SURPRISE, Ariz. (AP) – Outfielder Jon Jay agreed to a $3 million, one-year contract with the Kansas City Royals, a deal that allows him to earn an additional $1.5 million in performance bonuses.
Jay, who turns 33 on March 15, hit .296 with two homers and 34 RBIs in 141 games last season with the Chicago Cubs, including 13 for 40 (.325) as a pinch hitter.
His deal, announced Tuesday, is a large cut from his $8 million salary last year.
Jay did not commit an error in 141 chances last season and has gone 141 games without an error since April 15, 2016. As a left-handed hitter, he was attractive to the predominantly right-handed-hitting Royals.
Right-hander Jesse Hahn was placed on the 60-day disabled list to open a roster spot. Hahn, acquired from Oakland during the offseason, has a sprained right ulnar collateral ligament. He had Tommy John surgery in 2010 and felt discomfort in his elbow during a start last Thursday.
TOPEKA – Because of increased wildfire risk in Kansas this week, Ken Selzer, CPA, Kansas Commissioner of Insurance, offers the following considerations for personal safety and risk reduction for property damage and farm buildings:
· Do a survey of the landscape surrounding your house. Move plants or trees that are too close to your dwelling or burn easily. Clear dead leaves or tree seedlings away from your roof, gutters, decks or fence lines.
· Evaluate openings around your house to see if they can be sealed temporarily. This can keep embers from getting into your structure.
· Store away patio furniture, decorations or other flammable outdoor material.
· Remove landscaping mulch from near your house.
· If evacuation is ordered, shut all doors and windows tightly. Decide in advance what type of emergency kit your family would need, including first aid, blankets, personal hygiene items, prescriptions, cell phones and clothing. Turn off the gas to your house and hose it down if you have time.
· Keep communication equipment charged and in working order. Be sure your family members know how to contact each other.
· Make sure you have accessible copies of your insurance policies, cards and contact numbers.
The Kansas Insurance Department in January sent copies of the booklet, “Wildland Fire Action Guide,” to emergency management coordinators in all 105 Kansas counties. Also included in the information to the emergency personnel were copies of the department’s “Personal Home Inventory” booklet and the latest version of the “Auto and Homeowners Insurance.” Both can be downloaded for consumer use at the department’s website, www.ksinsurance.org.
Representatives staffing the insurance department’s Consumer Assistance Hotline, 800-432-2484, can also assistant insurance policyholders who need questions answered or assistance in dealing with coverage or damage claims.
“The Kansas Insurance Department stands ready to assist Kansans in insurance-related considerations for wildfire safety,” said Commissioner Selzer. “Last year’s devastating fire loss throughout the state was a wake-up call for homeowners and property owners to be proactive in reducing the possibility of damage.”
JUNCTION CITY — Another Kansas high school student has been arrested after bringing a handgun to school.
In addition to the arrest in USD 266 Derby Monday, police arrested a Dodge City student and 6 students in USD 475 Junction City over the past two weeks.
On Monday night, police public information officer Capt. Trish Giordano issued a statement on the student arrests.
In Derby on Monday, High school administrators brought a student in for questioning after receiving a tip, and the gun was found.
The school resource officer arrested the sophomore without incident. No threat was made to students or staff, according to the alert sent by the district.
Derby spokeswoman Katie Carlson didn’t say if the student was in class with the weapon, or what time the student was arrested.
Sheryl M. Fuss, 75, of Hays, KS, passed away on Tuesday, March 6, 2018 at the Good Samaritan Society-Hays, KS. Funeral services are pending and will be announced at a later date.
Arrangements are by Brock’s-Keithley Funeral Chapel & Crematory, 2509 Vine St., Hays, KS 67601.
A pair of high-scoring guards who also share the ball with their teammates highlight The Associated Press All-Big 12 men’s basketball team.
Kansas senior Devonte’ Graham and Oklahoma freshman sensation Trae Young, the league’s top two in both scoring and assists, were the only unanimous picks on the AP All-Big 12 first team released Tuesday. They also took the top individual awards.
Graham was named the Big 12 player of the year with his 17.6 points and 7.2 assists per game while helping lead the Jayhawks win their record 14th consecutive conference title this season. He ranked second in the league in both categories behind top Big 12 newcomer Young, the national leader with 27.5 points and 8.9 assists per game .
Kansas’ Bill Self took his fourth consecutive coach of the year honor, and seventh in 13 seasons.
