Hays Daily News, The (Newspaper) - October 26, 1999, Hays, Kansas Local forecast mostly Low South wind 10 to 15 mostly unseasonably Near record high of page Inside today Sports The Hays Daily News TUESDAY October 2 34 pages 507 Kansas 785 6281081 On the Internet at County learns of another delay in weather radio alert system By SCOTT AUST HAYS DAILY NEWS Emergency Management Coordinator Mike Werth was a bearer of bad news Monday for the Ellis County Commission regarding the lengthy process of obtaining a weather radio alert I hope you guys have heard of that Dont kill the Werth We have another delay in the NOAA weather Werth said he has received a letter from Crown the Indiana company that is building the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration weather radio stat ing that the transmitter will be Werth said Crown had an 1 goal of hav ing the transmitter certified but will not be able to meet that Essentially were looking at receiving the transmitter in Werth Werth said Crown has had software prob lems with one of its which caused the certification of the transmitter to be they said they will be coming out here and doing work on the Theyre going to try and schedule a tower and of wed like to see that happen before bad weather sets Werth He hopes to have everything ready at the tower site so that as soon as the transmitter is approved it can be installed and turned The NOAA system broadcasts a signal to alert people about severe weather alerts and A special radio is required for peo ple to receive trie The coverage area of the transmitter will include all of Ellis nearly all of Trego and Rush most of Graham County and portions of Barton and Osborne One of the concerns Werth had about delay ing the installation of the system into next year was making sure the grant money that funds the majority of the project could be carried Werth said he talked to the county auditor and to the state emergency management which indicated the carryover would not be a I asked if our grant monies would still be carried over and safe into the year and they assured me that it would Werth Werth said he has done everything he can and now its a matter of hoping that there are no further delays so the system can be operational in time for the start of tornado sea son in Im still hoping and still believing were going to get the system in by next storm sea Werth Youve said that for a but we dont know They always push it Now its said Commissioner Vernon I believe well get but I dont know about that Werth agreed that it has been a long process to make the radio system a but inch by inch the delays are being Weve got the governmental issues out of the and those were really a big slow Werth still has to pass all their testing and deal with their subcon So theres still possible theres no But I feel were getting The county received verbal approval from the National Weather Service in May to locate the weather radio transmitter at the Radio tower about 6 miles northeast of Radio which was purchasing a new agreed to buy one with a larger capacity to handle the with the county picking up the difference in The total cost of the project will be which is about less than what was originally With the in matching grants from leftover Kansas Department of Emergency Management 1993 flood assistance the portion of the cost being spent by the county and the city of Hays will be Over the commissioners signed purchase orders of with Crown Broadcast for the NOAA transmitter and for to Radio for the countys share of the backup After several delays while standards were commissioners signed an agree ment with the National Weather Service last month for donation of the radio After the system is operational for one the county will sign another agreement with which would then take over operation and More on commission Page Hilltop heritage ABOVE A metal cutout of a Native American warrior is sil by the rising full moon as it stands in a field west of Ness City Monday cutout is one of three lifesize riders on horseback cresting a hill on land owned by Jim Ness Fritzler hired an artist to draw the and then he constructed the cutouts to commemorate Ness Countys Native American CHARLIE RIEDEL Hays Dally News Legislators listen while on stop in Hays By DIANE HAYS DAILY NEWS State legislators turned students and listened attentively to Fort Hays State University President Edward Hammond this morning on We want to give you an idea of whats going on at Fort Hays State what we do and why we do Hammond said as he began a pre and to thank you for all your help and The representing four committees from the Kansas House of Representatives and were vis iting Hays as part of a weeklong bian tour around the And Melvin vice president of the Appropriations said he was proud of what he and his peers were exposed Were really pleased to get some of these who dont know where western Kansas out said a farmer in southwest People dont understand western Gayle They get an appreciation of our and a special idea of my Back they can walk in their By District which spans 175 miles from just north of Plainville west to the Colorado Following Hammonds presenta the legislators took a tour through three campus buildings either under renovation or just recently com The night they toured Sternberg Museum of Natural million project that has admitted visitors since opening seven months Were so proud of the job Ed has done Neufeld said of in his 13th year at People need to recognize what an asset we have and this is