Charles Robert Homm, born October 23, 1941, died Sunday, June 9, 2019 in Oakley, Kansas.
Visitation will be 5-7 p.m., Wed., June 12, at Baalmann Mortuary, 304 E. 8th St., Oakley.
Services will be held at 2 p.m. Thu., June 13, at Baalmann Mortuary, 190 S. Franklin Ave., Colby, Kansas with Pastor Kyle Bloom officiating.
Interment will be in the Oakley City Cemetery, East 8th St., Oakley, Kansas.
Baalmann Mortuary, Oakley, is in charge of arrangements.
Tuesday Mostly sunny, with a high near 79. Breezy, with a south wind 11 to 16 mph increasing to 17 to 22 mph in the afternoon. Winds could gust as high as 33 mph.
Tuesday Night A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms before 2am. Partly cloudy, with a low around 54. North northwest wind 5 to 13 mph.
WednesdaySunny, with a high near 74. Northwest wind 8 to 16 mph, with gusts as high as 28 mph.
Wednesday NightMostly clear, with a low around 50. North wind 6 to 11 mph becoming light and variable in the evening. Winds could gust as high as 22 mph.
ThursdayMostly sunny, with a high near 76.
Thursday NightA 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms after 8pm. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 59.
FridayA slight chance of showers and thunderstorms before 8am, then a slight chance of showers and thunderstorms after 2pm. Mostly sunny, with a high near 85. Chance of precipitation is 20%.
HUTCHINSON — Law enforcement authorities are investigating a Kansas felon on new charges after an alleged violent attack.
On June 6 when police responded to the report of an aggravated battery. When they arrived, they found the victim who told them she had been beaten by her boyfriend.
Armando Fierro, 37, is accused of striking the woman with some type of cord, putting a towel around her neck and dragging her across the floor.
At some point, he then brought in a propane tank and threatened more violence against her and her three disabled children. The victim was able to escape and call police.
When officers entered the home, they could see pillows in the living room had been set on fire near where the propane tank was sitting. Fierro who served time for attempted murder, conspiracy to commit murder and aggravated burglary left the home before police arrived.
On June 7, officers located Fierro’s vehicle on the west side of Hutchinson. With the assistance of the Reno County Emergency Response Team they took him into custody.
Fierro is jailed on a $100,000 bond for aggravated battery-domestic violence, aggravated assault, aggravated arson and aggravated endangerment of a child.
Fierro will be back in court next Monday for the formal reading of charges.
HPD
The Hays Police Department (HPD) will be conducting training on Tuesday between 3:30 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. at 504 W. Eighth, Apartments A and C, in Hays.
Police officers will be training with special tactical equipment. This training is being done with great care and safety.
As a home or business owner, you may see law enforcement officers move through your area. There is no need to be alarmed. The officers are merely conducting a realistic training exercise and there is no danger to the community.
If you have any questions or concerns, you may contact the on-site supervisor (Team Commander Tim Greenwood), or Chief Scheibler at 785-625-1030.
GOVE COUNTY —Two people were injured in an accident just after 5p.m. Monday in Gove County.
The Kansas Highway Patrol reported a 2017 Nissan Altima driven by Randi Williams, 27, Oklahoma City, OK., was eastbound on Interstate 70 just east of Campus Road. The Nissan rear-ended a 2008 International Semi and then traveled into the median.
Williams and a passenger Cody Shaw, 26, Oklahoma City, were transported to the Logan County Hospital. Two children in the Nissan and the semi driver Jason Goodman, 26, Hays, were not injured. All five were properly restrained at the time of the accident, according to the KHP.
ST. LOUIS (AP) — A judge issued another order Monday to keep Missouri’s only abortion clinic operating while a fight over the facility’s license plays out in court.
Circuit Judge Michael Stelzer granted Planned Parenthood’s request for a preliminary injunction, which extends his earlier order to temporarily block the state from allowing the St. Louis facility’s license to lapse. The courtroom win for abortion-rights advocates comes after a string of setbacks in legislatures around the U.S.
The state health department in May declined to renew the clinic’s license to perform abortion procedures, citing concerns about patient safety, “failed surgical abortions” and legal violations.
Stelzer’s ruling on Monday ordered the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services to decide on Planned Parenthood’s application to renew its license by June 21.
Dr. Leana Wen, president and CEO of Planned Parenthood Federation of America, called the ruling “a clear victory for our patients – and for people across Missouri,” but said the threat against legal abortion remains.
“We’ve seen just how closely anti-health politicians came to ending abortion care for an entire state,” Wen said in a statement. “We are in a state of emergency for women’s health in America.”
Phone and email messages seeking comment from Republican Gov. Mike Parson’s office and the health department were not immediately returned.
