Celebrating Christmas can be a very difficult time for parents and families who have had a child die.
The Hays Healing Hearts support group, headquartered at the Center for Life Experiences, 2900 Hall St., will host a holiday Children’s Memorial Tree ornament hanging and dedication Sat., Nov. 21, at 1 p.m.
The Christmas tree is in the display window of Jackie Creamer’s The Dance Studio, 1003 Main.
Frank Medina will be there with his family, again. His two-year-old daughter Chloe died of leukemia two years ago.
“Last year there were more than 200 ornaments placed on the memorial tree,” Medina said. “This is for all families who have lost children – recently or long ago. We sit around the tree and read the special messages written for our kids.”
“It was very moving,” said Jackie Creamer.
“Last year my young dancers were in the back, in a circle and holding hands. I asked them what they were doing. They said they were praying for the families in the front who were praying for their children. It brought tears to my eyes,” Creamer said.
The tree will be on display through the Christmas holidays.
The building at the corner of Fort and 13th Street in Hays is coming down.
It most recently served as the girls dormitory–Marian Hall–for residential students at TMP-Marian High School. Prior to that the building was the convent for the nuns serving the St. Joseph parish.
In the summer of 2014, the TMP-Marian Board of Directors recommended to the Heartland Parish leaders that Marian Hall be closed as a dormitory for the 2014-15 school year. According to TMP Advancement Director Jeff Brull, the decision came after it was evident the building’s electrical system needed to be replaced. TMP has since changed to a host-family program for its all its student boarders.
As Bishop Edward Weisenburger said then, “it was built for little old lady nuns, not for young women using iPads and curling irons,” Brull added.
Asbestos was removed from the building before demolition began Thursday and continued Friday by Flatland Dirtworks, Hays.
“The St. Joseph Campus will certainly have a different look and perspective,” Fr. Fred Gatschet wrote in the fall quarterly newsletter of St. Joseph parish.
Parishioners, the Parish Council, and the Finance Council are also talking about what to do with the former Kennedy Middle School building. It was closed in May, 2012, and requires an estimated $300,000 in repairs in one year to keep it from falling into total disrepair according to Gatschet.
Jonathan and Allison Schumm- photo Shawnee Co. Jail
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — A Topeka City Council member and his wife each has been charged with one felony count and four misdemeanor counts accusing them of abusing some of the 16 children in their care.
The Shawnee County prosecutor’s office says 34-year-old Jonathan Robert Schumm and 32-year-old Allison Schumm were charged on Thursday with aggravated battery or, in the alternative, abuse of a child.
Prosecutor’s spokesman Lee McGowan says the battery charge is a lower-level felony than the abuse count.
The two also are charged with four misdemeanor counts of child endangerment.
They made their first court appearance on Friday in Shawnee County District Court, where Jonathan Schumm was appointed counsel from the public defender’s office.
McGowan says the two were still in custody as of early Friday afternoon.
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — The United Methodist Church in Kansas and Nebraska says 35 congregations are willing to sponsor at least one Syrian refugee family.
Bishop Scott J. Jones, leader of the church in the two states, announced Friday that the number of participating congregations could increase in the future.
Jones says the vast majority of Muslims in the world are our allies, and the church wants to stand with them against the jihadists.
The church’s Great Plains Conference includes 1,032 congregations in the two states.
Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback issued an executive order Monday prohibiting state agencies and organizations receiving state money from relocating Syrian refugees in the state. Nebraska Gov. Pete Ricketts has urged resettlement agencies not to participate in any efforts to bring Syrian refugees to that state.
NEW YORK (AP) — An outbreak of E. coli linked to Chipotle has expanded to six states.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says new cases have been reported in California, New York and Ohio. Cases were reported in Minnesota earlier, while the majority of illnesses have been in Oregon and Washington.
The agency says the investigation is ongoing to determine the specific food that is linked to the illness.
So far, the CDC says 45 people have been infected in relation and that 16 of them have been hospitalized. There have been no deaths.
Late in October, Chipotle Mexican Grill closed 43 restaurants in Oregon and Washington after health officials discovered most of the people sickened in an E. coli outbreak had eaten at the chain’s restaurants. The restaurants have since reopened.
Photo by Andy Marso Gov. Sam Brownback opened a conference on the the future of water in the state by saying that the research and planning stages of the water vision are complete. “It’s time we make the tough decisions and move on forward,” he said.
