2016 – Page 747 – Hays Post Archive

Area runners invited to inaugural Sunflower Race Series

Posted on March 30, 2016

The Sunflower Race Series was created to give local and area runners the chance to compete in a season long series of races that will culminate in Prizes & Cash to the top runners in Overall events as well as Age Group divisions.

The Sunflower Race Series will feature local and area races ranging from 1 Mile to 10 Kilometers. Runners can compete in as many of the events as they wish over the course of the summer and fall. Runners can accumulate points towards a Series Championship total. Runners can compete for overall titles as well age group awards and cash. Age-group results will be tabulated after each race, and the cumulative results from all of the races at the end of the series season will determine the final standings for Overall Titles and Age-Group Titles.

The Sunflower Race Series kicks off in Russell on Saturday April 16th with the Midwest Running Fest. There are races in Quinter, Ellis, Hays, Victoria and Gorham.

The series culminates with the Hays Recreation Commission Turkey Trot on November 5th. There will be a Series Awards Ceremony to be held after the Turkey Trot and award winners will be announced and prizes and cash will be awarded.

The event was created by Dave Quillin of the Hays Recreation and Jason McCullough of Fort Hays State University with the intent to get runners to compete in some of the areas’ best road races and to grow the sport of running within those communities.

For more information about the Sunflower Race Series contact Dave Quillin at 785-623-2658 or [email protected] or Jason McCullough at 785-259-5349 or [email protected].

Mission from God sends man to Hays with cross to bear

Posted on March 30, 2016

Video from Joe Shortino’s youtube channel

By JAMES BELL
Hays Post

“For we walk by faith, not by sight.” 2 Corinthians 5:7

That Bible quote adorns the business card of Joe Shortino, a man who recently traveled to Hays from Cheyenne Wyo., bringing with him something that has caught the eye of many locals as he winds through the streets of the city – a 12-foot, 150-pound cross with attached American and POW flags and a ram’s horn.

While in Hays, he is working to fulfill his mission by walking the streets, talking to locals and, most importantly, praying with anyone who asks.

That mission, he says, was given to him by God himself.

Relying solely on the generosity of others while criss-crossing the United States, Shortino has been walking since Feb. 13, 2013, traveling through 14 states so far.

“I walk with no money. I’ve never slept a day on the street. I’ve never gone hungry,” he said.

But as strange as his mission may seem, he claims it came directly from a higher power.

“The Lord told me in an audible voice, he said, ‘I’m gonna build a cross and you’re gonna carry it,’ and I looked around and nobody was there. So I prayed to make sure I wasn’t kookoo for Cocoa Puffs,” he said.

After hearing the message, he said he immediately gave up a six-figure income working in the North Dakota oil fields and began his trek.

“I’m not out here to push my faith,” Shortino said. “When I walk, I look at the ground and, if people stop me, I’ll talk and pray with them.”

Originally, Shortino carried the cross without the flags, but after picking up the American flag in Texas during a Fourth of July event, it became permanent.

“The next day, the Lord said not to take it off,” he said.

A year later, he added the POW/MIA flag in support of veterans across the nation.

“We need God to bless this country again and, without our vets, we wouldn’t have the freedom we have,” Shortino said. “I just love the Lord and love my country.”

As for his time in Hays, just like the rest of his travels, he is waiting to hear what comes next – and when.

“I will not leave the town until God says I’m done,” Shortino said. “I go as God leads me.”

While he is in Hays, he said he hopes to help others with their struggles.

“There is a lot of hungry people out here that need a touch,” Shortino said. “I pray with them and encourage them.”

In order to follow Shortino’s travels, he has set up a Facebook page as well as a YouTube channel.

Police: Kansas father, son arrested in Idaho with $44K worth of pot

Posted on March 30, 2016

Boise, Idaho (AP) — Southwest Idaho authorities say a father and son traveling to their home state of Kansas after a brief stay in Oregon have been taken into custody after police found more than 11 pounds of marijuana in their vehicle.

The Elmore County Sheriff’s Office says 65-year-old Richard Grant and 30-year-old Patrick Grant of Shawnee, Kansas, were arrested Monday and face charges of felony drug trafficking.

Richard and Patrick Grant-photos Elmore Co. Sheriff

Police say a deputy pulled over an eastbound vehicle driven by Richard Grant on Interstate 84 and detected an odor of Marijuana.

The deputy deployed a drug dog that alerted to the presence of narcotics. A search found packaged marijuana worth an estimated $44,000 and nearly $5,000 in cash.

The Grants have preliminary hearings scheduled for April 21.

