Due to high sales, the Multi-State Lottery Association has increased the estimated jackpot amount for the Wednesday, January 5 Powerball drawing to $630 million or $448.4 million with the cash option selected.

The Powerball jackpot starts at $20 million and continues to grow each drawing until it is won. There have been 39 consecutive Powerball drawings since October 6 without a jackpot winner. This is the 7th largest jackpot in Powerball history.

Ten jackpots ranging from $2.5 million to $365 million have been won in Nebraska since the Nebraska Lottery began offering Powerball in July of 1994. The largest Powerball jackpot won in Nebraska occurred in February 2006 when a group of eight coworkers at the ConAgra Foods ham and corned beef plant in Lincoln split a $365 million jackpot.

Because of the high Powerball jackpot, the Nebraska Lottery encourages customers to play within their means. “It’s important for Nebraska Lottery players to remember that no matter how large the jackpot is, the odds of winning the Powerball jackpot are 1 in 292 million,” said Lottery Director Brian Rockey. “Your odds of winning remain the same, regardless of how many tickets are purchased or how many people play.” If you or someone you know has a problem with compulsive gambling, free help is available at problemgambling.nebraska.gov.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/1/1641402292805.png" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>News Release Nebraska LotteryDue to high sales, the Multi-State Lottery Association has increased the estimated jackpot amount for the Wednesday, January 5 Powerball drawing to $630 million or $448.4 million with the cash option selected.The Powerball jackpot starts at $20 million and continues to grow each drawing until it is won. There have been 39 consecutive Powerball drawings since October 6 without a jackpot winner. This is the 7th largest jackpot in Powerball history.Ten jackpots ranging from $2.5 million to $365 million have been won in Nebraska since the Nebraska Lottery began offering Powerball in July of 1994. The largest Powerball jackpot won in Nebraska occurred in February 2006 when a group of eight coworkers at the ConAgra Foods ham and corned beef plant in Lincoln split a $365 million jackpot.Play ResponsiblyBecause of the high Powerball jackpot, the Nebraska Lottery encourages customers to play within their means. “It’s important for Nebraska Lottery players to remember that no matter how large the jackpot is, the odds of winning the Powerball jackpot are 1 in 292 million,” said Lottery Director Brian Rockey. “Your odds of winning remain the same, regardless of how many tickets are purchased or how many people play.” If you or someone you know has a problem with compulsive gambling, free help is available at problemgambling.nebraska.gov.

Powerball jackpot increased for Wednesday's drawing

A winter weather advisory and a wind chill advisory have been issued for Ellis County and much of northwest Kansas.

The National Weather Service in Dodge City said the wind chill advisory will go into effect at midnight and remain in effect until 11 a.m. Thursday. Winds are expected to gust up to 40 mph and wind chills as low as 20 below zero are predicted.

The chill is expected to bring snow&nbsp; to the area along the Interstate 70 corridor, as well. Up to 2 inches of snow are possible beginning late Wednesday and continuing to Thursday morning. The gusting winds could lead to drifting and lack of visibility for drivers.

A high temperature of just 12 degrees is predicted Thursday, with the low dropping to 3 degrees.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/1/1641400047970.png" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>A winter weather advisory and a wind chill advisory have been issued for Ellis County and much of northwest Kansas.The National Weather Service in Dodge City said the wind chill advisory will go into effect at midnight and remain in effect until 11 a.m. Thursday. Winds are expected to gust up to 40 mph and wind chills as low as 20 below zero are predicted.The chill is expected to bring snow&nbsp; to the area along the Interstate 70 corridor, as well. Up to 2 inches of snow are possible beginning late Wednesday and continuing to Thursday morning. The gusting winds could lead to drifting and lack of visibility for drivers.A high temperature of just 12 degrees is predicted Thursday, with the low dropping to 3 degrees.

NWS: Wind chill, winter weather advisories for NW Kan.

On this episode of the Post Podcast, Hays Chamber president and CEO Sarah Wasinger introduces the new vice president of marketing and communications, Mariah Leglighter.

The Hays Chamber has a new Vice President of Marketing and Communications. President and CEO Sarah Wasinger joins us to introduce Mariah Legleiter on this episode of the posts podcast.

So this is Mariah Legleiter, she is our Vice President of Marketing and Communications. We are so thrilled to have her here today. We wanted to give her just a few months to get her feet wet before we kind of hear her into the fire right away. So

that seems fair. Mariah, thanks for joining us. Good to see you. Good to meet you.

So down at the Chamber, you're the new Vice President of Marketing and Communications. I know we talked about your your, what's the word swear word? The last guy in the job that press? Well, I wasn't gonna give his name because I figured he was dead all of us. But no, no, he's great. And he's a really cool role now. But yeah, he used to come on once in a while. So I'm glad that you got to come in as well. And we're gonna talk a little bit about what kind of what you're doing because with Scott, it was a different job than it is now from what we've talked about, right?

There's a little painful, but there's gonna be a few little tweaks here and there. And specifically, we shared Scott a little bit with the CVB. before. And with Mariah, we get to keep her full time. So we're very excited about that. Nice. Yes. So Brian, I would love for people at home to know a little bit about your background and expertise. Do you want to share a little bit about yourself?

Yeah, I would love to. So I moved to Hays in August of 2012 to continue my education after getting an associate's degree in accounting from Dodge City Community College. And I went to Fort Hays State University graduated there in 2016. I met my husband while I was going to school there, his name is Devin, like LIDAR. And we have a beautiful little girl named Olivia. She goes to school to Laughlin Elementary. And actually, I just realized that this year marks 10 years in haze. So I'm super excited about that. You hit the deck? I did.

I love that. Because you know, so many so many people I know came to haze for four days, just like you the same reason I'm here. And stock. Really, it's a testament to our community. Because I mean, if you if it wasn't a quality of life here, people would just leave. 

Glad to hear so. So you're at the Chamber now. We're gonna talk a little bit about your background, like, what your experiences are. Yeah. 

So I used to work at Herman physical therapy and wellness. And I did a lot of his marketing and a lot of his social media presence for him. So I just brought all of that experience over to the chamber. And I'm did a lot of his graphic design work, too. And so I'm so looking forward to being able to explore creatively, a little bit further for the chamber, and just be able to do that for them. I'm, I can't wait to do that.

Yeah, she brings a lot of different skill sets to the table, she's probably more humble than what she's sharing. But when we were replacing Scott, we were looking at, oh, my gosh, this is quite a diverse job. Who are we going to get he knows how to do video, who knows how to do marketing, who knows how to do writing, and all those things really well. And she's really hit the ground running and has I'm just very much impressed so far.

Awesome. Yeah. Cuz, you know, it is one of those things. And this is exactly what we talked about in the past, right? It's those skill sets, you know, you might have one like a Scott was an amazing graphic designer, and you know, he did all the logo work. But that's a very different skill set than social media, marketing. And you got to kind of find that right fit to get what you need out of it. And the extra is always good, right? Like, I can run a camera. Sure, but I can't shoot video, you know what I mean?

Right? So she's been doing such a good job, even if there have been a few things that she's like, Well, I haven't done that. But I'm a very fast learner. She's proved time and time again that yes, indeed, she is a very fast learner. So we couldn't be more happy to have her be a part of our team.

That's awesome. So you know what, down there at the chamber and your experience so far, what's uh, you know, what surprised you the most

anything, they, I would say the magnitude of what they have their hands in. I mean, the chamber is does a great job of advocating for the business community on every level. And just how fast paced everything is, like I saw my job before was fast paced, but nope. So but I love that kind of environment. And so I've kind of been thriving in that. And just like she said, hit the ground running like it's been it's been a fun adventure so far.

Her heads only spin in circles. She's keeping up.

You know, Sarah, I think a lot of people might struggle to keep up with you, just because you guys do so very much here. I mean, you literally sometimes you'll leave the show here and I'll pop on to Facebook and you're doing a live somewhere you already set up here. And then there's like two more going on that day. It's crazy. Crazy. We

have one of the best jobs in the world because we truly get to work with our businesses across the community and make sure that we are pulling resources and people together, giving folks the opportunity to collaborate and We think that it's going to be great to have where I come in and reading up a little bit of what we're doing it with social media and things of that nature. So

very cool. You know, I want to talk some of the specifics here. You know, we've got, we've talked a little bit, I think, oh, about a month ago or so The Community Guide. And that was something I think Scott was heavily invested in. Is that going to be? Yeah, you're picking that up as well?

I did. When I first that was kind of my first big, huge project. I did I send it to the printers Right, right before we left for Christmas. So nice. I'm very excited about that. I actually got it back as a proof and, and I was so happy. I was like, Oh, this is almost better than Christmas. So I was super excited about it in and it was a big project. But I really enjoyed it.

What's kind of special about that, though, is that she literally helped write it helped do the photographer pay for it designed work, but her husband is helping print it. So it's kind of a family affair. Yeah, really.

That's the I cuz he's the press operator at Northwestern printers. So I have an inside job or an inside guy that I can ask questions if I needed.

Okay. So what I'm hearing is if somebody finds a typo, we know where to go. Yes. Yes. That is true. That's very cool. And so one of those come out this Community Guides. 

So we will release that for the first time it debuts on our annual banquet every year. So we'll get those into the hands of those folks who attend the banquet, and from there on, distribute them across the community to our hotels, motels, all of our tourist attractions and a lot of our different restaurants in town.

Very cool. Hey, you mentioned that banquet, though. And we should probably talk a little bit about this today. Because those nominations we talked last time. And I know there was a story up on his post that I did for you guys on that. But it's coming up the deadline is this Friday, right for the nominations?

Absolutely. So we have eight awards that we're giving away this year, those nomination forms can be found on our website, it doesn't take very much time, you literally put the person's name on the forum, which award you want to nominate them for and then it's a fillable. PDF. So you can go in and type in why you feel that person or business or organization is deserving of that award, and then just submit those to ACC at Hays chamber.com. And our nomination committee will go through those and we will surprise all of our winners at the banquet on January 25.

That's awesome. Mariah, are you getting to pick the winners? No.

That is one thing that I did not take over, she does get to do a lot of work to plan for that.

I did I actually just finished well, I got the I just got back from the printers the ticket. So I know what the ticket looks like for the banquet. And that was a super fun, kind of first thing for me to do was design that ticket for the banquet and it was something to get my feet wet and kind of show them what I could do. And and I really enjoyed that as well.

That's awesome. Hey, and if you don't have one of those tickets, if you're listening, get your hands on it, because there's just a few left, right, right,

we actually have fewer than 100 tickets left. So they're $60 apiece. But it includes a night full of fun networking socialization. I'm just really getting a chance to be out there with some of the people who make such a big impact on our community every

year. Very cool. Yeah, it's always a fun time. And I'm going to make sure you got so few left. I gotta I'm gonna know right here. So I get my ticket. But anyway, there we go. Got it. Now. Also coming up is the Ag appreciation event. That's later on in January as well.

Right? Yes, actually, next week this Thursday.

Yeah, and Maria, did you get to work on that one as well?

I did. Um, I've made a lot of the signage around for that. I'm working right now on posting videos from all of our barn raisers sponsors, including many nine Ks. Yeah. Yeah. And actually, that one went out yesterday. So you can look at that on our Facebook page. Um, yeah, I've, I've done the videos, I'm working on those working on PowerPoint presentations that will have going at the event. And then all of us have a team as a team have kind of worked together to get things for the swag bags into just all the little fine details that go into it. You know, we have meetings about that and just kind of get it all going.

