Barbara Ann Niernberger, age 89, of Ellis passed away Monday, February 15, 2016 at Russell Regional Medical Center.
Funeral services will be 11 AM, Friday, February 19, 2016 at St. Mary’s Catholic Church in Ellis. Inurnment will follow in the church cemetery.
Arrangements in care of Keithley Funeral Chapel of Ellis.
Martha Mai, age 95 of Wichita (formerly of WaKeeney), passed away February 11, 2016 at Wesley Medical Center, Wichita. She was born June 9, 1920, in Ogallah, to Jacob and Katherine (Kerth) Armbruster.
On July 27, 1941, Martha was united in marriage to Ernest Henry Mai, in WaKeeney. They enjoyed 68 years of marriage together. Ernest passed away June 29, 2010. Martha was a homemaker, who cherished time with her children and grandchildren. She was known for her talent in the kitchen. Her fried chicken and turkey dressing were outstanding, but it was the cinnamon rolls and oatmeal cookies that made you stay.
Martha loved “The Conversation” no matter if you were family, friend or unsuspecting stranger, she made her point with fortitude and endurance. However, she listened with kindness, compassion and great generosity – truly Armbruster.
Martha is survived by two sons, Gene and wife Patty of Sonoma, California, and Lanny and wife Sheila of Wichita; five grandchildren, Jeff Mai and wife Tracy of Melbourne, Australia, Jamie Mai and wife Suzy of Wichita, Valerie Mai of Huntsville, Alabama, Amy and husband Gilbert Alvarez of Wichita, and Chris Mai and wife Linet of Wichita; ten great-grandchildren; and a sister, Loretta Wilson of Mankato. She was preceded in death by her parents; her husband; two brothers, Ernie and Fritz Armbruster; and four sisters, Edna Weber, Carrie Armbruster, Eva Williams and Olle Modean
Funeral service will be 10:30 a.m., Friday, February 19, 2016 at Schmitt Funeral Home, WaKeeney. Burial will be in the WaKeeney City Cemetery.
Visitation will be Thursday, from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m. at the funeral home.
Memorial contributions are suggested to the American Heart Association. Checks made to the association may be sent to Schmitt Funeral Home, 336 North 12th, WaKeeney, KS 67672.
Condolences may be sent to the family at www.schmittfuneral.com.
Angelita Owens, age 98, of Olathe (formerly of Quinter), passed away Monday, February 15, 2016 at Pinnacle Ridge Nursing and Rehabilitation Center, Olathe. She was born September 18, 1917, in Collyer, to Peter J. and Rose (Dreiling) Weigel. Angelita was united in marriage to John David Owens on September 18, 1939. They enjoyed 44 years of marriage before his death on November 29, 1983.
Survivors include three sons, Carroll “Butch” (Carolyn), Tom (Debbie), and Don, all of Park; four daughters, Virginia (Larry) Ruder of Overland Park, Rose Flora of Topeka, Kathy Keller of San Diego, California, and Susie (Jerry) Phlieger of Hays; eighteen grandchildren; twenty-five great-grandchildren; six great-great-grandchildren; brother, Wilmer Weigel of Colorado Springs, Colorado; and sister, Bertina Swoboda of Omaha, Nebraska. She was preceded in death by her parents; her husband; two sons, Daniel “Spud” and Larry; five brothers, Jerry, Levene, Fritz, Otto, and Killian Weigel; and two sisters, Armella Stefan and Helen Keller
Mass of Christian Burial will be 10:30 a.m., Friday, February 19, 2016 at Sacred Heart Catholic Church, Park. Burial will be in the church cemetery.
Visitation will be Thursday, from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. at the funeral home in Quinter. A parish vigil service will follow at 8:00 p.m.
Memorial contributions are suggested to Sacred Heart Church or Long Term Care Ombudsman. Checks to the organization may be sent to Schmitt Funeral Home, 901 South Main, Quinter, KS 67752.
Condolences may be sent to the family at www.schmittfuneral.com.
MCPHERSON, Kan. (AP) — A Kansas man accused in connection with the fatal stabbing of a former Oregon resident has been ordered to stand trial.
The Salina Journal reports that 46-year-old Samuel Darrah was ordered Wednesday to stand trial. He is charged with first-degree murder and criminal possession of a firearm by a convicted felon in the 2014 death of 39-year-old James Croft. It is unclear if Darrah has an attorney.
