Kayden Lee Starr, 29, of Larned Kansas, passed away on the morning of May 7th, 2019 at the University of Kansas Health Systems – Pawnee Valley Campus in Larned.
He was born on April 18th, 1990 in Iowa City, Iowa to Brenda L. Allen (Ganzer) and Tony L. Starr. Kayden spent the last nearly two and a half years working for the Larned State Hospital. Anyone who knew him and worked with him would say that he was a hard worker and always got things done – his work ethic was one to be admired. He loved playing video games and was a very good artist.
Kayden had a very big heart and always did whatever he could for those he cared about. His mother and his wife were two of the most important people in his life and he never hesitated to let anyone know it. He was a very honest and opinionated individual and was certainly not shy about it. Kayden always had a way of getting along with just about anyone. He is and will be very greatly missed by everyone who loved him.
He married Kamryn Hofstad September 18, 2018 in Larned. She survives.
He is survived by his wife Kamryn J. Starr, Larned, parents, Tony L. Starr and Brenda L. Allen (Ganzer); step-dad Kendall Stout, Wichita, step-brother, Michael Stout, Iowa City, Iowa; two step-sisters, Amanda Stout, Cedar Rapids, Iowa and Jackie Dominguez, Iowa City, Iowa and many close friends as well as family who loved him dearly. He and his wife had no children together aside from their 7 ‘fur babies’ – Khaos, Quinn, Smurfette, Batman, Shamus, Dobby, and Bella.
Cremation has taken place and private family services will be at a later date.
Memorials may be made given to the Kayden Lee Starr memorial fund in care of Beckwith Mortuary , P.O. Box 477, Larned, KS 67550. Personal condolences may be left at www.beckwithmortuary.com
SEDGWICK COUNTY — The woman accused of driving a stolen SUV involved Sunday’s 3-vehicle crash that killed two people has been released from the hospital.
Mia Collins -photo Sedgwick County
Mia Collins, 24, was immediately booked on requested charges that include two counts of first-degree murder, three counts of aggravated battery, a probation violation and driving while suspended, according to Sedgwick County online jail records.
Collins led police on a chase and about one mile the car collided with a car and another SUV at an intersection, according to Wichita officer Kevin Wheeler.
First responders on the scene of the fatal Sunday accident -photo courtesy KAKE
The crash killed 70-year-old Maria Wood and 12-year-old Rosemary McElroy and critically injured 36-year-old Jenny Wood, a popular Wichita musician known for performing with children. She is Wood’s daughter and McElroy’s aunt. She remains in critical condition, according to officer Charley Davidson
Collins was on probation. A passenger in her car, 38-year-old Christopher English, is also on parole and remains hospitalized.
The driver of the SUV that was hit, 65-year-old Alfred Angle, was seriously injured and has been released from the hospital, according to Davidson.
The Ellis area also received about an inch of rain, and up to 1.2 inches fell in the Victoria area, according to reports.
Most of Russell County received more than an inch of rain, with the heaviest falling in the southeast portion of the county, where there was a report of 2.45 inches in the gauge.
At 9:31 p.m. Tuesday, Ellis County fire crews responded to a structure fire at 1125 Fairground Road.
The structure was described as a mobile home by law enforcement on scene.
“Upon arrival, the home was found fully engulfed in flames,” according to a news release from Ellis County Fire and Emergency Management.
Within 19 minutes, the fire was contained, but the home was a complete loss.
“One one occupant was transported to Hays Medical Center by Ellis County EMS,” the release said.
Crews remained on scene until 1:18 a.m. ensuring the fire was out and to begin an investigation.
The Ellis County Fire Department was assisted by Ellis County EMS and sheriff’s deputies, along with six firefighters from the Hays Fire Department.
The location is within the automatic aid response area.
Detectives believe the fire was caused by lighting, according to a press release from the Ellis County Sheriff’s Office, but the cause will be officially listed as undetermined.
No injuries were reported.
Anyone with information about the fire is encouraged to contact the Ellis County Sheriff’s Office at 785-625-1040.
