ROOKS COUNTY — Law enforcement authorities have issued an alert for Derek Fritz.
Fritz -photo Rooks Co.
The Rooks County Sheriff reports 36-year-old Derek Fritz is wanted for felony possession of marijuana from an ongoing investigation on Thursday, according to a social media report.
Fritz was on parole for distribution of meth, felon with a firearm, aggravated robbery and other felony charges.
He was seen in Plainville on Thursday afternoon. Fritz is known to hang out in Rooks County, Ellis County and Graham County, as well as other surrounding counties. Fritz has a tattoo on his neckline.
Anyone with information on where Fritz is, please contact the Rooks County Sheriff’s Department or call. 911.
Do not approach Fritz and contact law enforcement immediately if you see him.
ELLIS COUNTY —One person was injured in an accident just before 11a.m. Saturday in Ellis County.
The Kansas Highway Patrol reported a 1998 Ford Explorer driven by Gustavo Hernaldo Hernandez Silva, 39, Colorado Springs, CO., was eastbound on Interstate 70 six miles west of Hays.
The driver lost control of the SUV when it blew the rear passenger tire. The SUV entered the median and rolled into the passing lane of westbound I-70.
Hernandez Silva was transported to Hays Medical Center. He was properly restrained at the time of the accident, according to the KHP.
Registration is now open for the seventh Kansas Startup Weekend at Fort Hays State University, from Friday, Nov. 9, through Sunday, Nov. 11, at the university’s Robbins Center.
Led by the university’s W.R. and Yvonne Robbins College of Business and Entrepreneurship, Kansas Startup is an event designed for entrepreneurs to meet, share ideas and launch new businesses. This three-day event is open to anyone with a great idea – and the desire to make that idea a reality.
Henry Schwaller, instructor of management and the co-organizer of the Kansas Startup, said the weekend “is a 48-hour, hands-on experience where anyone interested in starting a business or non-profit can find out if their idea is viable.”
“Beginning with pitches on Friday, attendees bring their best ideas and inspire others to join their teams,” he said. “Saturday and Sunday focus on developing the business idea and building a viable product. On Sunday evening, teams present their product to a panel of experts for feedback and prizes.”
Participants must register. Registration is $45 and will be open until 6 p.m. Friday, Nov. 9, when the event begins. To register, visit the website at kansasstartup.com or contact Schwaller by email to [email protected] or by phone, 785-259-0463.
The weekend concludes with the presentation of projects, beginning at 5 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 11, which is free and open to the public.
This is FHSU’s seventh Kansas Startup. The event was first hosted in 2013 and has grown from 31 participants then to over sixty in 2017, making it the largest entrepreneurial event in the state of Kansas. Schwaller said that the success of Kansas Startup is based on participants’ experiences.
“The response to all of our events has been incredible. Participants work hard, learn a lot about starting a new venture and enjoy the outcome,” said Schwaller.
“Teams work Friday evening to Sunday evening, many taking few breaks and little sleep. FHSU faculty, alumni and local business owners provide input, suggestions and advice to the teams as business plans are developed. The event is challenging – and it’s fun, too.”
Jana’s Campaign, a Hays-based nonprofit with the single mission of reducing gender and relationship violence, hosted their annual Empty Place at the Table Gala at the Rose Garden Banquet Hall in Hays on Saturday, Oct. 20.
This year marked the tenth anniversary of losing Jana Mackey to an act of relationship violence. The event focused on celebrating the legacy that lives on in her name and all of the work that has been accomplished in her honor. The 210 attendees raised more than $70,000 – the most successful gala in the history of the organization – more than doubling the amount raised in 2017.
“This event raises awareness and needed funds for the prevention education we provide,” says Kim Cebula, executive director of Jana’s Campaign. “It is a special year and the support we received is phenomenal, it means we can serve more teens and young adults, preventing them from being in violent and unhealthy relationships.
The evening featured a festive cocktail hour, dinner and live entertainment, along with both a silent and live auction. Businesses throughout the community and country donated unique items and experiences to support the event. (For a full list of sponsors and auction donors visit the EPATT page at www.janascampaign.org.)
A special performance by the Hays High Chamber Singers, featuring a video appearance of a young Jana singing the Lord’s Prayer, brought many family and friends to tears, while providing others a glimpse of the young woman who was taken from us.
