BUCHANAN COUNTY, MO – The victim in a Kansas Bureau of Investigation (KBI) and Doniphan County Sheriff’s Office death investigation was recovered in the Missouri River late Saturday morning, according to a media release.
At approximately 11:30 a.m. Saturday, May 27, a citizen spotted a body in the Missouri River, south of St. Joseph, MO in Buchanan County.
The Buchanan County Sheriff’s Office responded and recovered the body, which has been identified as Daniel Purvis, age 64, of St. Joseph, MO. Authorities had been searching the Wolf River and other nearby bodies of water for Purvis since Monday, May 22.
Christopher Colhour, 40, from the St. Joseph area, was arrested May 22 for the theft of a 2009 Chevy Traverse which belonged to Mr. Purvis.
Colhour remains in custody in Doniphan County Jail due to his suspected involvement in the disappearance of Mr. Purvis. Further charges are pending.
Celeste Sander, membership coordinator for the Hays Area Chamber of Commerce, greets guests at her retirement reception Friday at the Chamber office.
By CRISTINA JANNEY
Hays Post
Celeste Sander, membership coordinator for the Hays Area Chamber of Commerce, celebrated her retirement Friday.
Sander was born and raised in Hays and has worked for the Chamber for 14 years.
She worked as a supervisor and in sales and marketing before coming to the Chamber.
At the Chamber she organized Chamber Chats, ribbon cuttings and built relationships between businesses.
“I love my job, and I will miss my job,” she said. “I couldn’t have done it without the community and all the relationships I have been able to build with all the good people in the community. I thank them from the bottom of my heart.”
She said she has seen the community grow and technology change the businesses. However, all the changes have been for the good.
Tammy Wellbrock, Chamber executive director, said Sander essentially trained her into her job when she assumed the role of director in 2011.
Wellbrock described Sander as an outgoing person that was more energetic than anyone else she knew.
“When you have a position that requires the ability to build strong relationships, it makes it so much easier when you have someone who is so effective and successful. She has an understanding of the community, the people and what makes up the community,” she said.
Kathy Heinrich, chamber administrative assistant, has known Sander for four years.
“She is full of spunk. She is always offering help whenever she can. She is outgoing and social,” Heinrich said.
Heinrich added,” We’ll miss her. She is a big asset to the Chamber.”
Sander said she plans to spend time with her children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren and also travel now that she is retired. Eventually she would like to become involved in the community again doing charity or volunteer work.
The chamber is in search of Sander’s replacement, but Wellbrock said she did not know when someone new will be hired.
However, Wellbrock did say Sanders will always be a part of the Chamber family.
“Once a Chamber Chic, always a Chamber Chic,” Wellbrock said.
Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach is among some Republican politicians considering a bid to succeed Gov. Sam Brownback as governor, although the filing deadline isn’t until June 2018. FILE PHOTO / KPR
The filing deadline isn’t until next June. But candidates already are lining up for what could be the toughest job in Kansas: succeeding Gov. Sam Brownback.
Four hopefuls are at least tentatively in the race and several more are thinking about getting in, including some Republican heavyweights.
Who?
Well, Kansas Secretary of State and political lightning rod Kris Kobach for one. Interviewed at the Kansas Republican Party’s state convention earlier this year, he said, “I am taking a very serious look at the governor’s race.”
Earlier this week he told The Associated Press that he would announce his intentions in the next couple of months.
Kansas 3rd District Congressman Kevin Yoder isn’t as direct about it, but he’s also eyeing the race.
“I think we need someone who can unify the Republican Party and has the ability to lead a divided state,” Yoder said.
Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt is also a possibility.
“I don’t plan a voluntary retirement from public life in 2018. I plan to be a candidate and let voters decide
Ed O’Malley, a former Republican legislator from Johnson County who now heads the Wichita-based Kansas Leadership Center, has traveled the state for listening sessions as he considers a campaign for governor.
if they would like to have me for something,” Schmidt said. “Whether that’s a third term as attorney general, whether it’s governor or whether it’s something else, we’re still sort of sorting that out.”
The conventional wisdom says that Kobach is the best bet to run among those three. Insiders say his recent decision not to take a full-time position in President Donald Trump’s administration is yet another signal.
