"Things are going better than I ever could have expected," said&nbsp;Rachel Wentling, Holy Family Elementary principal, about the 2020-21 school year.

While the Catholic elementary school has had to adapt the year to the ongoing pandemic, now that the year has begun, students and staff are focusing less on the mitigation measures that were put into place and more on creating a learning environment that is as close to normal as possible.

"Getting this school year off the ground has been harder than usual," Wentling said. "I often compare the beginning of the school year to the launching of a space shuttle. Despite all of our other complications, this year has been especially difficult, but after we have gotten started it is going much better than I ever expected."

Getting the mitigation measures in place was the biggest challenge while preparing for the year.

"In order for us to be able to have school in person, we had to implement a lot of mitigation strategies," Wentling said. "That has taken a lot of work by a lot of people in my building."

Given building limitations, they worked to find the safest way to provide the best education possible for the students — requiring effort from the entire staff.

"We were not able to distance the students the full six feet that most people recommended," Wentling said. "So were are using all kinds of different strategies to help us."

But overall, the students have adapted well to those measures she said.

"I don't want to say it feels normal," Wentling said. "I don't ever want to say it feels normal, but I think it is becoming a little more normed, in that (the mitigation measures) are no longer the focus."

The students and staff she said are beginning to focus more on interaction and academics than the novelty of the mitigation measures.

"Our students have adapted beautifully and we are starting to see what their normal orneriness come out," Wentling said. "That's not at all a bad thing. That means that if their normal orneriness is coming out then these things that we had to put in place that everybody was so worried about are beginning to fade into the background."

She said while the year is settling in, they are still answering some questions and are not sure when thing will completely return to normal.

And they are also looking for ways to continue to improve the year with the measures in place.

"I think the general consensus is that it feels good," Wentling said.

While most students returned to in-person learning at the beginning of the year, a few opted for a remote learning environment.

For those students, the school partnered with the Smoky Valley Virtual Charter school in Lindsborg.&nbsp;

"We already had a working relationship with them on some other school-related programs," Wentling said. "So they were able to us with those virtual online students."

While students working remotely are enrolled in both Holy Family and the charter school, some services are being provided by Holy Family, including monitoring test-taking.

Students who are temporarily out of class due to coronavirus exposure or mandated isolation also work virtually with their classroom teacher in order to stay caught up with their class.

So far, Wentling said some students have already had to quarantine this year, but there have been no confirmed cases in the school.

If a case does get confirmed, they are ready to adjust as needed to keep the year on track.

"We are going to do everything we can to keep the kids in class," Wentling said.

<figure>
                        <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/9/1600289353104.jpeg" alt="" />
                        <figcaption></figcaption>
                    </figure><div><iframe title="So far so good; Holy Family Elementary kicks off year" height="122" width="100%" style="border: none;" scrolling="no" data-name="pb-iframe-player" src="https://www.podbean.com/media/player/rb2cc-ebd43f?from=pb6admin&download=1&version=1&auto=1&share=1&download=1&rtl=0&fonts=Helvetica&skin=3&pfauth=&btn-skin=101"></iframe></div><p><b>By JAMES BELL</b><br><i>Hays Post</i></p><p>"Things are going better than I ever could have expected," said&nbsp;Rachel Wentling, Holy Family Elementary principal, about the 2020-21 school year.</p><p>While the Catholic elementary school has had to adapt the year to the ongoing pandemic, now that the year has begun, students and staff are focusing less on the mitigation measures that were put into place and more on creating a learning environment that is as close to normal as possible.</p><p>"Getting this school year off the ground has been harder than usual," Wentling said. "I often compare the beginning of the school year to the launching of a space shuttle. Despite all of our other complications, this year has been especially difficult, but after we have gotten started it is going much better than I ever expected."</p><p>Getting the mitigation measures in place was the biggest challenge while preparing for the year.</p><p>"In order for us to be able to have school in person, we had to implement a lot of mitigation strategies," Wentling said. "That has taken a lot of work by a lot of people in my building."</p><p>Given building limitations, they worked to find the safest way to provide the best education possible for the students — requiring effort from the entire staff.</p><p>"We were not able to distance the students the full six feet that most people recommended," Wentling said. "So were are using all kinds of different strategies to help us."</p><p>But overall, the students have adapted well to those measures she said.</p><p>"I don't want to say it feels normal," Wentling said. "I don't ever want to say it feels normal, but I think it is becoming a little more normed, in that (the mitigation measures) are no longer the focus."</p><p>The students and staff she said are beginning to focus more on interaction and academics than the novelty of the mitigation measures.</p><p>"Our students have adapted beautifully and we are starting to see what their normal orneriness come out," Wentling said. "That's not at all a bad thing. That means that if their normal orneriness is coming out then these things that we had to put in place that everybody was so worried about are beginning to fade into the background."</p><p>She said while the year is settling in, they are still answering some questions and are not sure when thing will completely return to normal.</p><p>And they are also looking for ways to continue to improve the year with the measures in place.</p><p>"I think the general consensus is that it feels good," Wentling said.</p><p>While most students returned to in-person learning at the beginning of the year, a few opted for a remote learning environment.</p><p>For those students, the school partnered with the Smoky Valley Virtual Charter school in Lindsborg.&nbsp;</p><p>"We already had a working relationship with them on some other school-related programs," Wentling said. "So they were able to us with those virtual online students."</p><p>While students working remotely are enrolled in both Holy Family and the charter school, some services are being provided by Holy Family, including monitoring test-taking.</p><p>Students who are temporarily out of class due to coronavirus exposure or mandated isolation also work virtually with their classroom teacher in order to stay caught up with their class.</p><p>So far, Wentling said some students have already had to quarantine this year, but there have been no confirmed cases in the school.</p><p>If a case does get confirmed, they are ready to adjust as needed to keep the year on track.</p><p>"We are going to do everything we can to keep the kids in class," Wentling said.</p>

