Pauline Deutscher, 98, died at Someren Glen nursing home, Centennial, Colorado, on August 23, 2015. Born in Lindsborg, Kansas on January 29, 1917, she was the daughter of the late Petrus and Ellyn (Hjerpe) Sundquist.
Pauline taught first grade in Ellis, Kansas starting in the fall of 1954. She became the Ellis school district’s librarian in the fall of 1961 where she served until her retirement in 1981.
Pauline loved music; she sang in the Ellis United Methodist Church Choir. She was a member of PEO, serving for a time as the Ellis Chapter President. Circle Cleo, a bowling team and The Cosmos Club were also groups she enjoyed… She was an avid reader and embroidery expert. She loved working outside at their family farm.
She is survived by her daughter, Susan Campbell and her husband Buddy, and her son James Scott, and his wife Jane, her sister-in-law, Betty Calvert, seven grandchildren, fifteen great grandchildren, four nieces and six nephews.
She was predeceased by her brothers, Malcolm (Doris) and Karl and her beloved husband, Harold Deutscher.
The funeral will be held at the Ellis United Methodist Church on Thursday, September 3, 2015, at 10:30 am. A graveside service will follow.
Arrangements in care of Keithley Funeral Chapel 400 E. 17th Ellis, KS 67637.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Ellis United Methodist Church or to the PEO Scholarship Fund.
Condolences may be sent by guest book to www.keithleyfuneralchapels.com or emailed to [email protected].
The Golden Griddle, 230 W. Ninth, has been open for three weeks and has already been a hit with locals, but what makes the new breakfast establishment stand out is not its food or service, but rather the family attitude that permeates through the staff.
For Hays residents, this attitude should be familiar, as the Griddle is an offshoot of the popular Golden Q bar and grill.
The goal of the Griddle is to be a “nice local restaurant that people can bring their families into,” said Brady Herman, general manager of the Q and the Griddle.
“We consider everybody here at the Q a little family and we do the same over there,” he said. “We want everyone to enjoy their experience that comes in, we also want our help and (wait staff) to have a good experience as well.”
When it comes down to it, Herman said the restaurant serves the public, and the staff has a goal to make a community establishment.
“It’s a win-win for everybody,” he said.
So far, business has been good for the new restaurant, but Herman said it can do better, with the last few weeks serving as a learning experience. The Griddle is Herman’s first with a full wait staff — meaning he is learning as business picks up, as well.
“I’ve gotten a lot of advice and a lot of pointers in the last two, three weeks,” he said, coming from the hiring of seasoned staff. “Luckily, we’ve had a really good front of house staff hired with some experience.”
Despite the ups and downs of opening any new restaurant, Herman said the last weeks have been going well — but living up to expectations set by the Golden Q isn’t easy.
“We’re gaining every week,” he said. “The hardest part I think is just getting everyone on the same page as far as cooking, learning the items, cooking the same way.”
Part of that process is making sure diners receive meals “as fresh as it can possibly be when it goes out.”
Even with the Griddle being part of the legacy of the Q in Hays, they are generally ran independently.
“We kept it separate,” Herman said. “Everyone started fresh, and I feel like we have a really good staff over (at the Q) now. Especially with school starting … I didn’t want to jeopardize that at all.”
And it shows. It’s hard to find a time when the Q isn’t busy. And if the Griddle experiences the same kind of popular support from the community, it is likely to succeed.
“We just rely on word of mouth. We obviously do a little bit of advertising, but we don’t feel like we need to force it a whole lot,” Herman said. “If we put out good food and give everyone a good experience, then that should generate the same thing as far as somebody asking where a good breakfast place is.”
The Griddle is open 6 to 11 a.m. daily, with hours until 1 p.m. Sundays.
At Monday night’s work session, the Hays USD 489 discussed technology and a future bond measure in a short session.
The board first heard a brief technology update concerning the iPad rollout through the elementary and middle schools and saw the video being shown to students with proper usages tips for the equipment.
Sixty-five percent to 70 percent of K-2 grades have already been through the iPad rollout, and grades 2-8 are nearly complete, according to Marie Henderson, who presented the information to the board.
Following the information, board member Sarah Rankin asked about keyboard implementation for the iPad’s after two English teachers had asked about using the iPads for composition.
The district currently is in a wait-and-see mode as to whether the keyboards will be needed, but if it is decided later they are necessary, they can be made available.
