COVID-19 vaccine boosters are available now in Ellis County, but Ellis County Health Services officer Jason Kennedy said most vaccinated residents in the region remain protected by their earlier shots.

"Late last Friday, they approved booster shots, really kind of for
anybody that was able to get the additional shot," Kennedy said. 

Individuals over 12 can now recive a Pfizer vaccine booster, and those over 18 can receive Moderna and Johnson &amp; Johnson boosters, he said.

While various health organizations at the state and national level have, over recent weeks, sometimes issued conflicting messages, Kennedy said the essential information to know is the boosters are available, but vaccines for children under 12 are not.

<a href="https://hayspost.com/posts/cc9f436e-9699-4ee1-9612-1b028fd6e85c">RELATED: 34 new cases of COVID in Ellis County since Monday</a>

For those looking to get a booster shot, Kennedy said there are a variety of local options.

"We posted a couple of different locations or different options for
people in town on our Facebook page," Kennedy said. "But essentially the private pharmacies,
... both Dillons locations, Walgreens, Walmart pharmacy, and then Ellis
County Health Department, we are all providing booster dose vaccines as well as
primary vaccines."

Further, he said the health department has each vaccine type.

"So right now, if
you want a booster dose, come get one," he said.

And while he said there are currently rumors about the boosters being circulated, Kennedy said the boosters are safe and contain the same formulation as the original vaccine.

"I've seen
some misinformation about this, that it's a new formulation or there's new chemical," Kennedy said. "There is nothing different or new about the
booster doses. It is the exact same thing that was given as an
initial primary dose. And so if if you didn't have any issues with the
initial shot, come get your booster shot if you want it."

While he said the doses are ready for anyone, residents should not feel a need to immediately sign up.

"I will say that there
is not a time-critical crunch to getting booster doses done right now," Kennedy said. "We don't see waning immunity with the initial vaccinations, we actually see them
still very highly effective at that reduction in hospitalizations and really
reduction in deaths."

He said residents curious if they should get a booster and when should consult their physician, but generally, the booster shots will benefit the public health.

"Boosters are a good thing," Kennedy said. "It is the
exact same dose, there's nothing different about it, it will increase
your level of immunity. It will hopefully continue to keep us safe
here through the winter."

And the evidence is showing that even without boosters, the vaccines are remaining effective, he said.

"It's working well," Kennedy said. "And we're not seeing any changes to that. So (for) the people that
aren't vaccinated. The vaccines work. The vaccines are safe."

But with massive amounts of information and disinformation available, he encouraged speaking with a physician to make the best possible health decision.

"It's pretty rare that someone just decides like some internet research, and then they're like, 'Oh, you know what, I'm gonna start treatment on my own cancer.' ... We go to the doctor. We trust the doctor to make the best decision because ... that's what they do. That's what they're good at. And so same thing with this. 

"If you have questions, (call) your doctor."

<div><iframe title="ECHS COVID-19 update: Oct. 27, 2021" allowtransparency="true" height="450" width="100%" style="border: none; min-width: min(100%, 430px);" scrolling="no" data-name="pb-iframe-player" src="https://www.podbean.com/player-v2/?i=7qbee-1116e3a-pb&from=pb6admin&square=1&share=1&download=1&rtl=0&fonts=Arial&skin=3267a3&font-color=auto&btn-skin=3267a3&size=450" allowfullscreen=""></iframe></div>By JAMES BELL Hays PostCOVID-19 vaccine boosters are available now in Ellis County, but Ellis County Health Services officer Jason Kennedy said most vaccinated residents in the region remain protected by their earlier shots."Late last Friday, they approved booster shots, really kind of for
anybody that was able to get the additional shot," Kennedy said. Individuals over 12 can now recive a Pfizer vaccine booster, and those over 18 can receive Moderna and Johnson &amp; Johnson boosters, he said.While various health organizations at the state and national level have, over recent weeks, sometimes issued conflicting messages, Kennedy said the essential information to know is the boosters are available, but vaccines for children under 12 are not.<a href="https://hayspost.com/posts/cc9f436e-9699-4ee1-9612-1b028fd6e85c">RELATED: 34 new cases of COVID in Ellis County since Monday</a>For those looking to get a booster shot, Kennedy said there are a variety of local options."We posted a couple of different locations or different options for
people in town on our Facebook page," Kennedy said. "But essentially the private pharmacies,
... both Dillons locations, Walgreens, Walmart pharmacy, and then Ellis
County Health Department, we are all providing booster dose vaccines as well as
primary vaccines."Further, he said the health department has each vaccine type."So right now, if
you want a booster dose, come get one," he said.And while he said there are currently rumors about the boosters being circulated, Kennedy said the boosters are safe and contain the same formulation as the original vaccine."I've seen
some misinformation about this, that it's a new formulation or there's new chemical," Kennedy said. "There is nothing different or new about the
booster doses. It is the exact same thing that was given as an
initial primary dose. And so if if you didn't have any issues with the
initial shot, come get your booster shot if you want it."While he said the doses are ready for anyone, residents should not feel a need to immediately sign up."I will say that there
is not a time-critical crunch to getting booster doses done right now," Kennedy said. "We don't see waning immunity with the initial vaccinations, we actually see them
still very highly effective at that reduction in hospitalizations and really
reduction in deaths."He said residents curious if they should get a booster and when should consult their physician, but generally, the booster shots will benefit the public health."Boosters are a good thing," Kennedy said. "It is the
exact same dose, there's nothing different about it, it will increase
your level of immunity. It will hopefully continue to keep us safe
here through the winter."And the evidence is showing that even without boosters, the vaccines are remaining effective, he said."It's working well," Kennedy said. "And we're not seeing any changes to that. So (for) the people that
aren't vaccinated. The vaccines work. The vaccines are safe."But with massive amounts of information and disinformation available, he encouraged speaking with a physician to make the best possible health decision."It's pretty rare that someone just decides like some internet research, and then they're like, 'Oh, you know what, I'm gonna start treatment on my own cancer.' ... We go to the doctor. We trust the doctor to make the best decision because ... that's what they do. That's what they're good at. And so same thing with this. "If you have questions, (call) your doctor."

🎙 COVID vaccine boosters available in Ellis Co.; Kennedy discusses

During last year's first iteration of the Cajetan Cash fundraiser at Holy Family Elementary, organizers nearly doubled their expected donation total.

This year, almost as a testament to its namesake, St. Cajetan, the fundraiser raised over $80,000 for the school after replacing the well-known Red Wheel fundraiser.

"Last year, our home and school was looking for a little bit more of a supplemental income," said&nbsp;Cajetan Cash fundraiser chair Olivia Becker. "Because, with COVID, we weren't able to have our family fun nights, like at the restaurants in town. So we're trying to think you know, what can we do? And a raffle idea came up."

That simple idea would become the fundraiser, but not after searching for a unique and fitting name.

"Last year, when we first initially did the fundraiser, and we started looking at saints, what kind of saints would pertain to this and we found St. Cajetan," Becker said. "He is the saint of good fortune. That's fitting for a raffle. And so that's we came up with Cajetan Cash."

During this year's fundraiser, $10 tickets were sold, the same as last year, but with the expanded effort, more prizes were added.

"This year, we thought we needed to do some more," Becker said. "So we did four drawings, one for $1,000, one for $2,500 and $5,000 and $10,000 this year."

But it wasn't just a select group of ticket holders who won during the effort — the children also were rewarded with prizes and prize drawings.

"We made
it a challenge for the students to sell so many tickets," Becker said. "We made it fun
for the students, so they turned in sale sheets of tickets that they sold the
week prior."

From those totals, she said they had special rewards to continue incentivizing sales.

"They got like an ice cream cone day, they had a lollipop day, things
like that," Becker said. "And then every student who sold 40 tickets or more gets to
have a Taco Shop lunch at school one day."

