DODGE CITY — Western Kansas Manufacturers Association, sponsor of the annual 3i Show, once again has announced the availability of scholarships to area universities and vocational technical colleges for the 2014-15 school year.
Scholarships are available at Barton Community College, Colby Community College, Dodge City Community College, Garden City Community College, NCK Tech (North Central Kansas Technical College), Northwest Kansas Technical College, Seward County Community College/Area Tech School, Fort Hays State University, Kansas State University and the University of Kansas.
Qualifying students are U.S. citizens residing in western Kansas who have graduated from a western Kansas high school. Scholarships are for freshman students with preference given to those enrolling in industrial engineering, pre-engineering or business administration. Scholarship applications should be made directly through the individual school’s financial aid or scholarship department.
Scholarships for the 2013-14 school year remain available at Colby Community College and Northwest Kansas Technical College.
WKMA scholarships are partially funded each year by the sale of 300 limited-edition belt buckles commemorating the upcoming 3i Show. Buckles are available at the Dodge City Convention and Visitors Bureau as well as online at www.3ishow.com/3i/merchandise.htm. Buckles will also be available for sale July 10 to 12 at the 60th anniversary 3i Show in Dodge City at the Western State Bank Expo Center.
For more information regarding scholarships, buckles or the 3i SHOW, contact WKMA at (877)-405-2883.
By RON WILSON Huck Boyd National Institute for Rural Development
Winter Olympics, Sochi, Russia. An American woman is competing in the Olympic event called the skeleton. This woman isn’t just representing America, she is especially representing rural Kansas.
Ron Wilson is director of the Huck Boyd National Institute for Rural Development at Kansas State University.
Katie Uhlaender is the young Olympian with the Kansas connection. She must have gotten her interest in sports from her father, the former major league baseball player Ted Uhlaender. Ted Uhlaender played outfield for the Minnesota Twins, Cleveland Indians, and Cincinnati Reds. In 1972, his last year playing baseball, the Reds won the pennant and played in the World Series. He went on to be a scout for the San Francisco Giants.
Ted married Karen, a ski instructor. Their daughter Katie grew up in Breckenridge, Colorado.
In 2003, as a high-schooler, Katie discovered the sport of skeleton. This is a timed event consisting of a stripped-down sled on which a single rider hurtles head first down a sheet of ice at speeds approaching 80 miles an hour. It sounds scary, but it appealed to Katie’s athleticism and sense of adventure. Katie even won the junior nationals in this event.
Meanwhile, Katie’s family had purchased an 800-acre farm in northwest Kansas, in Rawlins County west of the county seat of Atwood, near the town of McDonald. Her dad, Ted Uhlaender, enjoyed fixing fence and working on the farm.
Uhlaender
Katie continued to train and compete in the skeleton. She finished sixth in the 2006 Olympics and in 2007 and 2008, she won the World Cup championship. In 2009 she placed second, but as she left the winner’s stand she learned the tragic news: Out on the farm, her father had perished from a massive heart attack.
This was very hard for Katie, a self-professed “daddy’s girl.” Ted had encouraged her throughout her athletic career.
“He would remind me of things he had done in his career and how proud he was,” Katie said. “Just the way he spoke to me gave me reassurance that I was on the right path and that I was doing the right thing.”
Katie said she suffered without her father’s encouragement. Then a month after his death, Katie was seriously injured in a snowmobiling accident. After all that, in the 2010 Olympics she finished a disappointing 11th place.
After the Olympics, Katie and her brother went to the farm to check on things. She said she felt her father’s spirit when she got to the farm and she started working on the farm herself.
In a Team USA video, Katie said, “My father left behind a farm in western Kansas, three hours east of Denver. I’m not scared to get dirty, I’m not scared to get work done, and I love seeing the product of my hard work. It’s American,” she said.
When not on the farm, Katie was training or competing. Then came the 2012 World Cup competition. Katie wore a chain with her father’s 1972 National League pennant ring around her neck, and she won the World Cup.
At the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Katie faced very tough competition. In the end, she placed fourth in the event, just four one-hundredths of a second from the bronze medal.
