Editor's Note: The following letter was presented to Hays USD 489 board members and Ron Wilson, superintendent.
Dear Mr. Wilson and board members:
Other than being a resident and taxpayer for these past 42 plus years, I currently do not have any skin in the game of tennis. I just am hopeful this time around, the USD 489 board would build them correctly, not like the existing disaster, the current courts were built cock-eyed in a NW-SE direction.
You see, and bet we all would agree, Hays is not a "Hot Bed" for tennis like other communities near or around Wichita. When I went to college in Winfield during the mid-1960s, they had 26 courts scattered around town. Today, or since 2012, they have 14 courts called the Curly Vaughn Tennis Center, and play host to many KSHSAA state tournaments. (Note: All are built legally north to south.)
When I played college tennis, there were only four courts at that side—now 14. When I did my practice teaching at Winfield High School, they had won 17 of 21 state tennis championships.
They along with nearby Arkansas City were the Hot Beds of tennis for decades. Many of their grads played D-1 at KU, KSU or WSU. In those two communities, Christmas was a failure if they didn't get new rackets.
The closest Hays ever got to being a hot bed of tennis was when Dennis Douglas was the teacher and head coach. Yes, his sister (Donna Kay) was married to long time coach Jim Maska. Dennis had state champions in both girls and guys. We moved here so my oldest daughter might get a chance to play for him. He resigned at HHS and became the Hays Recreation director, so Cathy Kuhn became our oldest daughter's coach.
If Tanya could make it to state just once in four years, it was going to be worth the move. Wow! She went all four years, and along with Andre' Schmidt, they were the last class 5A State Champions in Doubles or Singles that Hays has produced with a 30-1 record. (That was fall of 1982.)
We knew then the HHS tennis courts were constructed wrong, as any avid tennis player would know. NO courts in the Northern Hemisphere (Kansas) were constructed that way. Ignorance is one thing meaning lack of knowledge but when architects and board members are educated and know the difference or rely on other professionals, but continue to make the same mistake, then that surpasses ignorance into stubborn stupidity (in my humble opinion).
KSHSAA knows about the diagram/photo which previous appeared in an edition of the Hays Daily Newspaper and I contacted Sarah Smith (in charge of tennis). She confirmed to me that ALL tennis courts where they assign post-season matches are built and run in a north-south direction. Even other tennis courts in Hays, like down near Larks Park or FHSU, "ALL" are constructed correctly.
Please be smart and use your intelligence like the board's "Mission Goals" state: "Effective Management of Resources".
In spending over $600,000, either do it right or not at all. Don't be stupid.
Thank you for your time!
—Larry Jantz,
Hays