The Annual Chili Supper and Bazaar at Holy Family Elementary will be from 4 to 7 p.m. on Sunday, Jan. 27.
Activities include, chili supper, silent auction, raffle, games and a book fair.
Month: January 2019
TMP Pop Singers set dinner show
Reserved tickets are $20 and available from Kathy Amrein at 785-650-4371.
The Meal includes: coleslaw, pulled pork, smoked brisket, smokey baked beans, cheesy/ranch/bacon potatoes, dinner roll, dessert, coffee, tea and water
(Meal catered by Helping Hands of God)
Alvin Henry Zimbelman
September 23, 1935 ~ January 21, 2019
An obituary and services are pending with Bateman Funeral Home, Goodland.
Management company to run rural Kan. hospital after Bank of Hays moves to foreclose
By DAN MARGOLIES
Kansas News Service
FILE PHOTO
A Marion County judge has appointed a receiver to run Hillsboro Community Hospital after its lender moved to foreclose on the 15-bed facility earlier this month.
The judge found that “immediate and irreparable harm is likely to result if a receiver is not appointed to operate and manage the hospital in order to ensure that it remains open and retains as much of its value as possible.”
The judge named Cohesive Healthcare Management + Consulting LLC of Shawnee, Oklahoma, to operate the hospital while the foreclosure action proceeds. The company specializes in providing administrative services to critical access hospitals, according to its website.
The appointment came after the city and the Bank of Hays jointly requested the appointment of a receiver. The bank alleges the hospital defaulted on a 2015 construction loan and owes it nearly $10 million.
The hospital had been run by EmpowerHMS, a North Kansas City company that has snatched up distressed rural hospitals in the Midwest and elsewhere with the promise of turning them around.
In recent weeks, Empower has experienced cash flow problems, causing it to fall behind on payments to its hospitals’ vendors and employees.
Earlier this month, Hillsboro, a town of about 3,000 residents 50 miles north of Wichita, threatened to cut off Hillsboro Community Hospital’s electricity over delinquent utility bills. EmpowerHMS came up with a payment at the last minute to avoid the shutoff.
In a statement Friday, an attorney for the Bank of Hays called the circumstances facing the hospital “factually and legally complex.”
“The city realizes access to health care by the citizens of Hillsboro and the surrounding area is important,” Tyler E. Heffon, the attorney, said in the statement. “The court’s approval of our joint request to appoint a receiver that can provide immediate assistance at the hospital was essential to maintaining community access to healthcare while the foreclosure lawsuit proceeds through the court system.”
The mayor of Hillsboro, Lou Thurston, said in a statement that the city wants “to undertake reasonable steps to assist in keeping the hospital open during the bank’s foreclosure lawsuit, and securing the appointment of an outside, disinterested receiver to operate and manage the hospital on an interim basis is a critical step in this regard.”
Officials of EmpowerHMS could not be reached for comment late Friday afternoon.
EmpowerHMS took over Hillsboro Community Hospital in 2017 when it acquired Rural Hospitals of America, which operated rural hospitals in Kansas and Missouri.
EmpowerHMS’s cash flow difficulties appear to stem in part from insurers’ increasing unwillingness to enter into contracts with its hospitals. Last year, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Oklahoma dropped EmpowerHMS’s hospitals from its network, citing what it called questionable lab billing practices at the hospitals.
In addition to Hillsboro Community Hospital, EmpowerHMS owns Oswego Community Hospital in Oswego and Horton Community Hospital in Horton. In Missouri, it owns I-70 Community Hospital in Sweet Springs. It also owns hospitals in Oklahoma, North Carolina, Arkansas and Tennessee.
Hillsboro’s city administrator, Larry Paine, said the court’s appointment of a receiver “assures the hospital will remain under the care of competent operators and open while the legal process continues.”
Dan Margolies is a senior reporter and editor in conjunction with the Kansas News Service. You can reach him on Twitter @DanMargolies.
Connie A. Brown
April 11, 1954 – January 20, 2019
Family has chosen cremation. Services will be a private family service at a later date.
Arrangements are with Pauls Funeral Home.
Two Tiger wrestlers place at Roger Denker Open at Central Missouri
FHSU Athletics
WARRENSBURG, Mo. – Fort Hays State’s Isaiah Luellen and Reese Cokeley placed at the Roger Denker Open, hosted by the University of Central Missouri on Sunday (Jan. 20). They were the only two Tigers to participate in the tournament.
