SALINE COUNTY— Law enforcement authorities are investigating the reported theft of two young donkeys in Saline County.
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James Brown, 66, Salina, reported that a two-week-old female donkey and a four-week-old male donkey were stolen from a pasture in the 2300 Block of West Farrelly Road sometime between 5p.m. Monday and noon Tuesday, according to Saline County Sheriff Roger Soldan.
The gate on the pasture appeared to have e tampered with and a piece of sheet metal that had been in the pasture had been moved. Brown speculated that whoever took the donkeys used the sheet metal to herd the donkeys and separate them from their mother, according to Soldan.
Dr. Tisa Mason, FHSU presidentBrandon Penny is the epitome of how at Fort Hays State University we unlock untapped potential – just ask our Art and Design Department Chair Karrie Simpson Voth. Soon after graduation in 2013, Brandon, a graphic design major from Burlington, Colo., decided to pick-up and move to New York City.
New York City? Yes – and with no job. Karrie said she was terrified for him and thought New York would “eat him up.”
But she was wrong, because she and others had prepared him to succeed by seeing his potential and inspiring him to live up to it.
Brandon will tell you that earning his degree in graphic design was the smartest decision of his career. He describes the experience as “the most intensive and thorough program I have ever completed.” He also says that he welcomed the challenge. “Some of my happiest memories come from late nights spent in Rarick Hall with the most creative people I’ve ever met. It was there I gained my drive and skill set.”
The funny thing about unlocking potential is that although the drive always comes from within the student, it is still about relationships. Most importantly, it is about helping students discover and refine their talents and passions. The student comes first, not the major. It is about listening, learning, and holding up a metaphorical mirror. It is about really seeing each unique Fort Hays State student. The process can come from one person or many (professors, peers, staff). It can come from assignments and campus involvement and be amplified by experiences both on and off campus (internships, community service, churches).
Brandon describes his unlocking:
“I made countless lifelong friends in my general education courses and truly learned from professors because they cared about the material and my success. My freshman year I had a scholarship and was Victor E. Tiger! I was also an active member in theatre at Felten-Start, performing on stage and designing the posters and programs for each show. I wasn’t just a number; I was a student that mattered with a name and a story. I am now a well-rounded person that exceeds standards and qualifications and can withstand any obstacles that come my way.”
Not only can Brandon withstand obstacles, his self-reliance and talent proved unstoppable – even in New York. With a larger-than-life personality, confidence in his design skills and an outstanding portfolio, Brandon networked his way into the New York design scene by freelancing with The Society of Publication Designers. Shortly thereafter, he landed the first-ever design internship with Billboard Magazine and was later recruited to work in the design and photo departments at People Magazine.
Brandon credits many for his metamorphosis – especially Karrie. She is very invested in the lives of her students and cares deeply about each student with whom she works – their dreams, hopes, and ambitions. Brandon and Karrie continue to keep in touch. Fun fact: Every year, Brandon sends Karrie a personalized video of him singing Happy Birthday as well as a Happy Mother’s Day text.
There is so much I love about Brandon’s story: the friendships he developed here; his on-campus involvement; the joy he brought others, whether through creating late night memories in Rarick Hall or through his interactions as Victor E. Tiger and the many roles played in Felten-Start Theatre; and especially the young professional he became. Today, he is a member of the creative team as a graphic designer for Saks Fifth Avenue in New York. An icon of style and luxury, Saks is a legendary company with a rich history that employs world-class adventurers, like Brandon Penny, who explore uncharted territory, challenge convention and work with imagination and fun.
And it all started at Fort Hays State.
Brandon says that ultimately, what he loved about his time at Fort Hays State is that after graduation, he walked away with an amazing portfolio of work and something to look forward to: A bright future. That is what it means to unlock untapped potential, and it is my hope and dream for every student.
WICHITA, KAN. – The former executive director of Inter-Faith Ministries in Wichita has been sentenced after he embezzled more than $100,000 dollars from a church in Wichita where he was a member.
Egerton -photo Sedgwick Co.
According to a media release from the Sedgwick County Attorney, Garland Egerton, 66, Wichita, pled guilty to one count of theft on February 1, 2019.
A judge sentenced him Tuesday to 60 months of probation with an underlying sentence of 32 months in prison, according to the release.
