(AP) — Did you get up early to start your holiday shopping? Many shoppers started spending on Thanksgiving.
Early numbers aren’t out yet on how many shoppers headed to stores on Thanksgiving. But it’s expected that more than three times the number of people who shopped on Thanksgiving went out to shop Friday.
Some shoppers in Kentucky fought over a place in line for an opportunity to find bargains.
While retailers are dealing with Black Friday crowds, Midwest Energy crews are working to help customers avoid Blackout Friday.
Midwest spokesman Mike Morley said ice and wind have led to up to 1,000 customers in the Great Bend and Kinsley areas being without power.
“There’s a quarter to half-inch of ice on the lines” he said. “All it takes is a little bit of wind.”
With the wind blowing 10 to 20 mph in the areas of the outages, Morley said the “galloping” effect is causing the disruption (see video).
The outages have been reported from Stafford, Barton, Russell and Edwards counties — and Great Bend-based crews have been working since 4:30 p.m. Thanksgiving Day to restore power.
“Every single person in the Great Bend district that is available is out on the roads right now,” Morley said. “We’re getting to them just as quick as we can … fighting wind and fighting the weather.”
Adding to the rush is the fact that repaired circuits are repeatedly going down, forcing crews to “chase the outages” being repeated in the same areas.
TOPEKA–Kansas Governor Sam Brownback has proclaimed Nov. 28 as “Small Business Saturday” in Kansas to highlight the importance of small businesses to the state’s economy.
“Small businesses are vital to our state’s economy, employing nearly 70 percent of all working Kansans,” said Governor Brownback. “Shopping locally is a great way to help your neighbors and friends who own these small businesses and who create opportunities in your communities. I encourage everyone to support the small businesses in their communities, both this Saturday and throughout the holiday season.”
Small Business Saturday celebrates small businesses across the nation and encourages people to “shop small” on what is traditionally the busiest shopping weekend of the year.
Kansas joins a nationwide effort to highlight small businesses. This is the sixth annual Small Business Saturday observance, which was started by American Express as a day dedicated to supporting small businesses on one of the busiest shopping weekends of the year.
National Federation of Independent Business/Kansas State Director Dan Murray said supporting small businesses during the holidays pays dividends throughout the year. NFIB/Kansas is the state’s largest small-business association.
“Instead of getting up early on Black Friday to fight over parking spaces at large chain stores, people looking for something unique in a more relaxed shopping environment should support Small Business Saturday,” Murray said. “It is a great opportunity for holiday shoppers to support their local communities.”
WASHINGTON – Congressman Tim Huelskamp signed on to a letter this week urging House leadership to block implementation of the Waters of the United States (WOTUS) rule by not funding its implementation in the upcoming spending bill.
For years, Huelskamp has been fighting the rule, an unprecedented effort to expand its regulation and control over all waters in our nation, well beyond the limits established by Congress.
“WOTUS is and always has been an attempted power grab, broadening the scope of federal jurisdiction to every farm pond and prairie puddle – with enormous consequences on people across the country.
“Since President Obama and Senate Democrats are dismissive of the harm this would cause to Kansas and other states, the House of Representatives must flex its Constitutional muscle and refuse to fund this overreaching EPA regulation.”
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP and Post) — The general manager of the World Series champion Royals is helping with an annual Christmas tradition in Kansas City.
On Friday night, Dayton Moore will join Kansas City Mayor Sly James in lighting a 100-foot tall Douglas fir in front of Crown Center. Called the Mayor’s Christmas Tree, it draws public attention to a nonprofit organization that helps the needy during the holidays.
The lighting is scheduled to take place at 5:30 p.m.
The ceremony comes less than a month after an estimated 800,000 people crowded downtown Kansas City for a parade to celebrate the Royals’ first World Series championship in 30 years.
Charles C. Haynes is director of the Religious Freedom Center of the Newseum Institute.
The horrific terrorist attacks of recent weeks have brought out the worst — and the best — in the American character.
First, the worst: Attacks on Muslims have spiked significantly across the country. A number of American Muslims have been assaulted, including a pregnant woman in San Diego. Others have been harassed and intimidated. At least seven mosques have been vandalized, shot at or threatened.