We have an ambassador committee that's been very instrumental and helping get a lot of those details planned and picked up too. So can we run through where people can go get tickets for that? So of course, 99 KC country Astro bank, you can also go to Kericho implement commerce, bank and equity bank, and then get terrorists Cosina AmEx, econ a trio Taphouse. And then the other three locations for our barberries responses are high plains Farm Credit, insurance planning, and next Tech, Hays Med and MITC are also sponsors but they are opting to not be ticket outlets, obviously, it doesn't have a huge location. So that would make it a little challenging case med. They're just trying to keep our community healthy right now. So probably fewer people going in there that don't need to be in there, the better off we are

probably for the best. Although you know I do always enjoy going in there and seeing that beautiful facility every time I'm in there, you know, it's usually not for a good cause. Yeah. but it is such such a neat, neat place. And then it's uh, yeah, we also

have a few cultivator ticket locations too, just in case any of those other Barney's response was run out of tickets. And those locations are ama course KSU Ag Research Center, Pepsi Cola, and then the TMP FFA chapter, and is also helping with the middle for that and doing some volunteer work. So definitely get your tickets for that event. And next week, Thursday, it'll be from five to 7pm at the shank building on Ellis County Fairgrounds.

Very cool. And get some tickets don't wait. Because there's, if you wait,

it's free to go. You don't have to pay for tickets. You just go get a ticket so we can make sure we have enough food for everybody.

Yeah, yeah. Very cool. Very cool. And such a neat, very new thing for you guys to do that. And we talked about that. And you could get that replay if you're interested. But yeah, you shifted up the time a little bit on this one cuz it used to be in the

in September. Yeah. Yeah. So that's obviously a very busy time for farmers and ranchers. So we thought, let's shift thinks a little bit. So it looks a little bit like we may have, you know, hit our heads and lost track of what we're doing. But I'm very intentional on why and how we are changing the date.

So yeah, makes perfect sense. Well, all right, guys, we've got just a couple minutes left. But from what I understand you've got some new Chamber members down there that we want to talk about before we go.

We do so we had a lot of businesses join us in q4 of 2021. And with all the other things we've had going on, haven't had a chance to welcome them officially. So here's our official welcome wagon to them on the radio, American shooters, Sherry Brown, casual graphics, Chris Glassman Hayes greenhouse, Braden meets the Kiwanis Club of Hays Chuck white, as Special Olympics of Kansas sprint Kaiser. And then the final two are the gamers guild with Brandon NIMS. And then the master Matrice hub with Joe urban. So welcome to all of these folks. Obviously, they can be found on our chamber website at Hays chamber.com. Please feel free to check them out for all your local shopping needs.

Yeah, very cool. Yeah. Interesting list of diverse Yeah, diverse. That's the word and Yeah. Very cool. All right, guys. Well, we've like we're down to just a minute you've got a couple events we want to talk about before we go right.

<div><iframe title="New VP hits the ground running at the Hays Chamber" 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=pj6sx-116f74a-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 the Post Podcast, Hays Chamber president and CEO Sarah Wasinger introduces the new vice president of marketing and communications, Mariah Leglighter.<h2>Transcript</h2>James Bell The Hays Chamber has a new Vice President of Marketing and Communications. President and CEO Sarah Wasinger joins us to introduce Mariah Legleiter on this episode of the posts podcast.Sarah Wasinger So this is Mariah Legleiter, she is our Vice President of Marketing and Communications. We are so thrilled to have her here today. We wanted to give her just a few months to get her feet wet before we kind of hear her into the fire right away. SoJames Bell that seems fair. Mariah, thanks for joining us. Good to see you. Good to meet you.Mariah Legleiter Yeah, it's nice to meet you, too.James Bell So down at the Chamber, you're the new Vice President of Marketing and Communications. I know we talked about your your, what's the word swear word? The last guy in the job that press? Well, I wasn't gonna give his name because I figured he was dead all of us. But no, no, he's great. And he's a really cool role now. But yeah, he used to come on once in a while. So I'm glad that you got to come in as well. And we're gonna talk a little bit about what kind of what you're doing because with Scott, it was a different job than it is now from what we've talked about, right?Sarah Wasinger There's a little painful, but there's gonna be a few little tweaks here and there. And specifically, we shared Scott a little bit with the CVB. before. And with Mariah, we get to keep her full time. So we're very excited about that. Nice. Yes. So Brian, I would love for people at home to know a little bit about your background and expertise. Do you want to share a little bit about yourself?Mariah Legleiter Yeah, I would love to. So I moved to Hays in August of 2012 to continue my education after getting an associate's degree in accounting from Dodge City Community College. And I went to Fort Hays State University graduated there in 2016. I met my husband while I was going to school there, his name is Devin, like LIDAR. And we have a beautiful little girl named Olivia. She goes to school to Laughlin Elementary. And actually, I just realized that this year marks 10 years in haze. So I'm super excited about that. You hit the deck? I did.James Bell I love that. Because you know, so many so many people I know came to haze for four days, just like you the same reason I'm here. And stock. Really, it's a testament to our community. Because I mean, if you if it wasn't a quality of life here, people would just leave. Sarah Wasinger We're catching like that. James Bell Absolutely.Mariah Legleiter I love it here.James Bell Glad to hear so. So you're at the Chamber now. We're gonna talk a little bit about your background, like, what your experiences are. Yeah. Mariah Legleiter So I used to work at Herman physical therapy and wellness. And I did a lot of his marketing and a lot of his social media presence for him. So I just brought all of that experience over to the chamber. And I'm did a lot of his graphic design work, too. And so I'm so looking forward to being able to explore creatively, a little bit further for the chamber, and just be able to do that for them. I'm, I can't wait to do that.Sarah Wasinger Yeah, she brings a lot of different skill sets to the table, she's probably more humble than what she's sharing. But when we were replacing Scott, we were looking at, oh, my gosh, this is quite a diverse job. Who are we going to get he knows how to do video, who knows how to do marketing, who knows how to do writing, and all those things really well. And she's really hit the ground running and has I'm just very much impressed so far.James Bell Awesome. Yeah. Cuz, you know, it is one of those things. And this is exactly what we talked about in the past, right? It's those skill sets, you know, you might have one like a Scott was an amazing graphic designer, and you know, he did all the logo work. But that's a very different skill set than social media, marketing. And you got to kind of find that right fit to get what you need out of it. And the extra is always good, right? Like, I can run a camera. Sure, but I can't shoot video, you know what I mean?Sarah Wasinger Right? So she's been doing such a good job, even if there have been a few things that she's like, Well, I haven't done that. But I'm a very fast learner. She's proved time and time again that yes, indeed, she is a very fast learner. So we couldn't be more happy to have her be a part of our team.James Bell That's awesome. So you know what, down there at the chamber and your experience so far, what's uh, you know, what surprised you the mostMariah Legleiter anything, they, I would say the magnitude of what they have their hands in. I mean, the chamber is does a great job of advocating for the business community on every level. And just how fast paced everything is, like I saw my job before was fast paced, but nope. So but I love that kind of environment. And so I've kind of been thriving in that. And just like she said, hit the ground running like it's been it's been a fun adventure so far.Sarah Wasinger Her heads only spin in circles. She's keeping up.James Bell You know, Sarah, I think a lot of people might struggle to keep up with you, just because you guys do so very much here. I mean, you literally sometimes you'll leave the show here and I'll pop on to Facebook and you're doing a live somewhere you already set up here. And then there's like two more going on that day. It's crazy. Crazy. WeSarah Wasinger have one of the best jobs in the world because we truly get to work with our businesses across the community and make sure that we are pulling resources and people together, giving folks the opportunity to collaborate and We think that it's going to be great to have where I come in and reading up a little bit of what we're doing it with social media and things of that nature. SoJames Bell very cool. You know, I want to talk some of the specifics here. You know, we've got, we've talked a little bit, I think, oh, about a month ago or so The Community Guide. And that was something I think Scott was heavily invested in. Is that going to be? Yeah, you're picking that up as well?Mariah Legleiter I did. When I first that was kind of my first big, huge project. I did I send it to the printers Right, right before we left for Christmas. So nice. I'm very excited about that. I actually got it back as a proof and, and I was so happy. I was like, Oh, this is almost better than Christmas. So I was super excited about it in and it was a big project. But I really enjoyed it.Sarah Wasinger What's kind of special about that, though, is that she literally helped write it helped do the photographer pay for it designed work, but her husband is helping print it. So it's kind of a family affair. Yeah, really.Mariah Legleiter That's the I cuz he's the press operator at Northwestern printers. So I have an inside job or an inside guy that I can ask questions if I needed.James Bell Okay. So what I'm hearing is if somebody finds a typo, we know where to go. Yes. Yes. That is true. That's very cool. And so one of those come out this Community Guides. Sarah Wasinger So we will release that for the first time it debuts on our annual banquet every year. So we'll get those into the hands of those folks who attend the banquet, and from there on, distribute them across the community to our hotels, motels, all of our tourist attractions and a lot of our different restaurants in town.James Bell Very cool. Hey, you mentioned that banquet, though. And we should probably talk a little bit about this today. Because those nominations we talked last time. And I know there was a story up on his post that I did for you guys on that. But it's coming up the deadline is this Friday, right for the nominations?Sarah Wasinger Absolutely. So we have eight awards that we're giving away this year, those nomination forms can be found on our website, it doesn't take very much time, you literally put the person's name on the forum, which award you want to nominate them for and then it's a fillable. PDF. So you can go in and type in why you feel that person or business or organization is deserving of that award, and then just submit those to ACC at Hays chamber.com. And our nomination committee will go through those and we will surprise all of our winners at the banquet on January 25.James Bell That's awesome. Mariah, are you getting to pick the winners? No.Sarah Wasinger That is one thing that I did not take over, she does get to do a lot of work to plan for that.Mariah Legleiter I did I actually just finished well, I got the I just got back from the printers the ticket. So I know what the ticket looks like for the banquet. And that was a super fun, kind of first thing for me to do was design that ticket for the banquet and it was something to get my feet wet and kind of show them what I could do. And and I really enjoyed that as well.James Bell That's awesome. Hey, and if you don't have one of those tickets, if you're listening, get your hands on it, because there's just a few left, right, right,Sarah Wasinger we actually have fewer than 100 tickets left. So they're $60 apiece. But it includes a night full of fun networking socialization. I'm just really getting a chance to be out there with some of the people who make such a big impact on our community everyJames Bell year. Very cool. Yeah, it's always a fun time. And I'm going to make sure you got so few left. I gotta I'm gonna know right here. So I get my ticket. But anyway, there we go. Got it. Now. Also coming up is the Ag appreciation event. That's later on in January as well.Sarah Wasinger Right? Yes, actually, next week this Thursday.James Bell Yeah, and Maria, did you get to work on that one as well?Mariah Legleiter I did. Um, I've made a lot of the signage around for that. I'm working right now on posting videos from all of our barn raisers sponsors, including many nine Ks. Yeah. Yeah. And actually, that one went out yesterday. So you can look at that on our Facebook page. Um, yeah, I've, I've done the videos, I'm working on those working on PowerPoint presentations that will have going at the event. And then all of us have a team as a team have kind of worked together to get things for the swag bags into just all the little fine details that go into it. You know, we have meetings about that and just kind of get it all going.Sarah Wasinger We have an ambassador committee that's been very instrumental and helping get a lot of those details planned and picked up too. So can we run through where people can go get tickets for that? So of course, 99 KC country Astro bank, you can also go to Kericho implement commerce, bank and equity bank, and then get terrorists Cosina AmEx, econ a trio Taphouse. And then the other three locations for our barberries responses are high plains Farm Credit, insurance planning, and next Tech, Hays Med and MITC are also sponsors but they are opting to not be ticket outlets, obviously, it doesn't have a huge location. So that would make it a little challenging case med. They're just trying to keep our community healthy right now. So probably fewer people going in there that don't need to be in there, the better off we areJames Bell probably for the best. Although you know I do always enjoy going in there and seeing that beautiful facility every time I'm in there, you know, it's usually not for a good cause. Yeah. but it is such such a neat, neat place. And then it's uh, yeah, we alsoSarah Wasinger have a few cultivator ticket locations too, just in case any of those other Barney's response was run out of tickets. And those locations are ama course KSU Ag Research Center, Pepsi Cola, and then the TMP FFA chapter, and is also helping with the middle for that and doing some volunteer work. So definitely get your tickets for that event. And next week, Thursday, it'll be from five to 7pm at the shank building on Ellis County Fairgrounds.James Bell Very cool. And get some tickets don't wait. Because there's, if you wait,Sarah Wasinger it's free to go. You don't have to pay for tickets. You just go get a ticket so we can make sure we have enough food for everybody.James Bell Yeah, yeah. Very cool. Very cool. And such a neat, very new thing for you guys to do that. And we talked about that. And you could get that replay if you're interested. But yeah, you shifted up the time a little bit on this one cuz it used to be in theSarah Wasinger in September. Yeah. Yeah. So that's obviously a very busy time for farmers and ranchers. So we thought, let's shift thinks a little bit. So it looks a little bit like we may have, you know, hit our heads and lost track of what we're doing. But I'm very intentional on why and how we are changing the date.James Bell So yeah, makes perfect sense. Well, all right, guys, we've got just a couple minutes left. But from what I understand you've got some new Chamber members down there that we want to talk about before we go.Sarah Wasinger We do so we had a lot of businesses join us in q4 of 2021. And with all the other things we've had going on, haven't had a chance to welcome them officially. So here's our official welcome wagon to them on the radio, American shooters, Sherry Brown, casual graphics, Chris Glassman Hayes greenhouse, Braden meets the Kiwanis Club of Hays Chuck white, as Special Olympics of Kansas sprint Kaiser. And then the final two are the gamers guild with Brandon NIMS. And then the master Matrice hub with Joe urban. So welcome to all of these folks. Obviously, they can be found on our chamber website at Hays chamber.com. Please feel free to check them out for all your local shopping needs.James Bell Yeah, very cool. Yeah. Interesting list of diverse Yeah, diverse. That's the word and Yeah. Very cool. All right, guys. Well, we've like we're down to just a minute you've got a couple events we want to talk about before we go right.Sarah Wasinger The HYP networking and engagement committee will meet to this week Thursday at the Welcome Center at 2700 Vine Street at 1205. We'll also have a ribbon cutting in brick presentation at the port Tavern and patio bar at 4pm at 109 West Seventh Street, and then the HYP Advisory Council will meet Thursday as well at the Welcome Center at 2700 Pine Street at 515. And then Friday, we finished the week off with the Chamber chat, our first one of 2022 with United Way of Ellis camp at the press practice kitchen and cocktails inside of their heritage room at 230 East Eighth Street at 9am. And then our Ambassadors will have their lunch and noon arrows are catering.

