Location of Friday’s possible carbon monoxide deaths-google map
OSAGE COUNTY – Law enforcement authorities in Osage County are investigating the death of two men on Friday in a small community south of Topeka.
On Friday, officers responded to 636 W. North Street in Carbondale, according to a media release.
They found two men who may have died from accidental carbon monoxide poisoning.
The victims have been identified as Gregory K. Bayless, 54 and Troy Adkins, 51, both of Topeka.
Adkins and Bayless were using gas-powered generators in the house while working, there was no electricity on in the house, according to the sheriff’s department.
Final autopsy results are still pending, which may take up to eight weeks.
ST. JOSEPH, Mo. (AP) — The Kansas City Chiefs signed left tackle Eric Fisher to a contract extension Saturday, the first day veterans joined rookies on the practice field at Missouri Western for training camp.
The Chiefs didn’t announce terms of the extension, but a person familiar with the negotiations told The Associated Press it was a four-year, $48 million deal that includes $40 million guaranteed. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the contract terms were confidential.
Fisher was the No. 1 overall pick in the 2013 draft out of Central Michigan, but he struggled to adjust to the NFL his first couple years. He finally came into his own last season, showcasing the talent that the Chiefs hope can make him their left tackle for the foreseeable future.
The Chiefs exercised their fifth-year option on him in May. That means Fisher’s total deal spans six years and $63 million.
Senator Moran with Sec. James at McConnell on Friday- photo office of Senator Moran
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — Secretary of the Air Force Deborah Lee James visited McConnell Air Force Base, calling the Wichita base a “key location.”
James visited McConnell on Friday with Sen. Jerry Moran to tour some of the $277.5 million in military base construction tied to the arrival of new KC-46A tankers.
The Wichita Eagle reports (https://j.mp/2ahudWp ) James called the base a “key location for us in the United States Air Force.”
She spoke from the headquarters of the 184th Intelligence Wing, the Kansas Air National Guard component on base. James said the arrival of the KC-46 tankers, which are expected to start coming in August 2017, will add “an absolutely fantastic capability” to the Air Force.
It was her visit to McConnell since her 2013 appointment by President Obama.
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Two Bonner Springs teens addressed the Democratic National Convention, recalling how they were fired after asking why one had been paid 25 cents an hour less than the other for the same job at the same restaurant.
Jensen Walcott and Jake Reed took their story of wage discrimination to the Democratic party convention in Philadelphia on Thursday.
Issues arose this month after the 17-year-olds found summer jobs at a pizza restaurant in Kansas City, Kansas. When Jensen asked why she was going to earn $8 an hour while Reed was set to earn $8.25 for the same job with the same amount of work experience, they were fired.
The Kansas City Star reports that the pair told the crowd discrimination of any sort shouldn’t be tolerated.
DALLAS (AP) — Cheaper oil is leading to the lowest summer gasoline prices in years, and it is causing heartburn for oil companies and their shareholders.
On Friday, Exxon Mobil Corp. reported its smallest quarterly profit in nearly 17 years — although it still earned $1.7 billion. Chevron Corp. lost money.
The reports from the two biggest U.S. oil companies followed weak second-quarter results from BP and Royal Dutch Shell.
Exxon Chairman and CEO Rex Tillerson said the results “reflect a volatile industry environment.”
The companies have slashed spending on exploration and cut budgets to offset lower prices, but that has yet to create a sustained rebound in oil prices.
U.S. crude rallied from below $30 a barrel in February to above $50 in early June. But more recently oil prices have faded again, with crude inventories remaining stubbornly high and the global economy mired in a funk. This week, U.S. oil hit a three-month low.
Production of oil in U.S. shale fields has fallen, and wildfires in Canada and unrest in Nigeria have also interrupted oil flows at times this year. Still, major players like Saudi Arabia continue to pump away.
The outlook is good for drivers, bad for anyone working in, or investing in, the energy sector. The U.S. Energy Information Administration forecasts that oil will average $43.57 this year and $52.15 next year.
“Oil prices shot up to $50 sooner than we all thought,” said Brian Youngberg, an analyst with Edward Jones. “In the near term they could fall back a little farther, but I’m confident oil prices will be in the $50s for most of 2017.”
For consumers, that’s like money in the bank, at least compared with two years ago. The average U.S. price for a gallon of regular gasoline stood at $2.14 on Friday, the lowest price since April, according to auto club AAA.