Egerton was ordered to pay $129,556 in restitution. His lack of criminal history and the request of the church were cited in the court’s decision to grant probation. The defendant was also ordered to have no contact with the Unity of Wichita Church and attend a theft offender class.
After an audit, the church discovered $120,000 was missing. An audit showed the theft occurred from 2013 to 2018. Egerton was the bookkeeper for the church at the time. He left Inter-Faith Ministries last April.
Carolyn Grindle, 83, was born on December 4, 1935 in Palco, Ks. She lived most of her early life in the Bogue and Hill City area of Ks. She lived 5 years in Colorado Springs, Co and then in Kansas until 1999 when her mother, Bertie Brown, became ill and she moved to Mesa, Az to take care of her parents.
She lived there until 2017 when she had a stroke and then moved to Gallatin, Mo with her daughter, Brenda and granddaughter, Courtney. She moved to Lakewood, Co in 2018 to live with her daughter, Rhonda. After about a month and a half on hospice, she went to be with the Lord on March 21, 2019. Carolyn loved serving in her church, Apache Wells Community Church in Mesa, Az. in the kitchen, special luncheons, the heifer project and dresses for orphans.
She had a foster athlete at FHSU and made over 250 dozen cookies for everyone on the track, cross country and basketball teams. She loved blue glass, the KU Jayhawks and pug dogs. She enjoyed going to our family cabin in Woodland Park, Co for Thanksgiving, Christmas in July and spending time there.
She is preceded in death by her parents, Oscar and Bertie Brown, two husbands, Max Grindle and Floyd Erickson, her sister, Sandy Thompson, son, Jamie Gordon, son-in-law, Mitch Hensley, and great grandson, Benjamin Lake.
Left survivors are her daughters, Brenda Hensley, Gallatin, Mo, Rhonda Grindle, Lakewood, Co, step-daughters, Susan Rome, Olathe, Ks, and Wendy Hookey, Oracle, Az, several grandchildren, great-grandchildren, family and friends. In lieu of flowers, the family asks for the memorial to go to dresses for orphans.
Paleo and Pokemon artist R.J. Palmer will be giving a talk at 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday, April 16 at the Sternberg Museum of Natural History in Hays.
Among other projects, Palmer does concept art and illustrations for the video game Saurian, and did concept art and illustration for the upcoming movie POKÉMON Detective Pikachu.
Admission will be free for Sternberg Museum members everyone registered for the AMMP annual meeting. Tickets are $5 for the general public and will be available at the door.
Doors open at 6:30 p.m. Come early, because seating is limited!
JAG-K students recruiting donors for the Battle of the Badges Blood Drive.
By CRISTINA JANNEY Hays Post
Marshall Perryman was a C student in his freshman and sophomore years, but he was able to raise his GPA three letter grades since joining a new mentoring program at Hays High this fall.
He is now vice president of leadership and career development for the JAG-K Career Association.
Johnny Matlock, Jobs for America’s Graduates-Kansas teacher, along with Perryman and Da’Vontai Robinson gave a presentation to the Hays USD 489 school board Monday about the program.
“JAG-K is something that has helped me more in a month than in a whole school year,” Perryman said. “It has helped me immensely with grades. Because my freshman year, I ended with a 2.1, my sophomore year a 2.6. I am a junior now with a 3.75 GPA, so that is one and half more points. That is three whole letter grades.
“JAG has pushed [me] for bettering myself and given me opportunities that I couldn’t pass up like free ACT and WorkKeys. And it made my mom’s life easier, because she didn’t have to fork over the $49.50 we do not have.”
Winners in the regional JAG-K contest.
JAG-K’s focus is ensuring students earn their diplomas and are prepared to successfully transition to postsecondary education, military service or into the workforce following graduation. It is a nonprofit that partners with schools, and most of the cost of program this year was paid for through federal funds.
JAG-K, which has 41 students enrolled at HHS this semester, takes student who are at risk of not graduating because of at least five risk factors. These can include being from a single-parent household, living in poverty, being in foster care, being behind a grade or having low academic achievement, among other factors, Matlock said.
The program focuses on 37 competencies, which are clustered into six areas: career development, job attainment, job survival, basic competencies, leadership development and self-development, and personal skills.
The program had a 98 percent graduation rate in 2017. Of 12 HHS seniors in the program, 11 are on track to graduate with their class. One will be transferring to the Learning Center to complete the requirements for their diploma.
