As the Golden Belt is expecting temperatures near freezing in the foreseeable future, the Great Bend City staff is still thinking outdoors and baseball.
The Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference will again hold their baseball and softball tournaments at the Great Bend Sports Complex at the end of April.
The City’s Community Coordinator Christina Hayes felt the town and staff wowed the KCAC last year.
Christina Hayes Audio
One of the biggest draws for the KCAC was the ability to play both the baseball and softball tournaments simultaneously at the same location in Great Bend. Hayes mentioned she is once again looking for ambassadors to welcome the teams to Great Bend.
Christina Hayes Audio
This year’s KCAC baseball and softball tournaments run from April 29th through May 3rd.
HUTCHINSON, Kan. — A suspect in a Ford County murder made a court appearance in Reno County on Wednesday.
Victor Gutierrez, 26, entered guilty pleas to criminal possession of a firearm and felony flee and elude.
Gutierrez was arrested on U.S. 50 east of Hutchinson in September after a high-speed chase.
Authorities believed he was involved with the murder of 30-year-old Natasha Pruitt. She was found dead of a gunshot wound at her Dodge City residence.
In addition to the murder charge, Gutierrez is also charged with aggravated endangerment of a child, criminal possession of a firearm by a felon and defacing identification marks of a firearm.
A charge of possession of cocaine against him was dismissed.
WICHITA— Sedgwick County Sheriff officials have identified the victim of Sunday’s homicide in the 3900 block of East 69th North.
In a media release, officials reported the victim is 56-year-old Dale A. Childress of Tulsa.
He is a black male according to the sheriff’s office.
An autopsy was conducted on Tuesday and the preliminary cause of death was determined to be a gunshot wound. Evidence indicates the victim was shot at the location where he was discovered.
Law enforcement officials are still seeking assistance in locating anyone who may have traveled in the area on Feb 15, between 5 p.m. and 6 p.m.
The description of the vehicle possibly involved is trying a 2001 to 2005 Buick LeSabre, 4 door, dark in color, possibly dark green.
Sheriff’s officials said the case is complex and they have been conducting numerous investigative activities. Detectives are still following leads and urge anyone with information to contact Sheriff Investigations at 316-660-5300 or Crime Stoppers at 316-267-2111.
This is the first homicide reported in 2015 in the unincorporated area of Sedgwick County.
CAWKER CITY- Three people were injured in an accident just before 8 a.m. on Wednesday in Mitchell County.
The Kansas Highway Patrol reported a 1995 GMC SUV driven by Heather M. Schultz, 34, Cawker City, was southbound on Cawker Lane just east of 120th Road and approaching U.S. 24.
The driver failed to stop at a stop sign. A 2005 Pontiac driven by Breana Justine Riffel, 17, Scandia, hit the GMC on the driver’s side.
Then a 2012 Chevy passenger car struck the Pontiac in the right-rear quarter panel.
Schultz, Riffel, and a passenger in the SUV Lexa Rae Junedalena Adams, 16, Cawker City, were transported to Mitchell County Hospital.
The driver of the Chevy Rhonda Lea Most, 52, Downs, was not injured.
The KHP reported Schultz, Riffle and Adams were not wearing seat belts.
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — The leader of a Kansas commune that received millions of dollars in life insurance payouts from dead members has been convicted of murder in the drowning death of a female member.
A jury on Wednesday found 55-year-old Daniel Perez guilty of first-degree premeditated murder for 2003 death of Patricia Hughes at the suburban Wichita compound that was home to the commune. Her death was considered an accident until 2011, when a woman who was 12 at the time told authorities the death was staged.
He also was found guilty of all 27 other counts, including rape, aggravated criminal sodomy, sexual exploitation of a child and making false information.
Perez testified during the trial that he was innocent of all the allegations.
TOPEKA, KAN. – A father and son from Kansas who launched a global sales and supply network for smokable synthetic cannabinoids – also called synthetic marijuana — and other designer drugs were sentenced Tuesday to federal prison for violating the federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act, according to U.S. Attorney Barry Grissom.
Clark Sloan, 55, Tonganoxie, Kan., was sentenced to 87 months in federal prison. His son, Jonathan Sloan, 34, Lawrence, Kan., was sentenced to 96 months in federal prison. In September 2014, they were convicted in a federal jury trial on 20 counts including one count of conspiracy, two counts of misbranding, 15 counts of mail fraud, one count of smuggling and one count of money laundering.