The organization celebrated impacting over 56,000 students in 516 middle and high schools across eight states. They also shared they have hosted attendees from 320 colleges and universities at their regional campus safety summits. All of the numbers reflect work completed since 2013, when Jana’s Campaign formalized their data collection processes.
“To honor Jana with a room full of people who understand why prevention of gender-based violence is so important and who are fully committed to making a difference is unbelievably inspiring,” shared Christie Brungardt, Jana’s mom and organization co-founder. “We will be able to accomplish great things with the funds raised at the gala this year.”
The Fort Hays State University Science and Mathematics Education Institute Science Café presents “Thought Experiments Leading to the Theory of Relativity” Monday, October 29 at 7 p.m. in The Venue at Thirstys, 2704 Vine Street.
This presentation will walk through some of the simple thought experiments about Special and General Relativity that lead to the ideas of time dilation, length contraction, gravitational lensing, and more.
Speaker is Dr. CD Clark III, Associate Professor of Physics at FHSU.
Science Cafe is free and open to the public. It’s sponsored by the FHSU Science and Mathematics Education Institute.
Les KnollIs there something good in every thing that is bad? Of course not, but I see the potential for a lot of good coming out of our really bad politics. The differences between our two political parties could not be more contrasting. It’s right there for all to see and that’s the good part.
Unfortunately, there are many who are not open minded, who have been indoctrinated and not privy to the truth, but most voters can clearly distinguish good politics and government, from bad. That’s why Trump became our president.
It is my opinion, the majority of voters, a few weeks away, during the midterm elections, will not vote Democrat. There will be a red wave, not a blue one, and I will explain why I am going out on this limb with my prediction.
The division among Republicans and Democrats has never been worse, therefore, voters too are divided. The old days of some sort of compromise or coming together between left and right appears to be a thing of the past. There are no compromises.
The upcoming election will determine what kind of America most people in this country want. On the one hand there are those who want to make this country great again as in the past, while on the other hand some want a different country entirely. It’s imperative voters know the differences.
For starters, Democrats lean toward socialism. We became the greatest country on earth in large part with an economy based on capitalism, not a socialistic government controlling everything.
Speaking of division, who wants an America where one particular party does everything possible to divide us based on race, gender, sexuality and, of course, the haves and the have nots? Add to that Christianity on the right versus secularism on the left. A united country insures progress while a divided one causes chaos, and Democrats want chaos in order for government to take over everything.
Most of us can clearly see what the Democrat Party is all about, and it’s not a pretty picture. They don’t even try to hide unconscionable mob like mean spirited behavior, or an agenda that would stand this country on its head. What they are all about is right there for God and the whole world to see.
The Democrat Party and its base has never been more radical. Too bad so many seniors still vote Dem not realizing their party has completely changed from what it was years ago. For some cockamanie reason they support all the extreme left wing agendas when in reality they are actually conservatives.
Since Obama became president, Democrats have lost some 1200 elections at all levels of government for being too far to the left. Now the party is going even further left. That’s another big reason I am optimistic about Republican chances. We’re not a country that believes we should be way out in left field.
Do we as voters want a political party in control of our government that promotes violence, orchestrated protests, lacks civility, etc. The hit job on Trump’s nominee to the Supreme Court crossed the line. Brett Kavanaugh’s personal life and his family were put through the ringer like no other nominee before in American history. The accusations by Dems about Kavanaugh never showed one scintilla of evidence. There was perjury by accusers as Kavanaugh was never given our most precious right of due process and presumption of innocence.
How does the left justify ruining a man’s life and his family mostly due to the unadulterated hatred of Trump? Who among us wants to vote to support hate? Besides the totally disgusting behavior toward Kavanaugh due to Trump hatred, Dems are fearful of two other things as Kavanaugh takes the bench on the Supreme Court. The man is a constitutionalist and will not rule in favor of laws created by liberal judges in lower courts, laws that belong to congress and we the people, not the bench.
Thirdly, Kavanaugh’s pro life beliefs scared the living daylights out of Democrats who then went on to make his confirmation a matter of life or death, if you get my point. Point is, most voters will want to save lives of unprotected unborn babies as opposed to run away abortions. Trump chose Kavanaugh in part to protect the unborn.
