HUTCHINSON, Kan. (AP) — Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy is recalling employees laid off from a Kansas manufacturing plant last year.
The company expects to hire an additional 100 people in the next six months at the Hutchinson plant, which makes parts of wind turbines.
The company laid off 140 employees last year, citing a reduction in orders.
Siemens’ Hutchinson plant spokeswoman Myca Welch says only employees who were laid off can apply now. She says hiring will be gradual, and the plant expects to be back to a two-shift operation by August.
Welch says the company is also rehiring at its blade manufacturing plant in Fort Madison, Iowa but did not provide any additional details.
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – A Kansas City area man was sentenced in federal court today for robbing four banks in Independence, Mo., Liberty, Mo., and Kansas City, Mo., over a span of five months, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
Holmes -security camera image courtesy KC police
Tam Henry Holmes, 57, of the Kansas City metropolitan area, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Gary A. Fenner to 10 years in federal prison without parole. The court also ordered Holmes to pay $25,005 in restitution.
On Oct. 23, 2017, Holmes pleaded guilty to four counts of bank robbery.
Holmes robbed Central Bank of Kansas City, 2301 Independence Ave., Kansas City, Mo., on Nov. 16, 2016. Holmes approached the teller counter and placed a note up against the bullet-proof glass and whispered “700.” The teller told investigators she could not read what was printed on the note, but Holmes continued to whisper “700” and she realized it was a robbery. The teller turned over $450 to Holmes, who then left the bank.
On April 1, 2017, Holmes robbed Bank of the West, 850 S. 291 Hwy., Liberty. When he entered the bank, Holmes held up a spiral notebook containing hand-written notations. The teller told investigators that she read the first couple of lines, which she recalled were, “this is a robbery, give me all your large bills.” The teller gathered money from her drawer and gave it to Holmes and he left the bank. The bank reported a loss of $8,300.
On April 3, 2017, Holmes robbed Greater Kansas City Public Safety Credit Union, 19341 E. US 40 Hwy., Independence. Holmes walked up to a teller counter and showed the teller two hand-written notes on two yellow Post-it notes. The notes said, “this is a robbery. Don’t pull any dye packs, bail or alarms. I know where you live.” The teller removed cash from her drawer and handed it to Holmes, and he left the bank. The credit union reported a loss of $12,205.
On April 15, 2017, Holmes robbed First Federal Bank of Kansas City, 3500 Noland Rd., Independence. Holmes held up a handwritten note that said, “give me all the money, hurry up, or I will hurt you.” The teller opened her drawer and handed Holmes $100 and $50 bills. She then stared at Holmes, who stated, “hurry up or I’ll do what the note says.” The teller then gave Holmes $20, $10 and $5 bills. Holmes took the money, put it in his pockets and walked out of the bank. The bank reported a loss of $4,050.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration is considering a proposal that would penalize immigrants for accepting almost any form of public benefit, including a popular tax credit.
Under a draft proposal first reported by The Washington Post, the Department of Homeland Security would expand the definition of “public benefit” to include the federal earned income tax credit as well as health insurance and housing subsidies.
The earned income tax credit benefits low- and moderate-income workers, particularly those with children.
Department spokesman Tyler Houlton says the proposed rule was sent to the Office of Management and Budget to be listed in the Federal Register Thursday.
He stressed the proposal is “pre-decisional,” but that the administration “is committed to enforcing existing immigration law,” as well as “respecting taxpayer dollars.”
TREGO COUNTY— One person was injured in an accident just before 5a.m. Sunday in Trego County.
The Kansas Highway Patrol reported a 2007 Honda passenger car driven by James Andrew, Beardslee, 24, Wichita, was eastbound on Interstate 70 just west of Voda Road. The vehicle skidded off the roadway, overturned into the south ditch and into a KDOT fence.
Beardslee was transported to the hospital in WaKeeney and later flown to a Wichita hospital. He was not wearing a seat belt, according to the KHP.
SEDGWICK COUNTY – Law enforcement authorities are investigating a weekend shooting and are searching for two suspects.
Just after 5:00 a.m. Saturday, police responded to a shooting call at a residence in the 1400 block of north Vassar in Wichita, according to Officer Charley Davidson.
Upon arrival officers contacted a 43-year-old male with multiple gunshot wounds. The male was transported to an area hospital for medical treatment of non-life-threatening injuries.
The investigation revealed the victim heard a knock at the door, went to answer the door, and before opening the door several shots were fired striking him. Suspect descriptions are described as two unknown males.
