SEWARD COUNTY — Law enforcement authorities are investigating a home-invasion robbery and have a suspect in custody.
Just after 4p.m., Thursday, officers were dispatched to a reported armed robbery that occurred at a residence in the 1100 Block of North Tulane Avenue in Liberal, according to Captain Pat McClurg.
A 44-year-old woman reported a man entered the home brandishing a gun and demanded money. Witnesses provided a detailed description of the man and his vehicle.
Minutes later, officers spotted the suspect vehicle on South Western Avenue and attempted to stop it. The suspect fled from pursuing officers and and traveled west on U.S. Highway 54. At one point, the suspect crossed the median, driving west in the eastbound lane.
The suspect vehicle went into the south ditch and became airborne, eventually getting stuck in a retention pond. The suspect, a 65-year-old man, was taken into custody without incident. The suspect sustained minor injuries as a result of the pursuit. He was taken to Southwest Medical Center where he was treated and released.
The suspect, whose name has not been released, was booked into the Seward County Jail on charges of aggravated robbery, aggravated burglary, theft, fleeing and attempting to elude law enforcement and reckless driving. An affidavit will be submitted to the Seward County Attorney’s Office seeking formal charges.
Linda BeechPlanning for the future is vital for families who want to preserve assets for the next generation. Learning about the estate planning process and taking steps now can help to keep those hard-earned assets in the family that worked so hard to attain them.
K-State Research and Extension will offer two regional workshops in February on “Preserving the Family with Estate Planning” to aid families in beginning the process of transitioning from one generation to another. An attorney and K-State experts will cover a range of topics including getting started in estate planning, estate planning basics, and farm or small business succession planning.
The workshops will be held in Phillipsburg on Thursday, February 22 at the Phillips County Fair Building and in Great Bend on Monday, February 26 at the Burnside Room of the Great Bend Recreation Commission. Workshop hours in both locations are 5:30 to 9:00 p.m.
The cost for the workshop is $20 per person, due by February 16th, and includes a meal and program handouts. Additional family members can attend for $15 each if registered together at the same time. Meal and materials cannot be guaranteed for late (after 2/16) or walk-in registrations.
Extension agent Anna Schremmer will open the program with introductory information on “Getting Started in Estate Planning.” Schremmer’s powerful presentation will motivate attendees to begin the estate planning discussion and give a better understanding of how to identify and accomplish estate planning goals.
Kansas Farm Bureau attorney Wendee Gray will discuss “Estate Planning Basics” as it relates to planning for death or incapacitation, protection of assets and distribution of property. Gray is Assistant General Counsel and Director of the Legal Foundation at Kansas Farm Bureau.
KSU Extension Agricultural Economists Mark Wood (in Phillipsburg) or Bryan Manny (in Great Bend) will close the program with economic, financial and compatability issues surrounding succession planning for a farm or small business. Typical estate planning goals, legal entity structure and general planning considerations will be identified.
The “Preserving the Family with Estate Planning” registration brochure and more information is available at Extension offices throughout northwest Kansas. To see a complete brochure and to register and pay online, go to www.northwest.ksu.edu under Events.
It’s never to early or too late to establish an estate plan, and you don’t need to be wealthy to benefit from good planning. Join us for this informative program from K-State Research and Extension to learn more. For questions, contact the Cottonwood Extension District offices in Hays- 785-628-9430 or Great Bend- 620-793-1910.
Linda K. Beech is Cottonwood District Extension Agent for Family and Consumer Sciences.
PUNXSUTAWNEY, Pa. (AP) — Pennsylvania’s most famous groundhog foresees no early end to winter.
Punxsutawney Phil’s handlers announced Friday the weather prognosticator saw his shadow.
Legend has it if the furry rodent casts a shadow on Feb. 2, Groundhog Day, expect six more weeks of winter-like weather.
Phil’s prediction is decided ahead of time by the group on Gobbler’s Knob, a tiny hill just outside of Punxsutawney. That’s about 65 miles (about 100 kilometers) northeast of Pittsburgh.
Spectators bundled up and bopped to music amid the camp and kitsch with the temperature around 11 degrees (minus-12 Celsius).
Records dating to 1887 show Phil predicting more winter 103 times while forecasting an early spring just 18 times. No records exist for the remaining years.