Authorities say Croft’s body was found in a car in a ditch near Galva, 10 miles east of McPherson. Croft lived in Portland, Oregon, before moving to Kansas.
Thirty-two-year-old Clinton Bascue was sentenced to life in prison after pleading no contest to first-degree murder in the case. Another defendant was charged last year with felony murder in connection to Croft’s death.
Record warmth expected for portions of Kansas. Dangerous fire-prone conditions are expected.
Today Sunny, with a high near 84. Windy, with a south southwest wind 15 to 20 mph increasing to 21 to 26 mph in the afternoon. Winds could gust as high as 36 mph.
Tonight Mostly clear, with a low around 45. Windy, with a south southwest wind 17 to 25 mph becoming west northwest after midnight.
Friday Sunny, with a high near 67. West northwest wind 11 to 16 mph becoming south southwest in the afternoon.
Friday NightMostly clear, with a low around 37. South wind 6 to 10 mph becoming west after midnight.
SaturdaySunny, with a high near 68. West wind 6 to 11 mph becoming north in the afternoon.
Saturday NightMostly clear, with a low around 36.
SundayMostly sunny, with a high near 56.
Sunday NightMostly cloudy, with a low around 30.
MondayPartly sunny, with a high near 52.
WABAUNSEE COUNTY- A Kansas man was injured in an accident just before 8:30p.m. on Wednesday in Wabaunsee County.
The Kansas Highway Patrol reported a 2005 Dodge Ram pickup driven by Collin A. Wood, 22, Manhattan, was westbound on Interstate 70 one mile east of Kansas 99.
The pickup collided with a 2003 Ford Crown Victoria, which was disabled in the right lane due to a previous accident.
The pickup left the roadway and entered the north ditch.
Wood was transported to the hospital in Manhattan. He was properly restrained at the time of the accident, according to the KHP.
FHSU Athletics
GOODWELL, Okla. – Fort Hays State baseball improved to 4-3 on the young season with a 10-4 victory at Oklahoma-Panhandle State. The Aggies dropped to 1-8 overall.
Starting pitcher Logan Herd allowed just one base runner in 4.0 innings of work. Herd retired the first eleven Aggie batters until Joseph Cerda came to bat with two outs in the bottom of the 4th. Cerda recorded a base hit to center, but Herd wasn’t rattled and was able to get the next batter to ground out. Herd picked up the win by coach pre-determination of pitchers used for the game.
Success from the top half of the order was key to the Tigers victory. Batters 1 through 5 in the order scored all but one run for the Tigers and combined to get on base 14 times.
Ty Redington led the game off getting hit by a pitch. Caleb Cherryholmes followed up with a single then two outs later Connor Ross delivered a two-out, two-RBI single putting the Tigers up 2-0 in the first.
After being held scoreless for the next three innings, the Tigers were able to rally in the fifth to push two more runs across. With two outs, Ross drew a walk and Alex Weiss followed that up with a single. Alex King was hit by a pitch in the following at bat that loaded that bases. Trevor Hughes then delivered the two out, two RBI single extending the lead to 4-0. Austin Unrein added an insurance run with an RBI double in the sixth that scored Redington who reached after a dropped third strike.
In the seventh inning, Tiger pitching struggled to find the strike zone. Juan Rubayo led off the inning for the Aggies with a single, and ended up in scoring position after Austin Beckner was hit by a pitch. After a wild pitch, which advanced the runners to second and third, Derek Stallworth delivered a base hit RBI getting the Aggies on the board for the first time.
With runners on the corners, Connor Boyer took to the mound for Fort Hays State. The Aggies executed a squeeze play that worked to perfection and cut the lead to 5-2 with one out. It took four pitchers to get out the Tigers out of inning leading 5-4 as the next five Aggies reached base via walks. Giles Fox stopped the bleeding as he came in to face the tenth batter of the inning got a ground ball force out at second. Fox would go on to pitch a scoreless eighth and ninth to pick up his second save of the season.
The comeback threat was short-lived as the Tigers scored five runs in the eighth. A one-out walk to Redington started the rally for the Tigers as the next five batters were able to score. Unrein delivered his second double of the game plating two. MIAA/Astroturf Hitter of the Week Joe Mapes blasted his fourth homer of the year giving the Tigers two more runs pushing the lead to 9-4 in favor of the Tigers. Weiss added another run with an RBI single.
