ELLIS, Kan. – The TMP-Marian baseball team picked up a couple of run-rule wins in Ellis Tuesday. The Monarchs scored eight runs in the fifth inning to break open a 2-0 game and won the opener 10-0 in five innings.
Tate Garcia drove in three runs in the big inning with a single and later a groundout. Jared Vitztum and Chase Romme both knocked in two runs. Vitztum struck out four with four walks and allowed three hits in the victory.
The Monarchs scored five in the first then nine in the second to jump out to a 14-2 lead and win the second game 16-4. Jared Vitztum and Ryan Ruder both had three hits. Vitztum drove in four and Ruder three. Jared Rack picks up the win allowing two runs on four hits over three innings.
TMP-Marian improves to 7-3 and is off until next Tuesday when they host Great Bend.
ELLIS, Kan. – The TMP-Marian softball team bounced back after a pair of losses in Colby Monday with a pair of wins in Ellis Tuesday. Bailey Lacy’s two-out single to left field scored Julia Werth to give the Monarchs the lead and beat the Railers 5-4 in the first game.
Alison Helget worked around a one-out single in the seventh for the complete game victory. Helget struck out 13 without a walk. Lacy had two hits and drove in three. Bridget Heimann added two RBIs in the win.
The Monarchs scored four in the sixth to take a one-run lead in the second game but needed eight innings to pull out a 9-7 win. Alison Helget broke the 5-5 tie with two-run double in the top of the eighth. She along with Brianna Romme and Ciara Seib had three hits. Bailey Lacy allowed seven runs on eight hits while striking out 10 for the win.
GOODLAND, Kan. – The Hays High boys golf team won the Goodland Invitational by 30 shots over the host Cowboys Tuesday at the Sugar Hills Golf Course . TMP-Marian finished third.
Payton Ruder led the Indians with a nine-over par 80, three shots back of Oberlin’s Kelly Brown. Justin McCullick shot an 81 and finished third for Hays High. Trae McCrae shot an 82 and finished sixth with Peyton Kieffer eighth and Allen Zollinger ninth, both with shooting an 84. Zollinger hit a hole in one on No. 10.
TMP-Marian’s Hayden Rohr finished fifth with an 82.
The Kansas Supreme Court has agreed to review an appeals court decision finding that the Kansas Constitution creates “a fundamental right to abortion.”
The decision by the high court was expected after the Kansas Court of Appeals, in an evenly divided vote, upheld a trial judge’s decision to block a Kansas law banning the second-trimester abortion method known as “dilation and evacuation.”
Seven appeals court judges in January voted to affirm the finding that the law was unconstitutional and seven voted to reverse. When an appeals court is equally divided, the trial court’s ruling is upheld. The state then asked for expedited review of the appeals court decision.
The ruling was a major victory for abortion rights advocates, who argued that the Kansas ban increases the complexity and risk of second-trimester abortions. The case marked the first time a Kansas appeals court had found a right to abortion in the Kansas Constitution.
In its request for review, the state said that the evenly divided decision demonstrated “the compelling need for resolution” by the Kansas Supreme Court.
The law, which was passed in 2015, was challenged by two Overland Park physicians, Herbert Hodes and his daughter, Traci Nauser, who operate one of three abortion clinics in Kansas.
Kansas is one of two states that ban the D&E procedure, by far the most common second-trimester abortion procedure. Oklahoma passed a similar law shortly after Gov. Sam Brownback signed the Kansas ban into law in April 2015.
The state argues federal case law allows it “to voice its profound respect for life and human dignity” by regulating or even limiting some abortion methods “that society finds inhumane and objectionable when safe alternatives exist.”
Opponents of the law say that it intrudes on the doctor-patient relationship and that the alternatives to D&E are invasive and medically unnecessary.
“I think the decision to review the case at this point is a recognition by the court that this challenge raises a really fundamental question, which is whether or not the Kansas Constitution protects the right to abortion and, if it does, what level of protection will women be able to get under the Constitution,” said Janet Crepps, a lawyer with the Center for Reproductive Rights, which represented Hodes and Nauser.
The Kansas Supreme Court is not expected to issue its ruling until late this year or early next year.
Dan Margolies, editor of the Heartland Health Monitor team, is based at KCUR. You can reach him on Twitter @DanMargolies.
PARKVILLE, Mo. – Fort Hays State women’s golf claimed the team title at the Virginia McCoy Intercollegiate Tournament held Monday and Tuesday, hosted by Park University. The Tigers won the tournament by 29 strokes, thanks to three top-five finishers in Hannah Karasiuk, Hannah Perkins and Hadley Tharp. The tournament was held at The Deuce at the National Golf Club.
