A 22-year-old Hays man was sentenced to more than two years in prison Monday for his role in a robbery at a Hays hotel in December.
Pascual Rueda Guzman was sentenced Monday in Ellis County District Court to 32 months in prison.
According to the Hays Police Department, Guzman and Dean Joseph Manning were arrested Dec. 9 after they forced their way into a man’s hotel room at gun point in the 3400 block of Vine Street.
They held the victim down and, according to police, the man was shot in the face with a CO2 powered handgun.
Police believe the men were looking for a gun and money that was allegedly stolen from them.
According to the plea deal, Guzman was sentenced to 32 months in prison for aggravated battery and 18 months for intimidation of a witness. The two sentences will run concurrently for a total of two years, eight months in prison.
Manning was also sentenced to 32 months in prison for his role in the incident in February.
Fort Hays State Weekly Football Press Conference September 11th, 2018
Fort Hays State head coach Chris Brown conducted his weekly press conference in advance of the Tiger’s game with Washburn Saturday night in Hays. Brown and select players met with the media inside Lewis Field on Tuesday, a session that can be seen by clicking on the video below.
(00:00 Head Coach Chris Brown, 09:22 Defensive Back Connor Shedeed, 13:32 Tight End Matt Wendelberger)
TOPEKA – Recent rains for many areas of the state have led to evaluating current drought conditions and today Governor Jeff Colyer updated the Drought Declaration for Kansas counties with Executive Order 18-17. The update downgrades 55 counties.
“Kansas has been blessed with much needed rains recently and we are able to declare many areas of the state now drought free,” said Governor Jeff Colyer. “We are still experiencing drought in the eastern portion of the state and continue to appreciate our federal partners at the Natural Resources Conservation Service as well as the Kansas Association of Conservation Districts for the producer assistance they are able to provide.”
With improvements in drought conditions the updated drought declaration now has 50 counties in emergency status, and five in watch status. This action was recommended by Tracy Streeter, Director of the Kansas Water Office (KWO) and Chair of the Governor’s Drought Response Team.
“Recent moisture has eased some of the drought conditions but we are still experiencing livestock water shortages, and forage production was less than half for most producers in eastern Kansas.” said Tracy Streeter. “Some areas of northeast Kansas are still behind more than 10 inches of moisture for the year.”
Counties in emergency stage are eligible for emergency use of water from certain state fishing lakes due to the KWO Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Kansas Department of Wildlife (KDWPT). They also become eligible for water in some Federal reservoirs. For more information about this availability contact KWO.
This Executive Order and any authorized upgrade shall remain in effect for those counties so identified until rescinded by Executive Order or superseded by a subsequent Executive Order revising the drought stage status of the affected counties. Effective immediately:
Declare a Drought Emergency, Warning or Drought Watch for the counties identified below;
Authorize and direct all agencies under the jurisdiction of the Governor to implement the appropriate watch or warning or emergency level-drought response actions assigned in the Operations Plan of the Governor’s Drought Response Team.
The Governor’s Drought Response Team will continue to watch the situation closely and work to minimize the effects the drought has on Kansans.
For more detailed information about current conditions, see the Kansas Climate Summary and Drought Report on the Kansas Water Office website at: www.kwo.ks.gov.
A Hays man pleaded not guilty this week to three sex charges involving two minors.
Andrew Bayle Claude pleaded not guilty Monday in Ellis County District Court to one count each of criminal sodomy, aggravated indecent liberties with a child and aggravated sexual battery.
According to court documents, Claude allegedly had sexual contact with a 15-year-old in December of last year.
He is also accused of forcibly touching a 16-year-old in March.
Claude is also facing six other felony counts, including rape of two other underage girls, in a separate incident that occurred in November of last year.
The court will schedule a hearing in the next few months to determine if both cases can be tried at the same time.
A trial date in both cases could be set for early next year.
The Ellis County Commission approved updated fees for the Ellis County Health Department on Monday.
