The KBI is assisting the Trego County Sheriff’s Office with the death investigation of 48-year-old Corina Knoll of Collyer.
At around 6:15 p.m. on Sunday, Aug. 18, the Trego County Sheriff’s Office requested KBI assistance.
At approximately 5:30 p.m. Sunday the Trego County Sheriff’s Office received a 911 call reporting a suicide at the residence at 609 Ainslie Ave., in Collyer, Kan.
When the Trego County Sheriff’s Office and the Kansas Highway Patrol arrived, they located Knoll who had been shot.
The Hays Public Library celebrated the 50th anniversary of Woodstock Saturday with the Bookstock Music Festival. The event included a free concert, featuring local musicians, and a food truck rally. The outdoor concert featured Tree Kitty, Earl Ruder, Company 11, Taylor Kline and Miles on End.
Dr. Grady Dixon, professor of geosciences and interim dean of the Peter Werth College of Science, Technology and Mathematics, was announced today as the 2019 President’s Distinguished Scholar at Fort Hays State University.
“In his five years at the university, Grady has over 40 published scholarly works. His research on weather and climate is at the forefront of his discipline,” said Dr. Jill Arensdorf, emcee of the ceremonies at the 2019 FHSU fall convocation.
“He has garnered over half a million dollars in grant monies, with the assistance of both undergraduate and graduate students,” said Arensdorf, provost and vice president for academic affairs.
“Grady, thank you for your contributions to the university and to your discipline.”
The President’s Distinguished Scholar Award was first conferred in 1989. All unclassified employees of the university are eligible for consideration and are evaluated for this honor by analysis of their performance in the categories of research and creative activities, service, and instruction. Acceptable levels of performance must be demonstrated in service and instruction, with the primary focus of this award on research and creative activities.
An evaluation committee, composed of five of the most recent award winners, reviews applications, and a recommendation is forwarded to President Tisa Mason. The provost chairs the committee and is responsible for administering the award process.
Several other awards were also presented at the convocation.
Faculty Member of the Year, Dr. Laura Wilson, associate professor of geosciences and interim chair of the department. Commerce Bank provides a $1,000 stipend for the award. The award was presented to her by Dr. Jill Arensdorf, provost and vice president of academic affairs, and Deron O’Connor, president of Commerce Bank.
The Faculty Member of the Year is selected from the past year’s recipients of faculty awards for teaching, for research and scholarly activity, and for service.
Wilson, and Dr. Nicholas Caporusso, instructor of informatics, were the winners of last year’s awards for research and scholarly activity.
The 2018-19 awards for service went to two assistant professors of advanced education programs, Dr. Kim Chappell and Dr. Elliot Isom.
Last year’s outstanding teaching awards went to Dr. C.D. Clark, associate professor of physics, and Dr. Lanee (pronounced lah-NAY) Young, associate professor of mathematics.
The Edmund Shearer Faculty Advisor of the Year Award was presented to Dr. Kim Chappell, assistant professor of advanced education programs in the College of Education.
The Shearer Award is presented to individuals who have demonstrated outstanding academic advising of students.
Shearer, a former chair of the Department of Chemistry, was known for the high value he placed on student advisement. One advisor can be recognized from each of the five academic colleges.
The recipient of this award will also be nominated for the National Academic Advising Association Award. Each FHSU winner will be presented a certificate and a monetary award. The nominees receive a stipend of $150, and the winning recipient receives $500. Commerce Bank also sponsors this award.
Besides Chappell, the nominees were Karrie Simpson Voth, professor and chair of the Department of Art and Design, representing the College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences; Dr. Robert Lloyd, assistant professor of management in the W.R. and Yvonne Robbins College of Business and Entrepreneurship; Anita Walters, instructor of health and human performance in the College of Health and Behavioral Sciences; and Joe Chretien, associate professor of applied technology in the Peter Werth College of Science, Technology and Mathematics.
Dr. Tamara Lynn, associate professor and interim chair of the Department of Criminal Justice, was named the John Heinrichs Outstanding Research Mentor.
This award recognizes faculty members for their commitment, time and energy in promoting undergraduate research. All current faculty and unclassified staff members at levels comparable to academic faculty are eligible. The winner’s home department is awarded $500 of budget funding to benefit the recipient. The Office of the Provost, the Undergraduate Research Environment Committee, and the Office of Scholarships and Sponsored Projects sponsors the award.