Stelzer’s ruling said he wasn’t determining whether the license should be approved or denied. But the judge noted that one issue in dispute is whether the health department can simply allow the abortion clinic’s license to lapse without taking any action.
“The Court does not believe that an ‘official action’ can include non-action,” Stelzer wrote.
The state issued subpoenas to staff doctors and former medical residents who worked at Planned Parenthood’s St. Louis facility, seeking their testimony about what an assistant attorney general called “grave concerns” about patient safety. Clinic leaders said the move is part of an effort by an anti-abortion administration to eliminate the procedure in Missouri.
According to Planned Parenthood, no state has been without a functioning abortion clinic since 1974, the year after the U.S. Supreme Court’s Roe v. Wade ruling that legalized abortion nationwide.
The fight over the clinic’s license comes as lawmakers in many conservative states, including Missouri, are passing new restrictions that take aim at Roe. Abortion opponents, emboldened by new conservative justices on the Supreme Court, hope federal courts will uphold laws that prohibit abortions before a fetus is viable outside the womb, the dividing line the high court set in Roe.
Parson signed legislation on May 24 to ban abortions at or beyond eight weeks of pregnancy, with exceptions for medical emergencies but not for rape or incest.
The number of abortions performed in Missouri has declined every year for the past decade, reaching a low of 2,910 last year. Of those, an estimated 1,210 occurred at eight weeks or less of pregnancy, according to preliminary statistics from the state health department.
Missouri women also seek abortions in other states. In Kansas, about 3,300 of the 7,000 abortions performed in 2018 were for Missouri residents, according to the state’s health department. Illinois does not track the home states of women seeking abortions.
An abortion clinic is located just across the Mississippi River in Granite City, Illinois, less than 10 miles from the Planned Parenthood facility in St. Louis. Planned Parenthood’s abortion clinic in the Kansas City area is in Overland Park, Kansas, just 2 miles from the state line. State figures show a handful of Missouri hospitals also perform abortions, but those are relatively rare.
WICHITA, KAN. – A Kansas man pleaded guilty Monday and admitted he robbed three stores, according to U.S. Attorney Stephen McAllister.
Willie Smith, 38, Wichita, Kan., pleaded guilty to one count of robbery. In his plea, he admitted that in 2018 he robbed the QuikTrip store at 1532 S. Seneca. He showed the clerk what appeared to be a revolver before demanding money. Later, when investigators searched his apartment, they found a black BB gun they believe Smith used in three robberies.
At sentencing, the court also will take into account as relevant conduct two other robberies Smith committed in 2018. Smith robbed the Express Mart at 565 S. Market. During the robbery, he showed the clerk what appeared to be a revolver. Smith also robbed Pete’s Liquor at 332 W. Harry. During the robbery, he pulled out what appeared to be a revolver. Sentencing is set for Aug. 26. He faces up to 20 years in federal prison and a fine up to $250,000.
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — A new report shows Kansas growers are still behind in getting their crops planted.
The National Agricultural Statistics Service reported Monday that sorghum planting is running late with 25% planted. That is half of what is normally seeded by this time.
Just 48% of the state’s soybeans have also been planted so far. Usually by this late in the spring Kansas farmers already have 69% of the crop seeded.
Corn planting is 89% finished, compared to the 97% average.
Winter wheat condition is rated as 12% poor to very poor, 30% fair, and 58% good to excellent.
The state’s wheat crop is developing very slowly this season, with only 2% now mature. Typically 25% has matured by this date.
Former Hays resident and award-winning musician Monte Selby will perform Wednesday afternoon at 2. Bring the whole family!
BARTON COUNTY — Law enforcement authorities are investigating two suspects on numerous charges after an arrest.
Just before 11 a.m. June 7, police officers were in the area of the Super 8 Motel, 911 Grant Street in Great Bend, checking on a possible suspicious person, according to a media release. Officers located a vehicle in the parking lot of Super 8 Motel, which had been reported stolen from Michigan.
After further investigation, detectives located the subjects who had been in possession of the stolen vehicle. It was determined the two suspects were in room 203 of Super 8. After a search warrant was obtained and executed, police arrested 28-year-old Ashlee Swink and 24-year-old Isabel Leal.
Swink and Leal were in possession of numerous different identification cards, marijuana, methamphetamine, paraphernalia, counterfeit currency and financial ledgers with account information and personal information. Swink and Leal were booked into the Barton County Detention Center.
The narcotics, identification cards and financial information was collected along with the counterfeit currency and vehicle.
Since our first Leadership Day Camp was a huge hit, we decided to have another! if you couldn’t make it to the first one or want to come to another, you are in luck! Registration closes Friday June 21.
