SALINE COUNTY — Law enforcement authorities are investigating a suspect for alleged child endangerment.
Ragan -photo Saline Co.
Just after 9:30p.m. Sunday, police responded to a disturbance at a home in the 200 Block of South 12th Street in Salina, according to Captain Paul Forrester.
Kiel Ragan, 31, allegedly violated a no contact order at the home. He then threatened to harm himself with a 9mm handgun while holding his 13-month old son.
By the time officers arrived, Ragan had put the gun down but was cursing at a 32-year-old woman resident of the home. He also allegedly and approached the woman’s 69-year-old father in an aggressive manner and threw a pack of cigarettes at him. Police reported no injuries.
Ragan was booked into the Saline County Jail on requested charges of aggravated endangerment of a child, battery, and violation of a protection order, according to Forrester.
In May, police arrested Ragan for alleged domestic battery and criminal damage to property, according to Saline County booking records.
Alice Leona (Maier) Maier, 89, of Lenexa, Kansas, and former Russell resident, passed away Thursday, June 14, 2018, at Sunrise of Lenexa, Kansas.
Alice was born August 2, 1928, on the family farm in north Barton County, the daughter of Fred and Mollie (Maier) Maier. She was baptized as an infant at the St. John Lutheran Church North of Susank, Kansas and was also confirmed in the same church. She grew up north of Susank, Kansas and attended the country school Rude School in Barton County. She was a sports enthusiast and loved playing baseball.
Alice met, fell in love, and was united in marriage to Carl A. Maier on September 12, 1948, in the Bender Hill Trinity Lutheran Church. This union was blessed with two children, Marilyn and Blaine. They made their home on the Maier family farm until 1997 when they moved into Russell.
Alice was a devoted wife and mother and worked side by side on the farm with her husband Carl. They were known for having a large garden and orchard and she was an expert at freezing and canning the food from their garden. She was known for her cooking. She enjoyed cooking for weddings, the noon Kiwanis meetings and at the Keilee’s Truck Stop in Russell. She was a member of the Trinity Lutheran Church Bender Hill and United Emmanuel Lutheran Church in Milberger, Kansas. She was also a member of WELCA – Women Evangelical Lutheran Church Association. She also enjoyed quilting, sewing, playing cards, putting together puzzles and being a Sunday school teacher. She enjoyed watching Kansas City Royals, Kansas University and Kansas State University basketball games. Most of all she loved spending time with her family especially her children, grandchildren and great grandchildren.
Surviving family include her daughter, Marilyn Maier of Kansas City, Kansas; son Blaine Maier (Lori) of Russell, Kansas; five grandchildren, Marci Scheuerman, Micah Scheuerman, Marc Scheuerman (Corrie), Cameron Maier (Elizabeth) and Kaylee Maier; and two great grandchildren, Brooklynn Maier and Wayde Maier.
Alice was preceded in death by her parents, husband Carl on June 18, 2015, infant daughter, brother Alvin Maier and sister, Ottelia “Tillie” Wegele.
Celebration of Alice’s Life will be held at 10:30 AM, Tuesday, June 19, 2018 at Pohlman-Varner-Peeler Mortuary of Russell. Burial will follow at the St. John Lutheran Cemetery. Visitation will be held from 9:00 AM to 8:00 PM Monday, June 18, 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 the American Diabetes Association. Contributions and condolences may be sent to Pohlman-Varner-Peeler Mortuary, who is in charge of these arrangements.
KANSAS CITY. (AP) – A child has died after drowning in a hotel swimming pool in the Plaza area of Kansas City.
KMBC-TV reports that a boy around 10 years of age died Saturday night in the pool at the Embassy Suites Hotel. Two people at the pool tried unsuccessfully to save the child before rescue crews arrived.
The boy’s name and details of the incident have not been released.
Click to expandPreliminary estimates reported by the Kansas Department of Labor and Bureau of Labor Statistics show a seasonally adjusted unemployment rate of 3.4 percent in May. This was unchanged from April and down from 3.6 percent in May 2017.
“The number of unemployed Kansans looking for work dropped below 50,000 for the first time since May of 2000,” said Secretary Lana Gordon.
Northwest Kansas jobless rates remain extremely low, with unemployment rates in Ellis County at 2.3 percent. Trego, Rooks and Ness posted unemployment rates slight above 3 percent, while Norton and Logan counties reported a flat 2 percent jobless rate.
Seasonally adjusted job estimates indicate total Kansas nonfarm jobs increased by 1,900 from April. Private sector jobs, a subset of total nonfarm jobs, increased by 1,800 from the previous month.
