Hays Post – Page 800 – Hays Post Archive

Fugitive on the run since April found hiding in Kan. basement

Posted on January 2, 2019January 2, 2019

DICKINSON COUNTY — Law enforcement authorities are investigating a suspect wanted Florida since last spring.

Just after 1:00p.m. Monday, police received a tip from a concerned citizen regarding a possible fugitive hiding in the city of Herington, according to a media release.

After a brief investigation, the fugitive was identified as Nathaniel Lee Sweeney,24, of Titusville, Florida.

Using information received from the tip, the Herington Police Department responded to the 700 Block of East Arnold Street where Sweeney was located in the basement of a residence and took him into custody without incident.

Sweeney was wanted out of Brevard County, Florida for violating conditions of probation. His original charges in Florida were Possession of Methamphetamine and Possession of Drug Paraphernalia.

Sweeney had been on the run since April 2018. Sweeney was also named the Brevard County Sheriff’s Office “Fugitive of the Week” by Sheriff Wayne Ivey in May 2018.

Sweeney was transported to the Dickinson County Jail where he is being held without bond pending extradition to the State of Florida.

Voting rights case costs Kansas county about $70K so far

Posted on January 2, 2019January 2, 2019

DODGE CITY, Kan. (AP) — Ford County has paid more than $70,000 in legal fees so far to a firm that represented its county clerk in a lawsuit filed after Dodge City’s only polling place was moved outside city limits for November’s general election.

The Dodge City Civic Center was the previous polling location. The Expo Center was the only location for voters during the November general election -google map

A document received through an open records request shows the county paid the Hinkle Law Firm $71,481 in October and November to defend County Clerk Debbie Cox.

The American Civil Liberties Union sued Cox in late October because the location inside the city was scheduled to undergo construction. The ACLU argued moving the site made it more difficult for voters — particularly the city’s large Hispanic population — to vote.

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CREDIT STEPHEN KORANDA /Kansas News Service

Days before the election, a federal judge denied the ACLU’s request to keep the original site open.

William Landon Winkler

Posted on January 2, 2019

Larned – William Landon Winkler, 83, passed away December 28, 2018 at Banner Boswell Hospital in Sun City, AZ. He was born January 19, 1935 to Harry and Ada Patterson Winkler of Rozel, KS. Bill married Edith Mae Schultz in September 1958. They recently celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary at a reception with family and friends, and renewed their vows to Bill’s surprise.

Bill grew up working on the family farm where his love for plaid shirts undoubtedly started. He graduated from Rozel High School in 1953 at the top of his class of 12. Following high school Bill served in the U.S. Army and made a lifelong friend of Bill Conaway while stationed at Fort Riley. Bill often remarked that his Army career consisted of digging holes and filling them back up at his Sargent’s pleasure.

Bill worked in plumbing with his father-in-law, Vernon Schultz, for a short time before realizing that he did not like small crawl spaces and spider webs. He became a licensed mental health aide and worked at Larned State Hospital for 28 years before happily retiring.

Bill loved his family and was known for his sense of humor and quick wit. He was also passionate about Chevrolet cars. He enjoyed his time working on them, racing them and performing general maintenance on them. Bill was also an avid NASCAR fan and made several cross country trips to attend races. When Bill wasn’t visiting his friends at Dwight Shank Auto, Reed Pharmacy, and the Welcome Inn, he could often be found “dragging the gut”.

Bill is survived by his wife Edith Mae; their daughters, Cyndi (Brant) Carroll, Amherst, NH and Connie Winkler, Great Bend, KS; his sister Nada (Larry) Marshall, Fredericksburg, VA; three grandchildren, Blair and Quinn Carroll, and Landon Winkler; and two nephews, Brent (Lyn) and Alan (Wendy) Marshall.

A memorial service will be held at Beckwith Mortuary in Larned, KS in May.

Mark A. Robins

Posted on January 2, 2019

Mark A. Robins died Wednesday, Jan. 2, 2019.

An obituary and services are pending with Baalmann Mortuary.

Lois Hubert

Posted on January 2, 2019

Friday, March 5th, 1926 – Tuesday, January 1st, 2019

An obituary and services are pending will Baalmann Mortuary.

MASON: A year worth celebrating

Posted on January 2, 2019January 2, 2019

The holidays and the New Year give us both pause and impetus to reflect back on the year past. For Fort Hays State University, it has been quite a year, and I thought I would list some of the highlights in a Top 10 list – well actually my top 11 (I snuck an extra point in – similar to the extra cookie I treated myself to at the holiday party!)

