A longtime retailer in the Big Creek Shopping Center, Claire’s has permanently closed after a new lease agreement could not be made between the store and DP Management.
“I got the call about 4 o’clock (Monday) afternoon,” said Shannon Christen, store manager.
Store employees are now packing up merchandise to be shipped to other locations.
While the store has been closed for two weeks, Christen said she did not think the store would be closed, but was afraid something was amiss after a week of being closed.
“We were kind of prepping ourselves for it,” she said.
Christen said the Hays location is the only Claire’s between Salina and Colorado Springs.
Check Hays Post for more about ongoing roof repairs at Big Creek Crossing and future development at the shopping center.
It might be a way off, but the Hays USD 489 Board of Education is taking no chances on being prepared if its proposed $94 million bond issue passes in June, hearing the benefits of two types of construction management at Monday night’s work session.
The district has two types of construction management available under Kansas law – construction management at-risk and the more traditional design-bid-build.
Chuck Smith, HTK Architects, spoke to the board about the two options, outlining the benefits of both, but also explained to the board that a decision would not need to be made until after the bond election.
Both types of construction management require bidding out of specific projects, but a manager-at-risk could help in initial project costs, through oversight of the entire project that can help correct design and construction concerns before a specific part of the project is already under way.
He also informed the board that a manager-at-risk has the ability to piece out portions of the total contract, whereas a general contractor would assume ownership of the entire project.
In either system, unforeseen construction cost overruns would be addressed by the board.
During the work session, the board also heard recommendations from Scott Summers, director of technology, on the replacement of approximately 150 computers for K-8 teachers.
He informed the board the technology committee has spoken with principals and staff and found a reliable desktop system with adequate performance. The existing systems are nearly six years old.
He said both Lenovo and Dell systems would be options for the replacement.
“Both are very reasonable,” Summers said.
The off-the-shelf price for the systems is $650 to $690 per machine, and a bulk order could lower that pricing.
By next week, Summers said, both machines will be available for demonstrations.
The devices are not set to replace the current tablets used for instruction, Summers told the board, rather they would be used for more administrative purposes that require a machine with more processing power than can be provided by a tablet.
ELLIS COUNTY – A Rush County man was injured in an accident just before 4:30 p.m. on Monday in Ellis County.
The Kansas Highway Patrol reported a 2013 Ford Edge driven by Katelyn Jo Rippe, 27, Hays, was southbound on U.S.183.
The driver attempted to make a left onto Mt. Pleasant.
A southbound 2004 F250 driven by Nicholas Erik Mitchell, 27, Otis, struck the rear of the Edge.
The collision caused the pickup to spin and come to rest on its side in the west ditch.
Mitchell was transported to Hays Medical Center.
Rippe and a 1-year-old in the Edge were not injured.
All three were properly restrained at the time of the accident, according to the KHP.
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By James Bell Hays Post
Around 4:30 p.m. Monday, officers from the Ellis County Sherrif’s Department, Kansas Highway Patrol, and Ellis County Emergency Medical Services responded to a two-vehicle accident at 250th Ave. and Mount Pleasant Rd, just south of Hays.
Traffic was being allowed to proceed slowly as responders worked to clear the scene.
According to eyewitness reports, a SUV and pickup truck collided at the intersection. The SUV came to rest on the east side of the roadway facing south.
The pickup spun around and came to rest in the west ditch facing south, resting on its passenger side.
The driver of the pickup kicked out the windshield in order to escape the vehicle.
The condition of the drivers and passengers of both vehicles are unknown at this time.
The cause of the accident remains under investigation.
In Ellis County District Court Monday, Shannon Geoffrey Smith, 26, Wilmer, Ala., and Jessie Dewayne Holland, 29, Saraland, Ala., were separately sentenced to 36 months for their involvement in an armed robbery of Casey’s General Store, 213 Washington, Ellis, on Dec. 29.
Following the robbery both men fled the scene, ultimately crashing a stolen vehicle in an attempt to enter Interstate 70 at exit 157, leading to an hours-long manhunt. Both men were captured in the area along with law enforcement finding weapons and cash in the area.
The sentence for both men was recommended as part of plea deals that were entered into last month.
Along with the 36-month sentence, both men were ordered to pay $19 restitution, $438 in court costs and a $400 KBI lab fee.
