HUTCHINSON, Kan. (AP) — A Kansas woman who was facing nearly 13 years in prison for dealing methamphetamine was given probation by a judge who said she had made significant progress in dealing with her drug addiction.
McHaley-photo KDOC
Sarah McHaley, 36, Hutchinson, was sentenced Friday to three years’ of probation by District Judge Trish Rose. McHaley would face 12 years, 10 months in prison if she violates her parole.
McHaley pleaded guilty to possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute within 1,000 feet of a school.
She was arrested in a drug raid in May 2017. A co-defendant, Kerry Potter, who earlier was sentenced to nearly six years in prison.
Supporters noted McHaley has completed drug treatment, is a public speaker for Oxford House and has been employed for a year.
She has previous convictions for battery of a campus police officer, theft, interference with law enforcement and drugs, according to the Kansas Department of Corrections.
RUSSELL COUNTY — One person died in an accident just before 3p.m. Sunday in Russell County.
The Kansas Highway Patrol reported a 2005 GMC pickup driven by Steven C. Greenwood, 21, Burneyville, OK., was eastbound on Interstate 70 just east of the Gorham exit.
The pickup entered the south ditch and collided with and flipped over the guard rail and rolled.
Greenwood was transported to Hays Medical Center where he died of his injuries.
Three passengers Jesse D. Dominguez, 23 and Joseph A. Boatner, 22, both of Marietta, OK., and Tyler A. Bates, 22, Ardmore, OK., were also transported to Hays Medical Center.
Greenwood and Boatner were not wearing seat belts, according to the KHP.
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RUSSELL COUNTY — One person was injured in an accident just before 3p.m. Sunday in Russell County.
The Kansas Highway Patrol reported a 2005 GMC pickup driven by Steven C. Greenwood, 21, Burneyville, OK., was eastbound on Interstate 70 just east of the Gorham exit.
The pickup entered the south ditch and collided with and flipped over the guard rail and rolled.
Greenwood was transported to Hays Medical Center. He was not wearing a seat belt, according to the KHP.
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — A new Wichita private school financed by members of the Koch family is preparing to open its doors to preschool and elementary-age children this fall.
Wonder, a private pre-K-through-12th-grade school on the Wichita State University campus, will open Sept. 4 with 39 students.
The school will initially open in a vacant building on the east side of the Wichita State Campus near the police station and credit union -Campus map courtesy Wichita State University
The school is funded by Chase and Annie Koch, the son and daughter-in-law of Koch Industries chief Charles Koch.
Plans call for phasing in the middle- and high-school programs over time. Founders have signed a preliminary lease for a larger site on the university’s Innovation Campus.
Wonder incorporates facets of the “Maker movement” and other education innovations, such as project-based lessons that don’t use traditional courses, subjects, grades or classrooms.
“Education can and should be something different,” said Zach Lahn, Wonder’s co-founder.
Students will spend half of their day in the school’s design studio, which is a converted garage with a stage that opens onto an outdoor play area.
The first level, called Wonder One, is a Montessori-model preschool for 3- to 6-year-olds. An accordion glass wall separates the preschool from Wonder Two, a studio for 7- to 11-year-olds with standing desks and flexible seating.
Each student will get a MacBook Air laptop and the school will use iPads for augmented reality activities, Lahn said.
Tuition is $10,000 a year for elementary-age children and $6,500 a year for preschool students.
“We did not ask any family we met with if they could pay tuition,” Lahn said. “We talked to them about what the school was, told them what the tuition was. But we’ve had numerous families ask us if we could do some sort of financial aid arrangement, and we’ve worked that out.”
The school won’t seek accreditation through the Kansas Department of Education, so it won’t be required to follow state regulations, administer state tests or hire licensed teachers. Without accreditation, students’ credits also wouldn’t transfer automatically to other schools or universities.
But many colleges accept transcripts from students at non-accredited schools.
Lahn said Wonder plans to seek accreditation through the International Association of Learner-Driven Schools. He said he’s confident it’ll appeal to many colleges and potential employers.
Sherry Dryden, executive director of the United Way of Ellis County
By BECKY KISER Hays Post
The United Way of Ellis County (UWEC) celebrates its 65th anniversary this year.
Organized in 1953, the earliest financial records Executive Director Sherry Dryden could find date back to 1965.
