RUSSELL COUNTY —An EF-2 tornado moved across Russell, Osborne, and Mitchell Counties Tuesday, according to a preliminary estimate from the National Weather Service. The tornado at 5:20p.m. touched down just south west of Waldo and stayed on the ground for 24 miles lifting near Tipton.

The tornado was 0.5 miles wide at its maximum. There were no reported injuries.

By JAMES BELL
Hays Post

A high-speed chase and crash on Interstate 70 led to the arrest of a fugitive from justice Monday morning after a warrant was found from Colorado Springs, Colo.

At 7:41 a.m. Monday, a Kansas Highway Patrol trooper in Sherman County clocked the speed of a 2009 Chevy pickup at milepost 20 at 102 mph, according to Kansas Highway Patrol Trooper Tod Hileman.

The trooper attempted to stop the truck and the driver fled eastbound on I-70 reaching a top speed of 112 mph.

The trooper continued pursuit of the vehicle on I-70 approaching Oakley.

“At that point, at 8:14 in the morning, a little more than 30 minutes later, the driver entered the median and drove in the median for a while until he hit a culvert,” Hileman said. “That ended up crashing the vehicle out, and the vehicle rolled several times.”

The driver — Starsky Dresch, 41, Colorado Springs — was placed under arrest, and an ambulance was called.

He was taken to the Logan County Hospital and later flown to St. Anthony’s Hospital in Denver.

A female passenger in the vehicle was not charged. She was taken to the hospital, but no other information on her condition was made available.

While investigating the incident, it was discovered the vehicle had been stolen in Colorado Springs and Dresch had an outstanding warrant from Colorado for being a fugitive from justice.

His condition is unknown at this time.

By JONATHAN ZWEYGARDT
Hays Post

A Hays man pleaded no contest to three sex-related crimes Wednesday and is expected to be sentenced to more than two and a half years in prison.

Hunter Gonzales entered the no contest pleas to two counts of reckless aggravated battery, a level five person felony, and one misdemeanor count of sexual battery in Ellis County District Court.

As a result of the pleas and evidence presented by the Ellis County Attorney, District Judge Glenn Braun found Gonzales guilty.

Gonzales originally was charged with rape and aggravated criminal sodomy after a Hays woman said Gonzales forced himself on her in November 2017.

Under the agreement, Gonzales is expected to be sentenced to 32 months in prison for one count of reckless aggravated battery. Once he has served out his sentence, he will be placed on probation for five years.

Ellis County Attorney Tom Drees said if Gonzales violates his probation, he could face an additional 32 months in prison for the second reckless aggravated battery charge and 12 months for the misdemeanor sexual battery.

The 32-month sentence is contingent on a pre-sentence investigation.

He will also have to register as a sex offender for 15 years.

Gonzales is scheduled to be sentenced July 1.

By JAMES BELL
Hays Post

As tornado sirens sounded in Hays late Tuesday afternoon, the Ellis County Rural Fire Department was dispatched to fight a tank battery fire in rural Ellis County after a lightning strike.

At 5:13 p.m., the department responded to a fire at Toulon and Catharine Road, finding the tank battery on fire, But with the recent heavy rains, trucks were unable to get close to the fire, according to Darin Myers, Ellis County Fire Chief and Emergency Manager.

Instead, responders ran over 400 feet of water lines through a field to get to the tank.

“It seemed that the fiberglass top burnt off,” Myers said.

The crew was able to extinguish the fire using foam and water and had left the scene at 6:39 p.m.

With severe weather in the area, Myers said sometimes a decision needs to be whether the fire crew continues to fight a fire, or rather move to a safe location and let the fire burn until the situation is safe.

“We’ve had to do that,” he said, noting putting out a rural tank battery fire when the battery is already destroyed often does not necessitate risking firefighters’ safety.

“There is no reason to risk a lot to save a little,” Myers said.

With this fire, however, the crew was able to put out the fire before any weather hit the immediate area.

“They were able to get out of their trucks and fight the fire without the danger of another storm,” he said.

But a few weeks ago during a similar incident, crews were forced to wait for a storm to pass to put out the fire.

“Obviously, the best option is to put the fire out, but the primary concern for us is the safety of our personnel,” Myers said.

With a tank battery fire, there are sometimes concerns with not being able to put a fire right away that must be considered.

“The risk you have to look at by not putting the fire out right away (is) what else is going to happen?” he said, noting the possibilities oil leaking outside or a fire spreading to other tanks make the situation is more critical.

“In these cases, that didn’t happen,” he said.

Another risk with these types of fires is an explosion, which could spread to other tanks nearby.

“You have to be careful about accessing the situation to make sure you are not putting a firefighter up to a tank that is close to exploding,” Myers said.