A 2012 Nissan Altima driven by Tyler Ordoyne, 27, Claflin, was southbound in the 500 Block of 160 Avenue near the Rice County line, according to Barton County Sheriff Brian Bellendir.
The driver lost control of the vehicle. It entered the west ditch striking a farm driveway, became airborne landing in the west ditch and rolled.
Ordoyne was able to call for help from his cell phone although he was trapped in the vehicle. The driver was extricated from the vehicle by Claflin Fire Department and EMS service. He was transported to Great Bend Regional Hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. Speed is being considered as a contributing circumstance to the accident, according to Bellendir.
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — The Kansas Supreme Court has ruled that a state law stripping public school teachers of guaranteed tenure does not violate the state or federal constitution.
The court issued a unanimous ruling Friday against two veteran teachers who sued their Butler County school district after it did not renew their contracts in 2015.
The Republican-controlled Legislature enacted the law ending guaranteed tenure in 2014 through a measure that also boosted spending on public schools.
Before the change, teachers with three or more years in the classroom had a right to have the non-renewal of their contracts reviewed by an independent hearing officer. Local school boards now set each district’s policy.
The Supreme Court rejected the teachers’ argument that tenure represented a property right that lawmakers could not modify or take away.
Mike Mahorney, 59, died Thu., June 14, 2018, at Citizens Medical Center, Colby, Kansas.
He was born June 14, 1959 in Colby and was a retired shop foreman for a fire extinguisher company.
Mahorney is survived by his sons Mike Rohr and Brett Mahorney; step-brother Dennis Mahorney, Hutchinson; sisters Melody Higgins of Riverton, Wyoming and Tanya Grubb of Colby; and his step-sister Kim Urbanek, Plainville.
He was predeceased by his mother Dorreen in 1977 and father J.D. in 2001.
A memorial service will take place Monday, June 18 at Kersenbrock Funeral Chapel, 745 S. Country Club Drive, Colby.
There will be no visitation as cremation has been chosen. A private inurnment will take place at a later date.
Memorials may be made in Mike Mahorney’s name in care of the Kersenbrock Funeral Chapel.
Condolences are available online at kersenbrockfuneralchapelcom.
TOPEKA (AP) — The Sierra Club has filed a lawsuit against the Kansas Department of Health and Environment challenging permits for a pork facility expansion.
The Topeka Capital-Journal reports that the lawsuit filed Thursday alleges permits issued for the expansion of a Phillips County hog production facility violate state law and set a dangerous precedent by undermining protections for surface water.
The department has decided to allow farmer Terry Nelson to subdivide his existing swine breeding operation into two limited-liability companies, Husky Hogs and Prairie Dog Pork.
The lawsuit accuses the department of authorizing Nelson to elude limits on the number of animals that could be confined in buildings within 250 feet (76.2 meters) of surface water.
The agency declined to comment to the newspaper citing pending litigation.
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — The Kansas Supreme Court has postponed a decision on whether the state can execute a man convicted of kidnapping, raping and strangling a 19-year-old college student.
Thurber-photo KDOC
The high court on Friday upheld the capital murder conviction of Justin Eugene Thurber but returned his case to a lower court for another review of whether he’s developmentally disabled.
The U.S. Supreme Court has deemed it unconstitutional to execute defendants with even mild developmental disabilities.
Thurber was sentenced to lethal injection for the January 2007 killing of Jodi Sanderholm. She was a pre-pharmacy student and dance team member at Cowley College.
Jodi Sanderholm-courtesy photo
The trial judge rejected the defense’s request for a hearing on whether Thurber is developmentally disabled, ruling that the defense hadn’t presented enough evidence to warrant it.
James “Jim” Dean Sanders, age 74, passed away June 15, 2018 at Hays Medical Center. He was born the son of Elmer and Freda Marie (Leikam) Sanders on August 17, 1943 in Hays, KS.
Jim enjoyed fishing, playing pool and pinball. He was an excellent leatherman and created beautiful pieces of art with leather.
He is survived by his daughter, Sandy Pollman of McPherson, KS; three brothers, Joe Sanders of Florida, John Sanders of Hays & Jeff and his wife Tammy of Hays; two sisters, Janet and her husband Leonard of Texas & Judy and her husband Ramon of Russell as well as four grandchildren & six great-grandchildren.
Jim is preceded in death by his parents; and a son, James Marsh.
A private family service will be held at a later date. To share a memory or to leave condolences, please visit Jim’s memorial webpage at www.keithleyfuneralchapels.com or can be made via email at [email protected].
Arrangements are in care of Brock’s-Keithley Funeral Chapel & Crematory, 2509 Vine St., Hays, KS 67601.
UPDATE: The pipeline fire in rural Harvey County is contained but will burn for several hours, according to Harvey County Emergency Services. ‘
There are no injuries reported and officials have not determined a cause of the explosion and fire.
