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Month: January 2019

Judy C. Chance

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Judy C. Chance, 77, of Russell, Kansas, died on Friday, December 28, 2018, at the Hays Medical Center in Hays, Kansas.

Judy was born on November 14, 1941, in Lathrop, Missouri, the daughter of William and Marjorie June (Rice) Goff. She grew up in the Lathrop and Kansas City area and attended local schools. She was united in marriage to Harold Edward Chance and together raised 4 children Teressa, Larry, Kenny and Todd. She was a homemaker and took pride in being a wife and mother. She enjoyed entering contests and decorating her home, especially for holidays. Most of all she enjoyed spending time with her family, especially her grandchildren.

Surviving family include her daughter Teressa Roe and husband Bob of Russell, Kansas; sons Larry Chance, Kenny Chance and Todd Chance; brother Gary Goff and sister Cheryl Ezzard (Peter); and 9 grandchildren.

She was preceded in death by her parents, husband and infant daughter.

A gathering service to meet with Judy’s family will be held from 3 P.M. to 6 P.M. on Saturday, January 19, 2019 at Pohlman-Varner-Peeler Mortuary in Russell, Kansas. Cremation has been selected by the family. Pohlman-Varner-Peeler Mortuary of Russell, Kansas, is in charge of the funeral service arrangements.

James Thomas Gregory

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James Thomas Gregory, age 67, passed away at his home in Norton, KS on January 6, 2019. He was born the son of Vern & Ernestine (Kirk) Gregory on September 12, 1951. he was a carpenter.

Survivors include his daughter Lisa (Curtis) Petty of Grand Junction, CO; a son Travis (Tiffany) Gregory of Montgomery, IL; 4 grandchildren; significant other Heaven Peters of Norton, KS.

Click HERE for service details.

Trial delayed for suspect in Kansas triple killing

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LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) — The trial of a man charged with fatally shooting three people in downtown Lawrence has been pushed back.

Roberts-photo Douglas Co.

Lawyers for 21-year-old Anthony Roberts Jr., of Topeka, said Friday that they needed more time to prepare for the trial. It had been scheduled to begin Feb. 4 but was moved to June 10. Prosecutors didn’t object to the delay.

Shaye Downing and another attorney were appointed to represent Roberts after his old attorney was kicked off the case over concerns about her competency. The concerns culminated in a judge declaring a mistrial in November.

Roberts is charged with three murder counts and one attempted murder count. Two other suspects face less series charges in the October 2017 shooting.

Inez Wasinger

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Inez Wasinger, 90, of Ness City, passed away on Friday, January 11, 2019 at the Ness County Hospital, Ness City. She was born the daughter of Edward and Mary (Leiker) Vogel on her parents’ farm in Ness County on September 27, 1928.

She attended grade school in Ness City and graduated from Sacred Heart Academy, Wichita, Kansas. Inez married Paul Wasinger on September 27, 1948 in Ness City. They were married for 70 years. Inez worked at Bazine State Bank for 33 years as a teller. She loved to spend time with her family and travel. She was a member of the Sacred Heart Church, the Altar Society, and the Gradatium Club.

Inez was preceded in death by her parents; brothers, Dony and Dick Vogel and her son, Dale Wasinger. She is survived by her husband, Paul; children, Paula Wasinger of Overland Park, Kansas, Karen Weir (Rick) of Overland Park; and Rod Wasinger (Tena) of Bennington, Kansas; 6 grandchildren and 12 great-grandchildren; sisters, Vada Stoecklein (Earl) and Jeanette Coffman (Steve); sister-in-law, Carolyn Vogel; and daughter-in-law, Jeanna Wasinger.

Mass of Christian Burial will be held on Wednesday, January 16, 2019, 11:00 a.m.. at Sacred Heart Catholic Church, Ness City with burial following in Sacred Heart Catholic Cemetery. Visitation will be held at Fitzgerald Funeral Home on Tuesday, January 15, 2019 from 9:00 a.m. until 9:00 p.m. with Rosary and Parish Vigil beginning at 6:30 p.m.

Memorial contributions may be given to Sacred Heart Catholic Church or Cedar Village.

The family would like to thank the staff of Cedar Village for the kind care they gave to Inez.

