Sen. Moran and his wife Robba Moran meet soldiers at Fort Riley for a Thanksgiving meal.
OFFICE OF SEN. MORAN
FORT RILEY – U.S. Senator Jerry Moran (R-Kan.) and his wife Robba joined Fort Riley Brigadier General Patrick Frank, his wife and soldiers for a traditional Thanksgiving meal Thursday.
“It was an honor to share our Thanksgiving meal with Fort Riley servicemembers,” said Sen. Moran.
“Especially during the holidays when many are away from their families, we are grateful for each member of our armed forces and for the opportunity to spend time with them to thank them for their service and dedication.”
Sen. Moran also joined servicemembers at Fort Riley for Thanksgiving last year.
TOPEKA–Kansas Governor Sam Brownback has proclaimed Nov. 26 as “Small Business Saturday” in Kansas to highlight the importance of small businesses to the state’s economy.
“Shopping locally is a great way to help your neighbors and support your community,” said Governor Brownback. “I encourage everyone to support the small businesses in their communities this Saturday and throughout the holiday season.”
Small Business Saturday celebrates small businesses across the nation and encourages people to “shop small” on what is traditionally the busiest shopping weekend of the year.
Dan Murray, Kansas state director of the National Federation of Independent Business said supporting small businesses during the holiday season pays dividends throughout the year. NFIB/Kansas is the state’s largest small-business association.
“When you shop at a small business, there’s a good chance you’ll be dealing directly with the owner of the company,” Murray said. “You’ll be dealing with somebody who could be your friend or neighbor. You’ll be dealing with someone who actually creates jobs and supports the community. On behalf of our small-business members, I want to thank Governor Brownback for encouraging everyone to support their hometowns and shop small and shop local on Small Business Saturday.”
Kansas joins a nationwide effort to highlight small businesses. This is the seventh annual Small Business Saturday observance, which was started by American Express as a day dedicated to supporting small businesses on one of the busiest shopping weekends of the year.
Doe celebrates after a sack and forced fumble vs. Washburn University this season. Photo by Everett Royer. Courtesy FHSU University Relations.
By DIANE GASPER-O’BRIEN FHSU University Relations
Fort Hays State University football fans might have wondered the past two seasons why the Tigers’ star defensive end was wearing the No. 8 jersey, a number more often worn by quarterbacks and players in skill positions.
That number must be special to him for some reason, fans concluded.
Even for those not familiar with how uniform numbers are assigned, it didn’t take long to realize that No. 8 — Sie Doe Jr., whose last name means “blessed” in his culture — was blessed with some special athletic talent.
Public address announcer Ken Windholz dragged out the name “See-ee-ee-ee Doe-oe-oe-oe” a lot during the 2015 and ’16 seasons.
Doe used his cat-quick moves to record 146 tackles, including a school record-tying 21.5 quarterback sacks, during his two-year FHSU career. He set the single-season school sacks record with 15 this fall en route to being chosen MIAA Defensive Player of the Year.
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The 6-foot, 1-inch, 230-pound Doe will try to help the Tigers accomplish something special when they take on Eastern New Mexico University in the Heart of Texas Bowl in Copperas Cove, Texas, on Dec. 3.
This marks the first time in FHSU football history that the Tigers (7-4) have advanced to postseason action in consecutive seasons. A win over Eastern New Mexico would be the first postseason win ever for the Tiger program.
Doe has one more time to don that No. 8 FHSU jersey, and he plans to make the most of it.
“This is another opportunity to take a step forward for our program,” he said. “I tell other players you need to leave this program better than what you found it.”
That’s the kind of leadership that Ike Equae, FHSU’s defensive line coach, has come to expect from Doe.
“He’s a team guy; he really wants everybody around him to be the best they possibly can,” Equae said. “He’s that kind of leader; he wants others to watch him perform and follow behind him.”
Equae wasn’t just talking about football, and neither is Doe when he calls himself “relentless.”
Doe revealed the reason for wearing the No. 8 jersey. Born on the Ivory Coast in May 1993, Doe escaped a civil war in West Africa with his mom and his younger sister, Kadija, when he was 12 years old. They landed in Buffalo, N.Y., then moved to Cleveland, Ohio, where his sister died at the age of 8 from an illness when Doe was in high school.
“My sister and I were really close, and I’ve worn No. 8 ever since she passed away,” Doe said.
Equae started recruiting Doe out of Butte College, a two-year community college in California, in the spring of 2015.
Doe had established himself as one of the best defensive ends in the country at the community college level, leading Butte to an undefeated season and national championship his freshman year, then earning multiple postseason honors as a sophomore. But Doe’s first question to Equae had nothing to do with performance or his chances of playing immediately at FHSU.
