Roena Marie Gordon, 88, of Colby, died January 30, 2015 at Prairie Senior Living Complex, Colby.
She was born January 19, 1927 in Rawlins County, KS to Leffler and Blanche (Tucker) Ramey. She attended college for 2 years in Watertown, Wisconsin. On September 2, 1948 she married Robert Gordon at the Presbyterian Church in Colby, KS. To this union three children were born. Roena had a love for horses and trained horses for American Royal. She also worked in abstracting for 15 years. She was a member of the Trinity Lutheran Church in Colby.
Roena was preceded in death by her husband; parents; siblings, Oddessa Kruckenberg, Wanda Lanphier, Ruby Eisfeldt, Helen Williams and infant brother, Jack Ramey.
She is survived by her children, Amelia (Dan) Grinstead, Walla Walla, WA, Deborah (Robert) Bender, Tonganoxie, KS and Greg Gordon, Colby, KS; brother, Leffler Ramey, Corpus Christi, TX; eight grandchildren and nine great grandchildren.
Cremation was chosen and a Memorial Service will take place at a later date. Memorials are suggested to the Alzheimer’s Association in care of Baalmann Mortuary, PO Box 391, Colby, KS 67748. Online condolences: www.baalmannmortuary.com.
A view of the Vanier Construction site on Monday- courtesy KSU
Litte Apple Post
MANHATTAN — An investigation is underway into the cause of a workplace accident at the Vanier Football complex construction site.
Kansas State University police major Don Stubbings said first responders were dispatched to the site just after 10:30 a.m. on Monday.
A concrete form fell on a worker. One person was transported to Mercy Regional Health Center for not-life threatening injuries.
Eleven fire department personnel, three EMS and five police officers responded, along with members of the K-State environmental health and safety team. The environmental health and safety team is in charge of investigating the accident.
PLAINVILLE — Doctors Without Delay, the six day a week walk-in clinic located inside Rooks County Health Center, set a new record of patients served and announces plans to expand its growing diagnostic services, which allows patients immediate testing without leaving the facility.
“Urgent care by its very nature means time is of the essence, Doctors Without Delay was founded on this principle so having immediate access to medical care and all testing available in a state-of-the-art hospital by just walking across the lobby, saves our patients valuable time and often reduces expenses preventing an unnecessary trip to the ER, ambulance fees or additional travel,” stated Mike Sinclair CEO.
Doctors Without Delay’s record setting year included approximately 25 percent growth in new patients from all over northwest Kansas who benefitted from the clinic’s access to all new in-house ultrasound machines and CT scanner. With the new equipment, patients experienced immediate testing with little wait time. These improvements are being followed with a new in-house MRI system later this year.
“Our core philosophy is to provide patients the best care in an efficient, timely manner. So we added additional ultrasound machines to reduce wait times and our new CT system provides faster exams. Also the CT opening is spacious, less confining for the patient while using two-thirds less radiation than other scanners,” said Sinclair.
This philosophy also applies to patients who may require emergency services.
“People often have a non-urgent condition, but it feels like an emergency to them. Doctors Without Delay providers assess patients and treat their concerns, but if their condition merits emergency intervention, providers can quickly transfer them to the emergency department without leaving the building,” said Sinclair.
Another new service available to patients is the ability to receive counseling regarding applying for private health insurance. “We’ve noticed that patients with health insurance are more likely to participate in preventative health practices. We’d like to help more people seek medical help to prevent illness rather than wait it out and we see them after an illness has already taken hold. We feel prevention is the ultimate care one can provide,” said Sinclair.
Doctors Without Delay was established in 2011 and is open 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Saturday inside Rooks County Health Center, 1210 N. Washington, Plainville.
DETROIT (AP) — Jeep is recalling more than 228,000 SUVs worldwide to fix a software problem that can cause side air bags to inflate for no reason.
The recall covers Jeep Cherokees from the 2014 and 2015 model years.
Fiat Chrysler, which makes Jeeps, says there have been a small number of inadvertent air bag deployments. Canadian safety regulators say the problem occurred mainly in off-road situations. Sudden air bag inflation can startle drivers and cause crashes, but Chrysler says it’s not aware of any accidents or injuries.
Most of the recalled vehicles are in the U.S. and Canada. Dealers will recalibrate the software to change the threshold for inflating the air bags.