“Preliminary estimates for May are encouraging. Job growth over the year matched the U.S. growth rate at 1.6 percent,” said Senior Labor Economist, Tyler Tenbrink. “The state added 7,100 jobs over the last 12 months in the professional and business services industry, an industry with an average wage of over $27 per hour.”
Since May 2017, Kansas gained 22,700 seasonally adjusted total nonfarm jobs and 20,700 private sector jobs.
The Ellis County Commission will consider staff changes within the Health Services Department at Monday’s meeting.
Health Services Administrator Kerry McCue said he is looking to change the Public Health Billing Coordinator position to the Medical Billing Specialist. The person will be in charge of all medical billing for Health Services.
The commission will also hear a budget request from the West Kansas Child Advocacy Center and consider purchasing a replacement spray truck.
The commission will meet as the Public Building Commission at 5 p.m. with the regular commission to follow at 718 Main St.
KANSAS CITY, Kan. (AP) — Two Kansas deputies killed in the line of duty will be laid to rest Thursday following a joint funeral service.
Deputy King and Deputy Rohrer-photos Wyandotte Co. Sheriff
Wyandotte County deputies Theresa King and Patrick Rohrer were fatally shot Friday. Authorities say they were killed by an inmate as they were preparing to leave the courthouse to return to jail after a hearing. King was 44 and had three children. Rohrer was 35 and was the father of two.
The funeral service is at 9 a.m. Thursday at Children’s Mercy Park in Kansas City, Kansas.
Authorities have not identified the suspect, who was shot several times and is hospitalized in stable condition.
Authorities say the inmate apparently overpowered the deputies in a gated area behind the courthouse and shot them — possibly with one of their own guns.
Wayne J. Gabel, 83, Hays, died Thursday, June 14, 2018 at the University of Kansas Medical Center in Kansas City, Kansas.
He was born March 12, 1935 on the family farm north of Hyacinth, Kansas the son of Nicholas “Nick” and Catherine “Katie” (Dreiling) Gabel. In 1953 he graduated from St. Joseph Military Academy and on October 25, 1954 he was united in marriage to Marie Pfannenstiel at Our Lady Help of Christians Catholic Church in Antonino. They celebrated over 50 years of marriage before she preceded him in death on August 8, 2005. Wayne was a truck driver who started High Plains Grain and was later an owner/operator of Golden Plains Trucking in Hays. He was a member of St. Joseph Catholic Church, the St. Joseph Third Degree Knights of Columbus council #1325, and the Bishop Cunningham Fourth Degree Knights of Columbus. He enjoyed reading westerns, polka dancing, crossword puzzles, and his McDonalds coffee group. He and his wife Marie were Points of Light recipients from TMP-Marian High School and he loved to spend time with his friends and family.
Survivors include two sons; Alan Gabel and wife Dawn of Hays and Arlen Gabel of Hays, a daughter; Agnes McDonald and husband Don of Wentworth, MO, a brother; Gary Gabel and wife Ellie of Hays, two sisters; Marlene Brull and husband Charles of Hays and Mary Sauer and husband Melvin of Hays, a sister-in-law; Mary Ann Gabel, four grandchildren; Jason Gabel, Jeremy Gabel, Lindsay Leiker, and Clayton Gabel, five great grandchildren, two step-grandchildren, two step-great grandchildren, and numerous nieces and nephews.
He was preceded in death by his parents, his wife Marie, an infant brother Tony Gabel, a brother Leon Gabel, a sister Delores Binder, a daughter-in-law Jackie Gabel, and a granddaughter Kristen Gabel.
Mass of Christian Burial will be at 10:00 am on Tuesday, June 19, 2018 at St. Joseph Catholic Church, 205 W. 13th, Hays, with Fr. Fred Gatschet and Fr. Earl Befort officiating. Burial will follow in the St. Joseph Cemetery. Visitation will be from 4:00 pm until 8:00 on Monday and from 9:00 am until 9:45 on Tuesday, all at the Hays Memorial Chapel Funeral Home, 1906 Pine Street. The Fourth Degree Knights of Columbus will stand honor guard from 5:30 pm until 6:30 on Monday at the funeral home. A parish vigil service will be at 6:30 pm followed by a combined Third and Fourth Degree Knights of Columbus rosary at 7:00, all on Monday at the funeral home. Memorials are suggested to TMP-Marian Alumni Association or to St. Joseph Catholic Church, in care of the funeral home. Condolences and memories of Wayne may be left for the family at www.haysmemorial.com
Blanche Lucille Niblock Wolfe went home to be with her Savior and her beloved husband and daughter on June 8, 2018. Blanche was born on March 17, 1921 in Pittsburgh, PA. She is the daughter of Fredrick Lawrence Niblock and Rose Hair Niblock. The family moved to the Danby Valley homestead near Brownell when Blanche was an infant. Her father passed away a short time later. In 1923, her mother married Fred M. Robbins and Blanche gained a step-brother, Melvin Robbins, and step-sister, Lucille Robbins Barnett, both now deceased. Blanche attended Salt City Business School after graduating from Ransom High School in 1938. She married Clarence F. Wolfe on September 21, 1941. To this union were born Rodney Lee, Rosemary Anita, Regina Faye (Jeanie), Clarilyn Blanche and Kent Frederick Wolfe.