“There is money available,” said Superintendent Dean Katt.
Teachers are now sending in app requests to the district for evaluation.
“Overall,” Katt said, “rollout has gone well.”
The board also discussed a potential bond issue to fund a series of building improvements throughout the district.
At this point, however, there is little that can move forward.
“We don’t really have any idea,” Katt said, in terms of how much money might be requested for a bond issue. At this time, the architectural firms handling the upgrade plans will be brought in to discuss where they are with the board to begin outlining a timeline for facility upgrades.
The board also looked at the results of the board retreat last week, with Katt suggesting there might be too many goals outlined to achieve measurable success for each.
“The things we have available we want to maximize,” Katt said.
Rankin suggested to prioritize the goals in order to make them more manageable rather than take some off the table. In response, Katt asked the board members to send to the administration each of their priorities to be looked at during the next board meeting.
So, the famous inflatable pig seen tied to London’s Battersea Power Station on the cover of Pink Floyd’s 1976 album, Animals, won’t be going on the auction block after all.
The 40-foot prop, nicknamed “Algie,” was supposed to be part of a U.K. memorabilia sale scheduled for September 15 at Durrants auction house, but it has been withdrawn by Rob Harries, the man who created it, who says he now plans to give it back to the band.
Durrants official Dominic Parravani tells ABC Radio, “Pink Floyd came back and said that they wanted to have him back and rehome him…I think after the huge amount of publicity that has been generated, the band thought that Algie should go back to them.”
The auction still will feature a variety other props created for various rock acts by the Halesworth, U.K.-based Air Artists studio, which was founded by Harries. Among them is a different inflatable pig that was featured at Pink Floyd concerts after Roger Waters left the group.
Other items include a giant pig’s head featured at Waters’ historic 1990 concert at the Berlin Wall, a cast of an inflatable Babylonian woman that appeared onstage during served The Rolling Stones’ Bridges to Babylon trek, and large figures of Queen’s Freddie Mercury and Brian May used during the group’s The Magic Tour in 1986.
On the cover of Animals, “Algie,” which was designed by Waters, appears attached to two of Battersea Power Station’s massive smokestacks.
As the story goes, during the photo shoot for the record the helium-filled prop broke free of its moorings and floated thousands of feet in the air, causing flights at London’s Heathrow Airport to be canceled. The flying pig eventually touched down at a farm in Kent, England, and was retrieved, repaired and used to finish the shoot.
SALINA, Kan. (AP) — A man has been sentenced to almost 24 years in prison for sexually assaulting a 22-year-old woman in her Salina home in 2014.
The Salina Journal reports 29-year-old Michael P. Darnell was sentenced to 23 years and 9 months in prison Monday. He had been found guilty of aggravated kidnapping and aggravated sexual battery.
According to authorities, Darnell entered the woman’s home after he knocked on her door and she answered on May 15, 2014. Prosecutors say Darnell struck the woman in the face, dragged her through the house and groped her.
The woman managed to escape after convincing Darnell to go outside and smoke.
Darnell has been ordered to register as a sex offender and pay about $1,000 to the Crime Victims Compensation Fund.
After spending four months in the Sand Hills of Nebraska, 60 head of Doug Zillinger’s momma cows returned home in mid-August to the short-land grass of Phillips County.
Moving out of the floor trailer and down the chute, the fall calvers hurried toward the green, knee-high grass. Fat and sassy, they quickly settled in and went about the business of contentedly grazing.
“They’re some good looking cows,” Zillinger said as a smile crossed his face. “They’ve shed out their old hair during summer and in a few weeks they’ll begin to put on their winter coat. I’m really satisfied with the time these girls spent up in Nebraska.”
The Sand Hills is cow heaven. This region of mixed-grass prairie in north-central Nebraska, covers just over one quarter of the state.
Depending on the weather, grass is rich, green and boot high by mid-April. The Sand Hills sit atop the Ogallala Aquifer. Temporary and permanent shallow lakes are common in low-lying valleys between the grass-stabilized dunes prevalent in the Sand Hills and provide plenty of water for thirsty livestock.
That’s one of the main reasons Zillinger settled on this grass-land area when faced with the choice of moving his cows to grass or selling off his herd back in 2013.
