Longtime Goodland resident Betty F. Pettijohn, 84, passed away on Tuesday, May 28, 2019 at her home in Goodland.
Betty was born on April 14, 1935 to Andrew J. and Martha (Juhl) Pettijohn, on the family farm north of Kanorado, KS in Kit Carson County, Colorado. She was one of 8 children. Betty attended school in Goodland and graduated from Sherman Community High School in 1953.
Betty was hired by the City of Goodland on June 21, 1956 and retired on January 1, 1996. During her time at the City Office, Betty worked as Customer Service, Billing Clerk, and upon her retirement, she was Deputy City Clerk. In 1961, Betty married E.L. “Buck” Buxton, and after 40 years of marriage, they later divorced.
Preceding her in death were her parents, two brothers Bud and Alvin Pettijohn and two sisters Dorothy Cowan and Joan Sipes.
She is survived by a longtime friend Margaret Russell of Goodland, KS; two brothers Conrad (Carol) Pettijohn of Goodland, KS and Robert (Joy) Pettijohn of Austin, TX, and one sister Grace Simmering of Ness City, KS. She is also survived by several nieces and nephews.
Private burial services were held on Friday, May 31, 2019 at the Goodland Cemetery, Goodland, KS.
Online condolences for the family may be left at www.koonsrussellfuneralhome.com.
Services have been entrusted to Koons-Russell Funeral Home in Goodland.
Winifred Litton Anderson Rankin died in Quinter, Kansas May 28, 2019 at age 94. She was born in Cheyenne Wells, Colorado on August 13, 1924 to Hattie Mabel Bretton and B.W. Litton.
Her family moved to Gove, Kansas when she was a young girl. She married her high school sweetheart, Robert “Bob” Monroe Anderson and together they had 5 children. They moved from Gove to Great Bend, Kansas in 1956. Her husband Bob died in an oilfield accident in 1968. She later married Duane Rankin in Wichita, Kansas and they made their home in Great Bend before retiring to Crane, Missouri and Grove, Oklahoma. Duane passed away in 2010. Winifred then moved to Quinter Independent Living Apartments in 2012.
She is survived by 4 children, Robert (Eileen) Anderson, Denver, Colorado, Raymond “Jerry” Anderson, Lincoln, Nebraska, Winnie Anderson Kingsbury, St. Peter, KS, and Randy (Cathy) Anderson, Great Bend, Kansas; daughter-in-law Betty Anderson, Great Bend, KS; and 3 step-sons, Steve Rankin, Wichita, Kansas, Stanley Rankin, Wichita, Kansas, and John Rankin, South Dakota. She loved being surrounded by her 12 grandchildren when they were young. They include, Sheri Elsen, Shele Maher, Amy Schonhoff, Kimi Bowman, Jamie Baldwin, Hunt Kingsbury, Wesley Kingsbury, Carrie Martinez, Amber Anderson, Rollie Anderson, Rob Nichols, Jason Effertz. She was also blessed with many great-grandchildren and great-great grandchildren.
She was preceded in death by her husband, Duane Rankin, son Ralph “Corky” Anderson, grand-daughter Shele Maher, grand-son Jason Effertz, brother Ralph Litton, sister Leola Litton Horner.
In lieu of a funeral, Winifred requested her children and grandchildren gather and release balloons in her honor. The Great Balloon Release will be 3:00 pm Friday, May 31, Black Angus Best Western Inn, Great Bend, Kansas.
A group of Hays area bicyclists have organized a bike ride that will feature tours of the area’s historic and picturesque churches and a celebration of the Volga German heritage.
The Tour die Kapellen, which is German for Tour of Chapels, will start and end at the Union Pacific Plaza, 10th and Main, Hays, on Saturday, June 22.
The event will include options for a 3-mile fun ride in addition to 13-, 30-, 50-, metric century 62-, and 75 plus-mile rides.
Depending on the length of ride you choose, you can see different churches along the route.
Churches along the supported routes include Catharine, Victoria, Pfeifer and Munjor.
“We feel it is important to show off our churches — the architectural beauty of them, the beauty and what we have in our surrounding little towns and in Hays,” organizer Kathy Rome said.
“Two or three of us were riding and we were like ‘Hey, we ought to put together a ride. We could show off our churches in our communities and our German heritage,’ so that is how it started.”
