By BECKY KISER
Hays Post
The first full month of spring is filled with lots of activities in Hays.
Melissa Dixon, Convention and Visitors Bureau executive director, has a few of the highlights.
An up-to-the-minute Community Calendar of Events is available on the CVB website www.visithays.com.
HAYS, Kan. – After falling 7-1 in the first game of the day, Fort Hays State handed No. 2 ranked Central Oklahoma its third loss of the season and their first in conference play with a 7-6 walk-off win in eight innings in game two of their doubleheader Tuesday at Tiger Stadium. The Tigers moved to 14-13 overall, 7-5 in the MIAA while the Bronchos moved to 29-3 and 11-1 in conference play.
Game 1: Central Oklahoma 7, Fort Hays State 1
After holding Central Oklahoma scoreless over the first two innings, Fort Hays State starting pitcher Michaelanne Nelson ran into trouble in the third by allowing a single and two walks with two outs to load the bases. Carli Jones made the Tigers pay for the two free passes in front of her by hitting a grand slam over the right field wall, instantly putting UCO on top 4-0.
The Bronchos tacked on two more runs in the fourth with a pair of RBI singles and then pushed the lead to 7-0 in the sixth with another RBI single. Two of the singles were from JoBi Heath and the other from Bailey Thompson. Jones’ big blast in the third was enough for the Bronchos, while limiting the Tigers to just a single run in the sixth.
Sara Breckbill was the only Tiger to drive in a run in the first game. Her RBI single in the sixth brought in Terran Caldwell, who started the inning with a double followed up by a single from Katie Adler.
Bailey McKittrick held FHSU hitless over the first 4.1 innings, allowing just a walk and a hit batter to that point. Jeni Mohr broke up her no-hit bid in the fifth with a single to the left side, beating out the shortstop’s throw at first base. The Tigers started to solve McKittrick further in the sixth with three hits, which was a precursor to good things that happened late against her in game two. McKittrick moved to 15-0 on the season with the win, allowing one run on five hits with seven strikeouts.
Nelson moved to 5-7 on the season with the loss. She allowed seven runs on 11 hits and seven walks. She struck out four. Megan Jamison picked up the final three outs for the Tigers in the seventh, allowing a hit with a strikeout.
Game 2: Fort Hays State 7, Central Oklahoma 6 (8 inn.)
Fort Hays State took an early 2-0 lead in game two, but had to come from behind twice to defeat nationally ranked UCO in game two. The Tigers outhit the Bronchos 16-7, but overcame fielding and baserunning mistakes to win 7-6 in walk-off fashion on a hit to the wall by Sara Breckbill in the eighth inning.
A fielding error by the Bronchos extended the first inning and the Tigers made them pay with back-to-back RBI singles from Bailey Boxberger and Elise Capra. However, with the 2-0 lead, FHSU starting pitcher Hailey Chapman struggled with command in the second and a pair of wild pitches led to UCO scoring a pair of runs to tie the game with two outs in the inning. UCO then jumped in front 3-2 with an RBI double.
The Bronchos helped the Tigers out further in the bottom of the second when a throwing error allowed a run to score with just one out in the inning. The Tigers could have taken the lead on a grounder to the right side of the infield with runners at first and third, but a base-running blunder turned into a double play and left the score knotted at 3-3.
The Tigers found themselves in a hole once more when UCO plated three more runs in the third. Game-one nemesis Carli Jones struck again with a two-run homer to right field, nearly in the same location as her game one grand slam, giving UCO a 5-3 lead. The lead moved to 6-3 when a throwing error to first base with two outs allowed another run to score.
After a rough pair of innings, Chapman settled in to hold the nation’s seventh-best hitting and eighth-best run scoring team scoreless over the final five innings. That allowed FHSU to claw its way back with a pair of runs in the bottom of the third and a single run in the fifth to tie the game 6-6.
In the third, Breckbill led off with a single and then Boxberger backed it up with a double. That chased UCO starting pitcher Sydney McLeod from the game. Against reliever Lauren Gibson, Allison Jurgensen came up with a two-RBI single to cut the lead to 6-5. Jurgensen delivered again in the fifth with a bloop RBI-single down the right field line that scored the tying run.
