The FHSU Symphonic Winds will be giving the world premier of a new work that was commissioned from Kansas City area composer, Daniel Morel.
FHSU led a consortium of 21 Kansas area colleges and high schools to fund the project.
The work, titled Flint Shards, was inspired by the Flint Hills and the stratification of rock layers that is visible along the I70 corridor.
FAIRWAY, Kan. (AP) — Authorities say a man has been shot and wounded after exchanging gunfire with police across the street from an elementary school in suburban Kansas City.
The shooting happened around 3:10 p.m. Friday at a Fairway, Kansas, house that is located directly across the street from Highlands Elementary School in the Shawnee Mission School District. Video shows a man exiting the home and firing shots before officers shot him.
The school was on lockdown for what the Johnson County Sheriff’s Office described as a “firearms complaint” when gunfire erupted. Police weren’t returning phone messages about the man’s condition.
Rosemary Emma Herrmann, 91, passed away February 28, 2019 in Overland Park Kansas.
Rosemary was born February 13, 1928 in Kinsley, Kansas to Hugh and Ruth Peters Miller.
A longtime area resident, Rosemary was a realtor and farmwife. She was a member of St. Nicholas Catholic Church and the altar society, Kinsley; volunteered for CASA, Great Bend; and was a member of PEO.
On January 29, 1948 she married Joseph Henry Herrmann in Kinsley, he preceded her in death on January 3, 1990.
Survivors include two sons; Stephen Herrmann, Stow, MA and Joseph (Julie) Herrmann, Overland Park; six grandchildren and three great grandchildren.
She is preceded in death by two sons, Terrance Herrmann and Jerome Herrmann; and a daughter, Judith Cross; two brothers, Quentin Miller and Jack Miller; a sister Ruth Hirsh.
Funeral Mass will be held 10:00 a.m. Monday, March 4, 2019 at St. Nicholas Catholic Church, Kinsley with Father John Forkuoh presiding. Rosary will be Sunday, March 3, 2019 at 7:00 p.m. at St. Nicholas Catholic Church, Kinsley. Visitation will be Sunday from 1:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. at Beckwith Mortuary, Larned. Burial will be in St. Nicholas Cemetery, Kinsley.
Memorials may be given to CASA or St. Nicholas Catholic Church in care of Beckwith Mortuary, PO Box 477, Larned, KS 67550.
NWS
DODGE CITY – Snow and Bitterly Cold Temperatures on the Way…
…WINTER STORM WARNING IN EFFECT FROM 6 PM SATURDAY TO NOON CST
SUNDAY…
Trego-Ellis-Scott-Lane-Ness-Rush-Finney-Hodgeman-Pawnee-Stafford-Gray-Ford-Edwards counties including the cities of WaKeeney, Pfeifer, Hays, Scott City, Scott State Lake, Dighton, Ness City, La Crosse, Garden City, Jetmore, Hanston, Larned, St. John, Stafford, Macksville, Cimarron, Montezuma, Dodge City, Kinsley, and Lewis
* WHAT…Light freezing drizzle and flurries Saturday afternoon are expected to change to all snow Saturday evening, with total snow accumulations of 3 to 6 inches. North winds at 20 to 30 mph, along with gusts as high as 35 mph, will cause blowing and drifting of snow and reduced visibilities under a quarter of a mile at times. Bitterly cold air along with the wind will result in dangerous wind chills as low as -20. Any freezing drizzle that develops ahead of the snow could cause slick spots Saturday afternoon.
* WHERE…Portions of central, south central, southwest and west central Kansas.
* WHEN…From 6 PM Saturday to noon CST Sunday.
* ADDITIONAL DETAILS…Plan on slippery road conditions. Blowing snow could significantly reduce visibility. The cold wind chills as low as 20 below zero could cause frostbite on exposed skin in as little as 30 minutes.
PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS…
A Winter Storm Warning for snow means severe winter weather conditions will make travel very hazardous or impossible. If you must travel, keep an extra flashlight, food and water in your vehicle in case of an emergency.
The latest road conditions for the state you are calling from can be obtained by calling 5-1-1.
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — A former Wichita YMCA employee accused of sexually assaulting two young girls at the center has pleaded no contest to rape charges.
The Sedgwick County District Attorney’s office confirmed 22-year-old Caleb Gaston entered the pleas on Friday. Gaston is accused of raping a 4-year-old girl and sexually assaulting a 3-year-old in January 2018.
The alleged assaults happened in the Kid Zone at the downtown YMCA in Wichita.
Gaston worked at the facility as a part-time employee for five years before his arrest, which came after a woman reported her daughter had been molested.
Gaston has been jailed on a $1.1 million bond for more than a year. He will be sentenced April 26.
