JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. – Freshman Logan Herd threw his first complete game and Trevor Hughes drove in four as the Fort Hays State baseball team defeated Lincoln 11-1 in a seven inning run-rule victory Thursday. Herd (2-2) allowed one run on seven hits while walking three and striking out seven. It’s FHSU’s (11-14, 5-9 MIAA) second straight complete game by a starter after D.J. Carr’s complete game Tuesday against Washburn. Lincoln (1-23, 0-14 MIAA) has now lost 16 in a row.
Hughes led the Tigers 14-hit attack, going 3-for-4 with four RBIs. His two-run homer in the fourth put them up 5-0. Connor Ross also homered in the five-run inning. Fort Hays State then blew the game open scoring five in the sixth.
Alex Weiss and Alex King both drove in two runs as the Tigers win their second straight.
The Tigers and Blue Tigers are back at it again on Friday for game two of the series, which is scheduled to take place at 3 pm.
WICHITA – Girl Scouts of Kansas Heartland would like to thank Cookie Sale customers for helping Kansas Girl Scouts reach a milestone of 100,000 “Cookie Shares” benefiting soldiers and charities since the local Cookie Share Program started in 2010.
With at least 17,025 Cookie Shares sold this year by Girl Scouts across 80 Kansas counties, Girl Scouts of Kansas Heartland has now marked 111,525 Cookie Shares sold since 2010. Customers who purchased a Cookie Share during the 2016 Cookie Sale, which ended March 20, donated a package of cookies to members of the military and their families, or local charities like the Kansas Food Bank and Catholic Charities. In 2015, Kansas Girl Scouts sold 16,150 Cookie Shares.
Girl Scouts of Kansas Heartland has also surpassed the total number of cookies sold last year. Although 2016 sales are still being tallied, early sales reports show at least 1,495,563 packages of cookies sold in 2016, an increase of 32,993 packages over 2015. This success wouldn’t be possible without the generosity of both cookie customers and the many Kansas businesses that provided cookie booth opportunities.
Proceeds from the annual Girl Scout Cookie Sale – every penny after paying the baker – stay in Kansas to support local Girl Scouts. The Girl Scout Cookie Program funds the new adventures and life-changing opportunities girls get through Girl Scouting, from travel opportunities to summer camp. Girl Scouts and their troops also invest money from their own cookie sales right back into the community through service projects across the state. To learn more about Girl Scouting, go to kansasgirlscouts.org.
Girl Scouts of Kansas Heartland serves more than 15,000 girls and adults in 80 Kansas counties through its operational headquarters in Wichita, Kan., and regional offices in Salina, Hays, Emporia and Garden City.
GREAT BEND-Barton County Sheriff Brian Bellendir says the investigation into an alleged assault on a USD 428 activities bus is still not complete, but anticipates it will be done sometime next week.
In an e-mail on Thursday, Bellendir said that his office is in the final stages of the investigation, and they are currently compiling the report. He hopes to have a press conference on the matter next week.
An investigation by the Ellsworth County Sheriff’s Department concerning an incident that took place on February 6, resulted with four victims of battery, five suspects committing the battery, two victims of criminal restraint, but no suspects of sexual assault. Bellendir was asked if he has had contact with Ellsworth County Sheriff Tracy Ploutz concerning that investigation.
Bellendir has been in contact with Ploutz. “We share information back and forth,” he said. “Most of it is generic. As far as the actual crimes, I have not talked to Sheriff Ploutz about that,” said Bellendir.
The alleged February 3rd assault was initially reported to the Saline County Sheriff, but their investigation showed that the incident was believed
Amazon.com, Inc. announced plans on Thursday to open a state-of-the-art fulfillment center in Edgerton, Kansas. This facility will create approximately 1,000 full-time hourly positions, plus many managerial and support roles to support customer fulfillment, according to a media release from the Department of Commerce.
In Kansas, Amazon currently operates facilities in Lenexa.
“We’re excited to bring 1,000 great full-time jobs with benefits to the Kansas City region and proud to further invest in the state with this new fulfillment center,” said Akash Chauhan, Amazon’s vice president of North American operations. “We are grateful for the enthusiasm of our many state and local partners who have supported Amazon in bringing a new fulfillment center to Kansas. This has been a true team effort.”
Governor Sam Brownback said, “This is good news for Kansas. In addition to creating 1,000 jobs, Amazon is investing in our state, workforce and the community. The quality of the Kansas workforce and our central location in the heart of the nation contributed to their decision to locate in Logistics Park Kansas City.”
