Khondoker Usama-photo Wichita State University SGA
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — Wichita police are investigating a report that two college students were attacked by a man shouting racial epithets and the name of Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump.
Wichita State University student body vice president Khondoker Usama, who is Muslim, said he and a Hispanic friend witnessed a white man calling a black customer a racial epithet at a convenience store before the man turned on him and his friend Saturday.
Usama said he was pushed, and that his friend was punched and kicked. Usama said the man then rode away on his motorcycle, after circling them and shouting Trump’s name. A police report says the friend suffered a bruised lip.
Police Lt. Jeff Gilmore told The Wichita Eagle that officers are seeking surveillance video from the store.
By DIANE GASPER-O’BRIEN FHSU University Relations and Marketing
UPDATE: Jon Inman placed fifth Saturday to claim All-America honors at the NCAA Division II Championships Sat. March 12, in Sioux Falls, S.D. Inman’s fifth place finish is the highest finish of his career after qualifying the previous two years. ——————————————————————————————-
The coming week is going to be a busy one for Jonathan Inman, and it’s not because he is taking off for vacation land during spring break like a lot of college students.
Inman, a Fort Hays State University junior, will begin his quest for All-America honors today. The sixth-ranked 184-pound wrestler in NCAA Division II, Inman is 35-2 this season and is competing at the national tournament in Sioux Falls, S.D., Friday and Saturday.
While that might seem like the most exciting event of this school year for Inman — and at least this week — it isn’t.
A week after hopefully garnering that elusive All-America honor and getting to climb the steps of the awards stand, Inman will take an even bigger step. He and his fiancée, FHSU junior Breanna Tendick from Bonner Springs, will be married March 18 in Kansas City, Kan.
Then the newlyweds will return to Fort Hays State to finish out the school year and live happily ever after in Hays, for another year at least, while Jonathan completes his degree in criminal justice and Breanna finishes hers in social work.
Funny how first impressions can change over time. Inman wasn’t sure as a teenager he would like living on the plains of western Kansas for four years. After all, he grew up in the Ozark Mountains in Branson, Mo.
“Branson was a small town with a big-town feel,” Inman said. “The lake was right there to fish in, and it had all the nice places to eat. It was a super place to live, a great place to grow up.”
Inman was a four-time state qualifier in wrestling in high school but flew under the radar because of a couple of other standouts in his weight class, and there were no big-name programs that came calling.
An FHSU graduate, Dustin Martin, happened to be coaching youth wrestling nearby and liked what he saw in Inman and told Tiger Coach Chas Thompson about him. It didn’t take Thompson long to contact Inman.
“Besides being a quality wrestler, he was a 4.0 student with a 29 ACT,” Thompson said. “I thought he would be a perfect fit for our program.”
Inman wasn’t as convinced at first. He had wrestled in Hays in some freestyle tournaments and wasn’t so impressed with the location. But he thought he’d at least give FHSU a look following a recruiting trip to Colorado Mesa University.
Mesa is situated in another picturesque mountainous setting, on the western slope of the Rockies in Grand Junction. Inman said he loved the campus — the price tag to attend there, not so much.
Hays didn’t seem so bad after all, especially once he set foot on campus.
“It was 30,000 (dollars) at Mesa, and when I visited Hays, I enjoyed the campus, and it was a great value for a great education,” Inman said.
Inman signed with FHSU before his senior year in high school. Good thing for the Tigers. He went on to win the 182-pound state championship his senior year, and other college coaches started to take notice.
“Even that summer before he came to Fort Hays State, I had some coaches come up to me at some tournaments and ask where (Inman) had been hiding, if he had signed with a school yet,” Thompson said.
Oh, yeah, Thompson thought. He’s a Tiger.
So Jerry and Lynn Inman packed up their only child and sent him seven and a half hours to the northwest, and their son couldn’t be happier about his decision.
“I had thought I didn’t want to go to the middle of nowhere; that’s the stereotype about Hays,” Inman said. “But Hays, and Fort Hays State, is about so much more than location. It’s about the people.”
Inman continued to excel on the mat, and he met his wife-to-be his freshman year. The rest, like they say, is history.
Inman has hopes of making some history of his own this weekend. With his parents and fiancée cheering him on, he would like nothing better than to win an All-American trophy to bring home. He came within one victory of achieving that last year at nationals.
The top eight finishers in each weight class achieve All-America status.
