Benjamin Jacob “Ben” Arnhold, 76, of Russell, Kansas, passed away Friday, August 16, 2019 at Russell Regional Hospital in Russell.
Celebration of the Funeral Mass will be held at 10:30 AM, Tuesday, August 20, 2019 at St. Mary, Queen of Angels Catholic Church. Burial will follow at the St. Mary’s Catholic Cemetery in Russell. Visitation will be held from 10:00 AM to 8:00 PM, Monday, August 19, 2019 at Pohlman-Varner-Peeler Mortuary, with the family present to greet friends from 6:00 PM to 7:00 PM. Memorials have been established with Knights of Columbus or St. Mary’s Catholic Church. Contributions and condolences may be sent to Pohlman-Varner-Peeler Mortuary, who is in charge of these arrangements.
SHAWNEE COUNTY — Law enforcement authorities are investigating a violent attack early Saturday.
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Just after 2a.m. Saturday, police were called to 5331 SW 22nd Place, Lazy Toad Bar in Topeka for a report of a shooting, according to Lt. Aaron Jones.
Officers located one victim suffering from serious but non-life threatening wounds in the parking lot. The victim had been shot at least once as well as run over by the suspect vehicle.
Police have not reported an arrest and have not released the victim’s name.
Roy Lynn Jensen, age 66, of McCracken, Kansas, passed away Friday, August 16, 2019 in Hays, Kansas surrounded by his family. He was born January 16, 1953 in Hays, KS to Arthur Hans Jensen, Sr., and Rita Mae (Hauser) Jensen.
He is survived by his children: Lucas Hans (Andrea) Jensen, of Hays; Jesse Roy Jensen (Laura Lemmons), of Munger; a daughter: Catherine Jensen, of Hays; 2 brothers: Arthur Hans Jensen, II, of Arvada, CO; Chris Jensen, of Salina; two sisters: Maren Kay Moody, of Hays; and Nancy Louise Parmer, of Hays. Two grandchildren: Hailey RaeAnne Jensen, and Jensen Lewis Glendening. Roy was preceded in death by his parents.
Funeral Services will be Saturday, August 24, 2019 at 10:00 AM at St. Joseph’s Catholic Church in Hays. Inurnment will follow in St. Joseph’s Cemetery.
Memorial visitation will be Friday, August 23, 2019 from 5 PM – 8 PM with a combined rosary and parish vigil service at 7 PM. Saturday visitation will be 9 AM – 9:30 AM all at Brock’s-Keithley Funeral Chapel and Crematory, 2509 Vine Hays, KS 67601.
Cremation entrusted to Brock’s-Keithley Funeral Chapel and Crematory. Memorial contributions are suggested to the Cancer Council of Ellis County or to St. Joseph’s Catholic Church
Condolences may be left for “Uncle Stretch” by guest book at www.keithleyfuneralchapels.com or by email at [email protected].
STILWELL, Kan. (AP) — A suburban Kansas City, Kansas, lawyer and his wife are suing to try to keep from having to vaccinate their 4-year-old son.
It is the second time Linus and Terri Baker, of Stilwell, have sued over the issue. They sued the Kansas Department of Children and Families after the agency in 2017 said it would vaccinate the boy against their wishes. That never happened, even though a judge dismissed the suit.
The Bakers say they are worried vaccines could affect the health of the boy, who was born with a heart condition that has since been corrected with surgery.
They are now suing the Blue Valley school district and various state officials, seeking an injunction to allow the boy to attend school without being vaccinated and without filing religious or medical exemptions. They’re also asking a judge to declare Kansas’ vaccination requirements unconstitutional.
The school district and health agency declined to comment to the newspaper.
MANHATTAN — The Kansas Department of Agriculture’s trademark program, From the Land of Kansas, was recognized in July 2019 with a national marketing award for its holiday gift box program.
KDA marketing program leaders attended the 99th North American Agricultural Marketing Officials (NAAMO) annual meeting in Philadelphia, where they were selected by their peers as the 2019 Marketing of Excellence winner for the From the Land of Kansas Holiday Gift Box program.