🎙Post Podcast: New VP hits the ground running at the Hays Chamber

Hays USD 489 bond forum scheduled for Wednesday

In the last year, a new product popped up in stores across
Ellis County.

Found on shelves in local convenience and liquor stores,
Delta-8 products were being sold in a variety of forms, from edible to vape-based.

Often found near CBD or nicotine-based products,
Delta-8 has been readily available for months across the state.

But while the product was being openly purchased and consumed,
recent guidance from the Ellis County Attorney and Kansas Attorney General Derek
Schmidt clarified Delta-8 is illegal to sell and possess in Kansas.

After informing area businesses of the new clarification, most shops in the county have removed the product from their shelves, but now
Ellis County Attorney Robert Anderson, warned those that continue to sell or possess
the product are now in clear violation of the law.

“Over the last 18 to 24 months across the state of Kansas, businesses have been begun selling hemp-derived Delta-8 THC products — vape
pens, gummies, candy, etc.” Anderson said. “These products are typically
anywhere between 60-99 percent concentrated Delta-8 THC. Arguably, these
products were legal prior to the April 29 amendment. After the law was amended,
there was a lot of confusion concerning whether or not these products in
particular were now legal or illegal.”

He said his department has interpreted the change in law to
mean that these products are now illegal, but had not taken action against
those in violation.

“On Dec. 2, the Kansas Attorney General issued an opinion
on this very topic and concluded that these products are illegal,” Anderson
said. “A recent criminal case in Ellis County took up this issue as well. A
district court judge in the 23rd Judicial District found, among other things,
that for a hemp product to be lawful, it must contain a total THC concentration
of less than 0.3 percent. Bottom line: Hemp-derived Delta-8 THC products are
illegal.”

Delta-8 came to prominence as a THC product, often thought
of as a lighter version of traditional marijuana, processed from hemp, that
carried inherent benefits of use, without the psychotropic effects.

While Delta-8 is found in small amounts marijuana, along
with other cannabinoids, the chemical in marijuana that is most closely
associated with getting “high” is another cannabinoid, Delta-9.

While Delta-8 does not inherently carry the same potency as
Delta-9, it was the manufacturing process that created the original confusion
around the legality of the product.

When Kansas approved the production of hemp products, the
process of extracting Delta-8 from hemp was also thought to be legal.

But now the recent guidance clarifies, possessing, or
selling products with THC above the 0.3 percent legal limit, in any form, is not
legal in Kansas, no matter how it was manufactured.

“This is no longer just my interpretation of the law,”
Anderson said in a letter to local business last week. “On Dec. 2, the
Kansas Attorney General, Derek Schmidt, issued an opinion on this very topic.
His opinion was nearly identical to mine and clearly stated that these products
are illegal. … That judge found that any hemp product containing THC levels
exceeding 0.3 percent are illegal. Additionally, that defendant was convicted
of unlawful possession of tetrahydrocannabinols, a severity level 5
drug felony.” 

Within days of the letter being issued, most sellers had
removed the product from their shelves in Hays, but for those that did not, Anderson warned the leniency due to the questionable legality surrounding the
product has ended.

“For nearly a year now, law enforcement has been ready to
take legal action against those possessing, selling, and/or distributing
Delta-8 THC products — because they have a duty to enforce the law,” Anderson
said. “Until now, this office has given local businesses every opportunity to
comply with the law and has operated under the premise that I could very well
be interpreting the law incorrectly. Now that authorities higher than myself
have weighed in, this office cannot continue to request that law enforcement in
Ellis County not act.

“Ellis County law enforcement officers now have clear
direction from higher authorities than this office who have determined that these
products are illegal. As such, law enforcement officers in Ellis County have a
legal obligation to seize these products as illegal contraband and have
authority to arrest those in possession, or those who are distributing and/or
selling these products.”

Anderson said, while the recent guidance completely
clarifies the issue, he has warned businesses in the area for months that it
was his opinion that selling Delta-8 products was a violation of the law.

“It's (their) duty to ensure that your products comply with
the law,” Anderson said. “And I kind of spelled it out for (them). I go, 'Look,
we're not going to do anything right now, but probably should be hesitant.' And
to my knowledge, only one place got rid of the stuff.”

Now it is the duty of law enforcement to act to
stop the sale of Delta-8 or any THC product that is over the 0.3 percent limit,
he said.

“Law enforcement has a duty and obligation to seize illegal
contraband, and they can't just see it and look the other way and ignore it and
decide not to do anything about it,” Anderson said. “So now that that now that
law enforcement has clear direction, from the attorney general, from the old
county attorney, and from a judge in the 23rd Judicial District, I feel like
they have an obligation to seize that stuff that they are aware that of its
present.”

He said that could include search warrants and seizure of
illegal contraband in those businesses that continue to violate the law.

“Any time you are in possession of illegal contraband with
the intent to distribute it, it elevates the stakes,” Anderson said. “Now,
those, those felonies on the drug grid, that involve distribution are dependent
upon quantity. But that's simply having possession of it with intent to
distribute, even if you have just a little bit elevates the stakes from just
simple possession.”

Anderson said those that are currently in possession of
any Delta-8 products should get rid of them, as even what was thought to have
been a legal purchase can lead to a drug possession charge.

“From my view, we've given everyone as much cushion on this
as we possibly can,” he said. And it's just at the point where ... now we
can be pretty certain that I've been correct all along. And now we have a duty
to act. We have a duty to enforce the laws.”

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/1/1641305014931.jpg" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>By JAMES BELL Hays PostIn the last year, a new product popped up in stores across
Ellis County.Found on shelves in local convenience and liquor stores,
Delta-8 products were being sold in a variety of forms, from edible to vape-based.Often found near CBD or nicotine-based products,
Delta-8 has been readily available for months across the state.But while the product was being openly purchased and consumed,
recent guidance from the Ellis County Attorney and Kansas Attorney General Derek
Schmidt clarified Delta-8 is illegal to sell and possess in Kansas.After informing area businesses of the new clarification, most shops in the county have removed the product from their shelves, but now
Ellis County Attorney Robert Anderson, warned those that continue to sell or possess
the product are now in clear violation of the law.“Over the last 18 to 24 months across the state of Kansas, businesses have been begun selling hemp-derived Delta-8 THC products — vape
pens, gummies, candy, etc.” Anderson said. “These products are typically
anywhere between 60-99 percent concentrated Delta-8 THC. Arguably, these
products were legal prior to the April 29 amendment. After the law was amended,
there was a lot of confusion concerning whether or not these products in
particular were now legal or illegal.”He said his department has interpreted the change in law to
mean that these products are now illegal, but had not taken action against
those in violation.But that grace ends now.“On Dec. 2, the Kansas Attorney General issued an opinion
on this very topic and concluded that these products are illegal,” Anderson
said. “A recent criminal case in Ellis County took up this issue as well. A
district court judge in the 23rd Judicial District found, among other things,
that for a hemp product to be lawful, it must contain a total THC concentration
of less than 0.3 percent. Bottom line: Hemp-derived Delta-8 THC products are
illegal.”Delta-8 came to prominence as a THC product, often thought
of as a lighter version of traditional marijuana, processed from hemp, that
carried inherent benefits of use, without the psychotropic effects.While Delta-8 is found in small amounts marijuana, along
with other cannabinoids, the chemical in marijuana that is most closely
associated with getting “high” is another cannabinoid, Delta-9.While Delta-8 does not inherently carry the same potency as
Delta-9, it was the manufacturing process that created the original confusion
around the legality of the product.When Kansas approved the production of hemp products, the
process of extracting Delta-8 from hemp was also thought to be legal.But now the recent guidance clarifies, possessing, or
selling products with THC above the 0.3 percent legal limit, in any form, is not
legal in Kansas, no matter how it was manufactured.“This is no longer just my interpretation of the law,”
Anderson said in a letter to local business last week. “On Dec. 2, the
Kansas Attorney General, Derek Schmidt, issued an opinion on this very topic.
His opinion was nearly identical to mine and clearly stated that these products
are illegal. … That judge found that any hemp product containing THC levels
exceeding 0.3 percent are illegal. Additionally, that defendant was convicted
of unlawful possession of tetrahydrocannabinols, a severity level 5
drug felony.” Within days of the letter being issued, most sellers had
removed the product from their shelves in Hays, but for those that did not, Anderson warned the leniency due to the questionable legality surrounding the
product has ended.“For nearly a year now, law enforcement has been ready to
take legal action against those possessing, selling, and/or distributing
Delta-8 THC products — because they have a duty to enforce the law,” Anderson
said. “Until now, this office has given local businesses every opportunity to
comply with the law and has operated under the premise that I could very well
be interpreting the law incorrectly. Now that authorities higher than myself
have weighed in, this office cannot continue to request that law enforcement in
Ellis County not act.“Ellis County law enforcement officers now have clear
direction from higher authorities than this office who have determined that these
products are illegal. As such, law enforcement officers in Ellis County have a
legal obligation to seize these products as illegal contraband and have
authority to arrest those in possession, or those who are distributing and/or
selling these products.”Anderson said, while the recent guidance completely
clarifies the issue, he has warned businesses in the area for months that it
was his opinion that selling Delta-8 products was a violation of the law.“It's (their) duty to ensure that your products comply with
the law,” Anderson said. “And I kind of spelled it out for (them). I go, 'Look,
we're not going to do anything right now, but probably should be hesitant.' And
to my knowledge, only one place got rid of the stuff.”Now it is the duty of law enforcement to act to
stop the sale of Delta-8 or any THC product that is over the 0.3 percent limit,
he said.“Law enforcement has a duty and obligation to seize illegal
contraband, and they can't just see it and look the other way and ignore it and
decide not to do anything about it,” Anderson said. “So now that that now that
law enforcement has clear direction, from the attorney general, from the old
county attorney, and from a judge in the 23rd Judicial District, I feel like
they have an obligation to seize that stuff that they are aware that of its
present.”He said that could include search warrants and seizure of
illegal contraband in those businesses that continue to violate the law.“Any time you are in possession of illegal contraband with
the intent to distribute it, it elevates the stakes,” Anderson said. “Now,
those, those felonies on the drug grid, that involve distribution are dependent
upon quantity. But that's simply having possession of it with intent to
distribute, even if you have just a little bit elevates the stakes from just
simple possession.”Anderson said those that are currently in possession of
any Delta-8 products should get rid of them, as even what was thought to have
been a legal purchase can lead to a drug possession charge.“From my view, we've given everyone as much cushion on this
as we possibly can,” he said. And it's just at the point where ... now we
can be pretty certain that I've been correct all along. And now we have a duty
to act. We have a duty to enforce the laws.”Cover image courtesy Pixabay.

