SHAWNEE COUNTY — Law enforcement authorities are investigating 3 suspects on various charges after a raid by the Drug Enforcement Administration.
Law enforcement authorities on the scene of Tuesday’s drug raid -photo courtesy WIBW TV
On Tuesday morning as part of a drug investigation, authorities served a search warrant at a home in the 1700 Block of SE Quincy in Topeka, according to Lieutenant Andrew Beightel.
Police arrested a woman for possession of meth and drug paraphernalia. They arrested one man for possession of a stolen firearm and another man for outstanding warrants, according to Beightel.
Police released no names and no additional details. Anyone with information on the location or
Phillipsburg resident Erma Howell passed away Monday, May 14, 2018 at the Phillips County Hospital in Phillipsburg, KS at the age of 90.
She was born April 11, 1928 in Minden, NE, the daughter of Elmer & Etta (Griffin) Smith. On Aug. 27, 1947 she married Jerry Howell in Kearney, NE. Her husband and an infant son, Patrick Wayne, preceded her in death.
Survivors include her sons, Michael of Hays, KS and Tim of Phillipsburg; her daughters, Linda Dougherty of Parsons, KS and Joyce Gregory of Lucas, KS; three brothers: David Smith of Gibbon, NE, Delbert Smith of Lake of the Ozarks, MO, and Clint Smith of Kearney, NE; one sister, Leota Kline of Ravenna, NE; 10 grandchildren and many great-grandchildren.
Cremation was chosen. A memorial service will be held Friday, May 18, at 2:00 p.m. in the Olliff-Boeve Memorial Chapel, Phillipsburg, with Pastor Chris Davis officiating. Inurnment will follow in the Fairview Cemetery, Phillipsburg.
Friends may sign the book on Thursday, May 17, from 9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. at the funeral home.
Memorial contributions may be given to the United Presbyterian Church. Online condolences to: www.olliffboeve.com.
Olliff-Boeve Memorial Chapel, Phillipsburg, is in charge of arrangements.
Vera Lynn Kruse passed away Sunday, May 13, 2018, at Hays Medical Center at the age of 72. She was born in Plainville, Kansas on April 11, 1946 to John T. and Ruth (Hoff) Thummel. Vera attended school in Plainville and graduated from Plainville Rural High School in 1964. On July 3, 1965 she married Domenico “Mimi” Kruse in Plainville, Kansas. They were blessed with four children: Mary, Patricia, Anthony, and Michael.
Vera was a hard worker, helping her husband with his accounting business after she retired from many years with Southwestern Bell Telephone. She was full of love, amazingly strong faith, and laughter; never missing the opportunity to joke around. She enjoyed reading, watching movies and theatre, and playing cards. But the time she cherished the most was the time spent with her family and watching her grandchildren grow.
Vera is survived by her sons Anthony Kruse and wife Monica of Wichita and Michael Kruse of Lenexa; daughter Mary Rhodes and husband Dennis of Gardner; brothers Mark Thummel and wife Melinda of Plainville and Ralph Thummel and wife Wanda of Hays; sisters Elizabeth Striggow of Hill City, Rose Hardman and husband Duance of Hill City, Sister Mary Jo Thummel of Oakley, Theresa Kriley of Stockton, and May Munk of Hays; eight grandchildren, Drew Rhodes, Daniel Rhodes, Joshua Rhodes, Sarah Rhodes, Gabrielle Rhodes, Nathan Kruse, Braden Kruse, and Madelyn Kruse; and two great-grandchildren, Brilynn Rhodes and Jacob Wright.
She is preceded in death by her parents John and Ruth Thummel, husband Mimi Kruse, daughter Patricia Kruse, brother Jon Thummel, sister Grace Thummel, and brothers-in-law Robert Kriley and James Munk.
Our Lord Jesus told us, “If you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you will move mountains.” Greater than a mustard seed, Vera’s faith was a constant source of strength for herself, and all of her friends and family, as she daily prayed for the mountains each one of us faced. Our own lives will forever bear witness to her faith, as even now she intercedes on our behalf, to help us move the mountains we do not yet see.
A Mass of Christian Burial will be held on Thursday, May 17, 2018 at 10:30 A.M. at the Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Plainville, Kansas with burial to follow in Sacred Heart Cemetery. Visitation will be Wednesday 1:00-4:00 P.M. at the funeral home and 6:00-8:00 at the Sacred Heart Catholic Church with a Vigil service at 7:00 P.M.
