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Randy Barry ‘Big Bear’ Madden

Randy Barry “Big Bear” Madden, son of James Madden and Gail (Barry) Rhodes, was born July 31, 1976, in Monticello, Utah, and passed away at the Norton County Hospital in Norton, Kansas, on December 13, 2018, at the age of 42.

Barry lived in Utah with his family until 1988, when they moved to Norton, where he graduated from the Norton Community High School. Barry was an employee with the City of Norton.

Barry had many interests including, hunting, fishing, and collecting movies. He was an avid Kansas City Chiefs fan and was involved with the races at the Elmwood race track in Norton. His favorite times were spent barbequing and camping with family and friends.

Survivors include: his mother, Gail Rhodes, of Norton; one daughter, Hannah Marie Madden, Hoxie, Kansas; one brother, Michael (Jessica) Madden, Norton; one sister, Ciri (Dan) Eagleburger, Hoxie; three nephews, three nieces, two great-nephews, and three great-nieces; other relatives and many friends.

Barry was preceded in death by his step-father, David Rhodes, and his grandparents, Bob and Leota Barry, Doleras Scarlet and Bob Madden.

MEMORIAL SERVICE – Saturday, December 29, 2018—10:30 a.m.
PLACE – Enfield Funeral Home – 215 W. Main – Norton, KS
INURNMENT – Norton Cemetery – Norton, KS
VISITATION – Friday, December 28, 2018 – 5:00 p.m. until 7:00 p.m.
MEMORIAL – Barry Madden Memorial Fund

FHSU track and field team earns national honors

FHSU Athletics

FHSU Athletics

NEW ORLEANS – The 2018 Fort Hays State men’s track and field team has added another success to their season as the distance medley relay earned the honor of being named a top team. The United States Track & Field Cross Country Coaches Association recognized the quad for running the top NCAA Division II time for last outdoor season. The distance medley team is the only from FHSU honored for the season.

The honor names the Tigers as an Accusplit Relay Award Winner for navigating the best time of the year. The mark of 9:57.22 qualified the quickest time at the feet of Oscar Carmona, Jacob Schumacher, Bill Oyet and Brett Meyer. Fort Hays State recorded this time at the Drake Relays in April, where they took first place. The time beat the runner-up that day by just under three seconds.
The fastest Division I time went to Villanova who ran the event in 9:34.37. Although the distance medley relay is not an event used by the NCAA at the national meet, the Tigers were still awarded as the top team in the division.

Dr. Jason McCullough, coach of the Fort Hays State track and field programs, will represent the quad and be recognized at the 2018 USTFCCCA Convention hosted at the San Antonio Hill Country Resort & Spa December 17-20.

Kansas duo held on $50K bond on 10 drug allegations

Simonsen has a previous drug conviction, according to the Kansas Department of Corrections

RILEY COUNTY — Law enforcement authorities are investigating two suspects on numerous drug charges.

Just after 11 a.m. Thursday police arrested Dane Simonsen, 32, and Christina Reyes, 31, both of Manhattan, in the 700 block of Fremont Street in Manhattan, according to the Riley County Police Department activity report.

Simonsen is being held on a $50,000 bond on requested charges of distribute methadone, distribute amphetamine, distribute tramadol, distribute alprazolam, distribute lisdexamfetamine, distribute amphetamine, distribute tapentadol, distribute methylphenidate, distribute codeine and distribute or possess with the intent to distribute drug paraphernalia for illegal use.

Reyes has previous convictions for theft, obstruction and five drug related charges, according to the Kansas Department of Corrections

Reyes is being held on a $50,000 Bond on requested charges of distribute methadone, distribute amphetamine, distribute tramadol, distribute alprazolam, distribute lisdexamfetamine, distribute amphetamine, distribute tapentadol, distribute methylphenidate, distribute codeine, distribute or possess with the intent to distribute drug paraphernalia for illegal use.

