MARYSVILLE – A Kansas man was sentenced Tuesday to more than 27 years in prison after pleading guilty to attempted murder and related charges, according to Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt.
Guenther photo Marshall County
Jeffery Scott Guenther, 48, Washington, Kansas, pleaded guilty in February to one count of attempted first degree murder, two counts of attempted second degree murder, one count of aggravated robbery, one count of aggravated arson, one count of aggravated escape from custody, one count of conspiracy to commit aggravated escape from custody, two counts of criminal discharge of a firearm at an occupied dwelling, one count of criminal discharge of a firearm at an occupied building, one count of fleeing or attempting to elude a police officer, one count of criminal damage to property and one count of criminal possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.
District Judge James A. Patton sentenced Guenther to a total of 327 months in the Kansas Department of Corrections.
The crimes occurred in October 2017 in connection with an escape from the Marshall County jail when Guenther and Matson Zane Hatfield, 31, Marysville, lit a fire in a cell, causing smoke to fill the jail, according to the KBI. The two inmates then forced their way through the jail, obtained two shotguns and exited the jail into the Sheriff’s Office parking lot.
Matson Hatfield -photo Marshall County
While the two inmates were fleeing, a civilian county employee’s tan 2004 Dodge Ram pickup truck was stolen at gunpoint, and shots were fired at a Marysville Fire Department truck. A responding Marysville Police Officer fired at Guenther in the fleeing truck. Meanwhile, Hatfield reportedly fled on foot to a residence nearby the Jail, and fired shots toward a male subject standing in front of the residence. Hatfield was acquainted with the residents of the home. A short time later, Hatfield surrendered to an officer from the Marysville Police Department.
Guenther fled the area in the stolen pickup truck and headed north on Highway 77, across the state line into Nebraska. He was pursued by Marysville Police until he rolled the truck and was apprehended in rural Gage County, Neb., not far from the Kansas/Nebraska state border.
Hatfield was sentenced to more than 47 years in prison on related charges in November of 2018.
On Saturday, Big Creek Crossing, 2918 Vine, will host “Thank You Mom For Helping Me Grow,” allowing area children an opportunity to plant a flower as a gift to moms.
The free come-and-go event is scheduled for 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on the south side of the Kaw Valley Greenhouse.
The event is an opportunity for “kids to come out and say thank you, mom, for all you do,” said Branson Hoffman, marketing director.
Big Creek Crossing is also preparing for its annual Spring Craft Fair on May 25.
Vendor applications can be submitted through the event page on Facebook or in the BCC office. Booth rentals start at $50.
James Younger, property manager, said events like these are designed to benefit the community.
The “promo budget is made and spent here,” he said of the revenue generated by their events.
All revenue generated by events at Big Creek crossing goes directly back into promoting and running other events through the year he said.
“We feel it is a vital part of the community,” Younger said. “It’s events that help people come together.”
The events provide a way to keep the shopping center and its tenants involved in the community as well as benefiting the mall’s tenants.
Events make “our mall a little bit more up to date, a little bit more modern,” Hoffman said.
By GLENN BRINKOW Pottawatomie County farmer and rancher
It was just a pen, a simple ballpoint pen, but it brought me to my knees. We were working cattle, and someone asked me if I had a pen to write down the numbers and keep notes. I rummaged through my console and at the bottom I found a single, dusty, forgotten pen. The pen is nothing spectacular. It simply had the word “Glenn” on it with a phone number.
Earlier in the week I had gotten an e-mail that my friend Jill Casten had passed away from cancer. You don’t expect someone like Jill to be gone Even though you know it is coming, it is still a shock. She was one of the brightest stars in the Kansas Farm Bureau sky. Things had been busy, and I guess the totality hadn’t hit me until I found the pen.
Jill gave me that pen. One day in the hallway she found me and presented me with it. She explained that when she stayed at a hotel with the name of a friend, she always kept something from it to give to that friend. I remember joking with her and asked how often that happened. I asked if she had many friends by the name of Hilton or Marriot.
I also remember coming away feeling like I mattered to Jill. For her to think of me meant the world. I am sure she was busy on that trip and had many more important things to be thinking of than me. That is how most of us would have thought, but not Jill. No, Jill was always thinking of others and cultivating relationships. She had this special talent, and everyone in her life felt like they mattered.
