NESS COUNTY – Law enforcement authorities in Ness County are investigating two suspects on drug charges after a Saturday high-speed chase.
Deputies with Ness County Sheriff’s Office attempted to conduct a traffic stop on a vehicle for a traffic infraction on Kansas 96 just east of Ness City, according to a social media report.
The driver of that vehicle chose not to stop for deputies and a pursuit of the vehicle was initiated. The vehicle traveled east through Ness County reaching speeds of 130 mph.
The pursuit continued into Rush County where the vehicle turned on to a county road. After traveling several miles through southern Rush County the vehicle was stopped after coordination with responding Rush County Deputies.
Both male occupants of the vehicle were taken into custody.
A search warrant was executed on the suspect’s vehicle, which resulted in a seizure of approximately 10 lbs of marijuana, drug paraphernalia, cocaine, marijuana wax, and US currency.
Charges are pending through the Ness County Attorney
GEARY COUNTY – A Kansas man was injured in an accident just before 5p.m. on Sunday in Geary County.
The Kansas Highway Patrol reported a 1997 Nissan pickup driven by Jesus James Martin, 24, Wakefield, westbound on Kansas 18 four miles west of Junction City.
The pickup traveled off the north edge of the road into a ravine coming to rest in a creek bed.
Martin was transported to Geary Community Hospital.
He was not wearing a seat belt, according to the KHP.
I love watching women and kids become involved in the Kansas outdoors, and this fall there seem to be numerous opportunities for that to happen around the state.
The National Rifle Association has a program for women shooters called Women on Target (WOT). On Saturday Sept. 10, WOT will sponsor a women’s-only shooting event at the Friends of Fancy Creek Shooting range at the Fancy Creek area of Tuttle Creek State park near Randolph, KS. The event is designed to help women become more comfortable and familiar with firearms, and will provide instruction in basic handling and shooting skills with handguns, rifles, muzzleloaders and archery.
Steve Gilliland
There is a $50 registration fee that covers loaner equipment, ammunition, instruction, eye and ear protection and lunch. Space is limited to 36 participants and I don’t think they’ll have any trouble filling this up, so call Marci Ritter at 785 293 4406 or email her at [email protected]. NO EXPERIENCE NECESSARY.
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If you’re looking for a way to introduce a kid to the world of outdoor sports including shooting, hunting, fishing and trapping, mark your calendar to attend the 19 Annual Youth Outdoor festival at Hays. Hays area businesses, conservation and shooting sports groups will sponsor the event at the Hays City Sportsman’s Club from 9 to 3 on Saturday August 20. Kids will have the opportunity to shoot trap and skeet, archery equipment, air rifles and BB guns, muzzleloaders and small bore rifles, plus there will be a casting competition, paintball target shooting and a fur harvesting demonstration.
Expert volunteer instructors will supervise the youth at every station and all equipment will be supplied. Lunch is provided and prizes including guns, fishing tackle and other outdoor equipment will be given away. For more information call Kent Hensley at 785 726 3212 or Troy Mattheyer at 785 726 4212. And as if that weren’t enough, the entire day is FREE!
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Catfish tagging; I know this sounds a lot like snipe hunting or maybe a video game like Pokemon Go. But really, biologists from the Kansas Dept of Wildlife, Parks and Tourism (KDWPT) are catfish tagging at Tuttle Creek Reservoir. The blue cat population there at Tuttle Creek is still fairly young, and biologists are tagging them to help understand them better. Blue cats are collected with an electrofishing boat that temporarily stuns them, allowing biologists to place yellow information tags just below the dorsal spine on all fish 14 inches or longer.
When the fish are eventually caught, reporting that information will help determine how well they are growing, how far they are moving upstream of the lake and how many fish are migrating downstream out of the lake. If you happen to catch a tagged blue catfish at Tuttle Creek, please follow the instructions on the tag to report your catch. Most fish being tagged have been between 16 and 22 inches, the largest being 27 inches long weighing 8.3 pounds.
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And while we’re talkin’ fishing, how would you like to become a Certified Fishing Instructor for youth and families? Saturday, August 20 from 9 to noon, the KDWPT and a group called Fishing’s Future will host an Angler Education Instructor certification course at the Lakewood Discovery Center, 250 Lakewood Drive in Salina. This will be a free course for anyone aspiring to teach fishing techniques to kids and families.
Participants will learn how to work with kids, how to create a class curriculum, and how to present pertinent fishing information like current fishing regulations, fish habitat and equipment use. Students must go online to the KDWPT website and complete the Aquatic Nuisance Species (ANS) certification course and bring their certification card with them to class. Participants will also be required to sign a release allowing KDWPT to run a background check on them. For further information and to register for the class, go to the website www.fishingsfuture.org.
You have heard it said many-a-time that our youth are the future of the sports of hunting, fishing and trapping, and I would also add to that our ladies as well, so anything we can do to get them interested and to keep them interested in the outdoors is a win-win situation. Kudos to those folks who promote and sponsor these events, and continue to Explore Kansas Outdoors.
