AGRA — The Kansas Department of Transportation plans to begin a guardrail replacement project on a portion of U.S. 36 in Phillips County the week of Aug. 20.
Crews will be replacing the guardrail on the viaduct over the Kyle Railroad located approximately 2 miles east of Agra. Traffic will be guided through the work zone via flaggers during daylight hours and minor delays not exceeding 5 minutes should be anticipated. Work is expected to be completed by the end of October, weather permitting.
Mission Construction is the primary contractor for the project with a total contract cost of approximately $199,000. Sub-contracts were also awarded to Whitney Construction and Farms and Fulsom Brothers Inc.
RPM Speedway will have Military Appreciation Night in conjunction with the regular season race Saturday, Aug. 25.
Thanks to Pfeifer Dozer Service of St Peter, all active duty, former or retired military, Reservist or National Guard members will be admitted free to the grandstands with military ID on Saturday. Thanks also to Stan Dreilng, James Motor Co., and Heim Body Shop of Hoxie for free General Admission for kids 12 and younger with parent or guardian. GA for all others 13 and older will be $10.
Pits will open at 4 p.m. Pit pass for adults 13 and older will be $25 and kids 12 and younger $10 with parent or guardian.
GA will open at 5 p.m., hot laps at 6 p.m., with races to follow.
Race fans are encouraged to wear their red, white and blue in support of our troops and to remember our veterans.
The 5 regular IMCA classes, Mods, Stocks, Northern SportMods, Hobby Stocks & Sport Compacts plus the Crazy Cruisers will take the track for the evening.
Four Quilts of Valor will be awarded during the night to an active service member or veteran.
The mission of the Quilts of Valor Foundation is to cover active service members and veterans touched by war with a comforting and healing Quilt of Valor.
Steve Gilliland
Two weeks ago, I wrote about erecting nest boxes to attract barn owls to help control damage caused by pocket gophers and other rodents, but said little about barn owls themselves. As “landlords’ it seems we should know a little about our tenants too.
It’s hard to convince people there are lots of bobcats in Kansas because they are rarely seen, and so it is with barn owls. Barn owls are very secretive and like nesting / roosting sites that are well hidden, so it’s tough to think there are many around. Actually barn owls are the most widely distributed of all owls, and one of the most widely distributed birds overall; they are found on every continent but Antarctica.
Barn owls are thought to be the origin of many ghost myths, as their vocalization resembles a scream and they appear “ghost-like” in a dark building. Adult barn owls in the USA are from 12 to 15 inches tall with a wingspan of over 40 inches (a contact in the UK tells me their barn owls are about have that size.) They have large, broad wings with soft feathers that allow for silent flight. Their necks are flexible enough to let their heads turn more than 180 degrees in each direction.
A very distinctive face with cupped facial discs funnels sounds out to their ears, giving them possibly the best hearing of all common owls. One talon on each foot actually has tiny serrations on one edge like a comb and is thought to help with grooming those facial discs.
Barn owls usually form monogamous pairs and as long as habitat and food availability remain, that pair will nest in the same site for years. They are “cavity nesters,” along with Kestrels and Screech Owls, so they can be attracted to nest boxes, and they adapt very readily to human activity as long as their nesting/roosting site is concealed. Clutches of eggs average from 4 to 7, but can be more if prey species are abundant. Studies show that the amount of prey available actually dictates the number of eggs laid and the number of chicks fledged, even to the point where 2 broods of chicks might be raised in a single year if prey is very plentiful. Barn owl eggs are “asynchronous,” meaning incubation begins as each egg is laid, so there will always be older and younger chicks in each brood.
Not to be over-simplistic, but the first key to attracting barn owls to a nest box is an abundance of prey. A friend just recently told me that when he had hogs, there were barn owls in every crack and crevice available in his silo and buildings, because where there are hogs, there are usually an abundance of rodents. Barn owls like open farm country and pastureland. The absolute best hunting habitat for them are areas of rough grass that only occasionally or never gets cut or grazed.
These areas of rough grass contain a deep “liter layer” on the ground made up of dead grasses from previous years that encourage rodents to build nests and tunnels. Nesting boxes on poles and in the ends of buildings should face or at least be near open farm and pasture land for them to hunt. Since barn owls are so secretive most of the year, sometimes you will only know you have them by seeing “pellets” on the ground near the nest. All owls regurgitate pellets composed of bone, fur and all other undigested material. Fresh owl pellets near a nest box or cavity is a sure sign of a renter within.
