Delbert Duane Klein, 87, Hays, died Thursday, February 28, 2019 at the Pinnacle Park Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in Salina.
Mass of Christian Burial for Duane will be at 10:00 am on Monday, March 4, 2019 at St. Ann Catholic Church in Walker, Kansas. Burial will follow in the church cemetery. Visitation will be from 5:00 pm until 8:00 on Sunday at the Hays Memorial Chapel Funeral Home, and from 9:00 am until service time on Monday at St. Ann Catholic Church in Walker. A vigil service will be at 7:00 pm on Sunday at the funeral home. Condolences and memories of Duane may be left for the family at www.haysmemorial.com
Everett Glen Chesney passed away on Wednesday, February 27, 2019 at his home in Stockton, Kansas at the age of 63. He was born on March 29, 1955 to Homer and Eileen (Meyers) Chesney. He grew up in Stockton, Kansas and graduated from Natoma High School. Everett was the father of two daughters, Amy and Linda.
Everett spent his life in Rooks County as a farmer and rancher working on the family farm. He also worked in the oil fields. Everett liked to work on old pickups and helping drivers work on their racecars. He enjoyed staying busy, tinkering, hunting, and spending time with his family and friends. Everett was a member of the United Methodist Church in Stockton.
Everett is survived by his significant other, Fay Thomsen; daughters Amy McCreery and significant other Cory of Victoria, KS and Linda Kaster and husband Craig of Omaha, NE; step-son Logan Thomsen and wife Jessica of Lincoln, NE; brothers Ronald, Earl, and Lawrence Chesney of Natoma, KS; 8 grandchildren Shayne Hanvy and husband Blake, Ryanne Chesney, Emma Kaster, Gracie Kaster, Myla Kaster, Ethan Munsell, Karleigh Horn, and Treyvin Horn; and 2 great-grandchildren Daegan and Dayne Hanvy.
He was preceded in death by his parents, Homer and Eileen (Meyers) Chesney; and brother Bruce Chesney.
Funeral services will be Monday, March 4, 2019 at 10:00 AM at the United Methodist Church in Stockton. Visitation will be held on Sunday from 1:00 PM until 8:00 PM at the funeral home in Stockton with the family greeting friends from 1:00 PM until 3:00 PM and on Monday from 9:00 AM until service time at the church.
Memorials are suggested to Hospice of Hays Medical Center or Stockton United Methodist Church and may be sent in care of Plumer-Overlease Funeral Home, 723 North First, Stockton, KS 67669.
DODGE CITY — Western Kansas Manufacturers Association (WKMA), sponsor of the annual 3i SHOW, has once again announced the availability of scholarships to area technical colleges, vocational colleges and universities for the 2019-2020 school year.
Scholarships are available at Barton Community College, Colby Community College, Dodge City Community College, Garden City Community College, NCK Tech (North Central Kansas Technical College), Northwest Kansas Technical College, Seward County Community College/Area Tech School, Fort Hays State University, Kansas State University and the University of Kansas.
Qualifying students are U.S. Citizens residing in Western Kansas who have graduated from a Western Kansas high school. The scholarships are for freshman students with preference given to those enrolling in Agri-Business, Industrial or Mechanical Engineering, Pre-Engineering or Business Administration. Scholarship applications should be made directly through the individual school’s financial aid or scholarship department.
WKMA scholarships are partially funded each year by the sale of three hundred limited-edition belt buckles commemorating the upcoming 3i SHOW. Buckle order forms are available online at www.3ishow.com/3ishow/merchandise. Buckles will also be available for sale March 21-23 at the 65th Annual 3i SHOW in Dodge City at the Western State Bank Expo Center.
For more information regarding scholarships, buckles or the 65th Annual 3i SHOW, visit www.3ishow.com, or contact the WKMA office directly toll-free at 877-405-2883 or locally at 620-227-8082. To receive continued updates and information about the 3i SHOW and upcoming events, follow the 3i SHOW on Twitter and like the 3i SHOW Facebook Page.
