Q: Where do pencils go for vacation?
A: Pencil-vania.
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Year: 2019
Hays to host stakeholders meeting in transportation priorities for KDOT
KDOT
TOPEKA — A series of Local Consult meetings hosted by the Kansas Department of Transportation will give citizens a chance to discuss regional transportation priorities and participate in scenario planning for the future.
“These meetings are an important opportunity for stakeholders to help set the vision for transportation in Kansas,” said Secretary of Transportation Julie Lorenz. “This is a transformational time in transportation, and we need you to help chart our success into the future.”
At the meetings, stakeholders will review facts and trends and explore alternative future possibilities through scenario planning. Stakeholders will also have the opportunity to present information about transportation projects not discussed during last fall’s Joint Legislative Transportation Vision Task Force meetings.
“I strongly encourage you to attend KDOT’s upcoming local consult meetings, so we hear your thoughts and create a transportation system that works for all Kansans, regardless of where they live,” said Gov. Laura Kelly.
The Local Consult meetings are scheduled to take place in August in Salina, Hutchinson, Independence, Overland Park, Topeka, Wichita, Dodge City and Hays.
To view an invitation to the meetings from Gov. Kelly and Secretary Lorenz, click https://vimeo.com/351478294/033c1e70dc
If possible, please contact Mike Moriarty, KDOT Chief of Transportation Planning, at 785-296-8864 or [email protected] to let us know which meeting you plan to attend.
Meeting schedule –
- SALINA – Monday, Aug. 19
1:30 p.m. – 4:30 p.m., Kansas Highway Patrol Academy, 2025 East Iron
- HUTCHINSON – Tuesday, Aug. 20
9 a.m. – Noon, Atrium Hotel & Conference Center, 1400 North Lorraine St.
- INDEPENDENCE – Wednesday, Aug. 21
9 a.m. – Noon, Independence Civic Center, 410 N. Penn Ave.
- OVERLAND PARK – Thursday, Aug. 22
9 a.m. – Noon, Matt Ross Community Center, 8101 Marty Street
- TOPEKA – Monday, Aug. 26
1:30 p.m. – 4:30 p.m., Capital Plaza, 1717 SW Topeka Blvd
- WICHITA – Tuesday, Aug. 27
9 a.m. – Noon, Eugene Metroplex, 5015 East 29th Street N
- DODGE CITY – Wednesday, Aug. 28
9 a.m. – Noon, Dodge House Convention Center, 2409 W. Wyatt Earp Blvd.
- HAYS – Thursday, Aug. 29
9 a.m. – Noon; Fort Hays State Union, 700 College Drive
Police evacuate Kan. Walmart store after suspicious package found
LEAVENWORTH COUNTY — Law enforcement authorities evacuated a Walmart store in Bonner Springs late Wednesday.
According to a social media report from Bonner Springs Police, someone left a suspicious package in the store 12801 Kansas Avenue. Police placed the store on lockdown and asked the public to avoid the area.
Following an investigation, the package was deemed safe and the store was cleared, according o police. The Walmart will resume normal operations Thursday.
Gove, Scott Co. students named Farm Bureau Collegiate Fellows
The Kansas Farm Bureau has selected four collegiate fellows from across the state for the 2019-20 school year. The KFB Collegiate Fellows program offers emerging leaders an opportunity to engage in intentional leadership and personal development while learning first-hand about Farm Bureau policy.
Fellows will dedicate a few hours each month during the school year to the program and in turn gain skills, insight and connections to prepare them for success in their education, future career and continued Farm Bureau involvement.
Fellows were chosen through a competitive application process that included written answers and interviews with KFB staff. Fellows will attend a two-day orientation in Manhattan Aug. 24-25 where they will meet with KFB staff, receive leadership development and meet their cohort.
The current class of KFB Fellows includes:
- Emily Glenn, Scott County, a sophomore studying agricultural education at Garden City Community College who plans to continue her education at Kansas State University. Wade Owlett, an elementary teacher from Wellsboro, Penn. and 2018 NREA Rural Teacher of the Year, will be Glenn’s mentor.
- Shyanne Jones, Labette County, a sophomore at Colby Community College who plans to pursue a bachelor’s degree in agricultural education after completing her associate degree. Career and technical education specialist Robin Utz, of Alexandria, Va., will mentor Jones.
- Amber Oerly, of Boonville, Mo., a junior studying agricultural economics at Kansas State University is considering continuing her education at law or graduate school to prepare for a career in government affairs for an agricultural organization. Allie Devine, an attorney and lobbyist at Devine & Donley, will mentor Oerly.
