Nyasha Maforo, a 2014 graduate at the Kansas Academy of Mathematics and Science and Winfield High School, who is now finishing her second year at Fort Hays State University, has been accepted into an exclusive fellowship sponsored by the American Association of Physicists in Medicine at the University of Chicago this summer.
Maforo will partner with a medical physicist to study and research breast cancer over a 10-week period. It will give her the opportunity to work one-on-one with a professional in her field of choice.
“This fellowship should be able to answer some of my questions and help direct me where to go in the field of medical physics,” said Maforo.
Few students are accepted into the fellowship, only six in 2013 and two in 2012. The application process is extensive, requiring three recommendations, which she received from her KAMS mentors.
“Going through KAMS opened a lot of doors,” said Maforo. “I gained discipline and learned how to study. It gave me an edge over the other students.”
About KAMS
KAMS is an early-entry-to-college program that focuses in advanced mathematics and science. While studying at KAMS, students live on campus in the dorms with other KAMS students from across Kansas and around the world. Over the course of two years, students take 68 hours of college credit. These college classes are taken alongside traditional college undergraduates and taught by college professors, while simultaneously contributing to their high school graduation requirements.
KAMS is still accepting applications for the fall semester. Interested students should contact the KAMS office at 785-628-4690 or visit fhsu.edu/KAMS.
Hays, Kansas — Robert F. Hayes, age 73, died Saturday, May 24, 2014, at Hays Medical Center, Hays, Kansas.
He was born August 3, 1940, in Esbon, Kansas, to Fred W. Hayes and Mabel Estelle (Healy) Hayes-Rorabaugh. He married Carol (Loring) on December 16, 1961, in Hingham, Massachusetts.
He was a cattle hauler and freight hauler for over 25 years. He was a truck driver for KW Trucking and High Plains Trucking until 1998, then owned and operated the Russell county Fed-Ex freight routes until he retired in 2011. He was a 1959 graduate from Esbon High School and a U. S. Army Veteran. He was a cat breeder for many years and enjoyed showing his award winning maine coon cats in Kansas, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Texas and Colorado. He was an avid NASCAR and racing fan.
Survivors include his wife, Carol Hayes, of the home; two sons, David Wallace Hayes and wife, Laura, Hays, KS; Matthew Allen Hayes and companion Crystal Peter, of the home; one brother, Donald Hayes, Dodge City, KS; five grandchildren, Jonathan David Hayes, Austin Wade Hayes, Shelly Felt , Cheyenne C. Liester and Destiny R. Liester; and one great granddaughter, Alexis Felt.
He was preceded in death by his parents.
Services are 2:00 P.M. Saturday, May 31, 2014, at Cline’s Mortuary of Hays 1919 East 22nd Street, Hays, Kansas 67601 and a U. S. Flag will be presented to the family by the Hays V.F.W. Post # 9076. A private family inurnment will be held at a later date.
The family will receive friends from 1:00 to 2:00 P.M. Saturday, at Cline’s Mortuary of Hays. Memorial to Cat Fanciers’ Association INC., 260 E. Main Street, Alliance, OH 44601 in care of the mortuary. Condolences can be sent via email to [email protected]
Most Kansas farmers and ranchers have seen about everything. Still the sight of the white combine headed for a wheat crop or soil leaving the home is enough to make their blood run cold.
That’s just what April and May have ushered into the Sunflower State – day after day of winds 20, 30 and 40 miles per hour with gusts more than 60 miles per hour.
John Schlageck writes for the Kansas Farm Bureau.
These winds never quit. They’re relentless.
Traditionally, Kansas winds slow when the sun goes down. Not the last couple months. All across the state winds continue to howl long into the night and strengthens when the sun rises the next day.
“I’ve never seen this kind of wind in my lifetime,” says Joe Newland, Wilson County farmer. “A couple weeks ago, the day turned dark and you couldn’t see to drive in a few areas.”
Newland grows, corn, soybeans, wheat and some hay while running approximately 350 head of momma cows in southeastern Kansas. He’s farmed nearly 50 years.
Winds in his region of the state sometimes blow for a day or two in a small field or section of a field. Never for too long or too strong, but that’s not the case this spring.
