Valeo Behavioral Health Care celebrated a milestone earlier today when it initiated construction on a new, $5.5 million, 26-bed crisis center near S.W. 3rd and Oakley. The organization held a ceremonial groundbreaking attended by Governor Sam Brownback and Shawn Sullivan, Secretary of the Department for Aging and Disability Services. Also present were Mayor Larry Wolgast, City Councilman Bob Archer, along with many other local community leaders.

As Governor Brownback mentioned in his remarks, unfortunately mental illness affects us all in one way or another. One in four adults experience mental illness within a given year. Valeo has been fighting this battle for over half a century, progressing in their stated mission “To be the provider of choice for mental wellness and recovery services for the people of our community, our state, and our nation by providing:

The Right Amount of Service to 

The Right Person at

The Right Time with

The Right Outcomes for

The Right Cost.

With strides being made in awareness, involvement and critical breakthrough projects like the Crisis Center, mental health care resources are the best they have ever been in Topeka.

Congratulations Valeo on an exciting and encouraging day. KBS Constructors is honored to have been selected to help bring such a vital facility out of the ground!

For more information on Valeo and the wonderful services they provide, please visit ValeoTopeka.org

Matt Griffin, Project Superintendent; Governor Sam Brownback; Loren Dekat, Project Manger; Secretary Shawn Sullivan; Dan Foltz, KBS President/CEO

KBS Constructors Inc. 2013 Scholarship Award

This year the KBS Constructor's scholarship recipient was Niklas Bergstrom. He is the son of Steve and Jenny Bergstrom of Topeka, KS. Niklas is a member of the KSU Student Alumni Board and the K-State Concert Choir. He expects to graduate from K-Sate in May of 2015. Congratulations Niklas.

Willie Brooks - KBS, Niklas Bergstrom - KSU, Joseph Bramlage - KBS

Ready for Spring

This spring seems to be especially busy for us here at KBS. We have several jobs nearing design completion and we are anxious to get them started. Yet mother nature seems to have other ideas as Northeast Kansas was was recently plunged into a late April cold snap that came within a degree of record low overnight temperatures. Our crew at the Pottawatomie County Justice Center in Westmoreland, KS sent a picture of their job site this week.

This is hardly the kind of weather one would expect on April 23rd. Two days later and we are experiencing beautiful sunshine and close to 70 degrees expected for a high today. Now that is more like it.

Joseph Bramlage

KBS Constructors, - Marketing Director

Alligator Frenzy

KBS Constructors is proudly sponsoring the coming new interactive exhibit at The Topeka Zoological Park. 

Alligator Frenzy will open May 3rd, 2013. and will include a rare albino alligator in addition to a "feeding lagoon" stocked with 40-50 juvenile alligators. The exhibit will also showcase some of the zoo's other residents including  Walter the Crow, Lily the Turkey Vulture, and Pat the Red-Tailed Boa Constrictor. Yes, that's right a really BIG snake.

Fawn Mosure - Manager of Zoo Operations holds Pat the Red-Tailed Boa Constrictor. Fawn explained that when Pat first came to the zoo they were unable to tell if the boa was male or female. So she was named Pat after the androgynous fictional character created and performed by Julia Sweeney in the comedy show, Saturday Night Live. Now the staff believes the snake is in fact a female.

Visitors to the zoo may even have opportunities to have their picture taken while holding an alligator. You will be able to experience a bayou adventure like no other.

Drew Schwitzer from WIBW TV, broadcast his noon weather forecast from the  still under construction exhibit. Drew even got to hold a baby gator.

Brendon Wiley introduces KBS Employee, Loren Dekat to the juvenile American Alligator like the ones zoo visitors will have the opportunity to experience, hands on as well.

 Loren threatens the camera man (me) with a baby alligator. Not too scary really.

Dan Foltz, President of KBS Constructors explains why KBS has once again taken on financial responsibility for bringing this next new exhibit to the Zoo. KBS also sponsored the Penguin Plunge, a very popular zoo exhibit last summer. Dan explained that, "KBS is happy to contribute to the community by becoming involved with such events."

If you have not been to the zoo in a while, come again this summer. You will be amazed at how special the experience at your Topeka Zoological Park has become.

Joseph Bramlage

KBS Constructors - Director of Marketing 

Imagine the horror!

One of our Project Managers forwarded an image sent to him by the staff of the Topeka Zoological Park. I opened the image, which turned out to be from inside the refurbished dome at the RainForest exhibit. Now I have seen some amazing photos from that renovation, but this one caught me by surprise. 

What happened to the beautiful clear glazing we just installed I wondered? Somehow it has become dark and very opaque. Then I remembered the 9+ inches of snow which fell on Topeka last week and realized that this was simply a blanket of snow over the dome. 

What a relief. [GRIN]

Joseph Bramlage

Director of Marketing

Changing of the Season

As fall approaches, people in the Midwest are busy preparing. They plan for upcoming holidays. They travel to watch their favorite football team and anticipate another basketball season just around the corner. Retailers prepare for another big selling season. It’s like we are all running a race against cold weather.

When one works inside during winter, less thought is given to the brutally cold temperatures outside. The weather forecast is an aid for deciding which coat to grab on your way out the door. When one works outside, the weather forecast is a very important tool you use on the job. In the construction business the weather forecast can mean the difference between success and failure.

Everything on a construction site is more difficult as temperatures start to fall. Imagine a winter day when holding on to a cold steel structure all day is part of the job. Imagine masons who place concrete block after concrete block that only a few hours before were coated with overnight frost. At most construction sites in the Midwest, fall means getting the building "dried in" before winter. It is a race against anticipated colder temperatures or worse yet, frozen precipitation.

Last winter was relatively mild and this fall is cooler than normal. Perhaps this is some kind of an indication of climate change. Construction workers are practical people who work outside every day. Experience that tells them that very severe winters often follow unusually mild ones. "Old Man Winter" can be an erratic and inconsistent adversary. You start running your race early and hope your opponent will be weaker or slower this year. Yet you know cold winter temperatures are inevitable, so you prepare.

It is not easy working outside in the winter. What our crews do in very extreme weather conditions never ceases to amaze. Being outside all day on cold days takes endurance. Producing quality structures in cold weather also takes knowledge and ability. This time of year I applaud the skills and endurance demonstrated by our craftsman. 

J. Bramlage - Director of Marketing

Construction Professionals Do Amazing Things

I recently visited a project we are doing for our good customers at a KCP&L, on site at their IATAN facility. As I arrived I was thinking that a tour of this facility would be a fun.

Yet just seeing the building we are constructing there was also interesting. As I watched one of our subcontractors prepare for a big lift, it struck me that this is something that Marketing Directors don't get to see very often. Some people would never get to see such a lift.  So I took out my smart phone and filmed the lift. 

If you would like to view the 2 minute video of the lift, visit our youtube channel, which is located here.

Joseph Bramlage
Marketing Director