Regina Irene Stoppel, age 95, died on August 23, 2018 at the Ness County Hospital, Ness City. She was born on January 12, 1923 in Bazine to John and Agnes Friebus Tittel.
For many years, while raising their family, Regina and Otto ran a bakery in their home. Later, Regina worked as a nurses’ aide in the Ness County Hospital. She was a member of Our Redeemer Lutheran Church, Ness City. She was a very compassionate and caring woman with a great sense of humor. She will be greatly missed.
On October 29, 1943 she married Otto Stoppel in Bazine. He preceded her in death on April 20, 2002.
Regina is survived by her two sons, Eugene Stoppel, and his wife, Becky, of Gainsville, Texas and Kenny Stoppel of Salina; two daughters, Anetta Pfannenstiel of Wichita and LeAnn Stoppel of Hays; one brother, Carl Tittel, and his wife, Louise, of Auburndale, Florida; eight grandchildren, 13 great-grandchildren, and two step great-grandchildren. She was preceded in death by six brothers, Otto, Edward, Albert, Werner, Gary, and Ted Tittel; one sister, Betty Waterhouse, one son-in-law, Kenny Pfannenstiel, and an infant grandson.
The funeral service will be held on Monday, August 27, 2018, 10:30 A.M. at Our Redeemer Lutheran Church, Ness City with burial in the Ness City Cemetery.
Friends may call at Fitzgerald Funeral Home on Sunday, August 26, 2018 from 9:00 A.M. until 7:00 P.M. with the family present starting at 5:00 P.M.
Memorial Contributions may be given to ELCA Good Gifts and the Ness County Hospital.
Memories and words of support may be shared with the family by writing in the guest book at www.fitzgeraldfuneral.com
Listen to Mike Cooper interviewing Bryan Noone from the Sleep and Neurodiagnostic Institute at HaysMed; by clicking the link above and then clicking the play button
School has started just about everywhere, so kids from pre-school to graduate school are getting used to a new routine. But what about you? Are you a life-long learner? Moms and dads, grandmas and grandpas are never too old to learn something new. I don’t mean you have to enroll in a formal class, complete with a syllabus and a final exam. I’m talking about the many classes offered in our community through our Extension offices, 4-H and Youth programs, or recreation centers.
I am getting ready to participate in our annual Family and Consumer Science Agent update on campus next week. I know when I return to the office I will have some great new resources at my fingertips to share. My goal is to provide programs that meet the needs of our county residents. Realizing we live in a diverse community means we need to be cognizant of learning styles and barriers that may be present.
Programs for the upcoming months focus on topics like: Nutrition, Health and Wellness. I will be joining my colleague who helped write a new Fact Sheet titled, “Everyday Mindfulness” and we will present one of the break-out sessions. I’m planning to present the information in Great Bend in early October and will be sharing the fact sheet in Ellis County in a program early next year. My husband, John, who is a retired Chiropractor, helps with the presentation by leading a short meditation with the participants. Mindfulness is a popular topic these days and studies show effective uses in many settings. I will be offering the Stay Strong, Stay Healthy workshop again in Great Bend beginning October 23rd.
The Program Development Committee that I work closely with has jumped in to help carry out a couple of events in the Hays community in September. Mark your calendar for Thursday, September 20th and bring your young children to the Armory on south Main Street in Hays from 5-7 for the Go Truck Go event. We will have a StoryWalk activity set up in the grassy area across the street from the Armory for children to enjoy the book, “If I Built a Car.” The following week, on Monday, September 24th, the Cottonwood Extension District, along with the Hays Kiwanis, and Papa Murphy’s Pizza, will be sponsoring the Family Day Make and Take Pizza Event. In its 11th year, a core of dedicated volunteers will be providing 80 pizzas for families for a small cost. You will need to call the Hays office at (785)628-9430 for more details.
I will share reminders about the events listed above as the dates draw closer. So take some time for yourself in the weeks ahead. Sign up for a class related to something you have always wanted to so. You will be glad you did!
