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Month: February 2014

Moran accepting applications for summer 2014 interns

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Senator Moran meets with Congressional Interns
Senator Moran meets with Congressional Interns

WASHINGTON – U.S. Sen. Jerry Moran, R-Kan., today announced he is accepting applications for congressional internships in his Washington and Kansas offices for summer 2014.

“Congressional internships offer Kansas students a great opportunity to learn about Congress and the legislative process,” Moran said. “I hope to give Kansans an opportunity similar to the one I had serving in a congressional office years ago.”

The intern program is open to qualified undergraduate students, graduate students and recent graduates.

The application deadline is March 1. Applications and more information can be found at www.moran.senate.gov.

Ellis County Sheriff’s Department activity log, Feb. 7 to 9

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Feb. 7
Mental health call, 150th and Vineyard, 12:06 a.m.
Driving while suspended/revoked, Interstate 70, 1:21 a.m.
Suspicious activity, 2300 block East Seventh, 4:07 a.m.
Criminal transport, Larned, 8:54 a.m.
Criminal damage to property/burglary, 1400 block U.S. 183 Alternate
Criminal transport, WaKeeney, 1:05 p.m.

Feb. 8
Theft, Walker Avenue and Munjor Road, 9:07 a.m.
Criminal transport, Stockton, 1:05 p.m.
Cattle out, Feedlot Road and 250th Avenue, 2:49 p.m.
Motor vehicle accident/hit and run, U.S> 183 and Feedlot Road

Feb. 9
Suicidal subject, 310th Avenue and St. John-St. Andrew Road, 7:27 p.m.
Criminal transport, Norton, 10:42 a.m.

Hays chamber schedules chat, ribbon-cutting ceremonies

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The Hays Area Chamber of Commerce will have the following events this week in the business community:

• 10 a.m. Tuesday, ribbon-cutting ceremony at Farmers Insurance-Travis Adams Agency, 103 E. 27th.

• 9 a.m. Friday, Chamber Chat at Sterling House, 1801 E. 27th.

• 4 p.m. Friday, ribbon-cutting ceremony for Girl Scouts cookie sales, The Mall at Hays.

MOMS Club offers support and friendship

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MomsClubBy KARI BLURTON
Hays Post

A local nonprofit — aimed at offering support for stay-at-home moms and mothers who work on a part-time basis — is hosting its annual open house from 10 to 11:30 a.m. Wednesday at Hays Recreation Commission.

According  to MOMS Club of Hays President Kinsey Green, the club is for “those moms who don’t always get an opportunity to socialize” beyond their homes and playgrounds.

Green said she joined the group in 2012 when her first son was almost 2 years old and the organization helped her “drastically.”

“I am a very social person, and I was just searching for something.  I personally have made great friends through this group and so has my son,” she said.

“The open house is for anyone who would like to see what (MOMS Club) is all about, ” said Green. “Mothers are encouraged to bring their children to participate in Valentine’s-themed crafts and activities, such as cupcake decorating.”

But Green said MOMS Club of Hays is more about socializing.

The biggest benefit for Green — and any mother —  is the opportunity to seek advice from other moms.

“If  I have a question that has to do with parenting or need some advice there is always someone to ask,” she said. “It just makes you feel better.”

According to Green, MOMS Club also gives back to the community by participating on charitable projects throughout the year.

“We have done many service projects over the years,” she said “Most recently, a canned food drive for the Community Assistance Center, a paper-goods drive for the women’s shelter and  … (book donations) to Parents as Teachers/Early Head Start.”

For more information, email [email protected] or visit momsclubofhaysks.weebly.com

 

 

 

 

 

Police warn of Internet scam

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Screen Shot 2014-02-10 at 11.21.55 AMSALINA — The Salina Police Department Special Enforcement Bureau has recently has identified a number of Kansas residents to include Salina residents who have fallen victim to a scam which has also cost victims nationwide hundreds of thousands of dollars.

The scam was reported in a news release issued by the SPD on Monday.

In October, a Salina resident was found to be involved in a Nigerian theft scam. The local woman was arrested and later convicted for her action in the scam. The Salina Police Department learned through the investigation the scam was being conducted by several people in Nigeria, Africa, with the help of other individuals within the United States.

