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Month: May 2018

🎥 Tiny house big hit at tech ed fair for Ness City students

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By CRISTINA JANNEY
Hays Post

Technology education students from across Kansas brought their project to FHSU Friday for the Western Kansas Technology Education Fair.

These include wood projects, furniture, CAD designs and metal work. Each entry is judged and awarded a ribbon or medal. But Ness City High School thought big—they brought a whole house.

This is the second year the tech students have built a tiny house as a class project.

Brent Kerr, instructor, said the students wanted to stretch their abilities and learn more about the building trades, but the district knew they would not be able to sell a full-size house in Ness City.

The tiny house is only 200 square feet, 24 by 8 feet, but has a kitchen, bathroom and sleeping loft.

“So trying to fit everything in that amount—your kitchen, your bathroom, your sleeping area, your living area and still be a livable space is a challenge,” Kerr said.

Before the end of the year, the students will add a wash/dryer, stove top, refrigerator, concrete counter tops and on-demand water system.

The home, which is mobile, will go to Woodland Park, Colorado, where it will be sold at the end of the school year.

“We would never imagine we could do this,” Andrea Morales, Ness City freshman, said. “We have never done these type of project before, so it is really awesome to try to do this during a school year.”

Ryan Gabel, Ness City sophomore, said he enjoyed putting up the outside trim and siding. The class used steel framing on the house, which he said was a challenge.

As students and teachers streamed in and out of the tiny house, Gabel said he was learning to talk to people about their project.

Kerr said that was a very important skill for the students to take away from the project.

“Everybody thinks in a building trades class or CTE class they are probably learning about just that trade, but these kids learn a lot about visiting with people and having a conversations and telling them what they have done,” he said. “They are learning some communication skills that you can’t get anywhere else.”

Students throughout the day also participated in competitions, including communication, problem solving, metric 500 racing and technology challenge (quiz bowl).

In the morning, middle and high school students participated in a live communication project during which they had to come up with a plan or device to improve their CTE classes. The students drew posters and then gave short recorded presentations on their ideas. Devin Smith, FHSU senior in engineer, technology and design education, said the students practice communication skills teamwork, brainstorming and public speaking.

The students at Hays Middle School wanted to redesign their classrooms and do more computer models, and the students from Paradise Junior High School designed a technobot to help with internet crashes and privacy.

 

 

 

Cloudy, warm Wednesday with a chance for storms

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Today A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms, mainly between 4pm and 5pm. Some of the storms could be severe. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 78. North wind 7 to 10 mph.

Tonight Mostly cloudy, with a low around 53. East southeast wind 8 to 13 mph.

Thursday A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms after 1pm. Mostly sunny, with a high near 78. Breezy, with a south southwest wind 8 to 13 mph increasing to 15 to 20 mph in the afternoon.

Thursday Night Partly cloudy, with a low around 46. Northwest wind 10 to 18 mph, with gusts as high as 28 mph.

FridaySunny, with a high near 78. North wind 8 to 11 mph.

Friday NightMostly clear, with a low around 48.

SaturdaySunny, with a high near 83.

Gordon, Soler lift Royals over Red Sox in 13 innings

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BOSTON (AP) – Alex Gordon hit a tying home run off Craig Kimbrel in the ninth inning, Jorge Soler hit a three-run homer against Brian Johnson in the 13th and the Kansas City Royals rallied for a 7-6 win over the Boston Red Sox on Tuesday night.

Boston led 3-2 before Gordon’s one-out drive off Kimbrel, who was trying for his 299th save but instead blew an opportunity for the first time in eight tries this season.

Jon Jay had four singles and a sacrifice fly in the 12th that put Kansas City up 4-3. But Eduardo Nunez homered against Kelvin Herrera (1-0) in the bottom half.

Gordon and Whit Merrifield singled off Johnson (1-1) ahead of Soler’s homer over the Green Monster.

Mitch Moreland singled leading off the bottom half against Burch Smith, who hit Xander Bogaerts with a pitch. Rafael Devers hit into a forceout, Brian Flynn relieved and Jackie Bradley Jr. had a run-scoring groundout. Christian Vazquez singled in a run, but Flynn got the first save of his five-year big league career when Nunez flied out to the center-field wall.

