OLATHE, Kan. (AP) — A 38-year-old Kansas City, Missouri, man has been charged in connection with a hit-and-run crash that injured a bicyclist in Shawnee, Kansas.
Kevin E. Hall was charged Tuesday with DUI, aggravated battery and leaving the scene of an accident. Johnson County, Kansas, prosecutors say Hall was driving a truck when he struck bicyclist Steve McCrary about 5:20 a.m. Sept. 23. Authorities say Hall and McCrary were both traveling westbound at the time, and that Hall did not stop after the accident.
McCrary was transported to a hospital in critical condition. Hall was arrested soon after the accident.
Hall said during a court appearance Tuesday that he plans to hire an attorney.
Tom Bell of the Kansas Hospital Association making a point at a forum on Medicaid expansion that was held at Johnson County Community College in January. CREDIT MIKE SHERRY / HEARTLAND HEALTH MONITOR
Kansas’ rejection of Medicaid expansion has cost the state more than $1 billion, according to the association that represents the state’s hospitals.
“This 10-figure sum represents a loss of nearly 11 Kansas taxpayer dollars every second since Jan. 1, 2014 — funds that go to the federal government to be spent in other states for Medicaid expansion,” the Kansas Hospital Association, which keeps a running total of the amount on its website, said in a news release issued Monday.
Since the start of 2014, when the main provisions of the Affordable Care Act took effect, 31 states and the District of Columbia have expanded Medicaid eligibility to all adults earning up to 138 percent of the federal poverty level, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation.
The annual income limits in expansion states are $16,242 for an individual and $33,465 for a family of four. In Kansas, only adults with dependent children are eligible for KanCare, the state’s privatized Medicaid program, and then only if their incomes are below 28 percent of the poverty level, which for a family of four is $9,216.
Hospital officials say Medicaid expansion would provide coverage to approximately 150,000 Kansans, many of whom are now uninsured, and generate additional federal dollars for providers hit hard by reductions in Medicare reimbursements triggered by the ACA and a budget-cutting formula that congressional conservatives demanded.
But those arguments have failed to move the needle on the issue. So, this year, hoping to gain some traction, KHA introduced a bill modeled after the so-called “red state” expansion plan crafted by conservative Republican Gov. Mike Pence in Indiana.
The Indiana plan requires beneficiaries to pay up to 2 percent of their incomes in premiums and suspends coverage for those who fail to pay. Some Republicans in the Kansas Legislature who had opposed expansion have said they’re open to considering KHA’s new plan. But Gov. Sam Brownback and Republican legislative leaders remain opposed and appear determined to keep the issue from coming to a vote.
Over the weekend, the state committee of the Kansas Republican Party unanimously passed a resolution opposing expansion. It says that so-called “red state” expansion plans like Indiana’s merely “offer window dressing to disguise the expansion of Obamacare.” Because the federal government won’t allow states to require that Medicaid beneficiaries work, the resolution says even the expansion plans adopted in Republican-controlled states do little to promote “personal responsibility and self-reliance.”
At the halfway point of the legislative session, no hearings have been scheduled on KanCare expansion and two attempts to force floor votes on the KHA proposal have failed.
Jim McLean is executive editor of KHI News Service in Topeka, a partner in the Heartland Health Monitor team.
Norton resident Lena Laughlin passed away Feb. 22, 2016 at the Hays Medical Center in Hays at the age of 78. She was born April 17, 1937 in Tennyson, TX, the daughter of John William & Johnnie Lee (Hegwood) Brown. She was a CNA.
Survivors include her son Terry (Pennie) of Norton; her daughter, Kerry LaJena (Paul) Scharping of Shapleigh, Maine; two sisters, Wanda Holden of Georgetown, TX & Mary Doherty of Sherman, TX; 7 grandchildren, 6 great grandchildren & 3 great great grandchildren.
Funeral services will be held Saturday, Feb. 27 at 1:30 p.m. in the Cornerstone Church, Norton, with Bible Teacher Terry Laughlin officiating. Burial will follow in the Clayton Cemetery, Clayton.
Visitation will be from noon to 9:00 Thursday & 9:00 to 9:00 Friday at the Olliff-Boeve Memorial Chapel, Phillipsburg.
In Lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to Developmental Services of Northwest Kansas.
Online condolences: www.olliffboeve.com.
Olliff-Boeve Memorial Chapel is in charge of arrangements.
A part of the original building design, the sign that has heralded shoppers into “The Mall” since the 1970’s came down last week, in preparation for a new sign to be placed next month.
By JAMES BELL Hays Post
The final portion of phase one of the Big Creek Crossing redevelopment will be completed soon, with the installation of a new sign in front of the shopping center.
With the phase one completion, developers will move to phase, which includes installation of a new facade and landscaping to be completed this summer.
