Tuesday morning crash tied up traffic in Manhattan- photo Michael Pagels Little Apple Post
MANHATTAN –Two people were injured in a crash at 7:25 a.m. Tuesday in Riley County.
The Kansas Highway Patrol reported a 2002 Jeep Liberty driven by Ryan R. Routson, 32, Manhattan, was southbound on Tuttle Creek Terrace, failed to stop at a stop sign and hit a 2003 Volkswagen Golf driven by Megan L. Hartford, 32, Manhattan.
The Golf was traveling westbound on U24. The impact caused the Jeep to roll onto its side in traffic.
Routson and Hartford were transported to Mercy Regional Health Center.
The KHP reported both drivers were properly restrained.
GREENSBURG, Kan. (AP) — After a mammoth tornado wiped out most of Greensburg, Kansas, in 2007, supporters of clean energy seized on an unusual opportunity to rebuild a town from the ground up with the latest green technology.
They came up with a sustainable-power dreamscape: wind turbines to power hundreds of homes, futuristic buildings with environmentally friendly features and a gleaming new school that runs on less than half the water of its flattened predecessor.
But the reimagining of Greensburg has failed to provide what it needs most: people. The storm sent half the town packing, accelerating an exodus from rural Kansas that had been underway for decades.
Those who stayed now acknowledge that the reborn town is serving a population of only about 800 and is still looking for answers.
WICHITA–One person was injured in a Tuesday morning crash with an ice cream truck.
The Kansas Highway Patrol reported a 2014 Freightliner ice cream truck was stopped in traffic on west bound U.S. 54 at I-235 due to a traffic jam.
The truck was rear ended by a 2010 Pontiac G-6 driven by Anna T. Means, 21, Wichita.
A passenger in the Pontiac Renee Means, 53, Wichita was transported to St. Francis Medical Center.
No other injuries were reported.
The KHP said all were properly restrained.
OVERLAND PARK, Kan. (AP) — A Kansas sports promoter is looking for someone interested in buying the ball that was used in the first Olympic gold medal basketball game.
The undersized, deflated ball that’s stitched together like a volleyball has been in Canada since a player’s wife slipped it under a blanket after the 1936 championship game in Berlin.
The U.S. team took the gold with a 19-8 win over Canada in a game played outside in a downpour, but Canadian player Jimmy Stewart wound up with the ball used in that game.
The Kansas City Star reports Overland Park promoter Keith Zimmerman is trying to sell the ball on behalf of Stewart’s son, Jimmy Jr. The 75-year-old Windsor, Ontario, resident says none of his family members were interested in it.
In a national survey conducted by TheBestSchools.org, Fort Hays State University once again has been recognized for its reasonable price and quality education, this time in the field of hospitality and tourism.
FHSU’s online Bachelor of Science in business administration and Master of Business Administration in tourism and hospitality management have both been recognized as Wise Choices for students pursuing degrees in those fields. According to TheBestSchools.org, “Fort Hays State’s tourism and hospitality degrees are among the most affordable on our list.”
According to the website, degree holders can skip straight to management in jobs ranging from restaurant and hotel operations to planning travel accommodations for sports clubs.
Other positives listed on the website, aside from affordability, include accepting transfer credits, a comprehensive curriculum covering key aspects of business theories and practices and, for the MBA, the ability to take time off for personal reasons and come back for the degree without penalties.
The Ellis County Commission approved the purchase of 38 self-contained breathing apparatus units for Ellis County Rural Fire No. 1 at Monday evening’s regular meeting.
Earlier this year, Rural Fire Director Dick Klaus presented the commission with three bids to replace current packs, which tests show are beginning to wear out.
“Out of the 38 air packs, we had 23 fail at least one (test). Some failed several,” Klaus said. “I don’t think the chiefs or myself want to be held liable with guys wearing equipment like this.”
The commission awarded the bid to Hays Fire and Rescue Sales and Service for 38 AVON ISI air packs for $187,950.
Klaus said the AVON unit was the preferred choice of his firefighters, who attended demonstrations of three units earlier this year.
He estimated the air packs will last 15 years, noting the units carry a 10-year warranty on electronics and 15-year warranties on pneumatics and air components.
In other business
• The commission approved changes made to both the county’s meal and mileage reimbursement policy and the business meals and refreshment policy
• Commissioners adopted a resolution endorsing the Northwest Kansas Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy
• The commission approved the following appointments to the Ellis County Council on Aging: Karen Ashbaugh, Ellis; Dr. Arris Johnson, Hays; Alberta Klaus, Hays; Ilona Patterson, Victoria; Milton Leiker, Hays; and William Moriarity, Hays.
