Ralph Jensen, age 89, passed away Thursday, January 25, 2017 at the Trego Lemke Long Term Care center in WaKeeney.
Arrangements are pending with Brock’s-Keithley Funeral Chapel and Crematory 2509 Vine Hays, KS 67601.
Month: January 2018
Legislative leaders want Kan. school finance chief suspended
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas House and Senate leaders say they want the state’s top school finance official suspended in a dispute over whether he has the authority to allocate money to school districts for transportation.
Senate President Susan Wagle and House Speaker Ron Ryckman say Dale Dennis, the deputy education commissioner, unlawfully allocated up to $405 million in transportation funds over 45 years. They also want Dennis’ immediate staff suspended.
Dennis said he’s been calculating transportation payments to school districts the same way for decades. He says he uses a method based on what he was told to do in the past and no one has questioned it before.
Some legislators on Thursday supported Dennis, saying the move was meant to prevent lawmakers from getting independent information on school financing.
Otter Juice Co. to offer clean beverage option
By CRISTINA JANNEY
Hays Post
The Otter Juice Co. is set to open next Thursday, Feb. 1, at 2306 Vine in Hays.
Jess and Curt Braun, owners, will offer 10 juices plus a make-your-own option. The juice bar will also offer a weekly smoothie option, coffee and an assortment of pastries.
Both Jess and Curt juice for their health and are excited to offer a clean eating/drinking option in Hays. All the ingredients in the beverages will be fresh. Jess even makes her almond milk from scratch.
“I am passionate about two things — animals and clean eating — and there is no place to eat clean here,” Jess said. “We love to juice. It is so healthy. We juice everyday.”
Most of us don’t get enough fruits and vegetables, and juicing is an easy way to get the nutrition your body needs, she said.
Jess said juicing is a good way to lose or maintain weight as well.
Unlike cooking vegetables, juicing preserves the nutrients, Curt said. No sugar is added to the smoothies or juices.
The Brauns insist getting your daily serving of fruits and vegetables doesn’t have to be chore.
Take, for instance, the Red Otter, one of the juice bar’s drinks. It contains beets, pineapple, apple and ginger. This is one of Curt’s favorite drinks, but he normally hates beets. You can’t taste the beets over the sweetness of the pineapple and apple, he said.
If you want something savory with a little kick, the Sassy Otter contains cucumber, celery, carrots, jalapeno, parsley, tomato and spinach.
Jess said juices can be a way parents can sneak some vegetables into kids’ diets.
Jess used the example of the Funky Monkey smoothie, which will be the Otter’s first smoothie offering next week. It has peanut butter and chocolate almond milk in it.
“When my daughter was doing the sign for me, she gets down to the peanut butter and said, ‘What else did you say?’ I said kale and spinach and she goes, ‘Oh, you just ruined it.’ I swear you cannot taste the kale and spinach in there. That is a kid-friendly smoothie right there even for kids that don’t like veggies because you cannot taste them.”
Jess said she hopes to eventually offer a juice flight, which will allow customers to try a variety of juices so they can see what they like.
The pastries, which will include bagels, scones and muffins will be made from scratch and will be all plant based, which means no eggs or butter.
That doesn’t mean they aren’t good, Jess said. Her baked goods have a handful of natural, fresh ingredients compared to a supermarket bagel, which might have a list of 20 ingredients, including preservatives.
Jess uses both hemp seed and chia seed in her muffins and bagels. Hemp seed is a good source of protein and omega fatty acids, and chia seed is a good source of protein and fiber.
Otter Juice will be open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Mondays through Saturdays. The Brauns have made an agreement with Sake2Me, which is next door, so dinners in the that restaurant can order juices and smoothies if they wish.
Otter Juice has a Facebook page and is developing an ap. Customers will be able to order through the ap and have their orders delivered curbside. The Brauns had hoped to have a drive through, but that is not possible at their present location.
A 10 percent discount is offered with student ID, and customers can buy reusable Otter jars that will earn them a 50 cent discount on beverages.
Most juices will run $6 each, which fresh orange juice $4, smoothies $5 and coffee $1.25. Pastries will be $2 to $3 each.
The decor in the building is a happy yellow. The Brauns used reclaimed and recycled materials as much as possible. The tables were made from old pallets and are painted with rainbow colors and encouraging sayings. On the walls are pictures of cute otters.