Donna Krug is the Family & Consumer Science Agent and District Director for K-State Research & Extension – Cottonwood District.You may reach her at: (620)793-1910 or [email protected]
When starting your compost pile, it is important to layer your browns and greens while adding water to each layer. For a quick review of last weeks’ article, the “browns” are carbon-rich, mostly dry material consisting of items like stems, dried leaves, dried grass clippings, sawdust pellets, wood ash and the like.
“Greens” however, are nitrogen or protein-rich material like herbivore manures, kitchen food scraps, coffee grounds, green lawn clippings, lawn and garden weeds (without seeds), or even green leaves.
To properly construct a compost pile, you should alternate layers of these brown (60%) and green (30%) materials. While constructing these layers, add a shovel or two every two to three layers of soil from your yard. This will give the pile a jump-start with the microorganisms needed in the composting process. An ideal size for a back yard compost pile is around 5’ x 5’ x 5’. Remember, for your compost pile to work it is important to know what can and should not be added. A lot of materials are great for composting, while others can bind up the decomposition process. See the list below for dos and don’ts.
*Be sure that grass clippings have not been treated with pre-emergent.
**Dairy, fats, animal bones and meat, and oils will begin to smell and attract insect pests and varmints.
Another point is every few weeks give the pile a quick turn with a pitchfork or shovel. This aerates the pile. Oxygen is required for the decomposition process to work, and turning the pile “adds” oxygen. You can skip this step if you have a regular supply of coarse brown material, like straw. Once you’ve established your compost pile, add new materials by mixing them in. It is not necessary to add them in by layers at this point. Mixing, or turning, the compost pile is essential to aerating the composting materials and speeding the process to completion.
Also add water to the pile as necessary. As was mentioned in Part I of this article from last week, keeping the pile moist is best for micro biotic activity; not too dry, and not too wet. The key indicator of composting is when temperature in the center of the pile warms up. These temperatures can easily warm up to 130o F due to the micro biotic activity in breaking down the organic material. The ideal temperature to achieve killing off of fungal spores and weed seeds is between 150-160o F.
Once your compost pile is uniform in consistency, it is time to start reaping the benefits. Compost can be used by simply spreading it across the surface of your garden and flower bed or by incorporating it into the soil through tilling. One resource, “Building Better Soils for Better Crops”, says that applying compost can substitute for mulch and can even suppress disease is your garden. For more information about composting follow this link, https://bit.ly/2MtlXVa , to “Building Better Soils for Better Crops” chapter called Making and Using Compost. For more information about what goes into compost and why, follow these links to videos provides by Kansas Healthy Yards called “Composting: What to Add”, https://bit.ly/2nnP3dy, and “Composting: Making Black Gold” , https://bit.ly/2nnO7G4.
Rip Winkel is the Horticulture agent in the Cottonwood District (Barton and Ellis Counties) for K-State Research and Extension. You can contact him by e-mail at [email protected] or calling either 785-682-9430, or 620-793-1910.
Do you need a babysitter to watch your kids while you campaign for public office? That’s now considered a valid campaign expense in Kansas.
State Rep. Eileen Horn being sworn into office last year. She says being able to use campaign funds for occasional child care will make it easier for parents like her to run for, and hold, public office. FILE PHOTO / KANSAS NEWS SERVICE
The Kansas Governmental Ethics Commission said in an 8-1 vote this week that campaign funds, such as donations, may be used to pay for child care. However, that child care must be directly related to campaigning or serving in office.
Commission member Jerome Hellmer said the change could help level the playing field and make it easier for parents to run for office.
“If we make it more difficult for someone to seek a public office and to serve simply because they are a parent,” he said, “that is a concern.”
It’s a situation Democratic state Rep. Eileen Horn has dealt with. Running and holding office includes many of the challenges working parents face. Horn said serving as a lawmaker also requires working early mornings and late evenings.