After just under three hours of deliberation, an Ellis County jury found Fernando Insaurralde Cantero, 20, Paraguay, not guilty on all counts in a trial that ran through the week.
Cantero faced charges rape, aggravated criminal sodomy and aggravated burglary stemming from a sexual encounter in the early morning hours of Sept. 20, 2015, with a fellow Fort Hays State University student in her dorm room.
Cantero was enrolled as an international student at FHSU and was a member of the soccer team. He had only been on campus for a little over a month when the incident took place.
Throughout the week, jurors heard conflicting evidence surrounding the incident, with the defense questioning law enforcement on the thoroughness of the investigation and the lack of proof of the complaining witness’s intoxication.
Crystalyn Oswald, Assistant Ellis County Attorney, who led the prosecution, argued through the trial the complaining witness was extremely intoxicated when Cantero entered her dorm room around 3 a.m. Sept. 20.
Both parties testified as to sexual activities taking place, but Cantero argued the activities were consensual and initiated by the complaining witness.
However, his inability to communicate in English meant no verbal communication could take place between either the complaining witness or two other students that accompanied Cantero through female areas of their dormitory.
Throughout the proceedings, Cantero communicated through a court translator.
After being found not guilty, District Judge Glenn Braun released Cantero on all conditions of his bond.
The Hays USD 489 Board of Education met Thursday night to discuss the results of a full day of meetings Wednesday with staff, administration and patrons from Hays about the qualities desired in the district’s next superintendent.
Gary Sechrist, Kansas Association of School Boards leadership specialist, led Thursday’s meeting. The KASB was hired by the board to provide guidance during the search process, and Sechrist will help narrow the field of candidates this month, culminating with interviews with selected candidates.
During Wednesday’s meetings, 86 individuals attended various group sessions to give feedback on what qualities they would like to see in the next superintendent.
“I think that a trend did come forward,” Sechrist said.
The most desired quality, he said, is someone with a “strong backbone” who can give recommendations to the school board. Honesty, integrity and visibility were also top qualities people said they wanted.
After describing the results of the meetings, Sechrist gave several procedural recommendations as candidates are identified and interviewed.
A key portion of bringing candidates in, he said, relates to how the board presents the city and the district to the candidate, recommending a list of positive attributes be created to share with candidates.
As an example, he noted that he heard positive feedback about the use of technology throughout USD 489. He said he has been in many districts and using the tech the way USD 489 does “is exciting.”
But with positives come negatives, and Sechrist shared some feedback on challenges the next superintendent may face.
The most visible of those concerns is a $94 million bond issue that is set for a June 7 election. Regardless of whether the bond passes, Sechrist said, the next superintendent must understand facility needs is “critical.”
He also said rebuilding trust – for whatever reason – would be a challenge.
“The superintendent will need to be a healer,” Sechrist said.
In a search of this nature, it is possible two exemplary candidates emerge, and Sechrist advised a “tie-breaker” question should be developed in case the board is stuck.
During Wednesday’s meetings, a question emerged that would evaluate proven successes in a leadership position and an open-door policy. Both traits ranked high on the list of desires in a candidate.
The board will now work to compile a list of 21 questions to be used in the interview process. That list will be compiled from submissions by the entire board to be turned in Monday.
While the board is finalizing questions, Sechrist and two outside advisers will filter through applications to present to the board for a meeting at 4:45 p.m. May 16. He advised the board that calls should be made to those candidates that same evening, once the board decides who they would like for interviews.
Each candidate brought forward will have a public meeting, a meal with the board and a formal interview.
Overall, Sechrist seemed optimistic about candidates who have already expressed interest in the position.
“You have some good ones, and I’m very pleased,” he said.
During the fourth day of the trial of Fernando Insaurralde Cantero, 20, Paraguay, both the state and the defense wrapped up their cases. Now the jury will be given the case Friday after hearing closing arguments and jury instructions.
On Thursday, the jury heard testimony from Cantero, who before testifying was reminded that it within his rights to refrain from doing so.
Cantero pleaded not guilty on charges of suspicion of rape, aggravated criminal sodomy and aggravated burglary on Dec. 10. While both parties agree sexual activity took place, Cantero claims the activity was consensual.
During questioning, Cantero spoke through a translator, giving testimony about his activities during the night of Sept. 20.
