A two vehicle accident was slowing traffic at 12th and Main around 5 p.m. Friday, as Hays Police and Fire departments were on scene directing traffic around the accident.
One of the vehicles was towed from the scene after sustaining significant damage to its front end. The other vehicle was parked, but looked drivable.
Emergency medical crews were also on the scene, but an officer from the HPD believed transportation for the injured party would not be necessary.
Within the hour the accident had been cleared and traffic had resumed through the intersection.
OLATHE, Kan. (AP) — A white supremacist charged with killing three people at Jewish sites in suburban Kansas City last year has testified that he wishes he could have killed more.
Frazier Glenn Miller Jr., who is acting as his own attorney, called himself to the stand, where he was also cross-examined by the prosecutor.
Miller has admitted that he killed the three in April 2014, but says he was compelled to act because of his belief that Jewish people are trying to wipe out the white race. None of the victims was Jewish.
He detailed Friday afternoon how he went to the two sites and shot the people because he thought they were Jews.
NEW YORK (AP) — Oil prices surged again Friday, a day after recording their biggest gain in more than six years.
U.S. crude rose 6.3 percent to finish at $45.22 per barrel after climbing 10.3 percent on Thursday. That was the biggest one-day gain for U.S. oil since March 2009.
The price of U.S. crude is still down 15 percent in 2015.
Brent crude, a benchmark for international oils imported by U.S. refineries, rose 5.2 percent to $50.05 a barrel. Brent also rose 10.3 percent Thursday.
U.S. oil had fallen to a 6 ½ year low on Monday because of a global supply glut and worries about the health of China’s economy.
The gains ease some concerns about the economic impact of falling oil prices on oil-producing regions and the economy at large.
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — A Kansas judge is suggesting that the independence of the state’s courts is at stake in a dispute over an administrative policy imposed on them by legislators.
An attorney for District Judge Larry Solomon of Kingman County on Friday asked District Judge Larry Hendricks of Shawnee County to strike down a 2014 law changing who selects chief judges in the state’s 31 judicial districts. Solomon is chief judge in the 30th District in south-central Kansas.
Hendricks had a hearing in a lawsuit by Solomon against the statute and said he will rule soon.
Judges in each district now pick their chief judges. The Kansas Supreme Court previously did.
The state contends there’s no attack on judicial independence.
But lawmakers tied the court system’s budget to preserving the policy change.
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TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — A Kansas court is having a hearing in a judge’s lawsuit against an administrative policy imposed upon the state’s judiciary by legislators.
The hearing Friday afternoon in Shawnee County District Court concerns a 2014 law under which the district judges in each of the state’s 31 judicial districts pick their chief judges. Before the law, the Kansas Supreme Court chose them.
District Judge Larry Solomon of Kingman County contends the law violates a provision of the state constitution giving the Supreme Court general administrative authority over the judicial branch. Solomon is the chief judge in the 30th District of south-central Kansas.
The Republican-dominated Legislature passed another law earlier this year that attempts to make the court system’s entire budget for the next two years dependent upon the policy surviving.
Phillipsburg resident Pearl P. Hayes passed away Friday, Aug. 28, 2015 at the Good Samaritan Hospital in Kearney, NE at the age of 90.
She was born in Riley County on October 26, 1924, the daughter of John F. & Ida M. (Bohnenblust) Sprecker. Her husband, Donald, preceded her in death on Aug. 30, 2012.
She is survived by her daughter, Debbie Hays, of Phillipsburg, and two grandchildren.
Funeral services will be held Tuesday, Sept. 1, at 10:30 a.m. in the Olliff-Boeve Memorial Chapel, Phillipsburg, with Pastor Chris Davis officiating. Burial will follow in the Fairview Cemetery, Phillipsburg.
Visitation will be Sunday from noon – 9 p.m. and Monday from 9 a.m. – 9 p.m. at the funeral home, with the family receiving friends Monday evening from 7:00 – 8:30 p.m.
Memorial contributions may be given to the United Presbyterian Church or the Phillips County E.M.S Online condolences to www.olliffboeve.com.
Olliff-Boeve Memorial Chapel, Phillipsburg, is in charge of arrangements.
Courtesy Ellis County Sheriff’s OfficeThe Ellis County Sheriff’s Office is seeking the public’s help in locating a 13-year-old runaway.
The sheriff’s department said in a news release Friday that Peyton Nicole White had run away from DCF care on Aug. 19.
“Despite having some contact with acquaintances through a Facebook account since Aug. 23, she has refused to return to her home in Catharine, Kansas,” the department reported.
She is believed to be in the Ellis, Osborne or Sedgwick county areas and is not considered to be in danger at this time.
Anyone with information is asked to contact the Ellis County Sheriff’s Office at (785) 625-1040.
HUTCHINSON -Two officers of the Hutchinson Police Department have earned a life saving award for their actions that saved a woman’s life last month, according to a media release from the police department.
The life saving award is the fourth highest award given to officers in the Hutchinson Police Department.
On July 26, a concerned citizen observed a distraught woman at a bridge.
Hutchinson police officer Bobby Jarmer was the first to arrive on the scene.