Karasiuk had the top round for FHSU on day one with an 85 and backed that up with an 84 to finish alone in second place individually. She was six shots off the winning total of 163 by Iowa Central’s Julie Laisney.
Perkins rallied on day two, shooting eight strokes better than her first day total. She carded rounds of 89 and 81 to finish alone in third. Tharp was alone in fourth with rounds of 87 and 84, just a stroke back of Perkins. With rounds of 95 and 87, Quillen Eichhorn rounded out the scorers for FHSU finishing 14th individually. Alexis Schaben also played for FHSU and carded rounds of 110 and 98 to finish 33rd.
At a total of 692, Fort Hays State defeated host school Park University by 29 strokes. Park shot 721, while third-place finisher Rockhurst University shot 731.
Tiger men 16th at SBU Invitational
Photo courtesy FHSU Athletics
BOLIVAR, Mo. – Fort Hays State men’s golf finished 16th at the Southwest Baptist Invitational, held on Monday and Tuesday at Silo Ridge Country Club. Southwestern Oklahoma State won the tournament as a team, but Central Oklahoma was the top MIAA team in second place overall.
Lane Pauls led the Tigers with rounds of 76 and 80 on the par-72 layout. He tied for 40th. Seve Sites finished 63rd with rounds of 83 and 78. Koby Beougher tied for 67th with rounds of 82 and 81. Kade Megaffin finished 84th with two rounds of 88. Cash Hobson was 85th with two rounds of 89.
Fort Hays State shot 656 as a team. Southwestern Oklahoma State won with a 588, while Central Oklahoma was second at 600. It was the third designated MIAA event of the season, so Central Oklahoma won the MIAA portion of the tournament. Washburn was one off the pace of Central Oklahoma at 601.
GARDEN CITY, Kan. – The TMP-Marian girls soccer team played to a scoreless draw with Garden City Tuesday. The Monarchs had three shots on goal while the Buffaloes had one.
Deonna Wellbrock was in goal for TMP-Marian who is now 4-1-1 on the season.
RENO COUNTY –Fire crews in Reno County were called to contain a controlled burn in the 5200 Block of East 6th that was out of control on Tuesday, according to a media release.
The controlled burn of approximately 10 acres started just before 10 a.m. on Tuesday.
Fire crews were called to help put the fire out just after 3:30 p.m. when it appeared the fire would spread to Sand Hills State Park.
Hutchinson Fire Department initially responded 4 units. The first arriving crews made the initial report, the fire had jumped 56th Avenue.
A total of 12 units, to include staff vehicles, and a Tender from Buhler Fire were added to the call.
Fire crews were able to contain the fire that jumped the road then began extinguishment of the perimeter of the remaining fire.
Several large trees in the area had been overcome by the fire front and, with the assistance of a local arborists, were cut down to prevent any further spot fires.
Crews spent approximately 5 hours on scene, with no injuries reported.
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — Police say that graffiti that was spray-painted on the side of a Wichita mosque is gang-related and does not appear to be aimed at Muslims.
The Wichita Eagle reports that Lt. Jeff Gilmore said Tuesday that he was confident that whoever vandalized the building “had no idea” it was a mosque, but found the south side of the building and a board fence to be a “large canvas” for gang-related symbols that included stars and pitchforks. Damage was estimated at $500.
The mosque, owned by the Islamic Association of Mid-Kansas, was the site of an arson fire in November 2011, causing $150,000 in damages. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives offered a $5,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of those responsible for the arson.
On Friday, Celebration Community Church presents “Grace Unplugged,” the story of a talented young singer/songwriter’s Christian faith and family ties that are tested when she defies her worship-pastor father and pursues pop-music stardom.
“Grace Unplugged” is a moving and inspiring new film that explores the true meaning of success. The movie is being featured as a part of 98.5 The TRUTH’s Free Family Fun Flix offered monthly at Celebration Community Church.
Showtime is 7:05 p.m. and admission, popcorn and pop are free.
OVERLAND PARK, Kan. (AP) — Three people fatally shot by a white supremacist at two Jewish sites in suburban Kansas City are being remembered with a memorial at one of the shooting sites.
Family and friends gathered Tuesday for a private dedication of the memorial at the Jewish Community Center in Overland Park, Kansas.
That’s where 69-year-old William Corporon and his 14-year-old grandson, Reat Underwood, were killed in the April 2014 attack. Fifty-three-year-old Terri LaManno was the killed at the nearby Village Shalom retirement home.
