The TMP-Marian Monarchs open up play in the MCL tournament Tuesday against Hoxie in the tournament quarterfinals.

The girls game is set to tipoff at 6 p.m. with the boys to follow from Al Billinger Fieldhouse in Hays.

You can listen to the game by clicking <a href="https://radio.securenetsystems.net/cwa/KHAZ">HERE </a>or on 99.5 KHAZ.

The Hertz Rental Car Pregame show starts at 5:40 p.m.

The TMP-Marian Monarchs open up play in the MCL tournament Tuesday against Hoxie in the tournament quarterfinals.The girls game is set to tipoff at 6 p.m. with the boys to follow from Al Billinger Fieldhouse in Hays.You can listen to the game by clicking <a href="https://radio.securenetsystems.net/cwa/KHAZ">HERE </a>or on 99.5 KHAZ.The Hertz Rental Car Pregame show starts at 5:40 p.m.

🏀📻 LISTEN - TMP-Marian hosts Hoxie

By JONATHAN ZWEYGARDT Hays Post

The Ellis County Commission approved the hiring of Kim
Reel as the new county health director and Danita Schroeder and director of
Emergency Medical Services at Monday’s commission meeting.

Both served as the interim department heads after the
resignation of Jason Kennedy in November and interviewed for the respective positions
last week.

Reel began working as a registered nurse at the health
department in June 2020 and was promoted to clinic
coordinator a year later.

“Jason recognized her ability to lead and run the operations
for the clinic side,” said County Administrator Darin Myers. 

Reel said Monday, “I appreciate the opportunity to serve
Ellis County, (and) I look forward to the position.”

Schroeder has served as a paramedic with Ellis County since
1999 and moved up the ranks until her appointment to assistant EMS director in
August 2020.

“She’s excited to take Ellis County EMS into the
future and she’s got some ideas to help with the training of the new EMT
program and the protocols," Myers said.&nbsp;

“I’m excited to move into this position,” Schroeder said. “I
look forward to keeping our emergency medical services going for our citizens
in Ellis County.”

Monday’s appointments and changes in structure return the EMS
and Health Department to two separate departments. 

In 2016, the Ellis County commission, given budget constraints,
elected to combine the two departments under the leadership of then-EMS Director
Kerry McCue.

After serving in the position for three years, McCue retired
and Kennedy was hired to fill the position.

At Monday’s meeting, both Administrator Myers and commission
Chair Butch Schlyer said having one person lead both departments didn’t work.

“Both Kerry McCue and Jason Kennedy suggested that we make
this change and bring out the health department out into its own individual
department so they can function more efficiently and be focused on one
individual department and not two,” Myers said.

Schlyer, who previously served as the head of the health
department, added, “When Director McCue was managing both systems, he expressed
several times it just wasn’t working well, even when times were good. James expressed
the same thing and then, when times were bad, it just really got bad.” 

As a result of Monday’s moves, the county will begin
accepting applications for the assistant EMS director position. 

The health department has already been advertising a registered nurse position and an administrative assistant position. 

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/6/1593005366466.png" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>By JONATHAN ZWEYGARDT Hays PostThe Ellis County Commission approved the hiring of Kim
Reel as the new county health director and Danita Schroeder and director of
Emergency Medical Services at Monday’s commission meeting.Both served as the interim department heads after the
resignation of Jason Kennedy in November and interviewed for the respective positions
last week.Reel began working as a registered nurse at the health
department in June 2020 and was promoted to clinic
coordinator a year later.“Jason recognized her ability to lead and run the operations
for the clinic side,” said County Administrator Darin Myers. Reel said Monday, “I appreciate the opportunity to serve
Ellis County, (and) I look forward to the position.”Schroeder has served as a paramedic with Ellis County since
1999 and moved up the ranks until her appointment to assistant EMS director in
August 2020.“She’s excited to take Ellis County EMS into the
future and she’s got some ideas to help with the training of the new EMT
program and the protocols," Myers said.&nbsp;“I’m excited to move into this position,” Schroeder said. “I
look forward to keeping our emergency medical services going for our citizens
in Ellis County.”Monday’s appointments and changes in structure return the EMS
and Health Department to two separate departments. In 2016, the Ellis County commission, given budget constraints,
elected to combine the two departments under the leadership of then-EMS Director
Kerry McCue.After serving in the position for three years, McCue retired
and Kennedy was hired to fill the position.At Monday’s meeting, both Administrator Myers and commission
Chair Butch Schlyer said having one person lead both departments didn’t work.“Both Kerry McCue and Jason Kennedy suggested that we make
this change and bring out the health department out into its own individual
department so they can function more efficiently and be focused on one
individual department and not two,” Myers said.Schlyer, who previously served as the head of the health
department, added, “When Director McCue was managing both systems, he expressed
several times it just wasn’t working well, even when times were good. James expressed
the same thing and then, when times were bad, it just really got bad.” As a result of Monday’s moves, the county will begin
accepting applications for the assistant EMS director position. The health department has already been advertising a registered nurse position and an administrative assistant position.

New Ellis County health, EMS directors announced

TMP-Marian announced Monday that Mrs. Megan Gottschalk has been
 hired to lead the Monarch volleyball team. Mrs. Gottschalk is very 
familiar with TMP-Marian and the current volleyball program. She was the
 TMP-M junior high volleyball head coach for the past three seasons.&nbsp;

"I am looking forward to the new challenges that being a high school 
coach has to offer,” Mrs. Gottschalk said. “I'm grateful for the 
opportunity to continue being involved with a sport that I love."

Megan grew up in Wyoming the middle of three children. She started 
playing volleyball in the third grade and played all the way through to 
the NCAA Division I level at the University of Wyoming. While at 
Wyoming, Megan earned academic all-conference honors and all-American 
status in the weight room. It was at Wyoming where she met her husband, 
TJ ‘00 Gottschalk. TJ and Megan have four children, Teagan, Adi, Jonah, 
and Remy. Mrs. Gottschalk is currently in her 6th year teaching PE at 
Holy Family Elementary.

Located in Hays, Kan., Thomas More Prep-Marian is a Catholic school 
serving grades 7-12.&nbsp; Students come from Hays, the surrounding region, 
and from countries around the world.&nbsp; The school was founded by the 
Capuchin Franciscans as Hays Catholic College in 1908 and ultimately 
became Thomas More Prep-Marian in 1981.&nbsp; The school continues to serve 
young people in the traditions of spiritual growth, academic excellence,
 and leadership formation.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/1/1642521345310.jpeg" alt="Megan Gottschalk" />
 <figcaption>Megan Gottschalk</figcaption>
 </figure>TMP-MTMP-Marian announced Monday that Mrs. Megan Gottschalk has been
 hired to lead the Monarch volleyball team. Mrs. Gottschalk is very 
familiar with TMP-Marian and the current volleyball program. She was the
 TMP-M junior high volleyball head coach for the past three seasons.&nbsp;"I am looking forward to the new challenges that being a high school 
coach has to offer,” Mrs. Gottschalk said. “I'm grateful for the 
opportunity to continue being involved with a sport that I love."Megan grew up in Wyoming the middle of three children. She started 
playing volleyball in the third grade and played all the way through to 
the NCAA Division I level at the University of Wyoming. While at 
Wyoming, Megan earned academic all-conference honors and all-American 
status in the weight room. It was at Wyoming where she met her husband, 
TJ ‘00 Gottschalk. TJ and Megan have four children, Teagan, Adi, Jonah, 
and Remy. Mrs. Gottschalk is currently in her 6th year teaching PE at 
Holy Family Elementary.Located in Hays, Kan., Thomas More Prep-Marian is a Catholic school 
serving grades 7-12.&nbsp; Students come from Hays, the surrounding region, 
and from countries around the world.&nbsp; The school was founded by the 
Capuchin Franciscans as Hays Catholic College in 1908 and ultimately 
became Thomas More Prep-Marian in 1981.&nbsp; The school continues to serve 
young people in the traditions of spiritual growth, academic excellence,
 and leadership formation.

Gottschalk takes reins of TMP-Marian volleyball

By KEN CARPENTER <a href="https://greatbendpost.com">Great Bend Post</a>

Authorities
 are still looking for information about who vandalized headstones at 
Pleasant View Cemetery in Claflin on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day. 
Sixteen headstones were overturned. &nbsp;

Barton County Sheriff Brian Bellendir said the vandalism was a senseless and expensive crime.&nbsp;

“We’re
 looking at probably close to $10,000 damages just to reset the stones, 
let alone any of them that were damaged and need to be replaced,” he 
commented.&nbsp;

Bellendir is hoping the public will be able to help solve the case.&nbsp;

“Please
 call Crime Stoppers or call the Sheriff’s Office,” Bellendir said. 
“This is one of those cases that just kind of sticks in my craw because 
what is the point of&nbsp;this? There’s no financial gain. It’s just somebody
 being malicious.”&nbsp;

Anyone calling Crime Stoppers will remain 
anonymous and may collect a cash reward. Detailed information about 
Crime Stoppers can be found at the Barton County Sheriff's website or at
 the Crime Stoppers Facebook page.&nbsp;

By KEN CARPENTER <a href="https://greatbendpost.com">Great Bend Post</a>Authorities
 are still looking for information about who vandalized headstones at 
Pleasant View Cemetery in Claflin on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day. 
Sixteen headstones were overturned. &nbsp;Barton County Sheriff Brian Bellendir said the vandalism was a senseless and expensive crime.&nbsp;“We’re
 looking at probably close to $10,000 damages just to reset the stones, 
let alone any of them that were damaged and need to be replaced,” he 
commented.&nbsp;Bellendir is hoping the public will be able to help solve the case.&nbsp;“Please
 call Crime Stoppers or call the Sheriff’s Office,” Bellendir said. 
“This is one of those cases that just kind of sticks in my craw because 
what is the point of&nbsp;this? There’s no financial gain. It’s just somebody
 being malicious.”&nbsp;Anyone calling Crime Stoppers will remain 
anonymous and may collect a cash reward. Detailed information about 
Crime Stoppers can be found at the Barton County Sheriff's website or at
 the Crime Stoppers Facebook page.&nbsp;