Photos courtesy Hays Area Bicyclists
Fellow organizer Kay Werth said, “It is really a marriage between the wellness community, the Volga German culture and ethnic things and a little bit about the historical architectural structures in our area. In addition, we are promoting the music in our area.”
There will bike SAGs at each of the churches with free snacks and beverages. Volunteers will be on hand to offer church tours and answer questions about the architecture and history of the churches. Music will be provided at the churches by members of the Hays Symphony and Hays City Band.
The 100-mile route also includes Schoenchen and Antonino. These last two stops will be self-supported. No tours or SAGs will be offered at those stops.
The event wraps up at the Downtown Pavilion with a German meal and music from the Tim Anthony Band, which is included in the registration. Beer will be available for those 21 or older. Registration includes two drink tickets.
The entry fee is $20 for the fun ride and $45 for the distance rides through the June 10 early-bird deadline. Fees after June 10 will be $25 for the fun ride and $55 for the distance rides. Registration also includes a free T-shirt and a swag bag from the Hays Convention and Visitors Bureau, which will contain promotional items and special offers from local businesses.
T-shirts and meal tickets are available for extra guests and family members and can be ordered with your registration.
The event already has bicyclists registered from as far away as Kansas City. The event is hoping for at least 50 riders in this first year.
Werth and Rome said organizers hope a portion of the proceeds for the ride can be used to keep the ride going in subsequent years. The ride would also like to make a donation this year to St. Fidelis Church, Basilica of the Plains parish in Victoria for upkeep of the church.
Registration starts at 6:30 a.m. with the main ride starting at 7:30 a.m. The fun ride will begin at 9 a.m. and run along the Big Creek dam through the FHSU campus. The fun ride will be family-oriented and include a short presentation from local law enforcement on bicycle safety. See below for a complete schedule.
Those who are younger than 18 will need to have a parent ride with them for the main ride. Children younger than 12 must be accompanied by a parent on the fun ride.
Security camera image of Wichita officer-involved shooting as he attempts to avoiding getting hit by suspect vehicle in January -image courtesy Wichita PD
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — A public advisory board in Wichita is now recommending that officers involved in shootings should not be named, citing worries about possible death threats to the families of the officers.
The Citizen Review Board has changed its position after previously suggesting that police create a new policy where names would generally be released. The new recommendation came after Police Chief Gordon Ramsay raised concerns about officer safety.
Ramsay’s proposal, approved by the board last month, calls for releasing some information about the officer, such as age, gender, race and years of service, along with discipline history in use-of-force cases and previous involvement in shootings.
TOPEKA — The owners of the Plainville Livestock Commission in Rooks County have been charged with carrying out a check-kiting scheme that cost banks millions of dollars, U.S. Attorney Stephen McAllister said Thursday in a news release.
Tyler Gillum, 47, and his wife, Camden Gillum, 50, both of Plainville, are charged with 31 counts of bank fraud, one count of making a false statement to the Small Business Administration in an application for a $1.5 million loan, and one count of making a false statement to Almena State Bank in an application for a $500,000 line of credit.
The indictment alleges the Gillums defrauded Almena State Bank in Almena; Landmark Bank in Manhattan; Colorado East Bank and Trust in Lamar, Colo.; Astra Bank in Scandia; TBK Bank in Dallas; Guaranty State Bank in Beloit; and The Bank in Oberlin.
The indictment alleges investigators examined unfunded checks and wire transfers totaling more $2 billion sent by Tyler Gillum as part of the scheme. That included 409 wire transfers and 7,584 checks. Tyler Gillum, formerly a loan officer for Montezuma State Bank, owned and operated with his wife Plainville Livestock Commission. In advertisements for the business, they said: “The sale barn facility was first established in 1950 and is situated in the heart of Cow-Calf Country. We pride ourselves in offering individualized attention to marketing your livestock.”
The indictment defines check kiting as a form of check fraud that takes advantage of the time between presentment of a check and the actual receipt of funds (“the float”) to make use of non-existent funds in a checking or other bank account. The purpose of check kiting is to falsely inflate the balance of a checking account in order to allow written checks to clear that otherwise would bounce.
Investigating agencies included the U.S. Department of Agriculture – Office of Inspector General, the FBI, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation – Officer of Inspector General, the Federal Housing Finance Agency – Office of Inspector General and the U.S. Small Business Administration – Office of Inspector General. Assistant U.S. Attorney Rich Hathaway is prosecuting.
