Thomas Edward “Tom” Bigge, 72, of Stockton, Kansas passed away March 11, 2019 at the Rooks County Health Center in Plainville, Kansas. He was born May 20, 1946 in Hays, Kansas to Edward Kirk and Bethyl Maxine (Fry) Bigge. Tom graduated from Stockton High School in 1964. Four years later, February 18, 1968, he married the love of his life Ruth Ann Wilhite in Basehor, Kansas.
He and Ruth Ann raised five children to adulthood, all of which have remained within driving distance of “home.” Tom worked hard on the land he loved raising kids, crops, and livestock. He especially obtained great satisfaction from working with his livestock.
To say the least, Tom wore many hats throughout his life time. He was a family man, farmer, stockman, house mover, hunter and a demolition contractor. Known as a man of integrity, Tom’s word was his bond. He believed there is very little that hard work cannot overcome. However, he also made time to enjoy life. He rarely missing the opportunity to travel, enjoy a joke and a have good laugh.
Tom was very involved in his community and its activities. Having served as President of the Unified School District #271, President of Rooks County Farm Bureau Board of Directors, President of Farmers Union Cooperative, Trustee of the Congregational Church and a member of the Board of Directors of Friends of Historic Fort Hays.
He was preceded in death by his parents, an infant brother, an infant daughter, two grandsons and a granddaughter.
Tom is survived by his loving wife Ruth Ann of the home, Stockton; sons: Curt Thomas (Rebecca) Bigge, Douglas Edward (Kori) Bigge, Stephen Louis (Melissa) Bigge all of Stockton; daughters: Beth Ann (Jason) Pfeifer, Russell, Holly Marie (Aaron) Beaton, Scott City; sisters: Robyn Harris, Kansas City, Missouri, Cynthia J. Kindall, Norton and a “special daughter” Christine M. (Thomas) Patry who has meant so much to Tom and Ruth Ann; and 13 grandchildren.
A good man is gone from our midst but never will be forgotten.
In lieu of flowers the family is requesting memorials be given to FFA Chapter in Stockton, Friends of Historical Ft. Hays or Rooks County Health Center Physical Therapy Department.
The Heartland Community Foundation, which serves Ellis, Rooks and Trego Counties, is accepting applications for fall grants. Online applications open March 15 are due Wednesday, May 15, 2019.
Over $150,000 is available to charitable projects in Ellis, Rooks and Trego Counties through the Dane G. Hansen Community Grant Fund, with $50,000 available per county. Focused on improving quality of life, grants will support education, health care, community social services and security, conservation and environment, arts and culture, and community beautification.
Funding is limited to projects in Ellis, Rooks and Trego counties and will be awarded through a competitive application process. Non-profit organizations including government and public entities, educational institutions and churches are encouraged to apply. Applications must be submitted online by 11:59 p.m. on May 15. Complete funding criteria and the grant application are available at https://heartlandcommunityfoundation.org/search-apply-for-a-grant/.
During its fall grant cycle, the community foundation awarded over $163,000 to area organizations across the three counties.
For more information, contact Sandy Jacobs, executive director, at 785-621-4090.
The Kansas Legislature has appointed a new, bipartisan Rural Revitalization Committee, with Rep. Don Hineman as its chair and Lt. Governor Lynn Rogers a strong supporter. Here is a hint for them: there is only one way to bring economic growth to rural Kansas. Bring in the workers that businesses want to hire. That means thinking differently.
Michael A. Smith is a Professor of Political Science at Emporia State University.First, here is what not to do. Do not offer tax breaks. It is a popular, but wrongheaded strategy. At the state level, the relationship between taxes and economic growth was put to the test with former Governor Brownback’s “Great Experiment” starting in 2012. The results were disastrous, with the state highway trust fund and other savings drained, schools and social services cut, and an attempt to fill the hole with regressive sales taxes, pushing Kansas’ grocery taxes up among the nation’s highest. Meanwhile, Kansas lagged the region in economic growth.
Tax cut packages do not work at the local level, either. Just ask the folks in Kansas City. In recent years, Kansas has forfeited $184 million in tax revenue to lure businesses across the state line, while Missouri has blown $120 million on the same. There is no net increase in jobs, since the businesses just move back and forth—or threaten to —in order to reap the tax breaks. Meanwhile, schools and infrastructure lose funding, and the tax burden is shifted to individuals and families. This is why the Missouri House recently passed a “truce” bill that would end this practice in the KC area, once Kansas responds with similar legislation. Come on, Kansas, do it!
