TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Gun-rights advocates and others want the Kansas attorney general’s office to keep the signs simple for businesses and groups that want to bar firearms from their premises.
The Lawrence Journal-World reports that Attorney General Derek Schmidt met Wednesday with gun-rights advocates and business and local government representatives.
A state law taking effect in July makes the open carrying of guns legal across the state. But businesses and groups still will be able to ban both concealed and unconcealed guns from their premises if they post signs.
The attorney general’s office will determine what goes on the signs.
The group agreed there should be one sign for banning all guns inside a building. Much of the discussion centered on businesses that would ban concealed guns but not openly carried ones.
RUSSELL — Dream Theatre, 629 Main, will host a town hall meeting at 7 p.m. Thursday to gather information about the possibility of reopening the abandoned Sky-Vue drive-in theater west of Russell on Old U.S. 40.
“We have gathered some estimates for construction,” said Dream Theatre Manager Steve Wells, “and we’re requesting public input to determine if there is enough support to move forward with this project.”
“Ideas for off-time revenue are also needed,” added Wells.
For more information, call Wells at (785) 445-1949.
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Pat Roberts (R-Kan.) today called on President Barack Obama to demand the resignation of his Secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric Shinseki. In a preliminary report released today, the Veterans Affairs (VA) Inspector General found that delaying medical care to our veterans and manipulating records to hide those delays to be “systemic throughout” the VA.
“Accountability is a virtue sorely lacking in the Obama Administration. From Benghazi to Fast and Furious, the IRS scandal to the rollout of Obamacare, President Obama has been long on words, but short on action,” Senator Roberts said.
Senator Roberts believes this culture of corruption and cover up to be completely unacceptable, and he called on President Obama to demand the resignation of the Secretary Shinseki.
“Today we learned that the mistreatment of our veterans and the cover up of that mistreatment is systemic in Secretary Shinseki’s VA. This failure of management and leadership is entirely unacceptable, and must not be allowed to continue. Our veterans have given so much to our nation protecting freedom both at home and abroad, and they deserve so much more. And today, they deserve accountability.
“I call on President Obama to immediately demand Secretary Shinseki’s resignation. It will take a long time for the VA to earn back the trust of our veterans, but we can start today with accountability in the White House and the resignation of Secretary Shinseki.”
It’s that time of year again. The weather is getting warmer, the kids are out of school, and summer reading at the Hays Public Library is about to be in full swing.
Here’s a look at the summer programs available:
Children’s Department: Fizz! Boom! Read!
The children’s summer reading kick-off party will be Thursday, May 22, at 10 a.m. Come sign-up for summer reading, watch a mad scientist at work, grab a snack, make balloon animals, plus other fun surprise!
Young Adult Department: CAKE
The YA summer reading kick-off party will be held in Hays Municipal Park Friday, May 23, at 1 p.m. There will be live music, food, and of course lots of fun! Sign up for summer reading, listen to some awesome local talent, and hang out with some pretty cool people.
Adult Department: Library Bingo
The Adult department is also getting in on the summer reading fun by offering a special library edition Bingo card. You can pick up the Bingo card at the front desk starting June 2. A special gift will be given to the first 200 participants.
For more information on these or other library programs, click HERE.
INDEPENDENCE, Kan. (AP) — A set of human remains found in a southeast Kansas sewer line have been identified as those of a man missing since mid-January.
KOAM-TV reports a crew from the city of Independence discovered the remains May 19 while working on the line near the Verdigris River.
Independence Police Chief Harry Smith said Wednesday a medical examiner identified them as those of 29-year-old Dustan James Roberts. More tests will be needed to determine the cause of death.
Roberts was last seen leaving his Independence apartment the morning of Jan. 13 walking into woods near the river. He was reported missing a few days later.
HUTCHINSON, Kan. — Another of the suspects in the beating and stabbing of a Hutchinson man is off to prison after he entered guilty pleas to attempted second degree murder, two counts of aggravated battery, aggravated burglary and aggravated assault.
Joseph LeShore was sentenced to a total of 99-months in prison, or 8-years, 3-months.
LeShore was accused with his co-defendants of being the key player for the attack on Jeffrey Payne on February 18, 2013. The men broke into Payne’s home and physically attacked and stabbed him numerous times.
The only suspect left to be tried in the case is Sean Arevalo-Mendoza. He is believed to have had a minimal role in the attack.
Another co-defendant, John Cantu awaits sentencing on June 27. He entered a plea to conspiracy to commit aggravated battery.
Two longtime Hays physicians are retiring after providing healthcare to patients in the region for a combined 65 years. Dr. Randy Cook and Dr. Dallas Richards, both members of the Hays Med Center medical staff have announced their retirements. Dr. Cook will retire in June and Dr. Richards’ last day was May 16.
Dr. Cook was born in St. Francis and spent his childhood there graduating in 1970. He attended Kansas State University graduating in 1974 with a degree in biology and minor in chemistry. He graduated medical school at the University of Health Sciences in Kansas City in 1981.