She said 79 lunch winners were recognized during the fundraiser.

"So that was really
great," Becker said. "And then every highest seller in every classroom received $25 cash."

"So
and then we did a student drawing as well. We had four drawings for the
students that they could win. For every 10 tickets they sold, they got an entry
into those drawings. And we gave away gift cards that they could choose from
local vendors here like Taco Shop, McDonald's, Walmart, whatever. And then we
gave away an electric scooter as well."

And while the effort is rewarding for the students, fundraisers like these help generate funds to operate the school.

"I mean,
it's critical as part of their budgets,"&nbsp;Becker said. "It's not just an extra, you know, we
just want some extra money just to do some things for the school. It's for
the electricity bills. It's for the supplies for the schools.
It's for everything."

By the end of the fundraiser, she said the results speak to the generosity of the community.

"We
ended up selling at 8,800 tickets," Becker said. "And...we had great
sponsors that helped us with our payouts, too. So overall, we're looking at
$80,000 or a little over."

With the excellent response, Becker said the&nbsp;Cajetan Cash fundraiser is likely to return next year.

"As far as I know, every year now," she said. "We'll sell tickets always
through the month of September and have the drawings in the beginning of
October."

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2021/2/1613660020276.png" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure><div><iframe title="Holy Family Elementary raises over $80,000 during Cajetan Cash fundraiser" allowtransparency="true" height="450" width="100%" style="border: none; min-width: min(100%, 430px);" scrolling="no" data-name="pb-iframe-player" src="https://www.podbean.com/player-v2/?i=zieb4-110d003-pb&from=pb6admin&square=1&share=1&download=1&rtl=0&fonts=Arial&skin=3267a3&font-color=auto&btn-skin=3267a3&size=450" allowfullscreen=""></iframe></div>By JAMES BELL Hays PostDuring last year's first iteration of the Cajetan Cash fundraiser at Holy Family Elementary, organizers nearly doubled their expected donation total.This year, almost as a testament to its namesake, St. Cajetan, the fundraiser raised over $80,000 for the school after replacing the well-known Red Wheel fundraiser."Last year, our home and school was looking for a little bit more of a supplemental income," said&nbsp;Cajetan Cash fundraiser chair Olivia Becker. "Because, with COVID, we weren't able to have our family fun nights, like at the restaurants in town. So we're trying to think you know, what can we do? And a raffle idea came up."That simple idea would become the fundraiser, but not after searching for a unique and fitting name."Last year, when we first initially did the fundraiser, and we started looking at saints, what kind of saints would pertain to this and we found St. Cajetan," Becker said. "He is the saint of good fortune. That's fitting for a raffle. And so that's we came up with Cajetan Cash."During this year's fundraiser, $10 tickets were sold, the same as last year, but with the expanded effort, more prizes were added."This year, we thought we needed to do some more," Becker said. "So we did four drawings, one for $1,000, one for $2,500 and $5,000 and $10,000 this year."But it wasn't just a select group of ticket holders who won during the effort — the children also were rewarded with prizes and prize drawings."We made
it a challenge for the students to sell so many tickets," Becker said. "We made it fun
for the students, so they turned in sale sheets of tickets that they sold the
week prior."From those totals, she said they had special rewards to continue incentivizing sales."They got like an ice cream cone day, they had a lollipop day, things
like that," Becker said. "And then every student who sold 40 tickets or more gets to
have a Taco Shop lunch at school one day."She said 79 lunch winners were recognized during the fundraiser."So that was really
great," Becker said. "And then every highest seller in every classroom received $25 cash.""So
and then we did a student drawing as well. We had four drawings for the
students that they could win. For every 10 tickets they sold, they got an entry
into those drawings. And we gave away gift cards that they could choose from
local vendors here like Taco Shop, McDonald's, Walmart, whatever. And then we
gave away an electric scooter as well."And while the effort is rewarding for the students, fundraisers like these help generate funds to operate the school."I mean,
it's critical as part of their budgets,"&nbsp;Becker said. "It's not just an extra, you know, we
just want some extra money just to do some things for the school. It's for
the electricity bills. It's for the supplies for the schools.
It's for everything."By the end of the fundraiser, she said the results speak to the generosity of the community."We
ended up selling at 8,800 tickets," Becker said. "And...we had great
sponsors that helped us with our payouts, too. So overall, we're looking at
$80,000 or a little over."With the excellent response, Becker said the&nbsp;Cajetan Cash fundraiser is likely to return next year."As far as I know, every year now," she said. "We'll sell tickets always
through the month of September and have the drawings in the beginning of
October."

🎙 Holy Family finds good fortune during Cajetan Cash fundraiser

With early voting already happing in Ellis County prior to the Nov. 2 election that will see new USD 489 Board of Education and Hays City Commission members elected, Grow Hays Executive Director Doug Williams said infrastructure should be a consideration for the candidates and the voters.

He said school infrastructure was a topic at a recent election forum, making its way into the discussion by the potential Hays leaders.&nbsp;

"The city
commission candidates talked a lot about school bonds and educational
facilities," Williams said. "Usually, that would not be on their radar, and I think
that shows the importance of what is going on and the need in our community
that we have to improve our educational facilities."

While he said facilities might be lacking, the educators themselves have shown the high quality of the USD 489 system. Still, aging systems are a detriment to the education of the students and the community.

"We have a lot to be thankful for and be proud of in our educational
system," Williams said. "But unfortunately, they do it with one hand kind of tied behind their
back when it comes to facility quality. And we have neglected this for
about as long as we can. And it became apparent, both in the forum for the
city commission candidates as well as the USD 489 candidates, that those schools
have to be a high priority in our community if we expect to have any hope for
growth and to put our best foot forward and to do a good job of educating our
kids."

He said having quality educational facilities is a quality of life issue that directly impacts recruitment to Ellis County.

"Whether it's a doctor or a nurse
considering going to work for Hays Medical Center, or a company that's looking
to relocate here, one of the main things a retail company will look at in a
community is housing and your education system, because they're going to move
people here. They want to attract people to work for their businesses," Williams said. "And if
those two things aren't in place, they're not going to choose to locate here."

He likens school facilities to other infrastructure that requires maintenance and upgrades to stay viable.

 "If you've
got a road that comes into your town, and it's the only way into your town,
you've got to maintain that road, and there comes a point in time, if you have
some growth, you've got to make it wider," Williams said. "And, you know, if you don't, people
aren't going to come to your town.

"I view education facilities, basically as critical infrastructure kind of like that road. We have to
maintain them. We have to expand them at certain times if we expect to
grow and prosper and be an attractive community."

The lack of a significant bond issue since the bond used to build Hays High School in 1978 puts Hays behind most school districts in the region.

"If you go around to communities all across the state,
you will see virtually all of them with more modernized facilities than we have
in USD 489," Williams said. "And we're long overdue, and we
just have to make these investments on occasion.

"The first bite
of the apple is a tough one to take because that's where we experience the
cost. Once you have a bond in place, and you're paying for it over time, you
can add to that bond later without changing the monthly financial outgo."

But making that first move is the hardest he said.

"We've got to take this first step," Williams said. "Yeah, that's the tough one. But the
reality is, it really isn't a choice anymore.

"I know it's going to be a vote. I
know people are going to have a choice. But I continue to say you're going to
pay it one way or the other. You're going to pay it through the taxes that will
need to be generated to pay those payments on a bond, or you're going to pay it
because of lost opportunity and growth and shrinking tax base where your taxes
go up anyway, because you have not grown your tax base, and you've got fewer
and fewer taxable assets to spread that over."

While he said he believes all of the candidates for both the board of education and the Hays City Commission have expressed support for some sort of bond issue for the district, knowing how large a bond issue would be supported by the community is yet to be seen as the bond committee continues developing its plan.