He found the woman hanging off the side of the bridge, with her elbows over the railing.
The bridge was high enough that if she fell it would cause great bodily harm and more than likely, death, according to police.
Officer Jarmer spoke to the woman in a calm and reassuring voice, but she did not respond to him.
Officer Todd Allen was the next to arrive. He and Jarmer quickly and quietly devised a plan to save the woman.
She closed her eyes, which she later told officers that her intentions were to let go and harm herself.
The officers seized the moment when she closed her eyes and quickly closed the distance, grabbing her, pulling her over the rail to safety.
The officers acted very quickly with no regard to their own safety.
The son of the concerned citizen who called 911 to report the woman hanging from the bridge called the Hutchinson Police Department Friday morning.
The caller expressed concern that his father should also be recognized for his actions.
The concerned citizen who called 911 to report the woman hanging from the bridge is Kirby Kerschner.
Police Department officials say they appreciate the willingness of citizens to report any item of concern.
Videos by Cooper Slough and Ricky Kerr – Hays Post
By DIANE GASPER O’BRIEN University Relations
Bjorn Kruse is disappointed his stay in America is going to be for just one college semester. It’s easy to see why he likes America — and specifically, Hays, America.
Just two weeks into the fall semester, Fort Hays State University students have had the opportunity to choose from an abundance of activities in which to participate.
Thursday was an eye opener for Kruse, a foreign exchange student from Germany who was among several hundred people marching from campus to downtown Hays as part of the third annual Core2Campus event.
“We don’t have big ceremonies like this back home,” said Kruse, an English. “International orientation, picnic, lots of things. It’s been a busy couple of weeks.”
Fort Hays State President Mirta M. Martin often refers to the university and the community of Hays as being one big family, which is exactly what organizers had in mind when Core2Campus began two years ago.
The event was started as a way of getting students downtown to become familiar with businesses and business owners there.
Major sponsors are FHSU, Downtown Hays Development Corp., Hays Convention and Visitors Bureau, and Eagle Communications, but 30 businesses participated in one way or another.
Students and faculty followed the Tiger marching band and cheerleaders from campus to downtown for an evening of eating and shopping and drawings for lots of prizes ranging from iPads and gift cards to a pair of airline tickets.
“This is our family,” Martin said as the large group gathered along 10th Street just north of the railroad tracks at the end of the march. “Fort Hays State University is a family, and this is your home. Welcome home, everybody!”
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Several downtown businesses were open for people to browse and gather tickets for a drawing of numerous prizes. A free meal by Taco Shop was served in the Union Pacific Park at the corner of 10th and Main.
“I think it was a big success,” said Sara Bloom, executive director of DHDC. “It was really windy, but it wasn’t too hot, and it wasn’t raining. There was plenty of water available and enough food for everyone.”
Many students were new to the event such as freshmen Joey Harrington, Minneola, and Jake Tackett, Deerfield, who are roommates in Wiest Hall.
“We thought this was a good way to meet people,” Harrington said, “so we figured we might as well do it.”
Others were participating in their third Core2Campus, including a couple of FHSU juniors from Denver.
“It’s a fun social event, and it’s nice to get out of the house for a while,” Austin Foster said.
“I like to stay afterward to talk to business owners. It’s really interesting to hear their story,” said Lauren Solzman, adding that “it’s fun to get to help the freshmen get to know the downtown stores.”
Solzman said she didn’t know much about downtown Hays when she first came to town in 2013 until she participated in Core2Campus.
“Now, I shop at a lot of the stores down here,” she said.
Numbers participating in the event have increased each year. The first year, it was mainly FHSU students and faculty and staff in the march. Last year, the Hays Academy of Hair Design was added to the list. And this year, about 80 students and staff from the Hays campus of North Central Kansas Technical College joined in the fun.
“We’re pleased to be a part of this,” said Eric Burks, president of NCK Tech. “We’re pleased to be a part of this community.”
Len Melvin, co-owner of Hays Academy of Hair Design, agreed.
“A town this size to have three institutions like this is unbelievable,” said Melvin, a 2000 graduate of Fort Hays State who stayed in Hays to raise his family and run a business. “Three of our four owners are graduates of these three schools. Hays has great opportunities for students, a lot of options.”
PRATT- Law enforcement authorities in Pratt County successfully completed a manhunt with an arrest on Thursday.
According to the Sheriff’s office, Pratt County deputy made a traffic stop 3 miles south and 6 miles east of Pratt on a vehicle that had been reported as suspicious and looking around a rural residence.
A passenger immediately jumped out of the vehicle and ran.
The suspect, identified by the office as Shawn Hammond, 24, Pratt, was wanted on Felony charges for possession of firearms and controlled substances. A perimeter was in place within minutes and roads in the area were blocked.
K-9 units from Barber County, Pawnee County, and the Kansas Highway Patrol as well as officers from all of those agencies and the Pratt County Sheriff’s Office searched the area for over 3 hours.
Just after 3:30 p.m. the suspect was spotted at a residence drinking from a garden hose about a mile from where he ran from the vehicle.
