SALINE COUNTY — Law enforcement authorities are investigating an assault on a grocery store employee and have made an arrest.
Brown photo Saline Co.
Just before 8:30p.m. Monday, police responded to Dillons, 2350 Planet Avenue, in Salina after a report of battery and attempted shoplifting, according to Captain Paul Forrester.
A 32-year-old store employee stopped Shaun Brown at the front of the store as Brown tried to leave with a cart full of items valued at $180, according to Forrester.
When the employee asked for a receipt and Brown could not produce one, Brown pulled brass knuckles out of his pocket and hit the employee in the head before running from the store.
Police found and arrested Brown a short time later near the apartment complex in the 2300 Block of Chapel Ridge Place in Salina, according to Forrester.
The brass knuckles fell out of Brown’s pants when he was taken into custody, according to Forrester.
Brown is being held on requested charges of aggravated battery, theft, criminal use of a weapon, and felony interference of law enforcement officers. The state also had a warrant for Brown’s arrest. He has a previous conviction for aggravated burglary, according the Kansas Department of Corrections.
The Hays Area Board of Zoning Appeals will meet Wednesday to conduct a public hearing regarding business signage.
John Kyle Doerfler has asked for a variance for an additional sign on his business building at 810 E. 11th Street. The structure is located within a Light Industrial Zoning District “I-1” where sign regulations allow signs only on the front façade of the building. Doerfler has placed a sign on the building’s east side for visibility to Vine St. and would like to keep it there.
According to Curtis Deines, Planning, Inspection and Enforcement (PIE) superintendent, similar businesses have signs on the side of the buildings that were installed under previous regulations.
Staff is recommending approving the variance as submitted.
The meeting begins at at 8:15 a.m. in Hays City Hall, 1507 Main. The complete agenda is available here.
COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa (AP) — Authorities have identified a driver who died following a three-vehicle chase and shooting in Council Bluffs.
Vehicle involved in fatal crash images courtesy KETV
Police say 18-year-old Ethan Edgar, of Hutchinson, Kansas, was killed.
Police say the incident began when a man and several of his friends went looking for the man’s stolen car Monday afternoon. When the group spotted the car at a gas station, they used the two cars they were in to box in the stolen car. Police say Edgar, who was driving the stolen car, rammed the other cars in an attempt to flee.
That’s when a passenger in one of the rammed cars began shooting at Edgar, and a chase ensued before Edgar crashed. Edgar was taken to a hospital in neighboring Omaha, Nebraska, where he died. Police say his injuries included two gunshot wounds.
Police questioned but didn’t arrest the Omaha shooter or other men. The Pottawattamie County Attorney is expected to present evidence to a grand jury to determine if criminal charges will be filed.
WILSON COUNTY — Authorities are investigating a Monday train derailment in Wilson County.
photo courtesy Wilson Co. Emergency Management
The train derailment near 39 Highway and Ness Road involved 19 rail cars, according to Wilson County Emergency Management Director Gordon Deno.
No hazardous materials were involved. There were no injuries, according to Amanda Treiber with Union Pacific.
Ness Road remains closed from 39 Highway to Buffalo due to equipment in road.
This is the second train derailment in Kansas in recent weeks. A microburst was blamed cause for a train derailment near Matfield Green in Chase County April 29.
KANSAS CITY (AP) — A Kansas water park where a 10-year-old boy was decapitated isn’t hiring lifeguards, advertising or selling tickets with less than a month left before its typical Memorial Day weekend opening date, underlining speculation that it could be put up for sale.
Photo courtesy Schlitterbahn
Schlitterbahn remains mum on its plans, but has largely removed reference from its website about the park in Kansas City, Kansas, where Caleb Schwab was killed in 2016 when the raft he was riding on the 17-story Verruckt slide went airborne and hit a metal pole. Verruckt — German for “crazy” — never reopened and was torn down last year. Season tickets have been on sale for months for Schlitterbahn’s four Texas locations, but not the Kansas park.
“Schlitterbahn has not informed us of their plans, but we are assuming they are not opening this summer,” said Unified Government of Wyandotte County and Kansas City, Kansas, spokesman Mike Taylor. “We are hopeful that Schlitterbahn will come under new ownership and branding, and will open next summer.”
Speculation about a potential sale was fueled by mortgage lender, EPR Properties, announcing last week that Schlitterbahn is expected to pay off its approximately $190 million loan on the property soon. EPR chief executive Gary Silvers told analysts on a conference call about its first-quarter earnings that Schlitterbahn is working with an undisclosed third-party lender on the deal.