County Health Administrator Kerry McCue said the changes reflect the addition of a nurse practitioner in April.
The fees are before insurance covers any costs.
According to McCue, the updated fees also bring the county in line with other medical facilities in the community.
One service that saw a small increase was flu shots according to McCue.
“The regular flu (vaccine) went from $30 to $35,” McCue said. “Same thing with the high-dose (vaccine), it went from $60 to $65 and that’s reflective of the price of vaccines.”
The county also now offers FluBlok. McCue said the FluBlok vaccine is an egg-free vaccine that is recommended for people ages 50 and 65.
Also with the addition of Nurse Practitioner Maren Moody, the Health Department now offers physicals, something it had not offered before.
With flu season set to ramp up in the next several weeks, McCue said Monday they are now offering flu shots at the Ellis County Health Department.
“They can come in anytime now,” McCue said of people who may be interested in receiving a flu shot. “We’re starting to establish some of our clinics that we do in the community.”
Businesses in Ellis County who wish to set up a clinic can contact the Health Department.
In other business, the commission and the Public Building Commission approved three-year agreements with Adams Brown Beran and Ball for the firm to continue providing annual financial auditing services through 2020.
The commission also voted to adopt the new personnel policy effective Jan. 1.
WICHITA — A federal grand jury Tuesday returned a series of criminal indictments in separate cases charging defendants with unlawfully re-entering the United States after being deported, U.S. Attorney Stephen McAllister said.
On one of the cases, Roberto Sanchez-Salas, 49, a citizen of Mexico, has been charged with one count of unlawfully re-entering the United States after being deported. He was found in September 2018 in Ellis County, according to a news release from McAllister.
If convicted, he faces up to two years in federal prison. Immigration and Customs Enforcement investigated. Assistant U.S. Attorney Debra Barnett is prosecuting.
Sec. of State candidate Brian McClendon visits with Hays residents Allen Schmidt, a former state senator, and Joe Edwards.
By BECKY KISER Hays Post
The Ellis County Democratic Party headquarters officially opened Monday night in Hays at 1502 Vine.
Party chairman Henry Schwaller IV, who is also the Hays vice-mayor and a business professor at Fort Hays State University, welcomed supporters, which included local Democrats, three Democratic candidates and, perhaps surprisingly, a sprinkling of Republicans.
“This is the year that we have to take control,” Schwaller told the crowd in his opening remarks. “There can be no more tinkering and experimenting with the Kansas economy. We’ve seen the results of it. Trickle-down economics really doesn’t help anyone at all. It destroys our economy, it destroys education, transportation and everything we take for granted as Kansans.”
Democratic candidates attending the opening were incumbent 111th District State Rep. Eber Phelps of Hays, Secretary of State candidate Brian McClendon from Lawrence, and Ellis resident Chris Rorabaugh, who is running for Ellis County Commission District 1.
Incumbent Rep. Eber Phelps, Hays, talks with Bogue resident Bob Hooper.
Phelps characterized his last two terms as “a lot of communication, a lot of cooperation, and a lot of collaboration … Obviously, we turned the Brownback experiment around and got our state back on solid footing.”
Phelps will face another Hays resident in the November general election — Republican Barbara Wasinger, who currently serves as an Ellis County commissioner. Rorabaugh, a city of Hays employee, will take on Republican Butch Schyler, retired Ellis County health administrator, and independent candidate John Walz, Ellis, who works for the Ellis County Sheriff’s Office.
The enthusiasm of young Kansans and their voter participation is important, Phelps reminded the group, as he singled out Connor Montford, president of the Fort Hays State University Young Democrats.
“We’ve been trying to do a big push on helping students realize it’s their future that’s at stake and that they do have a say in what goes on in the state,” Montford said.
Montford is a political science major from Colby. When he was a freshman at FHSU, there were just four students involved in the meetings of the Young Democrats group on campus. Now in his senior year, Montford says the group has grown considerably.