"The challenge is what type of bond, how
big, what's it going to include — and that's where you start
running into the trouble," Williams said. "I've had people tell me if this bond includes a new building, I'm not going to
vote for it because I want to remodel the old ones. Or, if it includes the closing
of a particular school, I'm not going to vote for it."

But he said that thinking is not helpful to the effort.

 "We need to get
over that. ... There's a group in
place that's trying to develop the best possible way forward. We need to
support their decision," Williams said. "They're not going about this lightly, they're not making crazy recommendations, they're
looking at what's best for our community, they're taking their time, and
they're putting their expertise into it.

"We need to be
supportive of that, even though it may not have either everything we had or
maybe a little bit different than something that we think it should have,
we need to understand that it's for the benefit of the overall and that's why
we need to support what this group comes up with."

While the bond will likely be a point of contention moving forward for elected officials and community members, Williams said the need for housing is almost universally agreed upon and directly affects the growth potential of Ellis County.

"I talked to a Realtor yesterday, and there's 31 homes in the market in Hays, and then very, very few in Ellis or Victoria. There's just no inventory to choose from," he said. "And that's our Achilles' heel as well as the educational facilities."

While efforts are underway to bring more housing to the county, commissioners will have the ability to directly impact the ability to continue in those efforts and address the housing shortfall.

"I think they have the power to do that, in a couple of ways," Williams said. "One is they fund organizations like ours (Grow Hays), which we go out, and we try and make these things happen. So that's critical. And then the other is that they offer some incentives for developers to build these projects."

Historically, he said Hays city leaders had taken a conservative approach to incentives, but recent efforts have been put in place to address the problem and have been supported by the school board and Ellis County as affected taxing entities.

"And I think this commission now recognizes that, while they don't want to just openly give away the farm, so to speak, they understand that that's the way the game is played," Williams said. "That's what you have to do to be competitive. And so I don't think any of them feel like, 'No, I don't want to do that' or 'That's a bad idea.' Or 'We should only do this in dire circumstances.' I think they're proactive in what they want to do, in terms of the use of incentives. They want to be responsible, but I believe that their mindset is where it needs to be in offering this to prospective developers and helping the community get some of these projects going, which it takes these incentives to do."

<div><iframe title="Williams: School bond and housing important topics for upcoming election" 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=rmb7h-11068d6-pb&from=pb6admin&square=1&share=1&download=1&rtl=0&fonts=Arial&skin=3267a3&font-color=auto&btn-skin=3267a3&size=300" allowfullscreen=""></iframe></div>By JAMES BELL Hays PostWith early voting already happing in Ellis County prior to the Nov. 2 election that will see new USD 489 Board of Education and Hays City Commission members elected, Grow Hays Executive Director Doug Williams said infrastructure should be a consideration for the candidates and the voters.He said school infrastructure was a topic at a recent election forum, making its way into the discussion by the potential Hays leaders.&nbsp;"The city
commission candidates talked a lot about school bonds and educational
facilities," Williams said. "Usually, that would not be on their radar, and I think
that shows the importance of what is going on and the need in our community
that we have to improve our educational facilities."While he said facilities might be lacking, the educators themselves have shown the high quality of the USD 489 system. Still, aging systems are a detriment to the education of the students and the community."We have a lot to be thankful for and be proud of in our educational
system," Williams said. "But unfortunately, they do it with one hand kind of tied behind their
back when it comes to facility quality. And we have neglected this for
about as long as we can. And it became apparent, both in the forum for the
city commission candidates as well as the USD 489 candidates, that those schools
have to be a high priority in our community if we expect to have any hope for
growth and to put our best foot forward and to do a good job of educating our
kids."He said having quality educational facilities is a quality of life issue that directly impacts recruitment to Ellis County."Whether it's a doctor or a nurse
considering going to work for Hays Medical Center, or a company that's looking
to relocate here, one of the main things a retail company will look at in a
community is housing and your education system, because they're going to move
people here. They want to attract people to work for their businesses," Williams said. "And if
those two things aren't in place, they're not going to choose to locate here."He likens school facilities to other infrastructure that requires maintenance and upgrades to stay viable. "If you've
got a road that comes into your town, and it's the only way into your town,
you've got to maintain that road, and there comes a point in time, if you have
some growth, you've got to make it wider," Williams said. "And, you know, if you don't, people
aren't going to come to your town."I view education facilities, basically as critical infrastructure kind of like that road. We have to
maintain them. We have to expand them at certain times if we expect to
grow and prosper and be an attractive community."The lack of a significant bond issue since the bond used to build Hays High School in 1978 puts Hays behind most school districts in the region."If you go around to communities all across the state,
you will see virtually all of them with more modernized facilities than we have
in USD 489," Williams said. "And we're long overdue, and we
just have to make these investments on occasion."The first bite
of the apple is a tough one to take because that's where we experience the
cost. Once you have a bond in place, and you're paying for it over time, you
can add to that bond later without changing the monthly financial outgo."But making that first move is the hardest he said."We've got to take this first step," Williams said. "Yeah, that's the tough one. But the
reality is, it really isn't a choice anymore."I know it's going to be a vote. I
know people are going to have a choice. But I continue to say you're going to
pay it one way or the other. You're going to pay it through the taxes that will
need to be generated to pay those payments on a bond, or you're going to pay it
because of lost opportunity and growth and shrinking tax base where your taxes
go up anyway, because you have not grown your tax base, and you've got fewer
and fewer taxable assets to spread that over."While he said he believes all of the candidates for both the board of education and the Hays City Commission have expressed support for some sort of bond issue for the district, knowing how large a bond issue would be supported by the community is yet to be seen as the bond committee continues developing its plan."The challenge is what type of bond, how
big, what's it going to include — and that's where you start
running into the trouble," Williams said. "I've had people tell me if this bond includes a new building, I'm not going to
vote for it because I want to remodel the old ones. Or, if it includes the closing
of a particular school, I'm not going to vote for it."But he said that thinking is not helpful to the effort. "We need to get
over that. ... There's a group in
place that's trying to develop the best possible way forward. We need to
support their decision," Williams said. "They're not going about this lightly, they're not making crazy recommendations, they're
looking at what's best for our community, they're taking their time, and
they're putting their expertise into it."We need to be
supportive of that, even though it may not have either everything we had or
maybe a little bit different than something that we think it should have,
we need to understand that it's for the benefit of the overall and that's why
we need to support what this group comes up with."While the bond will likely be a point of contention moving forward for elected officials and community members, Williams said the need for housing is almost universally agreed upon and directly affects the growth potential of Ellis County."I talked to a Realtor yesterday, and there's 31 homes in the market in Hays, and then very, very few in Ellis or Victoria. There's just no inventory to choose from," he said. "And that's our Achilles' heel as well as the educational facilities."While efforts are underway to bring more housing to the county, commissioners will have the ability to directly impact the ability to continue in those efforts and address the housing shortfall."I think they have the power to do that, in a couple of ways," Williams said. "One is they fund organizations like ours (Grow Hays), which we go out, and we try and make these things happen. So that's critical. And then the other is that they offer some incentives for developers to build these projects."Historically, he said Hays city leaders had taken a conservative approach to incentives, but recent efforts have been put in place to address the problem and have been supported by the school board and Ellis County as affected taxing entities."And I think this commission now recognizes that, while they don't want to just openly give away the farm, so to speak, they understand that that's the way the game is played," Williams said. "That's what you have to do to be competitive. And so I don't think any of them feel like, 'No, I don't want to do that' or 'That's a bad idea.' Or 'We should only do this in dire circumstances.' I think they're proactive in what they want to do, in terms of the use of incentives. They want to be responsible, but I believe that their mindset is where it needs to be in offering this to prospective developers and helping the community get some of these projects going, which it takes these incentives to do."

