By JAMES BELL 
Hays Post

As recovery efforts continue following the devastating Four County Wildfire on Dec. 15, the Heartland Community Foundation has set up new special emergency funds for Ellis, Rooks and Trego counties. 

“Having some special emergency fund was something that was
on my to do list, it just hadn't happened yet,” said Heartland Community
Foundation executive director Sarah Meitner. “And when we had the fires go
through the area and the windstorm in the middle of December, it sort of
expedited the process.”

With each fund, donations will stay in the counties in which
they are made.

“We did this on purpose because, you know, there might be an
emergency situation that affects one county, but not the others,” Meitner said.

She said the funds are also set up in order to give anyone
interested in donating a way to ensure the donation will be used in the most efficient
way.

“When they don't know where to take that money, or they
don't know how their $50 or $100 will really make an impact, this is a way to
combine it with the other donations of other individuals and know that it will
be designated to go directly to those who are helping aid in the in the relief,”
Meitner said.

While the funds are new, Meitner said they were set up in a
way that allows for immediate access.

“Heartland put $10,000 into each account to establish it,”
she said. “So we put $30,000 in, which basically means that every dollar that
comes in can be granted out.”

In the future, Meitner said the goal is to turn the accounts
into endowed funds that can be used for emergency situation in perpetuity.

“It was my thinking that if there's an emergency, there's
going to be some time before insurance money comes in or before the state or
federal aid comes in, or in this case, there's not even federal aid coming in,”
Meitner said. “So, we want to be able to close that gap and provide money
immediately to those impacted.”

The funds, she said, are indicative of the way Kansans come
together during a crisis.

“They've been doing very well,” Meitner said. “So far, we
have over $50,000, among the three."

Now she hopes to move those funds to those in need.

“I'm still just encouraging people, agencies to apply,”
Meitner said. “The application is on our website at HeartlandCommunityfoundation.org.”

As a part of the regulations that guide foundation operations, individuals interested in receiving funds must partner with an agency or nonprofit.

“But we do want to help individual families,” Meitner said. “So,
we're encouraging them to partner with a church or a 4-H club or a Boy Scout
troop to apply on their behalf. ... But really, the funds are
completely unrestricted, other than they need to be given in the county that
they were raised in.”

For those unsure of what agencies are available to assist individual
needs, she said the foundation is happy to help.

With the Dec. 15 relief, she said many of the dollars
granted will cover non-insured expenses.

“It's going to be a lot in fencing, maybe livestock-related expenses.
You know, the Red Cross has been in the area but is limited to only helping
peoples' needs,” Meitner said.

And she hopes those that are in need are willing to reach
out.

“I think that there's a lot of pride among maybe some of the
people who are impacted, that they don't want to ask for help,” Meitner said. “Or
maybe they haven't had been in the position of asking for help before. And
that's a little bit hard to do. So, what I've been saying is that this isn't a
handout, it's just your turn. And when times are better, and you're back on
your feet, then you can give back to this fund if you'd like or any charitable
cause. But when it's your turn, it's your turn. And there's no shame in asking
for help.”

For more information visit the Heartland Community Foundation website,&nbsp;<a href="https://heartlandcommunityfoundation.org/">heartlandcommunityfoundation.org.</a>

<div><iframe title="Heartland Community Foundation funds assisting Dec. 15 victims" 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=u5pbw-1183592-pb&from=pb6admin&square=1&share=1&download=1&rtl=0&fonts=Arial&skin=3267a3&font-color=ffffff&btn-skin=3267a3&size=300" allowfullscreen=""></iframe></div>By JAMES BELL 
Hays PostAs recovery efforts continue following the devastating Four County Wildfire on Dec. 15, the Heartland Community Foundation has set up new special emergency funds for Ellis, Rooks and Trego counties. “Having some special emergency fund was something that was
on my to do list, it just hadn't happened yet,” said Heartland Community
Foundation executive director Sarah Meitner. “And when we had the fires go
through the area and the windstorm in the middle of December, it sort of
expedited the process.”With each fund, donations will stay in the counties in which
they are made.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2021/12/1639777373541.png" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>“We did this on purpose because, you know, there might be an
emergency situation that affects one county, but not the others,” Meitner said.She said the funds are also set up in order to give anyone
interested in donating a way to ensure the donation will be used in the most efficient
way.“When they don't know where to take that money, or they
don't know how their $50 or $100 will really make an impact, this is a way to
combine it with the other donations of other individuals and know that it will
be designated to go directly to those who are helping aid in the in the relief,”
Meitner said.While the funds are new, Meitner said they were set up in a
way that allows for immediate access.“Heartland put $10,000 into each account to establish it,”
she said. “So we put $30,000 in, which basically means that every dollar that
comes in can be granted out.”In the future, Meitner said the goal is to turn the accounts
into endowed funds that can be used for emergency situation in perpetuity.“It was my thinking that if there's an emergency, there's
going to be some time before insurance money comes in or before the state or
federal aid comes in, or in this case, there's not even federal aid coming in,”
Meitner said. “So, we want to be able to close that gap and provide money
immediately to those impacted.”The funds, she said, are indicative of the way Kansans come
together during a crisis.“They've been doing very well,” Meitner said. “So far, we
have over $50,000, among the three."Now she hopes to move those funds to those in need.“I'm still just encouraging people, agencies to apply,”
Meitner said. “The application is on our website at HeartlandCommunityfoundation.org.”As a part of the regulations that guide foundation operations, individuals interested in receiving funds must partner with an agency or nonprofit.“But we do want to help individual families,” Meitner said. “So,
we're encouraging them to partner with a church or a 4-H club or a Boy Scout
troop to apply on their behalf. ... But really, the funds are
completely unrestricted, other than they need to be given in the county that
they were raised in.”For those unsure of what agencies are available to assist individual
needs, she said the foundation is happy to help.With the Dec. 15 relief, she said many of the dollars
granted will cover non-insured expenses.“It's going to be a lot in fencing, maybe livestock-related expenses.
You know, the Red Cross has been in the area but is limited to only helping
peoples' needs,” Meitner said.And she hopes those that are in need are willing to reach
out.“I think that there's a lot of pride among maybe some of the
people who are impacted, that they don't want to ask for help,” Meitner said. “Or
maybe they haven't had been in the position of asking for help before. And
that's a little bit hard to do. So, what I've been saying is that this isn't a
handout, it's just your turn. And when times are better, and you're back on
your feet, then you can give back to this fund if you'd like or any charitable
cause. But when it's your turn, it's your turn. And there's no shame in asking
for help.”For more information visit the Heartland Community Foundation website,&nbsp;<a href="https://heartlandcommunityfoundation.org/">heartlandcommunityfoundation.org.</a>

🎙Heartland Community Foundation funds assisting wildfire victims

This weekend the Hays Community Theater is set to present It’s
Showtime, a musical journey through television, film and Broadway.

Along with a diversity of source material, the production will
provide fun and drama for the audience, according to director Cheryl Glassman.

"The way that it's put together, there are some comedic
moments, but there are some serious moments that are going to pull at your
heartstrings that, you know, just give it a little bit more meat," Glassman
said.

“They're going to see maybe some things they've seen in the
past that might help them rekindle some memories, reminisce a little bit, see
some things that they may have not seen before, and hopefully make new memories
and just enjoy.”

The audience might even be able to sing along with a few of
the numbers.

And she said the show, while leaning in on an assortment of material, will also feature a mixed cast.

“We've got people from probably age 7, all the way up
into their 50s,” Glassman said. “So, a large range of ages and talent, and
people that you might know and people that you might need to know because
they're very talented.”

And with the varied nature of the show, many of the cast
members will present a number of characters.

“The one thing that the group has to do is — because it's
not just one musical or one play — they have to play different characters and
change costumes and get in and out of different characters,” Glassman said. “So that's really exciting, too.”

Without giving away too much of the show, she said, the
various musical numbers will come together for the finale.

“It's put together in a way that hopefully allows people
to make a full circle,” Glassman said. “And at the end of the show, that kind of
does make a full circle with the final song. So I've got some big cast
numbers, everybody's in them, got some solos and duets, and small group
numbers.

“It's really a good event for the community to come out and
enjoy.”

And with this family-friendly production, everyone can come and
enjoy.

“If you want to bring your kids, there are snippets from
different productions that kids will really love,” Glassman said. “And there
are things from other shows that adults are really going to love.”

She added that with so many canceled events over the last
two years, this show presents an opportunity for the community to come together.

“I think is important is that we're able to get out with our
families and our friends and that we can do this again,” Glassman said. “So,
it's, it's a good opportunity to do that.”

The show is scheduled for 7 p.m. Friday and Saturday at the Hays Community Theatre building at 121 E. Eighth.

For more information about It’s Showtime, the Hays Community
Theatre or to purchase tickets, visit <a href="https://www.hctks.com/">hctks.com.</a>

<div><iframe title="HCT to present ’It’s Showtime’" 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=gx43s-1181b16-pb&from=pb6admin&square=1&share=1&download=1&rtl=0&fonts=Arial&skin=3267a3&font-color=ffffff&btn-skin=3267a3&size=300" allowfullscreen=""></iframe></div>By JAMES BELL 
Hays PostThis weekend the Hays Community Theater is set to present It’s
Showtime, a musical journey through television, film and Broadway.Along with a diversity of source material, the production will
provide fun and drama for the audience, according to director Cheryl Glassman."The way that it's put together, there are some comedic
moments, but there are some serious moments that are going to pull at your
heartstrings that, you know, just give it a little bit more meat," Glassman
said.“They're going to see maybe some things they've seen in the
past that might help them rekindle some memories, reminisce a little bit, see
some things that they may have not seen before, and hopefully make new memories
and just enjoy.”The audience might even be able to sing along with a few of
the numbers.And she said the show, while leaning in on an assortment of material, will also feature a mixed cast.“We've got people from probably age 7, all the way up
into their 50s,” Glassman said. “So, a large range of ages and talent, and
people that you might know and people that you might need to know because
they're very talented.”And with the varied nature of the show, many of the cast
members will present a number of characters.“The one thing that the group has to do is — because it's
not just one musical or one play — they have to play different characters and
change costumes and get in and out of different characters,” Glassman said. “So that's really exciting, too.”Without giving away too much of the show, she said, the
various musical numbers will come together for the finale.“It's put together in a way that hopefully allows people
to make a full circle,” Glassman said. “And at the end of the show, that kind of
does make a full circle with the final song. So I've got some big cast
numbers, everybody's in them, got some solos and duets, and small group
numbers.“It's really a good event for the community to come out and
enjoy.”And with this family-friendly production, everyone can come and
enjoy.“If you want to bring your kids, there are snippets from
different productions that kids will really love,” Glassman said. “And there
are things from other shows that adults are really going to love.”She added that with so many canceled events over the last
two years, this show presents an opportunity for the community to come together.“I think is important is that we're able to get out with our
families and our friends and that we can do this again,” Glassman said. “So,
it's, it's a good opportunity to do that.”The show is scheduled for 7 p.m. Friday and Saturday at the Hays Community Theatre building at 121 E. Eighth.For more information about It’s Showtime, the Hays Community
Theatre or to purchase tickets, visit <a href="https://www.hctks.com/">hctks.com.</a>Cover image courtesy Pixabay

🎙 Hays Community Theatre to present 'It's Showtime' 

On this episode of the Post Podcast, Grow Hays executive director Doug Williams shares potential impacts of the USD 489 bond issue proposal.

As Hays residents consider another USD 489 bond issue Grow Hays executive director Doug Williams says school facilities are a key factor in recruiting people to the area. He talks to us about that and more on this episode of the Post Podcast.

