By JAMES BELL
Hays Post

RUSSELL — At approximately 10:40 a.m. Thursday, Russell Fire and EMS were dispatched to 815 N. Main in Russell in response to reports of a structure fire.

“When crews arrived on scene, heavy smoke was coming from Northwest of the main entrance to The Mecca Plaza,” said Fire Chief Dylan Riedel. “Fire crews made entry into the structure and determined that the fire was burning in the underground tunnels that run below the sidewalk, in front of the businesses on Main Street.”

At 10:50 a.m., firefighters entered the basement with fire extinguishers and found heavy smoke in the tunnel.

By 10:56 a.m., a hose line was called in as the fire was reported as mostly out. It was reported as completely out by 11:10 a.m.

The cause of the fire is undetermined, Riedel said, noting the fire did not spread to any other area of the building outside the basement. Damage is estimated at $500. No injuries were reported.

“The City of Russell Fire Department would like to thank The Russell Police Department, Russell Grant Fire Department, Russell County EMS, Russell Electric Department, and Kansas Gas Service for their quick response,” Riedel said.

By JAMES BELL
Hays Post

Dealing with either hearing or vision loss can be a major adjustment for anyone. But for veterans dealing with both, the effort required to maintain an active lifestyle can be overwhelming.

With a goal of providing information and strategies to cope with vision and hearing loss, a group of area businesses and organizations have worked together to bring the first of its kind workshop to Hays on Sept. 18 at the Sternberg Museum,  3000 Sternberg, starting with vision and hearing screenings at 8 a.m.

“Basically, it’s a one-day workshop for vision- and hearing-impaired veterans, how to cope with it, what are some of the assistive technologies available, and then to identify these veterans that need the services and plug them into the resources that the VA has available,” said Hays optometrist Dr. Kendall Krug.

Both vision and hearing services are available at the VA hospital in Wichita, but services available at the local clinics are much more limited.

“Unfortunately, those are not available at the local clinic,” Krug said. “So a couple of years ago, the vision services coordinator in Wichita, a man by the name of Bob Hamilton, approached me with the idea of having a workshop in Hays.

“We have had low vision fairs and things like that in the past, but never in conjunction with the agencies that will be involved in this program,” he said. “The twist we put in is the Lions Club to utilize their special screening bus that the Lion’s Sight Foundation has available.”

“The Lions’ Club has always supported vision, that’s been our main push for years,” said Jim Huenergarde, second vice president of the Hays Lion’s Club. “With the grant that the Lions Club applied for here in Hays, we were able to put together the funding to bring this seminar into Hays and to be able to bring this mobile screening unit out.”

A nationally known trainer from the Helen Keller National Center in Atlanta will present the seminars during the workshop, Krug said.

”They are the presenters. This is their program,” he said. “They are the experts in combined hearing and vision impairment.

“It’s an interesting tie in having the Lions involved because Helen Keller was the person that got the Lions Club tied into vision impairment back in 1924,” Krug said. “She asked the Lions to be the ‘knights of the blind,’ that’s why the center is named after her.”

With the screenings available before the workshop begins, Krug said he hopes participants will have a better understanding of their individual needs.

“Our thought was it would be nice for the veterans going in to know, am I mildly impaired, or do I have a moderate impairment, and then as they go through the workshop, they are going to have a better idea of which resources they need to get plugged into,” Krug said.

In conjunction with Krug, the Lions Club, the Helen Keller National Institute and the Robert J. Dole VA Medical Center, Fort Hays State University’s Communication Sciences and Disorders and Leadership Studies Departments will provide services during the event.

The Ellis County Ministerial Alliance, Northwest Kansas Area Agency on Aging, the Blinded Veterans Association, Independent Living Center of Northwestern Kansas and the Hays Senior Center will also be involved with the event.

Following the screenings, the workshop will be in a classroom setting with sessions that focus on dealing with hearing and vision loss, assistive technology available resources in Kansas, and grants that are available to those in need.

The event will be limited at around 50 people and participants are asked to register by Sept. 9, if possible.

To sign up or for more information, contact Huenergarde at 785-650-7338 or [email protected].

By JAMES BELL
Hays Post

Tanner Lee Cullens was sentenced in Ellis County District Court Friday to 71 months in prison for his involvement in a February robbery in Ellis County.