-This story was updated to include the results of the investigation.
Clinton Clifford Karst, 88, passed away on Feb. 17, 2019, at Medicalodges of Great Bend. He was born Nov. 28, 1930, at Galatia, to Seigmond and Pauline (Miller) Karst. Clinton married Loene Schwein on Aug. 28, 1955, at Milberger.
A lifetime resident of Barton County, Clinton was a veteran of the Korean War, serving in the U.S. Navy, earning the rank of DC3. He was an accomplished welder, working in the construction field all of his life, owning and operating Karst Welding. Previous employment were held at Bureau of Mines, Otis, Stanion Wholesale and Murphy Tractor and Equipment. Clinton had been a member of Emmanuel Lutheran Church, Hoisington, where he had served faithfully on church council, life member of V.F.W. Post 7428, Fraternal Order of the Eagles and the Sunflower Polka Club.
Survivors include wife, Loene of the home; two sons, Curtis Karst of Great Bend, Craig Karst and wife Amy of Hoisington; one daughter, Colleen Karst and husband Joe Hines of Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.; one brother, Leonard Karst and wife May of Great Bend; one sister, Darlene Reber of Roseville, Cal.; two grandchildren, Amber Young and husband Austin of Great Bend, Ally Karst of Hoisington; one great grandchild, Bentley Young of Great Bend; and several nieces and nephews.
Memorial Services have been scheduled for 11:00 a.m. Friday, Feb. 22, 2019, at Emmanuel Lutheran Church, Hoisington, with the Rev. Wayne Baldyga presiding. A prayer service will be at 7:00 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 21, at Nicholson-Ricke Funeral Home, with the family greeting friends at 6:00 p.m. A private family inurnment will be at Hoisington City Cemetery, Hoisington, at a later date with military honors conducted by the U.S. Navy Honor Guard. Memorials may be given to Emmanuel Lutheran Church or Kans for Kids, in care of Nicholson-Ricke Funeral Home, PO Box 146, Hoisington, KS.
WICHITA, KAN. – A Salina man unlawfully received controlled prescription drugs from his wife, who was a pharmacist, according to U.S. Attorney Stephen McAllister.
Dalton R. Hartley, 29, Salina, Kan., pleaded guilty Tuesday to one count of acquiring controlled substances through fraud. Hartley is married to co-defendant Kirsty C. Hartley, who worked at a CVS Pharmacy in Salina. In his plea, Dalton Hartley admitted he fraudulently received 450 tablets of hydrocodone with acetaminophen and 360 tablets of alprazolam from his wife. He would consume the medication himself or trade tablets to other people for marijuana.
Hartley admitted he knew his wife was altering legitimate prescriptions in order to divert the medications to him.
Co-defendant Kirsty Hartley pleaded guilty last month to one count of distributing and dispensing controlled substances without a legitimate medical reason. She admitted unlawfully dispensing more than 21,000 tablets of hydrocodone with acetaminophen.
Both parties have agreed to recommend the Hartleys be sentenced to 18 months of house arrest with 200 hours of community service. Kirsty Hartley has surrendered her pharmacist license.
OAKLEY — Two people were injured in an accident just after 9:30 p.m. Tuesday in Thomas County.
The Kansas Highway Patrol reported a 2003 Chevy Silverado driven by Dalton M. Graves, 21, Abilene, was eastbound on Interstate 70 just west of the Oakley U.S. 83 exit. The pickup rear-ended a 2011 Toyota Camry driven by Robert A. Kuhn, 61, Victoria.
Kuhn and a passenger, Deborah K. Kuhn, 62, Victoria, were transported to Citizen’s Medical Center. Graves was not wearing a seat belt and not transported for treatment, according to the KHP.
Moving the retailer into the shopping center will require major changes to the facility with the retailer moving into a 15,364-square-foot space on the south side of the facility.
Construction is set to begin June 3.
“We will losing both entrances on the south end … access to Harbor Freight will only be the exterior facing Vine,” said Branson Hoffman, Big Creek Crossing marketing director.