🎙 Williams: School bond, housing important topics for upcoming election

Honoring their legacy as a teachers college and celebrating the continued accomplishment of the College of Education, Fort Hays State University will celebrate Future Educators Day on Oct. 27.

The event will bring high school students from the region to the FHSU campus in hopes of attracting another generation of educators to the university.

"Future educators day is actually something that the university has
done for a number of years within the teacher education department," said Fort Hays State University Alumni Association alumni engagement strategist Carolyn Tatro.

With educators graduated from the university across the region, she said those alumni work to ensure their students have the opportunity to explore FHSU.

"We have teachers from all over the state all over the country who
attended Fort Hays and are part of Tiger teacher nation," Tatro said. "And so they're just
trying to bring that again to prospective students giving students an opportunity
to see what it's like to be a teacher education major, and meet the Kansas
Teacher of the Year."

While many of those teachers take the traditional route at FHSU, going straight from high school to the university, but Tatro said, the day will incorporate those that took a different path.

"There's a lot of different ways that you can take
the route ... through teacher education," Tatro said.

 This event can help those students find their place, she said.

"And it again really helps to have our alumni, our incredible teachers who have
gone through this program, they will bring their students onto campus for this
day," Tatro said. "So they'll be able to kind of see along with their students, what things
have progressed at the university, and what opportunities await them."

While those alumni teachers and potential students will have the opportunity to explore the University, they will also meet the Kansas Teacher of the Year, Suzanne Stevenson.

"She's going to be presenting to, to students in the
teachers and counselors who bring them," Tatro said. "And so I think it's just going to be a
really incredible day."

<a href="https://www.fhsu.edu/admissions/events/future-educators-day">For more information, visit the FHSU website.</a>

<div><iframe title="FHSU preparing for Future Educators Day" 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=qxvmv-11068ed-pb&from=pb6admin&square=1&share=1&download=1&rtl=0&fonts=Arial&skin=3267a3&font-color=auto&btn-skin=3267a3&size=300" allowfullscreen=""></iframe></div>By JAMES BELL Hays PostHonoring their legacy as a teachers college and celebrating the continued accomplishment of the College of Education, Fort Hays State University will celebrate Future Educators Day on Oct. 27.The event will bring high school students from the region to the FHSU campus in hopes of attracting another generation of educators to the university."Future educators day is actually something that the university has
done for a number of years within the teacher education department," said Fort Hays State University Alumni Association alumni engagement strategist Carolyn Tatro.With educators graduated from the university across the region, she said those alumni work to ensure their students have the opportunity to explore FHSU."We have teachers from all over the state all over the country who
attended Fort Hays and are part of Tiger teacher nation," Tatro said. "And so they're just
trying to bring that again to prospective students giving students an opportunity
to see what it's like to be a teacher education major, and meet the Kansas
Teacher of the Year."While many of those teachers take the traditional route at FHSU, going straight from high school to the university, but Tatro said, the day will incorporate those that took a different path."There's a lot of different ways that you can take
the route ... through teacher education," Tatro said. This event can help those students find their place, she said."And it again really helps to have our alumni, our incredible teachers who have
gone through this program, they will bring their students onto campus for this
day," Tatro said. "So they'll be able to kind of see along with their students, what things
have progressed at the university, and what opportunities await them."While those alumni teachers and potential students will have the opportunity to explore the University, they will also meet the Kansas Teacher of the Year, Suzanne Stevenson."She's going to be presenting to, to students in the
teachers and counselors who bring them," Tatro said. "And so I think it's just going to be a
really incredible day."<a href="https://www.fhsu.edu/admissions/events/future-educators-day">For more information, visit the FHSU website.</a>

🎙 FHSU preparing for Future Educators Day

With Halloween approaching, the Hays Police Department is reminding residents that with increased activity in the community comes the risk of accidents.

But Lt. Tim Greenwood said paying closer attention while driving during the last weekend of the month could help ensure a fun and safe holiday weekend.

In recent years, he said Hays has not seen many serious incidents, but that has not always been the case.

"We have had some in my career that unfortunately didn't turn out so well," Greenwood said. "But yeah, for the most part, we do have good drivers. (We) just have that reminder every now and then."

He said the most troubling activity currently endangering drivers and pedestrians is mobile phone use while traveling.

"The big one is to put the phone down whether you're a pedestrian or whether you're out with the kids enjoying the festivities that go along with the holiday, (you've) got to put that phone down," Greenwood said. "Don't be driving and looking at the photos or calling the next house you're driving to or whatnot."

While phone usage may be a major concern, distractions in general, he said, can be detrimental.

"We do a really good job for the most part with our pedestrian staying on the sidewalk and crossing at the corners," Greenwood said.

But he asked parents to make sure to refresh the basics with children before letting them venture out on their own.

"Make sure not only looking for those cars, but make eye contact with the drivers whenever possible on that corner, so that the driver sees you," Greenwood said. "It's really easy to get distracted."

He said parents should also make sure to focus when entering and exiting driveways as well.

 "That's always a danger zone for us," Greenwood said.

Making sure children are highly visable is another way to help keep children safe, he said.

"Make sure that those costumes are brightly colored there's a lot of highly reflective costumes out there and if you're going with the traditional witch or Goblin or whatnot that's kind of dark and mysterious, make them put some of that reflective tape on their hands or ankles and a little bit around their neck so they are reflective and visible," Greenwood said.

He added glow sticks are also highly effective.

Lastly, Greenwood suggested keep faces unobstructed in order for the children to better see what is going on around them.

"If your kids are out walking, really consider not wearing masks, but going with the makeup," he said. "It's those masks often fall down and when they're all excited about the candy and their friends and whatnot, it's really easy to get distracted by a mask, whereas makeup doesn't obstruct your vision near as much and is not near as problematic when you're out trick or treating."

Overall, Greenwood said simple actions can ensure a safe holiday for all.

"We've got to do our part to help keep everybody safe," he said. "The police department's going to be out there they're going to be working. If you need something you can always holler at a police officer for some assistance. ... Do your part and help the community stay safe."

<div><iframe title="HPD reminds residents to be cautious driving on Halloween" 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=69wn9-1102f86-pb&from=pb6admin&square=1&share=1&download=1&rtl=0&fonts=Arial&skin=3267a3&font-color=auto&btn-skin=3267a3&size=300" allowfullscreen=""></iframe></div>By JAMES BELL Hays PostWith Halloween approaching, the Hays Police Department is reminding residents that with increased activity in the community comes the risk of accidents.But Lt. Tim Greenwood said paying closer attention while driving during the last weekend of the month could help ensure a fun and safe holiday weekend.In recent years, he said Hays has not seen many serious incidents, but that has not always been the case."We have had some in my career that unfortunately didn't turn out so well," Greenwood said. "But yeah, for the most part, we do have good drivers. (We) just have that reminder every now and then."He said the most troubling activity currently endangering drivers and pedestrians is mobile phone use while traveling."The big one is to put the phone down whether you're a pedestrian or whether you're out with the kids enjoying the festivities that go along with the holiday, (you've) got to put that phone down," Greenwood said. "Don't be driving and looking at the photos or calling the next house you're driving to or whatnot."While phone usage may be a major concern, distractions in general, he said, can be detrimental."We do a really good job for the most part with our pedestrian staying on the sidewalk and crossing at the corners," Greenwood said.But he asked parents to make sure to refresh the basics with children before letting them venture out on their own."Make sure not only looking for those cars, but make eye contact with the drivers whenever possible on that corner, so that the driver sees you," Greenwood said. "It's really easy to get distracted."He said parents should also make sure to focus when entering and exiting driveways as well. "That's always a danger zone for us," Greenwood said.Making sure children are highly visable is another way to help keep children safe, he said."Make sure that those costumes are brightly colored there's a lot of highly reflective costumes out there and if you're going with the traditional witch or Goblin or whatnot that's kind of dark and mysterious, make them put some of that reflective tape on their hands or ankles and a little bit around their neck so they are reflective and visible," Greenwood said.He added glow sticks are also highly effective.Lastly, Greenwood suggested keep faces unobstructed in order for the children to better see what is going on around them."If your kids are out walking, really consider not wearing masks, but going with the makeup," he said. "It's those masks often fall down and when they're all excited about the candy and their friends and whatnot, it's really easy to get distracted by a mask, whereas makeup doesn't obstruct your vision near as much and is not near as problematic when you're out trick or treating."Overall, Greenwood said simple actions can ensure a safe holiday for all."We've got to do our part to help keep everybody safe," he said. "The police department's going to be out there they're going to be working. If you need something you can always holler at a police officer for some assistance. ... Do your part and help the community stay safe."

