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Title town?

TMP girls’ soccer team plays for championship. Page C1

The

Hays News To Know

Daily News Voice

High Plains

Sunday, May 28, 2017

Teacher chases dream in Peace Corps By SAVANNAH DOWNING sdowning@dailynews.net

Record throw

of the

Jo Ann Jennings, right, and her Peace Corps Response team arrive in Belmopan, Belize. The team will develop reading tool kits and train teachers as part of its mission.

ISSUES AND IMPACT

May 18 was a bittersweet day for Jo Ann Jennings. It was her last day of work as a Hays USD 489 employee. After more than 20 years with the district, she is retiring for the second time and is embarking on an entirely new adventure. While some might say she has earned her right to sit back and relax after a full and impactful career, for Jennings, there is always something new to learn and a new challenge to tackle. In the early morning hours Monday, Jennings boarded a plane headed for Belmopan, Belize. At age 66, she is fulfilling a lifelong dream of joining the Peace Corps.

ISSUE: Foreign countries are in need of Peace Corps professionals to help train employees and implement programs. LOCAL IMPACT: A Hays woman recently retired and joined the Peace Corps in order to help teachers in Belize teach reading throughout the country.

The Peace Corps program was established in March 1961 under President John F. Kennedy and authorized by Congress as the Peace Corps Act. The purpose of the volunteer program is to assist people outside the United States while promoting peace and friendship between the U.S. and other countries. See CORPS, A5

COURTESY PHOTO

Ness City senior Levi Armon breaks the 2A state mark in the shot put.

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Oh, so close The Ellis

baseball team nearly captures

the school’s first state crown.

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Eye on weather Today: Sunny,

with a high near

78. North,

northwest wind

10 to 14 mph. Tonight: Mostly clear, with a low near 52. North, northwest wind

5 to 10 mph

JOLIE GREEN, jgreen@dailynews.net

Mike Stephens shows one of the knives in his collection of military memorabilia Wednesday at his home in La Crosse.

Soldiers’ memorials

La Crosse man’s museum filled with unique war memorabilia By JUNO OGLE juno@dailynews.net

1978 that he became a collector, however. During a flea market at The Mall in Hays, LA CROSSE — Mike Stephens can trace he found a German Black Wound Badge, signifying the soldier had been wounded one his interest in military to his childhood. His sister’s neighbor in Timken, a half-track driv- or two times in action. “I bought it, and I thought, ‘Why haven’t er in World War II, would show the 8-yearold and his nephew artifacts he brought home you been collecting this?’ ” he said. He can point to that first item today, from Germany. pinned to an authentic German WWII uni“That was just fascinating to us,” he said. For years, Stephens collected books on the form, among the thousands in his collection. military and gained knowledge. It wasn’t until See MEMORABILIA, A6

becoming west

after midnight.

Memorial Day: Mostly sunny,

with a high near

79. North,

northwest wind

6 to 9 mph.

HDN Salutes William Scott, Hays

Contact us: Phone: (785) 628-1081 (800) 657-6017 Fax: (785) 628-8186

Volume 87, Issue 169 4 Sections, 24 Pages

$1.25

City commission approves updated building codes By KALEY CONNER kconner@dailynews.net

inspection and enforcement. The city’s building trades The city of Hays has adopt- board had spent nearly two ed updated versions of building years reviewing the updates and vetting the changes, codes, which will take effect which included several local July 1. The Hays City Commission amendments. Most of the local at Thursday’s meeting voted 4-0 changes were adopted by the to implement the 2015 versions commission Thursday. Requirements for basement of the international building egress windows had been a code, residential code, existing point of discussion for Hays building code, fire code and city commissioners, who voted property maintenance code, Thursday to stay with the minas well as the 2014 national imum requirements spelled out electric code. in the international documents. The updates typically are An egress window will be redone as routine every four to quired only in new construction eight years. The city had been or if a new basement sleeping working with the 2006 codes, but most designers already had area is created by the homebeen complying with the more owner. The proposal from city staff recent requirements, said Jesse and the building trades board Rohr, director of planning,

had called for egress windows to be required anytime a basement remodel required the issuance of a city building permit. “We’re looking at it from a safety standpoint,” Rohr said. “We realize you as commissioners have to look at other areas as well, so whichever option you adopt, we will enforce whichever provision you decide to move forward with.” Some commissioners had expressed concerns the proposed amendment could create a cost barrier for some homeowners, and also noted property owners seem to be installing egress windows voluntarily as a safety measure. Vice Mayor James Meier noted city staff and the building trades board had proposed

more than 25 local amendments, and all but this one were approved. “I don’t want the focus to be on this one thing. I want the focus to be on the 25-plus local amendments that you guys proposed that are good amendments, that are going to keep costs down and make it easier to build,” he said. “So thank you for doing that.” In other business Thursday, the commission: • Entered a contract with Kirkham Michael and Associates for engineering of Allen Street reconstruction from Eighth to Vine, which is supposed to be completed next year. The firm’s low bid for design services was $74,900. • Entered an agreement

with Bartlett & West for design services of a carbon dioxide system replacement at the water treatment plant. • Approved trench-less sewer line repairs on Main from Ninth to 10th, and accepted a low project bid from Haysbased APAC in the amount of approximately $98,000. • Approved a bid for construction, grant application and engineering services for reconstruction of Taxiway India at Hays Regional Airport, contingent on 90-percent federal funding. • Approved construction of Ninth Street and water services in the Heart of America Second Addition. • Commissioner Henry Schwaller IV was absent.

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