REPUBLIC COUNTY — The Kansas Highway Patrol reported a 2005 Chevy Silverado driven by Trevor Edward Pachta, 17, Belleville, was southbound in the 500 Block of 220 Road.
The pickup traveled into the west ditch and struck several trees.
Pachta was transported to the Republic County Hospital. He was not
wearing a seat belt, according to the KHP.
SALINE COUNTY — Law enforcement authorities are investigating a suspect on multiple charges after an unusual accident.
Just after 9:30p.m. Thursday, police responded to a call from a woman concerned about a possible intruder in her home in the 700 block of Cherokee Drive in Salina, according to Police Captain Paul Forrester.
When she and her boyfriend came home they noticed that her door was locked and the safety chain from the inside was fastened.
The woman has had challenges in the past with her ex-boyfriend Tyler Bergkamp, 25, of Salina, who is also the father of her three children. She was scared that he was in her house. She contacted police and they did not locate anyone in the residence.
A little while later the victim and her boyfriend heard a loud noise. The boyfriend checked the garage and then heard the woman screaming.
Bergkamp had partially fallen through the ceiling in the home. The boyfriend pulled Bergkamp down.
Bergkamp had a large knife on his belt and allegedly threatened the couple. Police found Bergkamp and the new boyfriend struggling in the front yard, according to Forrester.
Three children were at home at the time of the incident and were not harmed, according to Forrester.
Bergkamp is facing charges of aggravated burglary, stalking, criminal damage to property, criminal threat and possession.
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas residents can now review their vehicle registrations on a smartphone or other mobile device.
Gov. Jeff Colyer unveiled the “iKan” app in March. It can be downloaded on mobile devises that have an iOS or Android operating system and can also be accessed online through a website.
The app only offers vehicle registration renewals for now, but officials hope to add other services, including voter registration applications or access to birth certificates.
“The launch of this exciting service will provide a noticeable change as far as the ease and transparency of government and the convenience of accessing central government services,” Colyer said.
The app was developed by PayIt LLC, which creates digital platforms for customer transactions for governments. The app was extensively tested in Shawnee County, said CEO John Thomson.
“One of the things we believe in is accessibility, transparency, convenience,” he said. “Consumer behavior patterns have changed dramatically over the last several years, and this is a response to that.”
The data is secure from hackers and the information won’t be sold or transferred to third parties, he said.
“Contractually, we do not share or sell any data,” Thomson said.
The company was chosen to build the app through a competitive building process, said Donna Shelite the state’s interim chief information technology officer. The contract didn’t require the state pay the company upfront, she said. Instead, the app charges a $2 fee for each transaction, which will be paid to the company.
RUSSELL COUNTY — One person was injured in an accident just after 2:30p.m. Saturday in Russell County.
The Kansas Highway Patrol reported a 2011 Nissan Rogue driven by Pat W. Kury, 49, Cheyenne, WY., was eastbound on Interstate 70 just west of the Dorrance exit.
The vehicle traveled off the roadway, entered the south ditch, traveled through a barbed wire fence, continued southeast across Old 40 Highway, went airborne, entered a pasture, landed on its wheels, struck a tree and overturned onto its roof.
Kury was transported to the hospital in Russell. He was properly restrained at the time of the accident, according to the KHP.
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — A lawsuit filed by an Illinois woman injured in a 2016 crash with a Wichita police officer says the officer is to blame for the crash.
Breanna Parsons’ lawsuit says Officer Samuel Floyd didn’t yield to oncoming traffic when he turned to follow a truck at an intersection on Dec. 4, 2016. The lawsuit says Floyd didn’t turn his emergency lights on until he had already made the turn in front of traffic, when Parsons’ car was less than a car length away from Floyd’s patrol car.
The amended petition filed Tuesday in Sedgwick County accuses Floyd of being “willful, wanton, reckless and negligent.” She is seeking more than $75,000 in damages.
The Wichita city and police officials declined to comment to the newspaper.
FHSU University Relations
Local students are among the 23 students who will serve as VIP Student Ambassadors for the 2018-2019 academic school year at Fort Hays State University.
Six returning ambassadors will be joined by 17 new members.