During trial, prosecutors presented evidence that the men conspired to manufacture and sell designer drugs, including a marijuana substitute called K2 that was named after the second-highest mountain in the world. The business, which began in a shop in Lawrence, Kan., grew to encompass a chain of suppliers, retailers, wholesalers and business associates with locations in Kansas, California, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Oregon, Nevada and Indiana, as well as in other nations including Argentina, Latvia, Germany, Lithuania, the United Kingdom, Ukraine, the Netherlands, Canada, Sweden, Singapore, Thailand and Uruguay. The defendants made at least $3.3 million from the sale of the drugs
Prosecutors presented evidence that Jonathan Sloan was co-owner of two businesses, Persephone’s Journey, a retail store in Lawrence, Kan., and Bouncing Bear Botanicals, ostensibly a wholesaler of herbs and botanical products, with co-defendant Bradley Miller of Wichita, Kan. Bouncing Bear Botanicals was located in the basement of Persephone’s Journey and then moved to a warehouse in Oskaloosa, Kan. Clark Sloan, who was Miller’s brother, developed and monitored the Web site for Bouncing Bear Botanicals and worked in marketing and Internet technologies.
Miller developed recipes for K2 and manufactured it. During trial, prosecutors presented evidence that:
The defendants manufactured and distributed K2 as an “all natural product” but it contained synthetic chemicals called JWH Compounds that mimic the effects of the THC in marijuana. Their products also contained solvents, either the alcohol Everclear or acetone, as well as other additives.
They manufactured and sold at least four types of K2 products: Standard, Citron, Blonde and Summit, with Standard being the least potent and Summit being the most potent, depending on the amount of JWH Compounds that were mixed with herbs.
The defendants manufactured the K2 without quality controls, resulting in inconsistent potencies. They intended K2 products to be smoked like marijuana by recreational drug users, but they falsely referred to K2 products as aromatic incense and falsely labeled them as “not for consumption.”
“Consumers must always be aware that they put their health at risk when they buy drugs from unknown sources online and in stores,” said Catherine Hermsen, Special Agent in Charge, FDA’s Office of Criminal Investigations. “OCI is committed to working to protect the U.S. public health.”
Co-defendant Bradley Miller is set for sentencing March 16.
Grissom commended the Food and Drug Administration, Assistant U.S. Attorney Tanya Treadway and Assistant U.S. Attorney Tony Mattivi for their work on the case.
Legislators are looking to ban the sale of powdered alcohol in Kansas — before it even hits liquor store shelves. “We as an industry want you to go ahead and help us take care of this powdering product before it becomes an issue,” Spencer Duncan, a lobbyist for the Kansas Wine and Spirits Wholesalers Association, told the House Federal and State Affairs committee Tuesday.
The proposed legislation, House Bill 2208, would prohibit the sale of powdered alcohol, known as Palcohol, by licensed liquor stores and distributors.
The powdered alcohol comes in 4- by 6-inch one-shot pouches, and when mixed with water produces alcohol that comes in six varieties: rum, vodka, cosmopolitan, mojito, lemondrop and powderita. The developers of Palcohol hope to begin selling their product this spring.
Last spring, the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) approved Palcohol, but the federal agency later said the approval was issued in error and revoked it because of labeling issues. Rep. Broderick Henderson, a Democrat from Kansas City, said Palcohol should have federal approval before it’s allowed in Kansas.
“I think we need to do something about it, and then probably end up in the near future going back to make sure that was enough regulation,” Henderson said. Phil Bradley of the Kansas Licensed Beverage Association said 24 states are considering banning Palcohol.
Alaska, Delaware, South Carolina, Vermont and Louisiana already have banned it. Proponents of the bill are concerned Palcohol will be slipped unknowingly into drinks or food, increase underage drinking or be snorted like cocaine. It’s also easy to conceal, which raises other concerns for bars, which are responsible for alcohol consumed on site.
“We are very concerned that if it becomes legal, or even if it comes from our surrounding states, that it will start being brought into our establishments and used in an inappropriate manner and will endanger our customers,”
Bradley said. Rep. Steve Brunk, a Republican from Wichita and chairman of this committee, asked if bars were worried about losing revenue from customers who will bring their own Palcohol to mix with free water.
Bradley said the bigger concern is if a bar patron is sold or given four waters in a row and officers find that person inebriated, then hold the location liable although it never provided alcohol.
Dean Reynoldson of Alcoholic Beverage Control said TTB must approve Palcohol before it could be sold in Kansas. During questioning,
Rep. James Todd, a Republican from Overland Park, asked Reynoldson whether ABC would allow sales of Palcohol at liquor stores or distributors that request it.
“If that would occur, then Kansas has the opportunity to not approve that label, and that’s the position that we would take at this time,” Reynoldson said. Reynoldson said the bill would ban Palcohol sales by retailers and distributors but not on-premises locations like bars, clubs or restaurants.
That would require an amendment to the Club and Drinking Establishment Act, which isn’t in the proposed bill. No one testified Tuesday in favor of Palcohol, but Mark Phillips, the Arizona entrepreneur who invented Palcohol, has posted a statement on his website to states considering bans of the product.