🎙 HPD reminds residents to be cautious during Halloween weekend

As the Fort Hays State University choir, the Fort Hays Singers prepare to present a selection of era and patriotic music in Hawaii, the combined choirs will showcase some of the program, along with much more at their Fall Concert on Friday.

The concert is set to begin at 7:30 p.m. in the Beach/Schmidt&nbsp; Performing
Arts Center.

Three choirs, the Fort
Hays Singers, the Concert Choir and the Fort Hays Singers will all perform during the event.

"We're going to be featuring the Fort Hays
Singers trip to Hawaii," said director of choral activities Terry Crull. "So we'll be doing our music that we are preparing to
take with us to Hawaii for the 80th anniversary of Pearl Harbor attacks in
December."

Along with the music, a sunflower wreath that displays the names of area veterans that will be presented during the trip will be displayed.

"We've got Vietnam vets, Korean vets, Afghan (veterans), Desert
Storm plus the World Wars," Crull said. "So that's a great way to honor the veterans and that
wreath will be set very soon over to Hawaii."

The wreath is set to be permanently displayed once presented in Hawaii.

The trip and the concert have been in the works since last year.

"It
was September 2020 that they contacted me and said, 'Do you want to come and
represent Kansas?' We said 'Yes, indeed.' So we're excited," Crull said. "In fact, we've got a
good relationship with Music Celebrations International who's sponsoring the
concert, and we get to kick it off with the Star-Spangled Banner and our
concert. So we're the very first one on the program. And, and we're honored to
do the national anthem as part of that program.

"We've also got pieces that are from that era 1941. All the
Things You Are, Tuxedo Junction from Bye Bye Birdie, My Funny Valentine, so
pieces that were popular with the boys and the women who served in Pearl Harbor
in '39, '40 and '41. I don't know if any of our audience will remember them but
they should be familiar because they're popular tunes that have stood the test
of time, but they were popular on those days is what you would have been
listening to on your radio if you were awake on Sunday morning when
the Japanese attacked."

It's not rock 'n roll
by any means, he said as love songs particularly from Broadway shows were
popular in that era.

"We've got a set of Oh Children of the Heavenly
Father a nice arrangement of that Swedish folk hymn," Crull said. "And a combination ... we call it
Swinging With the Saints. So it's gots Swing Low Sweet Chariot and When the
Saints Go Marching In combined again came combined together the gals do one
melody the guys do another and those two pieces fit together that's by Kansas
composer Mark Hayes."

The Smoky Hill Chorale also plans to perform Night and Day by Cole Porter and Turkey in the Straw.

"Then the Concert Choir has had some
older music, some Renaissance madrigals and motets, Singly Enchanted and a piece
called Weep Oh Mine Eyes. A&nbsp;very, very stirring song."

The concert is free to attend and open to the public.

"Our concerts
at Fort Hays are free, the orchestra, the bands, the choirs are all free," Crull said. "It's our gift to the community for their support of our program and of
course particularly for a lot of support both financially and otherwise for the
trip to Hawaii."

<div><iframe title="Fort Hays State University choirs to present Fall concert" allowtransparency="true" height="450" width="100%" style="border: none; min-width: min(100%, 430px);" scrolling="no" data-name="pb-iframe-player" src="https://www.podbean.com/player-v2/?i=xdt4v-110cefe-pb&from=pb6admin&square=1&share=1&download=1&rtl=0&fonts=Arial&skin=3267a3&font-color=auto&btn-skin=3267a3&size=450" allowfullscreen=""></iframe></div>By JAMES BELL Hays PostAs the Fort Hays State University choir, the Fort Hays Singers prepare to present a selection of era and patriotic music in Hawaii, the combined choirs will showcase some of the program, along with much more at their Fall Concert on Friday.The concert is set to begin at 7:30 p.m. in the Beach/Schmidt&nbsp; Performing
Arts Center.Three choirs, the Fort
Hays Singers, the Concert Choir and the Fort Hays Singers will all perform during the event."We're going to be featuring the Fort Hays
Singers trip to Hawaii," said director of choral activities Terry Crull. "So we'll be doing our music that we are preparing to
take with us to Hawaii for the 80th anniversary of Pearl Harbor attacks in
December."Along with the music, a sunflower wreath that displays the names of area veterans that will be presented during the trip will be displayed."We've got Vietnam vets, Korean vets, Afghan (veterans), Desert
Storm plus the World Wars," Crull said. "So that's a great way to honor the veterans and that
wreath will be set very soon over to Hawaii."The wreath is set to be permanently displayed once presented in Hawaii.The trip and the concert have been in the works since last year."It
was September 2020 that they contacted me and said, 'Do you want to come and
represent Kansas?' We said 'Yes, indeed.' So we're excited," Crull said. "In fact, we've got a
good relationship with Music Celebrations International who's sponsoring the
concert, and we get to kick it off with the Star-Spangled Banner and our
concert. So we're the very first one on the program. And, and we're honored to
do the national anthem as part of that program."We've also got pieces that are from that era 1941. All the
Things You Are, Tuxedo Junction from Bye Bye Birdie, My Funny Valentine, so
pieces that were popular with the boys and the women who served in Pearl Harbor
in '39, '40 and '41. I don't know if any of our audience will remember them but
they should be familiar because they're popular tunes that have stood the test
of time, but they were popular on those days is what you would have been
listening to on your radio if you were awake on Sunday morning when
the Japanese attacked."It's not rock 'n roll
by any means, he said as love songs particularly from Broadway shows were
popular in that era. "We've got a set of Oh Children of the Heavenly
Father a nice arrangement of that Swedish folk hymn," Crull said. "And a combination ... we call it
Swinging With the Saints. So it's gots Swing Low Sweet Chariot and When the
Saints Go Marching In combined again came combined together the gals do one
melody the guys do another and those two pieces fit together that's by Kansas
composer Mark Hayes." The Smoky Hill Chorale also plans to perform Night and Day by Cole Porter and Turkey in the Straw."Then the Concert Choir has had some
older music, some Renaissance madrigals and motets, Singly Enchanted and a piece
called Weep Oh Mine Eyes. A&nbsp;very, very stirring song."The concert is free to attend and open to the public."Our concerts
at Fort Hays are free, the orchestra, the bands, the choirs are all free," Crull said. "It's our gift to the community for their support of our program and of
course particularly for a lot of support both financially and otherwise for the
trip to Hawaii."

🎙 Patriotism on display at FHSU choirs concert

<a href="https://hayspost.com/posts/5dd2f46c897d147ad4bb104b">To find out more about The Post Podcast, or subscribe to mobile&nbsp;</a><a href="https://hayspost.com/posts/5dd2f46c897d147ad4bb104b">notifications click here.</a>

The importance of keeping fit only increases with age, and with that in mind, a new program is coming to Hays via the Cottonwood Extension District to help keep area residents approaching their senior years get active and find their way to better health.

The Stay Strong Stay Healthy
program, while new to Hays has been a fixture in Kansas for several years targeting middle-aged to older adults.

