February 2019 – Page 23 – Hays Post Archive

SRP events welcome potential FHSU students

Posted on February 22, 2019February 21, 2019

Jon Armstrong, left, interim director of admissions at Fort Hays State University, visits with Wamego High School senior Caden Moore and his parents, Jason and Roshelle Moore, at FHSU’s Student Recognition Program event in Topeka earlier this month. (Photo by Tiffany Reddig.)

By DIANE GASPER-O’BRIEN
FHSU University Relations and Marketing

For Jacob Wick, it will be somewhat of a homecoming. For his high school classmate, Caden Moore, it will be making a new home for himself when they begin their college careers at Fort Hays State University next fall.

The two Wamego High School seniors were part of a group students honored at an annual Student Recognition Program at the Ramada Inn in Topeka earlier this month.

The Topeka SRP is one of 12 of its kind – all across the state and one each in Colorado and Nebraska – held during a month’s time through January and February. The 2019 SRPs will conclude this week, with events at Beloit Thursday and at Garden City and Dodge City on Sunday.

Topeka’s program was the second such event of the day for representatives from the FHSU admissions office, who were in Overland Park earlier in the day on Feb. 10.

It was double duty again the following Sunday for Jon Armstrong, interim director of admissions, and his crew. Following a morning SRP in Kearney, Neb., on Feb. 17, nearly 100 students were recognized at the Hays event, annually held on the Fort Hays State campus.

“Sure, it’s busy this time of year,” said Hugo Perez, assistant director of admissions who has attended every single one of the SRPs this year. “But it’s our job. It’s what we do, and I love it.”

What admissions personnel do at the SRP events that began in 1989 is to recognize students who have expressed interest in FHSU and to give them and their parents and family an introduction to the university.

Other university officers, administrators and faculty also attend the programs to answer questions.

This year was a record-breaking attendance at the Topeka site with 54 students from the surrounding area being recognized.

Two of those were Wick and Moore, who made the 40-mile trip with their parents.

Wick, who was born and raised in Hays before moving to Wamego with his family when he was entering sixth grade, said he had been thinking about FHSU as one of his options for post-secondary education.

Even after a diligent search – he checked out four other universities, some larger than Fort Hays State, some similar size – Wick decided on FHSU.

“After being raised in Hays, I always thought it was a possibility to come back here for college,” said Wick, who plans to major in business-finance with a minor in banking.

“The campus is smaller than some, just the right size,” he said, “and the amount of scholarships you can get makes it really affordable.”

Moore also was impressed with the financial aid opportunities as well as the academics – and why not?

He received a Tier 1 award through FHSU’s Honors College as well as other scholarships. The Tier 1 is a $10,000 award for tuition and room and board, renewable for three years.

“I really liked the environment and the small student-to-teacher ratio, too,” said Moore, who plans to major in pre-law.

Following talks by FHSU administrators, including President Tisa Mason, those in attendance are treated to a video about the university featuring student success stories.

Every single student at the SRP is then recognized, called to the front of the room, and gets the opportunity to take a photo with Mason.

Each of the SRP events also features two scholarship drawings – a $500 award to be used toward tuition costs and a $600 textbook award – as well as a drawing for a laptop computer.

Because of the size of the Hays SRP (nearly 100 attended this year) two awards each of $500 and $600 were given out.

Megan Gray, a senior at Valley Heights High School in Blue Rapids, was excited about attending the Topeka event, and that was even before her name was drawn out as the winner of the laptop.

Gray, who will be a third-generation student for her family next fall, plans to major in elementary education. Her grandparents, Steve and Carol Hood, also have degrees from Fort Hays State, as does her mother, Tonya Metcalf.

Gray became interested in Fort Hays State when her mom earned her bachelor’s degree in nursing online through FHSU’s Virtual College. Gray decided to schedule a campus visit and liked what she saw.

“I love the campus,” Gray said. “It wasn’t too big, and everyone was so welcoming.”

Several students at the SRP events are children of FHSU alumni.

One of those at the Hays event was Jenna Howard from WaKeeney, who plans to major in geosciences. Her parents, Hardy and Dawn Howard, each have two degrees from FHSU.

