EMPORIA — Drew Keller of Ellis, Kansas, is part of the cast and crew presenting “Moo Juice: The Musical” by Krista (Funky Mama) Eyler.
The show, inspired by the real-life exploits of Eyler’s own two sons, is ideal for kids and parents alike. The show is a rock n’ roll musical about a group of 5-year-olds making it through one very musical and comical day in daycare with their kind and harried teacher, Mrs. Patty. Each character in “Moo Juice” plays a role in maintaining order in what can be a very chaotic daily environment. The children must behave or their favored field trip to Happy Chippy Cheeseland will be cancelled.
Keller, a freshman theatre major, works in the scene shop.
The show is under the direction of Jim and Lindy Bartruff. Chris Lohkamp is the technical director and scene shop manager.
“Moo Juice: The Musical” runs July 25-27 at 7:30 p.m. in the Karl C. Bruder Theatre in King Hall at Emporia State University. A family matinee is scheduled for the final performance on Saturday July 28 at 2 p.m. Tickets cost $12 (adults), $10 (seniors) and $5 (students) and are available from the Memorial Union Ticket Office. Tickets are also available online at tickets.emporia.edu or by calling 620-341-6378.
TOPEKA — The Kansas Creative Arts Industries Commission is now accepting applications for its two main grant categories, The Strategic Investment Program and The Arts Integration Program.
The Strategic Investment Program recognizes the important role creative organizations play in building and sustaining cultural and economic vibrancy in Kansas. By funding a variety of professional and organizational development opportunities that impact cultural programming, these grants support initiatives that use the arts to enhance community vitality, revitalize neighborhoods, generate local business, create and preserve job opportunities and impact tourism.
The Arts Integration Programs support the role the arts play in all levels of education, community service, and workforce development. This program provides funding for educational institutions, arts organizations, and community service non-profits to use the arts to increase student success, foster creative thinking, develop critical job skills, and enhance community development.
The first deadline for application submission is September 7, 2018 for projects taking place Oct. 1, 2018 – June 30, 2019. The second deadline for application submission is January 7, 2019 for projects taking place Feb. 1, 2019 – Dec. 31, 2019.
STRATEGIC INVESTMENT PROGRAM
Strategic Investment Program grants are awarded in three categories:
Organizational Development: This category provides funding for professional development opportunities for Kansas based arts organizations that help strengthen business practices, increase organizational viability and promote long term sustainability.
New and Expanded Works: This program provides funding for new or significantly expanded productions, exhibitions, programs or events by Kansas-based nonprofit arts organizations. Projects should either be an entirely new type of program for the organization designed to diversify its services or an expansion of an existing program designed to significantly enhance the quality of current offerings.
Equipment and Technology: This program provides funding to purchase equipment, materials, and/or technology upgrades to expand or improve an applicant’s organization.
Applicants for a grant under the Strategic Investment Program must make a compelling case as to why this particular self-identified activity or opportunity was selected, how it will have a substantial impact on their work and community, and how it will enhance the national reputation of Kansas.
Arts Integration Programs are awarded in three categories:
Visiting Artists: This category provides funding for eligible organizations to engage and deepen the impact of arts programming on local and underserved audiences through exposure to and interaction with professional visiting arts. Presenters may book artists in any discipline, not just in performing arts. Projects should strive to integrate an arts discipline into non-arts content areas; help interpret an exhibition, performance, or presentation; and support community development goals and objectives. Booking artists on the Kansas Touring Roster allow for a $1,000 credit for the applicant organization: https://www.kansascommerce.gov/705/KS-Roster
o Note: KCAIC will review applications for roster inclusion in early March. Please check the website at that time for an expanded list and encourage qualified artists to apply. In addition, Visiting Artists grants featuring roster artists will be accepted and reviewed year round up to 30 days prior to proposed activities.
Integrated Arts Education: This category supports new or expanded educational programming that integrates arts learning into non-arts curriculum and content areas to address emerging technologies, areas of skills shortages, STEM curricula, workforce readiness, and increase student performance.
Innovative Partnerships: This category supports innovative programming between arts organizations and non-arts organizations to impact a variety of community and/or economic development goals. Arts organizations are encouraged to partner with other community entities (hospitals, prisons, etc.) to develop arts-centered programs that address community needs such as public health, transportation, tourism, unemployment, aging, corrections, etc.