SEDGWICK COUNTY — Law enforcement authorities are investigating a suspect on child sex charges.
The Wichita Police Department (WPD) Exploited and Missing Child Unit (EMCU) investigated a sexual assault case reported to have occurred at the downtown YMCA, 402 North Market on Jan. 29, according to officer Charley Davidson.
Later that day, officers responded to a residence regarding a possible sexual assault involving a four-year-old girl victim after she had been at the downtown YMCA.
A 21-year-old man identified as Caleb Gaston, according to the Sedgwick County booking report has been arrested as a result of the investigation.
Gaston was booked into jail for one count of rape. The case has been presented to the Sedgwick County District Attorney’s Office.
Tony R. LaRue, age 60, of WaKeeney, passed away Saturday, January 27, 2018 at Hays Medical Center. He was born July 24, 1957 in Hoxie, Kansas, to Ray and Virginia (Currier) LaRue.
On May 25, 1979, Tony was united in marriage to Marlene Zeman. They enjoyed thirty-seven years of marriage together, until Marlene’s passing on October 6, 2016. Tony worked in the oil field, as a truck driver, then went on to become an over the road driver, where he worked for Coomes Trucking for many years. He will be dearly missed by his family and friends.
Tony is survived by his children, Dawn and husband Michael Geist, of WaKeeney, Tony Ray LaRue, Jr. and wife LaVonne, of Nortonville, Frank Giebler and wife Maggie, of Valley Falls, Chris Giebler and wife Stacey of Topeka, and Tammie and husband Ron Williams of Hays; grandchildren, Harley, Brooklin, Sadie, Aivah, Spencer, Gabby, Gavin, Jayden, Christopher, Lauren, Tyler, Katie, Kale, Kyler, Kaitlyn, and Kierra; two great-grandchildren, Kyran and Khali; and a sister, Nancy of Tennessee. He was preceded in death by his parents, his wife, and brother-in-law, Charles Wadell.
Memorial service will be 10:30 a.m., Monday, February 5, 2018 at Schmitt Funeral Home, WaKeeney. There will be no visitation as cremation was chosen.
Memorial contributions are suggested to the Tony LaRue Memorial Fund. Donations to the fund may be sent to Schmitt Funeral Home, 336 North 12th, WaKeeney, KS 67672.
Condolences may be left for the family online at www.schmittfuneral.com.
WICHITA — Wichita State University has announced the names of more than 2,900 students who were on the WSU dean’s honor roll for fall 2017.
To be included on the dean’s honor roll, a student must be enrolled full time (at least 12 credit hours) and earn at least a 3.5 grade point average on a 4.0 scale.
WSU enrolls about 15,000 students and offers more than 60 undergraduate degree programs in more than 150 areas of study in six undergraduate colleges.
The Graduate School offers an extensive program including 42 master’s degrees that offer study in more than 100 areas; a specialist in education degree; and doctoral degrees in applied mathematics; chemistry; communication sciences and disorders; human factors and community/clinical psychology; educational administration; physical therapy; and aerospace, electrical, industrial and mechanical engineering.
The following students from northwest Kansas were honored:
Bird City, KS
Bergan W Bock
Tiffany M Hamilton
Downs, KS
Rachel C Renken
Goodland, KS
Amanda R Coon
Kaitlyn K Daise
Hays, KS
Ragan N Arnold
Brianna M Burns
Maci M Gerhard
Ashlyn M Parrish
Thanks to an innovative agreement between USD 489 and Fort Hays State University, USD 489 teachers who want master’s degrees now have an opportunity for a break on tuition.
The new program, titled Teachers Empowered to Achieving Masters, or TEAM, was developed through a collaborative process involving leadership at both organizations.
“This is an example of two organizations coming together to create a program that benefits the local community,” said Dr. Joey Linn, vice president of student affairs at FHSU.
The agreement was approved by the USD 489 Board of Education in December and was signed by FHSU President Tisa Mason on Jan. 2.
Under the agreement, teachers approved by their building and district administrators will be able to get $75 per credit hour from the district and another $75 per credit hour from Fort Hays State. Teachers will be responsible for paying enrollment and student fees and the remaining tuition costs.