Barn owl populations are threatened when pesticides are used to kill rodents, when dead trees are cut down and old farm buildings are removed and when grasslands are turned into farm ground. In light of those challenges, manmade nesting boxes placed inside existing farm buildings or on poles along field edges are beneficial to attracting God’s “critter-gitters” to you property. So if gophers and other rodents are giving you fits, why not look into erecting an owl nest box or two. Contact me and I’ll point you in the right direction or contact Mark Browning with the Barn Owl Box Company, www.barnowlbox.com. Continue to Explore Kansas Outdoors.
Steve Gilliland, Inman, can be contacted by email at [email protected].
Dave RamseyMy wife and I are not on the same page when it comes to money and our two teenage daughters. I think they should be learning the value of work and money, but she doesn’t want them to work. She regularly hands them spending money and buys them expensive gifts. I want our girls to have some nice things, but this is starting to cause problems in our relationship. Do you have any advice?
Stan
Dear Stan,
Kids should learn to work and make money at an early age. We’ve given nice gifts to our kids, but the difference is they also worked and made money for themselves. The gifts we gave them were for special occasions. Showering our kids with money and expensive toys all the time was not our way of life.
In this situation, your wife is allowing them to be nothing but consumers. I know she loves them, but they’re not learning how to work, and they’re not learning how to save or give. This is setting them up for a lifetime of unrealistic expectations. If something doesn’t happen to change things, you’re going to end up with two spoiled little girls, who think they should be given everything their entire lives.
Still, I think the biggest problem is you and your wife are experiencing a communication and marital breakdown. If the kids weren’t in the picture, I’ve got a feeling the same problems would exist. The difference is they would manifest themselves in other ways.
Obviously, your wife needs to stop being so impulsive where the kids are concerned. Try sitting down with her, and gently explaining your feelings. Let your wife know you love her and how generous she is, but you’re worried this is having a negative impact on your children. Maybe you could try to establish some guidelines as to when really nice gifts are appropriate, too. There’s a middle ground you can reach, but it’s going to take some time and effort. Most of all, it means the two of you are going to have to communicate and work together for the good of your kids.
Dave Ramsey is CEO of Ramsey Solutions. He has authored seven best-selling books, including The Total Money Makeover. The Dave Ramsey Show is heard by more than 14 million listeners each week on 600 radio stations and multiple digital platforms. Follow Dave on the web at daveramsey.com and on Twitter at @DaveRamsey.
Smoky Hills Public Television has begun a capital campaign to fund two projects.
The first project is the replacement of the KSWK transmitter located near Lakin. The transmitter broadcasts Smoky Hills Public Television’s signal to southwest Kansas. When the transmitter is at full strength, nearly 83,000 people in southwest Kansas can receive Smoky Hills’ programming for free with an antenna, including nearly 16,000 children who benefit from the educational kids programming. However, due to age, the transmitter is functioning on low power.
The cost to replace the transmitter is $146,000. Approximately half of the project cost has been donated through the Perle and Catherine Frazee Foundation, the Mona and Mel Winger Family Foundation, Pioneer Electric Area Roundup, the Rundell Foundation and an anonymous donor.
The second project is the purchase of a new video server. The server allows the station to record PBS programs and schedule them with local shows, promotions and acknowledgements of supporters. Without the server, SHPTV would be forced to only broadcast a raw PBS stream, which would be a random schedule of shows.
With the current video server failing, SHPTV is raising $147,000 to replace it. The Hansen Foundation has made a contribution toward this project.
“Smoky Hills Public Television is grateful for all the donations towards this capital campaign,” said Larry Calvery, Smoky Hills Public Television Interim General Manager. “The generosity and support of these donors encourages our continued commitment to raising the remaining funds because these pieces of equipment are essential to the broadcast of Smoky Hills Public Television throughout central and western Kansas.”
STAFFORD COUNTY— One person died in an accident just after 8:30p.m. Sunday in Stafford County.
The Kansas Highway Patrol reported a 1998 GMC Yukon driven by Marvin E. Julian, 51, Stafford, was southbound on U.S. 50 six miles south and one mile east of Stafford at a high rate of speed.
The SUV hit a patch of water in the roadway causing it to travel south into a sandy field.
Due to the loose sand, the driver lost control of vehicle and it overturned five times.
Julian was transported to the Stafford County Hospital where he died. A passenger Mason Lee Julian, 13, Stafford, was transported to Wesley Medical Center. They were not wearing seat belts, according to the KHP.
