Connecting College, Foundation by Sam Dieter Would Help the Two Organizations Colby Free Press Work Together More Closely
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75¢ COLBY Thursday September 25, 2014 Volume 125, Number 150 Serving Thomas County since 1888 8 pages FFREEREE PPRESSRESS Connecting college, foundation By Sam Dieter would help the two organizations Colby Free Press work together more closely. [email protected] The foundation is close to hir- ing an interim director, Todd said, Two members of the Colby adding that the board would like Community College Trustees to offer its new director health agreed to join a committee to help insurance and Kansas Public Em- the college and Endowment Foun- ployees Retirement System ben- dation communicate better at their efits. College President Stephen meeting Monday afternoon, when Vacik said he thought the director they heard a report from the foun- should have a measure of account- dation president. ability to both the college and the Outgoing Foundation President foundation. Jay Todd updated the trustees The committee should include about the search for a new direc- two trustees and two endowment tor to replace Nick Wells, who board members, and would meet, resigned last month, and detailed Todd said, “so that we can come the foundation board’s other top together more than we have may- priorities. be in the past.” Wells said he would stay in as No specific mention was made Rethink: trash to treasure acting director until a replacement of what the committee would do could be found or until the foun- at its meetings. SAM DIETER/Colby Free Press dation’s annual meeting, which- Wells, a former trustee, com- Lynette Koon (above), ever comes first. Trustees Caro- plained about perceived problems director of the Northwest lyn Armstrong and Linda Vaughn with the college leadership in his Kansas Regional Re- both volunteered to be on a com- resignation letter, which he read cycling Center, showed mittee of trustees and endowment a Colby Grade School board members, which she said See “FOUNDATION,” Page 2 fourth grade class differ- ent kinds of plastic bot- tles the recycling center does and does not take Wednesday morning. On Rail facility a bench below, she had some of items made out of recycled plastic and other materials, includ- location sought ing a hat, a T-shirt and plastic wood used for Colby is on the list of Kansas The location will depend on park benches. Nancy cities as possible for a new rail the type of facility the department Robinson, who works at transloading facility to be built by wants to build, he said. The ques- the center, demonstrated the state. tion of who would manage the how to run the machines The final location, or locations, facility has not yet been worked that bale plastic and card- for the facility will be announced out, either. It could be owned by board (right), letting the within a year, said Dennis Slim- the department, which could use kids help her feed one of mer, chief of transport planning it to move salt and aggregate used the machines. for the Kansas Department of to pave roads. Or several partners Transportation. The Freight Ad- could use the facility, which could visory Committee, formed by the be part of an industrial park. department and the Kansas Turn- A consultant will be hired to pike Authority in April, mapped help the state answer these ques- out 20 cities – Colby included tions, the department said. Students ‘love you’ says team – statewide that could serve as a The committee came up with home for a transloading facility. the idea for the Significant Freight By Sam Dieter board heard. This is the first visit for the col- mission also wants more detailed financial A statement from the depart- Corridors map of at its first meet- Colby Free Press lege since 2004, but the commission says it information, and wants to know how the col- ment said the facility would serve ing in April, Slimmer said. Along [email protected] will start visiting more often, every four years lege tracks the number of students who stay as a way to move goods from with Colby, cities identified as instead of every 10. in school and graduate. Assessment of “re- trains to trucks to serve customers possible sites for rail-truck trans- The Colby Community College Trustees President Stephen Vacik said Dr. Thomas tention” was a big problem for the college in who do not have access to freight fer were Scandia, Concordia, learned that students love their college and Hamel, chair of the commission team that vis- 2004, Vacik said, so that has been fixed since rail service. Marysville, Salina, Abilene, Kan- adore its president during a report last Monday ited Colby, told him “students adore you.” Dr. then. Slimmer said the list of cities sas City, Gardner, McPherson, on a visit by an