2 jailed, 300 lbs. of pot seized after I-70 traffic stop

Lopez-Gutierrez -photo Cooper Co.
Padilla -photo Cooper County

COOPER COUNTY — Law enforcement  authorities are investigating two suspects on drug charges after a Thursday traffic stop on Interstate 70.

During the stop near Boonville, Missouri, in Cooper County, state troopers found and seized over 300 pounds of marijuana in vacuum sealed bags.

photo courtesy Missouri State Highway Patrol

The occupants of the van 19-year-old Jonathan Padilla of Fresno, CA. and 34-year-old Felix Lopez-Gutierrez of Little Falls, MN. are being held on a $200,000 Bond in the Cooper County jail for trafficking drugs and delivery of a controlled substance, according to the sheriff’s department.

Lopez-Gutierrez is also being held on an ICE detainer, according to the sheriff’s department.

Susan L. Woodring

Susan L. Woodring, 64, passed away suddenly on November 19, 2018 at McPherson Hospital.

Susan was born February 25, 1954, in Phillipsburg, Kansas to Richard “Dick” and Dorothy (Marsh) Woodring. She graduated from Phillipsburg High School in 1972. Susan worked at Hospira for 15 years before retiring in 2009. She loved the Kansas City Chiefs and the University of Kansas Jayhawk Basketball teams. Susan loved to do puzzles and had a very big heart for animals.

She is survived by: her brothers, Joe Scott and wife, Donna, Vic Scott and wife, Lori; sister-in-law, Sue Ann Woodring; nephews, Richard “Rich” Woodring and wife, Suzie, and their kids, Sarah and Shaylie, Kelly Woodring; and niece Sharro Jo Woodring. She is also survived by her husband, Jim Geren and his children, Brenda Hoffman and husband, Tom, Allen Geren and wife, Susan, and Kevin Geren and wife, Janet. Susan was an awesome grandmother to Casey Haines and his children, Teegan and Gabriella Haines; Kylie and Josh Fenstermaker and their children, Krysten, Alexis, Emmalyn and Makenlee, and grandson Tyler Peterson. She is also survived by her best friend of 55 years, Karen Smith; and special friends, Rita Hopson and Cathy DeWitt.

She was preceded in death by her parents and her brother, Richard “Rick” Woodring.

At her request, there will be no services and cremation has taken place. Memorials may be sent to McPherson Humane Society in care of Stockham Funeral Home at 205 N Chestnut St, McPherson, KS 67460.

🎥 WOOD: ‘City able to piggyback on new focus of federal BUILD grant’

By BECKY KISER
Hays Post

The U.S. Department of Transportation recently reviewed 851 applications for requested funding of more than $10 billion through Better Utilizing Investments to Leverage Development (BUILD) Transportation Grants.

Just 91 awards were made; the city of Hays was one of those.

“This is a pretty significant thing for the city of Hays,” Assistant City Manager Jacob Wood said during Thursday night’s city commission meeting.

The BUILD grant used to be called the TIGER grant. Wood noted the federal program also shifted parameters, which likely became an advantage for Hays.

“One of their focuses was on rural America,” Wood explained. “We were really able to piggyback on that new focus and get in there with this project.

“It’s a pretty good thing for the city of Hays.”

The $6,057,827 grant will be used for the Vine Street Corridor Project, which was estimated at $7.6 million this summer.

The project will reconstruct a half-mile segment of north Vine Street near Interstate 70, including three new two-lane roundabouts, access-controlled intersections at the on/off ramps at I-70, bicycle lanes, and upgraded pedestrian crossings.

Project design started several months ago.

Porn star, Trump accuser will perform in Salina in February

SALINA — The Shady Lady Gentleman’s Club announced recently that Stormy Daniels — the porn star who claimed to have an affair with President Donald Trump — reportedly will perform in Salina next year.

In a social media post, The Shady Lady said Stormy Daniels will perform Feb. 13 and 14 at the establishment, located at 1540 West Old Highway 40 in Salina.

“We will be releasing all the details on the Stormy Daniels shows in the next couple weeks, but yes it’s really happening, February 13th and 14th. As soon as we finalize details we will announce everything,” the Shady Lady said on its Facebook page this week.

