SCOTT CITY – A Scott City man was convicted Thursday of distribution of methamphetamine and interference with law enforcement, according to Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt.
Richard Alexander Heberlee, 32, was found guilty of the two charges by a Scott County jury. The jury also found Heberlee not guilty of distribution of a controlled substance causing death. Judge Wendel W. Wurst presided over the trial. Sentencing has been set for October 12 at 3pm in Scott County District Court.
The crimes were committed in January 2014. The charges stemmed from an investigation by the Kansas Bureau of Investigation. Assistant Attorney Lyndzie Carter of Schmidt’s office is prosecuting the case.
WaKeeney resident Ronald D. Tyrrell, age 78, passed away Thursday, September 22, 2016 at the Trego County Lemke Memorial Hospital in WaKeeney.
He was born April 30, 1938 in New Almelo, KS the son of Roy & Mary (Vahling) Tyrrell.
He was united in marriage to Dolly M. Cobb on September 2, 1978 in Miami, OK. She survives.
Other survivors include a son, Rick Haynes of De Motte, IN; daughters, Tammy Haynes of WaKeeney, Cathy Stockman of Pueblo, CO, Cindy Orr of Montgomery, TX & Marjorie Ashcraft of Fruita, CO; brother, Tom Tyrrell of Norton; sisters, Roberta Lively of Phillipsburg, KS & Ruth Lucidi of Palm Harbor, FL; 9 Grandchildren; & 7 Great grandchildren.
Funeral services will be conducted Monday, Sept. 26, 2016 at 10:30 a.m. in Olliff-Boeve Memorial Chapel, Phillipsburg, with Pastor John Anderson officiating. Burial with Military Honors by the U.S. Navy will follow in the Fairview Cemetery, Phillipsburg.
Mr. Tyrrell will lie in state from 5 p.m. – 9 p.m. Saturday and noon – 9 p.m. Sunday with the family receiving friends from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday afternoon in the Olliff-Boeve Memorial Chapel, 1115 2nd Street, Phillipsburg, KS 67661.
Memorial contributions may be made to American Parkinson’s Disease Association. Online condolences: www.olliffboeve.com.
Directory sign for ITT location in Wichita- google image
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Education Department has moved to sever ties with the nation’s largest accreditor of for-profit schools. That means hundreds of for-profit colleges could close, leaving up to 600,000 students scrambling to find other schools.
The Accrediting Council for Independent Colleges and Schools says it will appeal Thursday’s decision to Education Secretary John B. King Jr.
The council’s interim president, Roger Williams, says the accrediting group will continue its efforts to renew and strengthen its policies and practices to meet the department’s criteria for accreditors.
The accrediting agency has been accused of lax oversight of its schools, which included those once owned by the now-defunct Corinthian Colleges Inc. and the recently shuttered ITT Technical Institute.
FORT RILEY, Kan. (AP) — The U.S. Army says it has suspended the commander of Fort Riley and launched an official investigation, though no details have been provided.
Army spokesman Col. Patrick R. Seiber announced Friday that Maj. Gen. Wayne Grigsby has been suspended as commander of the 1st Infantry Division at the Kansas base. He declined further comment. An Army spokeswoman also declined to disclose the nature of the investigation.
About 17,000 troops are stationed at Fort Riley. Grigsby assumed command of the base in August 2015, after 31 years of military service that included a stint as commander of the Combined Joint Task Force in East Africa.
Grigsby was previously stationed at Fort Leavenworth in Kansas and served in multiple deployments to Iraq, including as commander of the 1st Infantry Division’s G3 unit.
TOPEKA – A Hays organization has been awarded more than $52,000 in grants to provide services for victims of crime, Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt announced today.
Options: Domestic and Sexual Violence Services Inc., was awarded grants to support the following programs:
• $25,000 to support the Transition Services Project, which will provide a new direct service to shelter clients and community clients to help them transition from dependent living situations into independent living situations. The Transition Advocate will provide relocation, employment and financial services to clients and build collaborative relationships with partners.
