The Salina Airport Authority recently welcomed two new employees to the aircraft rescue firefighting and operations team.

Ryan Zurbek and Cody Williams both come to the airport with associate degrees in fire science from Hutchinson Community College as well as a range of other experiences making them well suited for their current positions.

Zurbek, a 2014 graduate, is pleased have landed his firstfirefighting job at the airport after working for a his grandfather's transmission shop. He enjoys seeing the different types of airplanes and operating the equipment.

"I like that it's a fire-related job with maintence activities," he said. "That way you're always active."

Zurbek won the 2010 Salina Demolition Derby with a compact Pontiac Grand Am.  

Williams graduated from the fire science program in 2006 and has kept himself busy building fences, working on heavy equipment, doing heating and cooling repair and a number of other odd jobs. 

He was drawn to the airport in part because his father worked for Hawker Beechcraft for a number years and because the position has the availability to do both firefighting and maintence.

"I like that it is a job you can learn a lot from and take the information home," he said. 

At home is enjoys "tinkering" on his truck.  And in his spare time he likes to fish and bow hunt.

Welcome aboard!

Kansas State University Salina has been helping junior high and high school students bring science to life for almost 20 years. The K-State Salina campus acts as one of five regional locations for Kansas Science Olympiad, a competition consisting of 46 events that focus on biology, physics, chemistry, earth science, technology and inquiry. On Jan. 14, the university welcomed nine area junior high schools and 11 senior high schools for the 2015 competition.

Events range from supporting weight on a bridge constructed with the lightest materials possible to launching rockets made from empty plastic bottles. About one-third of the 46 events changed from the previous year to ensure students are learning new skills. One of the categories, called Wright Stuff, challenges students to design and build their own rubber band powered-airplanes judged on how long they can fly. Don Von Bergen, director of the Salina regional Science Olympiad and head of the arts, sciences and business department at K-State Salina, says this event seems to be a favorite among the spectators and represents a growing industry in which the university has expertise.

Read on>>>

Tim Unruh

Salina Journal

Soldiers who deal with chow in a mess hall don't have the most glamorous glossary of terms in their daily duties, but the Kansas National Guard has added some pizazz to the title of their training place.

The culinary center is where troops learn how to cook for one to hundreds or more, said Lt. Col. Scott Henry, commander of the the center, located at 3024 Arnold, near Salina Regional Airport.

"This is a very unusual mission," he said Friday on a walk-through tour of the 5,300-square-foot center.

Completed in July, the military school was added to a building that once housed Salina Vortex. Training began during August in the $1.4 million facility, which cost $340,000 to equip.

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Robin Galloway has joined The Schwan Food Company as its executive vice president of finance and chief financial officer. She brings two decades of finance experience with her to the position, having worked for corporations that develop and manufacture foods for both retail stores and food-service operators.

"We are excited to have Robin join our leadership team as she is a proven business leader who will help us execute our business plans moving forward," said Schwan CEO Dimitrios Smyrnios. "Robin's strong experience and knowledge of the food industry will help The Schwan Food Company achieve our goals for profitable growth."Throughout the course of her career, Galloway has gained a wide-ranging knowledge of financial planning and analysis, accounting and reporting, risk management, internal audit, treasury, strategy and information technology with public and private companies. She most recently served as chief financial officer for Wells Enterprises, Inc., and has held leadership positions with companies such as Dean Foods, Restaurants Unlimited and Johnson Controls, Inc.

She earned her master's degree in business administration from Keller Graduate School of Management in Elgin, Illinois, and a bachelor's degree from Monmouth College in Monmouth, Illinois. She is licensed as a certified public accountant.

Galloway is succeeding Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer Jim Dollive, who will be retiring from The Schwan Food Company after an accomplished 30-plus-year career in the food industry.

Story by Business Wire.