LE SUEUR, Minn. – The Moose Lake (MN) Outlaws scored eight runs in the fifth inning then added five more in the sixth to rally past the Hays Monarchs 14-4 in six innings at the American Legion Central Plains Regional Thursday afternoon. The loss snaps the Monarchs (28-8) six-game winning streak giving them a 1-1 record in pool play. They must now wait to see if they advance to the single-elimination bracket play on Friday.
Moose Lake plays Rancho (NV) at 11:30 a.m. Friday. If Moose Lake wins, the Monarchs advance. If Rancho wins, tie-breakers will be used to determine which two teams advance out of the pool.
The Monarchs scored three in the bottom of the fourth to take a 4-1 lead. Ricky Hockett and Liam Stults both drove in runs with a double. Stults later scored in a Jared Vitztum single.
Ryan Ruder takes the loss, allowing five runs (three earned) on seven hits over 4 1/3 innings.
HESSTON, Kan. (AP) — A Kansas-based mowing equipment manufacturer plans to open a new plant in Edgerton and create 200 jobs.
Excel Industries, based in Hesston, says in a news release Thursday that it will open the new plant in Logistics Park Kansas City in Johnson County. The company says the plant will initially be used for warehousing and distribution and eventually manufacture an existing product.
The company’s mowing products, which include golf course equipment, are sold through the Hustler Turf Equipment and BigDog Mower Co. brands.
The Kansas City Star reports Excel also said it expects to hire more employees at its Hesston headquarters during the next several years as it adds products.
By RON WILSON Huck Boyd National Institute for Rural Development
What happens when music meets a meadow? That sounds like an unusual combination. Today we’ll learn about an initiative which brings together high quality symphonic music, genuine western history, and pristine natural beauty in rural Kansas.
Ron Wilson is director of the Huck Boyd National Institute for Rural Development at Kansas State University.
Wayne Kruse is chair of the steering committee for a brand new event to be conducted in 2015. Wayne is on the board of the Marshall County Arts Cooperative which is leading this initiative.
Wayne is a Marshall County native, having been born and raised in Marysville. He went to KU and lived in Lawrence before coming back to Marysville where he now works for KNDY radio. He also volunteers with the Marshall County Arts Cooperative, called MCAC for short.
In 2012, the MCAC was the presenting organization for a concert by the Topeka Symphony Orchestra in Marysville. The symphony played an entire concert of music by Mozart. To the surprise and delight of symphony director John Strickler, the symphony played to a full house and an appreciative audience.
“There was a great crowd and great publicity for the event,” Wayne said. “I think John Strickler felt that it was very well-organized.” This demonstrated that the Marshall County Arts Cooperative could conduct a major event.
After the concert, a dinner was held with symphony director Strickler at the home of local newspaper publishers Howard and Sharon Kessinger. Strickler commented that he would like to have an outdoor concert somewhere in Kansas, and the seed was planted.
The MCAC took on the idea of an outdoor symphony performance as a long-term goal. The organization considered possible venues in the county, including the Alcove Spring Historic Park along the Oregon-California Trail. When new MCAC board member John Schwartz joined the board, they learned that he was also a trustee of the park at Alcove Spring. With his help, a connection was made.
Meanwhile, John Strickler retired as director of the Topeka Symphony, but his successor Kyle Wylie Pickett was also enthusiastic about the idea of an outdoor concert. In April 2015, the MCAC announced plans for this event: Orchestra on the Oregon Trail, to be held on Sunday, Sept. 6, 2015 at historic Alcove Spring.
Imagine an 80-piece orchestra performing musical themes from Western movies, sounds from the pioneer days and songs that highlight the American spirit. Now imagine that concert taking place in a natural meadow near a historic spring along the actual Oregon-California Trail. That is what will happen at 6 p.m. on Sept. 6.
In fact, there will be a full afternoon of activities preceding and following the concert, including four live bands, wagon rides, nature walks, cowboy poetry, historical reenactors, Johnny Appleseed, and more.