Chapman allowed only two hits over her final five innings in a complete game effort. She got out of jams with runners at third in both the sixth and eighth innings to give the Tigers a chance to win. They finally seized that opportunity in the bottom of the eighth off game-one starter Bailey McKittrick, who entered the game to pitch at the beginning of the inning. A well-placed infield single by Terran Caldwell to the left side started the rally. She moved to second on a sacrifice bunt by Katie Adler. After Grace Philop flew out to center field, Breckbill gave the Tigers a victory with a lazer shot over the left fielder’s head that plated Caldwell from second. It also gave McKittrick her first losing decision of the season in the circle.
Chapman moved to 8-6 overall with the win. She allowed seven hits and six walks, while striking out nine. The last of her strikeouts stranded UCO’s potential go-ahead runner at third to end the eighth inning. Five of her six runs allowed were earned.
Tiger Notes
-FHSU picked up its first win over a ranked team in over three years. The last was a 5-1 win over No. 20 Augustana on February 19, 2016.
-Bailey Boxberger went 4-for-4 at the plate in game two of the doubleheader.
-Allison Jurgensen drove in the most runs for the Tigers in the 7-6 win with three.
-Central Oklahoma’s only other losses this year were to non-conference opponents Texas A&M-Commerce and Augustana.
-Fort Hays State now has three walk-off wins this season, two on hits by Grace Philop and now one by Sara Breckbill.
Up Next
Fort Hays State will remain at home for the next pair of conference doubleheaders. Missouri Western comes to Hays on Saturday, April 6 and then Northwest Missouri State is in town on Sunday, April 7. Both doubleheaders are scheduled for 12 pm.
HAYS, Kan. – The Hays High softball team committed 20 errors, 14 in the second game, and were swept by Garden City 9-3 and 11-5 in their Western Athletic Conference opener Tuesday at Glassman Park.
The Indians (2-2) scored a run in the first inning of game one but were held to four hits. The Buffs answered with six in the top of the second.
Kaitlyn Brown took the loss allowing six runs on four hits in 1 1/3 innings.
The Indians led 4-3 after three innings in the second game but Garden City scored three in the fourth to take the lead then added five in the sixth to blow it open.
Jaysa Wichers went the distance with only two of the 11 runs earned. Wichers struck out nine and walked one.
Brenna Schwein, Madelyn Waddell and McKinley Wamser all doubled.
NEW YORK (AP) — Garrison Mathews is the kind of player only the most die-hard basketball fans would know, his prolific scoring seldom on any sports highlight clips. With the college basketball spotlight blasted on Madison Square Garden, Mathews put the sport on notice and buried a shot in the clutch that sparked madness for tiny Lipscomb.
Mathews swished his ninth 3-pointer of the game in front of an exuberant Lipscomb bench for the lead with 1:10 left in the game to send the Bisons on their way to the NIT championship in a 71-64 win over Wichita State on Tuesday night.
“It was good to just do it for the team and kind of give us a lift,” he said.
He carried them to the NIT final.
Mathews had been buried in obscurity for the ASUN Conference Bisons (29-7), but put on a show on national television in crunch time at Madison Square Garden. He yelled as the shot fell from beyond NBA 3-point range and the Bisons rose from the bench in jubilation. Mathews sealed the win with free throws and finished with 34 points, setting the state for Lipscomb to play for its first NIT championship.
“People should know about us by now,” forward Rob Marberry said. “I think people can finally see Lipscomb’s a basketball school now.”
Wichita State’s Samajae Haynes-Jones stole the ball near the 3-point line and the 6-foot guard exploded for a fast break dunk that turned MSG yellow and gave the Shockers a late double-digit lead. But they faded down the stretch and one of the hottest second-half teams in basketball missed their final 10 shots and over the final 8-plus minutes to head home empty-handed.
Dexter Dennis scored 13 points and Markis McDuffie had 12 for the Shockers.
The Shockers had a solid season under coach Gregg Marshall, six years after he led the program to the Final Four. Marshall led the Shockers to the 2011 NIT championship, a springboard for the most successful era in program history. The Shockers (22-15) made their own sensational run in the NIT, beating the No. 1, 2 and 3 seeds, all on the road, just to make it to New York.
“This was a year we could have taken a big dip. I mean, a big dip,” Marshall said. “But we’re in Madison Square Garden playing in April.”
The Shockers had their hands full against the fifth-seeded Bisons.
A year after NIT champion Penn State drew big, rowdy crowds to Madison Square Garden, the arena was nearly empty for the matchup between teams from Kansas and Tennessee. New Yorkers wasted their chance to watch Mathews, named to The Associated Press All-America honorable mention team. Mathews was named ASUN player of the year and averaged 26.3 points in the NIT. He entered with a whopping 2,429 career points and scored 44 points in an NIT quarterfinal win over North Carolina State.