The website says those at his company, Lipsmark LLC, are “disheartened” because states aren’t asking Phillips to testify about his product. “Banning powdered alcohol is the most irresponsible action a legislature can take,” according to the statement. The statement also said that because
Palcohol is in high demand, there will be a place for it on the black market if states ban it. Phillips said he developed Palcohol as a convenient way to carry alcohol with him on outdoor hikes and camping trips. Palcohol can be used for industrial or human consumption purposes. This bill only deals with human consumption.
Ashley Booker is a reporter for Heartland Health Monitor, a news collaboration focusing on health issues and their impact in Missouri and Kansas.
One thing that jumped out at Meredith Woolley, M.D., is the spirit of teamwork at St. Rose Health Center.
Dr. Woolley is filling in temporarily at St. Rose until the new full-time physician, Jill Doerfler, M.D., starts her medical practice at St. Rose Family Medicine in March.
“The staff members at St. Rose have been amazingly kind and helpful,” Dr. Woolley said. “I must adjust to an entirely new system, including electronic medical records, and they have been patient and supportive.
“There is certainly a teamwork atmosphere here,” she added.
Dr. Woolley works for Docs Who Care (DWC), which is based in Olathe. DWC has been a partner with rural health-care facilities for more than 20 years.
Meredith Woolley, M.D.
“Docs Who Care is a great organization,” Dr. Woolley said. “I love the concept of being able to come in and help out in providing care for the community. It sometimes gives local providers a break or, as in St. Rose’s case, we are covering between providers.
“In some smaller communities,” she added, “facilities wouldn’t be able to keep their doors open if we didn’t supply interim care. Patients are always so appreciative, even though we understand they would prefer to have their own doctor.”
Dr. Woolley is seeing 10 to 20 patients a day in the family practice clinic. She came to St. Rose in January, and is alternating duties with another DWC physician.
St. Rose Administrator Leanne Irsik noted DWC is a good fit for St. Rose.
“They are allowing us to have a Kansas-licensed family practitioner for a limited time to bridge the gap between providers,” Irsik said. “DWC provides good access to quality care for our patients, while supporting our mid-level providers.”
St. Rose continues to recruit for additional primary-care doctors in family medicine and internal medicine.
“Dr. Doerfler will arrive in March and we hope to expand the team with a few more additions during the next year,” Irsik commented.
Gary Morsch, M.D., DWC founder and president, said his organization is pleased to be serving St. Rose patients during this time of transition.
“We are privileged to serve the wonderful community of Great Bend,” Dr. Morsch said. “We take pride in partnering with only the highest level of quality health-care providers. Our team is enjoying becoming acquainted with the people of central Kansas. We think they will enjoy meeting our team too.”
St. Rose specializes in primary care, and prevention and wellness. Services include St. Rose Family Medicine & Urgent Care, Great Bend Internists, imaging, infusion clinic, WellnessWorks, one-day surgical procedures, Golden Belt Home Health & Hospice and a comprehensive Specialty Clinic. St. Rose is co-owned by Hays Medical Center and Centura Health.
The Great Bend Recreation Commission has some great programs for your child to participate in on February 27th when school is out for the day. Pre-registrations are required by February 20th. Wild in the Winter Kids Day Out: Join Jean Aycock, KWEC/KDWPT Educator, as we learn all about how wild animals survive the worst Kansas can throw at them, from keeping warm to finding food. Please drop off and pick up your children at the Activity Center (2715 18th St.). Students will be bused to and from the KWEC by USD 428. This program will be held on Friday, February 27th, from 9:00 am – 4:00 pm and is for children ages 6 to 12.
We’re also offering a Babysitters Training course for children ages 11 – 15 from 9:00 am – 5:00 pm at the Great Bend Recreation Commission (1214 Stone St.) on Friday, February 27th. This course gives participants the knowledge, skills and confidence to care for infants through school-aged children. Topics include safety issues, preventing injuries and illness, basic child care, first aid, rescue breathing, care for choking and age appropriate behavior.
For more information about other exciting programs or to register for these programs, contact the Recreation Commission office at 793-3755 ext 2, stop by the office located at 1214 Stone Street, or e-mail recreation@gbrc.kscoxmail.com.
At 1:30 a.m. Evon Gallant at 1701 Morton Street reported Howard Berry had a nosebleed that he couldn’t stop. He was taking him to Clara Barton Hospital in Hoisington.
Seizures
At 5:58 a.m. David Leroy at 81 SW 10 Avenue reported a 26-year old male actively seizing and has been having them every five minutes.
As the Golden Belt is expecting temperatures near freezing in the foreseeable future, the Great Bend City staff is still thinking outdoors and baseball.
