Smoke from the massive wildfires in the western part of the country is sweeping across the United States, but meteorologists don’t expect western Kansas to see much impact.
“It may be a little hazy outside. I don’t know how significant it will be,” said Ray Burgert of the National Weather Service in Dodge City. “You’ll probably notice it most around sunsets … that sort of orange-y, red sun.”
Burgert said an upper-level ridge over western Kansas is pushing the most significant smoke north, although he said there could be hazy skies as soon as Froday afternoon.
The impact will not be nearly as noticeable as previous smoke that covered the area from far-away wildfires. In 2015, Hays was covered by a thick smog caused by wildfires in Canada, and more recently, had some hazy days as a result of wildfires in New Mexico.
Burgert added that Hays should remain dry through the weekend, but that meteorologists were watching for the development of a system to the southwest that has the chance to bring significant rain to the area on Monday or Tuesday.
Smoke from the western fires is making it all the way to the East Coast and beyond (at least aloft–mostly above a mile above the surface). Here’s the vertically integrated smoke (HRRR model from last night). Another map showed some smoke near the surface even in New England. pic.twitter.com/0Jl6WDAFjg
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — A man convicted of shooting and wounding a Wichita tax agent has been sentenced to nearly 14 years in prison.
Wirths -photo Sedgwick Co.
Ricky Wirths was sentenced Thursday for attempted first-degree murder. Prosecutors had sought nearly 27.5 years in prison.
He was found guilty in June of shooting Cortney Holloway five times at a Kansas Department of Revenue office in Wichita in September 2017.
The shooting happened the same day Holloway served a tax warrant at Wirth’s home.
Before sentencing, Holloway told the court the shooting left him unable to run with his children and made it difficult for him to write. He still has two bullets in his body.
Wirths apologized for his actions and said he hopes Holloway’s family can forgive him some day.
Kim Marie Buller, 58, of McPherson, Kansas, passed away at 9:27 p.m., Saturday, August 4th, 2018 peacefully, at Angel Arms.
Kim was born in Belleville, Kansas on February 9, 1960, a daughter of Marvel Berniece (Lyons) and Bobby Lee Lewis.
Because of dad’s job and often relocating, Kim attended several grade schools. After the family settled in McPherson in 1970, Kim attended Park School, McPherson Junior High and graduated from McPherson High School, McPherson, Kansas in 1978. She then attended the Salina Area Technical School and completed and received the Commercial and Advertising Art Degree.
She was a member of Countryside Covenant Church McPherson, Kansas, where she was a member of the Women’s Precept Class and Adult Sunday School Class.
Kim was a homemaker and also worked for Modern Graphics and the Canton Pilot and later as an Operator for Disability Supports of the Great Plains, McPherson, Kansas.
Kim was blessed with an amazing artistic talent and enjoyed working on the sets for the musicals in high school and continued using her talents in everything she did. Kim was diagnosed with MS early in her adult life. The ups and downs of this disease were very challenging. Losing her sight as well as feeling in her hands was an awful thing for an artist to experience. Kim had an amazing attitude and was such a positive person as she faced life and she was able to share that positive attitude to everyone around her.
Kim Marie Lewis was united in marriage to Eldon Ray Buller on May 31, 1980 at McPherson, Kansas. This union was blessed with the birth of two children, a daughter and a son, Angela and Andy.
She is survived by her children, Angela O’Dell and husband Billy, of Lee Summit, Missouri and Andy Buller, of Lee’s Summit, Missouri; her siblings, David Lewis and wife George Ann, of Canton, Kansas and Kara Smith and husband Terry, of Goodland, Kansas; her uncle and aunts, Jim and Mitzie Lewis, of Salina, Kansas and Helen Shaffer, of Salina, Kansas; her 3 nieces, Britney Smith (Kameron Duncan), Nicole Ploeger (Matt), and Emily Smith; 1 great-nephew, Weston Toplikar, with one on the way due on Kim’s Birthday; her DPOA’s over the years, Marcia Williams and Vaughn Ingram; other relatives and a host of friends.
Kim was preceded in death by a brother Terry Lewis and her parents, Marvel and Bob Lewis.
Visitation will be held on Thursday, August 9, 2018 from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. at Glidden – Ediger Chapel, McPherson..
The funeral service will be held at Glidden – Ediger Chapel, McPherson, Kansas, at 2:30 p.m. on Friday, August 10th, 2018 with Reverend Jon Black officiating.
The final resting place will be the McPherson Cemetery McPherson, Kansas.
In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to Kansas Multiple Sclerosis; Countryside Covenant Church or Angel Arms and they can be sent in care of the Glidden – Ediger Funeral Home; 222 West Euclid Street; McPherson, Kansas 67460.