Amazon employees at the 800,000-plus square-foot Edgerton fulfillment center will pick, pack and ship large items to customers such as big-screen televisions, sports equipment or kayaks, for example.
Full-time employees at Amazon receive competitive hourly wages and a comprehensive benefits package, including healthcare, 401(k) and company stock awards starting on day one, as well as generous maternity and paternity leave benefits.
Amazon also offers regular full-time employees innovative programs like Career Choice, where it will pre-pay up to 95 percent of tuition for courses related to in-demand fields, regardless of whether the skills are relevant to a career at Amazon. Since the program’s launch, employees are pursuing degrees in game design and visual communications, nursing, IT programming and radiology, to name a few.
“This investment by Amazon is good for our workforce and community,” said Sen. Molly Baumgardner (District 37-R) “I am pleased they chose to locate at the Intermodal facility and we look forward to working with them as a strong community partner.”
“This is a good day for our community and for the entire state, said Rep. William Sutton (District 43-R). “Amazon will find a strong local workforce and supportive business environment. We welcome them.”
“The City of Edgerton is pleased that Amazon has chosen a site at Logistics Park Kansas City,” said Edgerton Mayor Donald Roberts. “Amazon’s innovative new facility and quality job creation supports and validates the City’s continued efforts of creating global routes with local roots. We look forward to having Amazon as a community partner in Edgerton for years to come.”
Greg Martinette, of Southwest Johnson County Economic Development Corp. said, “Our residents along with our central location, squarely in the middle of the country, have given us this opportunity to partner with one of America’s best corporations. Most importantly, Amazon will create good career and job opportunities for our residents.”
This project is a joint effort of the following partner organizations: Kansas Department of Commerce, Kansas Department of Transportation, BNSF, NorthPoint Development, KCP&L, City of Edgerton, Southwest Johnson County Economic Development Corporation.
KANSAS CITY, Kan. (AP) — A Kansas City, Kansas, man has admitted that he fatally shot a man who answered an online sex ad.
The Kansas City Star reports that 24-year-old Ladarrious White pleaded guilty Tuesday in Wyandotte County to intentional second-degree murder.
Prosecutors say White shot 31-year-old Jose Solis-Robles last October after the victim responded to an ad placed by White’s female companion, 25-year-old Kimberly Winn of Kansas City, Kansas.
Winn pleaded no contest Tuesday and was found guilty of aggravated battery and promoting the sale of sexual relations.
Charges of attempted aggravated robbery and a conspiracy count against White and Winn were dropped Tuesday.
Sentencings of White and Winn are scheduled for April 29.
Fort Hays State University recently signed a memorandum of understanding pledging partnership with Daffodil International University, Dhaka, Bangladesh.
Sabur Khan, founder and chair of Daffodil University, recently visited FHSU to meet with FHSU President Mirta M. Martin and to set up partnership programs with the Department of Management and Marketing and the Department of Leadership Studies.
With the new partnership, Daffodil students seeking a Bachelor of Arts in organizational leadership will come to FHSU for their junior and senior years to complete their degrees. Students majoring in business can also come to FHSU for a semester to complete a certificate in entrepreneurship.
Photos by Jason Hartman, Kansas Forest Service. Authorities say 397,420 acres have burned in Kansas and Oklahoma.
KDA
MANHATTAN–A large wildfire that started in Woods County, Okla., and spread to Comanche and Barber counties in Kansas burned an estimated 100,000 acres, hay reserves, fences and other personal property March 22-23. Kansas Governor Sam Brownback declared a State of Disaster Emergency for the affected area. This declaration authorizes state resources to assist communities impacted by the fires. The Kansas Livestock Association (KLA) is working with several organizations to assist with the relief effort.
An immediate need for area ranchers is hay.
The Farmers Cooperative (S. Central Ave.) in Coldwater and Farmers Cooperative Equity Company (1447 NW River Road) in Medicine Lodge have been identified as locations to receive hay donations. Tractors will be available to unload. Questions on delivery logistics can be directed to Sandra Levering at (620) 518-2247 for Coldwater or Chris Boyd at (620) 243-2584 for Medicine Lodge.
The Kansas Livestock Foundation (KLF), the charitable arm of KLA, is accepting cash donations to help those affected by the fire. Donors can make checks payable to the Kansas Livestock Foundation and put “Disaster Relief” in the memo line. Send to 6031 S.W. 37th St., Topeka, KS 66614.
Proceeds from the progressive sale of a heifer donated by KLA President Elect David Clawson and Clawson Ranch Partnership will be sent to KLF as part of the relief effort for wildfire victims. The heifer will be re-sold several times March 31 at Pratt Livestock to generate funds.
