SHAWNEE COUNTY —Law enforcement authorities are investigating a shooting and are working to identify a suspect.
Police on the scene of the shooting investigation early Thursday photo courtesy WIBW TV
Just after 11:30 p.m. Wednesday, officers were dispatched to 106 Highway 24 on a report of a shooting, according to Lt. Manuel Munoz. Officers located a man suffering from a gunshot wound and he was transported to a local hospital for treatment of his injuries.
Police brought several witnesses to the Law Enforcement Center for interviews. They reported seeing a white male suspect who weighed approximately 170 pounds leave the scene in a gold colored Chevy Tahoe westbound on Highway 24. Police have not released the victim’s name or his condition.
Ron Wilson is director of the Huck Boyd National Institute for Rural Development at Kansas State University.
By RON WILSON Huck Boyd National Institute for Rural Development
Shopping in the produce aisle can take time, if one stops to look and study all the fruits and vegetables on display. If only those fruits and vegetables could be packaged together – maybe even with a recipe to help my family use them. Today we’ll learn about an innovative program which is simplifying healthy food access, using a local food store and community support. Thanks to JoEllyn Argabright of K-State Research and Extension for this story idea.
Last week, we learned about K-State Research and Extension’s Culture of Health initiative. Here is an example of a local initiative to support healthy eating.
Jerad Gooch is the owner of Leoti Foods in Leoti, Kansas. His family has deep roots in the grocery business. His grandfather Harold Gooch opened the store in Tribune in 1948. Harold’s son Dwight joined the business in 1972. Now the family owns three stores and Dwight’s three sons manage one each. Jerad has the store in Leoti.
In 2015, some people in Leoti started to participate in a produce basket purchasing program which utilized out-of-state goods. “I noticed these baskets coming into town and I wondered why we couldn’t do that with a local store,” Jerad said. That program ended after a few months, but Jerad met with people who were interested to see if his store could provide such produce baskets.
In early 2017, the group launched a program called Simply Produce. This program provides fruit and vegetable baskets to local customers through the Leoti Foods store.
Every three weeks, there is a sign-up period from Friday to Tuesday for people who want to get a produce basket. People order the basket and pre-pay, at the store or by phone.
On the following Friday morning, the produce is delivered to a distribution point at the fairgrounds. Volunteers then sort the produce into baskets, which customers can pick up at noon. Jerad also delivers baskets to the school and to the elderly.
Typically, the baskets would include 12 items: Six fruits and six vegetables. The baskets cost $15 each. Since the baskets might include up to 22 pounds of produce, this is a terrific value. Purchased separately, those items might amount to twice that in cost, not to mention the time spent shopping.
“We’ve had customers say, `Wow, I get all that?’” Jerad said. “Some of our elderly ladies even share baskets.” The store is now offering an additional mini-basket option.
Another popular option is the add-on baskets for an additional charge. For example, Leoti Foods recently offered an optional grill pack which includes ears of corn, sweet peppers, potatoes, squash, onions, mushrooms and more. All of these products would be great when prepared on my grill.
This makes shopping simple, which means that the name Simply Produce is especially appropriate. “This produce is delivered in the morning and is in the consumer’s hands by noon,” Jerad said. “To get fresh produce in the hands of people that quickly in western Kansas is remarkable.”
“Everything about this has been great,” Jerad said. Now their store in Tribune is using the same model. “We’re averaging about 45 participants each time,” Jerad said.
“It’s not about the business, it’s what’s good for the community and about getting produce into people’s hands,” Jared said. He also noted the importance of volunteers in assembling the baskets.
Aimee Baker, the family and consumer sciences agent for K-State Research and Extension – Wichita County, is one of his key volunteers. “She’s been with us since day one,” Jerad said. “She even makes a recipe card each time which correlates with the produce in the basket.”
This is an innovative, collaborative approach to help people get healthy produce while benefiting the local economy. It’s great to find in a rural community like Leoti, population 1,534 people. Now, that’s rural.
Shopping for produce can take time. We commend Jared Gooch of Leoti Foods, Aimee Baker, and all those involved with Simply Produce for making a difference with this project to help people utilize fruits and vegetables while utilizing their local store. I think it’s high time.
August means that the Perseid Meteor Shower is coming, and at the Kansas Wetlands Education Center this year it means a party – the Perseid Meteor Shower Watch Party.
Free, family-fun activities begin at 9 p.m. Friday, Aug. 9. Participants can rotate through various activities until 10:30:
• An inflatable planetarium, which allows for viewing the sky even if the weather does not cooperate.