SURPRISE, Ariz. – The Kansas City Royals today announced that Salvador Perez suffered an injury to his right elbow during Wednesday’s workout in Surprise, AZ. He underwent Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) on Thursday which revealed damage to the ulnar collateral ligament. The All-Star catcher will travel to Los Angeles early next week to get a second opinion from Dr. Neal ElAttrache.
Perez, 28, has played in only one Cactus League game this spring, serving as the designated hitter on Tuesday against the Dodgers.
TREGO COUNTY — Two people were injured in an accident just before 7a.m. Friday in Trego County.
The Kansas Highway Patrol reported a 1991 Honda Accord driven by Clay Wolf, 17, Quinter, was eastbound on Old 40 near the Trego-Gove County line.
The Honda traveled left of center and struck a 1997 Chevy truck driven by Seth Wilds, 21, Collyer, head-on.
Wolf and Wilds were transported to the hospital in Quinter. Wolf was later flown to a hospital in Wichita.
Both drivers were properly restrained at the time of the accident, according to the KHP.
OVERLAND PARK, Kan. (AP) — Sprint officials say they have a deal to sell the company’s sprawling campus in Overland Park, Kansas.
CEO Michel Combes said in a note to employees on Friday that the deal with Occidental Management is expected to close in the coming months.
The terms of the deal were not released.
Occidental will lease part of the campus that Sprint still uses back to the company.
Combes told employees campus operations will continue as they currently are after the sell is complete.
Occidental Management is a Wichita-based company with property holdings in the Kansas City area.
As of late last year, 6,000 Sprint employees and contractors worked at the Overland Park campus. Sprint occupies 11 of the 20 campus buildings.
Delbert Duane Klein, 87, Hays, died Thursday, February 28, 2019 at the Pinnacle Park Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in Salina.
Duane was born February 28, 1932 in La Crosse, Kansas the son of L.A. and Katie (Hamburger) Klein. He attended Lacrosse Elementary School and graduated from La Crosse High School in the class of 1950. While in school he was involved in all sports activities. He started working as a bag boy at the grocery store in LaCrosse as an eighth grader. He was working full time when C.O. Mammels bought the store in 1952. He continued to work for Mammels as a meat cutter until the store closed in 1986. He was united in marriage to Edna Marie Stroemel on October 20, 1958 at St. Ann Church in Walker. They celebrated 38 years of marriage before she preceded him in death on October 21, 1996. He was a former member of St. Nicholas of Myra Catholic Church, and the Knights of Columbus Council #1325. He was an avid hunter and fisherman, loved animals, helping nephews with Cub Scouts and Boy Scouts, especially making pinewood derby cars. He enjoyed watching sports and always liked to tell a good joke.
Survivors include nieces and nephews; Patty and Larry Collins of Mesa, AZ, Ron and Elsie Klein of Brady, TX, Pam and Jim Rogers of Amarillo, TX, Arlinda and husband Greg Worthen of Concordia, Kathy and Rick Wood of Santa Rita, Guam, Cindy and Clif Strickland of Hoisington, Harold and Shelly Klein of Salina, Fr. Terrance Klein of Ellinwood, and Penny and Dr. Ronald Huffman of Salina.
He was preceded in death by his parents, wife Edna, four brothers; Chester, Eldon, Albert, and Harold “Irvin” Klein, and a nephew Mike Klein.
Mass of Christian Burial will be at 10:00 am on Monday, March 4, 2019 at St. Ann Catholic Church in Walker, Kansas, with Fr. Terrance Klein officiating. Burial will follow in the church cemetery. Visitation will be from 5:00 pm until 8:00 on Sunday at the Hays Memorial Chapel Funeral Home, and from 9:00 am until service time on Monday at St. Ann Catholic Church in Walker. A vigil service and rosary will be at 7:00 pm followed by a Knights of Columbus rosary, both on Sunday at the funeral home. Memorials are suggested to the Humane Society of the High Plains, in care of the funeral home. Condolences and memories of Duane may be left for the family at www.haysmemorial.com
By CRISTINA JANNEY
Hays Post
A Hays bookkeeper who tried to claim millions from her former employer’s estate entered into a plea agreement Friday morning in U.S. District Court in Wichita.
Wanda Oborny, who was charged with seven counts of mail fraud, changed her plea from not guilt to guilty on one count of mail fraud. The other six counts were dismissed.
The charges stemmed form her mailing a fraudulent codicil for her employer’s will to Fort Hays State University and other parties who were beneficiaries in the will, including Field’s relatives.
Under the plea, Oborny will serve 12 months of probation, make a charitable donation of $100 each month for 12 months to Fort Hays State University and pay a mandatory special assessment of $100.
By taking the plea, Oborny avoids a sentence of up to 20 years of prison and $250,000 fine.
Oborny was a bookkeeper for Hays resident Earl O. Field. Oborny alleged 98-year-old Field signed a codicil to his will shortly before his death in 2013, leaving half of his $20 million estate to her with a quarter of the estate going to Fort Hays State University Foundation and the rest going to Field’s attorney, Joseph Jeter.
