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Month: May 2014

Reminder: Meteor shower in the early morning hours possible

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FHSU University Relations

Astronomers in the Northern Hemisphere are preparing for a spectacle in the early morning hours Saturday with a possible new meteor shower, the May Camelopardalids.

Dr. Paul Adams
Dr. Paul Adams

The event will be interesting, according to Dr. Paul Adams, Anschutz Professor of Education at Fort Hays State University, “because it’s either going to be really good or really bad.”

Comet 209P/LINEAR, discovered in February 2004, ejected cosmic debris into space in the 1800s. Meteor experts Esko Lyytinen of Finland and Peter Jenniskens of the NASA Ames Research Center announced that if conditions are right, then the debris will be visible in the night sky as a spectacular meteor shower, with some forecasters predicting more than 200 meteors per hour.

However, the amount of debris, and therefore the size of the shower, is not definite.

According to Dr. Bill Cooke, head of NASA’s Meteoroid Environment Office, “We have no idea what the comet was doing in the 1800s. There could be a great meteor shower — or a complete dud.”

Cooke added because North America will see the peak during nighttime hours, it will be at an excellent position to observe the meteor shower. Adams advised meteor watchers to go out “a few hours before sunrise” and to “find a dark place, put some chairs down, and watch the skies.”

A wet Interstate 70 blamed for accident near Russell

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Screen Shot 2014-05-20 at 9.53.00 AMRUSSELL— A wet highway is being blamed for a Friday afternoon accident that sent two people to the hospital.

The Kansas Highway Patrol reported a 2008 Land Rover driven by Trina I. Garcia-Flores, 37, Blue Springs, Mo., was eastbound on Interstate 70 just east of the Russell exit.

The vehicle began to hydroplane causing it to enter the south ditch. The vehicle crossed the on ramp causing it to become airborne. When the vehicle landed it continued south in the ditch colliding with the tree row.

Garcia-Flores and a passenger in the vehicle Sylvia C. Arjil, San Jose, CA., were transported to Russell Regional Hospital.

The KHP reported they were properly restrained at the time of the accident.

Heavy rainfall brings minor flooding to Kansas

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Screen Shot 2014-05-23 at 5.56.53 PMWICHITA, Kan. (AP) — Locally heavy rainfall was causing some minor flooding in parts of Kansas, but a Wichita forecaster says most of it was confined to city streets where drainage isn’t very good.

National Weather Service meteorologist Scott Smith says water had covered a road in western Butler County on Friday, but most other roads were still passable mid-afternoon.

He says the potential for further heavy rain could increase the flooding risks, but nothing unusual for late spring.

Smith says an elderly couple who drove into water covering a road in Hutchinson earlier Friday got stuck and had to be rescued when their car died. Otherwise, he says he hasn’t heard of others having problems with floodwaters.

The weather service says rain is expected off and on in parts of Kansas through Tuesday.

Look for tagged trees to plant in Hays

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Janis Lee, Hays Beautification Committee
Janis Lee, Hays Beautification Committee

During drought periods such as we are currently experiencing in western Kansas one questions whether it is advisable to plant trees or shrubs.

Taking the drought into consideration, if you decide to do some landscaping, please be aware of the City of Hays Tree Rebate Program.

The Hays Beautification Committee’s most recent projects was for members to tag trees that qualify for the City of Hays rebate program at the various nurseries and stores that offer trees in Hays.

The trees that are tagged are most appropriate for planting in Hays because they are drought tolerant.

Hays residents who plant these tagged trees are eligible for the reimbursement of up to ½ the cost of a newly planted tree (including tax) with the maximum reimbursement of $50.00. The Hays rebate program will also reimburse Hays residents for ½ the cost of a tree removal (including tax) with the maximum reimbursement of $50.00. There is a limit of two rebates for newly planted trees and for two tree removals per property per calendar year.

To be eligible for the rebate the trees must be purchased from an established dealer in Ellis County or removed by a business that is licensed to perform tree removal in Hays. Qualifying trees planted in either the front or back yard are eligible for the rebate.

One important exception is that property owners will be reimbursed up to $100.00 for the removal and proper disposal of pine trees that have been confirmed to be infected with “Pine Wilt Disease”.

A City of Hays Tree Rebate Program brochure is available at the Parks Dept. office which provides much more information on the program and lists the trees that are eligible for the rebate.

Property owners doing landscaping in the Hays area need to be aware that not all trees, bushes, and plants offered for sale in our area are drought tolerant, and thus some of them may not do well in the local climate and our more arid conditions.

Kansas State University’s Extension office in Hays has information regarding drought tolerant plants and xeriscaping landscaping. You can also access all of the publications via their website: www.ellis.ksu.edu under the ‘Lawn and Garden’ tab under “Plants for Ellis County.”  Here is a direct link to that page: https://www.ellis.ksu.edu/p.aspx?tabid=79 .

The Hays Beautification Committee meets on the third Thursday of the month at noon at the Parks Dept. headquarters, 1546 E US Hwy 40 Bypass. We welcome anyone who is interested to come join the committee at one of the meetings.