Even then, covered in the grime of working cattle, in the middle of my dusty truck, I smiled touched again by the simple effort she made to let me know I mattered. That was why she was so effective as a leader and as a trainer.She modeled all the traits of a great leader.
I am saddened that I will never again see my friend or learn what it is to be a leader and an advocate from her. For that, I owe her a great deal. However, I am uplifted at the thought of who Jill Casten was and what I learned from her. Jill taught me to value relationships, to live in the moment, savor friends and family and to make the world around me a more welcoming place.
All of us who knew Jill experienced a great loss, and it will take time to heal that wound. We must take solace in knowing that we can live by the example she gave us. The legacy of Jill Casten will live on through the vast network of friends she collected. Godspeed my friend, until we meet again.
“Insight” is a weekly column published by Kansas Farm Bureau, the state’s largest farm organization whose mission is to strengthen agriculture and the lives of Kansans through advocacy, education and service.
RENO COUNTY — Authorities are working to determine the cause of a fire at a home in Hutchinson.
Photo courtesy Hutchinson Fire Department
Just after 3a.m. Wednesday, fire crews responded to 541 E. Avenue A in Hutchinson for a reported structure fire. Upon arrival crews found a single story home with fire showing from the roof of the home, according to Fire Chief Steve Beer.
First in crews made an aggressive interior attack and a primary search of the residence. 3 occupants, including one adult and two children, narrowly escaped the structure thanks in part to a passerby on a bicycle who noticed the smoke in the area and notified the occupants of the fire.
HFD was able to rescue 4 dogs and 2 cats from the fire. Fire was contained to the area of origin but extensive smoke and heat damage was sustained thorough out the residence. Crews remained on on scene monitoring hot spots while the investigation is being conducted.
Red Cross was notified for assistance for the occupants. This residence did not have smoke detectors to alert the occupants of the fire. No injuries were reported.
HOUSTON (AP) – Whit Merrifield and Ryan O’Hearn each hit a grand slam to lead the Kansas City Royals to a 12-2 romp over the Houston Astros on Tuesday night.
Danny Duffy (1-1) allowed six hits and two runs in 6 2/3 innings for his first win this season in his third start after missing the early part of the season with a shoulder injury.
Merrifield, who had four hits and finished a double shy of the cycle, tied a career high with five RBIs. Jorge Soler added a solo homer as the Royals snapped a two-game skid and won just their fifth road game this season.
Kansas City led 2-0 in the third inning when O’Hearn hit his first career grand slam into the seats in right field off Collin McHugh (3-4) to push the lead to 6-0 and give the Royals their first grand slam this season. Billy Hamilton doubled with no outs in the fourth and Merrifield chased McHugh with his RBI single that left Kansas City up 7-0.
McHugh allowed seven hits – six for extra bases – and eight runs in three-plus innings to lose his third straight decision after winning his previous three. McHugh has allowed 24 hits and 25 runs in his past four starts, all Astros losses.
Merrifield’s grand slam came off Framber Valdez with two outs in the seventh inning to make it 12-1 as the Royals had two grand slams in a game for the first time since 2004.
The Astros entered the game having hit 11 home runs in a three-game winning streak, but had trouble getting their offense going on Tuesday night. They had managed just two hits before Alex Bregman’s solo homer to left field with one out in the sixth inning made it 8-1.
Michael Brantley followed with a single, but Carlos Correa grounded into a double play to end the inning. Correa went 0 for 4 to end a career-long 16-game hitting streak.
Soler put the Royals up 1-0 in the second with his homer to straightaway center field off McHugh.
Merrifield tripled to start the third and scored on a double by Adalberto Mondesi to make it 2-0. Alex Gordon walked before Hunter Dozier grounded into a force out that left Gordon out at second before Soler walked to load the bases and set up O’Hearn’s slam.
Dozier started at third base on Tuesday for the first time since April 20 after serving as the team’s designated hitter for most of the past three weeks while dealing with tightness in his lower back. He hit an RBI triple with one out in the fourth to extend the lead to 8-0.
UP NEXT
Royals: RHP Jorge Lopez (0-3, 5.09 ERA) will start for Kansas City in the finale on Wednesday. Lopez allowed five hits and four runs in a season-high seven innings in a 4-3 loss to Detroit in his previous outing.