Texas Tech senior Keenan Evans, West Virginia senior Jevon Carter and Texas freshman post player Mohamed Bamba were the other first-team picks in voting by a panel of 18 journalists who regularly cover the Big 12 in the league’s five states. Bamba is the Big 12 rebounding leader with 10.6 per game.
Graham got nine of 18 votes for player of the year, while Young got seven and Evans two. Young was listed as top newcomer on 14 ballots, including five that also had him as the top overall player.
Self got 10 votes for top coach, while Chris Beard of Big 12 runner-up Texas Tech got seven. The remaining vote went to first-year Oklahoma State coach Mike Boynton after the Cowboys became the first team with a regular season sweep of a Self-coached Kansas team.
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The 2018 AP All-Big 12 team, with players listed with school, classification, height, weight, class and hometown (“u-” denotes unanimous selections):
FIRST TEAM
u-Devonte’ Graham, Kansas, Sr., 6-2, 185, Raleigh, North Carolina.
u-Trae Young, Oklahoma, Fr., 6-2, 180, Norman, Oklahoma.
Mohamed Bamba, Texas, Fr., 6-11, 225, Harlem, New York.
Jevon Carter, West Virginia, Sr., 6-2, 205, Maywood, Illinois.
Keenan Evans, Texas Tech, Sr., 6-3, 190, Richardson, Texas.
SECOND TEAM
Udoka Azubuike, Kansas, So., 7-0, 280, Delta, Nigeria.
Barry Brown Jr., Kansas State, 6-3, 195, St. Petersburg, Florida.
Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk, Kansas, Sr., 6-8, 205, Cherkasy, Ukraine.
Dean Wade, Kansas State, Jr., 6-10, 228, St. John, Kansas.
Kenrich Williams, TCU, Sr., 6-7, 210, Waco, Texas.
HONORABLE MENTION
Vladimir Brodziansky, TCU; Jeffrey Carroll, Oklahoma State; Sagaba Konate, West Virginia; Manu Lecomte, Baylor; Jo Lual-Acuil Jr., Baylor; Malik Newman, Kansas; Zhaire Smith, Texas Tech; Mitchell Solomon, Oklahoma State; Lindell Wigginton, Iowa State.
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Coach of the year – Bill Self, Kansas
Player of the year – Devonte’ Graham, Kansas
Newcomer of the year – Trae Young, Oklahoma
A Kansas law that blocked tens of thousands of voter registrations goes on trial this week in federal court — testing whether fraud is common enough to warrant tougher registration rules.
Tougher voter registration rules championed by Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach go on trial this week. FILE PHOTO / KANSAS NEWS SERVICE
Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach wants to prove his oft-made and much-challenged assertions that voter fraud isn’t just a risk, but a real and widespread problem.
If he fails in court, the state will no longer be able to block voter registrations at driver’s license offices for failing to show such things as birth certificates or passports to prove citizenship.
Rick Hasen, a professor of law and political science at UC Irvine, says a Kobach win would allow other Republican-controlled states to impose their own stricter voter registration laws.
The case will also draw attention because of Kobach’s national role in promoting the idea that immigrants game the American electoral system.
“Here’s a case where that very issue is going to be put on trial,” Hasen said.
Kobach’s statements have made national headlines, especially after he began talking to President Donald Trump about overhauling federal election law and backed his assertion that millions of illegal voters may have cost him the popular vote to Hillary Clinton.
Claims by Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach that voter fraud is rampant and warrants tough registration standards is on trial in federal court this week. CREDIT NADYA FAULX / KANSAS NEWS SERVICE
Though Politifact dubbed that idea “Pants on Fire” false, Kobach argues that Democrats turn a blind eye to the problem of noncitizens casting ballots.
“It does seem that many in the Democrat party — hopefully not all — seem to think that it’s OK if aliens vote,” Kobach told Fox News ahead of this week’s trial. “Heck, it helps the Democrat party.”
Now comes the trial in Kansas City. It could last more than a week and is one of several legal challenges that have tied up Kobach’s Secure and Fair Elections, or SAFE, law in state and federal courts.
Since 2013, that law has required Kansans who want to vote to back up their assertion of American citizenship with papers.
Opponents of Kobach’s law say it disenfranchises people who lack such documents — especially the elderly, people living in poverty and younger voters, such as college students who are far from home without their birth certificates.
The American Civil Liberties Union represents the League of Women Voters — a nonpartisan, progressive civic engagement group that Kobach has called communist— and several Kansans who were blocked from voting. They took Kobach to court.
ACLU lawyers say some of the plaintiffs didn’t have documents showing citizenship and some did, but were still blocked despite having shown these at the DMV.
