March 2013 – Page 8 – Hays Post Archive

KHAZ Country Music News: Jordanaires Member Gordon Stoker Dead at 88

Posted on March 28, 2013September 16, 2014

Gordon Stoker, a member of The Jordanaires, the vocal group that performed on a number of Elvis Presley‘s recordings, died Wednesday. He passed away at his Brentwood, Tennessee, home after a long illness, according to The Tennessean. Stoker was 88.

Stoker initially joined The Jordanaires as a pianist in 1949 but subsequently became a singing tenor with the quartet. They can be heard on Presley’s “Hound Dog,” “Don’t Be Cruel” and “Are You Lonesome Tonight.”

The Jordanaires, who were inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame, also performed on Jim Reeves‘ “Four Walls,” Patsy Cline‘s version of “Crazy,” and George Jones‘ “He Stopped Loving Her Today.”

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Hays Kids Headed to State Championship Tourney

Posted on March 28, 2013March 28, 2013

Congratulations to the 18 area youth wrestlers on making it to this weekends Kansas Folkstyle Wrestling Championship Tournament

This tournament will be held at Landon Arena in Topeka, KS on Friday March 29 & Sat. Mar 30th. To qualify for this tournament wrestlers must have placed in the top 4 at Sub-Districts to move on to Districts which they must have placed in the top 4. The ages range from 8 & Under to the High School division. If you would like to follow how the kids are doing, please visitwww.trackwrestling.com and search for Kansas.

Blake Herrman 10 and under 82#
Thomas Lovewell 14 and under 80#
Tucker Rhoades 14 and under 105#
Devin Fisher 10 and under 73#
Connor Staab 12 and under 190#
DJ Hladky 12 and under 190#
Trey Van Pelt 12 and under 165#
Clay Drylie high school 170#
Isaac Zimmerman 14 and under 95#
Jordan Zimmerman 10 and under 58#
Chase Voth 12 and under 100#
Austin Dale 14 and under 110#
Gavin Nutting 8 and under 95#
Gavin Meyers 8 and under 80#
Kaden Harding 8 and under 46#
Taylor Anderson 8 and under 52#
Dalton Dale 10 and under 120#
Sarah Zimmerman 8 and under 43#

Hays Woman Injured in One Vehicle Accident

Posted on March 28, 2013March 28, 2013

A Hays woman remains hospitalized with injuries following a one vehicle accident north of Gorham Tuesday night. Mildred M. Dechant, 86 was Southbound on 176th St. near Land Road when she lost control of her Old Cutlass on the sand. The Vehicle rolled and landed in the road on its roof. Dechant was taken to HaysMed. She was wearing a seat belt.

Nice Easter Weekend Weather Ahead

Posted on March 28, 2013March 28, 2013

Seasonably mild conditions are forecast for the next few days, with slight chances for showers and thunderstorms Friday into Saturday night. Another cold air-mass will spread southward out of Canada late in the weekend as an upper trough approaches from the western states early next week. Chances for rain, snow or freezing rain are forecast around the Tuesday time-frame.

Thursday: Patchy fog before 11am. Otherwise, partly sunny, with a high near 57. Light and variable wind becoming east southeast 5 to 10 mph in the afternoon.

Thursday Night: Mostly cloudy, with a low around 39. East wind 5 to 10 mph.

Friday: A slight chance of showers between 1pm and 2pm, then a slight chance of showers and thunderstorms after 2pm. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 64. Light east southeast wind becoming southeast 6 to 11 mph in the afternoon. Chance of precipitation is 20%.

Friday Night: A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 46. South wind 6 to 11 mph.

Saturday: A slight chance of showers and thunderstorms, then a chance of showers after 8am. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 67. Chance of precipitation is 30%.

Sunday: A 20 percent chance of showers. Sunny, with a high near 66.

Medicaid Expansion Discussion

Posted on March 28, 2013

TOPEKA, Kansas (AP) — Advocates of expanding Medicaid in Kansas under the federal health care overhaul have intensified their campaign to persuade state officials to embrace the idea.

The Kansas Medicaid Access Coalition presented petitions favoring an expansion to Republican Gov. Sam Brownback’s office Wednesday. The petitions had almost 2,800 signatures.

The 2010 federal law encourages states to broaden Medicaid coverage for the needy and disabled by promising the federal government will cover nearly all of the additional costs.

Brownback is a critic of the federal law but has said that he’ll leave a decision on expanding Medicaid to the Republican-controlled Legislature. Many GOP lawmakers are skeptical the federal government will keep its funding promises.

