By ALIN HETT
Hays Post
For 20 years, Ross Wichman approached his work as Hays municipal court judge with the belief that a judge’s responsibility extended beyond issuing penalties.
Wichman said many of the people who appeared before him were encountering the judicial system for the first time. He viewed his role as an opportunity to hold them accountable while helping them understand the process.
“This sounds ridiculous, but I had the impression I was kind of a father figure, and these people out there were like my children that I was supposed to be taking care of,” Wichman said.
That responsibility sometimes required punishment, but Wichman said it also meant guiding people through an unfamiliar system.
“Punishing them if they needed to be punished, but also guiding them through the system so they knew how the judicial system worked for them,” he said.
Wichman, who began serving as Hays municipal court judge in 2006, was honored for his two decades on the bench during a retirement ceremony on Friday morning.
Hays Police Chief Don Scheibler presented Wichman with a key to the city in recognition of his years of service to Hays.
“On behalf of the Hays Police Department, I want to thank Judge Wichman for 20 years of dedicated service to our community,” Scheibler said. “His professionalism, fairness, and steady leadership have made a lasting impact on the administration of justice in Hays.”
Scheibler said Wichman leaves behind a legacy built through his service to the city and the people who entered his courtroom.
“We wish Judge Wichman all the best in retirement and are grateful for the legacy of service he leaves behind,” Scheibler said.
Over the course of his judicial career, Wichman worked alongside four municipal court clerks. He began with Patty Wolff and later worked with Kollen Dome, Sara Wheeler and Megan Kisman.
Wichman’s path to Hays began in the far northeastern corner of Kansas. He grew up in Seneca, about 50 miles from St. Joseph, Missouri, and about 12 miles from the Nebraska border.
He attended Kansas State University and served his country as a Navy corpsman from 1968 to 1972.
Wichman and his wife, Gayla, have a son, Ross Wichman Jr., who goes by “Rowdy.”
After spending much of the past two decades helping people navigate the judicial system, Wichman plans to use retirement to explore a different kind of terrain.
Four-wheeling is among his favorite hobbies, and he plans to ride across portions of the western United States, including Colorado.
