We have a brand new updated website! Click here to check it out!

Weaver publishes works on writings about J.D. Salinger

Brett Weaver

FHSU University Relations

Dr. Brett Weaver, associate professor of English at Fort Hays State University, recently published two books through Mellen Press in New York.

“An Annotated Bibliography (1982-2016) of Works Published About J.D. Salinger” and “The History of Scholarly Research into the Writings of J.D. Salinger (1986-2016): A Companion to the Annotated Bibliography” will be available in March.

“A Companion to the Annotated Bibliography” has received the D. Simon Evans Award for excellence in research.

Hays student wins DAR Good Citizen Scholarship

Trinity Callis, Hays High School senior

By JUDY SHERARD
Hays DAR

Hays High School senior Trinity Callis was named the winner of the Courtney-Spalding Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution Good Citizen Scholarship.

She was recognized with a certificate, pin and wallet card, as well as a $100 scholarship, at the Feb. 17 chapter meeting.

Trinity, daughter of Ralph and Laci Callis, was nominated as the Hays High DAR Good Citizen by the school’s faculty, Hays High counselor Suellyn Stenger said.

Students selected must exhibit dependability, service, leadership and patriotism, according to the DAR website. “Patriotism means doing what’s right, no matter the circumstances,” Callis said.

In addition to serving as STUCO president, Trinity “is a talented, well-rounded student. She’s awesome,” Stenger said. Trinity also is a member of the musical group TX3 with her brothers, Tristan and Tanner.

Seniors named their school’s DAR Good Citizen have the option of entering the scholarship competition. The competition is two parts including a personal section describing how the student manifests the qualities of a good citizen, grade transcripts and letters of recommendation. A second part is a 550-word essay completed at one sitting without reference materials with no prior knowledge of the topic.

As the local chapter winner, Callis’s essay was entered in the state competition. Mary Hayford, Shawnee Mission, was named the state winner. “It’s a really tough competition,” Sherrie Smith, Courtney-Spalding Chapter Regent, said.

Senior Abria Fisher, daughter of Eva Kenter, was named the Quinter High School DAR Good Citizen.

“All students who are named their school’s Good Citizen, even if they opt not to participate in the essay contest, get a certificate, pin and wallet card, and they can put ‘DAR Good Citizen’ on their resume,” Smith said.

Water use reports to state due March 1

KDA

MANHATTAN, Kan. —The Kansas Department of Agriculture’s Division of Water Resources reminds water right owners throughout the state that the deadline for filing water use reports is March 1. To aid in the reporting process, reports can now be filed online. K.S.A. 82a-732 requires the owner of a water right or permit to file a complete and accurate water use report.

To file online, go to www.kswaterusereport.org to start the process of completing your report. You will use the PIN and personal ID found on the lower left-hand corner of the report form mailed to you in January. Instructions are provided throughout the filing process. If you prefer to file by mail, the completed report form must be postmarked by March 1.

Failing to submit your water use report may result in suspension of all water use under such water right or permit. If the water use report is not received by March 1, the landowner may be assessed a fine for up to $1,000 per water right or permit. Kansas water use data reporting is essential for management of the state’s water resources, to ensure the people of Kansas — and the officials responsible for managing or monitoring water resources — have access to information about how water is used and how much water is used.

For more information or assistance, please contact your local Division of Water Resources office, call the KDA–DWR Manhattan office at 785-564-6638, or visitwww.agriculture.ks.gov/DWR.

Kansas man sentenced for molesting 3 young girls

Garcia-photo Jackson Co.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — A 35-year-old Kansas man is likely to spend the rest of his life in prison after being sentenced for molesting three young girls.

A Jackson County, Missouri, judge sentenced Jesus Garcia, of Kansas City, Kansas, on Friday to three life sentences, plus 15 years, all to be served consecutively.

Garcia was convicted in December of statutory rape of a victim younger than 12, child molestation, attempted statutory rape and statutory sodomy of a victim younger than 14.

