Due to weather delays, Elm Street between 5th and 6th Streets in Hays will be closed to traffic during working hours on Wednesday and Thursday.
M&D Excavating will be removing trees associated with the planned reconstruction of Elm Street later this summer.
Signs will be in place to direct the traveling public. The traveling public should use caution and if possible avoid areas of construction.
The City of Hays regrets any inconvenience this may cause to the public. If there are any questions, please call the Office of Project Management at 785-628-7350 or the contractor, M & D Excavating at 785-628-3169 or 785-650-3802.
Kayden Lee Starr, 29, of Larned Kansas, passed away on the morning of May 7th, 2019 at the University of Kansas Health Systems – Pawnee Valley Campus in Larned.
He was born on April 18th, 1990 in Iowa City, Iowa to Brenda L. Allen (Ganzer) and Tony L. Starr. Kayden spent the last nearly two and a half years working for the Larned State Hospital. Anyone who knew him and worked with him would say that he was a hard worker and always got things done – his work ethic was one to be admired. He loved playing video games and was a very good artist.
Kayden had a very big heart and always did whatever he could for those he cared about. His mother and his wife were two of the most important people in his life and he never hesitated to let anyone know it. He was a very honest and opinionated individual and was certainly not shy about it. Kayden always had a way of getting along with just about anyone. He is and will be very greatly missed by everyone who loved him.
He married Kamryn Hofstad September 18, 2018 in Larned. She survives.
He is survived by his wife Kamryn J. Starr, Larned, parents, Tony L. Starr and Brenda L. Allen (Ganzer); step-dad Kendall Stout, Wichita, step-brother, Michael Stout, Iowa City, Iowa; two step-sisters, Amanda Stout, Cedar Rapids, Iowa and Jackie Dominguez, Iowa City, Iowa and many close friends as well as family who loved him dearly. He and his wife had no children together aside from their 7 ‘fur babies’ – Khaos, Quinn, Smurfette, Batman, Shamus, Dobby, and Bella.
Cremation has taken place and private family services will be at a later date.
Memorials may be made given to the Kayden Lee Starr memorial fund in care of Beckwith Mortuary , P.O. Box 477, Larned, KS 67550. Personal condolences may be left at www.beckwithmortuary.com
SEDGWICK COUNTY — The woman accused of driving a stolen SUV involved Sunday’s 3-vehicle crash that killed two people has been released from the hospital.
Mia Collins -photo Sedgwick County
Mia Collins, 24, was immediately booked on requested charges that include two counts of first-degree murder, three counts of aggravated battery, a probation violation and driving while suspended, according to Sedgwick County online jail records.
Collins led police on a chase and about one mile the car collided with a car and another SUV at an intersection, according to Wichita officer Kevin Wheeler.
First responders on the scene of the fatal Sunday accident -photo courtesy KAKE
The crash killed 70-year-old Maria Wood and 12-year-old Rosemary McElroy and critically injured 36-year-old Jenny Wood, a popular Wichita musician known for performing with children. She is Wood’s daughter and McElroy’s aunt. She remains in critical condition, according to officer Charley Davidson
Collins was on probation. A passenger in her car, 38-year-old Christopher English, is also on parole and remains hospitalized.
The driver of the SUV that was hit, 65-year-old Alfred Angle, was seriously injured and has been released from the hospital, according to Davidson.
Clinton Clifford Karst, 88, passed away on Feb. 17, 2019, at Medicalodges of Great Bend. He was born Nov. 28, 1930, at Galatia, to Seigmond and Pauline (Miller) Karst. Clinton married Loene Schwein on Aug. 28, 1955, at Milberger.
A lifetime resident of Barton County, Clinton was a veteran of the Korean War, serving in the U.S. Navy, earning the rank of DC3. He was an accomplished welder, working in the construction field all of his life, owning and operating Karst Welding. Previous employment were held at Bureau of Mines, Otis, Stanion Wholesale and Murphy Tractor and Equipment. Clinton had been a member of Emmanuel Lutheran Church, Hoisington, where he had served faithfully on church council, life member of V.F.W. Post 7428, Fraternal Order of the Eagles and the Sunflower Polka Club.
Survivors include wife, Loene of the home; two sons, Curtis Karst of Great Bend, Craig Karst and wife Amy of Hoisington; one daughter, Colleen Karst and husband Joe Hines of Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.; one brother, Leonard Karst and wife May of Great Bend; one sister, Darlene Reber of Roseville, Cal.; two grandchildren, Amber Young and husband Austin of Great Bend, Ally Karst of Hoisington; one great grandchild, Bentley Young of Great Bend; and several nieces and nephews.
