Randy Clinkscales
I am writing this article as I am waiting to get a rim fixed on my car. I tried to get away for a short weekend to do some hiking in Colorado. Along the way, I hit a pothole, bent my rim, and I am now grounded and am being forced to stay an extra day in Colorado. It would not be so bad except that I am grounded because I am driving around with no spare and one of those crappy little emergency tires.
But, as I sit here, it reminds me of something that happened to me years ago. My wife and I have three sons. As many young families, the early days were really a struggle. Our vacations were of two kinds: going to see family for a holiday, or camping.
Camping was a cheap alternative. We would load up tents, tarps, water bottles, and the like. We had old sleeping bags that weighed way too much. We would venture out as if we know what we were doing (and we didn’t).
One particular year, we decided to go to a part of the state that the kids had never been to: the Sangre de Cristo Mountains. We found a camping spot somewhere in the mountains, set up our tent and then decided to go exploring. The road got very rough. There were a lot of sharp rocks. As we were trying to maneuver over a particular bad area, I got out of the car only to hear a hissing sound. We had a tire going flat.
Needless to say, I did not want to try to change a tire on a mountain road. We bailed down the mountain as quickly as we could, arriving at a gas station. The gas station attendant changed the tire. We got the tire on and headed to the campsite. As we got there, one of the kids pointed out that they heard a hissing sound.
Another flat.
Let me be honest. Our tires were way overdue to be replaced. But, like so many young struggling families, we were trying to make due as long as we could.
We went back to the gas station and got the tire fixed.
The person at the gas station said, “Mister, I really would not be driving on these tires with three kids.”
My wife and I talked and headed to some town (probably Pueblo) and purchased a set of tires. I remember going to a movie, sitting there trying to figure out whether we should just go home or keep plugging along on our camping trip.
Our adventures did not end there. A day or two later, we broke camp. We then moved toward the Salida, Colorado area. Suddenly, our car started making a weird knocking sound (I really do not remember now what all was going on). We spent a day in a shop in either Salida or Canon City. The result was a temporary repair, and we had to drive 40 miles per hour back all the way from Colorado to Hays.
I always enjoy my vacations, but I will tell you that this one stretched me to the max.
It is not unusual for clients to come in to see me when bad things are happening. They can range from health issues, financial issues, or even family issues. Life was great, or at least fine until bad things started to happen. Sometimes I can tell they are just ready to give up.
One of the things that we try to do with our families is to help them step back, put the crisis in its proper place, find solutions, and then make a plan to go forward. Sometimes it takes a third party, such as an elder care attorney, to help them step back and get a better perspective on life. It is truly not the end; they just need a plan.
So, it was with us. Though our first trip to the Sangre de Cristo Mountains turned out to be a challenge, we still tell stories about it. We still talk about the flats, but also the beautiful mountains. And, the funny part is that it has really become one of our favorite places in Colorado. Don’t let “flat tires” stop you from enjoying life. Sometimes you just have to fix the flats and go on.
Randy Clinkscales of Clinkscales Elder Law Practice, PA, Hays, Kansas, is an elder care attorney, practicing in western Kansas. To contact him, please send an email to [email protected]. Disclaimer: The information in the column is for general information purposes and does not constitute legal advice. Each case is different and outcomes depend on the fact of each case and the then applicable law. For specific questions, you should contact a qualified attorney.
Austria and Germany, countries historically known for their rich music culture, this summer hosted the Fort Hays Singers, Fort Hays State University’s top choral ensemble. The singers joined four other choirs from the United States to take part in the American Celebration of Music.
The singers traveled to Munich, Germany and Salzburg and Vienna, Austria.
“I was called last March about interest in going to Austria, which I thought would be fun, but when they said that the American conductor would be Dr. Eph Ehly from Kansas City, I agreed instantly,” said Crull.
Eighteen entourage travelers including Crull, Pam McGowne (accompanist), family members and a few friends joined the 20 singers on the trip.
“We had a fantastic trip – good weather, good health and good memories,” said Crull. “The highlight for me was hearing and conducting my choir in some beautiful old cathedrals.”