Next up for the Tigers is a four-game road series as they head to Golden, Colo. to take on Colorado Mines. The first game is scheduled for Friday (Feb. 19) at 3 pm.
OVERLAND PARK, Kan. (AP) — A memorial will be dedicated in April to three people who were shot to death at two Jewish sites in Kansas.
The Jewish Community Center in Overland Park announced in a news release Tuesday that donations received after the April 2014 shootings at the center and nearby Village Shalom partially financed the memorial to Dr. William Lewis Corporon; his grandson, Reat Underwood, and Teresa LeManno.
The memorial sculpture will be on the west side of the Jewish Community Center Campus. The memorial will be open to the public after a private dedication in mid-April.
Frazier Glenn Miller Jr., of Aurora, Missouri, was sentenced to death in November for the shootings. The avowed anti-Semite said he shot the victims because he wanted to kill Jews. The three victims were Christians.
EPA
Student teams from the University of Kansas, Kansas State University, and the University of Missouri are among the 38 university student teams to receive Phase I grants from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s People, Prosperity and the Planet (P3) program to pursue projects to develop new, sustainable products and strategies.
Each of the three successful student team grantees from EPA Region 7 for 2015-2016 will receive $15,000 for their proposals:
“This year’s P3 teams have created innovative research projects that tackle some of our most pressing environmental and public health challenges,” said Dr. Thomas A. Burke, EPA’s Science Advisor and Deputy Assistant Administrator of EPA’s Office of Research and Development. “These students have the opportunity to bring their exciting new ideas for innovation in sustainability to life, by expanding their learning experience beyond the classroom.”
Funding for the P3 competition is divided into two phases. Teams selected for Phase I awards receive grants of up to $15,000 to fund the development of their projects, which are then showcased at the National Sustainable Design Expo in the spring. Following the Expo, P3 teams compete for Phase II awards of up to $75,000 to further develop their designs and potentially bring them to the marketplace.
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — A House bill under discussion would deny resettlement of refugees in Kansas communities that lack a sufficient amount of services or local law enforcement.
Under the measure, the governor and local governments would determine whether a community has the resources to accommodate the arrival of refugees. A community also could request a moratorium on resettlement if it is unable to provide services to the incoming population.
Christopher Holton, a lobbyist from Outreach Center for Security Policy, was one of two people who spoke in favor of the bill Wednesday before the House Federal and State Affairs Committee.
Kansas is one of 17 states that announced they would not be accepting Syrian refugees after attacks in Paris last November.
Committee Chairman Jan Paul says the hearing will continue on Thursday.
UWEC
You can help support the United Way of Ellis County and Fort Hays State University.
UWEC has tickets to sell at $8 each for the FHSU basketball games versus Lincoln on Sat., Feb. 20, in Hays.
All tickets are in the reserved upper level in Gross Memorial Coliseum.
This is the last home stand of the season. The Tiger women tip off at 2 p.m. followed by the men’s game at about 4 p.m.
To purchase the fundraiser tickets, call the UWEC office at (785) 628-8281.
WICHITA – A Hugoton man has pleaded guilty to producing and distributing child pornography, according to U.S. Attorney Barry Grissom.
Andrew Clint McDaniels, 30, Hugoton, pleaded guilty Tuesday, Feb. 16, to one count of producing child pornography and one count of distributing child pornography. In his plea, McDaniels admitted he used the Internet to successfully solicit a 15-year-old victim in South Carolina to send him pornographic photos of the victim. In addition, McDaniels used a file-sharing network to possess and distribute a movie file of two minor females engaged in sexual activities.
Sentencing is set for May 4, 2016. The parties have agreed to recommend a sentence of 210 months in federal prison.
Grissom commended the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, the Wichita Police Department, Homeland Security Investigations and Assistant U.S. Attorney Jason Hart for their work on the case.
FINNEY COUNTY- A Kansas man was injured in an accident just before 5p.m. on Wednesday in Finney County.
The Kansas Highway Patrol reported a 2001 Peterbilt semi driven by Andres Chavez-Morales, 25, Garden City, was southbound on Farmland Road just south of U.S. 50.
The truck was following a Honda off-road dirt bike driven by Carlos Ortega, 55, Garden City, that was slowing for a left turn.
The semi tried to pass and collided with the dirt bike.
Ortega was transported to St. Catherine Hospital. He was not wearing a helmet, according to the KHP.
Chavez-Morales was not injured.
