Michael A. Leach, age 78, passed away on Tuesday, May 1, 2018 at the Park Lane Nursing Home in Scott City, Kansas. He was born on February 29, 1940 in Rural Scott County, Kansas, the son of the late Ephriam D. & Irene Leona Lomax Leach of Scott City, Kansas. Michael Leach was the proud companion of two dogs and farmed a good portion of his life.
Michael attended school in Scott City, Kansas and graduated from Russell Springs, Kansas. After high school he attended Fort Hays State University in Hays, KS, Kansas State University in Manhattan, Kansas and graduated from Garden City Community College in Garden City, Kansas in Auto Mechanics and was always on schools honor roll. Michael also held down a job at Fairleigh Feedyard and then Crist Feedyard in Scott City, KS and held another job in Wichita, KS.
Michael was cared for in his later years by Linda Dunagan of Scott City, KS. The surviving family is very grateful and comforted in the knowledge of the care Linda and the Lucky Clover 4-H Members provided. Michael was a Lucky Clover 4-H Club Buddy.
Michael is survived by his sister Inez (Leach) Driskell her husband the late James L. Driskell of Taunton, MA; Michael’s nephews are the Pastor James A. Driskell and wife Margaret of York, PA; Donald Driskell and wife Kimberly of Taunton, MA; the late Walter Driskell and wife Leola of Myerstown, PA; the late Timothy Driskell of Brockton, MA; and State Trooper Jonathan Driskell and wife Patricia of South Hadley, MA. Michael is also survived by numerous nephews and nieces as well as grand-nephews and grand-nieces.
Funeral Services will be at the St. Lukes Episcopal Church in Scott City, Kansas at 4:00 p.m. Saturday, May 5, 2018 with Fr. Don Martin presiding.
Memorials IN LIEU OF FLOWERS can be made to the Michael Leach Memorial Fund in care of Price & Sons Funeral Homes.
Interment will be in the Scott County Cemetery.
Visitation will be from 10:00 a.m. until 8:00 p.m. Friday and 10:00 a.m. until 2:00 p.m. Saturday at Price & Sons Funeral Home in Scott City, Kansas.
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas Gov. Jeff Colyer issued an executive order Wednesday to prevent state agencies from automatically disqualifying ex-criminals from thousands of state jobs.
The new “ban the box” policy will prevent agencies from requiring people seeking many jobs to disclose whether they’ve had a past criminal conviction. The order applies to about 20,000 state jobs in agencies under Colyer’s direct control.
The Republican governor said the order will make it easier for former inmates to find work after their release from state prisons or county jails, so that they will be less likely to commit new crimes. State agencies still will be able to ask applicants about past criminal convictions during interviews, and the order does not cover jobs that cannot legally be filled by people with criminal convictions.
“Given the time and opportunity, those offenders who have jobs live better lives and become a full member of our community,” Colyer told reporters during a Statehouse news conference.
Thirty-one other states have “ban the box” policies for government hiring, according to the National Employment Law Project, which supports them. Also, Wichita, Topeka and Kansas City, Kansas, have enacted their own policies.
Colyer’s actions drew praise from Koch Industries, the Wichita-based energy conglomerate, and legislators from both parties joined the governor for his news conference.
“This measure will allow individuals to get their foot in the door, to get that interview,” said state Sen. Oletha Faust-Goudeau, a Wichita Democrat who has advocated such policies. “I have heard from individuals that they know that their application has been tossed in the trash and they don’t get that opportunity.”
Rep. Gail Finney, another Wichita Democrat, introduced a bill last year that would prevent state and local government agencies from asking about an applicant’s criminal history until the applicant received a conditional job offer. The House Judiciary Committee had a hearing on the measure but never voted on it.
“We believe in forgiveness, and we believe in new beginnings and fresh starts,” said Senate President Susan Wagle, a Wichita Republican. “I think this is going to lead to legislation that does the same thing.”
But Colyer’s willingness to issue a “ban the box” order when lawmakers have failed to pass a law contrasts with his lack of action on banning discrimination against LGBT applicants and workers in state hiring and employment decisions.
