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Year: 2019

Jan Marie (Johnson) Deenihan

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Jan Marie (Johnson) Deenihan, daughter of Kenneth Warren and Beryl (Sehulke) Johnson, was born March 1, 1959 in Phillipsburg, Kansas and passed away August 12, 2019 in Hays, Kansas at the age of 60.

Jan grew up in Glade and graduated from Phillipsburg High School. October 26, 1984, she married Michael Deenihan at the Hill City Park Gazebo. They had their marriage blessed in the Immaculate Heart of Mary Catholic Church on New Year’s Eve. They were married nearly 21 years, raising three daughters together, until Michael passed away August 7, 2005.

Jan was a member of the Immaculate Heart of Mary Catholic Church in Hill City, Kansas. She was an active member of the community working 30 years for the city. Displaying her selflessness and desire to put others first, Jan was very active in Girl Scouts. She was a troop leader for several troops at one time, the Service Unit Manager for several years, a Camp Adult Guide, served on a few council advisory committees, and was treasurer for the local foundation. During this time, she earned the nickname, Jinx. She was a past honored Queen of Bethel 54 in Phillipsburg, Kansas. As an active member of the Ladies VFW Auxiliary, she served as a member of the Color Guard throughout the years for Memorial Day Services.

Jan loved spending time with her family and enjoyed much of her free time traveling to visit her mother and daughters. But her grandchildren gave her the greatest pleasure of all. Jan was the “Best Grammy” ever! You’d find her heading to everything she possibly could if her grandchildren were involved. Just a few of the activities she attended were dance recitals, cheer competitions and baseball tournaments, showing up even if only one game was scheduled. Moose and Minnie, her two grand-dogs, were well loved whenever Jan would “babysit” them.

Jan was preceded in death by father, Kenneth W. Johnson; husband, Michael Deenihan and foster brother, Derald Lewis. Survivors left behind to cherish her memory include: mother, Beryl Johnson, Glade; sister, Kay Rose and husband, Steven, Agra; brother, T.D. Johnson and Jenneth Streit, Phillipsburg; daughters: Bridget Deenihan and husband Jonathan Kosik, Nashville, Tennessee, Brianna Wolf and husband Blake, Concordia, and Erin Deenihan and partner Amanda Ray, Hays; three grandchildren: Hunter Wolf, Aspen Wolf, and Adeline Kosik, along with other relatives and many friends.

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NWS: Chance for more storms returns Friday, Saturday

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The National Weather Service in Dodge City has issued a hazardous weather outlook for the remainder of Friday and overnight Saturday.

Forecasters are predicting isolated strong to severe thunderstorms possible after 4 p.m. south and east of Dodge City. The storms could bring quarter-size hail, wind gusts of up to 60 mph and heavy rainfall.

After 7 p.m., the chance for additional storms return, this time north of a line from Garden City to Rush Center. Wind up to 60 mph, heavy rain and large hail also could accompany these storms.

The chance of rain Friday night and overnight in Hays is about 70 percent. Skies are expected to begin to clear after 7 a.m. Saturday.

Click HERE for current weather conditions.

FHSU alum, Ellsworth native named director of SW Kan. eco-devo group

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LIBERAL — Liberal/Seward County Development Corporation has announced the hiring of Eli Svaty as the Executive Director of Economic Development. Eli brings an energy and enthusiasm to the position that supports the overall goals of the organization and the area.

Svaty grew up on a farm south of Ellsworth, Kansas. He graduated from Sterling College in 2006 with a degree in language and literature. He moved to Liberal in August of that year when he began his career as a teacher with USD 480 and Liberal High School. For the past 13 years, he has worked for the district teaching English and coaching basketball, golf, and scholars bowl. During that time, he also earned a Master’s Degree from Fort Hays State University.

While in Liberal, Eli met his wife Marilyn, a graduate of Liberal High School. They have four children — Caleb, Cairo, Zoe and Atticus — who range in age from 11 to 1. Marilyn spends most of her time with the children and also works part time for the Liberal Area Coalition for Families.

While the transition from classroom to economic development might not be a typical one, Svaty sees a number of parallels between the positions. First, much of what education demands is salesmanship. Students are often reluctant to write papers or read novels, and it is up to the teacher to convince them that this investment of time and energy is worthwhile. The same will be needed to bring new businesses and industries here. Second, as a coach, Mr. Svaty was exposed to the perspectives of the rest of the state and their views of our region. Seward County has great opportunities and great resources, and living here has helped him understand that and given him the desire to correct the misconceptions around the state.

This position also requires significant communication with Topeka and the work being done there. Svaty has existing connections with the Department of Commerce, and his brother served as Secretary of Agriculture for Governor Parkinson and continues to work for Gencur-Svaty Public Affairs in Topeka. Eli is also a certified grant writer and has written grant proposals for nonprofit organizations in the area.

— Liberal/Seward County Development Corporation

The Latest: 4 earthquakes shake south-central Kansas

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Location of Friday’s Reno County quake -USGS image

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.