A task force that will make recommendations for how to fund the state’s water projects was unveiled Wednesday. The Blue Ribbon Task Force is part of the 50-year plan to secure the state’s water supply that Gov. Sam Brownback’s administration rolled out last year.
Officials from the Kansas Department of Agriculture announced the members at the Governor’s Conference on the Future of Water in Kansas at the Manhattan Hilton Garden Inn. Tracy Streeter, director of the Kansas Water Office, told a crowd of hundreds at the conference that the panel intends to work quickly.
“We will get our work done in 2016,” Streeter said. There are two main water challenges in Kansas: conserving the underground Ogallala Aquifer that sustains the western Kansas agriculture economy and preserving the above-ground reservoirs that supply the eastern Kansas population centers. The reservoirs are losing storage capacity as they fill with sediment.
Some need expensive dredging to increase the amount of water they can hold.
The banks of some streams that feed the reservoirs also need to be shored up to prevent further sedimentation. Those projects traditionally have been funded by a combination of fees on municipal water users, agricultural and industrial users and tax dollars from the state general fund.
But the Legislature has failed to provide its share of about $6 million for several years, contributing to a backlog of reservoir projects.
Getting creative
Last session Rep. Tom Sloan, a Republican from Lawrence who is one of the Legislature’s leading sustainability advocates, developed a plan to increase the municipal fees to fund the projects. Sloan said he would prefer the state kick in its share, but the overall budget crisis makes that unlikely.
Sloan said then he feared that if the task force did not make its recommendations before 2016, the Legislature would wait until after the elections in November of that year to act on them, further delaying the projects. Agriculture Secretary Jackie McClaskey acknowledged that it had taken “a really long time” to form the task force.
But Streeter noted that the Legislature “got creative” even in the midst of budget problems last session and appropriated $400,000 in each of the next two years to fortify the Tuttle Creek Reservoir.
The task force announced Wednesday includes 10 members of organizations that represent local governments, agriculture groups and utility companies. It also includes six legislators, plus Streeter, McClaskey, Health and Environment Secretary Susan Mosier and Parks and Wildlife Secretary Robin Jennison. Rep. Steven Johnson, a Republican from Assaria, said he probably was named to the panel because he is a farmer with a background in finance.
While he said he wasn’t sure what direction the panel would go, he would not rule out recommending more state general fund contributions rather than raising user fees that would increase the cost of drinking water and irrigation. “Certainly fees on users are ones we’ll want to look at any impact on, but I don’t know that we’re looking at raising fees on the users there,” Johnson said.
Governor: Time to move forward
Brownback opened the conference by saying that the research and planning stages of the water vision are complete and the next step is implementation. “It’s time we make the tough decisions and move on forward,” he said.
The governor acknowledged that choosing to conserve water might cause short-term financial pain for irrigators, but he urged them to think about what resources they will leave for their children and grandchildren. McClaskey said her department has heard from some Kansans who want mandatory conservation targets. But it plans to stick with the current plan, which relies heavily on voluntary local conservation agreements and market-based incentives.
“That’s what’s going to lead to long-term success in how we conserve our water resources,” she said.
“It’s your water; it’s your decision.” But in some instances, the state may have to step in. The depletion of the Ogallala has increased disputes between landowners in areas where the state approved more water rights than the aquifer can support. The disputes are expected to increase, and lawmakers are interested in finding ways to resolve them that don’t strain the water office or the court system.
“We’re going to be looking as an agency about what some of those solutions might be,” McClaskey said. “We haven’t seen a solution as an agency yet that we’re comfortable with.”
New overpumping penalties
She said the department is closer to stiffening penalties for those who exceed their water rights, though. Consensus has been building for years that the current penalties are not enough to deter overpumping because irrigators stand to gain more money in crop yield than they lose in fines.
The department wants to be deliberate in creating a new penalty system to ensure everyone knows the new consequences, she said. The second day of the conference, she said, would be devoted to vetting some specific proposals to crack down on overpumping. “Our goal is, by the time we finalize a regulation, every single person in this room will have an opportunity for input,” McClaskey said.
The Legislature has passed most of the legislation her department needs to carry out the governor’s vision, she said, and the department met Brownback’s goal of getting 75 percent of the plan’s Phase One projects started in the first year.
But talks with leaders of surrounding states continue, and the coming year will be key to addressing overpumping, the impairment dispute process and the reservoir project funding. “Obviously we’ve got a lot of work to do next year,” Streeter said.
Water task force members
State officials on Wednesday announced members of a task force that will recommend how to fund the state’s water projects.