To review the application process, as well as program and category specific policies and guidelines visit KansasCommerce.gov/CAIC. Applications can be submitted online at https://kansascaic.submittable.com .
Grants will be reviewed by peer panel and awarded at the quarterly commission meeting in April.
All grants are made possible through a partnership with the National Endowment for the Arts and are subject to KCAIC and NEA standards and regulations.
Edward Cross is president of the Kansas Independent Oil & Gas Association.
By EDWARD CROSS Kansas Independent Oil & Gas Association
Debate continues across the country on our nation’s energy future. What is our best energy policy going forward?
Even during periods when much of the world suffers economic stagnation, most of us would agree that we still have a very high standard of living. Compared to previous generations, we are wealthier, healthier, have better technology, more mobility, and many more opportunities for a better life.
Several factors contribute to a higher standard of living, but one of the most important is access to reliable and inexpensive energy. Affordable energy is essential for almost every aspect of our modern lives. Affordable energy is needed to run the hospitals and laboratories that improve our health. Affordable energy is required to deliver electricity to our homes and put fuel in our vehicles. And it supports the millions of jobs associated with all of these things.
Concerns About Carbon
In general, the most affordable forms of energy come from fossil fuels, such as oil, natural gas, and coal. Compared to these energy sources, alternative fuels such as solar and wind power are considerably more expensive and less reliable.
Burning fossil fuels to generate electricity or provide power necessarily releases carbon dioxide (CO2) into the atmosphere. Carbon dioxide is a gas we exhale every time we breathe. Erupting volcanoes, decaying trees, wildfires, and the animals on which we rely for food all emit CO2. This by-product, which is essential for plant life and an unavoidable aspect of human life, is at the center of today’s climate change controversies.
There is vigorous debate about what effects carbon emissions may or may not have on our future climate. Recent studies suggest that future warming is likely to be substantially lower than computer model-simulated projections on which many climate scientists rely. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) said eliminating all CO2 emissions in the U.S. would only reduce global temperatures a negligible 0.08o Celsius by 2050. But the damage to our economy and the well-being of American families would be enormous.
Those who believe that increased CO2 emissions inevitably lead to global warming believe this change is directly attributable to the widespread use of fossil fuels. Because they believe further warming will have catastrophic effects, they have waged a war on carbon for many years. They advocate restricting carbon-based fuels in favor of subsidized alternative energy and encourage policymakers to make fossil fuels more expensive in hopes of discouraging their use.
If the goal is really to reduce carbon emissions, it’s worth noting that the U.S. is already doing a good job of achieving that goal. A recent Energy Information Administration study indicates the U.S. emitted 23% fewer energy-related CO2 emissions in 2015 than in 2005. Furthermore, ozone concentrations have dropped by 17% since 2000.
Beware of Crocodile Tears
All too often state and federal proposals to tax carbon directly or launch new carbon tax schemes have much more to do with raising revenue than helping our environment. For those who prefer higher taxation to spending cuts, having an entirely new source of revenue is appealing. However, taxing carbon only takes more resources from the private sector to support swelling state and federal government.
A recent study analyzed probable effects of a U.S. carbon tax that starts at $20 per ton and then rises 4% per year, which is in line with recent proposals. The study suggested that such a tax would decrease household consumption, due to the increased cost of goods. The average household would have to pay 40% more for natural gas, 13% more for electricity, and more than 20 cents per gallon extra for gasoline. Costs would rise even more in subsequent years.
Price hikes like these can only mean lower standards of living and less opportunity. Families that spend a bigger portion of their household income on transportation, utilities and household goods are hurt, not helped, by carbon tax schemes that make traditional forms of energy more expensive.
Fossil Fuels are needed throughout the world to lift people up, which is different than a philosophy of embracing a zero-emissions world. Over 80% of the energy that the peoples of the world use to survive come from fossil fuels, because that is the cheapest, most plentiful, most reliable source ever developed. More than a billion people around the world face challenges for adequate food, clean water and protection from heat and cold due to a lack of access to energy. Anyone who cares about our environment and climate recognize that cheap, plentiful, reliable energy is essential.
