RILEY COUNTY —Law enforcement authorities are investigating an alleged sexual assault in Manhattan and have made an arrest.
Just before 4a.m. Sunday, Kansas State University Police received a report of an active situation on the west side of campus along the Denison corridor, according to a media release.
Upon arrival to the area, officers contacted and transported a victim to the local hospital. While officers were still in the area, a suspect identified as 23-year-old Jason C. Seifert returned to the scene and was arrested by K-State Police officers. Neither Seifert or the victim have any relation to the university, according to the release.
Seifert is being held on a bond of $100,000 on requested charges that include “Rape; Sexual intercourse without consent and use of force, Aggravated kidnapping, Aggravated battery; Knowingly use weapon cause, great body harm/disfigure/death, according to the Riley County Police Department booking report.
Ryan Lee Clancy of Greeley, Colo., passed away on October 5, 2019 at the age of 24.
He was born August 13, 1995 in Hays, KS, the son of Jeremiah Clancy and Lisa (McKinley) Bowker. Ryan was raised in Phillipsburg, KS, and attended school there until 2013, when he moved to Greeley and graduated in October 2013.
Ryan held several jobs after school – he worked at a pipe yard, and as a farm hand, then began working for a Dairy in Colorado, where his love of trucking grew. Ryan worked in the oil & gas industry for a while, eventually working at Shalestone as a roustabout in the oilfield. But he missed driving truck, and went back to the Dairy. He obtained his CDL in September, and got a new job for Christ Trucking, hauling frac sand for a drilling rig. He was happy to be ‘10 lug thuggin’ with his best friend Nate. He loved talking trucks, cars, and semis with anyone and everyone. All of Ryan’s friends referred to him as a walking encyclopedia on trucks and semis.
Ryan often shared the most beautiful sunset photos with his mom and his sister Rebecca, as well as photos of himself living the trucker life. He loved to make people laugh, and have a good time. He was someone you could confide in, and he had a generous, loving heart. He would do pretty much anything for his friends. He loved the outdoors, especially on his grandparents’ farm in Glade. Ryan loved guns of all kinds. He most recently went target and clay shooting with his dad at the range in Phillipsburg. He went to Michigan last year, and was able to shoot automatic weapons with his Uncle Patrick and Dan. He enjoyed his video games, smoking some salmon on the Traeger, and hanging out with family and friends.
Ryan had a special bond with his sister Rebecca, and also step sisters Ericka and Kaitlynn. Ryan was able to make sure that each of them knew how much he loved them by sending snaps, videos and memes.
Ryan’s outgoing personality and big heart allowed him to make friends easily with anyone he met. Even though his life here on earth was short, he was loved by so many.
Survivors include his parents, Jeremiah and Kristie Clancy of Phillipsburg and Nathan and Lisa Bowker of Greeley, CO; sisters, Rebecca Van Allen and husband Brodie of Greeley, CO, Ericka Kingsbury and husband, Jared of Smith Center and Kaitlynn Kester of Phillipsburg; grandparents, Larry and Esther McKinley of Glade, Jeremiah Clancy, Sr. and wife, Josephine of Mt. Clemens, MI , Kathleen Winther of New Baltimore, MI, Jim and Fran Stansbury of Smith Center and Dennis and Karen Bowker of Greeley, CO; nephews, Max Kingsbury of Smith Center and Braxton Yoxall of Phillipsburg; and nieces, Eva Kingsbury of Smith Center and Addie and Mia Yoxall, both of Phillipsburg.
He was preceded in death by his grandmother, Una Helman, grandfather, Skip Winther; and great grandparents, Russell and Pauline McKinley.
Ryan is deeply missed by all who knew him.
A memorial service will be held at 1:00 p.m. Saturday, October 26, 2019 in the Olliff-Boeve Memorial Chapel, Phillipsburg, with Pastor Joel Hiesterman officiating. Inurnment will follow in the Fairview Cemetery, Phillipsburg.
Friends may sign the book from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Thursday and Friday at the funeral home.
Memorial contributions may be made to the Phillipsburg Fire Department.
ST. JOSEPH, Mo. — Missouri has a real shot at landing a test track for the futuristic mode of transportation known as the “hyper loop.”
Missouri House Speaker Elijah Haahr of Springfield says he has talked with executives of Virgin Hyperloop One over the past few months. Haahr appointed a blue-ribbon task force to review the possibilities that Missouri could not just land the test strip, but get an operational hyperloop between Kansas City and St. Louis.
