Month: October 2019
Kansas governor launches design of economic development strategy
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly says she’s launching the state’s first formal strategy in 30 years to strengthen economic development.
Kelly pledged Monday to work with industries and economic development specialists to write a comprehensive plan to speed economic growth. A report is expected by March 2020.
The project will be coordinated by the Kansas Department of Commerce and the McKinsey consulting firm.
Secretary of Commerce David Toland says the state has lagged in key economic indicators such as GDP growth, population growth and labor participation.
Toland said the goal of the project is to make Kansas “best in class.” Economic development professionals, business leaders and Department of Commerce staff will make up a steering committee that will guide the planning and development of the plan, called the “Framework for Growth.”
Brent Lee Emery
Brent Lee Emery – Friday, August 14, 1992 to Thursday, October 3, 2019
Service arrangements are pending with Baalmann Mortuary, 190 S. Franklin Ave., Colby, Kansas.
Kroger, Walgreens to stop selling e-cigarettes in US
NEW YORK (AP) — Two major retailers say they will no longer sell e-cigarettes in the U.S. amid mounting health questions surrounding vaping.
Supermarket chain Kroger and drugstore chain Walgreens announced Monday they would discontinue sales of e-cigarettes at their stores nationwide, citing an uncertain regulatory environment.
The vaping industry has come under scrutiny after hundreds of people have fallen ill and at least eight have died after using vaping devices.
Walmart announced last month that it would stop selling e-cigarettes at its stores nationwide.
Kroger said it would stop selling e-cigarettes as soon at its current inventory runs out at its more than 2,700 stores and 1,500 fuel centers. The Cincinnati-based company operates the Ralphs, Harris Teeter and other stores.
Walgreens, based in Deerfield, Illinois, operates more than 9,500 stores in the U.S.
News From the Oil Patch, Oct. 7
By JOHN P. TRETBAR
Kansas Common crude at CHS in McPherson gained a quarter per barrel on Friday and starts the week at $43 per barrel. The Kansas benchmark had ups and downs last month. CHS reports the average for the month of September for Kansas Common was $46.91 per barrel, although it ended the month at $44.25, down a dollar from the first of the month.
Baker Hughes reported a drop of three oil rig and two gas rigs in its weekly Rotary Rig Count for a total of 855 active rigs across the U.S. New Mexico added four rigs while Texas dropped four. Oklahoma was down three rigs. Canada reported 144 active rigs, up 17 on the week.
Operators are about to spud a new well on a lease in Barton County, and drilling is underway at one site each in Barton, Ellis and Russell counties. Independent Oil & Gas Service reports eleven rigs in eastern Kansas that are moving in, rigging up, drilling or relocating, up one for the week. There are 26 active rigs west of Wichita, which is down three.
The government reported U.S. crude production for July at 365 million barrels, an increase of about 3.5 million barrels over the month before. Total production nationwide through July of this year topped 2.5 billion barrels. EIA said July production in Kansas totaled at 2.81 million barrels in July, or about 90,000 barrels per day.
Oil-by-rail traffic increased by one percent, marking one of only two freight categories to show a weekly increase. During the week that ended September 28, operators moved 12,245 rail tanker cars carrying petroleum or petroleum products, according to the latest report from the Association of American Railroads. Amid declines in total rail traffic, oil-by-rail last week posted its first year-on-year decline in recent memory.
The government reported U.S. crude-oil production last week of 12.38 million barrels per day, down about 92,000 barrels per day from the week before but well ahead of the 11 million barrels produced during the same period last year.
Crude oil inventories increased last week by 3.1 million barrels, but remain at the five-year seasonal average at 422.6 million barrels. The Energy Information Administration reports imports are down 87,000 barrels per day from the previous week. The four-week average for imports is more than 15% below the same period last year, at 6.6 million barrels.
A small lizard found among the dunes straddling New Mexico and West Texas in one of the nation’s richest oil basins is at the center of a legal complaint filed in federal court in Washington Tuesday. Environmentalists want the U.S. government to add the dunes sagebrush lizard to the endangered species list. It’s part of a fight that stretches back to the Bush and Obama administrations and could affect part of the multi-billion dollar energy industry in the Permian Basin.
