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Month: November 2015

Wilma J. Hoover

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Wilma Hoover

Wilma J. Hoover, 86, Hays, died Monday, November 16, 2015 at the Hays Medical Center.

She was born August 31, 1929 in Hays the daughter of Adam F. and Anna C. (Wolf) Rupp. She graduated from Girl’s Catholic High School in 1947. On January 21, 1950 she married Herbert C. Hoover in Hays. They celebrated 64 years of marriage before he died July 6, 2014.

In 1993, she went to college at Fort Hays State University and received her BS degree in Nursing. She was secretary/treasurer of Rupp’s Inc. and retired as an RN at Hays Good Samaritan Center. She was a member of Immaculate Heart of Mary Catholic Church and Epsilon Sigma Alpha. She was a phenomenal mother while raising a big family and she was a tremendous cook. She was the family caregiver, very loving and giving of her time and talent, and was known for her sense of humor. She was involved with the PTA for many years and also sang in a women’s barbershop quartet and in church choirs.

Survivors include two sons; Don Hoover and wife H. Jolene and Fred Hoover and partner Tracy Daugherty, all of Hays, five daughters; Mary Metz and husband Bill of Berryton, KS, Carol Neihardt and husband Nelson of Eudora, Connie Sheldon of Hays, Sue Ihde and husband Bob of Hays, and Janet Kuhn and husband Ed of Walker, Kansas, eleven grandchildren; Alisa Caruthers, Roy Herman, Travis Neihardt, Adam Sheldon, Thomas Zimmerman, Holden Hoover, Traci Dougherty, Brenna Sherlock, Theresa Griffith, Anna Zimmerman, and Madison Hoover, nine great grandchildren; Alex Caruthers, Jillyan Sheldon, Taylor Dougherty, Kooper Sherlock, McKenzi Hoover, Justice Autry, Jerome Autry, Gus Griffith, and Titus Griffith.

She was preceded in death by her parents, her husband, a son in law Mike Schlageck, and two great grandsons; Xavier and Brixton Zimmerman.

Funeral services will be at 10:30 am on Saturday, November 21, 2015 at the Immaculate Heart of Mary Catholic Church, 1805 Vine Street, Hays. Burial will follow in the St. Joseph Cemetery. Visitation will be from 3:00 pm until 8:00 on Friday and from 9:30 am until 10:15 on Saturday, all at the Hays Memorial Chapel Funeral Home, 1906 Pine St. A parish vigil service will be at 6:30 pm on Friday at the funeral home.

Memorials are suggested to the Cancer Council of Ellis County or to the TMP-Marian Alumni Association, in care of the funeral home. Condolences may be left for the family at www.haysmemorial.com.

Sharon Kay Geist

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Sharon Obit PhotoSharon Kay Geist, 66, died on November 15, 2015 at Via Christi Village, Hays, Kansas.

Sharon was born November 3, 1949 to Bill and Anna (Weber) Geist and graduated from Ellis High School. She attended Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah, majoring in Family History Genealogy.

While employed at the American Embassy in Bonn, West Germany, Sharon taught Sunday school and was president of the Women’s Intercollegiate Bowling Congress. Her love of genealogy earned her a write up in Enron People during her employment at Enron Corp. Sharon was constantly sharing her knowledge of genealogy, including conducting classes at Hill Community College in Glen Rose, Texas.
Sharon’s volunteer roles included president of the Friends of the Tomball Library, chair and co-chair of the Enron Recycling Fair, working with various animal rescue groups, and fostering rescue dogs. She also volunteered for FindAGrave.com where she added 2,504 memorials and 87 photos to their web site, as well as 90,994 records to the Ancestry World Archive Project. Sharon retired from the City of Cleburne Cemeteries and was a member of the Texas Cemeteries Association. Sharon was an avid reader and enjoyed quilting, counted cross-stitch, embroidery, crocheting and ceramics.

Sharon is survived by her beloved dog, Halo. Sharon was grateful to friends and relatives who were there for her in her time of need, and was especially thankful for Halo’s new “forever” family. God bless you all.