Memorials are suggested to Sacred Heart Catholic Church or the National Domestic Violence Hotline and may be sent in care of Plumer-Overlease Funeral Home, 320 SW 2nd, Plainville, KS 67663.
Glenda Jean Bauer, age 94, died on May 11, 2018 at the Lane County Hospital Assisted Living Facility. She was born on April 6, 1924 in Beaver, Kansas the daughter of John and Hallie Stosopf Charles.
She was a Nurses Aide at Grisell Memorial Hospital, Ransom. She was a member of the United Methodist Church and the Go-Getters Senior Center, both of Ransom and a member of the Rebekah Lodge.
On December 25, 1951 she married Fred “Hermie” Bauer. He preceded her in death on August 7, 2005. She was also preceded in death by her parents; two daughters, Lexie Rose Dines and Barbara Sue Sunley; a brother, Keith Charles; and four sisters, Dorothy Hosman, Ruby Snodgrass, Jessie Haug, and Darlene Benton.
Glenda is survived by her son, Fred Philip Bauer, Agra; her daughter, Gloria Jean Sims, Hays; eight grandchildren, 4 step-grandchildren; 17 great grandchildren and 4 great-great grandchildren.
Funeral Service will be at Fitzgerald Funeral Home, Ness City on Wednesday, May 16, 2018, 10:30 A.M. with burial in the Arnold Cemetery. Friends may call at the funeral home on Tuesday from 9:00 A.M. until 9:00 P.M. with the family present from 7-9 P.M.
Memorial Contributions may be given to Go-Getters Senior Center, Ransom.
The case of the Blue Sky Acres residential subdivision was once again before a judge in Ellis County District Court on Tuesday.
Ellis County resident and property owner Mary Alice Urein filed a lawsuit in December 2016 against the Ellis County Commission and Commissioner Marcy McClelland. The suit was filed after the commission failed to approve the final plat on the 20-acre subdivision on a 1-1 vote on the measure.
Marcy McClelland
Commissioner Barb Wasinger recused herself because of a conflict of interest. Commissioner Dean Haselhorst voted in favor and McClelland opposed. Because there was no majority, the measure failed.
Unrein and her attorney Don Hoffman contend in the lawsuit that the approval of a plat is considered an “administrative/ministerial act” and part of the duty of county commission and that a commissioner cannot exercise “unlimited discretion.”
The suit also argues that McClelland’s vote was “arbitrary, capricious and unreasonable” and that a writ of mandamus would force the commission to approve the final plat.
In testimony Tuesday, McClelland continued to assert that her decision was made based on her life experiences and research she did after consulting with parties involved.
She contends that the possibility of groundwater contamination from septic systems and lack of available water in the area were her main reasons for voting against the measure.
Dean Haselhorst
McClelland, who was the last of several Hays and Ellis County officials who took the stand Tuesday, reaffirmed her “No” vote when asked by the county’s attorney, Kevin Case of Case Linden, if she wanted to change her vote.
And when asked if she thought her vote was a mistake she answered emphatically, “No!”
She said while living in McPherson County her family experienced water well contamination and said, “I was not wanting to put any citizens in that situation.”
“I felt if I voted in favor of this and something happened, I felt that could come back on Ellis County and the taxpayers,” McClelland said.
McClelland also denied having a bias against Unrein and said that she knew of one resident living in the VonFeldt Addition before the project was brought to the commission but said they did not talk about the Blue Sky Acres because of the litigation.
The land purchased by Unrein borders the VonFeldt Addition, and McClelland tetified she was concerned additional water wells in the area could jeopardize the water supply and the septic and water runoff from the Blue Sky Acres could contaminate existing lots in the VonFeldt Addition.
County Commissioner Dean Haselhorst, who voted in favor of the plat, was called to testify on behalf of the plaintiff.
Haselhorst said he voted in favor of the plat because, “Everything we have asked, she (Unrein) has went above and beyond.”
Proposed Blue Sky Acres subdivision
He pointed to the fact the Unrein increased the lot size when residents of the VonFeldt Addition reached out to her with their concerns.
According to Unrein, the plat called for six lots; four that would be 3 acres and two 2.7 acres. State and county regulations require lots with septic systems in rural developments to be at least 2 acres.
Haselhorst also said Ellis County Sanitarian Karen Purvis told the commission residents in the VonFeldt Addition were more likely to contaminate each other because they are 1-acre lots.