“We’re going to be doing a lot of phone banks, a lot of canvassing. We have some great volunteers that’ve been helping out,” added an enthusiastic Montford. “We’re going to be very busy up to the election trying to get good Democrats elected.”
For many years, Ellis County was a Democratic stronghold in a traditional Republican state. Voter registration and winning candidates have gradually shifted to the Republican Party.
Brooklynne Mosely, Kansas Democratic Party Deputy executive director, lives in Lawrence, a longtime Democratic stronghold.
“I’m super excited to see the turnout for this event,” Mosely told the crowd. “I think people in Lawrence think they have the monopoly on what Democrats look like in Kansas. We actually have great Democrats across the state,” she said with a big smile.
Earlier in the day, McClendon spoke to the local bar association and to FHSU students on campus.
McClendon likes to point out he made his childhood home in Lawrence, Kansas — the center of Google Earth. A former Google vice-president of engineering, he later returned from Silicon Valley to work as a research professor at his alma mater, the University of Kansas.
He said his tech experience made him want to run for secretary of state. He’s built the online voter registration program “KS Votes” to make the process easier.
“KS Votes has registered over 8,000 Kansans in nine months so far,” he said.
The recently updated version is in Spanish and also sends requests to county clerks for mail-in ballots.
“And this is something that’s really important to me because I believe if we could vote by mail, if we could sit at home, read about all the candidates, study them carefully and make good decisions, then the candidates we pick would not be so much about party and could be much more about person,” McClendon said.
He also talked about the importance of ensuring election reporting systems can’t be hacked, which he said mostly involves training the people who run them.
“We have very good candidates, but it does require getting all your friends, not just your Democrat friends, to vote,” urged McClendon. “We need unaffiliated voters and Republicans to change their opinions about party and look at all the candidates on the ballot.”
“This is the strongest Democratic ticket we’ve had since maybe back in (Joan) Finney’s day,” agreed John T. Bird, a lifelong Hays Democrat. “If you don’t have candidates, you’re defaulting.”
TOPEKA – The Kansas Department of Health and Environment’s (KDHE) Office of Vital Statistics, Bureau of Epidemiology and Public Health Informatics, has partnered with the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) to produce life expectancy estimates in each census tract in the United States. Six years of data was used, through 2015, for the calculations of this indicator. Kansas-specific geographic health statistics.
Ellis County is ranked 9th in the state for overall health outcomes.
“These census tract-level life expectancy estimates—based on state death records and population estimates from the U.S. Bureau of the Census—have previously been unavailable nationwide,” said Lou Saadi, Ph.D., State Registrar and Director of the KDHE Bureau of Epidemiology and Public Health Informatics. “Access to estimates like these helps public health experts quantify how people living just a few miles apart can have vastly different opportunities for a long life. With this kind of information, community leaders can examine the factors that may be influencing differences in longevity—such as access to health care, safe and affordable housing, educational opportunities and other factors that impact the health of community members—and target solutions more effectively.”
In Kansas, the dataset includes “life expectancy at birth” estimates for 723 Kansas Census Tracts. Life expectancy at birth ranges from 62.5 years in Census Tract 041800 (in Wyandotte County) to 89.7 years in Census Tract 962600 (in Gray County).
Although county-, city-, and ZIP code-level data have provided similar information, they often don’t tell the full story as neighborhoods right next to each other—located within the same ZIP code, city or county—can provide drastically different opportunities for health and well-being.
Census tract-level data offer information on a much smaller and targeted group of people making it easier to create a more complete picture of health at a local level. Census tracts cover an average of 4,000 people who typically have similar characteristics, such as social and economic status. Data available at this very granular level can help to more effectively target efforts to remove the barriers standing in the way of health and opportunity.
Hospitals, for example, can use the data to help create community health assessment plans that will identify areas most in need. Community development financial institutions can use these data to help decide which neighborhoods most need their investment dollars to fund health clinics, schools and other projects. Community members can use the data to guide conversations about what is causing life expectancy disparities in their neighborhood and what changes they want to address those challenges, such as better public transportation, access to healthy food or job training opportunities.