Back East, New Yorkers recently told Amazon to “fugetaboutit,” withdrawing their huge tax package when they realized the staggering cost of a new headquarters. This has triggered a long-overdue, national discussion. Site-specific tax breaks are out of control.
If tax breaks will not do the trick, what will? Just ask any employer in rural Kansas. What they need are good employees. Economists call it “human capital theory.” The best way to lure businesses is to lure the workers that they wish to hire.
Start with the blue collar workforce. Among native-born Americans, the working class is getting older. For example, the average age of truck drivers is over 55. This pattern can also be found in a host of similar jobs. However, there is a growing sector of people willing, perhaps even eager, to take these jobs. They come from Mexico, Central America, Africa, south Asia, and around the world. They are immigrants, eager to live the American dream and willing to live in places that native-born young Americans may overlook. Will they be welcomed by the communities, schools, churches, and workplaces of rural Kansas, as they were at First United Methodist Church of Dodge City? Our future depends on it.
Employers also need professional workers in fields like research and development, and also management. This means college graduates, and even my students from rural Kansas agree overwhelmingly: to feel welcome, their friends who are LGBT must feel welcome, too. For them, being open and affirming has become the litmus test for tolerance. Even heterosexual young college grads use this yardstick: if their friends are welcome here, then all are welcome. Throw in a crazy-low cost of living, beautiful prairie land, good schools for the kids that may come along someday, and an easy commute back home to visit their parents, and you just might have a deal.
Rep. Hineman, forget the tax breaks. If our young blue- and white-collar workers know they are welcome here, the employers that hire them will come, too.
Michael A. Smith is a Professor of Political Science at Emporia State University.
Marjorie “Marge” (Marcotte) McCants passed away on March 8, 2019 at Penrose Hospital in Colorado Springs, Colorado. She lived in Colorado Springs three years prior to her death and was a long-time resident of Goodland, Kansas.
Marge was born on July 4, 1927 in Thomas County, Kansas to Jewell (Miller) and Henry Marcotte. She graduated from Sherman County Community High School, Goodland, Kansas. She married the late Robert R. McCants on December 4, 1947 and remained devoted to her husband until his death in 1984.
She is survived by her children Larry (Brenda) McCants and Randy (Muriel) McCants, six grandchildren, and nine great-grandchildren, three sisters; Beth Stull of Goodland, Carol Jones of Concordia, and Pearl Chadwick of Delores, Colorado. She was preceded in death by her parents, husband, and three sisters; Dorothy Patrick, Shirley Scott, and Betty Goodhue.
Marge worked for 32 years as a dental assistant beginning with Dr. Neal Hirsch. She was a Master Bridge player, and belonged to several bridge clubs. She was a member of Our Lady of Perpetual Help Catholic Church, where she served with the Altar Society as a Eucharistic Minister. Marge was a member of the Goodland Hospital Auxiliary, Sugar Hills Golf Club, supported and served on the board of the Goodland Library. Fishing at Trenton Reservoir was also a family favorite and created many fond memories for Marge and her late husband Rob. She was an excellent cook and enjoyed cooking for others, especially her family. Marge found great joy in taking care of others, but especially enjoyed spending time with her children and grandchildren.
A Memorial Mass for Marge will be held on Saturday, March 16, 2019 at 10:30 AM MT at Our Lady of Perpetual Help Catholic Church in Goodland with Father Andrew Rockers officiating. Inurnment will follow in the Goodland Cemetery.
In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be designated to the Sherman County Community Foundation and may be left at the services or mailed to Koons-Russell Funeral Home, 211 N. Main Ave., Goodland, KS 67735.
Online condolences for the family may be left at www.koonsrussellfuneralhome.com.
Service arrangements have been entrusted to Koons-Russell Funeral Home in Goodland.
GEARY COUNTY — Authorities investigating the cause of a Wednesday fire that destroyed a hay barn and approximately 150 large hay bales on the east side of the City of Milford have determined it was an arson fire, according to Geary County Rural Fire Chief Garry Berges
Wednesday evening fire in Geary County -photo courtesy Geary Co. Emergency Mgmt.
