Monday, February 2, 2026
Home Blog Page 329

Keep student athletes safe during extreme heat

By
Guest Columnist
-
0

Fall sports are underway, but summer temperatures put players at risk

It’s been a long, hot summer with high temperatures breaking records all over the country. Exercising and playing sports outdoors during extreme heat is risky for athletes of all ages and experience levels — from Olympians to student athletes. The American Red Cross offers ways coaches and parents can help keep players safe.

  • Learn CPR, how to use an AED and how to treat heat cramps, heat exhaustion and heat stroke.
  • Don’t schedule outdoor practices and workouts during the hottest times of the day. Instead, schedule them for early in the day or later in the evening.
  • Lower the intensity of these practices until your athletes grow more accustomed to the heat.
  • Make sure your players drink plenty of water to avoid muscle cramping or heat-related illness. Fluids should be consumed frequently during strenuous activity and within a half hour of training.
  • Include warm-ups — even young athletes need to stretch their muscles before strenuous exercise to help prevent injury.
  • Plan frequent and longer breaks. Ideally, pause practice about every 20 minutes for athletes to drink fluids and rest in the shade if possible.
  • Reduce the amount of heavy equipment athletes wear in the extremely hot weather. Instead, encourage net-type jerseys or lightweight, light-colored cotton T-shirts and shorts.
  • Use the buddy system to encourage athletes to drink water and watch for signs of illness in their teammates.
  • Have an emergency plan in place. Emergency situations may arise at any time during athletic practices and events. Knowing what to do and how to respond quickly are critical in providing the best possible care to the athletes in emergency situations.

The first responder to an emergency situation is, typically, a member of the training, coaching, strength, medical staff or a parent. Prepare for the moments that matter with first aid and CPR training from the Red Cross. We offer both in-person classes and online training. Through our classes, you will not only learn how to perform lifesaving skills, you can gain the confidence to act in an emergency and help save a life. Learn more here.

DOWNLOAD OUR FIRST AID APP The Red Cross First Aid app puts instant access to information on handling the most common first aid emergencies at your fingertips including heat-related emergencies. Download this app by searching for ‘American Red Cross’ in your app store or at redcross.org/apps.

About the American Red Cross: 
The American Red Cross shelters, feeds and provides comfort to victims of disasters; supplies about 40% of the nation’s blood; teaches skills that save lives; distributes international humanitarian aid; and supports veterans, military members and their families. The Red Cross is a nonprofit organization that depends on volunteers and the generosity of the American public to deliver its mission. For more information, please visit redcross.org or CruzRojaAmericana.org, or follow us on social media. 

 

 

# # #

Unique names promoted Kansas communities, including one with a ‘Gateway to Hell’

By
Guest Columnist
-
0

New York investor Francis Skiddy wanted to have a Kansas town named after him.

Skiddy promised to build a town hall in exchange for his becoming the namesake of Skiddy, a community founded in 1869 on the boundary line between Morris and Geary counties in north-central Kansas.

But Skiddy reneged on his promise, and residents in 1879 changed the community’s name to Camden, according to the website legendsofkansas.com.

Then, in August 1883, “The town name reverted back to Skiddy because there were too many other Camdens in the nation,” that site said.

Skiddy’s post office closed in 1953, it said.

Skiddy is among the Kansas communities with interesting monikers that are no longer incorporated, or never were.

Here are eight others:

Tonovay was initially called Ton of Hay

Tonovay is located in Greenwood County in southwest Kansas. Its residents initially called it “Ton of Hay,” after a wagonload of hay they thought weighed a ton, Sondra Van Meter McCoy and Jan Hults wrote in their 1989 book, “2001 Kansas Place Names.” Tonovay’s post office opened in 1886 and closed in 1912, they said.

Swamp Angel is thought to have been named after a Civil War cannon

Swamp Angel is an unincorporated community in western Pottawatomie County, east of Manhattan and west of St. George, according to Wikipedia. It is thought to have been named after a historic Parrott Cannon known as the “Swamp Angel,” which the Union Army used in 1863 to bombard Charleston, South Carolina. Herman Melville, best known for his 1851 novel “Moby Dick,” wrote about the cannon in a poem called “The Swamp Angel.”

Smileyberg was named after business owners Smiley and Berg

Smileyberg is an unincorporated community south of El Dorado in Butler County in south-central Kansas. It got its name as a result of being founded by Thomas Smiley, who established a grocery and dry goods store there, and Barney Berg, who established a blacksmith shop there, according to a history of that county published in 1916, with details being available at ksgenweb.org.