People in Rawlins County, Kansas were watching the Olympics with great interest. Ken Higley said he had not met Katie but owns ground which adjoins the Uhlaender’s place. “Her dad was really nice,” Ken said. People here seem especially pleased that Katie is celebrating her Kansas connection. It’s been a great thing for us out here. People in Rawlins County and Atwood and McDonald are very proud of her.”
It’s exciting to find an Olympian with ties to rural Kansas. After all, McDonald is a community of 155 people. Now, that’s rural.
Winter Olympics, Sochi, Russia. We commend Katie Uhlaender for making a difference by representing the U.S. with her athleticism and competitive fire as she competes in the Olympics. As she hurtles down the ice, she carries two special things with her: Her father’s major league pennant ring and the well-wishes of her neighbors in rural Kansas.
Ron Wilson is director of the Huck Boyd National Institute for Rural Development at Kansas State University Research and Extension.
SALINA, Kan. (AP) — The family of an 11-year-old Salina girl who died after suffering an electrical shock while playing in the rain is suing the city and the company that made an electrical box.
Jayden Hicks died in December after being shocked while playing with friends in downtown Salina last May.
The Salina Journal reports that Jayden was shocked after she fell on an in-ground electrical box with a metal cover.
The lawsuit alleges the box was not properly grounded. The family is seeking unspecified damages.
The city’s insurance will pay a maximum of $1 million per incident. The lawsuit also challenges the constitutionality of a Kansas law that caps liability at the amount of insurance carried by a municipality.
TOPEKA — Lawmakers from the Health and Human Services committee heard lengthy testimony from opposing sides Wednesday about House Bill 2372 dealing with fluoride and its effect on water in Kansas.
If passed, the bill would require all Kansas municipalities that fluoridate their water to “notify the consumers of that treated water, that the latest science confirms that ingested fluoride lowers the I.Q. in children.”
Some of the language in the bill discussed that more research would need to be made on the exact effects of fluoride, but there’s a possibility for harm to important organs in the human body and the lower of IQ.
Michael Connett, a lawyer, led bill proponents by discussing the difficulties with fluoride in water.
“As an initial point, infants do not need to receive fluoride,” he said.
Dr. Yolanda Whyte, testified on the basis of protecting pediatric care and pregnancy dealing with fluoride and children. Connett went on to agree with these
“They started doing studies and low and behold the children getting more fluoride have lower IQs,” Connett said.
The two cited a study done by Anna Choi of Harvard University that said fluoride used in China and Iran affected IQ. No such research has been done in the United States.
“The problem with that approach is the absence of evidence does not equal the evidence of safety,” Connett said.
The committee members asked several questions of the proponents especially since there has not been conclusive fluoride testing in the United States.
“I hope you understand our concern about creating a bill or creating a requirement based off inconclusive science, but we’ve also made laws based off of inconclusive science,” Rep. John Wilson, D-Lawrence, said.
Rep. Leslie Osterman, R-Wichita, asked how many other states are looking at an anti-fluoride bill.
Connett said that Kansas would be the first state to pass this kind of legislation.
After hearing from the proponents for the bill, a long list of opponents began their testimony.
One of the opponents was Dr. John Neuberger, professor in the Department of Preventive Medicine and Public Health at the University of Kansas School of Medicine. He represented the Kansas Public Health Association, which “promotes and improves the population health in Kansas.”
He said many parts of the Harvard study were not conclusive. He said Choi’s results were preliminary in nature and should not be used for setting drinking water policy in the United States.
Greg Hill testified on behalf of the Kansas Dental Association that every dollar invested in water fluoridation saves $38 in dental costs.
There were several other written and oral opposition testimonies from the Kansas Action for Children, Oral Health of Kansas, the American Dental Association, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The session closed without a vote from the committee.
SALINA, Kan. (AP) — A pilot and co-pilot are out of a job after a small commuter plane landed at the Salina Regional Airport last week without landing gear.
The two were the only ones on the SeaPort Airlines plane when it made the belly landing last Friday. Their names were not released. No one was injured.
Seaport, a federally subsidized commercial air carrier, announced Wednesday that the company found the incident was caused by pilot error. Seaport president and CEO Rob McKinney said investigators found nothing wrong with the plane, and that proper landing procedures were not followed.
