GREAT BEND – Duck hunters and friends hitting the marsh on Sat., Oct. 7 are invited to stop by the Kansas Wetlands Education Center (KWEC) – located at the southeast corner of Cheyenne Bottoms along K-156 Highway – from 8 a.m. to 12 p.m. for a free Hunter Appreciation Breakfast. Biscuits and gravy, coffee, and juice will be served. New this year will be a free dog retrieving demo with a hunt test training scenario for dog owners to try with their dog.
After filling up on a warm breakfast, hunters can explore Cheyenne Bottoms’ history through exhibits and displays at the education center, peruse through items in the Cheyenne Bottoms Ducks Unlimited Chapter raffle and silent auction, practice their marksmanship with the Kansas Department of Wildlife, Parks and Tourism’s (KDWPT) Laser Shot game, as well as share hunting stories with fellow hunters and KDWPT staff.
“Hunters and hunting is such an important part of the past, present, and future of Cheyenne Bottoms,” stated Curtis Wolf, KWEC director. “It is an honor to celebrate this tradition.”
The free breakfast is sponsored by the Great Bend Convention and Visitors Bureau, and organized by the KWEC, KDWPT, and Ducks Unlimited.
For more information about the breakfast, call the KWEC at (877) 243-9268.
Dr. Roger Marshall, R-Great Bend, is the First District Kansas Congressman.
Friend,
I want to start off by offering my sincerest prayers and well wishes to those recovering from natural disasters in Mexico and Puerto Rico. I have been in communication with Congresswoman González-Colón from Puerto Rico, and it is clear that they have a long way to go. I encourage you to give what you can to causes that will help the victims, and to keep them in your prayers.
As always, if you have any questions, concerns or know of ways my office can be of assistance, don’t hesitate to contact us.
In the House Congressional Delegation to China
Several of my colleagues and I are in China this week for meetings on trade and national security.
Rep. Marshall (far right) in China
The picture to the left was taken after our meeting with Zheng Zeguang, Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs with a focus on North America. We discussed our long term shared goals for national security, and specifically focused on the threat posed by North Korea.
In addition to Zheng Zeguang, we met with the U.S. Ambassador to China, Terry Branstad and James Green of the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative. We discussed our new agreement to sell U.S. beef in China, DDG exports to China, ethanol and other ways to expand our trade partnership. As the former Governor of Iowa, Ambassador Branstad understands agriculture, and the economies of states like Kansas. He is, and will continue to be, a great advocate for our producers.
Secretary Liu Jiayi
My colleagues and I also had the chance to meet with Secretary Liu Jiayi of the Shandong Province (shown right). Shandong is the home of Confucius, and the Secretary made a point to quote the philosopher on promoting peace.
The Secretary also spoke positively about the increased trade between our countries, and our efforts to expand those agreements even further.
Military academy nomination deadline approaching
My office will be accepting applications to attend the United States service academies through Friday, Oct. 6!
Individuals ages 17 to 22 residing in Kansas’ 1st Congressional district may apply. All applications can be submitted on my website.
For questions or more information, call 620-765-7800.
Kansas state fair visitors
Thanks to all those who visited with my staff and me at the Kansas State Fair! Hearing the comments, concerns and ideas from Kansans all over the state helps us serve you better. If you’d like to weigh in on the upcoming tax reform debate, CLICK HERE.
LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) — Will Grier threw for 347 yards and accounted for four touchdowns, Justin Crawford ran for 125 yards and another score and West Virginia pulled away late to beat pesky Kansas 56-34 on Saturday.
David Sills V had 130 yards and two TDs receiving, and Kennedy McKoy also reached the end zone twice, as the Mountaineers (3-1, 1-0 Big 12) beat Kansas (1-3, 0-1) for the sixth time in seven meetings.
They did it by overcoming a career game from sophomore Khalil Herbert, who ran for 291 yards and two TDs. It was the third-most yards by a Kansas player on the ground in school history.
Peyton Bender added 197 yards and a TD through the air, but he also threw a pair of picks, while a porous defense that allowed 40-plus points to Central Michigan and Ohio struggled once more.
The Mountaineers looked as if they’d cruise past the Jayhawks again when they put together four straight touchdown drives in the first half. Each covered at least 80 yards, none took more than 3:22 off the clock, and the result was a 28-3 lead midway through the second quarter.
Herbert finally stopped the onslaught with a 67-yard touchdown run, but the Mountaineers’ Mike Daniels picked off a tipped pass a couple minutes later and returned it for another score.