One male wearing a black hoodie, and the second wearing either a gray or white hoodie. If anyone has any additional information on this case please call Crime Stoppers at 316-267-2111 or WPD Detectives at 316-268-4407. This was not a random incident and is gang related.
April is Child Abuse Prevention Month and I encourage everyone in the community to join me this month and stand up for the future of children in our state.
Each of us has the ability to help children and families in our neighborhoods. When you mentor a child or parent, advocate for policies that support the next generation, or donate time or money to local child-serving organizations, you are actually helping to prevent child abuse and neglect. These actions do make a difference.
By donating time and money to prevention organizations, taking the time to volunteer for before- or after-school programs, or offering to help families in your own neighborhood, you can have a meaningful impact on the lives of children throughout the community. Actions like these help bring communities together, reduce isolation and help children and families succeed.
Research shows most Americans are already involved in helping to prevent child abuse and neglect through one of those actions. If you’re not already, April is a great time to start!
As we observe Child Abuse Prevention Month this April, I hope you’ll take one of three simple steps to make a difference: mentor a child or parent, advocate for family-friendly policies, or donate to a child-serving organization.
If we all pledge to do each of these activities at least once during the month of April, we can make a real difference. More importantly, if we all continue to take steps like these beyond April and into the future, we can help grow the next generation of American leaders, entrepreneurs and innovators.
Please join me!
Tabitha Wolf, CASA of the High Plains, Inc., Intern
Let’s face it; families are busy. When you factor in the number of kids times the number of activities and add in some other unplanned event, preparing a balanced/nutritious meal can feel like a tough assignment. You’ve heard me say it many times that the healthiest place to eat is at home, where the person who is cooking can modify the ingredients in a recipe for their families’ taste, and nutrients. One way to ease the hectic schedule is to prepare a double recipe of your families’ favorite and then get creative with the leftovers.
If you would like help with making over your leftovers, mark your calendars for Wednesday, April 11th, and join Jamie Rathbun at noon at the Great Bend Activity Center, 2715 18th Street. Jamie is a busy career mom who comes home to a husband and four hungry kids every evening. Jamies’ program, “Makng Over Your Leftovers” will include her tried and true recipes with tips on making the leftovers taste even better than the first time around.
Please give our office a quick call if you plan to join us on the 11th. That way we will have plenty of handouts prepared. Our office # is: (620)793-1910 or you may e-mail me at: [email protected]
Reminder About Upcoming Programs
The Healthy Cooking Styles program will be presented twice in the next week. I’ll be at the Extension Meeting room in Hays on April 3rd, at noon, and at the Catholic Church in Wilson on April 9th beginning at 6:00 p.m. My presentations will focus on five healthier ways to prepare vegetables and samples will be shared at the conclusion of each program. Call either of our offices if you plan to attend.
And finally, we are excited to be hosting a ½ Pep Rally for the Walk KS program in Hays on Friday April 13th. Join us at the Big Creek Crossing Mall at noon, for a short program and lunch. If you are on a Walk KS team, lunch is on us; for others it is $5.00. Call our Hays office to sign up for this fun event.
As you can see, there are lots of great learning opportunities coming up in the Cottonwood Extension District. We look forward to seeing you!
Donna Krug is the Family & Consumer Science Agent and District Director for the Cottonwood Extension District – Great Bend Office. You may reach her at: (620)793-1910 or [email protected]
ATWOOD — From their Colorado Springs home, Dan and Kim Christian have established themselves as world accordionists. Their unique ability to play together with exact precision is unparalleled. Performances are charged with vibrant energy and a passion and love that creates an experience that will be cherished by audiences.
Western Plains Arts Association is pleased to bring Squeeze-Play back to northwest Kansas, this time to Atwood. Their concert is 3 p.m., Sunday, April 8, 2018 at the Rawlins County High School Auditorium. Tickets are by WPAA season pass or adults $10, students $5 at the door. WPAA programs are made possible through numerous businesses and individual contributors including a special grant by the Dane. Hansen Memorial Foundation, Logan, Kan.
Dan and Kim met as young children while Dan was taking lessons from Kim’s Father. He and Kim grew up often performing together. Eventually their great friendship turned into romance and marriage. They are known throughout the county for their modern arrangements of popular music styles that cover just about any style of music from classical, to polka and jazz and everything in between.
They have travelled widely throughout the United States and have competed at internationals, including in China and Canada. They perform often in the Colorado area in addition lengthy periods performing in Branson, Mo.