Vandals still sought in Claflin cemetery desecration 

By CRISTINA JANNEY Hays Post

By CRISTINA JANNEY Hays Post<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/1/1642453949300.jpeg" alt="Connie Smith, VISTA coordinator, leads a presentation on Martin Luther King Jr. Monday at the Reed Center. " />
 <figcaption>Connie Smith, VISTA coordinator, leads a presentation on Martin Luther King Jr. Monday at the Reed Center. </figcaption>
 </figure><figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/1/1642453730047.jpeg" alt="Smith talked about the inequality Martin Luther King Jr. faced, including segregation on buses. " />
 <figcaption>Smith talked about the inequality Martin Luther King Jr. faced, including segregation on buses. </figcaption>
 </figure><figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/1/1642453751693.jpeg" alt="A DSNWK client looks over photos of Martin Luther King Jr. Monday at the Reed Center. " />
 <figcaption>A DSNWK client looks over photos of Martin Luther King Jr. Monday at the Reed Center. </figcaption>
 </figure><figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/1/1642453772166.jpeg" alt="DSNWK Reed Center clients listen to a presentation on Martin Luther King Jr. Monday. The presentation was given by Vista and the Hays Public Library. " />
 <figcaption>DSNWK Reed Center clients listen to a presentation on Martin Luther King Jr. Monday. The presentation was given by Vista and the Hays Public Library. </figcaption>
 </figure><figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/1/1642453812069.jpeg" alt="AmeriCorps Vista volunteer Megan Pfannenstiel passes out materials during a Martin Luther King Jr. presentation at the Reed Center. " />
 <figcaption>AmeriCorps Vista volunteer Megan Pfannenstiel passes out materials during a Martin Luther King Jr. presentation at the Reed Center. </figcaption>
 </figure><figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/1/1642453832578.jpeg" alt="AmeriCorps Vista volunteer Megan Pfannenstiel shows items that are part of a unity table. A small plate is a symbol of the fairness that Martin Luther King Jr. fought for. " />
 <figcaption>AmeriCorps Vista volunteer Megan Pfannenstiel shows items that are part of a unity table. A small plate is a symbol of the fairness that Martin Luther King Jr. fought for. </figcaption>
 </figure><figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/1/1642453899070.jpeg" alt="A DSNWK client looks at a plate that is a symbol in the unity table during a presentation on Martin Luther King. Other items in the table setting were symbols of other principals that King stood for, including justice, opportunity, fairness, love and patience. " />
 <figcaption>A DSNWK client looks at a plate that is a symbol in the unity table during a presentation on Martin Luther King. Other items in the table setting were symbols of other principals that King stood for, including justice, opportunity, fairness, love and patience. </figcaption>
 </figure><figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/1/1642454095731.jpeg" alt="DSNWK clients at the Reed Center listen to the Vista AmeriCorps presentation on Martin Luther King Jr. on Monday. The group had cupcakes and punch after the presentation to celebrate the holiday. " />
 <figcaption>DSNWK clients at the Reed Center listen to the Vista AmeriCorps presentation on Martin Luther King Jr. on Monday. The group had cupcakes and punch after the presentation to celebrate the holiday. </figcaption>
 </figure><figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/1/1642454167405.jpeg" alt="DSNWK Reed Center clients listen to Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I Have a Dream" speech. " />
 <figcaption>DSNWK Reed Center clients listen to Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I Have a Dream" speech. </figcaption>
 </figure><figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/1/1642454182336.jpeg" alt="Photos of Martin Luther King Jr. used in the presentation at the Reed Center. " />
 <figcaption>Photos of Martin Luther King Jr. used in the presentation at the Reed Center. </figcaption>
 </figure>

AmeriCorps Vista, library helps DSNWK clients celebrate King holiday

A recent request for the Ellis County Commission to consider
expanding from three commissioners to five was met with a great deal of
resistance by the current commission.

At last week’s commission meeting, Robert Readle, member of
the Hays Board of Realtors, presented the commission with a request to consider
adopting a resolution that would allow Ellis County voters to consider
expanding the commission from the current three seats to five seats.

“The Hays Board of Realtors has observed what we believe are
organizational shortcomings that have led to unpredictable outcomes at times
and less than ideal mechanisms for decision making, at times,” Readle told the
commission.

He said that the board is not taking issue with
any of the previous decisions made by the county commission but said it believes five commissioners would better serve the citizens of Ellis County.

Readle said the group has been working on a petition that, if
they could gather the necessary signatures, could be placed on the next general
election ballot. But after the Reno County Commission passed a resolution
putting the question of expanding to five county commissioners to the voters,
Readle said the Hays Board of Realtors wanted to ask the Ellis County
Commission to do the same.

He said they have two reasons for wanting the commission to
expand to five members. The first is the limits from the Kansas Open Meetings
Act. The second is when a commissioner is absent, must recuse themselves or
resigns, the commission is left with just two commissioners.

Third District Commissioner Dean Haselhorst announced his
<a href="https://hayspost.com/posts/b8fc9a7c-1cec-4c60-aa64-d7c8b5029fcb">resignation </a>at Monday’s meeting.

“It puts us in a situation where an action is decided by two
commissioners, due to one of the commissioners being absent,” Readle said. “Oftentimes, it’s a non-issue. However there have been situations where a split vote
effectively stops a proposition.

“This situation can be summarily described as a single
person having veto power on an issue brought to a vote,” Readle said. “We view
this as less than ideal to the citizens of Ellis County.”

He said the addition of two commissioners will grant to
current commissioners to “freedom” to talk about the issues outside of an open
meeting.

“We believe this inhibits commissioners from being able to
hear opposing viewpoints which results in less informed decisions,” Readle said.


He also said they believe the change will lead to “more
predicable” outcomes. 

Ellis County Commissioners Chair Butch Schlyer and Neal
Younger told Readle they were not in favor of the expansion.

Schlyer said he opposes expansion on “many levels.”

“I don’t know that we need more predicable outcomes,” Schlyer
said. “What we need is true and honest discussion amongst the board of
commissioners.”

Schlyer said there was a contentious issue that came before
the commission a year ago and he did not know what the outcome of the vote was going
to be coming into the meeting. 

He also said he talked with previous County Administrator
Phillip Smith-Hanes about expansion when it was previously discussed. 

Schlyer said Smith-Hanes told him that five member
commissions often result in a 3-2 coalition.

He said he sees it with the current Hays City Commission.

Schlyer also said he told a developer he was not in favor of
expansion at a recent meeting.

“It’s not very transparent to the public at large when
business is conducted under the table, but I said it makes your job easier to
lobby for an issue you want,” Schyler said.

“If we want true transparency, we can’t get commissioners talking
off the record (and) we can’t have agencies talking off the record,” Schlyer
said. 

He said he also believes that expansion and talking about
the issue outside of the meetings will mean that the issues will have already
been decided before it’s brought before the full commission.

“I know that sort of thing will happen. I’ve seen it happen,”
Schlyer said.

Schlyer added, “The people are going to be better served by
having a three-board commission when business is conducted above board.”

He added that the public still has the ability to lobby and reach
out to each commissioner individually.

“I just believe that’s the way the commission should be
conducted,” Schlyer said.

Schlyer also talked about the concern of adding two more commissioners
giving the city of Hays more representation on the commission than the
surrounding communities.

“If that 3-2 coalition is from the commissioners in Hays, an
issue can be decided without the east or west ends of the county commission
even being privilege to what’s going on or knowing what’s happening,” Schyler
said.

Schlyer also brought up the added costs associated with
bringing in someone to help with the redistricting and the additional
commission salary and benefits. 

He said that he was, “100-percent opposed” to expansion and
he would not endorse any resolution and told Readle to go ahead with their
petition.

“But please as you educate the public, tell them this is not
in their best interest,” Schlyer said.

Readle told Hays Post they are ready to kick off their petition
campaign.

According to Readle, they have six months to collect
signatures from 5 percent of registered voters in Ellis County.

He said the county clerk’s office told them there are 18,529
registered voters in Ellis County.

Readle
said anyone interested in finding out more about their efforts can contact any
local Realtor.