Private services were held at The Basilica of St. Fidelis with burial in St. Fidelis Catholic Cemetery, Victoria, Kansas.

Gifts in Sharon’s memory may be made to an animal shelter of your choice or to the Wounded Warrior Project in care of Hays Memorial Chapel Funeral Home, 1906 Pine Street, Hays, Kansas, 67601. Condolences may be left for the family at www.haysmemorial.com

Della Marie ‘Rocky’ Neill

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Della Marie Neill 001Della Marie “Rocky” Neill, 87, Hays, formerly of Tyler, Texas, died Monday, November 2, 2015 at the Hays Good Samaritan Society.

She was born November 21, 1927 in Washington County, Texas the daughter of Gustav and Laura (Jaster) Rachui. On December 21, 1949 she married Walter Lamar Neill in Austin, TX. He died in 1992.

She was a Registered Nurse and did private duty nursing and hospital nursing. She was a member of Pollard United Methodist Church and was a friend of First United Methodist Church in Hays.

Survivors include a daughter, Gail Kuehl and husband Richard of Hays, Kansas, five grandchildren; Matthew Kuehl of NY, NY, Robert J. Kuehl and wife Rebecca of Hays, and James R. Kuehl and wife Kelsey of Dodge City, KS, Jonathan J. Neill of Dallas, and Mary C. Neill of Tyler, TX, five great grandchildren; Lexi Burton, Aiden Burton, Jackson J. Kuehl, Ryleigh J. Kuehl, and Jayma R. Kuehl.

She was preceded in death by her parents, her husband, and two sons, Jay L. Neill and Robert L. “Bobby” Neill.

Memorial services will be at 5:00 pm on Thursday, November 19, 2015 at the Hays Memorial Chapel Funeral Home, 1906 Pine. The family will receive friends from 4:00 pm until service time.

Memorials are suggested to the Ronald McDonald House Charities, 1110 N. Emporia, Wichita, KS 67214. Condolences may be left for the family at www.haysmemorial.com.

Ludmilla ‘Millie’ (Werth) Dinkel

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Victoria, Kansas – Ludmilla “Millie” (Werth) Dinkel, age 79, died Monday, November 16, 2015, at Hays Medical Center.

Services are pending at Cline’s Mortuary, 412 Main Street, Victoria, Kansas 67671.

More than an inch of rain falls near Ellis as front offers some moisture

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Monday night’s wild weather brought high winds, tornadoes and thunderstorms into the region — but also left behind some much-needed rainfall.

Reports from Hays were in the 0.75-inch range, while there was a report near Ellis of 1.1 inches.

Trego County also had a report in excess of an inch, while Gove County — where a tornado was reported Monday evening, saw a report of 1.29 inches.

A light mist continued to fall Tuesday morning in Hays, with a 50 percent chance of continued rain through the day.

Click HERE for the complete extended forecast.

2 Kansas men die in Cayman crash

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Bettancourt- photo Vision Source
Bettancourt- photo Vision Source

CAYMAN BRAC – Two Kansas men died in an accident just after 5:30p.m. on Sunday in the Cayman Islands.

The Royal Cayman Island Police reported a Honda minivan was traveling eastbound on South Side Road on Cayman Brac, an island that is part of the Cayman Island chain in the Caribbean. The vehicle ran off the road.

Douglas Carney, 50, Topeka, and Mark Bettencourt, 54, Wamego, were pronounced dead at the scene.

A third man was transported to a local hospital for treatment.  His name has not been released. The police did not determine the driver of the van.

Bettencourt was not found until several hours after the accident, according to police. He has been an optometrist at Vision Source in Wamego since 1994

Carney owns a Topeka construction company.

Anti-fracking group taking action in Kansas, elsewhere

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Screen Shot 2015-11-17 at 7.17.55 AMCOLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Activists in about a dozen U.S. states are having a day of action to highlight concerns about potential environmental and health effects of hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, a high-pressure technique for extracting oil and gas from shale deposits.

