When the Jones family moved into their new house, a visiting relative asked five-year-old Sammy how he liked the new place.
“It’s terrific,” he said. “I have my own room, Mike has his own room, and Jamie has her own room. But poor Mom is still in with Dad.”
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HAYS POST
Eagle Communications is collecting monetary donations at its Kansas radio stations for victims of the recent catastrophic flooding in Nebraska.
A GoFundMe account is now available for online donations.
Hays-area residents wishing to make a contribution may bring cash or checks to the Eagle Media Center, 2300 Hall Street, Hays. Checks should be made out to the Nebraska Red Cross.
Donations will be collected through Thu., April 4.
The Robert E. & Patricia A. Schmidt Family Foundation, Hays, will be matching our Nebraska Flood Relief donations up to $25,000. Bob Schmidt was the founder and CEO of Eagle Communications.
The Hays contributions will be combined with those collected by our Eagle Radio stations in Great Bend, Salina, Hutchinson, Manhattan and Junction City. The final amount will then be matched by the Schmidt Family Foundation and will be distributed to the Nebraska Red Cross.
For more information, contact the Hays Eagle Media Center at 785-301-2211.
Disclosure: Eagle Communications is the parent company of Hays Post.
Over four years ago, after being approached by the USD 432 School Board, the Victoria Alumni Association began raising funds for the much-needed Victoria Junior/Senior High School Gymnasium Floor Replacement Project. It is the original floor that the first basketball game was played on it in January of 1950.
Last December, I had a vision at a basketball game that if we would put on a large-scale German Meal Fundraiser, we could help raise funds more quickly and the replacement project could get underway sooner.
Following your kids and grandkids through their sporting activities, you create close bonds with their fellow athletes’ parents and grandparents. You become “One Big Family,” so to speak. When I brought this idea up to them, they were all on board because we all realize how badly in need of repair the floor is, and we would all like to see our kids/grandkids have the opportunity to play on the new court.
First a VISION – then ACTION!!! Just by word of mouth and School Way, we planned an organizational meeting at my house on Wednesday, February 20. What an outstanding response of interested parents and grandparents! I had already checked possible dates, so by the end of the meeting the German Meal Fundraiser for the VHS Gym Floor Replacement was in MOTION.
By Friday, February 22, at a 3:05 assembly at the High School, we handed every Jr./Sr. High student an envelope with five advance meal tickets to sell. Students who sold at least 10 tickets by Friday, March 8, were included in a drawing for cash prizes of $100, $75, $50, and $25. For each additional 10 tickets they sold, their names would be entered in the drawing again.
RELATED: Victoria community raises $35,000 toward new gym floor
The students only had two weeks to sell their tickets, because we had such a short amount of time to order supplies and make dumplings in the Grade School kitchen during Spring Break. We also asked parents and community members if they would make and donate desserts. Not knowing if we would have enough desserts, we also made mini kuchen that we could use if needed. However, with our pastor Fr. John’s encouraging words at weekend Masses, it got our community in the “Giving Spirit” and we were able to sell the mini kuchen, which added to our bottom line. An anonymous donor paid for all the groceries and supplies which also helped our cause.
Ethel Younger graciously donated her labor to make 125 pounds of homemade noodles (even though she had back surgery during that span of time), and Warren Wittman (Warren’s Meat Market) made our German Brats at an exceptional price. If you happened to join us for the German Meal Fundraiser, you will agree, both the noodles and brats were delicious!
Besides all the cash donors and raffle prize donors, I want to send out a huge “Thank You” to Shannon and Mark Karst for accepting my invitation to serve on the Committee as one of the leaders and to Melissa Schmidt who headed all financial aspects of our fundraiser. Also to my daughter, Natasha Hammerschmidt, and my sister, Rose Ann Dreiling, thank you for doing so many things behind the scenes and participating in every aspect of the fundraiser when you got off work. Rose Ann had a prior commitment before we set our date, or she would have been in the kitchen the whole weekend also. (Don’t worry Sis, if we ever do another big fundraiser, we’ll make sure you’re free before we set the date!) Two other “Grandma’s” that I want to thank are, Kathy Kuhn and Mary Brungardt. They were at every cooking/baking workday we had. We didn’t even have to ask, they just told us they would be there or just showed up when they knew we were working. Connie Windholz, thank you for all the hours you put into the project for us also.
In addition, I would like to thank everyone who worked so hard behind the scenes during both meals. There were so many people that stepped up to the plate and helped out for this fundraiser. The men outside grilling and cooking dumplings, cooks in the kitchen, meal servers, runners, dishwashers, ticket takers, raffle table workers, dessert table attendants, people who cleaned the tables, and last but not least all of the students who gave up their time to set up, tear down, and do whatever was asked of them throughout the weekend. But for me to mention every single person by name, would be impossible and I would fear I may miss someone. Know that you all hold a special place in my heart for coming out and helping us make this such a successful fundraiser.
