CHEYENNE, Wyo. (AP) — Wyoming-based Great Lakes Airlines has suspended all flight operations in the five states it operates.
Image Fly Salina
The Wyoming Tribune Eagle reports that the company announced that the suspension of service was effective as of midnight Monday but said it had not entered bankruptcy.
The website for the Cheyenne-based airline listed flights from Salina; Cheyenne; Denver; Telluride, Colorado; Los Angeles; Phoenix; Page, Arizona and Prescott, Arizona.
SkyWest Airlines will begin daily United Express jet service from Salina to Chicago and Denver starting April 9.
According to a statement on its website, Great Lakes will continue to provide support services to Aerodynamics Inc. charter flights between Denver and the South Dakota cities of Pierre and Watertown.
Company officials have attributed recent struggles with providing air service to a national pilot shortage.
Great Lakes Founder Doug Voss and Cheyenne Regional Airport Director Tim Barth could not immediately be reached for comment.
Former Phillipsburg resident Roxie Jo Hudson passed away March 7, 2018, at St. John Medical Center in Longview, WA at the age of 69.
She was born October 13, 1948 in Phillipsburg, the daughter of John & Lela Marie (Ross) Hoover. She married Dean Hudson in July, 1973; he preceded her in death in 1996.
Survivors include her children: Robin, Roger, Rose, Randy, Tina and Jason; numerous grandchildren and great-grandchildren; and her brothers, Ron, Ed and Doug Hoover.
Funeral services will be held Saturday, March 31, 2018 at 11:00 a.m. in the Olliff-Boeve Memorial Chapel, Phillipsburg, with Pastor Joel Hiesterman officiating. Burial will follow in the Pleasant View/Meyers Cemetery, Athol, KS.
Friends may sign the book on Friday, March 30, from 9 a.m. – 5 p.m. at the funeral home. The family will greet friends Saturday morning from 10:30 a.m. until service time.
Memorial contributions may be given to the American Kidney Foundation. Online condolences to: www.olliffboeve.com.
Olliff-Boeve Memorial Chapel, Phillipsburg, is in charge of arrangements.
Hays Wrestling Club competed in Topeka on March 24th and 25th for the Kansas State Folkstyle Championships. Hays had 7 wrestlers place in the top 6 in the state.
10 and under
55 lbs Grady Lind 4th place.
55 lbs Cade Lind 6th place.
85 lbs Dalton Meyers 4th place.
12 and under
140 lbs Brandon Yauch 4th place.
14 and under
150 lbs Roy Maroni 3rd place.
165 lbs Gavin Meyers 2nd place.
205 lbs. Gavin Nutting 4th place.
Also, Sarah Zimmerman traveled to Oklahoma City for Girls Folkstyle National Tournamant this past weekend as well. Sarah earned All American honors for the 2nd straight year by placing 5th in the nation.
Each month of the 2018 season, Sunflower Electric Power Corp. and its member-owners will give away a pair of tickets to see a Kansas City Royals home game! Enter below and be sure to come back and enter each month for your chance to win!
The first winner has been Facebook Live via Hays Post’s Facebook page at 3:30 p.m. Tuesday. Check it out to see if you are a winner!
BARTON COUNTY — A Kansas man convicted in January of a child sex crime has been sentenced to prison.
20th Judicial District Judge Scott E. McPherson sentence thirty-year-old Pedro Garcia to almost ten years for his plea and conviction on one count of rape.
The victimized girl was 9 or 10 years old when the rape and sexual abuse occurred, according to the Barton County Attorney. Garcia was also charged with indecent liberties with a child, aggravated criminal sodomy, and lewdly touching the child on occasions as early as April 2016.
The Great Bend Police Department investigated the case with Barton County Attorney Amy Mellor prosecuting the case.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The 2020 U.S. Census will include a question about citizenship status, a move that brought swift condemnation from Democrats, who said it would intimidate immigrants and discouraging them from responding.
Image courtesy U.S. Census Bureau
The population count taken every 10 years is more than an academic exercise. It’s required by the Constitution and used to determine the number of seats each state has in the House as well as how federal funds are distributed to local communities. It helps communities determine where to build everything from schools and grocery stores to hospitals.
A coalition of state attorneys general urged the department last month to not add such a question, saying it could lower participation among immigrants and cause a population undercount.
California Attorney General Xavier Becerra said the state will sue the Trump administration over its decision.
“We’re prepared to do what we must to protect California from a deficient Census,” he said. “Including a citizenship question on the 2020 census is not just a bad idea — it is illegal.”
House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi said Tuesday that adding such a question “will inject fear and distrust into vulnerable communities and cause traditionally undercounted communities to be even further under-represented, financially excluded and left behind.”