The problem is the latest in a string of auto industry troubles with air bags.
RUSSELL — Well-known television journalist Larry Hatteberg, who recently retired from KAKE-TV, Wichita, is the guest speaker for Saturday’s Russell Area Chamber of Commerce banquet. Hatteberg will talk about the Kansans he’s met while working on his long-running and award-winning TV news feature, “Hatteberg’s People.”
The annual event will be held in the Dole-Specter Conference Center, 1430 South Fossil, starting with a social at 6 p.m. and followed by dinner at 7 p.m.
Hays, Kansas – Sybilla Schmidt, age 95, died Monday, February 2, 2015, at the Good Samaritan Society of Hays Care Center.
She was born February 10, 1919, in Catharine, Kansas, to Joseph and Mary (Windholz) Schmeidler Jr. She married Alexius F. Schmidt on September 1, 1936, in Catharine, Kansas. He died December 7, 1999.
She was a homemaker, she enjoyed reading, yard work and moved to Hays, in 1975, from rural Catharine. She was a member of Immaculate Heart of Mary Catholic Church Hays, Kansas.
Survivors include her daughter, Cora Lee Pfannenstiel and husband, Melvin, Hays, KS; two grandchildren, Mark Pfannenstiel, Kansas City, MO; Cindy Pfannenstiel, West Midlands, England; one sister-in-law, Lorinda Schmeidler, Hays, KS.
She was preceded in death by her parents; husband; one grandson, Matthew James Pfannenstiel; one brother, Eugene Schmeidler and one sister, Albertine Rome and husband, Fidelis.
Services are 10:00 A.M. Thursday, at Immaculate Heart of Mary Catholic Church, 18 & Vine, Hays, Kansas. Burial in St. Joseph Cemetery, Hays, Kansas.
A vigil service and rosary is at 7:00 P.M. Wednesday, at Cline’s Mortuary of Hays, 1919 East 22nd Street, Hays, Kansas 67601.
Visitation is from 5:00 to 8:00 P.M. Wednesday, and from 8:30 to 9:45 A.M. Thursday, all at Cline’s Mortuary of Hays.
Memorials to Immaculate Heart of Mary Catholic Church or TMP-Marian High School.
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama is proposing a new government agency dedicated to keeping the nation’s food safe.
It would consolidate parts of the Agriculture Department and the Food and Drug Administration.
The proposal in the president’s budget released Monday comes after outbreaks of illness linked to chicken, eggs, peanuts and cantaloupe. More than a dozen federal agencies oversee food safety, and consumer advocates have long called for giving it a single home.
Currently, the Agriculture Department oversees the safety and inspections of meat and processed eggs and the Food and Drug Administration oversees safety of most other foods.
The budget proposes to consolidate the Agriculture Department’s Food Safety and Inspection Service and all of FDA’s food safety oversight into one new agency within the Department of Health and Human Services.
The Hays High boys’ basketball team moved up one spot to No. 8 in the latest 4A division 1 Kansas Basketball Coaches Association rankings.
In their only game of the week the Indians downed Dodge City 60-53 to move to 10-3 and 3-1 in the Western Athletic Conference.
Both the TMP-Marian boys and girls stayed put in the latest rankings.
The lady Monarchs are No. 2 in 4A-D2 and have won 12 straight after defeating Abilene Friday night.
The Monarchs fell, 67-59 in overtime to No. 7 in 4A-D1 Abilene Friday night and are 8-5 on the season.
Stockton moves up one to No. 2 in 1A-D1 boys.
Hoxie is fourth followed by Victoria at No. 6 and Osborne No. 7. La Crosse drops to No. 10.
Complete rankings below:
6A Girls
1. Maize
2. Wichita South
3. Olathe South
4. SM Northwest
5. Free State
6. Washburn Rural
7. Manhattan
8. Hutchinson
9. Olathe East
10. SM West
5A Girls
1. Aquinas
2. Andover Central
3. Leavenworth
4. Andover
5. Kapaun
6. Salina Central
7. Blue Valley SW
8. Mill Valley
9. Newton
10. Shawnee Hts.
6A Boys
1. Wichita East
2. Lawrence
3. Olathe North
4. Manhattan
5. Olathe East
6. BV North
7. Wichita South
8. Derby
9. SM North
10. KC Wyandotte
5A Boys
1. Shawnee Heights
2. Maize South
3. St. Thomas Aquinas
4. KC Washington
5. Salina Central
6. Wichita Hts.
7. BV West
8. Kapaun
9. Carroll
10. Emporia
1A-Div 2-Boys
1. St. John’s-Tipton
2. Wallace County
3. Pike Valley
4. Caldwell
5. Attica
6. South Barber
7. Ashland
8. Central Christian
9. Northern Valley
10. Triplains-Brewster
TOPEKA — The Kansas Department of Agriculture has released an interactive map depicting the economic impact of agriculture in each of the 105 counties.