He created open looks by moving without the ball and was a burst of energy in Lipscomb’s first ever game against the Shockers.
Mathews hit three 3s and scored 18 points in the first half to give Lipscomb a 35-30 lead at the break. The Bisons, who lost the ASUN Tournament championship game to Liberty, looked to Mathews every chance they got. He buried a 3 on a fast break off a turnover to bring the Bisons within one, and even his misses worked in their favor. He missed on a long 3, but Ahsan Asadullah scored on an uncontested tip for a five-point lead.
SOMETHING DIFFERENT
The NIT was a bit of a mad scientist in the college basketball lab. The 3-point line was extended to the same distance used by FIBA (22 feet, 1.75 inches). The free throw lane matched the NBA and was widened from 12 to 16 feet. The shot clock also reset to 20 seconds after an offensive rebound instead of the full 30 seconds, as well as other minor changes.
The experimental rules will help the NCAA determine if a marginally more difficult 3-point shot will be effective for college basketball and if widening the lane will reduce physicality and create more driving opportunities.
“The style of play in men’s college basketball is healthy and appealing, but the leadership governing the game is interested in keeping the playing rules contemporary and trending favorably,” said Dan Gavitt, NCAA senior vice president of basketball.
UP NEXT
Lipscomb: Faces the winner of the semifinal between TCU and Texas.
KANSAS CITY, Kan. (AP) — A criminal trial of a priest charged with molesting a child has been delayed until at least summer.
The trial of Rev. Scott Kallal was set to begin April 15 in Wyandotte County District Court. But a hearing last week, the court granted Kallal’s request for more time. A status conference is set of June 7.
Kallal was charged in in 2017 with two felony counts of aggravated indecent liberties with a child. He has pleaded not guilty.
He was suspended from public priestly ministry in 2017 as associate pastor at Holy Spirit Church in Overland Park.
In January, Kallal was on a list of 22 priests the Catholic Archdiocese of Kansas City in Kansas said have had substantiated allegations of sexual abuse of minors made against them in the past 75 years.
By JEREMY McGUIRE
Hays Post
DODGE CITY, Kan.-80 minutes of soccer just wasn’t enough for the Hays High Lady Indians as they travelled to Dodge City for their Western Athletic Conference opener on Tuesday. Hays faced a very defensive minded Red Demons team who packed at least 7 players in the box most of the night.
The Lady Indians had scoring opportunities in regulation but couldn’t convert on a penalty kick and free kicks outside the box. The game went to overtime and with 2:16 left a Dodge City penalty gave Hays High their second penalty kick of the game. Maggie Robben took the kick and found the back of the net to give the Lady Indians the 1-0 golden goal victory.
Hays improves to 4-1 on the season and 1-0 in WAC. They will be back home on Thursday to host Liberal with a 4pm start at Hays High.
Can you believe that the Radical Left Democrats want to do our new and very important Census Report without the all important Citizenship Question. Report would be meaningless and a waste of the $Billions (ridiculous) that it costs to put together!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 1, 2019
On Tuesday, a Democratic-controlled House panel voted Tuesday to subpoena documents and a witness related to the Trump administration’s decision to add a citizenship question to the 2020 census.
The vote was 23-14, with Rep. Justin Amash of Michigan being the only Republican to join with Democratic lawmakers in the vote.
Democrats say they want specific documents that will determine why Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross decided to add the question. They say the Trump administration has declined to provide those documents despite repeated requests. The vote is the latest example of the ways Democratic lawmakers are using their majority to aggressively investigate the inner workings of President Donald Trump’s administration.
Ross said the decision in March 2018 to add the question was based on a Justice Department request to help it enforce the Voting Rights Act.
The official counting begins on April 1 next year. To mark the date one year out, Census Bureau officials held a briefing Monday to begin raising awareness and project confidence that they’re up to the monumental task.
Census Bureau Director Steven Dillingham declined to answer a question about the president’s tweet, saying “we really want to restrict our comments to talking about the great job we’re doing, where we are and how it’s going to help this nation.”
Dillingham noted that the census for the first time will give people the chance to respond online. People can also respond by telephone and mail. He cited how easy it will be to provide requested information and to assure that the information will be secure and confidential.
