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Eugene ‘Gene’ Bernard Hutfles

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Eugene “Gene” Bernard Hutfles was born a the family farm south of Herndon, Kansas, the 3rd of 8 siblings. He passed away April 9, 2018 at the Collier Hospice Center in Wheat Ridge, CO at the age of 88.

Gene grew up at ‘The midway’ (the family farm midway between Atwood and Oberlin), attending high school 6 miles north in Herndon, KS where he participated in baseball, football and basketball, graduating in 1949, before enlisting in the United States Army, serving in Alaska from 1949 – 1951 during the Korean conflict.

After returning from the Army, he met Jannette Pollnow at a local dance; they were united in marriage at the St. Mary’s Church in Herndon on September 8, 1954. After several seasons of farming the family land north of the Midway, Gene and Jannette moved to Arvada, CO where they started a family, raising four children.

Gene was a self-taught carpenter, working in the Arvada area his whole career. In retirement he continued wood working and donating time and his creations to St. Joan of Arc church as well as his friends and relatives. He loved puttering around his home and garage making picture frames and other projects right up until the day her moved to hospice.

Gene is survived by his four children, son Terry (Pat), Chuck (girlfriend Teri) Andy (Sherry) and daughter LaDawn ‘Dee Dee’ (Brian) Towell; four grandchildren, Lee (fiance Megan) Hutfles, Hannah (Adrian) Dalstra, and Erick Smith; one great grandson August ‘ Augie’ Dalstra.

He was preceded in death by his beloved wife of 57 years, Jannette (Pollnow) Hutfles, his parents Frank & Mary Hutfles, brother Arnold Hutfles and sister Sylvia Satther.

Click HERE for service details.

Defense in Kansas bombing trial blames FBI

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By STEPHAN BISAHA

Attorneys defending three Kansas men accused of a bomb plot in Garden City are arguing there wouldn’t have been a plot without FBI manipulation.

NEW-YORK-CITY / FLICKR CREATIVE COMMONS

The defense is now calling its witnesses in the trial, which has entered its fourth week. That includes FBI agent Amy Kuhn, who took the witness stand Tuesday and Wednesday. She was one of the agents who headed the investigation that led to the arrest of the defendants.

The defense characterized Kuhn’s decisions while leading the investigation as strategically driven to build a case against the defendants. They also questioned why Kuhn hadn’t simply informed the three men they were aware of the plot and asked them to stop.

During cross-examination, Kuhn said her decisions were made based on evolving safety concerns from the “emerging threat” the defendants represented. She said recordings gathered by a paid informant showed the men to be distrustful of the government and that they had already discussed lying to law enforcement, making the FBI think a knock-on-the-door was unlikely to deter the men.

Defendants Patrick Stein, Gavin Wright and Curtis Allen are accused of plotting to bomb an apartment building in Garden City predominantly occupied by Muslim immigrants the day after the 2016 presidential election.

Dan Day, the paid informant whose recordings of the defendants are the backbone of government’s case, testified at the end of March. While the prosecution portrayed Day as a selfless hero, the defense said he was just looking for a paycheck and, along with the FBI, manipulated the defendants. In a list of suspected motives for Day’s cooperation, Kuhn listed “patriotism” first.

The three defendants have separate attorneys. Those representing Wright and Allen have portrayed their clients as less involved than the other defendants. Kuhn testified that Stein was clearly the most radical of the three, but Allen did drive much of the conservation.

At one point during her cross-examination by the prosecution, Kuhn read from what appeared to be Allen’s manifesto. It mentioned an attempt to give America a “forced wake up call.”

The trial is expected to last two more weeks.

Stephan Bisaha is an education reporter for the Kansas News Service. Follow him on Twitter @SteveBisaha.

LETTER: Hospice workers ‘act as angels on this Earth’

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December 5, 2016 our family met with a cancer doctor. She confirmed our fears, our Judy had terminal cancer, giving her around six months to live. That doctor didn’t know the amount of character, strength and determination Judy had.