Particularly in this day and age where we have lots of people moving around the country. You know, there's studies that say, in the next 10 years, 20 million people will migrate from urban areas to more rural areas. And these are people that can work remotely that have good jobs and have, they're skilled, and they're looking for alternatives other than the rat race in the city. So they're, they're looking at alternatives. And when they look out, across the country, one of the key things that this demographic looks for is schools, you know, when you talk to people, you know, talk to people all the time in urban areas, when they move to a different neighborhood, the first thing they look at, are the schools. Mm hmm. And that's what these people are looking for, as well. And we feel like Hayes has so much to offer. And we've got a great story to tell, until it comes to the physical condition of our schools. I think our quality of education is very good here. But the physical condition of our schools has been neglected for far too long. And so we have no choice but to do something about that. Because we're in a competitive world. And if you look at lots and lots of other communities, they have made the investments in their school systems, and we have not.

Yeah, exactly exactly what you're saying. And you know, I think about I saw some comments on when I was on social media. And it was folks basically, kind of lambasted saying that no peep, nobody would make that decision based on the schools, nobody's going to move to Hayes, because we have good schools. But I think to your point, people do make that decision if they're going to move and I think about myself, for example, if I were to leave this job, I would work probably online and could pick anywhere in the world. Anywhere, right? And the schools would be I've got a couple nine year olds and a little one about to get into the school district. That would be the one of the first things I would look at.

Sure, it's very important. And I think those people who don't think it is, could spend a few minutes talking to the human resources department at Hayes Medical Center, or Fort Hays State University who are trying to recruit health care providers, or college, college professors, or even our school system, trying to recruit or keep teachers, those teachers that do a really great job. How long are they going to stay here, when they have to work in the kind of conditions that some work in and they're really nasty, you know, some of our situations are, are not good at all. And you know that the thing I continue to harp on is, there's a cost of not passing a bond. And I argue that it's far higher than passing a bond. Yeah, you can, you can quantify what $140 million is, and it's X number of dollars for a homeowner per month, blah, blah, blah. It's more difficult to quantify the cost of those lost opportunities, those people that didn't come to our community, those businesses that maybe chose not to expand here, because we don't have the type of school system that can recruit people to our community for labor force and that kind of thing. So there's a high cost of not doing what we need to do, not to mention the fact that it gets more expensive every year.

Yeah, and this is something I've shared, we were talking a little bit about this right before we went on air too. And I've shared this story, one of the initial bond issue, guys that was helping spread the word on this one on room when the first bond issue went through seven, eight years ago now. But that's exactly what his point was. He was he was a conservative guy. And he said, Look, I don't like spending money, and I don't want to increase my taxes, not one penny, but every year we wait, it just is going to cost us more. And that's what we've seen. So the bond issue then was I think about 108 100 9 million, and now it's 143, I think is the lowest of the three points, I could have that wrong. But that's an increase in materials cost and the cost of labor and all that, etc. associated expenses.

What absolutely is, you know, I've lived here all my life. And I remember the bond issues that they attempted to pass in the 60s and 70s. And I believe there were four failed attempts before they passed the $5 million bond to build Hayes high to give you some idea of what cost to the bond that built Hayes high and I think 1978 is when they passed the bond was $5 million. But through the 60s and early 70s, they had a number of failed attempts. And if you go back and look at the plans of the original high school they were going to build It's incredible what it contained. But then we went through the inflationary 70s And that kind of thing. So what we ended up with at the time was was nice, but it cost a lot more in the end than what that initial bond issue cost would have been. Had they has to the first go around. And we're kind of in the same situation now, and certainly in an inflationary time, there's all indications that, you know, we're dealing with some inflation, for sure, and materials and that type of thing. And so, to wait, it's just going to cost more later. And I continue to say, schools are critical infrastructure, no different than roads, no different than a sewer, plant water lines, you've got to invest in those things, if you want to have a productive community, and it affects all aspects of the community, seniors, young families, singles, you know, our local economy will suffer, if we don't invest in our schools and our infrastructure.

You know, one of the big things that we spoke earlier with on the morning show here earlier this week, and with our USD 49, report, we talked about the space. And I think that's another key component of this is, you know, our schools right now are basically maxed out with the number of children we can get in them. And if we want to have any sort of growth, we're gonna have to put those kids somewhere.

Grow Hays executive director Doug Williams&nbsp; 

That's exactly right. If you look at them and that's, that's my real challenge, my frustration with some of the social media things is that people don't look at the numbers, they just kind of spout off. And don't, don't think this through or don't educate themselves, because I've heard him say, you know, hey, size, enrollment is dropping? Well, that's not true at all, if you look at the numbers, and if you look at the capacity that was designed for, were about 150 kids over what it was designed to hold. And we think we're going to have some growth, we want to have some growth, no, we're not going to be Denver, or, you know, a large urban area, but we want consistent steady growth in our community, we need to have it if we're going to be the type of community that we'd like to have. And so space is a huge issue. And we've got to deal with that somehow or another.

Yeah, you know, you can I know one of the big arguments that I hear pretty frequently against the bond issues has been, well, we didn't take care of it the way we should have. And I think there is some we've talked about that a little bit in the past, there's, there's some truth to that, but the space thing you can't get around it, there's no other way. And you know, I've seen it, and I always encourage people to go into the schools and check it out yourself. I've seen the lunch rooms, as they're shifting around at 1015. In the morning, I've seen, you know, teachers teaching out of closets. And that's just not a good, you know, again, a should go back to your point earlier, those educators I think, are gonna be really questioning the decision, do I want to stay in this district, and you know, you teach in a closet for two, three years in a row? I think anybody to have that kind of mindset.

Sure. And we live in a society where talented people have lots of choices. You know, we're in a tight labor market all across our country. And if somebody is a good teacher, they can go get a job anywhere, you know, they can, they can teach wherever they want. So if they don't have a decent, good conditions with which to teach, they're going to go someplace else. And they and the whole, you know, they didn't handle the funds appropriately before, you know, I don't know, maybe they did. Maybe they didn't, I suppose there are some arguments that they made poor choices in the past where they spent the capital outlay money and that kind of thing. But that's irrelevant. Today. I think we have a good school board, I think with this vision committee is committed a large group of committed smart people. I think our USD 489 staff is smart, committed people, we got to trust them. You know, at some point in time, we can't be sitting back playing armchair quarterback all the time and saying we should do this, you should do that. When you don't really understand the situation. You know, we've got to trust these people that they're telling us the right thing and that they have the community and the school district's best interests in mind. And we need to act.

Yeah. You know, I'm glad you mentioned that, because that's one of the things that I think in this particular conversation, I've seen that this seems to be going well, is that a lot more people are involved. And they're interested in like, there was a bond meeting a couple of days ago, there was a fairly substantial crowd. And I remember in the first bond issue, you know, again, 578 years ago, you go to those meetings, and there'd be nobody there literally nobody. So I'm curious, you know, what you're hearing from, like business leaders about that, you know, is the tide kind of turned a little bit? Are more people supporting this? Or is it still going to be an uphill battle?

I think it has turned to some extent, I think that the real challenge I have seen in the past is that I don't think anybody disagrees that we need a bond. I mean, I say nobody there there are those out there that disagree and are not going to vote for it under any circumstance. But I think it has turned I think people recognize that we do need a bond. And most of what I hear is positive. So I think we are headed in the right direction, at least I hope so. You know, you're always going to have a vocal minority are going to voice their opinions and that's great. That's what this country saw about. But I think by and large people recognize the need and We this time I hope is different and I hope we can get something done. It's critical to our future that we do.

Okay. Well, before we run out of time, there's one other thing we want to talk a little bit about today. And that's some construction going on out towards, well, gosh, I don't know the roads but out east of town.

Heart of America has a development near Commerce Parkway, where Glassman climate control is that area behind Glassman climate control on Ninth Street out there. That is been out there for a long time, 20 years 20 plus years with some lots and things out there for commercial development. And we've had two lots sales in the last few months to local businesses who are going to do expansions out there. And we've got some interest in a third lot for a potential construction project for some factory microfactory project. And so some good activity out there good to see some local businesses, make investments and expand. And I think there'll be 2022, you'll see a lot of activity out there that be to the east of where Glassman Corporation is just off of commerce Parkway. So that's good news. Great to see.

Yeah, absolutely. You know, I wonder he, when businesses make that move, you know, and that's I don't know, that's out of city limits, right. Is there a is there an impact to like tax revenues or anything like that to be concerned about? Or is this is an all kind of good thing? Because it really it's not like a big move. It's in an expansion, of course, is always a good thing.

Well, expansion is good. And let me correct. That is in the city limits. So okay, that is annexed into the city, they do have access to city services, water, sewer, that kind of thing. Fire protection. So that is why they made that decision where they're going is it isn't a city. Gotcha. So it's all positive from that standpoint, because both of these organizations operate in existing buildings that pay property taxes. They're building new buildings, which will add property tax revenue to the tax rolls. So it's all good. Plus, I'll expand and employ more people. So I don't see any downside to this one.

Okay, win, win, win. Love that. Are you gonna tell us the businesses. You can't tell us, can you?

You always have the best information is what you can't share.

Love it. Well, it's very good to hear that, you know, that's happening. And I love seeing expansion out there. Because, you know, to me, that's one of those areas, one of those regions that can really use that it's kind of underdeveloped, I think and you know, and I didn't realize that had been out there that, that for that long,

It has been that those lots were developed quite some time ago, and it's time there was some expansion out there. It's a good spot with, as I said earlier, it's in the city limits. It's got access to city utilities. Part of America also owns 32 acres directly to the east of where these are. So the game plan would be just continue going east and find some other organizations to either come in or expand out there and keep it going.