A Better Way
As the oil and gas industry has shown, there is a better way. Just a few years ago, no one would have imagined the U.S. could increase production of oil and natural gas while cutting greenhouse gas emissions, which are now near 25-year lows. The oil and gas industry has proven that over the long-term it is possible to lead in energy production and in environmental stewardship. By focusing on more efficient use of energy, it is possible to lower emissions without imposing even more environmental restrictions. An American energy policy that values innovation over regulation can turn energy policy challenges into great opportunities for economic growth and energy security. This approach is not just good business, it’s good stewardship and a much better strategy for improving the quality of life for all.
BRANSON, Mo. (AP) — The Latest on a deadly tourist boat accident in Missouri (all times local):
About 300 people gathered in a parking lot outside a tourism business to remember the 17 people killed when one of its duck boats capsized in storm-tossed water.
First responders on the scene of the lake accident Thursday evening –photo courtesy KYTV
The mourners Friday night sang Amazing Grace and prayed, some of them holding candles. Another 75 gathered at Brookside Church in Branson to pray.
The Ride the Ducks boat sank Thursday in Table Rock Lake in southwest Missouri after a strong storm generated wind gusts of 50 to 65 mph (80 to 105 kph) in the area. The Coast Guard and National Transportation Safety Board are investigating.
Branson is about 200 miles (320 kilometers) southeast of Kansas City and is a popular vacation spot for families and other tourists
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9:25 p.m.
An Arkansas man and his son are among the 17 people who died when a tourist boat capsized near Branson, Missouri.
Carroll Smith said in a telephone interview Friday that his 53-year-old son, Steve, and 15-year-old grandson, Lance, were killed when a Ride the Ducks boat sank amid churning waters Thursday on Table Rock Lake. The family is from Osceola, Arkansas.
Steve Smith’s wife, Pamela, was with the family on the visit to Branson but did not go on the boat. Steve Smith’s 14-year-old daughter, Loren, suffered a concussion but survived.
Carroll Smith says his son was a retired math teacher who loved old Westerns and was active in his church. Lance would have been a freshman at Osceola High School.
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8 p.m.
Missouri Sen. Claire McCaskill says she’ll examine “legislative solutions” to increase the safety of amphibious vehicles like duck boats after the tragedy in Branson.
The Democratic senator didn’t offer specifics after she was briefed Friday evening by officials from the U.S. Coast Guard and the National Transportation Safety Board. Both agencies are investigating the Thursday evening accident on Table Rock Lake that killed 17 people.
The state’s other senator, Republican Roy Blunt, also was being briefed by the agencies. He said he will monitor the investigation closely and called it “a tragedy that never should have happened.”
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7:45 p.m.
A Missouri woman says nine Indiana family members killed when a duck boat sank were put on the ill-fated boat because of a ticket mix-up.
Tracy Beck, of Kansas City, says she and her family were waiting in line for another boat when the Indiana family stopped talking to have a group picture taken by the tour company.
Beck says the ticket taker realized the family should have boarded at a different location in Branson.
The family had to get new tickets and was put on the boat that eventually sank. Beck said she recognized the family When pictures began circulating Friday
Beck says the water became choppy while they were on the lake and the captain decided to return to shore.
But she says she doesn’t blame the operator of the doomed boat.
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6:45 p.m.
A survivor of the tourist boat accident that killed 17 people, including nine of her relatives, says the captain of the boat told passengers not to bother grabbing life jackets.
Tia Coleman told WXIN-TV in Indianapolis that she and a nephew were among 11 relatives on a duck boat Thursday night on Table Rock Lake near Branson, Missouri. Coleman says she lost “all my children” but she did not say how many.
Coleman says the captain of the boat told passengers, “Don’t worry about grabbing the life jackets — you won’t need them.”
She says by the time it was clear life jackets were needed, “it was too late.”
An email seeking comment from a spokeswoman for Ripley Entertainment, which owns the Ride the Ducks boat, was not immediately returned.
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6:30 p.m.
The local hospital’s president says that an employee of a nearby riverboat cruise line stayed with a small child who survived the capsizing of a duck boat on a Missouri lake for hours until the girl’s father arrived.
Cox Medical Center President William Mahoney said the young woman worked for the Showboat Branson Belle. It was near the duck boat when bad weather hit Thursday evening at Table Rock Lake.
Mahoney said the young woman threw a life preserver to try and help as the duck boat sank.
Mahoney said it is not clear how the young woman and the child arrived at the hospital. But he said once they were there the employee stayed with the child until her father came about 5 a.m. Friday.