“I knew Dad really liked it here,” Jenna Howard said of one reason she was interested in Fort Hays State. Another was that her oldest sister, Larissa, is majoring in geosciences at FHSU and is scheduled to graduate in May. “And I really like the campus and the professors.”

Emily Schippers, a senior at Thomas More Prep-Marian High School in Hays, also is following her older sister, as well as a parent, to FHSU.

Sara Schippers is a sophomore nursing student, the same major that Emily has chosen.

However, Emily said that she had been thinking about the medical field long before her sister chose nursing.

“I chose nursing mostly because of her, and I chose Fort Hays State because of him,” Schippers said, nodding toward her parents. The Schippers sisters’ mom, Geralyn, is a registered nurse, and their dad, Troy, is an FHSU graduate.

Schippers said being close to home was a consideration, as well as “the homey environment.” She also has already received some scholarships to help with her college expenses.

Scholarship aid from FHSU is nothing new for the Schippers family.

“I grew up in the ’80s during the farm crises,” said Troy Schippers, who lived at home in Victoria during his college days so he could help his dad on the family farm. “I was fortunate to have a renewable scholarship to help with costs. Now, the scholarships are even better. I got a degree in finance, and I’m very proud to be an FHSU grad.”

Tina Wick, Jacob Wick’s mom and another Fort Hays State alum, said she would have supported her son’s decision, no matter where he decided to attend college. But she admitted she was partial to her alma mater.

“In my heart, yes, I was glad he chose (FHSU) just because I had such a great experience in college there,” she said. “I feel that companies heavily recruit Fort Hays State grads, because they know the product of the students coming out – both with their knowledge and their work ethic.”

The Wicks still have several friends in Hays, and Tina Wick said she is looking forward to returning to FHSU more often now. She said she hasn’t changed her mind in nearly 30 years about the quality of it programs.

“Fort Hays State was so much more advanced in its graphic design department than the larger schools back then. Now, I can hardly wait to see what the new art building is going to look like,” Wick, a graphic design graduate, said of the new art and design building scheduled for completion for fall 2019.

“FHSU was a great school back when I was in college,” she continued, “but it seems like it’s even better today in what it has to offer.”

FHSU students urged to be wary when it comes to cyber security

Posted on February 22, 2019February 22, 2019

By CRISTINA JANNEY
Hays Post

“Trust no one. Trust no network.”

Jessica States, information security officer for Fort Hays State University, gives a lecture on cyber security on Wednesday at FHSU.

Jessica States, information security officer for Fort Hays State University, was trying to emphasize the prevalence of scams and phishing on the Internet.

She addressed a few of the issues students and faculty face during a Wednesday online security lecture sponsored by the American Democracy Project.

States focused on three main areas, including job scams, extortion and credential theft plus left her audience with a few general tips and resources for cyber security.

Job scams

FHSU students are consistently being targeted by job scams. The example States shares Wednesday resulted in a FHSU student losing about $2,000.

The student received a letter offering a job for which he would be paid in advance. The letter came from an .edu address from a person claiming to be a college professor. The student received and deposited several checks in his bank account. In the meantime, the scammer requested the student purchase gift cards and send him the redemption codes, so he could send a gift to his nephew.

By the time the bank a couple of weeks later had alerted the student the checks were fraudulent, the money on the gift cards had been spent.

States said students and other consumers fall prey to job scams because they don’t understand how the banking system works.

“So true or false? When you deposit a check or money order into your account, does your bank make sure it’s good before they put the money in your account?” States asked. “Most people think this is true. They think your bank verifies a check is good before they let you spend the money. This is false.”

States said people assume because the check shows up as a memo line on their account, the bank has verified the authenticity of the check. This can take up to a couple of weeks, especially if your bank is trying to clear a check from an international bank.

Red flags in this email included a wage that seemed to be too good to be true — $450 per week for three hours of work.

“If it seems too good to be true, it probably is,” States said. “This is where, especially our younger students get caught. They think it is coming to my Fort Hays email address. It sounds really good. It talks about Fort Hays. It must be legitimate. If they would just take a second, pause and think about it, it is really too good to be true.”