- Zoe Schultz, Gove County, a junior in agricultural business at Fort Hays State University is considering a career in farming or ag marketing and communications. Schultz also works on her family’s farm and is the Logan County Farm Bureau coordinator. Paige Pratt, a rancher, speaker and grassroots development specialist for Virginia Farm Bureau, will be Schultz’s mentor.
— Submitted
Hill City, Goodland sites of Farm Bill meetings by KSU ag economists
KSRE
MANHATTAN. – With every new farm bill come new decisions for farmers to make that can have lasting implications for their businesses. The most recent legislation is no exception.
To help agricultural producers determine the best course of action, Kansas State University’s Department of Agricultural Economics will host 10 Farm Bill meetings around the state, starting in late August.
The meetings will cover commodity programs, including the economics of the Agriculture Risk Coverage/Price Loss Coverage (ARC/PLC) programs, Supplemental Coverage Option and a new decision tool available for producers.
K-State Research and Extension agricultural economists, extension agents, USDA Farm Service Agency and Natural Resources Conservation Service representatives will provide a big picture perspective, as well as a more local view for each area.
Dates and locations include:
– Mon., Aug. 26 – Hill City – 1-4:30 p.m. CDT – Graham County Fairgrounds
– Tues., Aug. 27 – Goodland – 8:30 a.m.-noon MDT – Elks Lodge
– Tues., Aug. 27 – Leoti – 2:30-6 p.m. CDT – Wichita County Fairgrounds
– Wed., Aug. 28 – Plains – 10:00 a.m.-3 p.m. CDT – Plains Community Building
– Thurs., Aug. 29 – Great Bend – 8:30 a.m.–noon CDT – Great Bend Events Center
– Fri., Aug. 30 – Wichita – 8:30 a.m.–noon CDT – Sedgwick County Extension Office
– Tues., Sept. 3 – Parsons – 1–4:30 p.m. CDT – SE Area Research and Extension Center
– Wed., Sept. 4 – Ottawa – 8:30 a.m.–noon CDT – Franklin County Fairgrounds
– Thurs., Sept. 5 – Seneca – 1–4:30 p.m. CDT – Nemaha County Community Center
– Tues., Sept. 10 – Concordia – 1–4:30 p.m. CDT – Cloud County Fairgrounds
More information and registration is available online or by contacting Rich Llewelyn at 785-532-1594 or [email protected].
Cardinals crack Keller in rout of Royals
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) – Cardinals rookie Dakota Hudson tossed six innings of five-hit ball, Royals counterpart Brad Keller allowed a no-hit bid to crumble in spectacular fashion, and St. Louis went on to beat Kansas City 6-0 on Wednesday night for a two-game sweep.
Hudson (11-6) allowed runners to reach every inning but the third, but the 24-year-old right-hander kept getting timely double-plays, groundballs and fly outs. Hudson struck out five and walked two as the Cardinals won for the 13th time in his last 16 starts.
They also won their eighth straight against their cross-state rival at Kauffman Stadium.
Keller (7-13) issued three walks and was victimized by an early error, but he didn’t allow a hit until Marcell Ozuna’s sharp single leading off the seventh. It began a run of five consecutive base hits that not only knocked Keller from the game but ultimately resulted in a five-run frame.
Keller has lost four straight on the heels of a six-start span without a defeat.
The Royals, who were blanked 2-0 on Tuesday night, never got a runner past second base. Cheslor Cuthbert grounded out to strand two in the first, Nicky Lopez stranded runners in the second and fifth, and Bubba Starling grounded out to leave Ryan O’Hearn standing on second base in the fourth.
The Cardinals were following a similar roadmap until Ozuna’s single in the seventh.
Paul DeJong and Matt Carpenter followed with hits to send Keller to the showers, and Yadier Molina and Kolten Wong followed with singles of their own. By the time Randy Arozarena singled for his first big league hit and Dexter Fowler hit a sacrifice fly, the Cardinals had taken a 5-0 lead.
DeJong added a mammoth homer in the eighth for his 20th home run, making him the first Cardinals shortstop with two seasons of at least 20 homers. DeJong hit 25 as a rookie in 2017.
FIRST HIT
Arozarena’s first major league hit came in strange fashion during the Cardinals’ big inning. He cracked a liner that hit Molina as he was attempting to run from second to third, but the umpire ruled that Lopez had touched the ball and that gave Arozarena a hit.