The memorandum of understanding signed by the district and FHSU says teachers must be full time and have approval from their building and district administration to seek a graduate degree from FHSU. An alternative is for teachers to get up to 18 graduate credit hours in an area designated by the district as “high need,” based on open positions for which qualified applicants are lacking.
The district will provide the university with a list of approved teachers by Aug. 1 for the fall semester and Intersession (the break between the fall and spring semesters), and by Dec. 20 for the spring semester and summer session.
John Richard Schrock is a professor at Emporia State University.On average, the educational aspirations of Asian immigrant children and Asian international students
surpass all other students in American schools. While there is some variation within ethnic groups in
America, interviews detailed in “The Asian American Achievement Paradox” by Jennifer Lee and Min
Zhou show an upward educational trajectory for second generation immigrants.
“Overachievement” by Asian-American students has long been recognized. Considered the “model
minority,” both temporary Asian international students and second generation Asian-American students
have long excelled in American schools.
Lee and Zhou define this achievement mindset as a “success frame,” or the general way in which
each ethnic culture frames success. This includes both family expectations and how each minority may
provide resources for others within their group to achieve that success frame.
American teachers really enjoy having Asian students. When they get a “B” on the first quiz or exam,
some Asian students drop a college class to take it over again. Simply, a “B” is an Asian “F.” Nothing
less than straight “As” is acceptable. Success is often framed as entry into the top tier of elite
universities—a public university is second choice.
This Asian view focuses on achieving a higher paying job. Medicine, law or engineering are viewed
as successful careers. Not teaching. Not police work.
Success is also framed as being a matter of effort, not innate ability. While Asian students overall
outperform all other groups, the failure of some of them to hit these super-high targets also gives them
the lowest self-esteem of all ethnic groups surveyed. When an Asian student fails to meet ethnic
expectations, the sense of failure can result in suicide at the college level–-more common in Asia than in
the United States—but also not found to any significant extent in students from other cultures. However,
these cultural values also result in the lowest rates of delinquency, incarceration and teenage births of all groups.
Asian immigrants to the U.S. are over-selected for high degrees; that is, Asians who come here
average higher levels of education than was found on average back in their home countries of China,
Vietnam, Korea, etc. In 1970, the Asian population was barely one percent of the American population;
today it exceeds 6 percent. This growth is due to the influx of Vietnamese refugees following that war,
and to the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965. In addition, nearly all of the U.S. growth in
engineering, physics and medical/pharmacy degrees since then can be attributed to Asian American
students, or to Asian international students who earn a large proportion of those degrees and are then
recruited to remain and work in the United States.
The Asian sub-communities found in larger cities likewise provide after-school resources that are
available to both affluent and economically poor Asian students, thereby providing extra help not
generated by other ethnic groups. This includes not only after-hour cram schools, but also counseling and
networking that directs students down these career paths and makes college entrance easier.
The effect of having your whole ethnic community behind you, encouraging you as a student to
achieve high goals, has a tremendous effect on achievement. The high school dropout rate for white
students has gone from 9 percent in 1993 to 5 percent in 2014. For Asian students, it was always under
one percent.
College enrollment of 18-to-24 year-olds in 2014 was 33 percent for blacks, 35 percent for Hispanics,
42 percent for whites and 64 percent for Asians. State and national goals exhort students to achieve a 60
percent college completion rate. Asian students are already beyond that. When it comes to completing a
bachelor’s degree within the age bracket of 25-29, Hispanics are at 15 percent, blacks at 22, whites are at
41 and Asians are at 63 percent.
Bottomline? If the U.S. reduces Asian immigration, it will reduce a critical supply line of future
engineers, doctors, pharmacists and physicists America needs for its future. But Asian students are not
the only ethnic group that is moving upward in U.S. schools.
John Richard Schrock is a professor at Emporia State University.
Today Mostly sunny, with a high near 50. Wind chill values as low as -1 early. Breezy, with a south southwest wind 8 to 13 mph increasing to 19 to 24 mph in the afternoon.
Tonight Mostly cloudy, with a low around 27. South wind 8 to 11 mph.
SaturdayMostly sunny, with a high near 60. South southwest wind 9 to 15 mph becoming northwest in the afternoon.