In addition, the Kansas Department of Agriculture wants to remind Kansans that counties designated under drought status, including those currently impacted by the wildfire, are exempt from oversize/overweight permits.
That means oversize permits are not required for motor carriers transporting hay into counties impacted by the wildfire. However, motor carriers must adhere to the following: Motor carriers shall not operate during the period beginning 30 minutes after sunset and ending 30 minutes before sunrise, shall comply with the flags, signs and lighting requirements applicable to over width vehicles; not operate under conditions where visibility is less than 1⁄2 mile or when highway surfaces have ice or snow pack or drifting snow.
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — The Latest on the Kansas Legislature’s debate on school funding (all times local):
4:50 p.m.
The top Democrat in the Kansas House has lost his temper during the chamber’s debate on a school funding plan, yelling and pointing at a Republican member who suggested Democrats never offered proposals of their own.
House Minority Leader Tom Burroughs of Kansas City’s unusually intense outburst came as he was responding Thursday to comments from Republican Rep. John Whitmer of Wichita. Burroughs angrily accused Republicans of not supporting schools and said Democrats supported education and schools.
Burroughs pointed in Whitmer’s direction and denounced the Republican as an “ideologist” and “politician.” Republican leaders immediately sprung to their feet to calm Burroughs down as fellow GOP members shouted, “Whoa!” and “No!”
They interrupted Burroughs. He apologized for his breach of decorum but insisted, “I will stand for children.”
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4:15 p.m.
Kansas legislators have sent Gov. Sam Brownback an education funding plan designed to meet a state Supreme Court order to help poor districts and prevent the justices from shutting down public schools in July.
The House approved the bill Thursday on a 93-31 vote. The Senate approved the bill hours earlier on a 32-5 vote.
The bill redistributes $83 million of the state’s $4 billion-plus in annual aid to its 286 school districts. Total spending on schools would not increase, but no district would lose any of the aid it was promised for the next school year.
The court ruled last month that poor districts weren’t getting their fair share of the aid. The justices gave lawmakers until June 30 to fix the problems or face having schools shut down.
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3:05 p.m.
The Kansas House is debating whether a Republican education funding plan will satisfy the state Supreme Court enough to avoid having the justices shut down the state’s public schools in July.
The bill under consideration Thursday would redistribute $83 million of the state’s $4 billion-plus in annual aid to its 286 school districts. Republicans argue that it complies with a Supreme Court order last month to boost aid to poor districts.
The court gave lawmakers until June 30 to respond or face having schools shut down.
Appropriations Committee Chairman Ron Ryckman Jr. says the measure will keep schools open. The Olathe Republican helped draft it.
Democrats say the plan won’t fly with the court. Democratic Rep. Jim Ward of Wichita says GOP lawmakers are “playing Russian Roulette with our schools.”
South Central Kansas Wildfire -Photo U.S. Forrest Service
KIOWA, Kan. (AP) — The Latest on a wildfire in Kansas and Oklahoma (all times local):
2 p.m.
Grass fires burning several counties northeast of a massive two-state blaze have forced evacuations and destroyed a home.
The Harvey County sheriff’s office said in a news release Thursday that dozens of firefighters are battling two blazes northwest of the town of Burrton. One home was lost Wednesday night, but the owner wasn’t home.
The sheriff’s office says multiple outbuildings have burned and livestock also have been killed.
The office says two firefighters were treated and released Wednesday evening for eye irritation from blowing ash and smoke. No other injuries have been reported.
The National Weather Service says wind gusts of up to 50 mph were reported early Thursday in nearby Wichita. Winds had died down to 30 mph around daybreak and were expected to continue losing strength.
10:20 a.m.
Another grass fire has started burning in Kansas, several counties northeast of a massive two-state blaze.
The Harvey County sheriff’s office says on Facebook that multiple homes have been evacuated as crews fight the blaze. A shelter for displaced residents has been established at a high school.
The post says several small structures have been damaged but that no injuries have been reported.
A sheriff’s department official wasn’t able to immediately comment on the size of the Harvey County fire.
The National Weather Service says wind gusts of up to 50 mph were reported early Thursday in nearby Wichita. Winds had died down to 30 mph around daybreak and were expected to continue losing strength.
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8:50 a.m.
Authorities estimate that a wildfire has burned 625 square miles in Oklahoma and Kansas.
Preliminary estimates from the Oklahoma Forestry Services say about 220 square miles have burned in Oklahoma and 405 square miles in Kansas. The worst damage in Kansas is in Barber and Comanche counties, where the fire continues to burn Thursday.