LOTS OF SQUATING
Molina passed Tony Pena for the seventh-most innings caught in major league history when the nine-time All-Star recorded the first out of the fourth inning. Molina has now caught 15,979 innings.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Cardinals outfielder Tyler O’Neill (left wrist strain) could return this weekend, manager Mike Shildt said, after going on the injured list Aug. 1. “I don’t want to guarantee it,” he added. “It’s a combination of pain tolerance and grip, getting the pain tolerance and inflammation down.”
Royals left-hander Danny Duffy (left hamstring strain) threw a bullpen session Tuesday with another scheduled for Friday. “He’ll do a four-inning sim game on Tuesday and evaluate after that,” manager Ned Yost said. Duffy has been on the shelf since Aug. 4.
UP NEXT
The Cardinals send Michael Wacha (6-5, 5.54 ERA) to the mound in the opener of a four-game series in Cincinnati on Thursday night. The Royals get the day off before Mike Montgomery starts against the New York Mets in the opener of a three-game set Friday night.
MASON: Hansen Foundation invests in success of FHSU’s budding entrepreneurs
One of the many aspects of Fort Hays State University that I really value is how focused we are on making sure our students do not just sit in a classroom but that they actually have an opportunity to apply what they are learning to real-life situations – they “get their hands dirty,” so to speak. We excel at this, and that makes learning rewarding, practical and effective.
As I think about the abundance of opportunities our students have to really engage in their education, I think about the faculty who take the time to design and oversee these amazing experiences, and then I think of the numerous and generous donors who provide funding to support them. Indeed, our university is very blessed.
One of our many generous philanthropists is the Dane G. Hansen Foundation. This past week I spent time with the foundation’s trustees talking about their extraordinary vision and support of entrepreneurship in Northwest Kansas and Hansen Hall on our campus specifically – just one of many ways the Hansen Foundation supports active learning at Fort Hays State.
The Dane G. Hansen Scholarship Hall is a three-story, residential home to 33 students. Each student has a private room, and each floor has a community lounge.
The residents of Hansen Hall are immersed in a living and learning community focused on inspiring creativity, innovation, and opportunities to develop an entrepreneurial mindset that they will carry through their lives – clearly the hallmarks of FHSU! They will spend the year traveling, competing, learning from successful business people and developing skills that will eventually help them become successful, following in the footsteps of the hall’s namesake: Dane G. Hansen.
Soon the students will arrive to begin an incredible year. This year’s residents, representing 16 different majors, will begin building relationships and networks that will support them long after they leave FHSU – emphasizing our belief that entrepreneurs are not confined to business majors.
I loved spending time with the Hansen Foundation trustees. Dr. Melissa Hunsicker Walburn, interim dean of the W.R. and Yvonne Robbins College of Business and Entrepreneurship, talked about the larger vision of business, community connections and how various programming options at FHSU are elements in a vision of an entrepreneurial education program.
She described how our programming includes a variety of inspirational speakers, numerous competitions to challenge students and hone their skills, and opportunities to venture out and connect with thriving businesses that contribute to the regional economy. Most importantly, they are able to connect with business people on a personal level to gain advice and insight.
This year’s activities will also include a Lender’s Rodeo, which involves a partnership with the Robbins Banking Institute and the Small Business Development Center. The event will bring together ideas and financing opportunities.
A highlight from last year’s schedule of events was listening to recent graduate Hayden Hutchinson talk about his experiences as a student fully immersed in the Hansen Hall living and learning community. He was enthusiastic about the friends he made, the environment that turned those friendships toward potential business partnerships, and the thrill of the competitions.
Hayden was on teams that won two Faulkner Challenges, an annual event that provides professional experience in business plan development. One year, Hayden’s team won with a plan for a technology-sensing solution that can rapidly alert law enforcement to live shooter events. Hayden was also the founder of the college’s Collegiate Entrepreneur’s Organization.
I equally enjoyed listening to Dustin Roths describe the highs and lows of his adventures as a budding entrepreneur while he was a student at FHSU. Dustin went on to found Diamond R Jewelry on his 26th birthday.
It is such a gift to have the opportunity to listen to our alumni and former students, their post-graduate stories, and how their lives were influenced by FHSU. I cannot help but smile as they draw me into compelling stories, enthusiasm and wisdom. It does my heart good when I think about how their thriving businesses contribute in so many ways to the prosperity of their communities.