“That’s when a lot of community events happen, especially evenings and weekends,” she said. “In order to connect with your constituents and be a good public servant, you attend those events.”
Horn and her husband have two boys, a baby and a 3-year-old.
“Often, I can bring my kids, and that helps a little bit, but the 10-month-old doesn’t like to sit still for very long at all,” Horn said. “So we have a list of about a half a dozen babysitters on constant rotation.”
She said the long hours are already a barrier for some people to run for and serve in public office. The cost of child care can be another barrier, considering the salary lawmakers make.
Legislators in Kansas make $88 per day of the session, plus another $144 per day to cover expenses. They also have a retirement package. In a normal 90-day session, the salary and expenses allowance would total just under $21,000.
Horn welcomed the ethics commission decision and said she may look into using campaign funds for child care in the future.
“I’m thrilled,” she said. “I think we really need to work hard to make public service something that young people and that families can do more easily.”
Horn replaced another lawmaker, John Wilson, who has two children and stepped down last year because he said his time was being divided between the Legislature, his career and his family.
Ethics Commission Executive Director Mark Skoglund said staff drafted the change after receiving multiple inquiries about the issue, including from women running or holding office.
The Federal Election Commission issued a similar decision earlier this year.
“We utilized that as our guide in writing the opinion,” Skoglund said.
Skoglund said Wednesday’s decision is narrow and doesn’t open the door to other uses of campaign funding.
LOGAN – The 41st annual Logan Labor Day Celebration at the Logan Golf Course located 1 ¼ miles east of Logan on Highway 9, will be held on Sunday, September 2, 2018. The Dane G. Hansen Museum with funds from the Dane G. Hansen Foundation sponsors this annual family friendly event. There is no admission fee.
The day starts at 8:00 a.m. with a remote control fly-in and a sand volleyball tournament at 9:00 a.m. The Dane G. Bales, Jr. Memorial Car Show begins at 10:00 a.m. and ends at 4:00 p.m. The car show has been a highlight of the Labor Day Celebration since 1998. This year’s featured car is Greg Andrew’s 1991 Callaway Corvette. Be sure to check out the many makes and models that enter the show.
Come out for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. The Logan Chamber of Commerce Food Booth, The Corn Kettle, and Buck’s Snow Shack will have many fine options to satisfy your hunger.
Inflatable amusements and 25 foot rock climbing wall will be up and ready to entertain the children and those who are young at heart from 9:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. The Siruta Pedal Pullers State Sanctioned Kid’s Tractor Pull begins at 2:00 p.m. Winners are eligible to compete in the State Pull at the Kansas State Fair in Hutchinson. Free face painting will be available during the day to transform your little one’s face into a magical canvas.
A shuttle will carry visitors to and from the Dane G. Hansen Museum from 1:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. to view the exhibit, “Luster: Realism and Hyperrealism in Contemporary Automobile and Motorcycle Painting.” This is a fantastic must-see exhibition of some of today’s finest automotive artists. Many of these paintings are so realistic that viewers will think they are looking at photographs. The shuttle will load in the golf course parking lot and on Main Street in front of the Museum.
The 41st Annual Logan Labor Day Celebration’s musical entertainment will start at 5:30 p.m. under the tent by the Logan Chamber of Commerce Food Booth with Patsy Cline impersonator Melinda Ferree and at 7:30 p.m. “The Innoncence” will take the stage and wow the crowd with their superior musicianship and vocals.
Last, but definitely not least, the grand finale, Rainbow Fireworks of Inman, Kansas, will light up the sky with a brilliant display of fireworks that can be seen for miles.
All this and more happens at the 41st ANNUAL LOGAN LABOR DAY CELEBRATION, at the Logan Golf Course located 1¼ miles east of Logan, Kansas, on Sunday, September 2, 2018.
For more information, call the Dane G. Hansen Museum at 785-689-4846 or visit us on the web at www.hansenmuseum.org.
LEAVENWORTH COUNTY — One person died in an accident just before 6p.m. Friday in Leavenworth County.