HOW THE SCAM WORKS

Victims of the scam were found to have previously listed personal property for sale using the website Craigslist. Each victim was contacted by one of the scam suspects who had agreed to purchase the property for a set fee. Each victim was then sent payment for the property in the form of a MoneyGram money order or business type check. During each scam, the money order or check was made out to the victim for an amount far exceeding the agreed purchase price. The victim would then be recontacted and the suspect explained the over-payment was a mistake. The victim was asked to send the remainder of the currency back to the purchaser using MoneyGram or another wire transfer method. Weeks later, the MoneyGram or check would be returned by the victim’s bank as being fraudulent, leaving the victim responsible for the full amount of money order lost.

Recently, the Salina Police Department has gathered information, which indicates this type of scam is continuing and a number of Salina residents have fallen prey. The thefts have primarily gone unreported to the police department as it is believed the victims are ashamed or embarrased for falling victim to the scam. The scammers in the recent cases reside outside of the state of Kansas. The recent incidents include the same manner of operation, as each victim had listed personal property for sale using CraigsList. This scam on average costs the victims between $500 and $2,200  each.

The department offered the following advice:

• Never accept payment for property you are selling, which was made out in excess of your asking price. (If this occurs, you will be contacted and asked to return the over-payment.) Consider the request for re-payment to be a scam and discontinue contact with the other person.

• Never send anyone you do not personally know large amounts of money (especially through a wire transfer service) unless weeks have passed and you have received confirmation from your financial institution that a MoneyGram or check is in fact official.

• Always remember, the suspect does not want your property that you are selling. They want your money, which will be in the amount of the “over-payment.”

If you or someone you know has fallen victim to a scam, please contact local law enforcement.

Iowa sheriff: Suspect in newborn kidnapping now isolated

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IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — An Iowa sheriff says he’s jailing a woman suspected of kidnapping a baby apart from the general population for safety reasons.

Cedar County Sheriff Warren Wethington said Monday that 31-year-old Kristen R. Smith of Denver is in her own cell at the county jail in Tipton, Iowa.

He says he didn’t feel comfortable holding Smith with other female inmates who had seen media coverage of the allegations against her.

Smith was charged with kidnapping Friday after the police chief in West Branch, Iowa discovered missing Wisconsin newborn Kayden Powell, alive and well despite being in freezing temperatures for up to 29 hours.

The FBI alleges Smith took the boy from her half-sister’s home and left him in a plastic crate outside a gas station before she was arrested Thursday.

Derby company ordered to cease and desist for securities violations

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WICHITA (AP) — Kansas Securities Commissioner Josh Ney has ordered Derby-based Proud Veterans and its chief executive officer to stop selling securities in violation of state laws.

The agency on Monday announced preliminary findings that the company and CEO Nick Gnemi committed securities fraud by selling an unregistered security, making untrue statements and omitting material statements about the security.

At issue are investments toward stock and commodities of grain and milk that would be delivered to foreign countries.

Gnemi says Proud Veterans is primarily an agricultural, engineering and construction company that had solicited a couple of investors to work with it.

He says the service-disabled veterans’ company did not understand the state’s requirements and acknowledged that as a business it would do whatever is required to comply.

Larned schools closed as plane crash victims are laid to rest

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Great Bend Post

LARNED — Schools in the Larned district will be closed Tuesday in order to allow students and families to attend the funerals of the Mull and Harter families, killed last week in a plane crash in Tennessee.

All activities have also been canceled, including Tuesday night’s basketball games between Larned and Thomas More Prep-Marian High School. The games have been rescheduled to Feb. 20.

Glen Mull and his wife, Elaine, their daughter, Amy Harter, and Amy’s daughter, Samantha, was a student at Larned High School, all perished in the Feb. 3 crash.

The family was traveling to the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association Trade Show in Nashville, Tenn., in a Gulfstream 690C when it crashed  in suburban Nashville while trying to land. They had taken off from the Great Bend Municipal Airport.

