WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — Former Lawrence Mayor Jeremy Farmer has been charged with stealing money from his old job as executive director at a food pantry.
A criminal information filed Thursday in U.S. District Court in Kansas charges Farmer with one count of interstate travel of embezzled funds. The filing also seeks a forfeiture judgment.
Court records do not indicate a defense attorney, and a phone number for Farmer was disconnected.
Federal prosecutors allege Farmer embezzled more than $5,000 from Just Food beginning in 2013 until he resigned from the nonprofit food pantry and as mayor in August 2015.
Farmer left those positions after it was revealed he had not paid about $50,000 in federal payroll taxes. He said at the time it was an oversight that the taxes weren’t paid.
Kansas Budget Director Shawn Sullivan -Photo by Stephen Koranda/KPR File
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback’s budget chief is asking state agencies and university’s to study the prospect of a 5 percent funding cut.
Brownback spokeswoman Eileen Hawley tells the Wichita Eagle that budget director Shawn Sullivan requested the information from state agencies. But Hawley stresses no decision has been made about whether cuts will be needed, saying it’s common to ask agencies to think about reduced budgets.
A revenue-estimating group that includes Sullivan and the state’s economics next meet in November to determine the state’s revenue outlook.
The group meets twice a year and has lowered revenue estimates each of the past four times it has met. If that happens again, budget cuts could be necessary since the state is already operating at razor thin budget margins.
SALINE COUNTY – Law enforcement authorities in Saline County are investigating a suspect in connection with a shooting.
Justice Kennedy, 22, is accused of confronting Kwentin Gunter, 21, in the parking lot of Lowe’s Home Improvement, 3035 South 9th, on Thursday evening August 4, according to Police Captain Mike Sweeney.
The two men exchanged words and a handgun was pulled out.
Multiple shots were fired and one hit the passenger side of Gunter’s vehicle.
Sweeney said Kennedy was arrested by officers Wednesday in the 600 block of South Santa Fe in Salina.
He was booked into the Saline County Jail on multiple requested charges including assault, criminal discharge of a firearm, and criminal possession of a weapon by a felon with a previous conviction.
The handgun used in the incident has not been recovered, according to Sweeny.
“It was so great to see it all come together. It was amazing!”
Ellis County Big Brothers Big Sisters (BBBS) Executive Director Jenny Bates’ smile was ear to ear as she reflected Wednesday evening on the success of the inaugural Hays Duck Derby at the Hays Aquatic Park (HAP).
It’s a new fundraiser for BBBS and will replace the annual Christmas 4 Kids telethon held in early December.
All 5,000 bright yellow toy ducks were sold for the derby races and there were 15 cardboard canoes whose builders paid an entrance fee to the Soggy Bottom Challenge, according to Bates. Children under 13 also purchased ducks for a separate Duck Dash.
The hot dog feed line across the street from HAP.
All proceeds, including those from the hot dog feed held just west of HAP under the shady trees on the lawn of Early Childhood Connections, go to Big Brothers Big Sisters of Ellis County.
“A little more than $45,000 was raised,” Bates was able to announce late Thursday afternoon. “I just can’t believe it!”
“This funding helps us match kids (Littles) in our program who need a volunteer (Bigs)–a special person in their life–just to help them with everyday things that they’re going through,” said Bates. “This fundraiser helps us to be able to do that–screen volunteers, make the matches and then support the matches throughout their entirety.
“Our longest match right now is 10 years. It’s amazing the things we get to see every day in our office, and the impact it’s making on kids here in our community.”
Still, added Bates, “there are 40 kids waiting to be matched with a Big Brother or a Big Sister. We always need more volunteers.”
(Courtesy Andrea Clinkscales)
Volunteers were swarming all over the Hays Aquatic Park last night, with a large contingent from the Hays First Methodist Church and its youth group.
“We had no idea what to expect for this first time,” Bates said with a delightful laugh.
Bates said the HAP employees counted 650 people coming through the front entrance of HAP and another 300 or so people went through the east gates where the cardboard canoes were on display in the parking lot before the event started.
