The former Navy SEAL and pro wrestler won $1.8 million Tuesday in a two-year fight to prove he was defamed by military sniper and best-selling author Chris Kyle, who claimed to have punched out Ventura at a bar for bad-mouthing SEALs.
A federal jury sided with Ventura in his lawsuit against Kyle, who was killed last year in Texas.
Ventura says that since Kyle’s book “American Sniper” was published in 2012, he no longer feels welcome at Navy SEALs reunions.
The Hays Area Children’s Center offers regular developmental screenings for children birth to school-aged in Ellis and Rush counties.
The screenings are designed to assess speech, language, vision, hearing, thinking, self-help, behavior and movement. The monthly screenings are conducted by area professionals including registered nurses, speech-language pathologists and social workers.
Click on the image for more a schedule of upcoming screenings in 2014 and 2015.
For more information on the screenings, call (785) 625-3257 or email [email protected].
Rodeo Clown and Barrelman Robbie Hodges visited the KHAZ Studio to talk with Theresa Trapp.
ROLLING WITH THE FLOW
Rodeo barrelman to entertain fans, protect bullfighters Phillipsburg
Robbie Hodges is living the dream.
He’s seeing the world, doing what he wants, making people laugh, all while hanging out in rodeo arenas across the country.
The Cave Springs, Georgia man will serve as barrelman and rodeo clown for this year’s Kansas’ Biggest Rodeo in Phillipsburg July 31-August 2. In other words, he “works” the barrel, moving it to its best spot to provide an oasis of safety for the bull riders and bullfighters. And if there are slow spots during the rodeo, he fills them with jokes and back-and-forth banter with the announcer.
He got his start in rodeo as a bareback rider, but he was always the jokester, the funny guy. “I hid my fear through funny comedy,” he says. “When I got ready to retire (from bareback riding), I wanted to be a barrelman. Fourteen illustrious years later, here I am,” he jokes.
He loves cracking jokes, even at his own expense. “I hate to say it, but I’m good. I’m not like (Seattle Seahawks football player) Richard Sherman,” he cracks. “I try to be cool. Hey, I’m a successful man. I live in an RV.”
He’s rodeoed at every corner of the country, from California to Davie, Florida, to New York, and Puyallup, Washington. And he’s won awards for his work. Robbie was the 2010 Wrangler National Finals Rodeo barrelman and an alternate the next year. He has been nominated for some of the Pro Rodeo Cowboys Association’s highest honors: Clown of the Year twice, Comedy Act of the Year twice, and Coors Man in the Can four times.
In Phillipsburg, he’ll provide the laughs and banter with the announcer while cowboys are getting ready to compete. He loves the “walk and talk” – being in the arena, cracking jokes during slow times. “I like spontaneity and comedy. I like quick and funny.” Robbie comes up with his material off the cuff. “Most of my stuff is from the situation and the crowd. Ninety percent is from the crowd, and the other twelve percent I make up,” he jokes.
It’s Robbie’s second time in Phillipsburg. He worked the PBR in 2013 there.
He loves what he does, even when he jokes about it. “I don’t get too caught up in rodeo. I stop off at them because they pay, but the rest of the time, I’m seeing the world, playing the guitar and hanging out.”
The Phillipsburg Rodeo is July 31-August 1-2 at 8 pm each night. Tickets are $15 for reserved adult seats and $11 for children ages 3-12. General admission tickets are $13 for adults and $10 for children. Tickets are available at Heritage Insurance in Phillipsburg (785-543-2448). For more information, visit KansasBiggestRodeo.com.
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — A Wichita businesswoman who is challenging Gov. Sam Brownback in the Republican primary has filed for bankruptcy protection in the past, while her running mate has done so twice.
Jennifer Winn tells The Wichita Eagle she was going through a divorce and not receiving child support when she filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy in 2004, facing more than $79,000 in debts.
Winn, who owns a landscaping business, says she filed after losing her home and a truck.
Her running mate, Robin Lais, filed for Chapter 13 bankruptcy in 1997 and again in 2002.
The single mother says the first bankruptcy was caused by medical bills for her daughter, who has epilepsy. The second came when clients of her advertising business went out of business and she was not paid.
The Hays Regional Airport, along with the Ellis County Coalition for Economic Development and the Hays Area Chamber of Commerce, will celebrate the inaugural flight of a new commercial service provider Friday.
The first SkyWest turbojet is scheduled to arrive at 1:27 p.m. Friday at the airport, with a departure time of 1:57 p.m.
The Hays airport has been without commercial service since this spring.
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — An Indianapolis man has won two $1 million lottery prizes in the past three months.
Hoosier Lottery officials say Robert Hamilton won $1 million from a scratch-off ticket he bought last week at an Indianapolis convenience store. His other big winner came in April in western Indiana’s Jasonville while traveling to a conference.