Organizations
Randall Allen, executive director, Kansas Association of Counties
John Bridson, vice president of generation, Westar Energy
Colin Hansen, executive director, Kansas Municipal Utilities
Gary Harshberger, chairman, Kansas Water Authority
Terry Holdren, chief executive officer, Kansas Farm Bureau
Karma Mason, member, Kansas Chamber and Kansas Water Authority
Erik Sartorius, executive director, League of Kansas Municipalities
Dennis Schwartz, director, Kansas Rural Water Association and Kansas Water Authority
Matt Teagarden, chief executive officer, Kansas Livestock Association
Tom Tunnell, president and CEO, Kansas Grain and Feed Association
Legislature
Sen. Jim Denning, Overland Park Republican
Sen. Tom Hawk, Manhattan Democrat
Sen. Larry Powell, Garden City Republican
Rep. Jerry Henry, Atchison Democrat
Rep. Steven Johnson, Assaria Republican
Rep. Sharon Schwartz, Washington Republican
Ex-Officio
Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks Secretary Robin Jennison
Kansas Department of Agriculture Secretary Jackie McClaskey
Kansas Department of Health and Environment Secretary Susan Mosier
Kansas Water Office Director Tracy Streeter
– See more at: https://www.khi.org/news/article/water-project-funding-task-force-named#sthash.QA5lwSZo.dpuf
FLORENCE, Ala. – Fort Hays State senior linebacker Brock Longhas been nominated as one of 38 players in NCAA Division II for the Harlon Hill Trophy. The trophy is awarded to the Division II College Football Player of the Year. Long is among 11 nominees in Super Region 3. Long is the only linebacker nationally nominated for the award.
Long has put together one of the most impressive defensive seasons in Fort Hays State history. Long has made huge contributions to Fort Hays State being 8-3 overall and being selected to the Mineral Water Bowl. Long has 159 tackles overall, 21.0 tackles for loss, 9.5 sacks, 4 forced fumbles, 2 fumble recoveries, and 1 interception to his credit this season. He is the MIAA leader in tackles for loss, sacks, and forced fumbles.
Traditionally an award that is awarded to an offensive player, Long’s numbers on a national level warrant a nomination for the award. He ranks fifth nationally in tackles, eighth in tackles for loss, 14th in sacks, and sixth in forced fumbles. It is impressive that he is in the top 20 of all those categories as a linebacker, as you traditionally see the majority of tackles for loss and sack leaders being defensive linemen.
The Harlon Hill has been awarded to a defensive player just once in history, that being linebacker Ronald McKinnon from North Alabama in 1995. As a senior in 1995, McKinnon had 139 tackles, 11 tackles-for-loss, four interceptions and four sacks. To put that in perspective, Long has 20 more tackles, 10 more tackles for loss, and 5.5 more sacks. He only comes up short in interceptions by three.
Long is one of only two players on the Super Region 3 ballot that are defensive players. Joshua Gordon, defensive end from Minnesota State-Mankato is the other. Below are the nominations in Super Region 3.
Garrett Fugate, Jr., QB, Central Missouri
Ja’Quan Gardner, So., RB, Humboldt State
Blake Gimbel, So., QB, Southwest Minnesota State
Joshua Gordon, Sr., DE, Minnesota State-Mankato
Trey Heid, Jr., QB, Augustana Brock Long, Sr., LB, Fort Hays State
Reid Miller, Jr., QB, Northwestern Oklahoma State
Luke Papilion, Jr., QB, Sioux Falls
Jameson Parsons, Jr., WR, St. Cloud State
Barrett Renner, Fr., QB, Southern Arkansas
Brent Wilson, Sr., QB, Emporia State
The list of candidates was announced Friday (Nov. 20) morning by the National Harlon Hill Award Commitee. The list includes players from each of the four Division II Super Regions.
The 38 initial candidates will be placed on regional ballots and the top two players from each of the four NCAA regions will advance to the national ballot when regional voting concludes on November 30.
The winner of the 2015 award, which is presented by the National Harlon Hill Award Committee, will be announced on Friday, December 18 via a webcast and the winner will be honored at a luncheon on the University of North Alabama campus on January 8, 2016.
The list of candidates for the 2015 Hill Trophy includes 2014 winner Jason Vander Laan of Ferris State and third place finisher Anthony Bilal of Lake Erie.
TULSA, Okla. (AP) — Two teenagers have been arrested in Kansas in connection with the fatal drive-by shooting of a 16-year-old girl in Tulsa.
