The Barton Community College Theatre Department will hold open auditions for its fall production “Ah Wilderness!” from 4-7 p.m. Aug. 23 and 24 in the Fine Arts Auditorium. Those wanting to audition can show up anytime during the allotted hours on either night. The Theatre Department will be casting all roles and all technical positions. No preparation is necessary and all are invited to audition.
“Ah Wilderness!,” is a coming of age story during the turn of the century on the fourth of July in 1906. The story’s main plot follows Richard, who is almost 17, having his heart broken. This comedy is both heartwarming and romantic. The play was successful when it premiered on Broadway in 1933 and has since become a recurring staple in the theatre community.
KANSAS CITY, Kan. (AP) — A Kansas woman who says a misdiagnosis led doctors to remove parts of her organs and then cover up the mistake is suing the University of Kansas Hospital over her treatment.
Wendy Ann Noon Berner, of Shawnee says in her lawsuit that she didn’t learn about the misdiagnosis until reading media reports about a whistleblower lawsuit filed by a pathologist who raised concerns about the case and wanted to inform Berner.
KCUR reports Berner’s lawsuit, filed Tuesday in Wyandotte County District Court, accuses the hospital in Kansas City, Kansas, of fraud, negligence and civil conspiracy.
Spokesman Dennis McCulloch said the hospital is limited in what it can say in response to the lawsuit but believes its physicians and staff acted appropriately.
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – The former chief financial officer of a Kansas City company pleaded guilty in federal court Friday to embezzling more than $6.5 million from his employer, according to Tom Larson, Acting United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri.
Douglas Ferrell, 34, of Kansas City, waived his right to a grand jury and pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Brian C. Wimes to a federal information that charges him with wire fraud and money laundering.
Ferrell began working for Scarbrough International at its headquarters in Kansas City, Mo., in 2005 as an account representative and became the company’s chief financial officer in 2012. Scarbrough International is a privately owned, U.S. Customs Broker and international freight forwarder.
By pleading guilty, Ferrell admitted that he embezzled approximately $6,523,742 from the company for his own use and enjoyment. From Sept. 1, 2006, to June 10, 2014, Ferrell engaged in a scheme to embezzle company funds by making unauthorized personal charges to the company’s credit card and PayPal accounts, and then using company funds to pay those charges.
Ferrell also made a number of financial transactions of funds that he knew were the proceeds of fraud, including a $650,000 wire transfer (that contained at least $475,625 in fraud proceeds) to Cayman National Bank in the Cayman Islands to purchase a beach house. Ferrell wired a total of more than $2,250,000 to purchase that property. Ferrell also used embezzled funds to ship furnishings from the United States for the property and for additional construction and improvements to the property, including over $77,000 in payments to a Cayman Islands tile company. After the improvements, paid for with additional embezzled funds, the property was valued at over $2.6 million.
The final amount of restitution will be determined at Ferrell’s sentencing hearing, but is estimated to be $1,940,462 due to Ferrell’s partial repayment of restitution. The company has recouped a significant portion of its loss.
Under federal statutes, Ferrell is subject to a sentence of up to 30 years in federal prison without parole. The maximum statutory sentence is prescribed by Congress and is provided here for informational purposes, as the sentencing of the defendant will be determined by the court based on the advisory sentencing guidelines and other statutory factors. A sentencing hearing will be scheduled after the completion of a presentence investigation by the United States Probation Office.
The Shafer Gallery will host an opening reception for its upcoming exhibit “ZWEYGARDT” from 6-8 p.m. Aug. 11 at the Shafer Gallery. “ZWEYGARDT” features sculptures created from various materials by Kansas native Glenn Zweygardt. The reception will feature refreshments and a gallery talk by Shafer Gallery Director Dave Barnes.
Zweygardt was born and raised in St. Francis, located in northwest Kansas. He grew up on the family farm which has a rich history originating in the 1880’s. Zweygardt still owns the family farm along with his sister to this day. Growing up on a farm, his dad taught him arc welding at an early age to help with repairs. Later in life, the skill of arc welding would become a great asset for his artwork. Zweygardt attended Wichita State University (WSU) where he received a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Sculpture and Painting. From his time at WSU, he concluded his passion lay with sculpture and began to chase his dream with encouragement from his mentor.
“One pivotal person in Kansas was Mira Merriman who was the Professor of Renaissance Art at Wichita State University,” Zweygardt said. “She was very helpful in helping me decide to become a sculptor.”
With the portfolio he developed, Zweygardt was accepted at multiple schools in the east but settled on the Rinehart School of Sculpture at the Maryland Institute College of Art earning a Masters of Fine Arts in Sculpture.