It was a long list of contributors read throughout the evening by emcees Gary Shorman and Mike Koerner of Eagle Communications, and Nancy Jeter. Jeter retired in December as the BBBS executive director and still serves as a volunteer. She came up with the idea of the duck derby fundraiser.
Bates thanked them all.
“We couldn’t have done without them–so many donors, volunteers and great partners who support Big Brothers Big Sisters,” she said.
Check back with Hays Post for more coverage of the fun and excitement at the Hays Duck Derby.
2,500 yellow duckies swimming in one of two heats during the BBBS Hays Duck Derby
DUCK DASH WINNERS
1. Carrico Bike – Kylie Leiker *
2. Carrico Bike – Isaac Moreno *
3. Carrico Bike – Jess Schwein *
4. McDonald’s Happy Meal Every Week for 1 year – Rocquel Clingingsmith
5. 2017 Season Pass to Hays Aquatic Park – Gail Kuehl *
6. 8 Miniature Golf Passes to Precision Valley – Caleb Ridder
7. Family Night Out Bowling to Centennial Lanes – Timothy Huls *
8. Sternberg Museum Family Membership for 1 year – Sam Allen *
9. Yellow Duck Alarm – Gail Kuehl *
10. Jumbo Inflatable Duck – Emily McEwan *
Happy Meal with Dessert –
11. Judith Isbell *
12. Nichole Dreiling *
13. Emma Kessler *
14. Cameron Daughtee *
15. Steve Paul *
16. Steve Paul *
17. Nelson Handle *
18. Isaac Martinez *
19. Georgia Weems *
20. Zach Chance *
21. Shaun Musil *
22. Jenny Molstad
23. Jenny Molstad
24. Lanie Garcia
25. Connor Schmidt
26. Erin Ruder *
27. Willow Swagerty *
28. Reilly Leiker *
29. Kinley Sprenkle *
30. Alleynah McVey *
SOGGY BOTTOM CHALLENGE AWARDS
Best of Show Award: Lang Diesel
Spirit Award: Downing-Nelson Oil – Miss Liberty
Titanic Award: Paul-Wertenberger Construction
SOGGY BOTTOM RACES
Race # 1 Challengers: Hays Hobby Shop, Bank of Hays, John O. Farmer Oil, Williams Real Estate, Happy’s Auto, Paul Wertenberger Construction Winner of Boat Race #1: John O. Farmer
Race # 2 – Challengers: APAC, Downing-Nelson Oil, Glassman Corporation, Western Well, Lang Diesel Winner of Boat Race #2: Glassman Corporation
Race # 3 – Challengers: Lifetime Dental, Northwestern Printers, Walmart, Ellis County Sheriff Winner of Boat Race #3: Ellis County Sheriff
Boat with the fastest time and overall winner with Naming Rights for next year’s Soggy Bottom Challenge: John O. Farmer
DUCK DERBY WINNERS
Duck #14 – Honora Freshwater Pearl Bracelet (3) – Diamond R Jewelry (Dustin Roths) Winner: Rebecca Kuehl
Duck #13 – $100 Gift Card, Pullover & Bag from Hays Car & Truck Alignment (Jim Werth) Winner: Kathy Harper
Duck #12 – Adams Blue 10.5 Rt Hand Driver golf club – Precision Valley (Landon Paul) Winner: Scott McGrath
Duck #11 – Country Stampede 2017 tickets – 4) multi tickets (Jeff Copper) Winner: Don Burlison
Duck #10 – Kansas City Royals Tickets (4) – Eagle Radio (Todd Lynd) Winner: Pam Mayers
Duck #5 – Bronson Traeger Grill – sponsored & presented by Crawford Supply (Mark Washburn) Winner: Kenton & Carol Oliff
Duck #4 – Porta-Bote – sponsored & presented by Mid Kansas Auto Auction (Trevor Ottley) Winner: Ronan Sramek
Duck #3 – Sprint Center Suite for Miami Heat vs. Minnesota Timberwolves NBA Game. Includes tickets for 12 & 2 parking passes; Sponsored by Sizewise Winner: Alan Moore
Duck #2 – 1 week vacation to cabin in Black Hills South Dakota sponsored & presented by Randy & Tammy Walker Winner: Dirae Boyd
Duck #1 Grand Prize – 2014 Red Ford Fiesta, 10,000 miles and still under warranty. Sponsored & presented by: James Motor Company (Stan Dreiling), Hays Chevrolet (Wayne Kieffer), Auto World (Dick Werth), Car Zone (Greg Werth), Lewis Automotive Group of Hays (Ross Harms), Happy’s Auto (Camron Walter), Mid Kansas Auto Auction (Trevor Ottley)and Lang Diesel (Brian Lang) Winner: Al Downing
FHSU Sports Information
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Fort Hays State resumes its run in the NSCAA Division II Top 25 National Poll to open the 2016 season. After closing the 2015 season as the No. 14 ranked team in the nation, the Tigers start the 2016 campaign ranked No. 15 in the country.