By the next school board meeting, April 8, we should find out what the current bids are for completing the gym floor replacement. To date our net profit from the Fundraiser is $35,698.58; however a portion of that has been ear-tagged by the donor for new balls and equipment to be used on the new floor. So with the collected amount from the Alumni Association of $26,000, we should have almost $57,000 to put towards the project. We are so close to making the new gym floor a reality!
Last but not least, the Committee members would like to thank their husbands and families for being so understanding during this entire fundraising project.
I have received so many compliments on how smoothly and well organized it was. That is all because we had such great help in every aspect from students, coaches, school staff, parents, grandparents, community members, and faithful alumni!
Thank you again,
Brenda Dreiling
The Hays High and TMP-Marian Student Councils are coming together this weekend to raise funds for the ARC Park in Hays.
The groups will host a faculty and staff basketball game this Saturday at 6:30 p.m. at Hays High School.
There will also be a Hays Police Department versus Hays Fire Department 3-Point Shooting Contest, a dunk contest and much more.
The two groups have set a fundraising goal of $4,000 and if the goal is met, the principals from both schools will get a pie in the face.
Saturday’s entry fee is $5 for adults and $3 for students.
The Fort Hays State University Center for Entrepreneurship welcomed aspiring entrepreneurs to the W.R. and Yvonne Robbins College of Business and Entrepreneurship on March 30 for the Faulkner Challenge business plan competition. Reorganized this year, it is the largest event of its kind in northwest Kansas.
The Faulkner Challenge was developed to seek new, independently proposed ventures in the conceptual, seed or startup stages. The event is made possible by the generosity of Kevin Faulkner, a Fort Hays State University alumnus.
Entries from high school students, college students and community members were received. Teams submitted written plans for a chance to compete for $10,000 in prize money. A record twenty-seven business plans were received with a total of 47 participants involved in working on the projects. The eight most comprehensive plans were chosen as finalists to attend the event on campus. These teams delivered ten-minute oral presentations before an exceptionally qualified panel of judges which included Coleen Ellis, Kevin Faulkner, Steve, Riat, Dustin Roths and Tammy Wellbrock. The three highest scoring teams were selected as winners.
“For the first time hosting this event with the enhanced format, it was impressive to see the level of interest in entrepreneurship in the region and the variety of ideas from the competitors,” said Dr. David Snow, the director of entrepreneurship for Fort Hays State University.
SafeDrop won first place and the $6,000 prize. The team members are FHSU undergraduate students Hayden Hutchison, Haley Jones, Pablo Garcia, and Adam Schibi who are working on a gunshot detection software application to notify law enforcement and warn app users in the vicinity of an active shooter.
“I had a tremendous learning experience at this year’s Faulkner Challenge. Our team collaborated on refining our project, we spent hours together practicing and worked hard,” stated Hutchison. “I’ve grown in the areas of research, writing, speaking, collaboration and understanding the fundamentals of launching a product or service.”
The second place award of $3,000 went to Wright Enterprises, LLC. Dennis and Donna Wright are farmers from Bird City, Kansas who have started their own line of sunflower oil products.
“I feel like the Faulkner Challenge was an excellent experience giving us great feedback from experienced entrepreneurs. It was the perfect opportunity to reevaluate our company and gave us new direction on where we would like to go,” said Dennis Wright.
Kalliope, LLC won third place and $1,000. Kristin Blomquist from Assaria, Kansas, started this cosmetic company selling high-quality lotions, soaps, and other skincare products.
“I enjoyed meeting the other competitors and having a chance to share my business. It is helpful to participate in these types of events as they require you to sharpen your thinking and refine your plans,” said Kristin Blomquist. “It was a good day!”
A.P. Kalem said, “War is never a lasting solution for any problem.” However, is that statement completely true? War, through the ages, has brought great advances and solutions in medicine.
Perhaps the first innovation in medicine that evolved during warring times came with drilling holes through the boney skulls of warriors whose heads were smashed in by clubs. Once a hole was made, one could insert a finger and pull out the caved-in skull bone with the added benefit of providing an escape hole for bleeding, releasing pressure off the brain. There are museums that have 7,000-year-old skulls with healed over burr holes, and this treatment called trephination, is still done today.
During the 1700 and 1800s, the world-wide imperialism of the British came from their conquering navy. This was partially because the Brits knew lime and lemon juice with vitamin C prevented scurvy which is a life-threatening progressive condition of profound weakness, gum disease, skin ulcers and bleeding. Opposing navies riddled with scurvy had no chance against the Brits.
