KANSAS CITY (AP) — The University of Missouri-Kansas City says the removal of a controversial work of art from the school’s fine arts building display was long planned and not a response to complaints.
The work is a statement on the current unrest in Hong Kong and features a depiction of an altered, torn Chinese flag, with yellow stars arranged to form a swastika. On the image is written “#CHINAZI.” The other half of the image depicts a yellow raincoat and gas mask with the words “FREE HONG KONG.”
Chinese students complained Thursday to the art department and asked that the piece be removed.
It was removed, but the university said Friday in a statement that student artwork is displayed on three-week cycles, and the piece had already been set for removal on Thursday.
KANSAS CITY (AP) — A 43-year-old Kansas City man previously freed from prison in a case of mistaken identity is facing a possible return to confinement after pleading guilty to illegal possession of a firearm.
Jones photo Johnson Co.
Richard Anthony Jones pleaded guilty Thursday. He wasn’t allowed to have weapons because of prior felony convictions for burglary and robbery.
Jones was released from prison in 2017 after his conviction for snatching a woman’s purse at a Kansas Walmart in 1999 was overturned, in what became known as the “ doppelganger case.” Supporters said another man, who looked like Jones, was the likely robber. Kansas paid Jones $1 million in 2018 for his wrongful imprisonment.
Prosecutors say officers found handguns on Jones during two confrontations in February and March. Jones faces up to 10 years in federal prison.
It’s sign up time for Ellis Food Pantry free Christmas Food Boxes.
ELLIS – Residents of USD 388 Ellis who might want the help that a food box brings may sign up through the deadline on Friday, November 22, by calling 785-726-1278.
Those registered for boxes may shop for free Christmas gifts to give to their children ages 13 years and younger on either Saturday, November 23, or on Monday, December 2, from 2:00-4:00 p.m. at the Ellis Food Pantry, 210 Madison.
Pickup and/or delivery of the Christmas boxes will be Wednesday, December 18, from 2:30 to 6:00 p.m. at the Knights of Columbus Hall, 1009 Washington, Ellis.
The two operators of about a dozen well-known Kansas City restaurants sought bankruptcy protection within days of one another, with both saying the restaurants will remain open for business.
On Saturday, Bread & Butter Concepts LLC, which owns and operates Gram & Dun on the Country Club Plaza, Urban Table in Prairie Village and the Stock Hill steak restaurant just south of the Plaza, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in Kansas. And on Thursday, HRI Holding Corp., which owns Leawood-based Houlihan’s Restaurants Inc., a casual dining chain, filed for Chapter 11 in Delaware.
Houlihan’s operates 47 restaurants, including Houlihan’s, J. Gilbert’s and Bristol Seafood Grill, in Kansas, Missouri and 12 other states. The company was founded in 1992 and is owned by affiliates of York Capital Management, an investment management company that bought Houlihan’s about three years ago.
Houlihan’s plans to sell its assets to Landry’s LLC, a Houston-based restaurant group, for $40 million, according to its bankruptcy filing. Landry’s made a “stalking horse” bid for Houlihan’s, establishing a floor for other offers that might emerge.
In a court filing, Houlihan’s chief restructuring officer, Matthew Manning, attributed the filing to “various industry headwinds,” including senior management changes, expensive leases and a tight labor market.
Coincidentally, the founder and CEO of Bread & Butter Concepts, Alan L. Gaylin, is a former Houlihan’s executive. The two bankruptcy filings were unrelated, although the same industry headwinds may have been a factor in Bread & Butter’s filing.
Bread & Butter ran into lease problems recently with The Oliver, another restaurant it operated on the Plaza. After negotiations for a new lease with the Plaza’s owner fell apart, the restaurant closed earlier this year.
The Stock Hill steak restaurant just south of the Plaza. Credit Dan Margolies / KCUR 89.3
The company’s bankruptcy attorney, Sharon Stolte, said Bread & Butter’s current restaurants, along with its separate catering service, event venue and Happy Belly Food Truck, will remain open while Bread & Butter seeks to restructure its debts.
