SHAWNEE COUNTY — Law enforcement authorities are investigating a theft and have a suspect in custody.
Funk photo Shawnee County
Shortly after midnight Saturday, officers responded to the area of NE River and NE Lime in Topeka after callers advised they saw construction equipment being driven in the area, according to Captain Colleen Stuart.
Officers encountered an occupied loader traveling in the 500 Block NE Lake, damaging property as it moved through yards and city streets.
The driver later identified as Shane D. Funk, 46, Topeka, refused to stop for officers. Numerous residences in the loaders path were evacuated for safety purposes. A perimeter was established in an attempt to contain the loader and damage.
Funk turned the vehicle toward officers, forcing a tactical intervention option by way of a kinetic energy impact munition to slow the loader down.
Once the loader stopped, officers were able to take him into custody. Medical response was called and Funk was transported to a local hospital to be treated for minor injuries and then booked into the Department of Corrections requested charges that include Felony theft, Felony Criminal Damage, Aggravated Assault to Law Enforcement Officers and outstanding warrants.
Jeremy Hill, director of the Center for Economic Development and Business Research at Wichita State University, speaks to the Hays Regional Economic Outlook Conference Thursday in Hays.
By CRISTINA JANNEY Hays Post
A recession is not imminent and northwest Kansas is expected to experience slow growth in the next year, according to panelists at the Hays Regional Economic Outlook Conference.
During the conference Thursday in Hays, Jeremy Hill, director of the Center for Economic Development and Business Research at Wichita State University, said the labor market will remain tight, but that tight labor market is also driving up wages for employees.
Unemployment in northwest Kansas still remains extremely low.
The ag and oil industries have both seen hits in the last three years. Ag product demand is being affected by the trade war, but income in that sector was up largely because of government and crop insurance payments.
“Farmers don’t want government payments,” he said. “You don’t know what to plan for.”
He compared the payments to farmers wearing oxygen masks.
“You feel good because you have an oxygen mask. I’ll take this cash, but does a farmer really want an oxygen mask?” Hill said. “Absolutely not. They want to go out and deal with the real market the way it is and have an understandable market where they can say right up and down and this is what is going on.”
For several years, the government sector experienced cuts, Hill said. However, now the sector is seeing increases, especially in its largest subgroup, which is school districts.
“I think labor markets are working pretty darn well,” Hill said.
Ellis County saw a dip in employment in 2015 and 2016 when oil prices fell sharply. However, the employment rate has increased the last two years.
Ellis County accounts for 21 percent of the population in northwest Kansas, 25 percent of the employment and 28 percent of retail sales.
Surveys of employers indicate they anticipate they will be hiring in the next year. Hill said a high demand exists for top-quality, skilled employees. Companies are finding themselves paying higher wages for B- and C-level employees, he said.
Northwest Kansas employers are finding themselves paying workers more to keep from losing them to other regions of the state.
Hill said the region is seeing more what he called “job hoppers.”
“[The business panel] said, ‘Yeah we had low-skill workers who would just jump for just a $1 more or a few cents more or they thought it would be a better company. They are just moving really quickly,'” he said. “This year they are saying that they are even having some middle-skill people who are job hoppers that are moving from one to the next to the next.”
He added, “In this area, if you are not thinking about that wage, you better be thinking about that wage or someone is going to get up and leave for a couple dollars more or just the promise of a better job somewhere else.”
Rising wages are not good for profit margins, but they are good for the economy as it puts more cash in consumers’ hands.
However, Hill said Kansas is experiencing a lack of confidence from investors. Even investors inside the state are wanting to invest outside of the state because they can get better returns.
Kansas has had a four-year decline in taxable retail sales as more items are purchased online. Ellis County’s retail sales peaked in 2013 and are flat in 2019.
Kansas has had a shift in the state to more middle income and low-come jobs. Purchasing power also has an affect on taxable retail sales.
