MAIZE, Kan. (AP) — Maize police are asking for the public’s help as they continue to try and find a woman who’s been missing for more than four months.
Police say 30-year-old Kendra Leigh Nystrom was last seen around on the morning of May 4 when she left her parents’ house with her dog, a black and white Chihuahua.
She left on foot and left all her personal belongings behind, including her cellphone. The house was near Cowskin Creek, which was running high that day.
She is 5-feet-4-inches tall and weighs between 100 and 120 pounds. She is white, has reddish-brown hair and the initials “R.J.” tattooed on her left ring finger.
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — A Topeka high school student was arrested after reportedly making social media threats against the school.
The student at Seaman High School was arrested Monday night. The student was taken to juvenile intake for making a criminal threat but it wasn’t clear if the person was detained or released to his parents.
The Topeka Capital-Journal reports the threat was sent via Snapchat and contained a reference to Columbine, the infamous 1999 high school shooting in Colorado that left 15 people dead and more than 20 injured.
Shawnee County sheriff’s Sgt. Todd Stallbaumer said the threat did not target specific people at the school.
An email sent to parents Tuesday said the school contacted law enforcement immediately after learning of the threat and the student was arrested at his home.
Fort Hays State Football moved up three spots in the latest D2Football.com Poll, released on Tuesday (Sept. 26). The Tigers are No. 13 in the weekly supplemental poll.
Fort Hays State is currently No. 14 in the AFCA Division II Poll, recognized as the official national poll of NCAA Division II, but is now nearly identical in rank in both polls this week. Each week the Tigers have been ranked this season, they have been higher in the rankings in the D2Football.com poll.
The MIAA has four teams in the D2Football.com Top 25 as compared to just two in the AFCA Poll. Northwest Missouri State is No. 1 in both polls, while in the D2Football.com poll Central Missouri ranks No. 23 and Emporia State ranks No. 24.
FHSU plays at Lindenwood this Saturday (Sept. 30) at 1 pm.
Below is the D2Football.com Poll for September 26, 2017.
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) – The Kansas City Chiefs have placed kicker Cairo Santos on injured reserve and claimed rookie kicker Harrison Butker off the Carolina Panthers’ practice squad.
The moves were made Tuesday. The Chiefs did not say whether Santos would be designated to return his season. He would need to remain on IR for at least six weeks, then have two weeks to return to the roster.
Santos was hit on a field goal attempt in Sunday’s victory over the Chargers, drawing a personal foul penalty, but coach Andy Reid did not mention him among the injuries after the game.
Santos also missed time in training camp with a groin injury.
Butker, who finished his college career as Georgia Tech’s career scoring leader, will have an extra day to get up to speed. Kansas City plays the Redskins on Monday night.
Location of Monday night armed-robbery google image
SEDGWICK COUNTY— Law enforcement authorities are investigating an armed robbery and looking for a suspect.
Just after 6p.m. Monday, police were dispatched to an armed robbery at the EZ stop in the 900 block of south Woodlawn in Wichita, according to a media release. Upon arrival officers made contact with a 23-year-old employee who stated an unknown suspect entered the business, approached the counter, and demanded money and cigarettes.
The suspect displayed a black handgun from his right-side waist area. Money and cigarettes were taken by the suspect and he left on a black BMX style bicycle. There were no injuries in this case.
The suspect is described as a 6-foot-tall, 20-year-old black male weighing approximately 120-pounds. He was unshaven, wore a black overcoat and black pants.
Anyone with additional information on this case is asked to call Wichita Police
Fort Hays State Weekly Football Press Conference September 26, 2017
Fort Hays State head coach Chris Brown conducted his weekly press conference in advance of the Tigers game in St. Charles, Mo. against Lindenwood Saturday afternoon. Brown and select players met with the media inside Lewis Field on Tuesday, a session that can be heard by clicking on the links below.
WICHITA— A Missouri man pleaded guilty Monday to robbing a bank in Osage City, Kansas, according to U.S. Attorney Tom Beall.
Prewitt- photo courtesy Osage Co. Sheriff
Hunter Lee Prewitt, 28, Mountain Grove, Mo., pleaded guilty to one count of bank robbery. He admitted he robbed the Landmark National Bank at 106 South 6th Street in Osage City. Prewitt gave a teller a note saying: “This a robbery. Give me all one hundreds, fifties and twenties.” He left the bank with cash and drove away in a white pickup truck.