“Make it to the second day,” Inman said. “That’s the goal.”
If not, there’s still next year.
In fact, Inman has become so attached to Hays — and Fort Hays State — that he said he and fiancée are considering sticking around after graduating next spring. Both Jonathan and Breanna are checking out graduate programs at FHSU.
“I have a really good friend base here, and that’s what makes someplace your home,” Inman said. “My friends are what’s keeping me here. I love Hays.”
This may be the week of tax fights, when both the folks who carefully hang up their cashmere sport coats and those who toss their wool or maybe even polyester-blend jackets square off.
On the polyester side, we have those who just can’t believe that some 330,000 Kansans aren’t paying any state income tax on the profits from their Limited Liability Corporations and such. On the cashmere side, we have Kansans who have a zero-dollar tax bill and wonder why the jean jacket crowd won’t consume more groceries and send their clothes to the dry cleaners to increase the state’s take from sales taxes—paying the consumption taxes that Gov. Sam Brownback wants to use to balance the budget.
But the real issue comes down to just which legislators want to return to the Statehouse and the free drinks and meals that lawmakers enjoy after this fall’s elections.
Let’s see how this tracks.
In the Senate, there’s a bill that would make those LLC owners, who now take “non-wage” income from their businesses tax-free, pay taxes on 70% of that income, the other 30% non-taxable. Oh, and that Senate bill would, if passed, take effect back on Jan. 1.
In the House, there’s a bill that puts the non-wage income back on the books for tax calculation and would use that new tax money to reduce the sales tax on groceries, so the help can afford to eat and feed their children.
That’s a pretty high-level view of the proposals. It’s worthwhile to remember that Brownback is on the side of the cashmere crowd and that his veto of a tax bill requires not just 63 but 84 House votes to override that veto and put the bill into law. In the Senate, it takes not just the majority 21 votes but 27 to override him.
You can count on Democrats in each chamber to either vote for taxes or take the stance that this is a fight among Republicans and they don’t want to miss lunch to participate in it.
There is, of course, this looming budget deficit, with the probability that severe cuts or financial hijinks are going to be needed to balance the budget, which means that services and programs are going to be chopped. But that’s not likely to make much difference to the cashmere class. For the denim crowd, it might mean dipping into your kid’s college fund to pay the water bill.
So it comes down—as in every election year—to where the votes are.
There are moderate Republicans who want the tax-exempt class to start writing tax checks like everyone else and there are conservative Republicans who see the revenue shortfall as a chance to shrink government and push the financing of social programs and education down to the local property taxpayers. Oh, it’s the second group which historically has been the most reliable primary election voting bloc and in most legislative districts in Kansas if you win the GOP primary you’d have to serve kale at your next fund-raiser to lose the general election.
But those Republicans who want to end the tax break? Their numbers appear to be growing, but we won’t know for sure where the party splits at the primary election. Oh, and don’t forget that the no-tax crowd is probably going to be hip deep in campaign contributions from conservative groups who can flood voters with cute pictures of conservatives with puppies and grandchildren.
The alternative to taxing that now-exempt income? So far, it’s been borrowing, either from the highway fund or making cuts to specific state agencies. But a new ploy being considered is borrowing against future tobacco industry payments of about $60 million a year for enough money to balance the budget, at least for the remaining two years of Brownback’s final term in office. Sounds a little like a payday loan, but with Audis and Mercedes parked in front of the gas station-turned lending institution.
Looks like a real fight ahead…
Syndicated by Hawver News Company LLC of Topeka; Martin Hawver is publisher of Hawver’s Capitol Report—to learn more about this nonpartisan statewide political news service, visit the website at www.hawvernews.com.
You know we are heading into the final days of the legislative session, as the pace picks up and many meetings are held to try to get enough support or votes to get a particular bill out of committee and on to the floor for debate and passage.
With this being an election year, many of the bills to make it for a vote have not been controversial, but have included clean-up language or something that a majority agree to.
Things like amending the state banking code, modernizing the Kansas mortgage business act do not get the headlines, but are important non the less. Those were a couple of the things we moved out of the house this past week.
Some veteran lawmakers and legislative watchers say this session has brought more challenges than they remember, but many times with families when we are backed up against a wall, we defend and lash out to protect ourselves. The process is not pretty, nor should it be, because laws have consequences, sometimes unintended and changes need to be made. Other times the pure politics of governing has us put forth bad legislation just to score a “gotcha” rather than working together to find a true solution.
