HAYS, Kan.-It was cold and it was rainy but none of that seemed to matter as the Hays High Lady Indian soccer team shut out Nickerson 5-0 on Monday afternoon. The game was played at the Fort Hays State University soccer stadium due to the wet conditions in Hays.
It took the Lady Indians one minute and 35 seconds to notch what would be the game winner as Kallie Leiker sailed a shot over the Lady Panther goalie to make it 1-0 off of an assist from Savannah Schneider. In the 24th minute Sophie Humphrey added the last goal of the first half on a goal that was again assisted by Schneider. Hays High would add three second half goals from Schneider, Taleia McCrae, and a penalty kick from Maggie Robben.
The Lady Indians improve to 10-1-4 and will travel to Wichita on Thursday to finish out the regular season against Trinity Academy.
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — A Kansas legislator has been arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence after his vehicle was found in a ditch in east Topeka.Vic Miller -photo Shawnee County booking photo
Police said officers found Democratic state Sen. Vic Miller of Topeka uninjured inside his vehicle late Monday night after receiving a report of a vehicle crashed in the ditch.
Officers took Miller to the Shawnee County jail, where he was booked early Tuesday on suspicion of driving under the influence and inattentive driving. The county Department of Corrections said Miller was released after posting a $1,000 bond.
Miller declined comment Tuesday afternoon.
Miller held several local offices and served in the Kansas House before Democrats picked him in November to fill the Senate seat that Gov. Laura Kelly held before her election last year.
MUSKOGEE, Okla. – Fort Hays State women’s golfer Hannah Perkins wrapped up her senior campaign at the 2019 NCAA Division II Central Super Regional Championship (May 6-7) this week. Perkins finished the tournament in a tie or 27th individually. The senior fired identical rounds of 75 in the first two rounds before finishing with an 85 in the final round. Perkins finished the tournament at 22-over par (235) for the week.
When asked what was going through her head during the first nine holes of the tournament after recording a 2-under (34) score, “The entire front nine I just played so relaxed” said Perkins. “I was hitting the ball really well so had lots of confidence in my swing.”
Perkins finished the season with a 78.0 scoring average over the course of 22 rounds played. The Wichita, Kan. native posted her lowest scores in four rounds at Muskogee Country Club in her career in both the first and second round (75) this week.
“After last week’s [MIAA] tournament, I was happy how the day ended up. Obviously, I had a couple bumps in the road on the 12th and 15th holes, but I just tried to keep my head on straight and realize there was a lot of golf to be played and there are still lots of birdie chances at this course,” said Perkins.
Southwestern Oklahoma State took home the team title with an aggregate score of 893. Arkansas Tech claimed a runner-up finish with an 897, while Northeastern State (913) finished third. Peerada Piddon of Arkansas Tech captured the individual title with a 3-over par (216) finish for the week.
“After how I played at conference I was just glad to be here. I didn’t finish the day how I wanted but I’m happy with how my senior season played out,” said Perkins. “I am just sad to see it end.”
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — Sedgwick County authorities say a man charged with killing an elderly Army veteran was found dead in his jail cell on Saturday.
Stewart photo Sedgwick Co.
The sheriff’s office said in a news release that preliminary reports indicate 36-year-old Austin Lee Stewart of Wichita died of self-inflicted asphyxiation from a bed sheet but an official cause of death has not been determined.
Stewart was found unresponsive in his cell Saturday night and efforts to revive him failed.
Stewart was charged with first-degree murder, aggravated robbery and theft in the Nov. 29 beating and asphyxiation death of 88-year-old Floyd Gilbert.
Court records say Gilbert died during an attempted robbery. Stewart and another man apparently targeted Gilbert because they thought he kept cash and guns in a safe in his home.
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WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — Two convicted felons have been charged with killing an 88-year-old man in his Wichita home during a robbery.
54-year-old Landon Onek and 36-year-old Austin Stewart were charged Tuesday with first-degree murder, aggravated robbery and two counts of theft in the death of Floyd Gilbert. Bond is set at $500,000 for Stewart and $250,000 for Onek.