Former Democratic Gov. Kathleen Sebelius, later U.S. health and human services secretary, issued such an executive order in 2007. Former conservative Republican Gov. Sam Brownback, an opponent of same-sex marriage, rescinded the directive in 2015 and said such a policy should be set by the Legislature, not through an executive order.
Colyer said his administration won’t condone discrimination and, “If there’s an issue out there, we’re happy to deal with it.”
“This is an opportunity for people to be reintegrated into society and to get a job,” Colyer said.
ELLIS COUNTY —The 18-year-old suspect from the Menards shooting has been taken into custody in Hays, according to Wichita Police Department spokesman, officer Charley Davidson.
He released no additional details.
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SEDGWICK COUNTY — Law enforcement authorities continue to investigate the shooting of an employee at Menards. One suspect is in the hospital and the search for the second suspect continues.
Security camera images of suspects in Monday’s shooting of an employee at Menards -photo courtesy Wichita Police
Following a call to city hall from a citizen who saw the vehicle involved in the shooting, police spotted the Mercedes with Montana license plates in 2000 Block of South Broadway in Wichita, according to officer Charley Davidson.
Following unsuccessful attempts to stop the vehicle using stop sticks and a tactical vehicle intervention by the KHP, the suspect continued south into Derby.
The driver lost control of the vehicle as it traveled westbound on Meadowlark, according to Davidson. The vehicle hit two garages and rolled. The driver, a 17-year-old woman was identified as the woman in the security camera images. She was treated at the hospital, released and booked into juvenile detention on requested charges of aggravated battery, auto theft and flee and attempt to elude.
Police have identified a possible 18-year-old male suspect, according to Davidson. Just after 5:30p.m. Tuesday, officers located him at a residence in the 500 Block of South Minnesota, according to Davidson. They attempted to stop the suspect in a light blue Toyota with personalized license plates 1NAMLLN. The suspect accelerated and fled from officers. Police called off the chase on Kellogg due to excessive speed in a high traffic area.
Police say the suspect is considered to be armed and dangerous. If anyone sees the suspect, they should call 911, according to Davidson.
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Security camera images courtesy Wichita Police
SEDGWICK COUNTY —Law enforcement authorities are investigating the shooting of a Menard’s employee
Just before 5p.m. Monday, police responded to a shooting call at Menards in the 3600 block of North Maize Road in Wichita, according to officer Charley Davidson. Offices located a 34-year-old male victim with a gunshot wound to his abdomen.
Investigators learned the victim, a store loss prevention officer, observed an unknown man and woman in the store. The suspects exited the business carrying a home surveillance system they had not paid for.
The victim contacted the suspects outside the business and the man brandished a handgun and fired one shot striking the victim in the abdomen.
Both suspects got into a Black Mercedes Wagon with a Montana license plate and left southbound through the parking lot.
The victim was transported to an area hospital for medical treatment of a non-life-threatening injury, treated, and released.
The first suspect is identified as in his 20’s, 5-foot-10, thin build wearing a white sleeve length shirt with gray sleeves, gray shorts, and black ball cap.
The second suspect is identified as a white female in her 20’s, 5-foot-5, 175 pounds, wearing a black sports bra type top and black shorts.
Anyone who is able to identify the suspects or who has any additional information on this case please call Crime Stoppers at 267-2111.
WASHINGTON (AP) — White House lawyer Ty Cobb will retire at the end of the month, the White House said Wednesday, further shaking up President Donald Trump’s legal team as the president intensifies his attacks on the special counsel’s Russia investigation.
Cobb-photo courtesy Hogan-Lovels
Cobb, the White House point person on special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation, informed White House chief of staff John Kelly last week that he would retire at the end of May. White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said Cobb had been discussing the decision for “several weeks.”
Cobb did not personally represent the president, but he was a key adviser, coordinating the administration’s dealings with Mueller. His retirement comes as the president’s personal legal team has been negotiating the terms of a possible sit-down between Trump and prosecutors.