Court documents say the mother of two of the girls told a social worker in 2016 at Children’s Mercy Hospital that Garcia had been sexually abusing them from 2014 to 2015.

Scott City wins 3-2-1A state wrestling championship; Hoisington 2nd

HAYS – The Scott City Beavers were one of five teams with multiple individual championships at the 3-2-1 A state wrestling tournament this weekend in Hays as they clinched their first state championship since 2012.

Scott City, Eureka, Wabaunsee, Hoxie and Hoisington each finished with two individual state champions.

The Beavers finished with 98.5 total team points, six points ahead of second-place Hoisington who had 92.5. Hoxie was third with 88.5. Smith Center and Silver Lake rounded out the top five team finishers.

Plainville’s Jordan Finnesy works for the takedown at the 3-2-1A state wrestling tournament

Hoisington’s Christopher Ball earned his third straight state title at 152 pounds with a 3-0 win over Smith Center’s Colton Hutchinson in the finals.

His teammate Wyatt Pedigo also earned an individual state championship with a 3-2 win over Minneapolis’ Tyson Villalpando in the finals at 182 pounds.

Hoxie’s Dayton Porch also earned his third straight state title, this time at 145 pounds and he did it with five straight wins by fall. Porch has a three year varsity record of 110-1.

His teammate Chris Cox also brought home gold earning that state title 220 pounds. He had previously finished 3rd and 2nd at 220 pounds.

Hill City’s Alec Segarra finished second at 106 pounds. The junior had one loss all season and placed at the state tournament for the first time after qualifying but not placing last season.

Segarra’s teammate at Hill City Ethan Hamel placed fifth at 145 pounds.

Plainville Jordan Finnesy earned a second-place finish Saturday. His only loss came in the championship match to the defending champing at 160 pounds, Isaiah Luellen of Rossville. Finnesy finished his Sophomore season 38-3.

Indian wrestlers end season at state

SALINA- The Hays High Indians qualified three wrestlers for the 4A state tournament in Salina but they were unable to bring home any hardware.

At 106 pounds Jordan Zimmerman went 0-2 in his first state tournament.

He opened the tournament with a 14- 3 loss to Cruz Lara of Bonner Springs. Then in the first consolation round Zimmerman lost a 10-6 decision to Thad Hendrix of Louisburg.

Zimmerman finished the year 25-17.

Kreighton Meyers dropped his first match of the tournament, a 10-0 major decision to Brett Bober of Burlington but earned two wins on the consolation side of the bracket before losing in the consolation quarterfinals.

Meyers earned a 6-1 win over Justice McGree of Bonner Springs in the first consolation round. He followed that with a 4-3 win over David Leck of Rose Hill.

In the second consolation quarterfinals Meyers lost to Elijah Kennedy of Eudora by a fall in the third period.

Meyers went 2-2 in his first trip to state and finished the season 37-13.

At 285 Logan Schulte opened the tournament with a third-period fall over Terrell Morris of Arkansas City. But suffered back-to-back losses as his tournament came to an end.

In the championship quarterfinals Schulte lost a 1-0 decision to the eventual state champion Tylar Patrick of Wamego. Then in the consolation second round Schulte lost by a first-period fall to Evan Dean of Santa Fe Trail.

Schulte finished his first trip to state 1-2 and finished the season 33-15.

Changes to Kansas criminal registry being considered

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — The Kansas Sentencing Commission is discussing deleting hundreds of names on a public criminal registry that allows Kansans to know if people who committed a wide range of crimes live or work near them.

The commission said Kansas has expanded uses for the registry so much that it now is nearly unusable, while complicating efforts to rehabilitate thousands of people, including those who are on the list for relatively minor drug offenses.

The registry includes names, addresses and crimes of nearly 20,000 Kansans, whose information stays on the Kansas Bureau of Investigation site for 15 years or longer, beginning when the offender completes any prison time, the Kansas News Service reported .