The suspect ran into a wooded, pasture area and was quickly apprehended.
Negotiations continued between the Hays National Education Association and the USD 489 Board of Education Thursday, but while initially it seemed the negotiations might stall, late meeting caucuses allowed the groups to come to an agreement over salaries and benefits – the last remaining pieces to be worked out.
Even after last week’s session that explained the lack of any funds to support vertical or horizontal pay increases, coming into Thursday’s meeting the HNEA at first remained insistent that movement take place, offering to give the board their desired four extra days of student contact days only if they received two years vertical pay movement and a horizontal step for teachers.
Further, the HNEA wanted higher dollars for teacher severance insurance packages.
The district currently has $130,000 remaining as a buffer, with $85,000 used if early retirement insurance and other benefits remain in place.
Despite the demand for pay increases, district negotiator Greg Schwartz informed both sides of current pay and benefits of the district compared to others across the state, explaining that even with teachers not moving up on the vertical pay scale, compensation throughout USD 489 is high compared to other state districts – with salary and benefits, Hays is in the top 5 percent of schools in the state.
After some debate, the HNEA team members and the board negotiators found agreement in a counter proposal from the HNEA team.
The final points both groups agreed on broke down like this:
• Teachers would get horizontal movement, the HNEA team agreed to last weeks BOE team’s staggered severance sick day accumulation with a change from $25 to $35 for each day accrued for payout with an 80 day cap, with current teachers grandfathered in as to not lose what was already guaranteed under the old plan, early retirement benefits available for 1 year with 7 years of payout and 2 years for 6, along with the other measure in which tentative agreements had already been reached.
• Both sides agreed that teachers that will no longer be able to take advantage of the early retirement insurance benefit, due to the change, would be otherwise compensated, likely in additional 401(3)b matched contributions, but details remain to be worked out if that is possible under the district’s plan.
Contract language will now be written and sent for both parties to review at a later date.
As local residents gear up for the eminent deer, elk, and dove hunting season starting Sept. 1, two cousins from Ellis plan to meet all of their hunting needs.
“There just aren’t a lot of hunting stores around (the area), and we decided that we would like to start selling gear and interacting with the hunting community,” said C&D Outdoors co-owner Cody Honas.
Honas, a Kansas Highway Patrol trooper based in Wakeeney, said the business formed in May with his cousin Devin Jaques to further their passion for hunting.
“Our first thought was to become dealers to sell enough product just to be able afford more hunting equipment for ourselves,” Honas said. “But as we got more and more partnerships, we saw an opportunity to provide services to people in this area that aren’t available.”
Jaques, owner of Mid Kansas Auto Accessories in Ellis, said the plan to start a hunting goods store has been in the works for some time.
“We’re familiar with most of the products we’ve sold because we’ve used them ourselves for almost five years now, and we thought, ‘Why not offer it to other people?’ ” he said.
The business sells an array of products such as feeders, blinds, trail cameras, attractant, and arrowheads from brands like Boss Buck, Moultrie, Browning, Nutra Deer and Muzzy.
“We cover all aspects of what a hunter would need,” Jaques said.
C&D Outdoors is currently inside of Mid Kansas Auto Accessories in Ellis at 1506 Lakeview, and is open from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday. Honas said they also field calls during the weekends for products they have in stock.
“If somebody happens to find (a product) somewhere else, we will match it or beat it,” Jaques said.
Free delivery is available to Hays and Wakeeney. The business also plans on giving away a Browning trail camera to a random winner after reaching 1,000 likes on their Facebook Page.
Their products can also be found for sale online on their eBay account.
The Fall Art Walk is always a special time for downtown Hays, as a time everyone in the area can come together and enjoy downtown and local artists, but this year a new space will be exhibited among the local art, the new home of the Hays Community Theatre, at 116 E. 11th.
The building, former home of the ARC thrift shop, is being remodeled by the Hays Community Theatre and while the space is still a work in progress it is near completion and ready for tonight’s art walk.
“It’s a volunteer deal and we really had some people step up and help out,” said Travis Grizzell, president of the HCT Board of Directors.
The building will be the permanent home for the non-profit group and will serve as another community space in the downtown area.
During tonight’s walk the HCT will have a variety of art forms, while showing the newly renovated space.
The building is filled with paintings from local painters Nicole Thibodau, Matt Miller and Shannon Trevethan, but visitors to the building will not be limited to just visual art.
“Their stuff is featured as the visual art,” Grizzell said. “We’re gonna have the Hays City Flute Quartet, they are going to be performing from 8 to 9 in here…then we’re also gonna have some culinary arts from Peter Mandy’s, the new Italian-Greek place, they’re going to bring down some hors d’oeuvres for us to put out.”
The HCT’s proximity to the Hays Arts Center, and collaboration with them should help bring the HCT space into the art scene in Hays quickly.
“The Arts Council is absolutely tickled to have a new neighbor that is also the arts; it’s wonderful,” said Brenda Meder, director of the Hays Arts Council. “The idea of that wonderful little organization being just two doors down from the Arts Council is fabulous.”
“It just increases the artistic and cultural vibrancy of Hays,” she said.