Kim has won many prestigious awards in her career, including the U.S. National Championship and Horary Bronze Medal winner of the World Accordion Championships. She is also the two-time winner of the Rocky Mountain Accordion Society Virtuoso Solo and the Accordion Federation of North America Virtuoso solo.
Dan is the winner of the prestigious Galla-Rini Traveling Trophy Award, which requires a three time win of the Rocky Mountain Accordion Society Virtuoso Solo Competition. He has developed a reputation throughout the United States for directing outstanding Virtuoso Orchestras. His groups have won national Competitions in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago and Denver. He is an experienced music writer and arranger. He is director of the U.S. National Champion Accordion Orchestra with a record of first place achievements across the country. He was the solo accordionist for “La Curanderea” the first opera to highlight the accordion as the principal instrument.
The couple have both been teaching accordion for more than 30 years. Seven of their previous students have received full music scholarships to Denver University.
Working together the couple wrote, arranged, produced and marketed the Branson show “Music Makes the World Go Round. They have produced several CD’s over their many years.
Ron Wilson is director of the Huck Boyd National Institute for Rural Development at Kansas State University.By RON WILSON Huck Boyd National Institute for Rural Development
Fun and fitness. Those two elements go together at the Council Grove Life Center, where the goal is to make rural life fun, entertaining, and long-lasting.
Deidre Knight is executive director of the Council Grove Life Center, a community fitness center in Council Grove. Deidre grew up in Salina and studied Family Studies and Human Services at K-State. She also met her husband, who grew up on a farm near the rural community of Alta Vista, population 444 people. Now, that’s rural.
Deidre and her husband moved to Kansas City after graduation. They eventually moved back to Council Grove where she became the director of the Council Grove Life Center.
“There were two men who wanted to play racquetball,” Deidre said. There were no racquetball courts that they could use in Council Grove, so they started thinking about building some. The idea soon grew into the more holistic approach of a comprehensive fitness center for the community. “There was a real need to have a place for indoor activities during the winter,” Deidre said.
CGLC Inc. was organized as a non-profit, tax exempt corporation to operate the fitness center. Local foundations stepped up to provide private funding to build the center, along with several local individuals and businesses plus two large gifts from anonymous donors.
Council Grove happens to have multiple foundations based in the community. The Bill Young Trust donated land. Financial support came from the Arthur M. Hylton and Ethel L. Hylton Trust, Oscar and Ina Nystrom, the John E. Trembly Foundation, and more.
“We are terribly spoiled but incredibly grateful to have these foundations in the community,” Deidre said. Monthly, semi-annual and annual memberships provide ongoing support for the center. “No tax dollars were spent on the construction of the CGLC and no taxes will be levied for its operation,” Deidre said.
In 2005, the 10,000-square-foot center was constructed in Council Grove. The facility includes an indoor swimming pool, a full-sized gym, cardio area with strength machines, free weights, mirrored fitness studio, and – oh yeah – a racquetball court. In addition, a day care center operates next door.
“Our programs range from Silver Sneakers for retirees to something called Insanity,” Deidre said. In addition to the weekend hours, the facility is open each weekday from 4:30 in the morning till 10 at night. That seems like a lot of hours, and it seems to start very early, but this accommodates the schedule of their members. “Thirty percent of our daily attendance comes in that 4 to 5 a.m. hour, so people can get in a workout and then take care of the kids or get to work,” Deidre said.
Beside individual workouts, there are a number of classes with trainers. For example, there are three types of yoga plus classes with names like Aqua Burn, Silver Splash, Water Flow, Pickleball, Circuit, Water Works, and the aforementioned Insanity. (I think Water Flow sounds a whole lot easier than Insanity.)
There are also programs such as hoops club, youth basketball clinics, a men’s basketball league, coed volleyball, and more. The center partners with the local hospital to make the pool available for those who need water-based rehabilitation after surgery, for example. In the summer, the center does programs for the kids in the summer food service program and then hosts an end-of-summer party.
The facility is also available for rent for private parties. There is even a community coffee room where people can congregate after workouts, for example.
“It’s important to have amenities for the community and to attract people,” Deidre said. “We promote connectivity and the rural lifestyle.” The center has more than 1,100 members and some 22,000 visits each year.
Is fitness fun? At the Council Grove Life Center, Deidre Knight and her staff are striving to make it so. We salute Deidre Knight and all those involved with the Council Grove Life Center for making a difference by providing this wonderful facility. By helping people in this rural region have fun, they are definitely a good fit.