That being said, one of the good things that passed out of the House this past week was a bill on transparency, which if passed by the Senate and signed by the Governor would have many committee meetings broadcast via a live audio stream. This gives everyone an opportunity to hear what really happens in a committee, rather than hear about it second hand. I hope these moves forward.
I will be traveling the district in April, listening to you, visiting schools and businesses, hope I see you along the way.
Please reach out to me if you have concerns, questions or issues that need to be addressed. You can keep up on things by following and liking Ken for Kansas on Facebook. During the session I can be reached: Ken Rahjes, Kansas State Capitol, 168-W, Topeka, KS 66612; Phone: (785) 296-7676; Email: [email protected]; or 1798 E 900 Rd, Agra, KS 67621; Cell: (785) 302-8416 or [email protected].
You can also track bills and get specific information by going to kslegislature.org.
Fort Hays State University Relations and Marketing
The Fort Hays State University Virtual College has been ranked No. 1 in online education in the state of Kansas in a new ranking by TheBestSchools.org.
Best Schools, a leading resource for evaluating campus and online education, has previously ranked FHSU among the top 50 in the nation.
Best Schools’ criteria include regional accreditation, the quality of programs offered, types of courses included and faculty strengths. Awards, rankings, and the reputation for online degree programs are also among the criteria, with the number of degrees offered online being the most important when. The wide variety of associate, baccalaureate, master and certificate programs are also factors.
Placing second was Kansas State University. The University of Kansas was No. 3.
WICHITA- A Kansas woman pleaded guilty Monday to making a video of herself engaged in a sex act with a child under five years old and uploading the video to the Internet, according to U.S. Attorney Barry Grissom.
Ashley Marie Kelly, 25, Dodge City, pleaded guilty to one count of producing child pornography. In her plea, she admitted she used a smartphone to record the act and posted the video to her Google Drive account. Google discovered the photographs and sent reports to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.
Sentencing is set for June 1. Both parties have agreed to recommend a sentence of 300 months in federal prison. Grissom commended the Ford County Sheriff’s Office, the Wichita Police Department, the Kansas Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force and Assistant U.S. Attorney Jason Hart for their work on the case.
Theresa Heier was born May, 9 1924 north of Park, Kansas. She died on March 13, 2016 at the Long Term Care Facility, Quinter, Kansas at the age of 91. Theresa’s parents were Nickolas and Leogardia (Waldman) Zerr.
Shortly after Theresa’s birth the family moved to the farm on the Hackberry. She attended Hackberry District 14 and graduated from school there.
Theresa was raised on a farm and it was there she learned the value of hard work. She was right hand man to her father as the boys were born later and dad needed her help out in the fields. She always said her sister Mary got to stay in the house and learn at the feet of mom, but she had to be outside. That was why Mary was a much better cook than she was.
Theresa attended Nurses Training at the St. Rose School of nursing in Great Bend, Kansas and graduated in 1947 as a Registered Nurse. She later met and married Nicholas Heier on October 10, 1949. To this Union were born 5 children.
Theresa dedicated much of her life to her nursing career. She worked at St. Rose Hospital in Great Bend, St. Catherine in Garden City and St. Anthony in Hays. She then came home to work at Gove County Hospital in Quinter, and for part of that time served as Superintendent of Nursing. One of her favorite areas was working in surgery. She finally retired from nursing on April 22, 1987.
Theresa had a great sense of humor and would often play tricks on the preceptors who came to the hospital for training. Her sense of humor was in play right up to the end. When you would least expect it she would spout something to make you laugh.
Theresa and Nick farmed southwest of Grainfield for many years. When it was time for them to retire from the farm, Nick built them a home in town. Theresa wanted it big enough for the whole family to come visit. They moved into that home in December of 1977. Theresa loved her home and lived there until she became ill in May of 2015. Nick preceded her in death on January 14, 1990.
Theresa had a strong Christian faith and was a member of the St. Agnes Parish and the St. Agnes Ladies Group. She was also a past member of the EHU.
After Nick died, Theresa enjoyed visits from her family and spent many hours playing Skip-Bo with them. Theresa went on several trips with her daughters. She loved to travel and visit new places.
