ELLIS — Two Ellis residents appeared in Ellis County District Court today and were bound over for trial on drug-related offenses after the court determined probable cause.
According to a news release issued by Ellis Police Chief Taft Yates, Joseph Anthony Ransom, 29, and Carly Marie Dreiling, 21, both of Ellis, were arrested Thursday on suspicion of possession of marijuana with intent to distribute (a level 1 drug felony) and possession of drug paraphernalia. The court also found probable cause to hold Ransom for possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.
District Court Judge Glenn R. Braun set bond at $100,000 for each defendant. Charges are to be filed on or before Oct. 3, and the defendants remain jailed in lieu of bond.
“Please keep in mind that arresting and/or charging of individuals are merely allegations of criminal wrongdoing,” Yates said in the news release. “All criminal defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in a court of law.”
The arrests follow the execution of a search warrant at their home at approximately noon Thursday by officers from the EPD, Hays Police Department, Ellis County Sheriff’s Department and Kansas Bureau of Investigation.
“Everybody did an outstanding job — no injuries, no mishaps,” Yates told Hays Post. “Very professional.”
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Agriculture Department says unregulated genetically modified wheat has popped up in a second location in the U.S., this time in Montana.
No genetically engineered wheat has been approved for U.S. farming. Unapproved genetically modified plants pose a potential threat to U.S. trade with countries that have concerns about genetically modified foods.
USDA said Friday that the Montana wheat covered a much smaller area than a similar discovery in Oregon last year. And the wheat was found in a location where agricultural giant Monsanto legally tested such seeds 11 years ago. The plants in Oregon were found in a field that had never conducted such tests.
USDA has said the wheat would be safe to eat if consumed but that none of it ever entered commerce.
EMPORIA – An Emporia woman was sentenced today to more than seven years in prison for mistreatment of a dependent adult and conspiring to mistreat a dependent adult, Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt said.
Dalene Miller, 56, was sentenced to 91 months in the Kansas Department of Corrections by Judge W. Lee Fowler in Lyon County District Court. In July, Miller was convicted of the charges by a Lyon County jury following a four-day trial. The case stemmed from a complaint sent to Adult Protective Services in May 2011.
An investigation by the attorney general’s Medicaid Fraud and Abuse Division and the Lyon County Sheriff’s Office discovered that between July 2011 and January 2012, Miller acted as durable power of attorney and a trustee for her mother-in-law and made purchases including a house, farm and truck while her mother-in-law’s expenses went unpaid.
Assistant Attorney General Stefani Hepford prosecuted the case with assistance from the Lyon County Attorney’s Office.
Charges remain pending against Miller’s husband, Rick Miller, who is scheduled to face trial in November. He is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
Fort Hays State University announced yet another all-time headcount record for the official 20th day of the fall semester, which was Sept. 15.
FHSU delivers college courses through three modalities — to students on the Hays campus, to students in the Virtual College and to students at partner universities in China.
The total 20th-day headcount is 13,825, which is an increase of 2.9 percent from last year’s 20th-day headcount of 13,441. That is an increase of 384 students from last fall and the largest enrollment in the history of the university.
Dr. Mirta Martin
FHSU also enjoyed the largest class of incoming freshmen in its history this fall, with 988 students.
The Kansas Board of Regents uses the 20th day of classes as the official enrollment day to provide a standard basis for comparison from year to year. This year’s numbers were announced after the last of the six Regents universities passed its 20th day.
“We are pleased that once again a record number of students have selected Fort Hays State University as their destination of choice for a high-quality education,” said Dr. Mirta M. Martin, FHSU president. She took office on July 1 as the ninth president in the university’s 112-year history.
“Our continuing growth results from hard work by faculty and staff that allows us to offer the most affordable tuition in the region and academic programs of distinction that attract students with a promise of success in their chosen careers,” the president said. “We are committed to their success, and since I arrived three months ago, I have emphasized that both recruitment and retention are everybody’s job at Fort Hays State.”
The headcount of FHSU students at partner universities in China this fall is 3,165. Last fall it was 3,294 students, which is a decrease of 129 students. That continues a slight decline in enrollment in China, possibly resulting from a downturn in the Chinese economy. The government pays tuition for its students in the partner Chinese universities, but the students have to pay their own tuition to earn FHSU degrees.