The Kansas Medicaid Access Coalition has 40 member groups, including AARP Kansas and Kansas Action for Children.

6-Run First Carries FHSU Baseball Past Newman

Posted on March 28, 2013

The Fort Hays State Tigers scored nine runs in the first three innings as they run their winning streak to three with a 12-5 rout of Newman Wednesday evening in Wichita.

Jay Sanders hit a two-out grand slam in the first to give the Tigers the lead for good. Horace Johnson added a solo homer in the same inning, helping the Tigers move to 14-12 overall.

Johnson had four of the Tigers 16 hits and drove in three. Sanders finished with five RBIs.

Chase Newman picked up his first win of the season, allowing two runs on five hits over 5.0 innings.

Fort Hays State returns to MIAA play Friday at Southwest Baptist. The Bearcats split a pair of extra inning games with Central Missouri on Wednesday.

Couture-Lovelady Praises Brownback’s Judicial Reform

Posted on March 28, 2013March 28, 2013

Topeka – Kansas Governor Sam Brownback signed House Bill 2019 into law Wednesday during a signing ceremony at the Kansas Capitol. The new law reforms how judges for the Kansas Court of Appeals are appointed. 110th State Representative Travis Couture-Lovelady praised the Action on his facebook page. Click on the photo to get a closer look.

Currently, Appeals Court judges are nominated by the Supreme Court Nominating Commission which is made five members elected by the Kansas Bar, and four members appointed by the governor.

HB 2019 allows the governor to appoint a qualified person to fill any vacancy of the Appeals Court who is subject to approval by the Kansas Senate. Known as the federal process, this procedure is similar to how justices for the United States Supreme Court are appointed.

Cold Weather Rule Ending

Posted on March 28, 2013March 27, 2013

The Kansas Cold Weather Rule ends on March 31, and Kansans who are delinquent on electric and natural gas utility bills will be subject to disconnection of service. The rule, in effect November 1 through March 31 each year, provides protection to residential customers who cannot fully pay winter utility bills from companies under the Kansas Corporation Commission’s (KCC) jurisdiction. That protection ends Sunday.

The KCC would like to remind Kansas customers there is still time to contact your utility company to set up a payment plan, but cautions that failure to make arrangements or failure to adhere to an already established payment plan could result in service disconnection. Reconnection may require payment in full.

The Cold Weather Rule requires utilities to set up 12-month payment plans for customers who cannot afford to pay their full bill. As part of this arrangement, the customer must make an initial payment of 1/12 of the overdue amount, 1/12 of the bill for current service, the full amount of any disconnection or reconnection fees, plus any applicable deposit owed to the utility. The balance will be billed in equal payments over the next 11 months in addition to the regular monthly bill.

The KCC adopted the Cold Weather Rule to protect customers during cold winter weather by providing a reasonable and organized method of paying past due and current bills. The Cold Weather Rule applies only to residential customers of electric and natural gas utility companies under the KCC’s jurisdiction. For a complete list of utilities regulated by the KCC visit: kcc.ks.gov/pi/jurisdictional_utilities.htm.

KHOP training today

Posted on March 28, 2013March 28, 2013

K-Statae Research and Extension will host a Kansas Optimizing Health Program Leader Training today and Friday at Hays Med’s Center for Health Improvement.

The workshops are lead by individuals with a chronic condition that have completed the workshop and are successful self-managers. They have learned and adopted the skills they were introduced to and are excited about sharing their knowledge and skills with others.

Leaders are trained by individuals that have been trained by the workshop developers at Stanford University. Leader training is four days over the course of two weeks. The Kansas Arthritis Program underwrites many of the costs of participating associated with the training.

Mayhem at the Middle School

Posted on March 27, 2013March 28, 2013

Bodies and broken street signs littered the Hays Middle School parking lot Wednesday afternoon.

The mayhem was part of W8T 2 TXT, a texting and driving awareness program for 8^th graders organized by USD 489 Drivers Education instructor Bruce Rupp.

The “bodies”were pillows, and the signs, including “Kangaroo Crossing,” were atop bright orange traffic cones.

“It was hard,” said participant Peyton Augustine. “I drove through a stop sign and ran over one of the body pillows.” Classmate Dylan Scheibler agrees. “It’s really hard to know where you are going if you’re not paying attention to the road.”