During earlier testimony, Brandon Mitchell, 21, Wichita, and Joseph Herrington, 19, Minneola, both testified they had been with Cantero that evening as Herrington and Cantero opened doors in the female section of a Fort Hays State University dormitory. But during testimony Thursday, Cantero said he was only going along with the other two men.
He said he, “had no idea what they were talking about,” as they traveled floor-to-floor and room-to-room. He also said he had never spoken to either of the two men as he cannot speak English.
Cantero also said Herrington was opening the female dorm room doors – including the door of the alleged rape victim.
After initially passing by the room after finding the alleged victim asleep, both Cantero and Herrington returned to the room. Cantero testified at that point he waved at her and “she told me to come in with her hand.”
Briefly after entering the room, he and the alleged victim began kissing, he testified. Herrington then left.
Earlier testimony focused on the alleged victim having consumed alcohol during the evening, leading to vomiting in the room. Cantero testified, however, that he could not tell if she had been drinking and smelled no vomit in the room or on the alleged victim.
After describing the details of the sexual encounter, he was asked why there was no conversation held between the two.
“I couldn’t speak to her because I don’t speak English,” Cantero said.
That language barrier was also the primary reason he said he did not know Herrington or Mitchell, as he could not communicate with either of them.
Herrington testified earlier he had hung around Cantero four or five times and considered him a friend.
Whatever the relationship between the men may have been, Cantero said he initially lied to investigators about his reason for opening doors throughout the dorm was to protect the other two men.
Cantero claimed on Sept. 29 to have been alone the night of the alleged rape, searching the dorm for his missing keys. Thursday, he admitted that had been a lie to keep Herrington and Mitchell out of trouble.
During Thursday’s testimony, however, he claimed Herrington was jiggling dorm room door handles first and Cantero followed suit because he thought it was funny.
“I was simply copying what (Herrington) was doing,” he said.
He also said Herrington lied when he testified Cantero opened the alleged victim’s door.
Closing arguments and jury instructions are set to begin at 8:30 a.m. Friday.
In the third day of the jury trial on allegations of suspicion of rape, aggravated criminal sodomy and aggravated burglary against Fernando Insaurralde Cantero, 21, Paraguay, the jury heard from the alleged victim and her roommate, who offered their accounts of what happened on the night of the alleged incident.
The victim’s roommate described the victim as her best friend and described to the jury events of her night, on the night of the incident.
The roommate said she had consumed alcohol in previous situations with the alleged victim and was familiar with her behavior while under the influence of alcohol.
On the night of the incident, she testified she had attended house parties and arrived at their dorm room, briefly speaking with the alleged victim before the incident took place.
She testified the alleged victim told her she had felt ill and was vomiting into a trash can in the dorm room while she was there, but was unsure if it was because of drinking.
When the roommate left, she told the jury she left their door room unlocked.
“I kind of put the blame on myself because of it,” she said.
After leaving the room, the roommate testified she did not return to the dorm room until between 7 and 8 a.m. the morning of the Sept. 20.
After she returned, the alleged victim told her a male had entered the room, but stopped her from going into details, because she was uncomfortable with the conversation.
She also said she could tell by her facial expression and tone that she “knew she wasn’t kidding.”
Despite knowing that something had happened, the victim told her roommate that she did not want to report the incident to police.
“She didn’t want this,” the roommate said, referring to a police investigation and the subsequent trial. “She didn’t want people to know.”
The roommate also testified that she will “lose it,” when discussing the case and that she “always comes back to this as the stressor,” noting her demeanor changes when discussing the case.
On cross-examination, the defense focused on a conversation between the victim and a friend overseas. That conversation indicated any sexual activity was consensual but later changed, telling the friend what actually happened, according to the alleged victim.
The alleged victim, during her testimony, said she finally told her friend because she could no longer keep the truth from him around the time of the Dec. 10 preliminary trial.
The alleged victim also told jurors that she had consumed at least 20 ounces of vodka between approximately 10 p.m. and 12:30 a.m. the night of the incident, testifying she was “very drunk.”
During that time, she testified she had attended house parities near Fort Hays State University, but could not recall any specific locations.
While she said she does not usually consume large amounts of alcohol, on that evening she rated her drunkenness a nine – out of a scale of one to 10.