The commission wants to delete more than 4,500 people convicted of drug offenses from the registry. Advocates for the change say some drug users look at the database to get names and addresses of people who might sell them drugs.

“The state,” agency director Scott Schultz told lawmakers this month, “has unintentionally become an online shopping portal for methamphetamine and other drugs.”

Law enforcement agencies oppose changing the system, arguing that it gives law-abiding Kansans important information.

“They use it to see who in the neighborhood is creating a hazard for their child,” said Ed Klumpp, a former Topeka police chief who lobbies for sheriffs’ offices and police departments.

The Kansas House and Senate are holding hearings on several bills this session designed to reduce the database, which began about a quarter century ago largely to denote where sex offenders are located. Legal experts say Kansas is one of only a few states that have expanded online criminal registries to cover many more crimes beyond sex offenses.

Kansas adds more than 1,000 names to the registry per year, with most people who break laws that address small amounts of drugs or threats of violence that don’t lead to physical harm. Possession without intent to deliver and marijuana crimes are excluded. But someone who was given probation for misdemeanors can be listed with people who committed murders.

“People can’t tell actually at this point who they should be worried about and who they shouldn’t,” said Jennifer Roth, an appellate lawyer who testified recently on behalf of the state association of public defenders.

People on the registry can be sent back to prison for violating a complicated system of regulations. Last year, Kansas courts found 326 people guilty of failing to register and more than 100 went back to prison.

Removing drug offenders from the KBI database would save $1 million a year in prison spending by freeing an estimated 40 beds a year. That doesn’t include savings from not needing prosecutors, public defenders and judges for the cases.

The law requires registrants to visit their local sheriff’s office every three months to pay $20 and verify or update their information. They must visit every county where they live, work and study and pay the fee at each location. If information, such as changing jobs, getting a tattoo or buying a car, requires extra visits and must be reported within three days.

Missing a quarterly visit or other check-in is a felony, with fresh felonies incurred for each month that goes by. Falling $40 behind on fees for more than two weeks is a felony, too.

Schultz, of the Kansas Sentencing Commission, said studies haven’t found that high-frequency reporting to authorities increases public safety.

Those criticisms don’t sway law enforcement.

Greg Smith, a special deputy for the Johnson County Sheriff’s Office, told two House and Senate panels this month criminals can blame only themselves.

“Choices have consequences,” said Smith, a former state senator. “If you don’t want to register, don’t do the crime.”

The KBI didn’t testify on the bills but said it supports the registry in its current form.

Kan. man sentenced for setting fire to 3 homes, several cars

McCulley-photo Brown Co.

HORTON, Kan. (AP) — A 27-year-old man was sentenced to 6.5 in prison for setting several arson fires at homes and cars in Horton.

Dustin McCulley, of Horton, was sentenced Friday for the arsons last May. He pleaded no contest in January to nine felonies.

McCulley was arrested May 9, several hours after three homes and several vehicles were set ablaze in the same area early that day in Horton.

Authorities also received calls of a possible break-in at a nearby apartment complex, along with reports of several vehicles on fire in the complex parking lot.

Police: Man killed, another arrested in Kan. shooting

WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — Police say a 25-year-old has been shot to death in Wichita and another man arrested on suspicion of killing him.

Police on the scene of Saturday shooting investigation -photo Courtesy KWCH

The shooting happened around 1 a.m. Saturday several blocks from the Kansas Turnpike in southeastern Wichita. Arriving officers found the 25-year-old man lying injured in the street. He died at the scene. Police say a 22-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of first-degree murder. Police had not released the names of either man by late Saturday afternoon.

Investigators say the two men had been at a gathering inside a house when a fight broke out and shots were fired.

Mary Mae Huffman

Mary Mae Huffman, 102, of Russell, Kansas, died on Wednesday, February 21, 2018, at Wheatland Nursing Center in Russell.