<div><iframe title="USD 489 bond issue to impact more than education" 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=ncnv7-1172470-pb&from=pb6admin&square=1&share=1&download=1&rtl=0&fonts=Arial&skin=3267a3&font-color=ffffff&btn-skin=3267a3&size=300" allowfullscreen=""></iframe></div>On this episode of the Post Podcast, Grow Hays executive director Doug Williams shares potential impacts of the USD 489 bond issue proposal.<h2>Transcript</h2>James Bell&nbsp; As Hays residents consider another USD 489 bond issue Grow Hays executive director Doug Williams says school facilities are a key factor in recruiting people to the area. He talks to us about that and more on this episode of the Post Podcast.Doug Williams&nbsp; Particularly in this day and age where we have lots of people moving around the country. You know, there's studies that say, in the next 10 years, 20 million people will migrate from urban areas to more rural areas. And these are people that can work remotely that have good jobs and have, they're skilled, and they're looking for alternatives other than the rat race in the city. So they're, they're looking at alternatives. And when they look out, across the country, one of the key things that this demographic looks for is schools, you know, when you talk to people, you know, talk to people all the time in urban areas, when they move to a different neighborhood, the first thing they look at, are the schools. Mm hmm. And that's what these people are looking for, as well. And we feel like Hayes has so much to offer. And we've got a great story to tell, until it comes to the physical condition of our schools. I think our quality of education is very good here. But the physical condition of our schools has been neglected for far too long. And so we have no choice but to do something about that. Because we're in a competitive world. And if you look at lots and lots of other communities, they have made the investments in their school systems, and we have not.James Bell&nbsp; Yeah, exactly exactly what you're saying. And you know, I think about I saw some comments on when I was on social media. And it was folks basically, kind of lambasted saying that no peep, nobody would make that decision based on the schools, nobody's going to move to Hayes, because we have good schools. But I think to your point, people do make that decision if they're going to move and I think about myself, for example, if I were to leave this job, I would work probably online and could pick anywhere in the world. Anywhere, right? And the schools would be I've got a couple nine year olds and a little one about to get into the school district. That would be the one of the first things I would look at.Doug Williams&nbsp; Sure, it's very important. And I think those people who don't think it is, could spend a few minutes talking to the human resources department at Hayes Medical Center, or Fort Hays State University who are trying to recruit health care providers, or college, college professors, or even our school system, trying to recruit or keep teachers, those teachers that do a really great job. How long are they going to stay here, when they have to work in the kind of conditions that some work in and they're really nasty, you know, some of our situations are, are not good at all. And you know that the thing I continue to harp on is, there's a cost of not passing a bond. And I argue that it's far higher than passing a bond. Yeah, you can, you can quantify what $140 million is, and it's X number of dollars for a homeowner per month, blah, blah, blah. It's more difficult to quantify the cost of those lost opportunities, those people that didn't come to our community, those businesses that maybe chose not to expand here, because we don't have the type of school system that can recruit people to our community for labor force and that kind of thing. So there's a high cost of not doing what we need to do, not to mention the fact that it gets more expensive every year.James Bell&nbsp; Yeah, and this is something I've shared, we were talking a little bit about this right before we went on air too. And I've shared this story, one of the initial bond issue, guys that was helping spread the word on this one on room when the first bond issue went through seven, eight years ago now. But that's exactly what his point was. He was he was a conservative guy. And he said, Look, I don't like spending money, and I don't want to increase my taxes, not one penny, but every year we wait, it just is going to cost us more. And that's what we've seen. So the bond issue then was I think about 108 100 9 million, and now it's 143, I think is the lowest of the three points, I could have that wrong. But that's an increase in materials cost and the cost of labor and all that, etc. associated expenses.Doug Williams&nbsp; What absolutely is, you know, I've lived here all my life. And I remember the bond issues that they attempted to pass in the 60s and 70s. And I believe there were four failed attempts before they passed the $5 million bond to build Hayes high to give you some idea of what cost to the bond that built Hayes high and I think 1978 is when they passed the bond was $5 million. But through the 60s and early 70s, they had a number of failed attempts. And if you go back and look at the plans of the original high school they were going to build It's incredible what it contained. But then we went through the inflationary 70s And that kind of thing. So what we ended up with at the time was was nice, but it cost a lot more in the end than what that initial bond issue cost would have been. Had they has to the first go around. And we're kind of in the same situation now, and certainly in an inflationary time, there's all indications that, you know, we're dealing with some inflation, for sure, and materials and that type of thing. And so, to wait, it's just going to cost more later. And I continue to say, schools are critical infrastructure, no different than roads, no different than a sewer, plant water lines, you've got to invest in those things, if you want to have a productive community, and it affects all aspects of the community, seniors, young families, singles, you know, our local economy will suffer, if we don't invest in our schools and our infrastructure.James Bell&nbsp; You know, one of the big things that we spoke earlier with on the morning show here earlier this week, and with our USD 49, report, we talked about the space. And I think that's another key component of this is, you know, our schools right now are basically maxed out with the number of children we can get in them. And if we want to have any sort of growth, we're gonna have to put those kids somewhere.Grow Hays executive director Doug Williams&nbsp; That's exactly right. If you look at them and that's, that's my real challenge, my frustration with some of the social media things is that people don't look at the numbers, they just kind of spout off. And don't, don't think this through or don't educate themselves, because I've heard him say, you know, hey, size, enrollment is dropping? Well, that's not true at all, if you look at the numbers, and if you look at the capacity that was designed for, were about 150 kids over what it was designed to hold. And we think we're going to have some growth, we want to have some growth, no, we're not going to be Denver, or, you know, a large urban area, but we want consistent steady growth in our community, we need to have it if we're going to be the type of community that we'd like to have. And so space is a huge issue. And we've got to deal with that somehow or another.James Bell&nbsp; Yeah, you know, you can I know one of the big arguments that I hear pretty frequently against the bond issues has been, well, we didn't take care of it the way we should have. And I think there is some we've talked about that a little bit in the past, there's, there's some truth to that, but the space thing you can't get around it, there's no other way. And you know, I've seen it, and I always encourage people to go into the schools and check it out yourself. I've seen the lunch rooms, as they're shifting around at 1015. In the morning, I've seen, you know, teachers teaching out of closets. And that's just not a good, you know, again, a should go back to your point earlier, those educators I think, are gonna be really questioning the decision, do I want to stay in this district, and you know, you teach in a closet for two, three years in a row? I think anybody to have that kind of mindset.Doug Williams&nbsp; Sure. And we live in a society where talented people have lots of choices. You know, we're in a tight labor market all across our country. And if somebody is a good teacher, they can go get a job anywhere, you know, they can, they can teach wherever they want. So if they don't have a decent, good conditions with which to teach, they're going to go someplace else. And they and the whole, you know, they didn't handle the funds appropriately before, you know, I don't know, maybe they did. Maybe they didn't, I suppose there are some arguments that they made poor choices in the past where they spent the capital outlay money and that kind of thing. But that's irrelevant. Today. I think we have a good school board, I think with this vision committee is committed a large group of committed smart people. I think our USD 489 staff is smart, committed people, we got to trust them. You know, at some point in time, we can't be sitting back playing armchair quarterback all the time and saying we should do this, you should do that. When you don't really understand the situation. You know, we've got to trust these people that they're telling us the right thing and that they have the community and the school district's best interests in mind. And we need to act.James Bell&nbsp; Yeah. You know, I'm glad you mentioned that, because that's one of the things that I think in this particular conversation, I've seen that this seems to be going well, is that a lot more people are involved. And they're interested in like, there was a bond meeting a couple of days ago, there was a fairly substantial crowd. And I remember in the first bond issue, you know, again, 578 years ago, you go to those meetings, and there'd be nobody there literally nobody. So I'm curious, you know, what you're hearing from, like business leaders about that, you know, is the tide kind of turned a little bit? Are more people supporting this? Or is it still going to be an uphill battle?Doug Williams&nbsp; I think it has turned to some extent, I think that the real challenge I have seen in the past is that I don't think anybody disagrees that we need a bond. I mean, I say nobody there there are those out there that disagree and are not going to vote for it under any circumstance. But I think it has turned I think people recognize that we do need a bond. And most of what I hear is positive. So I think we are headed in the right direction, at least I hope so. You know, you're always going to have a vocal minority are going to voice their opinions and that's great. That's what this country saw about. But I think by and large people recognize the need and We this time I hope is different and I hope we can get something done. It's critical to our future that we do.James Bell&nbsp; Okay. Well, before we run out of time, there's one other thing we want to talk a little bit about today. And that's some construction going on out towards, well, gosh, I don't know the roads but out east of town.Grow Hays executive director Doug Williams&nbsp; Commerce Parkway.James Bell&nbsp; There you go.Doug Williams&nbsp; Heart of America has a development near Commerce Parkway, where Glassman climate control is that area behind Glassman climate control on Ninth Street out there. That is been out there for a long time, 20 years 20 plus years with some lots and things out there for commercial development. And we've had two lots sales in the last few months to local businesses who are going to do expansions out there. And we've got some interest in a third lot for a potential construction project for some factory microfactory project. And so some good activity out there good to see some local businesses, make investments and expand. And I think there'll be 2022, you'll see a lot of activity out there that be to the east of where Glassman Corporation is just off of commerce Parkway. So that's good news. Great to see.James Bell&nbsp; Yeah, absolutely. You know, I wonder he, when businesses make that move, you know, and that's I don't know, that's out of city limits, right. Is there a is there an impact to like tax revenues or anything like that to be concerned about? Or is this is an all kind of good thing? Because it really it's not like a big move. It's in an expansion, of course, is always a good thing.Doug Williams&nbsp; Well, expansion is good. And let me correct. That is in the city limits. So okay, that is annexed into the city, they do have access to city services, water, sewer, that kind of thing. Fire protection. So that is why they made that decision where they're going is it isn't a city. Gotcha. So it's all positive from that standpoint, because both of these organizations operate in existing buildings that pay property taxes. They're building new buildings, which will add property tax revenue to the tax rolls. So it's all good. Plus, I'll expand and employ more people. So I don't see any downside to this one.James Bell&nbsp; Okay, win, win, win. Love that. Are you gonna tell us the businesses. You can't tell us, can you?Doug Williams&nbsp; I will soon, not right now.James Bell&nbsp; You always have the best information is what you can't share.Doug Williams&nbsp; Always.James Bell&nbsp; Love it. Well, it's very good to hear that, you know, that's happening. And I love seeing expansion out there. Because, you know, to me, that's one of those areas, one of those regions that can really use that it's kind of underdeveloped, I think and you know, and I didn't realize that had been out there that, that for that long,Doug Williams&nbsp; It has been that those lots were developed quite some time ago, and it's time there was some expansion out there. It's a good spot with, as I said earlier, it's in the city limits. It's got access to city utilities. Part of America also owns 32 acres directly to the east of where these are. So the game plan would be just continue going east and find some other organizations to either come in or expand out there and keep it going.

🎙Post Podcast: USD 489 bond issue to impact more than education

On this episode of the Post Podcast Ellis County Sheriff Scott Braun shares information about protecting animals during cold weather.

With winter weather well in place in the area, Ellis County Sheriff Scott Braun says it's time to think about those animals that are outside. He talks to us about that and more on this episode of the Post Podcast.

We've got a lot of animals out there, this is about the time when we start getting a lot of phone calls from concerned citizens and, and a lot of times, it's justified. But I just want to touch on what's required by state statute doesn't mean that you can't go above and beyond, it just means that this is the minimum. So by state statute, they have to have shelter, they have to have water, and they have to have food. And so we get a lot of phone calls from, from concerned citizens about not having those things, and we do do those checks on a regular basis, if we receive them. Unfortunately, we cannot make them take them inside, if they meet all those requirements, and it's been pretty cold, I would encourage those people to take their dogs inside and animals to, to make sure they're safe. You know. But as far as an enforcement action, we can't take any unless they're not meeting one of those standards. So a lot of people are, are concerned with that. And when we leave, we kind of leave sometimes with a feeling that we didn't do anything, it's because we just can't, and I want to explain that to the people and and we do encourage you to call in if there are those concerns, and we'll definitely take a look at it for sure. 

So that's got to be difficult to not be able to, you know, take that action, because I'm sure you know, any of your deputies, you know, dog, cat, whatever is out there, and it's cold, and you just got to walk away, that's got to be rough.

Yeah, it is, you know, and again, it's extremely cold in animals are really tough there, you know, but at the same time, you know, they get cold, like everything, like we do. And so if we can give them that safe environment, I would encourage people to do so. But I can't make them do that. Yeah, so I have a husky at home and stays outside most of the time. But when it was really cold, put him put the dog in the garage, got him out of the wind, even though they have a dog house. So that type of thing. And, and that dog loves the cold. So

I was gonna say Huskies are like the one you don't have to worry about. They'll go play in the snow all day long.

Oh, yeah, lays in the middle of the pile. So so I get that. But we were just concerned with the extreme cold and we have a place to put him so we put her inside and just getting up there in age. So it wasn't a big deal. So I encourage people to do that. So the other thing I'd like to talk about is talking about the cold. You know, we're traveling right now we're gonna have some extreme colds again on Friday, I believe it is coming in. Yeah, I'm hearing zeros. Yeah. So make sure your batteries are good to go. Make sure you have a blanket in there. Possibly a heat source if you can, make sure you have a cell phone charger. And also let people know I know, we're so used to being on the road and talking and those types of things. But let people know your plans, maybe the road you're going to take, if you're two couple hours later, something like that. contact law enforcement. And we'll run those roads to look for them. We'll put an ATL out to try to locate that vehicle, make sure they're safe. Sometimes things happen. And we want to make sure that no one freezes. So make sure you have gloves and hats and a heavy coat. Maybe throw some coveralls in there if you have them, those types of things and just be safe and try to stay with your vehicle if you can do not get out and walk unless you can see a farmstead or something close by if you're running those roads, but obviously cell phones work pretty well. But everything fails. So take some precautions.

Yeah, I'm glad you mentioned that. Because this is something I'm teaching my kids as they're growing up in this world of technology, and they've always got access to the internet, they've always got a cell phone in their hands. If that's not always the case, and those old school precautions that we used to think about 2030 years ago, are just as relevant even though most of the time unnecessary.

Yeah, it doesn't hurt to put it in your trunk. It's there, you know, it's not like it's gonna cost you any more fuel to haul that around. Right? So I would encourage you to do so. And again, make sure people know the route you're going to take and in approximate time that you're going to be there that will help us and where they're coming from. So And last but not least, I know that we've heard a lot about this. The fires up north that started out west and worked away through Russell County. I want to recognize the Rural Fire Ellis County rural fire and those other agencies that came in to assist during the fires. I also want to definitely thank our dispatch center, all of the staff that was working the amount of call volume that they received and that was overwhelming. I tell you what, they are all true heroes for What they do, and they kept us safe.