“Since then, $11.5 million dollars has been raised here in Ellis County,” Dryden announced Friday to the applause of the crowd gathered in Hays for the 2018 campaign kickoff luncheon.
There are currently 15 partner agencies working with the United Way which have provided more than 8,000 services over the past year, according to Dryden.
The 15 agencies offer 21 programs for the health, education and financial stability of Ellis County residents:
AMERICAN RED CROSS – Disaster Services, Health and Safety, Services to Armed Forces, Biomedical Services
BIG BROTHERS/BIG SISTERS – Mentoring Program
CANCER COUNCIL – Counseling Services
CATHOLIC CHARITIES – Counseling Services
CENTER FOR LIFE EXPERIENCES – Childcare Expansion Program
CEREBRAL PALSY RESEARCH FOUNDATION – Family Support Services
COURT-APPOINTED SPECIAL ADVOCATES – Improving Quality of Services to Volunteers and Children
DEVELOPMENTAL SERVICES OF NORTHWEST KANSAS – Job Placement Follow Along Program
EARLY CHILDHOOD CONNECTIONS – Connections Summer Preschool
FIRST CALL FOR HELP – Backpack for Kids, Info/Referral Program, Meals on Wheels
HAYS AREA CHILDREN’S CENTER – Early Intervention Services
OPTIONS – Shelter House Services
PARENTS AND CHILDREN TOGETHER – Ten Steps to Positive Parenting
SALVATION ARMY – Project Suitcase
WESTERN KANSAS ASSOCIATION ON THE CONCERNS OF THE DISABLED – Transportation Work Vouch Program
Nancy Jeter co-chairs the Wonder Women League.
Another program, Wonder Women League (WWL), was organized during last year’s United Way campaign.
Nancy Jeter, a previous UWEC campaign chairman and now co-chair of WWL, said she thought “there are a lot of women in the community that felt like they wanted to do more but didn’t know where to start.”
The new group recently opened the Born Learning Trail in Sunrise Park with the help of volunteers from the Hays staff of Adams, Brown, Beran and Ball.
Scott Boomer, operations director of Hays Eagle Radio and co-host of the morning show on 101.9 The Bull KKQY, is chairman of this year’s United Way fundraising campaign.
Boomer is familiar with the local United Way, having conducted many radio interviews over the years about the organization and its partner agencies. He’s also been the announcer for the United Way during homecoming parades as volunteers collect change in their bright orange plastic pumpkins from the crowds.
He decided to accept the campaign chairmanship because of the many ways the community has supported him and his family.
“Life happens. There are things you don’t plan for, and that happened in my family about five years ago. “My wife, who’s had diabetes since she was a little girl, had to have a kidney transplant to save her life,” said Boomer.
“So we know what it’s like to depend on other people, even though I’m the type of person that doesn’t like to ask for help.
“But these different entities that the United Way helps and donates to and gets involved with, are so very important because everybody has times in their life when they need help. All of us.
“There’s nothing to be ashamed of. There’s no reason not to ask for help.
“So it’s wonderful when you live in a community like this and the people donate like they do and give like they do, that we have these organizations to help.
“No donation is too big or too small,” Boomer noted. “Everything helps. Whatever the organization is, it’s helping somebody.”
This year’s campaign goal is $400,000.
The United Way celebrated its community kick-off on Saturday with a children’s cook-off and adult scavenger hunt co-sponsored with area businesses. Dakota Schmidt won first place, Bryson Fairbank took second and Caydance Lang took third, all of Hays.
More information about the United Way of Ellis County is available at liveunited.us and on Facebook. Donations may be made online.
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (AP) — A gunman opened fire Sunday at an online video game tournament that was being livestreamed from a Florida mall, killing two people and then fatally shooting himself in an attack that sent several others to hospitals, authorities said.
Police on the scene of the shooting photo courtesy WJXT
Jacksonville Sheriff Mike Williams said authorities believe 24-year-old David Katz of Baltimore carried out the attack using at least one handgun at the Jacksonville Landing, a collection of restaurants and shops along the St. Johns River. He said the man died from a self-inflicted gunshot and that authorities were still making final confirmation of his identity with the FBI assisting them in Baltimore.
Nine other people were wounded by gunfire and all were in stable condition Sunday evening, Williams said. He added that two others were injured in the chaos as people sought to flee the gunfire.
Katz was in Jacksonville for the “Madden NFL 19” video game tournament. The games maker, EA Sports, lists a David Katz as a 2017 championship winner.