“The Fort Hays Singers were model students with fun, fellowship and superb conduct. They really showed the best of what FHSU stands for,” he said.
The singers who went on the trip are listed by voice types.
Soprano: Jenna Confer, St. Francis sophomore; Dannielle Dickerson, Riley junior; Raeanna Peacock, Hays senior; Julie Schroeder, Colby senior; and Estella Schumacher, Pratt senior.
Tenor: Max Befort, Hays senior; Adam Flax, Hays senior; Nathaniel Lee, Satanta senior; Tyler Rathbun, Hays senior; and Jared Thom, Hays junior.
Bass: Braydon Boyer, Salina sophomore; Jeremy Claude, Hays freshman; Cody Kreutzer, Hays senior; Jacob Ostmeyer, Salina senior; and Nick Smith, Sharon Springs.
Funding for the trip was provided by Ben Cline, chair of the Department of Music and Theatre; the FHSU Foundation; friends of FHSU choirs; area churches; civic organizations; and the FHSU study abroad office.
“The students themselves worked exceptionally hard, both performing and on their own, to raise the $3,000 per traveler expense that the trip cost,” said Crull.
The American Celebration of Music was sponsored by Music Celebrations International.
The Thomas More Prep-Marian Back to School Night/Fall Sports Kick Off will be at 6:45 p.m. Thursday.
Back to School Night is a wonderful opportunity for parents to meet teachers and learn about TMP-Marian policies and procedures. Please arrive at 6:45 p.m., in order to pick up your student’s schedule from the office. Principal Chad Meitner will give a welcome and directions in the Dreiling Theatre at 7 p.m. Parents will then be allowed to follow their student’s first semester schedule and hear what each teacher expects in their classroom. Our teachers want to build a solid relationship with parents that enables everyone to work together to educate the students.
This Friday, August 24, 2018, is the kick off to Fall Sports at TMP-Marian. Come out to Al Billinger and watch volleyball scrimmage or Cripplegate field to watch soccer square off against Wichita Classical. The highlight of the evening will be the Blue & White Scrimmage. The TMP-Marian football team will display the skills they have acquired thus far. A freewill offering meal, put on by the cheerleaders, will also accompany this event.
3:30 Cross Country Run at TMP
4:00 Volleyball Scrimmage at ABFH
4:00 Boys Soccer vs. Wichita Classical at Cripplegate Field
6:30 Girls Golf Exhibition
7:00 Football Scrimmage at Cripplegate Field
SEDGWICK COUNTY— Law enforcement authorities are investigating a suspect on sex charges.
McCool -photo Sedgwick County
Following an investigating at Lakeside Academy Juvenile Facility, deputies arrested 38-year-old Amanda McCool, according to Lt. Tim Myers with the Sedgwick County Sheriff’s Department.
McCool, was booked Tuesday on requested charges of unlawful sexual relations involving a juvenile, according to Myers. She posted bond and is no longer in custody.
Lakeside Academy is not affiliated with law enforcement, according to Myers.
McCool was employed by Sequel Youth Services, according to Lakeside Academy officials. They are contracted with the Kansas Department of Children and Families to provide services at the facility.
USD 265 Goddard is responsible for academic programs for students who live at the facility. McCool was not a school district employee.
BUTLER COUNTY — Two people were injured in an accident just after 9p.m. Wednesday in Butler County.
The Kansas Highway Patrol reported a 2012 Frieghtliner tow truck driven by David J. Wheat, 70, August, was eastbound crossing the Walnut River Bridge on SW 100th Street.
As the vehicle began crossing the bridge it was met by westbound traffic and the driver failed to see three eastbound on horseback. The tow truck struck Joshua D. Quezada, 18, and Arnold, Piper Piper, 14, both of Augusta, from behind.
Quezada and Piper were transported to Wesley Medical Center. A third rider Davis, Shonni L. Davis, 18, Augusta, and Wheat were not injured. Both horses died, according to the KHP.