Perryman said he now plans to go to college and is working toward paying for his higher education through scholarships. He hopes to follow in his grandfather’s footsteps and serve as an officer in the special forces in the Army. After his military service, he is considering service with the Kansas Highway Patrol.
JAG-K students listen to a speaker in class at HHS.
He said he particularly found helpful the class’s trip to NCK-Tech and FHSU. He also participated in a project during which he had to budget for a month of college.
“I realized I had money left over,” he said, “so there is hope.”
Robinson is a junior who recently transferred into the district from Oklahoma. He is in foster care and is transferring into independent living. He said the program has been very helpful to him.
“Just to be able to communicate to people on a business level has made a huge impact on my life and on my soft skills,” he said. “JAG-K is a place where students can find out who they are and how to grow into mature adults.”
The students had a busy fall semester.
They participated in Trick or Treat so Others Can Eat, visiting 150 households, and recruited donors for the Battle of the Badges Blood Drive.
They have had multiple speakers, business tours and participated in the FHSU ropes course.
“All of these things that we do help students acknowledge all the good that can happen in life,” Robinson said, “and be able to make life-long friends who want to be as successful in life as you do.
“I don’t really know what I want to do for a living or how I am going to get there, but I do know I want to make a difference in someone’s life. I know I will be a somebody — a person that people can look up to.”
Robinson said he remembered days he was so tired and depressed he didn’t want to get out of bed in the morning.
“I remember when I used to sleep in a twin-sized bed with my three siblings in a house with no lights, water or heat. I remember moving back and forth to houses that never felt like home, trying to find out who I was,” he said.
“JAG-K gives people a purpose and helps with what students want to do or become in the future. It is just one of those stepping stones that sets you up for success in the end game — the program that will set me up for greatness — JAG-K.”
Right now, the Red Cross has less than a three-day supply of most blood types, and blood products are being distributed to hospitals faster than donations are coming in. Donors of all blood types are urgently needed. A low blood supply may mean that critical medical treatments or emergency care may be delayed or canceled. Won’t you help ensure there is blood on the shelf for those in need?
The need for blood is constant and only volunteer donors can fulfill that need for patients in our community. Nationwide, someone needs a unit of blood every 2 to 3 seconds and most of us will need blood in our lifetime.
Hays native Mason Ruder has filed for a seat on the city commission.
There are three open seats — those of James Meier, Ron Mellick and Henry Schwaller.
Ruder is an Environmental Associate with the Ellis County Environmental/Planning & Zoning Office.
He was as born and raised in Hays, attending both public and private schools (Roosevelt Elementary and Kennedy Middle School), and graduating in 2010 from Thomas More Prep-Marian High School. Ruder attended Fort Hays State University before moving to Kansas City to explore some new ideas.
In 2017, he married his wife, Tori Mai, and they have a 2-month old daughter named Ryleigh. Tori is a licensed daycare provider in Hays.
The family are members of Immaculate Heart of Mary Parish and Ruder is a member of the Knights of Columbus.
He is also an elected precinct committeeman for the Ellis County Republican Party.
In a news release, Ruder explained why he is running for Hays City Commission.
“My family and friends were a huge encouragement in my decision to run. The final push I needed was the birth of my daughter. I’m running to serve the community that has done so much for my family and me. I want to do what I can to make sure Hays continues to be a place that my daughter can be proud of and one day raise her own family here.
“One of my main goals is to help figure out a solution to the ‘brain drain’ happening with our younger generation. I experienced it firsthand when I left Hays for Kansas City and realized the grass isn’t always greener. I missed Hays and not just my family. This town is special. I missed running into people I knew at the store, out to eat, and at various events. I realized Hays IS my extended family.
“I moved back and started finding ways to get settled here like my parents and grandparents before me. I got married and found a job with Ellis County where I can directly help the area that has been so good to me.
“With my county office job, I get to see how the city of Hays and Ellis County can work together.
“What I would like to do is find ways to get the college and high school graduates to stay here in Hays and give them a place to utilize the skills and knowledge attained at Hays High School, TMP, FHSU, and NCK-Tech.
“We have a community that is perfect for raising a family.
“We need to create an environment that is friendly to businesses and sustainable to back up these students, retain the people who currently work here, and potentially draw in others.
“I also want to help take care of the population that has been here through it all. We have an aging population and we should work together to help get them the resources they need to finish out their years in a community they helped build and sustain.