—————-

Earlier this week, Daniels was ordered to pay President Donald Trump nearly $293,000 for his attorneys’ fees and another $1,000 in sanctions after her defamation suit against him was dismissed, a federal judge in Los Angeles ordered Tuesday.

Trump’s attorney, Charles Harder, had requested nearly $390,000 in fees and equal amount in sanctions as a deterrent against a “repeat filer of frivolous defamation cases.”

Judge S. James Otero cut the requested legal fees by 25 percent and awarded just $1,000 in sanctions.

Otero previously noted that fees by Harder’s firm — as high as $840 an hour — were reasonable but the 580 hours spent on the case appeared excessive.

Daniels alleges she had an affair with Trump in 2006 and was paid $130,000 as part of a nondisclosure agreement days before the 2016 presidential election. She sued him for defamation after he dismissed her claims of being threatened to keep quiet about the tryst as a “total con job.” The judge threw out the case in October.

Daniels’ attorney, Michael Avenatti, tweeted Tuesday’s order “will never hold up on appeal.”

In a statement he predicted Daniels “will never have to pay a dime” because she will receive far more — $1 million — from Trump for attorneys’ fees and other costs related to a separate lawsuit Daniels brought in Los Angeles over the non-disclosure agreement.

Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford, is challenging the agreement she signed with Trump’s then-lawyer Michael Cohen to prevent her from discussing the alleged affair. The agreement was signed days before the 2016 election as part of a $130,000 hush-money settlement.

Daniels also has alleged that her former lawyer, Keith Davidson, colluded with Cohen to have her publicly deny the affair with Trump.

Cohen has pleaded guilty to several felonies and admitted funneling money to Daniels to keep her quiet about the affair. Trump has denied the affair, but essentially acknowledged the payment to Daniels.

Despite the deal to stay quiet, Daniels spoke out publicly and alleged that five years after the affair she was threatened to keep quiet by a man she did not recognize in a Las Vegas parking lot. She also released a composite sketch of the mystery man.

She sued Trump for defamation after he responded to her allegation by tweeting: “A sketch years later about a nonexistent man. A total con job, playing the Fake News Media for Fools (but they know it)!”

Otero ruled in October that Trump’s statement was “rhetorical hyperbole” against a political adversary and was protected speech under the First Amendment.

Trump’s lead attorney previously said the fees and unspecified monetary sanctions were earned because of the extraordinary nature of the defamation case and because of Avenatti’s gamesmanship.

“This action is virtually unprecedented in American legal history,” Harder wrote in court papers. Daniels “not only brought a meritless claim for defamation against the sitting president of the United States, but she also has engaged, along with her attorney, in massive national publicity.”

The Cohen and Davidson lawsuit in Los Angeles County Superior Court is on hold until May.

— The Associated Press contributed to this story.

Judy Kay Zimmer

Judy Kay Zimmer was born on June 4, 1944 in Concordia, Kansas. She passed away on December 11, 2018 at her home in Randall, Kansas at the age of 74 years.

Judy graduated from Randall High School in 1962 and from Brown Mackie in 1963. On January 19, 1964, she married Roger Zimmer. Two daughters were born from this marriage Sandra Lea and Angela Joye.

Judy was a loving mother and homemaker while her children were at home. Before her children were born she worked for the Jamestown Bank. When her children completed high school she worked in retail sales as a bookkeeper and sales associate in different retail stores in Concordia. She was retired at the time of her death.

She was a member of the Randall Community Church and shared the word of God with those around her.

Judy was preceded in death by her father, Carl McElroy.

Judy is survived by her mother Opal McElroy; sister, Carol Flinn and husband Larry of Lebanon, MO; daughters, Sandra Henningsen and husband Russ of Hays, KS, and Angela Dreher of Topeka, KS; five grandchildren, Trevor Henningsen, Garden City, KS, Trenton Henningsen, Hays, KS, Ashton, Austin, and Ashley Dreher of Topeka; nephews, Shawn Kibbe and wife Sharon of Sabetha, KS, Jason Kibbe of Lawrence, and Jeremy Stover and wife Karl Dawn of Beloit.