Schlitterbahn spokeswoman Winter Prosapio declined to comment on the Kansas park’s future, including whether it would open.
“Schlitterbahn is a privately held company and does not comment on financials,” she said in an email. “Our Texas parks are off to a strong start for the 2019 season, but we have no news to share about our KC property at this time.”
EPR said in a previous filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission that it agreed to advance Schlitterbahn additional amounts under the mortgage. The filing noted an offseason shortfall and the cost of legal issues stemming from Caleb’s death during a special day for elected officials and their families. Caleb’s father, Scott Schwab, then a state lawmaker, was elected Kansas secretary of state last year. With his urging, lawmakers voted to strengthen the state’s relatively lax oversight of amusement park rides.
Caleb’s family received nearly $20 million in settlements, and two women who were seriously injured while riding with him settled for an undisclosed amount.
Jeff Henry, Schlitterbahn co-owner, CREDIT FRANK MORRIS /Kansas News Service
Prosecutors also filed criminal charges against Schlitterbahn co-owner Jeff Henry, the designer of Verruckt, the park’s operations manager and two maintenance workers, alleging that shoddy planning and maintenance led to Caleb’s death. But the maintenance workers were acquitted in October, and a judge dismissedcharges against the other three in January citing improper evidence.
One issue was that grand jurors were shown clips from a Travel Channel television show documenting construction of the Verruckt, in which Henry and others emphasized the risks to riders on a raft dropping 17 stories before climbing a second, 50-foot hump. Defense attorneys argued the video didn’t show how the ride actually worked and that prosecutors didn’t properly explain to the jury that it was a dramatization. The video showed boats flying up in a similar manner to how Caleb died.
Charges of drug possession and hiring someone for sex also are pending against Henry in a neighboring Kansas county.
Taylor, the Wyandotte County official, said the big issue is having an abandoned water park in a bustling tourist area that includes the Kansas Speedway race track, the Sporting Kansas City soccer stadium and a busy shopping area.
“From the Unified Government’s perspective we would love to see the park open in the future and be a viable tourist attraction.”
In celebration of National Travel and Tourism Week, Fort Hays State University’s tourism and hospitality management program helped coordinate a Tourism Expo Tuesday in the Memorial Union.
The tourism industry is one of the fastest growing career fields in the nation, ranking in the top three industries in all 50 states.
A group of students led the charge in partnering with the Hays Convention and Visitors Bureau, FHSU’s Tourism and Hospital Management Club and Eta Sigma Delta – THM’s honorary society – in hosting an expo for the first time.
More than 20 vendors set up shop in the Fort Hays Ballroom and visited with students about numerous opportunities in Hays, on campus and abroad.
“It was a way to celebrate travel and tourism, especially in Hays, Kansas,” said Rachel Luedders, a Hays senior who will graduate later this month. “Also, we wanted to help raise awareness of how many jobs and internships are available to students in Hays.”
Luedders was one of the lead student organizers, along with Chelsie Andrews, a graduate student from Bennington.
“This was our first one, but it’s a start,” said dr. Stacey Smith, chair of the Department of Applied Business Studies and associate professor of tourism and hospitality management. “This was a great leverage of partnerships within the community.”
Also on the agenda for Travel and Tourism Week is a VIP tour of FHSU’s Sternberg Museum of Natural History on Wednesday and a Tourism Appreciation Reception from 2 to 4 p.m. Thursday at the Hays Welcome Center, 2700 Vine.
HIGHLANDS RANCH, Colo. (AP) — A shooting at a suburban Denver middle school injured seven people Tuesday, and two suspects were in custody, authorities said.
Douglas County Undersheriff Holly Nicholson-Kluth says there is a possible eighth injury and doesn’t believe there are any other shooters, but tactical teams were still searching room by room. She did not know if there were fatalities or other details about the victims or the extent of their injuries.
Lines of firetrucks, ambulances and law enforcement vehicles from multiple agencies were at the school and medical helicopters landed on a grassy field.
The shooting occurred at the middle school at STEM School Highlands Ranch, a public charter with more than 1,850 students in kindergarten through 12th grades.
The sheriff’s office said deputies responded around 1:50 p.m. to the school in the Highlands Ranch community about 15 miles (24 kilometers) south of Denver.
Nicholson-Kluth said police and deputies got there almost immediately and heard shots as they arrived. The school is near a sheriff’s department substation.
The sheriff’s office directed parents to a nearby recreational center to pick up their children.
Betty Juanita Leerskov Brenner, 99, of Russell, Kansas, died on May 06, 2019at the Brookdale East Senior Living Center in Wichita, Kansas.