It’s not clear if they have attorneys.

Officials total the losses from Kansas wildfire

Posted on March 30, 2016March 30, 2016

MEDICINE LODGE, Kan. (AP) — Officials say a wildfire that burned hundreds of square miles of rural land in Oklahoma and Kansas this week destroyed at least 41 structures in both states.

Oklahoma Forestry Services spokeswoman Hannah Anderson says authorities in both states determined 16 residential structures and 25 minor structures were destroyed in the blaze.

Officials have yet to determine the cause of the fire, which started last week in Woods County in northwest Oklahoma and spread into Kansas. The fire was mostly contained Wednesday, with crews monitoring for hot spots.

Agricultural officials are estimating the damage. The Oklahoma Forestry Service says about 600 head of cattle died. The Kansas Department of Agriculture says no cattle death estimates are immediately available.
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MEDICINE LODGE, Kan. (AP) — Crews are monitoring a wildfire that is largely contained after it burned hundreds of square miles of sparsely populated land in Kansas and Oklahoma.

The fire started last week in Oklahoma and spread to southern Kansas. The most damage occurred in Kansas’ Barber County, where several homes were destroyed. No serious injuries were reported.

Barber County Attorney Gaten Wood says crews would again watch the fire closely Wednesday because strong winds are in the forecast. The National Weather Service says gusts of up to 25 mph are expected Wednesday morning. The winds are expected to increase to up to 40 mph in the afternoon as dryer air moves into the area.

Oklahoma Forestry Services spokeswoman Hannah Anderson says crews also will continue to patrol and monitor the fire line there.inue to patrol and monitor the fire line there.

Hays, Beloit NCK Tech students volunteer at wildfire relief

Posted on March 30, 2016

Several NCK Tech students spent their Easter weekend as volunteers for relief at the Medicine Lodge fires in Barber County, according to a news release from the college.

“Giving back to our community is taught to our students and practiced throughout the staff on both the Hays and Beloit campuses. Many Kansans have faced unthinkable loss and we know our student volunteers helped in their own way to ease the burden if only for a while,” said Nicole Rainey, NCK Tech Foundation director.

“I want to commend these students for recognizing an opportunity to get involved and for sharing their talents with those in need,” said NCK Tech President Eric Burks.

“I’m continually impressed by the passion and commitment so many of our students demonstrate for helping others and generally making the world a better place. These are exactly the types of citizens we want living in our communities and the types of employees we want working in our businesses,” Burks added.

The students who volunteered , along with one instructor, and the jobs they did are listed below.

Auto Collision Beloit, Firefighter Relief
Cole Hogan–Clay Center
Tyler Jensen–Glen Elder

Nursing Hays, EMT Assistance
Makena Unruh– Coldwater

CDL Beloit, Fence Mending
Trenton Mitchell–Jewell

Heavy Equipment Beloit, Heavy Equipment Assistance
Kyler Schlesener, Instructor–Herington

Agricultural Equipment Technology Beloit
Brandon Westerman–Ellsworth; Hay Delivery
Zach Bohnenblust–Leonardville; Firefighter Relief

Great Bend school bus investigation supports evidence that crimes occurred

Posted on March 30, 2016March 30, 2016

GREAT BEND- Law enforcement authorities in Barton County have completed an investigation of an alleged assault of a student on a Great Bend School activities bus.

During a Wednesday morning news conference, Barton County Sheriff Brian Bellendir said, “The investigation supported evidence that the crimes of aggravated criminal sodomy, battery and criminal restraint occurred.”

The investigation involved a 15-year-old victim and a 17-year-old suspect, according to Bellendir.

Both are Great Bend High School Students. “Because they are juveniles, we will not disclose any names,” he said.

Investigators determined the crime occurred on Northeast 30 Road in Barton County between 8:30 and 8:50p.m. on February 3.

The case was given to the Barton County Attorney on Monday to determine if charges will be filed.

“The County Attorney may require additional investigation,” said Bellendir.

On February 20, a 15-year-old boy came to Salina with a parent to report the sexual assault that allegedly took place on a school bus after it left Salina on February 3, following a swim meet at Salina South High School, according to Sheriff’s Captain Roger Soldan.

Salina officials determined the incident took place in Barton County.

This incident occurred before a freshman swimmer reported being assaulted by upperclassmen on the swim team on February 6, while coming back from a meet in Manhattan.

That assault is alleged to have occurred in Ellsworth County.

The Ellsworth County Attorney has not made a decision in that case.