The holiday gift box program was launched in 2017, featuring high-quality products from multiple From the Land of Kansas trademark members packaged into gift boxes to celebrate the unique items available from Kansas businesses. The opportunity was welcomed by From the Land of Kansas members, and the gift boxes were a hit with customers, as the total sales far exceeded the estimates for both years of the program. Holiday gift boxes will be available again this fall at shop.fromthelandofkansas.com.
“We were pleased and honored to be chosen by our peers for this award and to join past recipients who we have long admired and respected,” said Janelle Dobbins, From the Land of Kansas marketing manager. “We have worked hard to build a From the Land of Kansas Holiday Gift Box program that celebrates our members and the wonderful products that Kansas has to offer.”
NAAMO is an international organization of the state and provincial government agricultural marketing officials who provide both domestic and international services to the agriculture and food industries in their states and provinces. An affiliate of NASDA (National Association of State Departments of Agriculture), the purpose of NAAMO is to provide its members with a forum to network, collaborate and share insights to enhance the development, marketing and promotion of North American food and agricultural products.
Jana’s Campaign is pleased to announce that the Hays, Kansas based national education and prevention organization has received a $10,000 grant from Human Investment, the foundation of The Jensen Project of Dallas, Texas.
“We are so grateful for the support we receive from The Jensen Project. The mission of The Jensen Project and Jana’s Campaign are directly associated through primary prevention efforts. We are proud and excited to build a partnership with The Jensen Project to reduce gender and relationship violence,” stated Kaiti Dinges, interim executive director of Jana’s Campaign.
Through the mission of Jana’s Campaign, we are dedicated to helping middle and high schools, and youth organizations reduce gender and relationship violence by promoting healthy relationship behaviors to ultimately create a culture of strong respect among adolescents. We utilize prevention programs, including curricular and co-curricular activities, to raise awareness of the underlying causes by highlighting the ‘red flags’ of dating relationships.
Janet Jensen
The Jensen Project is a social awareness initiative committed to encouraging empathy in young children by providing them with the tools and resources needed to teach them compassion in various areas of their lives.
Janet Jensen, founder and CEO of The Jensen Project and Human Investment, recognizes the urgency of reaching children as early as possible and ensuring the next generation of students are prepared to handle a changing culture.
To learn more about The Jensen Project’s efforts, visit www.thejensenproject.com.
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.
WICHITA —A Kansas man was sentenced Friday for the shooting death of another man in December of 2017 in Wichita.
Mork photo Sedgwick Co.
District Judge Jeffrey Syrios sentenced Jeremiah Mork, 23, Wichita, to 322 months on convictions of voluntary manslaughter, two counts of aggravated battery, and criminal possession of a weapon by a convicted felon.
The judge added 17 months because Mork violated his parole on an earlier case, resulting in a total sentence of 339 months.
On December 9, 2017, Randy Gibson, 45 of Wichita, was moving his belongings from a home in the 2200 block of S. Parkridge in Wichita when Mork shot him.
An autopsy showed Mr. Gibson had 15 bullet wounds. Mork also fired at and wounded two men who were helping Mr. Gibson move. A jury convicted Mork on June 12.
TOPEKA – Governor Laura Kelly appointed Amy Elliott and reappointed Barry Bedene to the Kansas Board of Mortuary Arts.
“Barry and Amy are dedicated individuals, and we are fortunate to have them on our mortuary board,” Kelly said. “I know they will work hard to ensure safe and ethical practices among our state’s licensed embalmers.”
Barry Bedene, Arma, is a licensed embalmer and funeral director, and the owner of Bedene Funeral Home. He is a past president of District Three of the Kansas Funeral Directors Association; a member of the National Funeral Directors Association; served as a board member of the Crawford County Fire District Number Two for more than 20 years; served as a city council member in Arma for four years; and has served on several other boards and commissions. Bedene also served as a member of the Mortuary Arts Board for many years.
