Board OKs tuition hike, Kays’ contract MEAGHAN MORTON Executive Editor Topics such as tuition increases, the evaluation of Dr. Brenda Kays, and concealed carry on campus were discussed on the second floor of the McLaurin Administration Building as it overflowed with students and community members on Monday night. The meeting lasted about three hours as the Board of Trustees went into executive session for an hour and a half to discuss
personnel issues dealing with Dr. Kays’ first year as KC president. Kays’ contract was unanimously approved to run through Aug. 31, 2020 after the Board of Trustees performed their evaluation. “We are publicly pleased by Dr. Kays’ performance and are looking forward to extending her contract,” said Larry Woodfin, KC Board president. “Dr. Kays, you are rehired.” After the extension of her contract, Kays joked and said she guesses now she will be able to eat
for the next three years. “All kidding aside, it is an honor and a privilege to lead Kilgore College with talented administration, faculty and staff. I really appreciate the visionary leadership of our Board of Trustees,” Kays said. “I look forward to spending the length of my tenure with the institution making sure we are always striving for student success at the institution, that we are achieving our mission, our vision, our values and that we are living our strategic
plan, because we all realize that without our students, there is no reason for us to be in existence.” These students will pick up a little more of the responsibility as they foot the bill for increases in the Fall 2017 semester. Low contact hours and a drop in state funding were cited reasons, but KC is still the eighth lowest tuition in the state, trustees pointed out. Heath Cariker, KC police chief, presented an update from his campus carry committee. Included in the discussion
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were exclusion zones, areas on campus where concealed carry will not be permitted. The areas without concealed carry are where employee and student hearings are held, athletic events, K-12 events, open meetings, testing centers and in the various academy classes, such as police and fire. Three permanent and 14 temporary zones have been set up and will be posted next week.
See BOARD, on Page 3
Friday, March 3, 2017 Vol. 80 No. 16 Serving Kilgore College since 1936
STUDENT PERFORMS AT THE BACK PORCH
Meaghan Morton / THE FLARE
KC Lady Ranger, Mariah Childress, strums her guitar at The Back Porch where she and her band have played this semester. Childress recently traveled to Dallas for a studio recording.
Court to Porch
Basketball player spends time singing at The Back Porch Living The Dream: Part four of a series DA’JAH THOMPSON Staff Writer
Her heartbeat increases as the time ticks down to strum the first chord and sing the first note in harmony with her group. Every note must be perfect, the strike of each chord must be on point and the music must carry the crowd into a world unknown as they fall in love with the rhythm. The loud crowd and busy scenery quiets in her head, pulling her back to reality as it’s just a daydream of
ETPA appoints Reigstad as new deputy director FUNGAI PETA Staff writer Dan Reigstad is the newly appointed deputy director of Kilgore College’s East Texas Police Academy. He became a full-time instructor at ETPA in 2015 after being a part-time instructor since 2002. Reigstad was born and raised in the small town of DeForest, Wisconsin where he graduated from high school in 1983. After graduation, he enlisted in the U.S. Army and served from 1983 to 1992. During his time in the Army, he was stationed in South Korea and West Germany. After that, Reigstad took a difference path by leaving the Army and joining the Longview Police Department.
herself on stage. Inspiration fills her mind as she lays her pencil to paper to write the words expressing her true feelings and her troubles of the past. Mariah Childress, Longview freshman, is not your typical freshman basketball player, she is also musically talented. She has been playing instruments for about eight years and has been singing since a young
age. She doesn’t play one, two or even three instruments, she plays seven: the guitar, piano, saxophone, trumpet, drums, bass guitar, and the ukulele. The first two instruments that Childress learned were the guitar and piano, because See SINGER, on Page 3
ASH WEDNESDAY AT THE WESLEY Ash Wednesday marks the beginning of a 40 day period of reflection and fasting, also known as Lent. Ashes are rubbed on the forehead in a cross symbol to represent humans coming from dust, and to dust they will return, as it says in Genesis 3:19.
Reigstad joined the LPD in 1992 where he ended up working as a patrol officer, uniformed crime scene investigator, field training officer, telecommunications operator, senior latent print examiner and senior physical evidence detective over a span of 23 years. As a part-time instructor for ETPA in 2002, he taught Crime scene and Forensics classes. Reigstad has an extensive experience in crime scene processing, finger print processing and identification, forensic and night-time photograph, shooting reconstruction and bloodstain analysis. He is also a former chairman for the Latent Print See DIRECTOR, on Page 3
Tina Marie Reed / THE FLARE