‘Express Love Over Violence’ is upcoming art exhibit partnering with Jana’s Campaign

Posted on March 30, 2016March 30, 2016

By BECKY KISER
Hays Post

A Fort Hays State University Leadership 310 team called “Express Love Over Violence” is collaborating with Hays-based “Jana’s Campaign” in an exhibit that will be featured during next month’s Hays Arts Council Spring Art Walk.

Team members Jessie Carmichael, Matthew Eikelberger, Adara Erickson, Noël Servais Leach, Taylor Hanus and Rebecca Stegman are currently doing their Fieldwork in Leadership with Dr. Christie Brungardt.

Twenty-five year old Jana Mackey, Brungardt’s daughter, was killed by her ex-boyfriend in Lawrence in 2008. Jana’s Campaign, now a national effort, was created by Christie and Dr. Curt Brungardt, Jana’s stepfather, as an education and violence prevention organization with the single mission of reducing gender and relationship violence.

The Express Love Over Violence art event will be in the Hays Community Theater, 116 E. 11th Street, on Friday, April 29 from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m.

“Our mission is to align with the goals of Jana’s Campaign, working to raise awareness and educate our community on the topic of dating and relationship violence,” said Stegman in a news release.

She talked about the incidence of such violence in the United States, with statistics compiled by Jana’s Campaign and the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence (NACDV).

“Domestic and relationship violence is a major issue in the United States. Statistics show that 70 percent of all women, and 30 percent of all men will experience violence in their lifetime (janascampaign.org). In the U.S., an average of 20 people are physically abused by intimate partners every minute (ncadv.org). These acts of violence not only impact the victims, but also their employers, families, and sometimes pets.

The group is soliciting artwork from area high schools and other FHSU students that will be featured in their exhibit.

“As of now, we have four high schools participating: Hays, Ellis, Palco and LaCrosse. There were no limits put on the students; all we asked is that they reflect what they think domestic violence is to them through their art work–anything from paintings, drawings, poems, creative writing, and forensics, to music.

“Before the students started on their art pieces, the teachers were given the option to either have Dr. Brungardt come and speak with the class to tell them what domestic violence is or watch a video that we sent them about domestic and relationship violence.

“We are excited to see how they express themselves through their artwork,” Stegman said.

“We will also have some Namibian art work that was donated to Jana’s Campaign at the exhibit. You can see a sneak peek on our Facebook page “Express Love Over Violence.”

The Leadership team is also sponsoring “Purple Friday” on April 29.

“We ask the students at Fort Hays State University and the people of the community to wear purple to show support and raise awareness of domestic and relationship violence,” Stegman added.

Previewing the HAC art walk exhibit is an on-campus event tomorrow, Thu., March 31,

“We are having an ‘Expression Booth’ in the Memorial Union for students or anyone interested to come channel their inner artist, and make their mark against dating/relationship violence.”

Stegman encouraged people to “join our campaign by expressing love over violence on our expression banner. We’ll provide the paints, pencils, and pastels. You bring the passion.”

Historic opera house in Wilson ‘rises from the ashes’

Posted on March 30, 2016

WILSON — After being destroyed by fire in 2009, the historic Czech Opera House is experiencing a rebirth with support from the community.

More than $100,000 already has been raised to renovate and rebuild the opera house — but more is needed.

Click HERE for the complete story from the Wichita Eagle.

Hays Wrestling Club places nine at state tournament

Posted on March 30, 2016

Blayze Standley wins the 12U 130 pound weight class (Photo courtesy Hays Wrestling Club)

TOPEKA, Kan. – The Hays Wrestling Club had nine of the 21 wrestlers who qualified for the Kansas Folkstyle Wrestling Championships place this past weekend at the Kansas Expocentre.

The club placed in the top 25 out of the 164 teams.

Below is a list of the HWC state placers…

8 & Under 73 – Dalton Meyers – State runner up
10 & Under 120 – Kendall Walker 6th place
12 & Under 120 – Gavin Meyers – 4th place
12 & Under 130 – Blayze Standley – State Champion
12 & Under 140 – Dalton Dale – State runner up
12 & Under 165 – Colter Conger – 6th place
14 & under 80 – Jordan Zimmerman – 6th place
14 & under 120 – Creighton Newell – 5th place
14 & under 150 – Kreighton Meyers – 6th place

Community foundation announces $6M gift from Kansas couple

Posted on March 30, 2016

Courtesy photo -Dorothy and Lincoln Diehl

MANHATTAN, Kan. (AP) — A Manhattan Foundation is receiving a $6 million donation from a couple’s estate.