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Ken Martin remembers a Travel Channel episode about the world’s tallest waterslide. The Richmond, Virginia-based amusement-park safety expert said he was horrified that test sandbags flew off the ride and that nylon straps with Velcro restrained multiple riders on rafts dropping 17 stories at up to 70 miles per hour.
Caleb Thomas Schwab-courtesy photo
“I am sitting on my couch and I am thinking, ‘Oh my God. What are these people thinking?'” Martin recalled in an interview. “I started praying for anyone who got on that ride.”
The Verruckt waterslide was a big attraction for the Schlitterbahn park in Kansas City, Kansas, from its opening in 2014— until a 10-year-old boy’s decapitation in August 2016 forced it to shut down. A Kansas grand jury earlier this month indicted the Schlitterbahn Waterparks and Resorts and Verruckt’s co-designer on numerous criminal charges, including second-degree murder over Caleb Schwab’s death.
As water parks prepare to open across the country for the summer season, the Kansas indictments highlight the inconsistent patchwork of state regulations that cover amusement parks.
The federal Consumer Products Safety Commission says it knows of 12 deaths at water parks and another 22 at other amusement parks since 2010, and about 40,000 emergency room visits by park patrons in 2016.
Schlitterbahn said in a statement on its website that all rides are “thoroughly inspected daily” by supervisors and managers and annually, by both an insurer and another “an independent third party.” The company said indicted co-owner Jeffrey Wayne Henry has designed rides “the world over” and, “Nearly every waterpark that exists today has an attraction or feature based on his designs or ideas.”
At the time of Caleb’s death, the International Association of Amusement Parks estimated that more than 85 million people safely visited water parks each year.
Schlitterbahn’s Kansas City park plans to open as normal in May, according to the company’s website. The Verruckt ride will be idle but has not yet been torn down.
When Verruckt was built, Kansas had lax regulations and Martin — whose company is certified to inspect rides in four states — said the state still has weak oversight. Caleb was the son of Kansas state Rep. Scott Schwab, a Republican from the Kansas City suburb of Olathe, and lawmakers passed a law last year requiring annual checks by qualified outside inspectors. But it allows park employees to do daily inspections through the season. On Wednesday, the Kansas House approved a bill to weaken the rules for rides at short-term annual fairs and events such as hayrack rides to allay the misgivings of rural legislators.
“We certainly should have adopted those other regulations sooner,” said state Rep. Jene Vickrey, a conservative Republican.
Local officials did check Verruckt to see if the ride met their building codes so that, for example, the tower had metal staircase rails and not wooden ones. But they did not pass judgment on its engineering, nor did the state.
Saferparks, a nonprofit California group seeking to prevent amusement park accidents, says 20 other states provide comprehensive oversight. New Jersey requires ride manufacturers to get their ride types certified by the state and has licensed inspectors to review rides, and 22 have state inspections.
The group says seven states, including Alabama, Mississippi and Nevada, don’t require annual inspections.
The Kansas grand jury indictments allege that Henry made a “spur of the moment” decision in 2012 to build the world’s tallest waterslide to impress the producers of a Travel Channel show. The indictments allege Schlitterbahn skipped “fundamental steps in the design process” because Henry and ride co-designer John Timothy Schooley lacked the necessary expertise.
But Schlitterbahn is disputing the allegations of poor engineering and shoddy planning, saying the indictments are “filled with information we dispute.” Henry and Schooley hold numerous patents for everything from conveyor roller belts to flow systems for water parks, through their New Braunfels, Texas-based company, Henry, Schooley & Associates.
In a 2016 story in the real estate blog Curbed, Henry said his specialty was “transportainment,” designing artificial rivers that carry visitors throughout water parks rather than the more daring waterslides.
Schlitterbahn said comments attributed to Henry and Schooley in the indictment and used to bolster the criminal case against them are based on television outtakes “scripted for dramatic effect and highly edited.”
Blaine LaCesne, a law professor at Loyola University in New Orleans, called the criminal charges against Henry and Schooley “legally baseless.” A regular media commentator on legal issues arising from a giant oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico in 2010, LaCesne said he contacted a family attorney for Schooley, who was an acquaintance, and plans to follow the cases closely.
He said too many events occurred between the slide’s design and Caleb’s death — including design modifications and “thousands” of rides without injuries — to warrant such criminal charges.
“The danger of this is you’ve got a sensational case that is highly emotional,” he said. “You never know what a jury will do because of the especially strong empathy for the victim.”