Today A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms before 9am. Patchy fog before 9am. Otherwise, cloudy, then gradually becoming mostly sunny, with a high near 88. South southeast wind 7 to 11 mph becoming west southwest in the afternoon.
Tonight Partly cloudy, with a low around 63. Southwest wind around 6 mph becoming east in the evening.
Friday Sunny, with a high near 92. West southwest wind around 7 mph becoming north in the afternoon.
Friday NightClear, with a low around 66. East wind around 6 mph becoming south southeast after midnight.
SaturdaySunny, with a high near 95.
Saturday NightS cattered showers after 1am. Partly cloudy, with a low around 71. Chance of precipitation is 30%.
Sunday Isolated showers and thunderstorms before 1pm. Mostly sunny, with a high near 94. Chance of precipitation is 20%.
From the petition asking to have Vanessa Cowie reinstated.
By LESLIE EIKLEBERRY
SALINA — Friends of the Salina Animal Shelter this week started a petition to encourage City of Salina officials to reinstate suspended Animal Services Manager Vanessa Cowie.
By 2 p.m. Wednesday, more than 300 people had signed the petition.
Cowie was placed on paid administrative leave and escorted from the Salina Animal Shelter on August 15. When questioned about the incident, Interim City Manager Mike Schrage told Salina Post that he was “not able to respond to inquiries about personnel matters.”
The petition, directed to Schrage and the Salina City Commissioners, begins with the following.
“Our beloved Animal Services Director, Vanessa Cowie, has recently been suspended, pending her termination. In a move that surprised many people, including shelter staff and Volunteers, Vanessa Cowie was escorted from her office at the Salina Animal Shelter on August 15. She is suspended from all of her duties, pending a hearing with Interim Salina City Manager Mike Schrage.”
Cowie herself has declined to speak to media about the incident. When contacted by the Salina Post on Thursday, Cowie responded, “it’s against policy for me to elaborate and I respect the process. It is upsetting and I hope a fast resolution can be determined, so that I can return to my role serving the citizens and the animals.”
Shelter volunteers and friends of the animal shelter, however, have not hesitated to comment.
“When I heard of Vanessa’s suspension, my heart sank,” Aarynne Struble, a shelter volunteer who fosters kittens and helps with spay/neuter events, told the Salina Post. “I have a tremendous amount of respect and admiration for the work she does. Losing her would be an enormous loss to our community. I have never met someone with the skill-set and dedication that she has. Vanessa is irreplaceable.”
Struble praised Cowie not only for her hard work and dedication but also for her efforts to improve the shelter in Salina.
“She has made Salina Animal Services one of the best-run animal shelters in Kansas. She works harder than anyone I know. Her workday does not end when she leaves the shelter in the evening,” Struble noted.
She continued that Cowie doesn’t leave her caring for animals or volunteers at the office.
“As a volunteer with foster kittens, she was always willing and eager to provide me with help and support, even when she was out of the office. And she doesn’t just provide excellent care to shelter animals, she cares about ALL animals,” Struble told the Salina Post. “I have contacted her regarding my owns pets, wildlife, and strays – she is always eager to provide support.”