“If you look at transportation historically, Missouri laid the first mile of interstate, we had the first steel suspension bridge. We’ve always been sort of at the forefront of transportation,” Haahr tells reporters during a recent visit in St. Joseph. “I think there’s a real possibility that in 50 years, the hyperloop is sort of the next innovation in transportation, so having that first test track and perhaps the first full track in Missouri, I think, would be critical for our state as being a leader in innovation and transportation.”
The blue-ribbon panel should have something to the Speaker soon. Sen. Tony Luetkemeyer of Parkville, who represents the greater St. Joseph area, is on the panel.
At present, Virgin is testing Hyperloop One in Nevada.
The hyperloop proposes transporting commuters in pods elevated magnetically along a track at speeds of up to 700 miles per hour. Creators believe it could easily make the trek from Kansas City to St. Louis in less than half an hour, making it possible for residents of one city to visit the other in the evening and return home later than night.
The next step for Virgin is to build a longer test track, six to 12 miles long. The company plans to request proposals soon. Haahr wants Missouri to land the test track with an eye on eventually bringing the first, full city-to-city track to the state, along I-70 between Kansas City and St. Louis. He expects the first full-scale track to be built in India.
Haahr says he understands the skepticism that arises when you suggest the possibility of traveling up to 700 miles per hour in pods on a hyperloop track.
“You know, a lot of things when you first hear about it, it sounds futuristic, it sounds too good to be true, it sounds unbelievable,” according to Haahr. “If you think about transportation, in the 1950s and 60s when we were building our interstate system, that same interstate system, we drive the same cars at the same speeds. We fly planes at the same speeds. Innovation has not really kept up in the transportation space”
Haahr is optimistic Missouri could prove to be the site Virgin chooses.
“I believe that Missouri is in the top three states in the country that has a chance to get this,” Haahr says. “I’ve been out to the Mojave Desert to see the first test track. We’ve kept in really good contact with Virgin. We’ve been one of the leaders the entire time on trying to bring this to Missouri.”
Betty Jean Byer, 95, died Friday, October 18, 2019 at The Ranch House in Garden City. She was born February 15, 1924 in Lewis, Kansas the daughter of Harold & Syvilla Ann (Strawn) Black.
Betty grew up and attended schools in Cimarron, Kansas. On July 19, 1941, she married Harold “Bud” Byer, Jr. in Cimarron. They lived Southwest of Ingalls, until 1987 when they moved to Garden City. They have lived in Garden City since. A homemaker and farm wife, Betty enjoyed crocheting, gardening, sewing, arranging flowers, and she especially loved to spend time with her family.
Survivors include four daughters Barbara Jean Adams of Garden City, Yvonne Annette Yost of Hays, Kansas, Debra Jane Atkinson of Garden City, & Cynthia Diane Frazier of Centennial, Colorado; five grandchildren; and ten great-grandchildren. Betty is preceded in death by her husband Bud who died on April 26, 2016. She is also preceded in death by her parents; a daughter Judith Deanne Byer; and two brothers William Black and Robert Black.
A graveside service will be held at 2:00 p.m. on Monday, October 21, 2019 at the Cimarron Cemetery in Cimarron, Kansas. Friends may call from 5:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. on Sunday and from 9:00 a.m. to Noon Monday all at Garnand Funeral Home in Garden City. The family suggests memorials given to Meals On Wheels in care of the funeral home.
Marjorie Maxine (Nelson) Abell, 91, of Grinnell, died Saturday, October 19, 2019, at the Gove County Medical Center in Quinter.
She was born May 31, 1928, to Walter and Ruby Nelson, and raised on a farm in the Clifton-Clyde area of central Kansas. She attended Kansas Wesleyan University in Salina, and graduated with a teaching degree from Kansas State University in Manhattan, Kansas. She went on to teach school in Republic, Lebanon, and Hoxie (KS.) On August 17, 1957, she married Robert (Bob) Abell, and together they built their family and became the 3rd generation to inherit and work the Abell family farming and ranching operation in Gove County.
Marjorie was a farm/ranch wife and mother, and returned to teaching as a substitute in surrounding schools for over 40 years. She was a member of the Grinnell United Methodist Church, active in the Kansas Farm Bureau, served on the Board of Directors for the Gove County Medical Center and the High Plains Mental Health Center, and remained active as a 4-H home economics judge at numerous county fairs over the years, including this past summer, and had already accepted invitations to return to several fairs for the summer of 2020.
Marjorie was preceded in death by her parents, her brothers Calvin Nelson and Robert Nelson, and her husband Bob.