Steve Gilliland, Inman, can be contacted by email at [email protected].
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — Wichita police are investigating the discovery of a body found near the Arkansas River but don’t believe foul play was involved.
The body was lying on the ground next to a tree in the Riverside Park area around 7:30 a.m. Sunday when someone walking along the river found him.
Police spokesman Sgt. Joe Kennedy says a 59-year-old white man was pronounced dead at the scene. The body was taken to the Sedgwick County Regional Forensics Science Center to determine cause of death.
Kennedy says the person may have been homeless. No other details were being released.
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — The proposed $12.2 billion merger of Kansas-based Westar Energy with Missouri-based Kansas City Power & Light could be at the mercy of Missouri utility regulators whose staff has recommended the deal be rejected.
Great Plains Energy, parent company of KCP&L, says it doesn’t need Missouri’s permission for the purchase, which would combine operations to serve 1.5 million customers on both sides of the state line.
The Wichita Eagle reports that the Missouri Public Service Commission’s staff is concerned that the merger would lead to layoffs and harm Great Plains’ credit rating, leading to higher costs for customers.
James Owen, acting director of Missouri’s Office of Public Counsel, believes the commission staff will file a challenge against the deal. If not, his office will.
MEDFORD, Okla. (AP) — Three small earthquakes have been recorded in northern Oklahoma during the weekend.
The U.S. Geological Survey reports the strongest was a magnitude 3.1 quake recorded at 7:22 a.m. Sunday six miles east of Medford, 77 miles south of Wichita.
No injuries or damage are reported.
The agency also recorded a magnitude 2.7 quake six miles southeast of Waukomis at 8:13 a.m. Sunday and a magnitude 2.7 temblor 12 miles northeast of Helena at 10:22 p.m. Saturday.
The number of magnitude 3.0 or greater earthquakes has skyrocketed in Oklahoma, from a few dozen in 2012 to more than 900 last year. Scientists have linked the increase to the underground disposal of wastewater from oil and gas production and state regulators have asked producers to reduce wastewater disposal volumes.
For the past 12 years McCreery has served as the director of the Office of Equal Opportunity, Ethics and Access at Illinois State University – photo Univ. of Kansas
LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) — The University of Kansas has hired a new director for its office that investigates complaints of discrimination and harassment.
The Kansas City Star reports Michael “Shane” McCreery will begin his new role as head of the office of Institutional Opportunity and Access. He was selected from what school officials called a strong applicant pool and will start his new role on Sept. 1.
The university is facing three lawsuits stemming from claims by two members of the women’s rowing team that they were sexually assaulted by the same former football player.
In addition to suits by each woman, the parents of one of the women also sued the school for falsely advertising its campus is safe.
After months of work at the site, Tebo Village will soon be completed, opening up new retail space to the Hays area.
The 12-storefront, 25,000-square-foot retail development sits at 43rd and Vine, with anchor tenant Pasta Jay’s in front of the retail space and expecting to open soon.
While the retail space remains under construction, Chance Reeser, construction manager for Tebo Properties, said a few tenants are already lined up.
“We excited about it,” Reeser said.
And that anticpation permeates through Hays, as well.
“We are really excited about seeing an additional space available for retail locations,” said Aaron White, executive director of the Ellis County Coalition for Economic Development.
White said his office has been actively using the space as a recruitment tool for retailers interested in coming to Hays and may help fill gaps in retail options that were identified in the community retail survey.
Work on the site has been ongoing for a little under a year, but overall the project is only slightly over schedule.
Permitting issues first delayed the development.
“That kind of slowed us down a little bit, but we got it worked out,” Reeser said.
Most recently, however, construction has been slowed by weather.
“A lot of rain, weather slowed us down. It was really muddy and then high winds,” he said.
Construction is expected to be wrapped up in about a month, Reeser said.
HUTCHINSON— Two of the four young men convicted of being involved in the robbery of a Kwik Shop in Hutchinson were sentenced Friday.
Karl Koenig and Drake Lindsay, both 19, waived their rights to a preliminary hearing and then entered pleas involving the Kwik Shop robbery as well as the burglary of a smoke shop.
They entered pleas to aggravated robbery and conspiracy to commit burglary. All other charges were dropped.
Judge Trish Rose sentenced Lindsay to five years and six months in prison while Koenig received a sentence of six years and seven months because of past criminal convictions for burglary and criminal damage.
Both men apologized for the crimes and to the victim saying they didn’t mean for her to get hurt.
Kurt Koenig was sentenced last week by Judge Tim Chambers and was given two years, 10-months in prison after he entered a plea to conspiracy to commit aggravated robbery. He was the one who drove the vehicle for the other three and never actually entered the store.
Dakota Ney also entered a plea to conspiracy to commit aggravated robbery is scheduled for sentencing on Aug. 19.
The four were involved in the robbery of the Kwik Shop at 43rd & Plum on January 27.