This sounds like the successful Symphony in the Flint Hills, but this event will take place along the Oregon-California Trail. Alcove Spring was an important stop for travelers along the trail. Wagon swales can still be seen in the 246-acre park, showing the paths pioneers traveled to and from ferry crossings as they headed west. This historic site was the stopping place for many wagon trains, including the legendary Donner-Reed party.
The concert will take place in a truly rural, undeveloped location. Concert-goers are advised to bring their own lawn chairs or bag chairs, although a limited number of lawn chairs will be available for rental. Alcove Spring is in a beautiful setting, located along the Blue River south of Marysville, north of Blue Rapids, and northeast of the rural community of Waterville, population 664 people. Now, that’s rural.
More than 1,000 tickets have already been sold, 75 percent of which have been by purchasers outside Marshall County. In fact, tickets have been purchased from as far away as Arizona, Michigan, and Connecticut.
For more information or to buy tickets, go to www.ooot.org.
What happens when music meets a meadow? Find out at Alcove Spring on Sept. 6, 2015. We salute Wayne Kruse and all those involved with the Marshall County Arts Cooperative for making a difference by bringing together high quality music, history, and nature. When music meets a meadow, it can be magical.
DETROIT (AP) – Ian Kinsler hit a two-run homer off Ryan Madson in the ninth inning to give the Detroit Tigers an 8-6 victory over the Kansas City Royals on Thursday.
Jose Iglesias led off with a single against Madson (1-2) before Kinsler hit a 2-0 fastball into the bullpen in left field.
Alex Wilson (2-3) got the win after getting out of a bases-loaded jam in the ninth.
Victor Martinez hit a three-run homer in the third and a two-run shot in the fifth to help the Tigers take a 6-3 lead. Martinez hadn’t homered since July 17 and hadn’t had a multi-homer game since hitting two for Boston against Toronto on Sept. 17, 2010.
The Royals tied it with a three-run seventh. Drew Butera led off with a homer, and Kendrys Morales had a two-run double.
The game was delayed for several minutes when a squirrel ran around on the field. It briefly ended up in the Tigers’ dugout, then raced into left field.
GREAT BEND – Law enforcement authorities in Barton County made a drug arrest following a foot chase on Tuesday.
Police in Great Bend reported in a media release officers were dispatched to the 2100 block of 9th Street in reference to a man named Zach Gaddis causing a disturbance.
Officers were advised that Gaddis left the area in a white pickup truck. While officers were en route to the scene, Barton County Dispatch advised Gaddis had several outstanding warrants.
On the way to the scene, one of the officers located Gaddis, who reportedly fled on foot in the area of the 1000 block of Madison Street.
Sergeant Gary Davis located Gaddis in the area of 12th and Madison and began to place him into handcuffs.
As he did so, Gaddis allegedly physically resisted and once again fled on foot. Sergeant Davis and Officer Jacob Williamson gave chase and successfully apprehended him in the 2900 block of 12th Street.
It was later determined that the vehicle Gaddis had been driving was stolen, police said. It was returned to the owner.
Gaddis was arrested on July 29 for the possession of stolen property and possession of methamphetamine and was out on bond at the time of Tuesday’s arrest. Gaddis was booked into the Barton County jail on suspicion of theft, as well as his outstanding warrants.
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Fort Hays State men’s soccer was tabbed the No. 14 ranked team in the nation in the NSCAA Division II Preseason Rankings for the 2015 season on Thursday (Aug. 6). It is the same ranking the Tigers held in the final poll of the 2014 season.
The Tigers reached new heights in 2014 as they advanced to the National Quarterfinals of the NCAA Tournament (Super Region 3 Final) for the first time. FHSU, ranked No. 23 in the nation at the time, was on the verge of advancing to the National Semifinals with a 2-0 lead on No. 5 ranked Quincy University at halftime in the national quarterfinal match, but Quincy rallied for three goals in the second half to edge FHSU 3-2. Quincy finished as the No. 3 ranked team in the nation with a record of 21-2-2. Fort Hays State finished its season at 11-6-4 overall.
Fort Hays State reached the NCAA Tournament for the third consecutive year in 2014, just the program’s fourth year of existence. The Tigers have produced at least 11 wins in each year of the program’s short history. Brett Parker enters his fifth season as head coach, now with a record of 45-22-11 in his time guiding FHSU. The Tigers have been a mainstay in the national rankings in each of the last three years, reaching as high as No. 9 in the nation during the 2012 season.