The Kansas Highway Patrol reported a 2015 Ford Explorer driven by Tonganoxie Police Sergeant Nicholas Ontiveros, 33, Lansing, and a 2018 Harley Davidson Motorcycle driven by Tommie Roe, 62, Anchorage, Alaska, were westbound on U.S 24 just west of North Village Terrace.
The police vehicle activated emergency lights in an attempt to stop an eastbound vehicle and made a U-turn. The motorcycle struck the Explorer and the driver was ejected
Roe was transported to Providence Medical Center where he died.
Ontiveros was not injured. Roe was not wearing a helmet, according to the KHP.
Anissa Pfeifer, Hays, was crowned Mrs. Kansas June 23. She’s competing this week in Las Vegas for Mrs. America 2018. (Photo courtesy Mrs. Kansas Pageant)
By BECKY KISER Hays Post
For the second consecutive year, the winner of the Mrs. Kansas Pageant is a Hays woman.
Mrs. Kansas 2018, Anissa Pfeifer, 25, is in Las Vegas this week to compete in the national pageant, Mrs. America.
Pfeifer’s journey to the competition is due in part to Mrs. Kansas 2017, Cassie Hickel of Hays.
Hickel’s pageant clothing and styling were provided by Pfeifer and her sister Sonia, who co-own the Blue Heron Boutique in downtown Hays. During those fashion advice sessions, Hickel encouraged Pfeifer to enter the Mrs. Kansas competition.
“Cassie knows I have a passion for believing in the best in everyone and want people to follow their dreams. Having her believe in me, and saying ‘you might be scared but you just have to do it,’ kind of roped me in to it a little bit. But I’m grateful.
“I never in a million years thought I would be wearing a crown in my life,” Pfeifer said.
Pfeifer was crowned Mrs. Kansas June 23 at the pageant in Chillicothe, Missouri.
Since then she’s been busy working on her state pageant platform and local project to bring Toys for Tots to Ellis County while prepping for the national contest.
“We’ve always had Toys for Tots in this area and now I will now be able to have a location here, so you won’t have to go outside of Hays. So if you live in Ellis County you can come to Hays at Christmas time to get toys for your children.
Kim McDonald takes a picture of Pfeifer with one of her sponsors, Paisley Pear owners Heather and Shaun Musil, Hays.
She’s working with her friend Kim McDonald, who organizes the Toys for Tots campaign in the Hill City area, to work out the details. Pfeifer and her sister are also from Hill City.
“I’m really excited to be working with Kim and making this difference in the community.
“Children are near and dear to my heart,” Pfeifer says. “I love seeing their smiles. This organization is perfect because it helps those families who are in desperate need of just a little bit of kindness.
“Like my four-year-old said, I get to play Santa for a day so I’m really excited about that.”
Pfeifer and her husband Marcus, 27, have two “very strong willed” children, Brantley, 4, and Oakleigh, 2. “They’re full of life and they keep me running around all the time,” she smiled. Marcus has his own welding shop and specializes in oilfield equipment.
Her family has been very supportive of her pageant work, according to Pfeifer, as well as her dreams before she wore a crown.
“They are 100 percent behind me, pushing me toward all my goals.”
Pfeifer joins friends and supporters at an event in the Paisley Pear.
She also considers her close friends as family. “I’ve been really blessed to have great friends and family that have been an enormous support system and believing in me.”
Pfeifer hopes she can be that hope and encouragement to other women as they follow their dreams.
“God kind of pushed me out of my comfort zone,” she declared, “and this has been one of my biggest blessings.”
Pfeifer’s official appearance clothing and pageant costumes feature styles and accessories from Blue Heron Boutique, which in May moved into the historic George Phillip Hardware building, 719 Main. “We’re still kind of tweaking it a little bit and making all the little changes to make it ‘our home.’ It’s the perfect spot for our vision and what we want our brand to be.”
She enjoys fashion and glamour looks, which are a part of the pageant world, but says it’s what’s on the inside that is most important.