The “Closing the Loop” Departmental Award went to the Department of Advanced Education Programs. The department receives $2,000, provided by Voya Financial, in additional operating budget for the year. This award recognizes a department that implements improvements in its degree programs.
The Department of Management won the Advancing Assessment Award, receiving an additional $1,000 in operating budget funds, sponsored by the Office of the Provost and the Office for Institutional Effectiveness and Quality Improvement. This award recognizes departments that make advances in their program assessment procedures.
Children and adults crowd the Schmidt Gallery at the Hays Public Library this summer. The program had almost double the numbers it did last year after moving to the library. File photo
By CRISTINA JANNEY Hays Post
The Hays USD 489 summer lunch program almost doubled the number of meals it served to children this summer after the program moved to the Hays Public Library.
This summer, the program served 8,101 children’s meals — an average of 168 daily. Last year, the program served a total of 4,866 children, a 101-meal daily average.
The lunch program offers free hot lunches to children 18 and younger. Adults can dine with children for a small fee.
Adult numbers were also up — 936 total meals this year compared to 671 total meals in 2018.
The program had been located in the former Washington school, but the program had to be moved this summer because the Early Childhood Connections program that is housed at Washington was being moved to its new home on 13th Street.
Jessica Younker, USD 489 director of nutrition services, said there were some challenges in the move to the library because the library does not have a full kitchen. However, after the first couple of weeks, the staff fell into a routine and worked out the issues with space and the influx of more children being served.
USD 489 was in its second year of a snack program offered at HPL. That program’s use was down slightly. The program served 2,939 snacks in 2019 compared to 2,977 snacks in 2018. That equals about 61 snacks per day.
Younker attributed the increase in the number of meals served to the change in location and the programming the library offered around the lunch program.
“It was a one stop shop for fun, enriching activities and a tasty meal,” she said. “It’s really a win-win for the families in our community!”
The library offered a program — Astronaut Training Academy — right before the lunch program opened for meals. Children learned about space and the planets and also did weekly exercise programs just as astronauts would have to do to stay healthy in space. The summer reading program theme was space.
Children participate in the library’s Astronaut Training Academy this summer. The program was scheduled weekdays right before lunch was served at the library. File photo
Meagan Zampieri, HPL youth services manager, said she also thought having the lunch program helped boost participation in the library’s programs.
“I do think the lunch program brought more kids to the library for our offerings,” she said. “We had a significant increase in program attendance even outside of our lunch numbers. I believe we had an increase of about 300 registrations, and an additional several hundred at programs in July.”
The library had 1,665 youth who registered for the summer reading program. Of those, 785 children completed the program. The library received 1,727 reading logs, which was equal to eight hours and 20 minutes of reading each.
Overall, 18,841 people attended youth services programs through the summer, and there were 1,534 adults at adult department events.
Children’s programs will fire up again in September. After school activities are offered at the library. To learn more about the HPL programs, visit the library website or call the children’s department at 785-625-9014.
Both Younker and Zampieri said they intend to recommend a continued cooperation between the library and USD 489 on the summer lunch program.
“I do recommend that the library be the lunch site again next year,” Zampieri said. “We’ve learned a lot, and so far as I know, we are all in agreement at the value that the program has to our community.”
Younker said, “Our goal is to provide a great service to the community, and we hope it continues to grow.”
Jana’s Campaign announced the week the award of a $30,000 grant from the Sunflower Foundation in Topeka, KS. Resources will be used to further expand and enhance implementation of our gender and relationship violence prevention education programs across the state of Kansas. Our educational programming provides an understanding of the warning signs of unhealthy relationship behaviors to ultimately stop the violence before it starts, teaches leadership to empower those in attendance to continue to be a part of the solution and encourages a strong culture of respect.
The Sunflower Foundation provided this funding through the Social Determinants and Social Needs: Moving Beyond Midstream grant opportunity. The programs selected to receive funding aligned with the mission to advance the collective efforts of state and local nonprofits to address social determinants of health and improve health outcomes for Kansans.
“We are excited that the Sunflower Foundation has invested in us and the mission of reducing gender and relationship violence throughout Kansas,” said Kaiti Dinges, Jana’s Campaign Interim Executive Director. “The approach and focus of Jana’s Campaign is on prevention education. We believe that education is the most powerful tool to create social change. Through education, one can change and improve social attitudes, behaviors, interactions, and norms.”