“It definitely is a difficult thing, but we felt it best to serve an exterior entrance at this time. … It serves us a better option for future development,” Younger said.
Moving the entrances and changing the flow of traffic will be a challenge, but there will be signs around the facility to help make sure people know where to go, Younger said.
Restrooms and office space will be permanently relocated on the north side of the building, a move seen as positive by the center’s management.
“It gives us a little bit more of a better location,” Younger said.
During construction, a temporary restroom will be placed in the former Vanity location, while the new office and restrooms are being built in the former Regis space, Younger said.
But the moves are seen as generally positive, if inconvenient in the short term.
“You can expect little things like that, but it’s nothing that we are not able to work around,” Younger said, noting occasionally construction may impact traffic flow.
Layout showing the location of Harbor Freight in Big Creek Crossing. (Click to expand. Photo Courtesy Big Creek Crossing)
“While there may be a few growing pains here and there, we definitely think that the pros in this situation outweigh the cons.”
The addition will also create a major change to the layout of the facility, but Younger said it will be beneficial to Big Creek Crossing.
“We are adding a little more value to our shopping center. As anybody can tell you, the retail environment has been evolving and has been changing here over the past decade and with those changes we are adopting as well,” he said.
According to the Harbor Freight, the company is currently adding two new stores every week and Younger said it doesn’t just bring value to Big Creek Crossing, but to the community as well.
“We are extremely excited about Harbor Freight moving in. The fact that we are bringing more employment opportunities, more tax revenue to the city is something that we like to do. It’s definitely a big deal.”
Younger hopes to the location will drive even more regional traffic to Hays.
“We feel this entity is something that would be in high demand here in western Kansas,” he said. “We feel that there is going to be immense support from the public.”
Other Big Creek Crossing tenants are eager to see how this will increase traffic to the facility, even as it is a departure from what they are familiar with.
“Our tenants are excited about another tenant moving in,” Younger said. It is a little unorthodox compared to what they are used to but, “It is our brave step into the ever-evolving world of the shopping center.”
This announcement is another feather in the cap in the rehabilitation of the center in recent years.
“When we really look at how far we have been able to come here, especially in the past two to three years, between the Starbucks and the HaysMed location that we have built,” Younger said. “The first Glik’s in the state was opened in our center back in 2016, with the addition of Gordman’s, the addition of Dollar Tree, now the addition of Harbor Freight, we are definitely making progress and we are very excited about that, in a community mindset as well, just being able to bring in that extra tax revenue, to bring in that extra employment and extra places of draw for individuals out in western Kansas to stop here in Hays. That’s a very big win for everybody.
“We definitely take it as a victory, but there is a lot more work that we recognize that we need to do,” he added. “We will take a moment and celebrate this addition to our center, but the work definitely goes on.”
“The 15,000-square-foot store will stock tools and accessories in categories including automotive, air and power tools, storage, outdoor power equipment, generators, welding supplies, shop equipment, hand tools, and more,” the company said in a news release Tuesday.
“The timeline is tentative, but we are extremely hopeful for a July 30 grand opening,” Younger said.
Thanks to a $1,500 grant from the Dane G. Hansen Foundation, the United Way of Ellis County has established a website — www.nwksvolunteers.org — for community members from northwest Kansas to sign up for volunteer opportunities.
“In all the years I have been working in nonprofits, I have never seen any entity say they have enough volunteers,” Sherry Dryden, executive director of the United Way, said. “I have also seen people who said they want to volunteer, but they don’t have the time to call around to see who (they) can help.”
Once registered, the volunteer can see the volunteer opportunities available in their community.
They can adjust their profile to fit the volunteer’s interest, time availability and talents to be linked with an organization who is needing volunteer assistance.There is no cost to register as a volunteer. If you have an organization that you enjoy working with, you can become a “fan” of that group and receive notifications when the group posts other volunteer opportunities.
The website also can keep track of your volunteer hours, which Erica Berges, administrative assistant, said can be helpful for students who are trying to fulfill community service hours.