Chris Sale struck out six while allowing two runs – one earned – and five hits in seven innings. He was in position to win consecutive starts for the first time this season.

Jakob Junis pitched five scoreless innings for Kansas City before Boston tied the score in the sixth on Moreland’s homer and Bradley’s RBI single.

Brad Keller threw a run-scoring wild pitch in the seventh.

Alcides Escobar hit a sacrifice fly in the fourth, and the Royals took a 2-0 lead in the sixth when Lucas Duda got caught in a rundown while trying to steal second and Jay, who began the play on second, was able to come home.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Royals: DH Mike Moustakas was out of the starting lineup after getting hit by a pitch on his right forearm in the first inning Monday. He came off the bench in the 10th and grounded out while pinch hitting for Cheslor Cuthbert.

Red Sox: RF Mookie Betts (tight right hamstring) was out of the lineup a third straight game because of a tight right hamstring that forced him out Saturday. Betts took over in right field in the ninth.

UP NEXT

Royals: LHP Danny Duffy (0-3, 5.40 ERA) makes his team-high seventh start, still searching for his first win. Duffy is 0-4 in six starts against Boston, the only AL team he has yet to beat.

Red Sox: LHP Drew Pomeranz (0-1, 7.27) gets his third start of the season after missing the first 18 games with a forearm injury.

Hays High softball sweeps Liberal for first WAC wins

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LIBERAL,Kan. – The Hays High softball team ran their win streak to four and picked up their first Western Athletic Conference wins of the season with a doubleheader sweep of Liberal, 9-1 and 13-1 Tuesday.

Kaitlyn Brown pitched a complete game three-hitter in the first game, striking out 16 while walking only one. Jaysa Wichers and Macee Altman both drove in two runs and Reanna Harman had four of the Indians 15 hits.

Jaysa Wichers pitched five innings of two-hit ball in the second contest. Reanna Harman had three hits and Mackenzie Fagan had a double and triple and drove in three.

Hays High improves to 9-9 overall and 2-6 in the Western Athletic Conference.

Sheriff: I-70 traffic stop leads to 29 pounds of pot

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SHAWNEE COUNTY — Law enforcement authorities are investigating a suspect on drug charges after a traffic stop.

Sprague-photo Shawnee Co.

On Monday, a Shawnee County Sheriff’s Office deputy with the Criminal Interdiction Unit conducted a traffic stop on a vehicle travelling eastbound on I-70 near Wanamaker Road for a lane change violation, according to Deputy Shayna Anderson.

Through the investigation deputies found approximately 29 pounds of marijuana and a loaded handgun in the vehicle. They also found approximately $3700 in cash in the vehicle and on the driver, according to Anderson.

Deputies booked the driver  Jeremy E. Sprague, 39, of Oregon into the Shawnee County Department of Corrections on the felony charge of Possession of Marijuana with Intent to Distribute.

🎥 Canterbury Dr. to remain 4 lanes following special city commission vote Monday

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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

Canterbury Drive will remain a four-lane street.

In a special meeting Tuesday night, Hays city commissioners voted 3-2 to amend a contract which calls for reconfiguring the street to three lanes between 13th and 22nd.

Commissioner Shaun Musil has been opposed to the “road diet” since the 2018 Street Maintenance plan was adopted late last year.

“Apparently, traffic will be safer if we do it, but I just don’t see a huge gain,” Musil said prior to the vote.

“I was for changing to 3 lanes on 13th and on Hall Streets and personally think we have seen reduced accidents there. The daughter of a friend of mine was almost severely hurt when someone didn’t see her going north on Hall Street and turned into her (when it was still 4 lanes on Hall Street.”)

Vice-Mayor Henry Schwaller and Commissioner Chris Dinkel opposed the change.

Check Hays Post for more details in an upcoming story.

Kansas lawmakers OK self-serve beer taps, longer bar hours

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TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Legislators in the state that made saloon-smasher Carrie Nation famous have approved a bill to allow self-serve beer taps and longer hours for bars and taverns.

The Kansas House approved the measure Tuesday on a 94-28vote. The Senate approved it Monday on a 34-4 vote, so it goes next to Republican Gov. Jeff Colyer.