Ellis Co. Attorney warns Delta-8 illegal; pulled from area stores

By CRISTINA JANNEY Hays Post

President Joe Biden's vaccine mandate for all Head Start employees was blocked by a federal judge Saturday.

However, it will likely have little effect on Hays USD 489.

<a href="https://hayspost.com/posts/191f5d2c-1d0a-4afd-ab71-840ed6be39d0">In anticipation of the mandate, the district implemented its own vaccine policy in November.</a>

As of Tuesday, Superintendent Ron Wilson said 97 percent of the staff had either been vaccinated against COVID-19 or received a religious or medical exemption.

He wrote in an email no employees had been fired or transferred as a result of the policy.

Wilson said the program will continue to follow the USD 489 Mitigation Strategies. The Office of Head Start has advised USD 489 that programs in the litigation (including Kansas) do not need to comply with the Interim Final Rule pending future developments in the litigation.

<a href="https://hayspost.com/posts/79f1c284-1791-437b-9860-efe3cfd23b36">A Louisiana federal judge ruled Saturday the Biden administration unlawfully bypassed Congress&nbsp;when
 ordering&nbsp; workers in Head Start programs be vaccinated by Jan. 31 
and that students 2 years or older be masked when indoors or when in 
close contact outdoors, according to the Associated Press.</a>

Head Start is federally funded. It serves children who are younger than 6 and come from low-income families.

Kansas was one of 24 states that sued to block the mandate.

The federal government could appeal to the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans, according to the AP.

Wilson said in his email Tuesday, "Should the vaccine mandate for Head Start employees require us to enforce at some point, we feel we have taken the necessary steps to ensure that all of our employees are prepared for this mandate."

The mandate would have affected 90 people. About 54 percent of the staff had been vaccinated as of Nov. 22. Wilson said in his email the vaccine policy passed by the USD 489 board increased the vaccination rate among staff.

As COVID-19 cases continue to surge across the United States, Ellis County reported 77 new cases and an additional death since Dec. 29.

Wilson was asked if he had any concerns about children returning to school after Christmas break.

"I think we always have had concerns about coming back from any break that we have had since we have started dealing with COVID, so this will be no different," he said. "We will continue to monitor what is happening in our schools daily and make the best decisions on how to control any potential spread of the COVID virus."  

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2021/11/1637256854475.jpg" alt=" " />
 <figcaption> </figcaption>
 </figure>By CRISTINA JANNEY Hays PostPresident Joe Biden's vaccine mandate for all Head Start employees was blocked by a federal judge Saturday.However, it will likely have little effect on Hays USD 489.<a href="https://hayspost.com/posts/191f5d2c-1d0a-4afd-ab71-840ed6be39d0">In anticipation of the mandate, the district implemented its own vaccine policy in November.</a>As of Tuesday, Superintendent Ron Wilson said 97 percent of the staff had either been vaccinated against COVID-19 or received a religious or medical exemption.He wrote in an email no employees had been fired or transferred as a result of the policy.Wilson said the program will continue to follow the USD 489 Mitigation Strategies. The Office of Head Start has advised USD 489 that programs in the litigation (including Kansas) do not need to comply with the Interim Final Rule pending future developments in the litigation.<a href="https://hayspost.com/posts/79f1c284-1791-437b-9860-efe3cfd23b36">A Louisiana federal judge ruled Saturday the Biden administration unlawfully bypassed Congress&nbsp;when
 ordering&nbsp; workers in Head Start programs be vaccinated by Jan. 31 
and that students 2 years or older be masked when indoors or when in 
close contact outdoors, according to the Associated Press.</a>Head Start is federally funded. It serves children who are younger than 6 and come from low-income families.Kansas was one of 24 states that sued to block the mandate.The federal government could appeal to the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans, according to the AP.Wilson said in his email Tuesday, "Should the vaccine mandate for Head Start employees require us to enforce at some point, we feel we have taken the necessary steps to ensure that all of our employees are prepared for this mandate."The mandate would have affected 90 people. About 54 percent of the staff had been vaccinated as of Nov. 22. Wilson said in his email the vaccine policy passed by the USD 489 board increased the vaccination rate among staff.As COVID-19 cases continue to surge across the United States, Ellis County reported 77 new cases and an additional death since Dec. 29.Wilson was asked if he had any concerns about children returning to school after Christmas break. "I think we always have had concerns about coming back from any break that we have had since we have started dealing with COVID, so this will be no different," he said. "We will continue to monitor what is happening in our schools daily and make the best decisions on how to control any potential spread of the COVID virus."

USD 489 Head Start vaccinations up, despite blocked mandate 

By JACKIE MUNDT Pratt&nbsp;County farmer and rancher Social media has been full recently of the typical posts about what people are hoping to accomplish in 2022. These posts bring to mind something I read discussing how people who want to start or break habits are more likely to succeed if they start on first days — the first day of the week, month or especially the year. This is the presumed intention of a New Year’s resolutions: to tackle a goal or change that you have wanted or needed in your life. The reason people are more successful on these first days, according to the article, is the fresh start makes them more likely to hold themselves accountable. They still face the same obstacles, struggles and temptations as any other day, but it comes down choosing to change and internal determination to stick to it.&nbsp; The choice to persevere in the face of adversity is what matters when it comes to changing your life or accomplishment you will cherish. Things that come easy usually only offer a moment of enjoyment; hard-fought success brings a satisfaction that grows and sustains. A universal hope for 2022 is the pandemic ending and life returning to normalcy or predictability. Jan. 1, 2022 has come and gone but the post-pandemic life is still a dream on the horizon. Unfortunately, normalcy will not happen with the convenient motivation of a scheduled fresh-start date. So how will we know the right time to start the long lists of things we are going to change or accomplish when the pandemic is over? &nbsp; I am going to draw one last lesson from my trip to the Baltics with Kansas Farm Bureau’s Casten Fellows program last summer. Many of you have read about the inspiration I have gained from the cooperation, professionalism and pride shown by the Baltic people. However, these qualities are unremarkable if not examined in the context of the oppression and tumultuous history of occupation endured over centuries by these people. The Baltic people have a strong spirit and determination to protect their culture, traditions and language. We heard a first-hand account on the trip of the Baltic Way protest against Soviet occupation, which took place in 1989 as 2 million Baltic people joined hands in peaceful protest forming a human chain that spanned more than 400 miles across all three states. When the protests paid off and the countries gained freedom two years later, their economies collapsed without the collective contributions and infrastructure of all the Soviets states. We toured many businesses started with little or no relevant experience but plenty of understanding of fear and deprivation, which made failure seem somewhat insignificant. The most unexpected culture component was a shared national sense of humor. The style varied between countries from highly self-deprecating to too much truth to be anywhere near politically correct in others. One local described humor as the way they dealt with the realities of life saying, “at some point you can’t be sad or worried anymore, you just have to laugh about it.” &nbsp; Instead of waiting for the official end of the pandemic or New Year’s Day 2023, I think we should try to live like the Baltic people today. We can turn our dreams and beliefs into reality with our actions, not letting fear hold us back, and most importantly, having the ability to laugh at ourselves as we go.

"Insight" is a weekly column published by Kansas Farm Bureau, the state's largest farm organization whose mission is to strengthen agriculture and the lives of Kansans through advocacy, education and service.&nbsp;

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2019/12/1575406519723.jpeg" alt="Jackie Mundt" />
 <figcaption>Jackie Mundt</figcaption>
 </figure>By JACKIE MUNDT Pratt&nbsp;County farmer and rancher Social media has been full recently of the typical posts about what people are hoping to accomplish in 2022. These posts bring to mind something I read discussing how people who want to start or break habits are more likely to succeed if they start on first days — the first day of the week, month or especially the year. This is the presumed intention of a New Year’s resolutions: to tackle a goal or change that you have wanted or needed in your life. The reason people are more successful on these first days, according to the article, is the fresh start makes them more likely to hold themselves accountable. They still face the same obstacles, struggles and temptations as any other day, but it comes down choosing to change and internal determination to stick to it.&nbsp; The choice to persevere in the face of adversity is what matters when it comes to changing your life or accomplishment you will cherish. Things that come easy usually only offer a moment of enjoyment; hard-fought success brings a satisfaction that grows and sustains. A universal hope for 2022 is the pandemic ending and life returning to normalcy or predictability. Jan. 1, 2022 has come and gone but the post-pandemic life is still a dream on the horizon. Unfortunately, normalcy will not happen with the convenient motivation of a scheduled fresh-start date. So how will we know the right time to start the long lists of things we are going to change or accomplish when the pandemic is over? &nbsp; I am going to draw one last lesson from my trip to the Baltics with Kansas Farm Bureau’s Casten Fellows program last summer. Many of you have read about the inspiration I have gained from the cooperation, professionalism and pride shown by the Baltic people. However, these qualities are unremarkable if not examined in the context of the oppression and tumultuous history of occupation endured over centuries by these people. The Baltic people have a strong spirit and determination to protect their culture, traditions and language. We heard a first-hand account on the trip of the Baltic Way protest against Soviet occupation, which took place in 1989 as 2 million Baltic people joined hands in peaceful protest forming a human chain that spanned more than 400 miles across all three states. When the protests paid off and the countries gained freedom two years later, their economies collapsed without the collective contributions and infrastructure of all the Soviets states. We toured many businesses started with little or no relevant experience but plenty of understanding of fear and deprivation, which made failure seem somewhat insignificant. The most unexpected culture component was a shared national sense of humor. The style varied between countries from highly self-deprecating to too much truth to be anywhere near politically correct in others. One local described humor as the way they dealt with the realities of life saying, “at some point you can’t be sad or worried anymore, you just have to laugh about it.” &nbsp; Instead of waiting for the official end of the pandemic or New Year’s Day 2023, I think we should try to live like the Baltic people today. We can turn our dreams and beliefs into reality with our actions, not letting fear hold us back, and most importantly, having the ability to laugh at ourselves as we go."Insight" is a weekly column published by Kansas Farm Bureau, the state's largest farm organization whose mission is to strengthen agriculture and the lives of Kansans through advocacy, education and service.&nbsp;

Kansas Farm Bureau Insight: A fresh start

<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/2022/1/1641337712369.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

The Hays High Indians travel to Pratt Tuesday night to begin the post-holiday portion of their schedule.