Over four years, Fort Hays State has produced four All-Americans, 24 all-region selections, and 24 All-MIAA selections, including the 2014 MIAA Player of the Year, Tanner Brock.
Fort Hays State returns four All-MIAA selections (Michael Cole, David Lucio, Mauricio Castorino and Drew Wilson) and two all-region selections (Cole and Lucio) in 2015.
Fort Hays State is one of two MIAA schools referenced in the 2015 preseason national rankings. Conference rival Northeastern State is ranked No. 21 in the initial poll. Northeastern State was the MIAA Regular Season and Tournament Champion last year and hosted the Super Regional of the NCAA Tournament. The Tigers knocked off the RiverHawks on their home field in the Super Regional Semifinal, advancing on penalty kicks (3-2) after the teams played to a 1-1 draw.
Fort Hays State begins its exhibition play on Saturday, August 15 against Northwest Kansas Tech in Hays. The Tigers have three preseason friendlies to tune up for the regular season, which begins on September 4 against Missouri Science & Technology in Tahlequah, Okla.
ABILENE – Law enforcement authorities in Dickinson County made an arrest and recovered stolen property on Tuesday.
The Dickinson County Sheriff in a media release reported the arrest of Brian Dickerman, 32, Abilene, on multiple counts including Possession of Stolen Property, Possession of Methamphetamine, Possession of Marijuana, Criminal Use of a Weapon, Possession of Drug Paraphernalia, and Possession of a Firearm by a Felon.
Sheriff Gareth Hoffman reports Dickerman was arrested on Tuesday after Sheriff’s Deputies and Officers of the Abilene Police Department executed two search warrants at 307 Northwest 10th Street in Abilene.
During a search of the residence investigators recovered a stolen Yamaha 4-Wheeler that had been reported stolen in 2013 in Salina. Investigators also seized numerous items of drug paraphernalia that are consistent with use and sales of methamphetamine and marijuana. A loaded handgun was also seized that was in close proximity to the items of drug paraphernalia.
Two children, ages 3 and 10, that were living in the home were placed in protective custody.
Hoffman reported on August 6 that Dickerman was incarcerated at that time in the Dickinson County jail. Dickerman was arrested in March in Geary County.
Bartholomew J. Daley, 34, Fort Worth, Texas, was arrested by Hays police following an incident in which an anonymous male reported a local bank branch was going to be robbed. The robbery never occurred, but Daley, accused of making the call, has a history of alleged criminal activity stretching from North Dakota to Texas.
Daley
In the last few years, according to reports, Daley has been arrested, investigated and sued in various states and counties.
Those include a case in Sedgwick County where he was found guilty of felony theft, according to Georgia Cole, spokeswomen for the Sedgwick County District Attorney’s office.
Sentencing for that case is scheduled for Sept. 1.
Daley and others allegedly ran a long-term construction scam around the Wichita area, offering asphalt work at a significantly reduced price for cash up front, but rarely completed the work.
Daley has also been implicated in a civil case filed by Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt in a case stemming from complaints from Kansas consumer affairs alleging “defendants included failing to complete promised work after receiving payment in full, failing to provide consumers with a three day right to cancel the transaction as required by law, not providing consumers with refunds due and making false representations about the work that would be done. In addition, the defendants failed to respond to investigators and left the state,” according to a media release by Schmidt’s office.
The suit was filed in May in Shawnee County District Court against Daley, and others doing business as Pave All Asphalt Paving, Pave-A-Lot and Daley Contracting.
The lawsuit seeks $112,000 in civil penalties, court costs and investigative fees, and restitution for the named consumers. The attorney general alleges transactions occurred in Ellis, Gove, McPherson, Ness, Ottawa, Riley, Saline and Sedgwick counties.
Daley had been implicated in a similar scam in North Dakota in 2010, doing business as B.D. Sealcoating.
The Better Business Bureau had issued an alert for Daley this year, as well.