Driver hospitalized after crash into KDOT fence on I-70

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THOMAS COUNTY — One person was injured in an accident just before 10:30 a.m. Friday in Thomas County.

The Kansas Highway Patrol reported a 2010 Chevy Camaro driven by Raymond Paul Crump, 61, West Palm Beach, Fla., was westbound on Interstate 70 just west of County Road K.

The Camaro left the roadway, struck the guardrail on the north side of the interstate, continued into the northbound ditch striking a KDOT fence and came to rest in a pasture.

EMS transported Crump to the hospital in Colby. He was properly restrained at the time of the accident, according to the KHP.

🎥 City commission thanks community for coming together after Tuesday storm

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Aug. 13 storm damage at Hays Celebration Community Church

By BECKY KISER
Hays Post

Longtime Hays resident Sandy Jacobs, who is a city commissioner, calls Tuesday night’s severe weather the “worst storm” she’s ever witnessed in her many years living in Hays.

“I’ve got videos and go back and look at it and it still scares me,” she said during Thursday night’s commission work session.

Jacobs offered a public “thank you” to first responders and city employees for their quick and thorough response to the flooding and other damage.

She also recognized the residents of Hays.

“I’d really like to thank neighbors helping neighbors. There was so much of that going on. I saw it in my neighborhood. I saw it in every neighborhood,” Jacobs pointed out. “They were bringing in equipment to help each other.

“That’s what makes this community great and makes me really proud to be a citizen.”

Vice-Mayor Shaun Musil agreed and noted the free labor that was provided by Hays High School football players. The students had Wednesday free when Hays USD 489 postponed its first day of classes after two schools were damaged by the storm.

The city will offer a free tree limb curbside pickup Monday.

Toby Dougherty, city manager, clarified what the process will be.

“We stated in our press release to put the limbs curbside, and we won’t go on private property. … what we mean by not going onto property is if a tree is leaning on somebody’s house or it’s crushing a fence or a shed, we’re not going onto the property.

“Don’t block the sidewalk. Have it as close as possible to the sidewalk as possible on the edge of your property,” Dougherty directed.

“The county has agreed to accept them (tree limbs) for free so we want to thank the Ellis County Commission for extending that to us,” Schwaller added.

At the end of the meeting, Schwaller called for a 30-minute executive session which included the city manager, City Attorney John Bird and Assistant City Attorney Todd Powell to discuss matters of attorney/client privilege.

No action was taken following the executive session.

 

Kansas cancels grant for early literacy program in schools

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TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — The state of Kansas is canceling a grant for an early literacy program for public school children after an audit found the company that administers the course received millions of dollars it wasn’t entitled to during former Gov. Sam Brownback’s administration.

Image courtesy Kansas Reading Roadmap

The Kansas Department for Children and Families announced Friday it was ending the contract with Hysell & Wagner, which operated the Kansas Reading Roadmap program.

An audit that began under Brownback’s administration but was never finalized or released found that Hysell & Wagner claimed nearly $2.3 million in 2014 and 2015 that it shouldn’t have, the agency said in a news release. In a typical year, the grant is worth about $9 million.

Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly’s administration has found other problems with Hysell & Wagner’s grant, including excessive payments for executive salaries and expenses from Temporary Assistance for Needy Families funds, which are designated for needy families. Those expenses included 38 trips between Kansas and CEO residences in Washington, D.C., and San Diego.

“The Department for Children and Families is committed to ensuring that recipients of federal and state funds are spending those funds efficiently,” agency Secretary Laura Howard said. “After reviewing the results of a DCF audit and despite heightened oversight during the first six months of 2019, it’s clear that Hysell & Wagner is falling short of this basic standard.”

The Reading Roadmap program, which is designed to improve literacy and achievement gaps for young elementary students, will continue. The state plans to directly fund the schools planning to offer the program for this academic year.

The director of the Reading Roadmap program, Andrew Hysell, said the company was confident it had properly operated the program, The Wichita Eagle reported .

“We’ll stand behind our administration of this grant. We’ll go before the Legislature. If we need to, to save our reputation, we’ll go before a court,” Hysell said. “We are very 100 percent behind our work.”

The company’s owners received $216,000 in direct expenses, and more than $607,000 was designated in the grant as guaranteed payments for the owners to cover indirect expenses. The expenses charged to the Reading Roadmap grant exceeded a limit of 15 percent of grant costs.

Howard said her agency tried “in good faith” to work with Hysell & Wagner to correct the issues but the company “continues to struggle with the heightened monitoring requirements and has rejected revisions in their FY 2020 contract addressing indirect costs.”

“I’ve always been concerned about the use of no-bid contracts and lack of accountability under the previous administration,” Kelly said in a statement. “It’s clear that the State of Kansas cannot continue to support Hysell & Wagner’s administration of the Kansas Reading Roadmap program.”

 

Judith ‘Judy’ McDowell Loyd

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Judith “Judy” McDowell Loyd was born August 29, 1948 to Clayton and Leona McDowell in Kirwin, Kansas. She passed away on August 7, 2019 in Aurora, Colorado at the age of 70.

