After a structural analysis and plenty of discussion, Barton County is ready to proceed with repairs the 100-year old Barton County Courthouse. Commissioners Monday voted 5-0 to accept the bid from Mid-Continent Restoration out of Fort Scott that will address the exterior problems that the building is facing.

Administrator Phil Hathcock says a study last year by WDM Architects found that water infiltration around the edge of the roof through deteriorating caulking was causing plaster to pop off walls on the fourth floor. In addition to that, decorative work on the outside of the building was falling off.

Hathcock explained what the bid specs entailed.

Phil Hathcock Audio

How expensive? Hathcock says the bid from Mid-Continent Restoration totaled $160,126, money that Commissioner Jennifer Schartz says will be well spent. She also said it will probably not be the last.

Jennifer Schartz Audio

The last time major work on the outside of the courthouse took place was in 1984, work that was also done by Mid-Continent. The building was last repainted in 1993 and there was minor work done to the exterior in 2001.

The work will be extensive with scaffolding placed next to the courthouse to provide space for workers. No start date has been provided but Hathcock expects the work to begin later this spring.

Ten years ago, Chelsea Clanton had everything going for her. After numerous athletic accomplishments at Great Bend High School including WAC Championships for cross country and track events, she was running for the Varsity team in college and pursuing her dreams. After graduating from Wichita State University, she grew a successful career in Human Resources and continued to run and train in her spare time.

But that all came to a crashing halt last fall when Chelsea was in a tragic car accident that eventually resulted in the amputation of her left leg above the knee.

“After the accident, Chelsea fought for weeks in and out of surgeries with both knees dislocated, a broken right ankle, and so much pain. It was so hard to watch,” says Kayla Benedick, Chelsea’s mother.

“She couldn’t walk at all. It was so hard watching my baby girl go through this, but we are all so happy and thankful she is still here with us. She is a strong and determined person, and she is going to do big things. This won’t keep her down.”

Since getting out of the hospital in mid-December, she has been working with a physical therapist and has been fitted for a new prosthetic device. But all of that comes at a cost. To help offset the mounting expenses, some of Chelsea’s high school classmates have organized a fundraiser known as the “Still Standing 5K” to generate funds and emotional support for Chelsea and her family.

“Our friend Chelsea is one of the best runners we know, and her fighting spirit is an inspiration to a lot of people. What better way to raise money and show our support for an all-star track and cross country athlete than to organize a 5K event?” says high school classmate Valerie McAtee, organizer of the Still Standing 5K.

“But this 5K is a little different. It’s a virtual event, meaning there isn’t an actual race in a specific town on a specific day. Anyone from anywhere can give online and get signed up for the virtual race before March 30th, and their race t-shirt will ship directly to their house. Then they can put in their 3.1 miles any time after that (or not) and post a photo with our hashtag so Chelsea can see their support from around the country.”

McAtee and the other volunteers hope to see an outpouring of registrations for the virtual 5K event from all over the state, since Chelsea and her family have connections in Great Bend, Emporia where Chelsea ran in college, and in Wichita where she now lives and built her career.

“We’ve already seen a huge response, but are hoping to keep the traction going until the cut-off date for online registrations and donations closes on March 30,” McAtee says. “Chelsea has a lot of medical bills piling up, plus
modifications that need to be made to her home and an expensive prosthetic leg to pay for. Our goal is to help cover a significant portion of that to take the burden off of her shoulders.”

Chelsea’s family reports that she is hopeful about getting back to her passion of running at some point in the future.

“Chelsea’s starting all over, learning to stand and walk and balance. Just taking a shower and getting ready for a doctor’s appointment is a lot of work at this point,” says Benedick. “But down the road she hopes to learn how to run with a prosthesis and inspire others who have gone through traumatic events to keep pursuing their passions. It’s one step at a time right now, but all of this support has meant the world to her and to our family.”

With traction building around the region, volunteers for the fundraiser are asking for the public’s support leading up to the donation deadline at the end of this month. Anyone interested in registering for the virtual 5K event, or in donating through the event webpage, can visit the Facebook page listed under Still Standing 5K for Chelsea Clanton, or search for the virtual 5K event on RunSignUp.com.