The girls game will tipoff at approximately 6:00 p.m. with the boys to follow at about 7:30 p.m.

Click the player below or click&nbsp;<a href="https://vcloud.blueframetech.com/broadcast/embed/340774">HERE&nbsp;</a>to view the game. You can also download the Team1Sports app for your phone or connected device, including smart TVs.

The Hays High Indians travel to Pratt Tuesday night to begin the post-holiday portion of their schedule.The girls game will tipoff at approximately 6:00 p.m. with the boys to follow at about 7:30 p.m.Click the player below or click&nbsp;<a href="https://vcloud.blueframetech.com/broadcast/embed/340774">HERE&nbsp;</a>to view the game. You can also download the Team1Sports app for your phone or connected device, including smart TVs.<div><iframe src="https://vcloud.blueframetech.com/broadcast/embed/340774?autoplay=1" width="640" height="360" allow="fullscreen;" style="border:0;overflow:hidden;"></iframe></div>

🏀🎥 WATCH LIVE Hays High at Pratt

PAWNEE COUNTY– Larned State Hospital (LSH) official notified Pawnee County law enforcement at 11:30 p.m. Monday that a patient had absconded from the Crisis Stabilization Unit on the Campus of Larned State Hospital, according to Pawnee County Attorney Doug McNett. 

An electronic notification was then sent to area residents to be on alert.

The patient was later identified as Isaac Nathaniel Watts, 43 of Ulysses. 

He had been at LSH since December 4, 2021, on an involuntary civil commitment for care and treatment. He was also subject to a hold by the Grant County Sheriff for charges of felony Attempted Second Degree Murder and Aggravated Kidnapping.

Watts, along with a female accomplice, were taken into custody in Finney County at approximately 11:00 a.m. Tuesday without incident by the Garden City Police Department. 

The two remain in the custody of Finney County Detention Center pending formal charging decisions.

The specific details of his escape and any assistance he may have received are subject to an ongoing criminal investigation.

Under Kansas law, a “mentally ill person subject to involuntary commitment for care and treatment” means a mentally ill person who also lacks capacity to make an informed decision concerning treatment, is likely to cause harm to self or others, and whose diagnosis is not solely one of the following mental disorders: Alcohol or chemical substance abuse; antisocial personality disorder; intellectual disability; organic personality syndrome; or an organic mental disorder.

PAWNEE COUNTY - Through help of Finney County agencies, 43-year-old Isaac Nathaniel Watts, was located and placed into custody, according to a social media report from the Pawnee Co. Sheriff.

PAWNEE COUNTY– Isaac Nathaniel Watts, a 43-year-old patient on a court-ordered Care and Treatment Order through Pawnee County, Kan. and a hold order from Grant County, Kan., walked away Monday night from Larned State Hospital (LSH) and is currently considered absent without leave, according to a statement from Kansas Dept. of Aging and Disability Services. 

Watts, charged with kidnapping and attempted second-degree murder, was being held in the hospital’s crisis stabilization unit (CSU).

Watts was seen on video walking out of the CSU at approximately 9 p.m. wearing multiple layers of clothing, including blue jeans and a state-issued jean jacket. 

Watts’s elopement violates the court-ordered hold, making this a criminal investigation led by the Pawnee County Sheriff’s office in cooperation with the LSH Special Investigator.

“I have been in constant contact with the superintendent and leadership team at Larned and am monitoring the progress of the situation each moment,” Kansas Department for Aging and Disability Services Secretary Laura Howard said. “We are working closely with local law enforcement to ensure Mr. Watts is detained without delay or incident”

Watts is 5 feet 6 inches tall and weighs 161 pounds. He has a multiple tattoos, including a cross on his upper right arm, a spider on his abdomen, a “Tiki” figure on his upper left arm, an owl and roses on his left forearm, a bible ad roses on his left upper back and a scorpion on his left calf. The Pawnee County Sheriff was alerted to the situation. The Kansas Highway Patrol has also been notified.

LSH and KDADS officials are fully cooperating with law enforcement’s ongoing investigation.&nbsp;

PAWNEE COUNTY—Authorities are working to capture a man who walked away from the Larned State Hospital.

According to Pawnee County Sheriff Scott King, attempted second degree murder and kidnapping suspect Isaac N. Watts 43, of Grant County walked away from the Larned State Hospital on Monday night.

Authorities know where he is and are close to taking him into custody, according to King.&nbsp; Authorities don't think he is a predator.&nbsp;

Deputies arrested Watts on November 29 in connection with a domestic situation, according to Grant&nbsp; County Sheriff James Biddle and he was sent to Larned State Hospital for a mental evaluation.

The Kansas Department of Aging and Disability Services is expected to release additional details on the escape later Tuesday.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/1/1641330344451.png" alt="Watts-photo Finney County" />
 <figcaption>Watts-photo Finney County</figcaption>
 </figure>PAWNEE COUNTY– Larned State Hospital (LSH) official notified Pawnee County law enforcement at 11:30 p.m. Monday that a patient had absconded from the Crisis Stabilization Unit on the Campus of Larned State Hospital, according to Pawnee County Attorney Doug McNett. An electronic notification was then sent to area residents to be on alert.The patient was later identified as Isaac Nathaniel Watts, 43 of Ulysses. He had been at LSH since December 4, 2021, on an involuntary civil commitment for care and treatment. He was also subject to a hold by the Grant County Sheriff for charges of felony Attempted Second Degree Murder and Aggravated Kidnapping.Watts, along with a female accomplice, were taken into custody in Finney County at approximately 11:00 a.m. Tuesday without incident by the Garden City Police Department. The two remain in the custody of Finney County Detention Center pending formal charging decisions.The specific details of his escape and any assistance he may have received are subject to an ongoing criminal investigation.Under Kansas law, a “mentally ill person subject to involuntary commitment for care and treatment” means a mentally ill person who also lacks capacity to make an informed decision concerning treatment, is likely to cause harm to self or others, and whose diagnosis is not solely one of the following mental disorders: Alcohol or chemical substance abuse; antisocial personality disorder; intellectual disability; organic personality syndrome; or an organic mental disorder.----------PAWNEE COUNTY - Through help of Finney County agencies, 43-year-old Isaac Nathaniel Watts, was located and placed into custody, according to a social media report from the Pawnee Co. Sheriff.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/1/1641315388419.png" alt="Watts from a 2006 arrest -Grant Co. Sheriff" />
 <figcaption>Watts from a 2006 arrest -Grant Co. Sheriff</figcaption>
 </figure>-----PAWNEE COUNTY– Isaac Nathaniel Watts, a 43-year-old patient on a court-ordered Care and Treatment Order through Pawnee County, Kan. and a hold order from Grant County, Kan., walked away Monday night from Larned State Hospital (LSH) and is currently considered absent without leave, according to a statement from Kansas Dept. of Aging and Disability Services. Watts, charged with kidnapping and attempted second-degree murder, was being held in the hospital’s crisis stabilization unit (CSU).Watts was seen on video walking out of the CSU at approximately 9 p.m. wearing multiple layers of clothing, including blue jeans and a state-issued jean jacket. Watts’s elopement violates the court-ordered hold, making this a criminal investigation led by the Pawnee County Sheriff’s office in cooperation with the LSH Special Investigator.“I have been in constant contact with the superintendent and leadership team at Larned and am monitoring the progress of the situation each moment,” Kansas Department for Aging and Disability Services Secretary Laura Howard said. “We are working closely with local law enforcement to ensure Mr. Watts is detained without delay or incident”Watts is 5 feet 6 inches tall and weighs 161 pounds. He has a multiple tattoos, including a cross on his upper right arm, a spider on his abdomen, a “Tiki” figure on his upper left arm, an owl and roses on his left forearm, a bible ad roses on his left upper back and a scorpion on his left calf. The Pawnee County Sheriff was alerted to the situation. The Kansas Highway Patrol has also been notified.LSH and KDADS officials are fully cooperating with law enforcement’s ongoing investigation.&nbsp;PAWNEE COUNTY—Authorities are working to capture a man who walked away from the Larned State Hospital.According to Pawnee County Sheriff Scott King, attempted second degree murder and kidnapping suspect Isaac N. Watts 43, of Grant County walked away from the Larned State Hospital on Monday night.Authorities know where he is and are close to taking him into custody, according to King.&nbsp; Authorities don't think he is a predator.&nbsp;Deputies arrested Watts on November 29 in connection with a domestic situation, according to Grant&nbsp; County Sheriff James Biddle and he was sent to Larned State Hospital for a mental evaluation.The Kansas Department of Aging and Disability Services is expected to release additional details on the escape later Tuesday.

Escapee from Larned State Hospital had female accomplice

The National Weather Service is warning of more snow and dangerously low temperatures in northwest Kansas this week.

According to NWS forecasters in Goodland, snow is expected to develop Wednesday afternoon and continue through Thursday night. Snowfall of 1 to 4 inches is expected, mostly north of Interstate 70.

Wind chills Wednesday night and Thursday morning are predicted to dip to nearly 20 below zero in areas, with Hays projected to drop to 14 below zero. North winds could gust up to 50 mph.

In the Hays area, there is an 80 percent chance of snow Wednesday night, dropping to 50 percent by Thursday morning. New accumulation of 1 to 2 inches is possible before skies clear Thursday afternoon.

Check Hays Post and tune into your Eagle Radio of Hays stations for the latest on severe weather and cancellations.

<div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">Snow will develop Wednesday afternoon and continue through Wednesday night, ending early Thursday morning. Snow amounts of 1 to 4 inches are expected north of Interstate 70, with highest amounts in southwest Nebraska. Less snow is expected south of the Interstate. <a href="https://t.co/W8cFKUcJdT">pic.twitter.com/W8cFKUcJdT</a>&mdash; NWS Goodland (@NWSGoodland) <a href="https://twitter.com/NWSGoodland/status/1478309154167033857?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 4, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script> </div>The National Weather Service is warning of more snow and dangerously low temperatures in northwest Kansas this week.According to NWS forecasters in Goodland, snow is expected to develop Wednesday afternoon and continue through Thursday night. Snowfall of 1 to 4 inches is expected, mostly north of Interstate 70.Wind chills Wednesday night and Thursday morning are predicted to dip to nearly 20 below zero in areas, with Hays projected to drop to 14 below zero. North winds could gust up to 50 mph.In the Hays area, there is an 80 percent chance of snow Wednesday night, dropping to 50 percent by Thursday morning. New accumulation of 1 to 2 inches is possible before skies clear Thursday afternoon.Check Hays Post and tune into your Eagle Radio of Hays stations for the latest on severe weather and cancellations.<div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">Dangerously cold wind chills as low as 20 below will occur Wednesday night and Thursday morning. <a href="https://t.co/YgIpVj6NGF">pic.twitter.com/YgIpVj6NGF</a>&mdash; NWS Goodland (@NWSGoodland) <a href="https://twitter.com/NWSGoodland/status/1478313418381611008?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 4, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script> </div>

NWS: More snow, cold air on the way to NW Kansas

On this episode of the Post Podcast Thomas More Prep-Marian principal, Chad Meitner stops by to talk about the start of the spring semester.