“But probably the message we really want to emphasize is how important it is,” Dillingham said. “We now live in an information age where accurate data improves the quality of our lives and supports our thriving economy.”
The decennial census is used to help determine how about $675 billion in federal dollars is distributed each year. State and local governments use it to make decisions about where to locate schools and health clinics and provide social services and improve roads and bridges. The survey results are also used to distribute electoral college votes and congressional district seats.
The citizenship question has been caught up in litigation in federal courts, where lower courts have ruled that the administration’s haste to include the question violated federal law and the Constitution.
Trump tweeted that without a citizenship question, the “Report would be meaningless and a waste of the $Billions (ridiculous) that it costs to put together!”
Against the advice of career officials at the Census Bureau, Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross decided last year to add the citizenship question to the survey for the 10-year headcount, saying the Justice Department requested the question to improve enforcement of the federal Voting Rights Act.
The Supreme Court is hearing the Trump administration appeal of a federal judge’s ruling in New York that the decision violated federal law. Since then, a judge in California has said a citizenship question also would violate the Constitution.
A resolution of the citizenship matter is needed soon to allow the government to start printing the census questionnaire.
Michael Platt Jr., an assistant secretary at the Commerce Department, said in a letter obtained by The Associated Press the department believes “the rush to issue a subpoena is premature.” Platt said the department’s staff is working at full capacity on “both its normal business and its multiple Congressional engagements, and I believe your one-day response demand is inconsistent with your constitutional obligation to accommodate the department.”
“We respectfully request adequate time to consider your letter and requests,” Platt wrote Monday.
OLATHE, Kan. (AP) — An 18-year-old who was named as a person of interest in the killing of a suburban Kansas City teen has been charged with shooting at an officer.
Matthew Lee Bibee Jr. was charged Tuesday with attempted capital murder, attempted first degree murder, attempted aggravated robbery, battery against a law enforcement officer and battery. None of the charges appear related to the fatal shooting of 17-year-old Rowan Padgett on Friday in Olathe.
Police say Bibee was wounded Sunday in an exchange of gunfire with officers who were responding to an armed robbery attempt in which shots were fired. Bibee was treated at a hospital before he was taken to jail. No one else was hurt.
Bibee’s bond is set at $1 million. No attorney is listed for him in online court records.
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Advocates for legalizing medical marijuana in Kansas are preparing to push their cause again, as the year’s legislative session winds down without much action on several bills related to the issue.
Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly has said she would support a “well-regulated” program, and the idea of introducing medical marijuana in Kansas appeared to gain momentum after voters in neighboring Missouri approved it in November.
This year’s legislative session in Kansas is scheduled to end next week, with a short return in May that will focus on passing the final budget, and so far only one medical marijuana bill has been given a vote, The Wichita Eagle reports . The House last week approved a bill that would provide a legal defense for medical use of CBD oil with up to 5 percent THC, which is the ingredient in the cannabis plant that produces a high.
Lisa Sublett, founder of the advocacy group Bleeding Kansas, said she and other advocates want a legislative committee to study medical marijuana during the summer and make recommendations before the next session begins in January.
“I hope we get an interim committee to in-depth study the issue and give us a chance to answer objections and concerns with actual data and to bring in experts,” she said.
Sublett said the bill approved by the House this session is an incremental step toward full legalization, but it’s largely symbolic because it doesn’t legalize production of CBD oil in Kansas and federal law allows only for interstate sales of CBD derived from hemp — a form of cannabis — with 0.3 percent or less THC.
A bill introduced this session that would allow much broader legalization of production, sales and use of medical marijuana has not received a hearing.
Some doctors oppose the legalization of medical marijuana because they don’t know how safe it is and say cannabis products should have to undergo the Food and Drug Administration approval process. Law enforcement groups also oppose its introduction, saying it would be impossible to keep legal medical marijuana from being diverted for illegal use.
Kansas Sen. Tom Holland, a Democrat from Baldwin City, said pressure might be growing as more nearby states approve legalization.
Missouri’s health department is formulating rules so the first patient applications for medical marijuana can be issued in June and the first dispensary licenses granted by the end of the year. Voters in Oklahoma did the same last June and a petition is circulating in Nebraska to get medical marijuana on the ballot next year. Colorado was one of the first states in the country to legalize medical marijuana.
“Once again Kansas is sticking out,” Holland said. “People are very cognizant of that. … It’s growing from a ‘Gee, that would be nice to have access to,’ to ‘boy they’re demanding it’ and they’re starting to get really frustrated Kansas isn’t keeping up with the rest of the nation.”