She married Terry Loyd on April 1, 1966. Judy and Terry Loyd had two children, Michele (Shelly) Jenks and Brian Loyd. The family moved to Denver, CO in 1979 but Judy always considered Kirwin her home.

Judy loved life and family. She spent much of her life attending family functions and activities. Judy was an active member of Queen of Peace Catholic Church as well as the Red Hat Society.

Judy was preceded in death by her parents, Clayton and Leona McDowell. Judy is survived by her husband, Terry Loyd, her children Shelly (Craig) Jenks, Brian Loyd, her 5 grandchildren Justin Loyd, Colton Yoder, Clayton Yoder, David Loyd, Savannah Yoder and 1 great-grandchild Auston Yoder. Judy is also survived by a sister Arlene Westbrook and a brother Clayton (Junior) McDowell.

The Family will conduct a Celebratory Mass that will be held at the Saints Phillip and James Catholic Church on August 30, 2019 at 2pm followed by a brief graveside service at Kirwin Cemetery.

In lieu of flowers the family requests donations to the Alzheimer’s Foundation of America.

Hays PD completes One Mind Campaign to better serve mentally ill

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Hays Police Chief with Dave Anderson, HPMHC director of clinical services

Hays Police Department

The Hays Police Department announced this week it has completed the pledge taken to improve response to those suffering from mental illness in our community. The pledge is part of an initiative called the One Mind Campaign started by the International Association of Chiefs of Police.

The Hays Police Department is the second agency in Kansas to successfully complete the One Mind Campaign.

To join the One Mind Campaign, law enforcement agencies must pledge to implement four promising practices in a 12-36 month period to ensure successful future interactions between police officers and persons with mental illness.

In the law enforcement community, mental illness has become a common focus, with some departments estimating that as many as 20% of their calls for service are mental health-related. Chief Don Scheibler made the decision to join the International Association of Chiefs of Police’s One Mind Campaign because law enforcement has become the default responders to our nation’s current mental health crisis, and we wanted to prepare our officers to better serve those in our community who suffer from mental illness or who are in crisis.

In completing the One Mind Pledge, the Hays Police Department (1) developed and implemented model policies to address officers’ interactions with those affected by mental illness; (2) ensured that all of our officers and civilian staff received mental health first aid awareness training; (3) had at least twenty percent of the department complete the more intensive Crisis Intervention Team (CIT) training; and (4) established a sustainable partnership with High Plains Mental Health (HPMH).

High Plains Mental Health has been a long-term partner with the Hays Police Department, and they were instrumental in helping us to successfully complete the One Mind Campaign.

Other initiatives that the Hays Police Department has pursued in response to the needs of the community include developing a verbal de-escalation training program, assigning two Crisis Negotiators to the Special Situation Response Team, starting a Peer Support Team, providing officers with suicide awareness training, and assisting with the formation of the Ellis County Crisis Intervention Team Council made up of Ellis County law enforcement, mental health care providers and community-based stakeholders.

The greatest benefit in adopting all the strategies of the One Mind Campaign pledge has been providing our officers with the tools necessary to best serve the mental health consumers in our community, especially those in crisis, and making those interactions safer for both the officers and the consumers.

For more information about the One Mind Campaign, visit the IACP’s website at https://www.theiacp.org/onemindcampaign/.

Visitors to new Little Jerusalem Badlands State Park will pay $5, not $50

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HAYS POST

The $50 backcountry pass to the Little Jerusalem Badlands State Park in Logan County has been unanimously rescinded by the Kansas Department of Wildlife Parks and Tourism commission, according to a social media post by The Nature Conservancy in Kansas.

A standard $5 vehicle pass (or the annual pass) required at all Kansas state parks will be the only fee.

From TNC in Kansas Facebook page:

UPDATE: Police ID 32-year-old man found dead in west Salina

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Salina Post

UPDATE 4 p.m. Friday:

Statement from the Salina Police Department concerning the body found in west Salina

On August 16, at 9:19 a.m., a bicyclist was riding on the flood control levee located in the area of Crawford and Centennial in Salina. The bicyclist observed what they believed to be a person lying in the grassy area south and west of this intersection.

The Salina Police Department responded and located a deceased male. The subject has since been identified as Allegro Edwards Jr., a 32-year-old male from Salina. The next of kin have been notified.

At this time, the cause of death is unknown, and the investigation is ongoing.

We are asking the public for any information they may have regarding this individual.

The public is encouraged to contact the Salina Police Department at 785-826-7210 or Crimestoppers at 825-TIPS(8477) or text SATIPS to CRIMES (274637).

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SALINE COUNTY —Crime scene investigators and other Salina Police Department personnel are working on and along the flood control dike near the intersection of Crawford Street and Centennial Road after a body was found there.

Crime scene investigators and other Salina Police personnel are investigating a case in which a body was found Friday morning along the flood control dike on the west side of Salina. photo by Salina Post

Salina Police Captain Paul Forrester said that police personnel were dispatched to the location at 9:19 a.m. Friday. He said no other information would be released at this time because the investigation is in the preliminary stages.

Check the post for additional details as they become available.

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