RILEY COUNTY — Law enforcement authorities are investigating a suspect in connection with a 2017 murder case.
Just before 4p.m. Tuesday authorities in Texas arrested Samantha Bland, 29, of Laredo, TX , according to the Laredo Police Department and the Webb County Sheriff’s Office.
Bland -photo RCPD
Bland was arrested on a Riley County District Court warrant for aggravated intimidation of a witness in connection with a report filed by the Riley County Police Department for murder in the 1st degree on October 28, 2017.
Bland was issued a total bond of $125,000.00 and remains in custody.
Feb. 28 & March 1, 2 – 7:30 P.M. Curtain
March 3 – 2:30 P.M. Matinee
Barefoot In The Park opened in 1963 and ran for 1,530 performances, winning a Tony Award.
Hilarious and clever, it firmly established Neil Simon as a master of comedy with his witty one-liners and snappy dialogue.
Newlyweds Corie and Paul Bratter have completed their honeymoon and are moving into their first apartment. Corie is romantic, impulsive, and enthusiastic, while her husband is a “stuffy” young attorney more concerned with his legal career than with honeymoon bliss.
Lillian M. Weber, age 87, of Hays, KS, passed away on Tuesday, February 19, 2019, at Locust Grove Village in La Crosse, KS.
Funeral services will be at 10:00 A.M. on Thursday, February 21, 2019 at St. Nicholas of Myra Catholic Church, 2901 E. 13th Street, Hays. Burial will follow in St. Joseph’s Cemetery in Hays.
Visitation will be held on Wednesday, February 20 from 4:00 P.M. – 7:30 P.M. at Brock’s-Keithley Funeral Chapel & Crematory, 2509 Vine St., Hays, KS 67601 and on Thursday from 9:00 A.M. until service time at the church.
A combined rosary and parish vigil service will be Wednesday at 6:30 PM at the funeral chapel.
To share a memory or to leave condolences for Lillian, please visit, www.keithleyfuneralchapels.com or by can be left via email at [email protected].
Arrangements are made by Brock’s-Keithley Funeral Chapel & Crematory, 2509 Vine St., Hays, KS 67601.
AURORA, Colo. — Arapahoe County prosecutors on Tuesday formally charged a Kansas man accused of kidnapping an Aurora woman and attempting to sexually assault another woman in Kansas days after he was released from prison.
Prosecutors levied eight counts against Tre Carrasco, 23, on Tuesday morning, including felony kidnapping, robbery and motor vehicle theft.
Aurora police arrested Carrasco on Feb. 12 after local SWAT officers “conducted a high risk stop” on a vehicle the Kansas native was suspected to have stolen days earlier.
Police originally charged Carrasco with five felony counts, including carjacking and attempted kidnapping. Prosecutors have since tacked on additional charges.
Carrasco is accused of following a woman to her car at about 1:30 p.m. Feb. 7 in the parking lot of the 24 Hour Fitness near Abilene Street and East Florida Avenue, according to an arrest affidavit filed against him.
The 38-year-old victim told police a man believed to be Carrasco stood at the driver’s side door of her silver Toyota Camry and told her to “scoot over.” The man then entered the car before she could close the door and said “scoot over or I’ll kill you,” according to the affidavit.
Carrasco is described as being 5 feet, 9 inches tall and 180 pounds.
The woman “immediately began to try and open the door to get out of the car,” according to the affidavit. The man reached over the victim and tried to prevent her from fleeing, but the woman was quickly able to escape the car and went back inside the local gym to call police. She had dropped her cell phone in the car before the man drove away toward the south exit of the parking lot.
The victim was not injured in the incident.
The victim described the man who stole her car as “between dark and light skinned … resembling the popular musician ‘The Weekend,’ ” according to the affidavit.
That description helped the victim and investigators identify Carrasco in a police line-up on Feb. 12. In their reports, police “noted Carrasco does have a passing resemblance to the singer.”
Four days before the car theft outside the Aurora gym, investigators in Kansas say Carrasco tried to rape a woman at gunpoint in Hays.
Hays detectives contacted Aurora police on Feb. 3 alerting them Carrasco was likely in Aurora and “there was a credible, suspected threat” he would commit the same crime, according to the local arrest document.
Carrasco was in Colorado last summer after entering an “out-of-state post release” program, according to Kansas Department of Corrections records. He was later picked up on a parole violation.