Memorial services for Glen and Elaine Mull will be held at 10 a.m. Tuesday at Assembly of God Church, Great Bend. A memorial service for Amy and Samantha Mull will be held at the church at 2 p.m.

Obituary information for the family can be found here.

Ellis County Commission to discuss EMS/Rural Fire costs

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Ellis County courthouse

By JONATHAN ZWEYGARDT
Hays Post

The Ellis County Commission will discuss possible changes to the EMS/Rural Fire Building, aimed at saving money, at the weekly meeting at 5 p.m. Monday at the Ellis County Courthouse.

Commissioners have been provided a list of potential changes to the design so they can bring the project within budget. According to the county commission packet, the architect presented the commission with a list of changes that will cut costs and also recommended changes if they choose to go with a metal building.

In his memo previewing the meeting County Administrator Greg Sund said once the commissioners agree on a direction, the project can get back on track.

In other action:

  • The commission will consider endorsing an economic development tax exemption for Hays Fire & Rescue Sales and Services, LLC.
  • Commissioners will get a monthly report from the Ellis County Extension office.
  • The commission will hold an executive session with County Counselor Bill Jeter.

This gay marriage proposal takes the cake

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Gay marriage opponents — some churches and apparently wedding cake bakers — have stirred one of the strangest bills that Kansas legislators have dealt with in years.

martin hawver line art

The issue is relatively simple. Gay marriage is not recognized in Kansas, even if the couple has gone to a state that allows gay marriage, wed, and returned to Kansas. When that couple returns to Kansas to live and work, and presumably do that “consumption spending” that will balance the state budget, they won’t necessarily get the same government services that boy/girl married couples get under terms of the bill.

Now, if a private firm doesn’t want to deal with same-sex married couples — sell them those wedding, or probably more accurately, anniversary party cakes — that’s one thing.

But if an employee of a governmental entity—that’s the executive, legislative, and judicial branches of state government, and any and all agencies, boards, commissions, departments, districts, authorities, or other entities, subdivisions or parts whatsoever of state and local government—doesn’t care to deal with gay married couples for whatever reason, that’s something else.

Key to the bill that the House is considering is that gay marrieds can’t sue the government or its agents for discrimination. There’s no state law, apparently only an ordinance in Lawrence, of course, that prohibits discrimination against gays — single or married — which would give rise to lawsuits for discrimination.

So, cakes aside, it really appears to come down to the simple issue that Kansas doesn’t recognize gay marriage, and isn’t likely to unless or until the state’s constitutional prohibition of gay marriage is repealed or overridden by the U.S. Supreme Court.

That’s the landscape.

The bill says that if a government employee, who has sincere religious or other convictions against gay marriage, refuses to perform his/her job if it involves dealing with gay marrieds, the agency is supposed to find someone in the agency who will, “as long as it doesn’t cause undue hardship.”

Governmental agencies, of course, can’t ask employees’ religion or whether they have convictions that would prevent them from doing the job they were hired for if it involves dealing with gay marriage, domestic partnership, civil union or similar arrangements.

And we doubt whether a governmental employer can require those workers to wear a tag or maybe just one of those colorful plastic wrist bracelets so gay marrieds can move to the next window to pay their property taxes without a fuss. Wonder what happens if the manager of a governmental agency has those sincerely held convictions? Hmmm…

Now, this isn’t going to come up a lot, we presume. But when it does, well, could it be impossible in some places for gay marrieds to get their dog licensed or the water turned on at their home?

Syndicated by Hawver News Co. of Topeka, Martin Hawver is publisher of Hawver’s Capitol Report. To learn more about this nonpartisan statewide political news service, visit www.hawvernews.com.

Registration still open for Kansas Commodity Classic

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MANHATTAN — Registration is still open for Thursday’s Kansas Commodity Classic, which will be at Four Points by Sheraton, 530 Richards Drive, Manhattan.
wheat kansas

The event will be emceed by 2011 National Farm Broadcaster of the Year Greg Akagi from WIBW and the Kansas Agriculture Network.

The agenda includes comments from Kansas Secretary of Agriculture Jackie McClaskey and a presentation on water usage/conservation.

