BOOKED: Antonio Zubia on Great Bend Municipal Court warrant for failure to appear, bond set at $1,000 C/S.

BOOKED: Courtney Veitenhemer on Great Bend Municipal Court warrants for failure to appear, bond of 88 days or $862.50 cash. Warrants with 87 days or $100 cash, 90 days or $3,421.51 cash.

BOOKED: Richard Buess of Great Bend on BTDC case for serve sentence.

BOOKED: John Houp of Great Bend on GBMC warrant for failure to appear, bond set at $250 C/S.

BOOKED: Brandon Maxwell on Central Kansas Community Corrections serve sentence.

BOOKED: Joshua Graves of Great Bend on BTDC warrant for probation violation, bond set at $10,000 cash only and KDOC hold, no bond.

BOOKED: Eric Hellerud of Goodland on HMC case for trespass, bond set at $1,000 C/S or 18-hour OR bond.

BOOKED: Sheena Vasquez of Hoisington on BTDC warrant for failure to appear, bond set at $200 cash only or 48-hour OR bond.

BOOKED: Angela Henkle on Barton County District Court warrant for failure to appear with a bond of $270 cash only.

BOOKED: Gary Waller of Haysville on BTDC case for serve sentence.

RELEASED: Antonio Zubia on Great Bend Municipal Court warrant for failure to appear with a $1,000 C/S through Ace Bail Bonding.

RELEASED: Eric Buckley of Great Bend on GBMC warrant for contempt of court, released by order of the court.

RELEASED: Humberto Rincon to Rice County for their warrant, done with all Barton County charges.

RELEASED: Juan Gardea of Great Bend on BTDC warrant for domestic battery, released to probation by order of the court through Judge Burgess.

RELEASED: Corey Detter of Great Bend on BTDC warrant for distribution, released on a $300,000 OR bond per Judge Burgess.

RELEASED: John Houp on GBMC warrant with a $250 bond through Ace Bail Bonding.

RELEASED: Adam Bailey of Great Bend posted a $10,000 surety bond through Dyn-O-Mite Bail Bonding on BTDC case for possession of methamphetamine, possession of drug paraphernalia and criminal use of a firearm, no headlights.

RELEASED: Andrea Moser on Newton Municipal Court warrant with a $1,000 surety bond through Ace Bail Bonding.

RELEASED: Sheena Vasquez of Hoisington posted a $200 cash bond on BTDC case for failure to appear.

RELEASED: Angela Heckle on BCDC warrant with a $270 cash bond.

The numbers are finally in for the amount of visitors that experienced the Trail of Lights in Great Bend. The figure for 2018 was 2,090 vehicles counted.

Great Bend Community Coordinator Christina Hayes says the number is slightly down from a year before because the City chose to have greeters/counters out just two hours from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. instead of the typical three hours.

Christina Hayes Audio

Greeters were out 26 days with stats accumulated from the Saturday after Thanksgiving to December 22. Of those vehicles counted, 2,029 were from Kansas, 12 from Texas, 10 out of Missouri, and six from Colorado and Oklahoma. Outside of Barton County, the counties most represented in the total was Pawnee County at 92, Stafford at 40, and Reno County shelled out 38.

The greeters were able to collect $3,741 in donations from drivers, money that will go into the new lights and repairs fund.

In 2017, there was 2,450 visitors that viewed the Trail of Lights.

As business owners are well aware of, January and February is renewal time for commercial vehicles, trailers, heavy trucks and farm vehicles. It’s also a busy time for staff in the Barton County Treasurer’s Office who are helping assist business owners get their tags and taxes paid. Tami Johns is a commercial and tax specialist in the Treasurer’s Office and talks about some of the things you will need when coming to the courthouse.

Tami Johns Audio

Johns says just like any other motor vehicle transaction, be sure to have all the documents you need before making the trip to the second floor of the courthouse.

Tami Johns Audio

The deadlines to take care of renewals is February 28th with enforcement beginning on March 1st. Any vehicle over 54,000 pounds will be subject to be required to have heavy tax use form 2290 and current insurance on each vehicle. If you are renewing or tagging a trailer, be sure to bring current insurance on the vehicle that pulls it.

The Barton County Local Emergency Planning Committee will meet on January 29, 2019, at 10 a.m. at the Barton County Courthouse. The agenda will include a presentation by Adam Chriss, Interoperable Communications Training and Communications Specialist, Kansas Division of Emergency Management, concerning resources available to local government, election of Chairperson and Vice-Chairperson, and reports from members.