Her Mrs. America pageant platform is women’s empowerment through fashion and business.
“It’s not necessarily about how you look. You can have your hair and makeup done and still not feel beautiful or confident. It’s mainly the way you’re carrying yourself when you walk into a room in that perfect outfit and say ‘I’ve got this.’ You feel in control because it’s the confidence you have in yourself, not necessarily the outfit.”
Pfeifer credits her mother, Laura Larcom, Olathe, for instilling her confidence.
“She’s very strong and very bold. She has supported us, a single mother of four kids. I’ve had such a great role model to look up to. She definitely plays a role in who I am and why I go for things all the time.”
Although Pfeifer’s mother will be unable to go to Vegas and her husband will remain in Hays with the kids, best friend Kim McDonald, and sister Sonia will accompany her to the pageant.
Pfeifer is looking forward to her interviews with the pageant judges. “That’s where I feel I’m able to shine the most because I’m able to speak and just tell my heart.”
Still, she admits to a fear of public speaking. “I’m excited about stepping out of my boundaries, though. You’re never following your calling if you’re not a little bit uncomfortable.”
Entering its 41st year, the final competition round for Mrs. America 2018 will be streamed live beginning at 7 p.m. CST, Sat., Aug. 25, at https://mrsamerica.com/ from the Westgate Las Vegas Resort and Casino. The winner will go on to compete for the title of Mrs. World 2018.
Regardless of who wins the Mrs. America title, Pfeifer hopes Hays will keep its streak running with another Mrs. Kansas. “We’re gonna have to find a third local winner,” she laughed, “because we’ve got to keep up the trend.”
TOPEKA –In 2016, there were more than 300 drug-poisoning deaths in Kansas, and approximately half of those involved a prescription or an illicit opioid. Although Kansas is below the national average for fatal opioid overdoses, the opioid crisis is an emerging threat that remains a priority for the state to address. The Kansas Prescription Drug and Opioid Advisory Committee has developed a four-year plan to provide help to those affected and empower professionals with the strategies they need to reduce prescription drug and opioid misuse, abuse and associated adverse health outcomes.
“Kansas has an opportunity to address the opioid crisis proactively through federal programs and collaborative strategic planning with stakeholders. We convened the Kansas Prescription Drug and Opioid Advisory Committee to carry out this critical project,” said Dr. Greg Lakin, medical director at the Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE).
The role of the Kansas Prescription Drug and Opioid Advisory Committee is to develop and implement a coordinated, multi-disciplinary statewide strategic plan to provide a comprehensive approach to the opioid crisis in Kansas. The Kansas Prescription Drug and Opioid Advisory Committee is facilitated by DCCCA, Inc., with joint support from KDHE and the Kansas Department for Aging and Disability Services (KDADS). This blue-ribbon panel is comprised of more than 80 professionals from 42 organizations across the state. These partnerships include representatives from community organizations, professional associations, State agencies, educational organizations and health systems.
The Kansas Prescription Drug and Opioid Advisory Committee recently published the Kansas Prescription Drug and Opioid Misuse and Overdose Strategic Plan 2018-2022, with the overarching goal of identifying and implementing prevention and intervention efforts around prescription drug and illicit opioid abuse, thereby decreasing fatal and non-fatal overdose rates in Kansas.
“Publishing the Kansas Prescription Drug and Opioid Misuse and Overdose Strategic Plan is an important step in developing a sustainable, systematic approach to addressing the opioid crisis in Kansas,” said KDADS Secretary Tim Keck. “The strategic plan will guide stakeholders at both the state and local level with the implementation of prevention and response strategies for prescription drug and opioid misuse and overdose.”
This strategic plan was developed around five priority areas: Prevention, Provider Education, Treatment and Recovery, Law Enforcement, and Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome (NAS). The goals, objectives, and strategies in the plan are driven by Kansas-specific data, support best practices, and aim to address multiple levels of impact. This document is located on the KDHE Prescription Drug Overdose/Misuse Prevention webpage: https://www.preventoverdoseks.org.