By JONATHAN ZWEYGARDT Hays PostA recent request for the Ellis County Commission to consider
expanding from three commissioners to five was met with a great deal of
resistance by the current commission.At last week’s commission meeting, Robert Readle, member of
the Hays Board of Realtors, presented the commission with a request to consider
adopting a resolution that would allow Ellis County voters to consider
expanding the commission from the current three seats to five seats.“The Hays Board of Realtors has observed what we believe are
organizational shortcomings that have led to unpredictable outcomes at times
and less than ideal mechanisms for decision making, at times,” Readle told the
commission.He said that the board is not taking issue with
any of the previous decisions made by the county commission but said it believes five commissioners would better serve the citizens of Ellis County.Readle said the group has been working on a petition that, if
they could gather the necessary signatures, could be placed on the next general
election ballot. But after the Reno County Commission passed a resolution
putting the question of expanding to five county commissioners to the voters,
Readle said the Hays Board of Realtors wanted to ask the Ellis County
Commission to do the same.He said they have two reasons for wanting the commission to
expand to five members. The first is the limits from the Kansas Open Meetings
Act. The second is when a commissioner is absent, must recuse themselves or
resigns, the commission is left with just two commissioners.Third District Commissioner Dean Haselhorst announced his
<a href="https://hayspost.com/posts/b8fc9a7c-1cec-4c60-aa64-d7c8b5029fcb">resignation </a>at Monday’s meeting.“It puts us in a situation where an action is decided by two
commissioners, due to one of the commissioners being absent,” Readle said. “Oftentimes, it’s a non-issue. However there have been situations where a split vote
effectively stops a proposition.“This situation can be summarily described as a single
person having veto power on an issue brought to a vote,” Readle said. “We view
this as less than ideal to the citizens of Ellis County.”He said the addition of two commissioners will grant to
current commissioners to “freedom” to talk about the issues outside of an open
meeting.“We believe this inhibits commissioners from being able to
hear opposing viewpoints which results in less informed decisions,” Readle said.
He also said they believe the change will lead to “more
predicable” outcomes. Ellis County Commissioners Chair Butch Schlyer and Neal
Younger told Readle they were not in favor of the expansion.Schlyer said he opposes expansion on “many levels.”“I don’t know that we need more predicable outcomes,” Schlyer
said. “What we need is true and honest discussion amongst the board of
commissioners.”Schlyer said there was a contentious issue that came before
the commission a year ago and he did not know what the outcome of the vote was going
to be coming into the meeting. He also said he talked with previous County Administrator
Phillip Smith-Hanes about expansion when it was previously discussed. Schlyer said Smith-Hanes told him that five member
commissions often result in a 3-2 coalition.He said he sees it with the current Hays City Commission.Schlyer also said he told a developer he was not in favor of
expansion at a recent meeting.“It’s not very transparent to the public at large when
business is conducted under the table, but I said it makes your job easier to
lobby for an issue you want,” Schyler said.“If we want true transparency, we can’t get commissioners talking
off the record (and) we can’t have agencies talking off the record,” Schlyer
said. He said he also believes that expansion and talking about
the issue outside of the meetings will mean that the issues will have already
been decided before it’s brought before the full commission.“I know that sort of thing will happen. I’ve seen it happen,”
Schlyer said.Schlyer added, “The people are going to be better served by
having a three-board commission when business is conducted above board.”He added that the public still has the ability to lobby and reach
out to each commissioner individually.“I just believe that’s the way the commission should be
conducted,” Schlyer said.Schlyer also talked about the concern of adding two more commissioners
giving the city of Hays more representation on the commission than the
surrounding communities.“If that 3-2 coalition is from the commissioners in Hays, an
issue can be decided without the east or west ends of the county commission
even being privilege to what’s going on or knowing what’s happening,” Schyler
said.Schlyer also brought up the added costs associated with
bringing in someone to help with the redistricting and the additional
commission salary and benefits. He said that he was, “100-percent opposed” to expansion and
he would not endorse any resolution and told Readle to go ahead with their
petition.“But please as you educate the public, tell them this is not
in their best interest,” Schlyer said.Readle told Hays Post they are ready to kick off their petition
campaign.According to Readle, they have six months to collect
signatures from 5 percent of registered voters in Ellis County.He said the county clerk’s office told them there are 18,529
registered voters in Ellis County.Readle
said anyone interested in finding out more about their efforts can contact any
local Realtor.

Request to consider county commission expansion faces opposition

Kansas crude prices are at their highest in more three months. Monday's price for Kansas Common crude at CHS was $74 per barrel, after rising nearly two dollars on Friday. Kansas prices jumped more than $11 so far this year. US crude futures prices were above $84 in midday trading Monday. The last time light sweet crude in New York rose above $84 was November of 2021, and before that you have to go back to October of 2014 to find better prices. Futures prices rose seven percent last week, posting increases of more than five dollars per barrel. Friday's settlement on the Nymex for the benchmark contract was $83.82 per barrel.&nbsp; The Rig Count in Kansas is up slightly. There are 18 active rigs in eastern Kansas, up one, and 25 west of Wichita, which is unchanged. Independent Oil &amp; Gas Service reported drilling underway on leases in Ellis and Stafford counties. Operators were drilling on one well and about to spud another in Barton County. Baker Hughes reports a sizable increase in its weekly Rotary Rig Count, with 601 active rigs nationwide, an increase of 11 oil rigs and two seeking natural gas. The count in Texas is up seven rigs for the week. Operators in Kansas completed 35 wells last week, nine in eastern Kansas and 26 west of Wichita. Independent Oil &amp; Gas Service reports two new completions in Barton County and one each in Ellis, Russell and Stafford counties. That’s 54 newly-completed wells so far this year across the state. Kansas regulators gave approved 19 new drilling permits last week, 42 so far this year. There are five new permits on file in eastern Kansas and 14 west of Wichita, including on in Ellis County. Gasoline prices are slightly higher, with the national average climbing last week to just over $3.30 per gallon, nearly half a cent higher than a week earlier, but three cents lower than a month ago. The average in Kansas rose to $2.97 per gallon. Kansas motorists are paying nearly two cents more than a month ago, and 83 cents more than a year ago, according to the auto club Triple-A.&nbsp; The government reported a big drop in crude-oil inventories last week. The report from the Energy Information Administration shows US stockpiles dropped 4.6 million barrels from the previous week to 413.3 million barrels. Inventories are about eight percent below the five year average for this time of year. EIA said gasoline stockpiles increased by eight million barrels, but are about three percent below the five-year seasonal average. EIA reports crude imports were up 185,000 barrels per day last week, to 6.1 million barrels per day. The four-week average is nearly 11 percent higher than the same four weeks last year. U.S. crude production last week dropped by nearly 100,000 barrels per day to 11.66 million barrels per day. That’s nearly 600,000 barrels per day higher than during the same week last year. Oil-by-rail shipments in the U.S. are down 20% year-over year after dropping 112 carloads last week. The Association of American Railroads reports 8,894 tanker cars hauling petroleum for the week through January 8th. AAR says overall rail traffic is down 16% from a year ago. Rail shipments of Canadian crude are down 25% from a year ago, but increased by nearly 300 carloads last week.&nbsp; China doubled down on imports of crude oil from Iran and Venezuela last year, as refiners brushed off the risk of penalties under US sanctions to scoop up cheap oil. Bloomberg reports 324 million barrels in Chinese imports from the rogue regimes in 2021, the most in three years. US liquefied natural gas cargoes are heading to Europe instead of more-traditional winter markets in Asia, with 41 tankers likely heading to Europe compared to 24 on the way to Asia. That's the biggest disparity so far this winter. The bigger draw was brought on by volatile gas prices in Europe, where storage inventories are low and their major supplier, Russia, has not delivered as promised.

By JOHN P. TRETBARKansas crude prices are at their highest in more three months. Monday's price for Kansas Common crude at CHS was $74 per barrel, after rising nearly two dollars on Friday. Kansas prices jumped more than $11 so far this year. US crude futures prices were above $84 in midday trading Monday. The last time light sweet crude in New York rose above $84 was November of 2021, and before that you have to go back to October of 2014 to find better prices. Futures prices rose seven percent last week, posting increases of more than five dollars per barrel. Friday's settlement on the Nymex for the benchmark contract was $83.82 per barrel.&nbsp; The Rig Count in Kansas is up slightly. There are 18 active rigs in eastern Kansas, up one, and 25 west of Wichita, which is unchanged. Independent Oil &amp; Gas Service reported drilling underway on leases in Ellis and Stafford counties. Operators were drilling on one well and about to spud another in Barton County. Baker Hughes reports a sizable increase in its weekly Rotary Rig Count, with 601 active rigs nationwide, an increase of 11 oil rigs and two seeking natural gas. The count in Texas is up seven rigs for the week. Operators in Kansas completed 35 wells last week, nine in eastern Kansas and 26 west of Wichita. Independent Oil &amp; Gas Service reports two new completions in Barton County and one each in Ellis, Russell and Stafford counties. That’s 54 newly-completed wells so far this year across the state. Kansas regulators gave approved 19 new drilling permits last week, 42 so far this year. There are five new permits on file in eastern Kansas and 14 west of Wichita, including on in Ellis County. Gasoline prices are slightly higher, with the national average climbing last week to just over $3.30 per gallon, nearly half a cent higher than a week earlier, but three cents lower than a month ago. The average in Kansas rose to $2.97 per gallon. Kansas motorists are paying nearly two cents more than a month ago, and 83 cents more than a year ago, according to the auto club Triple-A.&nbsp; The government reported a big drop in crude-oil inventories last week. The report from the Energy Information Administration shows US stockpiles dropped 4.6 million barrels from the previous week to 413.3 million barrels. Inventories are about eight percent below the five year average for this time of year. EIA said gasoline stockpiles increased by eight million barrels, but are about three percent below the five-year seasonal average. EIA reports crude imports were up 185,000 barrels per day last week, to 6.1 million barrels per day. The four-week average is nearly 11 percent higher than the same four weeks last year. U.S. crude production last week dropped by nearly 100,000 barrels per day to 11.66 million barrels per day. That’s nearly 600,000 barrels per day higher than during the same week last year. Oil-by-rail shipments in the U.S. are down 20% year-over year after dropping 112 carloads last week. The Association of American Railroads reports 8,894 tanker cars hauling petroleum for the week through January 8th. AAR says overall rail traffic is down 16% from a year ago. Rail shipments of Canadian crude are down 25% from a year ago, but increased by nearly 300 carloads last week.&nbsp; China doubled down on imports of crude oil from Iran and Venezuela last year, as refiners brushed off the risk of penalties under US sanctions to scoop up cheap oil. Bloomberg reports 324 million barrels in Chinese imports from the rogue regimes in 2021, the most in three years. US liquefied natural gas cargoes are heading to Europe instead of more-traditional winter markets in Asia, with 41 tankers likely heading to Europe compared to 24 on the way to Asia. That's the biggest disparity so far this winter. The bigger draw was brought on by volatile gas prices in Europe, where storage inventories are low and their major supplier, Russia, has not delivered as promised.

News From the Oil Patch: Kan. crude prices reach 3-month highs

The&nbsp;Ellis County&nbsp;Treasurer’s Office, 718 Main, began implementing a new queueing system&nbsp;Monday designed to efficiently serve residents with their transactions.&nbsp;

Customers can use the queueing system during normal office hours,&nbsp;from&nbsp;8 a.m. to 4 p.m., to reserve a virtual place in line. This includes motor vehicle,&nbsp;commercial vehicle&nbsp;and real estate/personal property tax transactions.

Residents&nbsp;can&nbsp;continue sending in their transactions via mail, online or drop box whenever possible. All transactions sent to the Treasurer’s Office should include the person’s contact information (including a phone number and email) for any follow-up questions.&nbsp;

The payment drop box is located on the south side of the administration building and is on the left-hand side as residents are&nbsp;driving down the alley.

For more information regarding transactions,&nbsp;Ellis County Treasury&nbsp;encourages&nbsp;the public to<a href="http://www.ellisco.net/">www.ellisco.net</a>&nbsp;&nbsp;on the Treasurer’s Office department page.