3/8

BOOKED: Jason Goodale of Great Bend on Great Bend Municipal Court warrant for failure to appear, bond set at $500 C/S.

BOOKED: Kurt Woods on GBMC warrant for failure to adhere with no bond, 360 days in jail.

BOOKED: Charles Rowe Jr. on BTDC case for serve sentence.

RELEASED: Brian Fellers to probation by order of the court.

RELEASED: William Coonfield of Great Bend after being granted probation on local charges and transported to Pratt County for charges.

RELEASED: Jason Goodale of Great Bend on GBMC warrant for failure to appear.

RELEASED: Jason Bitter of Great Bend on BTDC case for probation violation by order of the court.

3/9

RELEASED: David McMullen of Great Bend on BTDC case for time served.

3/10

BOOKED: Jose Jacquez-Diaz of St. John on GBPD case for open container, bond set at $250 C/S.

BOOKED: Ricardo Ibarra of St. John on GBMC warrant for DUI, open container, no insurance, failure to stop for emergency vehicle, speeding and no DL, bond set at $1,000 C/S or 48-hour OR.

BOOKED: Tamill James of New Jersey on a GBMC case for criminal restraint with a bond set at $1,000 C/S.

BOOKED: Jose Villegas of Great Bend on GBMC case for serve sentence.

RELEASED: Jose Jacquez-Diaz of St. John on GBPD case for open container after posting a $250 cash bond.

RELEASED: Ricardo Ibarra of St. John posted a $1,000 cash bond on GBMC case for DUI, open container, no insurance, failure to stop for emergency vehicle, speeding and no DL.

RELEASED: Tamill James of New Jersey on GBMC case for criminal restraint after posting a $1,000 bond through Dyn-O-Mite.

La Crosse native Vanessa M. (House) Sabee was recently featured in a story in the Martha’s Vineyard Times on her new role as head chef at the Ritz Cafe in Martha’s Vineyard.

She started working at restaurants in La Crosse as a teenager. She attended college for two years in Pratt before moving to Hays, where she attended Fory Hays State University for a time. She worked at the Golden Q, Sip N Spin, and Professor’s before going on to culinary school in Colorado.

Sabee’s mother, Kelly House, taught her how to cook.

“She was always working in restaurants when I was younger, and I guess it was just destiny that that’s where I am now,” Sabee said.

Her mother started her cooking lessons with gravy.

“She is very proud of it. At the time I didn’t know it, but she gave me the proper technique on how to make a roux correctly,” Sabee said.

Sabee said her family has been in Rush County for a very long time. Although she said she doesn’t make it home as much as she would like, most of her direct family still lives in either Hays or La Crosse.

Since the Ritz Cafe in Oak Bluffs changed hands in 2014, the bar has undergone a number of transformations, and there’s another one on deck: When the Ritz reopens its doors on March 14, after a three-week winter break, they will introduce a new executive chef, Vanessa M. Sabee, and a new menu. You may recognize Vanessa as the first of six chefs who lent their expertise and creativity to the Ritz’s recent six-week Kitchen Takeover series of Wednesday night pop-up dinners, which featured a different chef and menu each week.

Sabee, 34, hails from “middle of nowhere Western Kansas,” and spent five or six years in Boulder, Colo., before she and her then-boyfriend (now husband), Ross Sabee, also a trained chef, came to Martha’s Vineyard in the spring of 2017 to work as line cooks at the Sweet Life Cafe, owned by chef Hal Ryerson and his wife Erin.

“It was awesome,” Vanessa says. “Hal and I have a very similar style of food theory, and so it was really easy to transition into that kitchen.” Vanessa returned to the Sweet Life as the sous-chef for the 2018 season, and prior to being offered the head chef position at the Ritz, she had planned to return for a third season. “We cooked really, really great food that we were very proud of,” she says of her time at Sweet Life.

The couple met Ritz manager Kelly Feirtag while hanging out at the bar their first summer here, and Ross now works at the Ritz doing security. Feirtag, general manager at the Ritz since July 2017, has seen at least three kitchen changes since that time. She said she’s excited to bring Vanessa onboard. “I feel like I’ve been searching for her for a long time,” Kelly says, “and I feel very lucky that she was willing and interested, and up for the challenge.”