The merger-and-acquisition frenzy in the oil patch continues. The Daily Oklahoman reports on three mega-deals last week, including the sale of Roan Resources to Citizen Energy Operating. That deal is worth a reported one billion dollars, and includes the assumption of about $780 million of Roan’s debt. Analysis from Austin, Texas-based Enverus notes that the industry’s merger and acquisition activity topped $17 billion in the third quarter and reached more than $85 billion through the first three quarters of this year.
The oil and natural gas industry in New Mexico last year provided more to the state’s annual budget than any other industry, nearly $2.2 billion, or 32% of the $6.88 billion in state funding for schools, infrastructure, health care and public safety. The CEO of the American Petroleum Institute says contributions from oil and gas to New Mexico through leases and royalties grew by $465 million from the year before.
Research into the treatment and possible recycling of oil-and-gas wastewater in New Mexico got a $100 million boost from the U.S. Department of Energy. According to reporting from the Carlsbad Current Argus, the Governor enacted a memorandum of understanding with New Mexico State University last month to begin studying how to treat and recycle produced water in the desert state. The school then announced its College of Engineering was awarded a five-year federal grant to create what’s being called the Energy-Water Desalination Hub.
Joyce L. Lofland
Joyce L. Lofland, 88, died October 5, 2019, at home with her family by her side. She was born February 10, 1931, in Great Bend, the daughter of Carl and Zoe (Hull) Mohr. On June 18, 1949, she married James R. Lofland in Wichita. He survives.
Joyce was a life time resident of Great Bend and a member of Central Baptist Church. She graduated from Great Bend High School, and later worked at Komarek Jewelry store and the Courthouse Appraisers office. She was very involved in Girl Scouts as a leader, a Sunday School teacher and a member of the Central Baptist Women’s Group and the Great Bend Women’s Temperance League.
Joyce is survived by her husband, James R. Lofland of the home; her children, Janna Huschka and husband Kurt of Hutchinson, Jill Hopper and husband Derrel of Arvada, Col., Jerry Lofland and wife Paige of Great Bend, and Jackie Goosen and husband LoWayne of Freeman, S.D.; her brothers, Jimmy Mohr of Woodbine, Richard Mohr and wife Nita of Great Bend, and Tommy Mohr of Topeka; her sisters, Rosie Kruckenberg and husband Larry of Great Bend, and Marilyn Kae of Nashville, Tenn.; 14 grandchildren and 12 great grandchildren. Joyce was preceeded in death by her parents and her children, James Lofland and Julia Barnes; her brothers, Carl Mohr, Robert Mohr and Douglas Mohr; and her sister, Gini Sharp.
There will be no visitation, as cremation has taken place. Memorial services will be held 10:00 a.m. Thursday, Oct. 10, 2019, at Central Baptist Church, with Pastor Daniel Dugas, followed by a meal in the fellowship hall. A private family inurnment will be held at a later date.
Memorials may be made to Central Baptist Memorial Fund, in care of Bryant Funeral Home.
WKHRMA meets Nov. 13
Western Kansas Human Resource Management Association will hold its monthly meeting on Wednesday, November 13 at the Fort Hays State University Robbins Center (Eagle Communication Hall), One Tiger Place.
Registration is from 11:15 a.m. to 11:30 a.m., with a short business meeting starting at 11:30 a.m.
The program for the November meeting will be “Who Cares…About Organizational Development,” presented by Ruth Bealer with Midwest Energy.
The program will be submitted for SHRM continuing education credits. WKHRMA members can RSVP at wkhrma.shrm.org. The deadline to RSVP is noon on November 8.
WKHRMA is an affiliate chapter of SHRM (Society for Human Resource Management), a local professional organization for persons engaged in personal or human resource management.
For more information on WKHRMA, visit wkhrma.shrm.org.
