HAYS, Kan. – The Hays High Indian volleyball team had a tough time with their second home matches of the season on Thursday at the Hays High gym. Hays High opened up with a two set loss to number one ranked (4A-Div 1) Abilene. The Lady Indians regained their momentum with a two set sweep of Salina South. Match number three on the night was a frustrating one for Hays High, losing in two sets to Norton.
The Lady Indians are 8-9 on the season and won’t have a lot of time to reset for their next action. They travel to Great Bend for a tournament on Saturday.
ABILENE L 16-25, 12-25 Stat Leaders: Tasiah Nunnery 6 kills and 6 digs, Hannah McGuire 9 assists
SALINA SOUTH W 25-19, 27-25 Stat Leaders: Jaycee Dale 7 kills, Tasiah Nunnery 7 kills and 12 digs, Hannah McGuire 12 assists
NORTON L 23-25, 23-25 Stat Leaders: Tasiah Nunnery 5 kills, Mattie Hutchison 8 assists, Emma Humphrey 6 digs
This fall season, the city of Hays will be hosting two events to help raise money and awareness for Alzheimer’s, a disease that affects one in every six Americans.
Jenny Leiker, who is the co-chair for the Hays Walk to End Alzheimer’s is passionate about raising awareness of this disease.
Leiker lost her mother to Alzheimer’s two years ago, and it’s the loss of her mother that sparked the passion that drove her to start her own benefit for Alzheimer’s research, the Crawl to End Alz.
“When you love somebody with Alzheimer’s, you feel so helpless. There is nothing you can do,” Leiker said. “This is why I do these events. I can raise the money and it helps me feel hope.”
Leiker is spearheading a pub crawl event called Crawl to End Alz to help raise money and awareness for Alzheimer’s. The event is to take place Oct. 29 from 6 to 9 p.m.
“We brainstormed different ways that we could raise money. We talked about a 5K run, and it was suggested to us that we do a community pub crawl,” Leiker said.
According to Leiker, in some of the bigger cities, charity pub crawls really do well. Leiker says she’s never been to a pub crawl or planned one before, but she is going to give it a try.
“I plan events by trade, and we are so excited for this crawl,” Leiker said.
People who buy tickets will be able to go to six local bars. Sip N Spin, Toby Jugs, Brass Rail, the Golden Q, Wild Rose and On the Rocks are the bars participating in the event. Tickets are available up to Oct. 8 and an Early-Bird Ticket Special is available.
The Early-Bird Special lasts up to Oct. 1, and you get a discounted ticket price of only $25. After Oct. 1 tickets will be $35.
“The idea was to target a different audience,” Leiker said. “People that enjoy having fun, people who enjoy doing things with their friends.”
Prizes similar to this will be available to those who attend.
Leiker notes that since it is a pub crawl you must be 21 to purchase a ticket. With each purchase of a ticket you will receive drink specials at all six pub locations, there will be costume contest with prizes available, you receive a Crawl T-shirt, free giveaways, and the after party is at the Sip N Spin.
All of the proceeds will benefit the Alzheimer’s Association in their research and care.
If you would like more information on this event you can visit their Facebook Page.
TOPEKA – On Thursday, the Kansas Bureau of Investigation (KBI) announced a successful multi-agency drug enforcement operation that led to the arrest of a Kansas man and the recovery of illegal substances with an estimated street value of $350,000, according to a media release.
Just after 8:40 a.m., law enforcement agencies served a search warrant at a residence at 1108 South Joplin in Pittsburg.
Austin Gossett, 24, Pittsburg, was arrested on the charge of Possession of Controlled Substances with the Intent to Distribute.
Recovered at the residence were approximately 2.5 kilograms of MDMA in tablet form (also known as Ecstasy) and 2.5 kilograms of MDMA in powder form (also referred to as Molly). The Ecstasy seized is estimated to have a street value of $100,000, and the Molly has an approximate value of $250,000.
The investigation began last week and was conducted by the KBI, the Pittsburg Police Department, the Crawford County Sheriff’s Office, the Kansas Department of Revenue – Alcohol Beverage Control (KDOR-ABC) and the Department of Homeland Security- Homeland Security Investigations (DHS-HSI).
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) – Byron Buxton tripled, doubled, drove in two runs and scored twice as the Minnesota Twins defeated the Kansas City Royals 7-6 on Thursday night.
After Salvador Perez’s pinch-hit RBI single with two outs in the ninth pulled the Royals within a run, Terrance Gore ran for him. With Paulo Orlando, who had four hits to match his career high, hitting, Brandon Kintzler picked Gore off first base.
