Month: July 2014
Great Plains Theatre to Rebuild
JC Post
ABILENE–The Great Plains Theatre plans to rebuild following the Wednesday night fire that destroyed their 
home in Abilene.
Theatre executive director Maggie Hoffman says officials will begin looking into options to rebuild. “We’re not sure where it will be, if it will be in the same location or somewhere else.”
Hoffman said fundraising has begun. “So people can donate either by mailing checks to us or donations to P. O. Box 476 in Abilene, or on our website we have a donate here link available as well.”
There should be some insurance proceeds to help with the process, but more funds are expected to be necessary.
Kansas justice slams venue ruling in capital case
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — One justice says the Kansas Supreme Court is making it so difficult for criminal defendants to get their trials moved that nothing short of an angry mob outside a courthouse will force a change.
Justice Lee Johnson leveled the criticism Friday in a separate opinion in the capital murder cases of Jonathan and Reginald Carr. The court overturned their death sentences for a crime spree that left four people dead in a Wichita field in December 2000.
But the court rejected the men’s claims that they should be tried again outside Wichita on all of the dozens of charges against them because of negative pretrial publicity.
Johnson wrote that under the decision, a change of venue won’t happen without a mob “storming the courthouse” with torches and a hangman’s rope.
Herman advances to quarterfinals at Kansas Amateur
Fort Hays State’s Trey Herman has advanced to the quarterfinals of the 104th Kansas Amateur at Mission Hills Country Club.
Herman won both of his matches Friday, defeating Grant Grego of Lee’s Summit Missouri 3 and 2 in the round of 32 and then knocked off Jackson Forth of Lake Quivira 2 and 1.
Herman will now take on No. 1 seed Chase Hanna in the quarterfinals at at 7:30 Saturday morning. Hanna a sophomore at Kansas, won last year’s Kansas Amateur.
Herman advanced to the semifinals last year before being eliminated.
Kan. officials suspend future foster placements with TFI after child’s death
By KHI NEWS SERVICE
TOPEKA — Kansas welfare officials said today that they have suspended placing foster children with TFI Family Services, pending investigation of the death Thursday of an infant left in a hot car in Wichita.
TFI formerly contracted with the Kansas Department for Children and Families to provide foster services and continues to have foster homes as a subcontractor to the state’s current lead foster care contractors, KVC Behavioral Healthcare of Olathe and St. Francis Community Services of Salina.
DCF officials said they had asked KVC and St. Francis to inspect all foster homes associated with TFI following the death of the 10-month-old girl who had been left unattended in a car for up to 2.5 hours, according to early news reports of statements by Wichita police.
The Wichita Eagle reported today that a 29-year-old Wichita man had been taken into custody on suspicion of aggravated endangerment following the incident.
“I am absolutely devastated by this child’s death that should have been prevented,” said DCF Secretary Phyllis Gilmore in a prepared statement. “DCF is working closely with local law enforcement and the Sedgwick County District Attorney to ensure that justice is served and that the integrity of the investigation is not compromised by the release of confidential information.”
Topeka-based TFI’s contract was not renewed in July 2013, according to DCF officials. It is still allowed to sponsor foster homes, but future placements have been suspended pending the outcome of DCF’s investigation of the circumstances of the girl’s death.
The number of children in foster care in Kansas recently hit a record high.
Kansas governor ‘stunned’ by capital case ruling
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Gov. Sam Brownback says he’s stunned by Kansas Supreme Court decisions overturning the death sentences of two brothers for a 
December 2000 robbery, rape and kidnapping spree that ended with four fatal shootings in Wichita field.
Brownback said Friday that the decisions in the cases of Jonathan and Reginald Carr unnecessarily reopen the wounds from what he called a tragic moment in Wichita history.
In overturning the death sentences, the court’s majority said the brothers should have had separate sentencing proceedings to determine whether they faced lethal injection or life in prison. The court also overturned three of each man’s four capital murder convictions.
Brownback called the crimes brutal and heinous and said the Carrs were convicted by a jury of their peers before an elected trial-court judge.
Dr. Roger W. Schieferecke – FHSU
Mike Cooper visits with Dr. Roger W. Schieferecke of FHSU about the Kansas Academy of Mathematics and Science.
Kan. man sentenced for raping student
LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) — A 41-year-old Lawrence man has been sentenced to 25 years in prison for raping a University of Kansas student in 1997.
The Lawrence Journal-World reports Robert E. Grey was sentenced Friday to the least amount of time possible under Kansas sentencing guidelines. He was convicted in a retrial in May for raping a 20-year-old university junior.
The new sentence is 16 months shorter than one issued after Grey’s first conviction in 2009. A Kansas Court of Appeals panel awarded Grey a retrial last year after finding that prosecutorial misconduct deprived him of a fair trial the first time.
The case went cold for years until authorities linked a fingerprint found on the victim’s car to Grey.
Grey has already served nearly seven years, which will count toward time served.
US senator boosts TV ads ahead of Kansas primary
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas Sen. Pat Roberts has intensified his television advertising ahead of the Republican primary to run a new spot highlighting a state medical board investigation of tea party challenger Milton Wolf.