The straws and cups will be compostable.
Why otters? Jess, who is also a vet, said, “Otters are just so cute. I love otters. … Otters are fun, and they are carefree and are super cute.”
Once the business gets up and going, the Brauns would like to give a portion of the proceeds from the juice bar to an otter conservation organization.
Enter for a chance to win the Valentine’s Day Getaway Giveaway
Man with Kansas firearm charge accused of campus shooting threat
ROLLA, Mo. (AP) – Authorities say a student at the Missouri University of Science and Technology has been charged with threatening to open fire on the Rolla campus with an assault rifle.
Alexander Beetler, of St. James, was charged Wednesday with making a terrorist threat. No attorney is listed for him in online court records.
The probable cause statement says Beetler’s father told authorities that his son had threatened to kill him and “empty the rest of the clips” on the Missouri S&T campus.
The father also said Beetler had an AK-47 rifle and about 900 rounds of ammunition, and the weapon was recovered during a search. The statement says Beetler was charged earlier this year in Kansas with discharging a firearm into an occupied dwelling.
Ron Boeve Sr.
Phillipsburg resident Ron Boeve Sr. passed away Thursday, January 25, 2018, at the Phillips County Hospital in Phillipsburg, KS at the age of 85.
He was born September 7, 1932 in Phillips County, the son of Louis & Edith (Bogart) Boeve. Ron married Eunice Goyen on Oct. 2, 1955 in Bonners Ferry, ID. Ron was a funeral director and co-owner of the Olliff-Boeve Memorial Chapel in Phillipsburg for many years.
He is survived by his wife, Eunice, of Phillipsburg; son, Ron, Jr., of Phillipsburg; daughters: Kathy Boeve-Pensabene and Kandy Boeve, both of Omaha, NE and Kelly Leiker of Hays, KS; sister, Shirley Olliff of Phillipsburg; five grandchildren; two step grandchildren; and three step great-grandchildren.
Funeral services will be held Monday, Jan 29, 2018 at 10:30 a.m. in the Huck Boyd Community Center in Phillipsburg, KS with Pastors Joel Hiesterman and LeRoy Herder officiating. Burial will follow in the Fairview Cemetery, Phillipsburg, with military honors by U. S. Air Force.
Visitation will be Saturday, Jan. 27, from 5 – 9 p.m. and Sunday, Jan. 28, from noon – 9 p.m. at the funeral home where the family will receive friends from 6:30 – 7:30 p.m. Sunday evening.
Memorial contributions may be given to the First Christian Church or Phillipsburg Rotary. Online condolences to: www.olliffboeve.com.
Olliff-Boeve Memorial Chapel, Phillipsburg, is in charge of the arrangements.
UPDATE: Brownback announces he will resign next week
I am resigning as Governor effective 3:00pm CST on January 31. It has been a great honor to serve and represent Kansans for most of my adult life. Thank you for this opportunity to serve, and may God Bless our great state and nation. #ksleg pic.twitter.com/JpG0DSTK9L
— Sam Brownback (@govsambrownback) January 25, 2018
PHOTO / KANSAS NEWS SERVICE
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TOPEKA —Republican Lt. Gov. Jeff Colyer will be elevated to governor in Kansas when Sam Brownback submits his official resignation to begin work full time in the Trump Administration. That could come as early as next week.
The Republican-led Senate on Wednesday narrowly approved Sam Brownback’s bid to be U.S. ambassador for international religious freedom, setting the stage for him to resign the governorship in Kansas after seven contentious years in office.
With two Republican senators absent, Vice President Mike Pence traveled to Capitol Hill to cast the tie-breaking vote to confirm Brownback, a favorite of Christian conservatives for his views on same-sex marriage and abortion. The vote was along party lines, 50-49, underscoring the narrow margin Republicans hold. Pence’s vote also was needed earlier in the day to get Brownback’s nomination over a procedural hurdle.
Thank you to @POTUS, @VP, and all the Senators who supported my nomination. I’m looking forward to starting my new position as Ambassador and working hard for the American people and religious freedom around the world. #ksleg
— Sam Brownback (@govsambrownback) January 24, 2018
“I’m glad to have the vice president in my corner,” Brownback told reporters after a meeting with Kansas legislative leaders at the statehouse in Topeka. He added later, “I’m happy. It’s a critical job. I’m excited about being able to do it.”