“Kansas agriculture contributes to 37 percent of our economy. Each county in our state plays a key role in making that economic percentage as significant as it is,” said Agriculture Secretary Jackie McClaskey. Breaking down statistics county-by-county provides a birds-eye view of our state’s most prominent industry.”
The map, located on the KDA website, can be used to find agricultural economic facts for each county in the state of Kansas. By interacting with the map and selecting a county, users can see detailed agricultural statistics including farm numbers, crop production and leading agricultural sectors. Data for these facts are pulled directly from the National Agriculture Statistics Service(NASS) Farm Facts. The economic impact data is sourced from IMPLAN.
Each graphic gives statistics unique to the county selected. KDA encourages sharing these facts to provide more agriculture knowledge across the state.
The Kansas Department of Agriculture is committed to providing an environment that enhances and encourages economic growth of the agriculture industry and the economy of Kansas.
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — The leader of a Kansas commune that prosecutors say lived off life insurance payouts from its dead members faces trial this week in the 2003 drowning of a woman whose death he had allegedly foretold weeks earlier.
Jury selection begins Monday in the trial of 55-year-old Daniel U. Perez for first-degree premeditated murder of Patricia Hughes at the group’s compound in the Wichita suburb of Valley Center.
Witnesses have testified Perez called himself a seer and portrayed him as a domineering leader who kept a tight rein on his young, mostly female followers.
Perez also faces multiple counts of lying on life insurance applications, rape, sodomy, criminal threat, making false statements on auto credit applications and sexual exploitation of a child.
His defense attorney did not return a phone message.
For the sixth time this season, Fort Hays State’s Kate Lehman is the MIAA Women’s Basketball Athlete of the Week. The Newton senior averaged a double-double through two rivalry games this weekend, putting up 19.5 points and 11 rebounds per game in the Tigers wins at No. 2 Emporia State (65-55) and Washburn (62-58).
Lehman pushed her double-double streak to nine consecutive games against ESU, finishing with 18 points and 13 rebounds to help FHSU grab its first win in Emporia since the 1995-96 season. She narrowly missed her 10th straight in the game with Washburn, finishing with 21 points (her 10th 20-plus scoring effort of the year) and nine rebounds.
Trailing late in the game at WU, Lehman sunk back-to-back 10 foot jumpers to tie the game and came up with a key block on the defensive end in between to help FHSU secure the win (its first at Lee Arena since the 1994-95 season). She also moved into No. 3 on FHSU’s career scoring list, and is just three rebounds shy of 1,000 for her career (she is first all-time at FHSU in that category). Additionally, she swatted six shots for the week and hit 7-of-8 attempts from the free throw line.
Bob Weir will be the sole guest on this Thursday night’s edition of CBS’ The Late Late Show, which airs at 12:35 a.m. ET/PT.
The founding Grateful Dead singer/guitarist will be interviewed and will perform during the program.
Pop/blues star John Mayer will be the evening’s guest host. Mayer has been known to regularly include Grateful Dead songs in his concerts’ set lists, including “Friend of the Devil.”
The Late Late Show is featuring a series of guest hosts during the interim between the recent exit of Craig Ferguson and the debut this coming March of new host James Corden.
Expect Weir to chat about The Grateful Dead’s recently announced Fare Thee Well reunion shows, which are scheduled for July 3, 4 and 5 at Soldier Field in Chicago.
The concerts will celebrate the band’s 50th anniversary and also are expected to be the last shows the surviving original Dead members will play together.
Weir, bassist Phil Lesh and drummers Mickey Hart and Bill Kreutzmann will be joined by special guests Trey Anastasio of Phish, Bruce Hornsby and Jeff Chimenti.
Visit Dead50.net for all the details about the gigs.