Dale Ho, who’s litigating the Kansas case for the ACLU, says Kobach’s law allowed him to hold back tens of thousands of voter registration applications without good reason.
“He’s been talking for years about supposed hordes of non-citizen immigrants registering to vote and corrupting American elections,” Ho said, “but he hasn’t been able to show an iota of evidence.”
The would-be registrants tended to be young and politically unaffiliated, compared to the general electorate.
This week’s trial gives ACLU a chance to scale back Kobach’s law by leaning on the 1993 National Voter Registration Act — often called the Motor Voter Act. That law says swearing your citizenship under penalty of perjury is sufficient for registration. Liars risk prison, fines and deportation.
If the organization succeeds, Judge Julie Robinson of the US District Court for the District of Kansas will block the Kansas law when it comes to anyone registering through the DMV process created by that 1993 law.
That motor-voter process, which boosted voter registration nationally, allows streamlined registration while getting or renewing a driver’s license. One-third of Americans who register to vote use the DMV process. In Kansas, the ACLU says, that figure tops 40 percent.
Kobach already faces other roadblocks to implementing his SAFE law in full.
Pending Robinson’s decision, he is barred from requiring birth certificates or other such documents from DMV voters. Kobach is already blocked by a separate federal lawsuit — from making that demand of voters who register using a federal paper application.
As many two in five Kansans register to vote when they get a driver’s license. CREDIT CELIA LLOPIS-JEPSEN / KANSAS NEWS SERVICE
A state court ruling, meanwhile, has stopped Kobach from circumventing this by allowing people who register through the DMV or federal form to vote just in federal elections and not state or local elections.
Kobach’s office didn’t respond to repeated requests for an interview for this story.
In court filings, he argues the motor-voter process isn’t rigorous and lets non-citizens slip through.
“The SAFE Act was what finally provided a tool to prevent non-citizens from registering to vote,” he wrote.
Under a higher court’s decision that laid out what Kobach needs to prove in order to win this week’s trial, he has to show more evidence of non-citizens gaming the system. Judges have made clear his evidence so far doesn’t cut it.
Kobach’s briefs indicate at least 43 suspected non-citizens registered in Kansas since 2000, and 11 voted. Kansas has about 1.8 million people on its voter rolls.
In this round of the fight, Kobach will present statistical estimates and other research that he argues point to much higher rates of fraud existing without being detected. The ACLU will challenge his numbers as junk science.
If Kobach convinces Robinson with his evidence, he will then also have to prove that the only way to prevent the illegal voting is by requiring more documents from people — instead of, for example, working to make sure the DMV doesn’t mistakenly offer foreigners voter registration.
Wendy Weiser, director of the democracy program at New York University’s Brennan Center for Justice, doubts Kobach has the proof he needs.
“Voting by non-citizens turns out to be incredibly rare,” she said, “because there are real strong safeguards in place.”
By contrast, she said, a study by the center concluded 7 percent of Americans don’t have easy access to the type of documents Kobach is seeking from voters. That rate is higher among the poor.
The Brennan Center represents the plaintiffs in a separate lawsuit that currently prevents Kansas from applying its SAFE law to people who register with a federal paper form.
Whatever the outcome following this week’s trial, it could feed into court challenges elsewhere or clear the way for more states to mimic what Kobach has done in Kansas.
Arizona, Georgia and Alabama have laws similar to the one in Kansas, though the latter two aren’t currently implementing theirs.
Hasen, the law professor, says the narrow victory by George W. Bush over Al Gore in the 2000 presidential race underscored for Republicans and Democrats that “the rules of the game matter.”
“We’ve seen the emergence of what I call red state election law and blue state election law,” he said. “States with Republican legislatures and governors have been passing laws that make it harder to register and vote. States with Democratic governors and legislatures have been passing laws that make it easier to register and vote.”
Why? Hasen says the theory, at least, is that the people hindered or helped by these laws are likely to vote Democrat.
KANSAS CITY, Kan. (AP) — A conservative official’s claim that scores of noncitizens are voting in Kansas will be put on trial Tuesday in a legal challenge to a law requiring people to show proof of citizenship to register to vote in the state.
Kansas Sec. of State Kobach at meeting of President Donald Trump’s commission on election fraud
At issue in the bench trial unfolding in federal court in Kansas City, Kansas, is the fate of a law championed by Republican Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach requiring people to provide citizenship documents such as a birth certificate, naturalization papers or passport when they register.
U.S. District Judge Julie Robinson must decide whether Kobach has legal authority to demand such paperwork for people who register at motor vehicle offices. If he’s to win, Kobach will need to show that Kansas has a significant problem of noncitizens registering to vote.