But the Mountaineers’ seemingly comfortable 35-13 halftime advantage didn’t last long.
Their offense suddenly hit the skids, punting four times and turning it over once during a five-possession series spanning the break. And a defense that had started to bottle up Herbert again became leaky, allowing short touchdown runs a couple minutes apart to make it 35-27.
Suddenly, the sparse crowd that turned out on a hot, sunny afternoon began to think back to 2013, when the Jayhawks stunned the Mountaineers 31-19 on a cool November day.
The teams swapped TDs in the fourth quarter, the Mountaineers getting a second chance at the end zone after an offside penalty on a field goal, and it was still 42-34 with 7:35 left in the game.
Grier answered with a QB keeper then scored again a few minutes later to put it away.
THE TAKEAWAY
West Virginia: Grier had the Mountaineers humming early and late, but the offense sputtered out of rhythm during a long stretch in the middle of the game. Their counterparts on defense didn’t help much, getting pushed around by the Kansas offensive line most of the afternoon.
Kansas: Miscues doomed the Jayhawks, from the pick-six to penalties when they were going for it in fourth-and-short situations. But while coach David Beaty insists there are no moral victories, the way Kansas responded to adversity was something to build upon.
UP NEXT
West Virginia has a week off before visiting No. 16 TCU on Oct. 7.
Kansas also gets a week off before Texas Tech visits Oct. 7.
Commerce Secretary Antonio Soave answers questions about the KBA sale during a meeting at the Kansas Statehouse. CREDIT STEPHEN KORANDA
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Court documents filed in a dispute between former Kansas Commerce Secretary Antonio Soave and his business partner say Gov. Sam Brownback forced Soave to resign.
Soave resigned in June and announced earlier this month that he was running for Congress.
His resignation came two weeks after business partner Paola Ghezzo sued Soave in Johnson County, alleging fraud and other financial misdeeds.
Ghezzo, who was a consultant at the Commerce Department, alleges that Soave used funds from their consulting business for personal bills and expenses related to state business.
The Kansas City Star reports court documents show Soave’s business was intertwined with the Commerce Department and say Brownback’s chief of staff knew about the fraud allegations in February.
The Hays USD 489 school board will learn what the district’s official enrollment for the school year is at its meeting on Monday.
The state counts enrollment officially on Sept. 20. Enrollment is plugged into a formula to determine how much funding the district will receive from the state.
Hope Pantry
Members of Tigers in Service will discuss its “Make a Difference” project that benefits the USD 489 Hope Pantry. The pantry helps USD 489 families with food, clothing and hygiene items.
Fort Hays State Tiger fans attending the FHSU vs. Emporia football game at 2 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 28 are invited to bring one or more items (non-perishable food, new clothing, hygiene products) or consider making a monetary donation to the Hope Pantry.
Collection sites will be located at entry gates to Lewis Field Stadium. Those who contribute will receive a drawing ticket for an exclusive Tiger Tailgate Package, including a reserved tailgating spot for the 2018 football season along with a cooler and all of the gear you need for a tailgate party experience.
The prize package will be given away at halftime. A few lucky attendees will be selected to participate in a halftime activity bringing further awareness to the cause.
Collection boxes will also be located at the Robbins Center, One Tiger Place; inside the Memorial Union (near Starbucks), 600 Park St.; and Golden Belt Bank, 1101 E. 27th St., from Oct. 16 to Nov. 3.
The district will hear a report from special educations staff on the district’s STAR Rooms.
RENO COUNTY — A Kansas couple is free on bond after being arrested Thursday for alleged animal cruelty.
On September 14, officers worked an animal welfare case and found a large number of new puppies in unsanitary living conditions and saw signs of neglect.
Darrell J. Francis, 62, and Delores Eileen Jenkins Francis, 55, both of Nickerson were booked into the Reno County Correctional Facility on 10 counts of animal cruelty.
During an investigation, a Reno County deputy responded to a home in Nickerson and discovered horrible living conditions and obvious animal abuse for the puppies. The animals were transported to a vet in Lyons and later shipped by volunteers to Pawsitive Tails Rescue in Kansas City.
Deputy Chris Shields adopted one puppy and named it “Ammo.”
Two adult dogs were also neglected and reportedly had little food, water or shelter.
Listen to Mike Cooper interviewing Dr. Manoj and Bryan Noone, from the Sleep and Neurodiagnostic Institute at HaysMed, by clicking the link above and then clicking the play button
Interim Fort Hays State University President Andy Tompkins
FHSU University Relations and Marketing
Tiger alumni and friends are invited to join interim Fort Hays State University President Andy Tompkins as he makes his way across the state of Kansas, meeting with news media and Tiger supporters to share the latest news from Fort Hays State.