• $27,500 to strengthen management and administration, and support capacity building within the agency in order to provide high quality, client-centered care to victims and survivors of domestic and sexual violence.
The awards were made from the Protection from Abuse Fund and State Crime Victims’ Assistance Fund. The Protection from Abuse Fund is funded by State General Fund appropriations, marriage license fees, county court costs and municipal court assessments. The State Crime Victims’ Assistance Fund is funded though the remittance of applicable fines, penalties and forfeitures from clerks of the district courts.
This year, the attorney general’s office awarded nearly $2.2 million in grants to local and state crime victim assistance organizations. More information on the grant programs and the full list of award recipients is available on the attorney general’s website at www.ag.ks.gov.
HUTCHINSON– A former Kansas elementary school counselor entered a plea in the drug distribution case against him Friday.
Terry Lamont McMurry, 49, Hutchinson, entered pleas to possession of cocaine and marijuana, both with intent to distribute, possession of drug proceeds, endangerment of a child and sale of marijuana. As part of a plea agreement, the state dropped two charges for possession of drug paraphernalia and no tax stamp.
Drug Unit Detective Corey Graber testified during the preliminary hearing that the drug unit set up a controlled buy from McMurry using an informant with a listening device.
The actual transaction occurred at a local Kwik Shop on Nov. 5, 2015. That led to a search warrant being served on Dec. 16.
The state alleges that between Nov. 1 and Dec. 16, McMurry was selling the drugs from his home in the 1600 block of Aurora.
They allegedly found marijuana and cocaine inside the home packaged for sale, packaging material, scales and cash.
Marijuana was also found in McMurry’s Mustang and crack cocaine was found in his Mercedes convertible.
Three Mercedes cars and the Mustang were seized during that search.
Rogers’ 2-month-old baby was at the residence and was taken into custody by law enforcement.
McMurry was a counselor for Faris Elementary School in Hutchinson.
Seven alumni and friends of Fort Hays State University will be honored at the Alumni Awards and Recognition Banquet on Friday, Sept. 30, during Homecoming celebrations.
Three honorees will receive the Alumni Achievement Award, the association’s highest honor, established in 1959 to recognize graduates who have made outstanding and unselfish contributions in service to their community, state or nation as citizens, in chosen career fields or through philanthropic work.
This year’s recipients are Thomas P. “Tom” Binder, Marion, Iowa, who earned two degrees from FHSU in 1979; Jana M. Hawley, Tucson, Ariz., a 1975 graduate; and Brenda K. Lang Hellyer, Pasadena, Texas, a 1985 graduate.
Two alumni will receive the Young Alumni Award, which is granted to graduates of 10-through 15-year reunion classes to recognize those early in their career for significant business or professional accomplishments or for service to the university and the Alumni Association. This year’s recipients are Seth D. Kastle, WaKeeney, a 2005 graduate, and Jamie R. Schwandt, Cheney, who earned degrees from FHSU in 2006 and 2008.
The Nita M. Landrum Award for alumni or friends who have provided sustained volunteer service for the betterment of the Alumni Association or FHSU, especially in their home communities or at any local level, will go to Dennis M. Spratt, Lawrence, a 1971 graduate.
The Distinguished Service Award this year goes posthumously to Shannon Alan “Mac” McKinney, Lincoln, a 1983 graduate. This award recognizes a graduate or friend of the university who has demonstrated a continuing concern for humanity on a universal, national, state or community level, who supports spiritual, cultural and educational objectives, and who endorses and exemplifies the highest standards of character and personal attributes.
ALUMNI ACHIEVEMENT AWARDS
Thomas P. “Tom” Binder, Marion, Iowa, graduated from FHSU in 1979 with a B.S. in chemistry and a B.S. in biology. He retired this year as senior vice president of research at Archer Daniels Midland. He earned a Ph.D. in biochemistry from Iowa State University, Ames, in 1985. He was a 1989 recipient of the FHSU Alumni Association’s Young Alumni Award.