“Our plans are to reorganize and to do it as quickly as possible,” she said.
Bread & Butter got its start nearly a decade ago when it opened BRGR Kitchen + Bar in Prairie Village. It recently sold its various BRGR restaurants, as well as its Taco Republic restaurant, to the parent company of Louie’s Wine Dive.
In a declaration filed with the bankruptcy court, Gaylin said two of his business partners, both Texas residents, suffered financial reverses in the oil industry and were no longer able to fund Bread & Butter’s losses or underwrite its losses.
Bread & Butter listed about $4.1 million in assets and $5.1 million in liabilities.
In a statement, the company said, “We have every intention of coming out on the other side a much stronger company, and one that will be in Kansas City for another ten years and beyond. We will continue to operate as usual with no interruptions to our service, or our continuing commitment to our customers.”
Dan Margolies is a senior reporter and editor at KCUR. You can reach him on Twitter @DanMargolies.
Medicare open enrollment sounds like a boring topic and many others have written on it. Some of you may be rolling your eyes just thinking about reading another article on Medicare. But, let me tell you about the 45 minutes that ended up saving me thousands of dollars.
Last year I was “forced” into Medicare. It is a long story and I will not go into it. Basically, when I turned 65, I was no longer eligible for the type of healthcare plan that I was on.
As a result, I enrolled in Part A, B and D of Medicare. Part A is the hospital portion, Part B is doctor visits and the like, and Part D is prescription drugs. Each Part has “deductibles.” There are different types of supplemental policies that help cover all or a portion of the deductibles.
When I was “forced” into Medicare B and D (Medicare A is free and you are eligible at age 65), I was advised to pick both a Medicare supplemental policy for my doctor’s visits and a Medicare D policy for my medication.
While I have virtually no medical expenses, I do have one expensive medication that I use. I needed to enroll in Medicare Part B and Part D because if I failed to do so, then I would be assessed a penalty in later years when I tried to enroll.
I also knew that I needed to acquire a supplemental policy because if I do so during that initial enrollment period (about the time I turned 65 or when I leave employer coverage), I am guaranteed coverage. If I do not enroll during that initial enrollment period and try to enroll later when my health has failed, I can be required to pay a higher premium or even denied coverage.
October 15 through December 7 is the only time you can change your Part D (prescription drug) coverage. My office was advising all of our families of those dates and urging them to have their Medicare D evaluated. Someone in my office suggested that I take my own advice and have both my Medicare Supplement B and D policies examined.
My wife and I met with an independent agent. Bottom line, we saved $3,000 a year on our supplemental policy. I then saved an additional $1,400 by changing my Medicare D plan.
This is a great opportunity for you to have your supplemental policy and Part D policy re- evaluated. I urge you to take some time to do it. You can go online to Medicare.gov, but I like dealing with a real person. I am glad that I did.
Please take time to check out your Medicare supplemental and Medicare D coverage. Like me, it could save you a lot of money and make you feel good about that 45 minutes that you spent with the agent.
Randy Clinkscales of Clinkscales Elder Law Practice, PA, Hays, Kansas, is an elder care attorney, practicing in western Kansas. To contact him, please send an email to [email protected]. Disclaimer: The information in the column is for general information purposes and does not constitute legal advice. Each case is different and outcomes depend on the fact of each case and the then applicable law. For specific questions, you should contact a qualified attorney.
BY DIANE GASPER-O’BRIEN FHSU University Relations and Marketing
Emma Ellerbee finds herself thinking, “No way this is happening,” a lot these days.
She shakes her head and tears roll down her cheeks as she talks about life-changing experiences at Fort Hays State University that could lead to her dream career. And she’s a freshman education major still a month away from the completion of her first semester.
First, Emma found what she thought was the ideal part-time job while looking for work her first couple weeks in Hays from Hastings, Neb.
She ran across an online ad for high school referees through the FHSU intramurals department. An avid sports fan whose dream was to coach major college football someday, Emma thought it would be the perfect opportunity to be on the field and learn more about the game at the same time.