Ambassadors serve as official representatives for FHSU at a variety of special events, including Homecoming, athletic activities, presidential dinners and other gatherings. Students must be full-time undergraduate students with a minimum 2.5 grade-point average and be able to assist with nine to 10 events per year.
Ambassadors, with classifications, majors and high schools, are listed by hometown.
BELOIT: Hailey Princ, a senior majoring in nursing, is a Beloit High School graduate. She is a returning VIP.
BRIGHTON, Colo.: Dane Murzyn, a sophomore majoring in organizational leadership, is a Bishop Machebeuf High School graduate.
CALHAN, Colo.: Mariam Sears, a senior majoring in radiologic technology, is a Branson School Online graduate.
CLAY CENTER: Haley Jones, a junior majoring in psychology, is a Clay Center Community High School graduate.
GREAT BEND: Kaylan Lagerman, a senior majoring in psychology, is a Great Bend High School graduate.
HAYS: Hayden Hutchinson, a senior majoring in management, is a Hays High School graduate.
Max Megaffin, a senior majoring in finance, is a Thomas More Prep-Marian High School graduate.
HUTCHINSON: Maci Wilson, a senior majoring in medical diagnostic imaging, is a Hutchinson High School graduate.
LINCOLN, Neb.: Robert Shedeed, a senior majoring in criminal justice, is a Gretna High School graduate.
LITTLETON, Colo.: Reese Leiker, a junior majoring in political science, is a Heritage High School graduate. He is a returning VIP.
MAPLE HILL: Madeline Muller, a senior majoring in biology, is a Wabaunsee High School graduate. She is a returning VIP.
MCCOOK, Neb.: Brenna Erdman, sophomore, is a McCook High School graduate.
MOUNDRIDGE: Peri Lange, a junior majoring in health and human performance, is a Moundridge High School graduate.
NORTON: Raenee Patterson, a junior majoring in organizational leadership, is a Norton High School graduate. She is a returning VIP.
OZAWKIE: Kailee Gibson, a senior majoring in chemistry, is a Jefferson West High School graduate. She is a returning VIP.
RIVERTON, Neb.: Bailey Lewis, a senior majoring in accounting, is a Red Cloud High School graduate.
SALINA: Chelsie Andrews, a senior majoring in tourism and hospitality management, is a Bennington High School graduate.
TOPEKA: Samantha Shafer, a senior majoring in management, is a Topeka Hayden High School graduate.
TRIBUNE: Jessica Mendoza, a sophomore majoring in nursing, is a Greeley County High School graduate.
WICHITA: Jackilyn Dougherty, a junior majoring in organizational leadership, is an Independent School graduate.
Cassidy Locke, a junior majoring in English, is a Goddard High School graduate.
Jordan Smith, a senior majoring in nursing, is a Bishop Carroll High School graduate.
WRAY, Colo.: Paulyna Alcorn, a senior majoring in biology, is a Wray High School graduate. She is a returning VIP.
SEDGWICK COUNTY — Law enforcement authorities are investigating a fatal shooting and asking for help to locate suspect.
Just after 11:45 p.m. Friday, police responded to a shooting call at the Sugar Creek Apartments located in the 2500 Block of south Oliver in Wichita, according to officer Charley Davidson.
Upon arrival officers located a 36-year-old man who had multiple gunshot wounds. The male succumbed to his injuries on scene.
Through the investigation it was determined the victim arrived at the apartments with his 35-year-old girlfriend to meet with an individual. After arriving on scene a disturbance ensued between the victim and
an unknown suspect and multiple shots were fired by the suspect which struck the victim.
The suspect is described as an unknown black male, approximately 5-foot-7. The investigation is ongoing.
If anyone has any additional information please call Crime Stoppers at 316-267-2111 or WPD Detectives at 316-268-4407. This was not a random incident, and is the eleventh homicide in Wichita for 2018, according to Davidson.
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — A wrongful death lawsuit over an Oklahoma man’s 2013 trampling death at a southern Kansas cattle processing facility has been reinstated.