The list isn’t ordered, nor is it all-inclusive – so many good things happen every day at FHSU – but it gets at some of the more important happenings in 2018. So here we go:

Kansas legislators restored $15 million in higher education base funding – which was more than an additional $635,000 for Fort Hays State. We are very grateful for their support.
In May we graduated 4,533 students – an increase of 11.2 percent. This commencement ceremony also included our first six graduates from the Doctor of Nursing Practice program.
Following a record spring enrollment last January, this fall we celebrated 18 consecutive years of record growth with 15,523 students – an increase of 423 students. Most importantly, Fort Hays State University is currently providing educational opportunities to over 7,800 Kansans, an increase of more than 30 percent over the past 10 years. Key to our growth is our increasing retention rate – now at 74 percent. FHSU has improved student retention by an average of nearly 8 percent over the past five years.
People place their faith in FHSU in so many ways – including providing grant funding and donations. In June, we wrapped up the fiscal year with a noteworthy $5,264,707 in grants. The FHSU Foundation Journey campaign ended the calendar year at more than $68 million dollars in the $100 million campaign scheduled to conclude during Homecoming 2021. In all, nearly 7,000 donors have chosen to invest in the education of current and future Tigers – remarkable!
Men’s soccer made the Final Four in the national championship competition. Football won the MIAA conference for the second year in a row in addition to making it to first round of the playoffs. By the way, 2019 shows much promise with our women’s basketball team currently 10-0, ranked sixth in the WBCA Division II Coaches Poll and fourth in the Division II SIDA Media Poll. We are so proud of our student athletes and coaches.
Safety for its students and the campus community is a top priority for Fort Hays State, and students and staff alike help keep it that way. Those measures drew the attention of others as FHSU was ranked as one of the safest colleges in America by the National Council for Home Safety and Security.
Forsyth Library sponsored open education textbook initiatives that helped keep the cost of an FHSU degree extra affordable. Over 40 FHSU faculty attended a workshop last fall to learn how to adopt high quality textbooks that are available at no cost through the Open Textbook Network, and most took the next step to review an open textbook in their area of teaching. Grants to faculty encourage open textbook adoption and currently save students $60,000 annually. Four new faculty grants will increase student savings even more in 2019.
Dr. Laura Wilson (associate professor of geosciences) and Kris Super (B.S. 2017) coauthored a paper in the preeminent journal Nature. This was the first Nature publication by FHSU faculty in 17 years, the first time ever that an FHSU student coauthor was involved, and it was the first by a woman from FHSU.
The College of Education continues to be leader in meeting the needs of PK-12 education in Kansas. We have over 1,600 students intending to become an elementary or secondary teacher, more than 300 students working towards school leadership as a principal or superintendent, and 480-plus students being prepared as specialists in counseling and special education.
Dr. Keith Campbell, a professor of sociology, teaches grant writing and non-profit development. He invited three of his best students to work with small non-profit organizations in Holmes County, Mississippi, one of the poorest counties in the country. Each of the students is consulting with a representative of the non-profit and writing a free grant proposal on the organization’s behalf. I love how our faculty provide opportunities for students to bring value to local communities and at the same time hone professional skills.
The College of Heath and Behavioral Sciences saw a lot of equipment upgrades in 2018 to further enhance real world learning experiences for our students: Nursing, in partnership with Hays Medical Center, constructed an advanced educational training center in Stroup Hall to simulate life-like medical scenarios; Psychology expanded its screening clinic; Allied Health developed state-of-the-art imaging laboratory facilities with up-to-date equipment and SonoSim ultrasound training kits; Communication Sciences and Disorders installed an innovative video/audio system in the Herndon Speech Language Clinic, providing immediate instructional feedback to students; and Health and Human Performance enhanced equipment in the areas of exercise physiology, kinesiology, and neuromuscular rehabilitation.

And of course, I cannot conclude without thanking the community for the wonderful welcome back and a memorable inauguration. As I said then, the ceremony was a formality, but it was not a celebration of me, it was a celebration for us. It was an inauguration not of a person, but of an institution, and it was our opportunity to pause and reflect on the things that make FHSU so special: Our spirit of hard work, our remarkable community, and our enduring legacy of innovation.

WOW! It has been quite a year for FHSU, and these are just a very few of our highlights. Thank you for helping me celebrate Tiger Nation 2018 as we continue to write our transformative story together. Happy New Year to you and yours, and to FHSU!

Kan. authorities contact FBI about reports of white man kicking black child

Posted on January 2, 2019January 2, 2019

WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — Wichita police have contacted the FBI about a report that a white man kicked a 1-year-old black child in the back at a Wichita grocery store and yelled racial slurs.