Feirtag is thrilled to have a woman running the kitchen, which is in keeping with Ritz history. “I had a woman chef when we opened the kitchen in 1987,” says former Ritz owner Janet King. Local chef Christina Napolitan ran the kitchen for about six years, King says. More recently, Sai Mai, a Thai restaurant that leased the Ritz kitchen for about four years before closing in 2013, was also run by women.

Vanessa Sabee’s culinary roots go deep, starting with her childhood in Kansas, where her mother, who “was a cook forever,” got Vanessa her first job at 14, flipping burgers in a small local place that her mom was running. “I’ve always been in restaurants,” Vanessa says. “It was a part of my life.”

Eager for change, Sabee got an associate’s degree in journalism after high school. She then transferred to a four-year school, at which point she had to get a job. “I knew I could get one in a kitchen,” she says. After one semester, she decided not to go back to school, and to continue cooking.

Vanessa worked at a couple of sports bars and a steakhouse in Hays, Kan., and did occasional catering gigs. She spent about a year at the steakhouse, where she replaced another cook who left to attend culinary school. Vanessa was in her mid-20s when she started thinking about going to culinary school herself. That meant relocating. “In order for me to further my culinary technique and skill and knowledge,” she says, “I had to move.”

Sabee attended the Auguste Escoffier School of Culinary Art in Boulder, Colo., a six-month program that she describes as “boot camp for the culinary world.”

After completing school, Sabee stayed in Boulder and worked at Shine Restaurant and Gathering Place, where she moved from prep cook to line cook, and departed as head line cook. After Shine came Bramble and Hare, a gastropub focusing on farm-to-table “modern American” food.

Bramble and Hare, sister restaurant to the well-known Black Cat Bistro, also in Boulder, had a farm that raised pigs, and they grew their own vegetables. “Whatever was in the walk-in was what you had,” she says. At times it was easy, particularly in summer, but “in the winter you had to get really creative,” Vanessa said. The restaurant also focused on pickling, preserving, processing, and freezing ingredients from the summer’s abundance so they were available for winter.

The Ritz kitchen has faced challenges over the years, one of which is its small size. Vanessa is accustomed to working in small spaces, particularly at Bramble, where her setup consisted of “an Easy-Bake oven, a two-plate burner, and a steam well,” out of which she did 40 to 60 covers a night. Of the Ritz, she says, “It’s luxurious!”

Sabee says she likes to construct dishes based on their cook time, “but also I like to put a lot of hot and cold elements together.” For Valentine’s Day, she prepared a pork belly dish, cured and smoked beforehand, and then, she says, “all we had to do was sear it.” The set was cold, and included a black-eyed pea purée, a salad of the same peas, collard green kimchi, and a charred pepper purée. “I don’t find the size of the kitchen challenging,” Vanessa says. “My kitchen surrounding basically builds my menu, based on what I think the kitchen, myself, and the staff are capable of executing.”

When the Ritz reopens on March 14, the menu will be mostly new, but will retain some popular staples — the Frito chili pie, wings with house dry-rub, and burgers made with locally butchered meat from Reliable Market, including the $5 burger special (without sauce or sides), which is available year-round from 12 to 2 pm, for dine-in or takeout. The $10 blue plate special, which changes daily, will also remain.

“I’m going to add a lot of vegetables,” Sabee says. She’s looking forward to incorporating produce from local farms, and catering primarily to locals looking for a good meal that won’t break the bank. “The summer people come, and they’ll do what they want,” she says, “but to cook at a year-round establishment, getting the locals back is more important than the weekender.”

There will be separate lunch and dinner menus, and Vanessa is hoping to have a happy hour menu by June, as well as an eventual Sunday brunch with “solid breakfast food” like biscuits and gravy, a build-your-own breakfast plate, and pork shoulder with grits and seared greens. “But that’s down the road,” she says.

Appetizers will include the wings, of course, as well as a pickle and cheese plate, a marinated olive dish, a black-eyed pea dip that is similar to hummus, and other “bar-friendly” items that you can eat “with your hands, in a crowd,” while catching a live band.