After serving in the Army, the young family settled on a farm southwest of Brownell. The Wolfe family was very active in the Brownell Methodist Church with Blanche playing the piano, singing in the choir and funeral quartet, and teaching in Sunday School and Vacation Bible School. She was instrumental in establishing the school lunch program in Brownell and was a 4-H club leader.
In 1959, the family moved to Ness City and opened Wolfe’s Tax Service where Clarence and Blanche were partners in the firm for the next 25 years. Blanche continued to be active in the Ness City Methodist Church. Her musical skills lead her to compose a song adopted by the Eastern Star (ESA) State Conference. She participated in other community groups including Business & Professional Women and served as President of ESA. Blanche loved sewing and gardening. She canned baskets of fruits and home-grown vegetables and always surrounded her homes with flower gardens.
In April,1963, Blanche and Clarence lost their beloved youngest daughter, Clarilyn, in a terrible car wreck. The July birth of their youngest son, Kent, brought light back into their lives. Starting in 1984, Blanche and Clarence spent their winters in Gulfport, FL. Blanche continued returning to Ness each summer after Clarence’s death in 1986, until her health no longer permitted traveling.
Blanche is survived by two sons and two daughters: Rodney (Lloydeen) of Garden City, KS; Rosemary (Freddie) Johnson of Gainesville, FL; Regina (Jeanie) Anderson (husband John deceased) of Clearwater, FL; and Kent (Diane) Wolfe of Hudson, IA. Blanche has eight grandchildren: Dion (Susan) Wolfe; Allen (Sue) Johnson; JB (Wende) Anderson, John (Megan) Anderson, and Justice (Jennifer) Anderson; Anna (Kelly) Sheets, Ashley (Jordan) Talsma and Grant Wolfe. At last count on her 97th birthday, Blanche had 13 great-grands with two more on the way: Christopher, Nikkolas and Karolynn Wolfe; Samantha Johnson; AJ and Annabelle Anderson; Joshua, John-John, Jacob and Joseph Anderson; Jackson and Justice Anderson, Jr. and Brecken Sheets. Surviving cousins include Ruth Hair Filbert and Willa Hair.
Blanche was known for her kindness, her independence, her leadership and her love of music, clothes, travel, flowers and the color red. People waited anxiously for her beautiful bake-sale cakes, cherry pie and open-faced peach pies. Blanche was a loving mother. Her family wants to thank everyone who gave her such warm and loving care in her final years. She will be greatly missed by everyone who knew her.
Visitation with the family will be Friday, June 29, from 6:00 – 8:00 p.m. at Fitzgerald Funeral Home in Ness City, KS. A funeral service will be held at the United Methodist Church in Ness City on Saturday, June 30, at 11:00 a.m., followed by graveside services at the Ness City Cemetery.
Memories and words of support maybe left for the family by writing in the guest book below.
Steve Gilliland
Its spring in the Kansas outdoors and all the critters are on the prowl around chicken coops, corrals and even backyards looking for quick easy meals to feed dens and nests full of youngins’.
I’ve already had a call from a local sheep farmer asking me to come trap coyotes and a bobcat hanging around his sheep pens. Those coyotes and that cat would undoubtedly be hanging out there anyway, but usually at night, unseen. This time of the year emboldens predators to hunt and prowl during the day when they would otherwise never think of it. A reader from Abbyville contacted me over the weekend telling me they have lost most of their chickens to what she believes to be a fox, which by the way, do quite well living in towns or on the outskirts of towns in our part of the state.
In late spring a few years ago, my friend was busy in the big round top shed that sits toward one corner of his yard, when his little Blue Heeler dog began raising cane from outside. He stuck his head out the door to see what was agitating the dog and noticed the roosters and the rest of the chickens in his chicken pen crowing, cackling and nervously milling about. He glanced behind the barn nearest the pen and noticed something bounding around wildly just behind the corral, less than fifty yards away.