Graveside services will be at 10:30 AM Friday, December 14 at the Randall Cemetery. The casket will remain closed & there will be no visitation. Memorials may be given to Heart Choices or the Randall Community Church.

Sheriff: Rural Kansas home destroyed by fire

JACKSON COUNTY — A rural home was destroyed by fire early Friday morning.

Home destroyed by fire early Friday -photo Jackson Co. Sheriff

Just after 3a.m., authorities received a report of a structure fire at 16700 98th Road in rural Jackson County, according to Sheriff Tim Morse.  Fire departments from Hoyt, Mayetta, Soldier Township, and the Potawatomi Nation responded to the scene.

The fire was brought under control around 5:30 am. The home was a log style home and is deemed a complete loss. All the occupants, including four children escaped the home without injury.

The fire is suspected of igniting from a heat lamp that was being used for animals, according to Morse.

Crews began clearing the scene around 7 a.m. Friday.

Juvenile suspects arrested in connection with Gorham robbery

Hays Post

The Russell County Sheriff’s Office reported Friday it has juvenile suspects in an armed robbery in Gorham that occurred Thursday morning and sparked a Hays High School lockdown.

At 11:40 a.m. Thursday, the Russell County Sheriff’s Office was contacted by the Hays Police Department. The initial information described a possible kidnapping in the area of Gorham, according to a press release from the sheriff released Friday.

Russell County deputies responded to a residence in Gorham and located a potential victim.

Responding deputies were informed this was possibly an armed robbery and not a kidnapping.

The description of the suspect vehicle was passed to surrounding counties, and a suspect vehicle was located in the Hays High School parking lot.

Hays Middle School was placed on lockdown for 15 minutes and then cleared. Hays High School was placed on lockdown at about 1:15 p.m. and remained on exterior lockdown until about 2:30 p.m. while Hays police investigated, said Hays Police Chief Don Scheibler.

Scheibler said suspects were taken into custody later that day in Hays off of school property.

The Russell County Sheriff’s Office indicated the victim and suspects in the case are juveniles, so no names will be released.

The investigation is continuing, the sheriff said in his new release.

INSIGHT KANSAS: Departing lawmakers exemplify profiles in courage

Democracy can be a thankless venture. When eligible citizens place their name on a ballot and ask neighbors for their vote, they invite scrutiny and accept the verdict at the ballot box.

In advance of the upcoming legislative session please join me in publicly thanking a small group of departing state lawmakers who cast crucial votes in restoring sanity to state finance yet in seeking re-election suffered the sting of defeat for doing what was right.

H. Edward Flentje is professor emeritus at Wichita State University.

Thanks goes to 12 public-spirited members of the Kansas House of Representatives: Steve Becker of Buhler, Steven Crum of Haysville, Linda Gallagher of Lenexa, Mary Martha Good of ElDorado, Anita Judd-Jenkins of Arkansas City, Joy Koesten of Leawood, Adam Lusker of Frontenac, Patty Markley of Overland Park, Eber Phelps of Hays, Melissa Rooker of Fairway, Don Schroeder of Hesston, and Ed Trimmer of Winfield.

In 2016, this dedicated group of Kansans saw their beloved state descending deep into financial chaos, placed their names on the ballot and campaigned to rectify that mess. Then in 2017, as elected lawmakers, they joined with others to restore their state on a steadier financial course. They sought to return to the statehouse and finish their work but were turned away at the ballot box—in part for their courageous action on state finance.

Recall briefly what these lawmakers confronted in 2017: five years of unbalanced budgets and deficit spending; total depletion of state fund balances; two unfair state sales tax increases; record levels of state debt; long-term debt proceeds diverted to pay for current expenses; and state services in disrepair.