Phase one was new tile throughout the mall, new LED lighting, a repaved parking lot and new LED lighting outside said Josh Vickery, DP Management development investment specialist.
The capstone for phase one is new signage for BCC and its tenants.
The old sign came down last week, with a replacement scheduled to be installed by the end of March.
Originally, the new name for the shopping center was to be accompanied with the new sign, but development delays forced BCC to push the naming ahead of the signage.
The mall unveiled its new name in October.
“We probably jumped ahead on unveiling a name, but wanted to give them something,” said Katie Dorzweiler, BCC property manager. “We’re going through all this rebranding, and we didn’t want to not have a name to brand. So we did that piece hoping that the sign would come down sooner, but it just didn’t.”
She noted the process of getting the new sign involved bidding the project out and working with tenants to finalize the individual parts of the sign.
“There was a ton of behind-the-scenes with the anchor (stores),” Dorzweiler said. “Before we could even send the sign to production, between owner and corporations, they had to nail out the specifics on leasing.”
With the sign going up soon, the focus will now shift to phase two of the overall project.
“We’re working on architecture for the phase 2 for the EIFS (exterior insulation and finishing system), which is the frontage of the mall, which will span from Stage all the way through the end of the building,” Vickery said. “There will be some stone, brick, awnings and the whole front will have a new look to it.”
The property will also get new landscaping with islands placed throughout the parking lot.
New entrances will also be a part of the project.
“They’ll look a lot nicer and up to date,” Vickery said.
BCC also hopes to be able to repave the east parking lot during phase two.
“There wasn’t enough funding in the CID to do the back parking lot. We’re going to be doing that through capital reserves,” Vickery said. “They’re in the process of building that fund.”
While there will not be any noticeable differences at BCC until this summer, the process is well underway to begin the exterior revamp.
“The architect has begun the architectural and structural engineering for the facade of the mall, and we will be bidding that out in 30 days,” Vickery said.
Construction is expected to begin in May or early June with a completion of late summer or early fall.
“That will complete everything that we promised to the city and to future tenants that we are working with now,” Vickery said.
After the redevelopment, BCC is working on bringing in new tenants for the property, but Vickery said that is not a quick process, but the upgrades are helping in discussions.
“In development, tenants typically start looking at different locations probably 18 (months) to two years out,” Vickery said. “Then they prioritize their list on where they want to go. … So definitely the CID and the upgrade of the mall is helping us move up on priority list for some of the tenants that we’re working with.”
Vickery said he expects in the next three to six months the community will see three tenants that were high on the community want list announce their move to the area, but nothing is assured.
“It gets tricky and cumbersome, but we have a lot of momentum with our leasing activity right now. We’re moving in the right direction,” he said. “The mall is getting upgraded. We think Hays is a great place to do business and so do a lot of our tenants that we are talking to,”
LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) — Authorities say a walker and a set of hearing aids have been stolen from a 79-year-old woman attending a men’s basketball game at Allen Fieldhouse.
The Lawrence Journal-World reports that the theft happened during last week’s Oklahoma State game. KU police Capt. James Anguiano says the hearing aids were inside a bag attached to the walker.
The KU Office of Public Safety crime log says the items had been left unattended when they were taken. They haven’t been recovered.
Anguiano says the hearing aids were valued at $6,000 and the walker at $100.
AC/DC has rescheduled its upcoming concert in Kansas City, Missouri, which had been set for next Monday, February 29. The show will now be held the previous day.
A statement from the band explains, “AC/DC’s Brian Johnson recently lost a dear friend and the rescheduling of the show will allow him to attend the funeral in the UK.”
Fans with tickets to the Kansas City show can use them for the rescheduled date. Refunds are available at point of purchase.
AC/DC’s Rock or Bust World Tour continues tonight in Dallas.
Tyler Michael Graff, age 31, went to be with the Lord and his Grandpa Vic on Monday, February 22, 2016 at St. Francis Hospital in Wichita, Kansas.
Tyler was born a fighter, October 17, 1984, in Wichita, Kansas, the son of Gary & Sherry (Silvey) Graff, with a rare birth defect called Omphalocele, spending his first 100 days of his young life in Wesley Hospital in Wichita, Kansas.
Following eleven operations he returned home to the family farm near Marienthal, Kansas. Tyler attended St. Mary Grade School, where he was the Wichita County Spelling Bee Champion, attended St. Mary Religion Class and enjoyed showing his hogs through 4-H. He graduated from Wichita County High School in 2003 and from Colby Community College in 2005 with a degree in Farm Management, returning to the family farm to do what he loved most, helping his dad and grandfather. He loved his Peterbuilt trucks, picking corn, cutting silage and driving the cutter and sprayer. He was always ready for the next harvest.