Migration continues to be out of rural areas into metro areas. Almost all of the population growth in Kansas in 2018 was in Johnson County. This means labor is also moving out of rural areas.
Hill finally looked at possible factors on the horizon that could lead to a recession.
“Economic expansions do not die of old age,” he said. “We could grow forever potentially, and there are countries I mentioned earlier that grow, grow, grow. What causes recession is something out there that causes it. The problem is that it is never something that we are thinking about.”
He said he did not think it would be Brexit or trade wars.
“Companies in Kansas are hedging the risk,” he said. “I’ve talked to quite a few businesses that have just stopped exporting because they just didn’t want to deal with it anymore.”
He thought labor markets should also not affect the economy.
Some business owners said cyber attack or cyber warfare could bring on a recession.
Farm debt and bankruptcies and oil prices could be factors, as well, he said.
Some economists have been concerned interest rates being lower on long-term bonds than short-term bonds could spark a recession. This has happened in the past.
However, Hill noted international trade is so dependent on the American dollar, global entities are still buying U.S. Treasury notes despite the reversal in the interest rates.
Kansas businesses for the coming year are realistically optimist that the economy will be stable or have slow growth. Estimates are for about .6 percent growth in Kansas, with the state adding almost 9,000 jobs, Hill said. Wages are expected to expand, but retail taxable sales are expected to decline.
BY DIANE GASPER-O’BRIEN FHSU University Relations and Marketing
Bricks-and-mortar education was the only choice for formal instruction back in the days of one-room schoolhouses. In today’s digital age, students can study from anywhere at any time.
Alumni of Fort Hays State University got to enjoy a taste of both on Homecoming weekend 2019 as they gathered to help FHSU’s College of Education celebrate its first ever all-college reunion.
The reunion began on an unseasonably cold morning with the 40-year anniversary rededication of the Plymouth Schoolhouse. The crisp walk across campus to the schoolhouse gave people a little taste of what students had to endure back in the days of walking to school on the prairie.
The limestone building, built in 1874 in Russell County, was disassembled and moved to the FHSU campus in 1979. Tours, which include a multi-media show about its historical significance, are available year-round by contacting Ann Noble at 785-628-5449.
Alumnus Marcy Aycock from Conway Springs, who helped plan the College of Education reunion, thought an anniversary celebration of the schoolhouse would be a perfect part of the weekend because of the historical significance.
Friday of Homecoming was a great day to be a Tiger for Aycock, who graduated with a degree in art education in 1974. The new Center for Art and Design, completed in August, was dedicated that day. She was mesmerized with her tour of the building.
Her favorite event, though, might have been Saturday morning’s breakfast with fellow alums.
“What a great time to see a lot of people,” she said, “and to make connections as we support the great university that we love so much.”
Retired professors Nancy Vogel and Allan Miller are long-time supporters of FHSU.
They helped coordinate the moving project of the Plymouth Schoolhouse back in ’74 and returned to campus for the 2019 Homecoming festivities. They kicked off the rededication ceremony by giving the audience a trip down memory lane with a simultaneous history lesson.
The Vogel-Miller tandem talked about fundraising efforts and the challenges faced in the school’s 45-mile trip to its present home next to Big Creek, across the street east of Tomanek Hall.
Vogel referred to the classic children’s book, “The Little Engine That Could,” while describing the moving process and what the building says to us.
The little engine’s task was to pull a large train up a long, steep hill.
“I think I can. I think I can. I think I can,” she said, reading what the little engine kept repeating to itself. “With optimism and hard work, we too can succeed just like the little engine that thought it could.”
That tenacity mirrors the spirit of Fort Hays State through the decades, says another graduate from the 1970s.
Keith Ballard was a first-generation college student from Kiowa who graduated with his bachelor’s in 1971, propelling him into a highly successful career in education. Ballard, now an endowed professor in the Education Leadership and Policy Studies Department at the University of Oklahoma-Tulsa, takes every chance he gets to laud his life-changing experience at FHSU.