The boy’s mother, 29-year-old Lashantai Whitaker, says she talked to an FBI agent Monday. Her son wasn’t seriously hurt. Wichita police confirmed that officers have been in contact with the agency.

Thirty-one-year-old Trace Riff was let out of jail shortly after his Dec. 23 arrest. So far, the case has been referred to municipal court and is being treated as a relatively minor crime. But the Sedgwick County District Attorney’s Office has said it expects to review the case for possible charges this week.

The NAACP says the case should be prosecuted to the fullest.

Hays Public Library eliminates overdue fines

Posted on January 2, 2019

HPL

Fines will no longer be charged for overdue items at the Hays Public Library. The board in December voted unanimously to eliminate the fees.

Libraries across Kansas and the nation are taking the same action due to the fact that the mission of a library is to provide access to literature and other resources, and fines stifle that access. When patrons owe fines, many times they simply stop going to the library. Fines have been found to significantly impact library usage for children and low-income patrons.

“Overdue fines have a limited impact on patrons actually returning items on time and is counterproductive to HPL’s purpose of providing access to information and resources,” said Board Chair Katherine Wolfe.

Over the past two years, the overdue fines that have been paid amount to less than 1 percent of the library’s annual budget.

“When evaluating if to eliminate overdue fines, it became obvious staff time spent on dealing with overdue fines has a poor return on investment,” said Hays Public Library Director Brandon Hines. “Assisting patrons, maintaining the collection, and improving the vast number of services we offer is a much more impactful and efficient use of staff time.”

There will still be a consequence to patrons not returning items. When a patron has five overdue items or one item that is more than 20 days overdue, their account will be blocked. This means that person will no longer be able to check out items until the items are returned.

While the library is softening its stance on overdue fines, a stricter approach will be taken on items long overdue. The library board has also directed staff to secure the services of a debt collections company. The specialized collections company works solely with libraries and will help the library recover fees for items that are considered lost, which means they are overdue by at least 30 days. After 45 days the collections process will be instituted if a patron has a minimum of $50 in lost items. While many libraries in Kansas and the across the country utilize this service, the Hays Public Library has never utilized a collections company to recover the cost of items not returned by patrons.

The library board and staff believe this new policy will increase the number of patrons able to take advantage of all the resources the library has to offer.

— Submitted

HPD Activity Log Dec. 21-27

Posted on January 2, 2019January 2, 2019

The Hays Police Department responded to 2 animal calls and conducted 19 traffic stops Fri., Dec. 21, 2018, according to the HPD Activity Log.

Suspicious Activity–4300 block Vine St, Hays; 2:45 PM; 2:50 PM
Suspicious Activity–300 block W 11th St, Hays; 7:29 PM
MV Accident-City Street/Alley–1000 block Reservation Rd, Hays; 7:40 PM
Civil Dispute–1000 block Reservation Rd, Hays; 8:22 PM
Disturbance – Noise–700 block E 6th St, Hays; 11:43 PM

The Hays Police Department responded to 2 animal calls and conducted 47 traffic stops Sat., Dec. 22, 2018, according to the HPD Activity Log.

44 – Traffic Stop–700 block E 6th St, Hays; 1:06 AM
Driving Under the Influence–500 block W 15th St, Hays; 1:54 AM
Suspicious Activity–400 block W 11th St, Hays; 2:12 AM
Drug Offenses–3400 block Vine St, Hays; 2:32 AM
Welfare Check–4000 block Vine St, Hays; 2:37 AM
Disorderly Conduct–2700 block Indian Trl, Hays; 3:38 AM
Miscellaneous Investigation–3400 block Vine St, Hays; 4:21 AM
Assist – Other (not MV)–100 block W 12th St, Hays; 1:19 PM; 1:26 PM
Lost Animals ONLY–200 block E 12th St, Hays; 3:36 PM
Dead Animal Call–1300 block Lawrence Dr, Hays; 4:53:PM
Fire–1100 block E 27th St, Hays; 4:57 PM
Traffic/Driving Complaint–1100 block Centennial Blvd, Hays; 5:06 PM
Driving Under the Influence–1100 block Centennial Blvd, Hays; 5:25 PM
Criminal Damage to Property–100 block W 37th St, Hays; 6:30 AM; 3:30 PM
MV Accident-City Street/Alley–3500 block 3501 Vine St, Hays; 7:50 PM
Disturbance – Fight–100 block E 5th St, Hays; 9:57 PM
Disturbance – General–500 block W 37th St, Hays; 10:46 PM
Suspicious Person–200 block E 7th St, Hays; 11:11 PM

The Hays Police Department responded to 3 animal calls and conducted 12 traffic stops Sun., Dec. 23, 2018, according to the HPD Activity Log.