The soon-to-be and young restricted drivers experienced first-hand the dangers of texting and driving, as they maneuvered golf carts through an obstacle course while also sending pretend texts to a friend.

The W8T 2 TXT program started inside the HMS gymnasium where students watched a video featuring real stories of distracted driver fatalities, including K-State student Ashley Umscheid who died in 2009 while driving and texting her sister.

The Kansas Highway Patrol also brought in a crash simulator so students could feel the impact of a vehicle crash at only 5 miles per hour.

STORY BY EAGLE LOCAL NEWS INTERN ANNIE SANDMEIER

KHAZ Country Music News: Alan Jackson Returns to Gospel Music with “Precious Memories Volume II”

Posted on March 27, 2013September 16, 2014

Alan Jackson builds on his 2006 gospel album, Precious Memories, with the release of a new album of traditional hymns, Precious Memories Volume II, on Tuesday. He recorded the first album at the request of his mother, Ruth, and it became a big fan favorite. Those fans always asked Alan about releasing another hymns album, so he and his wife, Denise, set to work choosing the songs to record a few months back.

Alan says, “We just kind of took it where we left off with the last one with all these songs we had, and tried to figure out a few more that would work.”

A lot of fans also pointed out that Alan didn’t actually include the hymn “Precious Memories” on the first Precious Memories album, but he says, “The truth is, we didn’t really sing that song in the Baptist Church. I don’t think it was in the hymnal. I don’t know why, but I love the song.”

Alan finally included “Precious Memories” on Precious Memories Volume II, and he adds,”Now it made sense to do it, I guess. Kind of backwards. But it’s a cool cut on there now. I like it.”

Here’s the Precious Memories Volume II track listing:

“Amazing Grace”
“He Lives”
“Just As I Am”
“Love Lifted Me”
“O How I Love Jesus”
“Only Trust Him”
“There Is Power in the Blood”
“Precious Memories”
“Sweet Hour of Prayer”
“When the Roll Is Called Up Yonder”
“Wherever He Leads I’ll Go”

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Moran: Veterans Deserve Better Access to Healthcare

Posted on March 27, 2013March 27, 2013

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Jerry Moran (R-Kan.) recently cosponsored the Veterans Transportation Service (VTS) bill, along with Senators Jon Tester of Montana, Mark Begich of Alaska and Saxby Chambliss of Georgia, to enhance transportation services for veterans to Veterans Affairs (VA) Health Care Facilities in rural areas.

“The Veterans Transportation Service program helps to make certain veterans get the care they need,” Sen. Moran said. “Veterans who have served our country with duty and honor deserve access to quality health care wherever they choose to live here in the United States.”

In 2010, the VTS initiative was established to provide funding for vehicles, mobility managers, and transportation coordinators at local VA facilities. Volunteer transportation services were and continue to be provided by organizations like the Disabled American Veterans (DAV); however, volunteer drivers are often precluded from transporting veterans who are not ambulatory, require portable oxygen, have undergone a procedure involving sedation, or have other clinical issues. Additionally, with an increasing number of transportation-disadvantaged veterans, there are simply not enough volunteers in all regions of the country to serve the level of need.

VTS complements volunteer drivers and eliminates the need for VA facilities to contract with an ambulance service or provide mileage reimbursements for veterans traveling to and from medical appointments. Initial annual savings are estimated at approximately $11 million. Last year, the Veterans Affairs Committee provided a one-year authorization for the program, and the new legislation would provide its long-term authorization.

Currently, there are VA Health Care Facilities in Topeka and Kansas City that offer VTS, but through the new legislation, the program could be expanded across the state.

Sex Crime Earns Salina Man Life Sentence

Posted on March 27, 2013

SALINA – (March 27, 2013) – A Salina man was sentenced today under Jessica’s Law to life in prison for rape, Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt said.

Gary Flores Perales, 53, was sentenced to life in prison for one count of rape without eligibility for parole for 25 years by Judge Jared B. Johnson in Saline County District Court. Perales was also sentenced to an additional 322 months in prison for another count of rape, three counts of aggravated indecent liberties, two counts of criminal sodomy and one count of aggravated incest.

The crimes were alleged to have occurred from 2006 to 2010 when the victim was between 12 and 16 years of age. A jury found Perales guilty of the offenses in October 2012 after a three-week trial.

Assistant Attorney General Christine Ladner of Schmidt’s office prosecuted the case. The charges stemmed from an investigation by the Salina Police Department with assistance from the Flower Mound, Texas, Police Department.