Astros: RHP Brad Peacock (2-2, 5.28) is scheduled to start on Wednesday for Houston. Peacock will look to bounce back after giving up eight hits and seven runs in 3 2/3 innings of an 8-2 loss to the Twins.
Dr. Tisa Mason, FHSU presidentI have been thinking a lot about our faculty as we celebrate promotion, tenure, and our annual awards for teaching, service, and scholarly and creative activity – key responsibilities for a university professor. As we approach spring, I receive peer reviewed faculty files with recommendations for promotion and tenure.
Each of those three areas involve an incredible amount of work. Teaching alone takes enormous amounts of time. In addition to all the traditional work – creating lectures and tests, reading and grading papers and old-school things like that – there is finding and developing opportunities for service learning projects, creating, managing and monitoring online courses, finding and learning how to use constantly evolving software tools, integrating video into lesson plans and the Cloud into course management, and a whole host of other digital developments.
Scholarly activity is hours and hours of research and then more research, and then synthesizing it all, writing up findings and conclusions, often writing a lot of it over again, and then getting it published. Acts of literary or artistic creation involve the same kind of amazing dedication, purpose and resolve.
The service component encompasses all the things faculty do to serve the campus and the community outside the classroom: volunteering for community and campus activities; serving as officers in professional associations; taking on roles for hiring committees, policy committees, emergency planning task forces, academic boards and so many other similar tasks.
Our faculty do all of these things day after day, and the promotion and tenure files document all of them. It is truly remarkable. I am in awe at the resolve and stamina represented in all those impressive files.
An exchange I had with one of our English faculty, Cathy Adams, on the challenges of publishing is a perfect illustration of how important it is to remain positive and persistent. She wrote in part:
“The writer’s life is one of rejection like no other. On average, I’m lucky to get five short stories published each year. This is out of a pool of about twenty stories that I circulate to publishers. At any given time my short stories are sitting on the desks of publishers all over the globe. … This calculates to something like 400 rejections and 5 acceptances each year. It’s actually a little worse than that because out of that 400, some never bother to reject my story at all. They simply never respond.
“Imagine that for every 405 men or women you asked out on a date, 400 rejected you. And what about the ones who never respond but simply ignore you altogether? How long would you bother to stay in the dating game if those were your odds? Apply this level of rejection to a job search, or to the submission of an academic paper to a conference, or a proposal for a project. Being rejected 400 times would eventually numb a person to ever trying again.
“The irony of my writing statistics is that my acceptances are actually high in relation to the quality and quantity of publishers to which I submit my stories. For me, getting five short stories published in a year is a great achievement. …
“I admit that some days I get tired and I ask myself why I keep trying. It would be so easy to just stop at rejection 200 or 300, but I’ve been writing for twenty-five years and one of the things I’ve learned is that persistence is at least as important as talent. I’ve met a lot of creative and smart people who say they are “thinking of writing a story,” but they never get around to doing it. Twenty-five years ago I was one of those people, but my life was changed by a writer named Judith Ortiz Cofer. …
“One day I was invited to a luncheon to celebrate a student who had won a writing competition, and Cofer was the guest speaker. I was fortunate to be seated next to her, and I made the mistake of saying, ‘I’d love to write a book one day, but I’m just too busy.’ Cofer put down her fork, looked me directly in the eye and said, ‘Well, when you want to write a book, you will.’ I felt as if I’d been slapped. How dare she say that to me? She had no idea how busy I was. I had diapers to change, laundry to do, and meals to cook, all on top of a full-time job. My mind reeled at the insult. But as the days passed I couldn’t forget what she’d said. ‘When you want to write it, you will.’ I knew what she meant. We find the time to do what we want to do and everything else just slides by. Soon I was getting up at 5:00 AM and writing until my son woke up. On the weekends I would often write half the night. Within a year, I finished that book I was too busy to write, and I’ve never stopped.”
So as we celebrate our faculty at the end of this academic year, I marvel as they meet the challenge of attaining excellence in teaching; as they juggle busy schedules to be engaged members of our community and campus in a myriad of roles; and as they persist and thrive in their creativity and scholarship.
I am so very impressed by and grateful for the wonderful level of their achievements. What an honor it is for me to recognize our faculty every year for their many successes!