The new ad began airing statewide Friday as part of what Roberts’ said was a $350,000 push before the Aug. 5 election. Wolf spokesman Ben Hartman called the ad misleading.
The Topeka Capital-Journal reported this week that the medical board is investigating Wolf over his past postings of graphic X-ray images on a personal Facebook page. The newspaper said it received a letter from a board attorney, asking it to share information in its possession about the postings.
Wolf is a Leawood radiologist and acknowledged posting the X-ray images and dark humor commentary in 2010. He apologized publicly.
Man in critical condition after Accident at Cheney Reservoir
CHENEY, Kan. — Emergency crews from Hutchinson, Haven and the Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks responded to report of a near drowning at Cheney Reservoir’s M and M Point just before noon on Friday.
The KDW&P reported a 70-year-old man was kite boarding at the lake when an accident happened.
The man was pulled to shore and CPR was being performed on him when emergency crews arrived.
The man, whose name has not been released, was transported to Hutchinson Regional Medical Center in critical condition. According to a wildlife and parks officer the man was an experienced kite boarder.
Although no measles reported at HaysMed, caution urged
Hays Medical Center
With the recent outbreak of measles in Kansas, HaysMed Infection Prevention is offering information to the public.
While there have been no reported cases of measles at HaysMed it is important to be aware of the situation.
First and foremost, if you think you or a family member was exposed to the measles stay home, or away from public places, except to see a health care provider. If you need to visit your healthcare provider, call ahead so appropriate measures can be taken to protect other patients 
and staff. The doctor will arrange for you to be seen in a quarantined environment where you will not expose others to the disease. If not, the doctor can talk you through how you can treat the disease from your home.
Measles is highly contagious and is spread through the air by breathing, coughing, or sneezing.
The signs and symptoms of measles typically begin one to two weeks after someone is exposed to an infected person.
Symptoms include:
• Fever
• Blotchy rash on the skin, which spreads from the head to the trunk then to the lower extremities (Measles can be spread to others from four days before to four days after the rash appears.)
• Cough
• Runny nose
• Red, watery eyes (conjunctivitis)
• Feeling run down, achy
• Tiny white spots with bluish-white centers found inside the mouth (Koplik spots)
People at high risk for severe illness and complications from measles include infants and children aged 5 years and younger and adults aged 20 years and above, pregnant women and people with compromised immune systems.
For more information on measles go to https://www.kdheks.gov/epi/measles.htm
City commission and staff continue budget talks; schedule hearing
By NICK BUDD
Hays Post
City manager Toby Dougherty presented the Hays City Commission with suggested changes to the 2015 budget during Thursday night discussions about scheduling of the budget public hearing.
City staff is recommending commissioners fund the” quality of life” agencies Hays Arts Council, Ellis County Historical Society, Wild West Festival, and Sister Cities Advisory Board out of the Convention and Visitors Bureau fund.
The money for these agencies previously came from the economic development budget.
“The CVB is scheduled to pay off their building this year assuming that the one percent transient guest tax stays in place,” Dougherty said. “This budget could easily absorb those expenditures……it gets them out of our general fund which means more room is created for the police, fire and parks department and things like that.”
Commissioner Kent Steward brought up concerns about keeping the one percent transient tax in place. Steward stated he was not necessarily opposed to the shift of funds, but he simply felt they had it backwards.
“I think we should make that decision in another year and this does strike me as a good change,” Steward said. “The timing is just unfortunate, we’ve got to make a decision on whether we are raising taxes or not.
“You can’t spend the money out of that tax unless you budget it,” Dougherty emphasized. “If the commission chooses to let the transient guest tax go down and not keep it at the one percent up, then these (quality of life agencies) could be absorbed by the general fund.”
The commission would have to pass a resolution in order to keep the transient guest tax in place in order to fund the quality of life agencies once the CVB building is paid off. They will discuss adding this amendment into the budget next week.
“This tax is paid for by people that don’t live in Hays so I think these are good endeavors to fund,” Dougherty said.
Commissioners also voted unanimously to hold the 2015 budget hearing on August 14 at city hall. Dougherty reminded commissioners that the city can spend fewer dollars than budgeted, but not more.
Schuckman to retire as CVB Tourism Sales Manager
By BECKY KISER
Hays Post
Ruben Schuckman, Tourism Sales Manager for the Hays Convention and Visitors Bureau, is retiring from his city position at the end of the month.
Schuckman has worked in the job for 15 years.
During Thursday’s Hays City Commission meeting, Assistant City Manager Paul Briseno reviewed the success of recent tourism events organized by Schuckman.
Tours of six Ellis County historic churches were conducted in June and July.
“All but four of the 69 participants in June were from out of town. In July, approximately 95 people attended, mostly from central and southeast Kansas. Generally, all of the participants lodged and dined out in Hays,” Briseno noted.
“We’d like to thank Ruben for his 15 years of service to the city of Hays and wish him the best in his new endeavor.”
The city has begun accepting applications for the position of Tourism Sales Manager. Review of applications will begin August 11 and will continue until the position is filled.