It’s blown for days on end throughout the entire county, Newland says. In fact, it’s blown across the entire southeastern part of Kansas.
“You see plenty during a lifetime,” the 60-year-old farmer/stockman says. “But when you see the soil blow off your farm, it’s like getting hit in the gut. It’s a harsh feeling when you can’t do anything about it.
During previous years when the winds kicked up and started to blow, Newland would hook a rotary hoe behind his tractor and run strips across the blowing land breaking the soil into clods that would stop the dirt from blowing.
Wind -control measures haven’t worked as well this year but farmers keep trying. Plain and simple, there just hasn’t been enough moisture.
Spring rains in April totaled one inch and 50 hundreds across his fields this spring. Little precipitation has fallen so far in May. Typically, southeastern Kansas receives the most rain in the state during this time frame.
“Most years, we receive several rains of 2 and 3 inches in March, April and May,” the veteran farmer/stockman says.
These abundant rains fill farm ponds and pave the way for plenty of pasture growth and healthy corn, bean and milo crops. This year, unfortunately, a few pond levels have dropped nearly 50 percent.
While his cow herd still has enough grass, due to the lack of rain his fescue isn’t the lush green color it typically is.
“Some of it’s turning that off-green color,” Newland says. “Our grass needs rain.”
While this region of the state looks great compared to western Kansas, the grass in Wilson and Neosho counties is about half the height it typically grows to in mid-May. Grass 6 inches tall is the norm so far this spring rather than 8, 10 or 12 inches.
Cropping conditions continue to suffer as well. Corn is below average in maturity and doesn’t look as lush and healthy as it should.
“We’re getting a taste of what farm ers and ranchers in central and western Kansas have coped with for many years,” Newland says. “It’s a taste we don’t much care for.”
Oftentimes fall crops in southeastern Kansas receive too much moisture with spring rains. Then flooding can occur and wash away corn and bean crops.
Not so this year. While Newland hasn’t planted his soybeans yet, it’s drier than it typically is this time of year. He would sure like to see a couple of two-inch rains before he pulls his planter into the fields.
Having farmed for four decades, Newland is far from throwing in the towel. He knows the weather can change in a heartbeat. He hope and prays his farm and that of his friends and neighbors across Kansas will be blessed with rain and soon.
And those wicked winds?
Shhh. Listen. Are they dying down?
John Schlageck, a Hoxie native, is a leading commentator on agriculture and rural Kansas.
Memorial Day A slight chance of showers after 5pm. Partly sunny, with a high near 81. Light south wind becoming south southwest 5 to 9 mph in the morning. Chance of precipitation is 10%. Tonight A 40 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms, mainly before 11pm. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 61. South wind 8 to 15 mph. Tuesday A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms after 5pm. Mostly sunny, with a high near 85. Southwest wind around 7 mph becoming southeast in the afternoon. Tuesday Night Partly cloudy, with a low around 60. East wind around 7 mph becoming southwest after midnight. Wednesday Sunny, with a high near 89. Northwest wind 5 to 8 mph becoming east in the afternoon. Wednesday Night Mostly clear, with a low around 62.
LINWOOD–A Kansas woman was killed in a Sunday motorcycle accident in Leavenworth County.
The Kansas Highway Patrol reported a 1998 Mercury Sable driven by James M. Carter, 35, New Century, KS., was Eastbound on K-32 just east of Linwood. The vehicle crossed left of center and hit a Harley Davidson motorcycle driven by Kristopher J. Steuber, 50, Gardner, head on.
A passenger on the motorcycle Mary A. Steuber, 49, Gardner, was pronounced dead at the scene.
Kristopher Steuber was transported to the University of Kansas Medical Center. Carter was not injured.
The KHP report does not indicate if those on the motorcycle were wearing helmets.
WICHITA – A new online video series will help parents, teachers and community members identify the signs of gang involvement, Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt announced yesterday at the Midwest Law Enforcement Conference on Gangs and Drugs in Wichita.
The video series, part of the attorney general’s Gang Free Kansas initiative, will feature topics such as identifying gang tattoos, symbols and colors and other signs of gang involvement.
“A major goal of the Gang Free Kansas initiative is to increase public awareness of gang activity,” Schmidt said. “These online videos will help parents, teachers and community members identify the warning signs of gang involvement.”