“This business first came to the BBB’s attention in late March 2015,” according to the BBB website. “Consumers allege that Bud Daley a/k/a Bartholomew J. Daley came to their homes and stated that he works for Pave A Lot, and wanted to do asphalt paving. Upon agreeing to the asphalt work, consumers allegedly reported that Mr. Daley persuaded them to pay funds upfront by stating that he does not have the funds to purchase needed materials since all of his additional funds are going toward the care of an ill child.”
KANSAS CITY – A Kansas man was injured in an accident just after 8:00 a.m. on Thursday in Johnson County.
The Kansas Highway Patrol reported a 2012 Chevy passenger vehicle driven by Charles Anthony Pittman, 61, Kansas City, was northbound on Interstate 435.
The vehicle exited the highway at Johnson Drive, struck an exit sign, vaulted over the entrance ramp and hit a rock wall.
Pittman was transported to Overland Park Regional Medical Center. He was properly restrained at the time of the accident, according to the KHP.
Charles C. Haynes is director of the Religious Freedom Center of the Newseum Institute.
Last week, the International Olympic Committee awarded Beijing the 2022 Winter Games, demonstrating yet again that selection of a host city has everything to do with politics, money and power — and nothing whatsoever to do with human rights.
While Chinese government officials were celebrating the “Olympic spirit” in Beijing, it was religious persecution as usual in the rest of the country.
The same week of the Olympic announcement, Chinese Christians in Zhejiang — a province in eastern China — were frantically organizing a movement to push back against a government campaign to remove exterior crosses from their churches or, in some case, tear down the church itself.
Social media carried images of courageous Chinese Christians making crosses to wear and place on their homes as a non-violent protest against government repression. Last year alone, at least 400 churches were demolished or had crosses forcibly removed, according to the 2015 Annual Report of the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (www.uscirf.gov).
This week Chinese police detained seven church members in Zhejiang who have been resisting cross removal. They were charged with embezzlement and a variety of other apparently trumped up charges, including “instigating others to disrupt the social order.”
Christians, of course, are not the only targets of government persecution in China. Uighur Muslims, Tibetan Buddhists, Falun Gong practitioners and others face harassment, arrest, torture, and imprisonment by a government determined to control and repress people of faith.
Apologists for the Olympic selection process made hopeful noises in 2001 when Beijing was chosen as the site for the 2008 Summer Games. Holding the Olympics in China, the argument went, will put the spotlight on human rights concerns and encourage the government to grant more religious freedom.
Instead, winning the Olympic bid in 2008 apparently inspired China’s totalitarian regime to move in the opposite direction by cracking down on religious groups with increasing brutality.
Tibetan Buddhist Goshul Lobsang, to cite just one of many examples, was imprisoned for helping to organize a peaceful protest in 2008. Last year, Lobsang died shortly after his release from prison where, according to the USCIRF report, he suffered “extreme malnourishment and brutal torture, such as regular injections and stabbings.”
As a reward for this abysmal human rights record, Beijing is now set to become the first city in modern Olympic history to host both the summer and winter Games.
To be fair, the IOC had limited choices in the contest for the 2022 games. Four democratic countries, including frontrunner Norway, withdrew from the competition — leaving the IOC to choose between China and Kazakhstan, another authoritarian regime that routinely violates religious freedom and other human rights.
The Olympics been become so costly, disruptive and unpopular that soon only totalitarian governments prepared to spend billions and repress dissent will be able to host the games.
One solution floating around the Internet would be to designate a permanent home for the Olympics — Greece being the obvious choice. But the allure of national self-aggrandizement, billion dollar media deals, and fancy VIP receptions is probably too great to permit transformation of the current Olympic culture.
Dressing up totalitarianism in Olympic colors comes at a cost. Russia, it should be remembered, spent more than 50 billion dollars on the Sochi Winter Games in 2014 — a propaganda extravaganza that fooled no one outside Russia.
But the greater cost is to the Olympic spirit — and, indeed, the human spirit.
I enjoy the Winter Olympic Games as much as the next person. But unless China begins to take religious freedom seriously, I won’t be watching in 2022.