Four Tiger gatherings are scheduled throughout the week:
• Overland Park: 7 to 8:30 p.m. Monday, Oct. 16, at Farmers Bank of Kansas City, 14231 Metcalf Ave.
• Hutchinson: 6 to 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 17, at Prairie Dunes Country Club,
4812 E. 30th Ave.
• Great Bend: Noon to 1:30 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 18, at Holiday Inn Express, 3821 10th St.
• Garden City: Noon to 1:30 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 19, at Ward’s Garden Center,
2703 US-83.
Dr. Tompkins will be joined by DeBra Prideaux, executive alumni director, and Lisa Karlin, director of the Office of University Relations and Marketing.
Events are open to all Tiger supporters. Registrations are accepted online at www.goforthaysstate.com/events or by calling the FHSU Alumni Association office at 888-351-3591.
Special thanks are extended to event hosts and sponsors: W.R. & Yvonne Robbins and the team at Farmers Bank of Kansas City; Gabe Goering, Midway Motors, Hutchinson; John Francis, Francis Financial Services, Great Bend; Kevin Keller and Jeff Keller, Keller Real Estate & Insurance Agency Inc., Great Bend; Curtis Wolf, Ellinwood; Brenda Reeve, Garden City; and Sidney Worf, Garden City.
For information on how to participate, call the Alumni Association at 785-628-4430 or email [email protected].
As far as the city of Hays is concerned, the 3-mile Extraterritorial Jurisdiction (ETJ) surrounding its city limits is considered contiguous to Hays and unavailable for large lot development.
That is likely to change.
The intent of the ETJ is to provide a high level of protection for the city in future growth areas. The Hays Unified Development Code (UDC) states “Urban type development is not to be encouraged unless the city or the county agrees to provide the level of service necessary to provide a reasonable level of fire and police protection, a public water source, sanitation service, paved streets and administrative service, such as a coordinated street naming and addressing system.”
According to Public Works Director Jesse Rohr, “there has not been clear direction, guidance, or policy for the development of large lot subdivisions, especially those of approximately 1 acre in size or larger.”
City staff has been approached by the Hays Board of Realtors about allowing large lot developments within the ETJ. City and Ellis County commissioners discussed the matter during a joint meeting earlier this year and decided a policy should be created to guide such development.
City and county staff have jointly designed a map indicating areas where large lot development may be acceptable and have drafted a policy to help guide decision makers in approving such developments.
Rohr showed the proposed map to Hays city commissioners during their Thursday night work session.
Within the 900 square miles of Ellis County, the Hays ETJ is about 70 square miles while the actual city limits is about 10 square miles. The red-hatched area in the ETJ map is approximately 35 square miles.
(Click to enlarge)
“That red-hatched area we have vetted through the process and decided it’s probably okay for development,” Rohr explained. “It’s not in an area of future anticipated growth on the outskirts of the 3-mile ETJ and would have little or no impact on the future development of the city of Hays.
“If the land is not in the red cross-hatched area, it would be considered as contiguous and treated as such, just like it was abutting the city limits of Hays. Large lot development coming forward would likely not be recommended or approved in any area that is not in the red-cross hatch.
“The city commission, of course, would have the ultimate say,” Rohr stressed, “with this being a policy and not a regulatory authority.”
The policy has been revised to reflect the desire of a 2 acre minimum lot size rather than the 5 acres as originally proposed.
Any proposed large lot developments in the areas identified for large lot development would still be required to be vetted through the planning process of platting and rezoning. All authorities having jurisdiction would still review and approve the development to ensure roads, utilities, and emergency services are provided. The platting process as defined in the UDC would still preside over any proposed developments.
The Planning Commission meeting voted unanimously August 21 to adopt the draft policy and recommends the city commission adopt it.
City Commissioner Sandy Jacobs sat through the Planning Commission’s discussion.
“I was very impressed with how they approached this,” she said. “They really put a lot of thought into this process.”
City commissioners will consider approving the recommended changes at their Sept. 28 meeting. If approved, the policy and large lot zone map would become part of the official City Comprehensive Plan.
Listen as the ‘Voice of the Chiefs’ Mitch Holthus recaps last week’s home win over Philadelphia and previews Sunday’s game with AFC West rival Los Angeles Chargers.
The Holthus Hotline airs Saturday at 6:30 a.m. during the Chiefs season.