Lindsay
It was Ney that forced the clerk to open the drawer and give money while the other two stole cigarettes and other items. He is also the one who knocked the victim to the floor, using a taser device on her and kicking her. She still suffers from those injuries and appeared in court with a walker.
Hutchinson Police Detectives executed two search warrants where they found a large amount of the stolen property from the Kwik Shop robbery and items from the burglary of the smoke shop, which occurred a few days after the robbery on February 1.
It might not be a stop during your routine shopping, but anyone that has planned a party or sought that unique gift has found Tandy’s and Kollections invaluable.
Now, the two stores have merged and those exclusive Hallmark gifts that bring people from throughout the area to Hays and those hard to find party supplies can be found in Tandy’s Gifts, located in Big Creek Crossing, 2918 Vine.
“It worked out so perfectly when we met Kathy and John (Schupman), it just seemed like a perfect match for us,” said Tandy Kornechuk, previous owner of Tandy’s.
Kornechuk owned the Hays Hallmark for over ten years and another location in Dodge City for over 43 years.
After her husband had sold his business, Kornechuk decided it would be a good time for her to sell as well, but was happy someone was able to continue the Hallmark brand in Hays and enjoys the changes made so far.
“She’s done such a great job. It just looks so pretty and the thing that is so perfect is the match of the party balloons to what we had with the Hallmark product. It just ties in so well,” Kornechuk said of new owner, Kathy Schupman, who previously owned and operated Kollections.
But while Kornechuk has officially given over the reins to Schupman, she said she’s offered to give a little assistance.
“Tandy has offered to talk to me now and then if I need help or guidance,” Schupman said.
“That will be fun,” Kornechuk said. “So I’m still in it a little bit.”
With the merger, the location lost its Gold Crown status, but customers may not see any loss in the availability of their exclusive items.
“With the purchase of the business from the Kornechuk’s, Gold Crown does not transfer, that is a long process and you have to maintain exact products,” Schupman said.
Through a little leg work, however, she worked out a deal that will still allow the same items to be sold that would be found in a Gold Crown location, knowing how important those items are to people in the area.
“We want to continue to facilitate our customers with the products that they have grown accustomed to and are collecting because Hallmark has a lot of collectible items and we will continue to provide that,” Schupman said. That’s very important to us.”
“That’s very important to us.”
Another change to the business following the sale includes the loss of the ability to use the Crown Rewards program in the location but Schupman worked out a plan to address that as well, creating a loyalty program that she said is on-par or better than the Crown Rewards program and a new point-of-sale system transferred Crown Rewards members into the new system after the merger.
“That’s good because it was limited to just the Hallmark product before,” Kornechuk said.
The Kollections connection
The merger of Tandy’s and Kollections is not Schupman’s first, just last year she took over Paper Mart Party Center, with products from that business now being incorporated into Tandy’s.
“When I bought the Paper Mart Party Center in 2015 and when this whole thing happened, it just seemed like the perfect opportunity to marry two turnkey businesses that each of them has provided over 20 years of customer service to this area and put them together,” Schupman said.
Now Tandy’s will feature over 40 paper color products and a balloon selection unique to Hays.
The business features balloon designing, with employees having attended balloon school, including Schupman. One small feature of the new location is a direct exit from Big Creek Crossing that allows customers to take balloon assortments straight from the store to the parking lot.
Balloon delivery for large parties is also available.
With a Hallmark customer base reaching as far as Oklahoma, Schupman is hopeful the new additions to the previous ones will create a one-stop party supply location and will help keep Hays a regional shopping hub.
“We have pre-orders for (Hallmark) ornaments from Oklahoma, Dodge City, Goodland, Great Bend, Garden City and that is bringing revenue into this community and that’s a plus for this area,” she said.
Thoughts on a new home
Having been in Big Creek Crossing for over five weeks, Schupman is upbeat about being inside a high traffic shopping center.
“The Mall has been very good in working with me to facilitate this move. They have exhibited nothing but enthusiasm about welcoming me here,” she said.
And being in a location with significantly higher foot traffic has allowed her to lower prices, offsetting the slight customer cost increase created by the CID in Big Creek Crossing.
Big Creek Crossing Property Manager Katie Dorzweiler is enthusiastic about the move as well.
“We’re really excited to have Kathy. She’s already been a pillar of the community,” she said.
In addition to being a business owner in Hays, Schupman is the Quartermaster of the VFW post 9076 and is only one of two women in Ellis County to serve on the honor guard. In that role, she is currently working to get more women involved in the VFW.
While not originally from Kansas, she moved here in 2008 and her husband and co-owner of Tandy’s, John, is from Hays and the couple have no plans to leave the area.
“I think it’s going to be a great fit, everybody already loved her for the party aspect she brought and her roots to Kansas and Kansas made items,” Dorzweiler said.
“We’re all about neighbors and family feel and she is truly that,” she said.
NESS COUNTY – Law enforcement authorities in Ness County are investigating two suspects on drug charges after a Saturday high-speed chase.
Tonight Mostly clear, with a low around 64. South wind 7 to 10 mph.