Aurora police issued multiple alerts for Carrasco and the stolen car following the reported incident at the Aurora gym. An Aurora officer spotted the stolen Toyota Camry at about 6:30 p.m. on Feb. 11, and attempted to conduct a traffic stop, according to the affidavit.
But the driver and an unidentified passenger didn’t stop, and the Aurora officer didn’t pursue the car.
The arrest document did not specify why the officer did not follow the vehicle.
Carrasco was released from prison in Kansas on Feb. 1, according to Kansas DOC records and reports published in The Wichita Eagle newspaper.
Carrasco was sentenced to prison in April 2013 for several aggravated battery charges stemming from an incident in July 2011, according to Kansas DOC records.
Carrasco is a registered sex offender.
He incurred a litany of disciplinary infractions while in Kansas prisons between 2014 and 2018, including using stimulants, disobeying orders and disrespecting correctional officers.
Carrasco has not been arrested as an adult in Colorado prior to the incident this month, according to Colorado Bureau of Investigation records.
Carrasco is being held at the Arapahoe County Jail on a $150,000 bond, according to court records.
It is currently unclear if or when Carrasco could be extradited to face his charges in Kansas.
He is currently scheduled to appear in Arapahoe County District Court at 8:30 a.m. on March 8 to face a pair of felony charges for being a fugitive of justice and wanted by another agency, according to court records.
Carrasco is scheduled to appear for a preliminary hearing in his Arapahoe County case at 1:30 p.m. on March 12, according to Vikki Migoya, spokeswoman for the 18th Judicial District Attorney’s Office.
WASHINGTON — Kamala Harris had the best campaign roll-out. Amy Klobuchar’s snowy debut showed grit. Elizabeth Warren’s opening campaign video was a bit odd. Take it from an unlikely armchair pundit sizing up the 2020 Democratic field: President Donald Trump.
In tweets, public remarks and private conversations, Trump is making clear he is closely following the campaign to challenge him on the ballot. Facing no serious primary opponent of his own — at least so far — Trump is establishing himself as an in-their-face observer of the Democratic Party’s nominating process — and no one will be surprised to find that he’s not being coy about weighing in.
Presidents traditionally ignore their potential opponents as long as possible to maintain their status as an incumbent floating above the contenders who are auditioning for a job they already inhabit.
Not Trump. He’s eager to shape the debate, sow discord and help position himself for the general election. It’s just one more norm to shatter, and a risky bet that his acerbic politics will work to his advantage once again.
This is the president whose 240-character blasts and penchant for insults made mincemeat of his 2016 Republican rivals. And Brad Parscale, Trump’s campaign manager, said the president aims to use Twitter again this time to “define his potential opponent and impact the Democrat primary debate.”
But often Trump’s commentary reflects a peculiar sense of disengagement from the events of the day, as though he were a panelist on the cable news shows he records and watches, rather than their prime subject of discussion. He puts the armchair in armchair punditry.
“Personally, I think he missed his time,” Trump said Tuesday, hours after Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders’ launched his second bid for the White House.
In an interview with The New York Times last month, Trump assessed Harris’ campaign like a talk show regular, declaring her opening moves as having a “better crowd, better enthusiasm” than the other Democrats.
Crowd size was also at play last week when he held a rally in El Paso, Texas, that was countered a few blocks away by one led by former Rep. Beto O’Rourke, a potential 2020 candidate.
“So we have let’s say 35,000 people tonight, and he has 200 people, 300 people,” Trump observed, wildly exaggerating both numbers. “Not too good. In fact, what I would do is, I would say, that may be the end of his presidential bid.”
When Sen. Klobuchar announced her candidacy on a frigid day in her home state of Minnesota, Trump anointed her with a nickname of sorts, and a benign one at that: “By the end of her speech she looked like a Snowman(woman)!”
Inside the West Wing and in conversations with outside allies, Trump has been workshopping other attempts to imprint his new adversaries with lasting labels, according to two people on whom the president has tested out the nicknames. They spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss private conversations with the president. He is also testing out lines of attack in public rallies, exploring vulnerabilities he could use against them should they advance to the general election.
Warren
No candidate has drawn more commentary and criticism from Trump than Sen. Warren, the liberal Massachusetts Democrat. Warren’s past claims of Native American heritage prompted Trump to brand her “Pocahontas” and he has shown no qualms about deploying racially charged barbs harking back to some of the nation’s darkest abuses.
Wading into a Twitter frenzy over an Instagram video Warren posted after she announced her exploratory committee while sharing a beer with her husband at their kitchen table, Trump jeered: “Best line in the Elizabeth Warren beer catastrophe is, to her husband, ‘Thank you for being here. I’m glad you’re here’ It’s their house, he’s supposed to be there!”
