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Month: October 2018

Ray Dean Dancer

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Ray Dean Dancer, 60, of Rose Hill, Kansas, formerly of Oakley, Hill City and Hoxie, Kansas passed away on Monday, October 15, 2018 at the Kansas Medical Center in Andover, Kansas. He was born in Hoxie, Kansas to Raymond Edward and Mary Evelyn (Hansen) Dancer. Ray Dean attended Hoxie Grade and High School until he transferred to the Beamgard Learning Center in Atwood, Kansas graduating with a Certificate of Education.

Ray Dean became the first person to be served by Developmental Services of Northwest Kansas (DSNWK) in Oakley, Kansas. Ray Dean became a very active member of the Oakley community and was able to live independently with the support of DSNWK. While in Oakley, he had five different jobs, cleaning at Gridley Apartments, 1st Travel Inn, shredding at the DSNWK office in Oakley, cleaning at the DSNWK office in Colby. Ray Dean also delivered the County Advocate. In 2008, he moved to Hill City living independently with support from DSNWK. Here he made new friends and had a reacquaintance of old friends. Ray Dean was a hard and very willing worker. He participated on many work crews and in-house janitorial jobs. He thought of the Kobler Center as his true home. He attended the United Methodist Church wherever he lived. He had the opportunity to attend a Christian Camp which he really enjoyed.

Ray Dean enjoyed being out in the communities where he lived spending time with other individuals served by DSNWK and community members. He had a three-wheeled bike which allowed him the freedom of getting around the community and doing things he enjoyed. Ray Dean loved new adventures and trying new things whenever possible. He liked to bowl, play billiards and go swimming. If one could not find Ray Dean, it was almost a guarantee he would be at the basketball court. He was a true “Basketball Junkie”. Ray Dean’s sister Rose Mary was a very important person in his life. He loved her dearly. Ray Dean was always willing to buy things for Rose Mary and enjoyed taking her out to eat. He was kind and gentle with her.

In May of 2017, Ray Dean experienced a health crisis and was no longer able to live independently in his home in Hill City. He moved to Hays to be closer to the medical help he needed. More recently, he moved to Rose Hill, Kansas where he resided at the time of his death.

Ray Dean is survived by his sister, Rose Mary Dancer of Russell, Kansas, his Uncles Ralph Hansen of, Colby, Kansas, Dwain Hansen of Haxton, Colorado, Kenneth Hansen of Holyoke, Colorado, Donald Hansen of Lamar Nebraska; his aunt, Caroine (Hansen) Guiry of Denver, Colorado, and many other relatives and a host of friends.

He was preceded in death by his parents, Raymond and Mary Evelyn Dancer; uncles, Roscoe Hansen and infant uncle, Ronald Hansen; and his Grandparents Ernest and Eunice Hansen who lived in Otis, Colorado where Ray Dean spent a lot time during his youth and early adulthood, and his Dancer Grandparents.

A funeral service is planned for Thursday, October 18, 2018, 2:00 P.M. at the Mickey-Leopold Funeral Home in Hoxie. Pastor Jake Shadel will preside. Interment will follow in the Hoxie City Cemetery following the service. Visitation will be from 10:00 A.M. until service time at the Funeral Home, Thursday August 18, 2018. Memorials are suggested to the Ray Dean Dancer Memorial Fund or the Developmental Services of Northwest Kansas (DSNWK) and may be sent in care of Mickey-Leopold Funeral Home, PO Box 987, Hoxie, Kansas 67740. Online condolences may be left at www.mickeyleopoldfuneral.com

Ray Dean Dancer was a gentle spirt with a heart filled with kindness and a happy spirit. He was hard working and enjoyed his life. Do not grieve for him but rather think of him as the person with a happy and gentle spirit who has gone home to be with his Lord and Savior and is smiling down on you.

Chevelle Anne (Terry) Bode

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Chevelle Anne (Terry) Bode passed away October 15, 2018 at the Phillips County Hospital in Phillipsburg at the age of 28. She was born on October 2, 1990 to Darin and Suzette (Gestner) Terry in Wichita. Chevelle married Aron Bode and later divorced. They were blessed with two children: Alek and Aspen.