No employers should ever ask you to buy gift cards or wire them money. Paying in advance is also suspicious.

Email addresses should not be trusted. Email accounts can be hacked or spoofed.

Check out the alleged employer, States said. You should be able to track down the person through LinkedIn and contact them through other means than the email address you have been given.

The scammer also attempted to get the student to use an alternate email address rather than the more secure university account, which circumvents the university’s firewalls

Extortion

On Monday, a university staff member received an extortion email. The email threatened to release an email containing embarrassing information about the staff member to all of their email contacts unless a $977 ransom was paid in bitcoin.

The subject was the person’s username and an old password, which made it appear more authentic.

There have been tons of data breaches in recent years, including Yahoo, eBay and Sony PlayStation, so it is very possible you have a current or old password out there on the dark web, States said.

“Scammers are going to use any personal information they have about you to make the scam seem more realistic,” States said.

States said she doubted the scammer had any compromising information on the person in question. Scammers prey on fear and a victim’s guilty conscience.

Fort Hays has never paid an extortion ransom, but States said she did not know about individuals.

If you are hit with an extortion attempt, don’t panic and don’t reply to the email. If you reply to the email, the scammer knows they have a legitimate email address.

If you are still using the password the scammer has noted in the email, change it immediately on all accounts it is being used on.

Mark the email as spam and delete it.

“It is basically free for them to send millions of emails,” States said. “The one statistic that I was looking at earlier, there are 100 million phishing emails that go out everyday. … Even if 99 percent of them are blocked, that would still be a million that would get through. That is a lot. Even if one person falls for it, they have just made $977 in bitcoin for very little work.”

A fake tech support scam that was circulating last year made the scammers an estimated $24 million in two months, States said.

Credential theft

On Monday, States said someone at the university reported being the subject of an attempted credential theft scam.

The attacker spoofed the From line to indicate it was coming from the user’s own email. The scammer was trying to get the recipient to enter his or her account username and password.

If you would have hovered over the link with your cursor, you would have seen it took you to an odd off-campus address, States said.

The email had some grammar mistakes, which should be a clue that it was a fake.

“The thing you have to remember, for people who especially English is not their first language, grammar mistakes are not a big indication of phishing,” States said. “While I do put some emphasis on that, it is not always the greatest tool to figure out it is phishing. Plus I have seen some official emails that came out that had some pretty glaring mistakes.”

Phishing messages can also come via text.

Scam signs

• Who is it from?

• Look at the Reply To. Is that different than the alleged sender? The scammer may have stolen an email address and is now trying to redirect you.

• Sense of urgency. Scammer may try to get you to act right away without being able to confirm information or think things through.

• Generic greetings

• Scammer is requesting a credit card number

• Hover over links, so you know where it is taking you.

• Be wary of attachments

• Is the sender who they say they are? If an email that is supposedly coming from a friend does not sound like that person, independently confirm the information in the email before taking action. Your friend may have been hacked.

Don’t

• Wire money to someone you don’t know

• Buy and provide people with codes for gift cards

• Trust Caller ID

• Trust email addresses. They can be faked.

Do

• Resist the urge to act immediately

• Check the story out

• Look at a URL before you click on it.

• Let unknown numbers go to voicemail

• Use strong, unique passwords

• Report phishing or scams to FHSU Tech Support, the police, and/or Google

• Enroll in two-factor authentication. This pairs something you know with something you have, such as a password with a cell phone or a hardware token that can receive a security code. FHSU faculty and staff are moving to this security process this week. It will be optional for FHSU students as of this summer.

Helpful links

Check to see if you have an account that has been comprised in a data breach, haveibeenpwned.com

Phishing quiz, phishingquiz.withgoogle.com/

Cyber security tips, www.stopthinkconnect.org

Cold, wet Friday

Posted on February 22, 2019February 21, 2019

Friday. A chance of snow and sleet before 8am, then a chance of drizzle between 8am and noon, then a chance of rain showers after noon. Patchy fog before noon, then patchy fog after 1pm. Otherwise, cloudy, with a high near 40. Southeast wind 11 to 13 mph. Chance of precipitation is 30%.