Starting with a description of the truck, investigators obtained video surveillance photos and followed Prewitt’s movements including a stop at a gas station in Osage City before the robbery and a pawn shop in Lyndon, Kan.
The Missouri Highway Patrol used that information to identify a 2003 Ford F-150 pickup registered to Prewitt. A crime intelligence analyst with the Kansas Bureau of Investigation conducted a search of law enforcement tag readers and he found more information on Prewitt and the truck. Prewitt was arrested outside Springfield, Mo.
Sentencing is set for Dec. 18. Bank robbery carries a penalty of up to 20 years in a federal prison and a fine up to $250,000.
Comedy duo Jay & Leslie are headed back to the Hays Public Library on Thursday at 6 p.m. Jay & Leslie will perform “Drop of a Hat,” a show full of wacky juggling, mime, magic and humor. All ages are invited to enjoy this show.
Jay & Leslie have been full-time, professional performers since 1980. They’ve performed over 6,000 times in 35 states and six countries. To learn more, visit their website leslieandjay.com.
Facilitator Betty Johnson, Lawrence, is an FHSU graduate and Smith Center native.
By BECKY KISER Hays Post
“All ideas are on the board,” so far.
More than 150 residents from throughout Ellis County gathered Monday night at Fort Hays State University’s Robbins Center for “Strategic Doing” hosted by the Heartland Community Foundation (Ellis, Rooks and Trego counties) and the Dane G. Hansen Foundation, Logan.
It was the first of four meetings to guide Ellis County through the process of planning and implementing community improvements.
Strategic Doing starts with a SWOT analysis
Facilitator Betty Johnson, Lawrence, is an FHSU graduate and Smith Center native. She first directed the crowd to “not sit with your friends and co-workers. Meet somebody new.” After some shifting among chairs, the work began for each group at the 16 tables to conduct a SWOT analysis, determining the Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats for Ellis County.
Scott Braun, Anne Leiker, Bill Ring and Dave McDaniel listen to Johnson.
Ellis Mayor Dave McDaniel helped brainstorm ideas with his table mates who identified three priority projects of regional importance.
“Youth involvement, water, funding for school infrastructure repairs,” McDaniel said. “Lots and lots and lots of good ideas came forth tonight, and I hope we can expand on those and really get something going.”
Funding for the strategic projects will be provided by the Hansen Foundation over the next five years.
“I think this is an excellent opportunity,” McDaniel added.
Ellis City Council member Dena Patee and HCF Board Member Chris Sook, Hays
There were more strengths listed for Ellis County than ideas in the other three categories, including education, low crime, health care, the faith community, strong leadership and high-speed internet.
“Definitely a strength,” Johnson quickly agreed. “There are some rural Kansas communities still on dial-up modems,”she pointed out.
Many ideas, written on bright pink and yellow paper notes stuck to the walls, straddled more than one category.
“High-speed internet also provides an opportunity for the area”, Johnson said. “Being on I-70 is a transportation advantage, but it also brings the threat of drugs and human trafficking into the community.”
The audience was comprised of people from all walks of life, from seniors to youth, including a number of Hays High School DECA students.
Hays resident Dennis Schiel writes down a weakness of Ellis County while Rev. Celeste Lasich and a HHS DECA member look on.
One of the listed weaknesses, “resistance to change,” drew a round of applause from the crowd.
Other weaknesses cited were scarce water sources, a child care shortage, high land prices, high housing costs and no homeless shelter.
Dangers included falling prices for oil and agricultural commodities, the shrinking and aging population of northwest Kansas, few applicants for open jobs for first responders, and decreasing grants and financial aid from federal and state sources.
Several groups consider the need for a convention center as an opportunity, along with solar and wind energy development, ag exports, downtown Hays as a destination, regional sports at the Bickle-Schmidt Sports Complex, volunteerism and entrepreneurship.
Johnson urged attendees to find out more about the new Northwest Kansas Economic Innovation Center, a private foundation for which the Hansen Foundation provided the start-up funding. The center, based in Norton, is interested in attracting entrepreneurs, assisting with business succession planning, and adding to the quality of life in northwest Kansas.
Hays Mayor Shaun Musil and Ellis USD 388 Superintendent Bob Young
“For our next meeting, I will facilitate the true strategic doing. We’re going to move tonight’s process forward,” Johnson explained near the end of the evening. “There are four questions you need to answer. What can we do? What should we do? What will we do? And, what will we do in the next 30 days?