Hospice Services was mentioned at that appointment and we somewhat turned a deaf ear to that suggestion. We are a strong, private family. We’d handle this chapter ourselves at home just like Judy wanted.

Seven months later, Judy was still fighting the fight, teaching us all how to die with dignity mixed with a little humor. As a family, we decided it was time to allow Hospice in to her home and our lives. Hospice was called in and even though we were dealing with this demon called cancer, we are here to tell you, our lives changed for the better when they came on board.

Our hospice team from Phillipsburg consisted of a doctor who visited Judy a few times at her home, a nurse, a social worker and later, a grief support team. Bringing this team into our lives was the best decision we made through this thirteen month journey.

From July 2017 through January 4th, 2018, our team came twice a week, staying with us as long as we needed them. They helped us find medicines to help Judy as well as assisted each one of us deal with our emotions and on going grief through this dying process. Most importantly, this hospice team assisted in fulfilling Judy’s wish to stay home through the illness and to die in her home surrounded by family.

On January 4th, 2018, the Good Lord called Judy home. Our hospice doctor came to visit Judy in the morning, when Judy asked how long she had, he answered a few hours to a couple of days. Judy chose a few hours. Our hospice nurse was with her and the family for 24 hours. The nurse continued to medicate Judy to keep her comfortable and explained the changes we were seeing in Judy as well as helping us deal with the emotions we were all going through.

Death, as we all know, is unpleasant, whether it happens fast or slow. We encourage you to invite a hospice team into your home and your lives if you or a loved one is facing a terminal illness. You will not regret having a support team to help the patient and the family through the journey.

It has been four months since Judy left us and our grief support team continues to check in on us and will do so up to two years.

Thank you hospice, may God continue to guide you and strengthen you all as you act as angels on this Earth.

The family of Judy Phillips
Bert Phillips, Travis and Monique Phillips and family, Steven and Nikki Hausler and family

Piano duo to perform at Fort Hays State University

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FHSU University Relations

The Department of Music and Theatre and the International Piano Series at Fort Hays State University will host the Manno-Dean piano duo. The concert will be at 3:30 p.m. Sunday, April 15, in Sheridan Hall’s Beach/Schmidt Performing Arts Center.

The duo, Dr. Terrie Manno, professor of piano at Minnesota State University Moorhead, and Dr. Michael Dean, associate professor of music at Oklahoma Baptist University, is in its seventh season of performing.

They have entertained nationally and abroad with a repertoire that spans more than 400 years of music and features works by Aaron Copland, Manuel Infante, Witold Lutoslawski, Sergei Rachmaninoff, Johann Strauss and Nancy Beach.

Manno, a native of southern Calif., earned undergraduate and master’s degrees from California State University, Fresno, and received a Doctor of Musical Arts from the University of Arizona.

“She is a dedicated teacher and scholar who has spent the past three decades teaching and developing as an educator,” said Dr. Irena Ravitskaya, associate professor of music and theatre at FHSU. “Manno is an avid scholar on how musicians’ brains learn and process information, helping her students cultivate and deepen the mental focus they need for successful performance,” she said.

Dean earned undergraduate degrees in piano performance and mathematics from Minnesota State University before serving at OBU. He earned a master’s and doctorate degree from the University of Oklahoma.

“He serves as east district co-president of the Oklahoma Music Teachers Association and maintains an active schedule as a workshop clinician, adjudicator and faculty member,” said Ravitskaya.

In 2011, Dean was awarded the Promising Teacher Award for instructional excellence by OBU.

The concert is free and open to the public.

WINKEL: Talking tomatoes

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Rip Winkel

Are you by chance wanting to get your tomatoes up and growing earlier than usual?

If you would like to have your tomato plants produce earlier in the year, there are certain things to keep in mind. Most people who try to get a jump on the season set their tomatoes out early and hope they do well. However, that may not be the best of plans, as tomatoes need certain requirements before they will grow well.  Those requirements are an acceptable soil temperature for root growth and an acceptable air temperature for both plant growth and fruit set.