Betty was born on May 10, 1919, in Atwood, Oklahoma, the daughter of Oscar M. and Maggie (Slaten) Bishop. Betty grew up in Oklahoma, Texas and New Mexico. She met, fell in love and was united in marriage to Leo Noble “Swede” Leerskov on December 02, 1939, in Bowlegs, Oklahoma. From this union Betty and Leo were blessed with two daughters Yvette and Brenda. Her great pleasure was being a wife, mother and homemaker. She also enjoyed her avocation as a master seamstress and was employed in the fabric department at Bankers Mercantile in Russell for many years. In 1979, Leo died, after 40 years of marriage. Betty was fortunate to find love again and was united in marriage to Leo Brenner on February 17, 1984, and he also preceded her in death in 1986. Betty was a longtime member of First Baptist Church and Trinity United Methodist Church in Russell. She was very active participating in church groups and committees, Russell American Legion #99 auxiliary, Russell V.F.W. #6240 auxiliary and TOPS. She loved spending time with her many friends, sewing, knitting, ceramics, arts and crafts. She enjoyed attending performances at the Russell Community Theater, dancing with her husband and spending time and taking care of her family.
Surviving family include her two daughters Yvette Leerskov Ehrlich and husband Mel of Bakersfield, California and Brenda Leerskov of Wichita, Kansas; sister Kitty Kingsley of Santee, California, and many nieces and nephews.
She was preceded in death by her parents, both husbands, 3 brothers Gladstone, Alvin and Oscar M. Bishop and two sisters Foye Paasch and Dessie Griffith.
A celebration of Betty’s life will be held at 1 P.M. on Tuesday, May 14, 2019, at the Pohlman-Varner-Peeler Mortuary in Russell, Kansas, with Reverend Paul Ellis Jackson officiating. Burial will follow at the Russell City Cemetery. Visitation will be from 9 A.M. to 8 P.M. on Monday, May 13, 2019, at the mortuary, with family greeting guests from 6 P.M. to 7 P.M. Monday evening. Memorials may be given to the Russell Senior Center or Russell Community Theater and sent in care of the mortuary. Pohlman-Varner-Peeler Mortuary of Russell, Kansas, is in charge of the funeral service arrangements.
High school senior Cordelia Isbell was awarded $20,000 by Foot Locker as part of the Foot Locker Scholar Athletes Program that annually recognizes 20 students nationwide for exceptional leadership in the classroom and community, as well as for achievements in sports.
In a surprise celebratory reveal held at the Hays High School Gym on Monday, Isbell joined an elite academic group of 140 previous awardees who received scholarships since the inception of the program in 2011, to pursue their college educations.
In its eighth-consecutive year, Foot Locker Foundation has recognized students who are not only scholar athletes but advocates in their community. These future game-changers serve as positive role models today who will go on to positively impact tomorrow through their sheer determination and passion. The scholarship program is designed to help defray costs for college-bound students, making attending college more affordable and accessible.
Recognized for her academic excellence and exemplifying strong leadership skills both in sports and within her community, Isbell joined the Foot Locker Scholar Athletes class of 2019, selected from a highly competitive pool of over 13,000 applicants.
“It is truly rewarding to be able to recognize outstanding students who have positively impacted their schools, communities and teams through our Foot Locker Scholar Athletes Program,” said Richard A. Johnson, chairman and chief executive officer of Foot Locker, Inc. “Our mission is to empower exceptional scholar athletes and to give them the opportunity to exceed their expectations and potential with a college education. Each year, we are inspired by the students, their stories and the promise of their future impact on society.
About Cordelia Isbell
From the classroom to her community, Cordelia is a sports enthusiast with a passion for soccer and helping her peers out. As the captain of her varsity soccer and tennis teams, she also actively participates on the varsity basketball team.
Her multifaceted love of sports has helped lead her soccer team to win the 2018 4A Divisional Title. Pivoting from an accomplished athlete to a Jazz musician, Cordelia plays both the piano and trombone.
Her range of skills on and off the field areinspiring as is her desire to give back to those around her. Her commitment to her community is evident as she founded and is the president of the Hays High School Red Cross Club, and has received the Daughters of the Revolution Good Citizen Award.
Additionally, she has started a shoe drive for Soles4Souls to collect 20,000 shoes to stomp out poverty. Volunteering at the Hays Medical Center has sparked a keen interest in medical school. Cordelia, who earned a 4.0 GPA, hopes to attend Pomona College in Claremont, California, and one day become a surgeon.