Yeah, and for those of us that kind of see a little bit behind the scenes with what you guys do, I mean, a lot of things went wrong that day and not in a bad way unexpectedly. But everything like we're and you know, everybody came together and made it all work and it ended up I think the best outcome we could have hoped for in that day.

Yeah, obviously, the best outcome is not having it happen at all, but unfortunately did and I'm with you. It is amazing how the community pulls together. Law enforcement, first responders, just in general how counties that were not affected by we're sending people by the groves to help help with those fires to get them out and protect farmsteads and homes. There were obviously some buildings damaged in that but I tell you what our rural fire people were trying to save homes for the for our farmers and there were homes lost and unfortunately, we lost the life too. And that's really sad. But in overall think it could have been a lot worse and I think everybody did an outstanding job and I just want to thank you.

<div><iframe title="Cold weather can be harmful to outdoor animals" 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=iavtk-117224c-pb&from=pb6admin&square=1&share=1&download=1&rtl=0&fonts=Arial&skin=3267a3&font-color=ffffff&btn-skin=3267a3&size=300" allowfullscreen=""></iframe></div>On this episode of the Post Podcast Ellis County Sheriff Scott Braun shares information about protecting animals during cold weather.<h2>Transcript</h2>James Bell With winter weather well in place in the area, Ellis County Sheriff Scott Braun says it's time to think about those animals that are outside. He talks to us about that and more on this episode of the Post Podcast.Scott Braun We've got a lot of animals out there, this is about the time when we start getting a lot of phone calls from concerned citizens and, and a lot of times, it's justified. But I just want to touch on what's required by state statute doesn't mean that you can't go above and beyond, it just means that this is the minimum. So by state statute, they have to have shelter, they have to have water, and they have to have food. And so we get a lot of phone calls from, from concerned citizens about not having those things, and we do do those checks on a regular basis, if we receive them. Unfortunately, we cannot make them take them inside, if they meet all those requirements, and it's been pretty cold, I would encourage those people to take their dogs inside and animals to, to make sure they're safe. You know. But as far as an enforcement action, we can't take any unless they're not meeting one of those standards. So a lot of people are, are concerned with that. And when we leave, we kind of leave sometimes with a feeling that we didn't do anything, it's because we just can't, and I want to explain that to the people and and we do encourage you to call in if there are those concerns, and we'll definitely take a look at it for sure. James Bell So that's got to be difficult to not be able to, you know, take that action, because I'm sure you know, any of your deputies, you know, dog, cat, whatever is out there, and it's cold, and you just got to walk away, that's got to be rough.Scott Braun Yeah, it is, you know, and again, it's extremely cold in animals are really tough there, you know, but at the same time, you know, they get cold, like everything, like we do. And so if we can give them that safe environment, I would encourage people to do so. But I can't make them do that. Yeah, so I have a husky at home and stays outside most of the time. But when it was really cold, put him put the dog in the garage, got him out of the wind, even though they have a dog house. So that type of thing. And, and that dog loves the cold. SoJames Bell I was gonna say Huskies are like the one you don't have to worry about. They'll go play in the snow all day long.Scott Braun Oh, yeah, lays in the middle of the pile. So so I get that. But we were just concerned with the extreme cold and we have a place to put him so we put her inside and just getting up there in age. So it wasn't a big deal. So I encourage people to do that. So the other thing I'd like to talk about is talking about the cold. You know, we're traveling right now we're gonna have some extreme colds again on Friday, I believe it is coming in. Yeah, I'm hearing zeros. Yeah. So make sure your batteries are good to go. Make sure you have a blanket in there. Possibly a heat source if you can, make sure you have a cell phone charger. And also let people know I know, we're so used to being on the road and talking and those types of things. But let people know your plans, maybe the road you're going to take, if you're two couple hours later, something like that. contact law enforcement. And we'll run those roads to look for them. We'll put an ATL out to try to locate that vehicle, make sure they're safe. Sometimes things happen. And we want to make sure that no one freezes. So make sure you have gloves and hats and a heavy coat. Maybe throw some coveralls in there if you have them, those types of things and just be safe and try to stay with your vehicle if you can do not get out and walk unless you can see a farmstead or something close by if you're running those roads, but obviously cell phones work pretty well. But everything fails. So take some precautions.James Bell Yeah, I'm glad you mentioned that. Because this is something I'm teaching my kids as they're growing up in this world of technology, and they've always got access to the internet, they've always got a cell phone in their hands. If that's not always the case, and those old school precautions that we used to think about 2030 years ago, are just as relevant even though most of the time unnecessary.Scott Braun Yeah, it doesn't hurt to put it in your trunk. It's there, you know, it's not like it's gonna cost you any more fuel to haul that around. Right? So I would encourage you to do so. And again, make sure people know the route you're going to take and in approximate time that you're going to be there that will help us and where they're coming from. So And last but not least, I know that we've heard a lot about this. The fires up north that started out west and worked away through Russell County. I want to recognize the Rural Fire Ellis County rural fire and those other agencies that came in to assist during the fires. I also want to definitely thank our dispatch center, all of the staff that was working the amount of call volume that they received and that was overwhelming. I tell you what, they are all true heroes for What they do, and they kept us safe.James Bell Yeah, and for those of us that kind of see a little bit behind the scenes with what you guys do, I mean, a lot of things went wrong that day and not in a bad way unexpectedly. But everything like we're and you know, everybody came together and made it all work and it ended up I think the best outcome we could have hoped for in that day.Scott Braun Yeah, obviously, the best outcome is not having it happen at all, but unfortunately did and I'm with you. It is amazing how the community pulls together. Law enforcement, first responders, just in general how counties that were not affected by we're sending people by the groves to help help with those fires to get them out and protect farmsteads and homes. There were obviously some buildings damaged in that but I tell you what our rural fire people were trying to save homes for the for our farmers and there were homes lost and unfortunately, we lost the life too. And that's really sad. But in overall think it could have been a lot worse and I think everybody did an outstanding job and I just want to thank you.

🎙Post Podcast: Cold weather can be harmful to outdoor animals

On this episode of the Post Podcast, Fort Hays State University president Tisa Mason and athletic director Curtis Hammeke share information about university sports during the upcoming spring semester.

<div><iframe title="FHSU Athletics continue impressive year as the spring semester kicks off" 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=4w3se-1171109-pb&from=pb6admin&square=1&share=1&download=1&rtl=0&fonts=Arial&skin=3267a3&font-color=ffffff&btn-skin=3267a3&size=300" allowfullscreen=""></iframe></div>On this episode of the Post Podcast, Fort Hays State University president Tisa Mason and athletic director Curtis Hammeke share information about university sports during the upcoming spring semester.

🎙Post Podcast: FHSU Athletics continue impressive year as semester begins

On this episode of the Post Podcast, Hays Chamber president and CEO Sarah Wasinger introduces the new vice president of marketing and communications, Mariah Leglighter.

The Hays Chamber has a new Vice President of Marketing and Communications. President and CEO Sarah Wasinger joins us to introduce Mariah Legleiter on this episode of the posts podcast.

So this is Mariah Legleiter, she is our Vice President of Marketing and Communications. We are so thrilled to have her here today. We wanted to give her just a few months to get her feet wet before we kind of hear her into the fire right away. So

that seems fair. Mariah, thanks for joining us. Good to see you. Good to meet you.

So down at the Chamber, you're the new Vice President of Marketing and Communications. I know we talked about your your, what's the word swear word? The last guy in the job that press? Well, I wasn't gonna give his name because I figured he was dead all of us. But no, no, he's great. And he's a really cool role now. But yeah, he used to come on once in a while. So I'm glad that you got to come in as well. And we're gonna talk a little bit about what kind of what you're doing because with Scott, it was a different job than it is now from what we've talked about, right?

There's a little painful, but there's gonna be a few little tweaks here and there. And specifically, we shared Scott a little bit with the CVB. before. And with Mariah, we get to keep her full time. So we're very excited about that. Nice. Yes. So Brian, I would love for people at home to know a little bit about your background and expertise. Do you want to share a little bit about yourself?

Yeah, I would love to. So I moved to Hays in August of 2012 to continue my education after getting an associate's degree in accounting from Dodge City Community College. And I went to Fort Hays State University graduated there in 2016. I met my husband while I was going to school there, his name is Devin, like LIDAR. And we have a beautiful little girl named Olivia. She goes to school to Laughlin Elementary. And actually, I just realized that this year marks 10 years in haze. So I'm super excited about that. You hit the deck? I did.

I love that. Because you know, so many so many people I know came to haze for four days, just like you the same reason I'm here. And stock. Really, it's a testament to our community. Because I mean, if you if it wasn't a quality of life here, people would just leave. 

Glad to hear so. So you're at the Chamber now. We're gonna talk a little bit about your background, like, what your experiences are. Yeah. 

So I used to work at Herman physical therapy and wellness. And I did a lot of his marketing and a lot of his social media presence for him. So I just brought all of that experience over to the chamber. And I'm did a lot of his graphic design work, too. And so I'm so looking forward to being able to explore creatively, a little bit further for the chamber, and just be able to do that for them. I'm, I can't wait to do that.

Yeah, she brings a lot of different skill sets to the table, she's probably more humble than what she's sharing. But when we were replacing Scott, we were looking at, oh, my gosh, this is quite a diverse job. Who are we going to get he knows how to do video, who knows how to do marketing, who knows how to do writing, and all those things really well. And she's really hit the ground running and has I'm just very much impressed so far.

Awesome. Yeah. Cuz, you know, it is one of those things. And this is exactly what we talked about in the past, right? It's those skill sets, you know, you might have one like a Scott was an amazing graphic designer, and you know, he did all the logo work. But that's a very different skill set than social media, marketing. And you got to kind of find that right fit to get what you need out of it. And the extra is always good, right? Like, I can run a camera. Sure, but I can't shoot video, you know what I mean?

Right? So she's been doing such a good job, even if there have been a few things that she's like, Well, I haven't done that. But I'm a very fast learner. She's proved time and time again that yes, indeed, she is a very fast learner. So we couldn't be more happy to have her be a part of our team.

That's awesome. So you know what, down there at the chamber and your experience so far, what's uh, you know, what surprised you the most

anything, they, I would say the magnitude of what they have their hands in. I mean, the chamber is does a great job of advocating for the business community on every level. And just how fast paced everything is, like I saw my job before was fast paced, but nope. So but I love that kind of environment. And so I've kind of been thriving in that. And just like she said, hit the ground running like it's been it's been a fun adventure so far.

Her heads only spin in circles. She's keeping up.

You know, Sarah, I think a lot of people might struggle to keep up with you, just because you guys do so very much here. I mean, you literally sometimes you'll leave the show here and I'll pop on to Facebook and you're doing a live somewhere you already set up here. And then there's like two more going on that day. It's crazy. Crazy. We

have one of the best jobs in the world because we truly get to work with our businesses across the community and make sure that we are pulling resources and people together, giving folks the opportunity to collaborate and We think that it's going to be great to have where I come in and reading up a little bit of what we're doing it with social media and things of that nature. So

very cool. You know, I want to talk some of the specifics here. You know, we've got, we've talked a little bit, I think, oh, about a month ago or so The Community Guide. And that was something I think Scott was heavily invested in. Is that going to be? Yeah, you're picking that up as well?

I did. When I first that was kind of my first big, huge project. I did I send it to the printers Right, right before we left for Christmas. So nice. I'm very excited about that. I actually got it back as a proof and, and I was so happy. I was like, Oh, this is almost better than Christmas. So I was super excited about it in and it was a big project. But I really enjoyed it.

What's kind of special about that, though, is that she literally helped write it helped do the photographer pay for it designed work, but her husband is helping print it. So it's kind of a family affair. Yeah, really.

That's the I cuz he's the press operator at Northwestern printers. So I have an inside job or an inside guy that I can ask questions if I needed.

Okay. So what I'm hearing is if somebody finds a typo, we know where to go. Yes. Yes. That is true. That's very cool. And so one of those come out this Community Guides. 

