By JONATHAN ZWEYGARDT
Hays Post

A 20-year-old Hays man who was arrested earlier this month on a number of sex-related charges made his first appearance in court Tuesday.

According to Ellis County Attorney Tom Drees, Andrew Bayle Claude, 20, Hays, was charged with four counts of aggravated criminal sodomy and two counts of rape.

Drees said the two alleged victims are 13, and Claude was 19 at the time of the incident. Claude could face life in prison with no consideration of parole until after 25 years if convicted of the crimes. He would also be required to register as an offender.

The alleged incident occurred in November 2017.

Claude made his first appearance in Ellis County District Court on Tuesday, and he remains in the Ellis County jail in lieu of $100,000 bond.

The filing of criminal charges are merely allegations of criminal wrong doing, Drees said. The defendant maintains a presumption of innocence unless and until they are proven guilty in a court of law.

Ellis County Sheriff’s Office 

The Ellis County Drug Enforcement Unit will participate in the DEA’s Take Back Prescription Drug Day on Saturday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Sites will be manned by uniformed officers at Good Samaritan Center, 2700 Canal, and the Hays Convention & Visitors Bureau, 2700 Vine.

This initiative addresses a vital public safety and public health issue. Medicines that languish in home cabinets are highly susceptible to misuse and abuse. Rates of prescription drug abuse in the U.S. are alarmingly high, as are the number of accidental poisonings and overdoses due to these drugs.

Helping people to dispose of potentially harmful and addictive drugs is just one way local law enforcement is working to reduce the addiction and overdose rates in the area.

Citizens can drop off both prescription and over-the-counter drugs in pill, patch, tablet and capsule forms, and liquids stored in leak-proof containers. No syringes or aerosols can be accepted.

FHSU University Relations

Students at Fort Hays State University are aware, and grateful, for the support that they receive from alumni and friends of the university and, on April 18, eight of those who showed up for FHSU’s sixth annual Student Awareness Day won scholarships for the fall 2018 semester.

Current Fort Hays State students stopped by the university’s Robbins Center, home of the FHSU Foundation, which serves as the fundraising arm of the university, to receive free lunch along with the opportunity to win scholarships. Representatives from Astra Bank, the scholarship sponsor, drew names for some of the lucky scholarship winners.

Awareness Day was created to help educate current Tigers about the importance of private support.

“Fort Hays State has some truly amazing donors,” said Schuyler Coates, director of annual giving for the FHSU Foundation. “I cannot stress how important it is for our students to learn that there are real people behind the scholarships that they receive and, often, the new equipment that they get to utilize.”

Some student visitors left thank-you notes for the donors: “Thank you for helping me to achieve more than I thought was possible.” “Thank you for believing in me. Your generosity is truly an inspiration.” “Thank you for helping a starving artist.” “You have changed the world because you have touched our lives.” “Thank you for making it possible for students like me to realize their full potential. This act of kindness will not be forgotten.”

“Students who attended our Awareness Day event will soon become alumni, some in the next month,” said Coates. “When they are called to support future Tigers down the road, our hope is that they will know the importance of paying it forward, and understand how vital their gifts are to our future.”

The scholarship winners:

$500 Scholarship – Carolina Gallegos-Orosco, Ulysses junior majoring in human resource management.

$500 Scholarship – Nyza Milligan, Manhattan freshman majoring in medical diagnostic imaging, for an essay explaining what donor support means to her.

$500 Scholarship – Beatrice Walsh, Thornton, Colo., freshman majoring in criminal justice, for using #awarenessday in her social media post.

$100 Scholarship – Madison Wiens, Colby freshman majoring in art education.

$100 Scholarship – Aaron Voss, Hays junior majoring in accounting.

$100 Scholarship – Danea Buschkoetter, Holdrege, Neb., senior majoring in applied technology.

$100 Scholarship – Brooke Luedke, Scandia freshman majoring in criminal justice.

$100 Scholarship – Annalise Albrecht, Hill City freshman majoring in art.

To help spread awareness across campus, the FHSU Foundation staked almost 100 lawn signs throughout campus for a week’s time.
“These signs remind students that FHSU donors and their gifts keep our great university running full-speed, and that we wouldn’t be such a strong institution today without their generosity,” said Coates.

“Ensuring that students know how FHSU is funded is an important lesson. Fort Hays State University is once again the third-largest university in Kansas, but continues to offer the second lowest in-state tuition in the United States. The low tuition is only possible due to the number of generous alumni and friends, who understand how important it is to give the gift of education.”

“A big thank you goes to Astra Bank for providing $2,000 in scholarships for us to give away throughout the Awareness Day event,” said Coates. “Thank you again to the students who stopped by, and congratulations to the lucky winners!”

To learn more about the Fort Hays State University Foundation, visit https://foundation.fhsu.edu or contact their office at 785-628-5620 or [email protected].

Researchers will discuss cover crop management options in dryland wheat-based systems

Growing cover crops to enhance soil quality and nutrient cycling and suppress weeds and pests as part of a wheat production system is increasingly being considered by producers, but the water requirements pose a concern for growers in western Kansas.

Kansas State University researchers have been evaluating cover crop management options in water-limited environments and will discuss their findings at a Cover Crop Field Day on Friday, May 25 at the K-State HB Ranch near Hays.