The Sunflower Foundation is guided by their mission: to serve as a catalyst for improving the health of Kansans. They seek partnerships with organizations and communities that focus on similar goals. Their mission focuses on three primary approaches:
Healthy Living and Active Communities
Health Care
Advocacy and Policy
To learn more about the Sunflower Foundation and their grant opportunities, visit www.sunflowerfoundation.org.
Jana’s Campaign is a national education and violence prevention organization with the single mission of reducing gender and relationship violence. In honor of the late Jana Mackey and other victims and survivors of gender and relationship violence, Jana’s Campaign delivers educational programs that prevent domestic and dating violence, sexual violence, and stalking.
BALTIMORE (AP) – Hanser Alberto hit a tiebreaking three-run homer in the eighth inning, and the Baltimore Orioles ended an eight-game losing streak by beating the Kansas City Royals 4-1 Tuesday night.
Royals reliever Jacob Barnes (1-2) sandwiched a pair of walks around two outs before Alberto hit a 1-1 pitch into the Baltimore bullpen for his eighth home run. As the ball cleared the wall, Alberto raised his right arm in the air and smiled broadly approaching second base.
Hunter Harvey (1-0) worked a perfect eighth to earn his first major league win and Mychal Givens got three outs for his 10th save.
Baltimore had lost 13 of its previous 14 games, including the series opener to Kansas City on Monday.
Both starters were very sharp, and neither factored in the decision.
Dylan Bundy allowed the Royals one run and five hits over seven innings with seven strikeouts.
Brad Keller didn’t let a runner get past first base until the sixth, when Chance Sisco drew a leadoff walk and went to second on a single. With one out, right fielder Bubba Starling ran far to his right to make a diving catch of a sinking liner by Anthony Santander, and Keller finished his outing by retiring Renato Nunez on a fly ball.
Keller gave up three hits and left with a 1-0 lead, but his bid to earn his first win since July 24 ended when reliever Richard Lovelady allowed a game-tying single to Rio Ruiz in the seventh.
Kansas City’s lone run came in the second inning, when Meibrys Viloria hit a sacrifice fly following singles by Alex Gordon and Ryan O’Hearn.
RUTSCHMAN ON RISE
Catcher Adley Rutschman, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2019 draft, is moving quickly up Baltimore’s minor league chain.
Less than 24 hours after going 5 for 5 for short-season Class A Aberdeen, Rutschman received a promotion to Class A Delmarva on Tuesday. He is expected to join the Shorebirds on Wednesday.
The 21-year-old Rutschman began his pro career in the Gulf Coast League and concluded his brief stint with Aberdeen on a 10-game hitting streak.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Royals: RHP Danny Duffy (left hamstring strain) threw 65 pitches in a simulated game Tuesday. “We’ll see (Wednesday) how he feels and we’ll evaluate after that,” manager Ned Yost said. Duffy hasn’t pitched since Aug. 3. … SS Adalberto Mondesi (shoulder) began his rehab assignment with Triple-A Omaha by playing DH and striking out his first three trips to the plate.
Orioles: OF Mark Trumbo has missed the entire season while recovering from knee surgery but still has hopes of returning when rosters expand in September. “Probably have to send him out to play some (rehab) games prior to that, but as of right now everything is one track,” manager Brandon Hyde said. … OF Dwight Smith Jr. (left calf strain) went 3 for 5 for Triple-A Norfolk on Monday to open his rehab assignment. “There’s no problem at all. He came out healthy,” Hyde said. Smith went 1 for 2 at the DH Tuesday night and will move to the outfield Wednesday.
UP NEXT
Royals: Mike Montgomery (3-5, 4.63 ERA) pitches in the series finale Wednesday night. He’s 2-1 with a 1.00 ERA in his last three starts and 2-3 with KC after being traded from the Cubs.
Orioles: Aaron Brooks (2-7, 6.49) remains in search of his first win since April 11, when he beat Baltimore for Oakland. The right-hander is winless in seven starts with the Orioles since being claimed on waivers on July 6.
Superintendent Ron Wilson estimated district enrollment close to 3,000 students during a report to the Hays USD 489 school board on Monday.
An official count will not be taken until September. The enrollment numbers were taken from enrollment forms that have been turned in thus far, and Wilson acknowledged the district likely has students who are attending who have not completed the forms. More students also may enter the district yet this fall.