There will be a few new salads, sandwiches including a cod sandwich for lunch, chicken salad with roasted garlic aioli, and a vegan-friendly option made with the black-eyed pea spread. There will be a full dinner menu, with composed entrées at reasonable prices. Sabee looks forward to putting more emphasis on the food at the Ritz, but she’s not looking to reinvent the wheel. “Nothing fancy,” she says, “just really good, properly seasoned, properly executed [food].”

Dinner entrées will include dishes featured at the pop-up and on Valentine’s Day: Milk-braised pork shoulder with roasted Brussels sprouts, creamy grits, mustard cream sauce, and fried shallots; blackened cod; and chicken breast with orange-roasted beets, smoked mashed potatoes, and chicken jus (I tasted it, it’s phenomenal). Entrées will be priced at $16 to $21. There will be several dessert items, including a tahini-swirled brownie with salted caramel and fresh whipped cream.

For customers with allergies or dietary restrictions, Sabee is flexible and accommodating. “I’m not in the business of saying no,” she says. “I’d rather say yes.”

“I think it’s important for the community to have affordable, flavorful food that they might not necessarily expect to get from a place like this,” Vanessa says.

Kelly Feirtag agrees. Feirtag, herself a culinary school graduate in culinary management, has known she wanted to open her own restaurant someday, but never expected to get her start in a dive bar. “I love this place,” she says. “I love my job.”

Feirtag has put a lot of energy into growing the Ritz brand, introducing new bands and DJs to bring in new clientele, changing the decor to more accurately reflect the bar’s musical personality, and working to dispel the unsavory reputation that has followed the Ritz for years.

“It’s a safe place for a woman to come and have a drink by herself,” Kelly says. “Our staff doesn’t really put up with a lot.” Although the negative rumors aren’t accurate, she also insists, “We’re not fancy. That’s not at all what we’re going for; we are still a dive bar. We’re more quirky and funky … we don’t take ourselves seriously at all.”

“I don’t know anything about the past here,” Vanessa says. “I don’t want to focus on that. I want to focus on the future [and] my menu, and I think that it’ll be fun for people, to see what’s capable of coming out of this place.”

— Republished with permission

As this is being written, the weather forecast actually sounds as though we will experience spring like weather this weekend.  Wheat producers and summer row crop producers need several things to happen.  Wheat producers need the ground in many areas to dry out so they can apply nitrogen fertilizer and/or apply herbicide.  Many also need to first determine what they have as late planted wheat in many areas hasn’t emerged and they need to evaluate what they have first.  Corn planting is potentially less than six weeks away most years.  However, the soil needs to dramatically warm up and dry out enough to get ready.  Ideally, the soil temperature should be a minimum of fifty degrees Fahrenheit at noon at a two-inch depth.  The downside for the forecast is twofold.  First while warmer, temperatures are still below normal.  And worse, significant rains are projected.  When things improve, the agricultural community will become beyond busy.  This past week it was reported the overall unemployment rate was around 3.7% which on the surface is good.  The downside was that only 20,000 or so jobs were added.  This presents both challenges and opportunities for workers and for employers.

The Median Household income for Barton County is approximately $45,000 dollars.  In English, half the households earn more than this and half make less.  This is household income, not individual income.  That is an hourly income of around $21.50 for standard work year per household but most households have more than one individual working.  If two are working full-time, the average hourly salary is a little under $11 per hour.  Not so good.  People need better paying jobs with benefits.  Today’s focus, the agricultural industry, needs workers, competent workers, and many of them.  These are jobs with good wages, opportunities for overtime and often bonuses with benefits and stability.

Therefore, we have two mutual interests: individuals/households needing a better, more stable standard of living, and employers needing good, competent help.  The major challenge is twofold.  Needing responsible people to apply for these positions and when identified training them.  How can we solve this challenge?

• There are not enough individuals with farm backgrounds for all these positions, even if all “farm kids” stayed in agriculture. People without an agriculture background don’t seem to realize the opportunities or if they do, that they aren’t qualified.  This includes those graduating high school and older, more experienced individuals.  Ag employers are looking for the right individual with the right soft skills and know they can be trained.
• Individuals looking for careers, not simply a job, and bettering themselves need to expand the areas they are considering and consider certificate or two-year degree options. Help is available from the state for unemployed and under-employed individuals for training.
• Some employers need to also think outside the box for employees that perhaps don’t possess a traditional ag background.