John Floros, dean of K-State College of Agriculture and director of K-State Research and Extension, is scheduled to speak, along with the “Voice of the Kansas City Chiefs” Mitch Holthus, a native of Smith Center.

To register for the free event, call (866)759-4328 or email [email protected]. For more information, visit our website at kswheat.com.

HPD activity log, Feb. 7 to 9

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AOBB-Logo-Main11

The Hays Police Department conducted 15 traffic stops on Friday, 19 on Saturday and 15 on Sunday, according to the HPD activity log. The HOD also received 14 animal calls in the three days.

Feb. 7
Criminal da.m.age to property, 100 block West Seventh, 12:47 a.m.
Driving under the influence, 700 block Fort, 1:56 a.m.
Motor vehicle accident/driving under the influence, 700 block East Eighth, 2:58 a.m.
Motor vehicle accident, 100 block W. 11th, 8:05 a.m.
Theft, 1200 block Vine, 8 a.m.
Disturbance, 1500 block East 27th Street Terrace, 9:45 a.m.
Abandoned vehicle, 400 block West 13th, 11:23 a.m.
Motor vehicle accident, 200block East Seventh, 12:16 p.m.
Criminal transport, 250th and Saline River Road, 12:55 p.m.
Animal cruelty/neglect, 700 block College, 2:57 p.m.
Warrant service/failure to appear, 100 block West 12th, 3:29 p.m.
Drug offenses, 2100 block East 13th, 3:34 p.m.
Animal call, 2400 block East 21st, 4:19 p.m.
Motor vehicle accident/hit and run, 2000 block Walnut, 4:30 p.m.
Motor vehicle accident, 1100 block East 27th, 4:48 p.m.
Motor vehicle accident/hit and run, 4300 block Vine, 7:37 p.m.
Suspicious activity, 1300 block West 27th, 10:33 p.m.
Found/lost property, 1300 block West 27th, 11 p.m.

Feb. 8
Underage possession of alcohol, 100 block East 12th, 12:19 a.m.
Domestic disturbance, 500 block West 33rd, 12:51 a.m.
Drug offenses, 700 block Elm, 1:46 a.m.
Welfare check, 100 block East 12th, 3:08 a.m.
Search warrant, 700 block Elm, 7:40 a.m.
Found/lost property, 1800 block Main, 8:45 a.m.
Suspicious activity, 4090 block East 16th, 8:30 a.m.
Motor vehicle accident/private property, 1000 block Tiger Place, 9 a.m.
Criminal transport, 600 block West 12th, 9:18 a.m.
Found/lost property, 2700 block Hall, 10:44 a.m.
Traffic stop, 2600 block Vine, 1:35 p.m.
Animal cruelty/neglect, 1000 block East Eighth, 1:52 p.m.
Abandoned vehicle, 100 block East 18th, 3:34 p.m.
Abandoned vehicle, 1800 block Elm, 3:42 p.m.
Animal at large, 1700 block Sunset, 4:19 p.m.
Assist, 100 block West 12th, 7:40 p.m.
Motor vehicle accident/private property, 400 block West Fifth, 9:30 p.m.
Probation/parole violation, 100 block East Seventh, 10:19 p.m.
Driving under the influence, 1000 block West 39th, 10:38 p.m.

Feb. 9
Driving under the influence, 100 block West Eighth, 12:30 a.m.
Driving under the influence, 300 block East Eighth, 1:40 a.m.
Found/lost property, 200 block West 10th, 2:09 a.m.
Driving under the influence, 3600 block Vine, 2:29 a.m.
Driving under the influence, 800 block Elm, 3:43 a.m.
Warrant service/failure to appear, 2100 block Walnut, 9:06 a.m.
Abandoned vehicle, 2200 block Virginia, 9:37 a.m.
Warrant service/failure to appear, 100 block West 12th,  12:58 p.m.
Motor vehicle accident, 3300 block Vine, 3:43 p.m.
Towed vehicle, 19th and Walnut, 8:16 p.m.
Motor vehicle accident, Centennial and Vine, 9:02 p.m.
Assist, 3700 block Vine, 9:39 p.m.

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