Democrats make no bones about destroying a Trump presidency. How much worse can it get in this country when a political party openly tries, in every which way possible, to overthrow a duly elected presidency. For what? For starters, we currently have one of the best economies ever. There is no evidence of Russia collusion by Trump, in fact, indisputable evidence of collusion by Democrats.
Let’s get this straight voters. As things stand now, there is nothing to warrant impeachment. Who in their right mind wants to support an agenda to take out our president for no good reason? The desire for Hillary to be president is not a good reason.
Do voters want to sit through years of schemes to impeach Trump. I don’t think so. And, it would be insane to vote in support of their other agendas. Open borders would ruin us literally as a country where illegals are favored over American citizens, where foreigners get to choose our government leadership in congress, even our 2020 president.
Do we want a political party in control of our government that is anti law enforcement? Eliminating ICE is ludicrous. Promoting sanctuary cities to protect illegals, even criminals, is insanity. Talk about putting foreigners ahead of American citizens!
Tell me it isn’t so! Dems are campaigning on the promise to roll back the Trump tax cuts and tax reforms. How outrageous can you get? Why would any voter in their right mind vote to ruin a good thing that benefits all Americans? Trump is making America great again with his policies and the promises he made to Americans.
One of the worst things to ever occur in this country’s history to a president of these United States is the media’s failure to report the great many successes and accomplishments of President Donald J. Trump. Far too many Democrat voters are completely in the dark about how America is becoming great again. And, sad to say, many don’t even care.
Our economy is booming! Unemployment at historic lows. The lowest unemployment numbers in American history for African Americans and Hispanics. Good job opportunities for women and young people. More jobs available than people to fill them.
Add to those positives, consumer confidence is at an all time high, companies are returning to America from foreign countries, wages are up, food stamp enrollment down dramatically, GDP growth at an astounding 4%, stock market at historic highs, etc.
Trump is doing something about our trade deficits, ISIS threat to our national security, stifling Obama regulations eliminated, restoring American world leadership, and of course, working hard to secure our borders.
Voting to throw away all these positives would be nothing short of insanity. The Washington Examiner on October 12 published an astounding 289 Trump accomplishments of less than two years by this administration.
There are many reasons Democrats can’t afford to lose this election and not take over control of Congress. Perhaps the biggest are the ongoing investigations in congress of massive corruption. Should Dems take control, they will bring the investigations to a halt even though there is indisputable proof of Obama, Hillary, the FBI and DOJ doing everything possible morally and illegally to destroy a Trump presidency. Dems will want the corruption in our government swept under the rug.
That being said, look for shennanighans like never before in an election. There could be any number of things, but at the top of the list will no doubt be voter fraud.
Perhaps a better title for this letter to the editor should be “How to vote and why.” Truth be known, I feel a moral responsibility to make my case to readers in this writing for an election that many claim is the most important in our lifetime.
GREAT BEND — Kim Guesnier, Great Bend, and Laura Luft, La Crosse, recently joined the Golden Belt Community Foundation Board of Directors as a way to be directly involved in serving the central Kansas community.
Christy Tustin, GBCF executive director, said both women will be assets to the board and the four counties it serves – Barton, Pawnee, Rush and Stafford.
“We welcome Kim and Laura who will bring educational, financial and personal experiences to our board while representing all four counties,” Tustin said. “Donors and non-profit agencies will benefit from their contributions.
“Board members help shape local philanthropy today and far into the future,” Tustin added. “While each county is unique, they share similarities with their neighbors. Board members will build on each county’s strengths.”
A board committee nominates members who serve a three-year term, with the option of renewing once for a second term.
Kim Guesnier
Guesnier learned about the GBCF and its contributions to the community from her parents, Merlin and Nelva Grimes.
Guesnier
“This Foundation was near and dear to them,” Guesnier said. “When I was asked to serve on the board, my mother encouraged me to do so. I didn’t hesitate.”
Guesnier’s mother lives in Great Bend; her father passed away last November. They spent their 62 years of marriage in Great Bend.
“In addition to my mother’s encouragement, I want to serve on the Foundation board because I am aware of all the good it does in the community,” Guesnier commented. “I love central Kansas. It is a good place to live and raise a family.”
She and her husband, Bernie, have four grown children and five grandchildren.
Guesnier earned an associate’s degree from Barton Community College, and bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Fort Hays State University. She was a special education teacher for 35 years – four years at Hays and the rest at Barton County Special Services.