The $20 program will last eight weeks, with the first meeting set for Oct. 26 at the extension district office, 601 Main. Sessions will then run from 10 to 11 a.m. Tuesdays and Thursdays until Dec. 16.

"So we'll meet 16 times for an hour, twice a week, said Bernie Unruh, Cottonwood Extension District agent. " And just over that
time period, we were so fortunate to see some really good changes in people,
they just became stronger. They are supposed to. The idea is to do it every
other day, do strengthening every other day walk, you can still walk every day,
but just to get people up and moving."

She said especially with a modern, primarily sedentary lifestyle, a lack of activity can be detrimental to health.

"If
you go home and you sit down, and you don't get up and get moving, then your
body just, it relaxes and nothing," Unruh said. "There's no metabolism happening. There's
nothing happening. So sitting is our worst disease."

Participants in the program will be exposed to gradually increasing activity, she said, with the goal of increasing strength and activity levels.

"We do
some stretching exercises at the beginning," Unruh said. "And then there is a program. And so
we start out pretty easy, really only doing five repetitions. ... We do the upper body and the lower body, I mean,
the very first thing we do is stand up and sit down and stand up and sit down
five times.

"And then a couple of weeks later, we're doing six times and then eight
times and then 10 times and then doing 10 times twice. So it's amazing how you
can increase over the eight weeks."

"And so it can be at many levels. We're not going to get down on the floor and do push-ups. We're not going to, you know, do jumping jacks, it starts pretty slow and then we do cool down at the end. And so it does last about an hour in the beginning."

Accompanying the training, she said will be nutrition information and training recommendations for outside the sessions.

Since their inception, Unruh said Stay Strong Stay Healthy programs have grown in popularity, brought into Kansas via Missouri, who works with eight other states to bring the program to residents throughout the region.

Interested participants can sign up at the district office. Forms can also be found online.

During registration, Unruh said some information would be collected to ensure the program is working at an attainable pace for the participants.

"You could
be a person that is seriously not doing hardly any exercise, being pretty
sedentary, and we can still have you come and get started," Unruh said. "But we do kind of
want to know where you're at."

And she said she doesn't believe any condition is automatically disqualifying.

 "I'm going to say that every
physician is going to say, yes, you need to do this," Unruh said. "We've never had a
physician say no, you're not doing this, even if you have to have a walker in
front of you, and you have to hang on. Or if you have to have a chair, we can
get a chair that has hands on it, so you could push yourself up, but we
just have to get your body moving."

Unruh said exercise could also be a powerful way to fight stress, and with the group setting of the program, the encouragement from others with similar levels of fitness can help participants stay motivated.

"One way is to exercise. Another way is to stay connected with someone," Unruh said. "There was a seminar that I went to and I thought this was really cool that (suggested) to start your day you should text, if you text, text two people before 10 o'clock. Text ... and just stay connected."

<a href="https://events.k-state.edu/event/stay_strong_stay_healthy_in_hays?utm_campaign=widget&amp;utm_medium=widget&amp;utm_source=Events#.YWiKURrMJhE">For more information about the program visit the Cottonwood Extension District website, by clicking here.</a>

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2021/10/1634139929491.jpg" alt="Photo courtesy Pixabay" />
 <figcaption>Photo courtesy Pixabay</figcaption>
 </figure><div><iframe title="Cottonwood Extension district to launch Stay Strong Stay Healthy" 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=3gwmk-11031af-pb&from=pb6admin&square=1&share=1&download=1&rtl=0&fonts=Arial&skin=3267a3&font-color=auto&btn-skin=3267a3&size=300" allowfullscreen=""></iframe></div><a href="https://hayspost.com/posts/5dd2f46c897d147ad4bb104b">To find out more about The Post Podcast, or subscribe to mobile&nbsp;</a><a href="https://hayspost.com/posts/5dd2f46c897d147ad4bb104b">notifications click here.</a>By JAMES BELL Hays PostThe importance of keeping fit only increases with age, and with that in mind, a new program is coming to Hays via the Cottonwood Extension District to help keep area residents approaching their senior years get active and find their way to better health.The Stay Strong Stay Healthy
program, while new to Hays has been a fixture in Kansas for several years targeting middle-aged to older adults.The $20 program will last eight weeks, with the first meeting set for Oct. 26 at the extension district office, 601 Main. Sessions will then run from 10 to 11 a.m. Tuesdays and Thursdays until Dec. 16."So we'll meet 16 times for an hour, twice a week, said Bernie Unruh, Cottonwood Extension District agent. " And just over that
time period, we were so fortunate to see some really good changes in people,
they just became stronger. They are supposed to. The idea is to do it every
other day, do strengthening every other day walk, you can still walk every day,
but just to get people up and moving."She said especially with a modern, primarily sedentary lifestyle, a lack of activity can be detrimental to health."If
you go home and you sit down, and you don't get up and get moving, then your
body just, it relaxes and nothing," Unruh said. "There's no metabolism happening. There's
nothing happening. So sitting is our worst disease."Participants in the program will be exposed to gradually increasing activity, she said, with the goal of increasing strength and activity levels."We do
some stretching exercises at the beginning," Unruh said. "And then there is a program. And so
we start out pretty easy, really only doing five repetitions. ... We do the upper body and the lower body, I mean,
the very first thing we do is stand up and sit down and stand up and sit down
five times."And then a couple of weeks later, we're doing six times and then eight
times and then 10 times and then doing 10 times twice. So it's amazing how you
can increase over the eight weeks.""And so it can be at many levels. We're not going to get down on the floor and do push-ups. We're not going to, you know, do jumping jacks, it starts pretty slow and then we do cool down at the end. And so it does last about an hour in the beginning."Accompanying the training, she said will be nutrition information and training recommendations for outside the sessions.Since their inception, Unruh said Stay Strong Stay Healthy programs have grown in popularity, brought into Kansas via Missouri, who works with eight other states to bring the program to residents throughout the region.Interested participants can sign up at the district office. Forms can also be found online.During registration, Unruh said some information would be collected to ensure the program is working at an attainable pace for the participants."You could
be a person that is seriously not doing hardly any exercise, being pretty
sedentary, and we can still have you come and get started," Unruh said. "But we do kind of
want to know where you're at."And she said she doesn't believe any condition is automatically disqualifying. "I'm going to say that every
physician is going to say, yes, you need to do this," Unruh said. "We've never had a
physician say no, you're not doing this, even if you have to have a walker in
front of you, and you have to hang on. Or if you have to have a chair, we can
get a chair that has hands on it, so you could push yourself up, but we
just have to get your body moving."Unruh said exercise could also be a powerful way to fight stress, and with the group setting of the program, the encouragement from others with similar levels of fitness can help participants stay motivated."One way is to exercise. Another way is to stay connected with someone," Unruh said. "There was a seminar that I went to and I thought this was really cool that (suggested) to start your day you should text, if you text, text two people before 10 o'clock. Text ... and just stay connected."<a href="https://events.k-state.edu/event/stay_strong_stay_healthy_in_hays?utm_campaign=widget&amp;utm_medium=widget&amp;utm_source=Events#.YWiKURrMJhE">For more information about the program visit the Cottonwood Extension District website, by clicking here.</a>

🎙 Stay Strong Stay Healthy program set to begin in Hays 

Monday marked the start of Estate Planning Awareness week and the Heartland Community Foundation hopes area residents take advantage of free estate planning offered through the Dane G. Hansen Foundation.

Heartland Community Foundation executive director Sarah Meitner said having a plan in place can help those left behind fulfill final wishes.

"I see different numbers, different stats,
but only like 30 percent of adults have a will or a state plan in place when they
pass," Meitner said. "And all that that does by not having one is complicate it for your heirs."

And for those with children still in the home, she said having a plan in place can also ensure their needs are met.