Just after 5:30 p.m., firefighters responded to the fire. Milford City Fire and Geary County Fire responded to the scene and Fort Riley Fire was asked to assist at the fire scene with water support since there were no fire hydrants in the immediate area.
The barn was filled with large bales of hay and alfalfa that was on fire when units arrived on scene. Firefighters and others were able to remove a tractor and implement away from the open sided building. There were seven other out buildings in the immediate area that were endangered due to embers from the fire being blown.
The fire was brought under control about 8:30 p.m. Milford firefighters remained on scene throughout the evening, and additional units were called back to the scene about 11:30 p.m. due to embers starting one of the out buildings on fire. That blaze was extinguished with minor damage reported. Fire units remained on scene until 9 a.m. Thursday.
Damage estimates are still being determined. The property was owned by Gabe Shandy of Milford.
The Geary County Fire Department and Geary County Sheriff’s Department are continuing to investigate.
————
GEARY COUNTY — Authorities are investigating the cause of a fire at a hay barn in rural Geary County.
Just after 5:30p.m. Wednesday, crews responded to the blaze on the east side of Milford, according to Geary County Rural Fire Chief Garry Berges.
Crews from Geary County, Fort Riley and Milford battled the high winds to put the fire out.There were no injuries.
SEDGWICK COUNTY — One person died in an accident just after 2a.m. Thursday in Sedgwick County.
First responders on the scene of the fatal crash -photo courtesy KWCH
The Kansas Highway Patrol reported a 2000 Honda Civic driven by Kenneth Vance Piper, 29, Wichita, was southbound on Interstate 235 and failed to negotiate the curve at Seneca. The driver overcorrected and the Honda started spinning.
The vehicle struck the bridge over South Gold Street and came to rest in the middle of the roadway facing northbound.
A 2014 Dodge Grand Caravan driven by Shustina L. Wren, 30, Wichita, came around the bridge and T-boned the Honda in the driver’s side.
Piper was pronounced dead at the scene. Wren was transported to Via Christi for treatment of minor injuries. The drivers were not wearing seat belts, according to the KHP.
The Barton County Sheriff reported a 2006 Dodge Ram pickup driven by Jaron Brittain, 17, Hudson, was eastbound on U.S. 56 one mile east of Great Bend when it crossed left of center. The vehicle may have been attempting to pass at the time of the collision.
A westbound 2003 Ford F250 driven by Sergio Rutiaga, Liberal, Kansas struck the Dodge broadside in the passenger door.
A passenger in the Dodge identified as Wyatt Henkel, 15 Hudson sustained fatal injuries upon impact and was pronounced dead at the scene.
Britain and Rutiaga were both transported to the hospital Great Bend, with non-life-threatening injuries.
The accident is currently under investigation by the Barton County Sheriff’s Office. It does not appear alcohol was a contributing factor, according to the sheriff’s office.
Elizabeth “Betty” Legleiter, age 86, of Hays, Kansas, passed away Wednesday, March 13, 2019 at Via Christi Village, Hays.
She was born July 1, 1932 in Schoenchen, Kansas, to Martin and Julia (Kronewitter) Dreher. She married Gerald H. Legleiter on Sept. 1, 1952 in Schoenchen. He preceded her in death March 10, 2010.
Betty was a member of St. Joseph’s Church in Hays. She enjoyed cooking, reading, sewing and spending time with her grandchildren. Her faith was also important to her.
She is survived by four sons, Neil Legleiter and wife Patty of Hays, Gerald Legleiter Jr. and Kathy McGinnis of Hays, Mark Legleiter and wife Kelly of Topeka and Patrick Legleiter and wife Tammy of Hays; a daughter, Diantha Doyle and husband Stuart of Kearney, Missouri; five grandchildren, Brett Doyle, Melissa Jensen, Nathan Legleiter, Conner Legleiter and Dylan Legleiter and four great-grandchildren, Brandon Doyle, Breanna Doyle, Cuylar Jensen and Sofie Jensen.
She was preceded in death by her parents; six brothers, Thobald Dreher, Frank Dreher, Sylvester “Fess” Dreher, Seraphine Dreher, Sylvanus “Lefty” Dreher and Wendelin “Lynn” Dreher, as well as two sisters, Mary Rose Legleiter, Mathilda “Tillie” Braun.