For more than40 years, Glenn has been an active sculptor and educator. With more than 50 solo exhibitions and multiple purchase awards to his name, he shows works both nationally and internationally. In 2007 he retired from his position as the Professor of Sculpture at the New York State College of Ceramics at Alfred University and was named Professor Emeritus. Zweygardt continues to sculpt, now as a full-time artist out of his studio in Alfred Station, N.Y. His creations of steel, ductile iron, stainless steel, cast glass, cast bronze and aluminum are often combined with stone from around the world. His sculptures range from monumental outdoor works to small, intimate pieces.
Barnes said he is excited for the opportunity to showcase the native Kansan’s work.
High Plains Stories Remembered by Glenn Zweygardt.
“The thing is, Zweygardt’s art seems so simple at first, almost childlike,” Barnes said. “Upon reflection, there is a wonderful surreal tension between Zweygardt’s seemingly spontaneous, sometimes ephemeral, forms and his use of memorialized materials such as bronze and stone. It is a pleasure to experience such confident conception and execution knowing the career-long struggle it represents. We are pleased to have work of such merit and sophistication in the Shafer Gallery and grateful that Ron Micheals and the Sandzen Gallery in Lindsborg invited us to help share it with the folks of central Kansas.”
When looking at Zweygardt’s art, the viewer will notice both organic and geometric forms within his sculptures. With his use of stone, metal, and glass the organic factors are intensified creating a complex idea. This is then balanced with simpler geometric forms providing a sense of stability. These forms in some pieces help to create an homage to growth. This homage, however, isn’t the theme of his artwork.
“The theme of my sculpture is the placement of myself in relation to nature. While working in materials such as metal, stone and glass, I am telling three-dimensional stories that capture my life experiences immersed in my perception of a collective consciousness,” Zweygardt said. “It is my intention that these stories, spoken through an expression of form, texture and color, will enter into human consciousness and the fourth dimension.”
RENO COUNTY– Fire crews are working to determine the cause of a Saturday morning fire at a home in Hutchinson.
Just before 6a.m., the Hutchinson Fire Department responded to 715 East 5th for a report of a structure fire, according to a media release.
On arrival, crews located a man with multiple lacerations that he sustained after escaping the fire by breaking out a bedroom window and crawling out of the structure. Reno County EMS responded to provided additional aid to the victim.
Additional fire crews then located and contained the fire to the room of origin. Significant heat and smoke damage were sustained to the rest of this single-story home.
Initial crews reported that there were no working smoke detectors in the residence. Battalion Chief Rex Albright states that “yet this is an all too frequent occurrence in a home with no smoke alarms” With today’s home furnishings being produced with plastics and synthetics, fires burn hotter and faster than previous years. In fact, reports show that you only have 3 minutes to escape a fire after your smoke alarm sounds.
Hutchinson Fire was assisted at the scene by Hutchinson Police Department, Reno County EMS, Kansas Gas and Westar Energy.
Heartland Cancer Center and Central Care Cancer Center are teaming up to organize the second annual Relay For Life 5-Kilometer Run/Walk for September 16 to benefit Barton County Relay for
Life, which supports the American Cancer Society.
The professionally timed event will start and finish at Veterans Memorial Park in Great Bend. Registration opens at 7 a.m., with a shotgun start at 8 a.m. Medals will be awarded in six age groups to the top three finishers, with prizes given for the top male and female finishers overall.
Age groups are: 12-Under; 13-to-18; 19-to-25; 26-to-35; 36-to-49; 50-Over.
“Our event is the perfect motivator to staying physically active and at the same time helping us with our initiative to fight against cancer,” said race director Michelle Robinson. “We encourage people to come out and enjoy a fun early fall morning among friends and family members as we battle this disease together.”
Registration is $25 prior to September 1, which includes an event t-shirt. On September 1, registration increases to $35 per person with t-shirt sizes not guaranteed. Walk-in registration will also be available on the day of the race.
NEOSHO COUNTY- A Kansas man died in an ATV accident just after 8p.m. Saturday in Neosho County.
The Kansas Highway Patrol reported a Polaris ATV driven by Trustin L. Maurer, 21, Galesburg, was traveling up hill on private property at 7635 Pratt Road five miles south of Erie.
The driver turned the wheel as passenger Jonah L. DeMeritt, 21, Erie was trying to exit the vehicle.
The ATV rolled onto its right side and hit DeMeritt. He was transported to Via Christi in Pittsburg where he died. Maurer was not injured, according to the KHP.