After a long court battle, the Fort Hays University Foundation received the bulk of the estate as was stated in the original will.
Sentencing has been set for May 29.
TOPEKA—The Kansas Supreme Court on Friday affirmed a Saline County District Court ruling from August 2016 that denied Andrew Woodring’s efforts to withdraw his plea in the death of 17-year-old Allie Saum.
According to a media release from court, Woodring was a participant in a vehicular shooting that resulted in the death of Saum in May 2015. According to information from the Kansas Supreme Court document, the state charged him with one count of premeditated first-degree murder, or, in the alternative, felony murder; one count of attempted first-degree premeditated murder; one count of criminal discharge of a firearm at an occupied vehicle; one count of conspiracy to commit aggravated battery; and one count of interference with law enforcement.
Woodring, who was 17 years old at the time of the shooting, was charged as an adult. At that time, it was alleged he provided and drove the car used in the shooting and that he also contacted the shooter and suggested that he bring a gun with him on the drive.
On April 18, 2016, Woodring entered into an agreement to plead no contest to felony murder in exchange for the state’s agreement to dismiss other charges, the Kansas Supreme Court document states.
Then on June 6, 2016, Woodring filed a motion to withdraw his plea. On August 10, 2016, Saline County District Judge Rene Young denied the motion. Woodring was sentenced to a term of life imprisonment with a minimum mandatory sentence of 25 years before he would be eligible for parole, the Kansas Supreme Court document states.
In the decision released Friday, Kansas Supreme Court Justice Eric Rosen, writing for a unanimous supreme court, affirmed the district court, noting that the facts supported guilt under an aiding and abetting theory and the mere existence of time pressure for deciding whether to go to trial is not necessarily so coercive as to compel a court to allow a defendant to withdraw a plea.
By BECKY KISER
Hays Post
The third and final public demonstration of new voting systems for Ellis County was held Wednesday with poll workers and election staff.
The group in the county Administration Center commission chambers was much smaller than that at the first two presentations. Ellis County Clerk and Election Officer Donna Maskus attributed it to the extreme cold.
Josh King and Don Vopalensky did get out in the winter weather and drove to Hays. The two Kansas residents work for ElectionSource, Grand Rapids, Michigan, and showed their Dominion Voting Systems.
King talked about the extra security layer built in the precinct ballot counter, which requires both a USB key and a unique password.
“You have to have this little physical device and you have to know the password the county has chosen for that election,” explained King. “You can have it programmed to each specific machine or one for everyone. It’s all up to the county and how granular they want their security to be.”
The precinct counter, which holds 3,000 ballots and has a separate write-in ballot bin, costs approximately $5,000. The ADA compliant ICX touch screen voting booth prints ballots but does not tabulate. Its cost is about $3,000.
Ellis County must replace its aging iVotronic voting system in order to comply with a new Kansas statute requiring post-election audits done on paper. The iVotronic machines do not produce a paper ballot.
Maskus said all three companies are “excellent” and they each work with other counties in Kansas as well as other states.
Rooks County is using Election Source products.
During February presentations were also made by Adkins Election Services, Clinton, Mo., and Election Systems & Software (ES&S) of Omaha, Neb.
Each company showcased systems that would require less work by poll workers and put more responsibility on the voter.
“I’m very much considering that it will take less election board workers,” Maskus said. “Once that ballot is handed to the voter, the voter goes to the table, does their secret voting, and then comes to the machine and puts it in. If they choose to do the touch screen option, it will print a ballot and they will have to put it in the machine to be tabulated.”
The printed ballots will go into a ballot precinct counter which does the tabulations. Write-in ballots are also scanned, counted and printed.
“We’re going to be able to print reports and combine those results. It should be a faster process on election night and that is exciting to me,” she said with a smile.
Maskus has talked with several Kansas counties who are using the new systems which print and tabulate ballots and “they just love them. It’s less time and they say they feel so much better about them. It’s tabulating there in the machine and you don’t have that human error.”
Ellis County election board workers who’ve attended the presentations have also told Maskus the new systems look much easier to use. “They’re also looking forward to some new equipment.”
Whichever company is selected, it will provide training for the poll workers on the new system. “We want to be trained correctly and what to do if something happens to a machine or if the electricity goes off.”
The county budget has capital reserve set aside to purchase new machines as part of the election budget. Maskus will decide which system to go with after reviewing all three bids.
“I do want input from my staff, people who have attended the meetings, my board workers and supervisors, and the county commissioners. It’s a big dollar investment. We will review all that very thoroughly.”
“It’ll be great to have new equipment. There’ll be a learning curve but everybody is excited.”
Ellis County has 10 polling sites and 69 iVotronic machines.
Maskus expects to use the new equipment for the upcoming election in November and a possible primary election in August.