Wednesday Showers and thunderstorms likely, mainly after noon. Some of the storms could produce heavy rain and frequent lightning. Cloudy, with a high near 64. South southeast wind 8 to 13 mph becoming north in the afternoon. Chance of precipitation is 60%. New rainfall amounts between a quarter and half of an inch possible.
Severe storms are possible ahead of a cold front late Wednesday morning into mid-afternoon with large hail and heavy rain. pic.twitter.com/L09CeQaJmt
Wednesday Night Showers and thunderstorms likely, mainly before 8pm. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 41. Breezy, with a north wind 16 to 20 mph. Chance of precipitation is 60%. New rainfall amounts of less than a tenth of an inch, except higher amounts possible in thunderstorms.
Thursday Cloudy, with a high near 53. North wind 16 to 18 mph, with gusts as high as 28 mph.
Thursday NightMostly cloudy, with a low around 36. North wind 5 to 15 mph.
Friday Mostly sunny, with a high near 61.
Friday Night A 10 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms after 2am. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 43.
Saturday A slight chance of showers and thunderstorms before 8am, then a slight chance of showers and thunderstorms after 2pm. Partly sunny, with a high near 67. Chance of precipitation is 20%.
THOMAS COUNTY — Two people were injured in an accident just after 9:30p.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.
TOPEKA – The last time the state of Kansas established a comprehensive plan for economic development was in 1986, with the Redwood-Krider report. Kansas Governor Laura Kelly and Secretary of Commerce David Toland believe it’s time for a new plan.
“Economic development in Kansas needs to be modernized, and that means we need a new thoughtful, strategic plan to guide us forward,” Kelly said. “The economic challenges facing Kansas require innovative solutions and a well-coordinated approach. It is vital that we determine the best comprehensive strategy to encourage growth in the years ahead.”
The Kansas Department of Commerce, in partnership with key economic development organizations, is seeking professional consulting services to research and analyze Kansas economic development and deliver a comprehensive economic development blueprint, one with innovative strategies for business retention and business recruitment.
“The Redwood-Krider report was a great blueprint,” Toland said. “It set the stage for economic development in Kansas, including the formation of the Department of Commerce. But the world has changed quite a bit in the last 33 years. It’s time for Kansas economic development to join the 21st Century.”
The governor and secretary believe Kansas needs an aggressive new plan to restore the State’s place as a leader in economic growth. With significant, rapid changes in today’s global economy, the state must identify and pursue new and nimble best practices.
“Kansas cannot settle for business as usual,” Toland said. “We want to be ‘best in class’ in state-led economic development. Bold, innovative strategies would breathe new life into economic development efforts that help create a better place to live and work now and for future generations.”
The selection of a consultant will consist of a two-part process. In the initial round, Commerce has requested the qualifications of a firm, or team of firms, that speak to their depth of experience, along with a framework of methods they would use to accomplish their proposed plan.
The Selection Committee then will narrow the list to no more than five firms. Those firms will be asked to submit a full-scale proposal, including a cost breakdown, process, timelines and deliverables.
The goal is to exceed the slow-to-moderate growth of past decades and achieve progress in communities large and small, urban, suburban and rural. As cited in the Request for Proposal (RFP): “More populous urban and suburban areas remain a high priority. They are home to major economic engines in the State and continued growth in those areas translates to continued growth in the Kansas economy. Less populous rural areas demand a much more significant amount of attention. Young Kansans from rural areas need compelling reasons to stay or return home. Designing regional and affordable solutions for infrastructure enhancements (including broadband) will be critical to rural stabilization.”
“It may be time to explore a different approach to economic development that addresses strategies and tools unique to rural areas and another set of strategies and tools for urban and suburban areas to ensure the sustainability of both,” Toland said.
According to the RFP: “Kansas is a place of diversity in population and thought, which has created a foundation for long-term prosperity. The best economic development strategy would reflect and build on workforce diversity woven into the colorful fabric of the State and its history.”
“Following years of lackluster economic growth, Kansas needs new ideas and new energy,” Kelly said. “I look forward to working with experts, as well as economic development stakeholders across the state, to build a deliberate and comprehensive strategy for growth.”
The state of Kansas will use the official Request for Proposal process through the Department of Administration for this project. The process is set to begin on May 31.
