4 NEWS www.hpj.

com | November 23, 2020

Water “There is money available to bring

Conference
Continued from page 3
“Wastewater operators see
a lot of investment in treatment
technology to remove (nutrients)
before they enter streams,” Stiles
said by Zoom video.
He promotes spending money
and implementing “practices to
keep those nutrients in place and
not let them get into water.”
The record among more than
850 communities in Kansas is quite
good with compliance, Stiles said.
“All require some degree of
technology investment. Fortunate-
ly, there is financial assistance, as
Secretary Toland laid out,” he said.
communities into compliance.”
The conference moved to
research topics to pursue solu-
tions, Owen said, such as the
benefits of raising grain sorghum
that requires less moisture than
corn and alfalfa, and crops that are
resistant to higher salt contents in
irrigation water. Salt content is an
issue in some wells, she said.
“A number of our speakers
addressed different aspects of
farming practices that preserve soil
health, improve quality and reduce
water dependency,” Owen said.
Featured speaker Patrick Deck-
er, president and CEO of Xylem,
a water sustainability company
based in Rye Brook, New York,
addressed challenges for “smart
(and resilient) water infrastructure
solutions and analytics,” while cre-
ating public interest in sustaining
the vital resource.
“There is more pressure on water
operators and governments, people
on the front lines to keep communi-
ties running and stop the spread of
disease,” Decker said on Zoom.
He advocated “21st century solu-
tions” to balance out the extremes of
both not enough water and too
much, and “biological nutrient
removal” from water supplies.
Touting the tagline “Let’s Solve
Water,” Decker said Xylem aims to
work on and with every level for a
safe sustainable water supply.
“We’re here to help across all
these fronts, build a platform and
a movement,” Decker said. “At the
end of the day, this is a team sport.
Nobody can do this on their own.
We’re in this together.”
Presentations from the ninth
annual Governor’s Conference on
the Future of Water in Kansas, will
be made available online at kwo.
ks.gov. Email questions to kwo-
info@kwo.ks.gov, or call the Kansas
Water Office at 785-296-3185 or
toll free at 1-888-526-9283. High Plains Journal
November 23, 2020
Volume 138 Number 47
Published weekly by:
High Plains Journal, LLC
P.O. Box 760
1500 E. Wyatt Earp Blvd.
Dodge City, KS 67801-0760
Telephone:
800-452-7171 or 620-227-7171
(Photo by Emanuel Manwaring, Fax: 620-227-7173
winner of the Lakes & Landscapes
category in the 2020 Kansas Water
www.HPJ.com
Office photo contest.) Advertising: 1-888-227-7171
Subscriptions: 1-800-353-1841