The 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals issued the ruling Thursday. The appeals court found that a federal judge overlooked the significance of how fencing and pens were configured in ruling that Creekstone Farms Premium Beef was not liable in the death of 57-year-old Richard Gates, of Blackwell, Oklahoma.
The appellate court found the pen set-up created what the court called a “blind alley” that caused a cow to turn and run at Gates, who was a truck driver. He had just delivered a load of cattle to the Arkansas City, Kansas, facility when he was knocked down and injured.
Listen to Mike Cooper interviewing Lindsey Dreiling, Physical Therapist; and Bob McAnany, Physical Therapist Assistant; from the Physical Therapy Department at HaysMed, by clicking the link above and then clicking the play button
There is a sickly feeling that comes over you when you go to open an important file and the computer says “File Not Found.”
“It was just there yesterday!” You yell frantically to the machine, but that cold metal box has no empathy for your loss.
“Ah ha,” you think as you reach for your flash drive that has a copy of that precious file. Now, I will explain to you how you can have this copy so you to will not have to experience that sickly, sinking feeling.
They only safe you can ensure you keep your data is to make multiple copies across multiple devices. You want to have your most important files in at least two different spots, maybe one on your computer and another on a flash drive or even another computer. If you make multiple copies and just keep them on the same device, then you aren’t really covered if there is a hardware failure.
Let’s say we need to back up our Word document file “Ancestry.docx.” There are myriad ways to go about this, and I will walk you through two of the simplest — the first being just making regular manual copies of the file to another device. For a second device to store the document, you can use a flash drive, external hard drive or even another computer.
In my humble opinion, the easiest way to back up a document would to just be to email it to myself after every time I update it. This keeps it on the server that hosts my email and, therefore, I can get on any computer at any time and access that email.
Our second manual option for one of the external media devices is to plug that device in to your computer. Once there, you should get a popup asking if you want to view the files on that media device — select yes.
You can then see everything on that device, right-click on “Ancestry.docx” in your Documents folder and select “copy.” Go back to that external media device, right-click anywhere inside of that folder and select “paste.” Voila! Backup completed and “Ancestry.docx” is saved again!
We have a second option to back up our important file, but this time we can set it to go automatically! We can use a backup program to automatically backup our files to external media whenever we want to schedule it. This process is a little more complicated and, if it is something you are interested in, give us a call at Eagle Technology Solutions and any of our qualified technicians can help you out.
Call or email at 785.628.1330 or [email protected].
It was another busy week on the KAYS Eagle Morning Show. Here’s what you missed!
Monday
Don Barber – Chair of the High Plains Barbershop Chorus
Catholic Schools Report: Famous Figures Competition – Holy Family Elementary
Tuesday
USD 489 Superintendent: John Thissen
Hays Area Chamber of Commerce: Membership Coordinator Kara Berry
Wednesday
On April 4th at the Ellis County Emergency Services building on 1105 E. 22nd in Hays, Myers is inviting the people that have helped in the fires from last year and this year for a meeting about communication. The meeting starts at 4pm.
Coming up next week on the Eagle Morning Show:
Cheryl Glassman – Hays Community Theater
Roger Bixenman – Hays Recreation Commission
Dr. Tisa Mason – Fort Hays State University President
Ann Leiker – Center for Life Experiences
By ROXANA HEGEMAN
SYRACUSE, Kan. (AP) — Immigrants working on a remote Kansas ranch toil long days in a type of servitude to work off loans from the company for the cost of smuggling them into the country, according to five people who worked there.
There are no holidays, health insurance benefits or overtime pay at Fullmer Cattle Co., which raises calves for dairies in four states. The immigrants must buy their own safety gear such as goggles.
One worker spent eight months cleaning out calf pens, laying down cement and doing other construction work. Esteban Cornejo, a Mexican citizen who is in the U.S. illegally, left Kansas in November after paying off debt, which he figures was nearly $7,000.
The pay stub Cornejo shared with The Associated Press shows he worked 182.5 hours at $10 an hour over two weeks — an average of 15 hours a day with Sundays off. His pay was $1,828.34 before taxes. Also deducted was a $1,300 “cash advance repayment” that he said was a company loan for bringing him into the country.