The Salina Journal reports the Federal Aviation Administration and National Transportation Safety Board investigating are still investigating the landing.
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — A 31-year-old Wichita man is charged with first-degree murder in the death of an employee of Steckline Communications.
Antwon D. Banks Sr. was charged Wednesday in the Feb. 9 death of 25-year-old Daniel Flores.
Banks made his first appearance in Sedgwick County District Court Wednesday via a video link from Sedgwick County Jail, where he is being held on $750,000 bond. His preliminary hearing is scheduled for March 5.
Flores’ body was found in the basement of Steckline Communications, which houses radio stations and Mid America Ag Network.
Authorities have not discussed a possible motive for the killing. Lisa Bryce, an office manager for Steckline, told The Wichita Eagle last week she is Banks’ ex-girlfriend and was likely his intended target.
LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) — A new atlas published by the Kansas Biological Survey provides information about the health of nearly 80 lakes and reservoirs around the state.
The 240-page document compiles data and observations by the survey staff over more than a decade. It includes information about the condition of the lakes, how quickly they may be filling with sediment, and issues with aquatic nuisances and algae blooms.
Kansas Biological Survey director Ed Martinko says in statement that scientists thought it was important to make such information available to policymakers, water resource managers and the public.
The Biological Survey is a unit of the University of Kansas, which says “The Atlas of Kansas Lakes” is the first comprehensive overview of the state’s reservoirs.
Enjoy Kicker Country Stampede VIP style! VIP ticket holders will receive reserved seating, premier parking, access to the exclusive VIP hospitality area, mouthwatering catered meals and UNLIMITED beverages for Friday, Saturday and Sunday as well as special seating and parking for Thursday night. Complete ticket and camping package information can be accessed by calling 800-795-8091 or online at www.countrystampede.com.
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas legislators are facing another push to phase in sales of strong beer, wine and liquor at grocery and convenience stores.
The Topeka Capital-Journal reports the House commerce committee had a hearing Wednesday on a bill to allow liquor store owners to sell their licenses to other retailers in the same county, starting in July 2015.
Kansas currently allows groceries and convenience stores to sell only weak beer. The bill would let them start selling strong beer in July 2017, wine in July 2020 and liquor in July 2024.
Supporters said the state’s laws are antiquated and change will boost the economy. Liquor store owners fear being pushed out of business.
The committee isn’t expected to vote on the bill until at least next month.
A High Wind Warning continues for much of western Kansas this morning as a strong cold front rapidly moves across the Plains. A wind advisory then continues later this morning into the rest of the day. Expect also some snow and blowing snow mainly north of Highway 96 this morning. A Red Flag Warning also has been posted for today for parts of southwest Kansas.
Today Snow with areas of blowing snow before 9am, then a slight chance of snow between 9am and 10am. High near 46. Very windy, with a northwest wind 32 to 37 mph decreasing to 25 to 30 mph in the morning. Winds could gust as high as 55 mph. Chance of precipitation is 80%. Total daytime snow accumulation of less than a half inch possible. Tonight Partly cloudy, with a low around 25. Blustery, with a west wind 18 to 23 mph decreasing to 10 to 15 mph in the evening. Friday Mostly sunny, with a high near 57. West southwest wind 9 to 18 mph, with gusts as high as 28 mph. Friday Night Partly cloudy, with a low around 25. Northwest wind 5 to 7 mph becoming light and variable. Saturday Mostly sunny, with a high near 50. East northeast wind 7 to 10 mph. Saturday Night Mostly cloudy, with a low around 26. Sunday Partly sunny, with a high near 40.
At approximately 8:15 a.m., I-70 was reopened from WaKeeney to Burlington Colorado. I-70 had been closed due to poor visibility. The road surface remains snow-packed and icy.
At approximately 6:45 a.m. (Central Standard Time), both east and west bound lanes of I-70 were closed from WaKeeney to Burlington Colorado, due to poor weather conditions and visibility issues.
I-70 view at Oakley 7 a.m.
At approximately 4:30 a.m. (Central Standard Time), both eastbound and westbound lanes of Interstate 70 were closed from Colby exit to Burlington Colo, due to poor weather conditions and visibility issues.