Tulsa Police say a 15-year-old boy and Lazerick Reid, 18, were arrested on charges of first-degree murder in the July 17 death of Deouijanae Terry. Police say the suspects were 14 and 17 at the time of the shooting.
Police have said they believe Terry was a victim of gang violence and wasn’t the intended target.
Tulsa Police Sgt. Dave Walker says the teens have been on the run since they were charged with murder on Aug. 21. He says investigators tracked them as they traveled to Dallas and then to Wichita, where agents kept surveillance on the teens. They were arrested Thursday at a home in Wichita.
Three vehicle collision near the State Street exit on Interstate 135 Friday morning (Photo: Kansas Highway Patrol)
SALINA- A Kansas woman was injured in an accident just before 10a.m. on Friday in Saline County.
The Kansas Highway Patrol reported a 2004 Mercury passenger vehicle driven by Maria Teresa Haynes, 65, Salina, was entering Interstate 135 southbound in the construction zone.
The driver failed to obey the instructions of the flagman and pulled into the southbound lanes.
The vehicle was struck in the side by a 2009 GMC pickup driven by James D. Oblinger, 52, Wymore, Nebraska.
The GMC then struck the trailer of a 2011 Ford pickup driven by Jerry L. Vargas, 55, Salina.
Haynes was transported to Salina Regional Medical Center.
Oblinger, Vargas, and a passenger in the GMC were not injured.
All were properly restrained at the time of the collision, according to the KHP.
Emporia State officials allowed reporters back into the event after discussing the issue with the university’s general counsel.
Emporia State’s Interim President Jackie Vietti said the reporters were asked to leave the event because students thought the forum would not be open to the media. She said the university would work to avoid that confusion in the future.
The Kansas Press Association says denying media access to a public meeting would be a violation of the state’s open meetings law.
Queen’s new archival live album and home video, A Night at the Odeon, hit stores today in a variety of configurations.
The release, which documents a special Christmas Eve concert the band played at London’s Hammersmith Odeon in 1975 that was broadcast live on British television and radio, is available as a CD, a two-LP vinyl package, a DVD, an SD Blu-ray disc, a Super Deluxe box set and a digital download.
Queen’s set at the concert included select songs from its first four studio albums, including such classics as “Killer Queen,” “Keep Yourself Alive” and “Bohemian Rhapsody.”
The band also performed a rendition of Shirley Bassey’s hit “Big Spender” and a medley featuring Elvis Presley’s “Jailhouse Rock,” Connie Francis’ “Stupid Cupid” and Gene Vincent’s “Be Bop a Lula.” Two encore performances, “Seven Seas of Rhye” and “See What a Fool I’ve Been,” are only included on the audio discs.
The Super Deluxe version of A Night at the Odeon contains the CD, DVD, SD Blu-ray disc, a 12-inch single, a 60-page hardcover book featuring rare photos from the show, and a collection of replica concert memorabilia. The single boasts “Bohemian Rhapsody” on side A and an unreleased soundcheck recording of “Now You’re Here” on the side B.
In addition to the concert footage, the DVD and Blu-ray offer a 22-minute documentary featuring Queen guitarist Brian May and drummer Roger Taylor reminiscing about the Odeon concert, and video of three songs the band played at a May 1975 show at Tokyo’s famed Budokan.
A Night at the Odeon features a new audio mix in stereo and 5.1 surround sound, and a high-quality video restoration.
You can watch a clip from the release featuring a full performance of the song “White Queen” at Queen Online.
The 2015 Ellis County taxes are now available online.
Ellis County Treasurer Ann Pfeifer announced this week that this year’s taxes are available online at https://www.e-treasury.us.
Pfeifer said statements can be accessed by clicking on property at the top of the page and then selected the tax search engine tab to the left of the page.
First half taxes are due Dec. 21 this year. Taxes are due in full on May 10.
LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) – No. 4 Kansas has suspended junior guard Brannen Green for six games for unspecified conduct detrimental to the team.
Coach Bill Self announced the suspension Friday with the Jayhawks (1-1) traveling to Hawaii this weekend for the Maui Invitational, which begins Monday. Green will not make the trip, but can practice with the team upon its return.
Green has averaged about 12 minute and 12 points this season and made all six of his shots from the field, including five 3-pointers.
Kansas also said the NCAA is allowing Cheick Diallo to travel to Maui, though he has not been cleared to play. The NCAA has been looking into the prospect’s relationship with guardian Tidian Drame.
Celebrating Christmas can be a very difficult time for parents and families who have had a child die.