Jason Williby, president and CEO of the FHSU Foundation, shared with the trustees the fact that the Hansen Foundation’s investment in Hansen Hall has been the catalyst for many other programs. The commitment and vision that built the hall enabled FHSU to grow our entrepreneurship activities to their current scale and quality. Their investment also led others to contribute financially to the vision of an entrepreneurial ecosystem with Hansen Hall at its heart.
We are so grateful to the Hansen Foundation for believing in our vision and in our students, and for their ongoing generous support. Together, our eagerness to innovate is pushing students to be their best and cultivating the understanding that their successes become a community success and a university success. We couldn’t be more proud of the partnership we have forged with the Dane G. Hanson Foundation.
NWS: Tuesday’s storm shows importance of taking thunderstorms seriously
By JAMES BELL
Hays Post
The storm that moved through Hays on Tuesday brought hurricane-force winds with it, damaging homes and business throughout Ellis County and the region. But even though the storm did not produce tornados in the area, it demonstrates the destructive power of thunderstorms and associated winds.
“People see severe thunderstorm warning and get almost complacent,” said Bill Turner, lead forecaster at the National Weather Service in Dodge City. “They see the warning and think ‘Big deal, I have been through 84 million of those.’ ”
Strong winds can create significant damage but are often dismissed by the public, he said, due to the frequency of severe thunderstorm warnings across Kansas.
“When you get winds of 80 mph, we put different wording in the warnings, but it’s hard to get the message across that this wind is 80 mph,” he said. “There is a world of difference between a wind of 80 mph and a wind of 60 mph. It’s exponentially worse.”
Discussions about the destructive winds associated with Tuesday’s storm began early Tuesday morning, and the NWS had issued watches and warnings in advance of the approaching storm.
“The watch was up for damaging winds. Social media was covered with stuff,” Turner said. “I think we proved to a lot of people that you don’t need a tornado to rip some stuff down.”
RELATED: 🎥 ‘Blessed no one was hurt,’ say pastors of storm-damaged Ellis Co. church
The level of damage seen in Hays, he said, was directly related to the length of the wind gusting.
“One of the things that made this worse, that was working against us yesterday, wasn’t just the initial wind guests and then it was over, the initial wind gust hit and it continued to gust in some cases 20 to 30 minutes,” Turner said.
At the Hays airport, he said two wind gusts up to 70 were recorded for 20 to 25 minutes.
“There is a big difference between gusting for a few seconds than gusting for 30 minutes,” Turner said. “That’s a long time to batter stuff so stuff weakens and breaks, and the damage is amplified.”
The power transmission lines coming down near Interstate 70 was particularly telling of the strength of the winds.
“It probably took 10 to 15 minutes of hurricane-force winds to take those down,” Turner said.
RELATED: Hays High football team helping with cleanup efforts
Because the wind associated with the storm was so significant, warnings were issued long before the storm front moved into Ellis County in order to give people time to prepare, he said.
“Sometimes we issue a warning and there is nothing going on,” Turner said. “(But) we had 100 percent confident that the thunderstorm complex was going to happen.”
But forecasters were not sure exactly which path those storms would take as they moved across Kansas. Tuesday’s storm began to pick up strength after two storm cells merged around Colby and traveled down the I-70 corridor.
“We weren’t exactly sure if it was going to go south toward Dodge, down 283 or go toward Hays,” he said. “One of the computer models we use a lot took it toward Hays, but it was off on its own, it wasn’t supported by anything else so we broad-brushed the thunderstorms for everybody.
“The details are what really get us in this industry,” Turner said, even with the current technology. “Exactly where that storm is going to go an hour or two in advance is tricky.”
With the severity of the storm Tuesday, Turner said the Hays weather will be “a lot quieter,” but severe weather could be moving back into the Hays area on Thursday or Friday, Turner said, once the atmosphere has time to reload.
Click HERE for updated weather conditions.
Three-day weather outlook
Trooper Ben offers advice to drivers as a new school year begins
Kansas Highway Patrol Trooper Ben Gardner has some advice as a new school year begins. From the Kansas Highway Patrol Troop C Facebook page:
Tree dumping fees waived
Ellis County
The Ellis County Commission has elected to waive tree dumping fees from now through August 24, 2019.
All persons transporting tree limbs during this time frame (including licensed tree trimmers) may bypass the scale.
We ask that all drivers use caution while on the landfill property, due to high volume traffic.
Please direct any questions to the Ellis County Landfill, 785-628-9460.
Police sort through conflicting information in Kansas shooting
SHAWNEE COUNTY — Law enforcement authorities are investigating a shooting with conflicting information.
