Chapman Rackaway is a Professor of Political Science at Fort Hays State University.
FHSU University Relations
Chapman Rackaway, professor of political science at Fort Hays State University, will be the featured speaker at the 27th annual Honors Convocation as the 2015 President’s Distinguished Scholar.
The convocation, set for 3 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 17, will be held in the Memorial Union’s Fort Hays Ballroom. His scholarly presentation is titled “Operator Error: Civic Failure and Its Threat to American Democracy.”
Other faculty will also be recognized at the convocation for their outstanding scholarly activity over the past year.
Hays High School announced this week it has continued to remain a part of Seatbelts Are For Everyone (SAFE) for the 2015-16 school year.
SAFE is a teen-run, peer-to-peer program focusing on increasing teen seatbelt use through education, positive rewards and enforcement. It’s designed to bring awareness of the importance of wearing a seatbelt so we can reduce the number of motor vehicle-related injuries and fatalities within the community.
The goal of SAFE is to provide students with strong traffic safety messages throughout the school year. During the program students conduct unannounced seatbelt surveys, hold monthly educational programs including pledge card signings and monthly drawings for gift cards which are awarded to students that have signed a pledge card to wear their seatbelt. Law enforcement also conducts an enforcement period to emphasize the importance of wearing your seatbelt.
SAFE has been instrumental in increasing the Kansas teen seatbelt rate from 61 percent in 2009 to 84 percent in 2015. During the 2014-15 school year, SAFE was in 124 schools in 59 of the 105 Kansas counties.
For more background information on SAFE, visit: https://www.ktsro.org/safe
Hays resident Cody Baker sent a letter asking the community to help raise funds for a service dog, a dog that would cost approximately $10,000.
After a decade of battling cancer, Baker and his doctors believe that a service dog would help improve Baker’s quality of life.
UPDATE: Baker can be emailed at [email protected], and he is on the process of creating an online method for readers to donate to his cause.
UPDATE: Donations can be made to this GoFundMe page. Gofundme.com is a crowdfunding/fundraising site for personal causes and life-events.
For the full story, watch the video below:
Here is the open letter that Baker sent out to the community:
As many of you know, I was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s Lymphoma in 2005 and went through a year of chemotherapy followed by radiation. In 2011, the cancer returned and I had a stem cell transplant. As a result, I’m currently in remission, but the long term cognitive, emotional and physical side effects have been difficult to manage. Therefore, my team of doctors believes that a service dog would be helpful and improve my quality of life as I deal with these issues.
I’m currently working with a trainer in Wichita, but I need funding assistance before I’m able to proceed to the next level because the cost is just too much. According to the trainer, the cost of the service dog, training, boarding during travel, travel for me to stay in Wichita while training and supplies to get started will cost approximately $10,000. I know it sounds like an unattainable goal, but if 1,000 people each donate just $10, it is possible. I’ve taken this to the Lord in prayer, and believe if it is His will for me to have this service dog then He will provide what I need to make it happen.
Thank you for considering helping me with a service dog.
Downtown Hays has experienced a significant transformation during the past decade. Major building renovations and new businesses made the historic area an exciting destination and community gathering space, but there is a need to develop and market Downtown Hays as a unified, cohesive brand, referring to all of Downtown, including the Chestnut Street District.
Bricks are a distinguishing part of Downtown Hays, as the bricks are a common design element among the buildings and the streets. The bricks also remind community members of past memories in Downtown Hays or other downtowns – stimulating a positive feeling of nostalgia. Bricks are the one unifying, distinguishing characteristic of Downtown Hays.
The branding and marketing strategies Downtown Hays Development Corporation feels “The Bricks” addresses are:
• The need to develop a place identity for Downtown Hays.
• The need to get people on the streets, regularly and consistently, shifting the community’s focus from thinking about what businesses need to come to downtown to thinking about how to bring people downtown.
• The need to unify Downtown Hays, in physical appearance, in cohesion, cooperation and appreciation among the Downtown Hays business owners, and with Fort Hays State University and the community of Hays.
We are excited about the possibilities the branding of Downtown as a whole offers but we are also very conscious of the history of this area. The Chestnut Street District will not disappear or be forgotten. The Bricks will only be used to enhance and bring more awareness to our wonderful Downtown.
To learn more about “The Bricks,” please join us for a Launch Party on Thursday from 3-5pm at The Hays Public Library. At 4 p.m. an official Ribbon Cutting in partnership with The Hays Area Chamber of Commerce will also take place. Refreshments will be served.
The key to a healthy diet is to eat a variety of foods including grains, milk, vegetables, meat and fruits – all in moderation. Each of us needs to make smart choices about when we eat and how much.