🎙 So far so good: Holy Family Elementary kicks off year

<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>

<div><iframe title="Food safety ever important" height="400" width="400" style="border: none;" scrolling="no" data-name="pb-iframe-player" src="https://www.podbean.com/media/player/j2gzs-ec2024?from=pb6admin&download=1&version=1&vjs=1&auto=1&share=1&download=1&rtl=0&fonts=Helvetica&skin=3&pfauth="></iframe></div><p><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></p>

🎙 Post Podcast: Food borne illness easy to prevent with basic measures

<div><iframe title="Hays Chamber readies for golf tournament Friday" height="400" width="400" style="border: none;" scrolling="no" data-name="pb-iframe-player" src="https://www.podbean.com/media/player/6czst-ebd41c?from=pb6admin&download=1&version=1&vjs=1&auto=1&share=1&download=1&rtl=0&fonts=Helvetica&skin=3&pfauth="></iframe></div><p><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></p>

🎙 Post Podcast: Hays Chamber readies for golf tournament Friday

<div><iframe title="Ellis County preparing for 2020 general election" height="400" width="400" style="border: none;" scrolling="no" data-name="pb-iframe-player" src="https://www.podbean.com/media/player/v87x5-ebaada?from=pb6admin&download=1&version=1&vjs=1&auto=1&share=1&download=1&rtl=0&fonts=Helvetica&skin=3&pfauth="></iframe></div><p><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></p>

🎙 Post Podcast: Ellis County preparing for 2020 general election

The housing development planned near the intersection of Wheatland and 22nd in Hays recently reached another milestone, after four contractors signed on to build homes in the development.

"You couldn't tell by driving by it, but things are happening behind the scenes," said Doug Williams, executive director of Grow Hays. "This week, we got commitments from four contractors who have committed to build homes over there."

The commitment gives 18 months for the contractors to build the homes and will be built at different price points within the scope of the project that is designed to address a lack of homes within a price range of $175,000 to $225,000 in Hays.

"They are going to build in different price points," Williams said. "Each of them has to build a house that will sell for no more than $175,000, a house that sells for no more that $200,000, a house that sells for no more than $225,000 and then the fourth one they can pick what price range they want."

The agreement is also good news for developer Heart of America, as the nonprofit cannot begin to recoup infrastructure development costs until homes are built.

The costs will be covered by a Rural Housing Incentive District that was passed earlier this year and allows the group to collect the increase in tax revenues on the developed land.

"It's good news, not only for (Heart of America), but also for the housing market," Williams said. "It will provide some much-needed inventory at a price range that is very lacking right now and has been for quite some time."

Now that the contractors have signed on, Williams is hopeful construction will begin quickly after the infrastructure is in place.

Plans for sewers and related water infrastructure are currently being reviewed by the Kansas Department of Health and Environment and bids are out for construction.

"I'm hoping we can see some actual activity out there in the next 30 days," Williams said.&nbsp;

Although he admits that is an optimistic timeline,&nbsp;he said if the infrastructure can be completed in the next few months, home construction could begin after the first of the year.

"As quick as we can get some streets in and some utilities we will have 16 houses out there withing an 18-month time frame," Williams said.

The entire project will be split into three phases, with 36 lots included in phase one.