During the Crimean War of the 1850s, Florence Nightingale and her team of newly trained nurses showed how nursing made a difference. They cleaned up injured soldiers, provided a warm dry bed, gave healing nutrition and, in general, cared for the soldier, which remarkably reduced the death rate by two-thirds. Nursing grew from that beginning.
The Civil War brought the advancement of anesthesia with easily used ether and the education of myriads of surgeons who spread their surgical skills throughout the country after the war. Also, the Civil War generated the development of the ambulance wagon, an effective method of transferring the injured from the battlefield to a place for treatment and comfort. For example, in the battle of Antietam, every wounded-living Union soldier was off the battlefield by the end of the day.
During the Boer War and World War I, X-Ray machines became available at portable hospitals, facilitating the repair of boney injuries. The field of orthopedics evolved as surgeons had growing trauma experience along with the aid of anesthesia and antisepsis. Also, blood transfusions and intravenous fluids came to be used during WWI and brought into reality how very sick people no longer had to die from dehydration.
Civil War General William T. Sherman said, “War is cruelty . . . and at best barbarism. Its glory is all moonshine . . . war is hell.” That said, in response to the terrible injuries and illnesses of war, we have learned and improved medicine in ways to relieve suffering and enhance healing during times of both war and peace.
For free and easy access to the entire Prairie Doc® library, visit www.prairiedoc.org and follow The Prairie Doc® on Facebook, featuring On Call with the Prairie Doc® a medical Q&A show streaming live most Thursdays at 7 p.m. central.
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Top Republican lawmakers in Kansas struggled Wednesday to find enough GOP votes to override Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly’s veto of a tax relief bill despite a strong push to save the measure from the state Republican Party.
The measure Kelly vetoed last week was designed to prevent individuals and businesses from paying more in state income taxes because of changes in federal tax laws at the end of 2017. Republican leaders made it their top priority this year and argue that failing to return the revenue “windfall” represents an unlegislated tax increase.
Kelly framed the bill as a return to a tax-cutting experiment under former Republican Gov. Sam Brownback that made Kansas nationally notorious because of the persistent budget woes that followed.
Republicans hold the two-thirds majorities in both chambers necessary to override a veto, but their leaders worry that too many GOP lawmakers will bolt, side with Democrats and vote against overriding the veto. Lawmakers who want to overturn Kelly’s veto must act this week, before the Legislature starts its annual spring break.
The Kansas Republican Party launched a text-based petition this week to show support for an override and a Facebook ad criticizing Kelly, saying that in three months in office, she’s already broken a campaign pledge not to raise taxes. GOP State Chairman Mike Kuckelman and Secretary Emily Wellman issued statements Wednesday calling for a veto override.
“As a taxpayer, I might not even understand that Kansas took additional taxes from me that was intended to go in my pocket,” Kuckelman said during a telephone interview. “I don’t think as a party, the Republican Party, we should stand by and allow that to happen.”
However, it wasn’t clear that the campaign would sway GOP holdouts. State Sen. John Skubal, a moderate Republican, said he was elected in his Kansas City-area district in 2016 to help “fix’ state government.
“To do that, we have to have some money,” he said.
Republican lawmakers slashed personal income taxes in 2012 and 2013 at Brownback’s urging, but voters later turned on Brownback’s policies because of the state’s budget problems. Bipartisan legislative majorities repealed most of the tax cuts in 2017, and Kelly ran against Brownback’s political legacy last year.
“My district supports the veto,” said Rep. Jan Kessinger, another moderate Kansas City-area Republican, calling this year’s tax bill “something Kansas can’t afford right now.”
Kelly’s administration estimated that the bill would have cost the state $209 million during the budget year beginning in July, undercutting her plans to boost spending on public schools and expand Medicaid health coverage for the needy. Much of the taxpayer savings would have gone to corporations, particularly those with operations outside the U.S.
The governor’s veto message said Kansas is recovering after being “on the brink of financial disaster” and this year’s tax bill “would absolutely dismantle all the progress we’ve made.”
Republicans who support the bill said it’s unfair to paint it as a return to Brownback’s policies.
Like other states, Kansas faced the issue of revising its income tax code because it is tied to the federal tax code. Changes in federal tax laws championed by President Donald Trump lowered rates but also included provisions that raised money for Kansas, in part by discouraging individual filers from claiming itemized deductions.
“It has zero to do with anything Gov. Brownback did when he was governor,” Kuckelman said.
The bill vetoed by Kelly would have provided relief to taxpayers who have itemized on their state returns. It would have allowed them to keep itemizing even if they don’t on their federal returns, something previously prohibited.
“The message is — it’s universal — that Kansans do not want their taxes raised,” said House Speaker Ron Ryckman Jr., a Kansas City-area Republican.
SHAWNEE COUNTY — Law enforcement authorities are investigating a Kansas felon found asleep in a vehicle.