“I asked him if number 8 was available,” Doe said. “I explained to Coach Ike that if I couldn’t get that number, I wouldn’t come here.”
Lucky for Fort Hays State, standout defensive back Nathan Lindsey, who wore No. 8 for the two seasons prior to that, had moved on to the NFL.
The NFL is where Doe has aspirations to be someday, and Equae won’t bet against him.
“He is probably one of a handful of players who absolutely wants to be the best he can possibly be, in every facet of the game,” Equae said. “He is the one player up here in the office the most watching film. He wants to evaluate not only himself, but the people he is playing against, too.”
Equae witnessed that persistence in Doe’s first year at FHSU.
“After about the fourth or fifth game, people were double- and triple-teaming him and chip blocking,” Equae said. “But he did not let that stop him. He has a motor that will not stop.”
Then at the end of the 2015 season, Equae, who had just completed his second year of coaching at FHSU, learned that Doe had earned honorable mention honors in the MIAA, one of the top NCAA Division II conferences in the nation.
Doe appreciated the recognition, but he wanted more.
“He came into my office and was very upset about getting (honorable mention),” Equae said. “He wanted to know what to do to become one of the best in the conference. So we made goals, and he never wavered from that.”
Doe returned to California last summer to put in extra work.
“I’d wake up at 4 a.m. and go run, go lift then go to the field three times a day and work on my technique,” Doe said. “I’ve watched (NFL players) to see the things they do to be successful. It’s not just about talent. It’s about the work you put in during the offseason.”
When he returned to Hays for his senior campaign, “you could tell he was definitely on another level,” Equae said.
Indeed.
In addition to his 15 quarterback sacks, Doe had 18.5 tackles for loss this season and five forced fumbles, which ties him for first in the nation in NCAA D-II. He reached his goal of being named to the first team in the MIAA — and was named the top defensive player of the year to boot.
Doe said he always knew growing up he wanted to play professionally, but it was a different kind of football.
“I had played soccer my whole life, and I wanted to play professional soccer like my cousin,” he said of Darlington Nagbe, a midfielder for the U.S. men’s national soccer team who also plays for the Portland Timbers in Major League Soccer.
“But I transferred high schools my sophomore year, and the football coach said he wanted me to try football,” Doe continued. “He told me in the U.S., football is the thing, that I could get scholarships to get my college education paid for, so I thought, ‘OK, I’ll try football.’ So I grew into a football body.”
Doe took his soccer skills with him onto the football field.
“It’s all about your feet and quickness in soccer,” he said. “So that definitely helps me, having played soccer for so long.”
Doe said his work ethic comes from his mother.
“Her struggles, what I’ve seen her go through and still be relentless,” he said, “that’s my No. 1 focus and the thing that inspires me.”
But Doe also credits Eguae, who he calls a father figure, and Fort Hays State for a big part of his success. He is on track to graduate in December with a degree in organizational leadership.
“I have learned so much at Fort Hays State, mainly to put others first and deal with situations and hang in there no matter what,” he said. “Nothing I did this year was because of me. It was because of God, my mother, Coach Ike and my teammates. Had I gone anywhere else, I wouldn’t have been the player I am now. I wouldn’t have been the person I am now.”
Doe hopes for one final Tiger victory on Dec. 3 before pursuing his dream of playing in the NFL. Information about the bowl game, including ticket prices, can be found at www.fhsuathletics.com.
“We all have to do our job,” Doe said. “Every single one of us has to go out there and be a Tiger — and scratch and scratch and scratch.”
HendersonLOS ANGELES (AP) — Florence Henderson, the wholesome actress who went from Broadway star to television icon when she became Carol Brady, the ever-cheerful mom residing over “The Brady Bunch,” has died. She was 82.
She died surrounded by family and friends, her manager, Kayla Pressman, said in a statement late Thursday.
Millions loved, and kept on loving, the innocent sitcom about a blended family. “The Brady Bunch,” first aired in 1969, returned to television in various forms again and again, including “The Brady Bunch Hour” in 1977, “The Brady Brides” in 1981 and “The Bradys” in 1990. It was also seen endlessly in reruns.
ABILENE – A National Issues Forum titled “Making Ends Meet” will be held Tuesday, Nov. 29 at the Eisenhower Presidential Library, Museum and Boyhood Home. The public is invited to participate in this Kansas Town Hall discussion in the Visitors Center auditorium from 7 to 9 p.m.
“According to the National Issues Forums Institute (NIFI), the recovery from the 2007 recession that officially began in 2009, feels very remote or nonexistent for many Americans,” said Pam Sanfilippo, Education Specialist, Eisenhower Presidential Library. “Even as the stock market surges and millions of jobs have been created, they see a very different picture.”
