KINSLEY – A teenager was injured in an accident just after 11:30 a.m. on Monday in Edwards County.
The Kansas Highway Patrol reported a 1993 Buick Park Avenue driven by Anquella R. Zahnd, 18, Atkinson, NE., was southbound on U.S.183 and failed to yield at the U.S. 50 junction in Kinsley.
A semi hit the Buick on the passenger side.
A passenger in the Buick Zeonna Z. Zahand, 13, Atkinson, NE., was transported to Edwards County Hospital.
No other injuries were reported.
All were properly restrained at the time of the accident according to the KHP.
Photo by Dave Ranney Reservoirs such as Clinton Lake help supply water to people living in eastern Kansas. Recent rains and resulting sedimentation post a threat to that water supply.
Securing the state’s water supply — once a hot topic of the legislative session — has faded into the background in Topeka amid pounding rains and a grinding budget crisis.
Rep. Tom Sloan, a Republican from Lawrence, led weeks of hearings on water issues earlier in the session as chairman of the House Vision 2020 Committee. But, sitting in his office between largely unproductive recent House floor sessions, Sloan said the concerns raised during those hearings largely have been forgotten.
“I don’t think anyone is paying attention right now to water,” Sloan said. Gov. Sam Brownback has helped bring the state’s water issues into prominence by proposing a 50-year plan to sustain the Kansas water supply.
At a bill-signing event last week, Brownback said it’s important to keep that goal in the public consciousness, even as recent rains break the long-term drought in much of the state.
“We’ve got to continue to focus on water,” he said. “Right now we’re great — we’ve got a lot of water coming into the state, and I’m delighted about it. My dad’s standing on his ear ’cause he can’t get his beans planted, it’s been so wet. But we’re finally getting rain.”
Brownback said that while flooding is the short-term concern, water conservation should be the long-term focus.
The Kansas Water Authority met recently to accept conservation plans from various regions that all draw from the Ogallala aquifer, he said. Much of the governor’s 50-year plan focuses on the Ogallala, the fast-depleting underground resource that is used to irrigate most crops in the western half of the state.
But Sloan’s committee turned its attention to the sedimentation of surface waters in lakes and reservoirs. The rains that have inundated most of the state, he said, will only make that worse.
“Sediment flows under high water events,” Sloan said, “so we probably have a lot of sediment going into our lakes and reservoirs, which will compound our problems later on for water quality as well as quantity and storage.”
The population centers of eastern Kansas rely heavily on reservoirs for their water supply. When those manmade lakes fill with sand and silt, they hold less water. That becomes a factor the next time there’s a drought. “We need to be making long-term analysis and decisions and investments,” Sloan said.
“Too many people — legislators and others — look at it and say, ‘Things are fine now. The drought has broken.’” Sloan said even with 8 inches of rain in May, some of the ponds on his Douglas County farm have not fully recovered from the drought — and other parts of the state have received far less rain.
The reservoir maintenance projects are traditionally paid for through a three-pronged fund made up of state money, municipal water fees and agricultural water fees. But the state has not contributed its third in years, depleting the capacity to do the needed maintenance. Sloan proposed a bill to make up the difference by increasing the municipal water fee, but it ran into opposition from several groups and went nowhere.
Part of Brownback’s 50-year plan calls for the creation of a task force to examine possible funding sources. His administration decided to delay appointments to that task force until after the session to give legislators a chance to participate. But the session continues to drag on, and sediment continues to flow into the state’s reservoirs.
Sloan said he understands that taxes and budget have to be the Legislature’s priority now. But he said the short-term budget crisis is crowding out lawmakers’ ability to think long-term on issues like water. “Even more than education or taxes, water is going to determine who lives in Kansas and whether you can make a living here,” he said.
Andy Marso is a reporter for Heartland Health Monitor, a news collaboration focusing on health issues and their impact in Missouri and Kansas.
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas legislators have approved a $131 million budget for the state court system for the fiscal year beginning July 1 to avoid the possibility that judicial offices would close otherwise.
The House approved the proposed budget Monday on an 88-26 vote. The Senate approved it 25-14 on Sunday. The measure goes next to Republican Gov. Sam Brownback.
The budget would increase total spending on the courts by nearly $2.5 million, or about 1.9 percent. But the Kansas Supreme Court requested a budget of $149 million, so some lawmakers said the approved amount is inadequate.
But it’s the first piece of the next state budget to clear the Legislature. Budget Director Shawn Sullivan has said nonessential state workers will be furloughed if no budget is in place by Sunday.
SCANDIA – A Kansas man was injured in accident just before 10a.m. on Monday in Republic County.
The Kansas Highway Patrol reported a 2004 Jeep SUV driven by Melvin Thomas Shafer II, 36, Hiawatha, was west bound on U.S. 36 two miles west of Scandia and drove off the right side of the roadway.