“I still miss my students but enjoy seeing many of them living and working in the community,” Guesnier said. “I want to demonstrate to others that living and working in central Kansas is fulfilling.
“I hope my background in education will benefit the Foundation board. I want to help my hometown and surrounding communities grow and prosper.
Laura Luft
Since one of the bigger challenges facing central Kansas is securing the funding to meet local needs, Luft wants to help meet this challenge.
Luft
“The Foundation has created a vehicle to help put great ideas into motion,” Luft explained. “At the same time, it is building a solid financial base for many years to come. As a board member, I want to do my part to increase awareness and participation in the Foundation throughout central Kansas.”
Luft and her husband, Richard, are “small-town Kansas kids and incredibly thankful for this background.”
Richard was raised in Rush County, along with his parents and grandparents. He graduated from Otis-Bison High School and operates the family farm at Bison.
“Even though we lived and worked in the Dallas area for nearly 24 years, our hearts were always home in Kansas,” the new board member said. “When we decided to move back here in 2011, we did so with a strong personal commitment to be more than just residents. “We want to be active in helping our community thrive for the next generations. The Foundation is an exciting opportunity to do that.”
Luft graduated from Southeast of Saline High School at Gypsum and Bethany College in Lindsborg. Her professional career started in the Dallas area where she was a personal financial planner with Waddell & Reed. She held several corporate business finance positions during the past 28 years.
Currently, Luft is a finance director with DXC Technology, which is based in Washington, D.C.
“The key skills in my professional life center on financial planning, leadership and driving projects to completion,” she noted. “These all carry over in helping the Foundation be successful. In addition, a board member’s most important trait is a passion for our communities. I see this in every member of this great board.”
At $22.5 million in total assets and more than 180 funds under management, the Golden Belt Community Foundation has been connecting people who care to causes that matter since 1996. Golden Belt Community Foundation exists to provide non-profit organizations in central Kansas with a permanent source of support and to serve as a vehicle for charitable giving for donors. GBCF serves the counties of Barton, Pawnee, Rush, and Stafford.
For more information about Golden Belt Community Foundation, call (620) 792-3000 or visit their website at www.goldenbeltcf.org.
Thibodeau and Joy / photo courtesy Hays Arts Council
By CRISTINA JANNEY Hays Post
Children can join a baby owl and a young Pegasus, who eats rainbows for dinner, as they fight the forces of the evil night Night Mare in Hays librarian Nicole Thibodeau’s new book “Pegasus Dan and the Little Owl.”
For her first her first book, Thibodeau teamed up with Ellinwood artist Robert Joy.
Last week, Thibodeau and Joy were on hand at the Hays Arts Center for a book signing.
All the books on-hand at the HAC sold out. However, an exhibit of Thibodeau and Joy’s artwork is on display at the HAC until the end of October. Books can be purchased online through Amazon for $12.
The book is a tale of tolerance that Thibodeau, 38, said was inspired by her uncle. Her uncle was gay, and Thibodeau said he was misunderstood by his family. He recently died, and Nicole went to California to help her mother with her uncle John’s estate.
“It was a very moving experience, and it really inspired me to search for bringing more narratives into the world that are about inclusion and overcoming fear,” she said. “That was the narrative of this story and what this story is about.”
The main character in the story is a young Pegasus named Dan, who lives in a treehouse in an enchanted forest. Dan’s parents tell him not to trust the night creatures in the forest below.
One day, Dan is flying to school and he hears a noise. He swoops down to find a little owl whose wing is caught under a branch. He realizes she is a night creature.
“He says, ‘Just this once I would like to help you, but will you promise not to hurt me with your talons?’ She says, ‘I promise.’ He lifts up the branch and she flies away,” Thibodeau said.
Dan thinks about the little owl all day at school and hopes her wing is doing OK.
“He flies home at the end of the day and tells his parents he helped a night creature in the forest below. They look very worried and they tell him to be careful that the night creatures can be dangerous,” she said.
Dan has rainbows for dinner and goes to bed.
He wakes up to the sound of a crash and finds his father fighting the evil Night Mare, a horse.
“The little owl flies into the window, and she hoots, and the Night Mare vanishes into the night,” Thibodeau said.
Dan’s father thanks the owl, and Dan and the little owl are friends forever.
