TOPEKA (AP) — The Sierra Club has filed a lawsuit against the Kansas Department of Health and Environment challenging permits for a pork facility expansion.
The Topeka Capital-Journal reports that the lawsuit filed Thursday alleges permits issued for the expansion of a Phillips County hog production facility violate state law and set a dangerous precedent by undermining protections for surface water.
The department has decided to allow farmer Terry Nelson to subdivide his existing swine breeding operation into two limited-liability companies, Husky Hogs and Prairie Dog Pork.
The lawsuit accuses the department of authorizing Nelson to elude limits on the number of animals that could be confined in buildings within 250 feet (76.2 meters) of surface water.
The agency declined to comment to the newspaper citing pending litigation.
The stage door to Disney’s “Aladdin” on Broadway, says “A wish on a lamp.”
It wasn’t a wish, but hard work that made Hays native Jacob Gutierrez’s dream come true as he made his Broadway debut in ‘Aladdin’ on May 25. Jacob, 28, son of Mario and Karen Gutierrez, has been cast in the ensemble of “Aladdin.”
“That night when I went on, it was quite overwhelming, and I have to admit there were moments when I completely blacked out. It was all fine because it is in your body, but I remember being in the middle of ‘Prince Ali,’ waving these fans thinking, ‘Where am I?’ There are lights on you. During the opening number, there is this huge men’s dance break, and I looked to my left and saw this guy who is in my cast, Josh, whose costume is purple and Stanley in his yellow costume and I thought ‘What is happening right now? Is this really happening?’ ”
After the performance, Gutierrez talked to his fellow cast members, and they all said the same things happened to them on their debut nights.
“It is pretty overwhelming,” Gutierrez said. “Beyond that, you have a house full of 1,700 people you are looking out at, and every seat is filled. It is a lot. If anything, it is just over stimulating because all of your senses are so elevated because of everything.”
Gutierrez said the musical is very demanding.
“I am in every single group number,” he said. “I am dancing. I am dancing. I am dancing. There is a lot of choreography. It is a very grand show, so every single production number is large and there are many moving parts.”
Gutierrez wears 12 costumes in the show with multiple quick changes. During the opening of Act II during a parade scene, the creators wanted the illusion of 150 people out of 20-member ensemble cast. So every ensemble member in that number has five costume changes.
“That number alone I think I am wearing four pairs of pants all underneath each other that are all quick rigged,” he said. “They switch out my shirts and vest and coats and my hats and my turbans. It is busy. To say I am just in the ensemble isn’t even a thing because the ensemble is such a huge part of the show that we are doing just as much as everyone else is doing in the entire show.”
Gutierrez said his family has been very supportive of his work. He was excited to initially let each of them know he had been cast on Broadway. For someone who had majored in musical theater in college, Broadway is the pinnacle, he said.
“For me, it is a milestone. It is not even the end goal. As actors, your goal is always longevity. You always want to be doing something and putting your hands in different material and different things in commercials or TV shows or musicals on Broadway or national tours or traveling in something.
“The amazing thing is performance can take you many places, and it isn’t linear. It is not like a conventional path. It is very unique to you and unique to what you have to offer the world and the entertainment industry.”
Gutierrez has been involved in music and theater since he was young. He spent three years after college playing Aladdin in a slightly different version of the musical on Disney cruise ships.
He also recently performed in an episode of “A Crime to Remember,” which aired on the Investigation Discovery channel in March. However, he said being cast on Broadway has been the realization of a lifelong dream.
Gutierrez had auditioned for a different part in Aladdin two years ago and did not get the part. He decided to give it another shot.
He went to a large union audition in March, not knowing in what he might be cast. “Aladdin” has several companies touring right now, and Gutierrez initially had a callback for the national tour. He had to go through a series of callbacks, including a recorded audition for Tony-award-winning director Casey Nicholaw, who recently appeared on the Tony’s for his work on “Mean Girls.”
On a Friday, Gutierrez’s agent received word the “Aladdin’s” company had openings and Jacob was in the mix for a part.
“That was torture,” he said. “It was the weekend and everything shut down on Saturday and Sunday. I was out of town. Life goes on. You have to keep going, but I couldn’t help to keep thinking about it. When casting says, ‘Could he be available in a week if we need him?’ your mind starts going down the path— ‘I wonder what it is?’ ‘I wonder what they are looking at?'”
His agent did not call until Tuesday.