In all cases, defendants are presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty. The indictments merely contain allegations of criminal conduct.
— Office of U.S. Attorney Stephen McAllister
Check Hays Post for more as details become available.
James Rex Carswell, 92, of Selden, KS passed away on May 29, 2019 at the Sheridan County Health Complex. He was born on November 30, 1926, seven miles west of Selden, to Wylie Vinton and Mary Agnes (Geisenhener) Carswell.
Rex attended Violenta Grade School and then graduated from Decatur Community High School in 1944. He married Betty Thieler on June 6, 1946 in Selden, KS. Rex was baptized on February 17, 1974 at the Rexford Community Church. He was a famer / rancher until retiring in 2006. Rex was a member of the Rexford Community Church, Lions Club, Odd Fellows Lodge and the Masonic Lodge. He enjoyed baseball, puzzles, golfing, hunting, fishing and playing cards and dominoes at the Red Barn.
Rex was preceded in death by his parents; grandson, Richie Perry and granddaughter, Kelli Marie Hofmeier.
He is survived by his wife, Betty Lou Carswell of Selden, KS; sons: Vincent Harold Carswell and wife Peggy of Oberlin, KS and Daryl Eugene Carswell and wife Rita of Hays, KS; daughters: Terry Ruth Salter and husband Steve of McPherson, KS and Peggy Ann Dible and husband Robert of Menlo, KS; 14 grandchildren and numerous great grandchildren and two great great granddaughters, Brylee and Hadley.
Funeral services will be held 10:30 am Saturday, June 1, 2019 at the Rexford Community Church. Burial will follow at Hawkeye Cemetery, Rexford. Visitation will be Friday, May 31, 2019 from 12:00 – 7:00 pm at Pauls Funeral Home, Selden. The family will receive friends from 5-7:00 pm.
Memorial contributions may be made to the Rexford Community Church. Condolences may be left at www.paulsfh.com
Kenneth Karl Orth, age 75, a longtime resident of Woodland Park, passed away on May 24, 2019 in his Woodland Park home from a lengthy battle with cancer.
Kenneth was born on October 25, 1943, in Hays, Kansas, the son of the late Carl Orth and Elizabeth (Seitz) Orth.
He married the late Virginia (Brungardt) Orth on February 3, 1964 and together they raised their four children.
Kenneth and Virginia moved to Woodland Park in 1976 and have lived there ever since. Kenneth spent his life as a self-employed machinist and he was a master craftsman who was devoted to his family. His passions were being an avid outdoors’ man, hunting, fishing and gun collector.
Ken is preceeded in death by his parents, his wife, daughter in law, Lisa Orth, sister, Martha Schulte, brother, Marvin Orth, and two infant siblings.
He is lovingly survived by, his children, Karl (Andrea) Orth, Scott Orth, Jennifer Wiseman, David Orth, grandchildren, Karisa (Joey Bebb) Williams, Lindsey (Yusuf) Hasan, Sarah Orth and Ryan Orth, great grandson, Braedon Williams, sisters, Betty Huschka and Carol Dielh, and his close friend Loni Anderson.
Visitation, 5:00PM-7:30PM, Thursday, May 30, 2019 at Blunt Mortuary, 2229 West Colorado Avenue, Colorado Springs, Colorado, 80904.
Rosary, 7:30PM, Thursday, May 30, 2019 at Blunt Mortuary.
Mass of Christian Burial, 12:00PM, Friday, May 31, 2019, Our Lady of the Woods Catholic Church, 116 S. West Street, Woodland Park, Colorado, 80863.
Burial to follow at Fairview Cemetery, Colorado Springs, Colorado.
In lieu of flowers, donations can be made in Kenneth’s name to Pikes Peak Hospice.
WASHINGTON – Joseph P. Galichia M.D., a Wichita, Kansas, cardiologist, has agreed to pay $5.8 million to resolve allegations that he and his medical group, Galichia Medical Group, P.A. (GMED), violated the False Claims Act by improperly billing federal health care programs for medically unnecessary cardiac stent procedures, according to a media release from the U.S. Department of Justice.
Dr. Joseph Galichia- courtesy photo
Galichia also agreed to a three-year period of exclusion from participation in any federal health care program. The settlement relates to a lawsuit in which the United States intervened on Dec. 12, 2014.