The driver over corrected across the centerline. He over corrected again, left the roadway and the SUV rolled at least four times.
Shafer was not wearing a seat belt and was ejected from the vehicle according to the KHP.
He was transported to Republic County Hospital and Life Flight transferred him to another hospital in Lincoln Nebraska.
Hays High has two players named to the first team and two honorable mention picks on the All-Western Athletic Conference softball team.
Senior Kaylie Schondaller and junior Tessa Stickel were named to the first team while juniors Albany Schaffer and Nicole Dinkel were honorable mention selections.
Hays High had two players named to the first team of the All-Western Athletic Conference soccer team and two more named honorable mention. senior Brooke Russell and sophomore Talyn Kleweno were named to the first team while junior Lieacha Cook and sophomore Courtney Molleker are honorable mention selections.
LAWRENCE, Kan. – Center Dwight Coleby will be transferring to Kansas after two seasons at Ole Miss. The 6-9, 240-pound Nassau, Bahamas, native has signed a grant-in-aid agreement to attend KU, will sit out the 2015-16 season and have two years eligibility, Kansas head coach Bill Self announced Monday.
Coleby will report to KU in July, after he competes for the Bahamas in the FIBA Caribbean Basketball Confederation (CBC) Championships, June 15-21, in Tortola, British Virgin Islands.
“We’ve been keeping an eye on transfers the entire spring due to the fact we lose so many big guys next year,” Self said of 2015-16 KU senior forwards Perry Ellis, Jamari Traylor and Hunter Mickelson. “It would be nice to have a big guy in your program that knew the system, and we can rely on to be a foundation. When Dwight became available, we researched it and watched tape. He’s a exactly what I think we need. He’s a big guy that can play either bigs position. He’s active. He reminds me of a lot of a bigger Jamari or Thomas Robinson-type body. He’s got a great motor. I feel like he can play on the block. He can play facing. He can do a lot of different things. He’s raw offensively, but he’s a premiere athlete and should be a solid rebounder and defender right off the bat.”
Coleby played in all 34 games for Ole Miss in 2014-15, including three starts, where he averaged 5.4 points, 4.8 rebounds and 16.5 minutes for the Rebels who finished 21-13 overall, tied for third in the SEC with an 11-7 record and lost to Xavier in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. Coleby was second on the Ole Miss team with 29 blocked shots and his 4.8 rebounds per game were third-best on the squad. He shot 53.2 percent from the field, which was second-best on the team. His 79.7 percent accuracy from the free throw line was a 27.1 percent improvement from his freshman year. Coleby posted six games in double-figure scoring and had his first career double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds at then-No. 19 Arkansas on Jan. 17.
“Dwight was obviously a contributor and role player for an NCAA Tournament team,” Self said. “He didn’t play a ton last year, but Ole Miss had good players. He’s hasn’t been playing ball forever, but there is definitely a foundation there, physically. Also, foundation from an intellect standpoint that is going to allow him to become a much better player fast. Without question, we think his best ball is well down the road. I see him being a Darnell Jackson. I see him being a bigger Jamari, a guy that can have a big impact on our program and hopefully mature and develop into a starter for us.”
As a freshman in 2013-14, Coleby started four of 28 games for Ole Miss and averaged 2.4 points, 1.9 rebounds and 10.4 minutes per game.
Coleby went to Ole Miss after attending Piney Woods High School in Piney Woods, Mississippi. While there he averaged 20 points, 15 rebounds and five blocked shots in 2012-13. Prior to Piney Woods, Coleby attended St. George’s High School in Freeport, Bahamas.
GREAT BEND – Law enforcement authorities in Barton County are investigating a kidnapping case.
Police reported on Saturday just after 5 p.m. officers were dispatched to the 5900 block of Eisenhower in Great Bend in reference to a report of kidnapping.
According to a media release a witness to the incident reported that four individuals kidnapped Robin Pierce.
She left the 5900 block of Eisenhower with these four individuals against her will.
As officers began their investigation, the victim called law enforcement and advised that she was at the Great bend Regional Hospital.
Officers responded to the hospital and contacted Pierce.
While Pierce was being transported from the hospital to another location, she observed the suspect’s vehicle used in the kidnapping at 10th and McKinley parked at a business.
Officer responded to the location and arrested three of the four suspects.
The fourth suspect was not located at that time.
The Barton County Sheriff’s office reported William Allen, McPherson, McPherson, Jill Harney and Roberta Arell, both of Hutchinson, were booked into the Barton County Jail on Saturday for kidnapping. The bond set for each in lieu of $100,000.
The investigation is continuing.
Anyone with information is asked to contact the Great Bend Police Department Detective Division or call Crime Stoppers at 792-1300.