“Fort Hays State had a well-deserved reputation as being sensitive to the needs of all their students back then,” Ballard said, “and that hasn’t changed. Every single person at Fort Hays State was tuned in to the needs of every student. Their idea was – and is – that they are here to serve students, and they put students first.”
Visitors crowded in to tour the schoolhouse and talk about what a school might have been like back then. The pot-bellied stove, desks with ink wells, a bucket of drinking water with one dipper for everyone’s use, and well-worn books on a shelf are a stark contrast of today’s educational scene.
Nonetheless, Ballard insists that the school’s mission has never changed.
“A different time,” he said, “but still the same Fort Hays State culture.”
DHDC Executive Director, Sara Bloom accepts two Travel Industry Association of Kansas Marketing Awards at the 2019 Kansas Tourism Conference Wednesday in Mulvane. (Photos courtesy DHDC)
TOPEKA – Kansas tourism professionals presented several awards at the 2019 Kansas Tourism Conference awards banquet held Oct. 23 at the Kansas Star Casino in Mulvane.
The Kansas Department of Wildlife, Parks and Tourism presented the following awards:
Governor’s Tourism Award – Established in 1983 to recognize outstanding contributions by individuals or organizations to the Tourism Industry, the Governor’s Award encourages others to strive for excellence. The award demonstrates cooperation, sustainability, quality and accountability. Paul Bahnmaier, president of the Lecompton Historical Society, was presented this prestigious award. Via video, Governor Laura Kelly stated that Paul’s passion for tourism and Kansas is beyond compare – every community should have someone so dedicated.
Kansas’ Finest Awards – The Kansas’ Finest award recognizes and honors advocates who promote the state’s attributes and maintain an abiding love for the sunflower state, exhibiting passion, perseverance, and pride in promoting destinations with statewide significance and national or international relevance. This year it was awarded to Kenneth and Shirley McClintock, Council Grove, Historians, Preservationists and Restauranteurs; and Jonathan Adams, Iola, Photographer and Kansas Influencer.
“These awards highlight the vital role of dedicated individuals and organizations in growing the tourism industry in Kansas. Through their partnership, Kansas tourism will continue to be a significant part of the state’s economy. A recent economic impact survey indicates tourism has grown to an $11.3 billion industry in Kansas, one of the fastest growing industries in Kansas.” said Bridgette Jobe, KDWPT Tourism Director.
The Travel Industry Association of Kansas (TIAK) also recognized its membership’s top marketing talent. TIAK Marketing Awards focus on overall marketing initiatives and recognize state-level winners only.
People’s Choice: Greensburg Tourism
Best in Show: Wild West Country
Visitors Guide (designed in-house):Council Grove/Morris County Chamber of Commerce & Tourism won in the small budget category. Merriam Visitors Bureau received bragging rights in the medium budget category and the large budget winner was the Kansas State Fair.
Visitors Guide (outsourced):Emporia Convention & Visitors Bureau received the medium budget trophy and Visit Kansas City Kansas won in the large budget.
Online Media:Seneca Area Chamber & Downtown Impact was recognized in the small budget category. The medium budget winner was Fort Scott Convention and Visitors Bureau and Visit Kansas City Kansas received recognition in the large budget category.
Integrated Campaign:Emporia Convention & Visitors Bureau received the medium budget win and eXplore Lawrence received large budget honors.
Print Media:Wild West Country won in the small budget category. The medium budget winner was Downtown Hays Development Corporation for the Downtown Hays brochure and Visit Kansas City Kansas received the large budget win.
Community Awareness: Greensburg Tourism was honored in the small budget category. Downtown Hays Development Corporation won in the medium budget category for Brews on the Bricks and the Kansas Turnpike Authority received the large budget category win.
There are five men running for three open seats on the Hays city commission.