"That is also, very important to plan ahead and to have had those discussions so that your loved ones aren't left wondering what to do," Meitner said.

Having a plan in place is also a benefit for the organizations a person supports and the community.

"You know, we at the community foundation, want to see our community be
sustainable and prosperous for generations," Meitner said. "And that means talking to donors
talking to people about having an estate plan. We hope that they might have a
charitable component as part of that — to maybe look at their community and
identify something that they're passionate about and leave a little bit to
that organization or to that whatever that passionate cause is."

She said even the donation of a small part of an estate can have a large impact.

 "Leave 95 percent to your heirs. Maybe take 5 percent to leave to whatever
charitable cause or your church is most important to you," Meitner said. "But to think about
that ahead of time, will certainly make it easier for your heirs and faster
for them to tie everything up after you're gone."

And giving even a small amount can ensure money stays within the local economy.

"Here's a great example," Meitner said. "Say there's, you know, Mary and
John donate every year to United Way. And just as an example, it could be any
organization but, you know, the folks that United Way have come to depend on
that $1,000 every year as part of their campaign. ... 

"They know to expect it. Well, after Mary and John are gone and their kids have
inherited all of the money. That money is no longer going to United Way or
whatever other cause. And Mary and John probably would have wanted that $1,000
to continue going to United Way. So it's little things like that."

 So in an effort to support more area residents with estate planning, Ellis County residents can sign up for free planning through the Dane G. Hansen Foundation.

"So what that does, it takes about four to five
meetings you meet with him, you have your estate plan," Meitner said. "It's all free, you then take your estate plan and you have to then take it to an
attorney to fully execute."

While the attorney fee will apply, the planning she said is done without charge.

"But the planning part, you know, four to five meetings
of discussions each one's about one to two hours of time that part is included," Meitner said. "The only thing that Hansen asks is that you do have a charitable interest."

"So anybody who's interested in taking
advantage of that, Hansen certainly wants to help get you scheduled," she said. "You can
give me a call and I can help put you through the pipeline to help you see
somebody and check that mark check that off your to-do list. ...&nbsp;

"There's still three
months or two and a half months left of the year. You can be working on it and head into the new year feeling like you're making some progress, which is,
you know, really cool."

<div><iframe title="Heartland Community Foundation launches fall grant cycle" 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=2ijsn-1100ac1-pb&from=pb6admin&square=1&share=1&download=1&rtl=0&fonts=Arial&skin=3267a3&font-color=auto&btn-skin=3267a3&size=300" allowfullscreen=""></iframe></div>By JAMES BELL Hays PostMonday marked the start of Estate Planning Awareness week and the Heartland Community Foundation hopes area residents take advantage of free estate planning offered through the Dane G. Hansen Foundation.Heartland Community Foundation executive director Sarah Meitner said having a plan in place can help those left behind fulfill final wishes."I see different numbers, different stats,
but only like 30 percent of adults have a will or a state plan in place when they
pass," Meitner said. "And all that that does by not having one is complicate it for your heirs."And for those with children still in the home, she said having a plan in place can also ensure their needs are met."That is also, very important to plan ahead and to have had those discussions so that your loved ones aren't left wondering what to do," Meitner said.Having a plan in place is also a benefit for the organizations a person supports and the community."You know, we at the community foundation, want to see our community be
sustainable and prosperous for generations," Meitner said. "And that means talking to donors
talking to people about having an estate plan. We hope that they might have a
charitable component as part of that — to maybe look at their community and
identify something that they're passionate about and leave a little bit to
that organization or to that whatever that passionate cause is."She said even the donation of a small part of an estate can have a large impact. "Leave 95 percent to your heirs. Maybe take 5 percent to leave to whatever
charitable cause or your church is most important to you," Meitner said. "But to think about
that ahead of time, will certainly make it easier for your heirs and faster
for them to tie everything up after you're gone."And giving even a small amount can ensure money stays within the local economy."Here's a great example," Meitner said. "Say there's, you know, Mary and
John donate every year to United Way. And just as an example, it could be any
organization but, you know, the folks that United Way have come to depend on
that $1,000 every year as part of their campaign. ... "They know to expect it. Well, after Mary and John are gone and their kids have
inherited all of the money. That money is no longer going to United Way or
whatever other cause. And Mary and John probably would have wanted that $1,000
to continue going to United Way. So it's little things like that." So in an effort to support more area residents with estate planning, Ellis County residents can sign up for free planning through the Dane G. Hansen Foundation."So what that does, it takes about four to five
meetings you meet with him, you have your estate plan," Meitner said. "It's all free, you then take your estate plan and you have to then take it to an
attorney to fully execute."While the attorney fee will apply, the planning she said is done without charge."But the planning part, you know, four to five meetings
of discussions each one's about one to two hours of time that part is included," Meitner said. "The only thing that Hansen asks is that you do have a charitable interest.""So anybody who's interested in taking
advantage of that, Hansen certainly wants to help get you scheduled," she said. "You can
give me a call and I can help put you through the pipeline to help you see
somebody and check that mark check that off your to-do list. ...&nbsp;"There's still three
months or two and a half months left of the year. You can be working on it and head into the new year feeling like you're making some progress, which is,
you know, really cool."

🎙 Free estate planning offered by foundation

Realizing the importance of soft skills and their importance for students to use their academic skills successfully after graduation, Thomas More Prep-Marian is working with students to instill those skills in students alongside their traditional studies.

"As a state, we've kind of said, 'Hey, maybe we've focused so much on academic skills, we've let some of the soft skills, the executive functioning skills about interacting with others slide and maybe, we need to get back and focus on that,'" said Thomas More Prep-Marian principal Chad Meitner.

With the pandemic directly impacting students, he said helping students learn to cope is a pressing concern.

"When we're up against a stressful situation, anxiety, a hardship in our lives, that manifests itself in other areas," Meitner said. "And so our kids are no different. They're going to come to school, carrying some of that baggage from home and from life. And so yeah, we're doing some really cool things, I think, in our community systems to help address those things we're seeing."

But while the pandemic brought these issues to the surface, he said it had been a growing concern across the state.

"Even prior to the pandemic, the state of Kansas, the education department, did a lot of surveys with business leaders, asking them, what did they want to see in graduates from the colleges and the high schools that were coming to them for jobs," Meitner said. 

"What by far, the top things were soft skills. When you looked at it, it wasn't that they were better at calculus. It wasn't that they could have better grammar in the writing. Those are still important. You still have to have those skills to get to get those jobs.

 "But they all were noticing a lack of, the ability to introduce (themselves) and have that small talk in a comfortable way and the ability to organize their day and be on time and just some of those things that maybe we took for granted."

With the religious education offered at TMP, he said empathy and compassion also factor into those missing skills.

 "As a Catholic school, we also want to make sure that we're treating people right, that we have empathetic hearts and a heart of service. 

"You learn from our faith that we are put on this Earth to serve God and to serve [your] neighbor. And so that really dovetails nicely with all these skills we're trying to learn because it's about loving."

So he said they have taken that need into account in their faith teaching, tweaking it a little bit for the needs of this current generation.

The school is also talking about dealing with negative feelings and thoughts and how to address conflicts.

"You do take a class in a sense on those skills," Meitner said, "but then another way we do that is just by doing things together in that community."

He hopes those skills will translate to students who are better able to deal with negative situations.

"When you do go through a depressive state or a rough patch in your life, especially our young kids, we want them to know that it's time to reach out. It's okay to ask a peer, preferably a trusted adult, for that kind of help," Meitner said.

Even at TMP in recent years, he said negative thoughts and emotions have become more prevalent in the school.

 "We take a survey every year, and we have for at least seven, eight years at TMP-Marion. Some of the data we get back is about how long have they been depressed about something for longer than two weeks, how long have they had suicidal thoughts, a lot of those tough topics.