“We were in a three-year drought and lost some grass,” Zillinger recalls. “I wanted to continue in the cow business so I told my wife (in January of that year), ‘I’m going out to look for grass and I’m not coming home ‘til I find some.”
After a couple months of searching the Phillips County stockman located and contracted grass for his cow herd. He wanted land roughly the same altitude as home and similar grasses – familiar surroundings for his cow herd.
Three years later, Zillinger plans to take more cows north in 2016. The working relationship with Derek Schwanebeck, who owns the grassland he custom grazes, has developed into a win-win for both parties.
Schwanebeck likes to limit grazing on his family’s land to fall calvers – no bulls and no calves. Eight cattlemen with herds ranging from 300 to 24 head summer on the grassland.
This summer the Grant County cattleman pastured 1,020 head of cows. Schwanebeck also runs 400 cows of his own.
“We provide grass during its peak growth period,” Schwanebeck emphasizes. “Our program lasts four months, includes high-intensity grazing and then the cows are gone. We carefully manage our resources, move the cattle and we never overgraze this land.”
Just importantly, Schwanebeck chooses to open up his grassland to other stockman who can benefit from grazing the Sand Hills land. Living on the land where the cattle graze, he watches over the cattle daily. He wants to ensure their cattle leave Grant County in better shape than when they arrive.
“I want these stockmen, like Doug, and their cows to prosper while they’re up here under my care,” Schwanebeck says. “If they’re improving their bottom line, I’ll be doing the same.”
Stockmen are, “always, always welcome but never obligated to come up and look at their cattle,” he says.
Yes, it’s a long trip up to Grant County, more than 300 miles and a six and a half hour drive, if everything goes right. Zillinger made three trips in three consecutive days to bring his cow herd home.
The Phillips County stockman plans to travel north to the Sand Hills again next April – his fourth trip.
“I really look forward to bringing my cattle up there,” Zillinger says. “I hope I can bring more up next April. I feel really comfortable leaving them in Derek’s care and knowing they’ll have one of the best sources of green grass and all the water they can drink.”
John Schlageck, a Hoxie native, is a leading commentator on agriculture and rural Kansas.
The TMP-Marian girls’ golf team shot a 195 to win their first tournament of the season, taking the Hays High Invitational by 18 strokes Monday afternoon at the Smoky Hill Country Club. Defending 4A state champ Hays High shot a 219 and finished third behind Garden City.
Taylor DeBoer and Katie Brungardt led the Indians. Both shot a 39 to tie for first. Deboer won the first playoff hole to take the individual title. TMP-Marian’s Karee Dinkel fired a 40 to lead the Monarchs and was third. The Monarchs Taylor Dinkel was fifth with a 47 and Alison Helget ninth with a 51.
Team Finish
1. TMP-Marian – 195
2. Garden City – 213 3. Hays High – 219 4. Salina Central – 220
5. Liberal – 228
6. Dodge City – 231
7. Great Bend – 251
Top 10 Medalists
1. Tayor DeBoer – Hays High – 39 2. Katie Brungardt – Hays High – 39 3. Karee Dinkel – TMP-Marian – 40
4. Ellie Cobb – Salina Central – 43 5. Taylor Dinkel – TMP-Marian – 47
6. Hannah Leiker – Garden City – 48
7. Allison Heeland – Great Bend – 48
8. Sarah Bayouth – Liberal – 49 9. Alison Helget – TMP-Marian – 51
10. Logan Gleason – Dodge City – 51
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — A 38-year-old man has been found guilty in the shooting of a Sedgwick County sheriff’s deputy in March 2013.
The Wichita Eagle reports Jason Perez was found guilty Monday on several charges including attempted first-degree murder and two counts of burglary in the shooting of deputy Lucas Powell.
According to authorities, officers tried to stop Perez and Clara Crosser, who were weaving in and out of traffic, and a chase through three counties ensued. The pursuit ended when Powell confronted the two on a farm outside of Potwin.
Police say Crosser shot the deputy in the right eye, while Perez fired multiple shots at the officer but missed. Crosser was sentenced to more than 20 years in prison.
The planned revitalization and expansion of the Seaton Complex will allow Kansas State University’s College of Architecture, Planning & Design to better support its nationally recognized degree programs. (Photo Courtesy of K-State News and Communications)
MANHATTAN, Kan. (AP) — Kansas State University is planning a groundbreaking ceremony for a $75 million renovation of expansion of a 100-year-old campus building.