Once around 75 percent of those lots are developed, phase two will begin.

"We have several years to build out phase one, but hopefully within a couple of years that could be 75-80 percent built up and we could start on the next," Williams said.

In the meantime, Williams said the agreement with the contractors is a positive first step.

"It's great news," he said. "These are all good contractors that know what they are doing."

<div><iframe title="Housing developments progressing in Hays" height="122" width="100%" style="border: none;" scrolling="no" data-name="pb-iframe-player" src="https://www.podbean.com/media/player/imwwj-eb2aaf?from=pb6admin&download=1&version=1&auto=1&share=1&download=1&rtl=0&fonts=Helvetica&skin=3&pfauth=&btn-skin=101"></iframe></div><p><b>By JAMES BELL</b><br><i>Hays Post</i></p><p>The housing development planned near the intersection of Wheatland and 22nd in Hays recently reached another milestone, after four contractors signed on to build homes in the development.</p><p>"You couldn't tell by driving by it, but things are happening behind the scenes," said Doug Williams, executive director of Grow Hays. "This week, we got commitments from four contractors who have committed to build homes over there."</p><p>The commitment gives 18 months for the contractors to build the homes and will be built at different price points within the scope of the project that is designed to address a lack of homes within a price range of $175,000 to $225,000 in Hays.</p><p>"They are going to build in different price points," Williams said. "Each of them has to build a house that will sell for no more than $175,000, a house that sells for no more that $200,000, a house that sells for no more than $225,000 and then the fourth one they can pick what price range they want."</p><p>The agreement is also good news for developer Heart of America, as the nonprofit cannot begin to recoup infrastructure development costs until homes are built.</p><p>The costs will be covered by a Rural Housing Incentive District that was passed earlier this year and allows the group to collect the increase in tax revenues on the developed land.</p><p>"It's good news, not only for (Heart of America), but also for the housing market," Williams said. "It will provide some much-needed inventory at a price range that is very lacking right now and has been for quite some time."</p><p>Now that the contractors have signed on, Williams is hopeful construction will begin quickly after the infrastructure is in place.</p><p>Plans for sewers and related water infrastructure are currently being reviewed by the Kansas Department of Health and Environment and bids are out for construction.</p><p>"I'm hoping we can see some actual activity out there in the next 30 days," Williams said.&nbsp;</p><p>Although he admits that is an optimistic timeline,&nbsp;he said if the infrastructure can be completed in the next few months, home construction could begin after the first of the year.</p><p>"As quick as we can get some streets in and some utilities we will have 16 houses out there withing an 18-month time frame," Williams said.</p><p>The entire project will be split into three phases, with 36 lots included in phase one.</p><p>Once around 75 percent of those lots are developed, phase two will begin.</p><p>"We have several years to build out phase one, but hopefully within a couple of years that could be 75-80 percent built up and we could start on the next," Williams said.</p><p>In the meantime, Williams said the agreement with the contractors is a positive first step.</p><p>"It's great news," he said. "These are all good contractors that know what they are doing."</p>

🎤Four contractors have signed onto Hays RHID housing project

<div><iframe title="City approves storm water retention project" height="400" width="400" style="border: none;" scrolling="no" data-name="pb-iframe-player" src="https://www.podbean.com/media/player/pp3ig-eb37e6?from=pb6admin&download=1&version=1&vjs=1&auto=1&share=1&download=1&rtl=0&fonts=Helvetica&skin=3&pfauth="></iframe></div><p><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></p>

🎙 Post Podcast: City approves storm water retention project

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🎙 Post Podcast: Hays Public Library remodel ongoing

<div><iframe title="Hays Chamber celebrates educators" height="400" width="400" style="border: none;" scrolling="no" data-name="pb-iframe-player" src="https://www.podbean.com/media/player/6s88c-eaec17?from=pb6admin&download=1&version=1&vjs=1&auto=1&share=1&download=1&rtl=0&fonts=Helvetica&skin=3&pfauth="></iframe></div><p><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></p>

🎙 Post Podcast: Hays Chamber celebrates educators

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🎙 Post Podcast: Ellis County Commission discusses COVID-19; ballots during meeting

<div><iframe title="New business popping up around Hays" height="400" width="400" style="border: none;" scrolling="no" data-name="pb-iframe-player" src="https://www.podbean.com/media/player/dwv6r-ea39a8?from=pb6admin&download=1&version=1&vjs=1&auto=1&share=1&download=1&rtl=0&fonts=Helvetica&skin=3&pfauth="></iframe></div><p><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></p>