A good way for both sides to start is to attend the Education and Employment Expo at the CNH lab on the Barton Community College Campus, March 20 from 1 until 7 pm with over 20 area employers, short term technical programs, and information on financial assistance.  For more information contact Maggie Tracy 620-792-9120.

GREAT BEND, KS – On Friday, March 2, Great Bend Middle School Orchestra attended the Dodge City MSWAC Music Festival. Under the direction of Jennifer Demaree, students performed very well with performance being scored 1-5 with 2 being the highest.

8th-grade Large Ensemble – 2 (excellent)
String Rhapsody Large Ensemble – 2 (excellent)
The following soloists received a 1 (outstanding): Lupita Cruz, Clarissa Lujan, Drew DeWitt, Aracely Pu, Yadira Alcala.
The following soloists received a 2 (excellent): Clarissa Bashor, Jordan Sohm, Katie Kuhlman, and Lucio Cordova.

This festival was open to grades 6-8 band, choir, and orchestra programs in the categories of solos, small ensembles, and large ensembles. Each performance was adjudicated unless otherwise specified; providing an overall performance rating and written comments.

If your mind goes numb when the state budget is discussed, this presentation is for you. Nancy McCarthy-Snyder, PhD, is prepared to demystify state budget numbers for you, with her presentation Taxes and Government Spending: How does Kansas Compare, held at 2 p.m. on March 17 in the Cavanaugh Room of the Learning Resource Center (Library) at Barton Community College.

Sponsored by Women for Kansas Barton County Chapter, McCarthy-Snyder has an extensive background in economics. Her research focused on human services and public finance, including evaluations of Kansas welfare reform programs; nonprofit governance and financial management; school finance; and a review of privatization of the Kansas child welfare system. As a professor, McCarthy-Snyder taught courses on public sector economics, state and local government budgeting, statistics, and nonprofit management. From 2010-2016, she was a member of the Kansas Consensus Revenue Estimating Group, responsible for the official state revenue estimates in the state budget.

Women for Kansas, a non-partisan organization, focuses on encouraging moderate political policies. WFK is a grassroots initiative designed to energize and educate individuals and groups of women across the state for the purpose of advocating for moderate policies, providing knowledge and tools to engage in the political process. The group’s vision statement is to restore integrity, transparency, fiscal responsibility and balance to Kansas by electing moderate candidates to public office.

Additional information about WFK can be found at womenforkansas.org. For additional information about the event, contact Pam Martin, butterfly@hbcomm.net.

The annual meeting of Russell Rural Water District #3 has been scheduled for Monday, March 18, 2019 beginning at 7 p.m. at the Russell RWD #3 office in Susank.

Registration will be at 6:30 p.m.

The meeting will be for the purpose of conducting annual business and the election of Board of Director positions. Board members up for re-election are Eric Maier for a second 3-year term and to fill Mike Deines’ position.

written by: Donna Krug

Hopefully winter will be coming to an end soon and you’ll be more than ready to get out and go for a walk. The 2019 version of Walk KS is set to begin March 17 and runs through May 11. There is still time to register at either of the Extension Offices in the Cottonwood District.

Walk KS is a signature program for K-State Research and Extension and many people across the state have participated every year since 2000. A team of six members track the minutes that they exercise each day and together this adds up to the distance across the state of Kansas.

Any type of exercise counts, so if you prefer to swim, bicycle or spend time in the garden, it is all good. Any activity that increases your heart rate and gets you moving is good to incorporate into your routine. Many times Walk Ks teams are comprised of friends, co-workers or family members.

There is a registration fee of $8 for each Walk Kansas participant and an optional t-shirt may be ordered for $10. A weekly on line newsletter is available to all who register. Barton County Walk KS participants will be treated to a free lunch to celebrate the end of the Walk KS program on Wednesday, May 15. Door prizes will be part of that fun program as well.

So dust those walking shoes off and get your team together. Give me a call if you have any questions about Walk KS 2019!

Donna Krug is the District Director and Family & Consumer Science Agent with K-State Research and Extension – Cottonwood District. You may reach her at: (620)793-1910 or dkrug@ksu.edu