The ceremony for the Seaton Hall renovation is scheduled for Friday at 11 a.m. The building houses the College of Architecture, Planning & Design, or APDesign.
The project is being paid for with $60 million in state bonds and $15 million in private gifts and student fees. The project on the 194,000-square-foot project is expected to be ready for fall classes in 2017.
Tim de Noble, dean of APDesign, says the project will turn Seaton Hall into an environmentally sensitive and technically innovative building. The project also will include improved security and technology.
The Regnier family’s V+H Charitable Foundation made a lead gift of $4 million to the project.
Photo by Susie Fagan A recently unsealed “whistleblower lawsuit” alleges Lawrence Memorial Hospital defrauded Medicare and Medicaid.
By JIM MCLEAN
A former emergency room nurse at Lawrence Memorial Hospital has filed a federal “whistleblower” lawsuit alleging that the hospital falsified patient records to obtain higher Medicare and Medicaid payments.
The lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court in Kansas City, Kan. on behalf of Megen Duffy alleges that top hospital officials knew about the fraud, which began in 2007, and threatened to fire employees who objected.
“Defendant (LMH) designed a system to submit false records and reports that violated best practices, jeopardized patient safety, and defrauded the federal government,” the complaint states.
Duffy worked as a registered nurse at LMH from August 2009 until she was fired in October 2013 for allegedly threatening another employee. The complaint states that the reason for Duffy’s termination was “fabricated” and notes that she objected to the record-keeping policy on several occasions.
Specifically, the lawsuit charges that emergency room personnel were instructed to alter the arrival times of possible heart attack patients to coincide with the times automatically generated by the electrocardiogram monitors.
“Defendant went to great lengths to ensure that its emergency department staff falsely recorded and reported EKG times as patient arrival times,” the complaint states.
According to the complaint, the practice was in part designed to conceal “any time the patient spent in the waiting room, at registration or in triage.”
Submitting records to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services that indicated patients with heart attack symptoms were being connected to EKG monitors the minute they arrived significantly improved LMH’s performance data, according to the complaint. The inflated scores qualified the hospital for higher incentive payments under a federal law designed to reward hospitals for meeting high standards of care.
Janice Early, vice president of communications and marketing at LMH, said Friday that hospital officials were not yet aware of the lawsuit.
“But I can unequivocally state that the hospital has no such policy to falsify any kind of documentation to maximize reimbursement,” Early said.
Olathe attorney Robert Collins, who represents Duffy, said false-claims actions are held to a higher standard than other kinds of lawsuits to dissuade frivolous claims being pursued on behalf of the federal government.
“So, these cases don’t get dismissed the way some other cases do,” Collins said in an interview. “We’ve got some strong witnesses and some strong evidence to move forward with.”
The lawsuit was originally filed more than a year ago but was sealed until recently so officials from the U.S. Justice Department could investigate the charges and decide whether to join the case. They chose not to participate and the case was unsealed.
The department’s decision isn’t necessarily a reflection of the merits of the LMH case. Due to staff limitations and other factors, the government intervenes in fewer than 25 percent of false claim lawsuits filed on behalf of the government.
“So, an increasing number of these are being declined and left to the private attorneys to pursue on behalf of the government,” Collins said.
In 2014, the federal government recovered more than $2.3 billion in health care-related false claims. Those cases involved Medicare, Medicaid and TRICARE, the health care program for the military.
The LMH lawsuit doesn’t specify how much Duffy is attempting to recover for the government, but Collins said when combined with penalties, it could reach as high as $10 million. If she prevails, Duffy would be entitled to between 25 percent and 30 percent of whatever is recovered.
Recent reductions in Medicare reimbursements have put many hospitals under financial pressure, particularly those operating in states that haven’t expanded their Medicaid programs to offset the cuts.
Kansas is one of 19 states that has not expanded Medicaid eligibility to levels called for in the http://www.khi.org/news/article/kansas-groups-gear-up-for-yet-another-run-at-medicaid-expansion Affordable Care Act. The nonpartisan Commonwealth Fund estimates that if Kansas policymakers continue to say “no” to expansion, it will cost the state nearly $1 billion additional federal funds over the next seven years.
Jim McLean is executive editor of KHI News Service in Topeka, a partner in the Heartland Health Monitor team.