The availability of scholarship programs, such as the Foot Locker Scholar Athletes Program, can make a real difference in the affordability of a college education.This year’s twenty winners will join the program’s seven previous classes of Foot Locker Scholar Athletes, which results in 160 total scholarship recipients over the eight years since the program’s inception in 2011. With its 2019 Class, the Foot Locker Foundation will have invested nearly $3.0 million in the education and future of some of America’s most promising scholar-athletes.
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.
Messiah Lutheran Church recently celebrated 50 years in its sanctuary.
By CRISTINA JANNEY Hays Post
Messiah Lutheran Church of Hays recently celebrated 50 years in its current sanctuary with the opening of a 50-year-old time capsule.
The contents included a large Vacation Bible School banner, a letter detailing the history of the church to that point and many photos taken of church members and events.
Several longtime members of the church talked about the early days of the congregation in Hays.
Margie Knoll attended services in the congregation’s former red wood chapel when she was in college. During summer school, she made a point to attend the early service because the building had no air conditioning.
Part of the celebration was opening a time capsule that was sealed in 1969.
The church was growing and the congregation decided it needed a bigger sanctuary, said Pat Phillips, who has been a member since prior to the construction of the current chapel.
The church continues to grow and has many young members and families, Phillips said. She said the church has many more activities than there were 50 years ago.
Knoll added she thought the church is doing more charitable work in the local community today.
“Years ago it was more you sent off t0 missions,” she said.
The ladies found some familiar items among the contents of the time capsule, including the blue hymnals from which they used to sing.
Pastor Rocco Mallardi has lead the congregation for four years.
Time capsule contents
“It is important to remember the history of the place and the history of a church’s founding and its development,” he said of the 50th celebration.
He added, “It is glorious to see what God has done in the last 50 years.”
Michael Maier, the church’s president, said it meant a lot to the congregation to honor the 50th anniversary of the sanctuary.
“To give thanks to God that He has let us grow and continue in the faith and be here this long and have new people coming in and we’ve expanded to more members,” Maier said.
The congregation has about 150 members from only six voting members when the church was organized.
Maier said he looks forward to “building and growing the congregation using God’s word and continuing God’s work to bring more people to know him and have the chance to be saved.”
The church is gathering for a new time capsule.
A brief history of the church
Church members gather for a social hour on Sunday.
The official organization of the church was on Jan. 4, 1951. The Rev. Fredric Rhode was installed as the first resident pastor on June 7, 1953. Ground was broken on the first chapel on Oct. 19, 1952, at 20th and Main and was dedicated in September 1953. On March 20, 1960, the church’s education unit was dedicated.
Work on the current chapel was begun in January 1967. The cornerstone was laid and the time capsule buried on May 25, 1969.
The Rev. Warren Schmidt was serving as the third resident pastor at the time.
Included in the capsule was a letter detailing the history of the congregation. The letter concluded with “Today, May 25, 1969, at a time marked by continued warfare in Viet Nam and the return of the second manned flight to the moon, we lay this cornerstone confident of God’s grace in the future and the need of men of all ages and times for the Gospel of Christ who is the same yesterday, today, and forever.”
Joan Dechant, age 67 of Hays, Kansas passed away Monday, May 6, 2019 at her home in Hays.
She was born February 14, 1952 in Bison, Kansas to Joseph J. and Caroline (Hammerschmidt) Kisner. On May 4, 1974 she married Lawrence Dechant in Pfeifer, Kansas.
Joan worked at the Hays Pathology Lab and did medical transcription for Hays Medical Center, Dr. A. Christine Kelly and numerous other medical offices. She was a member of Immaculate Heart of Mary Church in Hays.
She is survived by her husband, Lawrence of Hays; two sons, Jesse Dechant and Joshua (Alyssa) Dechant all of Hays; two sisters, Caroline Perrer of Mississippi and Kay Kisner of Wichita; one granddaughter, Marley Dechant of Hays as well as another granddaughter expected in September 2019.
She was preceded in death by her parents and a brother, Harold “Hank” Kisner.
Funeral services will be 10:00 AM Thursday, May 9, 2019 at Immaculate Heart of Mary Church. Burial will follow in the Holy Cross Cemetery in Pfeifer, Kansas.
Visitation will be Wednesday 4 PM – 8 PM and Thursday 9 AM – 9:30 AM all at Brock’s Keithley Funeral Chapel and Crematory 2509 Vine Hays, KS 67601.
A combined parish vigil and rosary service will be Wednesday at 6:30 PM at the funeral chapel.
Memorials are suggested to the Styles Dance Centre Scholarship Fund.
Condolences may be left by guest book at www.keithleyfuneralchapels.com or by email at [email protected]