So we will release that for the first time it debuts on our annual banquet every year. So we'll get those into the hands of those folks who attend the banquet, and from there on, distribute them across the community to our hotels, motels, all of our tourist attractions and a lot of our different restaurants in town.

Very cool. Hey, you mentioned that banquet, though. And we should probably talk a little bit about this today. Because those nominations we talked last time. And I know there was a story up on his post that I did for you guys on that. But it's coming up the deadline is this Friday, right for the nominations?

Absolutely. So we have eight awards that we're giving away this year, those nomination forms can be found on our website, it doesn't take very much time, you literally put the person's name on the forum, which award you want to nominate them for and then it's a fillable. PDF. So you can go in and type in why you feel that person or business or organization is deserving of that award, and then just submit those to ACC at Hays chamber.com. And our nomination committee will go through those and we will surprise all of our winners at the banquet on January 25.

That's awesome. Mariah, are you getting to pick the winners? No.

That is one thing that I did not take over, she does get to do a lot of work to plan for that.

I did I actually just finished well, I got the I just got back from the printers the ticket. So I know what the ticket looks like for the banquet. And that was a super fun, kind of first thing for me to do was design that ticket for the banquet and it was something to get my feet wet and kind of show them what I could do. And and I really enjoyed that as well.

That's awesome. Hey, and if you don't have one of those tickets, if you're listening, get your hands on it, because there's just a few left, right, right,

we actually have fewer than 100 tickets left. So they're $60 apiece. But it includes a night full of fun networking socialization. I'm just really getting a chance to be out there with some of the people who make such a big impact on our community every

year. Very cool. Yeah, it's always a fun time. And I'm going to make sure you got so few left. I gotta I'm gonna know right here. So I get my ticket. But anyway, there we go. Got it. Now. Also coming up is the Ag appreciation event. That's later on in January as well.

Right? Yes, actually, next week this Thursday.

Yeah, and Maria, did you get to work on that one as well?

I did. Um, I've made a lot of the signage around for that. I'm working right now on posting videos from all of our barn raisers sponsors, including many nine Ks. Yeah. Yeah. And actually, that one went out yesterday. So you can look at that on our Facebook page. Um, yeah, I've, I've done the videos, I'm working on those working on PowerPoint presentations that will have going at the event. And then all of us have a team as a team have kind of worked together to get things for the swag bags into just all the little fine details that go into it. You know, we have meetings about that and just kind of get it all going.

We have an ambassador committee that's been very instrumental and helping get a lot of those details planned and picked up too. So can we run through where people can go get tickets for that? So of course, 99 KC country Astro bank, you can also go to Kericho implement commerce, bank and equity bank, and then get terrorists Cosina AmEx, econ a trio Taphouse. And then the other three locations for our barberries responses are high plains Farm Credit, insurance planning, and next Tech, Hays Med and MITC are also sponsors but they are opting to not be ticket outlets, obviously, it doesn't have a huge location. So that would make it a little challenging case med. They're just trying to keep our community healthy right now. So probably fewer people going in there that don't need to be in there, the better off we are

probably for the best. Although you know I do always enjoy going in there and seeing that beautiful facility every time I'm in there, you know, it's usually not for a good cause. Yeah. but it is such such a neat, neat place. And then it's uh, yeah, we also

have a few cultivator ticket locations too, just in case any of those other Barney's response was run out of tickets. And those locations are ama course KSU Ag Research Center, Pepsi Cola, and then the TMP FFA chapter, and is also helping with the middle for that and doing some volunteer work. So definitely get your tickets for that event. And next week, Thursday, it'll be from five to 7pm at the shank building on Ellis County Fairgrounds.

Very cool. And get some tickets don't wait. Because there's, if you wait,

it's free to go. You don't have to pay for tickets. You just go get a ticket so we can make sure we have enough food for everybody.

Yeah, yeah. Very cool. Very cool. And such a neat, very new thing for you guys to do that. And we talked about that. And you could get that replay if you're interested. But yeah, you shifted up the time a little bit on this one cuz it used to be in the

in September. Yeah. Yeah. So that's obviously a very busy time for farmers and ranchers. So we thought, let's shift thinks a little bit. So it looks a little bit like we may have, you know, hit our heads and lost track of what we're doing. But I'm very intentional on why and how we are changing the date.

So yeah, makes perfect sense. Well, all right, guys, we've got just a couple minutes left. But from what I understand you've got some new Chamber members down there that we want to talk about before we go.

We do so we had a lot of businesses join us in q4 of 2021. And with all the other things we've had going on, haven't had a chance to welcome them officially. So here's our official welcome wagon to them on the radio, American shooters, Sherry Brown, casual graphics, Chris Glassman Hayes greenhouse, Braden meets the Kiwanis Club of Hays Chuck white, as Special Olympics of Kansas sprint Kaiser. And then the final two are the gamers guild with Brandon NIMS. And then the master Matrice hub with Joe urban. So welcome to all of these folks. Obviously, they can be found on our chamber website at Hays chamber.com. Please feel free to check them out for all your local shopping needs.

Yeah, very cool. Yeah. Interesting list of diverse Yeah, diverse. That's the word and Yeah. Very cool. All right, guys. Well, we've like we're down to just a minute you've got a couple events we want to talk about before we go right.

<div><iframe title="New VP hits the ground running at the Hays Chamber" 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=pj6sx-116f74a-pb&from=pb6admin&square=1&share=1&download=1&rtl=0&fonts=Arial&skin=3267a3&font-color=ffffff&btn-skin=3267a3&size=300" allowfullscreen=""></iframe></div>On this episode of the Post Podcast, Hays Chamber president and CEO Sarah Wasinger introduces the new vice president of marketing and communications, Mariah Leglighter.<h2>Transcript</h2>James Bell The Hays Chamber has a new Vice President of Marketing and Communications. President and CEO Sarah Wasinger joins us to introduce Mariah Legleiter on this episode of the posts podcast.Sarah Wasinger So this is Mariah Legleiter, she is our Vice President of Marketing and Communications. We are so thrilled to have her here today. We wanted to give her just a few months to get her feet wet before we kind of hear her into the fire right away. SoJames Bell that seems fair. Mariah, thanks for joining us. Good to see you. Good to meet you.Mariah Legleiter Yeah, it's nice to meet you, too.James Bell So down at the Chamber, you're the new Vice President of Marketing and Communications. I know we talked about your your, what's the word swear word? The last guy in the job that press? Well, I wasn't gonna give his name because I figured he was dead all of us. But no, no, he's great. And he's a really cool role now. But yeah, he used to come on once in a while. So I'm glad that you got to come in as well. And we're gonna talk a little bit about what kind of what you're doing because with Scott, it was a different job than it is now from what we've talked about, right?Sarah Wasinger There's a little painful, but there's gonna be a few little tweaks here and there. And specifically, we shared Scott a little bit with the CVB. before. And with Mariah, we get to keep her full time. So we're very excited about that. Nice. Yes. So Brian, I would love for people at home to know a little bit about your background and expertise. Do you want to share a little bit about yourself?Mariah Legleiter Yeah, I would love to. So I moved to Hays in August of 2012 to continue my education after getting an associate's degree in accounting from Dodge City Community College. And I went to Fort Hays State University graduated there in 2016. I met my husband while I was going to school there, his name is Devin, like LIDAR. And we have a beautiful little girl named Olivia. She goes to school to Laughlin Elementary. And actually, I just realized that this year marks 10 years in haze. So I'm super excited about that. You hit the deck? I did.James Bell I love that. Because you know, so many so many people I know came to haze for four days, just like you the same reason I'm here. And stock. Really, it's a testament to our community. Because I mean, if you if it wasn't a quality of life here, people would just leave. Sarah Wasinger We're catching like that. James Bell Absolutely.Mariah Legleiter I love it here.James Bell Glad to hear so. So you're at the Chamber now. We're gonna talk a little bit about your background, like, what your experiences are. Yeah. Mariah Legleiter So I used to work at Herman physical therapy and wellness. And I did a lot of his marketing and a lot of his social media presence for him. So I just brought all of that experience over to the chamber. And I'm did a lot of his graphic design work, too. And so I'm so looking forward to being able to explore creatively, a little bit further for the chamber, and just be able to do that for them. I'm, I can't wait to do that.Sarah Wasinger Yeah, she brings a lot of different skill sets to the table, she's probably more humble than what she's sharing. But when we were replacing Scott, we were looking at, oh, my gosh, this is quite a diverse job. Who are we going to get he knows how to do video, who knows how to do marketing, who knows how to do writing, and all those things really well. And she's really hit the ground running and has I'm just very much impressed so far.James Bell Awesome. Yeah. Cuz, you know, it is one of those things. And this is exactly what we talked about in the past, right? It's those skill sets, you know, you might have one like a Scott was an amazing graphic designer, and you know, he did all the logo work. But that's a very different skill set than social media, marketing. And you got to kind of find that right fit to get what you need out of it. And the extra is always good, right? Like, I can run a camera. Sure, but I can't shoot video, you know what I mean?Sarah Wasinger Right? So she's been doing such a good job, even if there have been a few things that she's like, Well, I haven't done that. But I'm a very fast learner. She's proved time and time again that yes, indeed, she is a very fast learner. So we couldn't be more happy to have her be a part of our team.James Bell That's awesome. So you know what, down there at the chamber and your experience so far, what's uh, you know, what surprised you the mostMariah Legleiter anything, they, I would say the magnitude of what they have their hands in. I mean, the chamber is does a great job of advocating for the business community on every level. And just how fast paced everything is, like I saw my job before was fast paced, but nope. So but I love that kind of environment. And so I've kind of been thriving in that. And just like she said, hit the ground running like it's been it's been a fun adventure so far.Sarah Wasinger Her heads only spin in circles. She's keeping up.James Bell You know, Sarah, I think a lot of people might struggle to keep up with you, just because you guys do so very much here. I mean, you literally sometimes you'll leave the show here and I'll pop on to Facebook and you're doing a live somewhere you already set up here. And then there's like two more going on that day. It's crazy. Crazy. WeSarah Wasinger have one of the best jobs in the world because we truly get to work with our businesses across the community and make sure that we are pulling resources and people together, giving folks the opportunity to collaborate and We think that it's going to be great to have where I come in and reading up a little bit of what we're doing it with social media and things of that nature. SoJames Bell very cool. You know, I want to talk some of the specifics here. You know, we've got, we've talked a little bit, I think, oh, about a month ago or so The Community Guide. And that was something I think Scott was heavily invested in. Is that going to be? Yeah, you're picking that up as well?Mariah Legleiter I did. When I first that was kind of my first big, huge project. I did I send it to the printers Right, right before we left for Christmas. So nice. I'm very excited about that. I actually got it back as a proof and, and I was so happy. I was like, Oh, this is almost better than Christmas. So I was super excited about it in and it was a big project. But I really enjoyed it.Sarah Wasinger What's kind of special about that, though, is that she literally helped write it helped do the photographer pay for it designed work, but her husband is helping print it. So it's kind of a family affair. Yeah, really.Mariah Legleiter That's the I cuz he's the press operator at Northwestern printers. So I have an inside job or an inside guy that I can ask questions if I needed.James Bell Okay. So what I'm hearing is if somebody finds a typo, we know where to go. Yes. Yes. That is true. That's very cool. And so one of those come out this Community Guides. Sarah Wasinger So we will release that for the first time it debuts on our annual banquet every year. So we'll get those into the hands of those folks who attend the banquet, and from there on, distribute them across the community to our hotels, motels, all of our tourist attractions and a lot of our different restaurants in town.James Bell Very cool. Hey, you mentioned that banquet, though. And we should probably talk a little bit about this today. Because those nominations we talked last time. And I know there was a story up on his post that I did for you guys on that. But it's coming up the deadline is this Friday, right for the nominations?Sarah Wasinger Absolutely. So we have eight awards that we're giving away this year, those nomination forms can be found on our website, it doesn't take very much time, you literally put the person's name on the forum, which award you want to nominate them for and then it's a fillable. PDF. So you can go in and type in why you feel that person or business or organization is deserving of that award, and then just submit those to ACC at Hays chamber.com. And our nomination committee will go through those and we will surprise all of our winners at the banquet on January 25.James Bell That's awesome. Mariah, are you getting to pick the winners? No.Sarah Wasinger That is one thing that I did not take over, she does get to do a lot of work to plan for that.Mariah Legleiter I did I actually just finished well, I got the I just got back from the printers the ticket. So I know what the ticket looks like for the banquet. And that was a super fun, kind of first thing for me to do was design that ticket for the banquet and it was something to get my feet wet and kind of show them what I could do. And and I really enjoyed that as well.James Bell That's awesome. Hey, and if you don't have one of those tickets, if you're listening, get your hands on it, because there's just a few left, right, right,Sarah Wasinger we actually have fewer than 100 tickets left. So they're $60 apiece. But it includes a night full of fun networking socialization. I'm just really getting a chance to be out there with some of the people who make such a big impact on our community everyJames Bell year. Very cool. Yeah, it's always a fun time. And I'm going to make sure you got so few left. I gotta I'm gonna know right here. So I get my ticket. But anyway, there we go. Got it. Now. Also coming up is the Ag appreciation event. That's later on in January as well.Sarah Wasinger Right? Yes, actually, next week this Thursday.James Bell Yeah, and Maria, did you get to work on that one as well?Mariah Legleiter I did. Um, I've made a lot of the signage around for that. I'm working right now on posting videos from all of our barn raisers sponsors, including many nine Ks. Yeah. Yeah. And actually, that one went out yesterday. So you can look at that on our Facebook page. Um, yeah, I've, I've done the videos, I'm working on those working on PowerPoint presentations that will have going at the event. And then all of us have a team as a team have kind of worked together to get things for the swag bags into just all the little fine details that go into it. You know, we have meetings about that and just kind of get it all going.Sarah Wasinger We have an ambassador committee that's been very instrumental and helping get a lot of those details planned and picked up too. So can we run through where people can go get tickets for that? So of course, 99 KC country Astro bank, you can also go to Kericho implement commerce, bank and equity bank, and then get terrorists Cosina AmEx, econ a trio Taphouse. And then the other three locations for our barberries responses are high plains Farm Credit, insurance planning, and next Tech, Hays Med and MITC are also sponsors but they are opting to not be ticket outlets, obviously, it doesn't have a huge location. So that would make it a little challenging case med. They're just trying to keep our community healthy right now. So probably fewer people going in there that don't need to be in there, the better off we areJames Bell probably for the best. Although you know I do always enjoy going in there and seeing that beautiful facility every time I'm in there, you know, it's usually not for a good cause. Yeah. but it is such such a neat, neat place. And then it's uh, yeah, we alsoSarah Wasinger have a few cultivator ticket locations too, just in case any of those other Barney's response was run out of tickets. And those locations are ama course KSU Ag Research Center, Pepsi Cola, and then the TMP FFA chapter, and is also helping with the middle for that and doing some volunteer work. So definitely get your tickets for that event. And next week, Thursday, it'll be from five to 7pm at the shank building on Ellis County Fairgrounds.James Bell Very cool. And get some tickets don't wait. Because there's, if you wait,Sarah Wasinger it's free to go. You don't have to pay for tickets. You just go get a ticket so we can make sure we have enough food for everybody.James Bell Yeah, yeah. Very cool. Very cool. And such a neat, very new thing for you guys to do that. And we talked about that. And you could get that replay if you're interested. But yeah, you shifted up the time a little bit on this one cuz it used to be in theSarah Wasinger in September. Yeah. Yeah. So that's obviously a very busy time for farmers and ranchers. So we thought, let's shift thinks a little bit. So it looks a little bit like we may have, you know, hit our heads and lost track of what we're doing. But I'm very intentional on why and how we are changing the date.James Bell So yeah, makes perfect sense. Well, all right, guys, we've got just a couple minutes left. But from what I understand you've got some new Chamber members down there that we want to talk about before we go.Sarah Wasinger We do so we had a lot of businesses join us in q4 of 2021. And with all the other things we've had going on, haven't had a chance to welcome them officially. So here's our official welcome wagon to them on the radio, American shooters, Sherry Brown, casual graphics, Chris Glassman Hayes greenhouse, Braden meets the Kiwanis Club of Hays Chuck white, as Special Olympics of Kansas sprint Kaiser. And then the final two are the gamers guild with Brandon NIMS. And then the master Matrice hub with Joe urban. So welcome to all of these folks. Obviously, they can be found on our chamber website at Hays chamber.com. Please feel free to check them out for all your local shopping needs.James Bell Yeah, very cool. Yeah. Interesting list of diverse Yeah, diverse. That's the word and Yeah. Very cool. All right, guys. Well, we've like we're down to just a minute you've got a couple events we want to talk about before we go right.Sarah Wasinger The HYP networking and engagement committee will meet to this week Thursday at the Welcome Center at 2700 Vine Street at 1205. We'll also have a ribbon cutting in brick presentation at the port Tavern and patio bar at 4pm at 109 West Seventh Street, and then the HYP Advisory Council will meet Thursday as well at the Welcome Center at 2700 Pine Street at 515. And then Friday, we finished the week off with the Chamber chat, our first one of 2022 with United Way of Ellis camp at the press practice kitchen and cocktails inside of their heritage room at 230 East Eighth Street at 9am. And then our Ambassadors will have their lunch and noon arrows are catering.