Residents can use several options to join the line at the Treasurer’s Office.

SMS Text Messaging: Text EllisCountyKS&nbsp;to (785)329-0287. You will be asked to join the line for the queue of your choice, for example title work,&nbsp;tag renewal, etc. Enter your name to be placed into the line. An estimated wait time will be sent to you. Once summoned to a station, you may enter the office to proceed.

QLess App (available on Android or iPhone): Download the QLess app, then search the available list for&nbsp;Ellis&nbsp;County Treasurer’s Office. Follow the prompts to join the queue of your choice. An estimated wait time will be sent to you via text message. Once summoned to a station, you can enter the office to proceed.

Home Kiosk: Go to&nbsp;https://kiosk.na8.qless.com/kiosk/app/home/78&nbsp;

to join the line from any physical location and any device. The link also will be available by going to&nbsp;<a href="http://www.ellisco.net/">www.ellisco.net</a>, located on the Treasurer’s Office department page. The estimated wait time will be sent to you via text message. Once summoned to a station, you may enter the office to proceed.&nbsp;

Office Kiosk: a kiosk&nbsp;is&nbsp;available at the Treasurer’s office to join the line.&nbsp;You can visit the officeand&nbsp;sign in on the ipad to&nbsp;the queue of your choice. An estimated wait time will be sent to you via text message. Once summoned to a station, you can enter the office to proceed.

Residents who miss their appointments will have to start over and join the line again. There are several options for extending a customer’s wait time via text if they cannot make it at their scheduled time.&nbsp;

Staff will be in the office to assist the public with logging in to the system and to answer questions. There will be options if a person does not have a cell phone.

The Ellis County TreasurerThe&nbsp;Ellis County&nbsp;Treasurer’s Office, 718 Main, began implementing a new queueing system&nbsp;Monday designed to efficiently serve residents with their transactions.&nbsp;Customers can use the queueing system during normal office hours,&nbsp;from&nbsp;8 a.m. to 4 p.m., to reserve a virtual place in line. This includes motor vehicle,&nbsp;commercial vehicle&nbsp;and real estate/personal property tax transactions.Residents&nbsp;can&nbsp;continue sending in their transactions via mail, online or drop box whenever possible. All transactions sent to the Treasurer’s Office should include the person’s contact information (including a phone number and email) for any follow-up questions.&nbsp;The payment drop box is located on the south side of the administration building and is on the left-hand side as residents are&nbsp;driving down the alley.For more information regarding transactions,&nbsp;Ellis County Treasury&nbsp;encourages&nbsp;the public to<a href="http://www.ellisco.net/">www.ellisco.net</a>&nbsp;&nbsp;on the Treasurer’s Office department page.<h2>QLess system</h2>Residents can use several options to join the line at the Treasurer’s Office.SMS Text Messaging: Text EllisCountyKS&nbsp;to (785)329-0287. You will be asked to join the line for the queue of your choice, for example title work,&nbsp;tag renewal, etc. Enter your name to be placed into the line. An estimated wait time will be sent to you. Once summoned to a station, you may enter the office to proceed.QLess App (available on Android or iPhone): Download the QLess app, then search the available list for&nbsp;Ellis&nbsp;County Treasurer’s Office. Follow the prompts to join the queue of your choice. An estimated wait time will be sent to you via text message. Once summoned to a station, you can enter the office to proceed.Home Kiosk: Go to&nbsp;https://kiosk.na8.qless.com/kiosk/app/home/78&nbsp;to join the line from any physical location and any device. The link also will be available by going to&nbsp;<a href="http://www.ellisco.net/">www.ellisco.net</a>, located on the Treasurer’s Office department page. The estimated wait time will be sent to you via text message. Once summoned to a station, you may enter the office to proceed.&nbsp;Office Kiosk: a kiosk&nbsp;is&nbsp;available at the Treasurer’s office to join the line.&nbsp;You can visit the officeand&nbsp;sign in on the ipad to&nbsp;the queue of your choice. An estimated wait time will be sent to you via text message. Once summoned to a station, you can enter the office to proceed.Residents who miss their appointments will have to start over and join the line again. There are several options for extending a customer’s wait time via text if they cannot make it at their scheduled time.&nbsp;Staff will be in the office to assist the public with logging in to the system and to answer questions. There will be options if a person does not have a cell phone.

Ellis Co. treasurer implements new queuing system

SHERMAN COUNTY—One person was injured in an accident just after 8p.m. Monday in Sherman County.

The Kansas Highway Patrol reported a 2014 Nissan driven by Andrew J. Mack, 21, Fountain, Colorado, was westbound on Interstate 70 just west of Kansas Highway 268.

The driver was distracted and rear-ended a 2016 Freightliner Semi driven by Jamal Ali I, 61, Willmar, Minnesota.

A 2018 Freightliner semi driven by Feruzbek&nbsp;Khaytaliev, 25, Aurora, Colorado, struck pieces of the debris in the passing lane from the rear-end crash.

EMS transported Mack to the hospital in Goodland.&nbsp; The semi drivers were not injured. All three were properly restrained, according to the KHP.

SHERMAN COUNTY—One person was injured in an accident just after 8p.m. Monday in Sherman County.The Kansas Highway Patrol reported a 2014 Nissan driven by Andrew J. Mack, 21, Fountain, Colorado, was westbound on Interstate 70 just west of Kansas Highway 268.The driver was distracted and rear-ended a 2016 Freightliner Semi driven by Jamal Ali I, 61, Willmar, Minnesota.A 2018 Freightliner semi driven by Feruzbek&nbsp;Khaytaliev, 25, Aurora, Colorado, struck pieces of the debris in the passing lane from the rear-end crash.EMS transported Mack to the hospital in Goodland.&nbsp; The semi drivers were not injured. All three were properly restrained, according to the KHP.

Driver hospitalized after 3-vehicle I-70 crash

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

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/1/1642447128370.jpeg" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure><a href="https://hayspost.com/pages/state-farm-weather-window">For a full look at the weather click here.</a>

Three-day weather outlook

Several years ago when I began trapping beavers, one particular bend in a stream taught me a valuable lesson about wildlife sign. It was along a rutted dirt road somewhere between the middle of nowhere and the end of the line where an old bridge spanned the stream as it meandered through a sand hills pasture thick with cedars. 

Cottonwoods of various sizes grew near the stream, and from the truck I could see that several of the bigger ones had been severely gnawed by beavers. The owner had told me of fresh beaver chewings along this creek, but I hadn’t expected the amount I was seeing. I donned chest waders and shoulder length gloves, and with traps and stakes in hand headed for the stream. In a sharp bend ahead of me a scraggly brushy tree had toppled from the high bank above and lay intact in a deep pool in the creek below. 

I was pretty sure its thick mass of roots sheltered a beaver den dug deeply into the mud beneath, because cleanly stripped sticks floated around the edges of the pool, and pine boughs lay on the banks nearby. The water around the uprooted tree was too deep to wade into, so I went a ways in both directions from the den, set four traps and headed home with visions of 4 beavers the next day. After all, given the amount of fresh sign, beavers had to be thick in this creek… or were they? Four days later, I had only1 large beaver to show for my enthusiasm. That year, I learned a valuable lesson about beaver trapping that I had long ago learned about hunting and trapping other species; the amount of sign left by our four- legged quarry isn’t always a true picture of the number of critters.

I remember another safari I once took after our only good tracking snow of that winter. I headed for the woods to see what the fresh snow could show me. My first stop was a 30 acre soybean stubble field nestled along the river and surrounded by hedge trees on all sides. There were quite literally thousands of deer tracks criss-crossing that field! It looked like an elementary school playground after recess. Now I know there are lots of deer there, but are there thousands? Look under any bridge that crosses a stream and you’ll find literally hundreds of raccoon tracks in the mud. There are lots of raccoons in this part of Kansas, but again, do hundreds visit that bridge? I’m learning that the same is true of signs left by beavers along any waterway. Severed branches floating everywhere and chewed &amp; toppled trees by the dozens do not mean dozens of beavers.&nbsp;

For starters, we need to consider that all mammals we hunt and trap have 4 legs, and 4 feet can leave a multitude of tracks in one night’s time. Secondly, animal’s lives revolve around survival, and a major part of that survival is foraging for food. Lots of steps are taken each night in pursuit of that, two- legged birds included. All of you who have watched deer browse or raccoons waddle along a stream know that they don’t stand in one place very long. Multiply that times eight hours or more and that’s a lot of tracks! If we were to freshly paint the floors and isles of our workplaces, or our kitchen floors near the refrigerator, then observe the number of shoe prints there at the end of an eight hour work shift, or the end of our day at home, we’d be amazed how many tracks just a few of us would make.&nbsp;