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — More than 3,700 Kansas voters cast ballots for two 17-year-old candidates in Tuesday’s election for the GOP nomination for Kansas governor — a race that is still undecided because the vote was too close to declare a winner.
Tyler Ruzich is a 17-year-old Shawnee Mission North student from Prairie Village was on the Republican ballot for Kansas governor photo by Jim McClean KANSAS NEWS SERVICE
Tyler Ruzich, of Prairie Village, and Joseph Tutera Jr., of Overland Park, received a combined 3,758 votes after running under a quirky Kansas law that set no minimum age to run for the office. The primary ended with Secretary of State Kris Kobach leading Gov. Jeff Colyer by 191 votes.
“In a normal election, we would not say 3,700 votes was a substantive chunk,” said Russell Fox, professor of political science at Friends University. “But under the election results that we actually have, 3,700 votes is more than enough to make a huge difference.”
Ruzich received 2,217 votes and Tutera garnered 1,541 votes.
No one knows if the teenagers’ votes would have gone to Kobach, Colyer or someone else if the teenagers weren’t on the ballot, said Robert Beatty, political science professor at Washburn University. But he said the Republican Party took the teenagers seriously enough to not allow them to participate in candidate debates, The Wichita Eagle reported.
“They understood that they could steal some votes, and that’s exactly what happened,” Beatty said.
Tutera said Wednesday he has no regrets about running. He said he and Ruzich were astonished by how many votes they received.
“If I hadn’t run, or Tyler hadn’t run, that could have been the difference between who gets elected,” he said. “It’s very weird to think about.”
On the Democratic ballot, 17-year-old candidate Jack Bergeson got 3,850 votes but it didn’t impact that primary because state Sen. Laura Kelly, D-Topeka, easily won the Democratic nomination.
Previously, Kansas and Vermont were the only states with no age requirement to run for governor. After the teenagers’ campaigns drew national attention, the Kansas Legislature passed a law in May that set a minimum age to run for governor at 25, and 18 to run for any other state office. But that wasn’t in time to stop the current batch of political upstarts from being on the ballot.
Wendell D. Tobaben, beloved son of Horst and Marilyn (Poppe) Tobaben, was born in Cozad, Nebraska on March 29, 1962, and passed away August 6, 2018 at the Decatur Health System in Oberlin, Kansas, at the age of 56.
Wendell attended schools in Eustis, Nebraska and later received his GED and Tech Certificate. On May 11, 1984, Wendell married the love of his life, Deborah Kugler in Eustis, Nebraska. They lived in Cozad, Nebraska before moving to Norton, Kansas in February to make it their forever home.
Wendell was a Harley-Davidson mechanic and loved his motorcycles. He greatly enjoyed going on road trips with his wife and dogs, visiting art museums, and anything that had to do with art or history. His greatest love was his dogs and his soul mate, Deborah.
Survivors include: his loving wife, Deborah Tobaben of their home in Norton; two brothers, Dave, and wife, Kim Tobaben, Gothenburg, Nebraska; Doug, and wife, Sue Tobaben, Plattsmouth, Nebraska; one sister, Lori, and husband, Kevin Welch, Leigh, Nebraska; one sister-in-law, Marilyn, and husband, Rich Twehous, Maricopa, Arizona; several other relatives and friends.
Wendell was preceded in death by his parents.
Deborah would like to express her heartfelt gratitude for everyone who took the time to try and help save her husband. A very special thank you to the Decatur EMS, Decatur Health System Staff, and especially Dr. Jeffrey McKinley for everything he did.
FUNERAL SERVICE – Saturday, August 11, 2018 – 10:30 A.M.
PLACE – Enfield Funeral Home – Norton, KS
VISITATION – Friday, August 10, 2018 from 5:00 PM until 7:00 PM at the Enfield Funeral Home in Norton.
INURNMENT – Private inurnment will take place at a later date.
MEMORIALS – Wendell Tobaben Memorial Fund
SALINA — After a brief free trade presentation by Americans for Prosperity, U.S. Sen. Jerry Moran, R-Kan., spoke with constituents during a Salina town hall meeting Wednesday.
The event was held at the Webster Conference Center just north of Salina.
Moran addressed the current tariff wars the Trump administration recently has been involved in, noting agriculture is in the crosshairs in such battles as it is the easiest area in which another country can retaliate.
Moran acknowledged the $12 billion announced by the Trump administration for emergency aid for farmers affected by the tariff wars, however, he said the losses to agriculture, including agriculture in Kansas, will be significantly more than $12 billion.
He explained that the United States spent a great deal of money and effort to build up agriculture markets. With the tariffs in place now, customers from other countries are seeking agriculture-related goods elsewhere.