🎙Post Podcast: New VP hits the ground running at the Hays Chamber

On this episode of the Post Podcast Thomas More Prep-Marian principal, Chad Meitner stops by to talk about the start of the spring semester.

James Bell &nbsp; Thomas More Prep-Marian in Hays is set to kick off their spring semester this week principal Chad Meitner stops by to talk to us about that and more on this episode of the post podcast

Chad Meitner &nbsp; Ready or not, it's time to get back into the swing of things. Our teachers are actually an in service training, as we speak, are working hard to prepare for the kids who come back tomorrow. So I doubt any students are listening this early. But if you are, I'm glad to hear you're already up and about Adam, you're getting ready for tomorrow.

James Bell &nbsp; They're not up. I wouldn't be up if I was them anyway. No, no, no, no, but that's very cool. You know, and we talked, you know, as you were wrapping up the semester, bad or no back in I think late November, and things are going pretty well in the school year. Right. I mean, overall.

Chad Meitner &nbsp; Yeah, yeah, we've talked a little bit about, you know, it's still the pandemic COVID issues, but yet, it's much more manageable. And I would say a light version of what we had in 2020 21. school year. So it's, it's yeah, things are rolling right along. And it's into that point where you don't have to think about all those things that can go wrong. You're just more focused on the routine things that are happening, like, you know, we're getting ready has school starts up tomorrow, we've, of course, the activities quickly follow. We'll have wrestling on Thursday, and in basketball starting on Friday, right away this week. And that's good, because you never want too much unstructured time for any of us, especially for our teenagers and our students who who do better when they're interacting with each other and doing activities.

James Bell &nbsp; Oh, sure. And especially Yeah, you know, I feel like those the athletics, you know, all of the activities kind of keep you busy. But the athletics, especially for those athletes that are that they hit that downtime, they kind of like, Oh, what do I do with myself, you know, and it's, it's really easy to just like, let it slide. And then you got to fight your way back into conditioning.

Chad Meitner &nbsp; Oh, if you've been in out for sports at the high school level, you know, that that Christmas time period where you're just all you do is kind of practice but then you're also celebrating, so you're eating a lot of rich foods and sleeping late. Yeah, coming back to get in the swing of things is a little bit of a shock. But once you get back into it, it's nice. And it's the fun time of the basketball season. I think it's when you start getting in the league games, and it's a little more exciting. So the kids will have home games to go to little kids to the big kids, they all come out and it's nice to get in the Fieldhouse and have some excitement to get together again.

James Bell &nbsp; Yeah, absolutely. But it's not just athletics, you've got some, you know, the academic activities kicking up as well, right?

Chad Meitner &nbsp; Oh, yeah, those those will kick in as well. We've got chess team, our chess team pretty much competes every Saturday, which that's a sacrifice in itself. If you think about it in high school and junior high, given up you're not every Saturday, but during the season, almost every Saturday to go compete. And of course, there's still a lot of online tournaments. It's kind of a holdover from COVID that I think people like because you're not having to travel as far. Sometimes we travel all the way to Lawrence or which Topher tournament, so there's still some in person tournaments, but they also still do a lot of virtual tournaments in our schools. So they have won this Saturday, scholars bowl that's kicking off as well. They've had some early season events, but the scholars bowl kick right and get right back into it. They have a tournament in Hutchison the JV does next Tuesday. So yeah, whether you're athletics or academics, it's time to get back and focus on that and get into that routine. Very

James Bell &nbsp; cool. And you guys have some, some extra curricular kind of special events coming up that we want to talk about as well. A march for life, I believe is coming up. Oh, here in a couple of weeks, right.

Chad Meitner &nbsp; Yeah, that's a that's a big deal. For us. It's an annual pilgrimage, I'd say because it's, it's yeah, it's an experience. It's like a field trip. But it's also kind of a spiritual growth activity for our kids, right to say, we're put on this earth to not just be about ourselves, but to be about our community and our fellow man. And so that's an opportunity for the kids to get on a bus together, go on a long bus ride, which you know, us older folks, maybe don't think a long bus ride sounds exciting, but for the kids to get out of Hayes to get out of Kansas, to go see a part of our country to do it as a community. And then to do it for a good cause to say, hey, we're out here to support life and all of its stages and all of its forms. And so they'll head off to DC they'll get on the bus on January 19. And they'll get back on the 23rd that Sunday and then jump right back into school. Very cool.

James Bell &nbsp; And what are like a beautiful time of year to go to DC I mean, I know a few we're out you're out there in July August. Well, yeah, I mean, oh, hopefully but that he that humidity out there who?

Chad Meitner &nbsp; Yeah, who gets you? Yeah, as long as you don't get like a big snowstorm coming in DC is a beautiful place even in January. Sometimes you get some mild, sunny days and it's beautiful and so the kids get to go out in March. See a lot of the sights that that you see on TV and that are really important to the history of our country. And so it's an educational, a religious, a community activity all in one. Awesome.

James Bell &nbsp; And I think we also want to talk a little bit about this. The monarch, Fred Day is coming up later on in January, right?

Chad Meitner &nbsp; Yeah, actually two days. So this is a big piece of news for anybody who's got a fifth, sixth, or even seventh and eighth grader, who is maybe in the running to attend Thomas Moore prep Marian. A lot of times if if they're not already attending Holy Family, they might be considering where they're going to go to high school or junior high. And so this is the day to come check us out to come meet the teachers to meet some of the other students. We run them through different activities, get them exposed to some of the sights and sounds of our school, and hang out with have lunch. And so it's just a great way there's it's no commitment, right? Like, if you come to monarch for a day, you're not signing up to attend. But it's a great way to come in and see what it's all about and decide, hey, this is what's best for for my child. That's why we exist is to help the family raise their children in the faith and in those academics. So yeah, the dates for the sixth and eighth graders, if you've got a grandchild, or a child who's in the sixth, seventh, or eighth grades this year, on January 14, we will host them, all you have to do to sign up is call the office at the school, six to 56577. And let us know their name and their age. And we will get them signed up. We'll pair him up with in a small group, and they will have a great time. Fifth graders, it's never too soon to start thinking about hey, what your future is. So fifth graders have a day special for them on January 21. Same format, eight to noon, we can get kids their transportation, we can help get them back to their school, their current school after lunch, so that the family doesn't have to take off work. Come pick them up and take them back. We can handle that with our buses and our Suburbans. Just again, let us know at the school at the office and we'll sign him up. Perfect.

James Bell &nbsp; Yeah, get in there. Check it out. I mean, this and one of the cool things we always talk about here we are on the Catholic schools report is that sense of community that you mentioned, because you guys have just it's such a it's a tight knit group. And, you know, the faith pieces there. But it's also you know, it's just a it's a tremendous celebration of locals coming together and I just I love the admin atmosphere and the attitudes down there at both TMP and and holy family.