The videos will be posted to the Gang Free Kansas website, www.GangFreeKansas.org. The first video features Topeka Police Department Corporal Ruben Salamanca explaining common gang tattoos. Other videos will be posted as they are produced and become available.
The Gang Free Kansas initiative was launched by Attorney General Schmidt’s office in 2012 in cooperation with law enforcement agencies from across the state.
While many view Memorial Day as the official start of summer vacation, let’s not forget to pause and remember the men and women who “gave the last full measure of devotion” serving our nation. It is a day to remember those who died defending the freedoms we hold dear and acknowledge the debt of gratitude we owe to our service members and their families.
With eight uncles who served our nation in the Armed Forces and an active member of the House Veterans Affairs Committee, I know Memorial Day is a time not just to remember, but also to thank the 20 million living Veterans in American today. But we cannot stop there. As our veteran population ages and the post-9/11 generation of soldiers return to civilian life, they need a Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) that works for them.
Every year the VA spends over $150 billion and operates the largest health care system in the country, caring for 7 million veterans. Recent news stories, investigative reports and whistleblowers have put a magnifying glass on what is actually happening at the VA. And the stories are horrifying, outrageous and unacceptable.
Sad to say, they are not new—and I have been pointing these problems out for years. Additionally, there have been more than 50 federal reports highlighting systematic leadership and mismanagement failures at the VA. That is why I am pushing the VA Management Accountability Act to give the Secretary of the VA the authority and responsibility to fire a bureaucrat who fails our veterans. We must continue to demand accountability and answers, both from VA Secretary Shinseki and his boss President Obama. Leadership and accountability always has to start at the top.
Stories about VA employees “gaming the system” for bonuses and leaving Veterans waiting months to receive crucial care have emerged in Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Colorado, Arizona, Illinois, Missouri, Wyoming, Florida, and Texas. The list continues to grow almost daily. Here in Kansas we’ve seen continued management and personnel problems at the Topeka VA hospital and Veterans in Liberal, Kansas have been without a doctor for two and a half years.
Yet the high-level bureaucrats who mess up in the VA are more likely to get a generous taxpayer-funded bonus than to get fired. For this reason, I cosponsored and spoke on a provision that we passed through the U.S. House last month to ban senior bureaucrat bonuses at the VA. And this is just a start to changing the culture at the VA.
Our veterans deserve the best, not a scandal-ridden second class health system where Veterans die waiting on basic care. I have said it over and over again since I came to Congress—our Veterans should be able to visit their local doctor and hospital to receive care. It is time for Congress to consider Veteran Choice legislation that would allow Veterans to choose where they want their care. Simply put, we cannot let another Veteran die while waiting for the government to provide critical medical care.
Memorial Day provides us an opportunity to ensure that those who gave their very lives for our Nation did not do so in vain. It is a reminder of those Veterans who survived and our sacred obligation to care for them. And it is long overdue to fix the VA system so that it works for our veterans, not against them.
Thank you to all of the men and women who have so selflessly served our Country. We owe you a debt of gratitude, and know that your courageous actions have not been forgotten.
We cherish too, the Poppy red
That grows on fields where valor led,
It seems to signal to the skies
That blood of heroes never dies.
– Moina Michael, 1915
Congressman Tim Huelskamp represents the First District of Kansas in the U.S. House of Representatives. In addition to his membership on the Veterans’ Affairs Committee, Rep. Huelskamp serves on the Small Business Committee, the Subcommittee on Agriculture, Energy & Trade, the Subcommittee on Health & Technology, and the Subcommittee on Contracting & Workforce.
If there is a simple key to wooing voters in Kansas this campaign season, it’s coming up with a memorable, catchy phrase that even voters who don’t parse candidate qualifications will remember when they enter the voting booth.
That key phrase might just have been hatched last week when Libertarian Party gubernatorial nominee Keen Umbehr, Alma, filed his campaign papers and paid his filing fee.
The phrase? It’s based on the state income tax bill that Gov. Sam Brownback signed into law two years ago — the massive state income tax cuts that are part of his program to bring prosperity and jobs to the state.