Kansas is among a few states that do not allow self-serve beer taps in restaurants and bars. The move to legalize them was spurred by the prospects of a new restaurant in downtown Topeka, blocks from the Statehouse.

Bars, taverns and restaurants licensed to sell alcohol can’t open until 9 a.m., but the bill would allow them to start serving at 6 a.m. Critics saw that provision as a public safety threat.

Retired KHP Trooper Convicted Of Lying to FBI about Gambling

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WICHITA, KAN. – A retired highway patrol trooper was convicted today on a charge of lying to the FBI during an investigation into illegal gambling in Wichita, according to U.S. Attorney Stephan McAllister.

Michael Frederiksen, 53, Derby, was convicted in a jury trial on one count of making false statements to FBI investigators. During trial, prosecutors presented evidence that in 2014, while Frederiksen was still a Kansas Highway Patrol Trooper, he was filmed taking part in an illegal cash poker game. On Feb. 23, 2017, he was interviewed by FBI agents investigating illegal gambling businesses in Wichita.

The FBI had a video of Frederiksen playing in an illegal cash poker game held Feb. 12, 2014, at 922 1/2 E. Douglas in the Old Town district of Wichita. The site was equipped with poker tables, a cabinet for valuables and poker chips, video surveillance equipment, liquor and snacks. Staff included dealers, someone serving food and a waitress serving drinks and giving massages to the players.

An undercover investigator was at the game posing as a gambler. At one point, the undercover officer tried to use his phone to take photos. The men running the game took him aside and told him he was making other players nervous. They allowed the undercover officer to continue playing, but moved the game to other locations after that night.

During an FBI interview, Frederiksen made false statements, downplaying his involvement in illegal poker and his relationship with the operator of the poker game.

Sentencing is set for July 30. He faces up to five years in federal prison and a fine up to $250,000. McAllister commended the FBI, the Wichita Police Department, the Internal Revenue Service and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Aaron Smith and Mona Furst for their work on the case.

Kan. lawmakers pass telemedicine bill with abortion clause

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BY JIM MCLEAN

Kansas lawmakers gave the go-ahead Monday to expand telemedicine services after reaching agreement on abortion language that had threatened to scuttle the move.

The bill cleared the state Senate and House by large margins, but only after eleventh-hour brinksmanship that gave anti-abortion forces the assurances they demanded.

Kansans for Life, the state’s largest anti-abortion organization, fought for weeks to maintain a clause in the legislation designed to discourage a court challenge over its ban on drug-induced abortions.

The “non-severability” clause is essentially a self-destruct mechanism that would automatically wipe the entire telemedicine law off the books if sometime in the future the abortion ban is struck down.

Some lawmakers opposed to the “non-severability” language said it was redundant, that Kansas law already requires women who undergo drug-induced abortions to do so in the physical presence of a prescribing physician.

But Sen. Ty Masterson, a conservative Republican from Andover, said anti-abortion lawmakers wanted it to be abundantly clear that health care providers “couldn’t do chemical abortions via telemedicine.”

“That’s all that was,” he said.

It was more than that, said supporters of the bill.  The fight it prompted threatened a year of work on a bill needed to expand the reach of telemedicine.

“The underlying bill is so important, I hate to see us hold it hostage for something that’s already covered in law,” said Rep. Eileen Horn, a Lawrence Democrat serving her first term.

The bill would require insurance companies to pay for telemedicine services if they are the same as those covered in clinics, hospitals and doctor’s offices. Expanded access to long-distance services is particularly important in rural areas.

Sen. Vicki Schmidt, a Topeka Republican and chair of the Senate Public Health and Welfare Committee, reluctantly agreed to reinstate the non-severability clause after the House rejected a version of the bill that didn’t include it.

“This bill is just too important,” Schmidt said, to risk losing over a fight about abortion language.

With the non-severability language restored, the bill easily passed both the House and Senate Monday. The Senate passed it 31-8. Less than an hour later, the House voted 107-13 to send it on to Republican Gov. Jeff Colyer.

Jim McLean is managing director of the Kansas News Service. You can reach him on Twitter @jmcleanks. 