The Commerce Department said in a press release Monday that citizenship data will help the Justice Department enforce the Voting Rights Act, which protects minority voting rights. It said that between 1820 and 1950, almost every decennial census asked a question on citizenship in some form.
Census counts are taken by mail and by workers walking neighborhoods. The Census Bureau says that the 2010 census drew a massive response, with about 74 percent of the households mailing in forms and the remaining households counted by workers in neighborhoods.
Remember all that talk about the $135 million or so that new federal income tax cuts were going to dump into Kansas? The deal was with lower federal income taxes, more of Kansans’ money would be subject to Kansas income taxes.
Pay less there (to the federal government) and you pay more to Kansas because you have more money left over. Pretty simple, you pay it there or here and the Statehouse crowd would rather you pay it here because of the opportunities it offers them.
One opportunity is for lawmakers to take that extra money that state income taxes will now yield and think of cool things to do with the cash that they didn’t have to do anything unattractive to get…like raise your taxes.
Now, that’s one way to go. Maybe use that additional money for schools, roads, health care, law enforcement, welfare and everything else we expect the state to provide? Well, so far, the answer is either yes…or no.
Spending that money on things Kansas want is generally a politically popular thing to do. Sometimes.
But there’s another politically popular thing to do with money the state didn’t expect to get—give it back to voters in an election year by cutting their state income taxes. That probably has a nice ring to it in this year when the Kansas House stands for election, and even statewide candidates can portray themselves as liking the move.
The Senate, where just one (replacement) member stands for election to the remaining two years of his term, appears to like the idea of what can pass for smaller government–“give it back” is the slogan. Who doesn’t like lower taxes? Not many who vote.
So, the Senate GOP plan is shaping up as taking that extra money the state will receive because of the new federal tax law and using it to pay for Kansas income tax cuts. Imagine that, how it can be turned into tax cuts, economy in government, all those political slogans we’ve been hearing.
And while most folks want K-12 public education funded adequately and the poor and the ill cared for, well, there are few things as nice as a tax cut.
But how to do that tax cut in the most politically valuable manner is a question. There are tax cuts and there are politically profitable tax cuts, which is what the Senate Tax Committee proposed.
First, decouple from the federal tax form, so you can itemize deductions for Kansas income taxes even if you take the new, big federal standard deduction. And then take the Kansas deductions which were slashed last year—property taxes, mortgage interest, charitable contributions, medical expenditures—and restore them to full strength again. That’s what the committee did, oh, along with boosting Kansas’ own standard deductions for taxpayers by 50 percent.
Sounds good, doesn’t it? It clearly tilts the majority of that $135 million toward homeowners with sizable mortgage interest payments to write off, but who’s going to notice if more prosperous Kansans get the bulk of that savings?
Well, probably not many are going to notice, but the ones who do may be mostly Republicans. At least those Republicans—if the tax plan passes—will be reminded several times who voted for their tax break and who didn’t.
Oh, that court-ordered increase in school funding that the $135 million would help pay? Or raises for state employees who haven’t gotten raises in several years and are actually seeing their pay drop as inflation and health insurance premiums rise? Those probably also would be good uses for that money.
But what beats an election-year tax cut?
Syndicated by Hawver News Company LLC of Topeka; Martin Hawver is publisher of Hawver’s Capitol Report—to learn more about this nonpartisan statewide political news service, visit the website at www.hawvernews.com
John Schlageck writes for the Kansas Farm Bureau.Long hours, less-than-ideal weather conditions and working around large machinery combine to make farming one of the most dangerous occupations in the United States. This spring planting season slow down and ensure you and your family members stay safe.
During 2017, 10 deaths were reported in farm and ranch incidents in Kansas. The youngest fatality involved a nine-year-old extra rider on a tractor who fell off and was caught in the mowing attachment.
The oldest occurred when an 82-year-old male passenger died from injuries after being thrown during a tractor rollover. Tractor overturns remain the single greatest cause of death to young farm workers under the age of 25 and to older workers over the age of 55, according to statistics from the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health.
The most effective way to prevent tractor overturn deaths is the use of a Roll-Over Protective Structure (ROPS). In 2012, 59 percent of tractors used on farms in the United States were equipped with ROPS. If ROPS were placed on all tractors used on U.S. farms manufactured since the mid-1960s, the prevalence of ROPS-equipped tractors could be increased to more than 80 percent.
Growing up and working on the farm instills a life-long love of agriculture, but as adults and parents, we must make sure everyone on the farm is safe.
On average, 113 youth less than 20 years of age die annually from farm-related injuries (1995 -2002), with most of these deaths occurring to youth 16-19 years of age.
Of the leading sources of fatal injuries to youth, 23 percent involved machinery (including tractors), 19 percent involved motor vehicles (including ATVs), and 16 percent drowned.