Friday Night A chance of rain showers before 4am, then a chance of snow and sleet. Areas of fog before 7pm. Otherwise, cloudy, with a low around 30. Southeast wind 8 to 13 mph. Chance of precipitation is 50%. Little or no snow and sleet accumulation expected.

SaturdaySnow, possibly mixed with sleet, becoming all snow after 9am. The snow could be heavy at times. Widespread blowing snow, mainly after 1pm. High near 31. Very windy, with an east northeast wind 10 to 20 mph becoming north northwest 33 to 43 mph. Winds could gust as high as 60 mph. Chance of precipitation is 100%. New snow and sleet accumulation of 3 to 7 inches possible.

Saturday NightPatchy blowing snow before midnight. Mostly clear, with a low around 19. Very windy, with a west northwest wind 27 to 37 mph decreasing to 9 to 19 mph.

SundaySunny, with a high near 32.

Kansas House panel rejects same-day voter registration bill

Posted on February 22, 2019February 22, 2019

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — A Republican-controlled legislative committee has rejected a Democratic proposalto allow Kansas residents to register to vote on the same day they cast their ballots.

The House Elections Committee’s vote Thursday was 7-5 against the measure. The state’s current registration deadline is three weeks before an election.

Republicans argued Thursday that the change would increase costs for county election offices. They’ve worried in the past about potential voter fraud.

Same-day registration is a longstanding goal of Democrats and voting-rights groups. They see it as a way to boost turnout.

Democratic Rep. Tim Hodge of North Newton said: “Why do want to keep people from voting?”

Republicans control the committee because they have a House majority. GOP Rep. J.C. Moore of Clearwater joined the committee’s four Democrats in supporting the bill.

Kansas man with 9 previous convictions charged with kidnapping

Posted on February 22, 2019February 22, 2019

Reno County — A Kansas felon has been formally charged after an incident at a motel in Hutchinson.

On February 12, Hutchinson police officers were called to the Sunflower Inn on the report of an armed subject. Two employees at the motel told police they were threatened by 37-year-old Marten Alan Andes and that he put them in fear for their safety.

According to police Andes also allegedly forced his girlfriend into a car at gunpoint and threatened to kill her and their 8-month-old child. He is accused of putting the gun to her head while making the threats.

During the incident, Andes fired the gun in the air a couple of times.

Andes remains jailed on a bond of $242,500 for aggravated kidnapping, criminal threat, criminal possession of a firearm, possession of methamphetamine and two counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.

He has nine previous convictions including aggravated robbery, aggravated arson, theft, burglary, weapons violations and for drugs, according to the Kansas Department of Corrections.

He will be back in court on March 20.

Hutch-Trinity sweeps TMP in regular season finale

Posted on February 22, 2019

Hutch-Trinity girls 53, TMP 37

The Hutchinson-Trinity Catholic Lady Celtics used a 9-0 run to end the first quarter and open the second quarter to build an eight-point with 5:45 to play in the first and they would never trail again on their way to a 53-37 win Thursday at Al Billinger Fieldhouse.

Rose McFarland postgame

The Monarchs opened the game with back-to-back threes from Jillian Lowe and Adell Riedel to go up 6-0 but the Celtics answered with a pair of threes of their own to tie the game at six. The two teams were tied two more times in the first quarter, including at 13-13 before the Celtics put together that 9-0 run.

In the second quarter Hutchinson-Trinity built a double-digit lead with 4:20 to play in the second before leading 29-19.

The Celtics opened the second half on a 6-0 run and outscored the Monarchs by 12 in the third quarter as they built on their double-digit lead on their way to the 53-37 win.

On Senior night Emily Schippers collected 12 points to lead the Monarchs and Trinity’s Olivia Shank lead all scorers with 22.

Game highlights

The loss ends the Monarchs’ eight-game win streak and drops them to 15-5 on the season. They will host Hoisington on Monday at 7 p.m.

Hutch-Trinity boys 74, TMP 54

The Hutch-Trinity boys opened the game on a 14-2 run and Kaleb Hammeke poured in a new season-high 32 points to lead the Celtics passed the TMP boys 74-54 Thursday at Al Billinger Fieldhouse.