Fort Hays State held a ranking as high as No. 11 last year as they went on to set a new program record for wins (13) in a season. The Tigers claimed their second consecutive Central Region Championship in the NCAA Tournament, reaching the national quarterfinals for the second straight year. It was the fourth consecutive year the Tigers were selected to the NCAA Tournament in just the fifth year of the program’s existence.
Head coach Brett Parker has guided the program to an overall record of 58-27-13 in five years at FHSU. The Tigers have won at least 11 matches in all five of years and have been in the NSCAA national rankings in each of the last four years.
The Tigers will get a big challenge the first week of regular season play when they play at Rockhurst University in a rematch of the 2015 national quarterfinal. FHSU fell just short of a final four appearance, eliminated on penalty kicks after the match ended in a 1-1 draw. Rockhurst opens this season at No. 3 in the nation. Just a couple weeks later, FHSU travels out to the west coast where it will meet preseason No. 11 Seattle Pacific during a two-match swing in the state of Washington.
Fort Hays State is the highest ranked team of the two MIAA schools represented in the preseason rankings. Upper Iowa, the MIAA regular season champion from last year, starts the year at No. 23 in the nation. FHSU defeated Upper Iowa in the Central Regional Championship of the NCAA Tournament last year.
Below is the Preseason Top 25 poll for 2016.
Rank School Prev. W-L-T
1 Pfeiffer University 1 25-0-0
2 University Of Charleston 2 20-3-0
3 Rockhurst University 3 18-2-3
4 Cal Poly Pomona 4 17-3-3
5 Palm Beach Atlantic University 5 17-2-1
6 Colorado School Of Mines 6 18-1-3
7 Midwestern State University 7 17-1-1
8 Southern New Hampshire University 9 19-1-1
9 LIU Post 8 15-3-3
9 Young Harris College 10 17-4-0
11 Seattle Pacific University 11 14-1-4
12 Northwood University (Mich.) 12 17-2-1
13 California State University-Dominguez Hills 13 14-3-4
14 St. Edward’s University 15 15-3-2 15 Fort Hays State University 14 13-5-2
16 Urbana University 16 13-4-2
17 Rollins College 17 13-8-0
18 Wingate University 18 14-4-4
19 Merrimack College 19 15-4-2
20 Notre Dame College 20 12-6-0
21 Saginaw Valley State University 22 15-4-1
22 Fresno Pacific University 21 14-3-2
23 Upper Iowa University 23 13-4-1
24 California State University-Los Angeles RV 12-5-3
25 Lynn University NR 9-4-2
Also receiving votes: Lander, Gannon, Southern Connecticut State, Saint Leo, Limestone, Millersville, Carson-Newman, California State Stanislaus
FHSU Sports Information
KANSAS CITY – The Fort Hays State volleyball team has been picked to finish seventh in the 2016 MIAA Preseason Coaches Poll, which was released by the conference office Thursday. The Tigers received 64 points in the poll, which is voted on by the 12 coaches in the league. Coaches do not list their own school on their ballot.
