Vivian Loene (McCabe) Skrdlant, beloved daughter of Lowell and Naomi (Ritter) McCabe, was born October 8, 1928 in Norton County, Kansas, and left this earthly life on March 7, 2018 at the Andbe Home in Norton, Kansas, at the age of 89.
Vivian grew up on the family farm nine miles west of Norton. She attended Davis country school #111, grades first through eighth. She then attended Norton Community High School and graduated with the class of 1946. She enjoyed running and winning the county three legged and sack races as a child.
She was united in marriage to Emil Skrdlant on November 14, 1948 in Norton, Kansas. To this union four wonderful sons were born: Walter, Roy, Darrell, and Gary.
After Vivian’s marriage, she lived on a farm north of Norton, spending the first year even without electricity. She was a farm wife who also had a garden, raised chickens, and sold eggs to most of the restaurants in Norton. She greatly enjoyed crocheting and doing many handcrafts. She crocheted Afghans, for all of her children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren except for the last ones when her health gave out. She was a member of the Sunshine Club, and she and Emil belonged to the Norton Squarenaders Square Dance Club. She enjoyed life, traveling coast to coast, and always worried about animals that had to stay outside in the heat or cold. Her greatest joy in life was her family and friends, and spending time with them. She enjoyed being a mother and grandmother. Emil and Vivian moved into Norton in 1983. Emil passed away in 1993. Vivian lived by herself until 2014, when she moved to Whispering Pines, and later to the Andbe Home. She was a member of the Norton Christian Church.
Survivors include: four sons, Walter, and wife, Elaine Skrdlant, Norton; Roy, and wife, Jean Skrdlant, Norton; Darrell, and wife, Kathie Skrdlant, Norton; Gary, and wife, Wendy Skrdlant, Manhattan, KS; seven grandchildren and several great-grandchildren; numerous other relatives and friends.
Vivian was preceded in death by her parents; husband; and sister, Aletha Rule.
FUNERAL SERVICE- Saturday, March 10, 2018 – 10:30 A.M.
PLACE – Enfield Funeral Home – Norton, Kansas
VISITATION – Friday, March 9, 2018 from 5:00 P.M until 7:00 P.M
PLACE – Enfield Funeral Home – Norton, Kansas
INTERMENT – Norton Cemetery – Norton, Kansas
MEMORIALS – Vivian Skrdlant Memorial Fund
Geraldine “Jerry” Shaw, age 86, passed away Tuesday, March 6, 2018 at Sheridan County Health Complex, Long Term Care, Hoxie, Kansas.She was born September 27, 1931 in Quinter to M.A. and Osie (Stubbs)Gillespie.
Jerry was a 1949 graduate of Grainfield High School.She was united in marriage to Curtis Shaw on June 19, 1949 in Wichita.They were married for 51 years until his death on March 3, 2001.For 54 years, Jerry worked as a bookkeeper for Shaw Motor Company.She was a member of the Grainfield United Methodist Church and American Legion Auxiliary. She will be remembered for her kind spirit, quick wit, and sarcasm.
Survivors include a daughter, Jann (Herman) Zerr of Grainfield; a son, Gene Shaw of Grainfield; eight grandchildren, Brian (Silvia) Zerr of New York City, Brett Zerr of Chicago, Ryan Shaw of Oakley, Lee (Evan) Miller of Kansas City, Missouri, Miles (Tara) Shaw of Oakley, Dillon (Jamie) Shaw of Salina, Kyle Shaw of Grainfield, Dayna (Jonathan) Alexander of Garden City; and six great-grandchildren.She is also survived by sisters-in-law, Loretta Shaw and Beulah Gillespie.She was preceded in death by her parents; her husband; three brothers, Jack, Bill, and Don Gillespie; and three sisters, Joy Coberly, Betty Priefert, and Shirley Verhoeff.
Funeral service will be 10:00 a.m., Saturday, March 10, 2018 at the United Methodist Church, Grainfield.Burial will be in the Grainfield Cemetery.