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3:55 p.m.
A spokeswoman for Missouri Gov. Mike Parson says nine of the 17 people who died in a duck boat accident are from the same family.
Parson spokeswoman Kelli Jones says Friday that another two members of the same family survived when the boat capsized on Table Rock Lake near the tourist town of Branson.
The governor’s office had no other information about the family members. Authorities have not yet identified the victims.
The boat capsized Thursday evening when a thunderstorm hit the area and brought winds that approached near-hurricane speeds.
Twenty-nine passengers and two crew members were on the boat when it capsized. The boat’s driver was among those killed.
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3:32 p.m.
The president of the company that owns the Branson duck boats says a sudden “microburst” of high winds apparently came up suddenly before one of the boats capsized, killing 17 people.
The accident happened Thursday on Table Rock Lake. The last of the victims were found Friday. Several local, state and federal agencies are investigating.
Jim Pattison Jr. is president of Ripley Entertainment, which owns the duck boat business. Pattison says the captain operating the boat had 16 years of experience, and the business monitors weather.
Pattison told The Associated Press that the water was calm and flat when the amphibious vehicle arrived at the lake, but a sudden storm emerged and “turned it into turbulence.”
Pattison says his company is “sad” and “devastated” by the deaths.
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3:25 p.m.
Missouri Gov. Mike Parson says emergency responders and civilian rescuers helped prevent an even worse tragedy after a duck boat capsized on a lake and killed 17 people.
Parson spent Friday in the Branson area after the boat sank Thursday evening on Table Rock Lake amid high winds. He called the efforts of emergency responders and civilian rescuers “courageous” and said he was inspired by them.
He said people rushed in to help “in extremely dangerous conditions.”
Parson met with Stone County Sheriff Doug Rader and others leading the recovery operation before visiting the Cox Medical Center in Branson to meet with survivors and medical personnel.
The governor pledged the support of all state resources to help in an investigation by the National Transportation Safety Board and the U.S. Coast Guard.
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3:15 p.m.
A spokeswoman for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers says the agency has no authority to keep people or boats off of its lakes, even when bad weather approaches.
Seventeen people died Thursday when a Ride the Duck boat capsized in Table Rock Lake near Branson, Missouri. The accident happened amid churning waters and stormy weather.
Corps of Engineers spokeswoman Laurie Driver says storms tend to blow up quickly in the region of southwestern Missouri and northwestern Arkansas that includes Table Rock, but the agency must rely on people making their own judgments about the safety of setting out on the water.
Driver says Ride the Ducks of Branson has a permit from the corps to operate on the lake.
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2:45 p.m.
Doctors believe that two people in critical condition after a duck boat sank in a Missouri lake will survive.
Cox Medical Center spokeswoman Brandei Clifton says “doctors are confident” about their long term prognosis.
The two adults are in critical condition after nearly drowning in the accident Thursday evening.
Cox received seven patients Thursday. Two are those in critical condition, one refused treatment and the remaining four, including three children, were treated for minor injuries such as sore ears and general anxiety.
Clifton says the hospital treated the accident like a mass casualty event and called in extra staff in anticipation of a large number of patients.
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2:40 p.m.
A candlelight vigil is planned to remember the 17 people killed when a duck boat capsized in stormy weather in southern Missouri.
Several pastors will be gathering at 9 p.m. Friday at Brookside Church in Branson, with a previously scheduled fireworks display to follow the vigil and prayers. The Stone County Sheriff’s Office posted details about the vigil on its Facebook page. The post says, “EVERYONE is welcome!”
The Ride the Ducks boat sank Thursday night in Table Rock Lake after a strong storm generated wind gusts of 50 to 65 mph (80 to 105 kph) in the area. The Coast Guard and National Transportation Safety Board are investigating.
Branson is about 200 miles (320 kilometers) southeast of Kansas City and is a popular vacation spot for families and other tourists.
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2:05 p.m.
Authorities say it could take several days to raise a duck boat that sank in southern Missouri, killing its driver and 16 passengers.
Missouri State Highway Patrol Sgt. Jason Pace says the vessel came to rest in 80 feet of water in on Table Rock Lake. Authorities initially said it would be raised Friday but Pace says it will take several days to get the equipment in place. He says investigators “want to preserve evidence as best is possible.”
