MCPHERSON COUNTY — Authorities are working to determine the cause of an explosion and fire at a McPherson County chemical plant.
Crews on the scene of Thursday’s fire at Chemstar in McPherson – photo courtesy KWCH
Just before 4p.m. Thursday, fire crews responded to Chemstar, 503 West Hayes Street in McPherson, according to Fire Chief Keith Wyssmann.
Fire crews found heavy smoke and fire showing from the facilities. The explosion badly damaged the structure and process machinery. Crews had the fire under control just after 5p.m.
There were no injuries.
Damage is estimated at over $2 million dollars, according to Wyssmann. The plant was still without electrical power late Friday.
The Kansas State Fire Marshal is assisting with the investigation.
Chemstar is a family-owned, Minneapolis, Minnesota-based company that makes starch-based polymer products for industrial applications, according to their corporate web site.
Surveillance camera images provided courtesy Salina Police Department
SALINE COUNTY —Police continue investigating a commercial burglary that occurred at Rod’s Gas Station, 2140 W Crawford in Salina just after midnight December 31.
Merchandise valued at $508 was stolen from the store, and a five-foot by three-foot double pane window valued at $1,000, was broken. The items stolen included lottery tickets, tobacco products, hand tools, and other miscellaneous items.
On Friday, police released security camera images.
If you have any information concerning this person, call Crimestoppers at 825-TIPS, text SATIPS to CRIMES (274637), or visit www.pd.salina.org and follow the Crimestoppers link to submit a web tip. You may receive a cash reward of up to $1,000 and you are not required to give your name.
Grow Hays has announces the formation of its Pitch It entrepreneurship series. The events will be competitions for prospective startups or existing business owners to present their business idea to three judges and an audience.
The “pitch(s)” will consist of 5-minute oral presentation followed by 3 minutes of Q&A similar to a “Shark Tank” presentation. Upon the conclusion of all five presentations, the judges will determine the winner who will be awarded a $500 cash prize. The competition is open to anyone but will be limited to five participants per event.
“Developing an environment that fosters entrepreneurship in Ellis County is critical to the long term financial stability of our community. These events offer an opportunity for prospective or existing entrepreneurs to present their idea to not only a group of judges but also to an audience of potential lenders, investors and mentors. People who can help the entrepreneur make their dream a reality,” said Doug Williams, Executive Director of Grow Hays.
“Whether it is someone starting a brand new business, an existing owner looking to expand, or develop a new product, this series gives the presenter the opportunity to reach an audience they might not otherwise be able to.”
The events will be open to the public and held at BriefSpace, 219 W. 10th, Hays. The first event is set for Tuesday, Jan. 22, beginning with a social gathering at 6:30 p.m. The presentations will being promptly at 7 p.m. Those interested in making presentations should contact Grow Hays at 785.628.3102 or emailing [email protected].
FAYETTE, Iowa – The Fort Hays State wrestling team moved up two spots in the third set of regular season DII Wrestling Coaches Association Top 25 Poll, released Friday (Jan. 11) by the organization. The Tigers are one three teams at No. 12, tied with Drury and Indianapolis. The Tigers are also one of five MIAA teams in the national rankings as Nebraska-Kearney dropped to No. 2, switching places with St. Cloud State for the second-consecutive set of rankings. Lindenwood jumped to No. 6, Central Oklahoma dipped to No. 18 and Newman slipped to No. 23.
In the individual rankings, junior Brandon Ball stays put at No. 2 at 141 pounds. He sits at 12-0 on the year with individual titles at the Bethany Swede Open and the Bob Smith Open. At the National Duals (Jan. 4), Ball finished 3-0, including a strong victory over then-No. 3 ranked individual Joey Alessandro of Pitt-Johnstown.
Also in the rankings is Efe Osaghae, who held steady as the fourth-ranked wrestler in the 157-pound weight class. The sophomore continues to put together a strong campaign thus far at 15-2 after a 3-0 performance at the National Duals last week in Louisville, Ky.
Entering the individual rankings for the first time as a Tiger, Marty Verhaeghe is tabbed No. 9 in the 174-pound weight class. Verhaeghe sits 15-6 overall and 13-2 against Division II competition.