Saturday Night Partly cloudy, with a low around 25. North northwest wind 5 to 9 mph becoming northeast after midnight.
Sunday A 20 percent chance of snow before noon. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 28. Blustery, with a north northeast wind 10 to 20 mph.
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas collected $165 million in taxes more than expected in January, raising some legislators’ hopes that they’ll have more money than they thought for meeting a court mandate to increase spending on public schools.
The state Department of Revenue’s report Thursday of a more than 28 percent surplus in monthly tax collections came a day after new Republican Gov. Jeff Colyer took office facing a contentious debate in the GOP-controlled Legislature over education funding. The Kansas Supreme Court ruled in October that spending on schools is inadequate under the state constitution.
Lawmakers in both parties have little appetite for increasing taxes after boosting income taxes last year by an estimated $600 million annually to help stabilize the budget. They also oppose making deep cuts elsewhere in the budget so that new dollars can be transferred to public schools.
A surplus in tax collections could help them avoid either unpalatable choice, though key legislators said they want to see whether the trend sticks or whether they’re seeing a temporary spike tied to changes in federal tax laws.
“We probably won’t know for a few months,” said Rep. Kathy Wolfe Moore, of Kansas City, the top Democrat on the House Appropriations Committee. “Hopefully, that’s what it means.”
The department’s report came with a warning from Revenue Secretary Sam Williams that the surplus in revenues is tied to the federal income tax cuts and accompanying changes enacted by Congress at the end of last year.
One change will limit the federal income tax deduction for state and local taxes. Williams said the change encouraged filers to pay state and local taxes early, by the end last year, before the change took effect. Williams said officials need to “temper our expectations.”
“I’m cautious about it,” Colyer said during a news conference. “It’s not a windfall.”
The Department of Revenue said Kansas took in nearly $747 million in taxes last month, when the state’s official forecast issued in November projected tax collections of $582 million.
It was the eighth consecutive month tax collections have exceeded expectations. Since the current fiscal year began July 1, the state has collected $3.9 billion in taxes, or $249 million more than anticipated for a surplus of 6.7 percent.
House Taxation Committee Chairman Steven Johnson, an Assaria Republican, agreed that federal tax changes are a key reason.
He said the state’s tax increase last year may also have prompted some business owners to make early payments, too. Kansas ended its personal income tax exemption for more than 330,000 farmers and business owners and raised tax rates.
Senate Ways and Means Committee Chairwoman Carolyn McGinn, a Sedgwick Republican added: “We’re going to have, probably, some highs and lows, and we’re not going to have a good average number or a predictable number for a few months.”
RENO COUNTY— Law enforcement authorities are investigating 2 suspects captured after a high-speed chase.
Just before 1:30 a.m. Thursday when a Reno County Sheriff’s Deputy attempted to make a routine traffic stop in Nickerson. The driver later identified as 31-year-old Joshua Borst of Colorado took off at a high rate of speed down K-14 toward Hutchinson, eventually pulling off onto 6th Street in South Hutchinson.
Law Enforcement used stop sticks and punctured three of the vehicle’s four tires. Borst kept traveling on the rims across the Frank Hart bridge The vehicle ultimately crashed through a fence at the Cargill Salt plant on East G street. Borst and his passenger then took off running.
Officers captured a passenger in the vehicle 36-year-old Jennifer Heckman about 30 yards from the vehicle. Officers couldn’t locate Borst. Heckman was jailed for possession of drug paraphernalia with intent to distribute and felony interference.
Around 6:30 a.m., a Hutchinson Police Officer was called for suspicious activity at a home on Osborne Street. The homeowner said someone was outside her home yelling for help. The officer arrived and found Borst underneath a deck on the east side of the home. He was then taken into custody without further incident.
Joshua Borst is being held on an $8,000 Bond for numerous charges including felony flee and elude, theft or possession of stolen property, interference with law enforcement, possession of drug paraphernalia with intent to distribute, leaving the scene of an accident, driving while suspended and criminal damage.
The vehicle they were in was reported stolen out of Westminster, Colorado.
Unless they make bond, both should make a first court appearance Friday
SEWARD COUNTY — Law enforcement authorities are investigating a home-invasion robbery and have a suspect in custody.