Memorial Services have been scheduled for 11:00 a.m. Friday, Feb. 22, 2019, at Emmanuel Lutheran Church, Hoisington, with the Rev. Wayne Baldyga presiding. A prayer service will be at 7:00 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 21, at Nicholson-Ricke Funeral Home, with the family greeting friends at 6:00 p.m. A private family inurnment will be at Hoisington City Cemetery, Hoisington, at a later date with military honors conducted by the U.S. Navy Honor Guard. Memorials may be given to Emmanuel Lutheran Church or Kans for Kids, in care of Nicholson-Ricke Funeral Home, PO Box 146, Hoisington, KS.
WICHITA, KAN. – A Salina man unlawfully received controlled prescription drugs from his wife, who was a pharmacist, according to U.S. Attorney Stephen McAllister.
Dalton R. Hartley, 29, Salina, Kan., pleaded guilty Tuesday to one count of acquiring controlled substances through fraud. Hartley is married to co-defendant Kirsty C. Hartley, who worked at a CVS Pharmacy in Salina. In his plea, Dalton Hartley admitted he fraudulently received 450 tablets of hydrocodone with acetaminophen and 360 tablets of alprazolam from his wife. He would consume the medication himself or trade tablets to other people for marijuana.
Hartley admitted he knew his wife was altering legitimate prescriptions in order to divert the medications to him.
Co-defendant Kirsty Hartley pleaded guilty last month to one count of distributing and dispensing controlled substances without a legitimate medical reason. She admitted unlawfully dispensing more than 21,000 tablets of hydrocodone with acetaminophen.
Both parties have agreed to recommend the Hartleys be sentenced to 18 months of house arrest with 200 hours of community service. Kirsty Hartley has surrendered her pharmacist license.
OAKLEY — Two people were injured in an accident just after 9:30 p.m. Tuesday in Thomas County.
The Kansas Highway Patrol reported a 2003 Chevy Silverado driven by Dalton M. Graves, 21, Abilene, was eastbound on Interstate 70 just west of the Oakley U.S. 83 exit. The pickup rear-ended a 2011 Toyota Camry driven by Robert A. Kuhn, 61, Victoria.
Kuhn and a passenger, Deborah K. Kuhn, 62, Victoria, were transported to Citizen’s Medical Center. Graves was not wearing a seat belt and not transported for treatment, according to the KHP.
MANHATTAN, Kan. (AP) — As the Mississippi River continues to surge, flash flooding along Kansas creeks and streams is forcing people from their homes, closing roads and prompting schools to call off classes.
Emergency management officials began evacuating an area about 5 miles west of Manhattan around 5 a.m. Wednesday. Evacuations also are underway in part of Marion County in the central part of the state.
Near the Oklahoma border, flooding closed a stretch of the Kansas Turnpike. And there were numerous water rescues in Augusta, which is about 25 miles east of Wichita.
Flash flood watches also are in effect in Missouri, Nebraska, Arkansas, Oklahoma and Texas, as well as flood warnings along the Mississippi River. The river was expected to crest Wednesday night in Cape Girardeau, Missouri, at a level that causes thousands of acres to flood.
MARYSVILLE – A Kansas man was sentenced Tuesday to more than 27 years in prison after pleading guilty to attempted murder and related charges, according to Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt.
Guenther photo Marshall County
Jeffery Scott Guenther, 48, Washington, Kansas, pleaded guilty in February to one count of attempted first degree murder, two counts of attempted second degree murder, one count of aggravated robbery, one count of aggravated arson, one count of aggravated escape from custody, one count of conspiracy to commit aggravated escape from custody, two counts of criminal discharge of a firearm at an occupied dwelling, one count of criminal discharge of a firearm at an occupied building, one count of fleeing or attempting to elude a police officer, one count of criminal damage to property and one count of criminal possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.
District Judge James A. Patton sentenced Guenther to a total of 327 months in the Kansas Department of Corrections.
The crimes occurred in October 2017 in connection with an escape from the Marshall County jail when Guenther and Matson Zane Hatfield, 31, Marysville, lit a fire in a cell, causing smoke to fill the jail, according to the KBI. The two inmates then forced their way through the jail, obtained two shotguns and exited the jail into the Sheriff’s Office parking lot.