They voted to abandon the flawed, reckless Brownback tax experiment begun in 2012. Then, in the most decisive single vote of the decade, they joined in overriding the governor’s veto of tax increases that reversed his failed policies. A majority of both political parties came together to support the override. However, without the votes of these 12 lawmakers Kansas might still be floundering in the financial abyss resulting from this sad episode in state tax policy.

Remember also that the experiment was cheered on by the Kansas State Chamber and its dark money ally, Americans for Prosperity. A faction of right-wing Republican legislators carried their water. A handful of deep pockets in Kansas underwrote the scheme and gleefully watched as state finance veered into the ditch. Public confidence in state government declined. Public trust in schools began to wane. And the safety net for vulnerable Kansans started to unravel.

To secure and later save their favored tax treatment the State Chamber and its allies repeatedly targeted candidates who defied them and spent millions in doing so. Their beguiling campaign barrage of slick postcards and media ads smeared candidates through deception, innuendo, and scurrilous charges and succeeded in defeating a number of the exemplary dozen in recent elections.

While these lawmakers will not be returning to the statehouse in January, Kansans should be pleased that 63 members of the Kansas House who supported that critical override vote will be returning. They will be joined by a number of newly-elected House members aligned with them. And most importantly, they will be guided by Governor-elect Laura Kelly, one of their own who has pledged a bipartisan path forward in restoring good government.

The legacy of this exceptional dozen will live on. They were critical in rising above the brash partisanship of recent years, re-centering Kansas politics, and securing a momentous reversal in public policy that will serve Kansas well for years to come. Their profiles in courage merit the commendation of Kansans.

H. Edward Flentje is professor emeritus at Wichita State University and served with Kansas Governors Bennett and Hayden.

Weskan native, FHSU grad retires after 50 years with KDWPT

Keith Sexson / Pratt Tribune

Pratt Tribune

Kansas Department of Wildlife, Parks and Tourism employees and staff in Pratt honored longtime Secretary of Operations Keith Sexson with a retirement celebration earlier this month.

On Dec. 1, nearly 200 current and past employees of the Kansas Department of Wildlife, Parks and Tourism (KDWPT) and their families celebrated the remarkable career of Pratt’s Keith Sexson. For the past 50 years, Sexson has worked for KDWPT, and his work benefitted the lives of everyone who hunts, fishes and enjoys outdoor recreation in Kansas.

Sexson helped forge a plan for managing Kansas’ wildlife and natural resources with an almost incomprehensible dedication – long hours, low pay, and often rough working conditions. He, and other resource officers of his generation, did it for the love of nature and for the benefit of those who’ve paid the way – hunters and anglers.

Sexson, from Weskan, earned a bachelor’s degree in zoology from Fort Hays State University and in 1969 went to work for the then Kansas Forestry, Fish and Game Commission as the quail biologist, a position stationed in Garnett.

In a few years, Sexson was promoted to the upland bird group supervisor, and in 1979, he was recruited to take the big game group supervisor position located in Emporia. Managing the state’s growing deer herd was the most challenging and rewarding segment of his career and he filled that position for 15 years. However, Sexson knew that to have a bigger overall impact on wildlife conservation, he would need to move to an administrative position.

Sexson moved to Pratt in 1995 to be the director of the Wildlife Division. Five years later, he was appointed to the Assistant Secretary of Operations position when Rob Manes left. He held that position through three governors and three department secretaries.

When considering the highlights of his career, Sexson talked about the people he worked with throughout his time with the agency.

“It was a pleasure to come to work every day because the people I worked with are so dedicated that they just make things happen,” he said. “My job, really, has been to make sure they had the resources they needed to do good things. That’s why in the 20 years that I’ve been here, it’s really been kind of an easy job, you know. I always had good people.“

Sexson’s last official day in the office is Friday, and although the sportsmen and women of Kansas will miss him, employees in the Pratt Operations Office may miss him most. They’ll miss his ever-present smile and positive, can-do attitude. He never saw obstacles; only opportunities to find solutions.

— Republished with permission, courtesy Pratt Tribune

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