Riders on tractors remain another major cause of injuries and deaths on the farm. No riders should be allowed on a tractor unless it is equipped with a manufacturer-approved second seat, according to the National Safety Council.
Farmers, parents, children and the American public must understand, once and for all, that anyone other than the operator of a farm tractor should not be on the tractor – period. Any rider is at tremendous risk to be seriously injured or killed.
Always be aware of surroundings and think ahead. Look out for potential hazards. Notice power lines before moving ladders or other farm equipment. Turn off that combine before removing weeds and other debris.
One cardinal rule to remember always – keep children out of the workplace. That means away from machinery, storage bins and fields – anywhere they are in harm’s way.
Always be prepared for an emergency. Enroll in safety classes, especially CPR and first aid. Carry safety kits in your farm vehicles. Make sure you have them in your home and sheds.
Above all, take a little extra time this upcoming spring planting season. Make a genuine commitment to safe preparation. Your health and that of your family depend on the safe operation of your farm equipment during this busy season.
John Schlageck, a Hoxie native, is a leading commentator on agriculture and rural Kansas.
The ex-girlfriend of one of the men accused of plotting an attack against immigrants in Garden City says the men spent months studying how to make homemade explosives.
Testimony began Monday in the federal trial of three men accused of conspiring to blow up an apartment complex in Garden City that was used by Somali Muslim immigrants. By SEAN SANDEFUR / FILE PHOTO
Lula Harris was on the witness stand Monday during the first day of testimony in federal court in Wichita. She said she was in a relationship for several years with Curtis Allen, who along with Patrick Stein and Gavin Wright is charged with conspiracy to use a weapon of mass destruction.
The three men are accused of planning to bomb a mosque and apartment complex that was home to Somali Muslim immigrants and refugees. The defendants were arrested in October 2016 following a months-long FBI investigation.
Their attorneys argue the men – heard on recordings by an FBI informant – were engaged in banter, complaining about immigrants and the state of the country. They say that is constitutionally protected free speech.
Prosecutors say the three men went beyond banter and crossed the line into action as they discussed their plans to bomb the building in Garden City.
In her testimony, Harris – who lived with Allen from June through October 2016 – said he repeatedly watched YouTube videos explaining how to make an explosive and collected recipes for homemade explosives.
Wright, Allen and Stein-photos Sedgwick Co.
Harris recounted a time she stopped by G&G Home Center, the business Wright owned and where Allen worked. She said sitting on the kitchen island was a burner and a beaker full of a white substance she recognized from one of the YouTube videos.
She said she didn’t report the incident to police. Two weeks later, Harris reported Allen to the Liberal Police Department for alleged domestic violence. He was arrested, as were the two other men.
Harris told prosecutors the three men, who belonged to a militia group, had been discussing for some time a way to “wake people up” to what they saw as the problem of Muslims immigrating to the U.S.
“[Allen] just didn’t feel they belonged here; that they were violent,” she said. “They were a threat to our country.”
She said another plan involved killing the head of a refugee resettlement organization in Garden City and pinning the murder on a Muslim refugee.
Allen, Stein and Wright seemed so serious about their plan that even fellow members of the militia group distanced themselves from the discussion, a former member testified Monday.
Brody Benson said he met the defendants while a member of the Kansas Security Force. But he told prosecutors he resigned in June 2016, following a meeting in which Stein discussed using “high explosives” like rocket-propelled grenades to attack Somali immigrants.
The meeting, at a shooting range on Benson’s property, took place in the week after a man killed 49 people at Pulse nightclub in Orlando, Florida. Benson testified that the group was just venting, but he was becoming concerned that the group was moving toward some type of violent act.
“It wasn’t just talk, it was … action,” Benson said.
During cross-examination, the defense asked Benson why he didn’t report his concerns to law enforcement and whether he was providing testimony to avoid facing charges himself. Benson can be heard on recordings made by an FBI informant suggesting targeting imams and Islamic leaders that he blamed for terrorist acts in the U.S.
Benson denied he is facing any charges.
Several other Kansas Security Force members are on the prosecution’s witness list. The trial is expected to last six weeks.
If the three men are found guilty, they could face life in prison.
SEDGWICK COUNTY — Law enforcement authorities are investigating an alleged assault and have a suspect in custody.
Police on the scene of the alleged assault investigation-photo courtesy KWCH
Just after 1:30 p.m. Monday, police an 18-year-old was jogging on the bike path near Mclean and Seneca in Wichita, according to officer Paul Cruz. She was approached by a man who physically assaulted and attempted to sexually assault her.
During the attack, a City of Wichita employee who was working on the nearby observed the incident and immediately called 911 for help. Officers responded quickly and took a 36-year-old suspect into custody. Citizens who were nearby also stopped to assist the victim during this incident.
The victim sustained minor injuries. Police did not release additional detail.