After post-doctoral research in medicinal chemistry at the University of Iowa, Iowa City, he began work for Archer Daniels as a research biologist in 1986. During his career at ADM, Binder carried out research in a variety of areas. He is regarded as a leader in renewable chemicals and biofuels research. Binder is author or co-author of 41 patents and applications and 10 peer-reviewed publications. He served six years on the Technical Advisory Board of the U.S. Departments of Energy and the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
Binder has also been an active supporter of the FHSU Foundation. His charitable and volunteer interests include Big Brothers Big Sisters, Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts and United Way, among others. He has had a particular focus on schools, participating in programs in cities where he has lived, initiating a neighborhood school garden in Decatur, Ill., and helping to establish a science, technology, engineering and mathematics program in that same city.
Binder was also a volunteer mentor for at risk students in Macon County, Ill., and is currently serving as a mentor in the new FHSU Tiger Mentors program.
He and his wife, Mary Beth, have four children, Joseph, Anne, Katherine and Peter.
Jana M. (Adams) Hawley, Tucson, Ariz., graduated from FHSU in 1975 with a B.S. in home economics. She is the director of and a professor for the John and Doris Norton School of Family and Consumer Sciences at the University of Arizona. She earned an M.S. in clothing and textiles management from Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, in 1990 and her Ph.D. in textile and apparel management from the University of Missouri, Columbia, in 1993.
In addition to her current post, she has taught and served in administrative posts at Indiana University, Bloomington; the University of North Texas, Denton; the University of Missouri, Columbia; and Kansas State University, Manhattan. Her professional résumé includes scores of publications in peer-reviewed and other professional journals with expertise in sustainability, textile recycling, service learning and global initiatives.
Hawley is a Fulbright Scholar to India, a HERS Fellow, Southeastern Conference Administrators Leadership Development Fellow, an International Textile Apparel Association Fellow, a University of Missouri President’s Administrative Leadership Fellow, a Kemper Excellence in Teaching recipient, and a Global Scholar to Thailand, India and Turkey.
She has served as president of the International Textile and Apparel Association, is a council member for the Board on Human Sciences, and a board member of the Council for Textile Recycling. Hawley was an advisor for the International Textile Recycling Conference in Japan and worked for the eco-design program in Korea.
Hawley is a Diamond member of the FHSU Alumni Association and is a Distinguished Alumni of Oklahoma State.
She has two sons, Adam, a 2002 FHSU graduate, and Grant.
Brenda K. Lang Hellyer, Pasadena, Texas, graduated from FHSU in 1985 with a B.S. in accounting. She is chancellor and CEO of San Jacinto College, which serves more than 48,000 students in the greater Houston area. She earned an MBA from the University of Texas, Austin, in 2005 and her doctorate in education, also from the University of Texas, in 2009. She is also a Certified Public Accountant licensed in Texas.
A passion for service and philanthropy has led to countless hours volunteering for chambers of commerce, schools, homeless shelters and churches in the communities in which she has resided. This service in the community eventually led to volunteer work with San Jacinto College Foundation, which later evolved, in 1996, to full time employment in fundraising and resource development at San Jacinto College. In 2003, Hellyer became interim chief financial officer, which evolved into her serving as executive vice chancellor. She was appointed chancellor in 2009.
Her educational involvement spans national, state and local arenas in which Hellyer has been recognized for her efforts by the National Association of Developmental Education, the Pasadena Chamber of Commerce, Phi Theta Kappa, Houston’s Influential Women and the Texas Region Hall of Honor for Chief Executive Officers, among others. She was elected by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges to serve as a member of the board of trustees representing 800 institutions.
Hellyer is a Gold member of the FHSU Alumni Association.
She and her husband, Rusty, have three children, Russell, Jennifer and Reilly.
