Hays firefighters responded to a garage fire Saturday afternoon just before one o’clock.
According to Chief Gary Brown, a small fire was burning in the garage attached to the house at 309 East 8th Street. The fire was brought under control within 15 minutes.
Brown says the fire was likely caused by excessive heat from friction in a rubber tire spinning on a stationary vehicle inside the garage.
Scotty McCreery made a quick trip to Washington, D.C. recently to tape his appearance on TNT’s Christmas in Washington. According to People, Scotty sang “Santa Claus Is Back in Town” for the audience, which included President Obamaand his family in the first row.
Scotty, who is a student at North Carolina State University, bonded with UNC Tar Heels fan Obama over college basketball. He told the commander-in-chief, “When you make your annual NCAA bracket this year, show the Wolfpack some love.”
Scotty also got in some sightseeing during his trip and even paid a visit to Children’s National Medical Center, which benefits from the Christmas in Washington concert. The show airs December 21 at 8 p.m. ET on TNT.
Copyright 2012 ABC News Radio
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Fort Hays State men’s basketball coach Mark Johnson held his weekly news conference Monday morning in the Cade Suran Tiger Room. The Tigers are 6-2 following an 87-80 win at Oklahoma-Panhandle State Saturday night. They close out their pre-Christmas schedule Monday night at 7pm against Sterling College.
Hays, Kansas – Hillon David Steeples, age 86, died Saturday, December 15, 2012, at his home in Hays, Kansas.
He was born August 2, 1926, in Hays, Kansas, Chester F.D. and Olive (Kobler) Steeples. He married Ramona (Dodd) on December 27, 1947, in Hill City, Kansas. She died June 20, 2002. He married Sonja (Scranton) Kobler on December 12, 2003, in Hays, Kansas.
He was a graduate of Kansas State University, a U.S. Navy veteran serving in Pearl Harbor and Japan during WWII. He was a farmer and rancher in the Palco, Kansas, area where the homesteaded family farm dates back to the 1800s. He served on the state level of the Kansas Farm Bureau Board of Directors for 17 years and on the Plainville Rural Hospital Board. He moved to Hays, in the summer of 1985, was a member of the Shriners International and attended the First Presbyterian Church in Hays.
Survivors include his wife, Sonja Steeples, of the home; two sons, Jim Steeples and wife, Connie, Denver, CO; Dan Steeples, Falls Church, VA; one daughter, Judy Alston and husband Joe, Prescott, AZ; one brother, Duane Steeples and wife Carol, Zurich, KS; one sister, Drs. Donna and husband Richard Childs, Fairway, KS; four grandchildren, Dana Steeples, Denver, CO; Kellie Camilli and husband, Lou, Las Cruces, NM; Thomas Alston, Tucson, AZ; David Alston, Portland, OR; one great grandson, Benjamin Camilli; Sonja’s children, Kobie Kobler and wife, Angelique, Lawrence, KS; Tyler Kobler and wife, Brenda, Wichita, KS.
He was preceded in death by his parents and his first wife. A memorial service will be held at a later date and inurnment at Mount Allen Cemetery.
Memorials are suggested to Fort Hays Shrine Club to be used for the Shrines Hospital for Children or the First Presbyterian Church. Cline’s Mortuary of Hays, 1919 East 22nd Street, Hays, Kansas 67601 is in charge of arrangements. Condolences can be sent via e-mail to [email protected].
If you’re planning a trip to Nashville between January 22 and February 6, you’ll unfortunately miss out on the chance to visit the Country Music Hall of Fame. The building will be closed during that time for improvements and other preparations as part of its ongoing expansion project that will double the Hall of Fame’s exhibit space. The project is expected to be completed in early 2014.
Copyright 2012 ABC News Radio
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Country stars offer their thoughts and prayers to those affected by the school shooting in Newtown, CT through Twitter:
Blake Shelton — “Stand strong and stand united everyone… We are Americans and we are better than this. What a sad sad disgusting day this is…”
Miranda Lambert — “I’m praying for those babies and all the victims of the Connecticut shooting. May God bring peace to the families.”
Lady Antebellum — “Our thoughts and prayers go out to all the families and everyone affected in Connecticut. #newtown”
Kix Brooks — “Just being a part of the human race, makes me feel like apologizing to ‘those kids’ families – what’s wrong with people ??!!”
Lee Brice — “Love those around you and never take a single day for granted! Such a terrible tragedy today, keep all of those affected in your prayers.”
Carrie Underwood — “All my thoughts, prayers and deepest sympathies go out to the families in CT dealing with this tragedy. There are no words…”
Rascal Flatts — “Our hearts are broken by the tragedy in Newtown, Connecticut today. You are in our thoughts and prayers. #PrayForNewtown.”
Jason Aldean — “Thoughts and prayers goin out to everyone in Connecticut. What a tragedy.”
Little Big Town — “To all the families in CT suffering. We’re devastated & our hearts are broken. We’re praying for you and we’re with you.”
Brad Paisley — “I spent 15 minutes yelling at the top of my lungs about what happened in Connecticut. I’m as mad as I am sad. Enough. Enough!!!!!!”
Reba — “My heart hurts. I don’t understand. Why does this happen? Praying for the state of CT, it’s people, it’s families and it’s children.”