Pace says the area has been secured and the investigation turned over to the National Transportation Safety Board and the Coast Guard.
Pace says divers indicated that the water visibility was better than normal, expediting the recovery of the victims’ bodies. They ranged in age from 1- to 70-years-old.
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11 a.m.
Authorities say the final four people missing since a boat capsized on a lake in southern Missouri have been found, raising the death toll to 17.
The office manager at the Stone County Sheriff’s office, Wendy Doucey, confirmed the discovery Friday. The Ride the Ducks boat sank Thursday night in the Lake of the Ozarks near Branson.
The victims’ names haven’t been released.
Branson is about 200 miles (320 kilometers) southeast of Kansas City and is a popular vacation spot for families and other tourists.
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10:30 a.m.
Authorities are working to recover a duck boat that capsized and sank in a southern Missouri lake, killing more than a dozen people.
Stone County Sheriff Doug Rader said during a news conference Friday that he believes the boat sank in 40 feet of water and rolled into 80 feet of water. He says the Missouri State Highway Patrol divers have located the vessel, which is on its wheels in Table Rock Lake in the Branson area. Authorities plan to recover the boat later Friday.
He says the first call about the capsized boat came in at 7:09 p.m. Thursday. He says authorities are working to determine what happened and had no information about whether passengers were wearing life jackets or whether they were just stowed onboard.
The victims’ names haven’t been released.
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9:30 a.m.
Authorities say the four people still missing after a duck boat capsized in southern Missouri are presumed dead, in addition to the 13 people whose bodies have been recovered.
Stone County Sheriff Doug Rader described the search as a “recovery mode for the bodies that are still missing” during a news conference Friday morning.
Rader says the driver of the Ride the Ducks boat died but that the captain survived when the boat sank Thursday night in Table Rock Lock in the Branson area. Thirteen victims already have been found.
Rader says an off-duty deputy aboard the nearby Showboat Branson Belle and others on the riverboat jumped in to help the duck boat’s passengers. He described the rescue effort as “outstanding.”
Branson is about 200 miles (320 kilometers) southeast of Kansas City and is a popular vacation spot for families and other tourists.
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9 a.m.
The National Weather Service is warning of a fresh round of thunderstorms, as divers search for four people missing after a duck boat capsized on a lake in southwest Missouri.
Meteorologist Jason Schaumann says some of the storms are expected to churn up large hail and damaging straight line winds when they hit Friday afternoon in the Branson area where the Ride the Ducks boat sank. The bodies of 13 victims already have been found.
Schaumann says wind gusts of 50 to 65 mph (80 to 105 kph) were recorded around the time the boat capsized Thursday night in Table Rock Lake after a severe thunderstorm warning had been issued. He says the weather was calm in the search area overnight and that the area narrowly avoided more storms Friday morning.
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8:10 a.m.
President Donald Trump is extending his “deepest sympathies” to those affected by a Missouri boat accident that has killed at least 13.
In a Friday morning tweet, the president sends his: “deepest sympathies to the families and friends of those involved in the terrible boat accident which just took place in Missouri.”
He adds: “Such a tragedy, such a great loss. May God be with you all!”
Local officials said 14 people survived the sinking of a duck boat and four others remain missing after the accident Thursday evening on Table Rock Lake in Branson, Missouri.
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8:05 a.m.
A witness has described the wind-borne chaos as a duck boat capsized and sank in a lake in southwest Missouri.
Allison Lester told ABC’s “Good Morning America” Friday that the “waters were rough” and “debris was flying everywhere” Thursday evening when the Ride the Ducks boat sank in Table Rock Lake in Branson. Lester was on a nearby boat.
Thirteen people were killed and four others are missing.
Lester’s boyfriend, Trent Behr, says he saw a woman lying in the water and that they pulled her up onto the boat. He says she was unconscious and that he was getting ready to start CPR when emergency responders arrived.
Branson is about 200 miles (320 kilometers) southeast of Kansas City and is a popular vacation spot for families and other tourists.
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7:30a.m.
Authorities say divers have found two more bodies after a duck boat carrying tourists capsized in southwest Missouri, bringing the death toll to 13.
Missouri State Highway Patrol Sgt. Jason Pace says four others remain missing Friday after the accident on Table Rock Lake in Branson Thursday evening. He says 14 others survived, but that seven were injured.