Hamilton says he used his first prize to pay off debts, buy a home and invest in his business. He now plans to buy a motorcycle.
The lottery says Hamilton’s tickets are among eight top prizes for its $120 Million Cash Spectacular Scratch-off game. Lottery officials say the odds of winning a top prize from the game are one in 2.1 million.
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — A former northeast Kansas city clerk has pleaded guilty to a federal embezzlement charge on the same day her former employer filed a separate civil suit.
The Topeka Capital-Journal reports 61-year-old Alice Riley entered her plea Tuesday before U.S. Magistrate Judge Gary Sebelius. The former Auburn clerk admitted embezzling at least $186,000 from the city, where she managed payroll and other accounts.
Riley resigned in February after 31 years in the position amid questions from the City Council and multiple-year audits into the city’s finances.
Prosecutors say she issued duplicate payroll checks to herself and deposited other authorized checks into her personal accounts, then tried to cover it up by creating false entries in the city’s books and bank statements.
Prosecutors say Riley gambled away most of the money.
A Schoenchan mom is hoping other area breastfeeding moms will latch on to a global event coming up this weekend in Hays.
According to Kady Stevens, the 2014 Big Latch On is a global event designed to increase awareness of the nutritional benefits of breastfeeding.
Stevens, mother to a 3-year-old boy and 5-month-old boy, said the event also serves to celebrate and support breastfeeding moms.
“The event offers breastfeeding support and aims to help the community to positively support breastfeeding in public places,” Stevens said.
Steven said the Big Latch On is a worldwide event held every August. Thousands of breastfeeding mothers gather at registered public locations to simultaneously breastfeed their children.
The Big Latch On was started in 2005, and organizers are hoping to beat last year’s goal of 14,536 women in 845 locations and 28 countries.
Locally, the local Big Latch On will take place at 10:30 a.m. Saturday at Daniel G. Rupp Memorial Park, located just off Skyline Drive.
For more details, contact Stevens at (785) 656-4149 or [email protected].
For details on the Big Latch On, visit the website HERE.
To show our appreciation to readers, Hays Post recently announced the “Push for 5,000” contest. Five of our 5,000-plus Facebook fans will be chosen at random to receive a special prize.
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — A Kansas man has pleaded guilty for his role in a Missouri home invasion robbery during which three people were killed.
The Kansas City Star reports 23-year-old Raul Soto of Kansas City, Kansas, admitted in federal court Tuesday that he and several co-conspirators went to an Independence, Missouri, home in November 2012 to rob a man they believed had a large amount of methamphetamine.
The home’s residents denied having any drugs. Three of the occupants — Maria Hernandez, her boyfriend Thomas Dominguez-Gregorio and her son, Antonio Hernandez — where fatally shot.
Soto admitted in his plea that he was armed with a handgun and killed Antonio Hernandez. Under terms of the plea deal, attorneys will recommend a 27-year prison sentence.
Four others already have pleaded guilty in the case.
Award-winning songwriter Rupert Wates will perform at the Hays Public Library at 2 p.m. Aug. 17 in the Schmidt Gallery.
Wates started his career as a songwriter in his native London and eventually developed his performing and singing skills in Paris. During his time in Paris, he also found inspiration for his book “City of Lights: Five Short Stories of Paris.”
In 2006, he moved to the United States to continue his music career that spans over two decades. He has traveled to all 50 states and now has six albums.
One of Wates’ unique albums includes “‘Joe’s Cafe.” The 2010 album illustrates the true stories of Americans across the country. Depicting recent hard times in the U.S., this album has been well-received by audiences.
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — A 3-year-old Wichita boy has died after accidentally shooting himself in the chest with a gun he found while his mom and her boyfriend were taking a nap.
The Wichita Eagle reports the shooting happened around 5 p.m. Tuesday and the boy died at a local hospital an hour later.
Police say three other children, ages 3, 4 and 5, also were in the house but were uninjured. No arrests were made but police questioned the boyfriend for hours after the shooting.
Police spokeswoman Lt. Dennis Wilson says investigators were trying to determine who owned the gun.
The other three children were taken into protective custody.
WICHITA — The son of a North Carolina-based missionary says his mother is fighting the Ebola virus while in isolation in Liberia.
Jeremy Writebol in Wichita, Kansas, told NBC’s “Today” show Wednesday he’s been able to talk with Nancy Writebol as she fights the illness.
He says his mother is able to move around the home where she’s in isolation and has been able to get plenty of fluids.
Jeremey Writebol says he’s concerned about his father, David Writebol, who was exposed before his wife learned of her condition. Jeremy Writebol said his father is feeling fine and is checking his temperature every six hours to monitor his condition.
The Writebols’ Charlotte, North Carolina, church plans a prayer service Wednesday night for her and Kent Brantly, another medical missionary fighting the disease.