But Martin, reflecting on what he saw on the Travel Channel, had a different reaction: “Poor Caleb,” then, later, “he didn’t have a chance.”
John Richard Schrock is a professor at Emporia State University.
Fear of anything foreign has again appeared in education. A Senator from Florida is railing against the Confucius Institutes. And the president of the conservative National Association of Scholars (NAS), fired his broadside “China’s Pernicious Presence on American Campuses” in the February 26 issue of the Chronicle of Higher Education. The NAS charge is that these Institutes “…operate under a veil of secrecy in which they engage in dubious activities.”
So just what do Confucius Institutes do? With over 100 Confucius Institutes in the United States and over 400 more spread throughout the world, their aim is “…to promote Chinese language and culture, support local Chinese language teaching internationally, and facilitate cultural exchanges.” Coordinated by the Office of Chinese Language Council International of their Ministry of Education, the most noticed value they provide is coordinating teachers for Chinese language classes. Their Confucius Classroom program partners with American high schools to provide Chinese teachers.
But the NAS suggests U.S. schools should be forced to lose “…the equivalent U.S. funding, especially in Title VI programs, which provide foreign-language and area-studies education.” Unfortunately, Title VI programs have no capacity to provide that education. Without the coordination of the Confucius Institutes to provide instructors for courses in Chinese language and culture in America, there would be little such education.
China also faced a shortage of teachers when Deng Xiao-ping established English rather than Russian as the official second-language-to-learn in China. To teach Chinese students English, China has recruited many American college students over these last decades to bolster their English teaching to a level where there are now more Chinese who have learned English than there are Americans. If we all learned Chinese, we could not match them!
But the NAS president also proposes that the folks working for the Confucius Institutes be required to register as foreign agents. Those planeloads of teachers we sent to China did not face any such requirements. But that influx of U.S. personnel teaching in K-12 and tertiary schools across China most certainly brought in the cultural and political attitudes of our language. You can call it our “soft power.” In learning English, Chinese students also learned of our individualism and emphasis on “rights” over responsibility.
And yes, learning the Chinese language in America also presents a different view of the world. Family names in Chinese are given first and prioritize family importance. Their word for respect is embedded in their word for teachers and the elderly. There is a major emphasis on responsibility to others and on group loyalty. They value living in harmony. They take the long view, working and sacrificing for distant gain. To learn another language is to understand another way of thinking. To understand is very important, but it does not command belief.
In addition, there are over 300,000 students from China currently studying in the U.S. with six out of seven now returning to China with an in-depth understanding of America. China understands us.
But despite those English teachers we sent, our flow of American students who study in China remains trivial. Americans’ superficial understanding is of a 1950s China that no longer exists. If all of the students studying Chinese in the U.S. became teachers of Chinese, and all of their students did as well, etc., it would still take us decades build up an understanding of modern China.
In the Cold War era, Soviet schools taught the merits of Marxism and what was wrong with capitalism, while we taught the merits of Adam Smith and what was wrong with Marxism. Our opponent’s efforts were always “propaganda.” But ours never were? There is an intellectual fairness in studying from those who live in a different culture and speak a different language.
Today, only the elderly and the historians recall the American intolerance during our McCarthy era inquisition, where it became legitimate to destroy livelihoods and command allegiance. Such intolerance to other languages, cultures and ideas is often the first drumbeat towards war.
John Richard Schrock is a professor at Emporia State University.
Today
Cloudy, then gradually becoming mostly sunny, with a high near 40. East northeast wind 9 to 15 mph.
Tonight
Partly cloudy, with a low around 24. East southeast wind 8 to 13 mph.
Monday
Sunny, with a high near 67. Breezy, with a south wind 9 to 14 mph increasing to 15 to 20 mph in the afternoon.
Monday Night
Partly cloudy, with a low around 38. Very windy, with a southeast wind 18 to 23 mph becoming north northwest 31 to 36 mph after midnight. Winds could gust as high as 47 mph.
Tuesday
Mostly sunny, with a high near 45. Very windy, with a north northwest wind 31 to 39 mph, with gusts as high as 55 mph.
Tuesday Night
Mostly clear, with a low around 21. Blustery.
Wednesday
Sunny, with a high near 59.
Wednesday Night
Partly cloudy, with a low around 35.
The company expects to hire an additional 100 people in the next six months at the Hutchinson plant, which makes parts of wind turbines.
Under a draft proposal first reported by The Washington Post, the Department of Homeland Security would expand the definition of “public benefit” to include the federal earned income tax credit as well as health insurance and housing subsidies.
Today