Alberta “Bertie” Louise (Forbes) Sites was born on April 4, 1938, in Osborne County, Kansas and passed away on March 31,2019 at Homestead Assisted Living in Manhattan, Kansas at the age of 80.
She lived her younger years in Osborne County. Later, the family moved to Benkleman, Nebraska. After Alberta’s father died in a plane crash in 1945, Alberta’s mother, Gladys, and the children moved to Covert, Kansas, to be near the Roenne family. In 1949, the family moved to Rexford, Kansas where Alberta and her three brothers attended school.
After high school, she attended Fort Hays State University in Hays, Kansas. This is where she met the love of her life, Donald Sites. They were married August 25, 1957, in Rexford, and moved to the farm south of Grinnell where they lived the rest of her life. Alberta and Donald were inseparable. They enjoyed traveling. After retirement, they traveled to at least 84 countries. When telling stories of her travels, people would ask her where the most beautiful place on earth was, her response every time, was western Kansas. She loved being a farmer’s wife, spending many hours working outside with the family working with the cattle, gardening, or doing whatever needed to be done. Alberta was very active in the Grinnell United Methodist Church and the local Extension Homemaker Units (EHU). Alberta had many hobbies that she enjoyed with her husband. They traveled all over the U.S. and Canada searching for unique antique items and patent models. They moved the Grinnell Train Depot to the north Oakley 1-70 exit and turned it into a museum. Alberta’s favorite treasures were the lightning rod ball collection, the windmill weight collection, the barbed wire collection, and the cast iron seat collection. She was very proud that she held the Powder-Puff Barbed Wire Splicing Championship for a few back-to-back years. Donald and Alberta had celebrated 61 years of marriage last year.
Alberta and Donald were blessed with a son, Dalen, in 1958, and a daughter, Marla, in 1961. Dalen is a veterinarian and lives in Mohave Valley, Arizona with his wife Deann. Their child, D’adra, was Alberta’s first granddaughter. D’adra lives in Phoenix, Arizona and is a Certified Nuclear Medicine Technologist. Marla (Webster) lives in a rural area near Olsburg, Kansas with her husband Lynn. Marla works at Covetrus in the Manhattan, Kansas office. Lynn and Marla gave Alberta and Donald two more granddaughters, Codie and Callie. Codie lives in Topeka, Kansas and will be graduating from Washburn Law School this May. Codie and her fiancé, Tanner Swartz, are planning an August 10, 2019, wedding. Callie lives in Manhattan, Kansas and attends Kansas State University. She is majoring in Kinesiology and plans to attend Physical Therapy school in the future.
Alberta was preceded in death by her father Lewis Willard Forbes and her mother, Gladys Alberta Roenne Forbes. In addition to her children and grandchildren, Alberta is survived by three brothers; Lewis Forbes (wife Hazel) of Madera, California; Duane (wife Connie) of Mesa, Arizona, and Marion (wife Marlene) of Fresno, California.
Funeral Service will be held at 10:30 am Saturday, April 6, 2019 at Kennedy-Koster Funeral Home in Oakley. Burial will be at the Grinnell Township Cemetery, Grinnell. Visitation: 6 to 8 p.m. Friday at the funeral home. Memorials: Alberta Sites Memorial Fund in care of Kennedy-Koster Funeral Home, P.O. Box 221, Oakley, KS 67748.
Online guestbook: www.kennedykosterfh.com
Norma Mae (Spacil) King, 86, peacefully passed away Monday, April 1, 2019 at Woodhaven Care Center in Ellinwood, Kansas. Norma was born May 11, 1932 to Ernest Frank and Alice Marie (Batchman) Spacil at the family homestead on the Barton/Stafford County line. She attended St. Joseph Catholic School in Ellinwood and Sacred Heart Academy in Wichita. While attending Sacred Heart, Norma entered the sisterhood at the Dominican Convent where she took her initial vows as a Novitiate. A short time later she left the convent and returned to graduate from Sacred Heart. She went on to receive her Registered Nursing Certificate from St. Rose School of Nursing in Great Bend and worked as an RN for Drs. White, Swan, Evans and Hill.
On January 12, 1957 she married Kenneth Ballard King in Ellinwood. They were married for 58 years before Kenneth passed away on August 31, 2015.