The document may be downloaded in full or in part from the website, which also includes information regarding the Kansas Prescription Drug and Opioid Advisory Committee as well as Kansas-specific epidemiological data. A limited quantity of hard copies will be available by request by emailing [email protected] or by calling 785-296-5795.
This project is supported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) Prescription Drug Overdose: Data-Driven Prevention Initiative and the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration’s (SAMHSA) Partnerships for Success program.
Dr. Lakin serves on the Kansas Prescription Drug and Opioid Advisory Committee. He also serves as Chair on the Governor’s Substance Use Disorder Task Force, which is in the process of developing recommendations to the Governor to further address this issue. The Kansas Prescription Drug and Opioid Misuse and Overdose Strategic Plan 2018-2022 will serve as a resource for the task force as the members compile their recommendations, due to the Governor by Sept. 1.
HAYS – With most teams beginning the season next week the TMP-Marian Monarchs fall sports team held their annual Back to School Night/Fall Sports Kick Off Friday night.
It was the first scrimmage for first-year football coach David Bowen. He talked with the media after Friday’s scrimmage.
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — A man convicted in a woman’s strangulation death and arrested on suspicion of repeatedly sexually assaulting an 8-year-old girl whom he had been baby-sitting has made an initial court appearance.
Clifford Eugene Cox, 56, was booked into the Sedgwick County Jail on Monday on suspicion of child rape, aggravated criminal sodomy and aggravated indecencies with a child.
Cox -photo Sedgwick County
Cox pleaded guilty in 1984 to strangling 23-year-old Cathryn Kessinger, of Winfield, with a rope. Kansas Department of Corrections records show he was sentenced to life but was let out of prison on parole in 2006.
Police say the 8-year-old was among several children Cox babysat, including the girl’s three siblings and Cox’s children. The girl’s father said Cox began babysitting his daughter because the girl’s mother knew someone in Cox’s family. He said the family wasn’t aware of Cox’s criminal record and information about it is hard to find.
Cox doesn’t show up on the Kansas offender registry website because his 1984 murder conviction occurred before July 1, 1997. Crimes occurring before then don’t qualify for registration, according to the Kansas Bureau of Investigation.
Even if Cox was a registered offender, Kansas does not have a law banning registered offenders from living near schools, day care centers or anywhere else.
Cox had remained under parole supervision in the murder case when he was arrested Monday, said Samir Arif, spokesman for the Kansas Department of Corrections. Arif said in an email that Cox “was managed in accordance with the level and type of risk of which the Kansas Department of Corrections was aware. . The crime for which he was on parole was not a sex offense, and so he was not managed as a sex offender.”
In 2010, while still on parole for Kessinger’s murder, Cox went to court on felony drug possession and misdemeanor weapons charges. Instead of going back to prison or jail, Cox took a plea deal and was sentenced to one year of probation after the court dropped the felony charge. After eight months, Cox was granted early release from probation in that case, court records show.
It’s unclear if this arrest and conviction had any effect on his parole in the murder case.
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SEDGWICK COUNTY — Law enforcement authorities are investigating a Kansas man on parole for murder for alleged child sex crimes.
Parents of an 8-year-old girl contacted police with concerns the child was being sexually assaulted by her 56-year-old baby sitter, according to Officer Charley Davidson.
The sexual assaults reportedly occurred over the past couple of years, according to Davidson.
On Monday, police booked 56-year-old Clifford Eugene Cox on requested charges of rape of a victim under the age of 14, aggravated criminal sodomy and aggravated indecent liberties with a child, according to Davidson and the Sedgwick County booking report.
Cox was on parole after serving time for a 1984 murder in Cowley County, according to the Kansas Department of Corrections.
Listen to Mike Cooper interviewing Bryan Noone from the Sleep and Neurodiagnostic Institute at HaysMed; by clicking the link above and then clicking the play button
Today