If Kobach — a high-profile conservative — gets in the governor’s race, some moderate Republicans may press Yoder to commit, thinking he would have broader appeal in the general election.
As for Schmidt, the current thinking is that he’ll choose to stay as attorney general rather than take his chances in the governor’s race or the contest for the 2nd District congressional seat being vacated by the retiring Lynn Jenkins.
From Listening To Announcing
Ed O’Malley, a former Republican legislator from Johnson County who now heads the Wichita-based Kansas Leadership Center, has traveled the state for listening sessions as he considers a campaign for governor.
Ed O’Malley, a former Republican legislator from Johnson County who now heads the Wichita-based Kansas Leadership Center, isn’t just thinking about the race. He already has formed an exploratory committee.
Most would consider O’Malley a moderate. But as he travels the state on a listening tour, he said he doesn’t want to be saddled with that or any other label.
“I am purposefully trying to make sure we don’t create any barriers for people engaging in this listening effort, so I don’t plaster the party affiliation on everything right now because I think that will get in the way of engagement,” O’Malley said after a recent stop in Mission, the heart of his old legislative district.
For the moment, Wink Hartman is the only clear conservative to have announced. But the Wichita businessman, who lost a 2010 bid for Congress, is working to broaden his appeal.
In a carefully crafted campaign video released shortly after Trump’s inaugural, he reached out to voters looking for a Kansas version of Trump and to rank-and-file Republicans discouraged by the state’s struggles under Brownback.
“We just witnessed what happens when hard-working Americans stand up and say, ‘We’re done with politics as usual,’” Hartman said over soaring music in the video. “Today, we stand at a similar turning point here in Kansas. The spirit of innovation has been dampened by dysfunction from government. Rather than fixing problems, Topeka has created them.”
Democrats And Independents
For the first time in a long time, there will be competition on the Democratic side too.
Former Wichita Mayor Carl Brewer was the first to announce. He points to his experience leading the state’s largest city through the Great Recession.
“Wichita was very successful,” Brewer said. “We were healthy. We were vibrant. We grew businesses. We grew communities. We stopped the brain drain.”
For a while it looked like Paul Davis, the former minority leader of the Kansas House who narrowly lost to Brownback in 2014, might try again. But he’s now pivoted to the 2nd District congressional race.
That created an opening for former Kansas Agriculture Secretary Joshua Svaty. In announcing his candidacy last week, Svaty — who is also a former state legislator — made it clear that he intends to make Republicans answer for Brownback’s economic policies.
“We have to fix the problem. We can no longer be a petri dish for economic theory,” Svaty said at a launch event staged at a grain elevator near his hometown of Ellsworth.
Greg Orman, who ran as an independent candidate in 2014 for the U.S. Senate, is declining to talk publicly about the governor’s race. But people close to him say he’s running. CREDIT FILE PHOTO /
Republican Lt. Gov. Jeff Colyer is a wild card in all this. He might run, particularly if he is tapped to serve out the remainder of Brownback’s term should the governor leave early.
But Greg Orman may be the biggest X factor.
Running as an independent, Orman gave Republican U.S. Sen. Pat Roberts a scare in 2014, forcing him to spend heavily in the final weeks of the campaign to retain his seat.
For now, Orman is declining to talk publicly about the governor’s race. But people close to him say he’s running.
Jim McLean is managing director of the Kansas News Service, a collaboration of kcur.org, Kansas Public Radio and KMUW covering health, education and politics. You can reach him on Twitter @jmcleanks.
HODGEMAN COUNTY – One person died in an accident just before 7:30 p.m. Saturday in Hodgeman County.
The Kansas Highway Patrol reported a 2003 Toyota Corolla driven by Alvaro Velasquez-Lorenzo, 19, Dodge City, was southbound on 210 Road two miles south of Kansas 156.
The driver lost control of the vehicle. It traveled left of center and the driver overcorrected. The Toyota rolled multiple times and came to rest in the west ditch.
A passenger Nicolas Velasquez-Ortiz, 19, Dodge City, was pronounced dead at the scene and transported to Beckwith Mortuary.
