Tuition up As State Funds Drop
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75¢ COLBY Thursday January 23, 2014 Volume 125, Number 13 Serving Thomas County since 1888 8 pages FFREEREE PPRESSRESS Tuition up as state R.B. HEADLEY Colby Free Press funds drop and McCarty Family Farms Part of the McCarty’s By Sam Dieter cause state funding for the college herd could be seen ly- Colby Free Press is likely going down 1.5 percent ing down (above) dur- [email protected] next year, and it does not seem as ing the dust storm last if the college will be able to get week near Rexford. Students at Colby Community another source of money to offset Dannon’s packaging College will pay five dollars more that within a year. (right) points out that for every credit hour of classes Public Information Direc- the milk in its Dannon they take next year, to make up for tor Debbie Schwanke said later Creamy yogurt comes a drop in state money going to the the college is looking at a loss from Kansas, show- college. of about $31,000 in state money ing a photo of McCarty The Colby Community Col- next year, and that students are family members and lege Trustees approved a tuition taking about 30,000 total credit including a quote (be- increase of five dollars per credit hours next year. She said the last low). hour and a two dollar increase in increase was in 2012, when tuition technology fees starting in the went up three dollars for in-state 2014-2015 academic year. That students, four dollars for students brings tuition up to $107 a year from Missouri, Nebraska, Okla- for each credit hour for an in-state homa and Colorado, five dollars student. The technology fee has for other U.S. students and six gone up to $12 for every credit dollars for international students. Dairy needs more homes hour with the increase, which is The school will still be one billed to all students. The college of the cheaper community col- also charges a $28 activity fee for leges to attend after the increase, By Sam Dieter the family could double the size of its op- bank payments, rent to landlords, housing all students. Vacik said, adding that he is wor- Colby Free Press eration over the next three years to supply stipends and payments for insurance, taxes, “I’m not saying I want to, I’m ried about competition from other [email protected] condensed milk to Dannon Yogurt, their maintenance and utilities, to help their em- saying we need to,” President Ste- community colleges that might main customer. ployees get and keep a place to live, and has phen Vacik said. Perhaps 100 people could find jobs in “The point of that (printout) is to indicate invested $1,143,000 in housing. He suggested the increase be- Rexford and other parts of the area over the that there’s opportunity for growth if there’s The family doubled the number of em- See “TUITION,” Page 2 next several years as the McCarty Family housing available,” said Ken McCarty, who ployees working in the operation in 2012, Dairy continues its growth. runs the farms with his brothers. when they started supplying condensed New housing will likely be needed in McCarty said that the business does not milk to Dannon and added a location in some of these areas as McCarty Family need any help coming up with more hous- Scott City. The dairy has 107 employees at Co-op merger Farms expands its operation, officials say. ing, but has no definite plans for new proj- the three locations, according to the print- At the Thomas County commission meeting ects in the future. The farm was started in out, compared to 52 before. The opening on Jan. 13, Chairman Paul Steele presented Rexford, but has grown to include opera- of the Scott City location added 25 work- an information printout from the family- tions in Bird City and Scott City. ers, and the number of workers rose to 51 in on hold for now owned farming operation, which said that McCarty said that, in theory, the farms Rexford and 31 in Bird City. Each of those would need another 7,000 head of dairy locations originally had 26 people. Those Frontier Ag Inc. of Goodland went on. The two companies also cattle to maximize production for the con- workers own or rent a total of 65 houses in and Oakley and the Mid Kan- have different points of view on densing facility. Right now, the farm has those cities, the family says. The farms help sas Cooperative Association of equity payouts to members and about 12,300 cows at its three locations. For most of the workers through a housing sti- Moundridge recently suspended retirement of equity. over a year, McCarty has been sending con- pend or by renting homes for them. merger discussions after several The cooperatives announced densed skim milk prepared at the facility to According to the printout, workers have months of trying to reach agree- plans to pursue merger possibili- Dannon at its Fort Worth plant. a total of 118 children living with them, in- ment. ties last September, but Cowan Christy Preston, executive director of cluding 37 in Rexford. The influx of chil- Representatives from both said, his company decided it was the Thomas County Economic Develop- dren has been credited with strengthening member-owned cooperatives con- in the best interests of its members ment Alliance, said the groundbreaking the Golden Plains schools, which had been firmed in a press release that their to end the discussions. for a group of five duplexes in Rexford has losing enrollment before the dairy opened. directors have not been able to The companies have left open been delayed until spring. McCarty did not Ken McCarty and his brothers Mike, Clay agree on all of the terms required the possibility of resuming dis- put any money into that project, which was and David McCarty, took over running the before the companies could de- cussions but no further talks are approved last year, but the family donated farm from their father Tom, making them velop a merger document. planned at this time. the land where the duplexes are to be built. the fifth generation of McCartys to run the Brad Cowan, president of Fron- “Our balance sheet’s in good The Kansas Housing Resources Corp and business. Having farmed in Pennsylvania tier Ag, said the companies’ pri- shape,” Cowan said, adding that Northwest Kansas Housing and Develop- since 1914, the family moved its operation mary disagreements were over these merger discussions were ment Commission supplied grants and loans to Rexford in 1999 so as to have more room. board representation and equity unique since neither company is for the $1,669,203 project. They set up the farm in Bird City in 2008 on payout. in financial trouble. In recent years, according to the printout, the invitation of the community foundation His company, he said, was look- Frontier lists 29 locations in the farm has spent $667,800, each year on there. ing for 50-50 representation on northwest Kansas, while Mid the board but discussions moved Kansas operates in 11 counties in away from an even split as time the central part of the state. First responders deal with stress overload By Heather Alwin firemen drank coffee together and talked about what Colby Free Press they had seen in this crash and others. Talking about [email protected] the scene with others who have been there, said Han- kin, is one of the best ways to “put everything in or- A simple thank you means a lot to first responders, der.” says Colby Assistant Fire Chief Sean Hankin, and Hankin said there are programs and training avail- after particularly violent or disturbing incidents, it able to address work-related stress, but he doesn’t means even more. think anyone in his department has gone through Receiving a thank-you “just makes you feel better them. Fortunately, he said, they don’t encounter such about the whole situation,” Hankin said. horrific scenes very often – maybe once or twice a Emergency medical personnel, firefighters and year on average. law enforcement officers responded to a series of ac- And when they do, the first-responder “brother- cidents last week that killed three people and injured hood” does a “real good job of watching out for one at least seven more. And it isn’t easy to mentally pro- another,” he said. cess that kind of trauma. It may sound silly, Hankin said, but the emergency When firemen arrived, after driving through a services team really does operate like a big family. blinding dust storm, and dodging cars and trucks Before Colby’s fire department even left the scene stacked up on either side of the wrecks, they found of Thursday’s accidents near Rexford, Hankin said, vehicles burning, they couldn’t see and they were they talked to the Rexford firemen to make sure they overwhelmed by the number of injuries. were OK. Area first responders say they rely on each other to Fire Chief Bob McLemore followed up with the work through the stresses of their jobs, and agencies Rexford team on Friday, too. like High Plains Mental Health make their personnel One of the most difficult things first responders HEATHER ALWIN/Colby Free Press available to help. deal with, said Hankin, is not knowing what ulti- Joe Hickert, director of Thomas County Emergency Medical Services, assessed child victims from Friday morning in the firehouse kitchen, Colby’s mately happens to the people they help.