“She said I have some good and bad news. I said, ‘OK, what is the bad news?’ She said the bad news is that you didn’t get the ‘Aladdin’ tour. I said, ‘OK, that’s fine.’ I had been in for so many things over those few weeks it could have been anything that the good news was. I didn’t know what she was going to say. She said the good news is you are making your Broadway debut in the same show.”
Gutierrez was home and started screaming. His roommate thought something was wrong and ran out of his room to ask him if he was OK.
When it rains, it pours, Gutierrez said. In the next 24 hours, he booked two more out-of-town shows he had to turn down to take the “Aladdin” part.
“You can go through seasons of dry spells where you audition a lot and are getting close to a lot of things, but the timing or the stars don’t align in that way. You can go months without doing something. When you do get calls that you have an offer, it is so exciting no matter what it is. The fact that I had three in the matter of a day, it was just crazy. It was also a testament to hard work paying off.”
Once he was cast, he had about two and a half weeks to rehearse and learn the complex choreography before he made his debut. He had one dress rehearsal or “put in” with the entire cast before he went on.
He was supposed to debut the night after his dress rehearsal. After rehearsal, he ran down the street to grab a double order of Chinese food. He received a call from the stage manager that the show had cast members out and he was needed that night. He rushed back to the theater to prepare and called his family, who was supposed to see him the next night.
They were able to find tickets and saw his Broadway debut from the fifth and sixth row of the theater.
“It is fast and furious and you really have to be on your game, because there are so many moving parts, ” he said.
Gutierrez credited his early musical education at Hays High School for setting him on a path toward performance.
Gutierrez played saxophone and piano. When he was entering his freshman year, he was going to drop band so he could pursue sports. However, the band teacher, Craig Manteuffel, called him and encouraged him to stay in band. He did.
“Honestly, I credit so much to that moment,” Gutierrez said, “because had I quit music at that point, it would have never opened the door for the choir I joined my sophomore year and moving forward. Looking back to when I was 13 or 14, that was a really pivotal moment in continuing my arts pursuant, because that was what opened up everything else.”
Gutierrez attended Oklahoma City University and moved to New York to pursue is acting dream when he was 22.
Almost all struggling performers have what they call a survival job— a job that supports them but also allows them to audition during the day. Gutierrez said he was very lucky his survival job was working for Mercedes-Benz. He traveled around the country to trade shows teaching people everything there is to know about the vehicles. It was a good job, but it cut into his audition time.
For now Gutierrez is on a rigorous schedule, and he said being on Broadway has been a lifestyle change.
He does eight shows a week plus rehearsals.
“It is really learning to take care of yourself physically,” he said. “When you do repetitive things over and over that are very physically taxing, you have to learn how to take care of your body. For me that’s chiropractic, massage or acupuncture or things that help with soft tissue release or getting physical therapy for little strains that happen here or there. More often than not, it is inevitable, because we are putting our bodies through such extreme circumstances.
“Oftentimes, theater performers or dancers are referred to as professional athletes and that could not be more true. No, I am not on a football field or on a basketball court or playing a sport, but dancing on a steel stage in 12 pounds of costumes eight times a week for three hours a night every night is very much an Olympic sport. It is very grueling on the body if you don’t take care of yourself.”
Gutierrez also said he tries to tend to his mental and spiritual self, and stays centered through his church family in New York.
“It is a whole body, whole world thing,” he said. “You have to be taking care of yourself as a whole person.”
If you are going to be in New York, check out the show’s website here.
Five families living just outside the Hays city limits east of 27th and Canterbury will soon have access to city water.
Because of failing private water wells, they requested to become city customers and will pay $62,328 for extension of water service on east 27th.
“They’re still experiencing declining water levels,” Director of Water Resources Jeff Crispin told city commissioners Thursday night.
The commission approved the sole bid of $54,284 for the project from M&D of Hays.
Cost to each of the five property owners for the three-inch water line is $12,465.60, which includes design/engineering and easements. Crispin said the city has already received the five payments and pre-annexation agreements have been signed.
The water line extension will connect at the south end to an existing dead end line at NCK Tech, 2205 Wheatland Ave.
As a bonus, the water quality at the college will improve.
“We haven’t had any issues with water quality at NCK Tech,” Crispin said. “But connecting the line as part of this project will allow us to do a loop. The service that goes north into the school is a line that stops right there, a dead end line. You always want the water to be looped. That way the water is continuously flowing through that area, providing improved water quality.”
The city has to occasionally flush the dead end line to ensure the sewer doesn’t become stagnant, said Toby Dougherty, city manager. “That’s resulted in wasted water,” he added.