In this growing climate of fear, Syrian refugees fleeing violence and oppression have become scapegoats in the frustrating, seemingly endless war on terror.
A majority of governors have announced that the refugees would not be welcome in their states and at least one, Gov. Mike Pence of Indiana, has already turned away a Syrian family that had been thoroughly vetted for three years (fortunately, Connecticut stepped up to take them in).
On the Republican primary campaign trail, Jeb Bush and Ted Cruz called for a Christians-only admission policy for Syrians and Ben Carson compared refugees to “rabid dogs.” Not to be outdone, Donald Trump made incendiary comments suggesting that, if elected, he would close mosques and establish a registry of American Muslims.
Meanwhile, David Bowers, democratic mayor of Roanoke, Virginia, suggested that the government “sequester” Syrian refugees in the same way it did Japanese Americans during World War II. Bowers later tried to walk back his comments by apologizing “to those offended by my remarks.”
Fear and prejudice appear to be a winning message. According to a recent poll, 54% of Americans oppose President Obama’s plan to admit just 10,000 Syrian refugees — a tiny fraction of the more than 4 million people displaced by the violence in Syria.
Even more disheartening — to me at least — another poll finds that 30% of Republican voters in Iowa want Islam to be illegal in the United States. So much for the First Amendment.
No American can argue with the need to keep our country safe. But banning Syrian refugees is not the right strategy. Applying for refugee status is the least likely way would-be terrorists would choose to enter the United States, according to homeland security experts. The vetting process takes as long as two years before they can step on American soil and involves some 20 layers of intensive background checks and screenings.
According to data from the Migration Policy Institute, some 784,000 refugees have been resettled in the U.S. since 9/11. Only three people within that population have been arrested for activities related to terrorism (two were caught trying to leave the country to join terrorist groups overseas). None of the three were Syrian.
Instead of passing laws designed to make it nearly impossible for Syrian refugees to enter the country, Congress should focus on tightening the visa waiver program that allows people from 38 countries to enter the U.S. without a visa. Under the current rules, French and Belgian nationals — like those implicated in the Paris attacks — can enter the U.S. without a visa.
A bipartisan bill to reform the visa process will be introduced next week by Sen. Jeff Flake, R-Arizona and Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-California.
Fortunately, fear and fear mongering have not been the only American responses to Muslims and Syrian refugees since the spate of terrorist attacks in Paris, Beirut and elsewhere.
Religious groups — including many faith-based organizations that work with the government to resettle refuges in America — are speaking out forcefully against efforts to bar Syrian refugees from entering the country.
“Of course we want to keep terrorists out of our country,” said Leith Anderson, president of the National Association of Evangelicals, “but let’s not punish the victims of ISIS for the sins of ISIS.”
Last week, major Jewish groups sent a joint letter to Congress strongly supporting Syrian refugee resettlement, reminding lawmakers of the shameful chapter in U.S. history when our government refused entry to the S.S. St. Louis, sending over 900 Jewish refugees back to Europe, where many died in concentration camps.
As we debate proposals to bar Syrians, it is worth recalling that the United States could have saved thousands of Jews from the Nazis, but our government — supported by public opinion — rejected entreaties to accept Jews, including Jewish children. Anti-Semitic religious and political leaders swayed public opinion by railing against the “Jewish menace” and warning of “Jewish communists” seeking to infiltrate the country.
Of course, no refugee resettlement program is completely risk-free, no matter how robust the vetting process. But the far greater risk is to turn our backs on desperate people, condemning them to refugee camps (or worse) — places that can become breeding grounds for extremism.
Given the scope of the current crisis, the president’s plan to admit 10,000 Syrian refugees seems painfully small. (By contrast, the French have agreed to accept 30,000 — even in the wake of the Paris attacks.) But in the name of our common humanity, we must at least do that much.
Of course, we can’t save everyone. But by opening our nation’s arms as wide as possible, we may yet save the soul of America.