Thee competition was held in a gaming bar that shares space with a pizzeria. Viewers could watch the games online and see the players.
Investigators were looking into online video that appeared to capture the scene right before the shooting began, Williams said. A red dot that appears to be a laser pointer is visible on the chest of a player seconds before the first of a dozen gunshots rings out.
Marquis Williams, 28, and his girlfriend, Taylor Poindexter, 26, both from Chicago, were ordering pizza at the bar when they heard the gunfire. Williams said people trampled each other in the panic while trying to get away.
“Initially we thought it was a balloon popping, but there weren’t any balloons in the room. Then we heard repeat shots and we took off running,” said Williams, who participated in the tournament earlier.
Jason Lake, the founder and CEO of compLexity, a company that owns professional e-sports teams, said on Twitter that one of his players, 19-year-old Drini Gjoka, was shot in the thumb.
Gjoka tweeted: “The tourney just got shot up. Im leavinng and never coming back.” Then: “I am literally so lucky. The bullet hit my thumb. Worst day of my life.”
The sheriff’s office used Twitter and Facebook immediately after the shooting to warn people to stay far away and to ask anyone who was hiding to call 911. Police also barricaded a three-block radius around the mall. Officers and Coast Guard boats patrolled the nearby river. Many ambulances could be seen in the area, but the mall area appeared empty of all but law enforcement. Police also took up positions on a bridge overlooking the river.
White House spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders said President Donald Trump had been briefed on the attack and the White House was monitoring the situation.
The Jacksonville Landing, in the heart of the city’s downtown, also hosts concerts and other entertainment. It was the site of a Trump rally in 2015, early in his campaign for the White House.
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5 p.m.
A source close to the investigation says a mass shooting during a video game tournament at a Jacksonville, Florida, riverfront mall has left four people dead.
The source says the person who opened fire died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. The source spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because he wasn’t authorized to release information on the shooting. It wasn’t immediately clear if the source was including the suspect in the death toll.
Jacksonville Sheriff Mike Williams said at a news conference Sunday afternoon that the suspect, a white male whose identity authorities are still seeking to confirm, had died. He did not elaborate, but said the shooting site had since been secured.
Several other people were taken to hospitals.
Sounds of the shooting were captured as the gaming tournament was being livestreamed.
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4:45 p.m.
Florida authorities say they’ve finished clearing the scene of a fatal mass shooting at a riverfront mall in Jacksonville and there are no additional suspects.
Speaking to reporters Sunday afternoon, Jacksonville Sheriff Mike Williams says a suspect is dead at the scene and they are still working to identify the male.
The sheriff’s office says the shooting, which erupted during a video game tournament, has left multiple dead and sent others to the hospital. Williams did not give any details on the number of people killed or wounded.
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JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (AP) — Florida authorities are reporting multiple people dead and “many transported” to hospitals after a mass shooting at a riverfront mall in Jacksonville that was hosting a video game tournament.
Mass shooting at the Jacksonville Landing. Stay far away from the area. The area is not safe at this time. STAY AWAY #TheLandingMassShooting
The Jacksonville Sherriff’s Office is reporting that one suspect is dead at the scene after the shooting at Jacksonville Landing, but it was unknown if there were other suspects involved.
The Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office used Twitter and Facebook to warn people to stay far away from the Jacksonville Landing.
The department says to “stay far away from the area. The area is not safe at this time. STAY AWAY.”
“We are finding many people hiding in locked areas at The Landing. We ask you to stay calm, stay where you are hiding. SWAT is doing a methodical search inside The Landing. We will get to you. Please don’t come running out,” the sheriff’s office said via Twitter.
The sheriff’s office didn’t provide any other information, but also warned news media to stay away from the area, which contains restaurants and shops along the St. Johns River.
The GLHF Game Bar at the Landing was hosting a Madden 19 video game tournament at the time of the shooting.
RENO COUNTY — Law enforcement authorities are investigating an injury accident that sent one man to the hospital.
Just after 2:15a.m. Sunday, Reno County deputies were dispatched to Hutchinson Regional Medical Center for the report of an injury accident that occurred in the county, according to the Reno County Sheriff’s Department.
Dekel Pope, 20, Hutchinson, told deputies he was westbound in the 800 Block of E 69th in a 1965 Ford Pickup when his passenger Daeron Torres, 19, Hutchinson, fell out of the vehicle.
