We have a brand new updated website! Click here to check it out!

Month: December 2017

SCHLAGECK: When winter bites

Posted on

John Schlageck writes for the Kansas Farm Bureau.
When the temperatures in Kansas dip below freezing, two types of people usually surface – those who enjoy invigorating weather and those who tolerate the cold from the inside. How an individual feels about the cold weather usually depends on where he/she grew up, age and more importantly, attitude.

Another element comes into play – wind chill factor. Wind chill factor is usually defined as the cooling effect from wind and temperature on the human body. Wind whisking by exposed skin during cold weather increases a person’s heat loss.

An Antarctic explorer, Paul Siple, and his colleague, Charles Passel, first coined the term “wind chill” in 1939. Siple described wind chill as the relative cooling power – heat removal – from the body with various combinations of wind speed and low temperatures.

Some 75 years later, wind chill has become a common term in our everyday conversation. Knowing the factors help people protect themselves against frostbite and hypothermia. Tissue damage occurs in frostbite when wind chill temperatures fall below –25 degrees F. Hypothermia results when the rapid loss of the body’s internal temperature alters judgment. This sometimes results in death.

Western Kansas stockmen know the harder the wind blows, the lower the wind chill factor. Simply put, it is the relationship between wind speed and actual temperature that produces this chilling effect.
People who spend time outdoors during these cold periods – stockmen, construction workers, hunters, runners and skiers – may create their own winds or increase the existing wind. Because movement magnifies airflow, they should be especially cautious of wind chill.

Manual labor and other physical exertion can cause heat loss also. Sweat begins and heat is removed by vaporization. Breathing cold air also results in the loss of heat from the lungs.

Few people realize that smoking, drinking, prescription drugs and illegal narcotics may also contribute to frostbite or hypothermia during bitterly cold temperatures. All of these dull the senses.

Alcohol dilates the capillaries of the skin and that increases the body’s heat loss. Nicotine smoke absorbed by the blood causes the capillaries to constrict. This restricts the blood flow to the earlobes, fingertips and other regions of the body. Medication can have side effects too, so venture outside during cold weather with caution.

Wind chill charts for regular references are available wherever outdoor equipment is sold. Use these charts only as a point of information. Wind chill charts aren’t always accurate because they don’t consider all the possibilities of heat loss, or the preventive measures against it.

Air temperature is rarely a reliable indicator of how cold a person will feel outdoors. Elements such as wind speed, relative humidity and sunshine or solar radiation also play a part. A person’s health and the type of clothing worn will also affect how a person feels.

When you go outside, dress for the weather and the wind. Wear loose-fitting, lightweight, warm clothing in several layers. These layers can be removed to prevent perspiration and subsequent chilling. Snug mittens are better protection than fitted gloves.

Always wear a hat, preferably wool, ear protection and a scarf or neck gaiter. If it’s bitter cold – stay inside or limit your exposure to the elements.

John Schlageck, a Hoxie native, is a leading commentator on agriculture and rural Kansas.

Police shoot, injure Kansas carjacking suspect

Posted on
Law enforcement authorities on the scene of Monday’s police shooting-photo courtesy KCTV

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) – Police say four people are in custody after a carjacking led to one of the suspects being shot by Kansas City police.

Authorities say a carjacking in Kansas City, Kansas, on Monday led to a police chase that ended when the car stopped in downtown Kansas City, Missouri, near City Hall.

Police spokeswoman Stacy Graves says the four suspects were known to be armed. They fled from the car into a nearby parking garage and three suspects were arrested.

Graves says the fourth suspect inside the garage disregarded commands from officers and shots were fired.

The suspect was taken to a Kansas City hospital and was in stable condition Monday afternoon.

No police officers were injured.

Sheriff identifies man found dead after crash in Kansas creek

Posted on

COFFEY COUNTY — Law enforcement authorities are investigating a fatal accident in Coffey County.

Just after 9:30 Sunday, the Coffey County Sheriff’s Office was notified of a vehicle on its top in a creek in the area of Homestead Road and 3rd Terrace in rural Southern Coffey County, according to a media release.

Upon arrival, deputies found a truck in the creek below the bridge partially submerged. At approximately 11:30, the vehicle was recovered from the creek and a victim later identified as 34-year-old Tyler Craft of Burlington, was found deceased in the vehicle, according to the sheriff’s department.