“Hays is on the right track and the city of Hays employees do a great job at providing the research and information needed to make informed decisions.
“I want to provide input on what we can do in the future and maintain the programs and systems in place that make me so proud to live in Hays, America.”
The filing deadline for the Nov. 5 election is June 3 at noon in the Ellis County Clerk’s office, 718 Main, Hays.
Incumbents Mellick and Schwaller have filed for re-election.
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — People as young as 18 would be allowed to carry concealed weapons under a bill that has advanced in the Kansas House.
Advocates rejected arguments Tuesday that the bill could endanger lives. The bill will likely receive a final passage on Wednesday.
Kansas law has what is called constitutional carry, or the right to carry a firearm in any capacity, for residents 21 and older. A concealed carry license, available to those who complete required training, allows the holder to carry in states that have reciprocal agreements with Kansas.
Under the new law, the minimum age for concealed carry training would drop to 18. Residents who don’t receive a license at 18 would still be allowed constitutional carry in the state at age 21.
Walter C. Ehrlich, 90, of Great Bend, Kansas and former resident of Russell, Kansas, passed away on Monday, March 25, 2019, at St. John Hospital in Leavenworth, Kansas.
Walter was born on September 3, 1928 in rural Russell County, Kansas, the son of Godfred and Regina (Boger) Ehrlich. He grew up in Russell County and graduated from Russell High School in the class of 1947. He was married to Isabelle Ehrlich, also from Russell, Kansas, from 1952 – 1982. Walter and Isabelle had two children, Rosalee Robinson (Michael, DDS), Leavenworth, Kansas and Keith Ehrlich (Patty), Wichita, Kansas. He had three grandchildren, Amanda Calovich (Ryan), Lawrence, Kansas, Ian Ehrlich, Overland Park, Kansas, and Nathan Ehrlich, Wichita, Kansas. Additionally, he had one step grandson through marriage, Jacob Kenton (Paige), Leavenworth, Kansas, and two step great grandchildren, Olivia and George Kenton, Leavenworth, Kansas. Walter is also survived by one brother, Edward Ehrlich (Lynda), Omaha, Nebraska. He was preceded in death by his parents and two brothers, Leon and Louis.
Walter grew up on a farm then farmed as a young adult before entering the United States Army in February, 1951. He was honorably discharged in May, 1951. Following his service, he returned to farming until 1959, then began a career in trucking. He drove for Thies Packing Company, Great Bend, Kansas for approximately 20 years and then various other companies. He enjoyed traveling the highways as a truck driver. The highways turned into with the Garden City, Kansas School District, from where he eventually retired in 1998.
He was formerly a member of The Eagles and The American Legion in Great Bend. His most recent enjoyment came from singing in the church choir, while attending church at First Southern Baptist Church in Great Bend, Kansas. Walter was also an avid coin collector. He frequently traveled to auctions and coin shows and enjoyed sorting through his treasures with his son-in-law, Mike.
A celebration of Walter’s life will be held at 10:30 A.M. on Friday, March 29, 2019, at First Southern Baptist Church, 3301 19th Street, Great Bend, Kansas, with Pastor Timothy Singleton officiating. A graveside service will be held at 2:00 P.M. on Friday at the Russell City Cemetery. Pohlman-Varner-Peeler Mortuary of Russell, Kansas will host the visitation from 9:00 A.M. to 8:00 P.M. on Thursday, March 28, 2019 at 610 N. Maple Street. The family will receive guests from 6:00 to 7:00 P.M.
Memorials may be given to First Southern Baptist Church and may be sent in care of the mortuary. Pohlman-Varner-Peeler Mortuary of Russell, Kansas is in charge of the funeral service arrangements.
Elton Leroy Margheim, 95, passed away on March 26, 2019 at Locust Grove Village in LaCrosse, Kansas. He was born on November 4, 1923 on a farm southeast of Bazine, Kansas the son of Henry and Mollie (Schwartz) Margheim.
Elton spent his entire life on this farm until he moved to Locust Grove Village in LaCrosse nearly eleven years ago and when he served in the Army in Germany during World War II. He was a farmer and stockman. Elton was a member of the United Methodist Church in Bazine for many years. He was a member of the Olin Cole Post No. 392 of the American Legion.
Survivors include five cousins. He was preceded in death by his parents and a brother Eddie Margheim.