Gasoline prices are skidding because of high inventories. The decline in pump prices defies the usual pattern of higher prices during summer, when people drive more. Motorists are filling up on the cheapest July gasoline in 12 years, the auto club says.
Exxon said its profit fell because of lower oil and gas prices and weaker margins from its refining operations, which had been one of the company’s strengths.
“When crude prices collapsed, (refiners) decided to make as much gasoline as they could,” said Stewart Glickman, an analyst for S&P Global Market Intelligence. While those inventories have come off their highs, he said, remain near the top of the five-year average.
Exxon’s net income tumbled 59 percent from a year ago, and also fell below the first-quarter earnings of $1.8 billion. It was the Texas company’s smallest profit since $1.5 billion in the third quarter of 1999.
The profit came to 41 cents per share, well below the 64 cents per share forecast from analysts surveyed by FactSet. Exxon did not exclude any one-time costs from the per share calculation.
Revenue fell 22 percent, to $57.69 billion.
Chevron, the second-biggest U.S. oil company, reported a loss of $1.47 billion, a reversal from a year-ago profit of $571 million. The results were dragged down by write-downs in its exploration and production business. The California company said its adjusted profit was 35 cents per share, 3 cents better than analysts predicted.
Chairman and CEO John Watson said his company was in the midst of “our ongoing adjustment to a lower oil-price world.”
Revenue dropped 27 percent to $29.28 billion. The company got $36 a barrel for oil, down from $50 a year earlier, and natural gas also was cheaper. Production declined 3 percent.
Listen to Mike Cooper interviewing Food Services Manager at HaysMed; John Fitzthum, with the topic of “Food and Health” by clicking the link above and then clicking the play button
FHSU student Anna Hand, Ellsworth, was a Hillary Clinton delegate from Kansas at this week’s Democratic National Convention.
By RANDY GONZALES FHSU University Relations and Marketing
Being a Democrat in a Republican state can be frustrating, but it also can be a learning experience, said Anna Hand, an Ellsworth senior majoring in political science at Fort Hays State University.
“Of course it’s frustrating, because I have my ideas of the way our government needs to be working,” said Hand, who was a Hillary Clinton delegate from Kansas at this week’s Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia. “I think being in Kansas has also taught me that we don’t always get our way. We have to compromise. We have to work together.”
Hand left Philadelphia Friday morning to go back home to Kansas tired, but exhilarated at the same time. It was her first time at a national convention.
“Lots of fun, lots of entertainment, not very much sleep,” Hand said. “I’m completely exhausted right now but it was a completely unforgettable experience.”
Hand campaigned for Clinton this winter and spring, spending her weekends in Iowa canvassing voters and going to school at FHSU during the week. She met Bill Clinton and shook Hillary Clinton’s hand. Hand also met famous Clinton surrogates such as actress Jamie Lee Curtis on the campaign trail.
“I learned a lot why Iowa is the first state to (have a primary), why they’re so important,” Hand said.
At the convention, Hand was a deputy whip captain for the Clinton campaign. She was usually on the floor from 1 p.m. until the last speaker at 11 p.m. After leaving the convention hall, she attended a reception each night.
Then there were the speeches. One Democratic leader after another. Michelle Obama and Bernie Sanders one night, Bill Clinton the next. President Barack Obama and Vice-President Joe Biden with stemwinders to fire up the delegates. Hillary Clinton’s historic acceptance speech.
“Even if I could whittle it down to my favorite speech every day, it would be difficult,” Hand said. “All the speakers were fantastic.”
But if she had to choose one, Hand said she would not soon forget when the mother and father of a Muslim-American soldier killed in the Iraq war took the podium, denouncing Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump.
“The reason I liked it is it really reminded us what’s at stake in this election,” Hand said. “They reminded us why we need to go out and vote and why Hillary Clinton needs to be the next president.”
Hand paused before giving her assessment of Trump.
“I feel that a Trump presidency would not be good for our country,” she said. “That’s as diplomatic as I can be.”
Hand wasn’t sure when she decided to major in political science. She likes to tell people she got started in the third grade, when she marched in a parade for hometown state representative Josh Svaty.
“I can’t pinpoint a day I decided to go into political science,” Hand said. “When I did, I got really involved. I found if you can be around something 24/7 and not get sick of it you’re probably on the right path.”