His take-home pay was $207.46, the pay stub shows, or just over $1 an hour working at Fullmer Auto Co. Texas LLC, which does business as Fullmer Cattle.
“It is like slavery what they do to those poor people,” said Rachel Tovar, another former worker who spoke to The Associated Press.
Tovar said she was interviewed recently by a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent, who asked about the company’s Kansas employment practices, but ICE declined to say if it is investigating.
Dean Ryan, the company’s attorney, said in an email that the allegations “are simply not true.”
“There was no smuggler’s fee and has never been,” Ryan wrote, adding that there are “plenty of people willing to work in western Kansas without having to ‘import’ them.”
Ryan said company policy is to give pay advances to workers who have no credit. He said those loans are made so employees can purchase a vehicle or put a down payment on a home.
President Donald Trump’s administration has cracked down on immigrants living in the country illegally. But it has said less about the companies that employ them, let alone a company accused of using smugglers to bring workers to the United States.
The plight of the Kansas workers also highlights the exploitation that immigrants face when a company forces them to pay off debt with work, a practice called “debt peonage.”
Under federal law, employers do not have to pay overtime to agricultural workers. Erik Nicholson, national vice president for the United Farm Workers union, said it is not unusual for employers to recruit immigrant farmworkers. Some employers use kickback schemes, although deducting from paychecks is “pretty brazen.”
Arturo Tovar is Rachel’s husband and a Mexican citizen who lived illegally in the U.S. and was a Fullmer manager for 11 years. He said the smuggling process worked like this: When the company needed workers, Arturo asked employees if they knew someone who wanted to work in the United States. The company gave him the phone number of the “coyote,” or smuggler, in Piedras Niegras, Mexico, to make the arrangements.
The company would give Arturo Tovar a check, which he would cash. A partial payment was made to the smuggler upfront and the rest when the immigrant reached San Antonio or Houston, where the immigrant would be picked up. If law enforcement asked questions about the cash, the employee was instructed to say it was for used cars the company bought at Texas auctions.
Rachel Tovar, a U.S.-born citizen, said that once the loan to bring an immigrant into the country was almost paid, the company often sold used vehicles to employees in what she believes was an effort to keep them in debt.
Arturo Tovar voluntarily left the country in lieu of deportation after pleading guilty last year to misdemeanor theft stemming from what the couple says was a false company accusation after he was hurt on the job. The company contends the Tovars have an agenda and lack credibility.
But another former employee told AP that Fullmer also loaned him money for the coyote to smuggle someone. AP is not naming the ex-worker out of concern for that person’s safety.
A fifth ex-worker confirmed the general accounts of those who allowed their names to be used but asked for anonymity because that person also has safety concerns.
Fullmer Cattle’s calf-feeding operation is outside of Syracuse, a farming community of 1,800 about 16 miles from the Colorado border. Former workers say some employees live in company-owned trailers at the ranch or a nearby property, for which the company deducts rent.
The company says it raises tens of thousands of Holstein calves for 18 dairies from Texas, Kansas, Colorado and South Dakota. Newborn calves are taken away from milk cows and sent to Fullmer to be bottle-raised and weaned. The heifers are sent back as milk cow replacements, while the bulls are sent to feedlots to be fattened for slaughter. Among the benefits Fullmer Cattle touts to customers on its website is “lower labor costs.”
The Kansas ranch offered owner Que Fullmer a fresh start following a 1998 immigration raid at his Chino, California, ranch where authorities found workers in what a California labor official described as “economic slavery.” The Kansas ranch also offered Fullmer a chance to rebuild after bankruptcies cost him the bulk of his operations in Muleshoe, Texas.
Fullmer pleaded guilty in 1999 in California federal court to a felony count of harboring and concealing immigrants in the country illegally. He was sentenced to six months of home detention, a $10,000 fine and ordered to perform 500 hours of community service, court records show.
In December, he was charged with illegally casting election ballots in both Colorado and Kansas in 2016. The registered Republican is accused of voting more than once and other violations. The case is pending in Kansas.
As a result of Fullmer’s past immigration-related conviction, the lawyer for the company said in an email that it takes “extra care” not to hire workers who are in the country illegally.
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