For questions or comments regarding anything discussed in this article please contact the Parks Dept. at 785-628-7375.

Janis Lee is vice chairwoman of Hays Beautification Committee.

Three children and one adult hospitalized after Friday accident

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Screen Shot 2013-05-26 at 9.27.46 AMROSE HILL, Kan. -Four people were injured in a Friday afternoon crash in Butler County.

The Kansas Highway Patrol reported a 2012 Ford Edge driven by Caleb M. Tanner, 21, Rose Hill, was attempting to make a left hand turn from SW 146th onto Butler Rd 2 miles north of Rose Hill.

The vehicle entered Butler Rd and collided with  a 1998 Ford F150 driven by Misty R. Lowery, 39, Rose Hill.

Three ten-year-old children in the truck and a passenger in the Edge Anne E. Tanner,19, Rose Hill were transported to Wesley Medical Center for treatment.

The KHP reported all were properly restrained at the time of the crash.

Kansas man charged in driver’s street race death

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courtWICHITA, Kan. (AP) — A 26-year-old Kansas man has been charged with involuntary manslaughter for the death of a man who was killed during a drag race down a Wichita street.

The Wichita Eagle reports Dacosta Yankey is facing the felony count in the death of Jorge Espinosa-Velez, whose car slammed into a decorative pillar during a spontaneous street race Jan. 12.

Yankey was driving the second car involved in the race. He made his first appearance in Sedgwick County District Court on Thursday and is free on $25,000 bond.

Police say Espinosa-Velez lost control and hit the pillar as the two cars were racing shortly before 3 p.m. Jan. 12. They say Yankey returned to the crash scene and tried to render aid.

Yankey’s attorney was unavailable for comment Friday afternoon.

Man, 60, arrested on suspicion of sexual battery on 17-year-old

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Screen Shot 2014-05-23 at 1.21.06 PM

Salina Post

SALINA — A 60-year-old Salina man was arrested Thursday on suspicion of sexual battery.

Rasikbhai Mody is alleged to have grabbed the buttocks and breast of a 17-year-old girl at a convenience store on April 25. The girl said went into the convenience store to pre-pay for gas, then was assaulted after putting money on the counter when she could not find anyone in the store.

The victim said Mody came up from behind her, grabbed her and ask if she would perform oral sex.

The girl took her money off of the counter, left and notified police.

Following an investigation, a warrant was issued and Mody was arrested.

Ex-substitute teacher sentenced for molesting girl

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jail barsWICHITA, Kan. (AP) — A former Kansas substitute teacher has been sentenced to nearly three years in prison for engaging in sexual activity with a 15-year-old girl last summer.

The Wichita Eagle reports 31-year-old Jarrod Acquistapace was sentenced Thursday on two counts of indecent liberties with a child, two months after he entered into a plea agreement with prosecutors.

Acquistapace was a substitute teacher with Wichita public schools, but a district spokeswoman would not disclose the schools where he taught or how often he worked. She did say he didn’t teach during the 2013-2014 school year.

Initially Acquistapace faced one count of aggravated indecent liberties alleging he had sex with the girl, but the plea deal reduced the charges.

John E. McCabe

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WINONA, Miss. — John Edmund McCabe, age 50, former Hays, Kansas, resident died Friday, May 16, 2014, at his home, on the family farm in Winona, Mississippi.
John McCabe - Picture

He was born November 13, 1963, in Sweetwater, Texas, to Edmund Lee and Martha Jean (Sandidge) McCabe.  He married Teresa (Dreiling) on June 1, 1996, in Hays, Kansas.

He worked for John Richard in Greenwood, Mississippi, as a network administrator and moved to Mississippi in 2013. He was a 1982 graduate of Hays High School and a 2003 graduate of Fort Hays State University with a Bachelor of Business Administration Degree.  He was a network administrator at Fort Hays State University for five years. He was a gunsmith and an avid outdoorsman.

Survivors include his wife, Teresa McCabe, of the home; one son, Nathan Dreiling and wife, Kasey, Hays, KS; two grandsons, Lee David Blundon and Connor James Dreiling; his parents, Ed and Martha (Sandidge) McCabe, Hays, KS; two sisters, Martha Lee McCabe, Wichita, KS; Amy Louise Stump and husband, Frank, Denver, CO; one nephew, Matthew Dorzweiler, Hutchinson, KS; two nieces, Sara Masura and husband, Jon, Colorado Springs, CO; Lisa Dorzweiler, Denver.

He was preceded in death by his grandparents, Lester and Ella (Penn) McCabe; Henry Brown and Minnie Mae (Austin) Sandidge.

A memorial service will be at 10:00 A.M. Saturday, May 31, 2014, at the First Baptist Church, 12th and Fort, Hays, Kansas.  A private family inurnment will be at a later date.

The family will receive friends from 4:00 to 8:00 P.M. Friday, at Cline’s Mortuary of Hays, 1919 East 22nd Street, Hays, Kansas  67601 and from 9:00 to 10:00 A.M. Saturday, at the First Baptist Church, Hays, Kansas.
Memorial to the McCabe family in care of Teresa McCabe.

Condolences can be sent via email to [email protected]

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