The VonFeldt Addition was constructed in the 1970s before the county adopted zoning regulations in the early 1990s.
Purvis was not available to testify at the trial Tuesday because she was on vacation so Public Works Director Bill Ring testified in her place.
Commissioner Haselhorst also reaffirmed his support for the project saying, “If I did (have any concerns), I wouldn’t have voted for it.”
In his testimony, Haselhorst said McClelland still has not told him why she refused to approve the plat.
During cross examination the county’s attorney, Kevin Case asked Haselhorst if McClelland owed him an explanation, which set off a tense exchange between the two.
Case asked Haselhorst the same question twice before he responded by saying, “No. If that’s what you are fishing for.”
Haselhorst also said the suit is having an impact on development within Ellis County and that he knows of at least three developers that are interested in building in Ellis County but are waiting on the outcome of the lawsuit. But, when pressed by Case to name them, he refused.
During her testimony, Mary Alice Unrein revealed she and McClelland had had a private meeting along with Hays real estate agent Errol Wuertz at Unrein’s home to discuss the project.
Unrein testified that McClelland, “seemed OK” with the project.
McClelland said during her testimony she wanted to listen to the proposal and tried to give Urein advice but that she did not say that she would approve the project.
McClelland said she was not against all development when asked by Attorney Don Hoffman.
He then asked, “Just this one?”
“The way this was put in, yes,” McClelland answered.
Both McClelland and Haselhorst echoed their support of the county and city employees who worked and gave their input on the project.
But McClelland said she took into account advice from legal counsel, county officials and officials with the Trego Country Rural Water Board before making her decision. She said after talking with them and looking at the information provided she, “could still have my own (opinion).”
The county’s lawyer attempted to have the case dismissed about midway through Tuesday’s proceedings. Kevin Case argued that the plaintiff had failed to present enough evidence that shows McClelland acted “arbitrary, capricious and unreasonable.”
Judge Bruce Gatterman of the 24th Judicial District is overseeing the case and denied the motion, saying he believes there could be evidence for a prima facie case — “on its face,” there is sufficient evidence to try the case.
After the denial, the county called two more witnesses, including McClelland, before wrapping up its case.
The judge did not issue a ruling in the case, but instead requested that closing arguments be submitted to his office in Larned within 10 days of receiving the court transcript.
Reita Maxine (Gibson) Glassman, died May 14, 2018. She was born December 19, 1929 in Paradise, Kansas to Hylas and Hazel (Finkenbinder) Gibson.
She married Florian Joseph Glassman on June 26, 1949 in Russell, Kansas, enjoying 48 years of marriage before the death of her spouse on February 22, 1997.
Reita graduated from Russell High School in 1947. After marriage, she and her husband settled in Salina, Kansas for 20 years, where they raised a family of six children. They eventually moved back to the area of their roots, Hays, Kansas in 1970, where Reita began working for Dr. J.E. Akers as a receptionist and eyeglass technician for 18 years, retiring in 1998.
She was also actively involved with the local election board, was a member of St. Joseph’s Catholic Church, the VFW Auxiliary, and the United States Bowling Congress. She loved bowling and participated in a regular league, local, state, and national tournaments until the age of 86. She enjoyed gardening, crocheting, knitting, and was an accomplished seamstress, often donating her work to area charities for sale to raise money for their projects. She was an extraordinary supporter of Kansas University basketball, watched every game faithfully, and accumulated a large collection of KU memorabilia. Her children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren were the center of her life and always made her time spent with them special.
Reita was preceded in death by her husband, Florian (Bunch) Glassman, parents, Hylas and Hazel Gibson, one brother, Howard Gibson, and one sister and brother-in-law, Zelda and Vernon Mai.