Glibert’s son, Abner “Corkey” Gilbert, went to his father’s home Thursday night after not hearing from in two days and found his body. He said his father was a retired aircraft sheet-metal worker who lived alone. His father’s car was missing.
Court records show Onek and Stewart have served time for theft, drug counts and other crimes. And Onek’s parole was revoked just last week in a drug case.
SALINE COUNTY — Law enforcement authorities are investigating an assault on a grocery store employee and have made an arrest.
Brown photo Saline Co.
Just before 8:30p.m. Monday, police responded to Dillons, 2350 Planet Avenue, in Salina after a report of battery and attempted shoplifting, according to Captain Paul Forrester.
A 32-year-old store employee stopped Shaun Brown at the front of the store as Brown tried to leave with a cart full of items valued at $180, according to Forrester.
When the employee asked for a receipt and Brown could not produce one, Brown pulled brass knuckles out of his pocket and hit the employee in the head before running from the store.
Police found and arrested Brown a short time later near the apartment complex in the 2300 Block of Chapel Ridge Place in Salina, according to Forrester.
The brass knuckles fell out of Brown’s pants when he was taken into custody, according to Forrester.
Brown is being held on requested charges of aggravated battery, theft, criminal use of a weapon, and felony interference of law enforcement officers. The state also had a warrant for Brown’s arrest. He has a previous conviction for aggravated burglary, according the Kansas Department of Corrections.
The Hays Area Board of Zoning Appeals will meet Wednesday to conduct a public hearing regarding business signage.
John Kyle Doerfler has asked for a variance for an additional sign on his business building at 810 E. 11th Street. The structure is located within a Light Industrial Zoning District “I-1” where sign regulations allow signs only on the front façade of the building. Doerfler has placed a sign on the building’s east side for visibility to Vine St. and would like to keep it there.
According to Curtis Deines, Planning, Inspection and Enforcement (PIE) superintendent, similar businesses have signs on the side of the buildings that were installed under previous regulations.
Staff is recommending approving the variance as submitted.
The meeting begins at at 8:15 a.m. in Hays City Hall, 1507 Main. The complete agenda is available here.
COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa (AP) — Authorities have identified a driver who died following a three-vehicle chase and shooting in Council Bluffs.
Vehicle involved in fatal crash images courtesy KETV
Police say 18-year-old Ethan Edgar, of Hutchinson, Kansas, was killed.
Police say the incident began when a man and several of his friends went looking for the man’s stolen car Monday afternoon. When the group spotted the car at a gas station, they used the two cars they were in to box in the stolen car. Police say Edgar, who was driving the stolen car, rammed the other cars in an attempt to flee.
That’s when a passenger in one of the rammed cars began shooting at Edgar, and a chase ensued before Edgar crashed. Edgar was taken to a hospital in neighboring Omaha, Nebraska, where he died. Police say his injuries included two gunshot wounds.
Police questioned but didn’t arrest the Omaha shooter or other men. The Pottawattamie County Attorney is expected to present evidence to a grand jury to determine if criminal charges will be filed.
WILSON COUNTY — Authorities are investigating a Monday train derailment in Wilson County.
photo courtesy Wilson Co. Emergency Management
The train derailment near 39 Highway and Ness Road involved 19 rail cars, according to Wilson County Emergency Management Director Gordon Deno.
No hazardous materials were involved. There were no injuries, according to Amanda Treiber with Union Pacific.
Ness Road remains closed from 39 Highway to Buffalo due to equipment in road.
This is the second train derailment in Kansas in recent weeks. A microburst was blamed cause for a train derailment near Matfield Green in Chase County April 29.
KANSAS CITY (AP) — A Kansas water park where a 10-year-old boy was decapitated isn’t hiring lifeguards, advertising or selling tickets with less than a month left before its typical Memorial Day weekend opening date, underlining speculation that it could be put up for sale.