WAKEENEY — One person was injured in an accident just after 1 a.m. Sunday in Trego County.
The Trego County Sheriff’s Office reported a vehicle driven by Logan Zahn, 18, WaKeeney, was traveling on U.S. 283 north of WaKeeney and turned in front of a charter activity bus carrying 11 students-athletes and three coaches from Norton High School.
“We are very fortunate,” USD 211 Superintendent Greg Mann said. “The bus driver did an outstanding job keeping the bus upright as it rolled into the ditch. There could have been a lot of injuries.”
The bus was returning from the state track meet.
Zahn was transported to a Trego County-Lemke Memorial Hospital, treated and released, according to officials. No other injuries were reported.
KANSAS CITY, Kan. (AP) — Kansas City, Kansas, police say a 16-year-old girl was shot to death over the weekend, before her body was dumped in a street from a car that drove away.
Police identified the victim on Monday as Jamie Hernandez-Zubia, of Kansas City, Kansas.
Officers who were called to investigate a report of shots being fired, found the girl’s body in a street early Saturday. Kansas City media reported that witnesses said a vehicle dumped the teen’s body in the street and drove off.
Police are searching for a white pickup truck that may have a bullet hole in its tailgate. It’s believed to be a late-1990s or early-2000s Ford F-150 with flare sides, tinted windows, 20-inch chrome rims and a touch screen device in the cab.
This incident remains under investigation by the Kansas City, Kansas Police Department’s Major Case Unit, who is encouraging anyone with information to call the department’s TIPS Hotline at 816-474-TIPS.
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — The Kansas House has approved a bill that would create new limits on appeals by sex offenders committed to a state treatment program.
The chamber voted 111-0 Monday to approve the bill, which will now go to the Senate for consideration.
Sex offenders determined by a court to be sexual predators are currently committed to a treatment program after they serve their criminal penalties. The bill would remove the right of confined offenders to request a jury trial when petitioning for release. It would also limit offenders’ right to file grievances on a number of issues.
Democratic Rep. John Carmichael from Wichita said that he continues to have concerns with the bill. But he said some provisions that he believed unconstitutional were removed in negotiations between lawmakers from both chambers.
SALINA -Two Tennessee men are in the Saline County Jail on drug charges after being stopped early Saturday morning for speeding on Interstate 70 east of Salina.
Saline County Sheriff Glen Kochanowski said a 2010 Land Rover sped past a marked Sheriff’s vehicle at 87-mph around 2:40 a.m.
After the deputy stopped and approached the SUV, he noticed a strong odor of marijuana.
The deputy called for assistance and officers found 1.23 pounds of marijuana and marijuana wax, with a value between $6,000-$8,000.
The marijuana was hidden in several different areas of the vehicle, according to the sheriff.
Zain F. Yunus, 24, Memphis, TN., and Walter Record, 25, Germantown, TN., were arrested on possession of marijuana and drug paraphernalia possession charges.
Tammy Wellbrock, Hays Chamber of Commerce Executive Director
The day after we completed our sixth annual Hays Area Chamber of Commerce Golf Tournament, someone asked me if the day was a success.
My immediate reaction was to answer, “Heck yeah!” But after more reflection, I wondered what success for this event looks like to our members.
To quote my farmer father, a “successful harvest” was the one that got the crops into the bin. Given Kansas’s unpredictable weather, I would apply his definition to golf. While a sunny day certainly added to the overall positive experience to our golf tournament, this event means so much more than a nice time on a beautiful course.
Certainly, all of us at the Chamber feel so blessed to be able to spend a fun day with our friends, members or not, on the lush green scene available at Smoky Hill Country Club. We are also incredibly grateful for the support of so many volunteers and sponsors, especially our Premier Sponsor, Eagle Communications.
Without the generosity of time, talents and treasures from so many, this day would not be the successful tournament in which it has grown.
Annually, we aim to achieve two specific goals with the golf tournament: earn additional funds while enhancing our relationships with the local community. I’m pleased to share we reached our financial goal while exceeding the number of golfers, volunteers and lunch attendees.
It is humbling to consider much of this support directly depicts the importance you place in your Chamber.
Most importantly, we cemented old acquaintances and even gained new friendships (and I’m not just meaning my new squirrel friend who took a liking to my sunflower seeds). Whether it occurred on the course or at the Patio Party, strangers were introduced, contacts were shared and bonds were developed.
Certainly, the Chamber plans to utilize these funds to offset valuable offerings that enhance all of our member businesses, such as Chamber Cheques, upcoming networking events and various communication tools like our weekly email or monthly newsletter.
We thank all of you for helping make your Chamber, and thus your community, a stronger, friendlier and more rewarding connection.
Tammy Wellbrock is executive director of the Hays Area Chamber of Commerce.