Luellen was the champion of the 165-pound bracket. After a first round bye, he cruised into the semifinals with a 19-4 technical fall over Stephen Duffy of Concordia University. A 9-5 decision over Martell Boone from the University of Missouri pushed him into the finals, where he defeated another University of Missouri wrestler, Peyton Mocco, by an 11-4 decision. Luellen moved to 19-3 on the year, all in tournament action. This is the third tournament win for Luellen this year, going along with the Dan Harris Open, UNK Holiday Inn Open.
After helping the team to a Kansas Cup title last Sunday, Cokeley finished in a tie for fifth in the 141-pound class. He recorded a fall in 4:01 in the first round over Caleb Osborn of Truman State University. He then edged Daide Agnew of Central Missouri by a score of 8-7 in the quarterfinals. Nick Nasenbeny from the University of Missouri got the best of Cokeley in the semifinals by a score of 7-0, then Cokeley had to bow out of the tournament by medical forfeit in the consolation semifinals. Both wrestlers making the fifth-place match were unable to wrestle, so Cokeley shared the placement with George Benoit of Grand View.
Willard John McDonald Jr.
Willard John McDonald Jr., age 75, of WaKeeney, passed away Sunday, January 20, 2019, at Hays Medical Center, Hays, Kansas.
Cremation was chosen and arrangements are pending with Schmitt Funeral Home.
Sheriff: Kansas felon jailed after 100-mph chase
BARTON COUNTY — Law enforcement authorities are investigating a Kansas felon on new charges after a high-speed chase.
Just before 8 p.m., detectives were conducting surveillance on Eisenhower Court on the west side of Great Bend, looking for a wanted person 29-year-old Karie L. McBride of Bushton, according to Sheriff Brian Bellendir. McBride had felony warrants through Ness County and Rush County.
When McBride arrived at the residence and detectives approached the vehicle, he fled.
Other sheriff’s officers were in the area and gave pursuit. McBride fled west of Great Bend, eventually entering Rush and Pawnee counties. Sheriff’s deputies from both of those counties assisted in the pursuit. The chase lasted more than 30 miles and at times speeds exceeded 100 mph, according to Bellendir. The suspect pulled over and surrendered 2 miles west of the Barton/Rush county line.
Deputies arrested McBride was booked him into the Barton County jail on the various warrants including felon in possession of a firearm, possession of opiate with intent to distribute, possession of drug paraphernalia, as well as burglary. McBride was also charged with felony flee and elude. There were no injuries or damage to property during the chase, Bellendir said.
McBride has three previous convictions that include charges for burglary and drugs, according to the Kansas Department of Corrections.
Two dead after head-on crash in Labette County
LABETTE COUNTY — Two people died in an accident just before 1:30 a.m. Monday in Labette County.
The Kansas Highway Patrol reported a 2011 GMC Sierra driven by Joli S. Hutto, 21, Mound Valley, was westbound on U.S. 400 two miles east of Parsons.
The GMC crossed the centerline and struck a 2003 Dodge Ram driven by Charles J. Wass, 62, Parsons, head-on.
Hutto and Wass were pronounced dead at the scene. The drivers were not wearing seat belts, according to the KHP.
SHPTV program to feature Hays physical therapists
SHPTV
BUNKER HILL – Smoky Hills Public Television’s local program, Doctors on Call, will focus on physical therapy Tuesday, Jan. 22, with physical therapists Troy Herrman and Ashley Moeder from Herrman Physical Therapy in Hays.
Doctors on Call is a program that provides medical information on a variety of different topics. Medical professionals from throughout the state travel to Bunker Hill to provide information and answer questions from the viewing audience.
During the program, viewers can call 800.337.4788 with their questions for the doctors.
To submit questions electronically on a specific topic, viewers can send an email to [email protected]. Questions submitted through email must be received by noon on the day of the show.
Lois Lee Guidry
An obituary and services are pending with Stinemetz Funeral Home.
Area winners in Wild About Kansas photo contest
KDWPT
PRATT – Photographers of all ages and skill levels recently competed in Kansas Wildlife And Parks Magazine’s 6th annual Wild About Kansas photo contest. Youth and adult photographers vied for top spots in one of five categories where images were judged on creativity, composition, subject matter, lighting, and sharpness. Out of 379 submissions, 29 images made the final cut and will be featured in Kansas Wildlife And Parks Magazine’s 2019 photo issue set to unveil this month.
“We look forward to this contest every year, because we know we’re going to see a side of Kansas we haven’t seen before,” said Kansas Wildlife And Parks Magazine managing editor, Nadia Reimer. “It’s especially exciting to view our state’s wildlife through the lens of our youth. Their curiosity and enthusiasm for the wild world comes through in their photos, and things I’ve seen many times suddenly become fascinating again.”