Bill Meagher postgame

After jumping out to the 12-point first quarter lead Trinity went up by 15, at 22-7 with just under two minutes to play but TMP was able to cut the deficit to eight at the end of one when Ryan Stoecklein came off the bench and hit three straight threes.

Stoecklein, who missed much of the season with an ankle injury would re-injure it late in the first quarter and not return to the game.

The Celtics were able to build their lead back up to 12 on two separate occasions in the second quarter but the Monarchs never went away and a Jackson Schulte three-pointer coupled with a Ryan Karlin fast break bucket cut the Trinity lead to 36-30.

But every time the Monarchs made a run the Celtics had an answer. This time they outscored the Monarchs 16-2 over a five-minute stretch of the second and third quarters to go up 52-32.

A lead the Monarchs could never overcome as they fall 74-54.

Game highlights

Kaleb Hammeke, who committed to Fort Hays State this week, lead all scorers with 32 points and his brother Lucas added 17.

The Monarchs were led by Ryan Karlin who finished with 12 points. Fellow senior Jack Johnson finished with seven points, nine rebounds and five blocks.

TMP drops to 10-11 on the season and will host Lyons in the first round of sub-state Tuesday.

Tiger men hold off Bronchos to secure MIAA Tournament berth

Posted on February 21, 2019February 21, 2019

EDMOND, Okla. – Brady Werth scored 22 points, Jared Vitztum added 15 and hit a key 3-pointer with less than a minute to play to lift Fort Hays State to a 69-66 win over Central Oklahoma Thursday night at Hamilton Fieldhouse. Devin Davis came off the bench to add 13 as the Tigers (16-9, 10-6 MIAA) moved into sole possession of fourth place in the MIAA and clinched a spot in next month’s MIAA Tournament.

Mark Johnson Postgame Interview

Game Highlights

FHSU, who played most of the game without Marcus Cooper who’s was sidelined wth an ankle injury, trailed by five at halftime and were down eight early in the second half before a 10-0 run capped by a Jared Vitztum three put them up 43-41. UCO (10-15, 3-13 MIAA) scored the next seven to go up five but a 7-0 FHSU run put them up 50-48.

The two teams would exchange baskets before a 7-0 run by the Tigers put them up 67-61 with 34 seconds to play.
After a couple of Brady Werth free throws pushed the lead to 69-63 with 28 seconds to play, the Bronchos got a three from Adarius Avery to pull within three.

The Tigers turned the ball over in the back court but Josh Holliday missed a wide open corner three. Avert had a chance to tie the game following a missed Kyler Kinnamon free throw but his 75-foot have at the horn bounced off the backboard.

Avery led all scoring with a career-high 36 points.

Hays splits at Dodge City to end WAC play

Posted on February 21, 2019

Hays High visited Dodge City on Thursday night. The game was originally scheduled for Tuesday but was rescheduled due to winter weather. Both this game in Dodge City and Friday Night’s game versus Abilene counted towards sub-state tournament records.

The Hays girls will host Kapaun next Wednesday to open up postseason while the boys will be on the road to Salina Central next Thursday.

Both teams will finish the regular season with senior night against Abilene tomorrow night.

Girls

Hays 56 – Dodge City 49

A 7-0 run during first quarter put Dodge City in front 9-4 as the Indians made just two of their first ten shots. Hays trailed much of the first half and nearly the entire second quarter. However, the Indians stayed in the game despite shooting just 29% in the first half. Hays tied the game four different times before taking the lead on an Isabel Robben layup with five seconds left in the second quarter. The basket gave the Indians a 26-24 lead at halftime.

Highlights

Hays trailed just once in the second half. Leading by five in the early stages of the third quarter Hays saw Dodge City go on a 8-2 run to regain the lead at 32-31. Hays though answered right back on a 7-0 run to grab the lead for good in the third quarter. Though the Indians did not trail again, doesn’t mean things were easy. Hays led by six early in the fourth quarter before the Red Demons scored six straight points to tie the game at 41 with 5:15 left in the game. Hays scored the next ten points of the game with the help of full court pressure that forced four straight turnovers. The ten point lead and free throw shooting provided enough cushion to win 56-49.