Next week is the first full week of March, which the Federal Trade Commission marks as National Consumer Protection Week. The Kansas Attorney General’s office and our In Your Corner Kansas campaign focuses year-round on protecting consumers from scams and rip-offs, but next week in particular we remind Kansans to be diligent and to keep yourself and your personal information safe.
One of the ways we do that is to report to you some of the most commonly-reported scams to our office over the past year. This year’s report looks very familiar, as all five scams return from 2017 list.
Card Services. Remaining atop our list for the second year in a row, the folks from “card services” took the top spot in 2018. In this scam, a robocaller placing thousands of calls at a time will ask you to “press 1” to speak to an account representative about lowering your credit card interest rate. These scammers are after information. If you press anything on your phone, that lets the scammer know they have reached a working number and you’ll get more calls. If you do speak to a representative, he or she will try to trick you into giving them more personal information, including your real credit card number. Our best advice on this or any other robocall scam is to not answer calls from numbers you do not know. If you do answer, once you know it’s not someone you know, just hang up. Never give your credit card information to someone over the phone.
Computer Repairs. In this scam, the caller claims to be from a well-known computer company telling you they’ve detected a virus on your computer and offers to help you remove it by connecting remotely to your computer. But instead of trying to fix your computer, the scam artist is actually trying to install a virus to give them access to all your files and your personal information that is in them. The scammer may also be trying to hack into your machine to send out spam emails from your account, or even to take over your computer’s camera and microphone to spy on you and try to obtain additional personal information. If your computer really does have a problem, take it to a reputable, local computer repair shop or call your computer manufacturer’s customer service number directly. Never give a stranger access to your computer over the phone.
IRS. The scam involves someone impersonating the IRS saying you owe taxes and asking you to pay immediately via your credit card or by purchasing a pre-paid debit card and calling them back with the card number. Remember, when you owe money to the IRS or any government agency, it will send you notices by mail. If you do get something in the mail, it’s a good idea to look up that agency’s number in the blue pages of a phone book or on the agency’s official website and call to make sure it’s a legitimate letter. Never give your personal information to someone over the phone.
Car Warranty. Another robocall, this scammer claims to be from your auto manufacturer or dealer letting you know that your car warranty is about to expire. They will then try to sell you an extended warranty. Usually, like the card services scam, this is a way to gather information about you that can then be sold to other scammers. And just like the card services scam, the best way to deal with these scammers is to just hang up.
Government Imposter. This one is a variation on the previously-mentioned IRS scam, where scammers claim to be from different federal, state, or local government agencies. In Kansas, we’ve seen them call and say you’ve missed jury duty and need to pay a fine. We’ve actually had scammers call impersonating the attorney general’s office saying they were going to come arrest you if you don’t pay a fine immediately. I assure you, we won’t do that. Like the IRS scam, take similar steps to verify anything you receive from someone purporting to be from a government agency is telling the truth and never feel pressured to give your personal information away over the phone.
More information on how to protect yourself from these and other scams is available on our consumer protection website at www.InYourCornerKansas.org or by calling our consumer protection hotline at (800) 432-2310.
The Kansas Department for Children and Families (DCF) is accepting applications for the federally funded Low-Income Energy Assistance Program (LIEAP).
LIEAP provides an annual benefit to help qualifying households pay winter heating bills. Persons with disabilities, older adults and families with children are the primary groups assisted. In 2018, more than 36,000 Kansas households received an average benefit of $498.
To qualify, applicants must be responsible for direct payment of their heating bills. Income eligibility requirements are set at 130 percent of the federal poverty level. The level of benefit varies according to household income, number of people living in the home, type of residence, type of residence, type of heating fuel and utility rates.
Applicants must demonstrate they have made payments on their heating bills two out of the past three months.
Applications will be accepted until March 29, 2019.
If you are needing assistance filling out or submitting an application, the Northwest Kansas Area Agency on Aging can help. Call the office at 1-800-432-7422 or 785-628-8204 for an appointment.
SEDGWICK COUNTY — Law enforcement authorities are investigating a shooting and have three suspects in custody.