Photo courtesy Schlitterbahn
Schlitterbahn remains mum on its plans, but has largely removed reference from its website about the park in Kansas City, Kansas, where Caleb Schwab was killed in 2016 when the raft he was riding on the 17-story Verruckt slide went airborne and hit a metal pole. Verruckt — German for “crazy” — never reopened and was torn down last year. Season tickets have been on sale for months for Schlitterbahn’s four Texas locations, but not the Kansas park.
“Schlitterbahn has not informed us of their plans, but we are assuming they are not opening this summer,” said Unified Government of Wyandotte County and Kansas City, Kansas, spokesman Mike Taylor. “We are hopeful that Schlitterbahn will come under new ownership and branding, and will open next summer.”
Speculation about a potential sale was fueled by mortgage lender, EPR Properties, announcing last week that Schlitterbahn is expected to pay off its approximately $190 million loan on the property soon. EPR chief executive Gary Silvers told analysts on a conference call about its first-quarter earnings that Schlitterbahn is working with an undisclosed third-party lender on the deal.
Schlitterbahn spokeswoman Winter Prosapio declined to comment on the Kansas park’s future, including whether it would open.
“Schlitterbahn is a privately held company and does not comment on financials,” she said in an email. “Our Texas parks are off to a strong start for the 2019 season, but we have no news to share about our KC property at this time.”
EPR said in a previous filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission that it agreed to advance Schlitterbahn additional amounts under the mortgage. The filing noted an offseason shortfall and the cost of legal issues stemming from Caleb’s death during a special day for elected officials and their families. Caleb’s father, Scott Schwab, then a state lawmaker, was elected Kansas secretary of state last year. With his urging, lawmakers voted to strengthen the state’s relatively lax oversight of amusement park rides.
Caleb’s family received nearly $20 million in settlements, and two women who were seriously injured while riding with him settled for an undisclosed amount.
Jeff Henry, Schlitterbahn co-owner, CREDIT FRANK MORRIS /Kansas News Service
Prosecutors also filed criminal charges against Schlitterbahn co-owner Jeff Henry, the designer of Verruckt, the park’s operations manager and two maintenance workers, alleging that shoddy planning and maintenance led to Caleb’s death. But the maintenance workers were acquitted in October, and a judge dismissedcharges against the other three in January citing improper evidence.
One issue was that grand jurors were shown clips from a Travel Channel television show documenting construction of the Verruckt, in which Henry and others emphasized the risks to riders on a raft dropping 17 stories before climbing a second, 50-foot hump. Defense attorneys argued the video didn’t show how the ride actually worked and that prosecutors didn’t properly explain to the jury that it was a dramatization. The video showed boats flying up in a similar manner to how Caleb died.
Charges of drug possession and hiring someone for sex also are pending against Henry in a neighboring Kansas county.
Taylor, the Wyandotte County official, said the big issue is having an abandoned water park in a bustling tourist area that includes the Kansas Speedway race track, the Sporting Kansas City soccer stadium and a busy shopping area.
“From the Unified Government’s perspective we would love to see the park open in the future and be a viable tourist attraction.”
In celebration of National Travel and Tourism Week, Fort Hays State University’s tourism and hospitality management program helped coordinate a Tourism Expo Tuesday in the Memorial Union.
The tourism industry is one of the fastest growing career fields in the nation, ranking in the top three industries in all 50 states.
A group of students led the charge in partnering with the Hays Convention and Visitors Bureau, FHSU’s Tourism and Hospital Management Club and Eta Sigma Delta – THM’s honorary society – in hosting an expo for the first time.
More than 20 vendors set up shop in the Fort Hays Ballroom and visited with students about numerous opportunities in Hays, on campus and abroad.
“It was a way to celebrate travel and tourism, especially in Hays, Kansas,” said Rachel Luedders, a Hays senior who will graduate later this month. “Also, we wanted to help raise awareness of how many jobs and internships are available to students in Hays.”