Chad Meitner &nbsp; Yeah, we want to we want to strive to welcome everybody and like, right our faith is leads us to say we want to treat everybody with dignity, respect, and we would love to have folks come to our community. It's not a closed community by any means. If you don't know anything about TMP, Marian or haze, maybe you're just recently in the area. We would love to let you get to know us a little better, because we think we've got a lot to offer. Absolutely. It's an incredible educators standard as well. Oh, yeah. A fantastic staff and faculty. You know, we're pretty blessed because a lot of those folks, they're doing it not just as a job to get a paycheck. They are doing it because they believe in the mission. They they believe that God has called them to do what they're doing. And what what better person to have teaching your children than someone who's in it fothose reasons.&nbsp;

James Bell &nbsp; Absolutely. Well, sir, we've got to get over to news, weather and sports but any last thoughts before we go?

Chad Meitner &nbsp; No, but just we're excited to get started. I hope everyone's had a great Christmas season and looking forward to hopefully some nice nose that give us moisture but that keep the roads clear and stay safe.

<div><iframe title="TMP-M kicks off spring semester" 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=zfsu5-116dbe1-pb&from=pb6admin&square=1&share=1&download=1&rtl=0&fonts=Arial&skin=3267a3&font-color=ffffff&btn-skin=3267a3&size=300" allowfullscreen=""></iframe></div>On this episode of the Post Podcast Thomas More Prep-Marian principal, Chad Meitner stops by to talk about the start of the spring semester.<h2>Transcript</h2>James Bell &nbsp; Thomas More Prep-Marian in Hays is set to kick off their spring semester this week principal Chad Meitner stops by to talk to us about that and more on this episode of the post podcastChad Meitner &nbsp; Ready or not, it's time to get back into the swing of things. Our teachers are actually an in service training, as we speak, are working hard to prepare for the kids who come back tomorrow. So I doubt any students are listening this early. But if you are, I'm glad to hear you're already up and about Adam, you're getting ready for tomorrow.James Bell &nbsp; They're not up. I wouldn't be up if I was them anyway. No, no, no, no, but that's very cool. You know, and we talked, you know, as you were wrapping up the semester, bad or no back in I think late November, and things are going pretty well in the school year. Right. I mean, overall.Chad Meitner &nbsp; Yeah, yeah, we've talked a little bit about, you know, it's still the pandemic COVID issues, but yet, it's much more manageable. And I would say a light version of what we had in 2020 21. school year. So it's, it's yeah, things are rolling right along. And it's into that point where you don't have to think about all those things that can go wrong. You're just more focused on the routine things that are happening, like, you know, we're getting ready has school starts up tomorrow, we've, of course, the activities quickly follow. We'll have wrestling on Thursday, and in basketball starting on Friday, right away this week. And that's good, because you never want too much unstructured time for any of us, especially for our teenagers and our students who who do better when they're interacting with each other and doing activities.James Bell &nbsp; Oh, sure. And especially Yeah, you know, I feel like those the athletics, you know, all of the activities kind of keep you busy. But the athletics, especially for those athletes that are that they hit that downtime, they kind of like, Oh, what do I do with myself, you know, and it's, it's really easy to just like, let it slide. And then you got to fight your way back into conditioning.Chad Meitner &nbsp; Oh, if you've been in out for sports at the high school level, you know, that that Christmas time period where you're just all you do is kind of practice but then you're also celebrating, so you're eating a lot of rich foods and sleeping late. Yeah, coming back to get in the swing of things is a little bit of a shock. But once you get back into it, it's nice. And it's the fun time of the basketball season. I think it's when you start getting in the league games, and it's a little more exciting. So the kids will have home games to go to little kids to the big kids, they all come out and it's nice to get in the Fieldhouse and have some excitement to get together again.James Bell &nbsp; Yeah, absolutely. But it's not just athletics, you've got some, you know, the academic activities kicking up as well, right?Chad Meitner &nbsp; Oh, yeah, those those will kick in as well. We've got chess team, our chess team pretty much competes every Saturday, which that's a sacrifice in itself. If you think about it in high school and junior high, given up you're not every Saturday, but during the season, almost every Saturday to go compete. And of course, there's still a lot of online tournaments. It's kind of a holdover from COVID that I think people like because you're not having to travel as far. Sometimes we travel all the way to Lawrence or which Topher tournament, so there's still some in person tournaments, but they also still do a lot of virtual tournaments in our schools. So they have won this Saturday, scholars bowl that's kicking off as well. They've had some early season events, but the scholars bowl kick right and get right back into it. They have a tournament in Hutchison the JV does next Tuesday. So yeah, whether you're athletics or academics, it's time to get back and focus on that and get into that routine. VeryJames Bell &nbsp; cool. And you guys have some, some extra curricular kind of special events coming up that we want to talk about as well. A march for life, I believe is coming up. Oh, here in a couple of weeks, right.Chad Meitner &nbsp; Yeah, that's a that's a big deal. For us. It's an annual pilgrimage, I'd say because it's, it's yeah, it's an experience. It's like a field trip. But it's also kind of a spiritual growth activity for our kids, right to say, we're put on this earth to not just be about ourselves, but to be about our community and our fellow man. And so that's an opportunity for the kids to get on a bus together, go on a long bus ride, which you know, us older folks, maybe don't think a long bus ride sounds exciting, but for the kids to get out of Hayes to get out of Kansas, to go see a part of our country to do it as a community. And then to do it for a good cause to say, hey, we're out here to support life and all of its stages and all of its forms. And so they'll head off to DC they'll get on the bus on January 19. And they'll get back on the 23rd that Sunday and then jump right back into school. Very cool.James Bell &nbsp; And what are like a beautiful time of year to go to DC I mean, I know a few we're out you're out there in July August. Well, yeah, I mean, oh, hopefully but that he that humidity out there who?Chad Meitner &nbsp; Yeah, who gets you? Yeah, as long as you don't get like a big snowstorm coming in DC is a beautiful place even in January. Sometimes you get some mild, sunny days and it's beautiful and so the kids get to go out in March. See a lot of the sights that that you see on TV and that are really important to the history of our country. And so it's an educational, a religious, a community activity all in one. Awesome.James Bell &nbsp; And I think we also want to talk a little bit about this. The monarch, Fred Day is coming up later on in January, right?Chad Meitner &nbsp; Yeah, actually two days. So this is a big piece of news for anybody who's got a fifth, sixth, or even seventh and eighth grader, who is maybe in the running to attend Thomas Moore prep Marian. A lot of times if if they're not already attending Holy Family, they might be considering where they're going to go to high school or junior high. And so this is the day to come check us out to come meet the teachers to meet some of the other students. We run them through different activities, get them exposed to some of the sights and sounds of our school, and hang out with have lunch. And so it's just a great way there's it's no commitment, right? Like, if you come to monarch for a day, you're not signing up to attend. But it's a great way to come in and see what it's all about and decide, hey, this is what's best for for my child. That's why we exist is to help the family raise their children in the faith and in those academics. So yeah, the dates for the sixth and eighth graders, if you've got a grandchild, or a child who's in the sixth, seventh, or eighth grades this year, on January 14, we will host them, all you have to do to sign up is call the office at the school, six to 56577. And let us know their name and their age. And we will get them signed up. We'll pair him up with in a small group, and they will have a great time. Fifth graders, it's never too soon to start thinking about hey, what your future is. So fifth graders have a day special for them on January 21. Same format, eight to noon, we can get kids their transportation, we can help get them back to their school, their current school after lunch, so that the family doesn't have to take off work. Come pick them up and take them back. We can handle that with our buses and our Suburbans. Just again, let us know at the school at the office and we'll sign him up. Perfect.James Bell &nbsp; Yeah, get in there. Check it out. I mean, this and one of the cool things we always talk about here we are on the Catholic schools report is that sense of community that you mentioned, because you guys have just it's such a it's a tight knit group. And, you know, the faith pieces there. But it's also you know, it's just a it's a tremendous celebration of locals coming together and I just I love the admin atmosphere and the attitudes down there at both TMP and and holy family.Chad Meitner &nbsp; Yeah, we want to we want to strive to welcome everybody and like, right our faith is leads us to say we want to treat everybody with dignity, respect, and we would love to have folks come to our community. It's not a closed community by any means. If you don't know anything about TMP, Marian or haze, maybe you're just recently in the area. We would love to let you get to know us a little better, because we think we've got a lot to offer. Absolutely. It's an incredible educators standard as well. Oh, yeah. A fantastic staff and faculty. You know, we're pretty blessed because a lot of those folks, they're doing it not just as a job to get a paycheck. They are doing it because they believe in the mission. They they believe that God has called them to do what they're doing. And what what better person to have teaching your children than someone who's in it fothose reasons.&nbsp;James Bell &nbsp; Absolutely. Well, sir, we've got to get over to news, weather and sports but any last thoughts before we go?Chad Meitner &nbsp; No, but just we're excited to get started. I hope everyone's had a great Christmas season and looking forward to hopefully some nice nose that give us moisture but that keep the roads clear and stay safe.

🎙Post Podcast: TMP-M kicks off spring semester

Despite a busy year at the Hays Fire Department, Chief Ryan
Hagans said he thought the year went well.

“It was another great year at the fire department,” Hagans said.

As far as emergency responses, he said the department was
dispatched to just a little more than 2,600 calls in 2021 — about seven calls per
day.

&nbsp;“It’s been a busy
year on the call volume,” Hagans said, “but to be expected to like everything
else, and we expect the numbers to go up over the years.”

Those calls included fires in the city, but also, he said
the department is proud to assist Ellis County Emergency Medical Services.

“We run hand-in-hand with Ellis County EMS, which is a great
partnership for us and for the community,” Hagans said, noting firefighters
are also trained EMTs and can assist as needed.

&nbsp;During the year, the
department benefited from the purchasing of new equipment that will assist the
department with fighting fires well into the future.

“We did have a couple of additions to our fleet this year. We were able to add in a little 300-gallon grass fire unit. That's something that
his fire department hasn’t had for a long time,” Hagans said.

The new equipment is self-contained, is similar to equipment
used by the Ellis County Rural Fire Department and will allow quicker response times
to grass fires.

A pickup was also purchased that will transport the
department’s mobile air supply.

“So, if we do have a long structure fire or something, we can
fill up our air bottles. Instead of bringing them back to the station, we just
pull this pickup up and just refill everything out there on scene handy,”
Hagans said. 

Along with the new trucks, he said some of the department’s radio
equipment was also upgraded. 

“We're just trying to keep up with what's available out
there,” Hagans said, “so we have the best that we can afford to have.”

A part of that communication equipment that is used to increase
department efficiencies are iPads that have replaced pen-and-paper business inspections.

“Some of the stuff we don't have to go back and revisit the
businesses. They can just send us a picture of anything they had to fix in an
email,” Hagans said. “It saves us time and saves them time.”

Equipment aside, he said the department also spent
significant resources this year on continuing training for the department.

“We do a lot of training for all different types of
emergencies,” Hagans said. “So far, the guys have logged over 9,200 hours of
training this year.”

While some of that training occurs locally, he said members
of the department also traveled for advanced training and were able to bring
those skills back to Hays to be shared with other members of the department.

“That works out very, very well for us,” Hagans said.

For the local training, Hagans said the department’s new
training facility has allowed for more complex training scenarios. 

“There's a three-story drill tower out there made out of
Conex boxes,” Hagans said. “We use one Conex box for a live burn training.”

Once completed, the ongoing construction of an on-site
classroom will allow for even more training opportunities.

“We've partnered up with NCK Tech and Fort Hays to construct
a classroom out there,” Hagans said. “So that project is moving along with the
classroom. Hopefully, here next year, we'll be able to get that completed, and
it'll be able to host different types of trainings out there. [It will be] open to
different fire departments throughout the state and have some classes.”

Also looking ahead to next year, Hagans said the Front Door
Fridays program will continue, giving area residents an opportunity to interact
with department members and explore their equipment.