Velasquez-Lorenzo was transported to the Hodgeman County Health Center.
Both were properly restrained at the time of the accident, according to the KHP.
King Phillip Amman Reu-El changed his name from Phillip D. Cheatham Jr. while awaiting retrial in the capital murder case.- photo Kan. Dpt. of Corrections
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — The Kansas Supreme Court has rejected an inmate’s bid to withdraw his no-contest pleas in a 2003 attack that killed two women and wounded a third.
Friday’s ruling rejected 44-year-old King Phillip Amman Reu-El’s claims that a Shawnee County judge misinformed him about appellate rights that would be waived by making the pleas.
Amman Reu-El was convicted in 2005 of capital murder and other charges in the Topeka shooting deaths, and he was sentenced to death. Those convictions were overturned, and Reu-El entered his no-contest pleas at retrial.
He’s now serving a life sentence without the possibility of parole for 25 years, as well as a consecutive term of nearly 14 years for attempted murder.
Amman Reu-El changed his name from Phillip Cheatham Jr. while awaiting the retrial.
The Plainville Cardinals boys track and field team placed in 15 events and brought home four titles over the weekend as they won the 2A State Track and Field Title at the Kansas State Track and Field Championship in Wichita.
Hayden Friend earned a pair of individual gold medals winning both the 2A boys 100 meters (11.10) and 200 meters (22.61).
Friend was also a member of the boys 4X100 meter relay that brought home the gold with a time of 3:28.64. Chase Cellmer, Ryan Buresh and Samuel Kaup were also member of that relay team.
The Ellis boys finished second in the 4X100 relay with a time of 43.99-seconds. The relay team is made up of; Trey Hudson, Joseph Eck, Logan Shaw and Auntonio Jones.
Zachary Pierson claimed the gold medal in the 2A boys shot put with a throw of 157-feet 08-inches.
Plainville finished with 88 team points and Smith Center was third with 67.
The Plainville girls finished 16th as a team and placed four in the top eight.
The Ellis girls were ninth as a team and had seven top eight finishers.
In Class 1A, Victoria finished ninth in the boys race. Collin Kisner win the 1A boys 400 meters with a time of 50.83. Kisner placed second in the 200 meter and third in the 100 meter.
The Victoria girls placed 13th. Kali Weber placed second in both the 1A girls 100 and 200 meters.
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — No charges will be filed in an altercation that allegedly included a racial slur during a banquet at Wichita State University.
Sedgwick County District Attorney Marc Bennett said Wednesday in a letter that his office couldn’t determine beyond a reasonable doubt that the racial slur was made, or made with criminal intent.
Former student president Joseph Shepard and his family alleged the parents of the current president, Paige Hungate, called Shepard a racial slur at the banquet May 4. They alleged her father charged Shepard, prompting other people to intervene.
The District Attorney released the findings of the criminal investigation into the alleged incident that occurred at the SGA banquet May 4. pic.twitter.com/XYmQIhGIb2
The TMP-Marian girls track team had three individuals place in four events and one relay team place in the top eight at the weekend’s Kansas Track and Field meet in Wichita.
Julia Werth was the top finisher for the Monarchs finishing second in the 3A girls 800 meters. Werth finished with a time of 2:26.15.
The Monarchs girls 4X800 meter relay team also finished second with a time of 10:18.54. The team is made up of; Kiara Urban, Julia Werth, Alison Schibi and Emily Schippers.
Kendra Werth placed fifth in the 3A girls 300 meter hurdles (48.04-seconds) and seventh in the 100 meter hurdles (15.93).
In the 3A girls triple jump Paris Wolf placed seventh with a jump of 35-feet, 1.25-inches.
Savannah Yost also qualified for the State Track and Field meet finishing 14th in the 3A girls high jump.
The Monarch girls finished 11th.
The TMP boys had just one finisher in the top eight. Hayden Lowe finished in a tie for sixth in the 3A boys high jump. He cleared a height of 6-feet on his second attempt.
BRADENTON, Fla. – Fort Hays State junior Decano Cronin won the National Championship in the 800m run Saturday afternoon (May 27) at the 2017 NCAA Division II Outdoor Track and Field Championships. He was one of two individuals to earn All-American status on Saturday.