The Tigers set to face off with Lindenwood tonight in their first home MIAA Dual. The battle is set to commence at 7 p.m. inside Gross Memorial Coliseum. Fort Hays State then hosts the Kansas Cup on Sunday (Jan. 13) inside GMC as well.
OAKLAND, Calif. — A U.S. judge said Friday that a “substantial number” of women would lose free birth control coverage under new rules by the Trump administration that allow more employers to opt out of providing the benefit on religious and moral grounds.
BRAINS THE HEAD / FLICKR-CC
Judge Haywood Gilliam made the comment at a continuing hearing over California’s attempt to block the rules.
The changes set to go into effect on Monday would allow more employers, including publicly traded companies, to opt out of providing no-cost contraceptive coverage to women by claiming religious objections. Some private employers could also object on moral grounds.
Gilliam previously blocked an interim version of those rules — a decision that was upheld in December by an appeals court.
The case is before him again after the administration finalized the measures in November, prompting a renewed legal challenge by California and other states.
Gilliam was not expected to rule immediately.
At issue is a requirement under President Barack Obama’s health care law that birth control services be covered at no additional cost. Obama officials included exemptions for religious organizations. The Trump administration expanded those exemptions.
The rules “protect a narrow class of sincere religious and moral objectors from being forced to facilitate practices that conflict with their beliefs,” the U.S. Department of Justice said in court documents.
The states argue that millions of women could lose free birth control services, forcing them to seek contraceptive care through state-run programs and leading to unintended pregnancies.
Attorneys for California and the other states said in court documents the new rules were similar to the interim measures. One difference is a suggestion in the new rules that women can seek contraceptive coverage through federal family planning clinics for low-income people, according to the states.
The states say that would be an inadequate replacement for the contraceptive coverage many women currently have.
Hillsboro Community Hospital faces other financial problems, including a foreclosure suit filed by a bank.
By DAN MARGOLIES Kansas News Service
An eleventh-hour payment of $16,644 for delinquent utility bills averted a threatened cutoff of electricity at tiny Hillsboro Community Hospital in central Kansas.
The city, 50 miles north of Wichita and home to about 3,000 people, said in a brief news release that it gave notice to the hospital on Jan. 8 that it would shut off utilities effective at noon Friday. It received the payment in the morning.
“Accordingly, the presently noticed utility shut-off at the Hospital has been averted,” the release states. “It is the City’s ongoing desire to undertake reasonable steps to assist in keeping the Hospital open, while also being a good steward of the City’s finances and utility resources.”
Larry Paine, the city’s administrator, declined to comment, citing ongoing litigation in which the city is involved.
Earlier this week, Paine told KCUR that the hospital’s owner, North Kansas City-based EmpowerHMS, fell behind on three months of utility payments and had made no effort in recent weeks to communicate with the town.
“When we first started talking to them about the delinquency, they said, ‘You really have to wait until we get our Medicare payments in late January or February,’” Paine said, referring to officials at EmpowerHMS. “And then they sent us $12,000 and we haven’t heard from them since.”
That $12,000 check was returned for insufficient funds.
The 15-bed hospital had two patients as of Thursday. Had the lights been turned off, the hospital had plans to run on auxiliary power.
The hospital’s director of nursing could not be reached for comment.
The hospital is not out of the financial woods yet.
On Jan. 8, the Bank of Hays petitioned to foreclose on the hospital after it defaulted on a 2015 construction loan with an outstanding balance of nearly $10 million. The facility opened in 2017, replacing an older building.
The bank’s attorney in Wichita, Creath Pollak, declined to comment about the foreclosure petition. The petition also names the city and other defendants.
If the bank were to foreclose on the hospital, presumably it would continue running it until it found a buyer.
The hospital is one of about 20 rural hospitals, including several in Kansas and Missouri, acquired by EmpowerHMS in the last few years.
The company, which is headed by Miami resident Jorge Perez, has said its mission is to save distressed rural hospitals from closure.
To do that, it has billed insurers for lab tests run through some of the hospitals — even though few if any of the tests were for the hospitals’ own patients. The arrangement took advantage of the higher reimbursement rates so-called critical access hospitals receive.
But insurers began questioning the legality of the arrangement and, in some cases, sued to recover the money they paid for the lab tests.
