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Month: March 2018

FHSU Office of Diversity and Inclusion Excellence to highlight multiple communities

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FHSU University Relations

Fort Hays State University’s Office of Diversity and Inclusion Excellence has partnered with various student organizations to celebrate different areas of diversity during the month of March.

The office will team up with the FHSU Center for Civic Leadership and the FHSU Gay Straight Alliance for “The Pulse that Never Stops Beating,” a presentation by Angel Colon, survivor of the 2016 Pulse Nightclub shooting. The presentation will start at 6 p.m. Tuesday, March 6, in the Beach/Schmidt Performing Arts Center in Sheridan Hall. 

Colon will discuss embracing diversity, respecting differences and rising above adversity. The event is free and open to the public.

Movie lovers are invited to join the office and Dr. Matthew Smalley, assistant professor of English, for a showing of the 2016 film “Hidden Figures” at 7 p.m. Wednesday, March 7, in Rarick Hall, room 312. The movie is the second installment in the diversity office’s series “Films for the Future.”

Women’s History Month will also be celebrated, starting with a Women’s History Month kick-off feature wall from 10:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., Thursday March 8, in the FHSU Memorial Union. The wall will highlight women who have fought to end discrimination against women.

The office’s book club, Novels for Hope, will hold its third meeting of the academic year from 2:30 to 3:30 p.m. Friday, March 9, in Sheridan Hall, room 108. The group will discuss the New York Time’s bestseller “The New Jim Crow” by Michelle Alexander, which focuses on systemic racism in the American prison system.

The month will close with Safe Zone trainings presented by Deanna Williams on Friday, March 30. Multiple trainings are available and open to 100 participants, including faculty, staff and students.

Session 1: Safe Zone 101 will be from 8:30 to10 a.m., and Session 2: Safe Zone 101 will follow from 10:30 a.m. to noon. Both sessions will provide a basic introduction to gender, sex and sexuality.

Session 3: Safe Zone 201 will be from 1:30 to 3:30 p.m. and will expand on the information in Safe Zone 101. The session will also explore systemic oppression of the LGBTQ+ community as well as teaching participants how they can become advocates on campus.

To register for Safe Zone trainings, visit the Office of Diversity and Inclusion Excellence Tiger Link page and fill out the Safe Zone registration form. All sessions are free and include completion certificates and stickers.

“The purpose of these events and this month as a whole is to raise awareness about different diverse communities and to teach the importance of inclusion,” said Taylor Kriley, director of the Office of Diversity and Inclusion Excellence.

For more information, contact Kriley at [email protected] or 785-628-4276.

Kan. Senate committee scheduled to vote on gun measure

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TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — A Kansas legislative committee is preparing to vote on a bill designed to ensure that fugitives and domestic abusers who illegally have guns are prosecuted.

The Senate Federal and State Affairs Committee is scheduled to take up the bill Monday. The measure passed the House last month.

The bill would make it illegal under state law for fugitives or people who’ve been convicted of domestic violence within the past five years to possess a gun.

The ban also would apply to immigrants living in the U.S. illegally and people who are subject to a court restraining order to prevent them from harassing or stalking others.

Supporters say the change will allow authorities to prosecute cases in state courts rather than federal courts that sometimes are too busy to handle them.

Friends of library set flash book sale

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The Friends of the Hays Public Library will have a flash book sale on Friday, March 9 and Thursday, March 10.

The sale will be open from 10 a.m. to noon for members only on March 9 and open to the public noon to 4 p.m. March 9 and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. March 10.

Cost will be $4 per bag. Books in the bookstore will be half off for members.

 

Kan. man wins appeal on refusing to testify at murder trial

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Jose Delacruz -photo KDOC

TOPEKA, Kan. — The Supreme Court reversed the Reno County District Court’s finding that a Kansas man was in direct contempt for refusing to testify at a co-defendant’s  jury trial.

The court vacated the 108-month prison sentence imposed for that contempt. The court held that the state’s offer of immunity against self-incrimination was not broad enough to protect 36-year old Jose Delacruz’s constitutional rights.

The case arose after Delacruz was convicted of aggravated robbery. The state subpoenaed him to be a witness in the trial of Anthony Waller for crimes relating to the same incident, which included the killing of Joshua Haines on April 10, 2010.