Charles C. Haynes is vice president of the Washington-based Newseum Institute and executive director of the Religious Freedom Center. [email protected]
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — The Kansas state health department has not received a single report on the handling of fetal tissue in the 15 years that it’s been legally required whenever such tissue is transferred.
The Department of Health and Environment’s disclosure — in response to an Associated Press open records request — comes amid a national debate about fetal tissue. It was spurred by anti-abortion activists’ release of videos showing Planned Parenthood officials outside Kansas discussing their handling of fetal tissue.
A 2000 Kansas law banning the sale of fetal tissue requires anyone legally donating it to someone else to file a report providing details.
The state’s abortion providers say they don’t have such donation programs. Abortion opponents said Thursday another possible explanation is that the requirement is being ignored.
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Secretary of State Kris Kobach says he’ll start prosecuting voter fraud cases in September and will focus on cases of double voting from the 2010 election.
KWCH reports Kobach’s office is aiming for mid-September to begin filing charges.
Double voting refers to when a person casts a ballot in more than one jurisdiction in the same election. Kobach said his office has been working with other states to get documents to support the claims of double voting.
Kobach won the authority to prosecute election crimes during this past legislative session. That authority to prosecute, which he sought, went into effect July 1.
Many Democratic lawmakers have expressed concern that Kobach will pursue unnecessary prosecutions.
School starts soon for local students and First Call for Help is again providing free backpacks filled with school supplies for low income families in Ellis County.
Those who registered for Backpacks for Kids, are picking them up today until 6p.m. in the Hays Hadley Center, 205 E. Seventh, on the first floor.
Coordinator Laura Shoaff expects more than 600 backpacks will be given away this year.
“We do a pre-K, a (grades) 1 through 5, a 6 through 8, and then high school backpacks. So those kids will all be getting the same supplies according to their grade level. It’ll all be age-appropriate and off the school lists in Hays, Victoria and Ellis,” Shoaff explained.
Personal hygiene items, including soap, shampoo, and toothpaste and toothbrushes, are also included.
If there are any backpacks left over Thursday, Shoaff said the remaining ones will be available for pick-up Friday morning from 8 until noon in the same location.
First Call for Help has organized the Backpacks for Kids program for more than 12 years.
Nex-Tech and Nex-Tech Wireless in Hays have jointly helped solicit donations of school supplies for the project the past eight years. Jenny Leiker, Nex-Tech senior marketing analyst and Corrina Hudsonpillar, Nex-Tech Wireless marketing supervisor, delivered two full vans of supplies to FCFH which were sorted and packed into the backpacks by other volunteers.
“When we first started doing this program, we would take the (school supplies) list and put everything on there and sometimes we would get 500 boxes of crayons and 2 sticks of glue. So the last few years we started organizing the list into the ‘Most Needed’ items and put those at the top of the list. Then we have the ‘Also Needed’ items at the bottom of the list.” Leiker said.
“They need all of it but it varies from year to year. They might have a surplus of one thing and too little of another. We work with First Call for Help each year to make the list just right for what they need that year and I think that really helps them get the right amount of supplies,” she added.
“We are local companies and this is just one way we can give back to this community and the people that we serve,” said Hudson-Pillar.
“I’m really excited about the donations we’ve received,” said Shoaff. “We’ve also had a lot of churches that have helped supply things for us. Dentists and orthodontists in the area have been very gracious in donating most of the toothpaste, toothbrushes and dental floss for the hygiene packs that go in the backpacks.” Area service clubs also made cash donations.
“Having the new supplies like everyone else has puts everybody on the same playing level, and helps those kids get excited in families that might be struggling right now and not have the money for new school supplies.
“It’s very appreciated by the kids and families,” Shoaff said.
Donations to Nex-Tech and Nex-Tech Wireless are delivered.
LE SUEUR, Minn. – The Moose Lake (MN) Outlaws scored eight runs in the fifth inning then added five more in the sixth to rally past the Hays Monarchs 14-4 in six innings at the American Legion Central Plains Regional Thursday afternoon. The loss snaps the Monarchs (28-8) six-game winning streak giving them a 1-1 record in pool play. They must now wait to see if they advance to the single-elimination bracket play on Friday.