Fort Hays State is coming off arguably its strongest season since joining the MIAA 10 seasons ago, finishing 21-13 overall and 10-8 in league play in 2015. It was the first winning record in conference play since joining the league in 2006. The Tigers finished the regular season sixth in the conference standings last year, advancing to the MIAA Tournament before falling to nationally-ranked Nebraska-Kearney.
The 2016 rendition of the Tigers will feature a number of familiar faces, with 11 letter winners returning from a year ago. Included in that mix are four All-MIAA performers in seniors Rebekah Spainhour, Crystal Whitten and Megan Anderson, along with sophomore Sydney Dixon. The addition of 10 freshman and six transfers will provide the depth necessary to succeed in the MIAA, regularly one of the toughest conferences in NCAA Divison II.
The 2016 season will get underway when the Tigers head to Goodwell, Okla. to take part in the Aggie Challenge Sept. 2-3. After a three weekends of non-conference play, conference action starts in earnest Sept. 20 at Nebraska-Kearney before the Tigers’ home opener on Friday, Sept. 23 against Emporia State inside Gross Memorial Coliseum.
The top four teams in the poll are separated by just eight points, with Washburn leading the way with 110 points after receiving five first-place votes. Defending MIAA Tournament champion Central Missouri is tied with defending regular season champion Central Oklahoma for second after earning 106 points apiece, with each school being listed atop three ballots. Nebraska-Kearney picked up the remaining first-place vote and 102 points to rank fourth.
Missouri Western (77 points) and Northwest Missouri State (69) were ranked just ahead of FHSU in fifth and sixth place, respectively. Emporia State, Lindenwood and Pittsburg State round out the top-10 while Southwest Baptist and Missouri Southern sit in 11th and 12th, respectively.
2016 MIAA Preseason Coaches Poll
1. Washburn (5) – 110
T2. Central Missouri (3) – 106
T2. Central Oklahoma (3) – 106
4. Nebraska-Kearney (1) – 102
5. Missouri Western – 77
6. Northwest Missouri – 69 7. Fort Hays State – 64
8. Emporia State – 51
9. Lindenwood – 39
10. Pittsburg State – 36
11. Southwest Baptist – 17
12. Missouri Southern – 15
NEW YORK (AP) — Macy’s says it plans to close about 100 stores next year as the department store operator aims to become more nimble in a competitive market.
Macy’s has a Topeka store and 4 more in the immediate Kansas City area.
Macy’s has not revealed the list of stores scheduled to close.
The closures come as Macy’s reported Thursday that second-quarter profits and sales fell. The results, however, beat Wall Street estimates as efforts to bring back customers are taking hold.
The nation’s largest department store chain says that it earned $11 million, or 3 cents per share, in the quarter ended July 30. That compares with $217 million, or 64 cents per share, in the year-ago period.
Excluding charges that are related to store closings, the company earned 51 cents, which is above the 48 cent estimate from FactSet.
Revenue fell 3.9 percent to $5.87 billion. That topped the $5.77 billion estimate from FactSet.
Lyle Lee Casper, 85, of Russell, Kansas, died on Monday, August 08, 2016, at his home in Russell.
Lyle was born on January 12, 1931, in Bunker Hill, Kansas, the son of William H. and Carrie E. (Hoch) Casper. When he was very young, he grew up in the Dorrance area and later in life he grew up in El Dorado, Kansas and attended high school in El Dorado. After high school he moved back to the Russell County area and made his permanent home in Russell, Kansas, living here over 60 years. He met, fell in love and was united in marriage to Opal Odell Anthony on October 18, 1951, in Great Bend, Kansas. From this union Lyle and Opal were blessed with 8 children Lyle, Valerie, Deborah, Jackie, Gary, Joel, Dale and David. He made his career as a welder working on the pipeline in the Russell area and later was the owner and operator of Casper Welding. He enjoyed hunting, fishing, target shooting his guns, playing cards and shooting pool. Most of all he enjoyed spending time with his children and grand children.