Today Mostly cloudy, then gradually becoming sunny, with a high near 76. Breezy, with a north northwest wind 17 to 22 mph, with gusts as high as 33 mph.
Tonight Mostly clear, with a low around 56. North wind 6 to 14 mph.
Tuesday Mostly sunny, with a high near 78. North northwest wind 6 to 8 mph becoming east northeast in the afternoon.
Tuesday Night Showers and thunderstorms likely, mainly after 1am. Increasing clouds, with a low around 60. East northeast wind 6 to 8 mph. Chance of precipitation is 60%. New rainfall amounts between a tenth and quarter of an inch, except higher amounts possible in thunderstorms.
Wednesday Showers and thunderstorms likely, mainly before 1pm. Cloudy, with a high near 74. East southeast wind 6 to 8 mph. Chance of precipitation is 60%. New rainfall amounts between a tenth and quarter of an inch, except higher amounts possible in thunderstorms.
Wednesday NightA 40 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms, mainly after 1am. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 62.
SHAWNEE COUNTY — Law enforcement authorities are investigating a pair of robberies and have a suspect in custody. Just before 10:30a.m. Friday, police responded to report of a robber at the Dollar General Store, 1001 SW Fairlawn Road in Topeka, according to Lt. Chris Heaven.
Heneck -photo Shawnee Co.
Dollar General Store Employees advised a 5-foot-6, Skinny Build, White Male wearing a blue/white hoodie, with a pink bandana on his face, entered the business and demanded money.
The suspect was armed with a tire iron, took an undisclosed amount of cash and escaped.
While surveilling similar retail business robberies, the Kansas Highway Patrol initiated a traffic stop on a black Ford Taurus which met the description given by witnesses. Troopers and Topeka Police arrested Daniel A. Heneck without incident. Heneck was booked into SNCO DOC with two charges of Aggravated Robbery for the two Dollar General Store Robberies on SW Fairlawn and 2042 NW Topeka Blvd., according to Heaven.
TUSCUMBIA, Mo. (AP) — The trial of a 59-year-old man facing a capital murder charge in the 1984 death of a Missouri teenager has been moved to a different county.
Priest -photo KDOC
Martin Priest’s trial in the death of 15-year-old Tammy Sue Rothganger of Eldon has been moved from Miller to Laclede County. Rothganger disappeared while walking to school in May 1984. A friend reported seeing the girl getting into a car with an unidentified man and Priest, who was her mother’s boyfriend. Her remains were never found.
Priest was charged in 2016 while serving a life sentence in Kansas for a different murder. Officials moved him from a Kansas prison to Missouri in May.
In the early to mid-1980s, authorities in Missouri and Kansas linked Priest to five deaths, but prosecutors gained only one conviction that was upheld.
NORTH KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — A Kansas City-area school district that garnered national attention when a transgender student was crowned homecoming queen in 2015 has installed gender-neutral restrooms at two new elementary schools and in some existing locations.
The individual bathroom stalls at Rising Hill Elementary and Northview Elementary in the North Kansas City School District two new elementary schools are enclosed with floor-to-ceiling walls and lockable doors, the Kansas City Star reported. The restrooms still have an open alcove area with a common trough sink. Both male and female symbols adorn the same sign on the wall outside the bathrooms.
The elementary schools opened Wednesday. The district also used a gender-neutral design in renovated bathrooms at two sixth-grade centers and at North Kansas City High School.
The district first tried the design at its Northland Innovation Center for gifted students in 2016, a year after one of the district’s four high schools, Oak Park High, crowned a transgender student as homecoming queen.
“We had such positive feedback from students, teachers and parents,” said Rochel Daniels, the district’s executive director of organizational development. “Since then we have decided to replicate the concept in any new construction.”
Daniels said the bathroom design was suggested by a district team comprised of parents and students.
“Students said they like these restrooms better because they are more private,” Daniels said.
She also said teachers can better monitor students because they can stand in the common area while the bathrooms are in use.
While the district doesn’t have a policy governing gender-neutral restroom, “we do have a policy about non-discrimination,” Daniels said.
“The restrooms became a point where we can provide for all students. The design was a decision based on privacy, safety and security for all students.”
Melanie Austin, whose first-grade daughter attends Crestview Elementary and takes classes at the Northland Innovation Center, supports the gender-neutral concept.
“You just don’t know what gender a kid might identify as,” Austin said. “This helps everyone to feel comfortable, accepted.”