The Manhattan Mercury reports that the gift from the estate of Dorothy and Lincoln Diehl is the first installment in what could add up to more than $11 million for the Greater Manhattan Community Foundation.

A news release says the Diehls established two funds with the foundation. One supports Kansas State University’s Beach Museum of Art and another is a donor-advised fund to support community charitable causes focusing on the arts, youth and basic human needs. The estate gift will be added to the donor-advised fund.

The Diehls moved to Manhattan in 1979 to work at Kansas State after spending several years teaching abroad in a variety of countries including Turkey, Egypt, Iran and Ethiopia.

Bill will limit child abuse investigations by Kansas Attorney General

Posted on March 30, 2016

BY MEGAN HART

Photo by KHI News Service Attorney General Derek Schmidt told the Senate Judiciary Committee in February that his office’s Abuse, Neglect and Exploitation Unit needs a reduced scope so it can better investigate reports of abuse and neglect of vulnerable Kansas adults.

The Kansas House on has passed a bill narrowing the scope of abuse claims the Attorney General’s Office investigates, with some revisions by a committee.

Senate Bill 408 would move responsibility for investigating some cases involving children away from the Attorney General’s Abuse, Neglect and Exploitation Unit.

Attorney General Derek Schmidt testified during a February hearing in favor of the bill, which he said would allow the unit to focus on abuse cases involving seniors and adults with disabilities.

The bill passed 103-19 in the House. The Senate approved a slightly different version of the bill 40-0 in February. It now is in a judiciary conference committee.

The bill originally directed the Department of Corrections to investigate complaints about abuse and neglect in the juvenile justice system. The House Judiciary Committee added that the Attorney General’s Office also could investigate in those cases.

The committee left in place a provision moving responsibility for investigating abuse or neglect of children in facilities owned by the Kansas Department for Aging and Disability Services to local law enforcement.

Rep. Blaine Finch, an Ottawa Republican, said the changes would allow the Attorney General’s Office discretion to take part in investigations or leave them up to the Department of Corrections and local law enforcement.

Rep. John Carmichael, a Wichita Democrat, said during debate Tuesday that he thought the bill weakened protections for children. “I can’t imagine there’s a right way to vote on this bill,” he said.

“A vote ‘yes,’ I believe, endangers children. A vote ‘no’ endangers the disabled.” Finch said the change would allow the Attorney General’s Office to use limited resources effectively, because other agencies can investigate alleged abuse. In addition, most allegations by youths in state custody in recent years were unfounded, he said. “Often they’re complaints about food quality or personality conflicts,” he said.

Clint Blaes, spokesman for the Attorney General’s Office, said Wednesday after the House vote that the office still supports the bill but declined to comment on specific provisions.

The committee also added licensed behavioral analysts and licensed assistant behavioral analysts to the list of professional required to report if they suspect a child is being abused.

Other bills that passed the House include:

Senate Bill 449, which would standardize the state’s licensing of behavioral health professions and prohibit outsourcing of building or operations at the state’s psychiatric hospitals, on a 97-26 vote. It is on a list of bills in a health conference committee.
Senate Bill 407, which would reinstate some language related to the state’s program to civilly commit sexually violent predators after a 2015 law accidentally struck it, on a 123-0 vote.

Megan Hart is a reporter for KHI News Service in Topeka, a partner in the Heartland Health Monitor team. You can reach her on Twitter @meganhartMC

Discount universities: Rock-bottom courses

Posted on March 30, 2016

John Richard Schrock is a professor at Emporia State University.

The continued drive for “seamless articulation” threatens advanced course work in Kansas.

Over a decade ago, a community college teacher requested that his entomology course be accepted as equivalent to a 4-year university entomology course. His training as an entomologist capable of teaching college entomology was solid. But the course had no prerequisite courses. A student fresh out of high school could take it their freshman year. The university entomology course required introductory biology with lab, and then zoology with lab, and then ecology with field ecology. It was taken by seniors and graduate students preparing for careers in wildlife biology, medicine, or veterinary science.

Prerequisites matter. The solid university entomology course built on top of those required courses. But the freshman students lacked that important sequence of 12 credit hours of course work. To learn entomology at that upperclass level, the community college students would need an additional three semesters of prerequisite biology they did not have. The advanced course also relied on biological field experiences, maturity and skills the beginning students lack.

The Kansas university did not approve the course as equivalent back then. But today, they would be forced to accept it.

The Board of Regents Transfer and Articulation Council (TAAC), formed in 2011, is in charge of increasing college course articulation in Kansas. Some call it “consensus building.” I consider it “coercion.” And TAAC is expanding their efforts beyond the narrow collection of general education courses to the much wider array of freshman and sophomore courses.

