Haysville Online

The Haysville Times
By Angie Gumm

If the weather improves and residents cross their fingers tightly enough, the city may become whole again in about two months.
“Were going to do whatever it takes to get Grand open again. Even if its just two lanes [at first], I think thats better than nothing,” said Matt Inlow, the construction manger of the project for Dondlinger and Sons.
Haysville has been ready for Grand Avenue to be open since it closed in August of 2003. It was expected to reopen one year later, but a burst waterline, rainy weather and incorrect estimates of the pile depths, have pushed the re-opening date back by over six months.
Work on the entire underpass project will not be finished, but Inlow said they want to get something open for the public.
“We know how long you guys have been waiting and how hard you have been pushing for this to re-open,” he said. “Were hopeful it will be [open] by the first or middle of March.”
The Citys website states that March 22 will be the re-opening date. Inlow did stipulate that the weather would need to improve.
Union Pacific Railroad is at the helm of the project right now. Their work has been postponed, because the rocks on the ballast train, which was seen on the tracks this week, have frozen, and they are unable to deposit them.
As of December 9, Dondlinger had used 185 of their 210 contracted working days. They wont resume work on the project until February 1.
The City has stated that it will end its Railroad Reward contest sometime after Grand opens. Only those who have already had their name drawn at one of the City Council meetings will be eligible to win the Grand Prize, the VW Baja Beetle. Entry forms are available at most Haysville businesses.

The city will begin tree limb pick up on Monday. Place stacked limbs by your curb away from mailboxes and utilities. This process may take a while so be patient. According to the HOL Weather Sunday should be a good day to clean up your fallen limbs.

The Haysville Times
By Angie Gumm

A Haysville man is receiving skin-graft surgery Friday after being in ICU since December 28.
That Tuesday evening, Christopher Cameron was putting gas in his sons scooter when gas fumes mixed with static electricity from a battery charger, causing a small explosion that set his pant leg on fire.
Cameron tried to kick the gas can out of the way of his truck, which had a full tank of gas, but he was unable to stop the fire from proliferating.
“It was one of those things you hear about but never think could really happen,” said Camerons wife, Lisa, who was at work during the time of the accident.
Others were inside but didnt know what was happening in the garage. Fortunately, Yolanda Sanders, manager at the nearby Village Green Apartments, saw the fire and called 911.
Paramedics were already at the nearby Haysville Health Care Center and came to rescue the 35-year-old Cameron, whose serious condition status was upgraded to good by this Wednesday.
The garage received extensive damage and there is smoke damage throughout their 206 N. Lamar home.
“Its still surreal,” said Lisa. “Were just waiting for his skin-graft surgery and taking things from there.”

The Haysville Times
By Barbara Walters

Many community members chose to enjoy last Thursday’s unseasonably warm weather while participating in a groundbreaking for St. Cecilia School’s expansion. For over five years, plans were in the works for adding classroom space to accommodate seventh and eighth grade classes.

Currently the school offers preschool through sixth grade. Families previously had to choose from several other parochial schools in surrounding communities or Haysville Middle School for seventh and eighth grades. Next fall, seventh graders will be able to remain at St. Cecilia and the following year eighth grade will be added.
Continue reading “St. Cecilia to Expand”

The Haysville Times
By Angie Gumm

Serving his country and rubbing elbows with military bigwigs go hand in hand for Haysville soldier Adam Winters.
Winters will have been in Iraq for a year in February, and besides protecting a Major General during that time, he has met many prominent officials, President Bush and, most recently, Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld.
Last Thanksgiving Winters didnt get woke up to meet the President when he visited Iraq. He got another chance to meet Bush recently but his camera was on the plane, so he didnt get a picture.
When Winters learned that Rumsfeld was going to be visiting, he wasnt going to miss the opportunity for a photograph.
“This year he made sure he had his camera with him,” said Winters father, Leis Mac Martin.
“It was awesome,” said Mary Mac Martin, Winters mother. The family got their sons photo with the Secretary on Christmas Eve.
“He was really excited about it,” said Mary.
Winters is part of the engineer brigade and is one of a group of body guards in the 1st Armored Division in Iraq. He has had some unique opportunities because of his position. “He gets to go to a lot of neat places,” said Leis. “Hes gone on Black Hawk flights, up to the mountains, a lot of things.”
“He likes it,” said Mary. “Ive been grateful that he was given this job.”
Mary is also grateful that her son isnt able to reveal a lot of details about some of his more dangerous missions. In fact, the name of Winters headquarters, which are located in Tikrit, Iraq, is FOB (Fort Operations Base) Danger. Tikrit is about 90 miles North of Baghdad, where the other bodyguard group is located at FOB Gabe.
The Mac Martins get to talk to their son about once a week. They saw him in September when he came home for two weeks on a “morale leave.”
Winters graduated from Campus in May of 2003 and joined the army that July. The Private First Class went through basic training at Ft. Leonard Wood, Missouri, then went to Germany and Kuwait before going to his current post.
“Hes getting an experience,” said Mary.
When his four years in the service are complete, Winters will take advantage of the $40,000 college fund from the army that hell have waiting for him. His parents say he hopes to eventually become a fireman.

The Wichita Eagle reports that St Cecilia is breaking ground for a new addition for 7th and 8th grades.

By now you probably know that the country as a whole voted George Bush to a second term as president and the countys residents voted for a sales tax to build a new downtown arena but how did your neighbors vote here in Haysville? According to results from the Sedgwick County Election Office, Haysvillians voted to keep our current president with approximately 67% of the votes going to Bush, 32% to Kerry and 1% of the vote going to other candidates.
As for approving a new sales tax to build a downtown arena in Wichita and improvements to the Coliseum, Haysvillians were more closely divided. A little more than 56% of Haysville voters, voted against the sales tax.

The Haysville Times

Anne Simmons, Debbie Simmons, Shannon Bohannon, and Brandie West were the lucky ladies who found the Fall Festival Medallion in the first ever Haysville Online/Haysville Times Fall Festival Medallion Hunt.

Bohannon said the women were able to put together the clues to figure out that the medallion was hiding by the second exercise bench in a “discarded” bag of Ruffles chips.

“They were pretty good [clues],” said Bohannon. “Some of them were more helpful than others.”

The four women split the $500 of Haysville Bucks prize evenly.

Congratulations to everyone who went out and looked for the medallion! The Fall Festival, Haysville Online and the Haysville Times thank you for getting involved!

The two railroad bridges have been lifted onto their supports and now sit in their permanent positions. Looking at the newly placed bridge at Grand you get a good perspective on how much higher the new railroad will be over the old one. Maybe the end of the construction is in site. For a pic of the bridge from the other side visit the Photo Album.
We’ve quit taking your guesses for our Grand Reopening contest. We’ll announce the winner once Grand reopens.