She is survived by a brother, Chester Nelson of Corpus Christi, Texas, her children, Roger Abell, of Orion, KS, Dwight (Rhonda) Abell, of Oakley, KS, Gordon (Stacy) Abell, of Olathe, KS, Cathleen Abell, of Holcomb, KS, and Charlotte Bailey, of Olathe, KS; seven grandchildren, Hannah Pauls, Laura Holzmeister, Kelsey Brown, Kayla Abell, Wyatt Abell, Ethan Abell, and Nelson Bailey; two (plus one-on-the-way) great grandchildren; and many beloved nieces, nephews, cousins, and friends.
In honoring Marjorie’s specific request, cremation was chosen and no formal service will be held. Just as with Bob’s passing in April 2017, the family will be celebrating the life of Marjorie in a private tradition on the family ranch. Marjorie also specifically requested the family dissuade others from traditional gestures of grief support such as flowers, etc. In honoring that sentiment, the family would ask that in lieu of flowers, monetary gifts, cards, etc., that you ‘pay it forward’ as Marj would do – go out of your way to be kind to others, reach out and help someone, donate your time to a community board or charity, clip coupons and send in rebates for others, purchase groceries then make a meal for a family in need, deliver homemade bread to a widow or ‘shut in’, save and send newspaper clippings of interest to friend/family of article’s subject – basically do something, anything, to make someone else’s day a little better, their life a little easier, and remind them they are thought of and prayed for.
The family wishes to extend special gratitude and thankfulness to the team at the Gove County Medical Center for their exceptional respect and compassion during Marjorie’s stay in the swing bed unit; may loved ones of others receive the same loving care Marjorie did.
If you missed out on last week’s Eagle Radio Auction don’t worry, there are still opportunities to bid on several items through the Eagle Radio Online Auction.
Among the items still up for bid includes a 1997 Honda Goldwing GL 1500 Aspencade motorcycle from Day Motorsports.
This bike looks new and is in great shape. Features include saddle bags, a trunk, a fairing, and is pearl white in color. The bike has 58,555 miles and was a local trade. The retail price of this motorcycle is $5,895. For more information on this motorcycle, call Day Motorsports at 785-743-5723.
Getting away from their high-stress jobs, a couple spent weekends
relaxing in their motor home. When they found their peace and quiet
disturbed by well-meaning but unwelcome visits from other campers, they
devised a plan to assure themselves some privacy.
Now, when they set up camp, they place this sign on the door of their
motor home:
“Insurance agents. Ask about our term-life package.”
“The Gold Star families have liked this stop in Plainville the best.”
Nola Fritz, Gold Star mom and display manager
Nola Fritz, a Gold Star mother from Verdon, Nebraska, heaped praise on the small town and residents of Rooks County following Friday morning’s opening ceremony of “Remembering Our Fallen.”
The national traveling display is in honor and memory of military personnel who died in the line of duty, in training, and as a result of PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder) since 9/11.
Also participating in the ceremony were Brigadier General David Weishaar, Kansas National Guard, and Col. Thomas O’Connor, Jr., Fort Riley, who dined privately afterwards with the Gold Star families and other dignitaries.
“We must always remember the genesis of freedom that we enjoy today as Americans, is rooted in these heroes and their sacrifice,” said O’Connor, Jr. “It is my commitment that we will honor and remember your loved ones as we are doing here today,” added Weishaar.
Fritz manages and travels with the basketball court-sized pictorial display. Her oldest son, First Lt. Jacob Fritz, 25, and a West Point graduate, was executed while an Iraq POW on Jan. 20, 2007.
What was most appreciated by the Gold Star families, Fritz said, is the pen pal correspondence started between them and students of all ages in Rooks County.
Some of the communication was email and some of it was in a hand-written letter.
“They all got to connect with a class and they had the chance to meet the class today and take a picture with them,” said Sheila Hachmeister, a Plainville Ambassador member who chaired the weekend event.
“We’ve got a lot of people from the eastern part of the state. A couple who now lives in Ohio flew in to meet their class. Another soldier’s family flew in from North Carolina. Although they are Kansas families, we’ve kind of had them from all over.”
The Rooks County students also made red, white and blue fabric wreaths that decorated the main stage for the attending Gold Star families to take home. Another 70 wreaths will go to Kansas families whose sons and daughters are also on the towers.
None of the K-12 students was alive on 9/11.
“They’ve seen some clips on TV,” said Leona Breeden, a social studies teacher at Plainville Grade School. She explains to her 4th, 5th and 6th graders where she was on that fateful day – teaching in Hoxie.
“I talk about it in terms of what we did as a school then,” Breeden said, “and then we talk about the fact that these are real places and real people they hear of on the news that the U.S. is trying to help.”
Breeden’s 6th grade class was pen pals with the parents of Hays native Bryan Nichols. Jerry and Cindy Nichols now live in Palco. Jerry is a Vietnam veteran.