Man held in brothers’ disappearance near KC enters not guilty plea
By BRENT MARTIN
St. Joseph Post
A northwest Missouri man being held in connection with the disappearance of two Wisconsin brothers has entered a “not guilty” plea to tampering with a motor vehicle.
The only charge prosecutors have filed against 25-year-old Garland Nelson is motor vehicle tampering. Nelson is accused of taking the pick-up rented by Nick and Justin Diemel. The Diemels, who are cattle brokers in Wisconsin, drove that truck to Nelson’s farm near Braymer in July to discuss a cattle deal.
No one has seen the brothers since.
Authorities say video cameras caught Nelson driving the truck to a commuter lot in Holt, where it was found.
An intense search of the Nelson farm began shortly after Nelson was brought into custody. Human remains reportedly have been found, but not details have been released. No additional charges have been filed.
Patricia ‘Patty’ Reynolds
Patricia “Patty” Reynolds, 54, passed away October 7, 2019, at her home in Great Bend. She was born September 10, 1965, at Playa San Blas La Libertad, El Salvador, to Serafin & Fidelina (Baos) Arévalo. She married Curtis Reynolds on May 20, 2003 at Great Bend. He survives.
A Great Bend resident, Patricia was a cashier and translator for the Barton County Health Department. She was a member of First Assembly of God Church in Great Bend. She enjoyed dancing and music from the 1970’s, as well as crocheting and cooking. She especially loved being with her children and grandchildren.
Survivors include, her husband, Curtis Reynolds of the home; her mother, Fidelina Baos and her father, Serafin Arévalo; two sons, Edwin Recinos and wife Susana and Diego Recinos, all of Great Bend; one daughter, Patty Grauer and husband Brenden of Great Bend; one stepson, Adam Reynolds and wife Shelly of Hutchinson; one stepdaughter, Kelly Smith and husband Jay of Kingman; two brothers, Ricardo Arévalo of El Salvador and Rafael Arévalo of Madrid, Spain; two sisters, Cristina Arévalo of Quebec, Canada and Judith Marceca of Durham; nine grandchildren, Kyle, Brent, Grayson, Sutton, Anthony, Jeremiah, Victoria, Lillian and Jace; and one great granddaughter, Joselin.
Visitation will be held from 1:00 to 9:00 p.m., Thursday, October 10, 2019, at Bryant Funeral Home, with family receiving friends from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m. Funeral Services will be held at 10:30 a.m., Friday, October 11, 2019, at First Assembly of God Church in Great Bend, with Pastor Dwight Dozier presiding. Interment will be in Great Bend Cemetery North.
Ellis Community Cleanup Oct. 14
NCK Tech Foundation honors Hays scholarship recipients
NCK Tech’s Hays campus students receiving scholarships from the NCK Tech Foundation and other benefactors were honored with a reception Oct. 2. Recipients, in many cases, had the opportunity to meet their scholarship contributors.
One such recipient met her benefactor — but not for the first time. Vernon and Margaret Becker established a nursing scholarship for a student enrolled in the program at the Hays Campus. The recipient for this inaugural scholarship was Emily Duncan. Duncan first met Vernon Becker when he was in the hospital and she was a student nurse. A student nurse, crafting her skills, helped take care of Becker. He was so impressed with the student nurse (Duncan) that, after his hospital stay, both he and his wife, Margaret, decided it was time to give back. The Beckers have established the scholarship.
“I couldn’t be happier that Emily was the first recipient,” Vernon Becker said.
With new scholarships established, a long-standing tradition of scholarship benefactors continues. Once such contributor is Dr. Robert Severance. Dr. Severance became the second director of the North Central Area Vocational-Technical School in July 1967 and served in that capacity until 1992. He has continues to be a tremendous advocate of technical education and along with his wife established several scholarship opportunities. The Robert and Dorcas Severance Family Scholarship awards several students on both the Hays and Beloit campuses. His continued financial contributions along with his enthusiasm for NCK Tech only continues to increase. Recipients this year for the Hays Campus included Connor Born/welding and Kreighton Meyers/carpentry.