SEREGNO, Italy – Kansas men’s basketball flexed its muscle in another sweltering venue in defeating the Players Group 99-71 at Palasport Enrico Somaschini just north of Milan Saturday evening.
With temperatures once again 100-plus degrees during the day, the non-air conditioned venue did not play a factor for KU in defeating the Players Group, a collection of Italian professionals, for the second-straight game. The win improved KU to 3-0 on its current tour, 82-9 all-time in exhibition contests, winning its last 23 exhibition contest dating back to 2012.
Kansas used solid second and third quarters in deciding the 28-point victory. The Jayhawks amassed 24 assists on 35 field goals for the game and forced 27 turnovers which KU converted into 25 points.
KU junior Lagerald Vick was named the most valuable player of the game after scoring a game-high 18 points on 8-of-10 shooting with four rebounds, three assists and two steals. Sophomore guard Malik Newman added 13 points, while K.J. Lawson scored 11 and senior Devonte’ Graham added 11. Playing without sophomore center Udoka Azubuike, who was not feeling well and did not make the trip to Seregno, freshman forward Billy Preston stepped up to score nine points and pull down a team-high seven rebounds. Sophomore forward Mitch Lightfoot also assisted in the post with eight points and five rebounds.
Kansas will conclude its four-game Italy tour against a different Italian All-Star team comprised of professionals on Sunday, Aug. 6, at 7 p.m. local, noon Central, in the same location as today’s game in Seregno. The Jayhawks will tour Milan Sunday morning before playing its game.
Kansas’ private tuition tax credit program doubled in size in the 2016-2017 school year and appears likely to expand again after lawmakers voted to enhance it this session.
During the 2016-2017 school year, 205 Kansas students received about $690,000 in combined scholarship funds to attend private schools instead of their local public schools. CREDIT WLADYSLAW / WIKIMEDIA-CC
More than 200 children from low-income families received scholarships to attend private schools in northeast Kansas and Wichita during the fledgling program’s third year in existence. However, it only was the second year in which children actually received scholarships, because it took private schools time to set up the program.
The private school tax initiative passed into law under a conservative-controlled Legislature in 2014, raising hackles among some moderate and liberal lawmakers who saw it as diverting tax revenue to private and religious schools or as fiscally impractical given an ongoing lawsuit against the state’s K-12 funding.
Advocates of school choice — a movement that promotes alternatives to local public schools with the aim of prodding overall improvement of the K-12 sector by injecting competition — see potential to level the playing field for low-income families.
The program could grow again in its fourth year. Wichita Catholic schools have signaled plans to participate, and in June the Legislature loosened statutory restrictions in hopes of spurring greater fundraising.
The program works by allowing donors to fund scholarships in return for a deduction from certain types of tax bills, worth 70 percent of the value of their donation.
Source: Annual fundraising & scholarship disclosure forms filed with KSDE Created with Datawrapper
During the 2016-2017 school year, 205 students received about $690,000 in combined scholarship funds to attend private schools instead of their local public schools. Of these, 189 attended accredited Catholic schools in northeast Kansas — primarily in Kansas City and Topeka, but also in Leavenworth, Shawnee and Ottawa. Sixteen attended an unaccredited Christian school called Urban Prep Academy in Wichita.
A year earlier, 99 students received scholarships to attend northeast Kansas Catholic schools and 10 attended Urban Prep.
So far, families are primarily using the program to leave Kansas City Kansas Public Schools and Topeka Public Schools.
The information comes from annual fundraising and scholarship disclosure forms submitted to the state each summer by fundraising organizations affiliated with the private schools.
Celia Llopis-Jepsen is a reporter for the Kansas News Service, a collaboration of KCUR, Kansas Public Radio and KMUW covering health, education and politics. You can reach her on Twitter @Celia_LJ.
KANSAS CITY, MO -Saturday’s game between the Royals and Seattle Mariners has been postponed due to rain.
The game will be made up as part of a traditional doubleheader on Sunday afternoon, with the first game beginning at the regularly scheduled time of 1:15 and the second game to start within 30 minutes of the completion of game one.
Pre-game coverage begins at 12:30 on 1590 KVGB and 97.7 FM.
The Barton Community College Theatre Department will hold open auditions for its fall production “Ah Wilderness!” from 4-7 p.m. Aug. 23 and 24 in the Fine Arts Auditorium. Those wanting to audition can show up anytime during the allotted hours on either night. The Theatre Department will be casting all roles and all technical positions. No preparation is necessary and all are invited to audition.