	In the end, this all amounts to a few animals leaving a multitude of life-signs of various kinds. When scouting there is no better find than tracks and other signs left by our four- legged quarry. And while it is true that the more tracks and other signs you see, the more animals there are using that particular area, we just need to consider all the above when estimating wildlife numbers. So to be on the conservative side, count the tracks and divide by four! 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>Several years ago when I began trapping beavers, one particular bend in a stream taught me a valuable lesson about wildlife sign. It was along a rutted dirt road somewhere between the middle of nowhere and the end of the line where an old bridge spanned the stream as it meandered through a sand hills pasture thick with cedars. Cottonwoods of various sizes grew near the stream, and from the truck I could see that several of the bigger ones had been severely gnawed by beavers. The owner had told me of fresh beaver chewings along this creek, but I hadn’t expected the amount I was seeing. I donned chest waders and shoulder length gloves, and with traps and stakes in hand headed for the stream. In a sharp bend ahead of me a scraggly brushy tree had toppled from the high bank above and lay intact in a deep pool in the creek below. I was pretty sure its thick mass of roots sheltered a beaver den dug deeply into the mud beneath, because cleanly stripped sticks floated around the edges of the pool, and pine boughs lay on the banks nearby. The water around the uprooted tree was too deep to wade into, so I went a ways in both directions from the den, set four traps and headed home with visions of 4 beavers the next day. After all, given the amount of fresh sign, beavers had to be thick in this creek… or were they? Four days later, I had only1 large beaver to show for my enthusiasm. That year, I learned a valuable lesson about beaver trapping that I had long ago learned about hunting and trapping other species; the amount of sign left by our four- legged quarry isn’t always a true picture of the number of critters.I remember another safari I once took after our only good tracking snow of that winter. I headed for the woods to see what the fresh snow could show me. My first stop was a 30 acre soybean stubble field nestled along the river and surrounded by hedge trees on all sides. There were quite literally thousands of deer tracks criss-crossing that field! It looked like an elementary school playground after recess. Now I know there are lots of deer there, but are there thousands? Look under any bridge that crosses a stream and you’ll find literally hundreds of raccoon tracks in the mud. There are lots of raccoons in this part of Kansas, but again, do hundreds visit that bridge? I’m learning that the same is true of signs left by beavers along any waterway. Severed branches floating everywhere and chewed &amp; toppled trees by the dozens do not mean dozens of beavers.&nbsp;For starters, we need to consider that all mammals we hunt and trap have 4 legs, and 4 feet can leave a multitude of tracks in one night’s time. Secondly, animal’s lives revolve around survival, and a major part of that survival is foraging for food. Lots of steps are taken each night in pursuit of that, two- legged birds included. All of you who have watched deer browse or raccoons waddle along a stream know that they don’t stand in one place very long. Multiply that times eight hours or more and that’s a lot of tracks! If we were to freshly paint the floors and isles of our workplaces, or our kitchen floors near the refrigerator, then observe the number of shoe prints there at the end of an eight hour work shift, or the end of our day at home, we’d be amazed how many tracks just a few of us would make.&nbsp;	In the end, this all amounts to a few animals leaving a multitude of life-signs of various kinds. When scouting there is no better find than tracks and other signs left by our four- legged quarry. And while it is true that the more tracks and other signs you see, the more animals there are using that particular area, we just need to consider all the above when estimating wildlife numbers. So to be on the conservative side, count the tracks and divide by four! Continue to Explore Kansas outdoors.Steve Gilliland, Inman, can be contacted by email at stevenrgilliland@gmail.com.

Exploring Outdoors Kansas: Count the tracks and divide by four

A series of six K-State Soybean Production Schools will be offered in late January and early February to provide in-depth training targeted for soybean producers and key-stakeholders. The schools will be sponsored by the Kansas Soybean Commission, and conducted by K-State Research &amp; Extension.

The schools will cover a number of issues facing soybean growers including weed control, crop production practices, nutrient management and soil fertility, insects, risk management, and disease management.

The dates are set and specific locations have been chosen with schools located across the state, the locations closest to our area are only listed.

Beloit, KS - January 25 (Tuesday) - 8:00 am to 1:00 pm First Christian Church in Beloit, 321 N. Mill Street Contact: Sandra Wick, swick@ksu.edu

Newton, KS - February 1 (Tuesday) – 8:00 am to 1:00 pm Meridian Conference Center, 1420 E. Broadway Ct Contact: Ryan Flaming, flaming@ksu.edu

Oakley, KS - February 8 (Tuesday) – 8:00 am to 1:00 pm Buffalo Bill Cultural Center, 3083 US-83 Contact: Kelsi Wertz, kjwertz@ksu.edu

Great Bend, KS - February 8 (Tuesday) – 3:00 to 7:00 pm Knights of Columbus Hall, 723 Main Street Contact: Stacy Campbell, 785-628-9430, scampbel@ksu.edu

Lunch/dinner will be provided courtesy of the Kansas Soybean Commission. There is no cost to attend, but participants are asked to pre-register by Wednesday, January 19. Online registration is available at http://bit.ly/KSUSoybean. You can also register by emailing/calling the nearest K-State Research and Extension office for the location you plan to attend (contact emails for each location are listed above).

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

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2019/11/1574181994278.png" alt="written by: Stacy Campbell - Cottonwood Extension District" />
 <figcaption>written by: Stacy Campbell - Cottonwood Extension District</figcaption>
 </figure>A series of six K-State Soybean Production Schools will be offered in late January and early February to provide in-depth training targeted for soybean producers and key-stakeholders. The schools will be sponsored by the Kansas Soybean Commission, and conducted by K-State Research &amp; Extension.The schools will cover a number of issues facing soybean growers including weed control, crop production practices, nutrient management and soil fertility, insects, risk management, and disease management.The dates are set and specific locations have been chosen with schools located across the state, the locations closest to our area are only listed.Beloit, KS - January 25 (Tuesday) - 8:00 am to 1:00 pm First Christian Church in Beloit, 321 N. Mill Street Contact: Sandra Wick, swick@ksu.eduNewton, KS - February 1 (Tuesday) – 8:00 am to 1:00 pm Meridian Conference Center, 1420 E. Broadway Ct Contact: Ryan Flaming, flaming@ksu.eduOakley, KS - February 8 (Tuesday) – 8:00 am to 1:00 pm Buffalo Bill Cultural Center, 3083 US-83 Contact: Kelsi Wertz, kjwertz@ksu.eduGreat Bend, KS - February 8 (Tuesday) – 3:00 to 7:00 pm Knights of Columbus Hall, 723 Main Street Contact: Stacy Campbell, 785-628-9430, scampbel@ksu.eduLunch/dinner will be provided courtesy of the Kansas Soybean Commission. There is no cost to attend, but participants are asked to pre-register by Wednesday, January 19. Online registration is available at http://bit.ly/KSUSoybean. You can also register by emailing/calling the nearest K-State Research and Extension office for the location you plan to attend (contact emails for each location are listed above).Stacy Campbell is a Crop Production Extension agent in the Cottonwood District (which includes Barton and Ellis counties) for K-State Research and Extension. You can contact him by e-mail at scampbel@ksu.edu or by calling 785-628-9430.

CAMPBELL: K-State Soybean Schools scheduled for January, February

TOPEKA&nbsp;–&nbsp;Governor Laura Kelly has announced appointments to the following state boards and commissions.

Solid Waste Grants Advisory Committee

The purpose of this Committee is to review competitive grant applications and establish project priority lists for reach fiscal year based upon the availability of funds.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/1/1642441017397.jpeg" alt="(Unsplash)" />
 <figcaption>(Unsplash)</figcaption>
 </figure>Office of GovernorTOPEKA&nbsp;–&nbsp;Governor Laura Kelly has announced appointments to the following state boards and commissions.Solid Waste Grants Advisory CommitteeThe purpose of this Committee is to review competitive grant applications and establish project priority lists for reach fiscal year based upon the availability of funds.<ul>
 <li>Charles Peckham, Atwood (reappointment)</li><li>Shay Hanysak, Osawatomie</li>
 </ul>

Atwood resident reappointed to Solid Waste Grants Advisory Committee

On this episode of Forward Ever: Leading in Challenging Times host Gary Shorman speaks with&nbsp;Forward Ever: Meteorologist Dan Holiday.

<div><iframe title="Forward Ever: Meteorologist Dan Holiday" allowtransparency="true" height="300" width="100%" style="border: none; min-width: min(100%, 430px);" scrolling="no" data-name="pb-iframe-player" src="https://www.podbean.com/player-v2/?i=4c2e9-117ffb0-pb&from=pb6admin&square=1&share=1&download=1&rtl=0&fonts=Arial&skin=3267a3&font-color=ffffff&btn-skin=3267a3&size=300" allowfullscreen=""></iframe></div>On this episode of Forward Ever: Leading in Challenging Times host Gary Shorman speaks with&nbsp;Forward Ever: Meteorologist Dan Holiday.

🎤Forward Ever: Meteorologist Dan Holiday

NW Kansas lagging far behind national numbers

By RACHEL PRADHAN and HANNAH RECHT <a href="https://khn.org/news/article/as-omicron-surges-effort-to-vaccinate-young-children-stalls/">Kaiser Health News</a>

Two months after Pfizer’s COVID vaccine was authorized for children ages
 5 to 11, just 27 percent have received at least one shot, according to Jan. 12
 <a href="https://covid.cdc.gov/covid-data-tracker/#vaccination-demographics-trends">data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention</a>. Only 18 percent, or 5 million kids, have both doses.

Those figures are even more stark for northwest Kansas, according to KHN data. Northwest Kansas counties average 7.1 percent of children 5 to 11 with a single dose — and just 4.4 percent of those children are fully vaccinated.&nbsp;

There are just more than 12,500 children in that age group in northwest Kansas, and just 649 have been fully vaccinated, according to KHN data.

Ellis reported the highest rate of a single dose in the area at 13 percent, with 8.2 percent being fully vaccinated.

Pediatricians say the slow pace and geographic disparities are 
alarming, especially against the backdrop of record numbers of cases and
 pediatric hospitalizations. School-based vaccine mandates for students,
 which some pediatricians say are needed to boost rates substantially, 
remain virtually nonexistent.

“You have these large swaths of vulnerable children 
who are going to school,” said Dr. Samir Shah, a director at Cincinnati 
Children’s Hospital Medical Center. Compounding the problem is that 
states with low vaccination rates “are less likely to require masking or
 distancing or other nonpartisan public health precautions,” he said.

In Louisiana, where 5 percent of kids ages 5 to 11 have been fully 
vaccinated, Gov. John Bel Edwards, a Democrat, added the shot to the 
list of required school immunizations for the fall, over the objections 
of state legislators, who are mostly Republicans. The District of 
Columbia and California, where about 1 in 5 elementary school kids are 
fully vaccinated, have added similar requirements. But those places are 
exceptions — 15 states have banned covid vaccine mandates in K-12 
schools, according to the <a href="https://www.nashp.org/states-enact-policies-to-support-students-transition-back-to-school/">National Academy for State Health Policy</a>.

Mandates are one of multiple “scientifically valid public health 
strategies,” Shah said. “I do think that what would be ideal; I don’t 
think that we as a society have a will to do that.”

Vaccine demand surged in November, with an initial wave of enthusiasm
 after the shot was approved for younger children. But parents have 
vaccinated younger kids at a slower pace than 12- to 15-year-olds, who 
became eligible in May. It took nearly six weeks for 1 in 5 younger kids
 to get their first shot, while adolescents reached that milestone in 
two weeks.