Then one weekend when her grandparents were visiting from Hastings, Emma’s grandfather spotted a poster in the Memorial Union with Sarah Thomas’ photo on it. Thomas, the NFL’s first female official, was going to be the speaker for this year’s FHSU Presidential Series on Nov. 12.
It’s no secret in Emma’s family that Thomas has been her idol for several years, so her grandfather stopped to check out the poster.
“It says she’s coming to FHSU to speak,” Richard Johnson said. “No way,” was Emma’s reply.
Emma promptly jotted the event down in her calendar to keep that day in November open. It couldn’t come soon enough. She was one of the first to take a seat during a question-answer session with Thomas and students in the Department of Health and Human Performance Department and the intramurals program.
Following Thomas’ visit with several student groups, Emma approached Thomas to take a photo with her. They got to chatting about sharing similar goals. Before she knew it, Emma had Thomas’ cell phone number, and Thomas promised to keep in touch and offered any help she could to Emma.
Emma was so moved by the afternoon’s events, she bypassed a night meeting in her residence hall to attend that night’s public presentation by Thomas.
Thomas entertained the audience with stories of challenges faced as a female in a male-dominated job, anecdotes of her career and balancing her profession with her family life with three children.
At least twice during the presentation, Emma shook her head in disbelief.
The first was when Thomas talked about her mother being a home economics teacher while growing up. Emma’s mom, Kate Portenier, teaches family and consumer sciences (formerly home ec) at Adams Central High School in Hastings.
Another was when Thomas flashed up on the screen two of the quotes by which she lives. They are also two of Emma’s favorites: “Be yourself, because everyone else is already taken” and “Comparison is the thief of joy.”
Emma thought – you guessed it – “No way!”
“With all the similarities, I just felt this connection,” Emma said. “It was super, super inspiring – just an amazing experience.”
So inspiring, in fact, that after sleeping on it, Emma decided the next day that she was going to pursue NFL refereeing, with coaching still available as a backup plan.
“It was like she hit me with a truck, it impacted me so much,” Emma said. “I love the game and love being on the field. I am so excited about keeping in touch with her.”
Emma’s passion for football began at a young age when she watched NFL and major college games on TV with her dad, A.J. Ellerbee. She was raised a Kansas City Chiefs fan, and her love for the game grew with each passing year.
By the time Emma was in middle school, she joined her school’s football team in Omaha, Neb., and played middle linebacker. Similarly, Thomas talked about playing on boys’ sports teams growing up.
Emma didn’t play high school football, but she still stayed involved. In an effort to bring the student body closer together, she created an organization called the Red Rowdies who created themes and dressed up for games to cheer on the athletes in different sports.
But her first love is football.
Sometimes in the fall, Emma can be found watching the sport either on TV or live six days a week. Now she has a goal of playing an even bigger part in her favorite sport.
It was almost too much to wrap her mind around this week. Was this really happening, or was it all a dream. Emma and Thomas have already texted back and forth, and Thomas sent a tweet about the two meeting to the NFL.
Wednesday morning, Emma woke up to reality. By noon, she was already working on her plan of following in the footsteps of the NFL’s first female referee, who was nearly as stoked about helping a certain 18-year-old college freshman at FHSU as Emma herself.
“The peak for me is to get to meet people just like me,” Thomas said.
BROWN COUNTY —One person died in an accident just after midnight Saturday in Brown County.
The Kansas Highway Patrol reported a 2010 Toyota Corolla driven by Andrew O. Kreek, 17, Hiawatha, was traveling at a high rate of speed on Horned Owl Road at U.S. 36. The driver lost control of the vehicle. It left the roadway on the left side, traveled into the ditch, went airborne, made one rotation across U.S. 36 into the ditch and landed on its top.
Passenger Ian M. Miller 16, Hiawatha, was pronounced dead at the scene.