Visitation will be Friday evening, from 5 to 7 p.m. at Schmitt Funeral Home, Quinter.
Memorial contributions are suggested to Grainfield United Methodist Church, Grainfield American Legion, or Grainfield Opera House.Contributions made to the organization may be sent to Schmitt Funeral Home, 901 South Main, Quinter, KS67752.
Condolences may be left online at www.schmittfuneral.com.
Margaret JoAnn “Jody” Obholz, age 61, of Hays, Kansas passed away Tuesday, March 6, 2018 in Hays.
Funeral services will be 2:30 PM with a rosary prior to the service on Saturday, March 10, 2018 at Cline’s-Keithley Mortuary 1919 E 22nd Hays, KS 67601.
Visitation will be Saturday 1 PM until service time at the mortuary.
Raising revenue is tough, especially in red states.
Kansas tax receipts nose-dived between 2013 and 2016, placing great pressures on public services. The 2017 income tax revisions have staunched the bleeding, and revenues have consistently exceeded estimates since July, to the tune of $275 million. That is good news, and it may well reflect a major revenue rebound for the state.
Burdett Loomis, Professor, Political Science, College of Liberal Arts and Science, University of Kansas
First, revenue increases have proved resilient and real, in part because the state never had a clear understanding of how many independent businesses actually had their income taxes cut to zero. The conventional estimate was 330,000, but subsequent analysis indicates that the number was more than 400,000. Hence, returning these firms to the tax rolls captures more revenue.
Second, recent federal income tax cuts will likely provide a substantial windfall for Kansas tax collectors. The most important change doubles the standard deduction, thus assuring that far fewer federal returns will include itemized deductions. To date, Kansas has not increased its standard deduction, so more income is subject to Kansas taxation, to the tune of more than $500 million over the next three years.
The sigh of relief you can hear in Topeka comes from legislators’ anticipation that these revenue streams will allow them to address school funding without raising taxes. While some legislators will seek to “return the windfall,” as in 1989, retaining current rates will make it easier for the Legislature to comply with the Supreme Court’s mandate.
Moreover, the state has huge needs beyond school finance, from funding KPERS to adequately maintaining roads to ending the onerous sales tax on food to supporting KanCare, foster care, and the prison system. Legislators are unlikely to raise taxes further, but for Kansas to meet its obligations more funding is essential.
Bets and Bongs.
Two simple truths: (1) many Kansans bet on sporting events and/or smoke marijuana; and (2) these common activities produce virtually no funds for the state. Rather, they cost Kansas tens of millions of dollars in law enforcement expenses and the forgone revenues of underground economies.
Americans’ views on legalizing both marijuana and sports betting have grown far more positive over the past quarter century. In 1990, the public backed sports betting at a 41 percent rate and legalized marijuana at just 16 percent; in 2017, the respective figures were 56 percent (gambling) and, remarkably, 81 percent (marijuana).
Legalizing these behaviors would generate real revenues, but marijuana, both recreational and medical, is the clear winner. By one estimate, national legalization would provide $132 billion in revenues and create about a million jobs if it were in place by 2025. Sports betting, while offering reasonable gains, trails far behind; still, states could help fill their coffers with no increase in taxes, simply by legalizing this everyday activity.
While the data are thin, the downsides for both these changes appear modest. Increased marijuana consumption tends to reduce alcohol consumption, with its many negative effects, from auto accidents to domestic abuse. In addition, there has never been a documented death from overconsumption of marijuana; nor is it a feared “gateway” to more potent drugs.
Over the next few years, Kansas can enhance revenues and direct spending toward major issues, all the while it enhances education, responds to citizens’ preferences, and re-directs law enforcement resources to toward important public safety issues.
Seriously, what’s not to like?
Burdett Loomis is an emeritus professor of political science at the University of Kansas.
Hays Post is launching its inaugural Triple-Chance Bracket Challenge! Enter your picks for the upcoming men’s college basketball championship and have a chance to win $250 CASH or Popt Gourmet Popcorn gift baskets.