HAYS, Kan.-It was cold and it was rainy but none of that seemed to matter as the Hays High Lady Indian soccer team shut out Nickerson 5-0 on Monday afternoon. The game was played at the Fort Hays State University soccer stadium due to the wet conditions in Hays.
It took the Lady Indians one minute and 35 seconds to notch what would be the game winner as Kallie Leiker sailed a shot over the Lady Panther goalie to make it 1-0 off of an assist from Savannah Schneider. In the 24th minute Sophie Humphrey added the last goal of the first half on a goal that was again assisted by Schneider. Hays High would add three second half goals from Schneider, Taleia McCrae, and a penalty kick from Maggie Robben.
The Lady Indians improve to 10-1-4 and will travel to Wichita on Thursday to finish out the regular season against Trinity Academy.
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — A Kansas legislator has been arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence after his vehicle was found in a ditch in east Topeka.Vic Miller -photo Shawnee County booking photo
Police said officers found Democratic state Sen. Vic Miller of Topeka uninjured inside his vehicle late Monday night after receiving a report of a vehicle crashed in the ditch.
Officers took Miller to the Shawnee County jail, where he was booked early Tuesday on suspicion of driving under the influence and inattentive driving. The county Department of Corrections said Miller was released after posting a $1,000 bond.
Miller declined comment Tuesday afternoon.
Miller held several local offices and served in the Kansas House before Democrats picked him in November to fill the Senate seat that Gov. Laura Kelly held before her election last year.
MUSKOGEE, Okla. – Fort Hays State women’s golfer Hannah Perkins wrapped up her senior campaign at the 2019 NCAA Division II Central Super Regional Championship (May 6-7) this week. Perkins finished the tournament in a tie or 27th individually. The senior fired identical rounds of 75 in the first two rounds before finishing with an 85 in the final round. Perkins finished the tournament at 22-over par (235) for the week.
When asked what was going through her head during the first nine holes of the tournament after recording a 2-under (34) score, “The entire front nine I just played so relaxed” said Perkins. “I was hitting the ball really well so had lots of confidence in my swing.”
Perkins finished the season with a 78.0 scoring average over the course of 22 rounds played. The Wichita, Kan. native posted her lowest scores in four rounds at Muskogee Country Club in her career in both the first and second round (75) this week.
“After last week’s [MIAA] tournament, I was happy how the day ended up. Obviously, I had a couple bumps in the road on the 12th and 15th holes, but I just tried to keep my head on straight and realize there was a lot of golf to be played and there are still lots of birdie chances at this course,” said Perkins.
Southwestern Oklahoma State took home the team title with an aggregate score of 893. Arkansas Tech claimed a runner-up finish with an 897, while Northeastern State (913) finished third. Peerada Piddon of Arkansas Tech captured the individual title with a 3-over par (216) finish for the week.
“After how I played at conference I was just glad to be here. I didn’t finish the day how I wanted but I’m happy with how my senior season played out,” said Perkins. “I am just sad to see it end.”
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — Sedgwick County authorities say a man charged with killing an elderly Army veteran was found dead in his jail cell on Saturday.
Stewart photo Sedgwick Co.
The sheriff’s office said in a news release that preliminary reports indicate 36-year-old Austin Lee Stewart of Wichita died of self-inflicted asphyxiation from a bed sheet but an official cause of death has not been determined.
Stewart was found unresponsive in his cell Saturday night and efforts to revive him failed.
Stewart was charged with first-degree murder, aggravated robbery and theft in the Nov. 29 beating and asphyxiation death of 88-year-old Floyd Gilbert.
Court records say Gilbert died during an attempted robbery. Stewart and another man apparently targeted Gilbert because they thought he kept cash and guns in a safe in his home.
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WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — Two convicted felons have been charged with killing an 88-year-old man in his Wichita home during a robbery.
54-year-old Landon Onek and 36-year-old Austin Stewart were charged Tuesday with first-degree murder, aggravated robbery and two counts of theft in the death of Floyd Gilbert. Bond is set at $500,000 for Stewart and $250,000 for Onek.
Glibert’s son, Abner “Corkey” Gilbert, went to his father’s home Thursday night after not hearing from in two days and found his body. He said his father was a retired aircraft sheet-metal worker who lived alone. His father’s car was missing.
Court records show Onek and Stewart have served time for theft, drug counts and other crimes. And Onek’s parole was revoked just last week in a drug case.