Gore was initially called safe, but after a 1 minute, 15 second review, the call was reversed to end the game.
Buxton’s one-out double triggered a three-run ninth off Kelvin Herrera (2-6). Robbie Grossman, Miguel Sano and Max Kepler contributed run-scoring singles in the ninth.
The Twins won for the first time in 10 games this season at Kauffman Stadium.
KANSAS CITY, Kan. (AP) — An 18-year-old man has pleaded guilty to charges stemming from a shooting that a Kansas City, Kansas, police captain was investigating when he was killed.
DaQon Sipple pleaded guilty Thursday in Wyandotte County court to charges including aggravated assault and criminal discharge of a firearm. Prosecutors say Sipple fired shots that police were called to investigate on July 19.
After Sipple was arrested that day, Police Capt. Robert David Melton was investigating the shooting when a man fired shots into Melton’s patrol car, killing him.
Jamaal Lewis is charged with capital murder in Melton’s death.
The Kansas City Star reports that as part of the plea agreement, Sipple has agreed to testify if he’s called as a witness in the case against Lewis.
COLUMBUS, Kan. (AP) — A Kansas woman has been convicted of killing a man whose burned body was found after he reported that the woman was threatening to kidnap her children from foster care.
The Joplin Globe reports that 37-year-old Crystal Galloway, of Scammon, was found guilty Wednesday of first-degree murder in the May 2015 death of 59-year-old Robin Fought, of Dennis.
During the trial, prosecutors played a voicemail message that Fought left for a caseworker talking about Galloway planning to flee the state with her children. Five of Galloway’s six children had been taken into state custody in 2014, and she was only allowed supervised visits.
She and co-defendant Dakota Cunningham were arrested two days after the killing in Oklahoma. The 19-year-old Cunningham has been deemed mentally incompetent to stand trial.
Citing self-defense, charges will not be filed against a veteran Hays Police Department officer following an officer-involved shooting last month in Hays that left one man dead.
Ellis County Attorney Tom Drees said in a release Thursday that Joseph Weber, 36, Hays was shot and killed by HPD Sgt. Brandon Hauptman during a brief scuffle following an attempted traffic stop.
Drees said at approximately 2:30 p.m. Aug. 18, Hauptman noticed a car with an expired license plate near 27th and Vine. He began following the vehicle and noticed the driver, later identified as Weber, acting strange. According to the investigation, compiled by the Kansas Bureau of Investigation, Weber appeared to be moving things in the seat next to him and reaching into the glove box.
Hauptman, a nine-year veteran of the Hays Police Department, attempted to initiate a traffic stop in the 2700 block of Vine, but Weber did not stop and led the officer on a brief chase. Weber stopped once in an alley off of 27th Street, but did not obey Hauptman’s commands and fled a second time, leading officers to the 2300 block of Timber, where he pulled onto the sidewalk in front of a residence.
According to KBI investigators, Weber exited the vehicle and ran from the officer, toward the residence. Hauptman, Drees said, was able to trip Weber but fell onto him and a struggled ensued.
Drees said a report by the KBI determined the two were wrestling on the ground when Weber grabbed Hauptman’s gun. Fearing for his life, Hauptman pushed the barrel of the gun into Weber’s chest and fired one shot, killing Weber.
The Ellis County Sheriff’s Department secured the scene and the KBI and County Coroner Dr. Lyle Noordhoek were called into to assist with the investigation.
Weber’s actions inside the car and then failing to comply justified using physical force to arrest Weber and, according to Drees, when Weber grabbed Hauptman’s gun he was justified “in the use of deadly force” to shoot Weber.
Hauptman’s gun has been sent for processing of evidence, but Drees said at a press briefing, because it is a “close-contact wound,” it will not change anything in the investigating process.
Drees said there were four witnesses, in addition to Hauptman, to the shooting. Two of them were responding law enforcement officers. The first police officer witnessed the beginning of the chase and heard the gunshot after stopping his vehicle near the scene. The second witness, a sheriff’s deputy, came up on the incident just after the shot was fired as the two wrestled in front of Weber’s vehicle. Drees said the entire incident — attempted traffic stop to fatal shot — took less than eight minutes.
There is video from the sheriff deputy’s dashcam and audio from Hauptman’s body recorder, but neither will be released by the county attorney’s office. Drees cited the Kansas Open Records Act exemption that allows criminal investigation records and any records that violate a person’s privacy as reasons for not making them public.