It also comes a day after one of Trump’s former personal attorneys, John Dowd, confirmed to The Associated Press that Mueller’s team in March raised the prospect of issuing a grand jury subpoena for Trump, an extraordinary idea that would seek to force a sitting president to testify under oath.
Dowd said Mueller’s team broached the subject during a meeting with Trump’s legal team while they were negotiating the terms of the possible interview with the president.
Dowd himself left Trump’s legal team more than a month ago.
It was not immediately clear in what context the possibility of a subpoena was raised or how serious Mueller’s prosecutors were about such a move. Mueller is probing not only Russian election interference and possible coordination with Trump associates but possible obstruction of justice by Trump.
Trump lashed out against the investigation in a familiar fashion Wednesday, saying on Twitter: “There was no Collusion (it is a Hoax) and there is no Obstruction of Justice (that is a setup & trap).”
Even if Mueller’s team decided to subpoena Trump as part of the investigation, the president could still fight it in court or refuse to answer questions by invoking his Fifth Amendment protection from self-incrimination.
Dowd’s comments provide a new window into the nature of the Trump lawyers’ interactions with the special counsel, whom the president has increasingly tried to undermine through public attacks.
On Tuesday, Trump said it was “disgraceful” that a list of proposed questions drafted in response to Mueller’s negotiations with the legal team was “leaked” to the news media.
The about four dozen questions were compiled by Trump’s lawyers during negotiations with Mueller’s investigators earlier this year over the prospect of a presidential interview.
A person familiar with the matter, who insisted on anonymity to discuss ongoing negotiations, told the AP that the president’s lawyers extrapolated the list of expected questions based on conversations with Mueller’s team about the topics prosecutors wanted to cover with Trump. The questions reflected what the defense lawyers anticipated Trump would be asked, rather than verbatim queries that Mueller’s team provided, the person said.
The Washington Post first reported that Mueller’s team raised the possibility of a subpoena for Trump. The New York Times first published the list of questions.
According to the list, the questions range from Trump’s motivations for firing FBI Director James Comey a year ago to contacts Trump’s campaign had with Russians. Although Mueller’s team has indicated to Trump’s lawyers that he’s not considered a target, investigators remain interested in whether the president’s actions constitute obstruction of justice and want to interview him about several episodes in office. They have not yet made a decision about an interview.
In his tweet, Trump said there were “no questions on Collusion” and, as he as many times before, called Mueller’s investigation a “Russian witch hunt.” He said collusion with the Russians “never existed.”
In a second tweet, Trump said: “It would seem very hard to obstruct justice for a crime that never happened.”
The questions do appear to indicate that Mueller is looking into possible collusion. Some touch on Russian meddling and whether the Trump campaign coordinated in any way with the Kremlin. In one question, Mueller asks what Trump knew about campaign staff, including his former campaign chairman Paul Manafort, reaching out to Moscow.
Mueller has brought several charges against Manafort already, including money laundering and bank fraud. None of the charges relates to allegations of Russian election interference and possible coordination with Trump associates, and Manafort has denied having anything to do with such an effort.
The questions also involve key moments from the early months of the Trump administration, including his reaction to Attorney General Jeff Sessions’ recusal from the Russia investigation and Trump’s firing of his national security adviser, Michael Flynn.
One question asks whether there were any efforts to reach out to Flynn “about seeking immunity or possible pardon” ahead of his guilty plea last year. Flynn is now cooperating with Mueller.
Thomas More Prep-Marian on Wednesday announced that David Bowen has accepted the position of head high school football coach and teacher. He will begin his role in preparation of the 2018-19 academic year.
In the role of head football coach and teacher, Bowen will provide students with guidance in both academics and physical education. In addition, he will manage the weights and conditioning program.
Bowen began his coaching career in Ada, Okla., where he was the assistant coach for six years. Currently, Bowen has been the head coach at Stanton County in Johnson for the past three seasons. Bowen obtained a Bachelor of Science in Education from Pittsburg State University, Emphasis in Health and Physical Education, with a Minor in Coaching. He played the linebacker position for the Gorillas while he attended college. Bowen graduated high school in Paola.