Shelter volunteer Bruce Moore, wrote in a Facebook post on Thursday, “Vanessa’s supervisor claims Vanessa exceeded her authority by responding to the Saline County Sheriff’s request for assistance when it seized scores of animals that appeared to be neglected. She was then accused of being insubordinate for insisting that Kansas statutes provided a means for recovering the costs of boarding the seized animals, and offering to bring in outside attorneys experienced in animal welfare cases to shield the city from that liability. Instead of following Vanessa’s lead, the city got stuck with the bill, and may have little chance of recovering those costs from the animal owners. To punish Vanessa and the shelter, for her “insubordination,” her supervisor arbitrarily, and without notice, cut off all of the shelter’s spending authority, going so far as to cancel her city credit card. The shelter was briefly unable to buy animal food or to pay Dr. Braun, who performs spay/neuter surgeries at the shelter. When Vanessa received inquiries from a city commissioner, she was accused of violating chain of command rules (that preclude any city employee from speaking directly to a member of the commission about a matter of city business – no kidding, that’s a rule) and her supervisor didn’t care that Vanessa didn’t initiate the contact. Vanessa’s supervisors then audited ALL of Vanessa’s expenditures over the last 2 or 3 years, looking for anything amiss. Nothing was found. She’s been called demeaning names by her supervisors and told to “shut up” when she attempted to defend herself and the shelter. Some of the comments directed to her referenced her gender, as if that was somehow relevant to the discussion, implying that her opinions lack credibility because she’s a female. There is more, but that’s a good start. When the dust settles, the city will look like chumps for the way Vanessa was, and is, being treated. With all the grant money Vanessa has secured, for the benefit of the city-owned shelter, she has instituted a number of programs to encourage spaying/neutering of Salina pets. If those programs, tolerated but not supported by her supervisors, are discontinued, the city could have to repay some or all of that grant money. To thank Vanessa for obtaining grant funding to renovate the shelter building, the city cut her budget. Anyone see anything wrong with this picture?”
On Friday, Moore told Salina Post that he stands behind everything he has written on Facebook concerning the Cowie matter. Although he declined to say how he came by some of the information provided in the Facebook post, Moore said the information was garnered through personal observations and interactions.
“I’m over here every day. I see things. I hear things. Everything on Facebook I intend to stand behind,” Moore said.
Moore praised the work Cowie has done on behalf of the animal shelter. He noted Cowie’s work to change the shelter to a no-kill shelter, including establishing a foster program for cats and kittens in which volunteers take kittens and feral cats home to not only free up shelter space but to also socialize the animals and get them ready to be adopted.
“Vanessa has given the animals a chance to thrive,” Moore said.
He added that the no-kill aspect of the shelter was key to most of the volunteers assisting the shelter.
Moore, who was working in the shelter’s cat room at the time of the interview, noted that the renovated cat room was paid for by a grant from the Petco Foundation that Cowie had secured for the shelter. In fact, Cowie has been able to secure $350,000 in grant funding from the Petco Foundation for various shelter projects.
Moore also said that Cowie is also well-respected outside of Salina and has been sought out for consultation on a number of occasions.
That fact was evident during the public comment portion of Monday’s city commission meeting when a representative from the Clay Center Animal Shelter praised Cowie for her assistance with getting the shelter in Clay Center started.
“Everyone we talked to directed us to Vanessa. She met with us outside shelter hours. So many of our best practices were adopted from the Salina shelter,” she said.
State Senator Randall Hardy, who represents the 24th District, also spoke about the respect people outside of Salina have for Cowie. Hardy said that during the last legislative session, he attended a luncheon and educational event sponsored by the Kansas Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.
“When I arrived, I found out that Miss Cowie was providing the program for the legislators. Miss Cowie was chosen for the presentation because her shelter is considered by the state society to be a model program that includes best practices that could be considered by shelters all over the state. I was sitting there thinking how proud I was to be associated with a city with an animal shelter that has a statewide reputation of excellence,” Hardy said.
Additionally, Dr. Brad Crauer, assistant clinical professor in shelter medicine in the Kansas State University College of Veterinary Medicine also spoke in support of Cowie.
“I developed and oversee the shelter medicine program. We take students across central Kansas and Nebraska to shelters to provide free spay and neuter and medical triage. I also consult and visit shelters nationwide,” Crauer said. “When we look at the shelters that I have been associated with, I can tell you that Salina Animal Shelter is one of the highest performing shelters anywhere, and that’s because of Vanessa Cowie.”
“Other shelters want her badly because she does such an outstanding job,” Sue Voll, president of the Friends of the Salina Animal Shelter, told the commissioners. “I want to let everyone know that the volunteers stand behind Vanessa 100 percent.”
RENO COUNTY — A Kansas man was arrested Tuesday evening after he led Hutchinson police officers in a chase that ended with a crash. A police officer was injured.
Scott-photo Reno Co.
Authorities had been looking for 36-year-old William Scott for some time because of outstanding warrants.