Matson Hatfield -photo Marshall County
While the two inmates were fleeing, a civilian county employee’s tan 2004 Dodge Ram pickup truck was stolen at gunpoint, and shots were fired at a Marysville Fire Department truck. A responding Marysville Police Officer fired at Guenther in the fleeing truck. Meanwhile, Hatfield reportedly fled on foot to a residence nearby the Jail, and fired shots toward a male subject standing in front of the residence. Hatfield was acquainted with the residents of the home. A short time later, Hatfield surrendered to an officer from the Marysville Police Department.
Guenther fled the area in the stolen pickup truck and headed north on Highway 77, across the state line into Nebraska. He was pursued by Marysville Police until he rolled the truck and was apprehended in rural Gage County, Neb., not far from the Kansas/Nebraska state border.
Hatfield was sentenced to more than 47 years in prison on related charges in November of 2018.
By GLENN BRINKOW Pottawatomie County farmer and rancher
It was just a pen, a simple ballpoint pen, but it brought me to my knees. We were working cattle, and someone asked me if I had a pen to write down the numbers and keep notes. I rummaged through my console and at the bottom I found a single, dusty, forgotten pen. The pen is nothing spectacular. It simply had the word “Glenn” on it with a phone number.
Earlier in the week I had gotten an e-mail that my friend Jill Casten had passed away from cancer. You don’t expect someone like Jill to be gone Even though you know it is coming, it is still a shock. She was one of the brightest stars in the Kansas Farm Bureau sky. Things had been busy, and I guess the totality hadn’t hit me until I found the pen.
Jill gave me that pen. One day in the hallway she found me and presented me with it. She explained that when she stayed at a hotel with the name of a friend, she always kept something from it to give to that friend. I remember joking with her and asked how often that happened. I asked if she had many friends by the name of Hilton or Marriot.
I also remember coming away feeling like I mattered to Jill. For her to think of me meant the world. I am sure she was busy on that trip and had many more important things to be thinking of than me. That is how most of us would have thought, but not Jill. No, Jill was always thinking of others and cultivating relationships. She had this special talent, and everyone in her life felt like they mattered.
Even then, covered in the grime of working cattle, in the middle of my dusty truck, I smiled touched again by the simple effort she made to let me know I mattered. That was why she was so effective as a leader and as a trainer.She modeled all the traits of a great leader.
I am saddened that I will never again see my friend or learn what it is to be a leader and an advocate from her. For that, I owe her a great deal. However, I am uplifted at the thought of who Jill Casten was and what I learned from her. Jill taught me to value relationships, to live in the moment, savor friends and family and to make the world around me a more welcoming place.
All of us who knew Jill experienced a great loss, and it will take time to heal that wound. We must take solace in knowing that we can live by the example she gave us. The legacy of Jill Casten will live on through the vast network of friends she collected. Godspeed my friend, until we meet again.
“Insight” is a weekly column published by Kansas Farm Bureau, the state’s largest farm organization whose mission is to strengthen agriculture and the lives of Kansans through advocacy, education and service.
RENO COUNTY — Authorities are working to determine the cause of a fire at a home in Hutchinson.
Photo courtesy Hutchinson Fire Department
Just after 3a.m. Wednesday, fire crews responded to 541 E. Avenue A in Hutchinson for a reported structure fire. Upon arrival crews found a single story home with fire showing from the roof of the home, according to Fire Chief Steve Beer.
First in crews made an aggressive interior attack and a primary search of the residence. 3 occupants, including one adult and two children, narrowly escaped the structure thanks in part to a passerby on a bicycle who noticed the smoke in the area and notified the occupants of the fire.
HFD was able to rescue 4 dogs and 2 cats from the fire. Fire was contained to the area of origin but extensive smoke and heat damage was sustained thorough out the residence. Crews remained on on scene monitoring hot spots while the investigation is being conducted.
Red Cross was notified for assistance for the occupants. This residence did not have smoke detectors to alert the occupants of the fire. No injuries were reported.
Dr. Tisa Mason, FHSU presidentI have been thinking a lot about our faculty as we celebrate promotion, tenure, and our annual awards for teaching, service, and scholarly and creative activity – key responsibilities for a university professor. As we approach spring, I receive peer reviewed faculty files with recommendations for promotion and tenure.
Each of those three areas involve an incredible amount of work. Teaching alone takes enormous amounts of time. In addition to all the traditional work – creating lectures and tests, reading and grading papers and old-school things like that – there is finding and developing opportunities for service learning projects, creating, managing and monitoring online courses, finding and learning how to use constantly evolving software tools, integrating video into lesson plans and the Cloud into course management, and a whole host of other digital developments.