Coach Alex Hutchins

The Indians finish second in the Western Athletic Conference at 6-2 and move to 13-6 overall. Savannah Schneider scores a team high 16 in the victory.

Boys

Dodge City 41 – Hays 37

Hays never trailed in the first half against Dodge City. Following game opening three pointers from each team, the Indians went on a 9-0 run to build their largest first half lead of 12-3. The Indians scored just eight points in the remaining ten minutes of the half. The Hays defense though kept Dodge City from doing much on their end of the offense. A 14-5 run tied the game for the Red Demons but it took 6:20 to do so. Hays outscored Dodge City 3-2 in the final ninety seconds of the half for a 20-19 halftime lead.

Highlights

Dodge City took their first lead of the second half after scoring first in the third quarter. Trailing 21-20 and 23-22 the Indians established a lead once again and lead 29-28 heading to the fourth quarter. Hays opened the fourth quarter with a Braiden Meyers three pointer and a three point play from Tradgon McCrae to build a seven point lead at 35-28.

The Indians would only score one more basket the rest of the game. The field goal with 4:10 left lifted Hays to a 37-33 advantage. Dodge City didn’t have much offense to close out the game but it was just enough. The Red Demons took the lead at 39-37 on their third three pointer of the quarter and seventh of the game. Hays still stood a chance in the final minute as Dodge City made just two of four free throws but the Indians couldn’t get a shot to go through the rim losing 41-37.

Coach Rick Keltner

Hays falls to 9-10 and finishes 4-4 in the WAC. Dodge City finishes the year at 11-9 and 4-4. Tradgon McCrae led the team with 16 points. The Indians will be at home on Friday for Senior Night against Abilene.

Two including 17-year-old girl charged in Kansas teen’s death

Posted on February 21, 2019February 21, 2019

OLATHE, Kan. (AP) — A 17-year-old Olathe girl has been charged along with an adult suspect in the death of an Overland Park teenager.

The girl was charged as a juvenile with first-degree felony murder in the January death of 17-year-old Ben Workman-Greco, who was fatally shot at his apartment. Prosecutors have filed notice that they will seek to have her tried as an adult.

Prosecutors allege Workman-Greco was killed during a robbery.

Her co-defendant, 21-year-old Alan MIchael Hicks, is charged in Johnson County District Court with first-degree felony murder. He was arrested in Las Vegas last week and booked into the Johnson County jail Wednesday night.

Hicks made his first court appearance Thursday. He’s being held on $1 million bond.

Fourth-ranked FHSU women clinch share of MIAA title with win at Central Oklahoma

Posted on February 21, 2019February 21, 2019

EDMOND, Okla. – Lanie Page scored 20 points and tied a career-high with nine rebounds to lead the fourth-ranked Fort Hays State women to a 70-48 win over Central Oklahoma Thursday night. Their victory coupled with a Washburn loss at Lindenwood locked up a share of the MIAA regular season title for the Tigers (14-1, 15-1 MIAA) and snapped a three-game Hamilton Fieldhouse losing streak.

Tony Hobson Postgame Interview

Game Highlights

The Tigers took control with a 32-13 run during the second and third quarters and led by as many as 19 in the second half.

UCO (15-11, 6-10 MIAA) used a 12-0 run to pull within seven early in the fourth quarter but FHSU outscored the Bronchos 16-2 the rest of the way to seal the victory.

Page went 7-for-15 from the floor including 4-of-8 from beyond the arc and hit both of her free throws. She also dished out two assists and blocked two shots.

Kacey Kennett added 14 points and nine rebounds. Belle Barbieri chipped in with 11 points and 10 boards while Tatyana Legette scored 11 points.

The Tigers can clinch the outright league title with a win at Northeastern State Saturday afternoon.