“I fell in love with the atmosphere and the experiences football offered,” Bowen said when talking about his beginnings in the game. Bowen said the following when asked what philosophy he will teach to the players: “I want the players to be well rounded and learn more than football from me. I want to teach them to walk with God.”
“It’s obvious that Coach Bowen has a passion for football strategy and competition; however, I am most impressed by his desire to help young men become selfless, hard working, honest, and gracious followers of Christ. At times when we could be motivated by power, anger and jealousy, I believe Coach Bowen will inspire and lead with God’s love,” TMP-Marian Principal Chad Meitner said.
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — Participants in this year’s Kansas winter wheat tour have now spread out along various routes between Colby and Wichita as they trod through the state’s drought-plagued fields.
Wednesday’s swing through southwest and south central Kansas marks the second leg of the annual event. Tour scouts made 317 stops at wheat fields across north central and central and northwest Kansas on Tuesday.
The industry group Kansas Wheat said in a news release that the calculated yield the first day from the 24 cars participating was 38.2 bushels per acre, but acknowledged that yield estimate may be too high. Plant development is about three weeks behind normal and the wheat is short.
Tour participants are expected to release their forecast for this year’s crop at the end of the three-day tour.
SALINE COUNTY — Emergency management officials are working to assess storm damage across central Kansas following Tuesday’s hail and tornadoes.
Saline County Storm damage
Officials found significant storm damage in the 6200 block of N. Bro0kville Road, according to Sheriff Roger Soldan.
A large section of a roof and the side of a Morton building were casualties of last night’s storm. The building is owned by Ricky and Rebecca Bremerman. Their home only received minor damage.
There were no injuries reported. The estimated damage is $25,000.
In addition, there were many buildings and some homes damaged near Tescott in Ottawa County.
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OTTAWA COUNTY —It took the severe weather season a while to get started in Kansas this year, and it started with vengeance across central Kansas on Tuesday. There were several large tornadoes that touched down Tuesday.
Tornado in southwest Ottawa County Tuesday evening.
The first was reported in Cloud County. Another tornado touched down in Ottawa County followed by another in Clay County. As of late Tuesday evening there were no reports of injuries but reports of property damage, power poles and power lines were down across some roads. A home near the Ottawa County town of Tescott was damaged.
Authorities will continue to assess damage on Wednesday.
The storms caused a semi to jackknife on I-70 in northwest Ellsworth blocked traffic for a time. When the severe storms moved through Barton County there was a report of hail the size of grapefruits. Heavy rain with estimates of 3-5 inches prompted flash flood warnings for Osborne and Mitchell Counties.
The National Weather Service expects another round of severe weather Wednesday across much of Kansas.
Ellis County fire crews battled two fires that were believed to have been started by lightning Tuesday in northern Ellis County.
The first fire was reported at 140th Avenue and Buckeye Road. Ellis County Fire Chief Darin Myers said the fire burnt approximately 5 acres of grassland.
The second fire was located in the area of Horse Thief Canyon Avenue. Myers said there were fires in two ravines in that area.
He said it was difficult for the trucks to move around the fields and get to the fires because of the ravines.
Canterbury Drive will remain a 4-lane street following a vote Tuesday by Hays city commissioners to amend the current project contract.
By BECKY KISER Hays Post
Three residents addressed the Hays city commission Tuesday night during a special meeting about changing the lane configuration on Canterbury Drive.
After recent diamond grinding to smooth the pavement, the section between 13th and 22nd Streets was scheduled to be restriped May 7 from four lanes to three lanes.
Although the “road diet” was approved late last year as part of the 2018 Street Maintenance program, commissioners just recently have received comments from some residents opposing the change.
Connie Mermis lives on 13th Street which has been reduced to 3 lanes. She opposes the restriping of Canterbury Road to 3 lanes.
The trio speaking up last night were split in their opinions.
Connie Mermis, who lives on 13th Street which was changed to three lanes, complained about traffic backup at certain times of day. “I’m not an advocate,” she told the commission.