Cullens and co-defendent Jeremy David Schulmeister were arrested in February after they allegedly offered a ride to Max Diederich on Feb. 7. Instead, investigators said they took Diederich took a rural area at gunpoint and robbed him of his phone, clothing and cash, before forcing him out of a moving vehicle.

In June, Cullens was found guilty by 23rd Judicial District Chief Judge Glenn Braun after entering a no-contest plea but later filed a motion to withdraw the plea.

During sentencing, the court first took up that motion.

After consulting with his attorney, J. Alex Herman, Cullens confirmed with the court he had not been coerced or threatened and decided to withdraw the motion to withdraw his plea.

Herman also confirmed with Cullens during the proceedings that he was not being coerced in his decision to withdraw the motion.

Neither the state, represented by Ellis County Attorney Tom Drees, nor the defendant or his attorney presented evidence or made statements prior to sentencing.

The mother of the victim was in the courtroom and also declined to make a statement.

Drees asked the court for the 71-month sentence originally agreed upon and said he felt it is appropriate given the facts of the case and his lack of a criminal record.

Herman agreed and said he believes the evidence would show that Cullens was culpable for the crimes, but was not involved to the same level as his co-defendant Schulmeister.

Braun said his willingness to cooperate with law enforcement and offer a statement that would ultimately aid in  Schulmeister’s decision to enter into a plea agreement saved the court time and cost of a jury trial and would be beneficial to the victim.

Schulmeister was sentenced to 114 months in prison in August for his part in the robbery.

Braun sentenced Cullens in line with the plea agreement, sentencing him to 59 months for aggravated robbery, with 36 months of post-release supervision, to run concurrently with a sentence of 18 months for aggravated intimidation of a victim along with 12 months for aggravated battery to run consecutively — totaling 71 months.

He was also ordered to pay $255 in restitution to the victim related to the phone that was stolen that was not returned to the victim along with $438 in court costs.

Cullens will be credited for time served — 211 days.

He was warned that despite a lack of prior convictions, since the sentencing was for three felonies, once released he can no longer be in possession of a firearm, per federal law, and cannot vote or hold office in Kansas, per state law.

By JAMES BELL
Hays Post

ELLIS — The Ellis City Council approved the submission of a Community Development Block Grant application for citywide waterline improvements at Tuesday’s meeting.

The application was narrowly denied in a prior submission.

“CBDG is competitive. It’s rated against all other water and sewer categories across the state,” Justine Benoit, grant administrator with Northwest Kansas Planning and Development, told the council. “Last year, there were 28 applications and 12 were funded.”

“We were number 13 or 14. We were right on the bubble,” City Clerk Amy Burton said.

Benoit told the council a total of $6.8 million in grant money was given out last year for water system improvements.

The project is based on an engineering survey completed and approved by the state in 2015 and this is the last cycle available for the city to submit a grant application before a new survey would need to be completed.

“That’s why we wanted to resubmit this application one more time,” Burton said

The application is due on Sept. 27 and awards are to be announced on Jan. 17, Benoit said.

“For this project, we have four waterlines in mind,” she said.

Several hydrants are also projected to be replaced with the project.

The total project is estimated to cost $824,225, with the grant covering half. The remaining cost would be paid through city funds that were budgeted for the project.

In order to qualify for the grant, the project must be completed within two years.

During the meeting, the council took action on three agenda items related to the project: a resolution to approve documents for the project’s grant application; approval a contract with the NKPDC to complete and submit the grant documents; and authorized the mayor to sign any additional CBDG documents.

All three were unanimously approved by the council.

Only one last step remains before the grant can be submitted, the approval of the project engineer’s contract. He is scheduled to attend the next city council meeting.

By JAMES BELL
Hays Post

On Sunday, the Hays Police Department arrested two people at a local hotel after investigating reports of fake currency being used at several Hays businesses.

“We had a number of business report that they had received $100 bills that were fake,” said Hays Police Lt. Tim Greenwood.

During the investigation, the same two suspects were observed at the locations and tracked to a local hotel. They were later identified as Gregory Gresock, 48, Ellis, and Amanda O’Brien, 34, Hays.

“They knew that they were counterfeit and passing them as legitimate bills,” Greenwood said.

After contact was made, Gresock and Obrien were taken into custody and a search warrant was obtained for a hotel room.

During the search of the room, more bills were located, Greenwood said, adding methamphetamine and drug paraphernalia were found on Gresock and O’Brien.

“Based on information received during their interview, we were able to apply for, receive and execute a search warrant out in the county at a residence and recovered more bills, drugs and paraphernalia,” Greenwood said.