“The $12 billion will not solve the problems of the future,” he said.
Moran said he has encouraged the Trump administration to narrow the scope of tariff battles and focus on dealing with China. As it is, some of the countries who could have been U.S. allies in dealing with China also face tariff sanctions.
“Where we get a chance at profitability in agriculture is very much related to who we sell to around the globe,” he said.
Moran said that as a senator representing Kansas, he takes every opportunity to deliver to the president and administration the message that “at the end of the day, we have to have the opportunity to export or we will not earn a living in Kansas.”
Moran said that he has had, over the years of representing Kansans, even farmers who would tell him “let’s forget the rest of the world. Let’s just take care of ourselves and it would be much simpler, much easier than dealing with the rest of the world.”
“A lot of truth, perhaps, to the easiness of that, but for example, if we don’t export wheat, a pretty important commodity, a pretty important way that we earn a living, the question then becomes what 48 percent of acres that are now planted to wheat in Kansas do we no longer plant and do we no longer grow and do we no longer harvest and do we no longer get the income for?”
Moran also discussed manufacturers, especially small manufacturers, who use aluminum and steel. He said the tariffs imposed by the U.S. are causing a number of manufacturers to no longer be competitive in their particular markets because the tariffs mean their products cost more.
“We need to make certain we have trade. We need to make certain we reach agreements, and we need to get out of a tariff battle in order for Kansas to have a future,” he said.
During the gathering, a woman in the audience asked Moran why the U.S. doesn’t trade with Cuba. Moran said that while he doesn’t believe that the U.S. should subsidize sales to Cuba, he does believe that if Cuba has the money to buy goods from the U.S., the U.S. should be able to sell those goods to Cuba.
Moran said he got interested in trade with Cuba when he was researching and seeking out new markets for Kansas goods. He said he believes that not only would trade with Cuba benefit Kansas, but it also would help create freedoms for Cuban citizens. Moran explained Kansas goods would help to increase the standard of living for Cubans, and when that happens, the Cuban people would start asking for more freedoms.
In response to a question, Moran said he was puzzled to find an adequate word to describe the situation between the U.S. and Canada. He noted the Constitution provided the legislative arm of government with the ability to deal with trade with other countries, but that over the years, that ability was transferred to the executive branch. Moran said Congress has made a less-than-adequate attempt to take back that authority.
Moran said he and others in Congress were working hard to reverse the direction the Trump administration has the U.S. heading regarding tariffs.
“A significant part of what I am about is how to keep rural America alive and well,” he said.
While the trade focus is on immediate consequences, Moran said he was more concerned about longterm issues, including who will be there to farm Kansas farms. He said young people now are making decisions about helping with and carrying on family farming operations based on circumstances currently affecting farming operations.
In response to another question, Moran said he expected Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh to be confirmed, probably before the November election.
LINN COUNTY — Law enforcement authorities are investigating a drowning and have identified the victim.
Google image
Just after 12 a.m. Wednesday, the Linn County Sheriff’s Office received a call of a possible drowning or missing person at Tanglewood Lake, a private lake in Linn County, according to Ron Kauffman with the Kansas Department of Wildlife, Parks and Tourism.
According to witnesses, the victim identified as Melvin Eugene Stierwalt, 55, of Kansas City, Kansas, had been swimming with them near a swimming platform, and they saw the victim jump off of the platform into the water but did not notice anything wrong at that time.
Some time later, they reported they could not find the victim, and they called authorities. A Kansas game warden, Linn County Sheriff’s deputies, Osawatomie Water Rescue and the Linn County Fire Department responded to the scene.
Officials searched the area and the lake in the early morning hours but were unable to locate the victim, and the search was called off until it was light enough to resume.
At about 8:30 a.m., game wardens using a KDWPT patrol boat equipped with side-scanning sonar began searching the water while Linn County Sheriff’s deputies searched the shoreline. Game wardens recovered Stierwalt’s body at about 12:05 p.m. Wednesday.
RILEY COUNTY — Law enforcement authorities are investigating an auto theft.
Just after 4:30p.m. Wednesday, officers filed a report for theft of a Lexus from Briggs Auto Group in the 2300 block of Stagg Hill Road. in Manhattan, according to the Riley County Police activity report.
The vehicle is described as a 2016 Lexus RX 350.
The estimated total loss associated with this case is approximately $35,000.00.
KANSAS CITY— A Kansas man was indicted by a federal grand jury Tuesday for traveling to Kansas City to meet with who he thought was a teenage prostitute, but was actually an undercover officer, according to the United State’s Attorney’s Office.
Fifty-five-year-old Bradley Voth of Buhler was charged with one count of traveling across state lines with the intent to engage in illicit conduct with a minor.