First college insurance certificate recipients recognized; FHSU participating

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KID

TOPEKA — Two 2018 college graduates from Washburn University and Emporia State University are their schools’ first recipients of the Kansas Insurance Certificate, sponsored by the Kansas Insurance Education Foundation (KIEF), the Kansas Board of Regents and the Kansas Insurance Department.

Ariel Jones, who graduated from Washburn University, and Callie Zirkle, an Emporia State University graduate, received the certificates January 10 at a ceremony hosted by Ken Selzer, CPA, Kansas Commissioner of Insurance.

The Kansas Insurance Certificate program began in 2016 through a collaboration among KIEF, the insurance department, and several Kansas higher learning institutions. The certificate gives college students the opportunity to gain a broad understanding about insurance and show prospective insurance industry employers the students’ knowledge of general insurance coursework.

The 12-hour certificate program, if completed, is designed to advance career opportunities for the student in the financial services industry, including insurance. Students can take classes through several institutions.

For the fall 2018 semester, 550 students were enrolled in certificate-eligible courses at Washburn University, Fort Hays State University, the University of Kansas-Edwards Campus, Emporia State University, Pittsburg State University and Kansas State University.

Commissioner Selzer said the program allows the participating schools to offer the focus-area courses online or through traditional classroom instruction.  Students can take the courses they are most interested in, even if they originate at another school within the program.

“Getting the Kansas Insurance Certificate complemented my college degrees and became a distinctive touch on my academic resume,” said Ariel Jones.  “Meanwhile, this certificate presents additional career opportunities and increases networking possibilities with others in the financial services and insurance industries throughout the United States.”

“I am honored that I was able to receive the Kansas Insurance Certificate,” said Callie Zirkle.  “The certificate will be beneficial for my resume, along with opening up career opportunities.”

Each school also offers financial incentives for enrollment in the certificate-eligible courses. More about the program is available at www.ksinsurancecertificate.org.

TMP-M Folk Chorus reunited in song

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Thomas More Prep-Marian

Fr. Mike Scully, O.F.M. Capuchin, wore many hats during his tenure at Thomas More Prep-Marian, teacher, administrator and is probably most remembered, as the leader of the original TMP Folk Chorus.  The Folk Chorus traveled extensively, performing at different venues including many masses throughout the year and even recorded several albums under the leadership of our beloved Fr. Mike.  Dr. Paul ’78 Camarata and Governor Dr. Jeff ’78 Colyer, conceived the idea to honor Fr. Mike Scully with a “Folk Chorus Reunion,” at the Kansas State Capitol Building in Topeka, on Saturday, January 5, 2019.  Wistfully, this was also the final weekend Dr. Colyer would serve the State of Kansas as Governor.

TMP-M photo
Among those in attendance, were 27 members of the 1970 to 1984 Folk Chorus, the era Fr. Mike directed.  In addition, spouses and immediate family of Folk Chorus members were also present, which swelled the overall number to approximately sixty.  Moreover, Chad Meitner, TMP-Marian Principal, Troy ’93 Ruda, TMP-Marian Advancement Director, along with Duane and Mary ’77 (Wilkerson) Lang, Alumni Office Manager, represented the school at this event.  Folk Chorus members attended a practice session in the morning from 10:00 a.m. until noon.  Everyone enjoyed a relaxed lunch of pizza and soda.  The concert commenced at 1:00 p.m. and lasted approximately an hour.  It was held in the Rotunda on the second floor of the State Capitol Building where their voices resonated skyward into the dome.  Following the concert, Governor Colyer took everyone that wished to attend, on a  tour into the private offices of the Governor.  Capitol tours were held on the hour all day long and were available to anyone who wished to go.
Folk Chorus Alumni in attendance were Marie ‘84 (Rajewski) Schmidt, Mike ‘77 Catlett, Tammy ‘84 (Haas) Gipson, Mike ‘83 Ewert, Bob ‘84 Paulbeck, Mike ‘81 Michaud, Cody ‘82 Chavat, Amy ‘84 Staab, Jerry ‘82 Michaud, George ‘72 White, Glenn ‘74 Braun, Tony ‘77 Pianalto, Jeff ‘78 Colyer, Duane ‘80 Weninger, Bob ‘75 Moeder, Ed ‘82 Pianalto, Curt ‘78 Leiker, Al ‘77 Schmidt, Jim ‘70 Buchheister, Bruce ‘76 Lopez, Mike ‘81 Rajewski, Paul ‘76 Winterman, Jeanette ‘78 (Pianalto) Hermes, Paul ‘78 Camarata, Joe ‘78 Bollig, Christine ‘82 (Swenson) Walsh and Linda ‘82 (Leiker) Kepka.
We wish to thank all those who attended and abetted in making this such a prodigious concert.  This event rings true to the “Forever a Monarch,” no matter how far or wide you travel from home, motto.  Please take a look at photographs from the event HERE.