The NIFI presents a framework that asks: “What should we do to make sure Americans can achieve economic security?” It presents three possible options for participants to consider:
• Create New Opportunities
• Strengthen the Safety Net
• Reduce Inequality
Participants will gather in small groups to discuss the options. Each group will be led by a trained facilitator and use an issue discussion guide. They will consider what might be done and what the trade-offs and downsides may be for each option. In closing, the small groups will join in a larger discussion comparing notes.
Sanfilippo will moderate the forum in Abilene assisted by trained table facilitators from K-State’s Institute for Civic Discourse and Democracy. The Kettering Foundation and the NIFI are partnering with Presidential Libraries to hold these forums across the nation this fall.
The Kettering Foundation is a nonprofit research institution studying what it takes to make a democracy work. National Issues Forums Institute (NIFI) is a nonpartisan and nonprofit organization rooted in the notion that people need to come together to reason and talk — to deliberate about common problems.
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — A missing southern Kansas woman has been found dead in a partially submerged sport utility vehicle.
The Wichita Eagle reports that a bicyclist was heading to a store to buy turkey for a Thanksgiving meal on Thursday when he discovered the submerged vehicle. The cyclist called police, leading authorities to the body of 28-year-old Diana Guevara, of Haysville.
Kansas Highway Patrol Trooper Joe Middleton said her SUV apparently landed in a canal in north Wichita after taking an off ramp, leaving the road and driving through fencing that surrounds the water.
She was last seen late Wednesday and had been reported missing after failing to arrive home from work. It wasn’t immediately clear what caused her to crash.
NOWATA, Okla. (AP) — The mayor of Nowata says the city can start using water from the Verdigris River again after service was shut off because of contamination concerns following a chemical plant explosion in Kansas.
Mayor David Lynn tells Tulsa television station KJRH that the Oklahoma Department of Environmental Quality gave the city permission Friday to resume pumping water from the river. A day earlier, water service had been shut off after an explosion and fire Tuesday at the Airosol, Inc., chemical plant in Neodesha, Kansas.
The Verdigris River runs through parts of southeastern Kansas and northeastern Oklahoma, through Lake Oologah and into the Arkansas River near Muskogee.
The plant manufactures and packages aerosol, liquid and other specialty chemicals.
A Hays woman was hospitalized after a two-vehicle accident just before 8 p.m. Thanksgiving Day on U.S. 183.
The Kansas Highway Patrol reported a 2014 Chevy Sonic driven by Sherri A. Ribordy, 48, Hays, was northbound on U.S. 183 near Locust Grove Road, when a 2013 Ford Escape — driven by Alice M. Schrant, 76, Victoria, turned southbound onto U.S. 183 from Locust Grove Road. The Sonic struck the Escape in the left rear.
The KHP reported Ribordy was taken to the hospital.
Eugene R. “Gene” Schoenberger, age 69, of Ellis passed away, Tuesday, November 22, 2016 at the University of Kansas Medical Center. He was born February 4, 1947 at St. Anthony Hospital in Hays, Kansas to Ben J. and Catherine (McGinty) Schoenberger. He attended Ellis High School. On April 20, 1974, he married Edith Marlene Johnson in Ellis, Kansas.
Gene had worked for Beechcraft in Salina, Travenol in Hays where he was a supervisor and retired from the City of Ellis where he was the City Superintendent. He was a US Army veteran serving in Germany and attaining the rank of SP4. Gene was a member of St. Mary’s Church and the American Legion in Hays. He enjoyed collecting knives, coins, hunting, fishing and gambling where he had the knack for being very lucky. He also enjoyed barbecuing and entertaining with his family and friends. He had an open door, open arms, and a huge heart.
He is survived by his wife, Marlene of Ellis; four daughters, Michelle Dannels (Brandon Pfannenstiel) of Hays, Marlisa Berner (Mark) of Hays, Malena Starr (Shawn) of Ness City and Marlaina Kuhn (Doug) of Victoria; four brothers, Leonard and Bernie of Ellis, Ken of Wichita and Alvin of Ellis; two sisters, Gloria Jayne of Ellis and Sharon Sommers of Victoria and his grandchildren, Kacey and Brittney Dannels, Myranda and Matthew Berner, Rylee and Taylor Starr, Taiten, Caylen and Ben Kuhn.
He was preceded in death by his parents and a sister, Marilyn King.
Funeral services will be 11:30 AM Saturday at St. Mary’s Catholic Church in Ellis. Burial will follow in St. Mary’s Cemetery with military honors courtesy of the Hays VFW.