Chevelle was a painter and was good at working with her hands. She was a caring and loving person who loved animals, hunting and fishing, and collecting rocks, but her greatest loves were her kids and family.

Chevelle is survived by her mother Suzette Terry and companion Greg Veverka of Plainville; father Darin Terry and wife Kate of Woodston; son Alek Bode of Cotopaxi, CO; daughter Aspen Bode of Cotopaxi, CO; paternal grandparents Patricia and Rick Griffin of Woodston; brothers Matthew Terry and wife Chelsye of Plainville and Dusty Terry and wife Kayla Ostrom of Natoma; sister Christina Werner and husband Justin of Plainville; step-sisters Kimberly Blunt of Hill City and Kelly Stephens of Hill City; and nieces and nephews Marcella Plante and Raylee Terry.

She is preceded in death by her maternal grandparents Gilbert and Jeanette Gestner.

A funeral service will be held Saturday, October 20, 2018, at 10:30 A.M. at the Church of the Nazarene in Plainville. Visitation will be Friday 2:00-8:00 P.M. with the family receiving friends 6:00-8:00 P.M. at the funeral home.

In Lieu of flowers, the family suggests memorials to Alek and Aspen Bode and may be sent in care of Plumer-Overlease Funeral Home, 320 SW 2nd, Plainville, KS 67663. Online condolences may be sent to the family at www.plumeroverlease.com

Popular Kansas City doctor gets prison time for $1.5M drug fraud

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KANSAS CITY (AP) – A Kansas City doctor has been sentenced to a year in federal prison for his role in prescription drug fraud.

John Verstraete and staff worked from this location in Kansas City

John Verstraete and employees had pleaded guilty to writing unnecessary prescriptions for human growth hormone and importing illegal steroids from overseas and then selling them on the black market.

Verstraete’s attorney, Christopher Angles, asked that Verstraete get only probation and home confinement, citing his history of compassionate patient care and charity work.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Sirena Wissler said that Verstraete wrote fraudulent human growth hormone prescriptions to people who used it “strictly for vanity purposes,” cheating Medicare and Medicaid out of about $1.5 million. He or others in his office then bought some of the drugs back to be sold to other patients.

NCK Tech pharmacy technician program ranked No. 33 in the nation

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The team at pharmacytechnicianguide.com has ranked the pharmacy technician program at NCK Tech as one of the 50 Best Schools offering a Pharmacy Technician Program across the country. Out of 496 schools, NCK Tech’s program ranked No. 33.

The criteria for assessing the program includes: average tuition cost, graduation rate, student-to-faculty ratio, loan default rate, percentage of enrolled students taking federal loans and pharmactytechnicianguide.com rating.

“The contribution made by North Central Kansas Technical College towards the education of a pharmacy technician is applaudable,” stated pharmacytechnicianguide.com.

The Pharmacy Technician Program is located on the Hays Campus of NCK TECH and graduates approximately ten students each year. The American Society of Health-Systems Pharmacists has nationally accredited the program since 2009. Brian Dechant is the instructor for the program and has been with the college for over ten years.

“We’re proud of what Mr. Dechant has done to establish his program as one of the top in the country and the work he has done to be nationally accredited,” said NCK Tech College President, Eric Burks.

For more information on the Pharmacy Technician program, visit NCK Tech’s website at www.ncktc.edu.

— NCK Tech

FHSU receives Kansas Leadership Center grant

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FHSU University Relations

Fort Hays State University has been awarded a 2019 Leadership Transformation Grant for the maximum amount of $25,000 from the Kansas Leadership Center. 

The grant is designed for Kansas-based organizations who have a limited budget for staff development to build leadership capacity in individuals throughout the organization. In four years, KLC has given out 145 grants, and trained over 5,000 people. 

