75¢ COLBY Monday June 23, 2014 Volume 125, Number 98 Serving Thomas County since 1888 8 pages FFREEREE PPRESSRESS Danish student sees U.S. differences By Sam Dieter like it sounds, and isn’t even spelled the and Lucy Wood in Colby while going she had a bike, something all Danish kids had travelled abroad several times, in- Colby Free Press same way, with lines drawn through the to high school here, and will have been have when they are too young to drive. cluding visits to the east and west coasts [email protected] o’s. It’s a tongue-twister, she said, which here for 10 months and a week when she But unlike her home town of Viborg, a of the U.S. But Kansas was still a big means “strawberries and cream” in Dan- leaves on Sunday, getting back to Den- city of 50,000, Colby has far fewer places change for her. When she looked at a map Emma Kleist speaks English fluent- ish. mark on Wednesday, July 2. within pedaling distance, forcing a visitor of Colby online, she immediately noticed ly, although she has an obvious accent. Kleist came here from Denmark as a “I was like ‘Oh my gosh, I’m going to asks friends for rides. the crop circles surrounding the town. When asked to say something in her na- foreign exchange student with AFS In- to live in a cornfield,’” she said of her “We had a bike and we offered it to her, One of the biggest changes about living tive tongue, she always answers with “rød tercultural Programs, an agency which thoughts on arriving here. but she knew it would be weird,” Lucy here, Kleist said, is making friends. Peo- grød med fløde.” matches students up with families around Life in America still took some getting Wood said. The phrase is not really pronounced the world. She lived in the home of Mark used to, she added. At home, for instance, Before coming to here, she said, she See “STUDENT,” Page 2 College funds in better shape By Sam Dieter fields is to make sure the students Colby Free Press do not leave the college. The fi- [email protected] nancial aid staff went to Boulder, Colo., the second week in June for The Colby Community College training. trustees heard a report on the col- In May there were 212 appli- lege’s finances for the end of the cations, with 1,312 for the whole fiscal year at their June meeting year, and 30 campus visits, or 481 last Monday night. for the year. There are two on- At the end of May, the college line summer class sessions with had $3.3 million, or 22 percent, eduKan, a six-week class with 28 left out its $14,520,000 budget, students and a 12-week class with Chief Financial Officer Glenda 183 students. Overstreet told the trustees. At the Campus security reported one start of the year, she said, the col- burglary, one incident of criminal lege was projected to only have damage and two cases of the po- SAM DIETER/Colby Free Press eight percent left by the start of lice being called to assist security. Workers with Murray roofing used a crane (above) to remove pieces of the roof of the old Symns-Shafer building last Monday. June. At the end of last month, the • Greg Nichols, vice president Several batches of debris were carefully deposited on a flatbed (below right), with ropes helping the heavy-lifting crane steer college had $51,000 in encum- of academic affairs, reported that the loads. One worker was inside the building (bottom right), highlighted against the open sky while he worked to attach the brances and an unrestricted cash Brad Bennett will take five stu- sky hook to the rubble. Another (bottom left) provided direction to the crane operator. balance of $2.9 million. She is dents to the national Phi Beta continuing to get money the col- Lambda conference from today to lege is still owed, mainly from Saturday. The students did well at past students. the state conference, Nichols said. In other business, the trustees The college sent a report on heard reports from administrators: student learning assessment to the Going down • In her regular report, Over- Kansas Board of Regents. Nichols street said the finance depart- attended a conference supported The old Symns-Shafer build- said, a section of the roof col- ment’s Great Plains computer sys- by the Board of Regents and the ing on Franklin Avenue near lapsed, and fearing it was tem has been improved and has Council for Adult and Experimen- downtown is getting a new structurally unsound, the city been working well for the college. tal Learning to decide what prior roof after part of the old one blocked off the sidewalk along- Regarding the yearly audit of the learning, such as advance place- collapsed and the building was side the building. But Murray college’s finances, Dr. Overstreet ment courses, counts as credit at blocked off earlier this month. said a structural engineer de- said, the college has been working the college level. Jim Murray at Murray Roof- cided the building itself was on fixing the problems found in Derek Reilley has been offered ing said the company is ripping safe. According to a report writ- the financial system. The account- the position of solar and wind in- the old wooden roof off the ten by Colin Biesler in 2010, ing firm Adams Brown Beran and structor. The college was ready building, which belongs to the the building was known as the Ball said the college’s endowment to review candidates for the farm Bill Randall family. It plans to Symns-Shafer building in the foundation should account for its maintenance technician and the put in a new one once a design 50s, when it housed a wholesale money using general accepted ac- chemistry instructor last Monday. is ready. distribution business. counting principles and not the • Xuemi Yang, dean of institu- About three weeks ago, he cash-basis law, and that the col- tional effectiveness, was not at the lege should look at the overall meeting. Her report said that the amount spent on post-retirement college has no reports due at the benefits for employees. federal or state level, but the col- A total of $66,800 was remit- lege is answering questions from ted to the college from January the board of regents and is orga- through May, Overstreet reported, nizing reports, files, documents and there are still aging accounts and surveys completed by her de- worth $655,384. The college paid partment over the last two years. out a total of $933,428 in May in • Debbie Schwanke, director of accounts payable. public affairs, said that a 360-de- • George McNulty, vice presi- gree virtual tour of the campus dent of student affairs, reported will soon be up on the website, the college had secured 164 full thanks to a photographer from housing contracts with employees Tennessee. The photographer by June 6, and that Living Center stopped in several places on the North, the two-story dorm the col- campus and around town, taking a lege is renovating, is set to be al- full panorama of pictures. most full next year. For the dorms Schwanke’s report also detailed to be considered to be at full ca- the upcoming Founders Day cel- pacity, McNulty said, there will ebration on Saturday, July 12, as need to be around 300 students well as former Sen. Bob Dole’s living in them. visit to the campus on May 28, The Academic Works com- and the college-sponsored kids’ puter system is up and running to fishing derby on May 31. help students with scholarships, The men’s track and cross coun- and the Hansen Foundation will try teams both won the Region provide the college with another VI championships, and the cross $100,000 for college scholarships, country team was the first to be Dr. McNulty said, which is mon- champions in the college’s his- ey the foundation provides every tory. Nine athletes from the out- year. He said the most impor- door track were named to the First tant thing to keep in mind when awarding scholarships in health See “FUNDS,” Page 2 Child Advocacy Center gets strong support By Heather Alwin ers’ meeting last Monday as pro- The center’s employees have spe- ecutors, so the child does not have prosecutors work out a plea deal ter facilitates a multidisciplinary Colby Free Press gram coordinator Vicki Hubin cial training in helping victimized to be interviewed repeatedly as with the alleged offender, she add- team meeting once a month for [email protected] asked the commissioners to con- children. the case progresses. ed, but the center helps prepare local agencies to discuss helping tinue providing money to support “We’re the experts when it Hubin said a multi-disciplinary children for court if a deal isn’t these kids. The Western Kansas Child Ad- the center. comes to child abuse,” Hubin team listens in on the interviews to reached. Commissioner Paul Steele vocacy Center received strong The center aims to help kids said, adding that her team steps feed questions to the interviewer. The center covers 30 counties asked Undersheriff Marc Finley support at a county commission- who are victims of abuse by pro- in when law enforcement officers Without the center’s process, she from a main office in Scott City, and Rachel Lamm, who appeared viding forensic interviews, as well call for assistance.