“If Elizabeth Warren, often referred to by me as Pocahontas, did this commercial from Bighorn or Wounded Knee instead of her kitchen, with her husband dressed in full Indian garb, it would have been a smash!” Trump tweeted.
Even in the midst of the partial government shutdown, those tweets mocking Warren were widely joked about by White House staff weary from the protracted closure, according to one aide who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss internal conversations. The person said the president repeatedly ridiculed Warren’s video in private conversations with aides and outside advisers.
Attention from Trump can drive up fundraising and elevate a candidate above a crowded field. But responding to attacks also distracts from a candidate’s message.
Trump’s rivals in the 2016 GOP primary learned that lesson as he bedeviled them with name-calling. Trump goaded Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida into making a thinly veiled insult of his manhood that quickly backfired, and weeks later he sucked Texas Sen. Ted Cruz into a brutal back-and-forth about an insult he had leveled at Cruz’s wife.
“The president has an ability to use social media to define his opponents and influence the primary debate in a way no sitting president before him has,” said former White House spokesman Raj Shah. “I expect him to take full advantage.”
On Friday, hours after declaring a national emergency on the U.S.-Mexico border, Trump tweeted a video made by a supporter that featured the president’s Democratic critics in Congress. Harris, Bernie Sanders and Cory Booker were shown sitting dourly during the State of the Union address, set to the R.E.M. ballad “Everybody Hurts.”
The mocking video may have been taken down later in the day after a copyright complaint by the band, and re-cut using Trump-supporter Lee Greenwood’s “God Bless the U.S.A.” But the message to Trump’s would-be 2020 rivals, and people girding for another wild presidential cycle, remained anchored to the lyrics of that R.E.M. song: “Hold on.”
U.S. Senator Jerry Moran’s opposition to President Trump’s emergency declaration put him at odds with other Republicans in the Kansas congressional delegation. Moran says he shares the president’s concerns about border security but opposes the way he’s pursuing money for a border wall. The senator says his concern about presidents bypassing Congress isn’t new.
Jerry Moran Audio
Moran and Kansas’ other U.S. Senator, Republican Pat Roberts voted for the funding bill that prevented another partial government shutdown. So did Democratic Congresswoman Sharice Davids.
But all three Kansas Republicans in the U.S. House – Roger Marshall, Steve Watkins and Ron Estes – opposed the bill – saying its lack of funding for the wall forced the president to declare an emergency.
Monday, California and 15 other states filed a lawsuit against President Donald Trump’s emergency declaration to fund a wall on the U.S.-Mexico border.
California Attorney General Xavier Becerra released a statement Monday saying the suit alleges the Trump administration’s action violates the Constitution.
OLATHE, Kan. (AP) — A 48-year-old man who allegedly stabbed a woman to death and stuffed her body into a trash can was ordered to stand trial for intentional second-degree murder.
Kidwell -photo Johnson Co.
Ronald Lee Kidwell is charged in the July 2018 death of 43-year-old MeShon Cooper, whose body was found at Kidwell’s home.
According to testimony, Kidwell told police he killed Cooper in a rage after she threatened to tell people he was HIV positive.
Ellis County commissioners directed county departments Monday night to decrease their budgets by 1.5 percent for next year to meet an estimated $1 million projected budget shortfall.
The commissioners also asked County Administrator Phillip Smith-Hanes to prepare the budget impacts of several other options including either a one mill tax increase or a half-cent countywide sales tax.
One mill in property tax would raise about $388,000. On a $175,000 home, that would equal about $20 per year.
Commissioner Dustin Roths said he did not think the county could move forward without increasing revenue.
Roths
“I hate asking for across the board,” Roths said of potential cuts, “but I think part of the problem of not asking for across the board is picking favorites and not expecting everybody to do their part in fixing this fiscal situation.
“As little as I would like to do it, I think we have to figure out a little bit of revenue. At that point, that is not popular, but I think it is something that will have to be done at the most minimum inconvenience to our citizens as possible”
Other cost-cutting moves included a proposal to decrease the county’s contribution to employee health insurance. It is currently 92.5 percent for family plans. Roths suggested that be decreased by 3 percent each year for three years.
He said he wanted county employees to bear the smallest burden as possible of the cuts.
