FORD COUNTY — Law enforcement authorities and USD 443 officials are investigating an alleged school threat and have made an arrest.
Just after 4:10 p.m. Thursday, the police were given information about a possible bomb threat to the Dodge City Middle School, according to a media release.
Officers learned that a 13-year-old female Middle School student received a phone call from a blocked number while present in a classroom at the end of the school day.
The male caller started using profanity, and the student hung up the phone. The blocked caller immediately called back, and the female student put the phone on speaker for the teacher to listen. During that second call, the unknown male caller stated that he was going to blow up the school.
At approximately 8:06 pm, officers located the caller, a 15-year-old male, at his Dodge City residence and completed the arrest without incident. Charges for the alleged felony crime of aggravated criminal threat will be filed with the Ford County Attorney’s Office, according to the release.
SEDGWICK COUNTY — Two people injured in an accident just after 9a.m. Friday in Sedgwick County.
Friday crash scene photo courtesy KHP
The Kansas Highway Patrol reported a 2017 International semi driven by Gabriel Arreola-Flores, 34, was westbound on Kansas 96 on the ramp to southbound Interstate 135. The vehicle left the roadway and overturned.
EMS transported Arreola-Flores and a passenger Tomas Reyes, 44, to St. Francis in Wichita for treatment. First responders had to cut through parts of the crushed semi to reach one of the men.
The crash closed the westbound K-96 ramp to I-135 south for several hours. Both were properly restrained at the time of the accident, according to the KHP.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Latest on U.S.-China trade talks (all times local):
Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin met with Chinese Vice Premier Liu Thursday photo courtesy White House
The United States is suspending a tariff hike on $250 billion in Chinese imports that was set to take effect Tuesday, and China agreed to buy $40 billion to $50 billion in U.S. farm products as the world’s two biggest economies reached a cease-fire in their 15-month trade war.
The two countries are leaving the thornier issues — including U.S. allegations that China forces foreign countries to hand over trade secrets in return for access to the Chinese market — until later negotiations.
The tariffs on $250 billion in Chinese imports was set to rise Tuesday from 25% to 30%.
The sun was shining brightly this morning for the opening of the 47th annual Hays Oktoberfest, despite a brisk northwest breeze and a wind chill of 26 degrees.
Organizers were prepared for the drastic weather change and had set up propane heaters in nearly every booth and tent dotting the Municipal Park grounds.
The opening ceremony included a welcome from members of the local Volga German Society, Nick Werth and Tom Haas. Hass noted the Volga German immigrants who settled in Ellis County from Russia approximately 150 years ago kept their town names the same.
“We wouldn’t be here without them,” declared Hays Mayor Henry Schwaller IV, who is of Volga German descent.
Oktoberfest is a shared celebration with Fort Hays State University’s homecoming.
FHSU student Leon Dammert is from southwest Germany, near Frankfort. He talked about how friendly Hays is and “something you should be proud of.”
“It’s the same for FHSU. They really welcome the international students,” Dammer said. “Oktoberfest for me is a fest for family and friends to have fun.”
Werth presented $500 scholarships from the Volga German Society to students Kreighton Meyers, NCK Tech and Alexandra Herman, FHSU.
For the first time, Oktoberfest has been expanded to a two-day celebration. The grounds will close at 7 p.m. tonight.
Saturday morning will feature a German Market during the Downtown Hays Market in the Union Pacific Pavilion 7:30 a.m. to 11 a.m.
Following the FHSU Homecoming Parade, the fun gets underway again in Municipal Park with family-friendly games, more polka music, and of course, homemade German food. Oktoberfest will end at 4 p.m.
This year’s event was dedicated to the memory of Schoenchen resident John F. Werth, who perished in a cropdusting airplane crash in August. Werth was a leading member of the local Volga-German Society.
Polka dancing with the Joe Dolezal Band
Terry Brull sings the FHSU alma mater song.
Sady Gottschalk, NCK Tech Dean
Fr. Joshua Werth blesses the food and people at Oktoberfest.
Jackie Maxwell sings the national anthem.
Lee Dobraz, Ellis Co. Historical Society
Leon Dammert, FHSU student from Germany
FHSU president Dr. Tisa Mason welcomes the crowd.
Ellis County Administrator Phillip Smith-Hanes
Catherine the Great of Russia, aka Cheryl Glassman
John Moeder is thanked by Nick Werth of the Volga German Society for his support of Oktoberfest.
Tom Haas, Volga German Society
Hays Mayor Henry Schwaller taps the keg.
Oktoberfest toast
Armband IDs
Randy Gonzales of the Ellis Co. Historical Society
Area historical military forts are an important part of Kansas history, and a local filmmaker hopes his new documentary will shine a light on the lesser-known, but equally important Fort Harker in Ellsworth County.