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A Hays city fire truck helps battle Tuesday’s first wildfire along I-70 just northeast of Hays.
By BECKY KISER Hays Post
A disaster declaration request by Ellis County has been approved by the state following the two major wildfires east of Hays on Tuesday.
Mid-afternoon Tuesday, Gov. Jeff Colyer declared a state of disaster emergency that includes Barber, Clark, Ellis, Greenwood, Harper, Kingman, Logan, Reno, Smith and Stevens counties.
The first fire just east of Hays started about a quarter mile north of Interstate 70 near mile marker 160 and continued south across I-70, driven by a steady 21 mph northwest wind with constant gusts, as high as 54 mph.
“The initial call came in as a structure fire,” said Darin Myers, Ellis County Fire Chief and Emergency Manager, “and the city of Hays also responded. They did a good job on the south side of the interstate protecting the homes and woods area in that part of the city.”
Units from Victoria, Munjor and Ellis also responded to the blaze.
Blowing smoke and dirt forced the temporary shutdown of I-70 in both directions by the Kansas Highway Patrol.
As the first fire started to come under control, another wild fire was reported about 2 miles north of Toulon Avenue and Homestead Road in an open range area, quickly pushing south towards Catherine.
The craggy canyon land is not easily accessible. City fire trucks are not equipped for that kind of terrain, so it was up to the rural firefighters and their equipment.
“All of our grass trucks and our engines are equipped to fight a wild land fire,” explained Myers. “We can put somebody on the back in a harness with a nozzle and be able to drive them around.”
“Getting the initial knockdown on the fire in that location was almost impossible with those winds,” Myers said Wednesday afternoon.
A KNG Black Hawk pilot scoops water from the Sweetwater Ranch pond Tuesday evening. (Photo courtesy KHP Trooper Tod)
Four Black Hawk helicopters were soon called in from the Kansas National Guard in Salina and Topeka to fight the fire from the air with water scooped up from farm ponds near Victoria.
Ground crews also did some back-burning in the area to create barriers to the fire.
The fire burned an estimated 8,000 to 10,000 acres, an 8-mile long path about 2 miles wide in some areas. It spread south nearly to Emmeram Road. Myers estimated there were 40 to 50 emergency responder units at the scene. There were also local farmers plowing the ground for other fire breaks.
“The help from the Kansas Highway Patrol, American Red Cross, Ellis County Sheriff’s deputies, Ellis County Public Works, Ellis County EMS, Hays Fire Department, Kansas Forestry Service, multiple surrounding county fire departments including Russell, Rooks and Trego, and the Kansas National Guard has had a profound effect on the outcome of this fire,” Myers wrote in a press release Tuesday evening. No houses were burned and no livestock was lost.
An 8-mile path of grassland was burned northeast of Hays during one of two major wildfires Tuesday. (Photo courtesy KS Highway Patrol)
Crews were back at the scene monitoring hot spots Wednesday morning. The helicopter pilots, who stayed overnight in Hays, were called back in about 9 a.m.
“We put them up north again where we had a lot of trees, about a mile long, that were burning all night,” Myers said. “We didn’t want to put firefighters underneath the falling trees.” There were also water springs nearby which the fire trucks couldn’t drive through.
Two helicopters dropped water for about two hours and then had to refuel. By then, they were summoned to Greenwood County to assist in a wildfire that broke out near Hamilton.
Two firefighters were transported to HaysMed and hospitalized for treatment of smoke inhalation, according to Myers.
“It’s my biggest fear in the job, having one of our own get hurt. It wasn’t serious but they were still being monitored at noon Wednesday.”
There are about 90 firefighters in the six companies of the Ellis County Fire Department. They are all trained volunteers, who are paid per response call. Most work full-time jobs. “They’re awesome. They believe in their community,” Myers said. “They definitely don’t do it for the money.”
Stacks of donated water and hydration drinks in the fire engine bay.