Enrollment continued to grow in FHSU’s other two delivery modalities, more than compensating for the decline in Chinese enrollment.
On-campus headcount this fall is 4,800 students. Last fall it was 4,767 students. That is an increase of 33 students, or 0.7 percent.
Headcount this fall in the Virtual College is 5,860 students. Last fall it was 5,380 students. That is an increase of 480 students, or 9.0 percent. The Virtual College makes a college education accessible to students who might not be able to relocate to a university community by delivering courses at locations and times that fit their busy schedules. It delivers “mediated” courses from FHSU’s College of Arts and Sciences, College of Business and Entrepreneurship, College of Education and Technology, and College of Health and Life Sciences through various formats, including the Internet.
“According to national research, this was supposed to be a year of small growth in online enrollments, so we are excited to see our years of effort rewarded,” said Dennis King, director of the FHSU Virtual College. “In our continuing commitment to quality improvement, most of the growth in Virtual College enrollment was due to hiring additional full-time faculty to teach online courses.”
President Martin noted that FHSU continues to grow in the number of Kansans served. “We have 7,141 Kansans enrolled this fall, compared to 6,900 last year,” she said. “That is an increase of 241 students, which is 3.5 percent.”
She also noted that the number of Hispanic students continues to grow. That enrollment this year on campus is 401. “It was just 94 as recently as 2002,” she said, “which is an increase of more than 400 percent over the past 12 years.”
Other interesting areas in the fall 2014 enrollment numbers include:
• A 25.7 percent increase in new transfer students on campus;
• A 14.6 percent increase in freshmen from Nebraska;
• A 43.9 percent increase in freshmen from Saline County;
• A 50.0 percent increase in freshmen from Johnson County;
• A 16.7 percent increase in freshmen from Sedgwick County;
• The largest transfer class — 38, which is an increase of 223.5 percent — from Hutchinson Community College; and
• The largest transfer class — 59, which is an increase of 59.5 percent — from Barton County Community College.
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — Writer Stephen King says the daughter of the BTK serial killer does not have to worry about her father being flattered by his portrayal in an upcoming movie inspired by the Wichita case.
King said in an emailed statement Friday that the character depicting Dennis Rader in his film “A Good Marriage” is a banal little man. King says the story isn’t about the killer husband, but about a brave and determined woman.
King was responding to criticism from Kerri Rawson that he was exploiting her father’s victims. Rawson says that King’s upcoming movie inspired her to break a self-imposed nine-year silence.
But the author says the drive to understand is the basis of art, and that is what he strove for in the novella and movie.
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WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — The daughter of the BTK serial killer is criticizing writer Stephen King for making a movie partly inspired by the Wichita case.
In the first public comments from a member of the killer’s family, Kerri Rawson says King is exploiting Dennis Rader’s 10 victims and their families.
Rawson told the Wichita Eagle she had been one of her favorite writers, but says she won’t read another of his novels now.
Rawson said her father was also a huge King fan, and she fears his books might have influenced some of the things Rader did in his later murders.
King has said in media interviews that the upcoming movie, “A Good Marriage,” was inspired by Rader and his family.
King’s publicist did not immediately respond to an email Friday seeking comment.
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Gov. Sam Brownback and Secretary of State Kris Kobach have launched a new online Kansas Business Center to help owners of existing firms and people forming new ones.
The two officials had a news conference Friday to publicize the center’s new website.
They said the project took 18 months and required the cooperation of multiple agencies. The secretary of state’s office is where businesses file articles of incorporation and annual reports.
They said the site allows business owners a single point of access to state agencies and information about forming businesses and writing business plans.
Both officials are conservative Republicans locked in tough re-election races ahead of the Nov. 4 election. Brownback’s Democratic challenger is Kansas House Minority Leader Paul Davis, while Kobach faces former state Sen. Jean Schodorf.
After nearly 40 years of service with the Hays Fire Department, Wendy Schumacher is retiring. Mike Cooper had a chance to visit with Wendy on his last day on the job.
From left, Hays Police Officer Colin Roe and Jolynn Ashmore, general manager of United passenger service at Hays Regional Airport, thank DSNWK employee Jeff Saindon, who found and turned in a large amount of cash Friday.