Cronin becomes the first National Champion from Fort Hays State since Christa Bergmann won the indoor weight throw in 2011. He is the first male to win a national title since 2008 (Bryan Haynes, 200m dash) and the first outdoor male champion since 2001 (Zach Kindler, javelin).
Cronin won the race in a time of 1:49.75, just .01 seconds off his season-best time. The Cork, Ireland started in the middle of the track and fell to the back of the pack through the first lap, completing the first 400 meters in eighth place. As the field made the turn to the back straightaway, Cronin bolted to the outside, passing five runners to move into third with 200 meters to go. As the trio completed the final turn, Cronin jumped in front once and for all, holding on to win by .19 seconds.
Brett Meyer also earned All-American status after finishing seventh in the 800m run. Meyer was in the middle of the pack at the midway point before completing the race in 1:50.96. It was the second time Meyer earned All-American honors this season after finishing fifth in the indoor 800m run.
Alexcia Deutscher earned a 10th place finish in the javelin throw, finishing less than three feet from advancing to the finals. The freshman hurled the spear 145 feet, 10 inches on her second throw to move into seventh, but three individuals passed her on the final throw of the first round.
Kolt Newell finished 19th in the high jump after posting a height of 6 feet, 7 inches. The sophomore cleared the bar on his second attempt, but was one of five individuals that failed to clear the 6 foot, 9 inch bar.
The 800m duo produced 12 points in the team competition, giving the Tigers a 19th place finish overall.
Hays High’s Shane Berens brought home a silver medal in the 4A boys shot put over the weekend at the Kansas State Track and Field Championship in Wichita.
Berens, on his fourth attempt, turned in his best effort with a throw of 56-feet 3.5-inches which was good enough second. He was just one inch behind the champion Micaiah Noel from KC Piper who recorded a throw of 56-feet 4.5-inches.
Berens also qualified in the 4A boys discus but committed four fouls and recorded just the ninth best throw.
The Hays boys 4X800 meter relay team also scored for the Indians. The team made up of Taivian Creamer, Zachary Hopp, Caden Cunningham and Ethan Shippy finished eighth.
Hopp finished 13th in the boys 3200 meter run.
The boys finished 24th as a team.
Jacey Dale was the lone Indian girl to place in the top eight. Dale finished in a tie for sixth clearing 5-feet on her second attempt.
Macey Steckel finished ninth in the 4A girls discus and Marie Reveles was 11th in the 4A girls 1600 meter run.
CLEVELAND (AP) — Alcides Escobar hit a tiebreaking two-run double in the sixth, Mike Moustakas homered and the Kansas City Royals beat the Cleveland Indians 5-2 on Saturday.
Kansas City, an AL-worst 20-27 entering Saturday, has won two straight this weekend against the Indians.
Jason Vargas (6-3) allowed two runs in 5 2/3 innings. Kelvin Herrera worked the ninth for his second save in two days and No. 11 on the season.
Cleveland right-hander Danny Salazar (3-5) allowed four runs, three earned, in 5 1/3 innings.
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — An appeals court has ruled a Kansas judge was wrong to dismiss a woman’s open records request seeking police body-camera video of her son’s shooting, ruling the judge could not deny it simply because it was part of a criminal investigation.
The Kansas Court of Appeals on Friday sent Trina Green’s case back to Wyandotte County for further hearings. The three-judge panel reversed a decision that had dismissed her case based on an exemption to the Kansas Open Records Act relating to investigatory records.
The appeals court says the judge should have considered whether its release was in the public interest and law enforcement agencies would have to explain how its release would harm investigations.
The Lawrence Journal-World reported the case stems from a 2016 incident. Her son survived.
WICHITA, Kan. – TMP-Marian goalkeeper Deonna Wellbrock played inspired, saving several Bishop Miege shots. The only one to get by her proved to be the winner. The Stags scored with 2:22 to play in the first half and beat the Monarchs 1-0 in the 4-1A state title game Saturday afternoon at Friends University.
The Monarchs had several scoring chances denied in the second half as they end their season 14-5-1.