Back in Hays, Myers’ administrative assistant Meagan Carver was getting lots of phone calls throughout the day from people wanting to donate water and other hydrating drinks for the first responders.
“It was just a constant line of people driving up to drop off drinks and snacks,” Carver said Wednesday morning at the Emergency Services Building.
“It just amazes me how great of a community we live in,” Myers said. “Even all the way from Russell they were bringing in McDonald’s food for supper. There were multiple places throughout Hays helping; I can’t name them all.
“A granola bar or power bar doesn’t seem like much, but that provides a needed energy boost. And they need the water to stay hydrated.”
Snacks donated Tuesday at Ellis Co. Emergency Services.
Donors were so generous there was more dropped off than needed. Myers said some of it will be stockpiled, noting “this is just the first week of the grass fire season.” Some of the supplies will be shared with the American Red Cross. Hays volunteer Pete Peterson was also on the scene Tuesday afternoon and evening, feeding about 100 firefighters.
Several Hays businesses offered free meals to the first responders Wednesday. Myers, along with firefighters from Ellis, Hays, Victoria and Catherine, enjoyed complimentary lunch at the Golden Q.
“That was the first thing I thought about after 30 hours out there, how hungry I was,” Myers smiled.
The next thing Myers thought about was “seeing my family again. Then I’ll grab a shower and a nap.”
The city of Hays Fire Department will be inspecting and flow testing fire hydrants on Thu., March 8, 2018 in the area from Vine St. to Highway 183 Bypass between 27th St. and I-70.
This is part of a coordinated effort by the city of Hays to inspect all fire hydrants in the city and flush all water mains annually.
The Ellis County Coalition for Economic Development will host the annual Hays Area Job Fair at Big Creek Crossing on April 11 from 3 to 6 p.m. The job fair has been in place since 2011.
“It is a good time of the year to host this event because there will be college students graduating looking for jobs and even some possible summer employment,” said Ernee Sly, office manager for the Ellis County Coalition of Economic Development.
There will be a wide variety of job opportunities from several business sectors. Employers are hoping for a pool of applicants, while prospects are hoping to find something they are interested in or haven’t even thought of before.
The booth registration is $50, which is due by March 21. Employers can also be an event sponsor for $100. The sponsors of the job fair are Hess Services, Rebel Staffing, Wilken’s Manufacturing, KANSASWORKS and Big Creek Crossing.
The annual HaysMed Service Awards Banquet was held Tuesday night at the Rose Garden Banquet Hall in Hays. The highlight of the banquet was the presentation of the Norman W. Jeter Humanitarian Award, the Sister Mary J. Mollison Nurse of the Year Award and the Vic Eddy, MD, Physician of the Year Award. These awards are the highest level of recognition that an associate of Hays Medical Center can receive.
Melissa Portenier
The Norman W. Jeter Humanitarian Award recognizes an individual’s human kindness and dedication to medical excellence. The award was presented to Bob McAnany, Physical Therapy Assistant at HaysMed Outpatient Rehabilitation. McAnany began his career in 1995 and became a HaysMed Associate in 2000.
Recipient of the Sr. Mary J. Mollison Nurse of the Year Award was Melissa Portenier, RN. This award honors a nurse who displays excellence in the areas of job knowledge and performance, quality improvements, self-development and participation in hospital and community affairs Portenier is the supervisor of the operating room and has been with HaysMed since 1990.
Dr. Jose Menendez
The Vic Eddy, MD, Physician of the Year Award was presented Dr. Jose Menendez, Anesthesiologist at HaysMed. The award recognizes a physician who displays a high level of clinical experience and an extraordinary dedication to improving healthcare delivery in the community.