By BECKY KISER Hays Post
Hays resident Jeff Saindon was shaking a lot of hands at work Friday morning.
The longtime employee of Developmental Services of Northwest Kansas Employment Connections was on the job as usual at the Hays Regional Airport.
While he was cleaning in the terminal area about 9:20 a.m., Saindon found what he thought was probably litter — a discarded envelope. Just to be sure, Saindon first opened it.
Inside was several hundred dollars in cash.
Saindon showed it to his DSNWK crew supervisor Connie Fross, who took it to the United Airlines general manager Jolynn Ashmore, who in turn called the Hays Police Department.
Responding HPD Officer Colin Roe was impressed with Saindon’s decision to turn in the money.
“You’re doing a great job,” Roe told Saindon. “Not everybody would have been that honest. A lot of people would have kept the money themselves.”
Ashmore and Fross agreed, and they all thanked Saindon, taking turns to shake his hand.
“You’re very trustworthy,” Ashmore said to Saindon.
Roe said the HPD will begin an investigation to find the rightful owner of the cash.
Ashmore said the Hays airport has a video security system.
“It’s easily accessible by the police because the airport is city-owned,” she explained. “Hopefully, they’ll be able to see who left the envelope.”
SALINA- Police arrested a suspect in a kidnapping following a chase Thursday morning.
Around 7:30a.m., an officer recognized a car and the driver as wanted in an aggravated kidnapping case in early August.
The car driven by Brian Musfelt, 32, pulled over in the 800 block of Sherman.
As the officer approached on foot, Musfelt drove away, leading officers on a chase on several residential streets, before Musfelt pulled over in the 300 block of W. Ellsworth and escaped on foot.
He was apprehended by police in a backyard of a home at 320 W. Ellsworth.
Musfelt is alleged to have held a 34-year-old woman against her will at a north Salina home between August 10th and August 14th.
He booked into the Saline County Jail on requested charges of flee and elude, reckless driving, possession of methamphetamine, drug paraphernalia, driving while suspended, obstruction, aggravated kidnapping, aggravated battery, and criminal restraint.
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — As a result of ongoing federal cuts to defense spending, a Kansas Air National Guard official says a Wichita unit could see almost a third of its full-time positions eliminated.
The 184th Intelligence Wing stationed at the McConnell Air Force Base is expected to lose nearly 30 percent of its full-time positions by the end of the next fiscal year.
The Wing’s commander tells the Wichita Eagle that Kansas is shouldering a heavier load of the Air National Guard cuts than other states. If all of the 184th’s cuts are made as expected, the Wing will account for almost half of the total reduction for all Air National Guard units.
He says that was driven by the types of missions carried out by some of the 184th’s units and not because Kansas was singled out specifically
SALINA — A Salina man and woman have lost thousands of dollars in a scam where they thought they had won a lottery on Facebook.
Salina Police Capt. Chris Trocheck said a friend told them he saw they had won the MF Facebook Lottery.
The man and women checked Facebook and since June 14, the 43-year-old man and 49-year-old woman sent several Moneygrams totaling $6,000 to locations in Nigeria and Mississippi to cover taxes and fees before contacting police this week to report the fraud.
MOORE, Okla. (AP) — Authorities say a man suspected of beheading a woman at a food processing plant in suburban Oklahoma City had been fired.
Moore Police Sgt. Jeremy Lewis said Friday that the suspect, who has not been charged, had been fired from Vaughan Foods.
Lewis said the man entered the plant and stabbed 54-year-old Colleen Hufford, severing her head. Lewis said the man then started to stab 43-year-old Traci Johnson.
Vaughan Foods chief operating officer and reserve county officer Mark Vaughan stopped the assault by shooting the suspect. The suspect and Johnson were taken to the hospital and Lewis said they are in stable condition.
Lewis says Moore police have asked the FBI to aid in the investigation and look into the suspect’s background.
KEARNEY, Neb. (AP) — Campus police have arrested a 19-year-old student suspected of posting a threat to use explosives at the University of Nebraska at Kearney.
The university’s library was briefly evacuated on Wednesday after the anonymous threat was posted on a social media app. The university says the social network Yik Yak cooperated with university police in tracking the post.
The university says student is a freshman from Ogallala. Buffalo County records said he remained in custody on Friday. Online court records don’t yet show that he’s been formally charged.