Mary was born on December 22, 1915, in Fairport, Kansas, the daughter of John and Mable Bridges. She grew up in Fairport, Kansas, and attended school in Fairport. She was united in marriage to Floyd W. Clark on July 24, 1933 and from this union they were blessed with 3 children Floyd, Anita and Karen. Floyd preceded her in death in 1986. Mary found love a second time and was united in marriage to Loy Huffman in 1988 and he preceded her in death in 1999. She was a member of the Lutheran Church and Eastern Star. She enjoyed knitting, crocheting and embroidery.

Surviving family include her son Floyd “Tom” Clark, and wife Melissa, of Hendersonville, Tennessee, daughters Anita Mohr of Andover, Minnesota and Karen Hunter and husband George
of Cheyenne, Wyoming; close friends Gary and Peggy Drake of Lawrence, Kansas; 13 grandchildren and many great grandchildren and great-great grandchildren. She was preceded in death by her parents, two husbands 2 stepbrothers and 3 stepsisters.

Services for Mary will be held at 10 A.M. on Monday, February 26, 2018, at the mortuary. Burial will follow at Fairport Cemetery in Fairport, Kansas. Visitation will be from 9 A.M. to 10 A.M. on Monday morning, February 26th at the mortuary. Pohlman-Varner-Peeler Mortuary of Russell, Kansas, is in charge of the funeral service arrangements.

Kan. fugitive “on a date” captured hiding in deputy’s driveway

McClead -photo Lyon Co.

GREENWOOD COUNTY — Law enforcement authorities are investigating a suspect

On Monday, a suspect identified as Daniel McClead and wanted for escape from custody in Lyon County was apprehended in the Greenwood County community of Madison, Kansas, according to the Sheriff’s Department.

McClead was in the city park with a girl he met through social media on a “date” when he noticed a Greenwood County Deputy on patrol in the area.

In a panic, he pulled into a nearby driveway in an effort to evade the deputy’s observation. Unfortunately, for McClead, the driveway he pulled into belonged to the deputy he was trying to avoid.

The deputy, not overly excited about a suspicious vehicle pulling into his driveway, made contact with McClead, who initially identified himself as famous ventriloquist Jeff Dunham.

His identity was eventually discovered by the deputy through persistent investigation. McClead was subsequently taken into custody without incident. “We do not believe the female acquaintance was interested in a second date, ” according to the Greenwood County Sheriff.

Shirley A. Bieker

Shirley A. Bieker, 84, Topeka, formerly of Russell and Hays, died Wednesday, February 21, 2018 at Aldersgate Village in Topeka.

She was born September 5, 1933 near Gorham, Kansas the youngest of nine children of Michael and Katherine (Mermis) Schmidtberger. On May 17, 1949 she was united in marriage to Julius A. Bieker in Gorham, Kansas and they were blessed with two sons and made their home in Russell, Kansas until 1972, when Julius died as the result of a work-related accident. Shirley then moved to Hays and remained there until 2009, when poor health forced her to move to the nursing facility. She was a homemaker and clerk at Ruder Liquor Store and a member of Immaculate Heart of Mary Catholic Church in Hays for many years.

Survivors include two sons; David Bieker and wife Nadine of Newton, Kansas, and Rodney Bieker of Topeka, five grandchildren, fifteen great grandchildren, and numerous nieces and nephews.

She was preceded in death by her husband, her parents, and all eight of her brothers and sisters.

Funeral services will be at 11:00 am on Saturday, March 3, 2018 at Immaculate Heart of Mary Catholic Church, 1805 Vine Street, Hays with Fr. Leo Blasi officiating. Inurnment will follow in St. Mary’s Cemetery in Gorham, Kansas. The family will receive friends from 10:00 am until service time on Saturday at the church. Memorials are suggested in Shirley’s memory to Immaculate Heart of Mary Catholic Church, Hays or to Midland Care of Topeka, in care of the Hays Memorial Chapel Funeral Home, 1906 Pine Street, Hays. Condolences may be left for the family at www.haysmemorial.com

Copyright Eagle Radio | FCC Public Files | EEO Public File