Experts cite several factors slowing the effort: Because kids are 
less likely than adults to be hospitalized or die from the virus, some 
parents are less inclined to vaccinate their children. Misinformation 
campaigns have fueled concerns about immediate and long-term health 
risks of the vaccine. And finding appointments at pharmacies or with 
pediatricians has been a bear.

“One of the problems we’ve had is this perception that kids aren’t at
 risk for serious illness from this virus,” said Dr. Yvonne Maldonado, 
chair of the American Academy of Pediatrics Committee on Infectious 
Diseases. “That’s obviously not true.”

Parents are left to weigh which is more of a threat to their 
children: the covid virus or the vaccine to prevent the virus. 
Overwhelmingly, research shows, the virus itself presents a greater 
danger.

Kids can develop debilitating long-covid symptoms or a potentially fatal post-covid <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/mis/mis-c.html">inflammatory condition</a>. And <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/71/wr/mm7102e2.htm">new research</a>
 from the CDC found that children are at significantly higher risk of 
developing diabetes in the months after a covid infection. Other 
respiratory infections, like the flu, don’t carry similar risks.

Katharine Lehmann said she had concerns about myocarditis — a rare 
but serious side effect that causes inflammation of the heart muscle and
 is more likely to occur in boys than girls — and considered not 
vaccinating her two sons because of that risk. But after reading up on 
the side effects, she realized the condition is more likely to occur 
from the virus than the vaccine. “I felt safe giving it to my kids,” 
said Lehmann, a physical therapist in Missouri, where 20 percent of younger 
kids have gotten at least one dose.

<a href="https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/acip/meetings/downloads/slides-2022-01-05/02-COVID-Su-508.pdf">Recent data</a>
 from scientific advisers to the CDC found that myocarditis was 
extremely rare among vaccinated 5- to 11-year-olds, identifying 12 
reported cases as of Dec. 19 out of 8.7 million administered doses.

The huge variations in where children are getting vaccinated reflect 
what has occurred with other age groups: Children have been much less 
likely to get shots in the Deep South, where hesitancy, political views 
and misinformation have blunted adult vaccination rates as well. Alabama
 has the lowest vaccination rate for 5- to 11-year-olds, with 5 percent fully 
vaccinated. States with high adult vaccine rates such as Vermont, 
Massachusetts, Connecticut and Maine have inoculated the greatest shares
 of their children.

Even within states, rates vary dramatically by county based on 
political leanings, density and access to the shot. More than a quarter 
of kids in Illinois’ populous counties around Chicago and Urbana are 
fully vaccinated, with rates as high as 38% in DuPage County. But rates 
are still below 10% in many of the state’s rural and Republican-leaning 
counties. In Maryland, where 1 in 4 kids are fully vaccinated, rates 
range from more than 40 percent in Howard and Montgomery counties, wealthy 
suburban counties, to fewer than 10 percent along parts of the more rural 
Eastern Shore.

Nationally, a November <a href="https://www.kff.org/coronavirus-covid-19/poll-finding/kff-covid-19-vaccine-monitor-winter-2021-update-on-parents-views-of-vaccines/">KFF poll</a>
 found that 29 percent of parents of 5- to 11-year-olds definitely won’t 
vaccinate their children and that an additional 7 percent would do so only if 
required. Though rates were similar for Black, white and Hispanic 
parents, political differences and location divided families. Only 22 percent of <a href="https://www.kff.org/coronavirus-covid-19/poll-finding/kff-covid-19-vaccine-monitor-vaccine-attitudes-rural-suburban-urban/">urban parents</a>
 wouldn’t vaccinate their kids, while 49 percent of rural parents were opposed.
 Half of Republican parents said they definitely wouldn’t vaccinate 
their kids, compared with just 7 percent of Democrats.

The White House said officials continue to work with trusted groups 
to build vaccine confidence and ensure access to shots. “As we’ve seen 
with adult vaccinations, we expect confidence to grow and more and more 
kids to be vaccinated across time,” spokesperson Kevin Munoz said in a 
statement.

Just before her younger son’s 5th birthday, Lehmann was eager to book
 covid vaccine appointments for her two boys. But their pediatrician 
wasn’t offering them. Attempts to book time slots at CVS and Walgreens 
before her son turned 5 were unsuccessful, even if the appointment 
occurred after his late-November birthday.

“It was not easy,” she said. Wanting to avoid separate trips for her 
10-year-old and 5-year-old, she nabbed appointments at a hospital a 
half-hour away.

“Both of my kids have gotten all their vaccines at the pediatrician, 
so I was kind of shocked. That would have certainly been easier,” 
Lehmann said. “And the kids know those nurses and doctors, so I think it
 would have helped to not have a stranger doing it.”

The Biden administration has pointed parents to retail pharmacies and
 122 children’s hospitals with vaccine clinics. Nationwide, more than 
35,000 sites, including pediatricians, federally qualified health 
centers and children’s hospitals have been set up to vaccinate young 
kids, according to the administration. Yet administering the covid 
vaccine to children presents obstacles that haven’t been as prominent 
for other inoculations.

Enrolling pediatricians in the covid-19 vaccine program is a 
challenge because of the application process, reporting requirements for
 administered doses, and staffing, said Claire Hannan, executive 
director of the Association of Immunization Managers.

“Many of them are short-staffed right now and don’t necessarily have 
huge capacity to serve,” she said. Plus, “it’s not as easy to engage the
 schools in school-based clinics in certain areas just due to the 
political environment.” Health centers, government officials and other 
groups have set up more than 9,000 school vaccination sites for 5- to 
11-year-olds nationwide.

The CDC’s long-standing program, Vaccines for Children, provides free
 shots for influenza, measles, chickenpox and polio, among others. 
Roughly <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/programs/vfc/about/index.html">44,000 doctors</a>
 are enrolled in the program, which is designed to immunize children who
 are eligible for Medicaid, are uninsured or underinsured, or are from 
Native or Indigenous communities. More than half of the program’s 
providers offer covid shots, although the rates vary by state.

Pharmacies have been heavily used in Illinois, where 25 percent of 5- to 11-year-olds are fully vaccinated.

Dr. Ngozi Ezike, a pediatrician and the director of the Illinois 
Department of Public Health, said 53 percent of shots administered to younger 
children as of Jan. 5 were done at pharmacies. Twenty percent occurred 
at private clinics, 7 percent at local health departments, 6 percent at federally 
qualified health centers and 5 percent at hospitals.

“You need all pieces of the pie” to get more kids vaccinated, Ezike said.

The Levite Jewish Community Center in Birmingham, Alabama, tried to 
boost vaccinations with a party, offering games and treats, even a photo
 booth and a DJ, along with shots given by a well-known local pharmacy. 
Brooke Bowles, the center’s director of marketing and fund development, 
estimated that about half a dozen of the 42 people who got a dose that 
mid-December day were kids.

Bowles was struck that children were more likely to roll up their 
sleeves when their parents emphasized the greater good in getting 
vaccinated. “Those children were just fantastic,” she said. In parts of 
the Deep South like this one, pro-vaccine groups face a tough climb — as
 of Jan. 12, only 7% of Jefferson County’s children had gotten both 
shots.

The greater good is what pediatricians have emphasized to parents who are on the fence.

“Children are vectors for infectious disease,” said Dr. Eileen 
Costello, chief of ambulatory pediatrics at Boston Medical Center. 
“They’re extremely generous with their microbes,” spreading infections 
to vulnerable relatives and community members who may be more likely to 
end up in the hospital.

Seventy-eight percent of the hospital’s adult patients have received 
at least one dose. For children 5 and up, the figure is 39 percent, with 
younger children having lower rates than adolescents, Costello said. 
Particularly amid an onslaught of misinformation, “it has been 
exhausting to have these long conversations with families who are so 
hesitant and reluctant,” she said.

Still, she can point to successes: A mother who lost a grandparent to
 covid was nonetheless reluctant to vaccinate her son with obesity and 
asthma whom Costello was seeing for a physical. The mother ultimately 
vaccinated all four of her children after Costello told her that her 
son’s weight put him at higher risk for severe illness.

“That felt like a triumph to me,” Costello said. “I think her 
thinking was, ‘Well, he’s a kid — he’s going to be fine.’ And I said, 
‘Well, he might be fine, but he might not.’ ”