Leona Breeden, Plainville teacher and Gold Star family
“Ironically enough, I lost my nephew in Afghanistan, so he is also on these towers,” Breeden said, “and they are both pictured on the exact same tower, my nephew and Bryan.”
“We think there was some divine intervention there maybe that we got chosen to be his pen pal family.”
Bryan Nichols, 31, a 1998 graduate of Thomas More Prep-Marian High School, was killed August 6, 2011, one of 30 American troops who died in Afghanistan when their Chinook helicopter was shot down.
Also aboard the helicopter was Dave Carter, 47, a 1982 graduate of Hays High School whose family is now in Colorado.
The Nichols have been interviewed numerous time by the media about their son and his mission.
Jerry and Cindy Nichols, Palco, parents of Bryan Nichols who was killed in 2011.
“Cindy and I have a direct connection through Bryan as well as the other people that were lost on the same mission that day,” said Jerry Nichols. “It’s just very emotional being here and seeing the magnitude of people who lost their lives in defense of 9/11.”
The Nichols met with a Kansas City family Friday whose son served with Bryan.
“We kind of keep in touch with those members that were with Bryan, especially his crew area,” said Cindy. “But this is amazing community outpouring. I didn’t realize it could be this big.”
“Since the declaration of ‘The War on Terror,’ we’ve lost almost 7,000 heroes,” Fritz reminded the crowd in Andreson Memorial Park, “and there will be more. We currently have on the towers 70 percent of those that voluntarily gave their life for freedom.”
Plainville High School sophomore Benjamin Hansen reads names on the towers.
Plainville High School sophomore, Benjamin Hansen is 16 years old. He was one of many local volunteers reading the more than 5,000 names currently listed on the pictorial towers.
He admits he was a little nervous when he took his turn at the podium, but “this whole experience and seeing all these pictures and those names and reading more about them on there” has helped make it real.
The ‘war on terrorism’ has been discussed in a couple of Hansen’s classes.
“It’s just surprising that happened here,” he says of the airplane terrorist attacks in New York City, at the Pentagon and a field in Shanksville, Penn. 18 years ago. “And think of all those security measures that have changed.” Now Hansen understands why.
Two Plainville residents have also died, both as a result of PTSD. Navy corpsman Andy Brown, 27, died Feb. 17, 2017. Lynn Pfaff was part of the 388th Medical Logistics unit of the Army Reserves. She died Feb. 16, 2019.
“I think people are shocked when they walk up to the towers,” said Hachmeister. “They’re very visual. They’re going to punch you in the face.”
Each person is shown wearing their military uniform in a formal picture. A second inset picture shows them in an informal setting, with family or enjoying a favorite hobby.
“We want them to be remembered because that’s how we keep them alive,” Hachmeister said.
Sheila and her husband Ken Hachmeister of rural Natoma have two sons serving in the military. Jared is a 2017 graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy currently stationed in Pensacola. Seth is currently a West Point cadet at the U.S. Military Academy.
The Hachmeisters were in Philadelphia for the Army-Navy football game this last fall and happened to walk past the display at Independence National Park, on which they quickly found the picture of Bryan Nichols.
Hachmeister approached Fritz and asked how to get it to Plainville, a town with a population of just 1,500 people.
Nearly a year later, the memorial display and its entourage were escorted Thursday into Plainville by the American Legion Riders Chapter 173, Hays.
During her speech Friday, Hachmeister thanked all the Rooks County residents and many others who pulled together to host the event.
The memorial remained open 24/7 until the closing ceremony Sunday afternoon.
The Plainville stop was the first in Kansas (west of Kansas City) for the national display. It made its debut at the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C. in the fall of 2017 and has so far traveled to 29 states.
Flags line U.S. 183 into Plainville
Fort Riley First Infantry Division Band
Fort Riley First Infantry Division Color Guard
Quentin Meyers, Plainville mayor
Emcee Roger Cooper, Plainville
Pointing to a loved one’s pictures and name
Andy Brown, Plainville
Bryan Nichols, Hays
David Carter, Hays
Derrick Lutters, Goodland
Jacob Fritz, Verdon, Neb.
Gold Star Families posing for a group picture.
Military killed in combat zones of Iraq and Afghanistan are pictured on 29 beige background towers.
Finding names on each tower
Military who died on training and goodwill missions.
Military who succumbed to the wounds of PTSD and completed suicide.
Kansas National Guard static display on Friday
Plainville High School sophomore Benjamin Hansen reads names on the towers.
Gold Star families wore IDs with a yellow lanyard.
Just before 4a.m. Sunday, Kansas State University Police received a report of an active situation on the west side of campus along the Denison corridor, according to a media release.