Animal At Large–2700 block E 17th St, Hays; 11:24 AM
Theft (general)–200 block E 7th St, Hays; 1:45 PM
Welfare Check–300 block W 33rd St, Hays; 5:08 PM
Theft (general)–300 block W 8th St, Hays; 4:30 PM; 7:40 PM
Burglary/residence–500 block E 16th St, Hays; 4 PM; 9 PM

The Hays Police Department responded to 1 animal call and conducted 4 traffic stops Mon., Dec. 24, 2018, according to the HPD Activity Log.

Suspicious Person–200 block W 10th St, Hays; 12:21 AM
Battery – simple–200 block W 10th St, Hays; 12:50 AM; 1 AM
Abandoned Vehicle–2400 block Pine St, Hays; 10:35 AM
Abandoned Vehicle–1000 block E 15th St, Hays; 1:02 PM
Suspicious Person–400 block W 7th St, Hays; 1:15 PM
Theft (general)–200 block Ash St, Hays; 12/23 11 PM; 12/24 10:30 AM
MV Accident-City Street/Alley–3700 block Vine St, Hays; 1:40 PM
Abandoned Vehicle–1100 block Country Club Dr, Hays; 3:45 PM
Lost Animals ONLY–500 block W 27th St, Hays; 4:11 PM
Civil Transport–2200 block Canterbury Dr, Hays; 4:57 PM
MV Accident /DUI–1800 block Walnut St, Hays; 5:12
MV Accident /DUI–1800 block Walnut St, Hays; 5:12
Suspicious Activity–2700 block Vine St, Hays; 8:07 PM
Found/Lost Property–300 block W 32nd, Hays; 11:34 PM

The Hays Police Department responded to 1 animal call and conducted 3 traffic stops Tue., Dec. 25, 2018, according to the HPD Activity Log.

Assist – Other (not MV)–3200 block Vine St, Hays; 12:52 PM
Civil Dispute–400 block W 8th St, Hays; 6:13 PM
Theft (general)–2100 block General Custer Rd, Hays; 7:03 PM
Animal At Large–400 block W 16th St, Hays; 10:11 PM
Traffic/Driving Complaint–3800 block Vine St, Hays; 10:24 PM
Welfare Check–2700 block Epworth St, Hays; 11:41 PM

The Hays Police Department responded to _ animal calls and conducted _ traffic stops Wed., Dec. 26, 2018, according to the HPD Activity Log.

Driving While Suspended/Revoked–400 block Santa Fe St, Hays; 9:04 AM
Dead Animal Call–500 block W 8th St, Hays; 10:38 AM
MV Accident-City Street/Alley–26th St and Vine St, Hays; 12:35 PM
Theft (general)–4300 block Vine St, Hays; 11 AM; 12:15 PM
Harassment, Telephone/FAX–1100 block E 8th St, Hays; 9 AM; 2 PM
Theft (general)–500 block W 17th St, Hays; 4:18 PM
Disturbance – General–3200 block Willow St, Hays; 8 PM
MV Accident-Hit and Run–1800 block Vine St, Hays; 5:35 PM
Welfare Check–1100 block Cody Ave, Hays; 5:59 PM
Suspicious Activity–2900 block Vine St, Hays; 6 PM
Civil Dispute–100 block W 12th St, Hays; 7:23 PM
Civil Dispute–2700 block Epworth St, Hays; 7:45 PM
Assist – Other (not MV)–2000 block Patio Dr, Hays; 9:26 PM

The Hays Police Department responded to 1 animal call and conducted 24 traffic stops Thu., Dec. 27, 2018, according to the HPD Activity Log.

Welfare Check–400 block E 19th St, Hays; 12:48 AM
Welfare Check–1400 block E 29th St, Hays; 3:17 AM
Assist – Other (not MV)–2900 block Canterbury Dr, Hays; 7:06 AM
Abandoned Vehicle–2300 block Lincoln Dr, Hays; 12:01 AM; 7:56 AM
Theft (general)–300 block W 16th St, Hays; 3:30 AM; 5 AM
MV Accident-City Street/Alley–13th and Oak, Hays; 8:09 AM
Civil Dispute–400 block E 19th St, Hays; 9:24 AM; 9:30 PM
Missing Person–100 block 4th, Hays; 10:48 AM
Theft (general)–1600 block E 27th St, Hays; 10:59 AM
Suspicious Activity–400 block E 13th St, Hays; 2:15 AM; 2:40 AM
Welfare Check–1000 block E 15th St, Hays; 11:13 AM; 12 PM
MV Accident-Hit and Run–32nd and Vine, Hays; 12:08 PM
Found/Lost Property–2600 block Vine St, Hays; 3:07 PM
MV Accident-City Street/Alley–33rd and Country Lane, Hays; 3:06 PM
Drug Offenses–1500 block 40 Bypass Hwy, Hays; 4:52 PM; 5:54 PM
Suspicious Activity–2000 block E 21st St, Hays; 8:45 PM ; 8:55 PM
Criminal Trespass–1000 block E 17th St, Hays; 11:01 PM
Disturbance – General–200 block E 11th St, Hays; 11:22 PM