Luedders was one of the lead student organizers, along with Chelsie Andrews, a graduate student from Bennington.
“This was our first one, but it’s a start,” said dr. Stacey Smith, chair of the Department of Applied Business Studies and associate professor of tourism and hospitality management. “This was a great leverage of partnerships within the community.”
Also on the agenda for Travel and Tourism Week is a VIP tour of FHSU’s Sternberg Museum of Natural History on Wednesday and a Tourism Appreciation Reception from 2 to 4 p.m. Thursday at the Hays Welcome Center, 2700 Vine.
HIGHLANDS RANCH, Colo. (AP) — A shooting at a suburban Denver middle school injured seven people Tuesday, and two suspects were in custody, authorities said.
Douglas County Undersheriff Holly Nicholson-Kluth says there is a possible eighth injury and doesn’t believe there are any other shooters, but tactical teams were still searching room by room. She did not know if there were fatalities or other details about the victims or the extent of their injuries.
Lines of firetrucks, ambulances and law enforcement vehicles from multiple agencies were at the school and medical helicopters landed on a grassy field.
The shooting occurred at the middle school at STEM School Highlands Ranch, a public charter with more than 1,850 students in kindergarten through 12th grades.
The sheriff’s office said deputies responded around 1:50 p.m. to the school in the Highlands Ranch community about 15 miles (24 kilometers) south of Denver.
Nicholson-Kluth said police and deputies got there almost immediately and heard shots as they arrived. The school is near a sheriff’s department substation.
The sheriff’s office directed parents to a nearby recreational center to pick up their children.
Betty Juanita Leerskov Brenner, 99, of Russell, Kansas, died on May 06, 2019at the Brookdale East Senior Living Center in Wichita, Kansas.
Betty was born on May 10, 1919, in Atwood, Oklahoma, the daughter of Oscar M. and Maggie (Slaten) Bishop. Betty grew up in Oklahoma, Texas and New Mexico. She met, fell in love and was united in marriage to Leo Noble “Swede” Leerskov on December 02, 1939, in Bowlegs, Oklahoma. From this union Betty and Leo were blessed with two daughters Yvette and Brenda. Her great pleasure was being a wife, mother and homemaker. She also enjoyed her avocation as a master seamstress and was employed in the fabric department at Bankers Mercantile in Russell for many years. In 1979, Leo died, after 40 years of marriage. Betty was fortunate to find love again and was united in marriage to Leo Brenner on February 17, 1984, and he also preceded her in death in 1986. Betty was a longtime member of First Baptist Church and Trinity United Methodist Church in Russell. She was very active participating in church groups and committees, Russell American Legion #99 auxiliary, Russell V.F.W. #6240 auxiliary and TOPS. She loved spending time with her many friends, sewing, knitting, ceramics, arts and crafts. She enjoyed attending performances at the Russell Community Theater, dancing with her husband and spending time and taking care of her family.
Surviving family include her two daughters Yvette Leerskov Ehrlich and husband Mel of Bakersfield, California and Brenda Leerskov of Wichita, Kansas; sister Kitty Kingsley of Santee, California, and many nieces and nephews.
She was preceded in death by her parents, both husbands, 3 brothers Gladstone, Alvin and Oscar M. Bishop and two sisters Foye Paasch and Dessie Griffith.
A celebration of Betty’s life will be held at 1 P.M. on Tuesday, May 14, 2019, at the Pohlman-Varner-Peeler Mortuary in Russell, Kansas, with Reverend Paul Ellis Jackson officiating. Burial will follow at the Russell City Cemetery. Visitation will be from 9 A.M. to 8 P.M. on Monday, May 13, 2019, at the mortuary, with family greeting guests from 6 P.M. to 7 P.M. Monday evening. Memorials may be given to the Russell Senior Center or Russell Community Theater and sent in care of the mortuary. Pohlman-Varner-Peeler Mortuary of Russell, Kansas, is in charge of the funeral service arrangements.