Amy Elliott, Lenexa, currently works as a lawyer in her firm, the Law Office of Amy E. Elliott. Previously, she worked as a legal assistant for the law firm Cohen, McNeile & Pappas, P.C. Elliott received a juris doctor, a bachelor’s degree in English and an associate degree in paralegal studies, all from Washburn University.
The board ensures that licensees who work in the practice of embalming perform their services in a manner that provides maximum protection of the health, safety and welfare of Kansans.
Three members of the board must hold an embalmer’s license issued by the state board of mortuary arts, must have five consecutive years of experience in the practice of embalming and must be currently engaged in the practice of embalming in Kansas. The other two members must be a representative of the general public and without an embalming license.
The governor’s appointments to the mortuary arts board are not subject to Senate confirmation.
GREAT BEND – The certified public accounting firm of Adams, Brown, Beran & Ball, Chtd.(ABBB) was recently recognized as one of the top 200 accounting firms in the U.S. by INSIDE Public Accounting (IPA).
Ranking in the top 200 consecutively for five years, the firm rose nine spots from 174 in 2018 to 165 this year. In 2019, firms ranked
between 101 and 200 range in size from $19.2 million to $39 million in revenue.
“It’s an honor to be recognized as one of North America’s top 200 accounting firms again this year. Our dedicated focus to the agriculture, construction, manufacturing, retail, restaurant, and oil & gas industries has been instrumental to our continued growth,” said
Brian Staats, CPA, CGMA, managing partner of ABBB.
“Thank you to our clients and the entire ABBB team for your dedication to the profession and our firm.”
Founded in 1987, INSIDE Public Accounting (IPA) is published by The Platt Group (TPG). The Platt Group publishes the award-winning IPA newsletter every month and the annual IPA National Benchmarking Report. The Platt Group also surveys and publishes annual reports for the accounting profession in Human Resources, Firm Administration and Information Technology.
Adams, Brown, Beran & Ball, Chartered provides a wide range of traditional and non-traditional CPA and consulting services to clients throughout Kansas, including agriculture organizations, construction companies, feed yards, financial institutions, governmental and not-for-profit organizations, manufacturers, medical practices, oil and gas companies, professional service firms, real estate companies and small businesses. Founded in 1945, today the firm maintains 13 office locations throughout the state. For more information about Adams, Brown, Beran & Ball, please visit www.abbb.com.
Location of Friday’s Reno County quakes -USGS image
RENO COUNTY —Two additional small earthquakes shook Reno County following the four quakes Friday morning.
A quake just after 8p.m. measured a magnitude 3.0 and was centered approximately one mile west of South Hutchinson, according to the USGS.
Just before 5 a.m. Saturday, a magnitude 2.8 quake centered 2 miles west of South Hutch.
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RENO COUNTY — A small earthquake shook south-central Kansas Friday morning. The quake just before 8a.m. measured a magnitude 4.2 and was centered approximately 2 miles west of South Hutchinson, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.
Residents in the area also reported small aftershocks a short time later. The USGS says two aftershocks were centered approximately 7 miles west of South Hutchinson and measured a magnitude 3.1 and 2.6. A third aftershock measured 2.7 and was centered closer to the original quake, approximately 2 miles west of South Hutchinson.
There were reports of some minor damage including at the Reno County Courthouse. County Administrator Gary Meagher says it appears to be mainly cosmetic, but are checking to make sure there isn’t any structural damage.
Bottles fell off shelves at Egbert Liquor in Hutchinson
The Reno County Courthouse had cracks in the walls. This was taken outside the District Court Clerks Office
Reno County Emergency Management Director Adam Weishaar talks of the some of the damage.
“We have had any reports of any major structural damage,” said Weishaar. “Dillons at 5th and Adams had closed because they had a lot of items knocked off their shelves.
Hutchinson Regional Medical Center also has some minor damage and Egbert Liquor at 5th and Monroe also has bottles of liquor broken during the quake knocking them off the shelf.
Although we’ve had earthquakes before, this one was unusual. “This was weird, at least since I’ve been here, this is the biggest one we’ve had,” said Weishaar. “The aftershocks that came with this were fairly big compared to normal.