A driver for the public transportation ACCESS van, Matt Tottle, favored three lanes. “You have four lanes of traffic to watch trying to make a left turn onto Canterbury and they’re going different speeds. It’s really hard to judge a gap in the traffic.” Making a left turn off Canterbury, Tottle said he’s seen drivers “stop dead in the street without a turn signal and people coming up behind them will just veer out into the next lane and cut somebody else off.” He suggested 27th Street traffic would also benefit if reconfigured to three lanes.
The third person to speak, Ben Tillman, said most of his questions had already been answered by the brief presentation given by Hays Projects Director John Braun but still wanted to know if the three lane striping was being done to accommodate new bike lanes. Commissioners quickly assured Tillman bike lanes had nothing to do with the project.
“There are both pros and cons to lane reductions,” Braun reiterated. “The advantages include a protected left turn lane, reduced speed, and according to the Federal Highway Administration, fewer traffic accidents.”
According to the Hays Police Department, there are an average 15 crashes a year on Canterbury. Traffic volume is about 7,500 vehicles a day.
Braun also outlined the disadvantages including one through traffic lane instead of two and the potential for vehicle stacking at signal lights.
Commissioners voted 3-2 to amend the current contract, which means when Canterbury is restriped, it will remain four lanes.
Commissioner Shaun Musil has opposed the change to three lanes since the beginning, citing his concern about “school traffic” at 13th and Canterbury and that he doesn’t believe there would be any significant advantage to the lane reduction. “Apparently, traffic will be safer if we do it, but I just don’t see a huge gain,” Musil said prior to the vote.
Vice-Mayor Henry Schwaller and Commissioner Chris Dinkel opposed the change.
“I think this stretch of road is one that would benefit from the change because of the amount of left turn traffic,” Dinkel said. “Maybe the area by Midwest Energy would have fewer left turns because that’s a residential area. But I see slowing down the traffic and reducing the aggressive driving near the hospital, medical clinics and retirement homes as a very beneficial feature of this.”
“Just because there’s not a glaringly broken issue, doesn’t mean we can’t make it better,” added Dinkel.
Dinkel and Musil were the only two commissioners to comment.
After the meeting, Commissioner Sandy Jacobs said “all the commissioners received 14 emails today in opposition to the change and we had 6 to 8 before that. I also had about 8 phone calls, all against it. Several people I talked to in person who were opposed are employees of HaysMed.”
“I’m delighted that we had this much input from residents. That’s what needs to happen on any issue,” Jacobs added.
There shouldn’t be any financial penalty to the city for making the contract amendment, according to Assistant City Manager Jacob Wood.
“We don’t think there’ll be any issue with that,” Wood said Wednesday morning. “It actually should be a little bit cheaper because with the four-lane configuration there’ll be less striping, less turn arrows and that sort of thing.”
The contractor is still scheduled to begin the restriping Mon., May 7.
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump made his first visit to the State Department Wednesday to attend the ceremonial swearing-in of Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.
The U.S. Senate confirmed the former Kansas congressman last Thursday and he was officially sworn-in hours later by Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito before he embarked on his first foreign trip as secretary.
Earlier Tuesday, Pompeo arrived at the State Department vowing to reinvigorate American diplomacy and help the United States get “back our swagger.”
Pompeo was greeted with cheers and applause as he entered the marbled lobby of the Harry S. Truman Building for the first time as America’s top diplomat and addressed a diplomatic corps left deeply dispirited by a tumultuous year under Tillerson, President Donald Trump’s first secretary of state. Pompeo described his mission as leading diplomats to execute Trump’s foreign policy “with incredible vigor and incredible energy.”
“The United States diplomatic corps needs to be in every corner, every stretch of the world, executing missions on behalf of this country,” Pompeo said. “It is my humble, noble undertaking to help you achieve that.”
He said he would spend “as little time” as possible cloistered in the secretary’s seventh-floor suite of offices, preferring to “get out” and interact directly with diplomats around the world, including humanitarian workers at the U.S. Agency for International Development.
It was a subtle attempt to differentiate himself from Tillerson, who was infamous for surrounding himself with just a few close aides and eschewing the input of career diplomats, rank-and-file staffers and even U.S. lawmakers.