After visiting parties, she testified she returned to her dorm floor lobby, going to her room after law enforcement arrived on the floor, partially because she was uncomfortable because she was “very, very intoxicated.”
Clearing up an earlier point of contention for the defense, she testified that, contrary to testimony at the preliminary hearing, she vomited while in her dorm room. The defense had frequently noted through the week her testimony seemed to change, saying she did or did not vomit during the evening. She testified she believed she was testifiying that she did not vomit before returning to her room, not after. Her roommate also testified she had witnessed the alleged victim vomiting in her dorm room.
After that visit, the victim testified she passed out.
When asked by Crystalyn Oswald, Assistant Ellis County Attorney, if she was “out like a light,” the alleged victim said, “That would match it perfectly.”
The alleged victim gave further details of what she said occurred, as she was in-and-out of consciousness and what little she remembered from Cantero’s time in the dorm room.
She testified that she thought that perhaps she was dreaming the situation, including the absolute lack of conversation between herself and Cantero, but as she realized the incident had in fact occurred, she was unsure what to do next.
“I was scared,” she said. “I didn’t really know what was going on.”
Two Fort Hays State University students who accompanied Fernando Insaurralde Cantero, 21, Paraguay, through the women’s section of a dorm building testified on the second day of a jury trial that began Monday.
Testimony from both men painted a picture of a suspect that had little respect for his fellow female classmates as he traveled floor-to-floor looking for “girls.”
Cantero pled not guilty on charges of suspicion of rape, aggravated criminal sodomy and aggravated burglary on Dec. 10.
Brandon Mitchell, 21, Wichita, was the first of two students who said he accompanied Cantero during the early morning of Sept. 20, 2015, to testify as a witness in the state’s case against Cantero.
Mitchell, who lived near Cantero in the dorms at the time of the incident, said he first saw Cantero around 1 a.m. in the dorm lobby, although he testified he had been drinking on the night of the incident and does not remember the night well.
While he testified he knew Cantero, he said he would only call him an acquaintance and was closer with another student who also testified in court Tuesday — Joseph Herrington, 19, Minneola.
Herrington testified that around 2 a.m. he met Cantero and Mitchell on the floor of their dorm room and decided to look for others students still awake.
Then the three men traveled floor by floor through the women’s section of the dorm building, ultimately stopping on the floor of the alleged victim.
When asked by Crystalyn Oswald, Assistant Ellis County Attorney, if they were looking specifically for women, Mitchell said, “I’m sure that was probably part of the idea.”
After arriving on the alleged victim’s floor, Mitchell said he did not go into the hallway, instead, he watched from the end of the hall as Cantero and Herrington went room-to-room looking for people to “hang out.”
During his testimony Herrington, who said he was friends with Cantero, said Cantero was opening doors to female dorm rooms if they were not locked, sometimes without knocking.
The pair visited the room of the alleged victim twice but initially moved on after Cantero found her asleep on top of her bedding, fully dressed. Herrington said he did not see the alleged victim during this first visit.
But he would soon get another chance, according to testimony
As the pair continued checking doors throughout the floor, Cantero opened another door on the floor finding two women awake.
Herrington said he knew one of the women and that she seemed surprised by the visit, so he reassured her that they were only looking for people to hang out with. The pair then left after being told by the women they were going to bed.
Both men then made their way back to the room of the alleged victim.
Cantero once again opened the door, according to Herrington, and after taking a drink from a water bottle filled with vodka in the room, approached the alleged victim, whispered something in her ear, then they began “pretty passionately kissing.” Testimony from FHSU Police Department Officer Joshua Fleenor yesterday indicated Cantero did not know the alleged victim.
He then said he thought Cantero closed the door soon after.
Herrington said he never entered the room and did not have a clear view of the girl, as Cantero was in front of him. He did, however, testify he could see she was fully clothed at that time and agreed that in an earlier police report he might have said he thought she was passed out from drinking. Mitchell also testified Herrington did not enter the room.
Mitchell said Herrington then approached him at the end of the hallway and told him they were kissing and should go. The two men then testified they went downstairs.
The trial is set to resume at 8:30 a.m. Wednesday.
After a morning of juror selection starting with 90 potential jurors, 12 jurors and two alternates began hearing testimony from Fort Hays State University Police Officer Joshua Fleenor in the trial of Fernando Insaurralde Cantero, 20, Paraguay.