Scholarly activity is hours and hours of research and then more research, and then synthesizing it all, writing up findings and conclusions, often writing a lot of it over again, and then getting it published. Acts of literary or artistic creation involve the same kind of amazing dedication, purpose and resolve.
The service component encompasses all the things faculty do to serve the campus and the community outside the classroom: volunteering for community and campus activities; serving as officers in professional associations; taking on roles for hiring committees, policy committees, emergency planning task forces, academic boards and so many other similar tasks.
Our faculty do all of these things day after day, and the promotion and tenure files document all of them. It is truly remarkable. I am in awe at the resolve and stamina represented in all those impressive files.
An exchange I had with one of our English faculty, Cathy Adams, on the challenges of publishing is a perfect illustration of how important it is to remain positive and persistent. She wrote in part:
“The writer’s life is one of rejection like no other. On average, I’m lucky to get five short stories published each year. This is out of a pool of about twenty stories that I circulate to publishers. At any given time my short stories are sitting on the desks of publishers all over the globe. … This calculates to something like 400 rejections and 5 acceptances each year. It’s actually a little worse than that because out of that 400, some never bother to reject my story at all. They simply never respond.
“Imagine that for every 405 men or women you asked out on a date, 400 rejected you. And what about the ones who never respond but simply ignore you altogether? How long would you bother to stay in the dating game if those were your odds? Apply this level of rejection to a job search, or to the submission of an academic paper to a conference, or a proposal for a project. Being rejected 400 times would eventually numb a person to ever trying again.
“The irony of my writing statistics is that my acceptances are actually high in relation to the quality and quantity of publishers to which I submit my stories. For me, getting five short stories published in a year is a great achievement. …
“I admit that some days I get tired and I ask myself why I keep trying. It would be so easy to just stop at rejection 200 or 300, but I’ve been writing for twenty-five years and one of the things I’ve learned is that persistence is at least as important as talent. I’ve met a lot of creative and smart people who say they are “thinking of writing a story,” but they never get around to doing it. Twenty-five years ago I was one of those people, but my life was changed by a writer named Judith Ortiz Cofer. …
“One day I was invited to a luncheon to celebrate a student who had won a writing competition, and Cofer was the guest speaker. I was fortunate to be seated next to her, and I made the mistake of saying, ‘I’d love to write a book one day, but I’m just too busy.’ Cofer put down her fork, looked me directly in the eye and said, ‘Well, when you want to write a book, you will.’ I felt as if I’d been slapped. How dare she say that to me? She had no idea how busy I was. I had diapers to change, laundry to do, and meals to cook, all on top of a full-time job. My mind reeled at the insult. But as the days passed I couldn’t forget what she’d said. ‘When you want to write it, you will.’ I knew what she meant. We find the time to do what we want to do and everything else just slides by. Soon I was getting up at 5:00 AM and writing until my son woke up. On the weekends I would often write half the night. Within a year, I finished that book I was too busy to write, and I’ve never stopped.”
So as we celebrate our faculty at the end of this academic year, I marvel as they meet the challenge of attaining excellence in teaching; as they juggle busy schedules to be engaged members of our community and campus in a myriad of roles; and as they persist and thrive in their creativity and scholarship.
I am so very impressed by and grateful for the wonderful level of their achievements. What an honor it is for me to recognize our faculty every year for their many successes!
Wednesday Showers and thunderstorms likely, mainly after noon. Some of the storms could produce heavy rain and frequent lightning. Cloudy, with a high near 64. South southeast wind 8 to 13 mph becoming north in the afternoon. Chance of precipitation is 60%. New rainfall amounts between a quarter and half of an inch possible.
Severe storms are possible ahead of a cold front late Wednesday morning into mid-afternoon with large hail and heavy rain. pic.twitter.com/L09CeQaJmt
Wednesday Night Showers and thunderstorms likely, mainly before 8pm. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 41. Breezy, with a north wind 16 to 20 mph. Chance of precipitation is 60%. New rainfall amounts of less than a tenth of an inch, except higher amounts possible in thunderstorms.
Thursday Cloudy, with a high near 53. North wind 16 to 18 mph, with gusts as high as 28 mph.
Thursday NightMostly cloudy, with a low around 36. North wind 5 to 15 mph.
Friday Mostly sunny, with a high near 61.
Friday Night A 10 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms after 2am. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 43.
Saturday A slight chance of showers and thunderstorms before 8am, then a slight chance of showers and thunderstorms after 2pm. Partly sunny, with a high near 67. Chance of precipitation is 20%.
City of Hays