accreditation team checking Vacik said he heard that the students have a The four-person team that visited the col- will be narrowed down, adding Hutchinson, Garden City, Dodge the college’s evaluation for a review of its pro- great love and affinity for the college, which is lege included Hamel, vice president for aca- that the department has not decid- City, Newton, Wichita, Attica, grams and performance. not true everywhere team members visit. demic affairs at Oakton Community College ed how big the facility will be or Wellington, Winfield, Pittsburg, A team from the Higher Learning Com- Beyond that, Vacik added, you can never in Des Plains, Ill.; Jean Anne Swillum, instruc- even if there will be just one. Columbus and Coffeyville. mission, which oversees accreditation for know what a team wants during its visits. Re- tor of developmental mathematics at Pulaski the college, visited Colby from Monday to cently, the commission has been interested in Technical College in North Little Rock Ark; Wednesday last week to review records and diversity and multi-culturalism, he said, want- decide if the college remains accredited, the ing to see results in the classroom. The com- See “STUDENTS,” Page 2 Ferrets’ friend dies at age 77 Sunday A lifetime Logan County rancher who amount of grass that way, compared to made a name for himself for his often un- more common grazing practices, but the popular efforts to shelter endangered spe- British-inspired system has been slow to cies died on Sunday. catch on among other beef producers here. Larry Haverfield, 77, Russell Springs, He and Gordon Barnhart, another Logan died Sunday at Citizens Medical Center County rancher, first invited federal offi- in Colby. The career rancher was born in cials to put ferrets on their land in 2005. Scott City, graduated high school there The Haverfields and Barnharts signed a and married Bette Talbott in 1954. They five-year cooperative agreement with the have run cattle on a 10,000-acre ranch U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. When they south of Russell Springs since 1957. did release ferrets on their land in Decem- Haverfield made headlines by refusing ber 2007, it was the first time the animals to wipe out prairie dogs on his land and in- had lived in Kansas in 50 years, but that troducing black-footed ferrets, an endan- did not make the men popular with their gered animal that feeds on prairie dogs, to neighbors. his ranch. Haverfield had stopped killing the prai- He was known as a progressive cattle- rie dogs on his land well before that, once man who often marched to the beat of a saying that if the Lord had put them there, TOM BETZ/Goodland Star News different drum. He grazed his cattle using who was he to kill them? His stance gener- A black-footed ferret, one of this country’s most endangered ani- a cellular system, grazing a “paddock” ated a horrified response from other stock- mals, sat at the center of a firestorm of controversy along with of grass intensively for a few days, then men, most of whom look on the ground Larry Haverfield Larry Haverfield when he had the animals placed on his ranch moving the herd. He once figured he could land almost seven years ago. produce twice as much beef on a given See “FERRETS,” Page 2 Page 2 Colby Free Press Thursday, September 25, 2014 Area/State Weather Ferrets’ friend dies Sunday at 77 Briefly The deadline for Briefly is noon From “FERRETS,” Page 1 the day before. Items submitted in the morning will be set up for the following squirrels as little better than rats. day, space available. The deadline for He didn’t treat them as sacred, however, and would Monday’s paper is noon Friday. sometimes shoot one to feed to the swift foxes that also inhabited his land. He allowed wildlife agents represent- ing Indian tribes in South Dakota to trap the prairie foxes Class coming up as breeding stock for a reintroduction program up there. for beginning medics Citing a century-old law that allows them to poison Thomas County Emergency Medi- land infested with prairie dogs, Logan County commis- cal Services and Colby Community sioners brought in an exterminator to poison Haver- College are offering a class for new field’s land in an attempt to kill the animals so the ferrets emergency medical technicians from would have nothing to eat. They started poisoning the Oct. 3 to March 27. It will meet from land in September 2007, just months before the first fer- 1 to 5 p.m. Fridays and one Saturday a rets were introduced. month. This is a hybrid course; much The ranchers and their lawyer, Randy Rathbun, went of the homework is online. If you are National Weather Service to court to keep the county off their land, and a judge 17 or older, have a driver’s license and Tonight: Clear, with a low ruled in their favor in March 2008.