The Youngstown, Ohio-based Frackfree America National Coalition organized Tuesday’s events, including rallies in a number of Ohio counties. Some Youngstown-area earthquakes have been tied to fracking or the deep-injection of fracking wastewater.

Elsewhere, planned actions included rallies, press conferences, full-page newspaper ads and film screenings. Activists were participating in Kansas, Michigan, New Hampshire, New Jersey, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Texas, Virginia and West Virginia.

Environmentalists and others point to seismic activity and potential water contamination from fracking, while the energy industry says the process has been used safely for years.

KBI testifies about presence of drug in blood samples at Bollig murder trial

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By JAMES BELL
Hays Post

WAKEENEY — During Monday’s testimony in the first-degree murder trial of Scott Bollig, who stands accused of causing the death of an unborn child, jurors heard evidence from a Kansas Bureau of Investigation toxicology supervisor who testified Naomi Abbott, Bollig’s ex-girlfriend, had the abortion-inducing drug mifepristone in samples taken after the loss of her unborn child.

The defense objected to the admission of the testimony, saying there are time lapses from when the samples were taken until they reached the KBI lab.

After dismissing the jury, Judge Glenn Braun heard the defense argue that a clear chain of custody could not be determined, so the testimony should not admissible. However, Braun ruled the evidence was admissible, but could be argued to be less credible by the defense as the lack of a clean chain of custody speaks to the validity of the evidence, not the admissibility, according to state law.

After the initial objections, Larry Mann of the KBI testified at least some of the samples brought to the KBI lab in Topeka did contain the drug mifepristone.

Traces of the drug were found in blood and serum samples obtained from Abbott, from two different sample times.

Despite finding traces of the drug in Abbott’s blood, it was not present in the placenta, something Mann testified he was not qualified to explain.

Detailed analysis of the samples were consistent with a 200-mg pill being ingested, Mann said, finding the time amount of drug left in Abbott’s system would also be consistent with the time Bollig allegedly altered Abbott’s breakfast with the drug.

The trial is set to continue at 8:30 a.m. Tuesday.

Mercury spill at Hays Middle School prompts KDHE follow-up

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By JAMES BELL
Hays Post

In a letter sent Monday, parents of students at Hays Middle School were notified that students in a seventh-grade science classroom were exposed to mercury.

According to the letter, “students in a seventh-grade science classroom were exposed to very low levels of mercury for a short period of time.”

The letter indicated administrators were notified at 2 p.m. Monday of the incident that occurred on Friday, Nov. 13, and the room was closed to students and staff. It was then further scanned and cleaned by two members of the Kansas Department of Health and Environment.

“The ventilation is going tonight. They will do their tests in the morning and make sure everything is clear,” Dean Katt superintendent of Hays USD 489, told school board members Monday night.

The contamination was a “very low level, very small amount,” Katt said.

If the room is found to still have any contamination, further action will be taken and parents and students will be notified.

Heavy snow forecast for western Kansas

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GOODLAND, Kan. (AP) — A winter storm packing high winds and heavy snow is expected to hit northwest Kansas.

The National Weather Service issued a blizzard warning for the area, forecasting up to about 8 inches of snow Tuesday. The weather service says the combination of heavy snow and wind gusts up to 55 miles per hour will lead to whiteout conditions in northwest Kansas through Tuesday afternoon.


Jesse Lundquist, meteorologist with the weather service in Goodland, says he expects about 2 inches of snow an hour over the period.

 

Kansas man dies, ejected after pickup hits a tree

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FatalAccident3FRONTENAC- A Kansas man died in an accident just after midnight on Tuesday morning in Crawford County.

The Kansas Highway Patrol reported a 2005 Ford F150 driven by Bruce Hillman Hall, Jr., 26, Mulberry, was eastbound in the 500 Block of East McKay Street in Frontenac at a high rate of speed.

The pickup jumped the Kansas City Southern railroad tracks. The driver lost control of the pickup. It struck a tree and the driver was ejected.

Hall was pronounced dead at the scene and transported to First Call.

A passenger Heather Lyn Williams, 23, Mulberry, was transported to Via Christi.

They were properly restrained at the time of the collision, according to the KHP.

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