“It is always tough to tighten your belt on things like that,” he said, “but as we have alluded to before, we’re losing control of that cost structure because we cover a percentage. When we cover a percentage, we don’t know what it is going to cost from year to year. It starts getting out of control, and I think that is what has happened now. I would rather compensate more in salaries and try to hire for these positions than be stuck with a financial compensation for health care.”
Commissioner Butch Schlyer suggested the county look at decreasing funding to outside agencies. The county currently pays $1.052 million to outside agencies. Schlyer suggested cutting that amount by as much as $300,000 and perhaps not funding some organizations the county is not statutorily required to fund.
Schlyer
About $281,000 goes to High Plains Mental Health, but the county has a legal obligation to provide funding to that agency, Smith-Hanes said.
“I don’t think our Ellis County government or its employees should just take the brunt of everything,” Schlyer said. “Those outside agencies are going to have to take a hit and a big hit.”
Commission Chairman Dean Haselhorst said he was on the same page as Roths and Schlyer.
He suggested department heads hold off on hiring to fill vacant positions.
“One employee with benefits is a lot of money,” Haselhorst said.
However, Smith-Hanes said he was not aware of many positions that would be opening up in the next six months.
The commission earlier in the meeting discussed what to do with about $1.4 million in excess county sales taxes that were collected to complete several county building projects.
The county directed administration to look at replacing the elevator in the law enforcement center and finishing the basement at the EMS services center so donated gym equipment could be placed in the area for use by first responders.
The elevator project was estimated to cost $250,000, and the workout room was estimated to cost about $31,000. Smith-Hanes said the elevator project would likely come in above that estimate, but finishing the basement might be able to be bid for less.
The commissioners said they wanted to retain the rest of the funds for use for future projects or transfer the balance to the general fund to make up for budget shortfalls in 2020.
Smith-Hanes said the commissioners’ direction Monday on the budget was a starting point and the department heads will appreciate the 1.5 percent in recommended cuts, compared to a 5 percent cut that would have been required if all of the $1 million shortfall came from county departments.
In other business, the commission:
• Approved the extension of the solid waste contract with the Finney County Landfill
• Approved the 2019 Noxious Weed Management Plan
• Approved change in hours at the transfer station to 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Mondays through Fridays and 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturdays. The change will take affect April 1.
• Heard a report from County Counselor Bill Jeter on foreclosure proceeding.
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas will receive about $922,000 as its part of a national settlement with Walgreens concerning over-dispensing of insulin pens to Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries.
Attorney General Derek Schmidt’s office said in a news release the settlement resolves allegations that Walgreens repeatedly dispensed more insulin than had been prescribed to patients. The company was accused of submitting false claims for reimbursement to Medicare and Medicaid.
Schmidt said Walgreens agreed to pay the U.S. and states $209.2 million, with $89.1 million going to state Medicaid programs. Kansas will receive $922,126, which will be used to reimburse federal and state funds spent by the Kansas Medicaid program, and to recover the cost of the investigation that led to the settlement.
Ronnie Joseph Schmidt was born November 17, 1944 in Hays, Kansas, youngest of three children born to George and Monica (Urban) Schmidt. He grew up in Pfeifer where his family farmed. They were members of the Holy Cross Catholic Church.
Ronnie served his country in the United States Army and Army National Guard. He was honorably discharged with the rank of Specialist E4 on December 12, 1969 after 5 and 1/2 years of service.
On September 16, 1967, Ronnie was united in marriage with Karen Vavra at St. Margaret Mary Church in Wichita, Kansas. This union was blessed with two sons: Nathan and Preston. The family made their home in Pfeifer, Kansas for many years before moving to Argonia, KS and later to their farm near Norwich, Kansas.
Ronnie retired from Farrar Inc. in Norwich where he worked many years as a machinist. He was skilled at mechanics and carpentry. He worked for Ellis County Highway Department when they lived in Pfeifer.
Ronnie was an avid hunter and fisherman and enjoyed spending time on his boat at many different lakes. Moving to the farm brought him great joy as he loved being in the quiet country. For many years he raised pheasant and quail. Some of his most favorite times were venturing back home to Pfeifer with his boys for weekend hunting and fishing getaways. He also made very tasty wines. Trips to Sokol Hall and card games were always exciting and interesting with family. He also never missed a chance at a good dance. Many great times were enjoyed at the Pfeifer Dance Hall.
On February 17, 2019, Ronnie passed away in Wichita, Kansas at the age of 74 years. He was preceded in death by his parents; brother, Milton; and sister, Elila Jean Butler.