The County Health Rankings’ What Works for Health is a searchable tool that provides evidence-informed policies, programs, systems and environmental changes that can make a difference locally. CDC’s Division of Community Health website also provides examples of communities taking action to improve the health of their residents.
ELLIS – Thanks to a grant from the Dane G. Hansen Foundation, the city of Ellis was able to replace its 40-year-old outdoor warning sirens with two new sirens at a 50 percent reduced cost.
That information was shared with the Ellis City Council during their meeting Monday evening.
The council also heard an update on the water exploration project.
The complete Sept. 4 meeting minutes follow.
ELLIS CITY COUNCIL REGULAR MEETING
Minutes
September 4, 2018
CALL TO ORDER
Mayor David McDaniel called the meeting to order at 7:30 p.m. Present were Council members Bret Andries, Holly Aschenbrenner, Susan Eaton, Jolene Niernberger, Dena Patee, and Bob Redger. Also present were Public Works Director Alan Scheuerman, City Clerk Amy Burton, Police Chief Taft Yates, and City Attorney Olavee Raub.
PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE
AMENDMENTS TO AGENDA
None
PUBLIC PRESENT
Glen Keller, Steve Ferland, and Barbara Perkins.
CONSENT AGENDA
Council member Jolene Niernberger moved to approve the consent agenda containing the Minutes from the Regular Meeting on August 20, 2018, Bills Ordinance #2052, and the July manual journal entries. Council member Bob Redger seconded the motion. The Council approved the consent agenda 6-0.
PUBLIC COMMENTS
Glen Keller stressed the importance of tourism and noted that both the Chrysler Museum and the Railroad Museum were recently featured in “Kansas” magazine and the Railroad Museum was also featured in an issue of “True West” magazine.
PRESENTATIONS OF AWARDS, PROCLAMATIONS, REQUESTS & PETITIONS (HEARINGS)
None
SPECIAL ORDER
General Government: Special Project
City Clerk Amy Burton shared correspondence from Darin Myers, Ellis County Fire Chief and Emergency Manager, regarding the County’s storm siren project. The Dane G. Hansen Foundation awarded grant funds in the amount of $130,000 towards the project, reducing the City’s cost for two large sirens from $47,009.12 to $23,372.76. Council discussed purchasing an additional siren, as the additional cost would still be less than the original amount approved. However, siren coverage maps indicated two sirens would already provide overlapping coverage to notify all residents of an impending storm. It was the consensus of Council to not purchase an additional siren at this time.
UNFINISHED BUSINESS
Water Exploration: Special Project
City Attorney Olavee Raub updated Council on the Water Exploration Project. The purchase contracts for one of the properties has been signed by the landowners; however, the City has not yet received the contracts from the other landowner. Once received, a closing date can be set and title insurance purchased. Council member Bob Redger moved to authorize Mayor David McDaniel to sign the water purchase contracts upon receipt of the signed contracts from the landowners. Council member Jolene Niernberger seconded the motion. The motion carried 6-0.
REPORTS FROM CITY OFFICIALS
Public Works
Public Works Director Alan Scheuerman alerted Council to a culvert on west 10th Street that needs repair work performed. The area drains slowly and the pipes are deteriorated. Eventually, the storm drain will be completely blocked off and cause flooding in the area. Mr. Scheuerman discussed options to repair the culvert. The City could cut an open trench and replace the steel culvert. However, there is a storage building that was built on top of the culvert, which would require boring under the building to remove and replace the culvert for that portion. The cost for that option is estimated to be $17,600, or $66,960 if contracted out. The property owner has declined the City’s request to access the property and suggested the storm drain and culvert be moved further west to the end of town. To completely reroute the storm drain in that area would increase the cost to approximately $128,000. City Attorney Olavee Raub will verify but stated the City probably has a utility easement to enter the property.