Those tax cuts, Umbehr noted, creates two classes of Kansans: 13 percent who don’t pay Kansas income taxes anymore and, oh yes, 87 percent of Kansans who still pay taxes. Wonder which group likes the tax plan that Brownback touts?
Hmmm….13 percent and 87 percent. That percentage split personalizes what reporters for the past two years have been routinely tossing off as 190,000 Kansans not paying taxes — it puts the number into a clearer context, doesn’t it?
Now, the governor’s tack is that those farmers and self-employed folks who work for themselves, and/or have just the right business corporate structures, are the people who will be hiring new workers, buying new machinery, spending more money on things like groceries, cars, and such.
That means more jobs, more prosperity.
But, Umbehr found the flip side of that roadmap for Kansas: Making everyone aware that 13 percent of Kansans pay no state income tax, and 87 percent probably aren’t happy about that.
It’s not quite the national 1 percent of the super-rich we hear about on national television and in the newspapers, but it’s a clear division, and you 13 percent who don’t pay Kansas income taxes are probably going to be quiet about it at picnics and neighborhood gatherings this summer.
Plus, your neighbors are probably going to be looking around the picnic crowd, trying to see if they can identify those tax-free folks. (Oh, if the neighborhood picnic takes place inside a gated community, the percentages are likely to be different.)
But Libertarian Umbehr has found a wedge there, one that is likely to be picked up by at least Democratic candidates who didn’t think of the catchy phrase first. While as a Libertarian, Umbehr talks about eliminating all state income taxes, Democrats would say Brownback split Kansas into the taxed and un-taxed.
Now, chances Kansans will elect a Libertarian governor are statistically slim, and while Umbehr would like to live in Cedar Crest, the governor’s mansion, chances are that his party would claim a victory if he garners 5 percent of the vote in November, which would catapult the Libertarian Party into the big leagues—a major party which can place candidates on the primary election ballot instead of having them selected by a party convention. That’s a win for Libertarians, if not Umbehr.
But, the catchy statistic: 13/87 is likely to be memorable … possibly clear into the voting booth — at least by the 87 percenters.
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.
JUNCTION CITY—Geary County Sheriff Tony Wolf confirms one man drowned Sunday at Milford Lake. “A gentleman, about 65 years of age, went for a fishing pole that was going overboard. And he fell in when he went for the fishing pole. He went down and never resurfaced. ”
The drowning occurred Sunday morning in the West Rolling Hills area of the Lake. Side scan sonar and drag lines are being used by authorities to try and locate the victim’s body.
Wolf stated that authorities were called to the scene just after 9:30 a.m. and responded quickly.
The name of the victim has not yet been released.
Wolf said the water in the area where the drowning occurred ranges anywhere from about six feet to 25-feet deep. “Most of the area that we are searching in is a solid mud bottom. We have been getting targets on the side scan sonar that so far have turned out to be tree limbs, and stumps, and rocks.”
In addition to the Geary County Sheriff’s Department the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Kansas Wildlife, Parks, and Tourism, and Geary County Emergency Management have assisted in the search, along with the Shawnee Mission Township dive team. Authorities planned to continue the search until darkness Sunday evening and resume at daybreak Monday morning.
Wolf confirmed the victim had been aboard a pontoon boat when the accident occurred.
ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) — Chris Iannetta hit a tiebreaking home run in the eighth inning Sunday, lifting the Los Angeles Angels over the Kansas City Royals 4-3.
Reliever Tim Collins (0-3) retired the first batter in the eighth before Iannetta lined a drive into the lower seats in the left-field corner for his fifth homer of the season and second of the series.
Michael Kohn (2-1) pitched a scoreless inning. Ernesto Frieri got three outs for his sixth save, retiring Alcides Escobar on a popup with a runner on third.
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — One person is dead and another is in custody following an early-morning shooting south of downtown Topeka.
Police say the victim was taken to a hospital in a private vehicle following the shooting around 1:40 a.m. Sunday. The person was pronounced dead at 3:15 p.m.
A 30-year-old man was arrested Sunday afternoon on suspicion of first-degree murder.
No details about the victim were released.
Police Lt. Jana Harden told The Topeka Capital-Journal that a car accident was associated with the shooting. Nobody was hurt in the collision.