Two other people testified as to what happened, according to Drees, adding oftentimes witness statements are inconsistent. Drees cited an “erroneous” report of a witness who stated the shooting happened at a distance. The facts, according to the investigation, show the incident occurred at close proximity.
“Eyewitnesses aren’t expecting something like this to happen,” Drees said. “Sometimes they fill in the missing blanks.”
Drees said he met with Weber’s parents and their attorney Wednesday and they were allowed to view the dashcam video and listen to Hauptman’s body recorder.
In his opinion, Drees said he believes the investigation went very quickly, taking only six weeks. Drees said the KBI had to conduct their interviews and prepare their reports for approval. They are then forwarded to the prosecuting attorney’s office.
“This was an important investigation, and it’s not something that is rushed just for the sake of having a quick answer,” Drees said.
The officers were not aware that the residence Weber stopped in front of was a state licensed day and residential service provider for people developmental disabilities and according to Drees the officers did not learn of that until after the incident had occurred.
According to Drees, during the investigation, it was determined Weber had been diagnosed with autism, anxiety disorder, intermediate explosive disorder and mild intellectual disability.
“You have to view this based on what the officer knew, what he was confronted with, what information he had from step-to-step and the decisions he made based on the knowledge he had,” Drees said.
Drees forwarded all questions regarding the current job status of Hauptman and the officer’s training to Hays Police Chief Don Scheibler.
Scheibler told Hays Post on Thursday that Hauptman remains on paid administrative leave until the completion of a Professional Standards Investigation conducted by the Kansas Highway Patrol.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Medicare is setting new goals for keeping hospitalized patients safe and reducing readmissions after patients are discharged.
Hospitalization can be hazardous to your health, with risks like medication errors, falls and infections. And a lack of follow-through after patients are discharged can sometimes land them right back in the hospital.
A concerted effort by Medicare and hospitals around the country since 2010 has led to substantial progress reducing both problems. Medicare officials on Thursday announced new goals for greater improvement.
For example, Medicare wants to reduce preventable medical problems in hospitals from 121 per 1,000 patients discharged, to 97 per 1,000 by 2019.
Medicare announced that it is awarding $347 million to hospital associations and other health organizations that will help meet the new goals.
This past weekend, the Kansas Highway Patrol joined other law enforcement agencies from across a six-state area to address the issue of speeding on our nation’s roadways, according to a media release.
The enforcement ran from Friday, September 23, through Sunday, September 25. The following are the Kansas Highway Patrol’s results from the enforcement:
Total Number of Crashes: 39
Total Number of Fatalities: 1
Total Number of Traffic Citations (other than speeding) Issued: 114
Total Number of Seat Belt Citations Issued: 91
Total Number of Speed Citations Issued: 615
Total Number of Traffic Warnings Issued: 828
Total DWI Arrests: 8
Total Drug Arrests: 9
Felony Arrests/Other: 3
Participating in this initiative were Kansas, Iowa, Nebraska, Arkansas, Missouri, and Oklahoma.
The Patrol participated in this enforcement in an effort to address speeding and increased fatalities on our roads. As speed increases, the severity of crashes also increases. This includes the risk for fatalities. Officers have educated drivers and passengers by issuing citations and in some circumstances, warnings, to show the importance of slowing down.
Sam Vanochen listens to testimony during the trial pool photo Hutch News
RENO COUNTY — Reno County District Attorney Keith Schroeder has filed a petition against Judge Trish Rose with the Kansas Supreme Court to have a Kansas teen convicted of murder moved from a juvenile facility to an adult jail
He also wants the high court to order the Judge to go ahead with sentencing of Sam Vanochen and skip another mental evaluation as part of the pre-sentence investigation
In August, a jury convicted Vanochen of the two counts of murder for the killing of his mother and sister who died after he set fire to the family home on Sept. 26, 2013.
Judge Trish Rose
The high court ordered Judge Rose to present a brief by October 11 on what legal reason she used for denying the state’s requests
The high court gave Judge Rose until Oct. 11, to file the brief with the court.
The court made this order after considering the state’s petition and argument that Rose had no legal authority to require the juvenile facility to house him there without its consent.
LIBERAL – The Hays High boys soccer team scored first but Liberal answered with five straight goals and beat the Indians 6-3 Thursday in Liberal.
Zach Wagner gave the Indians the early lead with a goal in the 20th minute. Liberal scored the equalizer three minutes later and led 2-1 at the half.
Ethan Nunnery and Ryan Fort both scored in the second half but it was too little too late as the Indians fall to 5-6 overall and 0-5 in the Western Athletic Conference.