Theresa is survived by their five children, Jolene (Elden) Gustafson, Williamston, Michigan, Harold, Williamston, Michigan, Karla (Tom) Rickner, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, Harvey (Cammie) Heier, Grainfield, Kansas, and Sonya (Kenny) Goetz, Dodge City, Kansas; twelve grandchildren Brandon and Shaun Blain, Jesse and Samuel Heier, Rachel (Rickner) Trombley, Robert, Rebekah, and Richard Rickner, Deanna Farber, Brandon and Landon Heier and Kade Baker and Monica and Travis Goetz; fourteen great-grandchildren; one brother Alfred (Donna) Zerr, Dallas, Texas; and one sister Christina (James) Halepaska, Dallas, Texas. She was preceded in death by her parents; her husband; two sisters, Mary and Agnes; and brothers, Anthony, Lawrence, Fidelis, Gilbert, and Edwin.
Mass of Christian Burial will be 10:30 a.m., Thursday, March 17, 2016 at St. Agnes Catholic Church, Grainfield.Burial will be in the Grainfield cemetery.
Visitation will be Wednesday, from 6:00 to 7:00 p.m., at the St. Agnes Religious Education Center, Grainfield.A parish vigil service will follow at 7:00 p.m.
Memorials are suggested to the Gove County Medical Center and Long Term Care Facility; also to the Gove Hospital Endowment Fund for Nursing Scholarships.Checks made to the organization can be left at the service, or mailed to Schmitt Funeral Home, 901 South Main, Quinter, KS 67752.
Condolences may be sent online at www.schmittfuneral.com.
Former Phillipsburg resident, Dorrell G. George, died Saturday, March 12, 2016 at the Stanton County Hospital LTCU in Johnson City, Kansas at the age of 89. He was born December 19, 1926 in Wright, KS the son of Dan W. & Nellie (Lee) George.
He was united in marriage to Gladys T. Bathazor on August 9, 1949 in Damar, KS. She survives. Other survivors include his son, Neal George of Scott City, KS; 3 daughters, Sondra Fleming of Bedford, TX, Sharon Porter of Johnson City, KS & Shirley Wagner of Haslet , TX; sister, Dorlene Blodig of Atchison, KS; 10 grandchildren; & 5 great grandchildren.
A Memorial Mass will be held at 10:30 a.m. Thursday, March 17, 2016 in Sts. Philip & James Catholic Church, Phillipsburg, with Father George Chalbhagam officiating. Inurnment will follow with military honors conducted by the Fort Riley Honor Guard in the Fairview Cemetery, Phillipsburg.
A Scriptural Wake Service & Rosary will be at 7:00 p.m. Wednesday, March 16, 2016 at the Olliff-Boeve Memorial Chapel, Phillipsburg. The family will receive friends following the Rosary until 8:30 p.m for visitation.
Friends may sign the register book from Noon until 9 p.m. Wednesday at the funeral home.
Memorial contributions may be made to the Sts. Philip & James Catholic Church.
Online condolences may be left at www.olliffboeve.com.
STAFFORD -Law enforcement authorities in Stafford County continue to investigate a fatal shooting.
Just after 11 p.m. on Thursday, officers with Stafford police responded to a residence in the 300 Block of North Keystone.
They made contact with a woman of the home, Misty R. Salem, 35, who was hysterical and shouting that she shot him, according to a media release.
Emergency medical crews found the victim Samuel B. Salem, 41, on the living room floor. He suffered one gunshot wound and was pronounced dead at the scene.
A second officer recovered a weapon from the yard.
Misty Salem was taken to the Barton County Jail, interviewed, and booked on a 2nd degree murder charge with a $1million dollar bond, according to police.
Two children of the home have been placed with other family members.
The Kansas Bureau of Investigation is assisting with the ongoing investigation along with St. John Police Department and the Stafford County Sheriff’s Department.
Hays High hosted an FFA Entomology and Poultry judging competition after school on Tuesday, March 8.
Each team or individual was asked to complete certain tasks. In the Entomology category, participants were asked to complete a written test and identify 50 different insects from a list of around 80 insects.
In the Poultry Judging category, students had to complete a team activity, take a written test and identify different poultry parts. Students had to look for things like chickens that would produce the most number of eggs and chickens that would pass on the best quality of meat.
Early morning robberies near the KSU campus on September 4 prompted a lockdown
MANHATTAN – A Kansas man was sentenced on Monday for his participation in an aggravated robbery that temporarily shut down the Kansas State University campus on September 4, 2015.