🎙 Post Podcast: New business popping up around Hays

<div><iframe title="FHSU adjusting to COVID-19 in fall semester" height="400" width="400" style="border: none;" scrolling="no" data-name="pb-iframe-player" src="https://www.podbean.com/media/player/pv3ax-ea3987?from=pb6admin&download=1&version=1&vjs=1&auto=1&share=1&download=1&rtl=0&fonts=Helvetica&skin=3&pfauth="></iframe></div><p><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></p>

🎙 Post Podcast: FHSU adjusting to COVID-19 during fall semester

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🎙 Post Podcast: Medicare open enrollment window approaching

The questionnaire can be found at&nbsp;<a href="https://form.jotform.com/202094713357151" target="_blank">https://form.jotform.com/202094713357151</a>.

<a href="https://hayspost.com/posts/78efda09-b875-4ca4-9ba4-d0c27a2551f5">To read more about the program click here.</a>

<div><iframe title="Hays Chamber insurance questionnaire window open" height="400" width="400" style="border: none;" scrolling="no" data-name="pb-iframe-player" src="https://www.podbean.com/media/player/r8hm2-e9be98?from=pb6admin&download=1&version=1&vjs=1&auto=1&share=1&download=1&rtl=0&fonts=Helvetica&skin=3&pfauth="></iframe></div><p>The questionnaire can be found at&nbsp;<a href="https://form.jotform.com/202094713357151" target="_blank">https://form.jotform.com/202094713357151</a>.</p><p><a href="https://hayspost.com/posts/78efda09-b875-4ca4-9ba4-d0c27a2551f5">To read more about the program click here.</a></p><p><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></p>

🎙 Post Podcast: Hays Chamber insurance questionnaire window open

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🎙 Post Podcast: Contentious city meeting leads to controversial decision

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🎙 Post Podcast: Housing developments in Ellis Co. bring much needed options to the market

<div><iframe title="Holy Family to kick off Red Wheel Fundraiser" height="400" width="400" style="border: none;" scrolling="no" data-name="pb-iframe-player" src="https://www.podbean.com/media/player/sbhg4-e93a38?from=pb6admin&download=1&version=1&vjs=1&auto=1&share=1&download=1&rtl=0&fonts=Helvetica&skin=3&pfauth="></iframe></div><p><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></p>

🎙 Post Podcast: Holy Family to kick off Red Wheel Fundraiser

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🎙 Post Podcast: New DHDC events scheduled after Brews on the Bricks cancelled

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🎙 Post Podcast: HPD shares school zone safety tips

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🎙 Post Podcast: TMP-M readies for the start of school

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🎙 Post Podcast: National lemonade day an opportunity to explore the benefits of lemons

<div><iframe title="Ellis County completes election canvas" height="400" width="400" style="border: none;" scrolling="no" data-name="pb-iframe-player" src="https://www.podbean.com/media/player/ytjqg-e7a3e9?from=pb6admin&download=1&version=1&vjs=1&auto=1&share=1&download=1&rtl=0&fonts=Helvetica&skin=3&pfauth="></iframe></div><p><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></p>

🎙 Post Podcast: Ellis County completes election canvas

<b>By CRISTINA JANNEY<br></b><i>Hays Post</i>

The Ellis County Commission approved $5.7 million in grants in CARES Act funding at a special meeting Thursday, but chose to deviate from the recommendations made by a committee established to review applications.

The commissioners balked at the $915,538 recommended for businesses, with Commissioner Dustin Roths saying some of the numbers submitted were "pie in the sky."

The commissioners ultimately directed County Administrator J.D. Cox to reduce allocations to certain business who received the largest recommendations. This was done so $200,000 could be allocated to the county for a new ambulance.

The county has applied for a FEMA grant to fund a portion of the ambulance, but even if the grant is approved, it would still need another $70,000 for the purchase.&nbsp;

The ambulance was budgeted for purchase next year.

"The way I look at it is that the money is available here today," Commissioner Dean Haselhorst said. "If we can fund an ambulance, why should we ask the taxpayers to fund a full ambulance if we can get it funded here today?"

Roths said, "I think where the government went wrong in this and opened a Pandora's box in this for Doug and his whole committee was they threw in this idea of lost revenue.

"When they did that, it became less about COVID-19 and protecting people in these businesses and it became an accounting issue for a lot of these small businesses to try to recoup what they think they might have lost when they were shut down. They probably shouldn't have been shut down out here in my opinion."

They also directed Cox to increase the award for Hess Clinic from $2,700 to $40,000. The clinic requested assistance to fund personal protective equipment, money to construct a drive-through area at the clinic and money for COVID testing equipment.&nbsp;

Of Hess' more than $115,000 request, the commissioner opted not to fund a request for hazard pay for employees, noting county fire and EMS workers had not received hazard pay during the pandemic.