Norma was a member of Prince of Peace Parish, St. Patrick Catholic Church and it’s Altar Society. Her Catholic faith was important to her and she was an active member of the Daughters of Isabella, serving as Vice Regent, Regent and Past Regent. In recent years, she was welcomed to and enjoyed celebrating weekly Mass with the Sisters of the Dominican Convent.
She was very active in her children’s lives and activities and served in Camp Fire as a Bluebird and Camp Fire Leader, Board President and Camp Chu-Wa-Ni Director. She also served with the Boy Scouts in Pack 120 as a Den Mother, Den Leader Coach and Committee member, and with the Cheyenne District of the Kanza Council as a Committee Member, Cub Chairman and Key Three Member. She was a recipient of the Silver Fawn Award.
Norma is survived by her children, James King and his wife Diane, Pittsburg, Karen Smith, Great Bend, Lori Jacobs and her husband Paul, Great Bend, Martin King and his wife Julie, Lenexa, and Jason King and his companion Kendra Beakey, Great Bend; and 11 grandchildren, Alyssa and her husband Matt Cook, Nichole and her husband Shiloh Walker, Jayme King and her fiance’ William Dorr, Dustin Rhodes and his companion Lora Saul, Andrew and his wife Amanda Jacobs, Alexander Jacobs and his fiance’ Becky Tolle, Austin Jacobs, Adam Jacobs, Haley and her husband Ian Evans, Spencer King, and Hayden King. Additional survivors include seven great-grandchildren, Cameron and Donovan Cook, Tripp Walker, Gaige Gunderson, Zoey and Kason King, and Isabella Rhodes; one sister, Marilyn Brehm, Phoenix, Arizona; and special friends Ken and Lisa Edgett, Great Bend, and Margaret Bartholomew, Great Bend. She is also survived by numerous nieces, nephews and cousins. Norma was preceded in death by her husband, parents, and brothers Ronald Spacil and Raymond Spacil.
Visitation will be held from 12:00 to 9:00 p.m., with an Altar Society Rosary at 4:00 p.m., and Vigil Service with Daughters of Isabella Rosary held at 7:00 p.m. on Friday, April 5, at Bryant Funeral Home. Mass of Christian Burial will be held at 10:00 a.m. on Saturday, April 6, at Dominican Sisters of Peace Convent in Great Bend with Father Don Bedore celebrating. Burial will be at Lakin Comanche Cemetery in Ellinwood. Friends may call from 12 to 9 p.m. on Friday at Bryant Funeral Home. Memorials are requested to Dominican Sisters of Peace or the Daughters of Isabella in care of Bryant Funeral Home.
Mabel M. Bender, 87, passed away April 2, 2019 at River Bend Assisted Living, Great Bend. She was born Feb. 10, 1932 at Claflin to Henry & Anna (Christians) Riemann. She married Oscar Bender Aug. 29, 1954 at Salina. He died Oct. 1, 2002.
Mabel had been a resident of Great Bend since 1946, coming from Claflin. She graduated from Great Bend High School and Salt City Business College, Hutchinson. She was a member of First Presbyterian Church, Great Bend, and held former employment at First National Bank as a bookkeeper. She enjoyed Bingo, crocheting, knitting, quilting and spending time at the baseball fields.
Survivors include, one son, Douglas “Doug” Bender of Great Bend; one sister, Ruth Ummen of Great Bend; eight grandchildren, Benjamin McDowell of Denver, CO, Heath McDowell of Garden City, Blake McDowell of Provo, UT, Tommy McDowell of Dumas, TX, Danica Bender of Emporia, Laura McDowell of Dumas, TX, Dalton Bender of Great Bend and Audrianna Bender of Great Bend; and eight great-grandchildren. Additional survivors include her two dogs, Shadow a Miniature Collie and Howie a Pekinese. She was preceded in death by her parents; husband, Oscar Bender; two brothers, Willis Riemann and Albert Riemann; one sister, Opal Cox; and one grandson, Brandon Bender.
Visitation will be held from 9:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m., Friday, April 5, 2019 at Bryant Funeral Home, with family present from 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. Funeral Service will be held at 2:00 p.m., Saturday, April 6, 2019 at First Presbyterian Church in Great Bend, with Rev. Kathie Luke and Pastor Mike Joiner presiding. Interment will be in the Great Bend Cemetery. Memorials are suggested to the Great Grandchildren’s Education Fund, in care of Bryant Funeral Home.