Sean Johnson, 20, Manhattan, appeared in Riley County Court. He was arrested on September 9, after an investigation into several robberies near the KSU campus.
Johnson’s attorney argued that his participation in the robbery spree in which three others were arrested was mitigated and that his only criminal background was a possession of marijuana charge from 2013 and that he has successfully completed probation.
Barry Disney, Senior Deputy County Attorney for Riley County, represented the State of Kansas and argued that the victims of the robbery spree were terrorized by the events and that no departure in sentencing should be granted.
“The victims of the crimes wanted those charged to serve jail time, and that preying on innocent people while they were just walking home was a serious crime deserving punishment, regardless of previous criminal history,” said Disney.
Judge Stutzman sentenced Johnson to 59 months with the Secretary of Corrections and 36 months post-incarceration supervision. He is also required to register as a violent offender since a firearm
(Back L to R): Nicholas Zimmerman, Justyce Briney, Patrick Kepka, Paul Brull, Ian Lenser, Jason Kepka, Ethan Rohr (Front L to R): Hunter Flax, Seth Perrett, Japheth Briney, Sheldon Weber, Sheena Zeng, Ben Pfannenstiel
By RANDY BRULL TMP-Marian
The TMP-Marian Monarch chess team notched a second consecutive state championship at the Kansas Scholastic Chess Association (KSCA) tournament held at the Kansas Union on the campus of the University of Kansas Saturday, March 12.
The team total of 17 points was enough to send the Monarchs to the top of the 3A division where they were followed by perennial power Erie (16 points) and Cherryvale (15.5 points). The 3A competition was tough as only two schools, 6A Lawrence High School and 6A Blue Valley Northwest finish ahead of the 3A trio.
The varsity was paced by senior Patrick Kepka whose 5 point total put him in a fourteen way tie for individual first place honors. Unfortunately, the tiebreak system assigned him to the fourteenth spot in that elite group. ‘
One hundred and seventy one individuals, one of the largest turnouts ever, competed in the high school section of the tournament. Kepka’s five points were supplemented by four point performances from fellow senior Justyce Briney and freshmen Paul Brull and Sheldon Weber. Sophomores Jason Kepka (3.5 points), Ian Lenser (3.0 points) and Ethan Rohr (3.0 points) as well as freshman Nicholas Zimmerman (3.0 points) also participated in the tournament.
The Monarch junior high, competing against 27 other middle schools of all sizes, finished in a tie for third with 16 points behind Lawrence West Middle School (17.5 points), and Concordia Junior High (16.5 points). St. Mary’s Academy of St. Mary’s, Kansas also finished with 16 points, and was awarded the third place trophy on the basis of the tiebreak system.
Eighth grader Sheena Zeng led the junior high Monarchs, but was limited to five points on account of a last round loss to the eventual tournament winner. Her five point finish left her in fourth place in a field of 180 competitors. Zeng’s performance was supported by seventh graders Seth Perrett (4.0 points, 36th place), Japheth Briney (4.0 points, 50th place), Hunter Flax (3.0 points, 85th place). Seventh grader Ben Pfannenstiel also competed and finished the tournament with 3.0 points.
The Monarch varsity team competed at nine tournaments throughout the season, finishing first in six, second in two, and third at one. The junior high team compiled a record of four first place finishes, a second place finish, a trio of thirds and the fourth place at state. Competition will resume in the fall as the TMP-Marian teams are set to host and compete on Saturday, October 8.
The Holy Family Elementary Chess Team placed 4th in the K-5 division.
Drivers should use an extra bit of caution today as the drowsiness associated with daylight savings time has been associated with a higher rate of car crashes, according to a media release from the Kansas Department of Transportation.
In 1999, researchers at Johns Hopkins University and Stanford wanted to find out what happens on the road when millions of drivers have their sleep disrupted.
Analyzing 21 years of fatal car crash data from the U.S. National Highway Transportation Safety Administration, they found a very small, but significant, increase of road deaths on the Monday after the clock shift in the spring: The number of deadly accidents jumped to an average of 83.5 on the “spring forward” Monday compared to an average of 78.2 on a typical Monday.
“We didn’t expect to see anything, actually,” Richard P. Allen, the Johns Hopkins neurologist who oversaw the study. “To me it was really amazing that one hour made that difference.”