Funeral services will be at 10 a.m. Saturday, March 16, 2019 at St. Joseph’s Catholic Church with burial to follow in the church cemetery.
Visitation will be 4 to 8 p.m. Friday 9 to 9:30 a.m. and Saturday at Brock’s-Keithley Funeral Chapel & Crematory, 2509 Vine St., Hays, KS 67601.
A combined parish vigil and Rosary service will be at 7 p.m. Friday at the funeral chapel.
Memorials are suggested to St. Joseph’s Church or Via Christi Village.
By DIANE GASPER-O’BRIEN FHSU University Relations and Marketing
It’s a bit of déjà vu for Paige Lunsford this week.
Lunsford, then a junior, was a starter on the Fort Hays State University women’s basketball team in 2015 when the Tigers earned the right to host the NCAA Division II Central Regional Championships for the first time in program history.
Now a graduate assistant coach for the Tiger women, Lunsford plans to tell the players to savor every single moment.
FHSU again was selected to host a regional this year. The Tigers will take a 30-1 record into Friday’s 5 p.m. quarterfinal game vs. No. 8-seeded Pittsburg State University. A complete schedule and other tournament information can be found at fhsuathletics.com.
Playing in front of a large, vocal crowd back in 2015, the Tigers made it all the way to the regional championship game. Injuries to two major backcourt players late in the season hit FHSU hard, but the Tigers still played second-seeded Emporia State University a tough game before falling by five points in the finals.
Lunsford on the court in Gross Memorial Coliseum.
Lunsford credits part of the Tigers’ success at home – both during her playing days and now – to the huge crowd support. Fort Hays State has ranked second in the nation in attendance among NCAA Division II teams four years running.
“It’s so unique what we get to experience here,” said Lunsford, a Hays native and four-year starter for Hays High School. “The support we get from the community and surrounding communities is incredible.”
Starting with 2012-13, the Tigers have never lost more than one game in a season at Gross Memorial Coliseum. During that time, they have amassed a staggering home record of 107-5.
In fact, FHSU’s only home loss Lunsford’s junior year was that regional championship game. Her senior season, the Tigers won all 15 of their home games, and that mark was surpassed this year (16-0).
Having the home court advantage is not lost on the players and coaches, Lunsford said.
“The atmosphere here is hardly like this anywhere else we play,” she said. “Some places, there are more Fort Hays fans than, or at least as many as, there are for the home team.”
Lunsford doesn’t expect that to be any different this weekend, and she is looking forward to watching her players experience it.
“I didn’t realize at the time back then how special it was to get to host the regional,” she said. “When you’re in the moment, you’re busy taking care of business at hand.”
Looking back, Lunsford definitely sees the significance of that experience now and is thoroughly enjoying this year’s run.
FHSU was seeded second to Southwestern Oklahoma State University in the regional rankings heading into last week’s MIAA tournament in Kansas City, Mo.
The Tigers went 3-0 to win their first-ever MIAA tourney crown, but they still were unsure of what their final ranking would be. SWOSU also won its conference tournament. Both the Tigers and Bulldogs are 30-1, and SWOSU had entered conference tournament week with the slightest of edges over the Tigers in the regional rankings.
The national selection show was scheduled for 9 p.m. Sunday, but the top-seeded teams were to be notified by Twitter about 8.
The Tigers were on their way home from Kansas City about that time, and the team bus made a stop in Topeka for dinner. The coaches told the players to shut off their phones so they all could learn of their fate together.
“We had just gotten back on the bus about 8:10,” Lunsford said. “We coaches looked at Twitter and saw it, and told the girls. They were so excited.”
The team arrived in Hays after 11:15 p.m., and the next day, it was down to business – after a day of rest, that is.
“After five days in Kansas City, they were tired,” Lunsford said. “With this week being spring break, it gives them a chance to get some rest.”
The Tigers practiced Tuesday and will do so every day leading up to Friday, “trying to keep everything as normal as possible,” Lunsford said.
She thinks playing in the tough MIAA will help those five conference teams that were given regional berths. Playing at home also should help the Tigers, although Lunsford admitted that taking the court for that first regional game is a thrill like no other.