Kobach, the vice chairman of President Donald Trump’s recently disbanded commission on election fraud, argues the law is necessary to prevent voter fraud and says even a small number of noncitizens voting could sway a close election. Critics say incidents of noncitizens registering to vote are extremely rare and argue that such Republican-backed laws hurt voter registration efforts and disenfranchise minorities and college students who may not have the documentation readily available.
Kansas has about 1.8 million registered voters. Kobach has told the court he has been able to document a total of 127 noncitizens who at least tried to register to vote since 2000. Forty-three of them were successful in registering, he says, and 11 voted.
The law in question went into effect in 2013. In its first three years, about one in seven voter registration applications in Kansas were blocked for lack of proof of citizenship — with nearly half for people under the age of 30, according to court filings.
Robinson in May 2016 temporarily blocked the law’s implementation for people who register at driver licensing offices, a ruling that was upheld by the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals.
As fire crews battled large grass fires in the area of Interstate 70 near Hays on Tuesday, a small grass fire broke out in the city of Hays at about 12:30 p.m. at 2002 Oak.
A side yard caught fire. It was quickly extinguished, but not before heavily damaging the siding on a garage. No one appeared to be hurt.
FORD COUNTY — A Kansas teen has been charged with first degree murder in the weekend shooting of a woman at a Dodge City motel.
Boswell-photo Ford Co.
Police arrested Boston Cole Boswell, 18, Dodge City, on Sunday for the alleged shooting death of Shantel Rose Winkler, 27, from the rural Ford County community of Howell, according to Dodge City Police Chief Drew Francis.
Late Sunday morning, authorities discovered Winkler’s body at a motel in the 1700 Block of West Wyatt Earp Boulevard. She had a single gunshot wound to the head.
Boston made a first court appearance Monday to face the murder charge and a charge for theft of a firearm, according to Francis.
A preliminary hearing in the case is scheduled for March 15, according to Ford County Attorney Kevin Salzman.
With this fast-paced and highly competitive world, it is advantageous to be looking for all different ways to get a leg up wherever possible.
To give Hays High School students more advantages for when they start their professional lives, instructor Lora Gallegos-Haynes has been advocating for a biliteracy award and starting a chapter of the Foreign Language National Honor Society.
“Biliteracy is something that the Kansas Department of Education has urged schools to consider for their students,” Gallegos-Haynes said. “I have talked with administration about offering the Biliteracy Seal for graduating students and starting a Foreign Language National Honor Society chapter.”
For students to be eligible for the Biliteracy Seal, they must be considered biliterate in English and another language. Literacy is defined as reading, writing and speaking two languages well, according to Gallegos-Haynes.
If a student is considered biliterate, at graduation they will get a seal on their diploma and a medal to wear with their cap and gown.
The requirements for determining a student biliterate varies from state to state. However, Gallegos-Haynes believes the Kansas Department of Education will use the English portion of the ACT to test for English literacy and the Seal of Biliteracy organization’s test for literacy in Spanish.
“Students must pass both tests with an intermediate to mid-level proficiency,” Gallegos-Haynes said. “This is equivalent to level two and level three language classes.”
In addition to the Biliteracy Seal, Gallegos-Haynes said the Foreign Language National Honor Society would be very similar to our school’s national honor society.
“Members would have some community service and some projects and things they could do to help the community,” Gallegos-Haynes said. “They would just focus more on non-English speaking areas of the community or at offices translating paper work.”
Hays High would be the first school in Kansas to get a FLNHS chapter if it gets approved by administration.
“We are shooting to get this program out before the 2018 graduation,” Gallegos-Haynes said. “I have to have all the information put in by March.”
Gallegos-Haynes encourages any level three or level four students of Spanish, German or Latin or ESL students if they are comfortable enough with the English to look into the Biliteracy Seal and FLNHS.
A firefighter opens the hydrant at NCK Tech as debris blows by.
A police officer leans into the wind while directing traffic at 22nd and Commerce.
Traffic stopped on I-70 at Sternberg.
UPDATE 1:23 p.m.: Fire crews are attacking a large blaze north of Hays and east of U.S. 183 in the area of Toulon Avenue and Homestead Road. Air support has been called in to assist crews, according to reports.
UPDATE 1:14 p.m. From KHP Trooper Tod: I-70, both directions, is back open at Hays!
UPDATE 12:52 p.m. from Midwest Energy: several wind-driven fires are creating problems, including an outage affecting 275 people northeast of Hays.