An officer spotted Scott and attempted to pull him over. Scott refused to stop his vehicle and led officers in a high-speed chase.
Scott eventually crashed into the officer’s vehicle at 9th & Lorraine. The officer, identified as Mike Rivers, went to Hutchinson Regional Medical Center for an X-ray of his foot, according to Police Sgt. Josh Radloff.
Scott faces possible charges of aggravated battery of a law enforcement officer, felony flee and elude, and driving while suspended.
He’s been on parole for a conviction of criminal possession of a firearm and was listed as an absconder in that case.
His bonds total $32,500. He is expected back in court next week.
WICHITA, KAN. – A Texas man pleaded guilty Tuesday to driving a load of cocaine to Kansas, according to U.S. Attorney Stephen McAllister.
Ruiz -photo Butler Co.
Ricardo Daniel Ruiz, 20, El Paso, Texas, pleaded guilty to one count of interstate travel in furtherance of drug trafficking. In his plea, he admitted that a police officer in Elkhart stopped him for speeding. A search of the vehicle turned up about 15 pounds of cocaine wrapped in six bundles and hidden beneath the back seat.
Sentencing is set for Nov. 6. He faces a penalty of up to five years in federal prison and a fine up to $250,000.
TOPEKA, KAN. – A Kansas man was sentenced Tuesday to 79 months in federal prison for five bank robberies in four states, according to U.S. Attorney Stephen McAllister.
Walker admitted to robbing 5 banks including the US Bank on Southwest 21st Street in Topeka. Security camera image courtesy Topeka Police
Dakota Shareef Walker, 21, Topeka, Kan., pleaded guilty to the following robberies:
· U.S. Bank, 5730 Southwest 21st, Topeka, Nov. 28, 2016.
· U.S. Bank, 221 West Gregory Blvd, Kansas City Missouri, Nov. 23, 2016.
· U.S. Bank, 748 Main Street, Evanston, Wyo., Dec. 6, 2016.
· U.S. Bank, 25 East 50 South, Malad City, Idaho, Dec. 14, 2016.
· Wells Fargo Bank, 5 North State Street, Preston, Idaho, Jan. 9, 2017.
ROOSEVELT COUNTY, N.M. — Law enforcement authorities have arrested a suspect wanted in connection with a shooting in Wichita.
According to officer Paul Cruz, police in New Mexico arrested Eli Mendoza on Tuesday night.
Mendoza -photo Roosevelt County Sheriff
Just after 3:30 p.m. August 9, Wichita police responded to report of a shooting near the intersection of Mt. Vernon and Water, according to officer Charley Davidson.
At the scene, a 34-year-old woman told police that her 28-year-old boyfriend identified as Eli Mendoza shot her twice with a handgun.
The woman was transported to an area hospital with serious injuries to her chest and elbow, according to Davidson.
Investigators learned that the two were traveling in a Chevy Suburban, had a disagreement and Mendoza pulled out a handgun, shot her and fled in the vehicle.
The following day, police issued an alert for him. He is now being held in the Roosevelt County, N.M., according to the booking report.
Mendoza has previous convictions in Kansas for criminal threat, DUI and flee or attempt to flee and elude law enforcement, according to the Kansas Department of Corrections.
LEAWOOD, Kan. (AP) — Two men have been charged in a shooting that erupted after a high school graduation at a church in suburban Kansas City, Kansas.
Gwinn-photo Johnson Co.
The May 17 shooting wounded two people, including a newly graduated student, outside the United Methodist Church of the Resurrection in Leawood. Hundreds of people attended the ceremony for graduates of Center High School in Kansas City, Missouri.
Police said the shooting erupted during a fight and that more than a dozen shell casings were found at the scene.
Henderson -photo Johnson Co.
Leawood police say 21-year-old Damon Gwinn was charged Tuesday with one count of aggravated battery. Twenty-year-old Rasheed Henderson has been charged with fleeing and eluding police.
Gwinn’s bond is set at $250,000 and Henderson’s is set at $100,000.