“It’s a documentary on Kansas history, specifically a frontier military post called Fort Harker,” said filmmaker and owner of Post Rock Studios of Kansas Steve Stults. “A lot of people have heard of Fort Hays, Fort Larned, Fort Dodge, Fort Riley and Leavenworth, but very rarely do people ever talk about, or have even heard of, Fort Harker.”
It was an important military post during the American expansion west, he said and like Fort Hays provided escorts along the Santa Fe Trail.
“It turned out to be a very important supply depot,” Stults said serving as a way station for convoys between Fort Riley and Fort Larned and a supply depot for forts west of the Mississippi River, especially in Kansas.
“It was a major supply hub for the area,” he said. “It was an incredibly important military post.”
As such an important center for military activity in the post-civil war area, the fort had many notable military figures.
“Custer was there, Wild Bill Hickok was there and a lot of other big generals,” Stults said. Philip Sheridan also spent some time at the post.
The fort shares a similar history to Fort Hays, starting as Fort Ellsworth, a flood forced the fort to relocate to higher ground and was renamed in honor of General Charles Garrison Harker, who died in the American Civil War.
“The documentary starts at the very beginning,” Stults said, taking viewers from before Fort Ellsworth was even built and showing the American expansion west.
The film also shows the Native American side of the conflict, as they were pushed west and began to fight back.
“It encompasses everything,” Stults said.
The film was commissioned by the Ellsworth County Historical Society, which oversees three of the remaining four buildings left from the 83 that comprised the fort in what is now the town of Kanopolis.
Greg Heller, Fort Harker historian, wrote the script.
“It took two years,” Stults said, from conception to final product, with many script edits and filming that took Stults and volunteers to historical reenactments at other forts.
Those forts all have connections to Fort Harker, he said.
He hopes his film can raise Fort Harker into the upper echelon of historical forts that are much better known by the public.
“If you like Kansas history, then this is a documentary for you,” he said. “It not just Fort Harker, but it’s central Kansas and all of Kansas and into Colorado as well.”
A presentation of “Fort Harker: Gateway Post to the Frontier” is set for Sunday, Oct. 13, at 3 p.m. at Messiah Lutheran Church, 2000 Main.
Another presentation will be hosted at the Ellsworth Jr./Sr. High school performing arts center on Oct. 20.
The film is currently available on DVD online here or can be purchased at the Ellsworth County Historical Society.
HUTCHINSON— Crews responded to 3200 East 30th for a fire at the Evergy Energy plant just before 11a.m. Friday.
A large column of black smoke could be seen while units were responding. On arrival, fire was found inside the old power generating tower that was being demolished. A demolition recycling crew was working with a cutting torch when insulation and roofing material caught on fire, with the strong north wind, the fire spread quickly.
Fire crews utilized two aerial streams and quickly brought the fire under control. Fire crews with the help of the demolition crew were able to move items to finish extinguishing the fire. There were no injuries.
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HUTCHINSON —Crews were on the scene of a fire a the former Westar now Evergy demolition site on East 30th in Hutchinson Friday morning.
They responded to the scene just before 11a.m. and were able to bring the fire under control with no threat of it spreading any further and continued to put out various hot spots late Friday morning.
Authorities have not reported a cause and have not reported any injuries.
KANSAS CITY (AP) — A Missouri prosecutor said her office will re-examine the 2017 fatal shooting of a suspected shoplifter by a Kansas City-area sheriff’s deputy after the same deputy was charged with shooting a scooter rider in the back while trying to arrest her.
Lauren Michael photo Jackson Co.
Jackson County Prosecutor Jean Peters Bake’s decision on Thursday — a reversal from a statement her office released a day earlier — comes amid public demands by the dead man’s family. In both shootings, Jackson County Sheriff’s Deputy Lauren Michael said she fired during struggles over her stun gun.
Donald Sneed Jr. said 29-year-old Michael is “trigger happy” after she was charged Wednesday with first-degree assault and armed criminal action in the August shooting that wounded Brittany Simeck. Sneed’s son, Donald Sneed III, was fatally shot by Michael two years ago outside a Walmart in Raytown, reports The Kansas City Star.
Michael’s bond is set at $30,000. No attorney is listed for her in online court records. The Sneed family already filed a wrongful death lawsuit.
“Because there are similarities to the 2017 shooting, we thought it would be best to look at it again,” said Michael Mansur, a spokesman for Baker.
In Simeck’s case, Michael was conducting traffic enforcement patrols in a bar and entertainment area with other deputies when they noticed two people allegedly riding a scooter on the wrong side of the street. A deputy followed them in a patrol car and moments later collided with the scooter. The male driver of the scooter was immediately arrested, but Simeck ran away.
Michael caught up with Simeck and a struggle ensued. Michael pulled out her service handgun and shot Simeck in the back and buttocks.
In the charging documents, prosecutors allege that Michael was not truthful when she told investigators that Simeck tried to grab her stun gun. Simeck told investigators that Michael shot her in the back as she tried to run away, according to court records. Simeck, who is retired from the U. S. Coast Guard, wasn’t charged in the incident.