Pace says those who died ranged in age from 1 to 70-years old.
Branson is about 200 miles (320 kilometers) southeast of Kansas City and is a popular vacation spot for families and other tourists looking for entertainment ranging from theme parks to live music.
4a.m.
BRANSON, Mo. (AP) – Dive teams are expected to resume the search for five people missing after a tourist boat capsized and sank in a southwestern Missouri lake.
Stone County Sheriff Doug Rader says at least 11 people, including children, died when the Ride the Ducks boat sank Thursday night on Table Rock Lake in Branson. Seven other people were hospitalized.
Rader says the stormy weather was believed to be the cause of the capsizing. Another boat on the lake was able to safely make it back to shore.
NTSB launching Go Team to investigate July 19, 2018, amphibious vehicle accident at Table Rock Lake, near Branson, MO. Team will travel Friday morning.
National Weather Service meteorologist Steve Lindenberg says the agency had issued a severe thunderstorm warning for the Branson area, and winds reached speeds of more than 60 mph.
The National Transportation Safety Board said on Twitter that investigators are expected to arrive on the scene Friday.
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BRANSON, Mo. (AP) — At least 11 people, including children, died after a boat carrying tourists on a Missouri lake capsized and sank Thursday night, the local sheriff said.
Stone County Sheriff Doug Rader said five people remain missing and seven others were hospitalized after a Ride the Ducks boat sank on Table Rock Lake in Branson.
A spokeswoman for the Cox Medical Center Branson said four adults and three children arrived at the hospital shortly after the incident. Two adults were in critical condition and the others were treated for minor injuries, Brandei Clifton said.
Rader said the stormy weather was believed to be the cause of the capsizing. Another duck boat on the lake was able to safely make it back to shore.
Steve Lindenberg, a National Weather Service meteorologist in Springfield, Missouri, said the agency issued a severe thunderstorm warning for the Branson area Thursday evening. Lindenberg said winds reached speeds of more than 60 mph.
“It’s a warning telling people to take shelter,” he said.
Rader said an off-duty sheriff’s deputy working security for the boat company helped rescue people after the accident.
Dive teams from a number of law enforcement agencies were assisting in the effort, but the sheriff said the divers ended their search for the night.
The National Transportation Safety Board said on Twitter that investigators will arrive on the scene Friday morning.
Suzanne Smagala with Ripley Entertainment, which owns Ride the Ducks in Branson, said the company was assisting authorities with the rescue effort. Smagala added this was the Branson tour’s first accident in more than 40 years of operation.
Branson is about 200 miles (320 kilometers) southeast of Kansas City and is a popular vacation spot for families and other tourists looking for entertainment ranging from theme parks to live music.
Duck boats, known for their ability to travel on land and in water, have been involved in other deadly incidents in the past. They include one in 2015 in Seattle in which five college students were killed when a boat collided with a bus, and one in 1999 that left 13 people dead after the boat sank near Hot Springs, Arkansas.
Safety advocates have sought improvements to the boats since the Arkansas incident. Critics argued that part of the problem is numerous agencies regulate the boats with varying safety requirements.
Duck boats were originally used by the U.S. military in World War II to transport troops and supplies, and later were modified for use as sightseeing vehicles.
NESS COUNTY — One person was injured in an accident just after 1a.m. Saturday in Ness County.
The Kansas Highway Patrol reported a 2016 Polaris ATV driven by Tristan Lynn McVicker, 21, Ness City, was doing donuts in the intersection at 140 Road just east of R Road one mile north of Ness City.
The ATV left the intersection eastbound in the westbound lane, traveled off the roadway to the left and rolled.
A private vehicle transported McVicker to the Ness County Hospital.
The Kansas Small Business Development Center (SBDC) at Fort Hays State University is presenting a free Business Startup Workshop for people who are interested in starting their own business.
This no-cost Lunch and Learn workshop It will be held at the BriefSpace, 219 W. 10th St., Hays, 12-1:30 p.m., Tue., July 24.
We will identify issues and answer questions about how to keep track of business finances for your Start-Up or even an established business.
This interactive workshop will help take the confusion out of your efforts and allow you to avoid costly mistakes and unnecessary stress.
RUSSELL – Bricks, Broncs & BBQ is the can’t miss event of the year in Downtown Russell. The two-day event takes place from October 5 through October 6.