Troy L. Waymaster, State 109th Dist. Representative
TOPEKA–January 30, 2015
Appropriation Committee: Governor’s Revisions for FY 2015
On Wednesday and Thursday of this past week, the Appropriations Committee held a hearing on the Governor’s revised recommendations for fiscal year 2015. A revision was resubmitted to the committee due to some of the transfers not included in the initial proposal. During this current fiscal year, the state of Kansas is projected to have a $278.7 million shortfall and adjustments are imperative in order to balance the books for 2015.
One of those reductions in spending is a 4% reduction in state agency spending for the remaining months of the 2015 fiscal year. This 4% reduction in spending totals about $18.4 million dollars. Another adjustment of $7.9 million will be achieved by changing the employer’s contribution rate from 11.27% to 8.65% in the fiscal year for the Kansas Public Employee Retirement System. There is also $4.6 million from the State General Fund that reduces expenditures for the Disaster Relief Fund, $2.7 million from the State General Fund for reappropriation lapses for the Legislative and Judicial branches of government, and a reduction to the Kansas Bureau of Investigation of $791,720.
There are some increases in spending of $106.6 million to be appropriated to fully fund Human Services Caseload estimates, $2.9 million technical education tuition, and $2.5 million for the Department of Administration to reimburse the Federal government for various expenditures.
The bill also includes State General Fund transfers for the current fiscal year which total $253.2 million.
The two largest transfers are from the State Highway Fund, $158.5 million and from the Medical Program Fees Fund of $55 million. We began working and amending this bill on Friday, January 29 and will finish working on it on Monday, February 2.
On Friday, January 30, the Kansas Department of Revenue reported that tax revenues were $47.2 million less than expectations.
Bills Worked in Agriculture and Natural Resources
This past week was the first week that we began bill hearings in the Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee. The first bill that we heard was regarding the Pet Animal Act. This bill would amend existing statute by allowing licensed animal shelters to host off-site adoptions events, clarify that the animal facilities inspection frequency schedule is to be set in regulations,adjust the membership and method of appointment to the Kansas Pet Animal Board, eliminate carbon dioxide chambers as a form of euthanasia, and simplify the licensee categories.
We also worked on a bill that would amend current law regarding domesticated deer. The proposed legislation would state that any domesticated deer, regardless of age, would need to have official identification and that identification would be set by the Animal Health Commissioner.
A bill was introduced that would change the date and the requirement for boating and water activities.
Judicial Selection
The House Judiciary Committee held hearings last week on the selection process for the Kansas Supreme Court. Committee members received a briefing on the current method, which relies heavily on Kansas Bar Association members to vet judicial applicants and submit them to the governor for final approval. The majority of the nine member selection commission is made up of five members voted on by attorneys currently admitted to the state bar. They are supplemented by four appointees selected by the Governor.
Judiciary committee members heard testimony advocating for the current system from the state’s bar association and defense attorneys association. They argued there is no problem with the current system. The governor has suggested changing it to the federal model of judicial selection – governor appoints and Senate confirms – or moving to direct election.
In order to change the current selection process, the Constitution would have to be amended.
Thus, a resolution would have to be passed by two-thirds of both the House and Senate and then be approved by Kansas voters before a new process could become law.
Elections, Visitors, and Contact Information
During Governor Sam Brownback’s State of the State Address, one of the initiatives that he proposed is the changing of local elections from April to November of odd years. The purpose, he stated, is to increase the voter turnout for those elections. If these elections were moved to November of odd numbered years, the proposed legislation stipulates that they would still remain non-partisan.
Since I have been serving in the House of Representatives, this issue has been introduced every year. This issue will be addressed by the Elections Committee and we will see if the bill passes out of committee to the House floor.
This week, I had the pleasure of having many visitors from back home at my office. Those visitors included Brett Middleton from Great Bend, Brian Brady from Hays, Ray Debey from Cawker City, Andrea Krauss from Russell, and Jeremiah Hobbs of LaCrosse, who is with the Wet Walnut Watershed. Jeremiah attended our Agriculture and Natural Resources committee while we conducted a hearing on conservation.
It is an honor to serve the 109th Kansas House District and the state of Kansas. Do not hesitate to contact me with your thoughts, concerns and questions. I appreciate hearing from the residents of the 109th House District and others from the state of Kansas.