Copyright 2012 ABC News Radio
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Dierks Bentley doesn’t dream about white Christmases in his childhood memories since he grew up in Arizona. Instead, his family hits the desert to celebrate the winter holiday every year.
Dierks explains, “Me and my family and a couple other families would go out to the desert and bring a big turkey and just kinda have a cookout in the middle of the desert…and drink beer.”
Dierks notes that he was drinking Coca-Cola at the time since he was underage. He adds, “We’d ride four-wheelers and horses and just kind of spend it out in the middle of the desert, which was kind of a cool way to spend Christmas.”
Dierks is off the road until a New Year’s Day performance at the Florida Citrus Bowl in Orlando.
Copyright 2012 ABC News Radio
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Through conservation measures, the City of Hays has saved nearly 300 million gallons of water since instituted in 1992. With the current drought the city is looking at ways to improve some of the current conservation programs such as offering a variety of low flow shower heads at a discount. City Manager Toby Dougherty says the city has been sustained through the drought because of those water saving measures.
The city also is considering programs to help homeowners change from cool season grasses to ones that survive in warm weather. Demonstration gardens and grass plots will be developed to help property owners visualize the changes they could make to use less water.
The city is currently in a water watch and could move into a warning in the spring if conditions don’t improve.
The EPA announced that dust standards for farms and rural areas under the Clean Air Act will not be tightened as proposed but will instead remain the same.
At issue was an EPA proposal to change the Clean Air Act daily standard for regulating dust particles due to a court order forcing the EPA to update air standards. The announcement does not change the existing daily standard for fine particles or the existing daily standard for coarse particles, which includes dust from farms and other sources.
UPDATE 8:39 am: The suspect in the fatal shooting of two Topeka Police officers was killed after a shootout with KBI officers at a Topeka residence. The suspect was transported to a hospital where he later died.
UPDATE: A nearly two-hour standoff at a house in Topeka ended with police removing a man who was thought to be the suspect in the shooting deaths of two police officers.
KMBC-TV showed officers surrounding the home early Monday. The TV station reports that officers yelled the suspect’s name.
Officers have been hunting for a 22-year-old man who is suspected in the killing of two Topeka police officers Sunday night.
Early Monday, officers lobbed tear gas into the home, several apparent gunshots rang out and a police dog dragged something from the house. Reporters said a man who was not moving was removed from the building.
Several officers then entered the house and an ambulance drove away.
ORIGINAL Sunday 8:22 PM: Authorities say two Topeka police officers have been killed in a shooting outside a grocery store.
The Topeka Capital-Journal reports that the officers were responding to a report of a suspicious vehicle.
Police Lt. Ron Gish says the officers arrived to the scene outside the grocery store Sunday evening in two separate vehicles.
A third officer who was also there was not injured.
The officers exchanged gunfire with a man described as being 22 years old and in a 1999 silver Toyota Camry.
UPDATE: The suspect has been identified as 22-year-old, David Edward Tiscareno, of Topeka. His vehicle is described as a 1999 silver Toyota Camry and he is believed armed and dangerous. The KHP is assisting with the search for Tiscareno.
Police have surrounded a house where the shooting suspect may be hiding.
A Derby man has been hospitalized after a skydiving accident.
The Wichita Eagle reports that the man’s parachute caught on a tree and collapsed near the end of his jump Saturday.
The man, who was not identified, fell 25 feet to the ground. Sedgwick County sheriff’s Sgt. Gary Hargus says the man was hospitalized with critical injuries.
He was part of a group of four skydivers who planned to land on Cook Airfield near Derby. All of their parachutes opened appropriately after they jumped at 1:50 p.m., but the man failed to turn into the wind and continued floating eastward past his fellow skydivers.
His parachute snagged the top of a tree and deflated.
Two people who were in a speeding car that crashed in Wichita abandoned a 20-year-old woman who suffered a broken neck and other serious injuries in the crash.
Wichita police say the woman was thrown from the passenger seat of the speeding vehicle when the driver apparently lost control and crashed into a concrete wall and a tree Saturday. Police Sgt. Scott Brunow told The Wichita Eagle that alcohol was found in the car.
He says the woman suffered “numerous broken bones” in addition to the neck injury and was taken to a hospital, where she was in serious condition. He says two other people in the car fled before police arrived, leaving the badly injured passenger alone. The driver hasn’t been identified.
The Fort Hays State hit 18-of-23 free throws in the second half as they rally from a five-point deficit to defeat the Oklahoma-Panhandle State Aggies 87-80 Saturday night in Goodwell. The win is the Tigers fourth straight as they improve to 6-2 on the season. The Aggies fall to 4-6.
The Tigers led by two at halftime then opened the second half on a 5-0 run to build a seven-point lead early in the second. OPSU ralled to go up five, the a 27-15 Tiger run put them up seven with one minute to play.
Fort Hays State shot 46-percent from the floor and only 41-percent in the second half. They turned the ball over just 14 times while forcing 20 for OPSU.
Ben Congiusta led five Tigers in double-figures with a career-high 21 points. Dwayne Brunson added 20, 16 in the second half. Freshman point guard Criag Nicholson added 16 while dishing out eight assists with no turnovers.