Hoxie farmer takes second in Pioneer sorghum yield content

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JOHNSTON, Iowa – Mat Juenemann of Hoxie, Kansas, recently won State Second place in the Irrigated-No Till West category of the 2018 National Sorghum Producers (NSP) Yield and Management Contest. Juenemann won with Pioneer hybrid 85P05, which yielded 161.17 bu/A.

Pioneer growers won 88 percent of the national awards and 77 percent of the state awards presented in 2018.

First-, second- and third-place national honors were awarded in each of nine categories: dryland-no till east, dryland-no till west, dryland-tillage east, dryland-tillage west, food grade, irrigated-no till east, irrigated-no till west, irrigated-tillage east and irrigated-tillage west.

“We are proud of Mat Juenemann’s accomplishment using Pioneer brand sorghum hybrids in the 2018 NSP Yield Contest,” said Liesel Flansburg, Pioneer sorghum marketing manager, Corteva Agriscience(tm), Agriculture Division of DowDuPont. “We continue to focus on sorghum research to develop products with the best yield potential and strong defensive traits, including sugarcane aphid tolerance, in a variety of growing environments and maturities. Combined with strong management practices, the winners have demonstrated how to maximize the yield potential of the sorghum products.”

— Submitted

Exploring Outdoors Kansas: To smoke or not to smoke

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Steve Gilliland

I make few if any new year’s resolutions, but this year I’ve decided that 2019 is the year when I will take up smoking. For some time I’ve wanted to learn how, and since making my resolution I’ve been doing lots of research. As with any other subject, the internet teems with “how-to” information on learning to smoke, and as it turns out smoking is actually very healthy….Oh, I can see now that this all sounds bad. What I mean is I’ve decided 2019 is the year when I will learn to smoke meat!

A few years ago I bought a nice little Char Broil charcoal grill at a garage sale. The guy said he used it to smoke, but my first and only attempt at using it as a smoker fell flatter than western Kansas and I was ready to declare that smoking meat was just not for me. Then I disassembled an old air compressor I had and declared I’d build a smoker from the tank, but that never happened. I recently spent time with a young guy who was experienced at smoking meat and he convinced me to just buy a smoker and get the learning curve started.

Smoking is the art of slowly cooking meat and vegetables and adding wood, woodchips or pellets to give them a smoky flavor. Commercial smokers are available in several styles and homemade smokers can be made from old tanks, refrigerators, freezers and almost anything else that can be turned into a fairly airtight structure where the heat and smoke can be controlled to cook the product slowly.

Smokers fall into one of two styles; vertical, where the heat and smoke source is directly below the cooking surface, or offset, in which the heat and smoke source is offset from the cooking surface. Smokers can use wood pellets, propane, electricity, charcoal or wood as their heat source, and wood or pellets to produce the smoke.
At my friends urging, as a beginning smoker to learn on, I bought a vertical electric smoker. It’s simply a small insulated cabinet with a heating element in the bottom, a slide-out tray for wood chips to produce smoke and shelves above for holding meat and other food for smoking. Controls on the top allow for setting and adjusting heat within the smoker cabinet as well as the amount of time for smoking. I researched many brands and styles before purchasing, and here are some things I found.

Buying an electric smoker is sort of like voting; you’ll never find one that has everything you want, like you want it, so you have to decide what features are most important to you and buy with those things in mind. I settled on a Smoke Hollow vertical digital electric smoker. It has a large heating element, an external slide-out tray for adding woodchips, legs to raise it off the ground and controls on top where I can use them without bending over, all features that were important to me. Bear in mind, these are beginning level smokers and not competition quality, but after learning a few do’s and don’ts they will still give you tasty meals.

True to our times, the all-knowing internet teems with websites about smokers and smoking food. All brand names have their own websites too and all offer recipes free for the trying. I plan to make my first trial “smoke” a meatloaf called “Not Your Momma’s Meatloaf” found on the Traeger website. I’ve taken the first step toward becoming “a smoker,” and I’ll let you know how this pans out. In the meantime, all you readers with smokers and recipes you would share get them to me along with any advice for beginners like me and we’ll make a column from them. Continue to Explore Kansas Outdoors.