Child care Nelson Spencer Jr...........Publisher

Continued from page 1 Zac Stuckey.....Associate Publisher
Dave Bergmeier..................... Editor
“We wanted kids so bad,” she said. “It took us five years to get our Jennifer Latzke...Associate Editor
daughter. And when I found out I was pregnant I started praying that Kylene Scott............... Field Editor
I could find someone to watch her when I went back to work. All nine Lacey Newlin............... Field Editor
months I searched. And she’s 3 months old and we’re still searching.” Jennifer Theurer.......Copy Editor
In 2017, Kansas parents like the Elders welcomed 36,464 new babies Shauna Rumbaugh....Web Editor
into their families, according to the Kansas Department for Children David Murray.. Contributing Writer
and Families and Child Care Aware of Kansas, the administrator of the Luke Waldron................... Art Dir.
statewide Child Care Resource and Referral network in the state. The Diana Derstein......Graphic Artist
agencies release supply and demand data annually for child care in the Heather Noll..........Graphic Artist
state. Business and Sales
They survey four general types of child care providers. There are Brian Schoemehl....... Business Mgr.
individual and group home providers, where a maximum of 10 to 12 James Luce.......Digital Marketing Dir.
children under 16 years of age are taken care of in a provider’s private Heidi Hertel............. Accounting Mgr.
home. Then there are child care centers, which are roughly defined as Kylie Reiss....Events & Special Projects
a separate facility where care and educational activities are provided for Cheryl Dunn............... Circulation
13 or more children. And finally, there are preschools, Kansas Head
Alissa Weece.....Advertising Coord.
Start and Early Head Start programs, which provide care and learning school graduates, higher lifetime salaries and levels of employment and
experiences for toddlers up to kindergarten-age children and service overall a return on investment to their communities. Account Executives
low-income children and their families. Many parents want to place children in programs and facilities that Hallie Bertrand, Paul Hurst,
Their 2019 report showed that there are 18 counties in Kansas that offer quality early learning, but with limited licensed providers in com- Jim Martin, Bud Mears,
do not have openings for infants and toddlers in licensed facilities, and munities, you take what you can get. Jeff Nemecek,
Wichita County is on that list. The same report stated that statewide One mother in rural southwest Kansas preferred to speak off the Jack Thompson, Nick Wells,
communities lost 501 home child care providers since 2016. And while record because she was afraid she’d lose her child’s placement in a pro- Jenn Wilson
child care centers are increasing in number, there are still 38% of Kansas vider. With no openings at the one licensed provider in her small town, Customer Service/Classifieds
counties that do not have child care centers in their community. In those she was forced to use an unlicensed provider until a spot came open. Mary Coday,
communities the need is filled by home providers, many of whom are When it did, she sent her kids for about two weeks before taking them Tracy Shinogle, Payton Stoppel,
nearing retirement age, according to many experts in the field. out and sending them back to her unlicensed friend of the family. Unli- Bettye Young
“In 77% of Kansas counties, there are more than 10 children, under 3 censed providers are an open secret in many rural areas that lack licensed
years of age, that potentially need care for each reported child care open- openings. Annual Subscription Rates
ing,” according to Child Care Aware of Kansas. In six counties in the state, “There have been two in-home daycares I wouldn’t allow to watch United States $58.00
for every one child care opening, there are 40 on a waiting list. Families like my children,” this mother said. “Because they aren’t of the quality that I
the Elders wait for those precious openings. would expect and I wouldn’t trust the level of care. So, I bent the rules Periodicals postage paid at Dodge
Marci Penner, executive director of the Kansas Sampler Foundation, and found people that I did trust and did feel good about.” She said her City, Kansas 67801, and additional
is on the Kansas Department of Health and Environment’s Child Care friends in more urban locations would share photos or stories on social mailing offices. High Plains Journal
Licensing Systems Improvement Team. Penner said stories like the media about their toddlers’ activities at daycare, like sensory play, letter (ISSN 0018-1471) is published by
Elders’ are not unfamiliar. recognition, story time and more, and she would be frustrated because High Plains Journal, LLC 1500
East Wyatt Earp Blvd., Dodge City,
“In one place, around Marshall County, one family takes two kids to none of that was available to her children in her small town. Kansas 67801-0760.
two different places because there aren’t enough openings at one provider,” “Our rural kids are missing out on a lot of early childhood Postmaster: Send address changes
she said. “We’ve heard of a 3-year-old riding on a bus to go to a preschool development opportunities because of the lack of high-quality child to High Plains Journal, P.O. Box 760,
15 miles away.” But the issue is larger than availability. care options,” she added. “I was desperate for any decent care. I Dodge City, Kansas 67801-0760.
was never able to be picky about what they did beyond basic care.” High Plains Journal is an
Quality While her own family and economic situation allows her to fill in agricultural and rural business and
Taking care of children is more than just being a babysitter. High- those development gaps with bedtime stories and weekend family lifestyle publication published weekly
quality early childhood programs help children at the most productive outings, she said low-income families, single parents and those par- since 1949, with offices in Dodge
stage of their development. Children make more than a million neural ents with less education aren’t able to do the same. It costs money City, Kansas, and St. Louis, Mo. It
primarily serves farmers and ranchers
connections each second from birth to age 3. to provide for a child’s future, and that only widens the opportunity in the High Plains and Midwest.
“With over 90% of a child’s brain architecture developed by age 5, gap, she added.
there is no time to lose; our efforts to prepare young Kansans for suc- But that quality education comes at a cost. Providers who
cess hinge on this critical early period of life,” according to the Kansas want to go to school for early childhood education often have to
Early Childhood Systems Building Needs Assessment that was released repay student loans, but rural child care centers can’t afford high
January 2020.
Research has shown that high-quality early childhood programs and
experiences directly lead to better educational outcomes, more high See Child Care, page 14