“Which of these ideas will become a reality in Ellis County?” asked Johnson.
That’s what participant Anne Leiker, director of the Center For Life Experience, wants to know. She had a mixed reaction to the meeting.
“I’ve done strategic planning several times, with Leadership Hays, Leadership Kansas, and other groups,” Leiker said afterwards. “We’re stretched with our resources and our people, and I can’t stretch any further. Now, we have the funding resource (through Hansen). Now, it’s time for people, and new people, to step up and take ownership of these ideas.”
HCF Exec. Dir. Sandy Jacobs addresses the crowd Monday night.
Heartland Community Foundation Executive Director Sandy Jacobs, who is also a Hays city commissioner, echoed the “doing.”
“Betty’s right. If we don’t come back together and take these ideas, move forward and say ‘I’ll take ownership,’ then we really messed up,” Jacobs said.
She was involved in drafting the 20-year comprehensive plan for Hays, which was adopted in 2012.
“I won’t be involved in anything that will sit on the shelf. I promise you, it’s not sitting on the shelf. Our city staff is looking at it all the time. If I forget about it, somebody in the community reminds me of it,” she said. “That’s the way I want this strategic doing to work. Whatever is going to come out of this group, I promise you it will not be a document on the shelf.
“It will live and breathe and change and do,” Jacobs promised.
The next strategic doing session is at 6 p.m. Monday, Nov. 20, at the Rose Garden Banquet Hall. Any interested community members are invited to attend.
The Olathe School District says students who used anti-LGBT chants at the Olathe Northwest High School homecoming parade will “face consequences.”- photo Kansas News Service
The Olathe School District says students who used anti-LGBT language at a homecoming parade last Thursday will be punished. However, the district suggests the incident at Olathe Northwest High School may not have been as bad as first reported.
The most egregious reported chant was “Make Olathe Northwest straight again.” But Assistant Superintendent Erin Dugan says the district has “no credible evidence” confirming the chant was uttered.
“There’s lots of stories and rumors about different things that were said, whether or not mobs of kids were chanting,” Dugan told Steve Kraske on KCUR’s “Up to Date” program on Monday.
Still, she said, the offenders will be punished.
“They’ll face consequences for certain,” Dugan said.
At least one veteran teacher at the school suggested the parade may have lacked supervision. Dugan, however, said the same number of teachers supervised the parade as in the past.
While the parade occurred on Thursday, it continues to generate buzz on social media. A new Twitter account popped up over the weekend called Onw_slanders (Onw stands for Olathe Northwest.) One tweet Monday afternoon blamed the Gender Sexuality Alliance student organization for the tension.
We do not have a hatred for the GSA, we have a hatred for them pushing a personal agenda that we don’t practice ourselves.
“The self entitled bigots are the gsa, they believe they should be treated special, when I believe everyone should be treated the same,” the tweet stated.
The district immediately addressed the parade incident. Principal Chris Zuck emailed parents on Friday, saying, “I want to reassure you that we are taking this situation very seriously and that derogatory language and action is absolutely not acceptable … While we continue the investigation, our focus will be to make sure all of our students feel safe.”
Teachers at Olathe Northwest and in other schools in the district say the bitter divide in national politics has made it more challenging this year in the classroom, which might have played a role in the homecoming incident.
“I think we would be remiss if we thought the climate nationally hasn’t had an impact down to the school level,” Dugan said.
The Kansas State High School Activities Association released the new classifications for the 2017 – 2018 school year and the football classifications for the 2018 and 2019 seasons Tuesday.
There are very few area schools that will change classifications for this year.
Colby, Goodland and Scott Community all drop from 4A to 3A. La Crosse moved up to 2A from 1A.
Classes 4 and 1A will again be divided into two divisions in select activities.
The classifications are based on student enrollment for grades ninth through twelfth.
The changes take effect immediately and are for all activities except football.