Survivors include: one daughter, Debra Lorson and husband Phil of Hope, Kansas; five sons, John and wife Rhonda of Russell, Kansas, Rick and Cheryl of Hays, Kansas, Mike and wife Sandy of Victoria, Kansas, Mark and wife Dee of Allen, Texas, and Chris of Hays, Kansas; nine grandchildren, Kerry Ditto and husband Darren of Abilene, Kansas, Kelly Coup and husband Justin of Solomon, Kansas, Chad Lorson and wife Brittney of Hope, Kansas, Scott Glassman of Hutchinson, Kansas, Ursula Gage and husband Ty of Topeka, Kansas, Urlene Glassman and fiancé Tyler Smith of Aurora, Colorado, Heidi Glassman of Kansas City, Missouri, Sara Glassman and fiancé Brady Weston of Long Island City, New York, and Nick Glassman of Hays, Kansas; thirteen great-grandchildren, Tatum and Reagan Ditto of Abilene, Kansas, Spencer, Breken, Kierstyn, and Quincy Coup of Solomon, Kansas, Brighton, Brirton, and Bristol Lorson of Hope, Kansas, Elin and Emery Glassman of Hutchinson, Kansas, Keaton and Logan Gage of Topeka, Kansas; three step-grandchildren, Allen Burch and wife Jenny of Afton, Oklahoma, June Karlin and husband Galen of Plainville, Kansas, and Chris Livengood of Salina, Kansas; eight great-grandchildren, Jacob Karlin and wife Haley of Ellis, Kansas, Andrea Karlin of Ellis, Kansas, Josh Burch of Cedar Hill, Texas, Alec Burch and wife Keeshia of Cedar Hill, Texas, Zach Burch of Cedar Hill, Texas, Sam Hintz of Claremore, Oklahoma, Aaron Hintz of Claremore, Oklahoma, and Nick Burch of Afton, Oklahoma; and one sister-in-law, Dottie Gibson of Sun City West, Arizona.
Funeral services will be 10 AM Friday, May 18, 2018 at St. Joseph’s Catholic Church in Hays. Burial will follow services in St. Joseph cemetery.
Visitation will be Thursday 4 PM – 8 PM and Friday 9 AM – 9:30 AM all at Brock’s-Keithley Funeral Chapel and crematory 2509 Vine Hays, KS 67601.
A VfW Auxiliary memorial service and rosary will be Thursday at 6:30 PM followed by a parish vigil service at 7 PM all at the funeral chapel.
Suggested memorials should be made to Thomas More Prep-Marian High School or St. Joseph’s Catholic Church.
Condolences may be left by guest book at www.keithleyfuneralchapels.com or by email at [email protected]
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) — A federal judge has sentenced a woman described as a fake doctor who worked in Kansas and three other states to more than six years in prison.
Isabel Kesari Gervais-Jefferson Co.
U.S. District Judge Madeline Hughes Haikala imposed the sentence Tuesday on 61-year-old Isabel Kesari Gervais.
Authorities say Gervais described herself as a naturopathic doctor but wasn’t licensed. A statement from prosecutors says she claimed to use naturopathic medicine to cure illnesses including cancer.
Gervais pleaded guilty last year to defrauding patients at a clinic in suburban Birmingham, Alabama.
In her plea agreement she acknowledged operating multiple offices over 15 years in Leawood, Kansas; Montgomery, Alabama; Springdale, Arkansas; and metro Atlanta.
Investigators determined Gervais moved frequently and used aliases including Rose Starr and Debra Lynn Goodman to avoid detection. She had been in Hoover, Alabama, since 2015.
Perhaps conserving energy is important to you. You’ve switched out all of your incandescent light bulbs with LEDs. You keep your thermostat set at 78 in the summer. You might even get mad at your kids when they leave a light on.
Your neighbor, on the other hand, isn’t quite as concerned. He keeps the thermostat set consistently at 68 and he hasn’t replaced any of his light bulbs because, in his words, who wants to pay $10 for a new one?
Even though you do a lot to conserve energy, every other Tuesday you host book club. So, you crank up the air conditioning, put some cookies in your electric oven, turn on all the lights and use several appliances at once as you get ready.
Still, over the course of one month, you use fewer total kilowatt hours than that guy next door. Today, that means you pay a smaller electric bill than your neighbor. In the future, maybe not.
Some utility companies want to begin billing you not just for how much you use in a month, but also for your highest peaks (like the ones you hit during book club).
That charge is known as a demand fee — named for the most demand you’d put on the power system at any given moment. In its latest request to state regulators, Westar Energy is seeking permission to add the charge to residential rates.
The program would be optional, but if it accomplishes the company’s goals it would likely become mandatory.
Westar says it needs the new fee to help recover the costs of keeping enough power plants available to promise reliable electricity to all of its users.
“A demand charge … recognizes the fact that a smaller load is less expensive to serve than the bigger load,” said Ahmad Faruqui, an economist at the Brattle Group.
Faruqui says the traditional two-part rate — service and volume — on current bills doesn’t let customers know that their high demand increases costs for Westar. That’s because Westar has to produce enough electricity at any particular moment to meet the needs of all of its users. As that total demand increases, so does the number of power plants Westar has to start up.