Brownback served in the U.S. Senate before becoming governor in January 2011. He made Kansas an economic laboratory for the nation by aggressively cutting taxes, arguing that they would provide “a shot of adrenaline to the heart” of the state’s economy.
But persistent budget problems followed, along with court mandates to boost spending on public schools. Kansas became an example even for conservatives of how not to do trickle-down economics. Voters turned on his legislative allies in 2016, and bipartisan majorities rolled back most of the cuts last year over Brownback’s veto.
President Donald Trump’s selection of Brownback for the State Department post had come under fire from Senate Democrats and LGBT rights groups. During his confirmation hearing last year, Brownback declined to unequivocally declare there is no situation that would allow a country to cite religious freedom as the basis for criminally prosecuting LGBT people.
Sen. Robert Menendez, D-N.J., said Wednesday that he was concerned Brownback would focus solely on protecting Christian minorities.
“I firmly believe that anyone seeking to represent the United States of America must actively champion the right of all people to worship freely and without fear,” Menendez said.
The advocacy group GLAAD said in a statement that Brownback’s “distortion of ‘religious freedom’ threatens LGBTQ people both at home and abroad.”
Kansas’ senators, both Republicans, applauded the confirmation, saying Brownback is ideally suited for the job.
“Sam Brownback has always been called to fight for those of all faiths,” said Sen. Pat Roberts.
Trump announced he’d picked Brownback for the religious freedom post in July, and the Senate Foreign Relations Committee held his confirmation hearing in early October. But the Senate left town for the year without acting on his nomination. The White House resubmitted the nomination earlier this month.
Brownback also would leave a Kansas legacy of far tougher restrictions on abortion and fewer limits on gun owners than when he won the first of his two terms in 2010.
He also rejected expanding the Medicaid health program for the poor in line with former President Barack Obama’s signature health care law even as several other Republican governors went ahead.
Brownback was an early advocate of U.S. action to stop genocide in Sudan’s Darfur region, and visited Congo and Rwanda to decry humanitarian crises and call for better coordination in foreign aid programs.
First United Methodist Church will host Valentines Day Dinner
The First United Methodist Church will host its annual Valentines Day Dinner on Feb. 3 beginning at 5:30 pm. The menu will include your choice of Bacon Wrapped Steak Filet or Chicken Kiev, Scalloped Potatoes, Breen Beans, Rolls, Soup and Cherry Cheesecake for dessert. Entertainment for the evening will be Four the Cross. A nursery will be provided for those who RSVP. Tickets are $15 each and can be purchased by calling the church office at (785)625-3408.
Police asks FBI to help investigate Kan. girl’s 1978 kidnapping
JUNCTION CITY, Kan. (AP) — Police are asking the FBI to investigate the nearly 40-year-old disappearance of a 13-year-old girl from the bedroom of her Junction City home.
Beverly Ward was reported missing in the early morning hours of July 4, 1978. Police believe a suspect came in through the bedroom window, cutting the screen and throwing it aside. Ward was wearing a green night gown when she disappeared.
She was planning on attending a summer camp that day. Her bags were packed, and her money was where she left it. Nothing else was taken.
Junction City Police Capt. Trish Giordano recently asked the FBI to look into the case. The department is waiting for a response and urging anyone with information to call police.
Update: FHSU’s Shepherd Will Miss Senior Bowl
Fort Hays State University’s Nathan Shepherd will miss the Reese’s Senior Bowl on Saturday due to a broken hand suffered in day two of practice.
The good news for Fort Hays State DT Nathan Shepherd, a Senior Bowl standout before breaking his hand today: It’s a second metacarpal spiral fracture, source said. No surgery. Heal in 2-3 weeks. Should be ready for most drills at the combine.
— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) January 25, 2018
Despite the setback, Shepherd managed to impress many reporters and scouts that attended the two days of practice.
Fort Hays State DT Nathan Shepherd broke his hand at the Senior Bowl today. Dude was killing it and really opening some eyes. Should still get a shot though somewhere
— Terez A. Paylor (@TerezPaylor) January 25, 2018
Pretty bummed that Fort Hays State DL Nathan Shepherd got hurt (hand). Had a great talk with him on Tuesday and he was impressing before he was injured. Great story of a guy whose chip on his shoulder sits in plain sight. Attitude you want for a DL.