Cantero pleaded not guilty in December to suspicion of rape, aggravated criminal sodomy and aggravated burglary stemming from an incident that police said occurred on the FHSU campus in September of last year.
Fleenor testified as a state’s witness during the day’s proceedings before Judge Glenn Braun ended testimony for the day prior to a defense cross-examination.
Fleenor was questioned by Crystalyn Oswald, Assistant Ellis County Attorney.
During testimony, Fleenor testified about the investigation that began after the victim reported the alleged assault to Title IX officials, residential life officials and law enforcement at FHSU.
Fleenor testified he was first notified of the alleged rape by Rebecca Peterson, director of residential life, on Sept. 22, two days after the incident had allegedly occurred. The delay was a result of the alleged victim initially not wishing to report the incident to police, he testified.
Interviews were conducted on Sept. 25.
During the interview, Fleenor testified the victim said she was alone in her dorm room after a night of heavy drinking at house parties off campus.
Meanwhile, the victim said Cantero and a fellow classmate were opening doors throughout the women’s areas of the dorms, looking to see if anyone wanted to “hang out.”
Sometime after 3 a.m., Cantero reportedly found the victim in her dorm room, entered and took a drink from a water bottle containing vodka in the room. The victim then began kissing Cantero and, at that point, his companion left after Cantero closed the door, Fleenor testified.
Both Cantero and the victim told investigators, according to Fleenor, that they did not know each other and that no conversation took place.
But that is where the stories begin to differ.
The victim told investigators she woke up with Cantero on top of her, scared, but knew not to fight back. After the incident, she began texting others to find out what had happened – and who it was that had been in her room.
Fleenor said Cantero told investigators that she motioned for him to come inside and, after kissing the victim, proceeded to have consensual sex.
But, initial conversations between Cantero and law enforcement were difficult, Fleenor said, as Cantero was unable to communicate with officers in English.
“It was clear from the beginning there was a language barrier,” Fleenor said.
During court proceedings, Cantero has used the services of a translator.
After securing a translator for the police investigation, Fleenor said Cantero told them he was looking for his dorm room keys while searching the dorm hallways when he came upon the alleged victim.
During Fleenor’s testimony, jurors also saw surveillance video from the dorm that corresponds with the time and locations that were testified to by Fleenor.
Testimony is set to continue at 8:30 a.m. Tuesday.
Eagle Communications customers are about to see a big change as the Hays-based supplier of broadband services – including TV, internet and phone in Kansas, Nebraska and Colorado – is set to move its Customer Care Center into a new facility in Hays.
The move was precipitated by the need for more space as the company expands and the recent closure of their location in the Vine Street Dillons, part of the grocery store’s own major remodel.
“We like our location. The Eagle Business Plaza has been like a, but we’ve been growing and expanding. That’s requiring us to need more space,” said Travis Kohlrus, Eagle Communications Broadband General Manager.
The new center will remain in the Eagle Business Plaza at 27th and Hall, but moves to a larger space at 1007 W. 27th that will be easier for customers to access. It will also provide a storefront on a major thoroughfare in Hays, with ample parking and a 27th Street-facing entrance.
“We created a nice space where customers can come in, ask questions about services, order services, get a little bit of training on services and be able to demonstrate those services there,” Kohlrus said. “When you walk in, you know you are part of a cool, advanced technology company.”
The location will be high-tech and high-touch, giving customers the ability to interact with the company’s broadband offerings.
“It will create a really nice environment similar to what we had in our Dillons location,” Kohlrus said.
The location will also serve as the payment center for the company, offering a welcoming space for customers who prefer to drop off payments in person.
In conjunction with the Customer Care Center, the new facility also will house the company’s marketing team.
“Those two groups work together tremendously to create the products that Eagle Communications offers for cable TV, internet and telephone,” Kohlrus said.
The new space will provide both groups access to conference rooms and training facilities that are needed as the company grows.
“As our company continues to grow, space is an ongoing challenge,” Kohlrus said. “Having this additional space will be helpful and beneficial to us.”
Eagle is excited to welcome customers at the new location on May 2.
Hays pet owners have a reason to celebrate as Petsense has announced Hays as one of its 12 locations currently under development.
Petsense is a pet supply store and groomer akin to Petco or Pet Smart.