Root Growth: Tomatoes need a soil temperature of at least 550 F to do well. Plastic mulch is most commonly used to warm the soil. Several days may be needed to raise the soil temperature. Check the soil temperature 2.5 inches deep in the soil at about 11:00 a.m. If that is not possible, check the temperature before leaving for work and again when you return and use the average of the two. It is best to lay a drip irrigation line before installing the plastic to make watering more convenient. (On laying down plastic, see the article below.)

Air Temperature: Plants must be protected from frost. Hot caps or water teepees are placed over the young plants to provide protection as well as provide a higher average temperature to encourage growth. Eventually the plants will outgrow the cover and start to develop flowers. But if the temperature goes below 550 F at night, tomato flowers may not set. The plant is not hurt, but the blossom will not set fruit, or, if it does set fruit, the fruit is often misshapen.


How early can you transplant into beds with plastic mulch? Start with a date about 2 weeks earlier than normal.

Laying Plastic Mulch
Plastic mulch is used often by commercial farmers, as well as home gardeners. Its employment is beneficial in controlling moisture levels around the root zone, as well as reducing and controlling weed infestations. It is also used to start vegetables such as tomatoes and melons earlier than normal.  Commercial growers use a machine to lay the mulch, but home gardeners must do this by hand.  Following are some tips on how this is done.

1. Fertilize according to soil test. You won’t be able to add fertilizer after the plastic is down.

2. Work the soil so that the bed can be easily shaped.
3. Use a garden hoe to form a trench along all edges of the plastic. The soil should be pulled to the outside of the bed. The trench should be formed six inches in from the edge of the plastic and extend along both sides and both ends. The trench should be deep and wide enough to bury six inches of plastic.

4. Lay a drip irrigation tube down the center of the bed. This isn’t absolutely necessary but it makes it much easier to water. Overhead watering will hit the plastic and roll off.

5. Lay the plastic down and cover the edges with soil. You need to slit the edge of the
plastic where the trickle irrigation tube enters the end of the bed.
6. Plant when the soil temperature reaches the correct temperature for the crop (550 F for tomatoes and 600 F for melons) at a 2.5-inch depth. Check the temperature at about 11:00 a.m. to get a good average temperature. Check for several days in a row to ensure the temperature is stable. And, have fun!

Rip Winkel is the Horticulture agent in the Cottonwood District (which includes Barton and Ellis counties) for K-State Research and Extension. You can contact him by e-mail at [email protected] or calling either 785-682-9430, or 620-793-1910.

Police continue search for Kansas shooting suspect

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SHAWNEE COUNTY —Law enforcement authorities are investigating a shooting and searching for a suspect.

Harris -photo courtesy Topeka Police

Just after 4p.m. Wednesday, police were led to the 1100 block of SE Golden Street in Topeka for report of a shooting, according to Lt. Aaron Jones.

Witnesses in the area claimed they saw a suspect enter into a duplex on the east side of Golden Street and the victim was taken to a local hospital with serious injuries.

After surrounding the location for a period of time, officers searched the duplex finding no occupants.

Information suggests that all parties involved were known to each other. The investigation is still very active, and a person of interest has been developed. The Topeka Police are in search of 29-year-old David Harris II. He may be armed, according to police.

Anyone with information on the crime is asked to call Topeka police.

Man charged with killing KC lawyer after $6M lawsuit judgment

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KANSAS CITY-(AP) – Authorities say an 80-year-old man who had lost a $5.75 million lawsuit to Kansas City attorney Tom Pickert has been charged in his death.

Jungerman -photo Jackson Co.

The Kansas City Star reports David Jungerman was charged Wednesday with first-degree murder and armed criminal action. Pickert was found shot to death Oct. 25 on the front porch of his home.

It was not immediately clear if Jungerman has an attorney yet.

A probable cause affidavit says Jungerman accidentally recorded himself saying he killed Pickert. It appeared he did not turn off the recorder he had been using during a court hearing.

Pickert practiced personal injury law. Jungerman is a farmer and maker of baby furniture who lives in Raytown.

Warm, windy Thursday

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Today Sunny, with a high near 88. East northeast wind 7 to 15 mph becoming south in the afternoon. Winds could gust as high as 32 mph.

