Classical" was Sergei Prokofiev's first numbered symphony.&nbsp; Prokofiev composed this work as a modern reinterpretation of the classical style of Franz Joseph Haydn and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. The symphony follows the standard four-movement format but is much shorter in length than the symphonies of the classical period.

Stravinsky’s&nbsp;Pulcinella Suite&nbsp;was written for Les Ballet Russes and began a new compositional trend for the composer. The Suite is a shortened version of the ballet with the instrumental passages replacing the singing roles. Stravinsky believed that “Pulcinella&nbsp;was my discovery of the past, the epiphany through which the whole of my late work became possible.”&nbsp; In&nbsp;Pulcinella, Stravinsky weaves the charm of the classical style with the harmonic and rhythmic energy of twentieth century compositional techniques.

Max Richter’s&nbsp;The Four Seasons Reimagined&nbsp;will feature Dr. Brian Buckstead as the violin soloist. The musical themes of the original Four Seasons by Antonio Vivaldi are familiar to the general public through popular culture. Excerpts can be heard on the soundtrack of The&nbsp;Simpsons,&nbsp;the Secret Life’s of Pets, Disney’s&nbsp;Fantasia&nbsp;andMuzak. Max Richter says, “it's everywhere. For me, in this project I’m trying to reclaim the piece, to fall in love with it again." Richter takes Vivaldi’s opening theme and creates a loop to engage the listener into the current musical trend of dance music and bring classical sentiments into the 21st&nbsp;century.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2021/10/1633364673862.png" alt="Dr. Brian Buckstead" />
 <figcaption>Dr. Brian Buckstead</figcaption>
 </figure>The Hays Symphony will be presenting a Winter Concert at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 19, in the Fort Hays State University Beach/Schmidt Performing Arts Center. The ensemble is under the direction of Dr. Brian Buckstead, Assistant Professor of Violin and Viola at FHSU.The concert features Sergei Prokofiev’s&nbsp;Symphony No. 1, Igor Stravinsky’s&nbsp;Pulcinella Suite, and conductor Brian Buckstead as violin soloist on Max Richter’s&nbsp;The Four Seasons Recomposed.The Symphony No. 1 in D major, Op. 25, also known as the "Classical" was Sergei Prokofiev's first numbered symphony.&nbsp; Prokofiev composed this work as a modern reinterpretation of the classical style of Franz Joseph Haydn and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. The symphony follows the standard four-movement format but is much shorter in length than the symphonies of the classical period.Stravinsky’s&nbsp;Pulcinella Suite&nbsp;was written for Les Ballet Russes and began a new compositional trend for the composer. The Suite is a shortened version of the ballet with the instrumental passages replacing the singing roles. Stravinsky believed that “Pulcinella&nbsp;was my discovery of the past, the epiphany through which the whole of my late work became possible.”&nbsp; In&nbsp;Pulcinella, Stravinsky weaves the charm of the classical style with the harmonic and rhythmic energy of twentieth century compositional techniques.Max Richter’s&nbsp;The Four Seasons Reimagined&nbsp;will feature Dr. Brian Buckstead as the violin soloist. The musical themes of the original Four Seasons by Antonio Vivaldi are familiar to the general public through popular culture. Excerpts can be heard on the soundtrack of The&nbsp;Simpsons,&nbsp;the Secret Life’s of Pets, Disney’s&nbsp;Fantasia&nbsp;andMuzak. Max Richter says, “it's everywhere. For me, in this project I’m trying to reclaim the piece, to fall in love with it again." Richter takes Vivaldi’s opening theme and creates a loop to engage the listener into the current musical trend of dance music and bring classical sentiments into the 21st&nbsp;century.Buckstead is Assistant Professor of Violin and Viola at Fort Hays State University, as well as director of the Hays Symphony. He enjoys a thriving career as a violinist, violist and conductor.&nbsp;Buckstead is passionate about the education of young musicians. In addition to adjudicating local and national music competitions, he co-developed Bring Back the Music, an initiative to bring string instrument education to two underprivileged public schools in Medicine Hat, Alberta.The post-concert reception is sponsored by a generous donation from the Hays Convention and Visitors Bureau.All Hays Symphony concerts are free and open to the public. Attendees are encouraged to reserve tickets in advance on the symphony’s website (<a href="http://hayssymphony.org/">hayssymphony.org</a>). Tickets may also be picked up in advance at the Hays Convention Visitors Bureau and the Downtown Hays Development Corporation, or at the symphony table in the lobby 30 minutes before the performance.