• A craft to make a constellation luminary – a good, take-home reminder.
• Glow-in-the-dark wiffle ball, a crowd favorite from years past.
• Smores, with the fire pit manned by a local Boy Scout troop.
• A “moon dust” footprint photo, in which visitors can have a photo taken of their own re-enactment of the footprints Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin left 50 years ago.
• And a craft to make solar-system hats, courtesy of the Great Bend Public Library.
A special event is the egg-drop, lunar landing STEM experiment (participants design and build a landing craft to support an “eggstranaut.” The challenge, said Kern, is to build a safe, durable lunar lander for the least amount of money.
“Once it is dark enough outside, we will also encourage families to stargaze and look for the Perseid Meteor Shower show,” said Mandy Kern, program specialist at the center.
The Perseid shower results when debris from the Swift-Tuttle comet enters the atmosphere. As the particles burn up, they appear as shooting stars radiating from the constellation Perseus. The Perseids occur each year in August.
“With this year being the 50th anniversary of the moon landing, our annual watch party will have a special nod to the moon,” said Kern.
The Kansas Wetlands Education Center is at 592 NE K-156 Highway, northeast of Great Bend.
Visitors are free to bring lawn chairs or blankets.
“The party is a good way to celebrate the end of summer before school starts,” said Kern.
COLBY – Beginning Aug. 26, Colby Community College Adult Education will be offering classes in Colby and Hays to help students prepare for attaining the Kansas High School Diploma (GED). The credential is affiliated with the Kansas Board of Regents and recognized by colleges and employers nationwide.
In Colby, the class will be held in the lower level of the H.F. Davis Library on Mondays and Wednesdays from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. The class in Hays is scheduled on Mondays and Wednesdays from 6 to 10 p.m. in the lower level of the Community Corrections of Northwest Kansas building, 1011 Fort.
Adults over the age of 16 not currently enrolled in school are eligible. Learners who have been associated with credit recovery programs or learning centers are welcome. Classes are also suitable for those who want to refresh their skills and enhance job placement or transition into college or technical school.
For more information, contact Nance Munderloh at 785-460-4663.
KANSAS CITY. (AP) — Police have identified the victims found stabbed to death earlier this week as two men in their 50s.
Parking lot of the Sheffield Life Center in Kansas City were police were investigating the homicide photo courtesy KCTV
The victims were identified Wednesday as 56-year-old Michael McLin and 52-year-old Kevin Waters. Both were found dead about 6 a.m. Tuesday in the parking lot behind the Sheffield Life Center in northeastern Kansas City.
Police are investigating the deaths as a double homicide. No arrests have been made.
The deaths bring Kansas City’s homicide total this year to 87.
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KANSAS CITY (AP) — Kansas City police are investigating after two bodies were found behind a church.
A tow truck driver discovered the bodies of two men Tuesday morning behind the Sheffield Family Center.
Spokesman Darin Snapp says the two men died of apparent stab wounds.
Further information was not immediately available.
The deaths bring Kansas City’s homicide total this year to 87.
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas plans to impose what some tax experts said Wednesday would be the nation’s most aggressive policy for collecting state and local taxes on online sales, possibly inviting a legal battle.
The state Department of Revenue issued a notice last week saying any “remote seller” doing business with Kansas residents must register with the department, collect state and local sales taxes and forward the revenues to the state, starting Oct. 1. It cites a U.S. Supreme Court decision last year allowing states to collect sales taxes on Internet sales.
Most states now have policies to collect such taxes, but almost all set minimum annual sales or transaction thresholds to exempt small businesses, according to groups tracking tax laws. Kansas is the first to attempt to collect the taxes without exempting any businesses, they said.
The Republican-controlled Legislature included provisions on taxing Internet sales in two tax-cutting bills this year, but Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly vetoed both measures, saying they would destabilize the state’s finances. The Department of Revenue is imposing its new policy under an existing tax law that applied to out-of-state businesses but wasn’t being enforced because past court decisions prevented it.
“I think they’re insane,” said Diane Yetter, founder of the Sales Tax Institute in Chicago. Later, she added, “I just think Kansas is setting itself up for a lawsuit — and embarrassment, truthfully.”
Kansas Revenue Secretary Mark Burghart, a veteran tax attorney himself, said during an interview that the department is obligated to enforce existing tax laws consistently. He said it’s not fair to Kansas businesses to require them to collect sales taxes from consumers and not require out-of-state businesses to do the same after the U.S. Supreme Court decision last year.