EMS transported Kreek and passengers Navaeh Dishmang, 15 and Gabriel Corbett, 18, both of Hiawatha, to KU Medical Center. EMS transported passenger Andrew Timothy Woods, 19, to the Hiawatha Hospital.
They were not wearing seat belts, according to the KHP.
HAYS – The Fort Hays State Tiger women outscored Cameron University 25-4 in the third quarter Saturday on their way to an 89-47 win at Gross Memorial Coliseum.
Tony Hobson postgame interview
Game highlights
The Aggies hung tough with the Tigers in the early minutes of the game and had a pair of leads in the first quarter, the last time with just under three minutes to play before Lauryn Reither hit her first of two three pointers in the first quarter to give the Tigers an 18-16 lead. Fort Hays would never trail again in the game. The Tigers led 27-20 at the end of the first quarter.
Kacey Kennett scored the first five points of the second quarter to spark a 15-6 run to give the Tigers their largest lead of the first half at 16 with a 42-26 with 2:34 to play in the first half. The Tigers led 46-31 at halftime.
Fort Hays State extended their lead in that third quarter thanks in large part to the play of Jaden Hobbs who had her best game as a Tiger. After being held scoreless in the first half she scored 10 of her season-high 16 points in the third quarter and helped the Tigers build the 71-35 third quarter lead.
The fourth quarter saw much of the same as the Tigers outscored the Aggies 14-2 to start the quarter on their way to the 89-47 win.
Belle Barbieri scored a season-high 19 points and pulled down 10 rebounds, Hobbs and Kennett each added 16 each and Taylor Rolfs finished with 11 points.
The Tigers shot a season-high 46.9% from the floor and made 22 of 26 free throw attempts.
Fort Hays State improved to 4-0 with the win and will take on the University of Saint Mary Nov. 25.
SEDGWICK COUNTY — Law enforcement authorities are investigating a carjacking that left one man dead and have a suspect in custody.
Shaw photo Sedgwick Co.
Just after 2:30 a.m. Saturday, police responded to a carjacking call in the area of Lincoln and Woodlawn in Wichita, according to officer Charley Davidson.
Upon arrival, officers contacted 40-year-old Travis Shaw who had called 911. Police then located a 42-year-old male victim in the front yard of a residence in the 900 block of South Mission, underneath a 2006 white Chrysler 300 in critical condition. The victim was pronounced dead on the scene, according to Davidson.
Officers and investigators begin speaking with witnesses and reviewing evidence, which led them to arrest Shaw for one count of 2nd-degree murder.
This was not a random incident, and Shaw and the victim know each other, according to Davidson. Police have not released the victim’s name.
The will be presented to the Sedgwick County District Attorney’s Office.
KANSAS CITY (AP) — A 20-year-old Kansas City man has been charged with involuntary manslaughter after a man was thrown from his pickup truck while it swerved on Interstate 435.
Skylar Waddell is also charged with leaving the scene of an accident after the Wednesday death of 48-year-old Steven Norris.
Norris’ wife told police her husband’s truck was on the shoulder of the interstate because it had a flat tire. When a man took off in the truck, Norris clung to the bed rail. He fell from the truck when it swerved into the median, struck the cable barrier and crashed.
The truck driver, later identified by witnesses as Waddell, fled on foot and was later taken into custody.
OVERLAND PARK, Kan. (AP) — A Kansas City-area lawmaker who made headlines by switching to the Democratic Party last year is seeking the state Senate seat of another lawmaker who did the same thing.
State Rep. Stephanie Clayton courtesy photo
Four-term state Rep. Stephanie Clayton of Overland Park announced Friday that she would run next year for the seat held by Democratic state Sen. Barbara Bollier of Mission Hills.
Both Clayton and Bollier were elected as state lawmakers as moderate Republicans but switched parties in December. Clayton cited her dissatisfaction with President Donald Trump as a factor.
Clayton’s decision sets up a Democratic primary in Bollier’s district. Former Kansas Democratic Party Executive Director Ethan Corson of Fairway announced his candidacy in October.