"It's anonymous data, but it's a survey that gives us a chance to see how big of a problem it is within our student body," Meitner said. "And, you know, unfortunately, we see just like in the society around us, there is just a little more of that in our kids' lives right now."

 Using that data, teachers can now be more proactive and help students understand what is going on within themselves.

And with teachers asked to more than ever before, having those abilities can be a tremendous benefit.

"Teachers in all schools are being asked more and more to be more than just providers of content and teachers of material," Meitner said. 

"They're also asked to be a counselor. They're asked to be a social worker. They're asked to be a health coach ... and they're very willing to do that.

 "Our teachers at TMP Marian are just amazing in their hearts, how big they are, because they're there for the kids. They'll do what it takes. 

"This is one of those things that this year ... we're going to focus on building those skills, soft skills for professionals, but also mental health skills so that they can have a quality of life that we think they deserve."

<div><iframe title="TMP-M students learn value of soft skills with new intuitive" 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=rh9tq-1100d0d-pb&from=pb6admin&square=1&share=1&download=1&rtl=0&fonts=Arial&skin=3267a3&font-color=auto&btn-skin=3267a3&size=300" allowfullscreen=""></iframe></div>By JAMES BELL Hays PostRealizing the importance of soft skills and their importance for students to use their academic skills successfully after graduation, Thomas More Prep-Marian is working with students to instill those skills in students alongside their traditional studies."As a state, we've kind of said, 'Hey, maybe we've focused so much on academic skills, we've let some of the soft skills, the executive functioning skills about interacting with others slide and maybe, we need to get back and focus on that,'" said Thomas More Prep-Marian principal Chad Meitner.With the pandemic directly impacting students, he said helping students learn to cope is a pressing concern."When we're up against a stressful situation, anxiety, a hardship in our lives, that manifests itself in other areas," Meitner said. "And so our kids are no different. They're going to come to school, carrying some of that baggage from home and from life. And so yeah, we're doing some really cool things, I think, in our community systems to help address those things we're seeing."But while the pandemic brought these issues to the surface, he said it had been a growing concern across the state."Even prior to the pandemic, the state of Kansas, the education department, did a lot of surveys with business leaders, asking them, what did they want to see in graduates from the colleges and the high schools that were coming to them for jobs," Meitner said. "What by far, the top things were soft skills. When you looked at it, it wasn't that they were better at calculus. It wasn't that they could have better grammar in the writing. Those are still important. You still have to have those skills to get to get those jobs. "But they all were noticing a lack of, the ability to introduce (themselves) and have that small talk in a comfortable way and the ability to organize their day and be on time and just some of those things that maybe we took for granted."With the religious education offered at TMP, he said empathy and compassion also factor into those missing skills. "As a Catholic school, we also want to make sure that we're treating people right, that we have empathetic hearts and a heart of service. "You learn from our faith that we are put on this Earth to serve God and to serve [your] neighbor. And so that really dovetails nicely with all these skills we're trying to learn because it's about loving."So he said they have taken that need into account in their faith teaching, tweaking it a little bit for the needs of this current generation.The school is also talking about dealing with negative feelings and thoughts and how to address conflicts."You do take a class in a sense on those skills," Meitner said, "but then another way we do that is just by doing things together in that community."He hopes those skills will translate to students who are better able to deal with negative situations."When you do go through a depressive state or a rough patch in your life, especially our young kids, we want them to know that it's time to reach out. It's okay to ask a peer, preferably a trusted adult, for that kind of help," Meitner said.Even at TMP in recent years, he said negative thoughts and emotions have become more prevalent in the school. "We take a survey every year, and we have for at least seven, eight years at TMP-Marion. Some of the data we get back is about how long have they been depressed about something for longer than two weeks, how long have they had suicidal thoughts, a lot of those tough topics."It's anonymous data, but it's a survey that gives us a chance to see how big of a problem it is within our student body," Meitner said. "And, you know, unfortunately, we see just like in the society around us, there is just a little more of that in our kids' lives right now." Using that data, teachers can now be more proactive and help students understand what is going on within themselves.And with teachers asked to more than ever before, having those abilities can be a tremendous benefit."Teachers in all schools are being asked more and more to be more than just providers of content and teachers of material," Meitner said. "They're also asked to be a counselor. They're asked to be a social worker. They're asked to be a health coach ... and they're very willing to do that. "Our teachers at TMP Marian are just amazing in their hearts, how big they are, because they're there for the kids. They'll do what it takes. "This is one of those things that this year ... we're going to focus on building those skills, soft skills for professionals, but also mental health skills so that they can have a quality of life that we think they deserve."

🎙TMP-M students learn the value of soft skills with new initiative

On this episode of the Post Podcast, Hays Chamber administrative assistant Marlis Fletcher along with Hays Young Professionals member Natalie Ellis talk about the HYP group and more.

<div><iframe title="Hays Young Professionals helps connect business community" 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=98r2w-1101b1d-pb&from=pb6admin&square=1&share=1&download=1&rtl=0&fonts=Arial&skin=3267a3&font-color=auto&btn-skin=3267a3&size=300" allowfullscreen=""></iframe></div>On this episode of the Post Podcast, Hays Chamber administrative assistant Marlis Fletcher along with Hays Young Professionals member Natalie Ellis talk about the HYP group and more.<a href="https://hayspost.com/posts/5dd2f46c897d147ad4bb104b">To find out more about The Post Podcast, or subscribe to mobile&nbsp;</a><a href="https://hayspost.com/posts/5dd2f46c897d147ad4bb104b">notifications click here.</a>

🎙Post Podcast: Hays Young Professionals help connect business community

The Heartland Community Foundation is preparing for their next round of awarding grants to area organizations.

Applications will be open until Nov. 15, according to executive director Sarah Meitner.

<div><iframe title="Heartland Community Foundation launches fall grant cycle" 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=2ijsn-1100ac1-pb&from=pb6admin&square=1&share=1&download=1&rtl=0&fonts=Arial&skin=3267a3&font-color=auto&btn-skin=3267a3&size=300" allowfullscreen=""></iframe></div>By JAMES BELL Hays PostThe Heartland Community Foundation is preparing for their next round of awarding grants to area organizations.Applications will be open until Nov. 15, according to executive director Sarah Meitner."It is open to any nonprofit church, municipality, in Ellis, Rooks or Trego County for any charitable cause," she said "And you can come to us and you don't have to have matched funds. But you know, we certainly like to see them, so come bring your idea and you can go to our website to find that application."<a href="https://heartlandcommunityfoundation.org/">The foundation's website is heartlandcommunityfoundation.org.</a>Meitner said grants are awarded to a variety of causes."It's really anything, you know, charitable, a charitable community cause," she said. "So I was out at Cedar Bluff last week to meet with an Eagle Scout who applied through Cedar Bluff State Park, and he had applied for money to do a new picnic area."She said they granted him $12,500 to do that project, and he replaced 30 picnic tables. "Yeah, and he did it all on his own," Meitner said. He's a sophomore over at Hays High. So we were certainly excited. The committee was definitely excited to see interest from a young person, you know, with an idea."But she said that example is just one out of many."We have funded lots of things for our schools," Meitner said. "There was a new GaGa pit that went in at a church in Stockton, there was, a hearing device, one of those machines that helps check the hearing of a young person at Hays Area Children's Center, that's one we've done."And those that are not sure if their idea would qualify for a grant, are free to call the foundation and discuss the idea."I get calls all the time," Meitner said. "Teachers especially like to call. ... I think that there's room for lots of lots of really cool projects, and we want to be a part of it."In this cycle between $60,000 and $70,000 will be available.<a href="https://heartlandcommunityfoundation.org/">For more information about the grants or the foundation, visit heartlandcommunityfoundation.org.</a>