Mr. Scheuerman plans to invite FEMA Representative Steve Samuelson to a future Council meeting to discuss FEMA floodplain regulations.
Swimming Pool: Training
Council member Jolene Niernberger moved to allow Joe Kreutzer to attend certified swimming pool training on October 9th – 10th in Wichita. Council member Dena Patee seconded the motion. The motion carried 6-0.
Police
Police Chief Taft Yates presented the Monthly Activity Report for August and the September Staff calendar. An offer was extended to a candidate for the open position in the Department; however, the candidate declined. The search for candidates has resumed.
City Clerk
City Clerk Amy Burton presented the July Financial Statements.
Attorney
Mayor Update and Announcements
Mayor David McDaniel reminded Council that the new sales tax rebate program policy discussed during budget work sessions needs to be drafted in hopes to have in place by January 1, 2019.
ADJOURNMENT
Council member Holly Aschenbrenner moved and Council member Bob Redger seconded a motion to adjourn the meeting. The meeting adjourned at 8:20 p.m.
Eagle Communications Media Center participates in the Kiwanis Flag Day Project.
By BECKY KISER Hays Post
More than 1,200 American flags are proudly flying across Hays today, posted by volunteers with the Hays Kiwanis Club.
The group was unable to place the flags last week on Labor Day due to inclimate weather. They decided instead to erect the 1,202 U.S. flags on Patriot Day Sept. 11.
Kiwanis member Eddie Perrett and his father Harold Perrett, a Vietnam veteran, were out at dawn Tuesday with 49 flags loaded in the back of Eddie’s hatchback Hyundai.
They made 49 stops, placing the flags in front of homes and businesses in northwest Hays which are participating in the Kiwanis Flag Project fundraiser.
The flags will fly all day and be retrieved at dusk.
Eddie and Harold Perrett place a flag in the 2400 block of Ash Tuesday morning.The Perretts erected 49 U.S. flags in northwest Hays.
Martin HawverIf there is an issue that almost instantly brings together parents, grandparents, legislators, and, yes, even voters, it is safety at public schools.
While other states have seen the tragedy of shootings at public schools, Kansas hasn’t.
Yet…
And it is that “yet” that spurred the House last session to think up, and the Senate approve, a “Safe and Secure Schools Initiative” that was essentially proof that with all the scrapping over general school budgets, and how those dollars are spent on education and administration and such, it is safety that gets lawmakers and the state moving—quickly—to protect the state’s children.
Remember that? The House Republican leadership proposed the bill, which made $5 million available this year for schools to step up security so that no crazed person can walk into a school building and for any reason start shooting at children.
Sounded simple, in fact, it sounded a little like a public relations effort for Republicans who didn’t want to just pour more money into schools without getting something that they could tout on a campaign palm card and chat about at lunches.
The $5 million was to be used for obviously relatively low-cost school safety efforts, ranging from locks on doors to shatterproof glass on doorways to redirection of visitors through a single school door so they could be checked before they enter. Relatively simple things, but things that school districts might have put off or in a tight budget year, might not have the available cash to get done.
Well, that effort showed, although a little obliquely, just how quickly Kansas state government can get things done.
The bill? It became effective on July 1, when most bills become law.
Amazingly, for us folks who watch the Legislature and state government grind through hearings, meetings, consultations and other delays as a matter of course, by July 16 the State Department of Education had told districts what to do and how and when and send out checks for that safety glass, the locks, the cameras, the other things that deter school violence.
In total, some 156 school districts applied for a part of that $5 million, which they would match with local moneys and make the security improvements that everyone wanted.
Some districts didn’t apply for that security funds boost.
But the amazing part of the program is how quickly that $5 million—worth a total of $10 million in security improvements with the local matches—got out to school districts.
Those state grants? They ranged from $1,043 to Healy School District 468 to $922,613 for Wichita School District 259. Total applications were for more than $13 million, so the grants were pared down, to a maximum of $18.30 per pupil in the district.