The important differences I describe above cannot be used to separate the beginning and advanced courses because TAAC does not recognize prerequisites. TAAC is also oblivious to a second important difference: the mode of delivery. There may not be a significant difference between a teacher writing on a blackboard or writing on a “smart screen.” But there is a major difference between students performing genuine, supervised, hands-on wet labwork versus viewing computer simulations.

These conflicts have been ongoing in the biology section of the annual Core Competency meetings held each fall by TAAC to force faculty from each Kansas public university, community college and tech college to homogenize, transfer and accept courses based on uniform “core outcomes” for various freshman and sophomore courses.

This debate came to a head over microbiology lab courses. While some community college microbiology courses are rigorous, some are not. The “baby” microbiology course that may train a nursing assistant in a two-year associate degree program is only a little more rigorous than some high school microbiology courses. Meanwhile, universities preparing students in pre-med or pre-pharmacy programs put far more rigor into their microbiology courses. Biology faculty adopted the professional standards of the American Society of Microbiology that specified prerequisite courses and genuine laboratory work.

TAAC doesn’t recognize those professional requirements. By a 24-to-4 vote several years ago, Kansas school representatives held with the requirement that the labs be real time, wet and supervised—thus ruling out acceptance of the few so-called “online labs” offered in Kansas.

The TAAC representative said they would just keep bringing it back until the faculty approved it.
And the faculty said they would just keep voting it down. As a result, microbiology remains shelved.
TAAC staff warn that seamless articulation is demanded by legislators who want their children to be able to transfer all their course work from Kansas institution to institution.

Faculty question whether any legislator really wants to be the first patient under a surgeon’s knife who was trained on fake labs.

TAAC has had five years to address basic general education courses. Their job is finished. They do not need to water down the rest of the Kansas college curriculum.

KU’s Self named NABC Coach of the Year

Posted on March 30, 2016

Kansas Athletics

HOUSTON – Kansas men’s basketball coach Bill Self was named the 2015-16 NCAA Division I Coach of the Year by the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC), the NABC announced Tuesday.

Selected and voted on by member coaches of the NABC, this is the first time Self has been named the organization’s coach of the year, which began naming the honor in 1959. Self will receive his award at the AT&T NABC Guardians of the Game Awards Show on Sunday, April 3, at the Cullen Theater at Wortham Center in Houston at 6:30 p.m. (CDT).

“All that means is you had a group of kids that cared an awful lot and played to a ridiculously high level all year long” Self said of the honor. “Awards appear to be nice, but for me, a hundred times over, I would give any of that up to have those kids experience getting to play in Houston (at the Final Four).”

This is the third organization to name Self its 2015-16 national coach of the year as USA Today and Bleacher Report did the same earlier this month.

Under Self, No. 1 Kansas (33-5, 15-3) won its 12th-straight, 16th Big 12 and NCAA-leading 59th overall regular season title in 2015-16. Kansas also won the Big 12 Postseason Championship, the 2015 Maui Invitational in 2015-16 and advanced to the NCAA Tournament Elite Eight for the sixth time in his 13 seasons at KU.

Kansas’ 33 wins marked the ninth time in school history the Jayhawks have won 33 or more games, including five seasons under Self. Its 12-straight conference titles rank second all-time in NCAA history trailing only UCLA’s 13-straight from 1967-79 under multiple coaches.

Kansas finished No. 1 in the 2015-16 Associated Press poll and holds that spot in the latestUSA Today Coaches’ poll released March 14. KU was ranked No. 1 five times by AP and four times by the coaches in 2015-16. Kansas has been ranked seventh or higher in every poll this season.

The Jayhawks posted two winning streaks of 13 games or more in 2015-16: 13 from Nov. 23-Jan. 9, and 17 from Jan. 30-March 26. Additionally, Kansas went 12-4 against nationally-ranked teams in 2015-16, including 4-1 versus top-10 teams. The 12 wins against ranked foes are the most in a season in KU history.

Kansas holds the No. 1 RPI and No. 1 toughest schedule (through games of 3/27), while the Big 12 Conference has the No. 1 RPI among all leagues, in 2015-16.

In 13 seasons at Kansas, Self is 385-83 (82.3 percent) for an average of 29.6 wins per year. Overall, Self is 592-188 (76.0 percent) in 23 seasons as a head coach which has included stints at Oral Roberts (1994-97), Tulsa (1998-2000) and Illinois (2001-03) before coming to Kansas in 2004.