Submission categories included wildlife, outdoor recreation (not hunting or fishing), landscapes, other species (typically non-mammal species), and hunting and fishing. Results from the 2018 photo contest are as follows:
ADULT
Wildlife
1st: Jay Stockhaus, Clearwater
2nd: Joe Lucas, Littleton, Colo.
3rd: Matt Wastler, Olathe
Outdoor Recreation
1st: Luis Felipe B. B. Feitoza, Manhattan
2nd: Christine Gold, Overland Park
3rd: Christine Gold, Overland Park
Landscapes
1st: Robert Dilla, Wichita (pictured)
2nd: Jeremy Black, Haysville
3rd: Michael Frost, Russell
Other Species
1st: Charles Gibson, Jewell
2nd: Luis Felipe B. B. Feitoza, Manhattan
3rd: Forrest Fee, Morrill
Hunting and Fishing
1st: Renae Goetz, Hill City
2nd: Brad Schlegel, Wichita
3rd: Brad Schlegel, Wichita
YOUTH
Wildlife
1st: Jenna Thompson, Parker
2nd: Michaela Gold, Overland Park
3rd: Danielle Gold, Overland Park
Outdoor Recreation
1st: Tyler Trecek, Alton
2nd: John Walker, Franklin
3rd: Johanna Walker, Franklin
Landscapes
1st: Nick Swallow, Garnett
2nd: Kylie Rankin, Oxford
3rd: Kieren Shultz, Burlingame
Other Species
1st: Danielle Gold, Overland Park
2nd: Michaela Gold, Overland Park
3rd: Maggie Sanders, Rossville
Hunting and Fishing
1st: Isaac Shultz, Burlingame
2nd: Andon Soukup, Park City
3rd: N/A
To purchase a copy of the 2019 photo issue or to subscribe to Kansas Wildlife And Parks Magazine, call (620) 672-5911 or visit ksoutdoors.com/Services/Publications/Magazine.
Details on the 2019 contest will be made available on ksoutdoors.com this spring.
Ellis city council to hear update of water exploration project
ELLIS – City attorney Olavee Raub will update the Ellis city council about the town’s water exploration project during their meeting Monday night.
In other business, Justine Benoit of the Northwest Kansas Planning & Development Commission will talk about the opportunity for swimming pool Community Development Block Grant funding.
The complete Jan. 21 agenda follows.
AGENDA
January 21, 2019
REGULAR MEETING OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF ELLIS
City Hall – Council Meeting Room
BILLS ORDINANCE REVIEW WORK SESSION BEGINS AT 7:00 P.M.
ROLL CALL AND MEETING CALL TO ORDER AT 7:30 P.M.
PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE
AMENDMENTS TO AGENDA (if needed)
- CONSENT AGENDA
- Minutes from Regular Meeting on January 7, 2019
- Minutes from Regular Meeting on January 14, 2019
- Bills Ordinance #2061
(Council will review for approval under one motion under the consent agenda. By majority vote of the governing body, any item may be removed from the consent agenda and considered separately)
PUBLIC COMMENTS
(Each speaker will be limited to five minutes. If several people from the group wish to speak on same subject, the group must appoint a spokesperson. ALL comments from public on agenda items must be during Public Comment. Once council begins their business meeting, no more comments from public will be allowed.)
- PRESENTATIONS OF AWARDS, PROCLAMATIONS, REQUESTS & PETITIONS (HEARINGS)
- SPECIAL ORDER
- Monthly Fire Department Report – Chief Dustin Vine
- Discuss Swimming Pool Community Development Block Grant Funding – Justine Benoit, Northwest Kansas Planning & Development Commission
- UNFINISHED BUSINESS
- Review Small Cell Aesthetic Standards
- Consider Approval of Cost Estimates for 2019 Street Seal Maintenance
- NEW BUSINESS
- Discuss Cedar Lane Lift Station Pumps
- Consider Appointment to City Committee
- Consider Approval of Kansas PRIDE Program Resolution
- Consider Approval to Hire Contractor for Pool Roof Repair
- Consider Approval of Purchase for Water Meters
- Consider Approval of Safety Guideline Manual Revisions
- REPORTS FROM CITY OFFICIALS
- Administrative
- Public Works
- Comparative Water Report
- Department Update
- Police
- Department Update
- City Clerk
- Department Update
- Attorney
- Update on Status of Code Violation Cases
- Update on Water Exploration Project
- Mayor Update and Announcements
- Reminder on Ellis County Comprehensive Plan Town Hall Meeting
- Public Works
- Administrative
EXECUTIVE SESSIONS
- ADJOURNMENT