The day includes presentations by K-State faculty, growers and government officials.
K-State cover crop research – John Holman, K-State agronomist.
Cover crop plot tour – Augustine Obour, K-State agronomist.
Cover crops and beneficial insects – J.P. Michaud, K-State entomologist.
On-farm cover crop research update- Meagan Schipanski, Colorado State University agronomist.
Cover crops and soil health – Dale Younker, USDA/Natural Resources Conservation Service.
Grazing cover crops – Sandy Johnson, K-State animal scientist.
The field day and tour starts at 9:30 a.m. at K-State’s HB Ranch. A complimentary lunch is included. The ranch is four miles south of the Cedar Bluff Dam on Kansas Highway 147. Attendees are asked to RSVP by May 23 to Milissa Alexander at 785-625-3425 or [email protected].

— K‑State Research and Extension

By BECKY KISER
Hays Post

The U.S. Supreme Court is mulling over the contention that the current standard requiring online retailers to collect state sales tax only if they have a physical presence in said state should be abolished.

South Dakota Attorney General Marty Jackley presented his argument April 12 in front of the high court saying “times have changed” in the retail business. Sales taxes are not collected by out-of-state sellers by internet retailers such as Amazon and Wayfair. That savings, often combined with free shipping from the company, is driving many customers to the internet instead of Main Street. Many “bricks and mortar” retailers are seeing a downward trend in their sales.

The state of Kansas and several other states have filed an amicus brief in the North Dakota case. The Supreme Court is expected to issue its ruling in June.

Although it’s a federal case, the Kansas legislature “continues to work on state legislation to try to capture the sales tax on the internet,” according to Goodland senator Rick Billinger. He was in Hays Saturday, along with Reps. Eber Phelps of Hays and Ken Rahjes of Agra for a legislative coffee presented by the Hays Area Chamber of Commerce.

There are challenges to collecting the sales tax for online purchases.

“Kansas can say we’re going to collect our 6% for the state, but, for example, Hays has a local sales tax. Some counties also have a local sales tax,” Billinger pointed out. There are also special taxing districts. “Every county has something different. In Sherman County, our total combined tax is over 9% and figuring out who is to be paid what, is difficult.”

Amazon does have a physical presence in Kansas with two warehouses and a sort center in Johnson and Wyandotte counties, so the state sales tax is collected.

Billinger favors an across-the-board internet sales tax but says the federal court must first “fix the hodge-podge.”

In Kansas, the majority of online sales are made with Amazon, Walmart and Best Buy, according to the Department of Revenue, Rahjes said. They all have a physical presence in Kansas and are collecting the state sales tax, mostly.

“Not all the supply partners of these companies have a Kansas presence, so you may buy something from Amazon and not be charged our state sales tax,” explained Rahjes.

“As this nationwide explosion to capture sales tax revenue gets closer, then the unintended consequences come in,” he added in agreement with Billinger.

“Part of the argument against this is the burden it will put on small retailers. There’s not going to be a handy card to look at saying this is how much the tax is.”

Some of the internet giants are offering to figure it out for businesses, for a fee.

“So are you willing to pay more in order to make it fair for the businesses on the bricks in downtown Hays?,” Rahjes asked the audience.

In talking to the small “mom and pop” businesses in his 110th District, Rahjes said he is an advocate of the internet sales tax, “trying to keep it as advantageous as possible for Main Street.”

It won’t be simple, but he’s predicting it will happen.

There are, however, many sales tax exemptions in Kansas, “millions and millions and millions of dollars’ worth,” said Rep. Phelps.

“We’ve really shrunk that population in our state that collects the sales tax. I think that adds momentum to the support for taxing internet sales that are out of state and selling in our community.”

He has also talked with local businesses about implementation of an internet sales tax.

“I was talking with Goodwin’s Sporting Goods in Hays about people who come in to try on the latest Nike tennis shoe and ask questions about it. Then they go and order the shoes online, probably saving a few dollars. But in the meantime, you have a local store that has the overhead right here in our community.”

The 8.75% sales tax in Hays is split three ways:

The city’s general fund comes primarily from the local 1.75% sales tax, not property tax. Hays is the only city in Kansas to finance its general fund with sales tax.

The Hays Police Department responded to 2 animal calls and conducted 18 traffic stops Mon., April 24, 2018, according to the HPD Activity Log.

Traffic/Driving Complaint–200 block W 29th St, Hays; 7:42 AM
Disturbance – General–2000 block Canal Blvd, Hays; 9:49 AM
Mental Health Call–2100 block E 21st St, Hays; 10:12 AM
Warrant Service (Fail to Appear)–700 block E 6th St, Hays; 10:15 AM; 10:24 AM
Disturbance – Noise–3100 block Hall St, Hays; 2:46 PM
Parking Complaint–1300 block Washington Cir, Hays; 3:13 PM
MV Accident-City Street/Alley–700 block Main St, Hays; 4:39 PM
Runaway Juvenile–3000 block Broadway Ave, Hays; 4:30 PM
Disturbance – Fight–2500 block Vine St, Hays; 4:35 PM; 4:42 PM
Burglary/storage unit–1100 block E 13th St, Hays; 6:28 PM
Harassment, Telephone/FAX–100 block W 12th St, Hays; 8:04 PM
Dead Animal Call–2200 block E 22nd St, Hays; 9:08 PM
Suspicious Person–3600 block Vine St, Hays; 10:44 PM