Flores-photo Sedgwick Co.Gonzales -photo Sedgwick County
Just after 1 a.m. Thursday, police responded to a check shots call in the 1700 block of south Waco in Wichita, according to officer Charley Davidson. Upon arrival, officers contacted a 21-year-old man and 24-year-old woman who live in the block.
Both reported hearing gunshots, finding damage to their residence and seeing a gray Chevy Silverado leaving the area.
Officers quickly responded, observed a gray Silverado in the area and stopped the truck at Harry and Mead, according to Davidson.
Rodriguez-Leal- photo Sedgwick Co.
Police contacted 31-year-old Juan Rodriguez-Leal, 29-year-old Jairo Gonzales and 37-year-old Daniel Flores, all of Wichita.
All three individuals were taken into custody without incident and booked into jail.
Officers located two handguns and shell casings in the vehicle. Shell casings were also located in the street on Waco.
Rodriguez-Leal was booked on charges of criminal discharge of a firearm and possession of a firearm under the influence.
Gonzales was booked on charges of driving with a suspended license and criminal discharge of a firearm. Flores was booked on a charge of criminal discharge of a firearm. There were no injuries, according to Davidson.
MANHATTAN —One person was injured in a fire Thursday in Manhattan.
Crews at the scene of Thursday’s fire in Manhattan- photo courtesy Manhattan Fire Dept.
Just before 4:30p.m., crews to the fire at a home in the 400 Block of South 16th Street, according to a media release. Upon arrival they found smoke coming from the back of the residence.
Crews extinguished the blaze in approximately five minutes. Riley County EMS transported one person to Via Christi for possible smoke inhalation.
Damage to the residence is estimated at $5,500. Cause of the fire is still under investigation.
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — A former Kansas legislator accused of fraudulently taking $10,500 from campaign funds for his personal use told jurors Thursday that the payments were legitimate campaign expenses.
Michael O’Donnell-photo Sedgwick Co.
Sedgwick County Commissioner Michael O’Donnell took the stand to defend himself in his federal trial on 23 counts of wire fraud and three counts of money laundering related to his state and county campaigns.
“It is offensive to me and outrageous to me that anybody would assume I would steal money,” he testified.
A federal indictment alleges a scheme whereby O’Donnell allegedly wrote a series of checks in 2015 and 2016 from his “Michael for Kansas” and “Michael for Sedgwick County” campaigns to various people who would cash the checks. Prosecutors alleged some of the money went into his personal checking account and some went to friends.
But O’Donnell contended the payments were made to staffers who worked on his campaign and helped him with his official government duties. To make his point he said his campaign still owes him $3,618 for unreimbursed mileage that he could write a check for to himself if he wanted.
“I am not in public service to make money, but I do have legitimate debts that are owed to me by my campaigns,” he said.
O’Donnell, a Wichita Republican, was elected to the Kansas State Senate in 2012 for a term that ended in January 2017. He did not run for re-election and instead ran for and won a term on the Sedgwick County Commission that began in 2017 and is set to expire in 2020.
He repeatedly insisted the checks he wrote were “all legal under Kansas law” — drawing at one point a wry remark from Assistant U.S. Attorney Aaron Smith during cross examination that O’Donnell could append that comment to all his answers. The judge rebuked the prosecutor for the comment.
O’Donnell detailed for hours his payments to staffers, including some which he claimed were bonuses and retainers to friends who worked for him.
But prosecutors grilled him on checks made out to people who had testified earlier in the trial that they either did no work for the campaign or who were not actually working at events such as ball games as O’Donnell had claimed. He said some games were part of his official duties because he was invited to them by the university and had meetings with school officials later.
At one point he tried to explain a friend’s testimony that he was not working by saying that his staffer “didn’t realize what he was doing is work, I should have explained it better… I saw value in having a staffer there.”
HOISINGTON – The Russell Lady Broncos outscored the TMP Lady Monarchs 10-2 down the stretch in the fourth quarter as they put an end to a four-game losing streak to TMP and beat the Monarchs 51-48 in the 3A sub-state semifinals in Hoisington.