Facing a $1.3 million budget shortfall for 2014-15 school year, Hays USD 489 has considered everything from teacher layoffs to instituting new fees.
And at Monday’s meeting, USD 489 offered figures attached to virtually every potential budget cut — ranging from closing schools to cutting sports. Click here to download the document.
Already, the district has made the procedural moves that would offer the option of non-renewing approximately 20 staff positions, although the exact number of positions to be lost remains unknown. As proposed, the move would save the district approximately $975,000.
On a handout presented at Monday’s meeting, “possible general fund reductions” — and the potential savings for each — were presented. None have been acted upon by the board to this point and many, according to Superintendent Dean Katt, have already been taken off the list such as completely cutting the music and athletic programs.
Katt described the the document as a “brainstorming” list considering all possible reductions the district may have to look at in the future “As we go along (the items are just ideas) if legislature continues to cut school funding.”
However, Katt said the administration and the school board are still looking at reducing transportation costs and charging a kindergarten fee – items scheduled for Monday’s school board meeting.
Shifting kindergarten from all-day to half-day, for example, would save the district an estimated $314,000, mostly in the form of staff reductions.
Closing Washington Elementary School, one of the proposals in the facilities needs committee’s list of recommendations, would save the district approximately $903,000 — mostly in the form of releasing 15 staff members and selling the building.
The elimination of substitute teachers would save the district $140,000 and reducing sick time pay for new employees would save $124,000.
Moving to a four-day school day is projected to save the district approximately $230,000.
The largest potential savings listed would be elimination of health insurance for employees district-wide, an expense of more than $2.5 million.
When it comes to curriculum and activities, the costs of programs in their entirety also were presented, and potential savings should the programs be eliminated or kept to mandated minimums also were offered:
• Art program, $318,000
• Vocal music program, $305,000
• Orchestra program, $109.000
• Instrumental music program, $155,000
• Non-athletic extracurricular activities, $67,000
• All athletic programs, $479,000
• Physical education programs, $639,000
• Industrial technology program, $305,000
• Business program, $166,000
Staffing cuts to meet required minimums also were listed, with potential savings.
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — The Kansas Supreme Court is delaying a decision on whether a Topeka man who provided sperm to a lesbian couple must undergo genetic testing.
The justices issued an order Friday saying the testing should be delayed while they study the issue.
William Marotta asked the court in March to direct a district court judge to block the state’s request that he undergo paternity testing. The state is seeking to require Marotta to pay child support for a child who was born to the couple after he donated his sperm.
The Topeka Capital-Journal reports Marotta’s attorney, Benoit Swinnen, said Monday the two-paragraph order requires all parties to wait while justices consider the request.
Shawnee County District Court Judge Mary Mattivi has twice ordered the genetic testing to proceed.
Dr. Ed Hammond has served as FHSU president since 1987.
By BECKY KISER Hays Post
Although his last official day of work is June 30, the current president of Fort Hays State University Dr. Ed Hammond, is quick to point out he is “not retiring.”
The Kansas Board of Regents announced Friday that Dr. Mirta Martin will become the ninth FHSU president starting July 1.
Hammond arrived at FHSU in 1987 and is the longest-serving president in the Regents system.
He is under contract with the Regents to work another three to seven years at the university, with the first year dedicated to helping Martin ease into her new position:
Hammond said he’s particularly interested in teaching in the new Higher Education Student Affairs Masters program and Leadership Studies.
The EMS/Rural Fire building project is a step closer to beginning after the Ellis County Commission voted Monday to move forward with the latest set of plans.
Architect Brad Teeter from Spangenberg Phillips Tice Architecture met with the commission in a special meeting Monday afternoon to show the commission and county staff the latest round of changes to the building, which would be built at 22nd Street and General Hays Road. The commission has been working with staff for months after initial bids for the building came in well above estimates. The county’s building upgrade project is being funded through a sales tax passed by voters last spring.
One remaining issue is the need for a generator. It had been proposed the current generator at the Law Enforcement Center be used for the EMS/Rural Fire building, but if that generator stays, another will need to be purchased for the EMS/Rural Fire building.
“If we can’t move this one, or if we don’t have to move it, then we have to buy one,” said County Administrator Greg Sund. “Either way, we are buying one.”
Sund and Teeter said they will meet with Andy Pitts from Treanor Architects, the architect on the Ellis County courthouse, jail and Law Enforcement Center, and make a decision on the generator this week.