Hillsboro Community Hospital paid its employees late twice last month, as did three EmpowerHMS’ hospitals in Oklahoma, one in Tennessee and another in Arkansas.
Dan Margolies is a senior reporter and editor at KCUR. You can reach him on Twitter @DanMargolies.
The National Weather Service is now expecting between 4 and 7 inches of snowfall to fall in central and west-central Kansas beginning Friday afternoon and continuing into Saturday morning.
Rain is expected to change to snow between 2 and 4 p.m. Friday. The heaviest snowfall is predicted in the pink area of the image above.
As of 1 p.m. Friday, the NWS said the band of snowfall likely will be Highway 50 and Interstate 70.
North winds up to 25 mph also are expected to lead to blowing snow and limited visibility for drivers.
SEDGWICK COUNTY — Law enforcement authorities continue investigating a Thursday afternoon officer-involved shooting that critically injured a wanted suspect.
Officer nearly hit by the wanted suspect in the red vehicle-photo courtesy Wichita Police
Just after 1 p.m. two police officers and a Kansas Department of Corrections (KDOC) employee working with the enforcement apprehension unit, attempted to arrest a known 29-year-old suspect in the parking lot of the Sedgwick County Corrections Office, 905 N. Main, according to Deputy Police Chief Troy Livingston. The officers knew the suspect to be armed and dangerous.
Multiple warrants existed for the suspect including for three counts of aggravated robbery, aggravated battery; intentional bodily harm with a deadly weapon and aggravated assault; use of a deadly weapon.
The second Sedgwick County warrant was for aggravated assault; use of a deadly weapon and attempted theft of property or services. The suspect also had traffic warrants out of Newton and Wichita.
In one case, the suspect pointed a handgun and threatened loss prevention employees to avoid apprehension. In another case, the suspect entered a home armed with a handgun along with other armed suspects. The suspects battered three males in the home and a shot was fired. The suspects stole property and fled.
The officers made multiple previous attempts to have the suspect turn himself in peacefully. The officers were conducting follow-up on the suspect and believed he may arrive at approximately 1 p.m. at the Sedgwick County Corrections Office with his 26-year-old girlfriend.
The Officers observed the suspect arrive driving a red 2008 Ford Focus and park in a parking stall. His girlfriend exited the vehicle and entered the Corrections Office. The KDOC employee pulled behind the suspect vehicle and the two WPD Officers parked an unmarked vehicle and approached the front of the vehicle. The officers drew their handguns and gave verbal instructions for the suspect to exit the vehicle.
The suspect refused to exit the vehicle, reversed the vehicle forcefully ramming the KDOC vehicle and then pulled forward turning toward a WPD officer on the driver’s side of the vehicle, almost striking him. The two WPD officers fired multiple shots toward the suspect vehicle, striking the suspect multiple times.
The suspect drove the vehicle over a parking block, into a metal pole in the parking lot, into a concrete pillar, crossed Main Street and struck a concrete fence on the east side of Main. The suspect was transported to an area hospital and was reported critical condition on Friday morning, according to Livingston.
A WPD officer received minor injuries to his arm while removing the suspect from the vehicle, after the crash. The suspect was in possession of a handgun, and officers determined the tag on the Focus was reported stolen in Sedgwick County.
The WPD officer’s involved are a 13-year-veteran and a 5-year-veteran of the department. Both officers are part of the WPD Violent Crimes Task Force. Both officers have been placed on paid administrative leave, which is standard protocol in officer-involved shootings.
The case will be presented to the Sedgwick County District Attorney’s Office.
The WPD have requested the assistance of the Kansas Bureau of Investigation to provide accountability and transparency.
Ron Wilson is director of the Huck Boyd National Institute for Rural Development at Kansas State University.
By RON WILSON Huck Boyd National Institute for Rural Development
Friendship and food. That’s what a person can expect to find in a special restaurant and bakery in a pretty small town setting in a northeast Kansas community. This enterprise has also significantly expanded its catering business in the region.
Mike Pray and Jake Trummer are co-owners of the Friendship House in Wamego, Kansas. The rich history of this eating establishment goes back to the 1980s.