Forestry Services spokeswoman Michelle Finch-Walker says crews are surveying the wildfire by aircraft Thursday morning and more concrete numbers will be available once that’s complete.
An emergency management official said earlier Thursday that the fire had burned more than 300 square miles in southern Kansas.
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8:35 a.m.
Fourteen patients have been evacuated from a small hospital in rural southern Kansas because of a wildfire.
Medicine Lodge Memorial Hospital sent 12 patients to a nursing home Wednesday night and the other two to a nearby hospital. Authorities say the blaze went around the Barber County town of about 2,000 residents, and plans are being made to return the patients to the facility Thursday.
Hospital CEO Kevin White describes the evacuation as precautionary.
He says the smoke was so thick that it “completely obliterated the sun” at 5 p.m. Wednesday, an hour before the patients left.
The hospital kept its emergency room open and treated one firefighter and one member of the public for smoke inhalation. He described what was happening as “pretty scary stuff.”
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8:20 a.m.
A wildfire has reignited in a Kansas county where it was briefly brought under control.
Comanche County Emergency Management coordinator John Lehman says crews have been sent back out Thursday morning to resume the firefight. The blaze had been under control Wednesday night.
Lehman says the blaze reignited when winds blew embers onto unburnt land. He says that once embers hit dry grass, “away it goes.” He says crews are fighting a mile-long moving fire line.
The fire has claimed about 37 square miles in the county after starting Tuesday near the Kansas border in Oklahoma, and has burned a further 280 square miles in neighboring Barber County.
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6:45 a.m.
Hundreds of firefighters are battling a 30 to 40 mile line of fire in a rural Barber County in southern Kansas that has already lost 280 square miles of land to the wildfire.
Kansas Incident Management Team spokeswoman Darcy Golliher said Thursday that she doesn’t know how much land has burned in neighboring Comanche County, where the fire is now under control, nor in nearby Oklahoma, where the blaze started Tuesday.
She says the Kansas State Highway Patrol will fly over Thursday afternoon to evaluate the damage.
No one is hurt, but one home has burned.
Strong winds have complicated the firefight. The National Weather Service says 25 mph winds are forecast in the area until noon, when they are expected to drop to 15 mph. Gusts of 45 to 50 mph were reported Wednesday.
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KIOWA, Kan. (AP) — Authorities say a wildfire in south-central Kansas still poses a threat but conditions are improving in the two counties most affected.
Ben Bauman, director of public affairs for the Kansas Department of the Adjutant General, said in a statement early Thursday that the fires in Comanche County were under control. Fires in adjacent Barber County have improved but are still being monitored.
Bauman says the fire went around the town of Medicine Lodge, where authorities had said earlier that up to 1,000 structures were threatened. One home and outbuilding were destroyed on the outskirts of town.
The fire started in an Oklahoma border county Tuesday and moved into Kansas. It has burned nearly 110 square miles. Gov. Sam Brownback has declared a state of disaster emergency for some areas, authorizing state resources to assist.
SALINE COUNTY – Law enforcement authorities in Saline County are investigating a suspect in connection with an alleged battery.
Just before 4 p.m. on Wednesday, police officers were sent to a trailer park at 1200 W. Crawford in Salina for the report of a man hitting a woman with a metal pot.
Randy Shelinbarger, 59, Salina, is accused of hitting a Dortha Pace, 83, after she told Shelinbarger to leave the area, according to Salina Police Captain Mike Sweeney.
She was taken to Salina Regional Health Center by EMS for treatment of cuts to her head.
Shelinbarger was arrested and booked into jail on request charges of aggravated battery and criminal restraint.
Former “Voice of the Tigers” and Hays broadcaster Steve Webster is being honored by the Kansas Association of Broadcasters with the Hod Humiston Award. The award is given annually to a Kansas broadcaster who has made significant contributions to the field of sports broadcasting, and is named for Hod Humiston who was the first television sportscaster in Kansas when he did play-by-play coverage of college games for KTVH (now KWCH TV), Wichita.
Webster is a former sports director at KAYS in Hays and was the play-by-play voice of the Fort Hays State Tigers from 1989-2002. In 2002, he was named the Executive Producer for the Mid-America Sports Network and the play-by-play voice for the Kansas State women, a position he would hold until 2005. In 2005, Webster helped launch Sports Radio 1410 KGSO in Wichita and also served as the play-by-play voice of the Wichita Wranglers in 2006 before the team moved to Arkansas. In 2009, he returned to Eagle Communications where he now serves as News Director and sports reporter for Eagle Radio and Hull Broadcasting in Great Bend.