Tyler didn’t know a stranger and loved to help out in any way he could. He had many friends he considered family, and together they enjoyed racing cars, 4-wheeling and just being together. He had a way with people, stopping to hear or tell a story and to have a laugh. He coached baseball and basketball for Wichita County Parks and Recreation, was an assistant basketball coach for Wichita County High and Junior High Schools, trying to bring out each players individual strengths. Tyler loved the Kansas State Wildcat Football and attended games every fall.
Tyler was a member of St. Mary Catholic Church in Marienthal, Kansas where he was a 3rd & 4th degree Knight of the Knights of Columbus. He was also an active Leoti Volunteer Fireman, Kansas Farm Bureau board member and the Wichita County Amusement Association. He death was unexpected and the loss has left a huge hole in our lives. We will miss his mischievous ways, his zest for life and his gentle soul.
On December 13, 2014 he married Ashley Konda at Spearville, Kansas.
Tyler’s surviving family includes
His wife-
Ashley Graff- Leoti, Kansas
Parents-
Gary & Sherry Graff- Marienthal, Kansas
Two siblings-
Tucker Graff- Manhattan, Kansas
Trinity Graff- Salina, Kansas
Grandparents-
Roberta Graff- Leoti, Kansas
Larry & Carol Silvey- Akron, Colorado
Numerous aunts, uncles, in-laws, cousins and friends.
His grandfather, Victor Graff precedes him in death.
Vigil services will be held at 7:00 pm Friday at St. Mary Catholic Church in Marienthal, Kansas. Funeral mass will be held at 10:30 am Saturday, February 27, 2016 at St. Mary Catholic Church in Marienthal, Kansas with Father Benjamin Martin officiating. Burial will be next to his grandfather in St. Mary Cemetery in Marienthal, Kansas. Memorials may be given to Wichita County Amusement Association, Leoti Volunteer Fire Department or Wichita County Parks and Recreation in care of the funeral home. Friends may call from 10:00 am until 5:00 pm Friday at Price & Sons Funeral Home in Leoti, Kansas.
Left: Dave Stoppel was a scoring leader and rebounder for the Fort Hays State University men’s basketball team in the mid to late 1970s. Right: Jake Stoppel is a three-year starter for this year’s Tigers.
By DIANE GASPER O’BRIEN FHSU University Relations
Much like so many other games the past three years, Jake Stoppel greeted family members and friends following Saturday’s 79-65 Tiger victory at Gross Memorial Coliseum.
But this was different.
This just might have been the last time playing on the GMC floor for the Fort Hays State University senior from Wilson.
If the Tigers finish out of the top four in a clogged MIAA race, they will host a first-round game Tuesday, and Jake and the other seniors will have one more game on their home floor.
But if they have their way, they will earn one of those coveted top-four spots, which will give them a first-round bye and an assured ticket to the quarterfinals of the MIAA league tournament in Kansas City, Mo. Two victories this week on a road trip to Oklahoma would assure the Tigers of a top-four seed for the tourney, set for March 3-6.
That would give FHSU another couple days of rest and a better chance to meet its ultimate goal of finishing high in the MIAA tournament and helping secure a spot in the regional tournament.
“As a senior, you want to go as far as you can,” Jake said.
Photo courtesy Emma Henry
Jake is one of four players averaging in double figures this year, much like another Stoppel who wore the black and gold of FHSU 40 years ago.
Much like his dad, Dave, who played for the Tigers from 1975-78, Jake is a quiet leader.
Just like the same 6-foot, 5-inch Tiger forward of the ’70s, Jake is one of the most consistent players who also ranks as one of the team’s top shooters percentage-wise.
Dave Stoppel led the Tigers in scoring his junior year in 1976-77 and recorded the team’s top field-goal percentage both his sophomore (.569) and senior (.548) seasons.
His youngest son now leads this year’s team with an .852 free-throw percentage and is shooting 80 percent for his career, sixth best in FHSU history.
If Saturday was indeed the final game at GMC for Jake, he went out with a bang. He scored 16 points, including a perfect 4-for-4 effort at the free-throw line, and grabbed five rebounds.
“He’s been very clutch at the foul line; he’s made some critical free throws for us,” FHSU Coach Mark Johnson said. “If there was anyone I’d want up there at the line late in the game, it would be Jake.”
It’s the same type of game Johnson has come to expect from Jake from the first time he brought him to FHSU. Johnson had his eye on Jake when he averaged 27 points and 11 rebounds a game his senior year at Wilson High School in 2011-12.
But with Wilson being a small Class 1A school, Johnson wanted to see how Jake’s game transitioned to the college level, and Jake went off to play nearly four hours away from home at Neosho Community College in Chanute.
Johnson liked what he saw when Jake averaged 16 points and seven rebounds a game his freshman year at Neosho, and it didn’t take Johnson long to make Jake a Tiger.