The commission suggested cutting business funding across the board who had received the maximum funding request in their categories. Most of the businesses were retailers, restaurants or hotels and were recommended to receive funds from $20,000 to $50,000 each.

Doug Williams, director of Grow Hays, was the chairman of the subcommittee on for-profit funding. The subcommittee received 50 applications for more than $5 million and was asked by Cox to pair that down to $1 million in recommendations. That ultimately was cut to $715,538 in lieu of the allocation to the county for the ambulance.

Williams said the subcommittee focused on retailers, hotels and restaurants, because they believed those were the businesses that were hardest hit by the pandemic.

Williams said the applications did not indicate if businesses had received any other COVID assistance, including Paycheck Protection Program loans.

The subcommittee created a formula to allocate hotels based on the number of rooms, basically recommending $500 per room, which could be used for PPE or enhanced cleaning efforts.

"I am comfortable with the decisions our committee made, and I'm comfortable with the decisions that the think tank made given the task at hand, the time frame to do it, as well as the information we had. We tried to do the best we could," Williams said.

The Ellis CARES Committee had a short time frame to review the applications. The county hopes to send the applications to the state Friday. They are due Monday.&nbsp;

All money for the program has to be spent by the end of the year.

Any business or agency receiving funding will be asked to sign a memorandum of understanding saying they will spend the funds within the parameters of the CARES Act. This will include a stipulation that fund recipients must be current on their taxes.

The subcommittee did not recommend any oil companies receive funding, which raised concerns among the commissioners.

Williams said five of the seven applications from oil companies can from the same person. The subcommittee members believed the oil commodities had been affected by other factors than COVID-19. He also noted PPE was not needed in the oil fields.

Sarah Wasinger, director of The Chamber in Hays, said all of the oil company requests also were to fund payroll, which could have been covered under PPP loans.

Haselhorst said, "You talk about motels being off 80 percent. I can tell you for a fact that the oil field business was off 100 percent. We take zero consideration about the oil field in Ellis County. That is what funds this county. That is what funds this city. ... Some of these asks are off the wall."

Roths said he was concerned the committee recommended funding for Midland Marketing, but not oil companies.&nbsp;

Roths had questions about equity in the for-profit funding recommendations.&nbsp;

"If they had requested over $25,000,&nbsp;the award recommendation was $25,000, and it didn't have any barring on their economic impact to the community. For instance, the Hallmark store and the men's clothing store gets the same funding as the mall."

&nbsp;He continued, "The last thing I thought last night was do I really want to reward, I guess you could call it, greed over people that were being reasonable? ... People who were saying if I could get $6,000 or $7,000 I could really get through this and be fine.&nbsp;

"Some of these asks on the for-profits were almost laughable to me."

Cox acknowledged the program was not perfect.&nbsp;

 "The main goal is not that, the equitable part of it. That strikes completely opposite of what we believe in. The main goal is to inject money immediately into the economy," he said.

Roths owns two business in Hays. He said he did not apply for any funding under the program.&nbsp;

He said the program was not what America and free markets are about.

"The problem that came from this for you guys is who stuck their hand out and said they wanted money as opposed to what you guys thought was fair," he said.

He added later in the meeting, "I imagine being a county commissioner of Ellis County might have cost me $75,000 in grant funding."

Sandy Jacobs, director of the Heartland Foundation, chaired the subcommittee on non-profits. She said about half of the requests were to cover lost revenue from fundraisers that the non-profits could not have because of COVID-19.

Roths praised the non-profits for asking for what they needed and suggested they should have asked for more funding.&nbsp;

Commissioners recommended the non-profit group identify more needs in case the state denies any requests.

Roths questioned the need to allocate the Wild West Fest $75,000. Jacobs said WWF was unable to be held this year. Without the funding, it will be unable to move forward in subsequent years.

Jacobs said the event adds to the quality of life for Ellis County residents and brings in business to the community.