Many residents reported pictures coming off their wall and other issues with their homes. Businesses are also assessing damage.
TOPEKA — One of the United States’ largest and oldest private prison companies will house up to 600 Kansas inmates in a facility in Eloy, Arizona.
Formerly known as the Corrections Corporation of America, CoreCivic owns and operates 129 prisons, immigration detention centers and other facilities in more than 20 states, including the Leavenworth Detention Center.
Core Civic’s revenues total more than $1 billion a year, but the company has been subject to several federal and state government audits and state investigations. Here’s a look at a few of those controversies.
Staffing issues
In 2012, a group of inmates at the Idaho Correctional Center sued CoreCivic, arguing the company intentionally understaffed the prison and allowed a prison gang to attack them. A federal jury ruled the company wasn’t adequately staffed, but did not owe the inmates damages. Two years later, the state took over the facility, citing that lawsuit and others against CoreCivic.
In Tennessee, a 2017 audit of the state’s Department of Correction found three CoreCivic prisons kept incomplete or false staff records or did not hire enough people to manage inmates or comply with the state’s contract. Tennessee inmates had sued CoreCivic earlier that year, alleging that the lack of staff resulted in inadequate medical care for diabetics.
The same year in Kansas, the federal government audited CoreCivic’s maximum security prison in Leavenworth — the same prison where the company allegedly violated attorney-client privilege by secretly taping conversations between inmates and their lawyers. The audit found the prison struggled to hire enough guards. At one point, the vacancy rate was 23 percent. Despite this, CoreCivic transferred guards from Leavenworth to another prison in Louisiana.
Violence and sexual abuse
A Tennessee man reported being raped and sexually harassed by his cellmate at a CoreCivic prison in 2018. In a lawsuit, he alleged that even though he reported the harassment several times, the guards did nothing, a violation of prison policy and the U.S. Constitution. A CoreCivic representative told a Nashville TV station that only one report was made, which the prison investigated but couldn’t substantiate.
Also in Tennessee, a recent report found CoreCivic prisons had higher rates of homicide than those run by the state.
In 2009, Hawaii removed 168 women from a CoreCivic-run Kentucky prison after reports of guards sexually assaulting inmates. The incident was one reason Kentucky stopped using private prisons entirely in 2013. However, citing concerns about inmate crowding, the state signed another CoreCivic contract in 2017.
Cancelled contracts
Amid growing opposition to private prisons, several cities and states have declined to renew their contracts with CoreCivic in recent years.
In 2013, Mississippi ended its contract for the Wilkinson Correctional Facility after reports showed the prison was the most violent in the state.
Denver voted to let its agreements with CoreCivic expire this summer, although the city council recently extended the contracts while it figures out what to do with the people living in halfway houses run by the company.
Other places like Tuscon, Arizona and Nevada have banned or ended contracts with private prisons entirely, citing concerns about safety and prisoners’ rights.
Treatment of detained immigrants
CoreCivic also has come under fire for running detention centers for federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Fourteen people detained at the Eloy Detention Center in Arizona died between 2003 and 2015, five due to suicide. At the time, it was the highest number of suicides at any detention center in the country. Many people at Eloy complained that medical staff didn’t treat them and told them to drink water for ailments.
Last year, migrants detained at La Palma Correctional Center, also located in Eloy, went on hunger strike, saying they were abused and harassed by guards, given only one meal a day and had limited access to showers and bathrooms.
In July, Yasmin Juarez sued CoreCivic, arguing the company neglected to provide medical treatment for her daughter when the two were detained in the South Texas Family Residential Center. The lawsuit alleges 1-year-old Mariee Juarez had a high fever and was coughing and vomiting shortly after being admitted to the facility, but staff didn’t provide proper medical treatment. The girl was admitted to the emergency room one day after leaving the facility and died six weeks after she was released.
CoreCivic response
In emailed statements, CoreCivic spokeswoman Amanda Gilchrist told the Kansas News Service that it will offer Kansas inmates services that are just as good or better than what they’d receive at state-run prisons.