— Chiefs Reporter (@ChiefsReporter) January 25, 2018
Alvin Faye Smith
Alvin Faye Smith, son of Clifford and Emma (Eichenberger) Smith, was born on September 19, 1943, at the family homestead in the Good Hope Community of Norton County, Kansas. He passed away at the Norton County Hospital, on January 19, 2018, at the age of 74.
Alvin grew up on the Eichenberger family homestead, near Clayton, KS and attended Clayton Grade School. He was a Jennings High School graduate of 1961 and later graduated from Fort Hays State University in 1969 with an Industrial Arts Degree.
Alvin married Cheryl Ingram in 1965 and from this union they had three daughters, Tara, Amye, and Jennifer. In 1974 they moved from Salina to the family homestead in Clayton, until moving to Norton in 1979. He remained in the Norton area, moving to the Andbe Home in his final years.
Alvin had a heart of gold and an ornery, generous spirit. He was well known for his wood working and carpentry skills. He enjoyed car races and Oldies music, reading, gardening, fishing, and being surrounded by nature. Most of all, he loved spending time with his devoted daughters, family, and friends.
Survivors include: three daughters, Tara, and husband, Greg Spresser, Hays, KS; Amye, and husband, Bill Jones, Norton; KS; Jennifer, and husband, Daniel Porter, Norton, KS; one sister, Arline King, Phoenix AZ; one sister-in-law, Iris Smith, Norton, KS; 11 grandchildren: Jordan Wahlmeier, Hays; Riley Kaus, Hays; Madison Kaus, Hays; Elley Kaus, Hays; Quinton Porter, Manhattan; Landon Porter, Hays; Courtland and Avery Porter, of Norton; Silas, Eli and Levi Jones, of Norton; 3 step-grandsons; Nathan Spresser, Wichita, KS; Gerid Spresser, Colorado Springs; Thayne Spresser, Hays and one great step-grandson, Hudson Spresser, and four nieces and three nephew.
Alvin was preceded in death by his parents; two brothers, Jon and Vern; four half-brothers, Bob, Bill, Larry, and Walt Smith.
Per Alvin’s wishes, his cremains will be buried alongside beloved family at Gettys Cemetery. A public visitation will be held on Friday, January 26, 2018 at the Enfield Funeral Home from 5:00 P.M until 7:30 P.M. Memorials can be made to the Alvin Smith Memorial Fund.
William ‘Bill’ Phillip Beer
William “Bill” Phillip Beer, 91, passed away peacefully, surrounded by loved ones on January 24, 2018. Bill was a man of very strong faith, a loving husband, father, grandfather and great-grandfather.
Bill was born April 4th, 1926, in WaKeeney, KS to Wenzel and Anna (Honas) Beer. He married Martha Mae Augustine on October 17, 1949, spending the majority of their lives in WaKeeney before her passing on January 5, 2016.
Bill was a devoted, longtime member of Christ the King Catholic Church where he was actively involved as a Eucharistic Minister, member of the Knights of Columbus and became a 4th Degree Knight on October 12, 1958. He started Bill’s Woodworking in the early 1950s and spent the next 60 years building and remodeling homes. Bill was also a partner in WaKeeney Redi-Mix. As his children became involved in activities, Bill served as a Boy Scout Leader, baseball coach, and enjoyed attending athletic and music events. He loved tending to his garden, hunting, fishing and making his delicious BBQ chicken and homemade ice cream for family and friends. He always kept his children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren close to his heart and prayed the rosary daily for them. Bill was a wonderful role-model as to the importance of hard work, honesty, and belief in God.
Those left to cherish his memory are his children: Bernadette (Tom) Crayton of La Grande, OR, Arlin (Debbie) Beer of Wichita, KS, Daniel Beer of New York, NY, Sheila (Tim) Shaw of Wichita, KS; six grandchildren: Tadd (Sarah) Crayton of Austin, TX, Shandi (Brian) Ricciotti of Laguna Niguel, CA, Kellen Beer of Pueblo, CO, Connor Beer of Denver, CO, Arisa Shaw of Kansas City, MO, and Casey Beer of St. Paul, MN; four great-grandchildren: Concetta and Valentino Ricciotti, Abigale Crayton and Eden Eberle; along with nieces, nephews and friends who will miss him dearly. He was preceded in death by his parents, his wife Martha of 66 years of marriage, brothers Joe and Ignatz, and sisters Theresa Aschenbrenner, Mary Bryant, and Elizabeth Heide Stecklein.