In spite of this widespread consensus to eat in moderation and variety, there are plenty of detractors who are trying to limit the amount of protein, especially red meat from the everyday diet. Most of these opponents preach eating less or no beef and little pork.
Dietary guidelines are supposed to tell us what we should eat for good nutrition. Such recommendations are as plentiful as the half-truths or flat-out-falsehoods we’re bombarded with daily during this upcoming presidential election.
Numerous organizations – including the World Health Organizations that recently classified bacon as a carcinogen – have been issuing their own guidelines about what they would have us eat based on their agendas. Oftentimes these guidelines are too dogmatic, containing specific recommendations for everyone while overlooking allowances for individual differences.
Take the recent edict on bacon Just 1.8 ounces of bacon daily, two strips, raises a person’s risk of colorectal cancer by 18 percent, warned the WHO. But bacon and hot dogs aren’t the only meats singled out. A whole plate of other salted, cured and smoked meats has also earned the WHO’s high-risk classification.
Calm down bacon lovers, while processed meats may be in the same category as cigarettes, they’re not equally dangerous. Here’s the real skinny on this recent bombshell.
For each of these substances, there’s evidence that some amount of exposure may increase a person’s risk of at least one type of cancer. In the case of cigarettes, regular smoking raises your risk of lung cancer 2,500 percent and causes about 1 million cancer deaths a year.
On the other hand, only 34,000 annual deaths worldwide can be attributed to diets high in processed meat. So if you eat a couple strips of bacon daily, your already small 4.5 percent life-time risk of colorectal cancer may go up to 5.3 percent.
Occasionally enjoying a couple strips of bacon with your eggs simply isn’t that dangerous. Be sensible about this tasty treat. Savor every bite and eat in moderation.
The United States is made up of individuals who need to adjust their diets to allow for their own states of health, age, development, risks of chronic disease and personal tastes.
Beef, chicken, fish, lamb and pork belong in our diets. Roasted, baked, broiled, grilled or simmered – no matter how you cook ‘em – all are high in nutritional quality. They’re good for the body as well as the mind.
When it comes to eating, the truth is, nothing compares to the smell, sound and taste of bacon sizzling in a skillet in preparation for a week-end breakfast.
Make mine Applewood, double smoked.
John Schlageck, a Hoxie native, is a leading commentator on agriculture and rural Kansas.
Carlton Bragg, Jr. scored 14 points in his KU debut vs. Pittsburg State. (Courtesy KU Athletics)
LAWRENCE, Kan. – No. 4/5 Kansas men’s basketball opened the 2015-16 season with a 89-66 exhibition win over Pittsburg State on Wednesday night inside historic Allen Fieldhouse.
The Jayhawks relied on 46 points from their big men to notch the 43rd-straight exhibition win in Lawrence.
Senior forward Perry Ellis led the way with 22 points on 8-of-12 shooting, including 15 second-half points, in 24 minutes of action. Senior forward Hunter Mickelson tallied 10 points on 5-of-6 from the field with six rebounds in just 13 minutes. Freshman forward Carlton Bragg Jr. made his debut as a Jayhawk with 14 points on 7-of-12 shooting in 21 minutes.
Bragg made a balanced impact for the Jayhawks from start to finish. From the first play in the game, the Cleveland, Ohio, product showed the sheer versatility of his game on a high-low pass from the top of the key to assist Mickelson with an easy layup on the blocks at 14:30 mark of the first half. Bragg followed-up with a fast-break alley-oop dunk from a half-court pass from Frank Mason III which gave KU a 12-11 lead.
Kansas drained consecutive 3-pointers to jump-start an 18-5 run in the last five minutes of the first half and makeup for a sluggish start, which featured nine combined fouls in the first five minutes of the game.
Wayne Selden, Jr. started the run by draining KU’s first 3-pointer of the night at the 4:36 mark of the first half, followed by a trey from Brannen Greene on the next possession to give KU a 31-23 lead. Kansas went into the locker room with a 46-28 halftime lead after Lagerald Vick snuck in a last-second fast break layup to give KU its 18-point lead, which also marked the freshman’s first basket inside Allen Fieldhouse.
Pitt State’s Josiah Gustafson was the first player to double figures with a lay-up at 19:08 in the second half. Gustafson finished with 20 points, while Jaxon Holden registered 12 points on four of the Gorillas’ seven 3-pointers on the night.
Offense came quicker and more efficient to the Jayhawks in the second half. After taking nearly two minutes for Kansas to score its opening bucket of the game, the Jayhawks opened the second half at a much quicker pace as Mason notched a layup in the first 20 seconds. KU shot 55.9 percent in the second half, 13.8 percentage points higher than the opening period.