Hays Post contributed to this report.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/1/1642184443270.jpg" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure><h2>NW Kansas lagging far behind national numbers</h2>By RACHEL PRADHAN and HANNAH RECHT <a href="https://khn.org/news/article/as-omicron-surges-effort-to-vaccinate-young-children-stalls/">Kaiser Health News</a>Two months after Pfizer’s COVID vaccine was authorized for children ages
 5 to 11, just 27 percent have received at least one shot, according to Jan. 12
 <a href="https://covid.cdc.gov/covid-data-tracker/#vaccination-demographics-trends">data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention</a>. Only 18 percent, or 5 million kids, have both doses.Those figures are even more stark for northwest Kansas, according to KHN data. Northwest Kansas counties average 7.1 percent of children 5 to 11 with a single dose — and just 4.4 percent of those children are fully vaccinated.&nbsp;There are just more than 12,500 children in that age group in northwest Kansas, and just 649 have been fully vaccinated, according to KHN data.Ellis reported the highest rate of a single dose in the area at 13 percent, with 8.2 percent being fully vaccinated.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/1/1642185215839.png" alt="KHN data" />
 <figcaption>KHN data</figcaption>
 </figure><figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/1/1642184753049.png" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>Pediatricians say the slow pace and geographic disparities are 
alarming, especially against the backdrop of record numbers of cases and
 pediatric hospitalizations. School-based vaccine mandates for students,
 which some pediatricians say are needed to boost rates substantially, 
remain virtually nonexistent.“You have these large swaths of vulnerable children 
who are going to school,” said Dr. Samir Shah, a director at Cincinnati 
Children’s Hospital Medical Center. Compounding the problem is that 
states with low vaccination rates “are less likely to require masking or
 distancing or other nonpartisan public health precautions,” he said.In Louisiana, where 5 percent of kids ages 5 to 11 have been fully 
vaccinated, Gov. John Bel Edwards, a Democrat, added the shot to the 
list of required school immunizations for the fall, over the objections 
of state legislators, who are mostly Republicans. The District of 
Columbia and California, where about 1 in 5 elementary school kids are 
fully vaccinated, have added similar requirements. But those places are 
exceptions — 15 states have banned covid vaccine mandates in K-12 
schools, according to the <a href="https://www.nashp.org/states-enact-policies-to-support-students-transition-back-to-school/">National Academy for State Health Policy</a>.Mandates are one of multiple “scientifically valid public health 
strategies,” Shah said. “I do think that what would be ideal; I don’t 
think that we as a society have a will to do that.”Vaccine demand surged in November, with an initial wave of enthusiasm
 after the shot was approved for younger children. But parents have 
vaccinated younger kids at a slower pace than 12- to 15-year-olds, who 
became eligible in May. It took nearly six weeks for 1 in 5 younger kids
 to get their first shot, while adolescents reached that milestone in 
two weeks.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/1/1642184606479.png" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>Experts cite several factors slowing the effort: Because kids are 
less likely than adults to be hospitalized or die from the virus, some 
parents are less inclined to vaccinate their children. Misinformation 
campaigns have fueled concerns about immediate and long-term health 
risks of the vaccine. And finding appointments at pharmacies or with 
pediatricians has been a bear.“One of the problems we’ve had is this perception that kids aren’t at
 risk for serious illness from this virus,” said Dr. Yvonne Maldonado, 
chair of the American Academy of Pediatrics Committee on Infectious 
Diseases. “That’s obviously not true.”Parents are left to weigh which is more of a threat to their 
children: the covid virus or the vaccine to prevent the virus. 
Overwhelmingly, research shows, the virus itself presents a greater 
danger.Kids can develop debilitating long-covid symptoms or a potentially fatal post-covid <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/mis/mis-c.html">inflammatory condition</a>. And <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/71/wr/mm7102e2.htm">new research</a>
 from the CDC found that children are at significantly higher risk of 
developing diabetes in the months after a covid infection. Other 
respiratory infections, like the flu, don’t carry similar risks.Katharine Lehmann said she had concerns about myocarditis — a rare 
but serious side effect that causes inflammation of the heart muscle and
 is more likely to occur in boys than girls — and considered not 
vaccinating her two sons because of that risk. But after reading up on 
the side effects, she realized the condition is more likely to occur 
from the virus than the vaccine. “I felt safe giving it to my kids,” 
said Lehmann, a physical therapist in Missouri, where 20 percent of younger 
kids have gotten at least one dose.<a href="https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/acip/meetings/downloads/slides-2022-01-05/02-COVID-Su-508.pdf">Recent data</a>
 from scientific advisers to the CDC found that myocarditis was 
extremely rare among vaccinated 5- to 11-year-olds, identifying 12 
reported cases as of Dec. 19 out of 8.7 million administered doses.The huge variations in where children are getting vaccinated reflect 
what has occurred with other age groups: Children have been much less 
likely to get shots in the Deep South, where hesitancy, political views 
and misinformation have blunted adult vaccination rates as well. Alabama
 has the lowest vaccination rate for 5- to 11-year-olds, with 5 percent fully 
vaccinated. States with high adult vaccine rates such as Vermont, 
Massachusetts, Connecticut and Maine have inoculated the greatest shares
 of their children.Even within states, rates vary dramatically by county based on 
political leanings, density and access to the shot. More than a quarter 
of kids in Illinois’ populous counties around Chicago and Urbana are 
fully vaccinated, with rates as high as 38% in DuPage County. But rates 
are still below 10% in many of the state’s rural and Republican-leaning 
counties. In Maryland, where 1 in 4 kids are fully vaccinated, rates 
range from more than 40 percent in Howard and Montgomery counties, wealthy 
suburban counties, to fewer than 10 percent along parts of the more rural 
Eastern Shore.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/1/1642184659504.png" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>Nationally, a November <a href="https://www.kff.org/coronavirus-covid-19/poll-finding/kff-covid-19-vaccine-monitor-winter-2021-update-on-parents-views-of-vaccines/">KFF poll</a>
 found that 29 percent of parents of 5- to 11-year-olds definitely won’t 
vaccinate their children and that an additional 7 percent would do so only if 
required. Though rates were similar for Black, white and Hispanic 
parents, political differences and location divided families. Only 22 percent of <a href="https://www.kff.org/coronavirus-covid-19/poll-finding/kff-covid-19-vaccine-monitor-vaccine-attitudes-rural-suburban-urban/">urban parents</a>
 wouldn’t vaccinate their kids, while 49 percent of rural parents were opposed.
 Half of Republican parents said they definitely wouldn’t vaccinate 
their kids, compared with just 7 percent of Democrats.The White House said officials continue to work with trusted groups 
to build vaccine confidence and ensure access to shots. “As we’ve seen 
with adult vaccinations, we expect confidence to grow and more and more 
kids to be vaccinated across time,” spokesperson Kevin Munoz said in a 
statement.<h2>The Hunt for Shots</h2>Just before her younger son’s 5th birthday, Lehmann was eager to book
 covid vaccine appointments for her two boys. But their pediatrician 
wasn’t offering them. Attempts to book time slots at CVS and Walgreens 
before her son turned 5 were unsuccessful, even if the appointment 
occurred after his late-November birthday.“It was not easy,” she said. Wanting to avoid separate trips for her 
10-year-old and 5-year-old, she nabbed appointments at a hospital a 
half-hour away.“Both of my kids have gotten all their vaccines at the pediatrician, 
so I was kind of shocked. That would have certainly been easier,” 
Lehmann said. “And the kids know those nurses and doctors, so I think it
 would have helped to not have a stranger doing it.”The Biden administration has pointed parents to retail pharmacies and
 122 children’s hospitals with vaccine clinics. Nationwide, more than 
35,000 sites, including pediatricians, federally qualified health 
centers and children’s hospitals have been set up to vaccinate young 
kids, according to the administration. Yet administering the covid 
vaccine to children presents obstacles that haven’t been as prominent 
for other inoculations.Enrolling pediatricians in the covid-19 vaccine program is a 
challenge because of the application process, reporting requirements for
 administered doses, and staffing, said Claire Hannan, executive 
director of the Association of Immunization Managers.“Many of them are short-staffed right now and don’t necessarily have 
huge capacity to serve,” she said. Plus, “it’s not as easy to engage the
 schools in school-based clinics in certain areas just due to the 
political environment.” Health centers, government officials and other 
groups have set up more than 9,000 school vaccination sites for 5- to 
11-year-olds nationwide.The CDC’s long-standing program, Vaccines for Children, provides free
 shots for influenza, measles, chickenpox and polio, among others. 
Roughly <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/programs/vfc/about/index.html">44,000 doctors</a>
 are enrolled in the program, which is designed to immunize children who
 are eligible for Medicaid, are uninsured or underinsured, or are from 
Native or Indigenous communities. More than half of the program’s 
providers offer covid shots, although the rates vary by state.Pharmacies have been heavily used in Illinois, where 25 percent of 5- to 11-year-olds are fully vaccinated.Dr. Ngozi Ezike, a pediatrician and the director of the Illinois 
Department of Public Health, said 53 percent of shots administered to younger 
children as of Jan. 5 were done at pharmacies. Twenty percent occurred 
at private clinics, 7 percent at local health departments, 6 percent at federally 
qualified health centers and 5 percent at hospitals.“You need all pieces of the pie” to get more kids vaccinated, Ezike said.<h2>Kids Respond to ‘the Greater Good’</h2>The Levite Jewish Community Center in Birmingham, Alabama, tried to 
boost vaccinations with a party, offering games and treats, even a photo
 booth and a DJ, along with shots given by a well-known local pharmacy. 
Brooke Bowles, the center’s director of marketing and fund development, 
estimated that about half a dozen of the 42 people who got a dose that 
mid-December day were kids.Bowles was struck that children were more likely to roll up their 
sleeves when their parents emphasized the greater good in getting 
vaccinated. “Those children were just fantastic,” she said. In parts of 
the Deep South like this one, pro-vaccine groups face a tough climb — as
 of Jan. 12, only 7% of Jefferson County’s children had gotten both 
shots.The greater good is what pediatricians have emphasized to parents who are on the fence.“Children are vectors for infectious disease,” said Dr. Eileen 
Costello, chief of ambulatory pediatrics at Boston Medical Center. 
“They’re extremely generous with their microbes,” spreading infections 
to vulnerable relatives and community members who may be more likely to 
end up in the hospital.Seventy-eight percent of the hospital’s adult patients have received 
at least one dose. For children 5 and up, the figure is 39 percent, with 
younger children having lower rates than adolescents, Costello said. 
Particularly amid an onslaught of misinformation, “it has been 
exhausting to have these long conversations with families who are so 
hesitant and reluctant,” she said.Still, she can point to successes: A mother who lost a grandparent to
 covid was nonetheless reluctant to vaccinate her son with obesity and 
asthma whom Costello was seeing for a physical. The mother ultimately 
vaccinated all four of her children after Costello told her that her 
son’s weight put him at higher risk for severe illness.“That felt like a triumph to me,” Costello said. “I think her 
thinking was, ‘Well, he’s a kid — he’s going to be fine.’ And I said, 
‘Well, he might be fine, but he might not.’ ”Hays Post contributed to this report.

Effort to vaccinate young children stalls; NW Kan. lags even more

Recently, Imagine Ellis County hosted representatives of various organizations from Ellis County to identify, from their perspective, community needs that needed to be met for long-term growth and success of our county and region. Now it is your turn. We need your help to help identify community needs from the perspective of the residents of Ellis County.

On Feb. 7, we will host a Town Hall and facilitate small and large group discussions to learn more from our community members. It is from 5:30 to 8 p.m. at the Hilton Garden Inn in Hays. Dinner is provided for those who attend. &nbsp;

Attendees are encouraged to be fully vaccinated or have a negative COVID test within 48 hours of attendance. Masks are not required but feel free to wear one. There will be plenty of space for a safe event.

