Now that gardens across Kansas are bearing vegetables, it’s time to taste, enjoy and appreciate the fruits of our labor.

Just a few short weeks ago, many folks walked out to their machine sheds or garage and plucked a spade out of one of the dark corners or cranked up the turf tiller and headed for the garden. Springtime on the farm or in town always means preparing the soil, planting seeds and growing food.

Going into the first week of July, most Kansans are experiencing the dog-days of summer – you know blistering heat, strong southerly winds and little, if any, moisture. And this summer is no different. In eastern Kansas, dryland corn has already experienced extreme heat, especially for June. By the afternoon, leaves sport that blue cast that signals stress and a need for rain. Soybeans continue to hang in there.

Some areas in southwestern Kansas are bogged down in wheat harvest because of too much moisture. Just depends on where you live.

Still for those Kansans lucky enough to toil in their own gardens, some are already picking tomatoes and cucumbers by the armfuls. Lettuce and radishes remain in the mix as well.

Growing up in the late ‘50s and early ‘60s, fresh produce wasn’t as abundant in the grocery store as it is today. Knox Market, located on old Highway 24 on the west edge of Hoxie, did boast cantaloupes and watermelons trucked in from western Colorado and New Mexico.

During this period, most families grew their own. Many couldn’t afford to go to the store and buy their fresh fruits and vegetables.

Today, while most people can afford to buy their produce from the local grocery store, some still prefer to grow their own.

You just can’t beat a fresh ear of corn, picked in the early morning and served slathered with butter for lunch or dinner. The kernels taste as sweet as candy. Yep, tomatoes, cucumbers, cantaloupes and watermelons all taste better when they’re “fresh picked.”

Also, there is nothing more satisfying than to walk out to your own garden, pick a couple of tomatoes and head for the kitchen. Once inside, wash and cut the red delight, sprinkle on a little salt and pepper. Umm they’re so good.

People are discovering once again, or in most cases for the first time, how good foods taste fresh right out of the soil.

If you don’t believe me, just bite into a fresh carrot, radish or slice up a cool, refreshing cucumber and slip it into your mouth. The proof is in the tasting.

Some of us were born with a sweet tooth. I’m one of them. Fresh fruit, ice cream and chocolates are my favorites. If you’ve ever picked fresh strawberries and sprinkled them on a heaping bowl of vanilla ice cream, you know you’ve just experienced a little bit of heaven right here on earth. Sometimes popping a few fresh ones right from the vine and into your mouth is even better.

For those concerned about saving energy, eating fruits and vegetables fresh off the tree or out of the garden could be another option. Once you acquire a taste for fresh produce, you may never go back to cooking fruits and vegetables again.

So the next time you’re out working in your garden this summer and the sweat begins to drip down your face and into your eyes, think about all those wonderful fresh strawberries, tomatoes, peppers and cucumbers you’ll soon eat on your own dinner table. When you harvest the fruits of your labor, you’ll know it is worth it.

John Schlageck, a Hoxie native, is a leading commentator on agriculture and rural Kansas.

RENO COUNTY – A Reno County Sheriff’s Deputy was injured in an accident during a high-speed chase just before 6 p.m. on Monday.

Reno County Sheriff Deputies and South Hutchinson Police officers attempted to stop a Chevy Tahoe driven by Dominic Vargas, according to a media release.

Vargas was known to have an active warrant for his arrest, Parole Violation through the State of Kansas.

He refused to stop for initial officers and attempted to elude them. He drove into the city of Hutchinson where Hutchinson Police Officers took part in the pursuit.

Mr. Vargas took officers on a pursuit that encompassed the northeastern part of the city, eventually left Hutchinson, not before driving off the roadway in order to avoid tire deflation devise that was deployed at the intersection of 30th Street and Apple Lane.,

He then went east on 30th Street and exceeded speeds up to 90 miles per hour, on a couple of occasions almost caused accidents to innocent persons traveling the road on 4th Street and Airport Road.

When he came upon the intersection of 30th Street and Buhler Rd Vargas turned southbound on Haven Road and topped speeds up to 100 miles per hour.

At the intersection of U.S. 50 and Haven Road, a Sheriff Deputy lost control and rolled his vehicle into a field. He was wearing his seatbelt and airbags deployed.

He was later transported by another Sheriff depart vehicle to Hutchinson Regional Medical Center where he was checked out and released.

The pursuit continued south on Haven Rd approximately 5 more miles where a Haven Police Officer had tire deflation devise deployed. Mr. Vargas drove off the roadway again to avoid devise when Sheriff Deputies collided with the suspect’s car. The Tahoe eventually rolled and ended up on its side.