The Ellis County Commission continued working on its 2019 budget in a special meeting Thursday morning at the Ellis County Courthouse.
Despite being halfway through 2018, it appears that the county will have some difficult decisions to make when it comes to 2019. County Administrator Phillip Smith, in a budget preview earlier this month, told the commission the county faces a budget deficit of approximately $645,000 if it does not increase the mill levy.
If the commission raised the mill levy 5/8 of a mill, the most allowed under the tax lid, the budget is still about $400,000 short.
Before the eight department heads presented their budget requests to the commission on Thursday, Commissioner Barb Wasinger said she is not in favor of an increase in the mill levy.
“I think that with the budget in the millions of dollars such as we have, there should be a way that we can cut our budget down to fit and not raise the mill levy,” Wasinger said. “Be fiscally responsible. I think we can do that easily.
“So I will not vote for an increase in any mill levy.”
Among those presenting their budget requests Thursday was Ellis County Attorney Tom Drees.
Ellis County Attorney Tom Drees
Drees told the commission he is asking for an increase of $38,000, with $29,000 of that bringing salaries for assistant county attorneys to the midrange average for salaries in Kansas.
“I know that the county has done an outstanding job getting employees up to midrange. We need to share in that also,” said Drees.
According numbers presented Thursday by Drees, his office ranked 15 in the number of criminal convictions and civil adjudications in the state in 2017. Ellis County ranks 21st in population.
Drees also presented a statewide comparison of the total number of staff working in each county office and salary comparison.
In fiscal year 2017, Ellis County had five attorneys and six support staff members. Among five counties in similar size to Ellis County, only Harvey County had fewer staff members with 9.5.
Lyon and Finney counties have 19 total staff members. Ford County has 18.
Drees said that Ellis County compares well with Lyon County. Both counties have a four-year institution, a major highway runs through each county and the population is similar. According to Drees, the Lyon County attorney has a budget of $1.9 million while Ellis County budgets $900,000 for the county attorney.
Commissioner Dean Haselhorst said, “That goes to show you’re more efficient.”
Drees also said salaries within the county attorney’s office are below other comparable counties.
According to Drees, the average mid-range salary in comparable counties is about $69,425. Ellis County’s mid-range number is $62,000, about $7,000 difference.
“We’ve held the line on budget … and that’s a good thing,” Drees said. “But we also have to be fair to our employees.”
The rest of the departments that presented on Thursday kept their requests close to their prior year’s request.
County Administrator Phillip Smith-Hanes also presented the county with some good news on Thursday saying that the insurance rates were less than anticipated. He said the weighted average for the county was about 7 percent.
Register of Deeds – 2019 Request: $232,833
Increase of $20,599 from 2018 budget
Sheriff – 2019 Request: $3,825,548
Increase of $40,677 from 2018 budget
Sheriff Ed Harbin said they trimmed approximately $145,000 because they have reduced the number of inmates housed out of county. They are working with the county attorney and the Hays Police Department to reduce the offenders who commit small crimes out of jail.
Courts – 2019 Request: $390,545
Same request of last year
Drug Court – 2019 Request: $30,000
Court officials are preparing to establish a drug court in Ellis County that will serve lower level drug offenders
It will be funded through matching grants but the requested $30,000 will help with startup
Judge Glenn Braun said they had 159 felony drug conviction in Ellis County last year and while not all of them could have gone through Drug Court a large number could have.
Information Technology – 2019 Request: $673,274
Increase of $12,926 from 2018 budget
IT Director Mike Leiker said they are going to be looking at adding a security analyst position in the future. They have set aside money for that position and have pending retirement and plan to reorganize once that retirement takes place.
Health Department – 2019 Request: $618,031
Increase of $86,314 from 2018 budget
Had a $55,208 increase in salaries with the addition of an Advanced Practice Registered Nurse (APRN)
Director of Health Services Kerry McCue told the commission that they are not going the number of patients at the Health Department that they would like to see. McCue said with the addition of an inhouse biller and increased awareness of the services the APRN offers they will see an increase in revenue.
EMS – 2019 Request: $3,109,119
Increase of $172,521 increase from 2018 budget
The salary increases were from negotiations
Emergency Management – 2019 Request: $78,503
Increase of $3,318 from 2018 budget
Communication Center – 2019 Request: $101,500
Decrease of $640 from 2018 budget
Rural Fire – 2019 Request: $591,890
Increase of $4,286 from 2018 budget
Next Generation 911 – 2019 Request: $208,500
Increase of $47,925 from 2018 budget
NG 911 funds come from taxes on cell phone bills. Director of Fire and Emergency Management Darin Myers told the commission that they have collected $215,000 to $220,000 each of the last few years.