“At a younger age, you might not be able to give money wise, but you can give time,” Berges said. “If it starts young, they are going to continue to do that.”
Dryden said trying to keep track of volunteers and volunteer opportunities has been a time-consuming effort to this point.
“We have people reach out and ask to volunteer. ‘What can I do?'” Dryden said, “so we try to keep track of all of that via an old-fashioned spreadsheet.”
United Way of Ellis County was referred to the company that developed the website through the United Way Worldwide. No local campaign money was used for the project nor will it be used to maintain the site, Dryden said.
Nonprofit organizations, government entities, faith-based organizations, licensed health-care facilities, schools and civic organizations are able to register their organization and events, requesting volunteer assistance. Political groups are ineligible. Agencies can’t use the site for fundraising, but they can use it to recruit volunteers for fundraising events.
There is an annual registration fee of $120 for approved organizations with unlimited event announcements. Once their organization is registered, they can post their volunteer opportunities to their page. This opportunity is for all organizations, as previously listed, and volunteers in northwest Kansas.
If an agency requires background checks, those must be conducted by the agency posting the volunteer opportunity.
Agencies also can print out spreadsheets with lists of volunteers to make check-in at events easier.
The data from the website is not sold or transferred to any other business or agency. The volunteers’ information is only seen by the organization to which the volunteer is giving time.
To learn more about the website and how to register, The United Way of Ellis County will have a public informational meeting at 4 p.m. May 16 in the first floor conference room of the Hadley Center, 205 E. Seventh.
MANHATTAN, Kan. (AP) — As the Mississippi River continues to surge, flash flooding along Kansas creeks and streams is forcing people from their homes, closing roads and prompting schools to call off classes.
Emergency management officials began evacuating an area about 5 miles west of Manhattan around 5 a.m. Wednesday. Evacuations also are underway in part of Marion County in the central part of the state.
Near the Oklahoma border, flooding closed a stretch of the Kansas Turnpike. And there were numerous water rescues in Augusta, which is about 25 miles east of Wichita.
Flash flood watches also are in effect in Missouri, Nebraska, Arkansas, Oklahoma and Texas, as well as flood warnings along the Mississippi River. The river was expected to crest Wednesday night in Cape Girardeau, Missouri, at a level that causes thousands of acres to flood.
Kimberly Schneweis, a longtime Hays Middle School art educator and KNEA member for the past 30 years, received the Kansas NEA Teaching Excellence award at the spring KNEA Representative Assembly in Topeka for her dedication to students and the teaching profession.
“It is important for teachers to advocate for their students beyond the classroom walls,” Schneweis said. “Their success depends on access to excellent teachers. We must work to make sure our profession is able to attract a bright new supply of teachers to continue our important work.”
Schneweis was chosen by a committee comprised of KNEA president Mark Farr, members of the KNEA board of directors and other distinguished educators.
“I would love to have been a student in Kim’s class,” Farr said. “She never just teaches the content. She is the epitome of of what we need in our classrooms: creative in her approach to teaching, committed to continual learning and improving her practice, serving as a role model in the Hays community. She is truly interested in each individual student’s life and success.”
Schneweis, a leader in the Hays NEA, Kansas NEA and National Education Association, will represent Kansas as an eligible recipient of the 2020 National Education Association Foundation Award for Teaching Excellence.
The KNEA and NEA Foundation teaching excellence awards are based on the same five criteria: 1) professional practice, 2) advocacy for the profession, 3) community engagement, 4) leadership in professional development and 5) attention to diversity.
There are these two country farmers milking their cows.
While the one farmer is milking, a fly zooms into the cows ear. The cow starts jumping around, shaking its head and mooing. He tries to steady the cow and suddenly it settles down. He looks down and sees the fly swimming in the milk pail.
He turns to his friend and asks “Golly, how’d that fly get down there so fast?”
Kayden Lee Starr, 29, of Larned Kansas, passed away on the morning of May 7th, 2019 at the University of Kansas Health Systems – Pawnee Valley Campus in Larned.