When Delacruz attempted to invoke his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination, the state offered him immunity. He still refused to testify.

Delacruz was later tried for criminal contempt and convicted in a bench trial on stipulated facts. He was sentenced to an additional 108 months in prison, to run consecutively to his 83-month sentence for the aggravated robbery.

On appeal, the court held that the state’s offer of immunity was incomplete. It did not cover all of the possibilities in which Delacruz’s testimony could have been used against him.

Since the grant of immunity was not coextensive with the constitutional right against self-incrimination, the court reversed the conviction and vacated the sentence.

Tiger women unable to hold off Lindenwood in MIAA Tourney finals

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KANSAS CITY, Mo. – The Fort Hays State women got off to a quick start but couldn’t overcome cold shooting in the second half and lost 58-51 to Lindenwood in the MIAA Tournament title game Sunday at Municipal Auditorium. The loss ends the Tigers (25-6) six-game win streak. Lindenwood (20-12) has now won six straight and ten of eleven and are the first nine seed to win the conference tournament.

FHSU Postgame Press Conference

Game Highlights

Just like they did in the semifinals against Pittsburg State, the Tigers came out on fire, racing out to a 15-2 lead in the first five minutes. Lindenwood rallied to close the gap to one midway through the second quarter before a 9-0 Tiger run pushed the lead back to ten.

The Lions scored the final seven points of the second quarter to pull within three at halftime then used an 8-0 run to start the fourth to go up six and held on the rest of the game.

The Tigers once again struggled shooting the ball, hitting only 24-percent in the second half and 2-for-23 from three for the game.

Carly Heim, who played every minute of all three games in Kansas City, was the only Tiger to score in double-figures with 14 points.

Heim and Tatyana Legette were both named to the all-tournament team. Lindenwood’s Gabby Walker, who scored a game-high 17 off the bench, was named the tournament’s Most Outstanding Player

Citizenship Day is celebrated by HMS seventh graders

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Seventh graders at Hays Middle School celebrated Citizenship Day at the 12th Street Auditorium last week.

Seth Kastle was the guest speaker. Kastle is a Fort Hays State University professor for leadership studies and is an Army veteran.

The color guard presented information to the students regarding why and how the American flag is folded the way it is.

Three city commissioners joined the celebration as well, including Shaun Musil, Sandy Jacobs and Henry Schwaller.

Russell, Grinnell residents are members of KLA Young Stockmen’s Academy

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KLA

TOPEKA – Young cattlemen and women from across the state met in Topeka February 12-13 for the first installment of the 2018 KLA Young Stockmen’s Academy (YSA). Merck Animal Health is again partnering with the association to host these members for an in-depth look into KLA and the beef industry. A series of four seminars will be held throughout the year in various locations in Kansas.

During this session, the 20 attendees learned about the array of member services provided by KLA, heard about the importance of being an advocate for the livestock industry, saw KLA lobbyists in action at the state Capitol and took part in the KLA Legislative Meeting. In addition, YSA members attended a Senate Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee meeting at the Capitol and participated in a financial planning seminar conducted by KCoe Isom.

As part of an interactive training session led by KLA staff, White City rancher and beef advocate Debbie Lyons-Blythe and WIBW-Topeka farm broadcaster Greg Akagi, the group was given an overview of various media outlets available to help tell the beef production story. Lyons-Blythe shared how she has implemented advocacy into her daily routine through the use of her blog, “Kids, Cows and Grass”.

Members of the 2018 YSA class are Jill Carr, Dwight; Cole Gardiner, Ashland; Ethan Horne, Marquette; Scott Jones, Melvern; Laura Klenda, Marion; Megan Larson, Olsburg; Jacquelyne Leffler, Americus; Bracey Lerner, Manhattan; Megan Ludwig, Pratt; Justin Reeve, Garden City; Marisa Rose, Russell; Jared Seeley, Eureka; Barrett Simon, Beloit; Rochelle Smart, Iola; Katelyn Steffens, Dighton; Rossie Stephens, Grinnell; Gretchen Stroberg, Hutchinson; Linden Stueve, Olpe; Ben Wheaton, Lewis; and Rusty Wiggs, Topeka.