YOUNG ALUMNI AWARDS
Seth D. Kastle, WaKeeney, graduated from FHSU in 2005 with a B.S. in organizational leadership. He is the owner and founder of Kastle Books LLC, and is an instructor of leadership studies at FHSU. He earned an M.S. in leadership from Southwestern College, Wichita, in 2009 and is currently completing a doctorate in education from Baker University.
Kastle, a retired first sergeant in the U.S. Army Reserve, served two combat tours in the Middle East after 9/11. His many military honors include a Bronze Star for his service in Iraq. His philanthropic activities include initiating a scholarship in his hometown and a scholarship for the son of a fallen comrade, CWO Bryan Nichols.
He wrote one book, “Why Is Dad So Mad,” and co-authored another, “Why Is Mom So Mad,” both addressing how families can cope with post-traumatic stress disorder. “Why Is Dad So Mad” was a No. 1 Amazon best-selling children’s book and was featured on NBC Nightly News, in the Huffington Post and in military publications such as The Military Times and Task and Purpose. The companion book, “Why Is Mom So Mad,” addresses the struggles of families with mothers suffering from PTSD.
Kastle was selected as a 2016 Tillman Scholar by the Pat Tillman Foundation, receiving the award for his passion for civic engagement and incorporation of service learning in the classroom.
Kastle and wife, Julia, a 2006 FHSU graduate who is also a veteran, have two daughters, Raegan and Kennedy.
Jamie R. Schwandt, Cheney, graduated from FHSU in 2006 with a B.S. in health and human performance and in 2008 with an M.S. in health and human performance. He is a captain in the U.S. Army Reserve, a Lean Six Sigma Black Belt, an author, a TV show host and a motivational speaker. He earned his doctorate in education in 2013 from Kansas State University.
His military service includes service in Operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom. Currently, he serves as a company commander in Wichita. He previously served as a strategist on the Army staff at the Pentagon. In 2014, he was selected to participate in a European strategic partnership and trained in Germany with the German armed forces. Schwandt has commanded 400 soldiers, earned two meritorious service medals, four Army commendation medals, the military outstanding volunteer service medal and the Army staff identification badge.
He is the host of “Dreaming Big with Dr. Schwandt,” a program sponsored by the Kansas Department of Children and Families. Schwandt, who grew up as a foster child, has published two books. “Succeeding as a Foster Child,” published in 2014, was written as a “handbook” for how to succeed as a foster child. “Finding Your Hero,” published in 2015, is a children’s book written for foster children. He has also given numerous presentations and programs across the country.
Schwandt and his wife, Tomi, a 2007 FHSU graduate, hold silver alumni membership status in the FHSU Alumni Association. They have a daughter, Ella Katherine.
NITA M. LANDRUM AWARD
Dennis M. Spratt, Lawrence, graduated from FHSU in 1971 with a B.S. in physical education. He is vice president of and a wealth consultant for Wealth Management Group of KC Inc.
Spratt’s volunteer activities for FHSU and his communities have spanned more than three decades. He served on the Alumni Association Board of Directors from 2006 to 2014. That time included service on the executive committee and as chair of both the finance committee and the chapter development committee
He has attended numerous alumni events in Topeka, Lawrence, Kansas City and Hays, including many Student Recognition Programs and has sponsored the SRPs as well. Spratt and his wife, Sharon, have also hosted a number of alumni events at their residence. Currently, he is serving as a mentor in the FHSU Tiger Mentors program.
He has been active also in recruiting students to FHSU from among friends and family, is a Difference Maker for the university’s Athletic Department, and holds Platinum membership status in the FHSU Alumni Association.
Spratt has always been an enthusiastic member of his communities, volunteering extensively. Living in Hays from 1980 to 1988, he served as president of Hays Optimists and of the Chamber of Commerce Ambassador Club. He has volunteered as a certified track official at more than 175 track meets since moving to Lawrence in 1988, served as president of the Lawrence Sports Corporation, and organized and managed the track portion of the Sunflower Games for several years. He is the past-president of the Lawrence chapter of Junior Advancement of Kansas.