Pope transported Torres to Hutchinson Regional Medical Center by private vehicle. Torres was later transported to Wesley Medical Center for his injuries.
The sheriff’s department released no additional details.
KANSAS CITY – A former church maintenance worker pleaded guilty in federal court Friday to arson after setting a fire at Concord Cultural Center in Kansas City and spray-painting racist graffiti on the front of the adjoining church, Concord Fortress of Hope, in an effort to cover up his burglary, according to the United State’s Attorney.
Nelson -photo Mo. Dept. of Corrections
Nathaniel D. Nelson, 49, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Beth Phillips to the charge contained in a Nov. 16, 2017, federal indictment.
Nelson was a member of the church who was employed as a maintenance worker at the church and cultural center, located at 11040 W. Longview Parkway, Kansas City.
Racist graffiti found in October 2017 at Kansas City church-photo KCTV
Firefighters were called by a church employee and responded to the cultural center on Sunday morning, Oct. 29, 2017. A fire had occurred in an office inside the building but a sprinkler had activated and extinguished the fire prior to the arrival of firefighters. Investigators concluded that an office chair and other ordinary combustible material had been intentionally ignited using an open flame.
According to the church’s insurance company, the fire, fire suppression efforts, and other damage resulted in payouts to date in excess of $330,000. Under the terms of today’s plea agreement, Nelson must pay restitution, which will be determined by the court at the sentencing hearing.
Investigators also discovered racist graffiti spray-painted on the front of the church. A racial slur, the letters “KKK” and a symbol similar to a swastika were visible from the main entrance into the parking lot as members of the congregation arrived at the church for Sunday morning services.
Nelson admitted he set the fire to conceal his breaking into the church offices and vending machines. Nelson also admitted he spray-painted the outside to further conceal his identity.
The digital video recorder for the video surveillance system that monitored the foyer area and the cultural center’s interior and exterior cameras was unplugged and no longer recording when examined by investigators. Investigators determined that the DVR system lost power sometime after 1 a.m. Sunday, Oct. 29, 2017, and had been intentionally unplugged.
A review of the DVR system revealed that Nelson was in the foyer area shortly before the DVR system was deactivated. A second DVR, which was still powered on, recorded the video surveillance footage for the interior and exterior cameras located inside and outside of the church, which were separate from the cameras located in the cultural center and foyer. The second DVR captured video footage of Nelson spray painting the front of the church. Nelson admitted he deactivated one DVR to hide his actions and identity. He did not know that video was being recorded on a separate system inside the church, which captured him spray-painting the outside of the building.
Under federal statutes, Nelson is subject to a mandatory minimum sentence of five years in federal prison without parole, up to a sentence of 20 years in federal prison without parole. The maximum statutory sentence is prescribed by Congress and is provided here for informational purposes, as the sentencing of the defendant will be determined by the court based on the advisory sentencing guidelines and other statutory factors. A sentencing hearing is scheduled for Jan. 17, 2019.
PRATT – Two Kansas Department of Wildlife, Parks and Tourism (KDWPT) publications hunters anxiously wait for each summer are now available: The 2018 Kansas Hunting and Furharvesting Regulations Summary, and the 2018 Kansas Hunting Atlas. Both publications are available online at www.ksoutdoors.comand are being shipped to hundreds of license vendors and KDWPT offices around the state beginning this week. Hunters can also request mailed copies by calling (620) 672-5911.
New this year, the hunting atlas includes both fall and spring Walk-in Hunting Access areas (in previous years, these were two separate publications), so hunters are encouraged to hold on to their atlas through the 2019 spring turkey season.
The hunting summary includes regulations such as methods of take, season dates, bag and possession limits, as well as a list of public wildlife areas. One section features color photographs and range maps for popular game species. And there is also contact information for game wardens listed by the counties they patrol.
The hunting atlas includes maps showing all WIHA areas – private land leased by KDWPT and opened to public hunting – and state and federal public wildlife areas. More than 1 million acres of WIHA lands are mapped in the atlas, so opportunities abound. And soon, Garmin GPS and Google Earth files will be available for download, making finding a place to hunt even easier.
All WIHA properties are marked with signs showing the lease dates, which start either Sept. 1, Nov. 1, or April 1, and end either Jan. 31, March 31, or May 31. All Kansas hunting rules and regulations still apply on these properties, and accessing a WIHA area prior to or after the lease dates shown is prohibited.