40 Year
Donna Perez
35 Year
Regina Borthwick
Christy Gillogly
Dee Koster
Ruth Legleiter
Joyce Mattison
Cindy Phillips
Jeff Weese
30 Year
Tania Deets
Carol Dinges
Deb Erbert
Kerri Morgan
Andrea Ottley
Trish Vopat
25 Year
Debbie Bohm
Carla Giebler
Stephanie Jerauld
Mike Penn
Leah Rhoades
Karla Roth
Lisa Schroeder
Chris Smith
Lora Unrein
20 Year
Pam Basgall
Gina Basgall
Tammy Billinger
Shannon Deines
Sonya Garrett
Amy George
Ed Habash
Faye Herrman
Chad Heslet
Lee Hodny
Heidi Holopirek
Christine Holzmeister
Joannie Kollman
Kim Meier
Todd Meier
Julie Michaelis
Michael Miles
Paula North
Alicia Rymer
Jacque Schmidt
Brenda Schumacher
Erica Summers
Tammie Williams
15 Year
Jill Billinger
Suzie Bleumer
Gary Brown
Steve Brull
Shannon Conroy
Carla Cox
Jeffery Curtis
Tim Davis
Debra Engel
Kelly Flaska
Kim Foster
Jennifer Gottwald
Christine Hober
Byron Johnson
Janice Jones
Deandrea Krien
Jennifer Lang
Tamra Leiker
Ross Merritt
Janet Pfeifer
Kathy Reed
Carol Rome
Kristy Schlaefli
Tom Schmidt
Lisa Schreck
Nicole Spray
Dolly Stanley
Julie Sulzman
Deb Watts
Dawn-Rose Webber
Julie Weidenhaft
Twila Wilson
Steve Windholz
Tina S. Zimmerman
10 Year
Deb Alvarez
Tara Aschenbrenner
Angela Basgall
Alexandra Brewster
Schamra Detherage
Leslie Dexter
Jason Fawver
Mike Filley
Chris Fisher
Nichole Ganoung
Sherri Glenn
Shawn Hoss
Janine Kisner
Anita Koster
Kim Kronewitter
Kelly Lagree
Mandy Leiker
Mandie McKee
James McReynolds
Lane Patterson
Jessi Pfeifer
Ruth Price
Erin Richmeier
Craig Rohleder
Laura Rome
Shawnda Rumbaugh
Sage Sandelin
Sharon Schoendaller
Brian Schreiner
Lashelle Schroter
Dennis Sherman
Misty Smolarkiewicz
Russell Thom
Zurab Tsereteli
5 Year
Wendy Amrein
Noel Bates
Stacy Beiker
Lindsey Broin
Chad Burgardt
Cherie Cell
Kali Debey
Tiffany Dewitt
Mandi Dotts
Caitlyn Dreitz
Sheylynn Eickhoff
Brittany Engelhardt
Tasha Fabin
Cynthia Finnesy
Loretta Flax
Whitney Ford
Cheryl Glassman
Trey Hamilton
Trisha Haskell
Stephanie Heeren
Kelly Heifner
Kelli Herbers
Jordyn Herman
Karla Hines
Kelsee Hirsch
Tatiana Hockett
Amanda Hoffman
Riley Kaus
Elise Kinser
Shaley Knickerbocker
Doreen Koerner
Brian Liu
Trudi McFarren
Roberta Meder
Katelyn Mosshart
Renee Pfeifer
Jessica Poe
Malorie Radcliffe
Jodi Radke
Kevin Reece
Jared Reed
Lisa Reiter
Gordon Schroeder
Anita Spears
Kylie Stoppel
Dani Vonfeldt
Theresa Wasinger
Nicole Weber
Jacqueline Wehrli
Jenni Wittkorn
Paul Teget
Dustin Thacker
Stacy Trout
Mark Urban
RENO COUNTY — An earthquake shook portions of Kansas early Thursday.
Location of Thursday’s quake-USGS image
The quake just before 5a.m. measured a magnitude 3.4, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. The quake was centered approximately 3 miles west of south Hutchinson.
On March 1, the U.S.G.S. reported a 3.1 magnitude quake four miles northwest of South Hutchinson.
There are no reports of damage or injury from Thursday’s quake.