A complete list of Hays campus recipients and their benefactors from all scholarships include:
8-Man Football
Connor Born – Welding
Mason Doll – PHAC
Drake Steinbrock – Electrical
Robert and Dorcas Severance Family
Connor Born – Welding
Kreighton Meyers – Carpentry
Bob and Patricia Schmidt General
Connor Born – Welding
Charles N. Tuley
Zachary Poppe – Automotive
Clara and Archie Walters Memorial
Kilie Unrein – Nursing
Dane Hansen Career Enhancement
Diane Holbrook – Nursing
Said Lahrairi – Nursing
Nessa Larsen – Nursing
Payton Littrell – Nursing
Austin Seltmann – Electrical
Shannon Toll – Nursing
Bob and Patricia Schmidt Nursing
Emily Bellerive
Amelia Borell
Alexa Brull
Helen Kelsi Coss
Emily Duncan
Makooshla Frier
Ruth Hair
Gwendolyn Housley
Katie Kreutzer
Alia Larson
Dallas Mead
Amanda Migchelbrink
Kayla Reed
Haley Schothaler
Mandy Wallgren
Leneal Weiser
Tyra Younie
Hays Medical Center Volunteers (Nursing)
Melissa Pummell
Juana Lira Ramirez
Tori Tebo
Kilie Unrein
Judy Murphy Memorial
Mandy Wallgren – Nursing
Mike and Jeanie Michaelis
Kreighton Meyers – Carpentry
Kilie Unrein – Nursing
Vernon and Margaret Becker
Emily Duncan – Nursing
William Yeager
Zachary Poppe – Automotive
NCK Tech’s Endowment Association and Foundation enables the college to provide scholarships, materials, buildings and equipment to train individuals to be successful and productive. Students received over $153,000 in scholarships. To learn more about NCK Tech, visit our website at www.ncktc.edu.
— Submitted
SouthWind CrossFit under new ownership, adds classes
By CRISTINA JANNEY
Hays Post
New owners have taken the helm of SouthWind CrossFit and are bringing new offerings to the fitness club.
Melissa Meagher, 33, and Anthony Fox, 28, took over the business, 229 W. 10th, in August.
Both Fox and Melissa have a backgrounds in fitness and athletics, and Melissa and Fox were both coaches at the SouthWind before they purchased the business.
Fox has a bachelor’s degree in health and human performance and a master’s degree in movement and sports studies. He also has a certification to train college athletes. He was also formerly a trainer at the Center for Health Improvement.
Fox said he spends a lot of time watching people’s movement and trying to help them improve their technique.
“I think that keeps people safe,” he said. “I want to push people to get stronger, but I also know where to ride that line of what is going to push you to get better without you getting hurt.”
Melissa is a level 2 CrossFit coach. She was a Division I volleyball player at Central Connecticut State University and also an assistant high school volleyball coach at TMP.
Melissa said after her college sports career was over, she was dealing with a lot injuries. She joined SouthWind as what she characterized as “broken.” The gym worked with her at the level she was at and helped her rebuild her strength.
She said she is now in the best shape of her life, even better than when she was playing college sports.
“[The gym members] get to ask me questions about how did you do that. I can talk to them about how recovery is really important — how to take care of your body while you are trying to get your body back to shape,” Melissa said.
She added it helps people to be able to see others have been in their shoes and have been able to get back in shape.
In addition, her high school coaching experience, Melissa said, helps her connect with her athletes and work with large groups.
“That is really important in this gym too,” she said. “You get to know every single person in class. I can look at every single person, and I know all of their names. I know all of their injuries. I know what goals they are going for. Nobody gets neglected in this gym.”
The new owners have varied the classes offered at the gym. In addition to the 60-minute CrossFit classes, they now offer 45-minute Get Fit classes, 30-minute Quick Fit classes, an endurance course on Saturdays, open gyms, CrossFit Kids and an Athletic Development Program for high school athletes who want to work on strength and conditioning in the offseason.