Tonight Mostly clear, with a low around 50. Breezy, with a southeast wind 17 to 21 mph becoming west southwest after midnight. Winds could gust as high as 32 mph.

Friday A 40 percent chance of rain, mainly after 1pm. Increasing clouds, with a high near 60. Windy, with a northwest wind 17 to 26 mph.

Friday NightA chance of rain and snow before midnight, then a chance of snow and freezing rain between midnight and 1am, then a chance of snow after 1am. Cloudy, with a low around 26. Very windy, with a northwest wind 31 to 39 mph, with gusts as high as 55 mph. Chance of precipitation is 50%. New snow accumulation of less than one inch possible.

Saturday A chance of snow before 2pm, then a slight chance of rain and snow between 2pm and 3pm, then a slight chance of rain after 3pm. Cloudy, with a high near 37. Very windy, with a north northwest wind around 39 mph, with gusts as high as 55 mph. Chance of precipitation is 30%.

Saturday Night Partly cloudy, with a low around 19. Very windy.

Longtime Kan. Farm Bureau president chosen to chair Colyer campaign

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Former Kansas Farm Bureau president Steve Baccus
Governor Jeff Colyer today announced the selection of former Kansas Farm Bureau President and long-time advocate for agriculture in Kansas, Steve Baccus to serve as Campaign Chairperson for Colyer for Governor.

“From years of association with Dr. Colyer I know very well how committed he is to serving the people of Kansas and growing our state,” said Baccus. “I look forward to helping him continue that service by winning the 2018 gubernatorial election. He is the right person to continue leading our great state forward.”

Baccus is a fourth generation farmer from North Central Kansas, where he has run a significant grain operation since 1977. He has a wide range of experience serving on city and county boards and committees including the 4-H Foundation and Kansas Agriculture and Rural Leadership. Over the past twenty years he has served in various branches of the local, state and national Farm Bureau associations. Most notably, serving 14 years as the president of the Kansas Farm Bureau from 2002-2014.

“We could not have asked for a stronger, more qualified individual to join our campaign for Governor,” said Kansas Governor Jeff Colyer, M.D., “Steve knows Kansas and its people, and cares about our state’s success and growth as much as I do. He will be my trusted advocate and advisor as he travels the state listening to the concerns of Kansans and communicating regularly with me on how I can best serve them as their Governor.”

“I have worked with Steve for many years to advocate for Kansas’ rural and agricultural communities. I have complete confidence that he will be a great partner and advisor for Governor Colyer and I, as we travel the state listening to Kansans concerns and working on the issues that matter most to them,” said Lt. Governor Tracey Mann, “Steve will help us get that message across and show Kansans that Governor Colyer is the right choice to lead Kansas in to the future.”

— Submitted

Kansas man admits killing his grandmother

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MOUND CITY – A Kansas man Wednesday pleaded no contest to two counts of first-degree premeditated murder for the 2016 deaths of two family members, according to Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt.

McNabb-photo Linn Co.

David Patrick McNabb, 32, Pittsburg, pleaded no contest to the two counts of first-degree premeditated murder as well as one count of felony theft and one count of interference with law enforcement. District Court Judge Mark Ward accepted the pleas and adjudged McNabb guilty of the crimes. The charges stemmed from the November 2016 deaths of McNabb’s uncle, Kenneth McNabb, and grandmother, Betty McNabb.

Sentencing is scheduled for September 5 at 9:30 a.m. in Linn County District Court.

The case was investigated by the Linn County Sheriff’s Office, Crawford County Sheriff’s Office and Kansas Bureau of Investigation. Assistant Attorneys General Jessica Domme and Jason Oxford of Schmidt’s office are prosecuting the case.

Kansas to post mug shots of those owing back child support

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TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas plans to post mug shots of people who owe back child support in an effort to shame them into paying or get tips on their location.

Image courtesy Kansas DCF

The program called Child Support Evaders features a website hosted on the Kansas Department for Children and Families showing people who owe more than $5,000 in late support. It includes their name, photo, amount owed, number of children owed support. It also allows the public to submit tips anonymously on where the person might be located.