And in another sign that Pompeo was pursuing a different approach than his predecessor, on his first day in the office he joined Twitter, a medium that Tillerson did not use. From the handle @SecPompeo, he tweeted his gratitude to Trump for naming him to the job.
“So many matters of global importance demand our focus,” Pompeo wrote in his inaugural tweet from the account. “I’m committed to putting the interests of the American people first and look forward to serving with the world’s finest diplomatic corps.”
A top Pompeo priority is to work quickly to stem the morale crisis at the State Department, which has lost relevance under Trump. Tillerson, the former Exxon Mobil CEO, spent much of his 14 months in office pushing budget and staff cuts and avoiding public appearances while leaving key diplomatic positions unfilled.
Pompeo did not offer any details about what foreign policy issues would consume his focus in his first months, but a long list of pressing matters awaits him, including the president’s upcoming decision on whether to withdraw from the Iran nuclear deal. Pompeo is also playing a leading role in Trump’s diplomacy with North Korea, and he secretly traveled to Pyongyang last month and met with Kim Jong Un ahead of Trump’s planned summit with the North Korean leader.
In his brief speech to the State Department’s workforce, Pompeo emphasized the need for an active U.S. presence beyond its borders — striking a somewhat different tone than the president, who has advocated putting “America first.” Pompeo noted that he described in his Senate confirmation hearing how the United States “is so exceptional and so incredibly blessed.”
“The facts that derive from that is it also creates a responsibility, a duty for America all across the world,” Pompeo said. “I know for certain that America can’t execute that duty, can’t achieve its objectives absent you all.”
LUCAS — When Brant’s Meat Market, a Lucas business specializing in homemade bologna and sausages, announced it would be permanently closing earlier this year, the response the Brants received was overwhelming. The Facebook post announcing the store’s closing reached over 77,000 people, and the store was inundated with telephone calls and messages from customers hoping to get one last order in before they sold out.
Within that 77,000, were Adam and Ashley Comeau of nearby Plainville. Like thousands of others in the state, they were saddened to hear of another western Kansas landmark fading away. Natives of Rooks County, both had been to Brant’s Meat Market countless times on trips to Wilson Lake, or in passing to Interstate-70, and both felt this was one small town business too many—something should be done to keep it going. So the Comeaus made a few phone calls, got in touch with owner Doug Brant, and went to Lucas to learn more about why the family had made the difficult decision to close permanently.
“The store had been run by the Brant family in the same location for four generations—since 1922—and was named one of the ‘8 Wonders of Kansas Commerce.’ The history behind Brant’s Meat Market, and what it does for the community of Lucas, and the surrounding region, was too significant to watch it disappear without seriously asking ‘what can we do’ to keep it going,” said Adam. After the first meeting, he spent hours online researching the state regulations that were impeding the Brants from going about business as usual. He called the Kansas Department of Agriculture, met with Doug again, and even went so far as to meet with an inspector on-site to go over everything it would take to get the store reopened.
“We approached this from the beginning with the knowledge that it would be a challenge,” Ashley said. “Once we had a good understanding of what regulations the Brants were facing, Adam and I sat down together and ultimately decided this was definitely something we wanted to pursue.”
With the support of the Russell County Economic Development Loan Program and the NetWork Kansas E-Community Partnership, the Comeaus made the Brants an offer to purchase the business.
“We’re so fortunate that we’ve been able to take advantage of locally-administered loan funds. This is exactly what they were established for—to assist entrepreneurs and small businesses like Brant’s Market. We’re excited to work with Doug, his wife Linda, and their daughter Stephanie through the transition. Our goal is definitely to preserve the history and legacy of Brant’s; the recipes will be the same and the overall offering will be very similar.”
The Comeaus plan to reopen the store early this summer.
David Ray Blake, 77, of Russell, Kansas, passed away Sunday, April 29, 2018 at his home in Russell with his family by his side.
David was born November 18, 1940 in Augusta, Kansas, the son of Irwin and Esther Ila (Arnold) Blake.
During the first grade, David and his family moved to Russell where he grew up. He graduated from Russell High School.