Just after 1 a.m. Thursday, police responded to an initial report of a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the leg to a male victim in the 1400 Block of SW Washburn in Topeka, according to Lt. Aaron Jones. Secondary information came in as officers were responding that this was not a self-inflicted gunshot wound, but it was a shooting with a white male suspect.
The victim is a white male in his 50s with an apparent shotgun wound to his lower abdomen, according to Jones. The injury is considered non-life-threatening. The gunshot wound victim is known to law
enforcement officers due to past encounters. At this point evidence and statements are
leading investigators to believe this is a self-inflicted gunshot wound; however they are keeping
an open mind when it comes to following any additional leads.
Jones did not release the victim’s name.
Planned Parenthood sets exit from family planning program
WASHINGTON (AP) — Raising the stakes in an ideologically charged standoff over women’s health, Planned Parenthood said Wednesday it will soon leave the federal family planning programunless a court puts a hold on Trump administration rules that bar clinics from referring patients for abortions.
The administration responded that it is ready to operate the Title X family planning program without the organization that has been the largest provider. About 4 million women are served nationwide under the program, which distributes $260 million in grants to clinics. It’s unclear how many patients would be affected.
Planned Parenthood spokeswoman Erica Sackin said that its affiliated clinics “will be formally out of the Title X program” by Monday, passing up federal funding, unless the full 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco halts the new rules. The appeals court is weighing a lawsuit by Planned Parenthood and others to overturn the rules; a panel of judges in effect had earlier allowed the administration to go ahead with enforcement.
Monday also is the deadline set by the federal Department of Health and Human Services for participants in the family planning program to submit plans on how they would comply with the rules, which are set to take effect Sept. 18.
In a notice to the court Wednesday, Planned Parenthood said it “will be forced to withdraw” by close of business on Monday unless the full court intervenes. Planned Parenthood says the administration’s new policy is “unethical and dangerous,” amounting to a “gag rule” on clinicians.
In response, HHS spokeswoman Mia Heck said Planned Parenthood represents fewer than 400 of 4,000 service sites around the country.
“To the extent that Planned Parenthood claims that it must make burdensome changes to comply with the final rule, it is actually choosing to place a higher priority on the ability to refer for abortion instead of continuing to receive federal funds to provide a broad range of acceptable and effective family planning methods,” Heck said in a statement.
The immediate impact for patients remained unclear. Planned Parenthood says it serves about 40% of patients, but it has also pledged to keep its doors open as it contests the administration’s policy change. Other program participants unaffiliated with Planned Parenthood have warned they’d leave the program as well.
It seemed likely that disruptions to the 50-year-old program would vary from state to state. Some states have said they would step in to take over from the federal government. In addition to birth control, clinics provide basic health services and cancer screenings for many low-income women.
Although federal family planning money cannot be used to pay for abortions, clinics had been able to refer women seeking abortions to another provider. In many cases, that would be a Planned Parenthood facility.
The administration’s family planning rule is part of a series of efforts to remake government policy on reproductive health to please conservatives who are a key part of President Donald Trump’s political base. Religious conservatives see the program as providing an indirect subsidy to Planned Parenthood, which runs family planning clinics and is also a major abortion provider.
Along with the ban on abortion referrals by clinics, the rule’s requirements include financial separation from facilities that provide abortion, designating abortion counseling as optional instead of standard practice and limiting which staff members can discuss abortion with patients. Clinics would have until next March to separate their office space and examination rooms from the physical facilities of providers that offer abortions.
HHS says it does not want to see a disruption of services, and officials are willing to accommodate clinics that are making a “good-faith” effort to comply.
Abortion is a legal medical procedure, but federal laws prohibit the use of taxpayer dollars to pay for abortions except in cases of rape or incest or to save the life of the woman.
Planned Parenthood and other opponents of the administration’s rule say it would interfere with a medical professional’s duty to provide complete information to their patients. Also seeking to overturn the rule are several states and professional groups, including the American Medical Association.
“For all intents and purposes, (the new policy) imposes a gag rule on what information physicians can provide to their patients,” the AMA said in a statement this year. “The patient-physician relationship relies on trust, open conversation and informed decision making and the government should not be telling physicians what they can and cannot say to their patients.”
Anti-abortion groups are essentially daring Planned Parenthood to exit.
“Women across America are going to find out for themselves that they don’t need Planned Parenthood after the nation’s largest abortion vendor pulls out of a program that they never should have been in at all,” said Students for Life president Kristan Hawkins in a statement.