“We respect the hard job law enforcement does, however law enforcement is not above the law and when excessive force is used it is imperative that they are held accountable,” said Mike Yonke, a civil attorney who is representing Simeck.
The other shooting happened in May 2017 when employees at the Walmart where Michael was working off-duty security stopped Sneed III because they suspected him of shoplifting. He allegedly became violent, and Michael tried to help the employees. Michael later said Sneed grabbed her stun gun and shocked her in the neck with it before she shot and killed him.
The father, Sneed Jr., said he doesn’t believe that. He said Michael shot his son multiple times and that his son wasn’t attacking her when she fired the shots, but rather was being held down. The sheriff’s office said he had been wanted on felony warrants for robbery and tampering with a motor vehicle. Michael was given the medal of valor for her actions during the incident, which the family’s attorney, Jermaine Wooten, described as “almost insulting.”
Michael referenced that shooting in the moments immediately following the August incident involving Simeck, telling her supervisor: “I am not as comfortable with this one as the last one,” according to court documents.
Jackson County Sheriff Daryl Forté Michael said in a tweet that Michael has been placed on unpaid leave pending the outcome of the criminal case stemming from Simeck’s shooting, which is a standard practice when criminal charges are filed. He declined further comment.
The Fort Hays State University volleyball team is taking T-shirt preorders for the annual Dig Pink event, set for Tuesday, Oct. 22, when the Tigers take on Washburn University at 6 p.m.
Shirts are $10 each, with sizes XXL or larger available for $12.
All money raised from T-shirt sales will be donated to the DIG PINK scholarship, an annual scholarship supporting a Fort Hays State University student affected by cancer.
For questions, contact coach Jen Thompson at 785-628-4393 or [email protected]. Orders must be received by Oct. 15.
Stephen “Wayne” Bump was born October 7, 1934 to Stephen C. and Alice L. (Abbott) Bump in Ainsworth, Nebraska. He passed away March 15, 2019 in the Graham County Hospital at the age of 84.
The family moved frequently due to work with trucking, farming and construction. Some of the places they lived were Ellinwood, Healy, and Ness City, Kansas before moving to Hill City in 1952.
Wayne graduated from Hill City High School in 1953. After graduation Wayne and three buddies went to Idaho where they joined the forestry service and fought fires during the summer of 1953. When the season was over they traveled to California where one of the group had family before returning to Hill City in January of 1954.
Wayne went to work for his father in construction. He started dating Janette Jackson and they were married August 2, 1954. They resided in Hill City for a short while before moving to Hoxie. They were living in Hoxie when the first two of their children were born; Stephen Lee in 1955 and Gail Diane in 1956. They moved to Elkhart, Kansas for a short while before returning to Hill City. Their youngest son, Lance Melvin, was born in WaKeeney in 1959.
Wayne began working for the United States Post Office in 1960 and worked there for 30 years. After retiring from the Post Office he worked for HUD housing in maintenance for 13 years.
Wayne was an avid golfer and enjoyed many rounds with fellow golfers.
His greatest love and passion was his love for Jesus. He spent many hours studying for Sunday school classes. When he stopped teaching he studied just for the love of it.
He was very active in community activities including Elks (where he was Exalted Ruler for the local chapter and District Deputy for Northwest Kansas), Mason and Shrine. He regularly took a turn at delivering Meals On Wheels and other church projects. He was an active member of the Graham County Easter Cantata and loved to sing, especially songs that glorified God. He was a member of the Hill City Christian Church.
Wayne was very proud of his children and their accomplishments. He was able to spend many enjoyable hours of golf with them as they all followed him in his passion for golf. His family was very important to him and he loved each one very much.
He loved animals and always had a dog as a companion (even taking them golfing with him). He leaves a very much loved Jack Russell Terrier, Jackie to mourn his passing.
He was preceded in death by his parents, Steve and Alice Bump and a son Lance.
He leaves to mourn his passing his wife Janette of 64 years; son Stephen Lee (Trish) of Richland, Washington; daughter Gail Longstaff of Shawnee, Kansas; daughter-in-law Caryl Bump of Madison, Ohio; nine grandchildren; seven great grandchildren; brothers: Jerry (Nola) of Hays and Bill (Marcy) of Lawrence; sister Jean (Bill) Richardson of Junction City and many nieces and nephews.
MARSHALL COUNTY —Law enforcement authorities are alerting parents after finding vaping and liquid flavored nicotine in pens taken from students at Marysville Elementary School, according to the Marysville Police Department.
The students involved were 5th and 6th graders. They were putting the flavored nicotine in pens and using them to dab it on their tongues during recess.
Police reminded parents to have a discussion with your children about vaping and the harmful effects of nicotine.
Just after 4:10 p.m. Thursday, the police were given information about a possible bomb threat to the Dodge City Middle School, according to a media release.
Photo courtesy Post Rock Studios of Kansas