Visitation will be Friday 6 PM – 8 PM with a combined parish vigil and rosary service at 7 PM and Saturday visitation will be 10:30 AM – 11:15 AM all at St. Mary’s Church. Arrangements in care of Keithley Funeral Chapel of Ellis.
Memorial contributions are suggested to the Ellis Knights of Columbus Hall Remodeling Project, the Ogallah Christian Church or the American Red Cross.
Condolences may be left by guest book at www.keithleyfuneralchapels.com or emailed to [email protected]
EMPORIA — Rachel Muirhead of Hays, is part of the Emporia State University production of “The 39 Steps.”
Adapted by Patrick Barlow from the novel of the same name by John Buchan, the show features Richard Hannay, a Scotsman living a completely ordinary and even boring life – until he meets Pamela, a mysterious woman claiming to be a spy. After spending the night with her, he awakens the next morning to find her murdered. He soon finds himself on the run from a mysterious organization known as “The 39 Steps.” Hannay chases across Britain in order to save himself and get back to his ordinary life.
The show features over 150 characters despite its small cast of four. Most of those characters are played by two clowns. Combining elements from classic spy novels, gags from Monty Python and the dramatic elements of Alfred Hitchcock, this show is filled with thrills, laughs, and a death-defying finale.
Muirhead, a junior theater education major, is on the Costume Crew.
“The 39 Steps” is the 30th ESU production directed by Theresa Mitchell, who began working at ESU in 1999.
“I am most excited to create a pants-on-fire paced spy thriller with a HUGE theatrical twist with a fantastic student driven company.” Mitchell said.
Nancy J. Pontius is designing the set and lighting, and Costumer Amanda Dura is helping design the many costumes. Assistant Professor Dan Matisa serves the production as dialect coach. Chris Lohkamp will serve as both technical director and sound designer.
“The 39 Steps” runs Nov. 30 through Dec. 3 at 7:30 pm. All performances will be in the Karl C. Bruder Theatre in King Hall, 1301 Market St.. Tickets can be reserved at the university box office or by calling 620-341-6378.
When the Kansas Legislature convenes in January, one-third of the seats will be filled by someone new. The election results show that many voters recognized the serious financial trouble in Kansas and now expect a change in direction. But will they get it?
Lawmakers face a daunting task. To successfully alter the situation, they must take a big risk and do something that does not come naturally to politicians—gather a bipartisan coalition and reform the tax system to raise revenue.
Duane Goossen
State finances have so soured that the current budget sunk $350 million underwater even after record amounts were taken out of the highway fund and large spending cuts were unceremoniously applied to universities and Medicaid providers. This leaves Kansas schools and other key state services highly vulnerable to another round of debilitating cuts.
Kansas simply does not have enough revenue to pay even a constrained set of bills. The 2012 income tax cuts unbalanced the Kansas budget from the moment of implementation, but the situation has become especially dire today because lawmakers emptied reserves and exhausted other one-time budget maneuvers in earlier efforts to patch up the budget.
We have few options left. Without more revenue, lawmakers must make deep cuts-to-the-bone in state programs. For those legislators who voted in 2012 to deliberately starve the state’s revenue stream in order to downsize government, this is a happy climax. But that group lost heavily in the elections.
In the 2017 Legislature, moderate Republicans and Democrats now have enough numbers in each chamber to pass policy changes, if they work together. But forming coalitions becomes challenging whenever there’s hard medicine to swallow. Kansas lawmakers will face headwinds as the Trump administration and a Republican Congress attempt to pass the very kind of tax legislation on a national scale that Kansas seeks to undo here.
Then, even if tax policy changes pass the Legislature, the governor may not sign the bill. But despite the barriers, lawmakers must forge ahead because the stakes for Kansas are enormous. The financial sickness will not heal up on its own without corrective action.
One obvious step forward would close the LLC loophole which allows business income to go untaxed. The recent Kansas Speaks survey showed that 61 percent of Kansans support this action. Some lawmakers may be tempted to do only this and declare victory, but that alone will not fix the budget.
At a minimum, lawmakers must make revenue equal expenses, which requires ending the LLC loophole as well as enacting a package of other financial corrections. Reducing sales tax on food as part of this package–as some lawmakers propose to do—would require further upward adjustments to balance the cost.
Can lawmakers work across party lines to enact change? Will the governor sign a bill rescinding at least a portion of the 2012 tax cuts? Unless the answer to both questions is “yes,” the financial suffering of Kansas will worsen, plunging our state into a further downward spiral.
Duane Goossen formerly served 12 years as Kansas Budget Director.
OFFICE OF THE GOV.