The enrollment at the elementary schools is 1,415.
That includes:
375 at O’Loughlin
213 Lincoln
419 Roosevelt
408 Wilson
Wilson described the middle school as “busting at the seams.” Enrollment at HMS is 677 students, including:
244 sixth graders
228 seventh graders
205 eighth graders
Hays High School’s enrollment is 857 students, including:
246 freshmen
215 sophomores
218 juniors
178 seniors
The district’s full-time equivalent enrollment was 3,049 students in 2018-19. Enrollment has increased slightly each year since 2015-16 when enrollment was 2,807.
Enrollment is significant in that the state bases the district’s funding in part on enrollment numbers. The district’s budget is based on 3,005 students this school year.
SEDGWICK COUNTY – Law enforcement authorities are investigating a fatal shooting, have identified the victim and two suspects arrested.
Marcus Lamar photo Sedgwick Co.
Just after 6p.m. Monday, police responded to report of a shooting in the 4600 Block of East Boston in Wichita, according to office Charley Davidson.
A police officer attending a meeting nearby also responded to the scene and they located the victim identified as 33-year-old Jerome Armbeck of Wichita in an open field. He had multiple gunshot wounds. Despite the efforts of police and emergency personnel, Armbeck was pronounce dead at the scene, according to Davidson.
Investigators have learned that a disturbance occurred between Armbeck and several other individuals. One suspect fired a weapon several times striking the victim, according to Davidson. This was not a random incident.
On Tuesday, police arrested 20-year-old Marcus Lamar on a charge of felony murder, aggravated robbery and an outstanding warrant and a 17-year-old boy on a charge of felony murder and aggravated robbery
Lamar has a previous theft conviction and was reported an absconder, according to the Kansas Department of Corrections
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SEDGWICK COUNTY – Law enforcement authorities are investigating a fatal shooting, have identified the victim and made an arrest.
Just after 6p.m. Monday, police responded to report of a shooting in the 4600 Block of East Boston in Wichita, according to office Charley Davidson.
A police officer attending a meeting nearby also responded to the scene and they located the victim identified as 33-year-old Jerome Armbeck of Wichita in an open field. He had multiple gunshot wounds. Despite the efforts of police and emergency personnel, Armbeck was pronounce dead at the scene, according to Davidson.
Investigators have learned that a disturbance occurred between Armbeck and several other individuals. One suspect fired a weapon several times striking the victim, according to Davidson. This was not a random incident.
On Tuesday morning, police took one suspect into custody in connection with the shooting. A second suspect was arrested just before noon, according to Davidson. Police have not released their names or possible charges.
If you’re like my family, you don’t have much reason or opportunity to have a regular discussion with the people responsible for growing and raising our food. We order our beef from a local meat locker every year and supplement it with occasional trips to a local butcher. Outside of that, all of our food comes from the grocery store.
I recently asked my wife, “When was the last time you talked to a farmer or rancher?” She couldn’t remember the last conversation she had with a farmer. Prior to joining Kansas Farm Bureau, I’d have a similar struggle.
My background is like my wife’s. We are both removed from farm families in rural Kansas, though we grew up on opposite ends of the state. If the two of us have trouble connecting with the people growing our food, I can only imagine the struggles others face.
While our communication might be lacking, one thing that isn’t is our access to food. I can’t think of the last time I left a grocery store without an item I wanted. In fact, I usually buy more than I need – as my waistline indicates.
I’ve heard the repeated pleas for farmers and ranchers to tell their stories. It’s good advice, but any conversation requires at least two participants. While farmers weren’t telling their stories, consumers didn’t exactly burn up the gravel roads to go knocking on farmhouse doors, either.
“When I was a kid in the ’70s and ‘80s no one was talking about telling our story to the consumer,” Greenwood County rancher Matt Perrier said. “We figured they didn’t care, or they knew it already. I think we were sorely mistaken.”
The fifth-generation stockman said as fewer and fewer people grew and raised food, it left a void between farmers and shoppers. Lacking the direct knowledge, consumers glommed onto any morsel of information they could.
“I think that it’s kind of the perfect storm between one, the small percentage of people who actually raise our food and consequently the small percentage of people who know any of us, coupled with this whole foodie movement … has made people passionate about food, and the story behind the food,” Perrier said. “These people on TV, their recipes aren’t any better than the Methodist Church ladies’ cookbook, but they tell a story to go along with it.”