The Spratts have three daughters, Stephanie, Kristin and Tiffany.
DISTINGUISHED SERVICE AWARD
Shannon Alan “Mac” McKinney, who was living in Lincoln at the time of his passing, graduated from FHSU in 1983 with a B.S. in agriculture. He was a retired sergeant major in the U.S. Army, the highest enlisted rank, and was the owner of McKinney Farms.
McKinney enlisted in the Army in 1988 and served 26 years before retiring in January 2015. His service included multiple combat tours totaling five years: seven tours in Afghanistan and Iraq, one in Bosnia, and one in Panama.
The last 16 years of his service, after service as a Ranger and Green Beret, were in the Army’s elite Delta Force, according to a former comrade. Over the course of his service, McKinney participated in hundreds of high-risk missions and operations.
His many awards include the Legion of Merit, nine Bronze Stars (two with the “V” for valor in combat), three Purple Hearts, two Combat Infantryman Badges, the second with a star, the Master Parachutist Badge with a bronze star for making a combat jump, the Master Freefall Parachutist Badge, the Special Forces Tab and the Ranger Tab.
People who served with him relate that he was one of the first Delta people inside Afghanistan after 9/11. In his first year in the Army, while with the Rangers in 1989, he was one of the first two people through the doors of the Panamanian Defense Forces headquarters.
He is survived by his wife, Donna.
Established in 1916, the Fort Hays State University Alumni Association serves FHSU graduates by identifying needs and providing solutions. More than 63,000 graduates live throughout the United States and in approximately 75 countries. For more information, contact the Alumni Office at 785-628-4430, toll free at 1-888-351-3591 or by email at [email protected].
Bikes piled high for the trip from Hodgeman County to Ellsworth -Photo Lee Ann Seiler,
HODGEMAN COUNTY – Over the past 7 months, volunteers form across southwest Kansas have collected bikes, bike parts, and pieces of bikes.
The salvage project, part of an effort by the seven member counties of the Coronado Crossing Resource Conservation and Development, helps children in many communities get a bicycle, according to Lee Ann Seiler, Director of Hodgeman County Economic Development.
Earlier this week, 200 bikes and bike parts were piled high on a trailer and sent to the Ellsworth Correctional Facility.
“I had 13 more bikes we couldn’t fit on the trailer,” said Seiler.
Inmates with the correctional facility’s Pedals for Progress Bicycle Refurbishing project repair the bikes and they are given to help those in need.
“We have an order list for kids in the community,” said Seilers. “Sometimes the kids need a larger bike and some adults who do cardiac rehab, for example, and can’t afford a bike are on the list.
“It’s a fun project and we have a lot of great volunteers,” she said.
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump has named Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback to an advisory council of prominent Catholics.
Brownback was among 34 people named to the council by the Trump campaign Thursday. Trump also named Brownback in August to an agricultural advisory committee.
Trump’s campaign said in a statement that the new group will provide advice and support on issues of importance to Catholics and other Christians, including U.S. Supreme Court appointments and social issues such as abortion.
The statement said the appointment of the council should be seen as an endorsement of “a range of issues and policies.”
Brownback converted to Catholicism in 2002, but even before, as a Methodist, he was a strong abortion opponent. He’s also been a vocal opponent of gay marriage.
FINNEY COUNTY – A woman was injured in an accident just after 3p.m. on Thursday in Finney County.
A 2015 Ford Escape driven by Erika Urbina, 37, Garden City, was traveling at the intersection of 4th and Walnut Street in Garden City, according to a media release.
The vehicle hit Satanta McCormick, 30, as she walked west across 4th Street in the marked crosswalk.
McCormick was transported to St. Catherine Hospital for serious injuries, according to police.