James Bell &nbsp; Thomas More Prep-Marian in Hays is set to kick off their spring semester this week principal Chad Meitner stops by to talk to us about that and more on this episode of the post podcast

Chad Meitner &nbsp; Ready or not, it's time to get back into the swing of things. Our teachers are actually an in service training, as we speak, are working hard to prepare for the kids who come back tomorrow. So I doubt any students are listening this early. But if you are, I'm glad to hear you're already up and about Adam, you're getting ready for tomorrow.

James Bell &nbsp; They're not up. I wouldn't be up if I was them anyway. No, no, no, no, but that's very cool. You know, and we talked, you know, as you were wrapping up the semester, bad or no back in I think late November, and things are going pretty well in the school year. Right. I mean, overall.

Chad Meitner &nbsp; Yeah, yeah, we've talked a little bit about, you know, it's still the pandemic COVID issues, but yet, it's much more manageable. And I would say a light version of what we had in 2020 21. school year. So it's, it's yeah, things are rolling right along. And it's into that point where you don't have to think about all those things that can go wrong. You're just more focused on the routine things that are happening, like, you know, we're getting ready has school starts up tomorrow, we've, of course, the activities quickly follow. We'll have wrestling on Thursday, and in basketball starting on Friday, right away this week. And that's good, because you never want too much unstructured time for any of us, especially for our teenagers and our students who who do better when they're interacting with each other and doing activities.

James Bell &nbsp; Oh, sure. And especially Yeah, you know, I feel like those the athletics, you know, all of the activities kind of keep you busy. But the athletics, especially for those athletes that are that they hit that downtime, they kind of like, Oh, what do I do with myself, you know, and it's, it's really easy to just like, let it slide. And then you got to fight your way back into conditioning.

Chad Meitner &nbsp; Oh, if you've been in out for sports at the high school level, you know, that that Christmas time period where you're just all you do is kind of practice but then you're also celebrating, so you're eating a lot of rich foods and sleeping late. Yeah, coming back to get in the swing of things is a little bit of a shock. But once you get back into it, it's nice. And it's the fun time of the basketball season. I think it's when you start getting in the league games, and it's a little more exciting. So the kids will have home games to go to little kids to the big kids, they all come out and it's nice to get in the Fieldhouse and have some excitement to get together again.

James Bell &nbsp; Yeah, absolutely. But it's not just athletics, you've got some, you know, the academic activities kicking up as well, right?

Chad Meitner &nbsp; Oh, yeah, those those will kick in as well. We've got chess team, our chess team pretty much competes every Saturday, which that's a sacrifice in itself. If you think about it in high school and junior high, given up you're not every Saturday, but during the season, almost every Saturday to go compete. And of course, there's still a lot of online tournaments. It's kind of a holdover from COVID that I think people like because you're not having to travel as far. Sometimes we travel all the way to Lawrence or which Topher tournament, so there's still some in person tournaments, but they also still do a lot of virtual tournaments in our schools. So they have won this Saturday, scholars bowl that's kicking off as well. They've had some early season events, but the scholars bowl kick right and get right back into it. They have a tournament in Hutchison the JV does next Tuesday. So yeah, whether you're athletics or academics, it's time to get back and focus on that and get into that routine. Very

James Bell &nbsp; cool. And you guys have some, some extra curricular kind of special events coming up that we want to talk about as well. A march for life, I believe is coming up. Oh, here in a couple of weeks, right.

Chad Meitner &nbsp; Yeah, that's a that's a big deal. For us. It's an annual pilgrimage, I'd say because it's, it's yeah, it's an experience. It's like a field trip. But it's also kind of a spiritual growth activity for our kids, right to say, we're put on this earth to not just be about ourselves, but to be about our community and our fellow man. And so that's an opportunity for the kids to get on a bus together, go on a long bus ride, which you know, us older folks, maybe don't think a long bus ride sounds exciting, but for the kids to get out of Hayes to get out of Kansas, to go see a part of our country to do it as a community. And then to do it for a good cause to say, hey, we're out here to support life and all of its stages and all of its forms. And so they'll head off to DC they'll get on the bus on January 19. And they'll get back on the 23rd that Sunday and then jump right back into school. Very cool.

James Bell &nbsp; And what are like a beautiful time of year to go to DC I mean, I know a few we're out you're out there in July August. Well, yeah, I mean, oh, hopefully but that he that humidity out there who?

Chad Meitner &nbsp; Yeah, who gets you? Yeah, as long as you don't get like a big snowstorm coming in DC is a beautiful place even in January. Sometimes you get some mild, sunny days and it's beautiful and so the kids get to go out in March. See a lot of the sights that that you see on TV and that are really important to the history of our country. And so it's an educational, a religious, a community activity all in one. Awesome.

James Bell &nbsp; And I think we also want to talk a little bit about this. The monarch, Fred Day is coming up later on in January, right?

Chad Meitner &nbsp; Yeah, actually two days. So this is a big piece of news for anybody who's got a fifth, sixth, or even seventh and eighth grader, who is maybe in the running to attend Thomas Moore prep Marian. A lot of times if if they're not already attending Holy Family, they might be considering where they're going to go to high school or junior high. And so this is the day to come check us out to come meet the teachers to meet some of the other students. We run them through different activities, get them exposed to some of the sights and sounds of our school, and hang out with have lunch. And so it's just a great way there's it's no commitment, right? Like, if you come to monarch for a day, you're not signing up to attend. But it's a great way to come in and see what it's all about and decide, hey, this is what's best for for my child. That's why we exist is to help the family raise their children in the faith and in those academics. So yeah, the dates for the sixth and eighth graders, if you've got a grandchild, or a child who's in the sixth, seventh, or eighth grades this year, on January 14, we will host them, all you have to do to sign up is call the office at the school, six to 56577. And let us know their name and their age. And we will get them signed up. We'll pair him up with in a small group, and they will have a great time. Fifth graders, it's never too soon to start thinking about hey, what your future is. So fifth graders have a day special for them on January 21. Same format, eight to noon, we can get kids their transportation, we can help get them back to their school, their current school after lunch, so that the family doesn't have to take off work. Come pick them up and take them back. We can handle that with our buses and our Suburbans. Just again, let us know at the school at the office and we'll sign him up. Perfect.

James Bell &nbsp; Yeah, get in there. Check it out. I mean, this and one of the cool things we always talk about here we are on the Catholic schools report is that sense of community that you mentioned, because you guys have just it's such a it's a tight knit group. And, you know, the faith pieces there. But it's also you know, it's just a it's a tremendous celebration of locals coming together and I just I love the admin atmosphere and the attitudes down there at both TMP and and holy family.

Chad Meitner &nbsp; Yeah, we want to we want to strive to welcome everybody and like, right our faith is leads us to say we want to treat everybody with dignity, respect, and we would love to have folks come to our community. It's not a closed community by any means. If you don't know anything about TMP, Marian or haze, maybe you're just recently in the area. We would love to let you get to know us a little better, because we think we've got a lot to offer. Absolutely. It's an incredible educators standard as well. Oh, yeah. A fantastic staff and faculty. You know, we're pretty blessed because a lot of those folks, they're doing it not just as a job to get a paycheck. They are doing it because they believe in the mission. They they believe that God has called them to do what they're doing. And what what better person to have teaching your children than someone who's in it fothose reasons.&nbsp;

James Bell &nbsp; Absolutely. Well, sir, we've got to get over to news, weather and sports but any last thoughts before we go?

Chad Meitner &nbsp; No, but just we're excited to get started. I hope everyone's had a great Christmas season and looking forward to hopefully some nice nose that give us moisture but that keep the roads clear and stay safe.