David served his country in the U.S. Army during the Vietnam War. After his tour of duty, he returned to the Russell area.
David was united in marriage to Ruby Mohl in 1968 in Great Bend. They made their home in Russell. Ruby preceded him in death on September 18, 2007.
David has been a Farmer/Ranch most all of his life. He did some work in the oil patch and when he was younger he worked at the C.O. Mammals Grocery Store. He was a life member of the Russell American Legion Post. He also belonged to the Kansas Draft Horse Association, Russell County Saddle Club and the Russell Muzzle Loaders. He also was a volunteer fireman for Grant First District for over 39 years. He truly loved spending time with his horses, riding or driving them. He also enjoyed coyote hunting and every day he looked forward to eating breakfast with the guys at Meridy’s restaurant. .
David’s surviving family include his daughter, Leah M. Maupin of Russell, Kansas; brother, Donald Blake (Charlotte) of El Dorado, Kansas; sister, Joyce Scott (Bob) of Augusta, Kansas; and granddaughter, Shannon Maupin. He was preceded in death by his parents and wife Ruby.
Celebration of David’s Life will be held at 10:30 AM, Friday, May 4, 2018 at Pohlman-Varner-Peeler Mortuary in Russell. Burial will follow at the Russell City Cemetery where the Russell V.F.W. Post will conduct Military Rites. Visitation will be held from 9:00 AM to 8:00 PM, Thursday, May 3, 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 Kansas Draft Horse Association. Contributions and condolences may be sent to Pohlman-Varner-Peeler Mortuary, who is in charge of these arrangements.
Wayne Lebsack, 92, of Lyons passed away on April 30th 2018, at home, surrounded by the love of his family.
Wayne was born on July 26th, 1925 in Great Bend, KS the son of Carl and Bertha Lebsack. He graduated from Hays High School in 1943 and was drafted into the Army later that year. Wayne volunteered for the Airborne Infantry, and fought with the 82d Airborne Division until he was severely wounded during the Battle of the Bulge in December of 1944.
After seven months of hospitalization, Wayne was discharged from the Army and enrolled in the Colorado School of Mines in Golden, CO where he received a Bachelor of Science degree in Petroleum Engineering. During college, Wayne met Patricia Beeley of Denver, CO. They married on October 12, 1951 and made their home in Lyons. Wayne and his father co-founded Lebsack Oil Production Inc, in the 1950s and Wayne worked as an independent petroleum geologist until his death.
In addition to his work as an independent oil and natural gas producer, Wayne researched and published numerous articles on Kansas geology in scientific and technical journals. He was especially interested in natural springs and worked with his friends at the Kansas Geological Survey to map the natural springs of Kansas. Wayne was pivotal in establishing the Kansas Chapter of the Nature Conservancy and remained an active and passionate land and water conservationist throughout his life.
He is preceded in death by his parents, his sisters Evaleen and Marjorie, and his son Mark. Wayne is survived by his wife Pat, his daughter Careth Wilson of Denver, CO, and his daughter Amy Dillon and her husband Colonel Brian Dillon of Des Moines, IA.
Wayne was a loving grandparent to Jordan Radis of Denver, Katherine Dillon of Lawrence, KS, John Dillon of Kansas City, MO, and Anne Dillon of Salina, KS.
Burial services will be at Lyons Municipal Cemetery on Saturday, May 5th at 11:00 a.m. A memorial service will also be held Saturday at First Presbyterian Church at 2:00 p.m. Visitation is Friday May 4th at Birzer Funeral Home in Lyons, from 2:00 p.m. until 7:00 p.m. with family present from 5:00 until 7:00 p.m. Memorials can be made to the First Presbyterian Church of Lyons, and to the Rice County Friends of Animals.
Michael A. Leach, age 78, passed away on Tuesday, May 1, 2018 at the Park Lane Nursing Home in Scott City, Kansas. He was born on February 29, 1940 in Rural Scott County, Kansas, the son of the late Ephriam D. & Irene Leona Lomax Leach of Scott City, Kansas. Michael Leach was the proud companion of two dogs and farmed a good portion of his life. 