Class
Number of Schools
Range
Schools Changing Class
6A
32
2404 – 1369
Kansas City-JC Harmon (5A)
5A
32
1363 – 810
Kansas City-Wyandotte (6A)
Maize South (4A)
Olathe West (New)
4A
64
791 – 265
Arkansas City (5A)
Galena (3A)
Hugoton (3A)
Kansas City-Sumner Academy (5A)
Marysville (3A)
3A
64
260 – 156
Colby (4A)
Goodland (4A)
Haven (4A)
McLouth (2A)
Scott Community (4A)
2A
64
156 – 92
Burlingame (1A)
Goessel (1A)
Jetmore-Hodgeman County (1A)
La Crosse (1A)
Marion (3A)
Olpe (1A)
Salina-St. John’s Military Academy (1A)
St. Francis (1A)
Syracuse (3A)
1A
97
92 – 20
Atwood-Rawlins County (2A)
Cottonwood Falls-Chase County (2A)
Moran-Marmaton Valley (2A)
Rosalia-Flinthills (2A)
St. John-Hudson (2A)
Troy (2A)
Valley Falls (2A)
Washington County (2A)
The football classifications take effect next year and will be in place for both 2018 and 2019.
Enrollment figures are bases on grades ninth through eleventh.
The classifications reflect the changes adopted earlier this year. Under the new system Classes 6A, 5A and 4A have 32 teams. The next 48 schools, in terms of enrollment will make up 3A. Class 2A will also be made up of 48 schools. Class 1A returns as a separate classification and has 31 schools. Eight-man Division 1 is made up of 48 schools and there are 52 schools in Eight-man Division 2.
Hays moves back to 5A and is the smallest school with 621 students.
TMP-Marian, Hoisington, Norton and Phillipsburg all drop to 2A.
Ellis, LaCrosse, Plainville and Smith Center move to 1A.
Another WWII U.S. Army-trained “farmer/pilot” has left us. Donald Melvin Griffin, 91, passed away on July 27, 2017, at his home in Wilton, Calif., with his wife by his side. Don was born Oct. 6, 1925, on his Grandfather Manley’s homestead farm in Kirk, Colo., to George Melvin Griffin and Berniece Manley Griffin. He graduated from Natoma High School in Natoma, Kan., in 1943.
Don is survived by his wife of 22 years, Marsha Griffin; a brother, David Griffin of Natoma; two sisters: Evelyn Kee and Berneita Schneider, also of Natoma; four children: Jennifer Schock, Constance Griffin, Penny Griffin and Julie Davis, all of Phoenix; a stepdaughter; a stepson; and 20 grandchildren. He was preceded in death by his former wife, Virginia Heffner, and daughter Ruth Voelker; and by his brother Lowell Griffin and sister Barbara Deschner.
Initially, he began his military career at Walker AFB in 1943, which led up to his becoming a veteran military Regular Officer and career pilot in the U.S. Air Force, Don retired in 1983 as a full Colonel after 38 years of combined service to his country. After WWII, he became a commercial flight instructor and worked in civil aviation. He flew with the U.S. Army Air Corps Reserve and transitioned to the U.S. Air Force when it became an entity. Don returned to active duty in May 1953. He was a Strategic Reconnaissance pilot during the Cold War; a Standardization/Evaluation Instructor Pilot; and one of the original RB-66 reconnaissance pilots. He flew the RB-47H and the RC-135C in Cold War Sino-Soviet peripheral reconnaissance areas and in the Vietnam combat zone.
Don was stationed around the United States and the world, including airfields in Texas, California, Arizona, Kansas, Nebraska, Alaska, Korea, Japan and Spain. He also served in England, Turkey, Okinawa and the Philippines on extended temporary duty. He was a Strategic Air Command Wing Commander of two separate wings and was continuously associated with Reconnaissance and Task Force Operations. A highly decorated officer, Don’s medals include the Legion of Merit with two oak leaf clusters, the Distinguished Flying Cross with three oak leaf clusters, the Meritorious Service Medal, the Air Medal with four oak leaf clusters, and more. He accumulated more than 10,000 flying hours. Don was a loving father and enjoyed his family and grandkids. His passing leaves a big hole in our hearts. He leaves this earth having already made his mark in history as a great pilot, commander of men, and one of those who proudly defended the United States with every fiber of their being.
A memorial is planned for 10:30 a.m. on Friday, October 6, 2017, at the Natoma Community Center, in Natoma. Inurnment will follow in Natoma Lutheran Cemetery. Military honors will be performed by the Russell V.F.W. Post 6240. Guests are invited to return to the Community Center for lunch. In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to the Wounded Warriors Foundation. Pohlman-Varner-Peeler Mortuary of Natoma, Kansas, is in charge of the memorial service.