NG 911 funds can only be spent to support the 911 infrastructure.
The rest of the of the county department heads will present their budget requests in a special meeting on June 28th.
The Hays City Commission will be selecting a replacement for Commissioner Chris Dinkel at its June 28 city commission meeting.
Persons interested in serving can contact one of the sitting commissioners by Wednesday, June 20. The commission’s contact information can be found at: https://www.haysusa.com/html/city_commission.html.
To be selected, appointed and seated, a person must be a registered voter in the city of Hays.
RUSSELL — Two people were arrested Thursday in Russell on suspicion of drug offenses.
According to the Russell County Sheriff’s Office, a search warrant was executed Thursday morning at 1023 N. Brooks. Following the execution of the warrant, officers arrested Kent L. Nowak and Rebecca S. Neil on suspicion of possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute, possession of marijuana and possession of drug paraphernalia.
The Russell Police Department and Kansas Highway Patrol assisted in the investigation.
As an avowed atheist living in the bible belt, I generally keep my head down. However, the events of the past week have demonstrated loud and clear the immorality of religious thought. Just the other day, I watched talking head after talking head advocate for putting children in concentration camps and using their religious texts to do so.
You can call it hyperbole, but these detention facilities BY DEFINITION are concentration camps. Some will point to the recent media tours of these concentration camps and say “it doesn’t look so bad” but remember that at one time the Red Cross was invited to Terezin to show how well the Jews were treated in their concentration camps.
I keep hearing people say that the law dictates these children be torn from their mothers’ breasts. That’s a lie being told by the propaganda arm of this regime. America used to be the good guys. Because we were the good guys, we didn’t have any laws on the books dictating that we kidnap children and put them in concentration camps because that’s wrong. This is a policy of this regime. It is not a law on the books. This does not have to happen.
I don’t care what your views are on immigration. They are immaterial to this conversation. If you can in any way justify taking innocent children from their parents as a “deterrent” then you are supporting the worst kind of immorality. If you use religious doctrine to support this, you are showing just how damaging religion is to society. You are further adding evidence to the argument that religious belief has no place in a civilized society. The most peaceful and humane countries in the world today are some of the least religious. The more religious a country becomes, the more violent and less humane its people and policies. These are observable facts unchanged by personal belief. I cannot in good conscience teach my children to follow a path that would in any way justify the sorts of policies our government is implementing on the border. Therefore I keep them out of church in order to save their humanity.
The apologists will say that they were taking scripture out of context or that one should look at the other passages that contradict those. I will call your attention to Matthew 7:20 “Therefore by their fruits you will know them.” Children torn from their parents and crying in detention centers are the fruits this religious dedication has produced. That’s enough for me.
If you are disturbed by evil, I encourage you to call your lawmakers and tell them to support the Keep Families Together Act. It is the only moral thing to do.
Sen. Pat Roberts: (202) 224-4774
Sen. Jerry Moran: (202) 224-6521
Rep. Roger Marshall: (202) 225-2715
SATURDAY, JUNE 16th, 10:00 a.m. City Hall Building, Stockton, Ks. Selling: 6 SHOTGUNS, 4 RIFLES, 2 REVOLVERS, KNIFE COLLECTION, CAST IRON AND POST OFFICE DOOR BANKS, ANTIQUE DROP FRONT SECRETARY, 2 WINDMILL WEIGHTS, VINTAGE WIND UP TIN FERRIS WHEEL PLUS OTHER OLD TOYS, HOUSEHOLD, NEW SHOP TOOLS, 2 WACONDA SPRINGS CROCK JUGS PLUS MANY MORE HARD TO FIND ANTIQUES!
Come spend the day with us June 16th to see what all we find for the Auction.
TOPEKA – The Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE), in conjunction with the Kansas Department of Wildlife, Parks and Tourism (KDWPT), has issued public health warnings for Topeka’s Central Park Lake (Pond) and Sebelius (Norton) Lake for the upcoming weekend and week.
If a lake is under a public health warning for blue-green algae, activities such as boating and fishing may be safe. However, direct contact with water (i.e., wading, skiing and swimming) is strongly discouraged for people, pets and livestock. The lakes currently under a public health advisory:
• Warning: Central Park Lake (Pond), Shawnee County
• Warning: Sebelius (Norton) Lake, Norton County
• Watch: Colwich City Lake, Sedgwick County
The watch for Marion County Lake has been lifted.