The core team who wrote the grant application consisted of Dr. Taylor Kriley, director of transition, inclusion and diversity excellence; Shianne Cokely, graduate assistant for inclusion and diversity; Josh Clary, graduate assistant for transition and student conduct; Diego Esparza, graduate assistant for enrollment management; and Dr. Jacqueline Lubin, assistant professor for advanced education programs. 

The core team will create the Tiger Transformation Team comprised of 40 students, faculty and staff to participate in workshops and training over the next year. They will then take what they have learned and start teaching and supporting others within the organization. 

“Faculty, staff and students have been identified to make up a diverse team, representing various races, genders, and organizations on campus,” said Dr. Tisa Mason, president of FHSU, in a letter supporting the grant application.

Through this opportunity, FHSU will have the opportunity to engage with the community and area surrounding the college. “This partnership with the Kansas Leadership Center will provide a foundation of leadership for our campus to continue to be innovative as we develop global-citizen leaders,” said Kriley. 

Race for Kansas governor: Independent Rick Kloos

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Kloos

Kansas Press Association

Topekan Rick Kloos admits he is a frustrated Republicans running as an Independent for Kansas governor.

“Decisions for Kansas should be made by the residents, not the agenda of the two parties,” he said. “I want to represent the people and not just a party.

“I will work between the parties to unite us rather than divide Kansas. I believe the state will run healthiest when we work together and find common ground solutions.”

Kloos is a graduate of Trinity College in North Dakota with a bachelor’s degree in theology and ministerial studies. He served as clergy for 30 years.

He continued his studies in substance abuse counseling at Washburn University and has certification from the American Council for Pharmacy Education, which allows him to serve as a police and hospice chaplain in correctional facilities and clinical settings.

While he is an advocate of lower taxes, he believes in achieving reform in a responsible way.

“As of right now, I support the three-legged stool approach: income tax, sales tax and property tax,” he said. But “I think taking our income tax out is partly why we see our high sales tax and property tax. When you take one away, it puts pressure on the others.

“Right now, we are in a position where we need to sit tight and adjust our taxes when we know we have sufficient funds to carry out our services.”

School funding, a perennial concern in Kansas, has his attention as well.

Education, Kloos said, consumes about 50 percent of the states budget.

“Because of that,” he said, “people sometimes view education as only a liability. I believe we need to change our way of thinking and view it as one of our greatest assets. I want to restore value and respect back to our education system.”

How would he fund the growing budget needs of public education?

“I believe we can fund both higher and K-12 education with the new online tax and also with sports betting,” Kloos . “I think those are two good ways we can help fund education without raising our sales, income and property taxes.”

He said another concern is that Kansas ranks fifth in the percentage of residents moving out of state.

Kansas needs to grow, he said, which will provide the jobs necessary to keep our residents and college graduates here.

That also will have an effect on state revenues.

“We’re not going to be able to cut taxes if we don’t start growing,” he said. “I will promote Kansas to help it grow.”

Kansas government also needs to be more open.

“One way I will work to be more transparent is being more involved with our local leaders across the state,” he said. “I had the opportunity to visit all 105 counties over 52 days and made it a point to meet with local leaders all across the state.

“I would like to continue that because it helps government leaders stay accountable to the people, their needs and their concerns. Also, I think we need to get away from behind-the-door deals.”

Kloos supports Medicaid expansion and the decriminalization of marijuana, but not outright legalization.

“It is important we not continue to fill our prisons with more non-violent offenders,” he said. “We should also explore options concerning the use of marijuana in medical and end-of-life care.”

Kloos, his wife Pennie and son Nate started the non-profit organization God’s Storehouse in Topeka nine years ago.

His running mate is Nate Kloos, his son.

— Compiled by the Kansas Press Association staff.

🎥 Hays Post Game of the Week matchups, Week 8

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Week eight of the high school football season is here! On Friday night, Hays Post and Eagle Communications will live stream the Hays High Indians as they travel to Salina Central, with Dustin Armbruster and Kurt David on the call. As a bonus Game of the Week, Hays Post will also stream Thomas More Prep-Marian as they travel to Ellsworth, with Jonathan Zweygardt and Dave Barber on the call.

Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m.

Check out Hays Post for live game action or tune into KFIX-96.9 FM or KHAZ-99.5 FM to listen in!

Game of the Week sponsored by: Service Master Clean of Hays, Insurance Planning, Thirsty’s, Patty Baconrind Appraising, Nextech Wireless, Master Cleaners, Cross Manufacturing, Coldwell Banker Executive Realty, Steel Fabrications, Lifetime Dental, Commercial Builders, Whiskey Creek, Paul Wertenberger Construction, TMP-Marion Alumni, McDonald’s of Hays, G&L Tire, Hays Chevrolet, NCK Tech, Golden Plains Credit Union and Classic Quality Body Shop.

FHSU DECA will host Mall-O-Ween event at Big Creek Crossing

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Submitted

In the spirit of Halloween, the Fort Hays State University Collegiate DECA is hosting the annual Mall-O-Ween event inside Big Creek Crossing, 2918 Vine, on Saturday, October 27 from 11:30 AM to 2:30 PM.

Mall-O-Ween is a kid and family friendly carnival-style Halloween event with games and activities for kids. There will also be two costume contests, one for children and one for pets!

The games and booths will be hosted by various student and community organizations. All proceeds will go towards the organizations participating and the hosts to benefit their community work and student activities.

Mall-O-Ween is held inside Big Creek Crossing and is a Halloween-themed event for kids of all ages. Opportunities to play games, win prizes and enter a costume contest are all apart of the annual event.

The kids games are hosted by one of the community or student organizations participating in the event. Games will be open from 12:00 to 2:30 PM. Each game requires one ticket to play, and tickets will be able to be purchased that day at the event for $1 a piece.

The children’s costume contest involves three age categories — 0-3 years, 4-8 years, and 9-12 years. Registration begins at 11:30 AM and the contest will start at 12:30. There is no cost to take part in the costume contest.

The pet costume contest has a recommended donation of $5 for entry with proceeds going to the Humane Society of the High Plains. Registration begins at 1:30 PM and the contest will take place at 2:00 PM.

If you are a campus, school, church, or other community organization and may be interested in having a booth for kids to play games at, you can find the registration form and liability agreement at the bottom of this page. There are currently around 10 organizations signed up, and Collegiate DECA is encouraging more groups to join.

View the Facebook Event: https://www.facebook.com/events/578802682539319/

Sign Up for a Booth: https://goo.gl/forms/9ocpYMvbXVXAbwKD3

Booth Liability Form: https://goo.gl/wyv14L

For more information, please contact Brooks Barber ([email protected]) or Chelsie Andrews ([email protected]).

Artists incorporate pieces of prairie into ‘Of the Earth’ exhibit

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By CRISTINA JANNEY
Hays Post

Two area artists will bring nature to art lovers during the exhibit of “Of the Earth,” which opens tonight at the Hays Arts Center.

Russell artist Angela Muller will exhibit her abstract canvas pieces made from materials from the Kansas prairie. Ellsworth artist Barbara Jo Stevens creates natural form ceramic vessels that are mounted on found wood.

Angela Muller

Muller said the materials that go into her art are more important than the images themselves.

“All my paintings are very structural and sculptural,” she said. “They all start out with a very thick texture, which is ground stone, mostly marble and then I add limestone and soil to it so those earth elements are embedded in the texture.”

As she builds the painting, she adds earthen elements from around the world, but many from the Kansas prairie. This includes top soil, limestone, sandstone, gypsum and flint. She grinds the local stone with a mortar and pestle. She uses rain water mixed with acrylic paint for her pigment.

“I also like to smudge the paintings with cedar and grasses from the earth, so the spirit of those plants also go into the paintings,” she said. “Then the last earth element I often use is grass — prairie grass. I will often go out and cut that by hand and use that in the texture of the paintings so the appearance of the grass is in the texture.”

She also collects wheat kernels after harvest and incorporates those into the texture of her paintings.