Ronnie will be deeply missed by his wife of 51 years, Karen; sons: Nathan Schmidt and Preston Schmidt and wife, Joni; sisters-in-law, Alfreda Schmidt, Roberta Pryor and Julia Vavra; several nieces and nephews; other relatives and many friends.
Funeral service will be held 11:00 a.m. Friday, February 22, 2019 at Holy Cross Catholic Church in Pfeifer, Kansas. Visitation will be held from 10:00 a.m. to service. Burial will follow in Holy Cross Cemetery. Memorials in memory of Ronnie may be made to Holy Cross Charities.
Services are entrusted to Cline’s-Keithley Mortuary, 412 Main Street, Victoria, Kansas 67671. Condolences can be left by guestbook at www.keithleyfuneralchapels.com or can be sent via e-mail to [email protected].
The Ellis County Commission approved $800,000 Monday night for improvements along the Northwest Business Corridor.
230th Avenue would be paved from just north of 55th Street to south of Feedlot Road. This would include improvements to the intersection of 230th Avenue and 55th Street.
The county hopes to leverage the county funds for the application of grants and state funding.
111th District Rep. Barbara Wasinger, R-Hays, together with 110th District Rep. Ken Rahjes, R-Agra, will host Kansas Commerce Secretary David Toland and Deputy Secretary of Transportation Lindsay Douglas in a tour of the area Friday. They will be joined by officials from Ellis County, the City of Hays, GrowHays and the Northwest Kansas Economic Innovation Center in meeting with business leaders from Midwest Energy and Hess Services.
The corridor has already seen significant development since 2011 with property values increasing by $25.4 million as of 2018. Expansions have occurred at Midwest Energy’s Goodman Energy Center, Celebration Community Church and Hess Services, with additional developments in various stages of planning at the corner of 55th and 230th as well as the Pertl Ranch Feeders feedlot.
The county broke down the project into three sections:
• Feedlot Road from 230th to Highway 183 — $5,018,081
• 230th Avenue from Feedlot Road to 55th Street — $4,375,807
• Intersection of 230th Avenue and 55th Street — $1,685,442
Click to expand
These three sections total $11,079,33. Additional improvements on 55th Street would bring the total amount up to $15,734,862.
The funds the county pledged Monday would come from cash on hand in the special road and bridge fund.
“We do have a number of other priority projects, but this one sees quite a bit of traffic, and I think this should rise to top of the list,” Phillip Smith-Hanes, county administrator, said.
County Commissioner Dustin Roths said he supported the project.
“I think this is probably the most important project we are looking at by far right now,” he said, “so I am happy to commit to it. As far as staff recommendation, as long as they feel comfortable with it, they can start shopping [for grants] with that commitment from us. I think this is critically important to northwest Kansas.”
Commissioner Butch Schlyer agreed with Roths.
“I do believe, as Dustin said, a very important project,” he said. “We do have to take some action to get something started on this road.”
In 2013, the county received an economic development grant from the Kansas Department of Transportation for $1.5 million toward the cost of the improvements at the intersection of 230th Avenue and 55th Street. This funding commitment, however, was contingent upon a development at that intersection that would serve travelers on Interstate 70.
During the past year, a private developer has approached the City of Hays about constructing such a development, but because municipal services are desired for the development, it is likely the city would annex the area around the intersection and the KDOT funding would go to the city for that project.
FAYETTE, Iowa – The Fort Hays State wrestling team stayed put in the Division II Wrestling Coaches Association Rankings, released Monday (Feb. 18) by the organization. The Tigers sit at No. 10 for the second-consecutive set of rankings. Also in the rankings are four other MIAA teams as Nebraska-Kearney slipped to No. 3, Lindenwood stayed at No. 9, Newman sits at No. 18 and Central Oklahoma dipped to No. 20.
In the individual rankings, junior Brandon Ball remained at No. 1 in the 141-pound weight class. Ball is currently 20-0 on the year. He has compiled 17 wins against Division II competition on the season as well as three falls, three major decisions and two technical falls.
Also in the rankings is Efe Osaghae, who jumped up to No. 2 at 157 pounds. The sophomore earned an upset victory against former No. 2 ranked Tyler Mies (Feb. 13) with a narrow 4-3 decision. Osaghae sits at 24-3 overall with 18 Division wins and also paces the team in technical falls (seven).
Fort Hays State is back in action this weekend (Feb. 23) as they make the trip over to St. Charles, Mo. for the NCAA DII Super Regional IV. The regional is set to begin at 10 a.m. inside Hyland Arena.