He headed around the barn and through the corral and found a whitetail doe jumping and dodging frantically around something in the field drive ahead. That “something” turned out to be a pair of coyotes with a small whitetail fawn pinned to the ground between them. My friend ran toward the melee shouting and waving his arms, the doe retreated into a nearby patch of weeds and the coyotes scattered toward parts unknown, leaving the lifeless looking fawn on the ground before him. Even though only a few scratches were apparent, the fawn lay there limp and listless. He said that as he stroked its small spotted body, the light suddenly came back into its eyes. It jumped to its feet and after getting its bearings, instinctively headed for cover. As he watched from a distance, the doe joined the fawn and they disappeared into a thicket some distance away.
Like springtime on the farm, springtime in the wild is a season filled with babies everywhere. Just as that whitetail doe had her fawn to protect and feed, you can bet those coyotes had a den full of hungry little mouths to feed also. It is no coincidence that there is more prey available in the form of young, easily caught critters at this time each year, just exactly when every wild animal needs extra prey to feed its young.
Isn’t it amazing how everything seems to come full circle back to the fact that God knew exactly what He was doing when he engineered the order of things! Even with the glut of easily caught lunches right now in the wild, predators are still opportunists at heart and will not think twice about grabbing a young farm animal or even cats and kittens if given the chance. As spring turns into July and August, increased predation seen in the spring will slow again, but in the meantime, there are a few extra precautions that can be taken to at least make the opportunists think twice about grabbing’ something from the coop or corral.
Even though you can’t keep an eye on poultry and young farm animals 24/7, giving them a place under roof to spend the night will help dramatically. Giving poultry a place to spend the night behind a closed door is a good thing any time of the year. Remember, despite their willingness to prowl more during daylight right now, a predator’s favorite time to hunt is still after dark. Keeping the grass and weeds mowed around pens will help also, as removing any cover predators can use to sneak close to a barn, chicken house or yard will help deter their presence. Sadly to say, there’s not a lot that can be done in town to deter predators aside from keeping cats, dogs and chickens within a fenced yard or enclosure of some sort.
Playing a radio and keeping a couple lights lit in the barn where sheep and goats spend the night will sound like human activity to a predator and can help deter their presence.
The most effective predator prevention is probably a good watch dog, even if it’s small. Dogs of any size make predators nervous, and even though any coyote, bobcat or raccoon worth its salt can easily overpower most small dogs especially if they catch them out in the open, a noisy little mutt relentlessly yapping away at them as they slink around the barn or sheep pen might at least make them question their plan and probably alert you in the process. Unfortunately a yappy little dog will probably not work well in town, as they might help keep predators at bay, but will surely keep you in hot water with the rest of the neighborhood.
Yup, its spring time in the Kansas outdoors again, and all the critters have families to feed. Unfortunately that means predators too, so as they follow their God-given instincts to protect and feed their young, young farm animals, chickens and even cats and kittens might be taken if the chance arises. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not condoning that, after all, I’m a coyote trapper. But I am saying that understanding why it happens helps me look at it from a slightly different perspective ….Continue to Explore Kansas Outdoors!
Steve Gilliland, Inman, can be contacted by email at [email protected].
Mary Ellen Thornton, age 66, passed away on Saturday, June 16, 2018 at the Scott County Hospital in Scott City, Kansas. She was born on March 26, 1952 in Hays, Kansas, the daughter of Victor Calvin & Ruth May Hendrickson Eichbush. She was a resident of Scott City, Kansas since 1972 moving from Hays, Kansas. She was currently working at Heartland Foods as a store clerk.
She was member of the United Methodist Church in Hays, Kansas and a member of AA of Scott City, Kansas
On June 5, 1972 she married Jack R. Thornton in Hays, Kansas. He survives.
Survivors include her Husband – Jack R. Thornton of Scott City, Kansas, One Daughter – Melissa Dawn Jorgenson of Johnstown, Colorado, One Brother – David Eichbush of Hays, Kansas, One Sister – Ruth Lahendro of Aikens, South Carolina, Grandchildren – Gage Malchow of Scott City, Kansas, Alec Malchow of Johnstown, Colorado, Kelby Jorgenson of Johnstown, Colorado, Great Grandchildren – Vincent Malchow of Scott City, Kansas, Ivy Jorgenson of Johnstown, Colorado and Misty Dawn Jorgenson of Johnstown, Colorado.
Mary was preceded in death by her Parents & One Sister – Barbara Kubot.
Memorial Services will be held at the First Christian Church in Scott City, Kansas at a later date and time with Steve Payne presiding.
Memorials in lieu of flowers may made to the AA in care of Price & Sons Funeral Homes.
Interment will be in the Mount Allen Cemetery in Hays, Kansas