“I remember walking out on the court that first game (at the 2015 regionals) and seeing the amount of people in the stands and getting chills,” Lunsford said. “I was so in awe that all these people would come to watch us play. I think, growing up, every kid has a dream of playing in front of that kind of crowd someday. It was amazing.”
She thinks it will hit home for this year’s players on Friday, somewhere about 4:45 p.m.
“I think it will hit them during the starting lineup, at that moment when you have a second to look around at the crowd,” Lunsford said. “I get chills now, just thinking about it. I can hardly wait.”
MANHATTAN — As 2019 began, the Kansas Department of Agriculture’s Division of Water Resources initiated a statewide effort to assist water users in online filing of water use reports, in an effort to save resources and improve efficiency. As the March 1 deadline to file the 2018 annual water use reports passed, KDA–DWR found that 86 percent of all total water use reports were completed online, representing 91 percent of all water rights in the state. This greatly exceeded KDA’s expectations of 50–60 percent filed online. Last year only 27 percent of water use reports were filed online.
For the 2018 water use reporting period, KDA implemented a $20 per water right paper fee for those water right holders that reported their water use using the paper forms, while the online reporting option was free to the water users. Less than 8 percent of total water users submitted their reports in paper form this year, compared to nearly 73 percent last year.
The online water use reporting system has been in use by KDA-DWR and under continued development by the Kansas Geological Survey for the last six years. The system cuts down on staff time required to collect, enter and review data from the paper reports, allowing the division to share the data faster with other agencies and organizations. The program continues to receive useful input regarding the online filing system and will keep developing it to be more user friendly in future years.
Efforts to increase the use of the online reporting system involved instructional videos as well as meetings and individual support from KDA staff, especially at KDA field offices in Garden City, Parsons, Stafford, Stockton and Topeka. In addition, the outreach efforts were supported by several partners across the state, including the Kansas Rural Water Association, staff at KGS, Natural Resources Conservation Service offices, local irrigation companies, and groundwater management districts.
This success of the online water use reporting system will be a great benefit to the state, as it will improve efficiency in collecting and reviewing water use data. Water use data is essential for management of the state’s resources. Each owner of a water right is required by law to submit a complete and accurate water use report every year. This process ensures that the people of Kansas — and officials responsible for managing or monitoring water resources — have access to complete information about how water is used. For more information about water use reporting, contact KDA–DWR at 785-564-6640 or visit agriculture.ks.gov/WaterUse.
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — The conservatives who dominate the Kansas Legislature voted Wednesday to tell New York’s leaders just how much they hate the Empire State’s new law expanding abortion rights, ignoring Democrats who called the endeavor a toothless waste of time and money.
The Kansas House voted 85-38 on Wednesday to approve the resolution, which declares that the New York lawoffends Kansas’ and the nation’s values and incites “abuse and violence toward women and their unborn children.” The state Senate approved the measure on a 27-13 vote on Valentine’s Day.
The votes reflect long-standing Republican and anti-abortion majorities that have given Kansas some of the nation’s toughest abortion restrictions.
“We need to stand as a group and stand up for the unborn babies in every state and nation,” state Rep. Barbara Wasinger, a western Kansas Republican, said after likening abortion to the Holocaust.
GOP leadership may be content to waste time and tax dollars on this meaningless debate, but I am not. Therefore, I will be returning my pay for today to the state. #ksleg#scr1606pic.twitter.com/aGFRPEtqE2
Some Kansas Democrats said their colleagues should focus on their own state’s business. State Rep. Brett Parker, a Kansas City-area Democrat, rejected his legislative salary of $88.66 for Tuesday, when the House debated the resolution at length, tweeting a photo of a check to the state with “Wasted Day” in the memo line.
States, including Kansas, regularly send resolutions to Congress decrying federal policies or urging action, only to see them largely ignored. But criticism of other states is less common.
Criticism of other states’ laws sometimes spills over into formal action. A handful of liberal states have restricted travel by government employees to states with laws viewed as discriminatory against LGBTQ individuals. Kansas is on a list of nine states targeted by California.
Kansas’ resolution does not threaten any action against New York. It is also non-binding and would go to New Yorkers without going to Kansas’ Democratic governor, Laura Kelly, who supports abortion rights and was born in New York City.