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HARVEY COUNTY —— No injuries are reported in a gas pipeline explosion and fire in Harvey County.
Pipeline fire Friday morning in rural Harvey County -image courtesy KWCH
Just before 8a.m., crews responded to the pipeline fire near West Dutch Avenue and Nor Hertzler Road, west of Hesston, according to the Harvey County Emergency Management.
Authorities asked the public to avoid the area.
The gas line belongs to Southern Star Central Gas Pipeline. Company spokesman Rob Southard says everyone is safe and that the gas supply has been shut off. He says crews will wait until the excess gas in the line burns off before repairing it.
He says the cause of the fire is under investigation. He says there was no excavation work being done in the area beforehand.
Jehovah’s Witnesses are inviting the public to attend their annual regional convention at the Pinnacle Bank Arena in Lincoln, Nebraska. The three-day event will take place Friday, July 6, Saturday, July 7, and Sunday, July 8, 2018. The program begins each day at 9:20 a.m. and is free of charge.
The three-day program consists of 54 presentations that will include talks, audio dramas, interviews, and short videos. Additionally, a feature film entitled The Story of Jonah—A Lesson in Courage and Mercy will be shown on the final day of the convention program at 1:50 p.m. Each day, the morning and afternoon sessions will be introduced by music videos prepared specifically for the convention.
“Be Courageous!” is the theme of the convention. People of all ages are dealing with more anxieties and fears than ever before. It takes courage to face these pressures. Practical advice that is contained in the Bible will be featured.
A peak attendance of 6,000 is anticipated.
On Thursday, July 5, volunteers from Iowa, Kansas, Nebraska and South Dakota will be preparing the Pinnacle Bank Arena for our many visitors. Chairs will be arranged on the arena floor, a stage with large wall monitors will be assembled, and a baptism pool will be set up. Also, audio and video equipment will be connected to the Pinnacle Bank Arena system, enabling everyone to hear and see the program clearly.
All sessions are open to the public and free of charge.
Additional information and a program of the entire event can be found at www.jw.org.
The Ellis County Commission continued working on its 2019 budget in a special meeting Thursday morning at the Ellis County Courthouse.
Despite being halfway through 2018, it appears that the county will have some difficult decisions to make when it comes to 2019. County Administrator Phillip Smith, in a budget preview earlier this month, told the commission the county faces a budget deficit of approximately $645,000 if it does not increase the mill levy.
If the commission raised the mill levy 5/8 of a mill, the most allowed under the tax lid, the budget is still about $400,000 short.
Before the eight department heads presented their budget requests to the commission on Thursday, Commissioner Barb Wasinger said she is not in favor of an increase in the mill levy.
“I think that with the budget in the millions of dollars such as we have, there should be a way that we can cut our budget down to fit and not raise the mill levy,” Wasinger said. “Be fiscally responsible. I think we can do that easily.
“So I will not vote for an increase in any mill levy.”
Among those presenting their budget requests Thursday was Ellis County Attorney Tom Drees.
Ellis County Attorney Tom Drees
Drees told the commission he is asking for an increase of $38,000, with $29,000 of that bringing salaries for assistant county attorneys to the midrange average for salaries in Kansas.
“I know that the county has done an outstanding job getting employees up to midrange. We need to share in that also,” said Drees.
According numbers presented Thursday by Drees, his office ranked 15 in the number of criminal convictions and civil adjudications in the state in 2017. Ellis County ranks 21st in population.
Drees also presented a statewide comparison of the total number of staff working in each county office and salary comparison.
In fiscal year 2017, Ellis County had five attorneys and six support staff members. Among five counties in similar size to Ellis County, only Harvey County had fewer staff members with 9.5.
Lyon and Finney counties have 19 total staff members. Ford County has 18.
Drees said that Ellis County compares well with Lyon County. Both counties have a four-year institution, a major highway runs through each county and the population is similar. According to Drees, the Lyon County attorney has a budget of $1.9 million while Ellis County budgets $900,000 for the county attorney.
Commissioner Dean Haselhorst said, “That goes to show you’re more efficient.”
Drees also said salaries within the county attorney’s office are below other comparable counties.
According to Drees, the average mid-range salary in comparable counties is about $69,425. Ellis County’s mid-range number is $62,000, about $7,000 difference.
“We’ve held the line on budget … and that’s a good thing,” Drees said. “But we also have to be fair to our employees.”
The rest of the departments that presented on Thursday kept their requests close to their prior year’s request.
County Administrator Phillip Smith-Hanes also presented the county with some good news on Thursday saying that the insurance rates were less than anticipated. He said the weighted average for the county was about 7 percent.