“I think if you look at the grassland we live in, some of the harshest conditions are found on the prairie,” she said. “We have extreme drought and extreme temperature variations, very hot, very cold, strong winds. It is very tough for nature to thrive here, but despite those things, nature does thrive and survive.

“I think looking at the examples of nature gives us hope and examples of how we can thrive and prosper here too.”

She said her goal is to layer as many parts of the prairie into to her paintings so the essence of the plains shines through.

Muller grew up in Russell, but moved away and lived on the East Coast for 17 years.

“I had a real visceral disconnection from the earth,” she said. “It bothered me because I couldn’t see the storms coming and see the sun setting on the horizon. There was a real disconnect, so when I moved back to Kansas eight years ago, I kind of saw the prairie with a new set of eyes.

“I saw there were great teachers in thunderstorms and cold moons and cottonwoods with spring in the breeze. And I wanted to paint that and capture that essence.”

Muller said she feels people in Kansas are connected to the earth in ways others aren’t.

“Because we live and depend on the earth here,” she said, “I think we have a special connection to it, and that certainly speaks for me. Kansas and growing up on the prairie makes us appreciate the earth and be closer to it.”

Barbara Jo Stevens

Stevens gleaned inspiration from Native American pottery, yet she said her artwork is an original reflection of her own soul.

Stevens was the head of the Cloud County Community College Art Department. When she taught Art Appreciation, she would bring in a shard of Native American pottery.

“I would ask the student to hold it and really and feel and look at it and not just take it and pass it to the next person, because it was 1,000 years old,” she said. “It is amazing to me that clay survives everything that the elements and people give it. It may get cracked or broken, but it survives.”

Stevens of Downs said she always felt like she was connected to those ancient women who made the pottery.

“Ancient pottery was made by mothers and wives, doing what they could to take care of their families every day. That’s who I am,” she said. “Here 1,000 years later, here is another women of the same spirit, the same creative abilities, doing the same thing. That just fascinated me. With all our modern technology, there is such a connection, and I think it comes out in my work.”

Stevens’ pieces are hand-built instead of thrown on a wheel. This allows here to create vessels with very thin walls, which gives the impression of the pieces being very fragile, just as our lives are tenuous.

“Last of all, I hope there is a spirit there,” she said, “from what I am feeling when I make the piece that some of that stays with it. And when people come in and see it, they can feel some of that personality as well as my spirituality that goes into the pot.”

Most of Stevens’ vessels are mounted on pieces of wood. Since she was a girl she enjoyed walking among the hedge trees her grandfather planted to harvest for fence posts.

“I found out in the third grade that it wasn’t even a woods and burst into tears in the middle of class. I was so sure my daddy had a magical forest for me,” she giggled.

The wood mountings harkened back to the treasures she picked up when she went on walks in her woods. As her friends and family learned she was collecting found wood for art pieces, it became a community project.

“Somewhere along the line that evolved not consciously, I don’t believe, but it evolved into trying to make them look like you are on a walk in the woods and you just stumble across this treasure that has become a part of the forest,” Stevens said.

Stevens said she hoped her pieces will help exhibit-goers connect to the prairie.

“I want them to feel there is a connection with God, a connection with God’s good Earth and with people of the past … with the ancient ones. I want them to remember there is something more in this world than just the material things, and I hope my pieces bring about that feeling and gives them a sense of calm and peace,” she said.

The opening reception for “Of the Earth” will be 7 to 9 tonight at the Hays Arts Center. It will be preceded by a members-only HAC annual meeting at 6:30 p.m.

“Of the Earth” will be on display at the HAC through Nov. 27.

In addition to the opening of “Of the Earth,” Friday, the HAC will also host a book signing for “Pegasus Dan and the Little Owl” written by Hays artist Nicole Thibodeau and illustrated by Robert Joy.

Thibodeau received her BA in Studio Art from Bethany College in Lindsborg and her MFA from Fort Hays State University.

 

Large crowd welcomes Vice President to Kansas

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WICHITA — A large crowd was on hand to welcome Vice President Mike Pence to Wichita Thursday evening.  Pence arrived just after 7:30p.m. following stops earlier in the day in Colorado and Oklahoma.

