PRATT COUNTY – Investigators from the State Fire Marshal’s office are working to determine the cause of a fire at a home in Pratt County.
First responders were dispatched just after 8 p.m. on Saturday to the rural residence at 149 West River Road west of Pratt, according to Sheriff Vernon Chinn.
“There were no flames but heavy smoke damage,” said Chinn.
Nobody was home at the time of the fire and no injuries reported.
A damage estimate was not available early Monday.
Vicky Lynn Roberts, age 55, of Atwood, passed away on September 13, 2016 at the Rawlins County Health Center, Atwood, Kansas.
She was born on May 14, 1961 in Indianapolis, Indiana to Robert Eugene Newlin and Shirley Jean (Pursley) Newlin.
Vicky liked to travel, collect Indian collectibles, cooking, and enjoyed doing new things.
Survivors include her mother, Shirley Newlin of Modesto, California, son Chris Newlin of Colby, daughters: Joanna Black of Colby and Jennifer Case of Marion, Ohio; and three grandchildren. Surviving brothers are Jeff Pursley of Ponca City, Oklahoma, Bruce Pursley of Modesto, California, Robert Newlin of Spiro, Oklahoma, and Rohn Newlin of Atwood. Her sister, Anna Newlin of Atwood, also survives.
She was preceded in death by her father, Robert Newlin; brother, Raymond Newlin and sister, Cathy Newlin.
Cremation was chosen. Private memorial service by family planned at a future date. Donations may be made to the Vicky Roberts Memorial Fund in care of the Kennedy-Koster Funeral Home, P.O. Box 221, Oakley, KS 67748.
Condolences to: www.kennedykosterfh.com
Funeral Service: Saturday, September 24th at 2:00 p.m. at the Atwood First Christian Church in Atwood, Kansas, with Rev. David Todd and Rev. Joseph Cunningham officiating.
Burial: Atwood Fairview Cemetery
Memorial Funds: Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation & American Macular Degeneration Foundation
Visitation: Saturday from 11:30 a.m. until service time at the church
Elaine A. Bittel, of Ellis, passed away Thursday, September 15, 2016 at Hays Medical Center.
Funeral services will be 10 AM Saturday, September 24, 2016 at St. Mary’s Catholic Church in Ellis. Inurnment will follow in the church cemetery.
Visitation will be Friday 5 PM – 7 PM with a combined parish vigil service and rosary at 7 PM all at the church.
A complete obituary is pending with Keithley Funeral Chapel 400 E 17th in Ellis.
Submitted
Tickets are now on sale for the Day of Caring, a breast cancer awareness and education event sponsored by the Cancer Council of Ellis County.
The theme for the the 21st annual event is “The Art of Survivorship.” It will begin at 9 a.m. Oct. 8 at Fort Hays State University’s Memorial Union. Vendors and information booths will be available for guests to peruse until seating for brunch begins at 9:50 a.m., with the program beginning at 10 a.m.
“The arts celebrate life, and the Day of Caring is a celebration of the lives we have come to appreciate as cancer survivors,” said event chairperson Juno Ogle, an 11-year survivor. “And with Hays being such a vibrant arts community, it seemed like a natural match.”
Caryn Mirriam-Goldberg, Lawrence, former poet laureate of Kansas, will speak on “Surviving with Gumption and Grace.”
“I’m very excited to have Caryn Mirriam-Goldberg as our speaker,” Ogle said. “Her work fits in well with the idea I had behind the theme that the arts help us through troubling times.”
Mirriam-Goldberg, a breast cancer survivor herself, leads writing workshops for cancer survivors and others with serious illnesses at Turning Point: The Center for Hope and Healing in Kansas City, and offers Brave Voice writing and singing retreats and workshops with singer Kelly Hunt. She is the author of 19 books, including the memoir “The Sky Begins At Your Feet: Cancer, Community and Coming Home to the Body.”
Her speech is sponsored by HaysMed Breast Care Center and Dreiling/Schmidt Cancer Institute.
The program also includes brunch and a fashion show featuring 20 area breast cancer survivors modeling clothing provided by area boutiques.
Tickets are $20 and are available at the following locations:
• FHSU Student Center in the Memorial Union
• Cancer Council of Ellis County, 701 Riley
• Refine boutique, 115 W. 10th
• Walgreen’s, 2600 Vine
• Breast Care Center and Dreiling/Schmidt Cancer Institute at HaysMed
• Arthur’s Pizza in Ellis.