The New York law permits women to end their pregnancies after 24 weeks for health reasons, when the state’s previous law said a woman’s life had to be at risk. Abortion rights opponents say the new law would allow abortions up to the moment of birth.
Brittany Jones, advocacy director for the Family Policy Alliance of Kansas, called the New York law “horrific,” adding, “Kansas is proud to be a state that cherishes life.”
The New York law was designed to codify protections for abortion rights granted by the U.S. Supreme Court’s historic 1973 Roe v. Wade decision and other court rulings. Abortion-rights backers fear a more conservative high court might strike down Roe.
Even if the Kansas resolution has no teeth, supporters of New York’s law are concerned about what they believe is a misinformation campaign targeting it.
“Opponents of reproductive freedom have been very creative in spreading misinformation and falsehoods,” said New York state Sen. Liz Krueger, the Manhattan Democrat who sponsored the measure. “But it’s no secret what their true intention is — to ban abortion completely and control women’s bodies.”
During the Kansas House debate Tuesday, Rep. Elizabeth Bishop, a Wichita Democrat, disclosed that she had a second-trimester abortion between the births of two healthy sons. She said severe cramping and heavy bleeding sent her to the hospital and a doctor told her she would bleed to death otherwise.
“Wasting time condemning another state was an absurd way to spend taxpayer dollars,” Bishop said Wednesday after the vote.
Democrats who opposed the resolution also showed their displeasure by proposing unsuccessful amendments Tuesday to rewrite it.
One amendment condemned “any politician who has had an affair with an adult film star and then paid money to keep the affair a secret,” a reference to allegations against President Donald Trump. Another condemned “any politician who searches outside the borders of this state to find problems.”
RUSSELL – Russell Community Theater has announced its 2019 slate of plays.
“About Time”, written by Tom Cole and directed by Bob Roe, opens the season April 30 through May 4, 2019 at the RCT Playhouse located at 5th and Kansas in Russell.
In “About Time”, an elderly married couple is found in the kitchen of their condominium at breakfast, lunch, dinner and finally for a late snack. The couple talks about everything under the sun, including food, sex, children and aging. She is slowing down some and he can’t get around like he once could, but they are both still sharp as tacks. Through the four scenes, they grapple with what it means to share – and come to the end of – a life together.
“The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (abridged) [revised] is written by Adam Long, Daniel Singer and Jess Winfield. Mitch Eaton will direct the summer production which will be presented June 25-29 at the RCT Playhouse.
Celebrating over 30 years on the stage, “The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (abridged) [revised]” features all 37 of Shakespeare’s plays (SURPRISE!!) performed in just over 90 minutes (WOW!!) by three actors (NO WAY!!). Fast paced, witty and physical, it’s full of laughter for Shakespeare lover and haters alike. Join these madcap men in tights as they weave their wicked way through the Bard’s Comedies, Histories and Tragedies in one wild ride that will leave you breathless with laughter.
The 2019 season wraps up at the RCT Playhouse October 8-12 with “Four Old Broads”, written by Leslie Kimbell and directed by Crystal Craig.
Retired burlesque queen Beatrice needs a vacation from Magnolia Place Assisted Living and a Sassy Seniors Cruise sounds perfect if she can convince her best friend, Eaddy Mae, to join her. Other residents are facing their own issues – memory loss, soap opera obsession, unrequited love – and things just haven’t been the same since Nurse Pat began working there. Mysteries unfold as the gals try to outsmart the evil Nurse Pat. If everything goes as planned, they’ll make it to the cruise ship after all.
Russell Community Theater is a non-profit theater company in Russell, Kansas.
The sole purpose of RCT is to produce theater for the community and the surrounding area. Completely volunteer-driven, RCT is supported financially solely through ticket admissions and gifts from those supportive of community theater.
Since its inception in 1986, RCT has presented 94 full-scale theatrical productions. For more information, call 785-483-4057 or find us on Facebook.
Thomas Edward “Tom” Bigge, 72, of Stockton, Kansas passed away March 11, 2019 at the Rooks County Health Center in Plainville, Kansas. He was born May 20, 1946 in Hays, Kansas to Edward Kirk and Bethyl Maxine (Fry) Bigge. Tom graduated from Stockton High School in 1964. Four years later, February 18, 1968, he married the love of his life Ruth Ann Wilhite in Basehor, Kansas.