Personnel from Coffey County’s Sheriff’s Office, Fire District #1 Station 4, EMS, and Water Rescue, plus an officer from Kansas Dept. of Wildlife, Parks, and Tourism responded to the scene.

Sunny, mild Tuesday

Posted on

Today Sunny, with a high near 57. West wind 7 to 11 mph.

Tonight Clear, with a low around 33. West southwest wind 6 to 13 mph.

Wednesday Sunny, with a high near 58. Windy, with a north northwest wind 14 to 19 mph increasing to 23 to 28 mph in the afternoon.

Wednesday NightPartly cloudy, with a low around 29. North northwest wind 7 to 17 mph.

ThursdayPartly sunny, with a high near 48. Breezy, with a west northwest wind 9 to 14 mph increasing to 18 to 23 mph in the afternoon.

Thursday NightMostly clear, with a low around 22. Blustery.

Friday Sunny, with a high near 56.

2 from Missouri jailed for pot after I-70 seat belt traffic stop

Posted on
Teeter-photo Saline Co.

SALINE COUNTY — Law enforcement authorities are investigating 2 suspects on drug charges.

Just after 5p.m. Sunday Saline County Sheriff’s Deputies stopped an eastbound 2017 Ford Fiesta on

Interstate 70 just west of Halstead Road, according to Sheriff Roger Soldan. The driver was not wearing a seat belt.

During the traffic stop, the deputy reported smelling the strong odor of marijuana. Deputies searched the vehicle and found several bags of marijuana and marijuana wax. They also found a bag of methamphetamines.

Patterson-photo Saline Co.

Deputies seized 9.7 pounds of marijuana and 32 grams of methamphetamines and arrested 22-year-old Hailey Patterson and 38-year-old Dustin Teeter, both of Oronogo, Missouri.

Teeter is also facing additional charges for driving without a valid license, according to the Saline County booking report.

Supreme Court won’t review appeal in Kansas sheriff’s death

Posted on
Scott Cheever- photo Kansas Dept. of Corrections

WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. Supreme Court is letting a death sentence stand for a southeastern Kansas man who fatally shot a sheriff during a 2005 drug raid.

The high court declined Monday to review Scott Cheever’s case a second time. Cheever faces lethal injection for killing Greenwood County Sheriff Matt Samuels as Samuels tried to serve a warrant at Cheever’s rural home about 75 miles northeast of Wichita.

Cheever acknowledged shooting Samuels, but his attorney argued Cheever was too high on methamphetamine for the crime to be premeditated.

The Kansas Supreme Court in 2012 ordered a new trial for Cheever because prosecutors used a court-ordered mental evaluation from a different trial against him. The U.S. Supreme Court reversed that decision in 2013.

The Kansas court then upheld Cheever’s death sentence last year.

Kansas woman sentenced for rape of 16-month-old

Posted on
Payne-photo Leavenworth Co.

LEAVENWORTH, Kan. (AP) — A Leavenworth woman has been sentenced to life in prison without parole for at least 25 years for raping a 16-month-old girl.

Forty-one-year-old Mahogany Jaelene Payne was sentenced Friday.

Leavenworth County prosecutor Toff Thompson says a crime occurred when Payne was babysitting the girl and a 5-year-old girl in January 2016.

Payne was convicted in October of one count of rape. She was acquitted of a second rape charge.

The Leavenworth Times reports Payne was given a life sentence under Jessica’s Law, which calls for harsh sentences for people convicted of sex crimes involving children.

Payne’s attorney, Curtis Holmes, had sought a sentence of probation. But Assistant County Attorney Katie Devlin argued against that, noting that Payne was convicted of child abuse in 1999 in Sedgwick County.

Kansas man admits he strangled woman, her 3 children

Posted on
David Cornell Bennett, Jr-photo Montgomery Co.

PARSONS, Kan. (AP) — A former Montgomery County man pleaded guilty to killing a southeast Kansas woman and her three children in 2013.

The Kansas Attorney General’s office said 26-year-old David Cornell Bennett Jr, formerly of Cherryvale, pleaded guilty Monday to capital murder and three counts of first-degree premeditated murder.

As part of the plea deal, the state withdrew its notice to seek the death penalty against Bennett.

Bennett pleaded guilty in the November 2013 deaths of 29-year-old Cami Umbarger and her three minor children in Parsons.