Two are incumbents, Ron Mellick and Henry Schwaller IV. The three other candidates are all political newcomers, Michael Berges, Mason Ruder and Ryan Rymer.
Beginning today, Hays Post will run a series of interviews with each candidate this week.
Michael Berges, 39, is a financial advisor with Ameriprise Financial Services, Inc. and has a degree in political science from Fort Hays State University. He’s also run motels in other cities.
“I’ve always had an interest in watching and following governance,” Berges says. “I particularly like local government – city, county, school board – and the topics that come up in local issues.”
“I strongly feel that local issues make the greatest impact in your life.”
Berges and his wife, Erica, the new United Way of Ellis County executive director, have three young sons.
As a father and city commission candidate, Berges is looking to the future of Hays and how it will support his kids’ futures.
“I don’t know where else we could live besides Hays that provides all the quality of life amenities that fit our family so well.”
As a financial advisor, Berges works with numbers all day long. He feels his experience with personal budgets would translate well to working with the city’s budget.
Berges also deals with economic data and trends affecting changes in the nation’s economy.
“While Hays is somewhat isolated being in the middle of the country and in the middle of Kansas, it doesn’t mean some of those economic trends don’t transfer into Hays.”
The top two city commission candidates will serve for four years, while the third-place vote-getter will serve for two years.
Advanced voting is underway. The election is Nov. 5.
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) – Aaron Rodgers threw for 305 yards and three touchdowns, two of them to Aaron Jones on a big night for the Green Bay running back, and the Packers held off backup quarterback Matt Moore and the Kansas City Chiefs 31-24 on Sunday night.
Jones, who briefly left with a shoulder injury, had seven catches for 159 yards and added 67 on the ground – a big chunk of them in the closing minutes, when the Packers (7-1) sealed the win.
It was their first at Arrowhead Stadium since Nov. 4, 2007.
With reigning league MVP Patrick Mahomes out with a dislocated kneecap, Moore took the reins of the Chiefs’ high-powered offense and fared quite well. He threw for 267 yards with two touchdowns and no interceptions in the ex-high school coach’s first NFL start in more than two years.
The Chiefs (5-3) hoped Mahomes could make a miraculous recovery 10 days after hurting his knee in Denver in time to play. But after he was limited in practice throughout the week, coach Andy Reid announced Friday that the franchise quarterback would be inactive for the game.
So much for that Rodgers-Mahomes showdown everyone anticipated.
They had to settle for an entertaining matchup between division leaders instead.
The game started like most people outside the walls of 1 Arrowhead Drive expected, with Rodgers slicing up the defense and Green Bay marching for two quick touchdowns.
But after a shaky start by Moore, the journeyman quarterback and the rest of the Chiefs offense found a groove. They embarked on an 89-yard drive that ended with a make-it-rain 29-yard TD pass to Travis Kelce, then got a 30-yard pitch-and-catch to Mecole Hardman to knot the game.
The Chiefs led 17-14 at halftime, raising some eyebrows across the league.
Green Bay coach Matt LaFleur made a couple of adjustments, though, and Rodgers and Co. began to move the ball once more. They used a 15-play drive that soaked up more than half the third quarter to get a tying field goal, then got the ball back when LeSean McCoy fumbled on the very next play.
Five players later, Rodgers conjured up more of his magic.
With third down at the 3, he dropped back and was flushed from the pocket. He rolled to his right and threw a blind pass to the back corner of the end zone, where Damien Williams somehow took the ball away from Chiefs linebacker Ben Niemann while tapping both feet inbounds.
Rodgers was lying flat on his back, staring at the sky, as the official signaled touchdown.
The Chiefs answered with another long drive, and just when it appeared they had finally been stopped, the Packers’ Tramon Williams was flagged for illegal use of hands. That gave Kansas City the ball inside the 5, and Damien Williams scored on the next play to tie it again.
It took the Packers all of 56 seconds to score the eventual winner.