Steve Gilliland, Inman, can be contacted by email at [email protected].

Deadly weekend on Kansas highways

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The weekend snowstorm kept first responders busy. The Kansas Highway Patrol reported working nine injury accidents on Friday and ten on Saturday. Four of those accidents involved fatalities.  

The Phillips County Sheriff’s Office released several photos from accidents they worked in the snow over the weekend.

As snow was falling just after 5p.m. Friday, a semi driver from Mexico Ernesto Rafeal Nevarez Medoza, 41,  died after the semi he was driving westbound on Kansas 156 just east of the Kansas 140 Junction in Ellsworth County collided head-on with another semi.

Lee R. Crum, 81, Oskaloosa, Kansas died in a 2-vehicle crash Friday afternoon in Jefferson County.

Fatal Friday crash scene in Jefferson County photo courtesy WIBW TV

Just after 9p.m. Friday, 62-year-old Bradley S. Horton, Topeka died when his pickup hit a barrier wall on the Kansas Turnpike.

At 9:15 p.m. Saturday, Steven R. Horn, 53, Oklahoma City, died in a head on crash on U.S. 69  just south of Pittsburg. The crash sent four Kansas teens to the hospital with serious injuries.

On Sunday, the Phillips County Sheriff reported they had a busy weekend as the snow began to fall in the area. They released  photos of accidents they worked Friday to remind everyone to slow down when road conditions deteriorate and always buckle up.

Hays Regional Airport serves record number of passengers

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By CRISTINA JANNEY
Hays Post

The Hays Regional Airport will be receiving more funds for improvements from the Federal Aviation Administration, thanks to record boardings in the 2018.

More than 12,000 passengers flew out of the airport last year.

Ovid Seifers, airport manager, said the April addition of SkyWest flights to Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport was the reason for the increase. Flights to Denver were also up slightly.

This included a record month in December, Seifers said. The airport last reached 10,000 boardings in 2011 and 2012.

Since the airport exceeded 10,000 departures in 2018, it is eligible for $1 million in FFA Airport Improvement Funds in 2020. The airport barely missed the 10,000 mark last year, but a loophole will allow the airport to still receive the $1 million in FFA funding in 2019, Seifers said.

Airports that have less than 10,000 travelers receive only $150,000 annually.

The airport has a five-year improvement plan. 2019 improvements include apron and drainage improvements, concrete repair and the purchase of a new snow plow and spreader.

In 2020, the airport plans to replace lighting on the crosswind runway. The runway is currently lit by and an in-ground system that is 20 years old. Because the equipment is buried, it is more susceptible to damage from animals and the elements.

The wiring for the new system will be housed in conduits to protect it and the transformer will be above ground, which will make them easier to maintain. The lights themselves will likely be transitioned to LEDs from incandescent.

Seifers said he thought 2019 will see a slight increase in travelers, although not as significant as in 2018 when the Chicago flights were added.

“I think the City of Hays and its flying community has actively sought better service here,” he said. “They have good service here with SkyWest. The fact that you can go to Denver and O’Hare with one stop to O’Hare in Salina briefly for 30 minutes is great for a community of this size. It doesn’t happen everywhere.”

SkyWest began serving Hays passengers in 2014 with flights to Denver with 50-passenger jets.

The city of Hays in cooperation with SkyWest is offering fares to Chicago and Denver for $89 one way. Flights must be booked by Feb. 26 for flights through May 22. Flights must be booked 14 days in advance. See the airport website for more information.

Partly cloudy, cold Monday

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Monday Cloudy, then gradually becoming mostly sunny, with a high near 37. Southwest wind 6 to 9 mph.

Monday Night Partly cloudy, with a low around 22. Southwest wind around 7 mph.

Tuesday Sunny, with a high near 42. West southwest wind 5 to 7 mph.

Tuesday Night Mostly clear, with a low around 21. West southwest wind around 6 mph becoming north after midnight.

WednesdayMostly sunny, with a high near 35.

Wednesday NightPartly cloudy, with a low around 22.

ThursdayMostly sunny, with a high near 49.

Thursday NightPartly cloudy, with a low around 24.

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