The sculpture is attached to an outside wall and features three waves of intertwined steel strands that cast different reflections as the sun moves. It also includes a plaque with pictures of the three victims.
Frazier Glenn Miller Jr., of Aurora, Missouri, was sentenced to death in the shootings.
Gov. Brownback and a Christ the King Early Education Center student plant pinwheels in Topeka.
KDCF
TOPEKA–Governor Sam Brownback and Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt recently spoke to students, parents and staff at Christ the King school, Topeka, about issues of child abuse in the state.
Children planted pinwheels in a flower bed at the school to commemorate Child Abuse Prevention Month, which the Governor made official with a proclamation signed at the gathering.
“Children are precious, and it’s up to all of us to make sure they are safe, happy and protected,” said Governor Brownback. “Child abuse is preventable, and there is no excuse that justifies turning away from the problem.”
The school, the Kansas Department for Children and Families (DCF) and the Kansas Children’s Service League (KCSL) teamed up to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the federal Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act and to encourage everyone to do their part to prevent abuse of Kansas children.
In Kansas, DCF received 65,631 reports of child abuse and/or neglect in FY 2015, an increase of about 480 over the previous fiscal year. The agency encourages Kansans to be alert for signs of child abuse and to call the Kansas Protection Report Center (1-800-922-5330) if they believe abuse is occurring.
“No child should have to live in fear,” DCF Secretary Phyllis Gilmore said. “Each of us has the responsibility of reporting suspected abuse or neglect.”
St. Francis Independent Living Program Manager Kellie Henderson also addressed the audience about her personal experiences of abuse. Henderson has been featured in various national forums to call attention to the impact of abuse and how individuals can overcome their experience.
“Neighbors, teachers, coaches, friends, we all need to be on the lookout for signs that point to abuse,” Henderson said. “Don’t be afraid of getting involved. Raising awareness of what to look for is part of the battle, but people need to speak up when they suspect abuse is occurring.”
The Pinwheels for Prevention campaign is an effort to change the way our nation thinks about prevention and how we can deliver on our commitment to Kansas children. The pinwheel serves as an uplifting reminder of childhood and the bright futures all children deserve.
“We are continually looking for ways to protect children from abuse,” Attorney General Schmidt told the gathering. “We can connect families to needed resources to prevent a crisis situation. And we are also working to educate families on the very serious consequences of committing abuse.”
Of the reports received by DCF in FY 2015, 56 percent were assigned for further investigation. In FY2015, 3,799 Kansas children were removed from their homes because of abuse and/or neglect, down from 3,805 the year before. Currently, there are 6,636 children in foster care (as of February 2016). Nearly 57 percent of them will likely be reunified with their families.
You can report child abuse/neglect 24/7 by calling the Kansas Protection Report Center at 1-800-922-5330.
Working alongside another co-op volunteer, Ed Wiltse (left), Lane Scott general manager, spends a day doing community service in New Orleans. Rebuilding Together New Orleans organized the event.
Sunflower Electric
Living the seventh cooperative principle, Ed Wiltse, general manager of Lane-Scott Electric Cooperative, Inc. in Dighton, participated in the eighth annual Kansas Electric Cooperatives-sponsored community service project in New Orleans, La., on Feb. 13.
Lane-Scott Electric Cooperative is one of Hays-based Sunflower Electric’s six member owners.
Wiltse, along with 100 volunteers from 40 co-ops, repaired five homes belonging to elderly and disabled homeowners.
“It’s important to help your local community, but it’s important to help nationally, too,” Wiltse said. “I’ve always believed that people should try to volunteer for community efforts if they are able.”
The community service project coincided with the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association’s annual meeting.
TOPEKA – A Kansas woman died from injuries in a weekend accident.
Police reported just before 3 a.m. on Saturday, first responders were dispatched to the 100 Block of Southeast 46th Court in Topeka, according to a media release.
Neighbors had heard a vehicle traveling at a high rate of speed and a crash. Officers were unable to locate a crash scene.
Just before 4 a.m., officers responded to the area a second after reports of an injured man banging on a door. First responders finally located a crash scene in thick brush.
David A. James, 37, and Melissa C. Kendall, 43, both of Topeka were transported to a local hospital where she died.
No additional details are being released. The accident remains under investigation.
On Friday, Celebration Community Church presents “Grace Unplugged,” the story of a talented young singer/songwriter’s Christian faith and family ties that are tested when she defies her worship-pastor father and pursues pop-music stardom. 