The second session for the YSA class will be held in May. Members will have the opportunity to learn more about the agribusiness and retail beef industries. More information about YSA can be found at www.kla.org.

Pictured (back row, L to R) are Linden Stueve, Olpe; Barrett Simon, Beloit; Jared Seeley, Eureka; Cole Gardiner, Ashland; Bracey Lerner, Manhattan; Rusty Wiggs, Topeka; Scott Jones, Melvern; Ethan Horne, Marquette; Justin Reeve, Garden City; Ben Wheaton, Lewis; (front row, L to R) Laura Klenda, Marion; Rochelle Smart, Iola; Rossie Stephens, Grinnell; Gretchen Stroberg, Hutchinson; Megan Ludwig, Pratt; Megan Larson, Olsburg; Jill Carr, Dwight; Marisa Rose, Russell; Jacquelyne Leffler, Americus; and Katelyn Steffens, Dighton.

KLA is a trade organization representing the business interests of members at both the state and federal levels. Voluntary dues dollars paid by producers are used for programs that benefit KLA members in the areas of legislative representation, regulatory assistance, legal troubleshooting, communications and the advancement of youth.

SHPTV PBS Kids Writers Contest underway

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SHPTV

BUNKER HILL – Children have incredible imaginations and what better way to foster that imagination, than for them to write their own stories. We would like to invite you to join Smoky Hills Public Television as we encourage children in central and western Kansas to build critical literacy skills by creating their own stories and taking part in the SHPTV PBS Kids Writers Contest.

Smoky Hills Public Television is looking for stories from kids throughout the viewing area. The SHPTV PBS Kids Writers Contest is designed to be a valuable, hands-on, active learning tool. The contest is for children in grades K-3.

The contest is currently underway, and entries can be submitted to SHPTV through March 30, 2018. Smoky Hills Public Television will select local winners and award prizes in April or May. The rules and entry form are available at www.smokyhillstv.org.

Kansas voting rights trial has national implications

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WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — A conservative Republican who has supported President Donald Trump’s unsubstantiated claim that millions of illegal votes cost Trump the popular vote in 2016 will have to prove Kansas has a problem with voter fraud if he’s to win a legal challenge to voter registration requirements he’s championed.

Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach
FILE PHOTO / Kansas News Service

The case headed to trial starting Tuesday has national implications for voting rights as Republicans pursue laws they say are aimed at preventing voter fraud but that critics contend disenfranchise minorities and college students who tend to vote Democratic and who may not have such documentation readily available. Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach, who is running for governor and was part of Trump’s now-disbanded commission on voter fraud , has long championed such laws and is defending a Kansas requirement that people present documentary proof of citizenship — such as a birth certificate, naturalization papers or a passport — when they register to vote.

“Kansas is the site of the major showdown on this issue, and Kris Kobach has been such a prominent advocate for concerns about noncitizens voting and other fraudulent behavior. He essentially led the Trump commission on vote fraud and integrity and he has been a lightning rod — which makes him a hero to people on his side of the argument in trying to tighten up voting laws, but makes him kind of a mischief-maker and a distraction for people who are on the other side,” said Barry Burden, director of the Elections Research Center at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Courts have temporarily blocked Kobach from fully enforcing the Kansas law, with the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Denver calling it “a mass denial of a fundamental constitutional right.”

The trial before U.S District Judge Julie Robinson in Kansas City, Kansas, centers on the National Voter Registration Act, commonly known as the Motor Voter Law, which allows people to register to vote when applying for a driver’s license. Robinson will decide whether Kobach has legal authority to demand such citizenship paperwork, and a key consideration will be whether Kansas has a significant problem with noncitizens registering to vote.

Dale Ho, director for the Voting Rights Project at the American Civil Liberties Union said the case is about what national standards the U.S. will have for voter registration.

“It is also a case about this false narrative of noncitizens participating in elections — which Kobach has said for years has been happening in large amounts — and now we are going to see his evidence,” Ho said. “His evidence is going to be put on the stand in open court for a federal judge to rule on, and I think the public will finally get to see how little evidence he actually has.”