Urbina was also transported at the hospital and treated for unrelated medical issues, according to police.
Urbina was cited for driving while license suspended and failure to yield to a pedestrian.
McCormick has no known address, according to police. Urbina was arrested in June for driving with no proof of insurance.
Margaret Irene (Phares) Dietz was born December 30, 1926, to Thurman Allen and Marie (Mensing) Phares in Russell Springs, KS. She passed away August 14, 2016, at her home in Amarillo, TX, at the age of 89.
Margaret was baptized and confirmed in the Lutheran faith. Her early years were spent in WaKeeney, KS, where she attended and graduated from high school. On June 23, 1946, she married Julius W. Dietz at Bethlehem Lutheran Church in WaKeeney and they enjoyed 34 years together. Margaret retired from the Garden City Kansas School District where she worked as a secretary in the food service department. In 2008 she moved to Amarillo, TX, and was a member of Trinity Lutheran Church.
Survivors include a son Rod and wife Judy of Wichita, KS; a son Randy and wife Paula of Weatherford, TX; and a daughter Julie of Amarillo, TX. Four grandchildren John Dietz, David and wife Ashley Dietz, Desiree Gray, and Brandy and husband Johnny Qualls; a sister-in-law Mary Jane Phares; and many extended relatives and friends.
Preceding her in death were her husband Jute, her parents, four sisters Elizabeth Elsen, Esther Dietz, Erna Phares, and Helen McCoy, and three brothers Ernest, Kenneth, and Ronald Phares
A memorial service is scheduled for 10:00 a.m. Monday, September 26th at Bethlehem Lutheran Church, WaKeeney, with Reverend Randy Gibbs officiating. Burial will be in the WaKeeney City Cemetery following the service.
Memorials may be made to Trinity Lutheran Church, 5005 Interstate 40 West, Amarillo, TX 79106.
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — A Topeka man whose 4-year-old son was severely injured when explosives detonated in his car the day after July Fourth 2015 has been sentenced to 18 months of probation.
The Topeka Capital-Journal reports that Jacob Daniel Schell was sentenced Thursday in Shawnee County.
An affidavit says Schell’s son, Roman, was hurt after a sack containing “several improvised explosive devices” blew up in his lap. A Kansas Highway Patrol trooper says the ignition source was a “little cap gun” the boy was using. The explosion was so powerful that it peeled back the metal roof of the car Schell was driving.
Gary Conwell, Schell’s attorney, says his client thought the cap gun was empty and that all the “improper” fireworks had been used. Schell says it was a “terrible mistake.”
Big 12 Conference Commissioner Bob Bowlsby testified at the Sept. 13 Senate hearing
WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Jerry Moran (R-Kan.) – Chairman of the Senate Consumer Protection, Product Safety, Insurance and Data Security Subcommittee announced Thursday that his bipartisan bill, the Better Online Ticket Sales Act (S. 3183), passed the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation. The Better Online Ticket Sales Act, also known as the BOTS Act, would put an end to “ticket bots” that bypass security measures on online ticketing websites to buy large quantities of tickets for re-sell on secondary markets.
“Whether it’s a Garth Brooks concert in Wichita, or the most hyped and prestigious Broadway show of all time – Hamilton – the digital age has made acquiring tickets easier than ever,” said Sen. Moran. “But an age-old issue, ticket scalping, has been made even more prevalent by advances in technology. Ticket bots cut the line, buy available tickets, and then sell them at a significant markup – making it harder and more expensive for Kansans to attend live performances. This bipartisan bill levels the playing field for consumers across the country, and I’m pleased to see it move forward with bipartisan support.”
Chairman Moran convened a Consumer Protection Subcommittee hearing last week that included testimony from Jeffrey Seller, producer of hit Broadway musical Hamilton, Big 12 Conference Commissioner Bob Bowlsby, and representatives from StubHub and Ticketfly.