The Vice President attended a dinner and reception fundraiser in support of Kansas Secretary of State and Gubernatorial candidate Kris Kobach, at the Air Capital Flight Line Building in Wichita.  He spoke to the private gathering about immigration, cutting taxes and encouraged them to get out to vote.

On Friday the Vice President is scheduled to attend a similar reception in Topeka for Kansas 2nd district congressional candidate Steve Watkins.  Former state House Minority Leader Paul Davis and Watkins are in a tight race to win the seat currently held by Lynn Jenkins.

Broncos return two interceptions for TDs in win over Cardinals

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Emmanuel Sanders threw and caught touchdown passes, Denver returned two interceptions for first-quarter touchdowns and the Broncos snapped a four-game losing streak with a 45-10 rout of the Arizona Cardinals on Thursday night.

Todd Davis returned rookie Josh Rosen’s deflected pass for a touchdown on the second play of the game and Chris Harris Jr. took another back 53 yards for a score with 2:02 left in the quarter as the Broncos (3-4) opened a 21-3 lead.

Rosen threw three interceptions and fumbled the ball away twice on a rough night that began badly for him and never got better. He limped off the field after he was sacked for the fifth time, on a fourth-and-16 play near the end of the game.

The Cardinals (1-6), down 35-3 at the half, fell to 0-4 at home for the first time since 1979.

Case Keenum completed 14 of 21 passes for 161 yards and a touchdown with one interception for Denver. Phillip Lindsay rushed for 90 yards on 14 carries, including a 28-yard TD run.

Rosen had called a time out after the game’s first play. Then his pass was deflected by the outstretched hand of defensive end Derek Wolfe. The ball dropped into the hands of Davis, who ran it in from there.

Arizona followed with a three-and-out and the Broncos quickly made it 14-0 with a six-play, 77-yard drive. Sanders took the ball on an end around and threw to a wide open Courtland Sutton 28 yards for the touchdown.

The receiver may have run the wrong route on Rosen’s second “pick six.” In a third-and-one situation from the Arizona 46, Rosen passed but there was no one near the ball except Harris, who returned it 53 yards to make it 21-3.

The Broncos made it 28-3 in the second quarter when Keenum found Harris wide open on a 64-yard TD play, the Denver receiver doing a front flip over the goal line.

A pass interference play against Bene Benwikere in the end zone set up Royce Freeman’s one-yard TD run that made it 35-3 with 21 seconds left in the half. The run capped a 15-play, 70-yard drive that used up 6:39.

The Arizona fans booed as the team left the field for the half, while there were cheers from the sizable contingent of orange-clad Broncos supporters.

FITZ SCORES

The Cardinals got their only touchdown in the third quarter, Rosen throwing four yards to Larry Fitzgerald for the score. Fitzgerald’s first TD catch of the season came at the end of an 11-play, 63-yard drive that followed Patrick Peterson’s interception. Fitzgerald’s 111 career TDs tie him with Tony Gonzalez for seventh on the NFL’s career list.

INJURIES

Denver lost two players to injury in the first half.

Rookie punt returner DaeSean Hamilton left with a knee injury after Arizona’s Brandon Williams rolled into his legs as he was waiting for the ball to make a fair catch. Williams was penalized for interfering on the play.

Safety Darian Stewart left the game with a neck injury in the first quarter.

Arizona tight end Ricky Seals-Jones, trying to run down Rosen’s fumble, slammed his left forearm against an opponent’s helmet and didn’t return.

UP NEXT

Broncos: At Kansas City on Oct. 28.

Cardinals: Host San Francisco on Oct. 28.

HHS boys soccer defeats Monarchs

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HAYS, Kan. – Trae McCrae scored all three goals to lead the Hays High boys soccer team to a 3-1 win over Thomas More Prep-Marian in the regular season finale for both.

McCrae scored his first goal 7:35 into the match and had the hat trick less than three minutes later.

Ryan Karlin scored the Monarchs lone goal in the second half.

Both teams find out their regional opponent Saturday.

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