The little owl in the book was inspired by a baby owl that baby owl fell out of a tree in Thibodeau’s backyard. After a friend who works at the Sternberg examined the owl, he deemed it healthy enough to go back into the tree.
“It is about friendship, because he is afraid at the beginning because he doesn’t know any night creatures,” Thibodeau said. “Then he gets to know one and she helps him out. It is the overcoming of fear and learning about different kinds of creatures, which could be in our world different kinds of people.
“I also feel in this time in our society it is so important to generate more narratives that are bringing more people together and increasing the amount of compassion.”
Painting and drawings by Nicole Thibodeau and Robert Joy at the Hays Arts Center
Thibodeau said she did not think the book was appropriate for very young children because of the length of the story. She recommended it for first- through third-graders.
“Pegasus Dan and the Little Owl” was self-published. Thibodeau became acquainted with Robert Joy through an area art show. Joy and Thibodeau corresponded through the mail, and Joy sent her intricately hand-decorated envelopes with her letters. Photos of some of these made it into the back of the book.
Thibodeau is a library assistant in the young adult department at the Hays Public Library. She received her bachelor of arts in studio art from Bethany College in Lindsborg and her MFA from FHSU. She also received instruction at the Art Student’s League in New York, Lacoste School of the Arts in France, as well as from Studio Art Centers International in Florence, Italy. Additionally, she earned a master’s degree in English from FHSU.
Thibodeau has written and hopes to publish other children’s books. She is also a poet and visual artist.
“It is rewarding to create,” she said. “That is my favorite thing.”
All five Hays city commissioners say they support a proposed historic mural to be painted on the Sternberg water tower by local artist Dennis Schiel.
Ron Mellick voted Thursday against a letter of support from the city which Schiel will utilize in applying for a grant from the Dane G. Hansen Foundation in Logan.
Mellick said he was “embarrassed that Mr. Schiel is going to Dane G. Hansen with only a letter of support from us and no financial commitment.”
Mellick noted many Hays parks and the new playground equipment that will be installed at the Bickle-Schmidt Sports Complex have been supported by the city with financial matches.
“We have civic groups in the city that adopt city parks and regularly come to us wanting us to match their money to do improvements within the city parks, and we do that,” Mellick said.
“I wonder how many of these things would have happened if we’d only gotten a letter of support from these entities.”
“The thing I’m suggesting is that there are possibilities of using alternate resources than just immediately going to the city,” said Sandy Jacobs. “I’m not against the project.” She added that Melissa Dixon, director of the Convention and Visitors Bureau (CVB), believes the mural would be a destination attraction.
“I like the project,” agreed Shaun Musil. “I just don’t like us funding it.”
“Dennis’s work is world-class and it certainly speaks to the history of our community. There’d be nothing like it in the Midwest,” Vice-Mayor Henry Schwaller said.
Schwaller agreed with Mellick’s contention made at the last commission meeting. “We spend a lot of money advertising our town on billboards and I really question the effectiveness of it because you’re going so quickly. And they make no sense. Not a problem with CVB, but they’re awful.
“This is something that is very clear and it says exactly what we are. It doesn’t say ‘Eat. Stay. Dine. Shop.’ From an artistic standpoint it’s phenomenal. It’s also great from a promotional and destination standpoint.
‘I understand you don’t like the order of this. I get that,” Schwaller said to Mellick. “But I do want to give him some options and see what happens.”
Last week Schiel presented two smaller, less expensive mural alternatives to his original design.
It’s been a wet October in Hays, and with less than a week remaining in the month, the seven-day weather forecast is calling for more rain on Oct. 31.
Another 0.56 of rain fell Tuesday into Wednesday morning, according to the K-State Agricultural Research Center south of town.
Combined with 0.03 of snow that fell Oct. 14, the total amount of monthly moisture recorded as of Oct. 25 is 6.72 inches.
The year-to-date moisture is 34.44 inches.
As of Oct. 10, “the moisture amount puts 2018 as the 6th wettest year in Hays in the past 125 years” according to record keeper Joe Becker at the research station.
The Kansas Highway Patrol reported a 1998 Ford Explorer driven by Gustavo Hernaldo Hernandez Silva, 39, Colorado Springs, CO., was eastbound on Interstate 70 six miles west of Hays.
Today