Kan. school district to settle with student who broke his leg

Posted on January 2, 2019January 2, 2019

WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — The Wichita school district plans to pay up to $25,000 to settle a lawsuit with a student who fell on a wet floor at a middle school on a rainy day and broke his leg.

A court hearing is set for Monday. The district’s board has voted to settle the lawsuit with the student who fell three years ago as he approached a stair landing at Hamilton Middle School. Court documents say the student “suffered personal injury and incurred medical expenses.”

Neither the district nor an attorney for the boy’s family responded to a requests for comment.

Lois Hubert

Posted on January 2, 2019

Lois Hubert died Tuesday, Jan. 1, 2019, in Colby, Kansas. Hubert was born March 5, 1926.

Services are pending with Baalmann Mortuary, 304 E. 8th St., Oakley, Kansas and officiant Rev. Michael Brockman.

Loyd R. Fogg

Posted on January 2, 2019

March 17, 1952 ~ January 1, 2019

An obituary and service times are pending with Bateman Funeral Home, Goodland.

Norma Jean (Schropp) Lewis

Posted on January 2, 2019

Norma Jean (Schropp) Lewis was born on March 20, 1925 to Max M. and Ida F. (Davis) Schropp on the McCartney farm in Sheridan County, Kansas and departed her earthly life at the Sheridan County Heath Complex, Hoxie, Kansas on December 29, 2018 at the age of 93. Norma Jean spent her childhood with her parents and brother, Rex on a farm southeast of Hoxie. She attended grade school at Mosier School, District 76 and high school at Sheridan Community High School graduating with the class of 1943. She worked two years as an office secretary at the high school.

Norma Jean married Gerald Dee Lewis on May 1, 1945 when he returned to the United States from overseas. Following his discharged from the Army, they lived on a farm northeast of Hoxie and raised their children, Deanna, Tim, and Dan. They moved to Hoxie in December of 1988 where they resided until her death.

Norma Jean attended Tasco Presbyterian Church as a youth. Later she became a member, Sunday School Teacher, and Ruling Elder in the First Presbyterian Church of Hoxie serving her Lord in the church and the community. She belonged to Bow Creek FCE and Sheridan County Historical Society and Monday night Bible Study. Norma Jean was a volunteer for the Historical Society, the Swap Shop, and played piano for worship at Ridgewood Manor and the Sheridan County Health Complex Long Term Care.

Norma Jean and Dee began attending high school wrestling in the mid 50’s and continued to support each team since that time. They have enjoyed their children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren, and great-great grandchildren and sports events through the years.
Those left to morn her passing are her daughter, Deanna Kness and husband Larry of Apache Junction, Arizona; sons, Tim Lewis and wife Kristine of Concordia, Kansas and Dan Lewis and wife Gail of Dresden, Kansas; twelve grandchildren; nineteen great-grandchildren; and four great-great grandchildren; sister-in-law, Bonnie Schropp of Amarillo, Texas; and other relatives and friends.

Norma Jean was preceded in death by her husband, Dee Lewis; parents, Max and Ida Schropp; a granddaughter, Karen Lynn Lewis; brother, Rex Schropp; and her father-in-law and mother–in-law, Glen and Reta Lewis.

A funeral service is planned for Friday, January 4, 2019, at the First Presbyterian Church of Hoxie, Kansas, at 10:30 A.M., Reverend Dixie Anders presiding. Burial will follow in the Hoxie City Cemetery. Visitation will be held at the Mickey-Leopold Funeral Home, Hoxie, Kansas, on Thursday, January 3, 2019 from 11:00 A.M. until 7:00 P.M. The family will receive friends from 5:00 P.M. until 6:30 P.M. In lieu of flowers,the family suggests memorials to the First Presbyterian Church of Hoxie, Sheridan County Historical Society, or the Hoxie High School Wrestling Program and may be sent in care of Mickey-Leopold Funeral Home, PO Box 987, Hoxie, Kansas 67740. Online condolences may be left at www.mickeyleopoldfuneral.com