The initiative is among a growing number of similar programs around the country.

Arizona launched a campaign in 2016 to post on Facebook and Twitter the names and photos of individuals behind on support. Texas, Louisiana and Georgia also have similar programs.

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Police: Kansas officer injured in motorcycle crash

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WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — Wichita police say one of its motorcycle officers is in serious condition after a crash in Wichita.

Her injuries are not life-threatening.

First responders on the scene of the motorcycle crash-photo courtesy KWCH

Lt. Jeff Allen says the officer was caught in an “accordion effect” as vehicles began slowing down Wednesday for construction. The Wichita Eagle reports that as the officer tried to change lanes, she clipped the back of a pickup truck.

He says the pickup had a topper that is believed to have prevented her from seeing that other vehicles were slowing down.

She was taken to a hospital with significant injuries to her face.

Allen said the officer has been with the department for 20 years and trains other motorcycle officers.

Record-setting effort highlights national runner-up finish for FHSU Shotgun Team

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Team has members from Colorado, Nebraska, California, Wisconsin, Kansas

By DIANE GASPER O’BRIEN
FHSU University Relations and Marketing

When his team finishes in the top five at nationals for 10 consecutive years, a coach tends to have high expectations for post-season action.

The Fort Hays State University Shotgun Team didn’t disappoint Dr. Duane Shepherd the last week of March at the Association of College Unions International (ACUI) Collegiate Clay Target Championships in San Antonio.

The team of American Skeet shooters recorded a near perfect score of 499 out of 500 to win that event. That set a tournament record and also is FHSU’s best score in the history of the sport, surpassing the club’s previous best mark of 496.

That performance propelled FHSU into second place overall among Division II schools. It marked the fifth runner-up national finish for Fort Hays State since 2011 to go along with three national titles. Two of those national championships have come in ACUI competition, while the other came in the fall of 2016 at the Scholarship Clay Target Program (SCTP) season finale.

Shepherd, an assistant professor health and human performance at FHSU who is in his 13th year of coaching the team, calls this his deepest squad ever.

“We have kids all across the board putting up big numbers,” he said. “We’ve had several shoot 100s, but the thing is can they all do it at the same time?”

They did last week in American Skeet when Michael Saint, Wyatt Pursell, Riley Ross and Austin Svoboda all shot perfect 100s, and Cody Escritt was just one point shy of perfection with a 99.

“I’m really not too amazed at anything these kids accomplish,” Shepherd said. “The great thing is, not only are they quality shooters, they are quality young men and women.”

The majority of the FHSU squad is made up of men, but one of the women on the team records some of the top scores on the team.

Heather Gordon, a sophomore from Pine Valley, Calif., was part of two first-place teams and recorded the highest overall (HOA) score for women in trap events. Svoboda, a senior from Burwell, Neb., also earned HOA honors in combined American events for men. In all, Svoboda was part of three championship teams at nationals and helped two others place third en route to earning first-place All-America honors.

Ross earned second-team All-America honors, while Escritt and Saint made the honorable mention list. Ross, a freshman from St. Paul, Neb., brought home one of the top individual honors by winning the long target contest.

It was the fifth All-America effort in as many tries for Svoboda. But he is quick to give the entire squad credit for FHSU’s success.

“It’s fun because we haven’t had this deep of team until this year,” he said. “We’re all pretty well best friends and have the same common interests, so it makes the trips fun. I get to do what I love with friends.”

The trip to San Antonio was the second fun, and successful, one to that city in an eight-week span for Svoboda and Co. In February, FHSU swept all three events en route to winning the ACUI Lower Midwest Conference Championship in San Antonio.

Four weeks later, Fort Hays State won all six events at the ACUI Clay Targets Western Super Shoot in Tucson, Ariz. FHSU was led by Svoboda and Gordon, who won HOA honors in both International and American events for male and female shooters, respectively.

That meet then was followed by another impressive showing at nationals.