Get Fit classes are for people just learning CrossFit or people who want the CrossFit class but are not involved in competitive sports.
“They want to get the good workouts in and learn more in technique and learn more in movement,” Melissa said.
Quick Fit classes are for those who don’t have very much time. They don’t use barbells, but they use all of the other equipment.
The gym is continuing its Legends course, which is geared to people who are 50 years and older. It is 60 minutes three days a week.
CrossFit Kids is aimed at getting kids involved while their parents are working out, Fox said.
“We are very about family,” he said. “As they see their parents doing something that is healthy and good for them, we are hoping they will follow in their footsteps as well.”
CrossFit is defined as using constantly varied functional movements at high intensity, Fox said. This includes a lot of squatting and lunging, and pushing and pulling.
These movements apply to daily activities. Getting out of chair is similar to a squat. Lifting groceries is similar to a dead lift, Fox said.
Especially in the Legends class, the coaches are working on improving strength for daily life activities. Some of the gym members said they were unable to kneel at church, and their goal was to be able to do that again.
Melissa and her sister Becky’s mom joined the gym. She has had two total knee replacements. If she was sitting in a chair and holding a grand-baby, she had to have someone there with her, because she couldn’t get out of the chair with one her grand-babies in her arms. Through the CrossFit class, she was able to build enough strength so she could do that.
“You don’t have to have the goal be awesome or to be a competitor,” she said. “You can just have a goal as simple as I want to be able to get our of a chair on my own. We will work with you.”
CrossFit is more focused on functionality and not how your body looks, and everyone’s workouts are individualized, the duo said.
Gym membership costs vary depending on what type of classes you want to take. Endurance courses are $19 per month, Kids CrossFit is $29 per month, the Legends class is $49 per month, Quick Fits are $69, Get Fits are $89, CrossFit is $99 and full access is $119.
🎥 Purple lightbulbs, poetry support domestic violence awareness
By BECKY KISER
Hays Post
October is National Domestic Violence Awareness Month.
Options Domestic and Sexual Violence Services is selling purple lightbulbs at several Hays businesses in conjunction with the national Purple Light Nights campaign, which began in Covington, Wash.
“The idea behind it is to help bring awareness to the number of people who experience domestic violence,” said Jennifer Hecker, Options executive director.
“It’s to send a message out in the month of October that we will not tolerate, we don’t want domestic violence in our community and we’re here to support those who are suffering in silence right now,” she said. “We’re celebrating those who’ve come out the other side of domestic violence and to let people who are now experiencing it know there is a place to go and a community of people here to support you.”
Homeowners are encouraged to replace their regular porch lightbulbs with a purple lightbulb this month. Businesses can show their support by placing purple string lights in their store windows.
Purple lightbulbs supporting Options are available for $2 at Breathe Coffee House, Simply Charmed, Be Made and H2o Float Cryo Massage.
A new awareness event this month is a poetry reading co-hosted by Options and Sigma Tau Delta, Fort Hays State University’s international English Honor Society chapter.
The free event is part of a regional conference in Hays. It will held 7 to 8 p.m. Friday, Oct. 18 at Breathe Coffee House, 703B Main.
People can come and read a piece of literature or poetry that they’ve written or just listen.
“The pieces don’t have to be about domestic violence but what we find a lot of times with poetry specifically is that the medium truly lends itself to people who have been oppressed and have been traumatized,” said Shaelin Sweet, community advocate and an English major. “It’s a very good outlet for that creativity and that hurt, but also for that strength and that power to flow.”
The nonprofit agency serves 18 counties in northwest Kansas and provides free confidential services.
“We don’t force people to report to law enforcement. All of our services are survivor-driven. Their participation is voluntary,” Hecker explained.
Help is also available to family and friends of abuse victims who often don’t know what to say or not to say to their loved one.
“We’re here to help people navigate through this very difficult time and to make sure victims have full wrap-around support to help them move into the healing phase.”
The Options hotline is staffed 24 hours a day at 1-800-794-4624. Information is also available on the Options Facebook page or website www.help4abuse.org.