<div><iframe title="TMP-M kicks off spring semester" 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=zfsu5-116dbe1-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 the Post Podcast Thomas More Prep-Marian principal, Chad Meitner stops by to talk about the start of the spring semester.<h2>Transcript</h2>James Bell &nbsp; Thomas More Prep-Marian in Hays is set to kick off their spring semester this week principal Chad Meitner stops by to talk to us about that and more on this episode of the post podcastChad Meitner &nbsp; Ready or not, it's time to get back into the swing of things. Our teachers are actually an in service training, as we speak, are working hard to prepare for the kids who come back tomorrow. So I doubt any students are listening this early. But if you are, I'm glad to hear you're already up and about Adam, you're getting ready for tomorrow.James Bell &nbsp; They're not up. I wouldn't be up if I was them anyway. No, no, no, no, but that's very cool. You know, and we talked, you know, as you were wrapping up the semester, bad or no back in I think late November, and things are going pretty well in the school year. Right. I mean, overall.Chad Meitner &nbsp; Yeah, yeah, we've talked a little bit about, you know, it's still the pandemic COVID issues, but yet, it's much more manageable. And I would say a light version of what we had in 2020 21. school year. So it's, it's yeah, things are rolling right along. And it's into that point where you don't have to think about all those things that can go wrong. You're just more focused on the routine things that are happening, like, you know, we're getting ready has school starts up tomorrow, we've, of course, the activities quickly follow. We'll have wrestling on Thursday, and in basketball starting on Friday, right away this week. And that's good, because you never want too much unstructured time for any of us, especially for our teenagers and our students who who do better when they're interacting with each other and doing activities.James Bell &nbsp; Oh, sure. And especially Yeah, you know, I feel like those the athletics, you know, all of the activities kind of keep you busy. But the athletics, especially for those athletes that are that they hit that downtime, they kind of like, Oh, what do I do with myself, you know, and it's, it's really easy to just like, let it slide. And then you got to fight your way back into conditioning.Chad Meitner &nbsp; Oh, if you've been in out for sports at the high school level, you know, that that Christmas time period where you're just all you do is kind of practice but then you're also celebrating, so you're eating a lot of rich foods and sleeping late. Yeah, coming back to get in the swing of things is a little bit of a shock. But once you get back into it, it's nice. And it's the fun time of the basketball season. I think it's when you start getting in the league games, and it's a little more exciting. So the kids will have home games to go to little kids to the big kids, they all come out and it's nice to get in the Fieldhouse and have some excitement to get together again.James Bell &nbsp; Yeah, absolutely. But it's not just athletics, you've got some, you know, the academic activities kicking up as well, right?Chad Meitner &nbsp; Oh, yeah, those those will kick in as well. We've got chess team, our chess team pretty much competes every Saturday, which that's a sacrifice in itself. If you think about it in high school and junior high, given up you're not every Saturday, but during the season, almost every Saturday to go compete. And of course, there's still a lot of online tournaments. It's kind of a holdover from COVID that I think people like because you're not having to travel as far. Sometimes we travel all the way to Lawrence or which Topher tournament, so there's still some in person tournaments, but they also still do a lot of virtual tournaments in our schools. So they have won this Saturday, scholars bowl that's kicking off as well. They've had some early season events, but the scholars bowl kick right and get right back into it. They have a tournament in Hutchison the JV does next Tuesday. So yeah, whether you're athletics or academics, it's time to get back and focus on that and get into that routine. VeryJames Bell &nbsp; cool. And you guys have some, some extra curricular kind of special events coming up that we want to talk about as well. A march for life, I believe is coming up. Oh, here in a couple of weeks, right.Chad Meitner &nbsp; Yeah, that's a that's a big deal. For us. It's an annual pilgrimage, I'd say because it's, it's yeah, it's an experience. It's like a field trip. But it's also kind of a spiritual growth activity for our kids, right to say, we're put on this earth to not just be about ourselves, but to be about our community and our fellow man. And so that's an opportunity for the kids to get on a bus together, go on a long bus ride, which you know, us older folks, maybe don't think a long bus ride sounds exciting, but for the kids to get out of Hayes to get out of Kansas, to go see a part of our country to do it as a community. And then to do it for a good cause to say, hey, we're out here to support life and all of its stages and all of its forms. And so they'll head off to DC they'll get on the bus on January 19. And they'll get back on the 23rd that Sunday and then jump right back into school. Very cool.James Bell &nbsp; And what are like a beautiful time of year to go to DC I mean, I know a few we're out you're out there in July August. Well, yeah, I mean, oh, hopefully but that he that humidity out there who?Chad Meitner &nbsp; Yeah, who gets you? Yeah, as long as you don't get like a big snowstorm coming in DC is a beautiful place even in January. Sometimes you get some mild, sunny days and it's beautiful and so the kids get to go out in March. See a lot of the sights that that you see on TV and that are really important to the history of our country. And so it's an educational, a religious, a community activity all in one. Awesome.James Bell &nbsp; And I think we also want to talk a little bit about this. The monarch, Fred Day is coming up later on in January, right?Chad Meitner &nbsp; Yeah, actually two days. So this is a big piece of news for anybody who's got a fifth, sixth, or even seventh and eighth grader, who is maybe in the running to attend Thomas Moore prep Marian. A lot of times if if they're not already attending Holy Family, they might be considering where they're going to go to high school or junior high. And so this is the day to come check us out to come meet the teachers to meet some of the other students. We run them through different activities, get them exposed to some of the sights and sounds of our school, and hang out with have lunch. And so it's just a great way there's it's no commitment, right? Like, if you come to monarch for a day, you're not signing up to attend. But it's a great way to come in and see what it's all about and decide, hey, this is what's best for for my child. That's why we exist is to help the family raise their children in the faith and in those academics. So yeah, the dates for the sixth and eighth graders, if you've got a grandchild, or a child who's in the sixth, seventh, or eighth grades this year, on January 14, we will host them, all you have to do to sign up is call the office at the school, six to 56577. And let us know their name and their age. And we will get them signed up. We'll pair him up with in a small group, and they will have a great time. Fifth graders, it's never too soon to start thinking about hey, what your future is. So fifth graders have a day special for them on January 21. Same format, eight to noon, we can get kids their transportation, we can help get them back to their school, their current school after lunch, so that the family doesn't have to take off work. Come pick them up and take them back. We can handle that with our buses and our Suburbans. Just again, let us know at the school at the office and we'll sign him up. Perfect.James Bell &nbsp; Yeah, get in there. Check it out. I mean, this and one of the cool things we always talk about here we are on the Catholic schools report is that sense of community that you mentioned, because you guys have just it's such a it's a tight knit group. And, you know, the faith pieces there. But it's also you know, it's just a it's a tremendous celebration of locals coming together and I just I love the admin atmosphere and the attitudes down there at both TMP and and holy family.Chad Meitner &nbsp; Yeah, we want to we want to strive to welcome everybody and like, right our faith is leads us to say we want to treat everybody with dignity, respect, and we would love to have folks come to our community. It's not a closed community by any means. If you don't know anything about TMP, Marian or haze, maybe you're just recently in the area. We would love to let you get to know us a little better, because we think we've got a lot to offer. Absolutely. It's an incredible educators standard as well. Oh, yeah. A fantastic staff and faculty. You know, we're pretty blessed because a lot of those folks, they're doing it not just as a job to get a paycheck. They are doing it because they believe in the mission. They they believe that God has called them to do what they're doing. And what what better person to have teaching your children than someone who's in it fothose reasons.&nbsp;James Bell &nbsp; Absolutely. Well, sir, we've got to get over to news, weather and sports but any last thoughts before we go?Chad Meitner &nbsp; No, but just we're excited to get started. I hope everyone's had a great Christmas season and looking forward to hopefully some nice nose that give us moisture but that keep the roads clear and stay safe.

🎙Post Podcast: TMP-M kicks off spring semester

The Wonder Women League, in cooperation with the Fort Hays State University Criminal Justice Department, is sponsoring a women's self-defense class.

Globally, an estimated 736 million women — almost one in three — have been subjected to intimate partner violence, non-partner sexual violence, or both at least once in their life (30 percent of women aged 15 and older), according to the United Nations.

The training is open to any female 14 and older. The training will be 9 a.m. to noon Jan. 15 at Cunningham Hall, Room 110. 

Registration is required. Cost is $10, which is non-refundable. <a href="https://www.liveunited.us/civicrm/event/register?cid=0&amp;reset=1&amp;id=28">Click here to register online.</a> Spots are limited, and registration is filling fast.

Proceeds from the training will be donated to Jana's Campaign. The organization's mission is to provide quality educational programming that prevents gender and relationship violence. 

Kenton Russell will lead the training. He led a similar training in 2018, which was also sponsored by the Wonder Women League.

The training will focus on situational awareness, verbal de-escalation and grappling.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/1/1641248224036.jpeg" alt="A women's self-defense class led by Kenton Russell in 2018. He will lead another class for the Wonder Women League on Jan. 15. " />
 <figcaption>A women's self-defense class led by Kenton Russell in 2018. He will lead another class for the Wonder Women League on Jan. 15. </figcaption>
 </figure>By CRISTINA JANNEY Hays PostThe Wonder Women League, in cooperation with the Fort Hays State University Criminal Justice Department, is sponsoring a women's self-defense class.Globally, an estimated 736 million women — almost one in three — have been subjected to intimate partner violence, non-partner sexual violence, or both at least once in their life (30 percent of women aged 15 and older), according to the United Nations.The training is open to any female 14 and older. The training will be 9 a.m. to noon Jan. 15 at Cunningham Hall, Room 110. Registration is required. Cost is $10, which is non-refundable. <a href="https://www.liveunited.us/civicrm/event/register?cid=0&amp;reset=1&amp;id=28">Click here to register online.</a> Spots are limited, and registration is filling fast.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/1/1641248868390.jpeg" alt=" " />
 <figcaption> </figcaption>
 </figure>Proceeds from the training will be donated to Jana's Campaign. The organization's mission is to provide quality educational programming that prevents gender and relationship violence. Kenton Russell will lead the training. He led a similar training in 2018, which was also sponsored by the Wonder Women League.The training will focus on situational awareness, verbal de-escalation and grappling.

Wonder Women League sponsors self-defense class for women

Oil posted its biggest annual price advance since 2009 as vaccination roll-outs ramped up economies and spurred consumption, while crude production returned at a more moderate pace. Bloomberg reported West Texas Intermediate crude prices rose 55% for the biggest year-to-date gain in over a decade. Brent, the global benchmark, rose 50%, the largest gain since 2016. US crude also finished the year with the longest run of consecutive quarterly price increases since 1983.&nbsp; Kansas Common crude at CHS in McPherson dropped nearly two dollars on Friday to end the year at $65.50 [["sixty-five fifty"]] per barrel. That's up $9.75 from the first of the month, and up nearly twenty dollars from a year ago. The average price for the month of December was just over $61.71 [["sixty-one seventy-one"]] per barrel, compared to just over $68 in November and a little over $37 in December of last year. Kansas operators this year will nearly double the number of wells spudded last year. Independent Oil &amp; Gas Service reported 1,080 wells were drilled during the first 51 weeks of the year, compared to only 563 at the same time last year. That's an increase of nearly 92%. The number of active operators searching for oil and gas in Kansas this year is now up to 240, an increase of nearly 38% over the same period last year. The government last week reported a drop in domestic crude inventories of 3.6 million barrels. At 420 million barrels, US stockpiles are about seven percent below the five year average for this time of year. The Energy Information Administration says gasoline inventories dropped by 1.5 million barrels, and are about six percent below the five-year average. EIA said US Operators pumped nearly 11.9 million barrels of crude oil per day during the week through December 24. That’s a production increase of more than 330,000 barrels per day over the week before, and 877,000 barrels per day more than the same week last year. Regulators in Kansas approved 36 new drilling permits last week. That's 1,182 so far this year. Out of 15 new permits in western Kansas, one was in Barton County and two were in Russell County. There are 21 new permits in eastern Kansas. In the last weekly completions tally of the year, over twenty percent of the completed oil wells in Kansas were dry holes. The year-to-date total of 959 newly-completed wells included 199 dry holes. Independent Oil &amp; Gas Service reports 27 new completions statewide last week, including one each in Barton and Ellis counties. One barometer of future oil production is the number of wells that are drilled but not yet completed, or DUC wells. Such wells can be used to bring crude into production quickly. The Energy Information Administration tracks DUCs in the nation's seven major shale plays each month. In November the total dropped by 226 wells. All seven shale regions showed lower DUC numbers, with the Permian basin down 105 wells from October. Oil-by-rail traffic was down for the week and for the year. The Association of American Railroads reported 10,398 tankers hauling petroleum or petroleum products for the week through December 18. That's down 316 carloads from the week before, and 11 percent lower than a year earlier. Canadian shippers moved 8,533 tanker carloads, which is up slightly for the week but down about six percent compared to a year earlier. Authorities in Colorado have passed sweeping new regulations that could cost operators in the patch tens of millions of dollars each year. The Colorado Air Quality Control Commission this month passed the new regs in order to comply with the state's emissions goals. The stat's Air Pollution Control Division is imposing stringent requirements to capture and dispose of byproducts without allowing the gasses to escape into the atmosphere. They want the industry to reduce emissions compared to 2005 levels by 36% in four years and 60% by the year 2030. The move is expected to cost energy producers $59 million to $142 million a year.&nbsp; Having called a dirge for the merger, the pipeline company must pay the piper. That colorful turn of phrase from a judge in Delaware finalized a very expensive ruling for oil pipeline giant Energy Transfer LP. The company must pay $410 million for scuttling a $33 billion merger with rival Williams Companies over a tax flaw in the deal. According to reporting from Bloomberg last week, Energy Transfer is required to pay what's called a break-up fee under the terms of the merger agreement. The 95-page ruling from Delaware Chancery Court Judge Sam Glasscock III ends a more than five-year dispute over the deal. Mexico plans to end crude oil exports in 2023 as part of a strategy by the new government to reach self-sufficiency in domestic fuels. The state-owned oil company Pemex will reduce crude exports to 435,000 barrels per day next year, before phasing them out entirely the following year. The move is part of a drive to expand Mexico's domestic production of fuels, instead of sending its oil abroad and importing costly refined products like gasoline and diesel. Mexico currently buys most of its fuel from U.S. refiners. Five years after it was created Norway's Aker BP is about to become a major North Sea player, and the second-largest producer on the Norwegian Continental Shelf. The company is buying Lundin Energy for ten billion dollars. The deal makes Aker BP Norway's second biggest producer, behind only state-owned Equinor. The combined companies will pump the equivalent of about 400,000 barrels of oil a day, more than some OPEC members. Another announcement marked good news for Aker-BP and great news for Maersk Drilling, which secures a five-year, $1 billion contract for two drilling rigs. Aker-BP will deploy the rigs in the North Sea off the shore of Norway. The new contract is worth all of last year's revenues reported by Maersk, which posted losses in four of the five prior years.