Burghart also said he does not feel the department has the authority to exempt some small, out-of-state businesses from collecting sales taxes. Legislators must set the thresholds, he said.
“We have to move forward with implementation of the law as it is in place,” he said.
Kansas Senate President Susan Wagle, a conservative Wichita Republican who is a frequent Kelly critic and is running for the U.S. Senate, termed the department’s policy an “abuse of power.” Other top Republicans were less harsh but said Wednesday that they worried about the risk of lawsuits — and lawmakers are likely to take up the issue again next year.
Legislators also have felt pressure to collect more taxes from online sales to prevent local businesses from facing a competitive disadvantage. There’s also the potential budget upside: The department believes the state will collect between $20 million and $40 million a year in additional tax revenues.
Wagle asked Attorney General Derek Schmidt, also a Republican, to weigh in on the policy’s legality. His spokesman Wednesday would say only, “We are aware of the situation.”
Yetter and other tax policy experts said the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision isn’t permission to tax all remote sales from out-of-state businesses.
“They’re pushing a lot of envelopes in their approach,” said Jared Walczak, director of state tax policy for the conservative Tax Foundation, who deems Kansas’ policy the “most aggressive” in the nation.
The high court overturned a previous ruling that states could not collect their sales taxes unless a business had a physical presence within their borders, allowing tax collections if businesses had an economic presence. It upheld a South Dakota law requiring businesses to collect its taxes if they had $100,000 in sales or 200 transactions in the state within a year.
The decision suggests states still must exempt some businesses to avoid putting an undue burden on interstate commerce in violation of the U.S. Constitution, said George Isaacson, a Lewiston, Maine, attorney representing the businesses challenging the South Dakota law. He said Kansas’ policy represents a “blatant disregard” of that.
“These are small mom-and-pop type operations that are now going to be subject to this collection obligation and would be least able to mount a legal challenge,” Isaacson said.
KANSAS CITY—A Kansas City man was sentenced in federal court Tuesday for his role in a conspiracy to steal high-end sport utility vehicles and pick-ups from out-of-state dealerships and transport them to Kansas City for sale on the black market, according to the United State’s Attorney.
Timothy Hood, 38, was sentenced by U.S. Chief District Judge Beth Phillips to three years and 10 months in federal prison without parole. The court also ordered Hood to pay $212,998 in restitution.
On March 22, 2019, Hood pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to transport stolen vehicles across state lines and one count of aiding and abetting the transportation of stolen vehicles across state lines. Hood admitted that he participated in a conspiracy from Dec. 1, 2015, to Feb. 2, 2016, to steal at least 10 high-end sport utility vehicles and pick-up trucks from three out-of-state auto dealerships and deliver them to Kansas City.
Hood and co-conspirators organized small groups to steal 10 vehicles, worth approximately $710,933, from three dealerships in Nebraska and Iowa. Co-conspirator Joshua Walker, 43, of Kansas City, Missouri, affixed fraudulent vehicle identification numbers (VINs) onto the dashboard of the stolen vehicles. Many of the fraudulent VINs used during the conspiracy were true VINs from other vehicles owned by car dealerships and were utilized so that the stolen vehicles would be difficult to trace and could be sold on the black market.
All of the stolen vehicles have been recovered by law enforcement officers and sold as salvage. Two of the stolen vehicles were recovered at the residence of Hood’s girlfriend. On Sept. 22, 2016, Hood was pulled over for a traffic infraction while he was driving one of the stolen vehicles with a fraudulent VIN. Investigators searched Hood’s laptop, which was in the vehicle. The computer contained scanned images of templates for temporary Kansas license plates, insurance cards, notary stamps, bills of sale, release of liens, and bar code labels of VINs. The search of the computer also revealed searches of legitimate VINs that were fraudulently used or affixed to other stolen vehicles in this case.
Walker pleaded guilty in a separate, but related, case to his role in the conspiracy and to being a felon in possession of a firearm. A sentencing hearing has not yet been scheduled.
Frances Louise Rouse was born to Raymond and Lelah Rouse on July 27, 1936 outside Osborne, Kansas. She left this life on July 29, 2019 in Seneca, Kansas on her own terms and with no regrets.
Frances married Marvin Leadabrand on August 5, 1956 in Webster County, Nebraska. Born to this union were two daughters.
Marvin and Frances lived and loved in Osborne most of their lives. They worked side by side and filled their home with love and laughter. After Marvin’s death in 1989, Frances continued the family business until her health forced her into retirement. Frances moved to Seneca, Kansas with her daughter when the family moved for Kiley’s job.