Now, there are districts which will want this kind of state aid in the future, and if this first $5 million program’s success is monitored, look for what was a one-time effort to be continued next fiscal year and likely into out-years as well.
It’s a combination of a relatively simple concept—safety for schoolchildren—and the efforts of the State Department of Education moving quickly and efficiently to get that plan executed. Rarely happens in Kansas government.
Look for this successful and inexpensive state effort to be lauded and to be further dissected next legislative session. And that’s where lawmakers have the choice of just funding some more of those grants, or deciding that they want to complicate it, slow it down and take political credit for it.
Things get complicated quickly in the Statehouse. And that’s likely next session…unless lawmakers return to the basic reason for the school security effort. That reason?
“Yet” …
Syndicated by Hawver News Company LLC of Topeka; Martin Hawver is publisher of Hawver’s Capitol Report—to learn more about this nonpartisan statewide political news service, visit the website at www.hawvernews.com
The 21st annual coat drive collections have begun. Coats, hats and gloves in good condition that are outgrown or no longer worn are being accepted.
The greatest need is for children’s sizes, but all sizes are accepted. Donations will be accepted until Oct. 6.
Drop-off locations at both Hays McDonald’s locations, Master Cleaners and Top Notch Cleaners. Apparel also can be taken to any Hays school including through Sept. 28.
“We keep thinking that we are going to have a year where our donations are nothing because everyone has already been through their closets but, 21 years later, we still keep getting them in,” said Amy Smith of Top Notch Cleaners.
There are no income requirements for receiving coats — anyone in need can receive one.
Coats will be distributed from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Oct. 13 at Top Notch Cleaners and Master Cleaners. Those businesses will clean and repair items before distribution.
“If people want a kid’s coat, they need to be here before 10 a.m. on the 13th because all of the kid’s coats are gone within the first hour,” Smith said.
All items donated will be given away and any leftovers will go where they are needed most.
Disasters such as the tornadoes that have hit our area have been significant news stories in the past few years. Now, the devastation from Hurricane Lane in Hawaii or the wildfires in California have our attention.
There is an excellent publication from K-State Research and Extension titled, “Get Financially Prepared: Take Steps Ahead of Disaster.” One of the authors speaks from the heart since she was a resident in Greensburg when that tornado struck.
Think about it – if you had only a few moments to evacuate your home, would you have access to the cash, banking services and personal identification needed to conduct your day-to-day financial life? Consider keeping the following items in a secure place in your home, in a waterproof, fireproof container that can be taken with you at a moment’s notice.
Create a “Grab-and-Go Box” that contains the following:
Identification and other key documents that may be needed to restore your financial records, including copies of your driver’s license, passports, social security cards.
Insurance cards, policies, or other proof of insurance coverage.
Household inventory
Immunization records
Bank account numbers, cash
Copies (front and back) of ATM, debit and credit cards
Phone numbers and account information for all financial service and insurance providers
Important telephone numbers (family members, doctors, veterinarians)
Names and prescription numbers for medications
Extra pair of glasses
Infant formula and diapers
Sleeping bag or blanket along with a complete change of clothes and sturdy shoes
Personal hygiene items
Books, games, and activities for children
Safe deposit box key
Pocket notebook and pen or pencil
If family records like birth, marriage and death certificates, wills, deeds, contracts, stocks and bonds, and titles to vehicles are not kept in a safe deposit box, these should also be kept in your grab-and-go box.
The publication includes additional tips on what to do after a disaster strikes. The importance of documenting the disaster and keeping receipts from purchases related to the disaster such as lodging, food, and clothing cannot be overemphasized.
Hopefully you will not need the information in this Extension publication but feel free to stop by either office (Great Bend or Hays) in the Cottonwood Extension District and pick up a copy.
Donna Krug is the District Director and Family & Consumer Science Agent with K-State Research and Extension – Cottonwood District. You may contact her at the Great Bend office, 1800 12th Street, (620)793-1910 or [email protected]