While walk-ins are welcome, let us know if you intend to attend by clicking that you will attend on our event posted on our Facebook page or use our sign-up form at&nbsp; <a href="https://forms.gle/F1bgNywhV37N7rqw6">https://forms.gle/F1bgNywhV37N7rqw6</a>. See our <a href="https://www.facebook.com/events/1523831934656766/?active_tab=discussion">Facebook event page</a> for more information. Find <a href="https://www.facebook.com/ImagineEllisCounty">Imagine Ellis County</a> on Facebook, like and follow us.

Imagine Ellis County is a committee comprised of over 30 community members from Ellis County. The committee exists to serve the long-term interests of Ellis County. We have representatives from Catherine, Ellis, Hays, and Victoria on our committee. Committee members include people who serve as local elected officials, local government employees, employees from various community businesses, and those who are involved with non-profits and charitable organizations.

If you would like more information, contact Joe Leroux at 785-650-3600, or joe.leroux@hess-services.com.

Imagine Ellis County is a collaborative strategic vision for our community and region.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/1/1642178166769.png" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>News releaseRecently, Imagine Ellis County hosted representatives of various organizations from Ellis County to identify, from their perspective, community needs that needed to be met for long-term growth and success of our county and region. Now it is your turn. We need your help to help identify community needs from the perspective of the residents of Ellis County.On Feb. 7, we will host a Town Hall and facilitate small and large group discussions to learn more from our community members. It is from 5:30 to 8 p.m. at the Hilton Garden Inn in Hays. Dinner is provided for those who attend. &nbsp;Attendees are encouraged to be fully vaccinated or have a negative COVID test within 48 hours of attendance. Masks are not required but feel free to wear one. There will be plenty of space for a safe event.While walk-ins are welcome, let us know if you intend to attend by clicking that you will attend on our event posted on our Facebook page or use our sign-up form at&nbsp; <a href="https://forms.gle/F1bgNywhV37N7rqw6">https://forms.gle/F1bgNywhV37N7rqw6</a>. See our <a href="https://www.facebook.com/events/1523831934656766/?active_tab=discussion">Facebook event page</a> for more information. Find <a href="https://www.facebook.com/ImagineEllisCounty">Imagine Ellis County</a> on Facebook, like and follow us.Imagine Ellis County is a committee comprised of over 30 community members from Ellis County. The committee exists to serve the long-term interests of Ellis County. We have representatives from Catherine, Ellis, Hays, and Victoria on our committee. Committee members include people who serve as local elected officials, local government employees, employees from various community businesses, and those who are involved with non-profits and charitable organizations.If you would like more information, contact Joe Leroux at 785-650-3600, or joe.leroux@hess-services.com.Imagine Ellis County is a collaborative strategic vision for our community and region.

Imagine Ellis County schedules town hall meeting

TOPEKA — Two Kansas students have been selected as delegates to the 60th&nbsp;annual United States Senate Youth Program that will take place virtually March 6-9, 2022.

Gerrit Dangermound, a junior at Oskaloosa High School, Oskaloosa Unified School District 341, and William Rues, a senior at La Crosse High School, La Crosse USD 395, were selected to join the 104-student delegation that will virtually attend Washington Week. They each will receive a $10,000 undergraduate college scholarship with encouragement to continue coursework in government, history and public affairs.

Dangermound serves as vice president of his junior class at Oskaloosa High. He is active in school and community activities and enjoys spending his free time getting to know his peers and working at the local food bank.&nbsp;

Dangermound plans to teach high school social science after graduating from college.

Rues serves as president of the National Honor Society at La Crosse High. He also has served in many leadership positions at his school and competes in cross country and track. Rues recently had the opportunity to be a Boys State delegate and served in its Senate.&nbsp;

Rues plans to attend The University of Kansas (KU) on an Air Force ROTC scholarship and major in history. After he serves in the Air Force, Rues plans to return to college to obtain a doctorate in European history.&nbsp;

Chosen as alternates to the 2022 program were&nbsp;<a>Kevinh Nguyen, who lives in Topeka and attends Seaman High School, Seaman USD 345,&nbsp;</a>and Andrew Phalen, who lives in Lawrence and attends Lawrence High School, Lawrence USD 497.

Delegates and alternates are selected by state departments of education, after nomination by teachers and principals. The Chief State School Officer or Commissioner of Education for each jurisdiction confirms the final selection.&nbsp;

In Kansas, applicants have to pass a multiple-choice exam based on state and national government and write an essay. This year, the Kansas State Department of Education received 45 applications. The exams and essays are graded, and the top four applicants are selected. Delegates and alternates are authorized by Kansas Commissioner of Education Dr. Randy Watson.

In years past, the competitive merit-based program would send the 104 outstanding high school students — two from each state, the District of Columbia and the Department of Defense Education Activity — to Washington, D.C., for an intensive weeklong study of the federal government and the people who lead it. However, because of the pandemic, student delegates this year will attend online meetings and briefings with senators, the president, a justice of the Supreme Court, leaders of cabinet agencies and others.&nbsp;

The USSYP was created by Senate Resolution 324 in 1962 and has been sponsored by the Senate and fully funded by The Hearst Foundations since inception. The impetus for the program as stated in Senate testimony is "to increase young Americans’ understanding of the interrelationships of the three branches of government, learn the caliber and responsibilities of federally elected and appointed officials, and emphasize the vital importance of democratic decision making not only for America but for people around the world."&nbsp;

The overall mission of the program is to help instill within each class of USSYP student delegates more knowledge of the American political process and a lifelong commitment to public service. The Hearst Foundations provide each student with a $10,000 undergraduate college scholarship.

In addition to outstanding leadership abilities and a strong commitment to volunteer work, the student delegates rank academically in the top 1% of their states among high school juniors and seniors. Now more than 6,000 strong, alumni of the program continue to excel and develop impressive qualities that are often directed toward public service.

For questions about delegates, alternates or the selection process, contact Tamla Miller, Kansas Senate Youth coordinator at the Kansas State Department of Education (KSDE), at&nbsp;<a href="mailto:tmiller@ksde.org">tmiller@ksde.org</a>&nbsp;or (785) 296-4950.&nbsp;

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/1/1642094809326.jpeg" alt="William Rues&nbsp;" />
 <figcaption>William Rues&nbsp;</figcaption>
 </figure>News releaseTOPEKA — Two Kansas students have been selected as delegates to the 60th&nbsp;annual United States Senate Youth Program that will take place virtually March 6-9, 2022.Gerrit Dangermound, a junior at Oskaloosa High School, Oskaloosa Unified School District 341, and William Rues, a senior at La Crosse High School, La Crosse USD 395, were selected to join the 104-student delegation that will virtually attend Washington Week. They each will receive a $10,000 undergraduate college scholarship with encouragement to continue coursework in government, history and public affairs.Dangermound serves as vice president of his junior class at Oskaloosa High. He is active in school and community activities and enjoys spending his free time getting to know his peers and working at the local food bank.&nbsp;Dangermound plans to teach high school social science after graduating from college.Rues serves as president of the National Honor Society at La Crosse High. He also has served in many leadership positions at his school and competes in cross country and track. Rues recently had the opportunity to be a Boys State delegate and served in its Senate.&nbsp;Rues plans to attend The University of Kansas (KU) on an Air Force ROTC scholarship and major in history. After he serves in the Air Force, Rues plans to return to college to obtain a doctorate in European history.&nbsp;Chosen as alternates to the 2022 program were&nbsp;<a>Kevinh Nguyen, who lives in Topeka and attends Seaman High School, Seaman USD 345,&nbsp;</a>and Andrew Phalen, who lives in Lawrence and attends Lawrence High School, Lawrence USD 497.Delegates and alternates are selected by state departments of education, after nomination by teachers and principals. The Chief State School Officer or Commissioner of Education for each jurisdiction confirms the final selection.&nbsp;In Kansas, applicants have to pass a multiple-choice exam based on state and national government and write an essay. This year, the Kansas State Department of Education received 45 applications. The exams and essays are graded, and the top four applicants are selected. Delegates and alternates are authorized by Kansas Commissioner of Education Dr. Randy Watson.In years past, the competitive merit-based program would send the 104 outstanding high school students — two from each state, the District of Columbia and the Department of Defense Education Activity — to Washington, D.C., for an intensive weeklong study of the federal government and the people who lead it. However, because of the pandemic, student delegates this year will attend online meetings and briefings with senators, the president, a justice of the Supreme Court, leaders of cabinet agencies and others.&nbsp;The USSYP was created by Senate Resolution 324 in 1962 and has been sponsored by the Senate and fully funded by The Hearst Foundations since inception. The impetus for the program as stated in Senate testimony is "to increase young Americans’ understanding of the interrelationships of the three branches of government, learn the caliber and responsibilities of federally elected and appointed officials, and emphasize the vital importance of democratic decision making not only for America but for people around the world."&nbsp;The overall mission of the program is to help instill within each class of USSYP student delegates more knowledge of the American political process and a lifelong commitment to public service. The Hearst Foundations provide each student with a $10,000 undergraduate college scholarship.In addition to outstanding leadership abilities and a strong commitment to volunteer work, the student delegates rank academically in the top 1% of their states among high school juniors and seniors. Now more than 6,000 strong, alumni of the program continue to excel and develop impressive qualities that are often directed toward public service.For questions about delegates, alternates or the selection process, contact Tamla Miller, Kansas Senate Youth coordinator at the Kansas State Department of Education (KSDE), at&nbsp;<a href="mailto:tmiller@ksde.org">tmiller@ksde.org</a>&nbsp;or (785) 296-4950.&nbsp;For more information on USSYP, visit&nbsp;<a href="https://linkprotect.cudasvc.com/url?a=https%3a%2f%2ffile%3a%2f%2f%2fT%3a%2fRELEASES%2f2019%2fwww.ussenateyouth.org&amp;c=E,1,35AepP51Rxe2PvcRo-wBvjtvlmxH8pOhfEPbonQ4hg_DFaqAnVVih4BOuhB9_UzJUFD1-nV2ugxK2BTfr29-QvjpHdWtBD-vtQTkj-VhxaGYie9oag,,&amp;typo=1">www.ussenateyouth.org</a>.

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