Kansas led by as many as 25 points with 2:43 left in the game, enabling Coach Bill Self to clear the bench and use all 14 game-eligible Jayhawks on the roster, including the career debut for sophomore walk-on Clay Young.
A pair of dunks from Bragg in the last five minutes of the game closed out the Jayhawks’ 43rd straight exhibition victory at Allen Fieldhouse by a score of 89-66.
Today Mostly sunny, with a high near 63. South southwest wind 11 to 18 mph becoming northwest in the afternoon. Winds could gust as high as 28 mph.
Tonight Areas of frost after 3am. Otherwise, mostly clear, with a low around 33. Breezy, with a northwest wind 15 to 20 mph becoming west 5 to 10 mph after midnight.
Friday Areas of frost before 7am. Otherwise, mostly sunny, with a high near 60. Southwest wind around 7 mph becoming north in the afternoon.
Friday NightA slight chance of showers between 7pm and 11pm. Partly cloudy, with a low around 31. North wind 7 to 11 mph. Chance of precipitation is 20%.
Saturday Sunny, with a high near 54. North wind around 8 mph becoming south southeast in the afternoon.
Saturday Night Mostly clear, with a low around 35.
HAYS, Kan. – Fort Hays State moved on to the semifinals of the MIAA Tournament by defeating the Bearcats of Southwest Baptist on Wednesday 2-1. The fourth-seeded Tigers pushed their win streak to four matches and move on to face No. 1 seed Central Missouri on its home field in Warrensburg, Mo., on Friday.
Cenayda Guzman got the Tigers on the board first, when she was able to place a header off a corner kick from Vianei Sanchez in the back of the net at 60:00.
After a hard foul just outside the SBU box Jasmine Beaulieu rifled a laser free kick past the Bearcat keeper extending the Tiger lead to 2-0 with just 4:31 remaining in the game.
SBU did not go down without a fight as 2014 MIAA Offensive Player of the Year Karla Jamison had a rebound off FHSU goalkeeper Abbie Flax bounce right to her and she buried it in the back of the net for her 14th goal of the season. It cut the Tiger lead in half, just 15 seconds after Beaulieu’s goal. SBU had a few more opportunities in the final four minutes but were unable to find the equalizer and buzzer sounded with the Tigers on top 2-1.
Flax recorded her fifth win of the season for FHSU in between the pipes, saving seven shots.
Wind played a huge factor in the match, steady out of the south at about 20-30 mph throughout the match. SBU was downwind the first half and recorded 12 shots to Fort Hays State’s three, but the Tigers kept the Bearcats off the board. In the second half, FHSU had 13 shots to SBU’s three.
Fort Hays State takes on Central Missouri at 4 pm on Friday. The Jennies are ranked No. 9 in the latest national poll. FHSU defeated Central Missouri earlier this year in Hays, 2-1, when UCM was ranked No. 1 in the nation.
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — A Kansas legislative study committee is having two days of hearings to examine tax exemptions and credits for businesses, nonprofit groups and others.
The Special Committee on Taxation Committee meeting that begins Thursday is an outgrowth of the Legislature’s debate earlier this year on raising taxes to balance the state budget.
The Republican-dominated Legislature increased sales and cigarette taxes to avert a deficit in the $15.3 billion budget. But some conservatives argued that the state wouldn’t need to boost tax rates if it eliminated some of the dozens of tax breaks in state law.
Some GOP leaders were skeptical because efforts over the past 25 years to repeal tax breaks generally have failed when the beneficiaries make policy and political cases for them. But Republican leaders agreed to a study.
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) – Kansas City Royals All-Star outfielder Alex Gordon has declined his player option for next season and will test free agency for the first time. The four-time Gold Glove winner has spent his entire nine-year career with the Royals, who drafted him second overall in 2005. Gordon hit .271 with 13 home runs and 48 RBIs in 104 games during the regular season.
The Royals have have also declined mutual options on right fielder Alex Rios and starting pitcher Jeremy Guthrie. The 34-year-old Rios had a $12.5 million option with a $1.5 million buyout, while the 36-year-old Guthrie had a $10 million option with a $3.2 million buyout.
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — A 33-year-old man has died after being shot by a bullet that pierced through the walls of a southeast Wichita house.
Lt. Ronald Hunt says police were called to the home around 7: 15 p.m. Wednesday after multiple people in the neighborhood called 911 to report that shots had been fired.
Hunt says officers arrived and found a man inside the house with at least one gunshot wound. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
Police say they think “at least 20” shots were fired at the house and that two or three suspects ran from the scene.