May Day got its original post office designation on May Day

May Day, in northern Riley County, got that name after its original post office designation was secured on a May Day, according to legendsofkansas.com. That post office actually opened on April 13, 1871, that site said. It said only one structure, a school, remains standing from the original city, where the post office closed in 1954 and the last remaining business building, a store, shut down in 1969.

Buttermilk got its name from a blacksmith who loved buttermilk

Buttermilk is an unincorporated community in Comanche County in south-central Kansas. A blacksmith with the last name of “Winningham” lived there and loved consuming buttermilk in large quantities — so much that he was given that nickname and the community was given that name, according to a video posted on YouTube as part of John Wise‘s series, “Travel With a Wiseguy.”

Water availability may have precipitated creek and city’s name of Happy

The city of Happy was founded on the banks of Happy Creek in Graham County in northwest Kansas. “Possibly the availability of water in this high, dry country influenced travelers to call the creek Happy,” said the 1989 book, “2001 Kansas Place Names.” Happy in 1883 was issued a post office, which was discontinued in 1906, according to the Kansas Historical Society.

Canada was a city in Kansas

The city of Canada in Marion County in central Kansas was given that name to attract Canadians, who were told the winters there were “short and mild,” said 2001 Kansas Place Names. Canadians began arriving in 1873 in Canada, which got a post office in 1884. That was discontinued in 1954. The shoe company New Balance in a 2015 ad campaign gave away a pair of a type of sneakers available only in the country of Canada to residents of Canada, Kansas.

Stull has been dogged by demonic rumors

Its name may not be as odd as some of the others, but western Douglas County’s tiny community of Stull has been dogged for decades by rumors that its cemetery is the “Gateway to Hell” and that the community was formerly called Skull. Actually, Stull was called Deer Creek before being named after its only postmaster, Sylvester Stull. It maintained a post office for four years, from 1899 to 1903. Stull Cemetery was the site of a battle between good and evil in a 2010 episode of the superhero TV series “Supernatural,” which aired on the CW.

As reported in the Topeka Capital Journal

 

Where you can see 5 historic trails that pass through Kansas, including Topeka

By
Guest Columnist
-
0

Two covered wagons crossing in the background are seen on Kansas’s state flag, a reference to the pioneer roots of the state.

The paths chartered by these covered wagons are still mapped across the state by the National Park Service.

In the early 1800s, the United States forcibly relocated Indian tribes from the Great Lakes area to the Kansas territory. By 1854, the state opened up to settlement by people with European ancestry, and by 1861, the Indian tribes that moved to the area lost most of their land except for a couple small reservations.

“After the Civil War and before 1890 the population of Kansas increased by the greatest amount in its history. More than one million people streamed into Kansas seeking a new life on the frontier,” the Kansas Historical Society’s report on the settlement of Kansas says.

The settlers followed trails that people can still follow today. There are 21 National Historic Trails in the United States, and five pass through Kansas.

What is a National Historic Trail?

The National Parks Service designates National Historic Trails as routes of significance for exploration, migration, struggle, trade or military action.

Not all of them are for the pioneer past. One Civil Rights Movement march is recognized in Alabama from Selma to Montgomery.

The trails vary significantly in length and landscape, with the shortest being the Chilkoot Trail in Alaska at just 33 miles to the 5,600-mile California Trail that runs from Kansas City, Missouri, to Portland, Oregon.

And unlike the trails they follow, the dirt paths are usually gone. The trails tend to mostly follow modern roadways in about the same places the trails passed through.

What Historic Trails go through Kansas?

The National Historic Trails that pass through Kansas are the following:

  • California Trail
  • Lewis and Clark Trail
  • Oregon Trail
  • Pony Express Trail
  • Santa Fe Trail

    The California Trail follows the estimated 250,000 men and women who moved west during the gold rush in the 1840s. It starts on the Kansas-Missouri border up through Nebraska, Wyoming, Idaho, Utah, Nevada, California and Oregon.

    The Lewis and Clark Trail begins in western Pennsylvania and follows the famous explorers Meriwether Lewis and William Clark’s continent-spanning journey across what is now the United States.

    From Kansas City, it goes north along the border before crossing into Nebraska.

    But the Lewis and Clark Trail was rugged, and most settlers moving by wagon used the Oregon Trail in their westward trek. The trail starts in Independence, Missouri, and goes northwest from Topeka in a route that ends in Oregon City, Oregon.

     As reported in the Topeka Capital Journal

It’s time to plant salad in the fall garden

By
Anita Stuckey
-
0

K-State horticulture expert says salad crops favor slightly cooler soils

Got Salad?

Many Kansas gardeners may already know that extending the year’s harvest into fall means planting many crops that would make a tasty mix.