Webster began his broadcast career in 1984 at KWLS in Pratt when we was named the play-by-play voice of the Pratt High Greenbacks and Pratt Beavers. After four years in Pratt, he moved to Great Bend for two years broadcasting the Great Bend Panthers and Barton Cougars before moving on to Hays.
Webster has earned multiple awards from the Kansas Association of Broadcasters for broadcast excellence in news, sports, and special programming. In 2010, he was inducted into the Fort Hays State University Athletics Hall-of-Fame in the contributor category.
Webster is the fourth broadcaster from KAYS in Hays to receive the Hod Humiston Award joining Bob Davis, Wyatt Thompson and Gerard Wellbrock.
Webster will receive his award during the KAB Sports Seminar in Kansas City April 21.
PREVIOUS RECIPIENTS
1979 Hod Humiston (d. 12/28/87)
1980 Dev Nelson, KKSU AM, Manhattan
1981 Max Falkenstein, Lawrence
1982 Bob Hilgendorf, Manhattan
1983 Bob Pratt, KGGF/KQQF, Coffeyville
1984 Tom Hedrick KU, KLWN/KLZR, Lawrence
1985 Bob Fromme, KC Royals Radio Network, Kansas City
1986 Ed O’Donnell WIBW AM/FM, Topeka
1987 Bill Miller, KLEO/KZSN, Wichita
1988 Tad Felts, KKAN/KQMA, Phillipsburg
1989 Fred Conger, KWBW/KHUT, Hutchinson
1990 Kay Melia, KLOE AM, Goodland
1991 Bob Davis, KMBZ Radio, Westwood
1992 Tony Jewell, KIUL/KWKR, Garden City
1993 Nelson Hartman, KSHSAA (retired)
1994 Ron Paradis, WIBW TV/Radio, Topeka
1995 Mitch Holthus, WIBW Radio, Voice of the K-State Wildcats, Voice of the K.C. Chiefs
1996 Bob Wells, Retired, Harris Co., Garden City now of Lawrence
1997 Dale McCoy, Jr., KKOY Am/FM, Chanute
1998 George Donley, Great Bend (posthumously, d. 1997)
1999 WIBW Radio Sports Department, Topeka
2000 Dewey Terrill, KJCK AM/FM, Junction City
2001 Rich Epp, KLBY TV, Colby
2002 Rocky Downing, KCLY/KFRM, Clay Center
2003 Cliff Shank, KGGG/KSKU/KXKU, Hutchinson
2004 Fred White, Kansas City Royals
2005 Rusty Hilst, KWBW AM, Hutchinson
2006 Gary Bateman, KOFO AM, Ottawa
2007 Bruce Haertl, KWCH TV, Wichita
2008 Randy Goering, KVGB AM-FM, Great Bend
2009 Brock Kappelmann, KSCB AM-FM, Liberal
2010 Mike Manns, KMAJ AM-FM, Topeka
2011 Wyatt Thompson, Voice of the K-State Wildcats, Manhattan
2012 Gerard Wellbrock, KAYS AM, Hays
2013 Eddie Lomshek, KKOW AM, Pittsburg
2014 Mike Kennedy, Voice of the Wichita State Shockers, Wichita
2015 Jenn Bates, KWCH TV, Wichita
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — The Kansas Senate has passed legislation that would require teachers to vote every three years in order to maintain their local union.
The Topeka Capital-Journal reports that the bill passed the chamber with a 22-18 vote after more than two hours of debate Wednesday.
The measure would direct the Kansas Department of Labor to hold elections for teachers to weigh in on whether or not to keep their union every three years. Unions would continue to have negotiating power as long as more than 50 percent of employees who vote in the election are in favor of the union.
The task would entail more than 300 elections at an estimated $340,000 cost. The state might be able to charge professional organizations for the expense.
SUBMITTED
Girl Scouts of Kansas Heartland has also surpassed the total number of cookies sold last year. Although 2016 sales are still being tallied, early sales reports show at least 1,495,563 packages of cookies sold in 2016, an increase of 32,993 packages over 2015. This success wouldn’t be possible without the generosity of both cookie customers and the many Kansas businesses that provided cookie booth opportunities.
FHSU UNIVERSITY RELATIONS AND MARKETING
Former “Voice of the Tigers” and Hays broadcaster Steve Webster is being honored by the Kansas Association of Broadcasters with the Hod Humiston Award. The award is given annually to a Kansas broadcaster who has made significant contributions to the field of sports broadcasting, and is named for Hod Humiston who was the first television sportscaster in Kansas when he did play-by-play coverage of college games for KTVH (now KWCH TV), Wichita.