“It’s been a great spring for sure,” Svoboda said, “but everyone’s a little bummed how we did at nationals. We thought we could have done better and won it all.”

Students are able to compete in shooting sports six years in college, so Svoboda is looking forward to his final collegiate competition during the 2018-19 school year.

“We’ll have the same team next year, so we’ll be hungry,” said Svoboda, who is set to graduate with a degree in construction technology this December.

Svoboda knew he wanted to participate in either football or shooting sports in college after growing up with both – he played football since grade school and participated in shooting sports as a youngster in 4-H, then in high school as well. After he was injured in football during his senior year of high school, he decided to look for a school that offered construction technology degree and a solid shooting sports team as well. He found both at Fort Hays State.

“That’s the way it works for a lot of our students,” Shepherd said. “They’re looking for a college that has a good reputation in their major field of study and a good shooting sports team. We’re very blessed to have the number of degree programs that we offer here at Fort Hays State and that we have the opportunity to compete at the highest levels in shooting sports, too.”

Following are the names of students who competed at nationals and the regional meet in meet – and the results from both events.

National and Regional Super Shoot competitors
Akron, Colo. (80720): Jenny Schoenecker, junior (nationals)
Aurora, Neb. (68818): Lane Sorensen, freshman (nationals)
Burwell, Neb. (68823): Austin Svoboda, senior (both)
Cambridge, Neb. (69022): Jake Whipple, junior (both)
Crete, Neb. (68333): Caleb Scholz, senior (nationals)
Colby (67701): Keegan Morgan, junior (both)
Cole Ziegelmeier, freshman (nationals)
Jay Ziegelmeier, Colby (both)
Janesville, Wis. (53548): Luke Heinzen, sophomore (both)
Jewell (66949): Michael Saint, senior (both)
Minneola (67865): Jerrod Lies, senior (both)
Pine Valley, Calif. (92036): Heather Gordon, sophomore (both)
Pleasanton (66075): Hunter Secrest, freshman (nationals)
Pleasanton, Neb. (68869): Cody Escritt, senior (both)
St. Paul, Neb. (68873): Riley Ross, freshman (both)
Topeka (66610): Wyatt Pursell, sophomore (both)
Yoder (67585): Cordell Waggoner, freshman (nationals)

FHSU national results
(ACUI Collegiate Clay Target Championships)
Individual awards
• Gordon – third, American trap (women) and third, Olympic ISO ladies bunker; HOA combined trap events (women).
• Svoboda – NRA first team All-American; HOA combined American events (men).
• Ross – First, long target contest; second, American Skeet; NRA second team All-American.
• Escritt – NRA honorable mention All-American.
• Pursell – third, American skeet.
• Saint – NRA honorable mention All-American.
Team awards
• HOA (highest overall) – second, Division II.
• American skeet – first: Escritt, Pursell, Ross, Saint, Svoboda (499 of 500).
• American trap – first: Gordon, Morgan, Secrest, Svoboda, Waggoner (492 of 500).
• International trap – first: Gordon, Lies, Svoboda.
• International skeet – third: Pursell, Saint, J. Ziegelmeier.
• Sporting clays – third: Escritt, Lies, Pursell, Ross, Svoboda.
• Super shoot – third: Escritt, Lies, Saint, Ross, Svoboda.

FHSU regional results
(ACUI Clay Targets Western Super Shoot)
Individual awards
• Escritt – first, super sporting; second, sporting clays; third, international skeet.
• Gordon (women’s division) – HOA female International and American events; first in trap, skeet, sporting clays and international trap; second in super sporting; third in international skeet.
• Lies – third, skeet and super sporting.
• Svoboda – HOA male International and American events; first, sporting clays and international trap; second, trap.
• J. Ziegelmeier – second, skeet and super sporting; third, trap and international trap.
HOA team awards
• International skeet – Escritt, Lies, Ross, Svoboda, Whipple.
• International trap – Lies, Pursell, Ross, Svoboda, J. Ziegelmeier.
• American trap, skeet and sporting clays (combined) – Gordon, Lies, Saint, Svoboda, J. Ziegelmeier.

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