He believed at least one of the suspects was working in Hays but did not know why they had procured a hotel room.

While the use of fake bills led to arrests, several of the business suffered losses after being paid with fraudulent bills.

“There were some losses because they had already provided services or goods and then they realized after the fact that the bill was fake,” Greenwood said.

The bills were described as having Asian writing on them, but Greenwood said he was unsure where the bills had come from and no manufacturing devices had been found during the investigation.

“There was no indication that they were making them themselves,” he said.

While fake currency can sometimes be hard to detect, Greenwood said, if a bill is presented with markings, or if the bills feel suspicious, he advised asking for another form of payment.

“When in doubt, don’t take it,” he said.

Greenwood said he was happy with the investigation by the department.

“Our guys did well here,” he said. “They recovered over 40 counterfeit bills, and two people will face the charges.”

O’Brien was arrested on suspicion of two counts of suspicion of possession or intent to distribute counterfeit currency, two counts of theft by deception, drug possession and possession of drug paraphernalia.

Gresock was arrested on suspicion of six counts of suspicion of possession or intent to distribute counterfeit currency, four counts of theft by deception, theft, drug possession and possession of drug paraphernalia.

Both Gresock and O’Brien are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law, Greenwood said.

By JAMES BELL
Hays Post

The Army Corps of Engineers announced Tuesday the closure of sections of the Minooka Campsite at Wilson Lake due to anticipated flooding with water covering many sites that had recently been reopened from flooding in May.

“Never expected flood closures in August but Kansas is what it is,” the corps announced on Facebook Tuesday afternoon.

“Much of north-central Kansas received heavy precipitation amounts last weekend with some reports in the five to six inch range,” they said. “Our office has recorded 9.9 inches for August.”

Lake elevation Monday was recorded at 1520.91 according to the United State Geological Survey.

All of section F of the Minooka Campsite, along with portions of section D and B are closed as water is creeping higher at the lake.

Reservations at those sites have been canceled and full refunds are being issued.

“Forecasting the lake elevation crest is not an exact science, but preliminary estimates show concern for public flood impacts during the upcoming Labor Day Weekend,” the corps said. “We have come up almost two feet with another two to three feet expected. Many of the campsites that were just repaired and opened on the 23rd are now going under again.”

The west and east boat ramps are closed along with the spillway boat ramp. The middle ramp is open, but the dock is inaccessible.

The fireworks show that was rescheduled after flooding during the Fourth of July holiday weekend is still planned for Aug. 31, at 8:45 p.m. according to the Wison Lake Area Association.

By JAMES BELL
Hays Post

Once again, the Fort Hays State University Football team will gather to meet the public and sign autographs at Big Creek Crossing at 1 p.m. Saturday.

“We do the football signing every year,” said Branson Hoffman, marketing director, noting he expects over 120 players to be available during the free event.

“You can bring a T-shirt or your favorite item to get signed,” he said.

There will be posters, too, and markers will be provided.

The facility opens its doors to host the event and will have other activities during the day to accompany the team autograph session.

“We see ourselves as an asset to the community and we want to give back, but we also want to open our doors to not just shopping,” Hoffman said. “We want to have that good relationship with the community and this is a perfect example.

“We have such a good location on Vine street and with us having a big open center court with a high-traffic area, it just works,” he said.

The autograph session will run until 3 p.m., immediately followed by a back-to-school fashion show showcasing ensembles from some of the center’s shops.

“They just kind of model their back to school trends and fashion, clothes,” Hoffman said.

The center will also have a food truck rally from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., a feature of the event that started in 2017.

“The public is welcome to come for any part or all three,” Hoffman said. “It’s one fun day for it all.”

By JAMES BELL
Hays Post

Last Friday the Hays Police Department arrested three brothers in connection with burglaries in Hays.

The burglaries occurred through August and involved vehicles and an apartment in which a couch, loveseat, entertainment center, television and other miscellaneous items were taken, according to Hays Chief of Police Donald Scheibler.

Jordyn, 22, Jonathan, 23, and Uriah, 20, Steinike were arrested on suspicion of burglary, possession of marijuana and possession of drug paraphernalia, Scheibler said.

“After several reports of vehicle burglaries and an apartment burglary, probable cause was developed and a search warrant was obtained,” he said.

Two apartments in which the brothers lived were searched, leading to the arrest of Jordyn and Uriah.

Jonathan was later arrested at his place of employment.