Hand, 22, is not sure of her career path, but she does have an idea.
“I would love to have a career in politics,” Hand said. “Running campaigns is definitely something I can see myself doing. I am also interested in grass root organizing, and then there’s my political action committee work, fundraising.”
Whatever Hand does next week or next year, she can always look back on these four days in Philadelphia. She can look back at a convention which nominated the first female candidate for president, a candidate Hand said believes in working together to get things done.
“I think that’s why Hillary Clinton resonates so clearly with me,” Hand said. “She recognizes that not one person can have the solution. You need people from all different backgrounds at the table.”
Including, perhaps, someday someone from Ellsworth, Kansas.
Ron Wilson is director of the Huck Boyd National Institute for Rural Development at Kansas State University.
By RON WILSON Huck Boyd National Institute for Rural Development
“The Chisholm Trail.” The name evokes cattle and cowboys, independence and daring, the frontier and the wild, wild West. All those things are part of the history of the Chisholm Trail, which will honor its 150th anniversary beginning with a celebration in the town where it really all began: Abilene. This is today’s Kansas Profile.
Michael Hook is an events coordinator for the City of Abilene. He is from Kansas City but grew up in Texas where he became a western history buff. “Davy Crockett was my hero,” Michael said. A business career took him around the Midwest but he became interested in possibly teaching history.
“I stumbled upon Abilene, and it’s everything you would ever want,” Michael said. He moved to Abilene, met his wife, studied local history and became the coordinator for a landmark series of events marking the 150th anniversary of the founding of the Chisholm Trail.
“Abilene has amazing history,” Michael said. As we have previously profiled, an Illinois cattle buyer named Joseph McCoy saw an opportunity to supply Texas beef to the cities back east after the Civil War. He traveled along the railroad line across Kansas until he came to a community which could receive the Longhorn cattle from Texas. That community was Abilene.
According to one account, Abilene at the time had a population of about 300 people. Other accounts suggest a population closer to 30. Now, that’s rural.
The sleepy frontier community was literally transformed in a single season. McCoy built stockyards and a hotel and recruited the Texas Longhorns. They came by the thousands. The influx of money inevitably attracted merchants, gamblers, and saloonkeepers, seeking to separate the cowboys from their wages. Shootings and killings became commonplace. The wild west came to life on the streets of Abilene.
From Wichita, a half-Cherokee trader named Jesse Chisholm sent wagonloads of goods south to be sold in Indian territory. The Texas drovers learned that they could follow the tracks of those wagon wheels north. The route became known as the Chisholm Trail.
The first rail shipment of cattle from Abilene took place on Sept. 5, 1867. Texas, Oklahoma and Kansas have gotten together to plan a series of celebrations of the 150th anniversary. Abilene will kick off the fun with a big show on Labor Day weekend in 2016, culminating in an even bigger show a year later. Western performer Red Steagall will headline the 2016 show along with Kansas cowboy musicians and poets. Full disclosure: those will include me. The celebration will include a parade, reenactors, vendors, car show, fireworks and much more.
Kansas cowboy historian Jim Gray has been part of this planning. He was at a meeting in Texas in February 2016 when the unlikely idea surfaced of an actual, modern day cattle drive up the Chisholm Trail. Jim had been part of a smaller version of a cattle drive for the Kansas sesquicentennial, and he said it would be possible. His friend Fontella Knowlton said, “Let’s do it!”
Plans now call for driving up to 400 Texas Longhorns from San Antonio, Texas to Abilene, Kansas from April 1 to July 1, 2017. Jim and Fontella are planning the route as close to the original trail as possible. They’re organizing campgrounds and logistical support.
People can apply to participate in the cattle drive for a fee. Participants must provide their own horse and wear authentic-looking clothing. Jim and Fontella will be trail bosses. Six to eight drovers will go the entire trip along with two chuck wagons, while participants can sign up for weekly segments. A big celebration will be held in Abilene around the Fourth of July to mark the end of the cattle drive.
The Chisholm Trail. It evokes history, adventure, and fun, all of which can found at Abilene’s celebration of this historic landmark. We commend Michael Hook, Jim Gray, Fontella Knowlton and all those involved for making a difference by bringing this history to life. Cowboys and cattle will once again be roaming across the plains of Kansas.
Starting in early August, the Kansas Department of Transportation will begin a bridge repair project along I-70 in Thomas County. The work will take place in the westbound lanes at Exit 36 near Brewster.