The event kicks off at 8 a.m. on Friday, October 5 with the arrival of the BBQ Teams. The public is invited Downtown at 5 p.m. on Friday October 5 to try out the award winning BBQ. During the BBQ Buck Sale, the Beer Garden will also be open at that time.
The 3rd annual Cornhole Tournament will also take place on October 5. Registration will begin at 5:30 p.m. and the tournament will begin at 6:30 p.m. Mike Parsons Productions will provide DJ Entertainment in the tent during the Cornhole Tournament.
On Saturday, October 6 the BBQ Competition, Kids Zone, Pie Baking Contest, vendors on Main Street, Main Street Beer Garden, Flatland Car
Show, and Brew Me (microbrew and wine festival) will take place.
The BBQ contest will begin at 11 a.m. and end at 12:30 p.m. with awards at 2 p.m.
Kids Zone is a place for all things kids, this will take place from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
The Pie Baking Contest will begin at 11 a.m. and end at 1 p.m. This year the Pie Baking Contest will take place at Espresso, Etc. After the Pie Contest we will have our annual Used Pie Sale.
Vendors will be set up on the sidewalks of Downtown Russell from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
The Main Street Beer Garden will be open all day on Saturday.
Flatland Car Show, organized by Rotary, will also take place on Saturday from 8 a.m. until 3 p.m.
Brew Me, microbrew and wine festival will conclude the event. Brew Me will take place from 5 to 8 p.m. with VIP Session from 5 to 6 p.m. and General Admission from 6 to 8 p.m. VIP tickets are 40 dollars. General Admission tickets are 25 dollars before the event and 30 dollars at the door.
The Kansas Democratic party hasn’t had a gubernatorial primary since 1998. The unfamiliar competition this year is forcing Democrats across the state to wrestle with their identity ahead of the Aug. 7 election.
State Sen. Laura Kelly, former Wichita Mayor Carl Brewer, and former Kansas Ag Secretary Josh Svaty are all competing to be the Democratic gubernatorial candidate. STEPHAN BISAHA, MADELINE FOX AND BRIAN GRIMMETT
Should their nominee be a candidate who aligns strictly with the progressive ideals of the party platform, or someone with broader appeal? Do they go with experience and name recognition, or youthful exuberance?
Is that former big city mayor Carl Brewer of Wichita? Statehouse veteran Sen. Laura Kelly? Or a fresh face like former Kansas Agriculture Secretary and one-time legislator Josh Svaty?
At the Hutchinson Airport Steakhouse where they meet every month, the Reno County Democratic Women, a group of mostly older women, were still undecided about which way to go with just weeks until the primary.
“I honestly have not made up my mind,” Sandra Gustafson said. “It’s a huge conflict.”
Gustafson is a self-proclaimed women’s rights activist.
“At this point I’m really drawn between voting long-term convictions as a woman for right to choose and the woman candidate,” she said. “And I’m also very much concerned about the lack of new blood in the party and I’m very much attracted to Josh Svaty for that reason.”
Stretching the party platform
Democrat candidates for Kansas Governor attended a debate July 10 in Wichita
At a debate in Wichita in early June, Kelly, the only woman in the race, one-upped the 38-year-old Svaty, who’s 30 years her junior.
“I would veto any new restrictions on women’s reproductive rights,” Svaty said to light applause.
Then Kelly, responding directly to him got a bigger cheer, “Kansas has almost nowhere else to go to restrict women’s access,” she said. “So to just say, I will veto any more, is not enough.”
Another split is gun control.
Brewer has challenged both Kelly and Svaty for having sided with the NRA in the Legislature, and he clipped their tit for tat on the subject from that June debate and other forums into a campaign ad.
“The NRA is not going to support me today and they’re not going to support me any other day because of my position on guns,” the former mayor said in June.
The candidates all agree on pushing for greater access to healthcare and increased education spending — pillars of the party platform the women gathered in Hutchinson subscribe to.
At the airport steakhouse, Bev Ooley described herself as a staunch Democrat, but, said she’s one who’d accept a Democrat with some conservative ideas, if it’s someone who can get people out to vote and win back the governor’s office. For her, that’s Svaty.
“I just like that he was young and exciting and knowledgeable,” she said. “He was just what I would think of a good candidate.”
A moderate in November
In Kansas, where voter registrations tilt heavily toward the Republican party, the Democrat has often played the moderate in gubernatorial elections.