Outbreaks of measles not currently impacting Kansas

Posted on February 21, 2019February 21, 2019

KDHE

TOPEKA – While there has been attention in the media recently related to outbreaks of measles in multiple states, the Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE) can verify that there are no current outbreaks of measles in Kansas. There have been five outbreaks of measles in the United States reported in 2019 in the following states: New York (three outbreaks, including one in New York City and two in other counties), Washington and Texas. These outbreaks are linked to travelers who brought measles back from other countries such as Israel and Ukraine, where large measles outbreaks are occurring.

“The majority of people who have developed measles in these outbreaks have not been vaccinated against measles, or have not completed the recommended measles vaccine series,” said KDHE Acting Secretary and State Health Officer Lee A. Norman, M.D. “While measles was declared eliminated in the United States in 2000, measles is still common in many parts of the world including some countries in Europe, Asia, the Pacific, and Africa. Travelers with measles continue to bring the disease to the United States. Measles can spread in the United States when it reaches a community in this country where groups of people are unvaccinated. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) encourages vaccination before traveling internationally,” said Dr. Norman.

Most people in Kansas are fully vaccinated against measles. To protect against the potential of outbreaks in the state and to protect those who are too young to be vaccinated or are unable to be vaccinated because of certain health conditions, KDHE encourages all people in Kansas to be fully vaccinated. The CDC recommends that children be vaccinated with a two-dose series of Measles Mumps and Rubella (MMR) vaccine at 12 – 15 months of age and an additional dose of MMR at 4 – 6 years of age. Other children and adolescents who have no history of vaccination are recommended to receive two doses of MMR at least four weeks apart. Adults born after 1957 who have no history of vaccination are recommended to receive one dose of MMR.

“When people get vaccinated, they are protecting themselves and their community. This concept is called herd immunity. It is an important reason for you and your family to get vaccinated — so you can help keep yourselves and your community healthy. Germs can travel quickly through a community and make a lot of people sick. If enough people get sick, it can lead to an outbreak. But when enough people are vaccinated against a certain disease, there are fewer germs in the communities, and when people are exposed to them, they are much less likely to become infected — and the entire community is less likely to get the disease,” said Dr. Norman.

Through herd immunity, even people who cannot get vaccinated will have some protection from getting sick. In this situation, if a person does get sick, there is less chance of an outbreak because it is harder for the disease to spread.

For more information visit https://www.kdheks.gov/epi/download/Measles_factsheet.pdf or https://www.cdc.gov/measles/index.html.

Man accused of binding dog, tossing him out in the cold faces federal charges

Posted on February 21, 2019February 21, 2019

JEFFERSON COUNTY (AP) — A man already facing state charges of animal abuse is now facing federal charges, too.

A federal indictment announced Thursday charges 39-year-old Paul Garcia of Barnhart with one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm. The indictment alleges Garcia already had a felony record when he possessed a weapon on Sept. 14. No further details about that crime were released.

Garcia was charged earlier this month after a Jefferson County deputy found a small dog in a ditch and wrapped in tape. Fingerprints from the tape led police to Garcia, who allegedly told authorities he believed the animal was spying on him for police.

The dog recovered and was reunited with its owner.

————

JEFFERSON COUNTY (AP) A man faces charges accusing him of binding a dog’s legs and mouth with tape and throwing the animal into a ditch, where it was found 12 hours later in the bitter cold.

Jefferson County Missouri Sheriff Dave Marshak on Thursday announced the arrest and charges against 39-year-old Paul Garcia of Barnhart. He is jailed on $50,000 bond on charges of animal abuse and armed criminal action.

The rescued black and brown dachshund, Jimmy, is improving.

The small dog was found early Saturday along Highway M. Marshak says electrical and duct tape was wrapped around Jimmy’s mouth and muzzle; the front legs were bound together by tape, as were the back legs.

A deputy found the dog. Authorities believe Jimmy had been at the spot for around 12 hours.

USGS: Thursday earthquake shakes portions of Kansas

Posted on February 21, 2019February 21, 2019

HARPER COUNTY—An earthquake shook portions of Kansas Thursday evening. The quake at 5:20p.m. measured a magnitude 3.2 and was centered approximately four miles east of Harper, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.

This follows a series of seven small earthquakes Wednesday and again Thursday in Oklahoma including 2.8 magnitude quake near Oklahoma City.

There are no reports of damage or injury.