The main function of the Barton County Local Emergency Planning Committee (LEPC) is to establish and maintain a Hazardous Materials Plan, conduct exercises of the plan and serve as the contact for the Emergency Planning and Community Right to Know Program, often referred to as SARA Title III.  The Barton County LEPC is comprised of representatives from the following groups: elected official; first responders; hospital; community service/civic group; law enforcement; health/medicine/ transportation; fire fighting; environment; communications media; and facilities/industries regulated by SARA Title III.

Individuals may contact Amy Miller, Emergency Management Director, at 620-793-1919 or by email at emermgnt@bartoncounty.org for more information concerning the meeting.

To keep their producers informed, the Great Bend Coop hosts several events throughout the year that help farmers keep up with the latest trends in farm practices and the condition of current crops. Tuesday the Coop hosted Kansas State Wheat and Forage Extension Specialist Romulo Lollato who spoke to producers about the current condition of the 2019 wheat crop in Barton County. Lollato says this years crop is a mixture of wheat that was planted before the heavy rains in September and the wheat that was planted deep into the fall.

Romulo Lollato Audio

It’s the wheat that was planted late that Lollato is concerned about. He says since the plants have not developed many tillers, its winter hardiness is a concern right now.

Romulo Lollato Audio

The next informational meeting hosted by the Great Bend Coop will be Tuesday January 29th from 12:00 pm to 1:00 pm at American Ag Credit in Great Bend. The meeting will deal with climate fieldview and lunch will be served. To RSVP call 620-786-6962 or call the Coop at 793-3531.

KSHSAA Press Release

The Kansas State High School Activities Association has announced that Mark Goodheart has been awarded the National Federation Officials Association (NFOA) Distinguished National Contributor Award. The NFHS selects one individual from across the country to be awarded to this honor each year.

Goodheart is from Bison, Kansas and has been a registered official with the KSHSAA for 46 years. He has officiated basketball, volleyball, baseball and softball during his career. He also officiated collegiate basketball at the small college level for 30 years and worked six national tournaments. Goodheart serves as a league commissioner for three leagues and is a basketball area supervisor for the KSHSAA. He has helped coordinate numerous basketball official clinics and camps and has worked with the Fort Hays State Intramural department in utilizing officials in their program for contests he assigns.

Goodheart has been in the Otis-Bison school system for 38 years and is currently the K-12 principal at Otis-Bison schools.

“The KSHSAA appreciates the contributions Mark has made in helping recruit, retain, train and assign officials in Kansas. Mr. Goodheart has served the youth of Kansas as an official for over 40 years and is very deserving of this recognition,” said KSHSAA Executive Director, Bill Faflick.

The NFHS also recognized twelve other active officials as 2018 State Officials of the Year. These officials have made significant contributions to high school officiating as a KSHSAA registered official.

Baseball – Phil Lombardi, Kansas City

Boys Basketball – John Stous, Holton

Girls Basketball – Jerry Higgins, Hutchinson

Football – Gary Davis, Chetopa

Boys Soccer – Brandon Perry, Topeka

Girls Soccer – Marc Tiemann, Lenexa

Boys Track & Field – Chris Rorabaugh, Ellis

Girls Track & Field – Curtis Conrad, Cheney

Softball – Brian Miller, Wichita

Volleyball – Dave Dover, Leawood

Wrestling – Justin Thaw, North Newton

Gymnastics – Janice Baker, Shawnee

BOOKED: Eric Wade Reed on Rice County District Court warrant for failure to appear with cash bond of $900.

BOOKED: Gina Wiig on Great Bend Municipal Court warrant for failure to appear with a bond of $250 C/S.

BOOKED: Adam Bailey of Great Bend on BTDC case for possession of methamphetamine and possession of drug paraphernalia and criminal use of a firearm, bond set at $10,000 C/S.

BOOKED: Brayden Tyler Powell-Rand on Barton County District Court case for distribution of marijuana and possession of paraphernalia with a bond of $20,000 C/S.

RELEASED: Jacob Hoch to KDOC.

RELEASED: Tina Creamer on a BCDC case after receiving a $20,000 OR with conditions of A&D conditions obey all state, federal, and local laws and stay in the state of Kansas. Stay in contact with attorney.

RELEASED: Gina Wiig on GBMC warrant for failure to appear with a $250 surety bond through Ace Bail Bonding.