“This settlement reflects the Department of Justice’s commitment to ensuring the safety of federal health care program beneficiaries and that taxpayer monies are properly spent,” said Assistant Attorney General Jody Hunt of the Department of Justice’s Civil Division.
“Patient safety is critically important,” said U.S. Attorney Stephen McAllister for the District of Kansas. “Performing medically unnecessary procedures puts patients at risk and defrauds federal health care programs.”
“When a physician bills the government for medically unnecessary procedures, both patients’ health and taxpayers can end up paying the price,” said Special Agent in Charge Steve Hanson of the Office of Inspector General for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. “OIG is excluding Dr. Galichia from participation in Medicare, Medicaid, and other federal health care programs, and we will continue to work with our partners to protect the health and welfare of Medicare beneficiaries.”
The government contended that Galichia and GMED knowingly submitted false billings from Jan. 1, 2008, through Dec.31, 2014, for surgical procedures in which Galichia implanted coronary stents that were not medically necessary. The allegedly false billings were submitted to Medicare, the Defense Health Agency, and the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program.
This is the government’s third False Claims Act settlement with Galichia and GMED. In 2009, Galichia and GMED paid $1.3 million to settle allegations that they submitted claims for services not provided or lacking proper documentation. In 2000, Galichia and GMED paid $1.5 million to settle allegations that they submitted claims for a higher level of service than provided, billed twice for the same services, and billed for services not provided.
The settlement announced resolves allegations in a lawsuit filed by Aly Gadalla M.D., in the United States District Court for the District of Kansas. The lawsuit was filed under the qui tam, or whistleblower, provisions of the False Claims Act, which permit private individuals to sue on behalf of the government for false claims and to share in any recovery. The Act also allows the government to intervene and take over the action, as it did in this case. Dr. Gadalla will receive approximately $1.16 million.
The government’s resolution of this matter illustrates the government’s emphasis on combating health care fraud. One of the most powerful tools in this effort is the False Claims Act. Tips and complaints from all sources about potential fraud, waste, abuse, and mismanagement, can be reported to the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), at 800-HHS-TIPS (800-447-8477).
The investigation was conducted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Kansas and the Department of Justice’s Civil Division, in conjunction with the HHS-OIG, the FBI, the Defense Health Agency on behalf of the TRICARE program, the Defense Criminal Investigative Service of the Inspector General for the Department of Defense, and the Office of Personnel Management, Office of Inspector General.
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Fire officials in Topeka are investigating what caused a massive fire that tore through a downtown warehouse.
Wednesday evening fire in downtown Topeka photo courtesy WIBW TV
The fire was reported Wednesday evening at the Trails Market and Gallery, and firefighters battled the flames into early Thursday morning. All that remains of the warehouse is an empty brick shell. No injuries were reported.
The fire spread to the Kansas Avenue Lofts, which opened only months ago. Firefighters say the blaze scorched the northeast end of the four-floor apartment building, but there was no indication early Thursday that the fire had gotten inside the lofts.
There were no immediate damage estimates from the fire. Fire investigators from both the city and state planned to begin the process Thursday morning of determining how and where the fire started.
Carol F. McKinney, age 82, passed away on May 28, 2019 at Parklane Nursing Home in Scott City, Kansas.
She was born on June 28, 1936 in Independence, Missouri, the daughter of George and Florence Burroughs. A resident of western Kansas since 1974, she was a nurse aide and a member of First Baptist Church.
Survivors include her three daughters – Carole “Dorie” and husband Robert “Mac” Mackenzie of Bright, Indiana, Brenda and husband Harvey Tucker of Scott City, Kansas, and Dana and husband Donald Rains of Thackerville, Oklahoma, two stepchildren – David and wife LaDonna McKinney of Scott City, Kansas and Susan and husband Tim Myers of Kalvesta, Kansas, other survivors include her brother Mickey and wife Barbara Dobbins of Arizona, two sisters, Thelma Palmer of Kansas City and JoAnn Foster of Arkansas, and numerous grandchildren, great grandchildren, great-great grandchildren, nieces and nephews.
She was predeceased by her parents, a brother, two sisters, a son, three stepchildren and three husbands.
Private inurnment will be at a later date and time in the Scott County Cemetery in Scott City, Kansas.
Memorials in Lieu of Flowers may be made to the Carol McKinney Memorial Fund in care of Price & Sons Funeral Home.