Dr. Cook completed his residency in Internal Medicine at the University of Kansas-Wichita. After completing his residency he moved to Hays, where he began practice in the Vic Eddy Clinic and eventually moving to Medical Specialists at HaysMed. Hays afforded him the opportunity to remain close to family and friends and also provide services to the people of northwest Kansas.
Dr. Richards
Dr. Richards was born in Oberlin. He spent his childhood in Norcatur, Oberlin and Atwood, attending Oberlin Grade School and graduating from Atwood High School in 1967. He attended Kansas State University and graduated with a degree in psychology in 1971, and graduated from the University of Kansas Medical School in 1974. He completed his internship and residency in internal medicine at Kansas University Medical Center in 1978. That same July, Dr. Richards began his practice in Hays joining Dr. James Allen, MD, and in 1980 became a solo practitioner.
Dr. Richards has held numerous leadership positions at HaysMed during his tenure, including Chief of Staff and serving as the Department of Medicine Chair for multiple years. He was instrumental in helping establish an outpatient renal dialysis unit in Hays in 1985. In cooperation with KU Medical Center, he brought the first oncologists to Hays, and they held clinics at his office for several years. He is one of the original developers of the Oak Park Medical Complex. He rounds at all Ellis County nursing homes monthly and each Assisted Living Facility every other month. He has been the only staff physician at FHSU for many years, spending two hours each weekday when school is in session at the student health facility. He has been active in the Kansas affiliate of the American College of Physicians.
“Both of these men leave a legacy with the HaysMed Medical staff that speaks for itself,” said Dr. John Jeter, president and CEO of HaysMed. “They were compassionate, caring physicians who always put patients first. They embody quality medicine and will be greatly missed by both patients and staff.”
In addition to the above retirements HaysMed is pleased to announce that Dr. Jeffery Curtis has transitioned from the DeBakey Heart Clinic to Medical Specialists, where he will be primarily practicing general internal medicine. Dr. Curtis began seeing patients on May 16.
SEDALIA, Mo. (AP) — A Kansas company that converts agricultural manure into energy and fertilizer will build its next biogas production plant in west-central Missouri’s Pettis County.
BioStar Systems, of Leawood, Kansas, operates fuel production centers around the U.S. Company officials and the Missouri Department of Economic Development announced Wednesday in Sedalia that BioStar plans to spend $60 million on the Pettis County plant.
About two dozen jobs are expected to be created. The plant will partner with a local poultry farm, Rose Acres, to produce a new regional source for renewable energy.
BioStar could receive nearly $1.5 million in state incentives if it meets criteria for job creation and investment.
MANHATTAN, KAN. – U.S. Senator Jerry Moran (R-Kan.) recently appointed Junction City, Kan., native Mike Heldstab as his new district representative. Heldstab will work to address veterans’ affairs policy concerns, while meeting and working with constituents from across the state.
“I’m delighted to have Mike join the team and serve as my eyes and ears when I’m working in Washington, D.C.,” Sen. Moran said. “Born, raised and educated in Kansas, Mike understands first-hand the challenges Kansas veterans face. I am confident that he will serve Kansans well in his new position.”
Heldstab graduated from Junction City High School and went on to attend Kansas State University. He achieved a bachelor’s degree in political science, with a focus in international studies. At K-State, Heldstab was also active in philanthropy and competed on the men’s rowing team. Additionally, he spearheaded formation of the Junction City Community Baseball Club, a nonprofit organization which created and operates the Junction City Brigade. Heldstab will reside in Wichita, Kan.
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — A former deputy director of the Kansas Bureau of Investigation who pleaded guilty to possessing a pornographic picture of a minor has been placed on three years’ probation.
Fifty-eight-year-old Kyle Smith must also register as a sex offender for 25 years and continue in a treatment program under the sentence he received Wednesday in Shawnee County District Court.
Smith declined to comment after the sentencing. He pleaded guilty in March to one count of sexual exploitation of a child.
The charge involved an image of a teenage girl engaged in sexually explicit conduct. An email containing the picture was traced to Smith’s KBI account after an agency secretary discovered the image last fall and notified her superiors.
WEST DUNDEE, Ill. (AP) — A suburban Chicago woman is grateful her family is safe after a 200-pound deer jumped from an overpass, landing on their minivan as it traveled along an Illinois interstate.
Heidi Conner tells The (Arlington Heights) Daily Herald the doe came to rest in the middle of the West Dundee family’s Chevy on Sunday. She and her four children were traveling about 70 mph on the Jane Addams Tollway.
She says the accident was bizarre, adding “nobody can believe this deer fell from the sky.”
Illinois State Police say witnesses reported seeing the deer jump from an overpass.
Conner says the crash totaled the van and caused minor injuries, but says the way the deer landed on the vehicle was “a miracle in itself.”
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Gun-rights advocates and others want the Kansas attorney general’s office to keep the signs simple for businesses and groups that want to bar firearms from their premises.