“It's kind of an open house event if you want to just call
it that,” he said. “We started running that May through October on like the
third Friday of the month from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. That has been great. We had so
many people, I think it was September or October maybe, we had 100
people show up. Bring family, bring your kids and let them crawl around.”

It’s a fun way for the department to show their
appreciation for a supportive community.

“The community support that we received this year and over the
past years has been just great,” Hagans said. 

<div><iframe title="Hays Fire Department wraps busy year; looks ahead to 2022" 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=tyiw6-11615c4-pb&from=pb6admin&square=1&share=1&download=1&rtl=0&fonts=Arial&skin=3267a3&font-color=ffffff&btn-skin=3267a3&size=300" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
</div>By JAMES BELL Hays PostDespite a busy year at the Hays Fire Department, Chief Ryan
Hagans said he thought the year went well.“It was another great year at the fire department,” Hagans said.As far as emergency responses, he said the department was
dispatched to just a little more than 2,600 calls in 2021 — about seven calls per
day.&nbsp;“It’s been a busy
year on the call volume,” Hagans said, “but to be expected to like everything
else, and we expect the numbers to go up over the years.”Those calls included fires in the city, but also, he said
the department is proud to assist Ellis County Emergency Medical Services.“We run hand-in-hand with Ellis County EMS, which is a great
partnership for us and for the community,” Hagans said, noting firefighters
are also trained EMTs and can assist as needed.&nbsp;During the year, the
department benefited from the purchasing of new equipment that will assist the
department with fighting fires well into the future.“We did have a couple of additions to our fleet this year. We were able to add in a little 300-gallon grass fire unit. That's something that
his fire department hasn’t had for a long time,” Hagans said.The new equipment is self-contained, is similar to equipment
used by the Ellis County Rural Fire Department and will allow quicker response times
to grass fires.A pickup was also purchased that will transport the
department’s mobile air supply.“So, if we do have a long structure fire or something, we can
fill up our air bottles. Instead of bringing them back to the station, we just
pull this pickup up and just refill everything out there on scene handy,”
Hagans said. Along with the new trucks, he said some of the department’s radio
equipment was also upgraded. “We're just trying to keep up with what's available out
there,” Hagans said, “so we have the best that we can afford to have.”A part of that communication equipment that is used to increase
department efficiencies are iPads that have replaced pen-and-paper business inspections.“Some of the stuff we don't have to go back and revisit the
businesses. They can just send us a picture of anything they had to fix in an
email,” Hagans said. “It saves us time and saves them time.”Equipment aside, he said the department also spent
significant resources this year on continuing training for the department.“We do a lot of training for all different types of
emergencies,” Hagans said. “So far, the guys have logged over 9,200 hours of
training this year.”While some of that training occurs locally, he said members
of the department also traveled for advanced training and were able to bring
those skills back to Hays to be shared with other members of the department.“That works out very, very well for us,” Hagans said.For the local training, Hagans said the department’s new
training facility has allowed for more complex training scenarios. “There's a three-story drill tower out there made out of
Conex boxes,” Hagans said. “We use one Conex box for a live burn training.”Once completed, the ongoing construction of an on-site
classroom will allow for even more training opportunities.“We've partnered up with NCK Tech and Fort Hays to construct
a classroom out there,” Hagans said. “So that project is moving along with the
classroom. Hopefully, here next year, we'll be able to get that completed, and
it'll be able to host different types of trainings out there. [It will be] open to
different fire departments throughout the state and have some classes.”Also looking ahead to next year, Hagans said the Front Door
Fridays program will continue, giving area residents an opportunity to interact
with department members and explore their equipment.“It's kind of an open house event if you want to just call
it that,” he said. “We started running that May through October on like the
third Friday of the month from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. That has been great. We had so
many people, I think it was September or October maybe, we had 100
people show up. Bring family, bring your kids and let them crawl around.”It’s a fun way for the department to show their
appreciation for a supportive community.“The community support that we received this year and over the
past years has been just great,” Hagans said.

🎙Hays Fire Department wraps busy year, looks ahead to 2022

Grow Hays executive director Doug Williams recently shared an Ellis County economic recap during the final quarterly luncheon of the year.

And while no groundbreaking surprises were presented during the hour-long event, Williams shared with the crowd some of the challenges that came to light in 2021 and some of the opportunities that also were presented.

"To say it's been a challenging year, a couple of years, would
be an understatement," Williams said.

But he said looking forward to 2022 and beyond, Ellis County has the potential to face those challenges.

"I think we need to be thinking longer-term than maybe we have in the past as we try and deal with the world as it is
today, which is a whole lot different than the world that was yesterday," Williams said.

That thinking is exactly what Grow Hays is all about, he said.

"Every time I go back and talk about...what do we do
this year, I go back to our mission," Williams said. "And so how do we fulfill our mission and
our mission is business creation, business retention and expansion, and
business recruitment."

Over the year, events such as the Robert E. Schmidt Entrepreneurship Series, the Youth Entrepreneurship Challenge, the Think Like an Entrepreneur Class and Think Tank Group helped with those efforts.

And he said Brief Space, the co-working space operated by Grow Hays remains a powerful tool to assist in business development.

Over the year, he said usage of the facility has increased, with students from Fort Hays State University utilizing the space and podcasting tools, while more and more other area entrepreneurs, including some established business owners, are also coming to utilize the building for various purposes.

"We keep continuing
trying to create this environment, this community of entrepreneurship because
it's critically important that we grow our own," Williams said. "We can't count on necessarily
recruiting people from outside. We continue to do that, but we also have to
grow our own."

"And then we go to a
community loan program. We currently have 25 loans out to small businesses, about $600,000 in volume. We service those, and we make more loans each
year in that program," Williams said.

Next year those efforts will be expanded, he said, as events like their Pitch It series are set to return.

Another continuing focus of the organization is succession planning.

"We work consistently on succession planning," Williams said. "We believe it's
really important that we have stories like Northwestern printers, or Werth Plumbing
Heating, as opposed to Goodwin Sporting Goods or some things like that. We
wan want succession versus closure in a business."

Key to those efforts, however, is housing for workers in those businesses. He said on that front, much work remains.

"We've done a lot in the area of housing," he said. "Our Heart of America, our RHID addition, currently, we have 10 homes under construction, actually, at
various stages, some of them actually coming up out of the ground, which is
great."

He said homes in the new development are critical to meet the community's housing needs, but also so the developers can recoup building costs and begin working on more housing projects.

The homes in that project will help, but Williams said other ongoing construction, as well as future plans for multi-family housing to be built, will be vital.&nbsp;

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2021/12/1640279693304.jpeg" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure><div><iframe title="Grow Hays hosts 2021 wrap up" 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=m7awf-116116a-pb&from=pb6admin&square=1&share=1&download=1&rtl=0&fonts=Arial&skin=3267a3&font-color=ffffff&btn-skin=3267a3&size=300" allowfullscreen=""></iframe></div>By JAMES BELL Hays PostGrow Hays executive director Doug Williams recently shared an Ellis County economic recap during the final quarterly luncheon of the year.And while no groundbreaking surprises were presented during the hour-long event, Williams shared with the crowd some of the challenges that came to light in 2021 and some of the opportunities that also were presented."To say it's been a challenging year, a couple of years, would
be an understatement," Williams said.But he said looking forward to 2022 and beyond, Ellis County has the potential to face those challenges."I think we need to be thinking longer-term than maybe we have in the past as we try and deal with the world as it is
today, which is a whole lot different than the world that was yesterday," Williams said.That thinking is exactly what Grow Hays is all about, he said."Every time I go back and talk about...what do we do
this year, I go back to our mission," Williams said. "And so how do we fulfill our mission and
our mission is business creation, business retention and expansion, and
business recruitment."Over the year, events such as the Robert E. Schmidt Entrepreneurship Series, the Youth Entrepreneurship Challenge, the Think Like an Entrepreneur Class and Think Tank Group helped with those efforts.And he said Brief Space, the co-working space operated by Grow Hays remains a powerful tool to assist in business development.Over the year, he said usage of the facility has increased, with students from Fort Hays State University utilizing the space and podcasting tools, while more and more other area entrepreneurs, including some established business owners, are also coming to utilize the building for various purposes."We keep continuing
trying to create this environment, this community of entrepreneurship because
it's critically important that we grow our own," Williams said. "We can't count on necessarily
recruiting people from outside. We continue to do that, but we also have to
grow our own.""And then we go to a
community loan program. We currently have 25 loans out to small businesses, about $600,000 in volume. We service those, and we make more loans each
year in that program," Williams said.Next year those efforts will be expanded, he said, as events like their Pitch It series are set to return.Another continuing focus of the organization is succession planning."We work consistently on succession planning," Williams said. "We believe it's
really important that we have stories like Northwestern printers, or Werth Plumbing
Heating, as opposed to Goodwin Sporting Goods or some things like that. We
wan want succession versus closure in a business."Key to those efforts, however, is housing for workers in those businesses. He said on that front, much work remains."We've done a lot in the area of housing," he said. "Our Heart of America, our RHID addition, currently, we have 10 homes under construction, actually, at
various stages, some of them actually coming up out of the ground, which is
great."<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2021/12/1640279674001.jpeg" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>He said homes in the new development are critical to meet the community's housing needs, but also so the developers can recoup building costs and begin working on more housing projects.The homes in that project will help, but Williams said other ongoing construction, as well as future plans for multi-family housing to be built, will be vital.&nbsp;Among the projects he noted, was the repurposing of the former St. Joesph school into apartments, and additional construction at the Ellis Estates.Plans in the works for a retiree community near Hays Med also continue to develop."We're working on it," Williams said. " One
step forward, two steps back, but we're still confident that can happen
and will happen."<h2>Looking ahead</h2>As development continues, Williams shared with the group efforts to establish long-term planning for Ellis County are moving ahead full-throttle."We have
a new committee called the Imagine Ellis County committee which is committed to
promoting growth in Ellis County," Williams said. "We've got a couple of grants to tell our
story."He said videos on Ellis County have been developed, highlighting the benefits of living in the area.Helping in the effort to recruit and retain businesses, Grow Hays this year also hired a new director of recruitment and retainment.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2021/12/1640279684000.jpeg" alt="David Clingan was hired by Grow Hays in December to fill the newly created role of director of recruitment and retainment." />
 <figcaption>David Clingan was hired by Grow Hays in December to fill the newly created role of director of recruitment and retainment.</figcaption>
 </figure><a href="https://hayspost.com/posts/3c8396f7-800d-405c-8251-7fdc9d72eca3">David Clingan was hired in the role earlier this month and will begin in the role on Jan. 3.</a>"We were very fortunate, and thank you to the city of Hays and Ellis County," Williams said.&nbsp; "They both stepped up to the plate this year with some funding for our
organization to allow us to hire... And we're expecting big things."A key component of that recruitment is having the workforce and, even setting housing shortages aside, regional population decline could dampen the ability of Hays to maintain the level of businesses currently supported."And as I look forward, there's one obvious, in my opinion, elephant in the room, and this may be a little beyond 2022, but if we look at the population trends
for western Kansas...northwest Kansas shrank by .62 percent," Williams said. "And
that's our trade area. So we've got a situation where we're growing just a
little bit or holding our own, (while) our trade area is shrinking. And that's not a
good combination."Work needs to be done now to ward off regional population decline."If we want to grow that workforce, we really got to
start thinking about some things we have to do and what we have to be more
proactive about," Williams said.But as more and more people are looking to leave urban areas in favor of more rural areas, he said he is hopeful the housing concerns can be addressed soon enough to capture that potential workforce."We have an
opportunity here that is kind of unique in the next 10 years. [There are] some statistics that talk about, there's going to be up to 20 million people
migrating from urban areas to rural areas... We need to make sure that we're in a position
to capture those urban migrators, at least a share."Even with the challenges, Williams said he felt the year was productive for the organization as it looks ahead."I think we had a really good year. There's
certainly a lot of things I wish we had done faster and gotten more
done, but hopefully, that's always the case," Williams said. "So now we look forward to 2022."