Graveside service will be on Friday, March 29, 2019, 2:00 P.M., at the Bazine Cemetery, Bazine, Kansas with Military Rites provided by Olin Cole Post No. 392. Friends may call at Fitzgerald Funeral Home on Thursday, March 28, 2019 from 9:00 A.M. to 9:00 P.M.
Memorial contributions may be given to the Donor’s Choice.
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly could be forced to replace Kansas’ top business development official because of two small grants to a nonprofit group he previously managed from a fund tied to a late physician known nationally for doing late-term abortions.
Acting Commerce Secretary David Toland visits with Gov. Kelly during a March 21 presentation in Topeka -photo courtesy Kan. Commerce Secretary
Acting state Commerce Secretary David Toland has no role in regulating abortion providers, but the state’s most influential anti-abortion group has joined an effort by some Republican legislators to oust him. They are troubled by grants totaling less than $20,000 to a southeast Kansas economic development group from a memorial fundnamed for Dr. George Tiller.
Tiller was among a handful of physicians in the U.S. known to terminate pregnancies in their final weeks. His clinic in Wichita was the site of repeated anti-abortion protests, including the weeks-long “Summer of Mercy” in 1991. He was shot to death in 2009 in his church by an anti-abortion zealot who is serving a 25 years-to-life prison sentence.
Toland’s political problems began with serving as the unpaid treasurer for Kelly’s successful campaign last year and have since mushroomed. The Republican-dominated Senate is expected to vote on his appointment next week, and it refuses to confirm him, he will have to step down from the Cabinet post he’s held since Kelly took office in January.
Several Republican senators said Tuesday that the Tiller fund grants troubled them, and the anti-abortion group Kansans for Life emailed all 40 senators a letter Monday urging them not to confirm Toland’s appointment. A few GOP lawmakers noted that the commerce secretary controls programs and incentives for luring businesses to Kansas.
“The next logical question is: Is he going to try to increase the number of abortion clinics in the state of Kansas?” said state Sen. Mary Pilcher-Cook, a conservative Kansas City-area Republican. “I think that we can’t rule that out.”
Opposition to Toland’s appointment is an example of how abortion remains an enduring political issue in Kansas, which has only three clinics providing abortions. The Legislature has had solid anti-abortion majorities for two decades and recently passed a resolution condemning a new law in New York protecting abortion rights.
“The last thing we want to see happen is a commerce secretary who is dialed in to how to get money from the Tiller foundation,” said Mary Kay Culp, Kansans for Life’s executive director.
The controversy also shows how Kelly, who promised a bipartisan governing style, has had a rocky start in the face of resistance to her agenda from conservative Republican leaders. It’s especially notable because it’s rare for even Democratic governors to have Cabinet appointments rejected.
“It’s a smear campaign,” said Senate Minority Leader Anthony Hensley, a Topeka Democrat and close Kelly ally. “It’s just politics.”
Toland previously served 11 years as executive director of Thrive Allen County, the southeast Kansas nonprofit. He’s received credit for helping to lure a new grocery store to his hometown of Iola and persuade voters to build a new community hospital.
Some Republicans have questioned Toland’s credentials and criticized him over a few social media posts and comments he made at a rally last year for expanding Medicaid. However, he also has the support of business leaders and local chamber-of-commerce officials across the state, and even some GOP senators consider him well-qualified.
“It’s time to end these baseless attacks and confirm him to be our next secretary of commerce,” Kelly said in a statement Tuesday.
According to the Wichita Community Foundation , which administers the Tiller fund, its first grant to Thrive Allen County, in 2015, was $9,380. It went to efforts to help low-income pregnant women stop smoking and get them to appointments for breast and cervical cancer screenings.
The second grant, in 2018, was $10,000 and went to the local health department to help provide long-acting contraceptives to women who have no or limited health insurance coverage.
Toland said in statement that he’s proud of Thrive Allen County’s work and, “We have healthier mothers and healthier babies in the county as a result, which is good for businesses and our economy.”
Kansans for Life and other abortion opponents are put off because Thrive Allen County’s website lists the Tiller fund as one of its “partners.”
Culp worries that small grants across the state could be used to refer women to abortion providers as part of a “racket to protect abortion.”
And Sen. Gene Suellentrop, a conservative Wichita Republican, said Toland and Thrive Allen County now have a tie with the Tiller fund.