Surviving family include his children Deborah Clark (Gary) of Cadiz, Kentucky, Jackie L. Casper of Russell, Gary W. Casper (Bernice) of Murray, Kentucky, Joel R. Casper (Michelle) of Russell, Dale A. Casper (Jayne) of Russell and David B. Casper and companion Kelli Fuller of Russell; brother William Casper (Linda) of Russell and sister Jane Galliart (Morris) of Wilson, Kansas; 22 Grandchildren and 28 great grandchildren.
He was preceded in death by his parents, wife Opal, son Lyle O. Casper and daughter Valerie VanLoenen.
A celebration of Lyle’s life will be held at 10:30 A.M. on Friday, August 12, 2016, at the Pohlman-Varner-Peeler Mortuary of Russell with John Dumler officiating. Burial will follow at the Bunker Hill Cemetery in Bunker Hill, Kansas. Visitation will be from 9 A.M. to 8 P.M. on Thursday, August 11, 2016, at the mortuary with the family present to greet guests from 6 P.M. to 7 P.M. Thursday evening. Cards and condolences can be sent to the mortuary, there is no memorial. Pohlman-Varner-Peeler Mortuary of Russell, Kansas is in charge of the funeral service arrangements.
Derry D. Knauf, 75, La Crosse, Kansas, died Tuesday, August 9, 2016, at Hays Medical Center, La Crosse, Kansas.
Mr. Knauf was born December 31, 1940, in Beeler, Kansas, the son of Carl M. and Gertrude (Thomas) Knauf. He was a resident of La Crosse, Kansas, for close to 30 years, moving from Goddard, Kansas. A 1959 graduate of Ulysses High School, Ulysses, Kansas, he was a sales representative in the wholesale tobacco industry before his retirement.
He was a member of St. Michael’s Catholic Church, La Crosse, Kansas; and a former Assistant Boy Scout Leader.
Survivors include: his soul mate, Margaret Pozalek, La Crosse, Kansas; four sons, David Knauf (Sheila), Wichita, Kansas, Dan Knauf (Dana), Belle Plaine, Kansas, Dwight French (Vicki), Hays, Kansas, and Richard Knauf (Irene), Wichita, Kansas; one daughter, Donna McLinn (Robert), Maize, Kansas; 11 grandchildren; eight great grandchildren; a twin brother, Jerry Knauf, Rozel, Kansas; and one sister, Harriet Lewis, Scott City, Kansas.
He was preceded in death by his parents; one grandchild; one brother, John Knauf; and three sisters, Edna Lomax, Esther Sculley, and Essie Stramel.
A memorial service will be Friday, August 12, 2016, at 11:00 A.M. at St. Michael’s Catholic Church, La Crosse, Kansas, with Father Matthew Kumi officiating. Private family inurnment will be in Holy Cross Cemetery, Timken, Kansas.
In lieu of flowers, memorials are suggested to the Humane Society of the High Plains, Hays, Kansas.
Condolences or remembrances may be left for the family at www.charterfunerals.com/locations/janousek-lacrosse.php.
Arrangements were by Janousek Funeral Home, 719 Pine Street, P O Box 550, La Crosse, Kansas 67548, 785/222-2517.
COWLEY COUNTY –Law enforcement authorities in Cowley County are investigating a fatal accident in Winfield.
Just after 10p.m. on Wednesday, Sheriff’s Deputies assisted the Winfield Police Department in the 600 Block of West 14th Street where a train hit a pedestrian, according to media release.
The victim, Danny Lee Stalnaker, 38, Winfield, was transported to the hospital where he died, according to police.
No additional details were released.
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COWLEY COUNTY –Law enforcement authorities in Cowley County are investigating a fatal accident in Winfield.
Just after 10p.m. on Wednesday, Sheriff’s Deputies assisted the Winfield Police Department in the 600 Block of West 14th Street where a train hit a pedestrian, according to media release.
The victim was transported to a hospital and died.
No additional details were released early Thursday.