Video republished with permission
UPDATE 12:26 p.m. Kansas Highway Patrol asking local traffic to avoid Old Highway 40 and Toulon: “If you live in or around the Hays area, please avoid old Highway 40 at Toulon. Very heavy traffic coming off of I 70, so if you could use another county road, that would help us. Please and thank you!”
UPDATE 12:20 p.m. from NCKTech: NCK Tech Hays east campus will be closed and classes will be cancelled for the rest of the day, including night classes – excluding Hadley & Big Creek facilities. More information to follow as details are available.
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Fire crews are on the scene of a grass fire burning the area of Commerce Parkway, northeast of Hays. According to reports, traffic from Interstate 70 was being diverted or stopped, according to reports.
The fire is reportedly quickly spreading, fueled by wind gusts from the northwest of up to 54 mph. The fire was visible north of I-70 at Sternberg. Crews also were at the campus of NCK Tech, although no fire was seen on campus, and 27th Street is closed at Canterbury.
Witness reports said that emergency responders were being forced to negotiate onlookers heading to the area to see the fire, as well.
Some homeowners in the Tallgrass subdivision, east of St. Nicholas of Myra Catholic Church, were seen boxing up possessions just before noon.
“Traffic on I-70 being rerouted between mp 157 and 163 or U-183 bypass and Toulon Ave (the circles) then take Old Hwy 40 around the south end of Hays,” KHP Trooper Tod Hileman said in a social media update. “The fire is approximately where the square is.”
Courtesy Trooper Tod Hileman
Check Hays Post for details as they become available.
RILEY COUNTY — Law enforcement authorities are investigating a teen for alleged aggravated assault.
Just after 11:30p.m. Monday, police filed a report in connection with an alleged road rage incident in the 200 Block of Tuttle Creek Boulevard.
David Spruell-Penegar, 18, of Manhattan, displayed a handgun at a couple from Illinois, according to the Riley County Police Department activity report.
Police arrested Spruell-Penegar in the 1500 Block of Laramie Street on requested charges of aggravated assault.
Donald H. Vistuba, 79, of Gorham, Kansas, passed away Sunday, March 4, 2018 after a courageous battle with cancer.
Don was born December1, 1938 in Pawnee City, Nebraska, the son of Donald F. and Maytha K. (Jensen) Vistuba. Growing up Don and his family lived in Steinaur, Nebraska, Marysville, Kansas, Oketa, Kansas, Winifred, Kansas and then in 1953 his family moved to Gorham. He graduated from Gorham High School in 1957.
Don met, fell in love, and was united in marriage to Donna Tittel on October 12, 1958 in Milberger, Kansas. They made their home in Russell and Gorham before Don served his country in the U.S. Army during 1961 to 1963. During which they lived at Ft. Leonardwood in Missouri and Ft. Benning in Georgia. Then they returned to the Gorham area.
Don was a Lineman and later a Supervisor for Midwest Energy Company from 1955 to 1996. He was involved with the Gorham Fire Department from 1961 to 1999 and was the Fire Chief for over 11 years. He was a founding member and President of the Gorham Development Association, a founding member of the Butterfield Trail Auto Club and a founding member of the Gorham Community Church. Don enjoyed restoring old cars and motorcycles, fishing, golfing, boating, watching the Royals, playing Texas Hold’em, and traveling to Zapata, Texas during the winter with Donna. He loved teaching local children the song “Barley Boo”. He was a humorous person that loved to make friends and family laugh, attend car shows and always looking for a good bargain.
Don’s surviving family include his wife of 59 years, Donna of the home; three children, Jeff Vistuba of Frisco, Texas; Kristi Crumrine (Bob) of Olathe, Kansas and Jason Vistuba (Staci) of Overland Park, Kansas; sister, Colleen Hall (Richard) of Colorado Springs, Colorado; four grandchildren, Kirstin Crumrine, Tylor Crumrine, Jillian Vistuba and Ashlyn Vistuba. He was preceded in death by his parents and brother Jim Vistuba.
Celebration of Don’s Life will be held at 10:30 AM Thursday, March 8, 2018 at Pohlman-Varner-Peeler Mortuary of Russell. Burial will follow at the Russell City Cemetery. Visitation will be held from 9:00 am to 8:00 pm Wednesday, March 7, 2018 at Pohlman-Varner-Peeler Mortuary with the family present to greet friends from 6:00 PM to 7:00 PM. A Memorial has been established with the Gorham Community Church. Contributions and condolences may be sent to Pohlman-Varner-Peeler Mortuary, who is in charge of these arrangement.