Kobach’s office didn’t respond to an interview request ahead of the trial, but he has argued in court filings that the law is necessary to prevent voter fraud, contending that even a small number of noncitizens voting could sway a close election.

No other state has been as aggressive as Kansas in imposing such proof-of-citizenship requirements. Alabama and Georgia have proof-of-citizenship laws that are not currently being enforced, according to the ACLU. Arizona is the only other state with a similar law in effect, but that law is far more lenient and allows people to satisfy it by writing their driver’s license number on the voter registration form.

“All of these states are in limbo while we wait for courts to settle the dispute,” Burden said, adding that other states might be interested in similar laws if Kobach prevails.

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. Forty-three of them were successful in registering, he says, and 11 have voted since 2000. Five of those people registered at motor vehicle offices, according to Kobach.

In the first three years after the Kansas law went into effect in 2013, about one in seven voter registration applications in Kansas were blocked for lack of proof of citizenship — with nearly half of them for people under the age of 30, according to court documents. Between 2013 and 2016, more than 35,000 Kansans were unable to register to vote.

In temporarily blocking the law for people who register at driver’s license offices, Robinson in May 2016 said it likely violates a provision in federal election law that requires only “minimal information”— such as an oath under penalty of perjury that the person is a citizen — to determine a voter’s eligibility.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia also has temporarily blocked the enforcement of the law for people who register to vote using the federal form in a separate legal challenge.

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Online school students visit Sternberg

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On Feb. 9 teachers and students from Kansas Connections Academy, a southwest Kansas tuition-free online public school, visited the Sternberg Museum of Natural History in Hays.

The students valued their experience to the museum as a hands-on opportunity to learn about the curriculum they virtually study.

These in-person events not only provide valuable educational opportunities for students, but also great face-to-face socialization opportunities for the online school students to connect with one another, Kansas Connections Academy said.

Chief justice receives award from Sons of the American Revolution chapters

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Chief Justice Lawton Nuss of the Kansas Supreme Court, seated second from right, received an award from the Kansas City area chapters of the Sons of the American Revolution.

OJA

TOPEKA — Chief Justice Lawton Nuss of the Kansas Supreme Court received the Silver Good Citizenship Medal from the Kansas City Area Chapters of the National Society of the Sons of the American Revolution during the group’s 32nd annual George Washington Birthday Celebration.

Nuss also was the guest speaker at the February 24 celebration at the Ritz Charles in Overland Park.

The gathering included Sons of the American Revolution chapters in Leavenworth, Overland Park, and Shawnee in Kansas and Independence, Liberty, South Kansas City, and Warrensburg in Missouri.

Using examples, Nuss spoke of the importance of oaths of office throughout history. Notably, since 1868, all officers elected or appointed under any law of the state of Kansas have been required to take an oath to support the United States and Kansas constitutions, he told his audience.

Nuss observed the connection between the oaths taken by judges, their devotion to justice, and President Washington, who declared, “The administration of justice is the firmest pillar of government.”

2018 Ellis High School Snowball Royalty winners announced

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ELLIS – Ellis High School had its annual KAY Snowball Dance on Saturday, February 10, 2018. Snowball Royalty class winners are as follows:

Freshman Queen, Maggie James, daughter of Wesley James and Alice James; Sophomore Queen, Lauryn Becker, daughter of Chris and Brandy Becker; Junior Queen, Cassie Waldschmidt, daughter of Pete and Sandy Waldschmidt; Senior Queen, Aiden Johnson, daughter of Kip Johnson and the late Celeste Johnson; Senior King, Geoffrey Soneson, son of Rob and Donna Soneson; and Freshman King, Brady Frickey, son of Stacy and Brad Frickey.

– SUBMITTED –

Coach Maheras publishes article in track and field publication

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Dr. Andreas Maheras

FHSU University Relations

Dr. Andreas Maheras, track and field coach at Fort Hays State University, published an article in the February 2018 issue of “Techniques,” the official publication of the U.S. Track and Field Association.

“Biomechanical Observations in Hammer Throwing: Distinguishing the Static and the Dynamic,” analyzes the biomechanical aspects of the hammer throw event.

The article challenges existing coaching practices and presents little-known characteristics of the basic phases of the hammer throw.

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