<a href="https://hayspost.com/posts/63c30894-2782-4e0c-8542-3173c1321015">SEE RELATED STORY: Group recommends $5.7M CARES funding to Ellis County Commission</a>

<div><iframe title="SPARK funding decisions made by Ellis County Commissioners" height="122" width="100%" style="border: none;" scrolling="no" data-name="pb-iframe-player" src="https://www.podbean.com/media/player/9t8s2-e71f3b?from=pb6admin&download=1&version=1&auto=1&share=1&download=1&rtl=0&fonts=Helvetica&skin=3&pfauth=&btn-skin=101"></iframe></div><figure>
                        <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/8/1597354728854.png" alt="Doug Williams of Grow Hays talks to the Ellis County Commission about CARES Funding on Thursday." />
                        <figcaption>Doug Williams of Grow Hays talks to the Ellis County Commission about CARES Funding on Thursday.</figcaption>
                    </figure><p><b>By CRISTINA JANNEY<br></b><i>Hays Post</i></p><p>The Ellis County Commission approved $5.7 million in grants in CARES Act funding at a special meeting Thursday, but chose to deviate from the recommendations made by a committee established to review applications.</p><p>The commissioners balked at the $915,538 recommended for businesses, with Commissioner Dustin Roths saying some of the numbers submitted were "pie in the sky."</p><p>The commissioners ultimately directed County Administrator J.D. Cox to reduce allocations to certain business who received the largest recommendations. This was done so $200,000 could be allocated to the county for a new ambulance.</p><p>The county has applied for a FEMA grant to fund a portion of the ambulance, but even if the grant is approved, it would still need another $70,000 for the purchase.&nbsp;</p><p>The ambulance was budgeted for purchase next year.</p><p>"The way I look at it is that the money is available here today," Commissioner Dean Haselhorst said. "If we can fund an ambulance, why should we ask the taxpayers to fund a full ambulance if we can get it funded here today?"</p><p>Roths said, "I think where the government went wrong in this and opened a Pandora's box in this for Doug and his whole committee was they threw in this idea of lost revenue.</p><p>"When they did that, it became less about COVID-19 and protecting people in these businesses and it became an accounting issue for a lot of these small businesses to try to recoup what they think they might have lost when they were shut down. They probably shouldn't have been shut down out here in my opinion."</p><figure>
                        <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/8/1597416639609.png" alt="Revised CARES funding summary" />
                        <figcaption>Revised CARES funding summary</figcaption>
                    </figure><figure>
                        <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/8/1597416688852.png" alt="Revised CARES county funding" />
                        <figcaption>Revised CARES county funding</figcaption>
                    </figure><h2>Hess Clinic</h2><p>They also directed Cox to increase the award for Hess Clinic from $2,700 to $40,000. The clinic requested assistance to fund personal protective equipment, money to construct a drive-through area at the clinic and money for COVID testing equipment.&nbsp;</p><p>Of Hess' more than $115,000 request, the commissioner opted not to fund a request for hazard pay for employees, noting county fire and EMS workers had not received hazard pay during the pandemic.</p><p>The commission suggested cutting business funding across the board who had received the maximum funding request in their categories. Most of the businesses were retailers, restaurants or hotels and were recommended to receive funds from $20,000 to $50,000 each.</p><h2>Short time frame for decisions</h2><p>Doug Williams, director of Grow Hays, was the chairman of the subcommittee on for-profit funding. The subcommittee received 50 applications for more than $5 million and was asked by Cox to pair that down to $1 million in recommendations. That ultimately was cut to $715,538 in lieu of the allocation to the county for the ambulance.</p><p>Williams said the subcommittee focused on retailers, hotels and restaurants, because they believed those were the businesses that were hardest hit by the pandemic.</p><p>Williams said the applications did not indicate if businesses had received any other COVID assistance, including Paycheck Protection Program loans.</p><p>The subcommittee created a formula to allocate hotels based on the number of rooms, basically recommending $500 per room, which could be used for PPE or enhanced cleaning efforts.</p><p>"I am comfortable with the decisions our committee made, and I'm comfortable with the decisions that the think tank made given the task at hand, the time frame to do it, as well as the information we had. We tried to do the best we could," Williams said.</p><p>The Ellis CARES Committee had a short time frame to review the applications. The county hopes to send the applications to the state Friday. They are due Monday.&nbsp;</p><p>All money for the program has to be spent by the end of the year.</p><p>Any business or agency receiving funding will be asked to sign a memorandum of understanding saying they will spend the funds within the parameters of the CARES Act. This will include a stipulation that fund recipients must be current on their taxes.</p><h2>No money for oil</h2><p>The subcommittee did not recommend any oil companies receive funding, which raised concerns among the commissioners.</p><p>Williams said five of the seven applications from oil companies can from the same person. The subcommittee members believed the oil commodities had been affected by other factors than COVID-19. He also noted PPE was not needed in the oil fields.</p><p>Sarah Wasinger, director of The Chamber in Hays, said all of the oil company requests also were to fund payroll, which could have been covered under PPP loans.</p><p>Haselhorst said, "You talk about motels being off 80 percent. I can tell you for a fact that the oil field business was off 100 percent. We take zero consideration about the oil field in Ellis County. That is what funds this county. That is what funds this city. ... Some of these asks are off the wall."</p><p>Roths said he was concerned the committee recommended funding for Midland Marketing, but not oil companies.&nbsp;</p><h2>For-profit businesses</h2><figure>
                        <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/8/1597416492867.png" alt="Revised for-profit CARES funding part 1" />
                        <figcaption>Revised for-profit CARES funding part 1</figcaption>
                    </figure><figure>
                        <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/8/1597416544188.png" alt="Revised for-profit CARES funding part 2" />
                        <figcaption>Revised for-profit CARES funding part 2</figcaption>
                    </figure><p>Roths had questions about equity in the for-profit funding recommendations.&nbsp;</p><p>"If they had requested over $25,000,&nbsp;the award recommendation was $25,000, and it didn't have any barring on their economic impact to the community. For instance, the Hallmark store and the men's clothing store gets the same funding as the mall."</p><p>&nbsp;He continued, "The last thing I thought last night was do I really want to reward, I guess you could call it, greed over people that were being reasonable? ... People who were saying if I could get $6,000 or $7,000 I could really get through this and be fine.&nbsp;</p><p>"Some of these asks on the for-profits were almost laughable to me."</p><p>Cox acknowledged the program was not perfect.&nbsp;</p><p> "The main goal is not that, the equitable part of it. That strikes completely opposite of what we believe in. The main goal is to inject money immediately into the economy," he said.</p><p>Roths owns two business in Hays. He said he did not apply for any funding under the program.&nbsp;</p><p>He said the program was not what America and free markets are about.</p><p>"The problem that came from this for you guys is who stuck their hand out and said they wanted money as opposed to what you guys thought was fair," he said.</p><p>He added later in the meeting, "I imagine being a county commissioner of Ellis County might have cost me $75,000 in grant funding."</p><h2>Non-profits</h2><figure>
                        <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/8/1597255157182.png" alt="Ellis CARES non-profits" />
                        <figcaption>Ellis CARES non-profits</figcaption>
                    </figure><p>Sandy Jacobs, director of the Heartland Foundation, chaired the subcommittee on non-profits. She said about half of the requests were to cover lost revenue from fundraisers that the non-profits could not have because of COVID-19.</p><p>Roths praised the non-profits for asking for what they needed and suggested they should have asked for more funding.&nbsp;</p><p>Commissioners recommended the non-profit group identify more needs in case the state denies any requests.</p><p>Roths questioned the need to allocate the Wild West Fest $75,000. Jacobs said WWF was unable to be held this year. Without the funding, it will be unable to move forward in subsequent years.</p><p>Jacobs said the event adds to the quality of life for Ellis County residents and brings in business to the community.</p><p><a href="https://hayspost.com/posts/63c30894-2782-4e0c-8542-3173c1321015">SEE RELATED STORY: Group recommends $5.7M CARES funding to Ellis County Commission</a></p>