Tennessee-based private prison company CoreCivic has been subject to many lawsuits and investigations over its 30-year history. NOMIN UJIYEDIIN / KANSAS NEWS SERVICE
“CoreCivic cares deeply about every person in our care,” she said. “We work hard to ensure those in our facilities are treated respectfully and humanely.”
The employee vacancy rate at Saguaro Correctional Center, where Kansas inmates will be sent, is 3%. Hawaii also has a contract to send inmates to Saguaro, and Gilchrist pointed to recent audits from the Hawaii Department of Public Safety that show the facility to be compliant with all of the state’s requirements.
“All of our correctional facilities are monitored very closely by our government partners,” Gilchrist said. “Each and every one is required to undergo regular review and audit processes to ensure contract compliance and appropriate standard of care for all inmates.”
In an email, Gov. Laura Kelly said Kansas has a legal obligation to provide safe conditions for prisoners and prison employees.
“It’s a constitutional right, not an option,” she said. “My administration takes this very seriously.”
She emphasized the contract with CoreCivic will allow a Kansas state employee on site to monitor conditions and report back. Other Kansas officials are also allowed to visit and inspect Saguaro at any time.
“The decision to send some of our inmates to a private prison wasn’t made lightly,” Kelly said. “I share a number of concerns that have been raised by anti-private prison advocates.”
The Kansas Department of Corrections declined to comment.
Nomin Ujiyediin reports on criminal justice and social welfare for the Kansas News Service. Follow her on Twitter @NominUJ or email nomin (at) kcur (dot) org.
“This is a very important opportunity for Ellis County to continue to grow its workforce.”
That was the initial thoughts from Sen. Jerry Moran, R-Kan., following a stop in Hays Wednesday to tour Hess Services north of Hays.
Moran was joined on the tour by members of the Ellis County Commission, Hays City Commission, Fort Hays State University and Midwest Energy as the county looks to build support and spread awareness of the importance of the Northwest Business Corridor.
“I know a lot about Hays. I know a lot about Ellis County. This is home,” Moran said. “What I saw here today was not anything I knew about and nothing that I really expected.”
Hess Services is in its 30th year of operations and provides oil field and industrial equipment. They design and fabricate a variety of oil field equipment including storage tanks, pressure vessels and well servicing rigs, and drilling rigs.
They provide equipment for operators across most of the U.S., from the Bakken Oil Field in the Dakotas to Texas and California.
“Here’s somebody who capitalized on the oil and gas markets around the country and created hundreds of jobs in Ellis County, and it’s hometown boys who are doing it” Moran said.
“It is a great development and it’s what we need in every community and we need more of here, is people who have an idea. It’s called the American Dream — we have an idea and we take it to market and help other people pursue the American Dream,” he added.
With 400 employees, Hess Services is the largest business on the proposed Northwest Business Corridor, which also includes Midwest Energy’s Goodman Energy Center.
Last month, Ellis County submitted the grant application for a U.S. Department of Transportation BUILD grant for $8.7 million.
The grant money would help pay for improvements to 230th Avenue between Interstate 70 and Feedlot Road and Feedlot Rd. from 230th to U.S. 183. The total cost of the project is approximately $10.78 million.
Moran said the Hess’s did not ask a lot of the federal government but that the infrastructure needs to be improved in that area.
“So that there is a safer way to get to work,” he said. “(There is) lots of truck traffic on these roads and lots of other businesses are here and are coming here if we can get the investment in infrastructure.”
During the tour, Moran asked if there was a concern that Ellis County could receive two BUILD grants within two years. The city of Hays received a $6 million grant just last year to make improvement to Vine Street
County officials pointed out the money the city received and the $8.7 million Ellis County applied for combined still would not equal some of the costs of the other projects that have applied for the grant.
Ellis County Commission Dustin Roths said they really look at the two projects as one, completing the loop, or bypass, around Hays.
Moran said he has already has talked with members of the DOT about the importance of the project.
“We’ll work to get the Department of Transportation to understand that even better,” Moran said. “We’ll be back to the department of transportation advocating on behalf of this project.”