Vargas denied any treatment from medical personnel. He was booked into the Reno County Correctional Facility on two State Warrants, Felony Flee and Elude, and Aggravated Battery of LEO. Additional charges are also possible.

SHAWNEE COUNTY -Law enforcement authorities in Shawnee County are investigating a shooting incident.

Police are asking the public for help to locate Jessie Hughes, 19, a person of interest for two counts of Aggravated Battery and Aggravated Assault and Child Endangerment in connection with the shooting at SW 37th Terrace on May 17, according to a media release.

The suspect left the area in a brown 4-door car. He is considered armed and dangerous.

Any information on this suspect please Email the TPD Criminal Intelligence Unit
([email protected]) or TPD DET Brian Hill ([email protected]) or call 785-368-9024 or
Crime Stoppers at 785-234-0007.

WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — A government snapshot shows farmers have now harvested about 58 percent of their winter wheat crop in Kansas.

The National Agricultural Statistics Service said Monday that the harvest this year is well ahead of both the 37 percent cut statewide at this time a year ago as well as the five-year average of 50 percent for this date.

Harvest activity extends across Kansas.

Southeast Kansas has cut 91 percent of its wheat, with the south-central Kansas harvest now 74 percent finished. Central Kansas has cut 78 percent. Harvest in northwest Kansas reached 13 percent.

For the wheat still out in the field, the report rated its condition as 64 percent good to excellent. About 28 percent is in fair condition and 8 percent remains in poor to very poor shape.

JACKSON COUNTY – Law enforcement authorities were busy looking for a missing child on Monday in rural Jackson County.

Two Game Warden K9 units assisted other responders in the search for a 3-year-old girl. She had been missing since early Monday morning, according to the Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks.

Game Warden K9s successfully tracked the girl over a mile and a half and finally located her.

Early indications were that she was doing well, according to a social media report.

K9 Hunter tracked the first mile when K9 Meg stepped in and completed the track.

No additional details were released.

DENVER (AP) — The American Red Cross issued an apology Monday for a water safety poster that some suggested had a racist message.

The cartoon poster showed children playing in a swimming pool. Nearly all of the white children’s activities were labeled as “cool,” while the children of color were depicted acting in unsafe ways and were labeled “not cool.”

Hey, @RedCross, send a new pool poster to @SalidaRec bc the current one they have w your name on it is super racist pic.twitter.com/TY8MmFB3Qk

— John Sawyer (@JSawyer330) June 21, 2016

 

KUSA-TV talked to Margaret Sawyer, who first saw the poster in Salida, Colorado, and then again in Fort Morgan, Colorado.

She said she first thought it was outdated — that it couldn’t be a recent poster.

A Red Cross spokesman says the posters have since been removed and more appropriate material is being developed.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — A 25-year-old man is accused of fatally shooting four of his family members then burning their bodies in northwestern Missouri.

Grayden Denham is charged with four counts of first-degree murder in the Feb. 19 deaths of two of his grandparents, his sister and her 3-month-old son at their home near Edgerton, 30 miles north of Kansas City.

Authorities say all four were shot in the head then set alight.

Denham also is charged with animal abuse, armed criminal action, tampering and second-degree arson.

He was taken into custody Feb. 21 after being found walking naked in northwestern Arizona. He was returned earlier this month to Missouri, where he was arrested on suspicion of stealing his grandparents’ car.

Denham’s attorney, John P. O’Connor, says his client plans to plead not guilty.

JOHN HANNA, AP Political Writer

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback has signed legislation that would increase aid to poor school districts to meet a court mandate and end a threat that the state’s public schools might shut down.

The bill signed Monday increases poor districts’ state funding by $38 million for the 2016-17 school year by diverting funds from other parts of the budget. It also redistributes some funds from wealthier districts, which is in line with a state Supreme Court ruling last month.

The court said Kansas’ school funding system is still unfair to poor districts and gave lawmakers until Thursday to make further changes. It had warned schools might not be able to reopen otherwise.

The bill had broad bipartisan support when the Republican-dominated Legislature passed it last week during a two-day special session.

LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) — A 16-year-old boy who was paralyzed last month after diving into a retention pond near a Lawrence high school has been released from a rehabilitation facility.

The Lawrence Journal World reports that Kaleb Hatman is paralyzed from the chest down.

Hatman was a sophomore at Free State High School at the time of his May 9 accident, when he dove into the pond during lunch.

He was released from a rehabilitation center on Friday. He will live with an aunt and uncle in Gladstone, Missouri, after previously being in the Kansas foster care system.

Hatman has learned to use a manual wheelchair and was recently able to stop wearing neck brace.

The teen says he now feels positive about the progress he has made since the accident.