On Wednesday, Barton County emergency crews responded to a one-vehicle accident where the driver fell asleep just southeast of Albert.

According to the accident news release from the Barton County Sheriff’s Office, a 2001 Sterling trash truck driven by Charles Feist, age 54, was eastbound in the 1100 block of Northwest 40 Road when Feist fell asleep at the wheel.

Around 7:50 a.m. Feist drove off the roadway striking a bridge rail and overturned the vehicle on its top. Feist was transported to KU Medical in Great Bend for his injuries.

The Sheriff’s Office was assisted by the Kansas Highway Patrol, Albert Fire Department, and Great Bend EMS.

PAWNEE COUNTY – A Kansas man has waived his right to a preliminary hearing and entered a guilty plea to one count of Attempted First-Degree Murder.

According to a media release from the Pawnee County Attorney, the charge stems from patient on patient attacks October 22, 2018 at the Isaac Ray Building on the campus of Larned State Hospital (LSH).

Two patients sustained great bodily harm requiring transport to outside medical facilities.  One of the patient’s injuries were life-threatening at the time due to severe head trauma.  All individuals involved were at LSH at the time for forensic evaluations related to out of county criminal charges.

Anthony Ruiz-Hernandez, 22 of Topeka, told investigators the attacks were done in part to gain standing in a prison gang.

In exchange for his plea, the State agreed to dismiss two counts of Conspiracy to Commit First Degree Murder and one count of Aggravated Battery, against Ruiz-Hernandez. The Attempted First-Degree Murder carries a maximum penalty of 653 months with the Department of Corrections.

Ruiz-Hernandez is currently being housed on local charges in the Shawnee County Adult Detention Center.  His Sentencing has been scheduled for April 15, 2019.

Co-defendant Andres Gustavo Barrientos, 24 of Leavenworth, is scheduled for Arraignment on March 14, 2019.  He is being housed in the Leavenworth County Jail on local charges

Keeping the animals from escaping from the Great Bend Brit Spaugh Zoo is obviously very important but many people don’t think about the fact that it is also important to keep other animals out.

Great Bend Zoo Curator and Supervisor Sara Hamlin says that raccoons and feral cats can be a big problem if they come into contact with the zoo animals that are housed there.

Sara Hamlin Audio

Great Bend has its share of raccoons that live within the city limits and Hamlin says they can be a problem because they make their visits at night when there is no staff around to record their visit.

They are called study sessions and study they did Tuesday following the regular Barton County Commission meeting agenda. The topic concerned road improvements in the South Homestead Township near Cheyenne Bottoms, specifically a stretch of NE 20 Avenue that crosses land owned by the Nature Conservancy.

The session began with County Engineer Barry McManamon’s power point presentation that identified five different locations on the road that have become almost impassable. Those in attendance included Robert Penner with the Nature Conservancy, South Homestead officials, County Works Director Darren Williams and Barry McManaman. For just over an hour Commissioners heard about the condition of the roads and who was ultimately responsible for the deteriorating condition of the roadway and what could be done about it and who would foot the bill. After all the discussion, Commissioner Alicia Straub was asking the same question over and over again.

Alicia Straub Audio

Penner told the board that the Nature Conservancy had grant money available up to $13,500 to help repair the road but that would be just a small portion of what the cost of the repairs would be. In Barton County, Townships are responsible for maintaining roads and levy taxes to that. Commissioner Jennifer Schartz says since most of the traffic on NE 20 Avenue is accessing Cheyenne Bottoms, it shouldn’t be out of the question for the County to consider chipping in some funds for the repair.

Jennifer Schartz Audio

After all of the discussion, Commissioners instructed Barry McManamon and Darren Williams to put together cost estimates on what the repairs would actually be and bring them back to the board. Schartz suggested at that point a task force made up of several interested parties could be formed to study the issue and come up with a plan that would address long term solutions.

Great Bend Convention & Visitors Bureau Director Christina Hayes says one of the goals for the CVB this year is to partner with the Great Bend Recreation Commission to come up with ways to attract more sports tournaments to town.

Hayes says the City is working on sports marketing to get more tournaments outside of the busy summer at the Great Bend Sports Complex.

Christina Hayes Audio

Along with sports marketing, the City is still putting a strong effort to land conventions and other big events to come to Great Bend. Hayes noted the city was in the top three to receive the U.S. National Aerobatic Championships but missed out on the top pilots.

Great Bend staff is in the final stages of negotiations to bring the 2019 North American Falconers Association (NAFA) conference to town this November. The NAFA website has Great Bend listed as the location for the 2019 Field Meet but Hayes says they are still looking for private land for the falcons to hunt.

Christina Hayes Audio

Hayes says the city staff has answered a few questions to get The League of Kansas Municipalities to choose Great Bend for their 2020 conference. The League’s conference would bring city administrators from across the state for three days.

BOOKED: Dalton Bender of Great Bend on Great Bend Municipal Court case for no driver’s license, no proof of insurance, illegal tag and no turn signal with a bond set at $500 C/S.

BOOKED: Shannon Ybarra of Great Bend on Barton County District Court warrant for failure to appear, bond set at $500 cash only. GBMC warrant for contempt of court, bond set at $487.50 cash only.

BOOKED: Martin Martinez of Great Bend on BTDC warrant for failure to appear with a bond set at $1,500 cash only. Probation violation with bond set at $1,258.32 cash only. GBMC case for domestic battery with a bond set at $1,000 C/S.

BOOKED: Curtis Rosas of Great Bend on a Barber County warrant for failure to appear, no bond.

RELEASED: Dalton Bender of Great Bend on GBMC case for no driver’s license, no proof of insurance, illegal tag and no turn signal after posting a $500 surety bond through Ace Bail Bonding.