one for them to see it In addition to the legislators also visited Developmental Services of Northwest celebrating its 30th anniversary in Hays this year is a organization that provides care to nearly 500 indi with mild to severe disabilities in 18 counties in northwest The services are available through a network of and outreach programs with other service providers in those The organizations objective is to get their consumers living as dent as they can as close to their home as said Ruth adminis assistant for This tour is so good because it gives us a chance to let the legislators know and see the services being pro vided in the she receives about a third of its revenue through state President Jim Blume pointed out maps on the indicat ing where consumers and their fami lies are located in individual Looking out across the room of leg Blume These are the thousands of peoples lives that youve Hospital board votes not to renew doctors contract John Rand Neuenschwander says he would stay only if Sheridan County Medical Complex administrator is removed Bob Dole criticizes media coverage of women candidates MANHATTAN AP Former Bob Dole kid ded that he lost his chance to be first man when his wife left the presidential But during a speech Monday at Kansas State he wouldnt say whether Elizabeth Dole would accept a vice presidential spot in the 2000 Nor he say if his wife would endorse Texas George Bush or any other candidate for the Republican which he called Bushs to Shed be a big asset to a said a Russell But Elizabeth is just thinking about what shes doing right Shes just Dole used part of his speech to criticize the media and what he called their bias against women in Most stories about Elizabeth would she had on a matching or what color nails she wore or how her hair was Dole They never said that about me when I was They always go off on these little petty things when its a woman he Dole said his wifes decision to bow out of the race was the right but that she had brought a lot of integrity to the Safety board tries to figure out tragic flight AP investigators returned today to the site where a jet carrying golf champion Payne Stewart nosedived into a cautioning there would likely be no quick explanation why the plane flew pilotless for miles across the Five others also were A National Transportation Safety Board team walked through the crash site Monday hours after the Learjet They did a cursory inspection of the wreck lit by The wreckage is fairly NTSB Vice Chairman Robert Francis said It looks the aircraft was pretty much vertical when it hit the The ground is and it went in fairly Its going to be a with the wreckage and sorting out whats The investigation will take some he Our concern is making sure we do it properly than making sure that we do it Autopsies likely could reveal whether the planes occupants suffered oxygen Francis Thats something well be working with the coroner he The victims remains had not been removed from the scene this Francis stressed that a sudden decompression of the aircraft is still just one possible theory of the cause of the had won Ifi tournaments over his includ ing two Open He also was part of the team that helped the United States stage a historic comeback to beat Europe last month for the Ryder For more on the career of Payne see Page ASSOCIATED PRESS A note hangs at a parking spot for golfer Payne Stewart Monday at Champions Golf Club in By JAN KATZ ACKERMAN HAYS DAILY NEWS HOXIE John Rand Neuenschwander drew a line in the and the hospital board of trustees voted not to renew a contract with one of two physicians practicing in the During a special trustee meeting Monday Neuenschwander said he would renew his contract with the Sheridan County Medical Complex if and only if Brian Kirk is removed as hospital Following a telephone conference call with their the trustees at about 11 voted not to renew the independent contractor agreement with the Neuenschwander Medical the group consisting of John Rand Neuenschwander and his now John Neuen That leaves just one physician con by the Paul in addition to nurse The decision came on a 5to2 The board now has eight members due to the resignation of Ed Chairwoman Millie Baalman typically does not vote unless there is a Members voting not to renew the agreement were Max Sam Flo Linda Randolph and Carol Voting against the action were Alvis Wade and Donna comment was part of a statement he read to trustees and approximately 100 peo ple attending the Baalman stopped the doctor two thirds of the way into his statement advising him that some of his com ments could be considered as serious She also said the board knows the other side of the For more than a year the two sides have been at odds regarding the cor independent contractors agreement and Kirks management style of the In anticipation of the large city and county law enforcement cers made regular patrols by the hos and one city police officer attended the final 30 minutes when the vote was After the one resident called for the immediate resignation of Kirk and the remaining eight trus Mense said the board had consid ered public input in making the deci which he said was not a joyous Over 95 percent of the department heads have supported Brian Kirk and said they wouldnt feel secure working without she This has not been We didnt want to be charged with this but guidance and prayer have helped us make this The opportunity for public com ment was offered at the start of the but only a few people stepped BOARD SEE PAGE 6