The commission also voted to add the snow and ice removal system in front of the overhead doors as a bid alternate. Teeter estimated just installing the system on the street side would cost between $30,000 and $40,000.
Teeter estimated it will take two weeks to finish the drawings. The project could be sent to bid by the third week in May.
By RON WILSON Huck Boyd National Institute for Rural Development
Pioneers. They were the brave men and women who came west and settled the state of Kansas. Today we honor those pioneers, but we also honor the modern-day entrepreneurs who have pioneered modern approaches to agribusiness. One such entrepreneur has built a remarkable agribusiness enterprise in southwest Kansas.
Ron Wilson is director of the Huck Boyd National Institute for Rural Development at Kansas State University.
Steve Irsik is an agricultural entrepreneur whose family has built a remarkable ag enterprise. His family has deep roots in western Kansas. In fact, it is a true story of pioneers.
“My grandmother came to Dodge City in 1880 on a stagecoach,” Steve Irsik said. It sounds like a western movie, but it’s true. The Irsik side of the family came west to Kansas in the 1920s. These pioneers settled in southwest Kansas and built homes and farms.
Steve Irsik’s father served in the south Pacific during World War II and came back to the farm. Steve was born and raised near Garden City. He went to K-State, studied agricultural economics, and served in the U.S. Air Force during the Vietnam era.
When Steve came back to join his family in the farming operation, the irrigation and feedlot industries were beginning to be developed. The Irsiks were pioneers in this type of agribusiness.
“My dad bought a farm which had the second irrigation well in western Kansas,” Steve said. “My father and two brothers started feeding cattle in 1961. That was just the second or third feedyard in southwest Kansas.”
Before that time, farmer-feeders had been raising a few head individually to be butchered or sold. Feedyards became a more efficient way to produce finished cattle. Then beef packing plants were built in western Kansas so as to be close to the source of production. The agribusiness complex boomed.
The Irsik family was a leading part of the agribusiness growth. Their first feedyard built in 1961 had a capacity of 2,000 head. Today that feedyard’s capacity is 40,000 head.
Irsik Farms is now a dryland and irrigated farming and ranching operation with ranches in Kansas and Nebraska, including a 1,800 head cowherd. Irsik & Doll is a related business with feedyards and grain elevators across southwest Kansas. Irsik & Doll elevators are located in communities from Hutchinson to Sublette. The feedyards are in rural locations in southwest Kansas, near towns such as Garden City, Scott City, Cimarron, Hugoton, and Pierceville. Pierceville has a population of perhaps 300 people. Now, that’s rural.
Part of the success of the Irsik family farming operation has been to integrate the various elements of the beef value chain.
“We go all the way from beef cattle genetic development clear to the meat cooler,” Steve said.
Steve was also part of pioneering initiatives to market agricultural products such as the 21st Century Alliance grain processing cooperative and U.S. Premium Beef. These farmer-investors bought a flour mill in Texas and an oat-milling company in Nebraska. “If you ate granola, you probably ate some of our oats,” Steve said. “If you ate a tortilla in New Mexico or west Texas, the flour probably came from our flour mill.”
In the process of building these businesses, Steve got to know private equity investors in Dallas and elsewhere. He joined them in other investments such as a steel pipe company in Vermont, a food manufacturer in Massachusetts, and a wholesale vegetable distributor in Florida. The food manufacturing company, for example, produces products that are marketed under major brand names such as Hersheys and Nestle.
“These companies want to market their brand, but they don’t want to do the manufacturing,” Steve said. So, this company produces the powdered chocolate drink, but it is sold under the Hersheys brand. These are innovative ways of marketing.
Pioneers. Those brave men and women came west and built the state of Kansas. Now modern pioneers such as the Irsik family are leading the way in innovations of modern production agriculture. We commend Steve Irsik and family for making a difference as pioneers of today.
And there’s more. Steve Irsik was also a pioneer in another form of the cattle business – but not beef. We’ll learn about that next week.
LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) — Lawrence police say a brief car chase ended with the arrest of a wanted man on the University of Kansas campus.
Sgt. Trent McKinley says the chase began Monday afternoon when officers tried to stop a stolen car.
6News Lawrence reports the pursuit lasted only three blocks before the car went through a parking lot and tried to drive down a flight of stairs on the campus. The car was impaled on the stairs and the driver fled toward Memorial Stadium.
Officers arrested a 33-year-old Lawrence resident a few minutes later. He was taken to a Lawrence hospital for an undisclosed medical issue.
McKinley says the suspect has been jailed for several crimes since 2003 and he was facing other charges when he was arrested.
