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 </figure>By JONATHAN ZWEYGARDT Hays PostFueled by a wave of concerned citizens and social media
posts, the Ellis County Commission is set to move forward with renaming Noose
Road. The roughly 5-mile stretch of road that extends west of
Hays from 12th Street drew the ire of several residents recently and, at Monday’s meeting, all three commissioners agreed to
move forward with the name change. The discussion was sparked last week on social media by Hays
attorney Greg Schwartz who called for the name change in light of the current
social unrest following the death of Minnesota man while in police custody.One of the most prominent voices in the online conversation,
that has well over 100 comments, was Ellis County Commissioner Dustin Roths.At Monday’s commission meeting, Roths said he initially did
not know the story behind the naming of Noose Road, which was first approved in
1989 and approved a second time in 1990.“My initial thought was, it was insensitive,” Roths said.The road purportedly got its name because of its
connection to Hangman’s Bridge. According to a paper from James N. Leiker at
the University of Nebraska at Lincoln, three black soldiers were hanged from
the bridge after they allegedly killed a Union Pacific watchman. The three were
arrested but, before they were put on trial, a mob took the men from the jail and
hanged them from the bridge. A fourth man was also hanged from the bridge
nearly two years later.Three people addressed the commission at Monday’s meeting — two in favor of the name change and one opposing it.Paul Brull, spoke on behalf of his grandfather Randy Brull,
who was unable to attend the meeting.“I personally think that when it comes to the issue of Noose
Road, it’s incredibly important that the name be changed,” Brull said. “It's incredibly important that we take steps to try and make
our community better. And if that is changing the name on a road, that’s incredibly important to do.”Gail Palmberg lives on Noose Road and said did not agree with
the name being changed.“(A) noose is a rope with a knot in it. What you do with
it, that’s your choice,” Palmberg said. “Just changing the name of a road won’t
change history.”Palmberg said, despite claims by others, changing address will
be complicated. According to Public Works Director Bill Ring, there are
approximately 29 homes, one business, one cemetery and one commercial building
that would be impacted by the name change.Roths echoed Brull’s sentiment that people
shouldn’t feel unwelcome in Ellis County.“We should not forget history,” Roths said, “because we
don’t want that kind of history to ever repeat itself. But I never want anyone
to feel unwelcome in Ellis County Kansas.”Commissioner Dean Haselhorst said he had a conversation with
an African-American friend of his from New York about the situation. According
to Haselhorst, his friend told him he would not be bothered by the name.After discussing several name options, the commission all
agreed to change the name of the road to Rome Avenue.Rome was the first settlement in Ellis County but was
short-lived and now only a stone marker shows its former location. The commission will have to approve a resolution to make the
change offical.

Ellis Co. moves forward with Noose Road name change