🎙 Ellis Co. Commission approves $5.7M CARES funding with ambulance purchase

A long-desired upgrade at the Humane Society of the High Plains was recently completed, giving dogs a more comfortable experience during their time at the shelter.

"The grass has been a problem back there since this place was built,"&nbsp;said manager Betty Hansen.

After saving for years, Hansen said the Humane Society recently pulled the trigger and completed upgrades in the yard.

"We spent almost two weeks redoing our backyard," said manager Betty Hansen.

The biggest part of the work was replacing the grass to an artificial grass called Canine Grass.

"It's been awhile in the making to get this done so we are pretty excited about it, and the dogs seem to love it," Hansen said.

With the number of dogs that are in the yard, she said keeping grass growing was a challenge. Many options had been looked at to give the dogs a nice surface.

"One of the biggest things that we have had over the last couple of winters is trying to keep grass out there with all of the dogs digging all of the time," Hansen said.

The lack of grass often caused a mess both outside and in.

"We were having a lot of mud that the dogs were dragging into the building, and people couldn't go out because it was so muddy," Hansen said.

With the new covering, she said,&nbsp;"We have alleviated all of those problems."

And the new material will help keep the dogs happier and more exercised.

"This will really help to be able to give them more outside time," Hansen said, "which the dogs really need."

Having those exercise periods is important to allow them to relax before being put inside cages overnight.

"They are in their cage a lot of hours of the day so we want to make sure that they get exercised and they get a chance to exercise on a regular daily basis," Hansen said.

The dogs have taken well to the new surface she said.