Rosary will be at 9:00 a.m., visitation at 9:30 a.m. and the Mass of Christian Burial at 11:00 a.m. on Saturday, January 27th, at Christ the King Catholic Church, WaKeeney, KS. In lieu of flowers, the family has requested memorials made to Christ the King Catholic Church or Harry Hynes Memorial Hospice in Wichita, KS. Donations made to the church or hospice may be sent to Schmitt Funeral Home, 336 N. 12th Street, WaKeeney, KS 67672.
The family would like to thank the staff at Chaucer Estates Assisted Living and Harry Hynes Memorial Hospice for the wonderful care and compassion provided.
INSIGHT KANSAS: O’Malley for the moderates
If you are a moderate or traditional Republican pining for the days of Governors Bob Bennett, Mike Hayden, and Bill Graves, then Ed O’Malley is your candidate.
If the field does not narrow quickly, Kris Kobach will win the GOP primary in a walk, leaving only the Democratic nominee and wild card Greg Orman standing between our lawsuit-losing, anti-immigration firebrand and the Kansas governorship.
Kobach ally Donald Trump won Kansas by 20 points, so his defeat by even the best Democrat is far from certain. Meanwhile, Orman is depending on an infusion of independent votes that nearly all political scientists find highly implausible. In truth, Orman may cost the Democrats precious votes. This may leave Kobach the last man standing. Kobach’s economic and educational policies would largely mirror Brownback’s.
On paper, the strongest alternative to Kobach is Governor-any-day-now Jeff Colyer, who has proven quite effective at fundraising. However, Colyer will have trouble disassociating himself from the unpopular Brownback Administration in which he served, and from policies he has consistently supported. Nor is Colyer much of a public speaker. Pundits may be reminded of former Florida Governor Jeb Bush, the political scion, mainstream darling, and fundraising powerhouse. The conventional wisdom predicted Bush would be the 2016 Republican Presidential nominee. Yet Bush was unprepared for this age of reality-TV politics and backlash against “the establishment.” In the primaries, Bush did not even make the first cut. Colyer may face a similar fate. Furthermore, Colyer has not distinguished himself during the on-again, off-again, will-he-or-won’t-he saga of Brownback’s new job, stepping aside quietly while the outgoing Governor gave the State of the State Address this month. This is not the kind of aggressive, no-sissies leadership that Republicans expect.
Other Republicans have trouble differentiating themselves. Insurance Commissioner Ken Selzer is running on his qualifications as a CPA—outstanding for his current job, but too technical for a governor. Former state representative Mark Hutton promises to bring together the GOP factions, but that is a tall order given the vehement opposition of moderates to Brownback’s legacy. Hutton also lacks statewide name recognition or much political experience. Former state senator Jim Barnett is a possibility, but he would have to overcome the legacy of a decisive defeat by Kathleen Sebelius in 2006. Barnett has often identified as a moderate, but he has a history of vacillation on the moderate-conservative question. Can he project the “here I am, take it or leave it” persona that Republicans demand in the Trump era? Finally, libertarian businessman Wink Hartman is a dark horse with no prior service in public office.
Only O’Malley stands as unequivocally and unabashedly moderate. As a legislator, he helped negotiate a school finance formula that was fully funded for several years. O’Malley has proven a constant, vocal critic of the Brownback-Colyer-Kobach legacy, and unlike several others, he has no ties to Brownback. O’Malley’s base includes the vote- and contribution-rich Johnson County, which he once represented in the statehouse, and Wichita, where he now leads the Kansas Leadership Center (KLC), making quiet, behind-the-scenes contacts around the state. O’Malley seems able to seek input from across the political spectrum without trying too hard to be all things to all people.
The GOP field needs to narrow sharply, and soon, or it is Kobach’s to lose. One candidate stands to inherit the Graves, Hayden, and Bennett mantle as a true and consistent moderate. The GOP field should narrow to a Kobach-O’Malley race, and it should do so posthaste.
Michael Smith is Professor of Political Science at Emporia State University.