Charles C. Haynes is vice president of the Newseum Institute and executive director of the Religious Freedom Center. [email protected]
Manhattan’s newest residents, a pair of 8-year-old Malayan tiger brothers, Malik and Hakim. The animals will be on exhibit starting Saturday, December 12. Photos courtesy of Cincinnati Zoo.
MANHATTAN, Kan. (AP) — The zoo in Manhattan has two new stripped additions.
The Manhattan Mercury reports that they’re two Malayan tigers named Malik and Hakim. The 8-year-old brothers come from Cincinnati and arrived at the Sunset Zoo earlier this month. They’ll go on display Dec. 12 after the standard quarantine process is complete.
Zoo director Scott Shoemaker says the zoo is “thrilled” to reconnect the Manhattan community to the “gorgeous big cats.” There also are plans to modernize their home.
The zoo’s previous tiger, Bob, died in the spring of 2014.
FINNEY COUNTY – A Kansas man died in an accident just before 5p.m. on Thanksgiving Day in Finney County.
The Kansas Highway Patrol reported a 1998 Ford pickup driven by Joyce L. Maas, 46, Garden City, was eastbound on U.S. 50 one mile east of Big Low Road.
The pickup hit a patch of ice, went into the median and rolled.
The front seat passenger Josh Maas, 23, Garden City, was not wearing a seat belt, was ejected and struck a 2006 Lincoln driven by Lucia Watie 46, Ulysses.
Josh Maas was transported to St. Catherine Hospital where he died.
Another passenger in the pickup Daniel R. Maas. 16, Garden City, was also transported to St. Catherine Hospital.
Watie and five passengers in the Lincoln were not injured.
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — More homeless people are without a place to sleep in Wichita.
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development data shows that the number and percentage of homeless in Sedgwick County without shelter has roughly doubled over the past eight years. The Wichita Eagle (https://bit.ly/1Xu71nI) reports that about 100 homeless people, or 17 percent, lack shelter in the county.
New data shows that Sedgwick County is one of the best counties in the nation for providing shelter to homeless family members. But the problem is getting worse when it comes to providing shelter to homeless individuals.
The increase in homeless people without shelter is almost entirely single individuals. The study shows that the 150 homeless family members, which make up about a quarter of the homeless in Wichita, all have shelter.
GEARY COUNTY – A Kansas woman was injured in an accident just before 4:30 p.m. on Thanksgiving Day in Geary County.
The Kansas Highway Patrol reported a 2012 Nissan Altima driven by Samantha May Hurst, 20, Clay Center, was westbound on Interstate 70 a mile west of Junction City.
The driver lost control due to the wet road. The vehicle went across the median and slid into the south ditch.
A private vehicle transported Hurst to Geary Community Hospital.
She was wearing a seat belt at the time of the accident, according to the KHP.
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — The governor’s Christmas tree has arrived at Cedar Crest on a horse-drawn coach.
The Topeka Capital-Journal (https://bit.ly/1IkgOG2 ) reports that Gov. Sam Brownback hopped on the high-wheel hitch wagon for the final leg of the delivery. He shouted “Merry Christmas” and “Happy Thanksgiving” after jumping from the wagon in front of the governor’s mansion.
Brownback and his wife, Mary, said the tradition stirred memories of past family outings to secure a holiday tree.
The wagon loaded with the Scotch pine from the Strawberry Hill Christmas Tree farm west of Lawrence was pulled by a pair of Percherons named Bill and Buck. Their owner, Wellsville farmer Robin Dunn, has performed the delivery duty for more than a dozen years.
Dunn says the event “kicks off the Christmas season.”
KANSAS CITY, Kan. (AP) — Authorities have found human remains in Kansas City, Kansas, while investigating the disappearance of a 7-month-old boy.
Police said in a news release that the investigation began after officers responded Wednesday to an armed disturbance. An allegation was made during the investigation that the baby had been missing for “an extended period of time” and was possibly dead at a nearby residence.
While serving a search warrant Thursday tied to the missing baby allegation, human remains were discovered. The human remains haven’t been identified, and no other information was immediately available.
Authorities said the investigation is ongoing. Anyone with information is urged to come forward.