Testimony at a preliminary hearing in October 2014 indicated the victims were strangled. Testimony indicated Bennett repeatedly tried to contact Umbarger after they met at a club in Independence.

He will be sentenced Feb. 16. His only possible sentence is life in prison without parole.

News From the Oil Patch, Dec. 11: Ellis Co. tops Kansas production

Posted on

BY JOHN P. TRETBAR

The Kansas Geological Survey reported new oil production numbers for the state Tuesday. Operators produced 3.08 million barrels in August. The total for the first eight months of the year is 24.151 million barrels of crude from 50,901 active wells.

Ellis County led the state with 230,000 barrels of new production for a total through August of 1.77 million barrels. Barton County reported 150,000 barrels in August for total production of 1.14 million barrels through August. Russell County 135,000 barrels for the month, with the running total reaching 1.07 million. And in Stafford County, producers added 90,000 barrels for a total through August of just over 700,000 barrels.

Here are the ten top oil-producing counties in Kansas through August (KGS):
Ellis 1.77 million barrels
Haskell 1.61 million barrels
Barton 1.14 million barrels
Finney 1.08 million barrels
Rooks 1.077 million barrels
Russell 1.072 million barrels
Ness 1.004 million barrels
Harper 706 thousand barrels
Stafford 700 thousand barrels
Barber 649 thousand barrels

Independent Oil & Gas Service reported 11 active drilling rigs in eastern Kansas last week, down two from the week before, and 25 west of Wichita, which is up three. Drilling was underway at one lease in Ellis County. Operators report drilling ahead at sites in Ellis and Russell County. They’re moving in completion tools at three sites in Barton County, two in Ellis County, one in Russell County and two in Stafford County. Baker Hughes reported 931 active drilling rigs coast-to-coast, an increase of two oil rigs. Canada reported 219 active rigs, down three.

Kansas operators filed 35 permits for drilling at new locations across the state last week, 1,359 so far this year. There are 18 new drilling permits east of Wichita, 17 in western Kansas, including one new permit in Barton County.

Independent Oil & Gas Service reports 33 new well completions for the week, 1,243 so far this year. There were 22 wells completed in eastern Kansas and eleven west of Wichita, including two in Stafford County.

The Trump administration imposed two-year delay in implementation of an Obama-era rule intended to curb methane emissions from drilling on public lands. The Interior Department’s Bureau of Land Management is taking action to delay the rule, according to a filing in the Federal Register. The rules have been the subject of court fights and a failed vote in the Senate to repeal them.

The government’s lease offering of 900 tracts in the National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska drew bids on just seven of those tracts. The bids Wednesday totaled $1.16 million. All of the bids were submitted jointly by subsidiaries of ConocoPhillips and Anadarko.

US Commodity Futures Trading Commissioner Bart Chilton and his team on Monday announced the creation of the first digital currency based on a physical asset. OilCoin will tokenize barrels of oil held in reserve with each token representing the value of one barrel. A public token sale is scheduled early next year. Commissioner Chilton says OilCoin is a regulated digital currency based upon “something real that folks can touch and feel,” which could provide a safe haven from the volatility associated with cryptocurrency.

The vice-chairman of China’s securities regulator says they’re near “the starting point for the comprehensive opening of China’s futures markets to the world,” beginning with the imminent launch of crude oil futures. According to Reuters, he did not elaborate on when the Chinese crude futures would start trading.

Chevron announced it would cut its total capital and exploratory budget for a fourth consecutive year in 2018. But the supermajor is significantly boosting spending on U.S. shale, especially in the Permian Basin of Texas. The company will drop 3.3 billion for Permian production and another one billion for other shale investments, compared to $2.5 billion this year.

Government finances in New Mexico have turned around, after two years of drastic cuts, to the point that lawmakers can now expect revenues to exceed spending by $199 million, or about 3.3%. The rebounding oil patch in New Mexico gets credit for much of that. In a report to legislators, officials said income from oil and natural gas was adjusted upward by $140 million for the current and coming fiscal years. Income tax projections were also higher.

A North Dakota trucking firm learned the hard way that it can be fined by both the health department and oil and gas regulators for dumping oilfield wastewater. The company, Black Hills Trucking lost its bid to reject nearly a million dollars in civil penalties assessed by that state’s Oil and Gas Division. Black Hills argued before the state Supreme Court that jurisdiction in the case belongs solely to the Health Department, because the dumping incidents occurred on a road and not on a well pad. The Health Department has already issued a civil penalty. The high court ruling Thursday affirms the Oil and Gas Division’s additional $950,000 fine plus costs.