In 1988, an old Dutch windmill was relocated into Wamego’s City Park and used as a site to grind flour. The production of the stone-ground wheat flour gave birth to an idea: Why not bake the flour into a finished product for Wamego’s visitors and residents? Three Wamego women purchased a house adjoining the city park to establish such a place.
Rosemary Crilly, Barbara Meinhardt, and Kathy Freeze went together to establish this business. Those three women named it Friendship House. “They were just looking for a friendly place to get together for a cup of coffee and a roll,” Mike Pray said. Baked goods and tasty lunches were the key elements of their offerings.
After 11 years, the restaurant was purchased by the Feyh family which operated it for another nine years. As the Feyhs neared retirement, they announced that the Friendship House would close if no one purchased it. Mike and Margo Pray bought it in 2008.
Mike had traveled the world in an Air Force family. He came back to the Wamego area where his grandparents lived, went to K-State, and worked in the fast food industry. After he bought the Friendship House, he was joined by Jake Trummer in 2009.
Jake had grown up in a big family at the rural community of Belvue, population 205 people. Now, that’s rural.
“We had a big garden and nine fruit trees,” Jake said. “I loved cooking and all aspects of food.” Jake worked in a butcher shop and then trained under a couple of chefs. Today he is head chef and part-owner with Mike of the Friendship House in Wamego.
“I fell in love with this little town,” Jake said. He and Mike have significantly expanded the business in the years since they began together.
Today, the Friendship House is open seven days a week for breakfast and lunch. A full homemade breakfast is available every day, with a brunch on Sundays from 11 to 2. On other days, the Friendship House is open till 3.
The goal continues to be “home cooking just like Grandma makes.” Baked goods are baked every day. This includes breads, cookies, bierocks, and delicious pastries. The menu includes soups, salads, sandwiches, gourmet burgers, daily specials, kids menu, and more.
A major change at the Friendship House has been the expansion of the catering business. “We are providing home-cooked food, prepared from scratch daily,” Jake said. “Not many caterers can provide dinner rolls that were baked fresh that day.”
The Friendship House got a contract to cater K-State football and basketball events, and is doing many more events of all kinds. In 2015, they converted the outside dining area into a catering kitchen to keep up with the demand. “When I started, catering was 5 to 10 percent of our revenue, and now it is 40 to 45 percent – while our overall revenue has grown much larger too,” Jake said.
“Wamego is a wonderful community,” Mike Pray said. “They do so many activities. The pyro crew that does the Fourth of July fireworks is amazing. Then there is the Oz Museum. I have pictures of me with the munchkins who come here for Oztoberfest.”
“People here really support you,” he said. “It’s like a family.”
Friendship and food. Those things and much more can be found at this remarkable eating establishment in Wamego. We salute Mike Pray, Jake Trummer, and all those involved with the Friendship House for making a difference with home-cooked food serving multiple communities. The goal continues to be fantastic food, fun friendships, and family feeling.
Season passes to the Hays Aquatic Park and Wilson Pool were up significantly in 2018, while general admission was down slightly.
A season financial report was presented to the Hays city commission Thursday night by Jeff Boyle, parks director, and Roger Bixenman, Hays Recreation Commission (HRC) superintendent.
The city contracts with HRC to manage the pools. Separate city general fund budgets pay for maintenance of the pools, along with the operating contract. The contract stipulates any operating loss or surplus incurred by HRC will be shared 50/50 as long as the HRC’s portion of the loss does not exceed $26,000.
The 2018 total HRC loss was $39,337.40 of which the city will pay 50 percent, or $19,668.70.
Commissioners unanimously approved the HRC reimbursement request after Shaun Musil asked what effect there would be on attendance if admission was raised by one dollar.
“I don’t think it would hurt attendance,” Bixenman responded. He noted adult admission was raised three or four years ago.
“We are affordable. We’re doing the early bird season passes now,” said Bixenman. “It’s a great place to go.”
Currently, HAP admission rates are $3 for children and $4 for adults 18 and older. Wilson’s rates are both one dollar less.
Attendance at the Hays Aquatic Park increased in 2018 with 49,670 patrons compared to 48,238 in 2017. Wilson Pool also saw an increase in attendance to 4,058 patrons in 2018 compared to 3,772 in 2017.
Attendance at Wilson during the 2018 season was the second highest in history.
On Friday, police released security camera images.