To download electronic versions of either the 2018 Kansas Hunting and Furharvesting Regulations Summary or the 2018 Kansas Hunting Atlas, visit ksoutdoors.com. Whether you decide to keep them on your phone, laptop, or hardcopies in the truck, no hunter Kansas should be without them.
After two years of work, the Sternberg Museum of Natural History has launched for the first time a database showcasing pictures and information about the fossils that are housed at the museum.
“Museum paleontology specimen data are now available to educators, students, researchers and the general public around the world,” said Dr. Laura Wilson, curator of paleontology at the Sternberg Museum and an associate professor of geosciences at Fort Hays State University.
Funding came from a National Science Foundation grant awarded to Wilson.
“Making specimen data easily and openly accessible is a huge push in the museum community,” said Wilson. She said data accessibility is one of the main goals of the National Science Foundation.
Christina Byrd, paleontology collections manager at the Sternberg Museum, and students from FHSU worked with Whirl-i-Gig, “a software developer who designed the database CollectiveAccess, to customize the database to fit our data and needs,” said Wilson.
Sternberg Museum’s database is known as a relational database, meaning each specimen’s data is stored in tables, and those tables are linked together by common information. This is helpful when researching because with one search you can pull more relevant information. Wilson said, “Overall, a relational database is more easily searchable and makes data more accessible.”
A STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) workshop in June allowed educators from different parts of the state to interact with the database as well as create activities for the classroom. Students involved in these lessons will have the opportunity to “build big datasets, analyze actual data to test ideas, collect their own data, ask questions, and explore images of Kansas fossils” said Wilson.
The database can be found at https://sternbergca.fhsu.edu/ and is available to the public.
SUMNER COUNTY —A small earthquake shook Kansas Sunday morning.
Locations of Sunday’s quake image courtesy Kansas Geological Survey
The quake at 1:09a .m. measured a magnitude 2.8 and was centered two miles south of south Haven, according to the Kansas Geological Survey.
There are no reports of damage or injury. The USGS reported three quakes in Kansas last week including a 3.7 magnitude quake east of Plainville and another a 2.6 quake in Reno County on Thursday.
HAYS – Ellis County Public Works crews will be conducting an asphalt overlay on a portion of Toulon Avenue on Monday, Aug. 27.
According to Public Works, crews will begin working at the north ramp of the intersection of Toulon Avenue and Interstate 70 and continue north for a half-mile ending at the intersection of Toulon Avenue and Air Base Road.
This stretch of Toulon Avenue will be closed to through traffic on Monday and expected to reopen when construction is complete. Work is expected to take one day to complete.
Motorists in the affected area should use alternate routes of travel until the project is complete.
The work was originally scheduled for Aug. 20 but was delayed because of the weather.
Direct any questions to the Ellis County Public Works Department at (785)-628-9455.
Suicide is the tenth leading cause of death in the United States, yet suicide is preventable, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). In 2014 (the most recent year for which full data are available), 42,773 suicides were reported, making suicide the 10th leading cause of death for Americans. In that year, someone in the country died by suicide every 12.9 minutes.
Dozens of people from throughout northwest Kansas are expected to participate in the Out of the Darkness Hays Walk hosted by the Greater Kansas Chapter of the American Foundation of Suicide Prevention at 1 p.m., September 15, 2018 at Municipal Park in Hays. This fundraising walk supports the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention’s local and national education and advocacy programs and its bold goal to reduce the annual rate of suicide 20 percent by 2025.
“We walk to help others seek help when they need to and to help community members respond to loved ones who may need help. Suicide affects so many and can have a big impact on rural communities. We hope that by walking we save lives and bring hope to those affected by suicide,” said Kyle Carlin, Greater Kansas AFSP volunteer.
The Out of the Darkness Hays Walk is one of more than 375 Out of the Darkness Community Walks being held nationwide this year. The walks are expected to unite more than 250,000 walkers and raise millions for suicide prevention efforts. Last year’s Hays Walk included over 80 people from northwest Kansas.
Check-in and same-day registration will begin at 1:00 p.m. at Municipal Park, and the walk will begin at 2:00 p.m. Anyone who would like to form a team, join a team, or walk as an individual, and/or donate is encouraged to register at www.afsp.org/hays. There is no cost to participate in the walk or remembrance activities.