The Wichita Eagles reports that police are speaking with another man who was in the house at the time of the shooting.
Hunt says he cannot confirm whether the shooting was gang-related.
SHARON SPRINGS, Kan. (AP) — A Kansas high school football player who collapsed on the sideline during a game died Wednesday after being taken off of life support, a hospital spokeswoman said.
Luke Schemm had just scored the extra point after a touchdown when the 17-year-old ran to the sidelines and collapsed, his father, David Schemm, said at a news conference earlier Wednesday at Swedish Medical Center in the Denver suburb of Englewood, where the teen had been declared brain-dead.
“Luke, our beautiful gift from God, is no longer with us,” Schemm said.
Hospital spokeswoman Nicole Williams told The Associated Press that Luke Schemm was “kept on life support so family and friends can pay their respects.” She later confirmed that life support was withdrawn Wednesday afternoon and the teen was declared dead.
Brian McVay, superintendent and principal of Wallace County schools, said he didn’t know why Schemm collapsed during the Eight-Man Division II game at Wallace County High in Sharon Springs, Kansas.
“The team was gathered on the sidelines getting ready to go for the kick. Before they even left the sideline, he just collapsed,” McVay said. “But as far as why, I haven’t had time to track that down.”
He said Schemm was taken by ambulance to a local hospital, then flown to the hospital in Colorado, about 220 miles west of Sharon Springs.
Asked by a reporter whether he thought Schemm’s team should still play in Saturday’s quarterfinal playoff game against Ingalls, Schemm indicated that the players should push through their grief and compete.
“Luke gave his all on the field,” he said. “He lived his life with a passion, and that’s what we want them to do.”
Gary Musselman, executive director of the Kansas State High School Activities Association, said game officials didn’t see Schemm sustain any head or neck contact during the game.
He said if Schemm’s death is determined to be football-related, it would be the third in Kansas in 17 years.
“Any death is one too many,” Musselman said. “We just are heartsick any time a youngster prematurely passes because of whatever reason.”
From July through Wednesday there have been 11 reported deaths in high school football in the U.S., according to the National Center for Catastrophic Sport Injury Research in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. The center said seven of those deaths were directly related to a football trauma and four were indirectly related, meaning other health issues contributed to the death.
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SHARON SPRINGS, Kan. (AP) — The father of a Kansas high school football player who collapsed on the sidelines during a playoff game says his son is on life support but has no brain activity.
David Schemm held a news conference Wednesday outside Swedish Medical Center in the Denver suburb of Englewood, where his son Luke was flown Tuesday night.
He says the Wallace County High School senior had just scored the point after a touchdown and ran to the sidelines, where he collapsed.
Schemm says his son had no prior health issues. He doesn’t know what caused his injuries.
A hospital spokeswoman says Luke is being kept on life support so family and friends can pay their respects. She says he has been declared brain-dead.
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SHARON SPRINGS, Kan. (AP) — A western Kansas high school football player has died the day after collapsing during a game.
Brian McVay, superintendent and principal of Wallace County schools, said Wednesday that Luke Schemm, a senior at Wallace County High School, died at a Denver hospital where he had been taken after collapsing during the game Tuesday night.
He says it’s unclear if Schemm suffered any injuries during the Eight-Man Division I game, but that Schemm had just scored a touchdown and an extra point when he collapsed on the sidelines.
Gary Musselman, with the Kansas State High School Activities Association, says officials didn’t see Schemm sustain any head contact during the game. He says if Schemm’s death is determined to be football-related, it would be the third in Kansas in 17 years.
On Wednesday, Luke’s father David Schemm shared on social media, “A beautiful gift from God was taken away from Lisa an I last night. Luke Schemm suffered trauma to the brain, causing it to swell an shut off blood flow to the brain. Thank you to everyone for your prayers an reaching out to is. Please continue to reach out to us, it is going to be a very difficult time for us, an we will only be able to make it thru with the help of God, family, friends, an community.”
White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest during Wednesday’s press briefing
DEB RIECHMANN, Associated Press
WASHINGTON (AP) — Kansas Sen. Pat Roberts says he’s placing a hold on President Barack Obama’s nominee for the secretary of the Army, Eric Fanning, to prevent the White House from taking executive action to close Guantanamo Bay and transfer detainees to the United States.
Roberts and the five other Republican lawmakers who make up the congressional delegation from Kansas on Wednesday condemned the Obama administration’s refusal to rule out taking executive action to close the prison in Cuba.
White House press secretary Josh Earnest told reporters that Obama wants to work with Congress to close Guantanamo Bay, but “if Congress continues to refuse,” the president will explore all other options.