“Radishes, spinach, turnips, mustard, lettuce and other leafy greens can be planted from mid-August to early September, extending the harvest into fall,” said Cynthia Domenghini, a horticulture expert with K-State Research and Extension.

“If you plan to plant seeds into the ground, plant them slightly deeper than recommended for spring,” Domenghini said. “This will give seeds access to slightly cooler soil that retains more moisture.”

Growing a salad garden means providing regular water until the seeds germinate, according to Domenghini. “Sprinkle a light layer of compost over the top of the seeds to prevent the soil from forming a crust,” she said.

An alternative way to grow crops suitable for a salad is to use a bag of potting media. Domenghini outlined steps to grow salad crops in this manner:

  • Lay the bag flat and cut it open on the long side, exposing the potting media.
  • Place the bag on a pallet or similar support, which will allow you to move the planting, as needed. If not placed on a support, the bag should not be moved after planting to avoid displacing seeds.
  • Plant the seeds as recommended on the packet.
  • Add fertilizer, if it is not already included in the potting media.

“One benefit of growing fall greens in a potting media bag is the temperature of the media can be regulated by relocating the bag,” Domenghini said. “This is particularly helpful during August and September when the heat can hinder germination and negatively affect flavor of certain cole crops.”

Domenghini added that due to the limited amount of soil in a potting media bag, it is important to monitor moisture while the crop is growing.

Domenghini and her colleagues in K-State’s Department of Horticulture and Natural Resources produce a weekly Horticulture Newsletter with tips for maintaining home landscapes and gardens.

Interested persons can subscribe to the newsletter, as well as send their garden and yard-related questions to Domenghini at c[email protected], or contact your local K-State Research and Extension office.

Reducing water use in landscaping

By
Guest Columnist
-
0

K-State extension agent offers tips for reducing water consumption for outdoor plants

As temperatures rise and the time between rains decreases, many homeowners begin to increase the frequency of watering their outdoor plants, and when a whole community of folks engage in watering it can impact both the amount and quality of water available, said Sedgwick County extension horticulture agent Matthew McKernan.

“July, August and September are the peak months for outdoor water use and in a lot of places, up to 40% or more of the municipal water is used for landscaping and irrigation purposes,” McKernan said.

Keeping that in mind and recognizing that water demands are increasing, McKernan added: “Much of Kansas has experienced drought over the last few years and it can have a big impact on our community lakes, ponds and waterways that cannot be refilled with water in just one or two rainfall events.

“As surface water decreases, people turn to groundwater for lawns and gardens and that can lead to water quality issues because water is being pulled from the ground faster than it can recharge.”

To best manage this limited resource, McKernan offers tips on ways that homeowners can use water efficiently when caring for outdoor plants.

“One simple thing that people can do is grouping more drought-tolerant plants together in the landscape so that the irrigation system can water more efficiently,” McKernan said. “A lot of native plants are naturally going to be more drought tolerant.”

For a list of drought-tolerant plants and trees, McKernan recommended people check out these two handouts, which are available online: Water Wise Plant List for South Central Kansas and Drought Tolerant Trees of South Central Kansas.

He also had advice on watering.

“When we irrigate, we want to water slowly, deeply and infrequently,” McKernan said. “It is best to use irrigation systems that deliver water directly to the soil so that the water doesn’t blow away in the wind or evaporate off the leaves. The best time of day to water is the morning.”

He recommends using a drip irrigation system with pressure-regulated emitters so that every hole in the system is sending out the same amount of water, which is different than soaker hoses that tend to put out more water at the beginning of the line than the end.

“Another irrigation option to consider is a smart irrigation system that adjusts the water that is applied based on the needs of the plant and the conditions outside, rather than a set schedule,” McKernan said.

Regarding the frequency of the watering, he recommends limiting it to one to two times/week to enhance root growth.

“By encouraging periods of mini drought, the plants will grow their roots deeper into the ground allowing them to naturally withstand longer periods of drought,” McKernan said.

The pace of the water absorption will vary depending on the soil type.

“Most of the water waste in irrigation occurs when we are watering too much and the water is running off the surface because the soil can only absorb so much water in a given amount of time,” he said.

To keep this water waste from happening, he recommends watering in zones for shorter periods of time and then rotating back through once the water has been absorbed.

McKernan said these are just a few ways that people can be good stewards of the water resource. “We all have an opportunity to do better with how we manage our water use, especially in times of intense drought. By working cooperatively together to use water wisely, we can make sure that water is available for everyone.”

 

1...328329330...4,788Page 329 of 4,788

Kansas News, Auctions & Classifieds

Trending

Categories

© Rural Messenger