KDOR seizes assets in execution of Ellis Co. tax warrant at Hays business

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Kansas Department of Revenue

TOPEKA — Agents from the Kansas Department of Revenue accompanied by the Ellis County Sheriff Department on the Monday, executed tax warrants and seized the assets of Kirk V. Birch dba Hays Kirby & Supplies for nonpayment of Sales and Withholding Tax totaling $11,153.87.

The warrants were filed in Ellis County. The assets were seized at 1 p.m. Monday at 1337 Schwaller Ave, Hays, and 208 E. Eighth, Ste. B, Hays.

The types of assets seized include all known bank accounts, on-site cash, business inventory, as well as personal property belonging to the owner. The business was sealed closed with a public notice posted on the outside. All seized assets will be sold at public auction and the proceeds will pay for the delinquent taxes.

KDOR’s policy and practice is to work with taxpayers in delinquent status to voluntarily enter into repayment agreements. It is only after these efforts and multiple failed collection attempts that the Department is forced to execute a tax warrant, utilizing such actions as bank levies, till taps, and ultimately asset seizure to ensure compliance with the law.

KDOR’s responsibility to recover delinquent taxes not only ensures fairness for individuals and business owners who do pay their taxes, but also ensures that money is lawfully collected to fund state and local programs on which Kansans depend. These programs include education, highways, public safety, and human services.

Hays school board votes to discontinue negotiations with custodians union

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By CRISTINA JANNEY
Hays Post

The Hays school board voted Monday night to discontinue negotiations with its custodians union.

The board voted to opt out of the Public Employer-Employee Relations Act, which means it will not longer bargain with Service Employees International Union, which is also known as SEIU.

The issue came to the forefront after negotiations last year. Both the teacher and custodian unions opposed a change in insurance providers. Both organizations told the board in a letter the district could be subject to legal action if it voted to change from the state insurance program, which is administered by Blue Cross Blue Shield, to one administered by Aetna.

See related story: Unions threaten to sue district over health insurance

At that time board members asked to put further discussion of participation in PEERA on the agenda for some time in early 2018. In unrelated moves, both the City of Hays and Ellis County opted out of PEERA in late 2017. The school board tabled a motion to opt of PEERA in February.

See related story: Hays school board delays vote on PEERA

Superintendent John Thissen said he supported the opt of PEERA.

“I don’t see a need for SEIU,” he told the board Monday night.

Two board members, Paul Adams and Sophia Rose Young, questioned the equity of continuing to negotiate with the custodians, yet other hourly employees, such as administrative assistants do not have a bargaining unit. During the February meeting, it was noted about 26 employees are covered by SEIU out of 200 classified employees.

Board member Mike Walker disagreed with that logic.

“Although I agree with your concern,” Walker said of Adams’ comment, ” but I would argue taking away someone’s representation is not the way to go on that. I think we should have more representation.”

Board member Luke Oborny related back to last year’s negotiations when SEIU and the Hays NEA pushed for a $500 payment to offset expenses incurred because of the insurance change. The board ultimately extended that payment to all staff.

“In a perfect world, I completely agree with John [Thissen]. I would like it to be where it was not a necessity, but board members change, administration changes. There is just too much uncertainty and too many changes. Had SEIU not existed, everything would have been different.

“That supports the people. The people are more important. We are here discussing everything tonight—our buildings, our technology, our buses—but at the end of the day, our people, no matter what task they are given, it is our people that makes our district great.”

The vote on the opt out was split, 4-3, with Lance Bickle, Mike Walker and Luke Oborny voting to stay in PEERA.

Esau Freeman, Wichita, SEIU #513 business representative

Esau Freeman, SEIU representative, said after the meeting he was disappointed in the board decision.

“I really wish they had decided to stay under PEERA,” he said. “A few months ago from the testimonies, it sounded like they all planned on it. I think the main person who did not want this was John Thissen.”

Freeman was critical of Thissen’s work during the most recent negotiations process as well.

Thissen had no comment about Freeman’s response to the vote.

The district will still have to negotiate with SEIU for the 2018-19 budget year. Negotiations with the teachers union, Hays NEA, will not be affected by the decision to opt out of PEERA.

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