The store will be located in the Centennial Plaza, 2510 Vine, moving into a 9,500 square-foot space once occupied by Sears.
“They are going to totally remodel and refurbish that whole store, so it will be like brand new,” said Gina Stern, plaza owner.
Work on the space is expected to start in early to mid-May, according to Stern, and will continue through early summer, with a July opening expected.
“We are over the moon that they have chosen us,” Stern said, noting the store is expected to bring a significant increase in traffic to the plaza.
“There’s nothing like this in the community,” Stern said.
The location will be the first in the small chain to be in Kansas, although a second Kansas location is planned for Pittsburg.
Petsense has locations in Oklahoma, Nebraska and across the nation.
Centennial Plaza is a 52,243 square-foot retail shopping center, currently home to Jalisco Mexican Restaurant, Brown’s Shoe Store, Sherwin Williams and other local tenants.
The plaza has benefited from facility improvements over recent years, including a new facade and the addition of Petsense will likely add to the effort.
“They’re going to make the space look absolutely incredible,” Stern said.
Climate change is a topic many people try to avoid, but as a part of Earth Week at Fort Hays State University Tony Schmidt, of the Citizen’s Climate Lobby, hopes to spark conversations about the economic realities of maintaining the status-quo of energy mostly coming from fossil fuels.
The lobby will have a table set up in the Memorial Union lobby from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Thursday and Schmidt will facilitate a workshop at 6 p.m. in the Memorial Union Ballroom.
“I will do everything in my power to help them see how important this issue is,” Schmidt said.
Schmidt has been working with students on the FHSU campus to set up a local chapter of the organization in conjunction with chapters established in Wichita, Salina and Lawerence.
“Citizens Climate Lobby is a new group that has been started on the Fort Hays campus,” Schmidt said. “The fieldwork and leadership class has selected Citizens Climate Lobby as its semester project to try and get a community-based group started.”
Schmidt is the state coordinator for the lobby, that has a unique approach to tackling climate change – economics.
“We have one simple goal and that is passing of a revenue-neutral carbon fee and dividend,” he said.
That fee would be distributed to citizens as a rebate that would further stimulate the economy.
“It’s simply assigning the true cost of fossil fuels,” Schmidt said, noting fossil fuels will become more expensive in the future as the supply dwindles.
A big part of the lobby’s argument is that a transition to clean energy would also create jobs and develop the economy.
“The way it does that is it sends a clear market signal to innovators and entrepreneurs that there will be a market there for them to do something new and help us with this transition,” Schmidt said.
Rather than focus on doom-and-gloom climate change projections, Schmidt feels the lobby will have more success in creating a conversation about the conversion from fossil fuels as more people become active in the lobby and speak more openly with local legislators.
The lobby is organized by congressional district, rather than running a nationwide campaign. Their efforts so far have already yielded some successes as Republican legislators have begun to embrace the reality of climate change.
“We’re really excited at Citizens Climate Lobby because we’ve got 13 Republican congressmen who are acknowledging that climate change is a man-made problem and we need to something,” Schmit said. “We would like for the Republican Party to be leadership on this issue.”
The lobby understands, however, the challenge of the change from fossil fuels to newer clean energy, but argues as prices continue to rise it is economically wise to diversify energy production calling the transition wonderful for the economy.
“We don’t really have a choice from an economic standpoint it’s going to be much cheaper to address this,” Schmidt said. “We are certainly not against oil, we’re not against coal, we’re not against natural gas, but what we are for is the transition to clean energy.”
But in an oil town, arguing that oil production should slow is problematic, something the lobby fully understands.
“This is a tricky one because we are in a very oil-oriented state, in Hays particularly,” Schmidt said but believes “Economically, there is a bright future for Kansas with clean energy.”
Working with the group at FHSU and arming people with information, he believes, will help spread the message that citizens are in favor of an energy transition and will then give politicians the political capital to argue for clean energy.
That message is well served by students, he said, that are not yet influenced by being in the workforce.
“The students’ charge and my hopeful feelings are that they will be more successful than your average citizen at getting people to consider this issue.”
By JAMES BELL
The new space will provide both groups access to conference rooms and training facilities that are needed as the company grows.
Hays pet owners have a reason to celebrate as Petsense has announced Hays as one of its 12 locations currently under development.