Register of Deeds – 2019 Request: $232,833
Increase of $20,599 from 2018 budget
Sheriff – 2019 Request: $3,825,548
Increase of $40,677 from 2018 budget
Sheriff Ed Harbin said they trimmed approximately $145,000 because they have reduced the number of inmates housed out of county. They are working with the county attorney and the Hays Police Department to reduce the offenders who commit small crimes out of jail.
Courts – 2019 Request: $390,545
Same request of last year
Drug Court – 2019 Request: $30,000
Court officials are preparing to establish a drug court in Ellis County that will serve lower level drug offenders
It will be funded through matching grants but the requested $30,000 will help with startup
Judge Glenn Braun said they had 159 felony drug conviction in Ellis County last year and while not all of them could have gone through Drug Court a large number could have.
Information Technology – 2019 Request: $673,274
Increase of $12,926 from 2018 budget
IT Director Mike Leiker said they are going to be looking at adding a security analyst position in the future. They have set aside money for that position and have pending retirement and plan to reorganize once that retirement takes place.
Health Department – 2019 Request: $618,031
Increase of $86,314 from 2018 budget
Had a $55,208 increase in salaries with the addition of an Advanced Practice Registered Nurse (APRN)
Director of Health Services Kerry McCue told the commission that they are not going the number of patients at the Health Department that they would like to see. McCue said with the addition of an inhouse biller and increased awareness of the services the APRN offers they will see an increase in revenue.
EMS – 2019 Request: $3,109,119
Increase of $172,521 increase from 2018 budget
The salary increases were from negotiations
Emergency Management – 2019 Request: $78,503
Increase of $3,318 from 2018 budget
Communication Center – 2019 Request: $101,500
Decrease of $640 from 2018 budget
Rural Fire – 2019 Request: $591,890
Increase of $4,286 from 2018 budget
Next Generation 911 – 2019 Request: $208,500
Increase of $47,925 from 2018 budget
NG 911 funds come from taxes on cell phone bills. Director of Fire and Emergency Management Darin Myers told the commission that they have collected $215,000 to $220,000 each of the last few years.
NG 911 funds can only be spent to support the 911 infrastructure.
The rest of the of the county department heads will present their budget requests in a special meeting on June 28th.
The Hays City Commission will be selecting a replacement for Commissioner Chris Dinkel at its June 28 city commission meeting.
Persons interested in serving can contact one of the sitting commissioners by Wednesday, June 20. The commission’s contact information can be found at: https://www.haysusa.com/html/city_commission.html.
To be selected, appointed and seated, a person must be a registered voter in the city of Hays.
Rose Elizabeth Keener, 82, Hays, died Thursday, June 14, 2018 at the Hays Good Samaritan Society.
She was born September 12, 1935 in Albion, Illinois one of eleven children to James and Pauline (Thread) Campbell. On January 22, 1955 she was united in marriage to Donald Hazen Keener in Albion, Illinois. He preceded her in death on January 21, 1999. She was a homemaker, a volunteer for many years at the Hays Community Assistance Center, and worked in the laundry at Hadley Hospital, Hays Good Samaritan Center, and St. John’s Nursing Home. She possessed a strong Christian faith and enjoyed Christian music, Christian television programs, playing cards, dancing, and doing puzzles.
Survivors include two sons; Robert Keener and wife Rhonda of Hays, and Gary Keener and wife Nancy of Overland Park, Kansas, two daughters; Donna Jarvis and husband Stuart of Phillipsburg, and Carol Bradley and husband Guy of Greensboro, North Carolina, a brother; Melvin Campbell of Albion, Illinois, two sisters; Charlene Hite of Conroe, TX and Doris Bailey of Albion, eight grandchildren; Carrie Pfannenstiel, Melissa Wyras, Amy Keener, Cody Jarvis, Kayla Jarvis, Jason Dinges, Courtney Keener, and Hazen Keener, six great-grandchildren; Carter Jones, Laylah Pfannenstiel, Kolyn Pfannenstiel, Hendrix Jarvis, Scarlett Jarvis, and Destiny Dinges, and numerous nieces and nephews.
She was preceded in death by her parents, her husband Donald, a son; Tony Keener, a daughter; Pamela Keener, by four brothers; Floyd, Hubert, Paul, and Joe, and three sisters; Louise, Irene, and Ruth.
A celebration of Rose’s life will be at 10:00 am on Monday, June 18, 2018 at the Hays Memorial Chapel Funeral Home, 1906 Pine Street, with Pastor Mike Joiner officiating. Burial will follow in the Mt. Allen Cemetery. Visitation will be from 5:00 pm until 7:00 on Sunday and from 9:00 am until service time on Monday, all at the funeral home. Memorials are suggested to the Hays Community Assistance Center, in care of the funeral home. Condolences and memories of Rose may be left for the family at www.haysmemorial.com