Lakes under a warning are not closed. Marinas, lakeside businesses and park camping facilities are open for business. If swim beaches are closed, it will be specifically noted. Drinking water and showers at parks are safe and not affected by algae blooms. Boating and fishing are safe on lakes under a warning, but contact with the water should be avoided. It is safe to eat fish caught during a harmful blue-green algae outbreak, if the fish are rinsed with clean water. Only the fillet portion should be consumed, and all other parts should be discarded. Hands should also be washed with clean water after handling fish taken from an affected lake. Zoned lakes may have portions fully open for all recreation even if other portions are under a warning.
Kansans should be aware that blooms are unpredictable. They can develop rapidly and may float around the lake, requiring visitors to exercise their best judgment. If there is scum, a paint-like surface or the water is bright green, avoid contact and keep pets away. These are indications that a harmful bloom may be present. Pet owners should be aware that animals that swim in or drink water affected by a harmful algal bloom or eat dried algae along the shore may become seriously ill or die.
When a warning is issued, KDHE recommends the following precautions be taken:
• Lake water is not safe to drink for pets or livestock.
• Lake water, regardless of blue-green algae status, should never be consumed by humans.
• Water contact should be avoided.
• Fish may be eaten if they are rinsed with clean water and only the fillet portion is consumed, while all other parts are discarded.
• Do not allow pets to eat dried algae.
• If lake water contacts skin, wash with clean water as soon as possible.
• Avoid areas of visible algae accumulation.
KDHE samples publicly-accessible bodies of water for blue-green algae when the agency receives reports of potential algae blooms in Kansas lakes. Based on sampling results, KDHE reports on potentially harmful conditions.
Nearly 45,000 Americans die by suicide each year—an increase of nearly 25% since 1999. No wonder the Center for Disease Control and Prevention calls it a public health crisis. The problem is even worse in Kansas: up 45% in the same time frame. The issue is in today’s headlines due to recent celebrity deaths, including fashion designer Kate Spade, who was from Kansas City.
Michael A. Smith is a Professor of Political Science at Emporia State University.
A recent op-ed by Wichita attorney Blake Shuart exemplifies the traditional approach: suggesting outreach to those at risk, along with increased attention to depression screening and treatment. Others remind readers of the 24-hour suicide prevention hotline: 1-800-273-8255. These are all good, but defining suicide in terms of public health offers still more. Social science shows us that many suicides are preventable, and the means are within reach.
Recent research reminds us just how susceptible we humans are to our environments. We readily, unconsciously adapt our behavior to even the smallest change. This is why nutritionists now eschew dieting, instead recommending environmental changes like shrinking the size of dinner plates, putting food in smaller packages, and not keeping junk food on the counter. Urban planners build narrower roads through neighborhoods, incorporating traffic circles and on-street parking. Drivers respond with slower speeds, perhaps without even realizing it. We political scientists embrace same-day voter registration and voting by mail to boost turnout.
It is time we use these insights to prevent suicides. Small environmental changes can bring big results.
Consider Great Britain’s 1998 law requiring that the pain reliever acetaminophen be packaged in individual blister packs, also limiting the number of tablets per box. Only one box per store can be purchased at a time, but there is no limit on how many can be purchased by going from store to store. Researchers estimate that this small change has saved more than 700 Britons from suicide. Accidental poisoning deaths from acetaminophen have also fallen there.
Critics assert that suicide victims are so depressed, so determined, they will find another way. Here is good news: this is usually not true. A 2010 study by three suicide-prevention experts studied participants who were deterred from completing suicide attempts. Of those receiving no follow-up treatment, 78% did not re-attempt suicide during the study. For those receiving treatment, the numbers were even better—83% did not re-attempt during this time. Prevention expert Jill Harkavy-Friedman told the Washington Post, “In a suicidal crisis, it’s all about time.” She added, “If they get to the bridge and there is a barrier, they’re not going to shift gears.”
What about Kansas? Here, suicides are most commonly committed with guns: four gun-related suicides for each gun-related homicide in the state. Four-fifths of Kansas suicide victims are male. Veterans and blue-collar workers are particularly high risk.
This is not the time to argue about guns. Gun-control advocates need to accept guns as a fact of life in Kansas, while gun-rights supporters must acknowledge the need for proper storage and securing of firearms and ammunition. Measures need not be onerous. Simply slowing down a suicide attempt–putting barriers in the way– can stop a tragedy. It is time to apply this knowledge, and save lives.
Michael A. Smith is a Professor of Political Science at Emporia State University.