“Democrats in Kansas are relatively in the middle just by definition,” said Kathleen Sebelius, the last Democrat to be elected governor.
Given that political dynamic, Sebelius predicts it won’t be a “wild-eyed liberal” who emerges from the primary this year.
And, she said, as the GOP veers right, a coalition builder will have the best chance in November.
“Then you would attract 100 percent of the Democrats, a chunk of the independents and a slice of moderate Republicans. That’s the formula that elects a Democrat statewide,” said Sebelius, who was herself elected statewide four times as insurance commissioner and governor.
In 2018, Sebelius is supporting Senator Kelly.
Svaty has his own establishment backing from John Carlin, who was governor from 1979 to 1987.
New energy
It was also Svaty who generated the most of the excitement at the Kansas Young Democrats annual convention in early July. Several of the dozens in attendance said they were even volunteering for his campaign.
“He has the energy that we need to defeat someone, God forbid we face someone like Kris Kobach, he has the energy to take him on,” Nick Hinmanof Olathe said.
The few remaining undecideds at the convention in Lawrence said the intra-party disagreements would ultimately be good for the party.
“It’s giving people a chance to dream a little bigger than just having a Democrat,” said Elizabeth Fehr of Chanute. “We can talk more about the direction we’re going.”
Carving up the state
Shawnee County Democratic Party Chairwoman Ethel Edwards thinks most primary voters know the candidates not for their ideology, but because of geography.
“For Sedgwick County folks they’d say Carl Brewer. For Shawnee County folks they’ll say Laura Kelly, for western Kansas the Svaty folks will say Josh Svaty,” she said.
While the candidates are leaning into that — Svaty has been playing up his rural roots, Brewer his two-terms as mayor of the state’s largest city, and Kelly her tenure in Topeka — the contested primary has also forced them outside of their usual stomping grounds.
Zach Worf, Democratic Party Chairman in Finney County, says western Kansas usually feels forgotten by politicians. He’s been happy to see that each one of the candidates running this year has come out to Garden City at least three or four times already.
“I will support whichever candidate has the best policies closest to lining up with me,” he said. “But understanding what that four- or five-hour drive feels like and knowing that there’s a whole ‘nother side of the state that they have to be aware of is super important.”
But appealing to western Kansans might not matter as much until the general election. More than half of registered Democrats live in either Johnson, Shawnee, Sedgwick, or Wyandotte county.
That math likely favors Kelly.
Brian Grimmett is a reporter focusing on the environment and energy for the Kansas News Service. Follow him on Twitter @briangrimmett.
The Fort Hays State University Alumni Association will host a golf tournament Friday, Aug. 3, at Meadow Lake Golf Club, 1085 East Golf Club Dr in Colby. Golf enthusiasts are invited for a relaxing day on the greens while raising funds in support of Fort Hays State University student scholarships.
The tournament begins with registration at 8 a.m. followed by tee time at 9 a.m. Registration fees are $90 per golfer or $300 for a team of four.
Special guest FHSU Athletic Director Curtis Hammeke will offer an update on Tiger athletics and the university after the tournament. Non-golfers are invited to stop by the golf course at approximately 1:30 p.m. to hear the latest in FHSU news.
The backpacks are available to students K-12 who reside in and attend school in Ellis County. Children who attend the STAR classroom at Roosevelt Elementary School in Hays are also eligible.
Backpacks will be distributed Thu., Aug. 2, 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. in the Hays Armory, 200 Main Street.
For more information, contact Schoaff at 785-623-2800.
TOPEKA – Kansas organizations interested in informing the public about financial education are invited to apply for 2018 grants offered by the Office of the Kansas Securities Commissioner (KSC).
John Wine, Kansas Securities Commissioner, has announced the opening of the 2018 Investor Education Grant Cycle through the securities office. Those receiving grants can use awarded funds for purposes related to investor education, financial literacy or securities fraud prevention.
The latest round of applications must be received by the KSC office by August 25, 2018.
“In 2017 we issued more than $40,000 in grants to community and state-wide partners to promote financial education around the state,” said Commissioner Wine, “and we look forward to providing similar support again this year.”
For questions about grants, contact Shannon Santschi, Director of Investor Education, at [email protected] or go to the KSC website, www.ksc.ks.gov/Grants .
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