Thus began Jake’s journey through the FHSU program that saw him start all but six of 76 games thus far while increasing his scoring average each year.
“You never have to worry about Jake’s effort,” Johnson said. “He plays hard and competes and really gets a lot out of his size. He goes up against a lot of guys a lot bigger and taller night in and night out.”
While Dave played at about 205 pounds, Jake is listed at 215, and that little bit of extra weight comes in handy.
“Jake is more athletic than a lot of players his size,” Johnson said. “He moves so well laterally for someone his size.”
Johnson also points to a couple of other attributes as some of Jake’s main keys to success.
“His mindset and his toughness …” Johnson said. “He never gives up.”
Jake has excelled in the classroom as well. An academic honor student, he is set to graduate with a degree in agronomy in December, following a summer internship at a custom application and agronomy service in Lyons.
For now though, he is concentrating on a successful run down the stretch of his final basketball season, which will be witnessed by a former Tiger standout.
Dave Stoppel now farms near Wilson, where he and his wife, Stephanie, raised their three children who all became all-staters in high school. Oldest son Ryan and Jake earned that honor in basketball, while their sister, Kylie — an FHSU nursing student — did the same in volleyball.
Both older siblings played college ball, and now the Stoppel family enjoys following youngest son and brother.
No matter what the outcome on the court the next few weeks, Jake said he will take with him fond memories of his days on the court as a Tiger.
“The camaraderie you get on a team is probably my favorite memory,” he said. “You meet a lot of people on other teams and people who follow you because they like the sport.”
HARVEY COUNTY – Fire crews from Newton, Walton, Halstead, and Hesston responded late Tuesday to a large barn fire near North East 24th and Spencer in Harvey County, according to a social media report from Newton Fire Department.
The barn was fully involved upon arrival and small adjacent grass and brush fires were extinguished while the actual structure fire was simply contained to its area before overhaul and the fire being extinguished.
No injuries were reported and no animals were believed to be in the barn, according to fire officials. Cause of the fire has not been released.
Eagle Communications was proud to help bring the Kansas City Royals World Series trophy to Fort Hays State University on Monday as part of the World Series Trophy Tour, presented by the Missouri Lottery and the Kansas Lottery. Check out scenes from the event below!
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — A 19-year-old man has been charged in a crash that killed two people last summer in south-central Kansas.
The Wichita Eagle reports that Myles Evans was charged Tuesday in Sedgwick County with two counts of involuntary manslaughter.
A criminal complaint alleges that Evans was driving under the influence when he struck 72-year-old Paul LaBrue and 70-year-old David Bell around 11:30 a.m. Aug. 21 in a residential area of Goddard. LaBrue’s dog also was killed.
LaBrue and Bell were about two blocks from their homes when they were hit.
John Rapp, who is representing Evans in the case, said Tuesday that he had no formal comment, “other than to say our sympathies go out to the families of the deceased.”
MANHATTAN, Kan. – The Kansas Department of Agriculture (KDA) will host an Agribusiness Development Workshop on March 10, 2016, at the Thomas County Office Complex, 350 S Range Ave #12, Colby, Kan., from 1:00-5:00 p.m. This workshop will provide Kansas farmers, ranchers and agribusinesses with resources, and current business development and organizational contacts to assist with startups or expansions.
The KDA Division of Agriculture Marketing received a United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Rural Business Development Grant to help fund this workshop.
Established in the 2014 Farm Bill, USDA’s Rural Business Development Grant is a program intended to help with technical assistance, training and other activities to allow small businesses in rural areas to expand.
“Agriculture, food and food processing accounts for 1,062 jobs or 20 percent of the workforce in Thomas County,” said Kansas Secretary of Agriculture Jackie McClaskey. “With more information and education, Kansas’ small and rural agribusinesses will be better prepared to serve as economic engines for rural Kansas, and we encourage farmers, ranchers and agribusinesses in the region to attend this session.”
Featured speakers at the event will include Thomas County Economic Development, Colby Chamber of Commerce, Network Kansas, Kansas Department of Agriculture, Small Business Development Center, Norton County Economic Development, SureFire Ag Systems, USDA and Kansas Department of Wildlife, Parks and Tourism. Representatives from the Kansas Department of Agriculture will be Billy Brown and Robin Blume.
The Kansas Department of Agriculture will also hold an additional workshop on March 24 in Marion.
KDA is committed to providing an environment that enhances and encourages economic growth of the agriculture industry and the Kansas economy. This workshop will provide support and assistance to help make Kansas businesses more successful.
To RSVP, email your name and workshop location to [email protected].
OLATHE, Kan. (AP) — A 38-year-old Kansas City, Missouri, man has been charged in connection with a hit-and-run crash that injured a bicyclist in Shawnee, Kansas.