In the new rate, Westar would still bill you for a service and volume fee. But it would then add the demand fee based on your highest average hourly demand that occurs between 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. That’s when Westar typically sees the highest demand on the system.
“What we’re trying to do is incentivize the right behaviors to make sure we don’t get to the point where we have to add additional generation to the mix,” Westar Vice President of Regulatory Affairs Jeff Martin said.
Nationally, about 50 other utility companies have imposed some kind of residential demand pricing. Only six small companies have made the fee mandatory for all of their customers.
Westar says the demand rate was designed to save enough customers money that they’d be willing to sign up for the change. The savings would come from cutting the volume charge by a little more than a cent per kilowatt hour.
But a Kansas News Service analysis of the proposed rates shows switching would cost the average customer $10 more per month in the winter and about $60 more per month in the summer.
“If your goal is to stick it to people with intermittent usage, a demand charge is a terrific way to do that,” said Jim Lazar, a senior advisor with the Regulatory Assistance Project, which advocates for energy efficiency.
Lazar has been researching utility rate design for almost 40 years. He argues few consumers will understand the change. And if they don’t understand what’s happening, they’re unlikely to cut back their peak usage.
“A usage charge, ideally, that varies by time of day,” he said, “does that much better than a demand charge.”
That’s because you’d pay the same demand fee for a peak that lasts one hour, or three hours, or 30. The demand charge is set by that high point.
“If you’ve got a cake in the oven and your daughter is going out on a date, the oven and the hairdryer are going to run at the same time,” Lazar said. “And then you’re going to pay all month for the capacity that you only needed for 15 minutes.”
This problem is amplified even more for people who use less electricity. Their bills might currently total only $50 or $60, and without doing anything, a demand charge would add another $30.
“High demand charges are just grotesquely unfair to people who live in apartments and those happen to be, generally, lower-income people who can least afford it,” he said.
For now, the three-part rate is just a proposal. It’s a portion of Westar’s larger rate case before the Kansas Corporation Commission. If approved, Martin said, the optional rate will be used as as a test to see if it should eventually become mandatory.
“We’ll have plenty of time to think about this and figure it out,” he said. “But we’ll just have to wait and see.”
The first public hearing for the rate case will be May 22 in Topeka. State regulators are expected to make a decision on the case by the end of September.
Calculate Your Demand Bill
With the calculator below, you’ll be able to find out how Westar’s proposed demand rate could impact you.
Using numbers from a current or previous bill, enter how much electricity you use (volume). Then move the slider to how much demand you need. A residential user can typically expect a demand of 6 to 10 kW.
The calculator is meant as an approximation. For simplicity, it rounds to the nearest dollar. It also only includes Westar’s charges and not any municipal or sales taxes. For this reason, it may not match up exactly to the amount you paid on your bill.
WILSON — The Post Rock Opportunities Foundation in Wilson invites all Kansas artists to enter the fourth annual Kansas Originals Art Show. This show gives Kansas artists the opportunity to showcase their work and gives travelers from across the United States the chance to view a variety of art from throughout Kansas. This year the Foundation has added some exciting elements to the show. Entries will be accepted from artists 18 and over in one division and artists 17 and under in a separate division. Also new, 3-D art, including jewelry, glass, pottery, etc. will be in a category separate from the 2-D entries–allowing more competition and more chances to win. Juror for the show is Cori Sherman North, Curator at the Birger Sandzen Gallery in Lindsborg.
Entries will be accepted through May 24. The show will begin on Saturday, May 26, and will end at 2 pm on July 1. The pictures and pieces will be on display at Kansas Originals, Wilson. The show is exceptionally exciting because visitors from across the United States vote on the People’s Choice Award. A benefit for the artists is that they have the ability to offer their work for sale with the buyer taking possession at the end of the show.
Artists do not need to be members of the Post Rock Opportunities Foundation. Each artist may enter up to 5 pieces with an entry fee of $10 for each piece. For more information on the rules and for entry forms please contact Kansas Originals Market at (785) 658-2602 or by email at [email protected]. Entry forms are also available in Events at kansasoriginals.com.
The show is sponsored by the Post Rock Opportunities Foundation, which operates Kansas Originals Market & Gallery locations at Wilson and Topeka. Kansas Originals offers the largest selection of Kansas-made products found under one roof in the United States and represents over 200 member artists craftsmen, authors, and food producers.