North Dakota health officials have concluded that a proposed oil refinery close to the Theodore Roosevelt National Park should comply with federal and state air pollution rules. The company still needs a state water permit as well. Operators were able to skirt the normal site-selection process because at up to 49,500 barrels, the proposal falls just below the state threshold requiring the Public Service Commission to approve the site. Meridian Energy Group says it will be the “cleanest refinery on the planet,” but activists complain it’s too close, just three miles from the national park.

Federal geologists agree to reevaluate the amount of recoverable crude oil in North Dakota. U.S. Senator John Hoeven and industry officials requested the new assessment by the U.S. Geological Survey, saying it would likely attract investment by showing stronger production potential. They want the USGS to take into account 17 other formations in western North Dakota that could be exploited using technology developed for the Bakken and the Three Forks.

Thirteen oil companies failed to meet North Dakota’s natural gas flaring goals in September. The Bismarck Tribune reports operators in September burned off more than 300 million cubic feet of natural gas daily — a level not seen since the summer of 2015. But Mineral Resources Director Lynn Helms says the state’s gas capture targets are working “extremely well.” He says they’ve brought the percentage of gas flared down from the peak of 36 percent in September 2011. Flaring is expected to be down to 12 percent next year and down to nine percent by 2020.

Kansas gas prices drop 4 cents, second largest decline nationally

Posted on
Click to enlarge

Kansas pump price is $2.28, as gas continues its seasonal downward slide

AAA

TOPEKA – Kansas gas prices tied the second largest weekly decline in the country, falling another four cents per gallon to a statewide average of $2.28. Kansas gas prices have fallen 13 cents in the past month, and the state currently has the 11th lowest gasoline prices in the nation.

“Kansas motorists are now enjoying our typical downward gas price trend as we approach the end-of-year holiday driving season,” said Jennifer Haugh, AAA Kansas spokeswoman. “Factors such as favorable gas supply, declining demand and the integration of less expensive winter blend gasolines are playing a role in these lower prices at the pumps.”

Of the 10 Kansas cities regularly highlighted by AAA Kansas (see chart above), all saw gas price declines this week, with the largest drops being Hays (-12 cents), Garden City (-9), and Emporia, Kansas City, Kan. and Wichita (all at -5).

According to AAA Kansas, this week’s Kansas gas price extremes are at the extreme northwest and southeast corners of the state:
HIGH: St. Francis (Cheyenne County) – $2.75
LOW: Baxter Springs (Cherokee County) – $2.13

National Perspective
The national average price for a gallon of gasoline dropped two cents on the week to $2.46. East Coast and Midwest states are seeing the largest drops in gas prices – as much as six cents – in the last week. While a small number of states, who historically experience ongoing volatility, are seeing increases: Indiana (+11 cents), Michigan (+8 cents), Ohio (+4 cents), Hawaii (+1 cent) and Illinois (+1 cent). Drivers can expect pump prices to continue to drop heading into the holiday season as supply strengthens and fall gasoline demand weakens.

“Nationally, gas prices are 10 cents cheaper on the month and will continue to drop as we count down the days to the holidays,” said AAA Kansas’ Haugh. “AAA expects gasoline demand to weaken throughout the winter, which translates to better prices at the pump.”

Consumer gasoline demand is registering under 9 million b/d for the second consecutive week, while gasoline inventories increased by nearly 7 million bbl, according to the Energy Information Administration (EIA).

Great Lakes and Central States Report
Gas prices in the region range from $2.22 (Missouri) to $2.51 (Michigan). In many states, drivers are paying as much as five cents less at the pump compared to last Monday, except for those filling up in Indiana (+11 cents), Michigan (+8 cents) and Ohio (+4 cents).

Of note, last Monday Kentucky was the only state in the region to see pump prices jump. Today, gas prices have decreased six cents, which is the largest decrease of any state in the country on the week.
Adding 1.6 million bbl, the region’s gasoline inventories register at 47.2 million bbl. This is the largest inventory total for the Great Lakes and Central states since mid-October, yet two million bbl below this time last year.

Copyright Eagle Radio | FCC Public Files | EEO Public File