Linda BeechSeptember is National Disaster Preparedness Month. It is also the month for the annual Prepare Kansas social media campaign from K-State Research and Extension.
In Kansas, we need to be prepared for disasters that often take us by surprise. Tornadoes, floods and wildfires can happen without warning.
But what if you had days of warning? What if the storm you were facing was bigger than your entire state? And what if it was headed directly toward you?
The need to be prepared for disaster became personal this month. My sister lives on the east coast of Florida, in the early-predicted path of Hurricane Irma. A series of text messages described her efforts to prepare for the coming disaster.
Wednesday, 9-6-17,10:18 a.m.: “This will be my line of hurricane communication. Hurricane Irma is looking pretty scary. I’m off work gathering important paperwork and saving things online. We have plenty of food and water and full tanks of gas. Hopefully this thing will miss us, but it is twice as wide as the entire state so we will surely get something. I’ll keep you posted.”
Wednesday, 3:55 p.m.: “The latest on the storm doesn’t look good for us. Our county has declared a state of emergency. I have all my important papers copied and in a file to bring with us if we have to leave– tax returns, mortgage info, car and home insurance, important numbers, account information, I.D. etc. I also made an emergency contact sheet with our doctors’ names and phone numbers, prescriptions, family contact info, etc. (If I can’t use my phone I won’t have access to all those numbers.) I spent the day copying it all, so the next hurricane I won’t have to do that again! I took pictures of all the rooms in the house before Hurricane Matthew last year! Lol!”
Friday, 9-8-17, 8:18 a.m.: “We are as prepared as we can be. We are hunkering down and praying for the best. The roads are clogged going north and there is no gas, so it is just as well. More later.”
The rain started in my sister’s area on Saturday, with howling wind and as many as 9 tornado warnings by Sunday. The power went off on Sunday night (and was ultimately off for 5 days), but on Monday morning came the message we were waiting to hear– “Made it! All is good. Still no power but no major damage.”
If a killer storm was headed your way, how would you prepare? My sister protected her property as much as possible, then gathered the documents she would need to recover if it was all destroyed. Prepare Kansas calls this a financial grab-and-go kit.
Why is this important? If you have your most important documents and information at hand in a grab-and-go kit, it can help to get you back on firm financial footing more quickly.
According to the Prepare Kansas campaign, your kit should be a waterproof, fireproof container that can be taken with you at a moment’s notice. Be sure to keep it in a secure place in your home.
What should be included in the kit? At a minimum you’ll want to have some cash and the financial information and personal identification needed to conduct your day-to-day financial life.
Other information to include in a grab-and-go kit:
•Personal information such as copies of driver’s licenses, passport, and social security cards and key documents that may be needed to restore your financial records.
•Account information such as financial account numbers; copies of ATM, debit, and credit cards; insurance cards, policies, or other proof of insurance coverage; and contact information for all financial and insurance providers.
•Household inventory.
•Safe deposit key.
•Important medical information, including prescriptions for medications and glasses, and children’s immunization records.
•Contact information for family members, doctors and other important service providers.
So, take a lesson from my sister in Florida . Don’t wait until a hurricane (or a Kansas tornado) is bearing down on you. Get prepared before disaster. Follow the Prepare Kansas pointers and challenges this month on the K-State Research and Extension Facebook page, read more at the Prepare Kansas blog (https://blogs.k-state.edu/preparekansas/) and download the disaster preparedness fact sheet from the K-State Research and Extension bookstore at https://www.bookstore.ksre.k-state.edu/pubs/MF3055.pdf.
Linda K. Beech is Cottonwood District Extension Agent for Family and Consumer Sciences.
The Kansas Water Office’s Smoky Hill-Saline Regional Advisory Committee (RAC) and City of Hays will host a Conservation Field Day for the area to share projects being implemented to address regional water issues.
The event will be Friday, Oct. 13, starting at 9 a.m., at the Agriculture Research Center Auditorium in Hays, Kansas. The public is encouraged to attend the tour and learn about the area’s water conservation efforts as well as issues that continue to face the region.
There will be presentations from the city of Hays and Smoky Hill-Saline RAC in the morning. A tour will follow the lunch of the conservation projects being implemented around Hays.
Lunch will be provided, but RSVPs are required by Friday, Sept. 29.
KDWPT
Listen to Mike Cooper interviewing Dr. Manoj and Bryan Noone, from the Sleep and Neurodiagnostic Institute at HaysMed, by clicking the link above and then clicking the play button