“These walks are about turning hope into action,” said AFSP CEO Robert Gebbia. “Suicide is a serious problem, but it’s a problem we can solve. The research has shown us how to fight suicide, and if we keep up the fight the science is only going to get better, our culture will get smarter about mental health, and we’ll be able to save more people from dying from depression and other mental health conditions.”
The American Foundation for Suicide Prevention is dedicated to saving lives and bringing hope to those affected by suicide. AFSP creates a culture that’s smart about mental health through education and community programs, develops suicide prevention through research and advocacy, and provides support for those affected by suicide. Led by CEO Robert Gebbia and headquartered in New York, and with a public policy office in Washington, D.C., AFSP has local chapters in all 50 states with programs and events nationwide. Learn more about AFSP in its latest Annual Report, and join the conversation on suicide prevention by following AFSP on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube.
Ron Wilson is director of the Huck Boyd National Institute for Rural Development at Kansas State University.
By RON WILSON Huck Boyd National Institute for Rural Development
The bronze sculpture depicts a rider atop a rearing horse. It is a famous work of art created by Frederic Remington. One can find a copy of it in the Oval Office of the White House – as well as in the Kansas high school which bears Remington’s name. Today, the Frederic Remington Area Historical Society honors the legacy of this famous artist and others who lived in this rural region of south central Kansas.
Melvin D. Epp is a retired scientist, author, and president of the Frederic Remington Area Historical Society. This society’s goal is to preserve the local history in the area bounded by the Whitewater, Kansas school district, USD 206, which includes land once owned by artist Frederic Remington. Whitewater is a rural community of 718 people. Now, that’s rural.
Melvin grew up on a farm here. His family was active in the Mennonite church. Melvin attended Berean Academy (which his father helped found) and went on to earn a biology degree from Wheaton College, a master’s in botany from the University of Connecticut and a Ph.D. in genetics from Cornell University. Melvin Epp’s career as a botanical research scientist led him to St. Louis, the Philippines, and California.
In 1990 he moved back to Kansas. He ran the organic garden for the restaurant at the Riordan Clinic in Wichita and was named an honorary Master Gardener in Sedgwick County. He also got involved with the Frederic Remington Area Historical Society, for which he has served as president since 2007.
The high school in Whitewater is named for Frederic Remington because Remington once lived in this region. Remington had grown up in New York and shown an early aptitude for drawing. Horses were his favorite subject.
Remington traveled west and sketched a scene which became published in Harpers Weekly in 1882. It was Remington’s first commercially published work of art.
As of 1883, the wool trade was booming in the U.S. A friend of Remington’s convinced him to come to Kansas and try to make money in the sheep ranching business. Remington bought two quarter sections of land near Whitewater for his enterprise but chose to sell in 1884. He moved to Kansas City and eventually to New York for a career as painter, sculptor, and author. He was later termed one of our nation’s “great American painters.”
Remington’s first and most famous sculpture was the one he called “The Broncho Buster,” spelled with an extra “h” in broncho as was the spelling of the time. This sculpture has been called its century’s most popular small American bronze sculpture. After the Spanish-American War, Teddy Roosevelt’s Rough Riders presented him an original cast of this statue in appreciation. As mentioned, a copy stands in the Oval Office as well as at Whitewater’s Frederic Remington High School, in honor of its namesake.
Melvin Epp’s great-grandfather married a daughter of the man who sold Remington his farmland in 1883. A display of information about Remington stands in the high school today.
There is other rich history in the region as well, particularly about the Mennonite church. Melvin wrote a book, The Petals of a Kansas Sunflower, which describes the migration of Mennonites from West Prussia to Kansas in the 1870s, due to government regulations requiring them to join the Prussian army.
Melvin’s mother, Marie Harder Epp, was born in America to these relocated immigrants. “My mother was the village poet,” Melvin said. “People would ask her to write poems to honor someone.” Her first poem was written in 1929 and her last in 1991. The book includes 103 of her poems and describes the changes and challenges faced by these German-speaking Mennonite farmers. The book is available at booksellers such as www.amazon.com and others.
More information about the historical society can be found at its website.
Today, casts of the famous statue by Frederic Remington can be found from Washington, D.C. to rural Kansas. We commend Melvin Epp and all those involved with the Frederic Remington Area Historical Society for making a difference by preserving and sharing this history. Their commitment is like a beautiful work of art.