Traffic in the construction area will be reduced to one lane and minor delays, not exceeding 5 minutes, should be expected. KDOT urges all motorists to be alert, obey the warning signs and “Give ‘em a Brake!” when approaching and driving through work zones. Work is expected to be completed by the end of October, weather permitting.
PCi Roads is the primary contractor for the project with a total contract cost of $223,172. The project is funded by T-WORKS, the transportation program passed by the Kansas legislature in May 2010. Find out more about this and other T-WORKS projects at https://kdotapp.ksdot.org/TWORKS.
WAKEENEY–U.S. Senator Jerry Moran (R-Kan.) announced that he will visit WaKeeney as part of his Kansas Listening Tour on Wednesday, August 10.
Area residents are encouraged to attend and share feedback with Sen. Moran on the critical issues facing Kansas and the nation. The issues Sen. Moran focuses on and the work he does in Washington, D.C., are largely based on the conversations he has with Kansans during these town hall meetings.
Sen. Moran will be at the Western Cooperative Electric Community Room, 635 S. 13th Street, WaKeeney, 1:30-2:30 p.m. on Aug. 10.
We are writing this letter in support of Dean Haselhorst for Ellis County Commission.
Retaining Dean in this position is a wise decision for the citizens of Ellis County. Dean has experience as a County Commissioner. He was appointed to the Ellis County Commission by the Governor of Kansas five years ago following the death of a sitting commissioner. Dean was then elected for another full four-year term.
Throughout these past five years, Dean has worked to find ways to cut and balance the county budget, which resulted in no property tax or mill levy increase to Ellis County residents. Following the resignation of the original construction manager for the renovations at the new Ellis County facilities, Dean was appointed to finish this huge task. He did get this project completed and received no stipend for his work.
Dean’s further dedication to this community is evidenced by his many years serving on the local United Ag Service Co-op board of directors, the Ellis County zoning board, the local K-State Extension Council, the TMP Endowment board and the Kansas Motor Carriers Association board. Dean has also volunteered many hours at both TMP and Holy Family schools.
Throughout the past 34 years, Dean has worked in Kansas oilfields (and beyond), he has worked on his own farming operation, and has done custom farm work for others. He is very knowledgeable in equipment purchasing, which is beneficial to the county. In other words, Dean understands the important issues facing Ellis County citizens today.
Dean Haselhorst has brought strong leadership to the Ellis County Commission. He is a common-sense, no-nonsense commissioner who gets things done through problem-solving and conservative efforts. We have known Dean for nearly 30 years. We are asking you to vote for the leadership of Dean Haselhorst for Ellis County Commission. Drs. Curt and Christie Brungardt
Hays
Widely scattered showers and thunderstorms will linger across the region through the mid morning hours before dissipating. It is expected to be mostly sunny by afternoon, with temperatures topping out in the upper 80’s. An isolated thunderstorm or two may redevelop by late afternoon and last into the evening hours. There is a marginal risk for severe thunderstorms along and north of a Wray, CO to Hill City, KS line. Temperatures continue to increase on Sunday, with highs in the 90s across the region.
Today: A slight chance of showers and thunderstorms before 10am, then a slight chance of showers and thunderstorms after 4pm. Partly sunny, with a high near 87. South southeast wind 5 to 15 mph. Chance of precipitation is 20%.
Tonight: A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms, mainly before 10pm. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 69. Southeast wind 10 to 14 mph.
Sunday: Sunny, with a high near 96. South southeast wind 10 to 14 mph. Sunday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 72. South wind 10 to 15 mph. Monday: Sunny, with a high near 99. South wind 9 to 15 mph.
Listen to Mike Cooper interviewing Food Services Manager at HaysMed; John Fitzthum, with the topic of “Food and Health” by clicking the link above and then clicking the play button
We are writing this letter in support of Dean Haselhorst for Ellis County Commission.
Widely scattered showers and thunderstorms will linger across the region through the mid morning hours before dissipating. It is expected to be mostly sunny by afternoon, with temperatures topping out in the upper 80’s. An isolated thunderstorm or two may redevelop by late afternoon and last into the evening hours. There is a marginal risk for severe thunderstorms along and north of a Wray, CO to Hill City, KS line. Temperatures continue to increase on Sunday, with highs in the 90s across the region.