The investigation into Voth’s activities began in June when an undercover U.S. Department of Health and Human Services employee was monitoring public messages on a website where people are known to discuss prostitution.
The undercover employee gave Voth a phone number for an undercover FBI agent posing as a 16-year-old girl. Voth allegedly contacted the agent.
The FBI agent told Voth the teen was staying in Kansas City with her 13-year-old sister. Court records say Voth then asked for the 13-year-old’s phone number and pictures of both girls. Voth allegedly agreed to meet with the teens in Kansas City for sexual activity in exchange for $140.
When Voth arrived at a KC coffee shop to meet the two girls, he was arrested. The jury’s indictment replaces a criminal complaint from July on the same charge.
Guorong ZhangMANHATTAN – The president of the Kansas Wheat Alliance says that millers and bakers are hailing the upcoming release of a hard white wheat variety, saying that the new wheat is of excellent baking quality.
Daryl Strouts says that producers in the state may soon be thrilled, as well: The variety is resistant to many wheat diseases common in the state and should provide an improved tolerance to pre-harvest sprouting.
“The thing that it really brings out is quality,” Strouts said. “We’ve gotten a lot of good feedback from millers and bakers on it and they really like the quality of this one. It seems to be yield competitive with Joe, which is the leading white wheat in southwest Kansas right now.”
The new variety, called KS Venada, was developed by Guorong Zhang, wheat breeder at Kansas State University’s Agricultural Research Center in Hays. KS Venada will be made available to certified seed producers this fall, and available to producers next year.
Strouts noted that KS Venada is better suited for central Kansas, “south of Wichita, over to Enid and Pratt,” he said. “It will certainly perform well in western Oklahoma, western Kansas and even into eastern Colorado.”
He added that the variety is ideal for farmers who want to try a white wheat but have been concerned about pre-harvest sprouting: “I think this is one that could fit them.”
Strouts said that the variety carries good resistance to common wheat diseases, but doesn’t have wheat streak mosaic resistance, so it’s not likely to be pushed heavily in western Kansas.
White wheat varieties are often favored for their baking quality, and Strouts said KS Venada “is going to be one of those better quality ones.”
The non-profit Kansas Wheat Alliance, which works closely with K-State to get new varieties out to farmers, will coordinate the release of KS Venada. KWA has been managing new releases from the university for 10 years, and has contributed more than $7 million to wheat breeding through its programs, according to Strouts.
I have shared my thoughts about our budget with everyone and in my mind its very straight forward. Phil projected county deficits for the next few years which should scare all of our elected officials and all department heads in the county. The public deserves to know what will happen in the next four years if everyone doesn’t come up with ways to make their department run more efficiently.
Look at the numbers in yellow and red. As you can see, we deplete our savings and the resources available to us decrease as well. Sadly, the only two areas we see an increase in is in spending and the deficits we create. In the next four years the county will have to impose a $6.6 million tax increase in order to operate as it does now. And in 2024 the county will have an almost $10 million deficit unless, by some miracle, county valuations increase during that time.
One mill raises $389,000. To put some perspective to the serious revenue problems the county is facing in order to pay for the County’s overspending in the next four years we have to increase the mill levy by just under 17 mills just to pay the bills. That’s an almost 43% increase in four years. Or a 10% increase per year.
As I’ve said – the county’s level of spending is UNSUSTAINABLE. While I do appreciate the fact that everyone is trying to find ways of generating a little revenue and finding small ways to cut spending, unfortunately what has been done to date is superficial and mostly symbolic. It just doesn’t attack the core problem – overspending.
Coach Marion ’49 Schmidt, passed away August 3, 2018, at his home in Hays, surrounded by family. He was a beloved member of the TMP-Marian family for many years and will be greatly missed.
Coach Schmidt/Staff photo
Schmidt was the Head Football Coach at Thomas More Prep from 1973-1978. He was nicknamed “Mr. Football,” having been associated with five undefeated teams in his football career. In fact, Coach Schmidt went out on a high note with his final season at TMP being undefeated League Champions in 1978. Schmidt’s love for the gridiron began during his playing days at St. Joseph’s Military Academy, where he was All-State Quarterback and Co-Captain of the All-State Team in 1949. Coach Schmidt will forever be remembered in the hearts and minds of the players for the positive impact he had on their young lives.
Marion Schmidt is the great-grandson of Jacob Schmidt, the “Schulmeister,” and his wife, Anna Maria, who brought a strong Catholic faith and leadership from Russia to Catharine, in 1876. He is survived by his wife Donna, a former Marian High teacher, and their four children, Pam ’74 Schmidt, Mayo ’75 Schmidt, Garret ’78 Schmidt and Sandy ’81 (Schmidt) Barnes.