"They are very comfortable on it," she said. "It's very soft, probably a lot softer than the grass."

The surface is also durable coming with a 10-year guarantee and easy to clean with a built-in drainage system.

"It's pretty much maintenance-free. It's easy to clean up," Hansen said. "It's very clean, and we use hoses to wash it."

The backyard also received a new shade area, two small pools and a dog playground.

"With as hot as it as been with the big shaded area, they can stay out there a little bit longer," Hansen said. "We have noticed many of the dogs will run around and lay down in the shade."

The renovated space also will allow people to interact with the dogs in a more comfortable space.

"When people bring their dog out to do a meet and greet with a dog that they are thinking about adopting, it's really nice for that too," Hansen said.

Overall Hansen said they are happy with the new yard.

"It was pricey, but I think it is going to be well worth it in all the years to come," Hansen said.

<figure>
                        <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/8/1597286010029.jpeg" alt="" />
                        <figcaption></figcaption>
                    </figure><div><iframe title="Yard upgrades complete at the Humane Society of the High Plains" height="122" width="100%" style="border: none;" scrolling="no" data-name="pb-iframe-player" src="https://www.podbean.com/media/player/kwzxc-e6cf2d?from=pb6admin&download=1&version=1&auto=1&share=1&download=1&rtl=0&fonts=Helvetica&skin=3&pfauth=&btn-skin=101"></iframe></div><p><b>By JAMES BELL</b><br><i>Hays Post</i></p><p>A long-desired upgrade at the Humane Society of the High Plains was recently completed, giving dogs a more comfortable experience during their time at the shelter.</p><p>"The grass has been a problem back there since this place was built,"&nbsp;said manager Betty Hansen.</p><p>After saving for years, Hansen said the Humane Society recently pulled the trigger and completed upgrades in the yard.</p><p>"We spent almost two weeks redoing our backyard," said manager Betty Hansen.</p><p>The biggest part of the work was replacing the grass to an artificial grass called Canine Grass.</p><figure>
                        <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/8/1597286083057.jpeg" alt="" />
                        <figcaption></figcaption>
                    </figure><p>"It's been awhile in the making to get this done so we are pretty excited about it, and the dogs seem to love it," Hansen said.</p><p>With the number of dogs that are in the yard, she said keeping grass growing was a challenge. Many options had been looked at to give the dogs a nice surface.</p><p>"One of the biggest things that we have had over the last couple of winters is trying to keep grass out there with all of the dogs digging all of the time," Hansen said.</p><p>The lack of grass often caused a mess both outside and in.</p><p>"We were having a lot of mud that the dogs were dragging into the building, and people couldn't go out because it was so muddy," Hansen said.</p><p>With the new covering, she said,&nbsp;"We have alleviated all of those problems."</p><p>And the new material will help keep the dogs happier and more exercised.</p><p>"This will really help to be able to give them more outside time," Hansen said, "which the dogs really need."</p><p>Having those exercise periods is important to allow them to relax before being put inside cages overnight.</p><p>"They are in their cage a lot of hours of the day so we want to make sure that they get exercised and they get a chance to exercise on a regular daily basis," Hansen said.</p><p>The dogs have taken well to the new surface she said.</p><p>"They are very comfortable on it," she said. "It's very soft, probably a lot softer than the grass."</p><p>The surface is also durable coming with a 10-year guarantee and easy to clean with a built-in drainage system.</p><p>"It's pretty much maintenance-free. It's easy to clean up," Hansen said. "It's very clean, and we use hoses to wash it."</p><p>The backyard also received a new shade area, two small pools and a dog playground.</p><figure>
                        <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/8/1597286124883.jpeg" alt="" />
                        <figcaption></figcaption>
                    </figure><p>"With as hot as it as been with the big shaded area, they can stay out there a little bit longer," Hansen said. "We have noticed many of the dogs will run around and lay down in the shade."</p><p>The renovated space also will allow people to interact with the dogs in a more comfortable space.</p><figure>
                        <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/8/1597286109083.jpeg" alt="" />
                        <figcaption></figcaption>
                    </figure><p>"When people bring their dog out to do a meet and greet with a dog that they are thinking about adopting, it's really nice for that too," Hansen said.</p><p>Overall Hansen said they are happy with the new yard.</p><p>"It was pricey, but I think it is going to be well worth it in all the years to come," Hansen said.</p><figure>
                        <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/8/1597286169085.jpeg" alt="" />
                        <figcaption></figcaption>
                    </figure>

Yard upgrades complete at Humane Society of the High Plains

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🎙 Post Podcast: Hays Chamber prepares for upcoming golf tournament

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