Rodgers again found Jones out of the backfield, and this time he found a lane through the entire Kansas City secondary. It was a foot race from there, and the speedy running back hop-skipped over the goal line to finish off the 67-yard touchdown reception.
The Chiefs were forced to punt on their ensuing possession and never got another chance.
HALL OF FAME
The Chiefs honored TE Tony Gonzalez and SS/FB Johnny Robinson, their new entrants into the Hall of Fame, during a halftime ceremony. Both were presented with their Hall of Fame rings.
THE WORM TURNS
Jones twice reached the end zone thinking he’d scored, dropped to the turf and did “the worm.” The first was negated by a penalty, though he scored a few minutes later anyway. The second came on a 60-yard reception in which a replay showed Jones had stepped out of bounds at the 10.
STAR SEARCH
Along with Mahomes, the Chiefs missed five other starters: DE Frank Clark (neck), CB Kendall Fuller (thumb), LT Eric Fisher (groin), LG Andrew Wylie (ankle) and DT Chris Jones (groin).
Packers WR Davante Adams (toe) went through pregame warmups before he was scratched. But they did have LB Blake Martinez (hand) and SS Darnell Savage (ankle), who had missed the last two games.
UP NEXT
Green Bay continues its AFC West trip against the Chargers next Sunday.
Kansas City plays another NFC North team in the Vikings next Sunday.
The Nov. 4 meeting of NAMI-Hays includes a discussion by members of the new Ellis County Crisis Intervention Team (CIT) including Hays Police Chief Don Scheibler, High Plains Mental Health Center’s director of clinical services Dave Anderson, and psychologist Josh Tanguay who is also an instructor in the Fort Hays State University Psychology Department.
The CIT discussion is from 7 p.m. to 8 p.m. in the Center For Life Experience, 205 E. 7th-Hadley Building Suite 257, Hays.
The public is invited to attend. There is no charge.
Smoky Hill Education Service Center has received a grant of $249,998 for the development of anonymous reporting solutions in addressing school safety. The Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, announced the grant to SHESC on October 21.
The OJP’s Bureau of Justice Assistance awarded $29.5 million nationwide through its STOP School Violence Technology and Threat Assessment Solutions for Safer Schools Program. The program is authorized under the STOP School Violence Act of 2018.
SHESC was the only institution in Kansas to receive a grant under the program, which awarded 68 grants to local governments, federally recognized Indian tribes and public agencies. The program directly helps schools by providing school administrators, staff, students and first responders with the ability to use threat assessments, crisis intervention teams and anonymous reporting technology.
SHESC will use the grant to support both existing and planned services for school districts that are designed to address bullying and school violence.
Chris Moddelmog, executive director of SHESC, said the DOJ grant will make a substantial difference at SHESC as it fulfills its mission of providing services to more than 50 school districts across 25 Kansas counties. More than 31,000 students and 2,700 teachers and administrators served by SHESC will benefit from the grant.
“Our vision with this grant is to help as many schools in Kansas as possible to grow a culture of safety and security,” Moddelmog said. “A grant this large will go a long way toward supporting that goal.”
Founded July 1, 1990, Smoky Hill Education Service Center is a cooperative consortium of more than 50 school districts across 25 counties, formed to provide cost and efficiency savings in a variety of educational services for its participating members. The service center’s mission is: “In partnership with school districts, we promote success for learners by providing superior services.” Through staff development classes and services, the service center supports more than 2,700 teachers and administrators – benefitting more than 31,000 students. In addition to educational institutions, any non-profit or governmental organization can benefit from Smoky Hill Education Service Center, either as a member or by selecting needed services.
The classic story tells of Belle, a young woman in a provincial town, and the Beast, who is really a young prince trapped under the spell of an enchantress. If the Beast can learn to love and be loved, the curse will end and he will be transformed into his former self.
TMP Drama Department, 1701 Hall St, Hays
Tickets on sale October 28 at 12 p.m. at tmp-m.org