Just after 3a.m. Wednesday, police responded to the area of 27th and Colorado in Topeka for a vehicle that had been sitting in the roadway running for over an hour, according to Lt. Kelvin Johnson.
Police made contact with the driver of the car who was passed out with a handgun visible to the officers. The subject identified as Akeem Miller, 28, was taken into custody without incident for felon in possession of a firearm, DUI, possession of stolen property, and open container.
This is the 36th case in 2019 with a charge involving a felon in possession of a firearm reported by the Topeka Police Department.
Thursday A 10 percent chance of showers before 7am. Areas of fog before 11am. Otherwise, mostly cloudy, then gradually becoming sunny, with a high near 66. North wind 8 to 11 mph.
Thursday Night Mostly clear, with a low around 46. Northeast wind around 6 mph becoming south southeast after midnight.
Friday Mostly cloudy, then gradually becoming sunny, with a high near 74. South wind 6 to 11 mph increasing to 12 to 17 mph in the afternoon. Winds could gust as high as 28 mph.
Friday NightPartly cloudy, with a low around 55. South southeast wind around 16 mph.
SaturdayA 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms after 2pm. Partly sunny, with a high near 73.
Saturday NightA chance of showers and thunderstorms before 2am, then a slight chance of showers. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 50. Chance of precipitation is 50%.
SundayA 20 percent chance of showers before 8am. Mostly sunny, with a high near 69. Breezy.
BROWN COUNTY — One person died in an accident just after 1p.m. Wednesday in Brown County.
The Kansas Highway Patrol reported a 2010 Ford passenger car driven by Marlene A. Watts. 78, Hiawatha, was northbound on U.S. 73.
The driver attempted to make a left turn and head west on 230th Street. She failed to yield the right-of-way.
A southbound 2006 Peterbilt semi driven by Brent D. Wikle, 39, Morrill, struck the Ford in the passenger side doors.
Both vehicles traveled off the roadway to the southwest of the intersection and down into the grass ditch.
Watts was pronounced dead at the scene. She was not wearing a seat belt, according to the KHP. Wikle was not injured.
SEDGWICK COUNTY — Law enforcement authorities are investigating two suspects caught driving a stolen vehicle.
Just after 3 a.m. Tuesday, police responded to a suspicious character call at the Trail Motel, 827 S. Broadway in Wichita, according to officer Charley Davidson.
An officer observed a maroon Chevrolet Impala leave the parking lot and remembered tag number being broadcast as a stolen vehicle earlier in the day.
The officer attempted to stop the vehicle in the area of Indianapolis and Topeka when the driver later identified as 37-year-old Delaura Hopkins refused to stop, accelerated and fled from police.
A short vehicle pursuit ensued and the vehicle stopped after striking a curb at 21st and Erie. Hopknis was taken into custody without further incident. A passenger Theodore Mitchell, 49, Wichita, fled from the vehicle on foot and was taken into custody after a short foot pursuit.
Hopkins is being held on requested charges of auto theft, drive on suspended license, unlawful possession of methamphetamine, unlawful possession of cocaine, unlawful possession of marijuana, possession of drug paraphernalia, flee and elude police, hit and run, transport open container, multiple traffic charges and an outstanding warrant. Mitchell is being held on requested charges of possession of drug paraphernalia and obstruct.
There were no injuries, according to Davidson.
OLATHE, Kan. (AP) — Authorities say a 16-year-old girl has been charged with murder in the killing of another teenage boy in a suburban Kansas City community.
On Wednesday, the Olathe girl was charged in Johnson County Juvenile court with first-degree murder in the death of 17-year-old Rowan Padgett of Overland Park. The girl was also charged with felony obstruction of justice for allegedly giving false information to investigators.
The charges allege Friday’s killing in a suburban cul-de-sac occurred during a drug deal involving the anxiety drug Xanax.
Prosecutors requested she be tried as an adult.
Padgett, an Olathe East High School senior, was just weeks from celebrating his 18th birthday when he died. The suspect is a runaway who at one time also attended the same school.
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LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) — One of three Kansas men charged in a triple homicide in downtown Lawrence has pleaded guilty to attempted voluntary manslaughter.
23-year-old Ahmad Rayton was scheduled to go to trial Monday but accepted the plea deal Wednesday. He had previously been charged with two counts of attempted second-degree murder and one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm.
Sentencing is scheduled for May 8.
The shootings in October 2017 involved two groups of Topeka men who had previous confrontations. They fired about 20 shots, killing three and injuring two others.
Twenty-year-old Dominique McMillon pleaded guilty in March to misdemeanor battery and was released from jail.
A third suspect, 22-year-old Anthony Roberts Jr. is scheduled for trial in June on three counts of murder.