All three brothers have been convicted of similar crimes in the past. Uriah and Jordyn were sentenced on Sept. 10, 2018 to 24 months probation for charges of criminal threat and burglary of a motor vehicle. Jonathan was sentenced on Oct. 16, 2017 for forgery and criminal use of a financial card. On May 11, 2018, he was also sentenced for theft.

All three are being held in the Ellis County Jail.

“All three are considered innocent until proven guilty in a court of law,” Scheibler said.

He also said this should serve as a reminder to secure valuables in vehicles and homes.

“I will take this opportunity to remind the public we are seeing an increase in vehicle burglaries,” Scheibler said. “It’s important people lock their doors on their vehicles especially…and anything valuable. If they have to leave it in the car, keep it out of plain sight, but if at all possible, take valuables inside.”

By James Bell
Hays Post

The Hays Police Department will participate in the “You Drink. You Drive. You lose.” campaign that began last week until Sept. 2.

The campaign is an effort to identify drivers under the influence of drugs and alcohol and is in conjunction with almost 190 other local and state agencies that are also participating and is underwritten by the Kansas Department of Transportation.

“Hays Police Department will have extra officers out, along with the officers on duty extra officers will be assigned for DUI enforcement,” said Don Scheibler, Hays chief of police. “Our goal is to identify drivers under the influence and get them off of the street.”

“According to KDOT, alcohol and other drugs are implicated in 40 percent of the crash deaths on Kansas roads,” according to a press release from the department. “Every two days someone suffers death followed by a death notification visit to loved ones, all because a decision was made to drive while impaired.”

KDOT attributes 23 percent of fatal car accidents to chemical impairment and accidents involving an impaired driver are ofter more severe.

“The risk of serious injury in an impairment crash is almost five times that of the crash where such impairment is determined to have not been a factor,” the release said. “More striking is the fact that the risk of death is over fifteen times higher in the case of an impairment crash.”

By JAMES BELL
Hays Post

After the sudden closure of the Ellis City Pool, the Ellis City Council was hopeful construction on the new pool would begin quickly enough so the pool could open at the start of the swim season next summer, but Lamp Rynearson aquatics group leader, Andy Smith, informed the council Monday that would be unlikely.

“We’re just not in a position to go through all of the steps, in the order that they need to be gone through to get us there,” Smith said.

“It’s unfortunate really that the pool can’t make it one more year,” he said, “but I understand conditions, what they are, is the situation we find ourselves in.”

In response to the council’s questions about the possibility of opening at some point during the summer, he said there were variables that make it hard to determine.

“It might be possible,” Smith said, “but I would rather under-promise and over-preform.”

A large unknown for the project is the weather during the winter months.

“If we have a winter like we had last year, there is no chance of it,” Smith said.

The biggest concern with construction during the winter is the concrete flatwork that needs to be completed, he said, before low temperatures set in.

“The chances of having the right weather for the February, March, April and have this pool go in is dicey at best,” Smith said.”Once the ground freezes, you are done.”

With the current timeline, moving quickly enough to beat winter will not be possible, he said.

“We are not going to be ready for a contractor to start until the dead of winter,” Smith said.

While the project is unlikely to be completed as fast as the council hoped, Smith told the council the project is in a good position.

“We are ready to get the surveying and the soil borings going for the engineering,” he said.

The engineer can only use drawings up to a point until data from the site is collected.

“That’s the bottleneck at this point,” Smith said.

After getting authorization, Smith said he would begin the surveys and finalize the pool design.

Smith expects final plans to be completed in about 90 days, with two opportunities for the council to review the design during the process.

Once the design is finalized and approved, he said construction bids could be sought in January

“It’s going to be a great time of year to be bidding this project,” Smith said. “I am hoping that we are on the front end of most of these 11 projects that were all awarded (Community Development Block Grants) just like your city was. Hopefully, we will have some hungry contractors.”

Once a bid is accepted and construction begins, he said the pool should be completed in eight to nine months.

City Clerk Amy Burton also gave a report on the Splash Bash and other fundraising that has occurred since the pool was closed.

While she did not have a complete total from the Splash Bash, she told the council she had more than $10,000 that had been recorded on Monday, bringing the total raised for the project to more than $17,000/ That included a $5,000 donation from Equity Bank. More has been committed, but not collected.

“I definitely think we have support out there,” Burton said. “We’ve got people excited about the project and anxious to see where our next fundraiser goes.”