For more information, contact Ogle at [email protected] or Paula Flesher, executive director of the Cancer Council of Ellis County, at (785) 625-6653. The chair-elect for this year’s event is Donna O’Brien.
ELLIS — Another small earthquake struck north of Ellis on Sunday.
The U.S. Geological Survey reported a 3.2-magnitude quake hit at 10:24 p.m. Sunday, centered 5.4 miles north-northwest of Ellis.
While reports to the USGS indicated no damage and only light shaking, it was reported by over 20 people, including residents in Hays and Plainville.
It was the fifth earthquake recorded in the area in less than a week, according to USGS reports.
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The Hays Police Department will conduct training from 1 to 4 p.m. Tuesday at 2709 Augusta Lane, Hays.
Police officers will be training with special tactical equipment. This training is being done with great care and safety.
As a home owner, you may see law enforcement officers move through your area. There is no need to be alarmed. The officers are merely conducting a realistic training exercise and there is no danger to the community.
If you have any questions or concerns, contact the on-site supervisor (Team Commander Tim Greenwood or Team Leader Aaron Larson), or Chief Don Scheibler at 785-625-1030.
FHSU University Relations and Marketing
The Management Development Center at Fort Hays State University will offer “Uncovering the Truth: Interview and Investigation Techniques” on Tuesday, Oct. 11, as the second workshop in its fall series.
Training will be from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. in the Black and Gold Room of the university’s Memorial Union. The Wicklander-Zulawski workshop on interview and investigation utilizes practical exercises, new concepts, techniques and psychological principles to enhance fundamentals of the interview, and investigation processes for the investigator.
The course offers participants an opportunity to learn and practice the techniques in a workshop environment. The techniques discussed in this program apply in all types of investigative interviews where discovering the truth is critical. This includes, but is not limited to, interviewing victims and witnesses as well as individuals or employees suspected of being involved in acts of wrongdoing.
This interactive workshop allows participants to work through actual case studies applying techniques in real-world situations.
Brett L. Ward will facilitate. He is a certified forensic interviewer and vice president of client relations for Wicklander-Zulawski & Associates Inc., Downers Grove, Ill.
Learning outcomes include: understanding specific investigatory prep strategies utilized by professional investigators; applying principles and techniques in order to eliminate the innocent without damaging morale while identifying the guilty; handling denials and objections; dealing with difficult individuals who attempt to take control of the interview; and determining the most appropriate rationalization to overcome the subject’s resistance and convince them that honesty is the only educated option.
Each person who completes the workshop will receive a completion certificate.
The cost for professionals is $219. FHSU student fees are $25 (full workshop) or $15 (partial workshop). Registrations received prior to Oct. 4 are appreciated. Financial support for this workshop was provided by the Dane G. Hansen Foundation, along with the following FHSU student organizations: Accounting Club, Alpha Kappa Psi, Association of Certified Fraud Examiners, Criminal Justice Club and Society for Human Resource Management.
Professionals: registration is available online at www.fhsu.edu/cob/mdc/Uncovering-the-Truth/.
FHSU students: registration is available in person in McCartney Hall, room 225.
Hays Area Chamber of Commerce members are eligible for a 15-percent discount.
The Management Development Center at Fort Hays State University is recognized by the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) to offer professional development credits (PDCs) for the SHRM-Certified Professional or SHRM-Senior Certified Professional rating. This program is valid for 6.5 PDCs for both.
For more information about certification or recertification, please visit shrmcertification.org.
To learn more about this workshop or receive discount codes, contact Conni Dreher by phone at (785) 628-4121 or by email at [email protected].
Unless you have spent the last decade or so confined to the top floor of Trump Towers, you have probably heard something of the group named Pheasants Forever. But did you know there is also an organization called Quail Forever?
Quail Forever exists as a division of Pheasants Forever but is still an organization of its own. Sort of like whipped cream and pumpkin pie; you can use them separately, but why would you want to?
In 2005 Quail Forever was formed in response to passionate quail hunters and conservationists in areas where there were few pheasants but many quail. Its mission statement became “QF is dedicated to the conservation of quail, pheasants and other wildlife through habitat improvements, public awareness, education and land management policies & programs.”
At that time the organization Quail Unlimited still existed but was plagued by financial troubles and closed its doors in 2013 leaving Quail Forever (and Pheasants Forever) as the only and largest non-profit nationwide organization dedicated to upland bird conservation and habitat preservation.