Fifty or 100 years ago, people could have just asked grandma where their food came from, Perrier said. Because there are fewer farmers around, people have instead turned to social media.
“Consequently, the people who do want to tell a story about animal agriculture or agriculture in general, they are probably the loudest storytellers of all,” Perrier said. “Quite often that’s not a story that’s very representative of most of our farms and ranches in America.”
It’s a compelling one. Through a combination of technology and market efficiency, all consumers see is what appears to be an endless supply of food.
“When you don’t have to face the option of, ‘Do we have something to eat or don’t we?’ we get pretty picky,” Perrier said.
Picky or not, today’s farmers and ranchers are doing a better job of reaching consumers, Perrier said.
“We can tell it very well,” he said. “We just have to do it.”
“Insight” is a weekly column published by Kansas Farm Bureau, the state’s largest farm organization whose mission is to strengthen agriculture and the lives of Kansans through advocacy, education and service.
WICHITA – The Hays Larks land six players on the Kansas Collegiate League Baseball all-league team. The group is headed by outfielder Justin Lee who was named the Co-Offensive Player of the Year, Matt Cavanagh who was the Defensive Player of the Year and Wyatt Divis who is the Co-Pitcher of the Year.
Lee led the league with a .437 batting average and 15 doubles and was second with 21 stolen bases.
Divis tied for the league lead in wins at 6-1 and had an ERA of 1.96.
Cavanagh committed only two errors in 27 games, mainly at shortstop while hitting .321 with 24 RBIs.
The three are joined on the first first team by outfielder Drake Angeron, and second baseman Jimmy DeLeon.
Pitcher Tommy Garcia was named to the second team.
Neither Lee, Angeron or Cavanagh played for the Larks at the NBC World Series because of injuries.
KANSAS CITY — Law enforcement authorities responded to a strange call in Kansas City Tuesday.
Traffic camera images courtesy KC Police
Just before 11:30a.m, police received multiple calls about a man carrying a topless, unconscious woman on the west side of downtown, according to a social media report.
Callers said it looked like the man wanted to throw the woman over a bridge, dropped her on the sidewalk, dragged her head over a curb, had her slung over his shoulder and appeared to be trying to dress her, according to police. One caller said he was yelling ‘savior’ while holding the woman just east of the 12th Street Bridge.
Multiple officers quickly responded to the scene. They found a man and what they found was totally unexpected, according to the release. The woman was actually a life-size female doll.
The man told police he found it in a dumpster of a restaurant at 16th and Broadway. He had carried the doll to the woods. According to police, they advised him not to carry the doll around in public anymore.
WASHINGTON – A former Kansas bank executive was found guilty by a federal jury Monday for his participation in a bank fraud scheme to obtain a $15 million construction loan for certain bank customers based upon false and fraudulent representations, according to the United States Department of Justice. The loan was shared among 26 Kansas banks.
Troy A. Gregory, 52, of Lawrence, Kansas, was found guilty of four counts of bank fraud and two counts of false statements, as charged in a November 2017 indictment. The jury failed to reach a verdict as to one count of conspiracy. Sentencing is scheduled for Jan. 28, 2020, before U.S. District Judge Carlos Murguia of the District of Kansas, who presided over the trial.
According to the evidence submitted at trial, Gregory was a bank executive and loan officer who had made millions of dollars in loans to a group of borrowers who were struggling to make payments on the loans.
Beginning in approximately late 2007, Gregory began the process of making a $15.2 million construction loan to build an apartment complex to that same group of borrowers. Gregory’s bank shared this loan with 25 other Kansas banks. Gregory made and caused others to make false statements to the banks about the strength of the borrowers, the debt status of the apartment property and the existence of approximately $1.7 million in certificates of deposit for collateral on the loan, all to get the loan approved. Instead of using the loan funds promised for building the apartments, Gregory immediately diverted over $1 million of the loan to pay for part of the certificates of deposit pledged as collateral, pay off debt on the apartment property, and make payments on unrelated loans, the evidence showed. Other Kansas banks that shared in this loan would not have participated in the loan without the false representations and promises. The banks ultimately wrote off millions of dollars on the $15.2 million construction loan, the evidence showed.
The FDIC-OIG, IRS-CI, FBI and FHFA-OIG are investigating this matter. Trial Attorney Andrew R. Tyler and Senior Litigation Counsel David A. Bybee of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section are prosecuting the case.