In the first quarter TMP took an early three-point lead on several occasions and led by five at 14-9 after the first quarter.
After building that five-point first quarter lead the Monarchs were held scoreless for a six-minute stretch to end the first and begin the second quarter but Russell wasn’t able to take advantage of the Monarchs’ offensive struggles and still found themselves behind on the scoreboard.
But in the final two minutes of the first half Russell’s Camille Dortland poured in her first of two threes on the night and Megan Peeler added her only field goal of the second quarter to put Russell up 19-18 at the break.
Russell took their biggest lead of the night on back-to-back field goals to open the second half to put the Broncos up 23-18. But after a timeout Adell Riedel knocked down a 15-foot jumped and the Monarchs would outscore the Broncos 13-7 over the final 5:31 of the third quarter to take a 31-30 lead into the fourth quarter.
After Russell took the lead on a pair of free throws to open the fourth quarter Riedel put TMP up 33-32 and then Jillian Lowe hit her only three of the night and converted on a three-point play for six straight points as the Monarchs again matched their largest lead of the night at five points at 39-34.
With just over four minutes to play the game was again tied, this time at 40 and 41 before the Monarchs Emilee Lane converted a three-point play that sparked a mini 5-0 run that gave TMP a 46-41 lead. But it was a lead they were unable to hold on to.
Russell ended the game on a 10-2 run that saw Camille Dortland convert on her second three-pointer of the night and her sister Tiffany Dortland scored 12 of her game-high 24 in the fourth quarter as Russell went on to pick up the 51-48 win.
TMP senior Jillian Lowe finished her night was a career-high 17 points and freshman Emilee Lane recorded her second career double-double with 11 points and 12 rebounds.
Russell’s Camille Dortland also scored in double-figures with 13.
Game highlights
TMP finishes the season 16-6.
Russell improves to 18-4 and will face Norton in Saturday’s sub-state championship game in Hoisington.
Norton defeated Southeast of Saline 55-23 Thursday.
POLK COUNTY Iowa – A cab driver convicted of vehicular homicide for a crash that killed one Kansas man and injured another has been sentenced to 17-years in prison.
According to the Polk County Attorney the sentence for 31-year-old Mohamed Diriye of Des Moines, includes 10-years for vehicular homicide by reckless driving, 5-years for serious injury by reckless driving and 2-years for 0perating a vehicle while intoxicated. This was his second OWI conviction, according to the county attorney.
The crash occurred shortly before 4 a.m. January 19, 2017 when the cab ran off a road into a ravine.
Diriye -photo Polk Co.
The Polk County Sheriff’s Office reported 49-year-old Shawn Koltiska, of Augusta, Kansas, died in the crash. Another passenger 48-year-old Joseph Foster, of Garden Plain, Kansas was transported to a hospital for treatment.
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Charges have been dropped against one of the suspects in the deadly shooting of a Topeka woman.
McCoy-photo Shawnee County
Thirty-year-old Justin Lee McCoy was released Wednesday. He had been charged with first-degree murder in the death of Patricia Sanders, whose body was found last May in her Topeka home.
Shawnee County District Attorney Mike Kagay announced Thursday that new information was turned over that requires more investigation. He noted the charges were dismissed in such a way that they could be filed again.
It’s the second time McCoy has been freed. He and another suspect, 27-year-old Rahnel Erik Rayford, were released previously after a judge found there wasn’t probable cause to hold them. A grand jury then indicted them. Rayford is set to be tried next month on a murder charge.
LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) — A teenager involved in the exchange of a stolen handgun on Lawrence High School grounds has been sentenced to six months of probation.
The teenager was sentenced Wednesday in a closed hearing for criminal use of a weapon.
Court documents say another teenager had stolen the gun from his father Sept. 9 and provided it to the other teenager the next day.
The teen who was sentenced Wednesday was originally charged with felony theft for obtaining control of a stolen gun. Court documents show he pleaded no contest to criminal use of a weapon, a misdemeanor.
The other teen is charged with felony theft after allegedly stealing the gun from his father. His case is pending.