I spoke with Marc Glades, Regional Representative and Eastern Kansas Regional Representative for Quail Forever and asked him what makes both PF and QF so successful. Marc told me “The success of these two organizations is unquestionably because of the Local Business Model used by both and because of the scores of dedicated volunteers that run them.”
Again, unless you just recently moved here from Uzbekistan or one of the other “stan” countries, you should be familiar with the ever-popular fund-raising banquets held by individual chapters of Pheasants and Quail Forever each spring. As an organization, Quail Forever’s priorities are getting youth off the couch and into the outdoors, and quail habitat creation & conservation. The Local Business Model that Marc mentioned allows each local chapter to decide entirely how 100% of the funds raised at their banquet are used as long as the projects are youth and habitat oriented.
Marc also pointed out to me the other aspect of the Local Business Model that assures all money raised by each chapter is literally used locally. Marc told me “After all, the wild pheasants and quail harvested by local hunters and local youth also hatch and grow up locally, some probably just outside of town.”
The first ever Quail Forever chapter began in Missouri, the first chapter in Kansas was in Hiawatha; Kansas now has 10 Quail Forever chapters and 36 Pheasants Forever chapters across the state, totaling over 7000 members. Those PF and QF chapters have spent more than 5.2 million to complete 9,379 habitat projects, improving over 270,000 acres for upland birds and other wildlife. Check out their website, www.quailforever.org to find the chapter nearest you.
The 2016 Upland Bird forecast is posted on the KS Wildlife, Parks and Tourism website, www.ksoutdoors.com. Click on “Hunting,” then click on “Reports and Forecasts,” then click “view Upland Bird Forecast” in the middle of the screen. Overall statewide, both quail and pheasant populations appear to have increased.
Ample spring rains improved pheasant nesting conditions dramatically, and even though this year’s brood count survey was lower, thicker vegetation because of the rains made it difficult to detect birds so many probably escaped the count. Ironically the same drought that hurt pheasant habitat helped increase quail habitat as weedy brushy species that quail desire continued to grow resulting in increased quail populations now for three years running. This year’s roadside survey showed a statewide quail population increase of over 40%. So whether you take pleasure in seeing pheasants and quail in the grass, or whether your pleasure is pheasant and quail under glass, this report is good news to all, and is a testament to the hard work of those 7000 Quail Forever and Pheasant Forever volunteers.
Continue to Explore Kansas Outdoors.
Steve Gillilan, Inman, can be contacted by email at [email protected].
Today Sunny, with a high near 96. West southwest wind 5 to 7 mph becoming east northeast in the afternoon.
Tonight Mostly clear, with a low around 63. East southeast wind 5 to 7 mph.
Tuesday Sunny, with a high near 94. South wind 5 to 10 mph increasing to 13 to 18 mph in the afternoon. Winds could gust as high as 29 mph.
Tuesday NightPartly cloudy, with a low around 71. South wind 13 to 15 mph.
WednesdayPartly sunny, with a high near 89. Breezy, with a south wind 13 to 21 mph, with gusts as high as 32 mph.
Wednesday NightA 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 67.
ThursdayMostly sunny, with a high near 89.
Thursday NightA 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Partly cloudy, with a low around 67.
FridaySunny, with a high near 87.
Cheyenne Bottoms occupies nearly 41,000 acres in central Kansas and is the largest wetland in the interior United States. Millions of migratory birds use the wetlands each year as a critical stopping point. Mike Cooper takes us on a tour of the Kansas Wetlands Education Center located at the southeast side of Cheyenne Bottoms which is considered a “starting point” to exploring the Bottoms.
SEDGWICK COUNTY – Law enforcement authorities are investigating an officer involved shooting in Wichita.
The Sunday evening incident originated with a 911 call after a store robbery with a suspect possibly using a gun near 29th and Arkansas and developed into a police pursuit, according to a social media report from Wichita Police.
The officer was not injured. The suspect was transported to a local hospital for treatment.
No additional details were released late Sunday.
LANE COUNTY – A man from Russell was injured in an accident just before 11:30 p.m. on Sunday in Lane County.
The Kansas Highway Patrol reported a 2010 semi driven by Daniel Vernon Jewell, 27, was westbound on Kansas 4 at Hickock Road, thirteen miles northwest of Dighton.
The driver attempted to avoid hitting a cow in the road. He lost control of the semi. It traveled into the westbound ditch and rolled.
Jewell was transported to the Scott County Hospital.
He was properly restrained at the time of the accident, according to the KHP.