By JOHN P. TRETBAROil posted its biggest annual price advance since 2009 as vaccination roll-outs ramped up economies and spurred consumption, while crude production returned at a more moderate pace. Bloomberg reported West Texas Intermediate crude prices rose 55% for the biggest year-to-date gain in over a decade. Brent, the global benchmark, rose 50%, the largest gain since 2016. US crude also finished the year with the longest run of consecutive quarterly price increases since 1983.&nbsp; Kansas Common crude at CHS in McPherson dropped nearly two dollars on Friday to end the year at $65.50 [["sixty-five fifty"]] per barrel. That's up $9.75 from the first of the month, and up nearly twenty dollars from a year ago. The average price for the month of December was just over $61.71 [["sixty-one seventy-one"]] per barrel, compared to just over $68 in November and a little over $37 in December of last year. Kansas operators this year will nearly double the number of wells spudded last year. Independent Oil &amp; Gas Service reported 1,080 wells were drilled during the first 51 weeks of the year, compared to only 563 at the same time last year. That's an increase of nearly 92%. The number of active operators searching for oil and gas in Kansas this year is now up to 240, an increase of nearly 38% over the same period last year. The government last week reported a drop in domestic crude inventories of 3.6 million barrels. At 420 million barrels, US stockpiles are about seven percent below the five year average for this time of year. The Energy Information Administration says gasoline inventories dropped by 1.5 million barrels, and are about six percent below the five-year average. EIA said US Operators pumped nearly 11.9 million barrels of crude oil per day during the week through December 24. That’s a production increase of more than 330,000 barrels per day over the week before, and 877,000 barrels per day more than the same week last year. Regulators in Kansas approved 36 new drilling permits last week. That's 1,182 so far this year. Out of 15 new permits in western Kansas, one was in Barton County and two were in Russell County. There are 21 new permits in eastern Kansas. In the last weekly completions tally of the year, over twenty percent of the completed oil wells in Kansas were dry holes. The year-to-date total of 959 newly-completed wells included 199 dry holes. Independent Oil &amp; Gas Service reports 27 new completions statewide last week, including one each in Barton and Ellis counties. One barometer of future oil production is the number of wells that are drilled but not yet completed, or DUC wells. Such wells can be used to bring crude into production quickly. The Energy Information Administration tracks DUCs in the nation's seven major shale plays each month. In November the total dropped by 226 wells. All seven shale regions showed lower DUC numbers, with the Permian basin down 105 wells from October. Oil-by-rail traffic was down for the week and for the year. The Association of American Railroads reported 10,398 tankers hauling petroleum or petroleum products for the week through December 18. That's down 316 carloads from the week before, and 11 percent lower than a year earlier. Canadian shippers moved 8,533 tanker carloads, which is up slightly for the week but down about six percent compared to a year earlier. Authorities in Colorado have passed sweeping new regulations that could cost operators in the patch tens of millions of dollars each year. The Colorado Air Quality Control Commission this month passed the new regs in order to comply with the state's emissions goals. The stat's Air Pollution Control Division is imposing stringent requirements to capture and dispose of byproducts without allowing the gasses to escape into the atmosphere. They want the industry to reduce emissions compared to 2005 levels by 36% in four years and 60% by the year 2030. The move is expected to cost energy producers $59 million to $142 million a year.&nbsp; Having called a dirge for the merger, the pipeline company must pay the piper. That colorful turn of phrase from a judge in Delaware finalized a very expensive ruling for oil pipeline giant Energy Transfer LP. The company must pay $410 million for scuttling a $33 billion merger with rival Williams Companies over a tax flaw in the deal. According to reporting from Bloomberg last week, Energy Transfer is required to pay what's called a break-up fee under the terms of the merger agreement. The 95-page ruling from Delaware Chancery Court Judge Sam Glasscock III ends a more than five-year dispute over the deal. Mexico plans to end crude oil exports in 2023 as part of a strategy by the new government to reach self-sufficiency in domestic fuels. The state-owned oil company Pemex will reduce crude exports to 435,000 barrels per day next year, before phasing them out entirely the following year. The move is part of a drive to expand Mexico's domestic production of fuels, instead of sending its oil abroad and importing costly refined products like gasoline and diesel. Mexico currently buys most of its fuel from U.S. refiners. Five years after it was created Norway's Aker BP is about to become a major North Sea player, and the second-largest producer on the Norwegian Continental Shelf. The company is buying Lundin Energy for ten billion dollars. The deal makes Aker BP Norway's second biggest producer, behind only state-owned Equinor. The combined companies will pump the equivalent of about 400,000 barrels of oil a day, more than some OPEC members. Another announcement marked good news for Aker-BP and great news for Maersk Drilling, which secures a five-year, $1 billion contract for two drilling rigs. Aker-BP will deploy the rigs in the North Sea off the shore of Norway. The new contract is worth all of last year's revenues reported by Maersk, which posted losses in four of the five prior years.

News From the Oil Patch: 2021 was a good year for oil prices

Astra Bank this week announced the hiring of Jason Kennedy as Hays Market President. Kennedy comes to Astra Bank from his previous position as Ellis County Health Services Director in Hays.

As Director, Kennedy oversaw over 50 co-workers and his leadership, team-building, and strategic planning skills allowed Ellis County to navigate the COVID-19 pandemic in a pro-active and orderly manner. Kennedy’s leadership during this time earned him the Citizen of the Year Award for Ellis County in 2020.

In his new role, Kennedy will be focused on enabling Astra Bank to provide dependable financial advice and service to our Hays community. “I am pleased Jason is joining Astra Bank,” stated Kyle Campbell, President and CEO of Astra Bank. “He is an outstanding person and an effective leader, and he will be a great part of our team in Hays as we continue to serve our customers and the Hays community.”

“I am excited to chart a new course in my career,” said Kennedy. “I have had the opportunity to serve Ellis County through some of the most unprecedented times.&nbsp; I look forward to working with the Astra Bank team to support the financial well-being of our community.”

Kennedy will join the Astra Bank team on January 3rd, 2022, where he will begin providing leadership to the Hays Market. Astra Bank’s current Hays Market President, Bryan Vonfeldt, will continue his role at Astra Bank as Chief Financial Officer, and continue helping Astra Bank grow in all of our communities.

Updated 9 a.m. Tuesday to correct headline. Hays Post apologizes for the error.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2021/11/1637018124020.jpeg" alt="Jason Kennedy" />
 <figcaption>Jason Kennedy</figcaption>
 </figure>News releaseAstra Bank this week announced the hiring of Jason Kennedy as Hays Market President. Kennedy comes to Astra Bank from his previous position as Ellis County Health Services Director in Hays.As Director, Kennedy oversaw over 50 co-workers and his leadership, team-building, and strategic planning skills allowed Ellis County to navigate the COVID-19 pandemic in a pro-active and orderly manner. Kennedy’s leadership during this time earned him the Citizen of the Year Award for Ellis County in 2020.In his new role, Kennedy will be focused on enabling Astra Bank to provide dependable financial advice and service to our Hays community. “I am pleased Jason is joining Astra Bank,” stated Kyle Campbell, President and CEO of Astra Bank. “He is an outstanding person and an effective leader, and he will be a great part of our team in Hays as we continue to serve our customers and the Hays community.”“I am excited to chart a new course in my career,” said Kennedy. “I have had the opportunity to serve Ellis County through some of the most unprecedented times.&nbsp; I look forward to working with the Astra Bank team to support the financial well-being of our community.”Kennedy will join the Astra Bank team on January 3rd, 2022, where he will begin providing leadership to the Hays Market. Astra Bank’s current Hays Market President, Bryan Vonfeldt, will continue his role at Astra Bank as Chief Financial Officer, and continue helping Astra Bank grow in all of our communities.Updated 9 a.m. Tuesday to correct headline. Hays Post apologizes for the error.

Kennedy joins Astra Bank as market president

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/1/1641249440146.jpeg" alt="" />
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 </figure><a href="https://hayspost.com/pages/state-farm-weather-window">For a full look at the weather click here.</a>

EDWARDS COUNTY—Two people were injured in an accident just after 4:30p.m. Monday in Edwards County.

The Kansas Highway Patrol reported a 2008 Hyundai Sonata driven by Brandy D.&nbsp;Roenne, 19, Osborne, was northbound on County Road U eight miles south of Kinsley.&nbsp; The driver disobeyed a stop sign at U Road and U.S. 183. 

The Hyundai and a southbound 2017 Chevy Cruze driven by Marjorie L. Schmidt, 83, Greensburg, collided head-on at U.S. 183.

EMS transported Roenne and Schmidt to the Edwards County Medical Center. Both drivers and a minor child in the Hyundai were properly restrained, according to the KHP.

EDWARDS COUNTY—Two people were injured in an accident just after 4:30p.m. Monday in Edwards County.The Kansas Highway Patrol reported a 2008 Hyundai Sonata driven by Brandy D.&nbsp;Roenne, 19, Osborne, was northbound on County Road U eight miles south of Kinsley.&nbsp; The driver disobeyed a stop sign at U Road and U.S. 183. The Hyundai and a southbound 2017 Chevy Cruze driven by Marjorie L. Schmidt, 83, Greensburg, collided head-on at U.S. 183.EMS transported Roenne and Schmidt to the Edwards County Medical Center. Both drivers and a minor child in the Hyundai were properly restrained, according to the KHP.

2 Kansas women hospitalized after head-on crash

The Kansas Department of Health and Environment on Monday reported 77 new COVID-19 cases in Ellis County had been identified since Wednesday.

Due to the New Year's holiday, KDHE's COVID dashboard was not updated Friday.&nbsp;

KDHE also reported the death of an Ellis County resident, raising the total coronavirus-related deaths to 78.

<a href="https://hayspost.com/posts/f515bfdd-3d45-46c6-b1aa-9b1e2fa7f003">RELATED: 'A pandemic of two populations — the vaccinated and the unvaccinated'</a>

As of Monday morning, there were 19 COVID-19 inpatients at HaysMed.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/1/1641233522413.png" alt="KDHE" />
 <figcaption>KDHE</figcaption>
 </figure>The Kansas Department of Health and Environment on Monday reported 77 new COVID-19 cases in Ellis County had been identified since Wednesday.Due to the New Year's holiday, KDHE's COVID dashboard was not updated Friday.&nbsp;KDHE also reported the death of an Ellis County resident, raising the total coronavirus-related deaths to 78.<a href="https://hayspost.com/posts/f515bfdd-3d45-46c6-b1aa-9b1e2fa7f003">RELATED: 'A pandemic of two populations — the vaccinated and the unvaccinated'</a>As of Monday morning, there were 19 COVID-19 inpatients at HaysMed.<a href="https://www.ellisco.net/97/Health">CLICK HERE</a>&nbsp;for information on how to receive a COVID-19 vaccination.<a href="https://hayspost.com/posts/e63276ea-ca10-4e6a-84c8-73db703c9286">RELATED:&nbsp;Hays docs say battling teen, parental hesitancy to vaccine a challenge</a>The KDHE reported on Dec. 17 that 54 percent of eligible Ellis County residents are fully vaccinated, noting the vaccination rate for the eligible Kansas population (12 and older) is approximately 66 percent.Since reporting began, there have been 5,287 cases of COVID-19 identified in Ellis County, including 78 coronavirus-related deaths.

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