Cottonwood Extension District
601 Main, Hays
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Gov. Laura Kelly is seeking a major presidential declaration for public assistance for 63 Kansas counties recovering from record rainfall and severe weather.
The declaration would cover damage from record rains and numerous tornadoes beginning April 28 through May. The Public Assistance program helps pay for restoration of public infrastructure and other damage caused by the severe weather.
The request filed Monday follows one Kelly sent in May seeking a federal disaster declaration. That provides federal money for shelter management, water rescues, human services support and other needs.
The following counties are listed in Monday’s request:
Allen, Anderson, Atchison, Barber, Barton, Bourbon, Butler, Chase, Chautauqua, Cherokee, Clark, Clay, Cloud, Coffey, Comanche, Cowley, Crawford, Dickinson, Doniphan, Douglas, Edwards, Elk, Ellsworth, Ford, Franklin, Geary, Gray, Greenwood, Harper, Harvey, Hodgeman, Jefferson, Kingman, Leavenworth, Lincoln, Linn, Lyon, Marion, Marshall, McPherson, Meade, Montgomery, Morris, Nemaha, Neosho, Norton, Osage, Ottawa, Pawnee, Phillips, Pottawatomie, Pratt, Reno, Rice, Riley, Rush, Russell, Saline, Sumner, Wabaunsee, Washington, Wilson, and Woodson.
By JOHN P. TRETBAR
The weather in Western Kansas was responsible for some big swings in the weekly rig counts from Independent Oil & Gas Service. John Morrison of IOGSI tells us many of the state’s drilling contractors were unable to move their rigs because of wet field conditions. The weekly rig report for May 30 showed showed a 62% drop in the number of active drilling rigs in Kansas. The total in Western Kansas dropped by 15 rigs, the exact number added to the list of rigs that were awaiting their next location assignment. Last week, Independent reported a big increase in active drilling rigs in Kansas, as operators were finally able to move those rigs that were stuck in the mud. West of Wichita, there are 20 active rigs, up 12. That’s about equal to the number that dropped off the “pending” list. Drilling is underway at one lease in Ellis County.
Baker Hughes reported the largest weekly decline in active oil drilling rigs in six weeks. The count last week was 975 active rigs, a drop of eleven oil rigs. The count in the Permian basin of Texas and New Mexico was down by six rigs.
Regulators approved 18 permits for drilling at new locations across Kansas last week, all of them in Western Kansas, including one in Ellis County and one in Stafford County. That’s 382 new permits so far this year statewide.
Independent Oil & Gas Service reported 15 newly-completed wells in Kansas last week, three east of Wichita and 12 in the western half of the state. Operators completed two wells in Barton County and one in Russell County. So far this year we’ve seen 670 new well completions.
The Kansas Geological Survey reports a slight dip in monthly statewide crude-oil production, from 2.8 million [[“two point eight million”]] barrels in January to just under 2.5 million [[“two point five million”]] in February. Barton County producers added nearly 118-thousand barrels in February, Ellis County notched 182-thousand, the total in Russell County in February was 110-thousand, and Stafford County pumped nearly 79-thousand barrels.
The Kansas Corporation Commission reports 81 new intent-to-drill notices filed during the month of May, down from 106 in April and well below the 143 intents filed in May of last year. There were three new intents filed last month in Barton County, five in Ellis County, two in Russell county and two in Stafford County.
The government reported record U.S. weekly crude oil production of 12.378 million barrels per day for the week ending May 31. That’s 104-thousand barrels per day more than the week before.
U.S. crude oil inventories increased for the second week in a row. The Energy Information Administration said stockpiles grew by 6.8 million barrels over the previous week to about six percent above the five-year seasonal average.
America’s largest oil hub is growing even as producers and traders look to move surging West Texas production to the coast for export. According to Bloomberg, the U.S. petroleum industry is planning to add about 4.8 million barrels of storage capacity and as many as seven new pipelines to move oil to and from the hub in Cushing, Oklahoma.
Using natural gas and carbon dioxide to enhance oil recovery is not new, but it is now emerging for the first time in U.S. shale fields. Drillers in Texas are pushing natural gas under high pressure into older wells, and then capping those wells, in the hope of releasing oil still trapped in the rock. This is good news for the Texas patch in two ways: it reduces the flaring of natural gas, and it increases oil production by anywhere from 30 to 70 percent in oil wells where production had been slipping.
Industry consultant Rystad Energy is raising its U.S. production forecasts, with new records expected in May and at year’s end. By December they’re predicting average output of 13.4 million barrels per day. The prediction for May tops 12.5 million barrels per day. Both figures would be all-time records.