Marvin and Frances spent their lives committed to their business, their daughter, and their friends. Time away from their business was spent with extended family. Throughout her life Frances gave her heart to all she did. While her life was filled with many successes, nothing mattered more than her family, including her dogs.
Frances made a difference in the lives of all she touched. She put her faith into action by sharing God’s word and love with her family. She continued to do so after her health deteriorated by knitting hundreds of scarves and blankets for homeless shelters.
Frances was preceded in death by her stillborn daughter Lelah Kay, husband Marvin, her parents, siblings Howard Rouse and Vivian Simmons, her in-laws Jim and Beulah Leadabrand, brothers-in-law Raymond Leadabrand and Dewey Simmons, nephews Phillip, Kenny, and Roger Leadabrand, great nephew Justin Kumke, and great-great nephew Nolan Lewis.
Frances leaves a host of friends to celebrate her life. She is survived by her daughter Kiley and husband Jim Floyd, her pride and joy grandson, Dan Floyd and his daughter Emma, step granddaughters Mia Sitter (Sophia and Emily) and Jennifer LaBruyere, a brother Leslie Rouse and wife Marie, brother-in-law Charles Leadabrand and his wife Donna, sister-in-law Betty Leadabrand Banks, and a large extended family of nieces and nephews.
In lieu of flowers, the family suggest Frances’ mission be continued with donations to the Topeka Rescue Mission, 600 N. Kansas Ave, Topeka, KS 66608 or Ashley’s Purple Star Foundation at https://gkccfonlinedonations.org/ashley/ashley.asp
Friends and family are invited to an informal gathering on August 17th, from 10:00 to 11:30, at the Veteran’s Building in Osborne. No other services are planned at this time.
Bobbie Lee Graham, 83, of WaKeeney KS, passed away August 5, 2019 at his home surrounded by his family after a long journey with cancer. He was born February 6, 1936 in Vinton, Iowa to Joseph and Lettie Larson (Lint) Graham. He attended Vinton Grade School and High School. Later he joined the National Guard in 1953 and the US Navy in 1955. Bob also attended Barber School in Oklahoma City, Auctioneering School in Kansas City, and The Law Enforcement Academy in Hutchinson, KS.
Bob married Vera Shieb and together they had 3 daughters, Lettie, Ginger, and Debbie. He later met JoAnn Kloefkorn and together they had Patsy and Rickey. Bob married Judith Ann Fabrizius on Oct 29, 1961 at Zion Lutheran Church in Trego Center-WaKeeney, KS. Together they had Jeff, Jeana, and Joe, and were blessed with 57 years of marriage before his passing.
Bob had various jobs throughout his life and was a man of many trades. In his early years he was a roofer, welder, barber, service station owner, auctioneer, truck driver, and car salesman. He worked in the oil fields for many years and law enforcement for 20 years in several towns, but retiring as Chief of Police in Downs, KS in 1994. After his retirement, he moved to WaKeeney where he continued to keep himself busy by helping family and friends with farm work.
Bob had a one of a kind sense of humor, and loved sharing stories of his shenanigans to his grandkids and friends. Anyone who knew Bob probably has a “Bob Graham” memory/story that would bring a smile to your face. Bob always enjoyed playing games with his family, particularly Booray, dominoes, and other card games.
Bob is survived by his wife, Judy; children, Lettie Neary, Cedar City, UT, Ginger Graham, Winfield, KS, Debbie (Jim) Phillips, Winfield, KS, Rickey (Cathy) Graham Yukon, OK, Jeff (Dot) Graham, Wakeeney, KS, Jeana (Kirk) Sullivan, Shawnee, KS, Joe (Lisa) Graham, Wakeeney, KS; 27 grandchildren; 64 great-grandchildren; 4 great-great grandchildren; brother John (Mamie) Graham, Haven Ks; and numerous nieces, nephews, and friends. Bob was preceded in death by his parents,Joseph and Lettie, brothers Elzo, Ernest, and Charles Lint, sister Neta (Lint) Comley, and infant daughter Patsy.
Funeral service will be 2:30 p.m., Saturday, August 10, 2019 at Zion Lutheran Church, Trego Center-WaKeeney. Visitation and viewing will be Friday from 5 to 7 p.m. at the funeral home in WaKeeney.
Memorial contributions are suggested to Hospice Services, Inc., or Zion Lutheran Church. Donations made payable to the fund may be sent to Schmitt Funeral Home, 336 North 12th, WaKeeney, KS 67672.
