BOOKED: Albis Almanzar of Great Bend on Great Bend Municipal Court warrant for failure to appear, bond set at $250 C/S.

BOOKED: Gregory Carey of Great Bend on RCDC warrant for probation violation, bond set at $1,213 cash only.

BOOKED: Estebon Foster on Barton County District Court warrant for failure to appear, no bond.

BOOKED: Neal Baxter of Lyons on BTDC warrant for failure to appear, no bond.

BOOKED: Estebon J. Foster on Barton County District Court warrant for failure to appear, no bond.

BOOKED: Laken Shelor on Great Bend Municipal Court warrant for failure to appear with a bond of $215 cash only.

BOOKED: Michael S. Moore Jr. on Pratt County District Court warrant for theft of a motor vehicle and criminal damage to property with a bond of $20,000 C/S.

BOOKED: Ramiro Palacio of Great Bend on GBMC case for no DL with a bond in the amount of $500 C/S.

RELEASED: Joshua Anderson on a BTDC order for serve sentence.

RELEASED: Robert Crawford of Great Bend on GBMC warrants all for contempt of court after he was released by the order of the court.

RELEASED: Gregory Allen Carey to Rice County.

RELEASED: Albis Almanzar of Great Bend on Great Bend Municipal Court warrant for failure to appear after he posted a $250 surety bond.

RELEASED: Sara Delgadillo on BCDC case with a $10,000 OR bond.

RELEASED: Jeannie Spanke on BCDC case with a $10,000 OR bond.

RELEASED: Joshua Frydendall of Great Bend on BTDC case for probation violation after time served.

RELEASED: Jericho Riddle Jr. on BCDC case with a $100,000 OR bond.

RELEASED: Augustine Estrella on BTDC case for battery x3, and assault x2, after receiving a $500 OR bond by Judge Wiley.

RELEASED: Laken Shelor on GBMC warrant with a $215 cash bond.

RELEASED: Ramiro Palacio on GBMC case for no DL after posting a $500 cash bond.

The City of Great Bend owns real estate located on Southeast 10 Road, just south of and east of the Arkansas River Bridge. This land was acquired in the late 1960s or early 1970s and was formerly occupied by Abram “Leedy” Krause. Krause vacated the real estate in the late 1970s and it has been vacant since that time.

Ivan Perales requested to lease the approximately 8.8 acres on a five-year lease at $500 per year. Perales has a small livestock operation on adjacent land that he wishes to expand.

Attorney Mark Calcara from Watkins Calcara represented Perales at Monday’s Great Bend City Council meeting and stated the lease agreement would be a win for both parties.

Mark Calcara Audio

Beau Brough lives to the east of Perales’ existing piece of land and the property that Perales wants to lease from the City. Brough noted there are approximately 30 goats, at one time, seven horses and four cows on a piece of land less than one acre in size. Brough spoke for other neighbors to the east and noted Perales has already had difficulty keeping this smaller piece of land clean of animal waste.

Beau Brough Audio

No councilmember made a motion to approve the lease agreement, so the motion died.

Great Bend City Attorney Bob Suelter recently found out that the piece of land used to be the city dump that was abandoned in the 1930s. It was mentioned that the land is in rough shape, and Suelter added the City is looking into installing better fencing to prevent citizens from entering.

Other news from the Great Bend City Council meeting Jan. 7…

– Several elementary school students were recognized for their winning essays in D.A.R.E.

– City Administrator Kendal Francis says the City is looking into online bill pay options for utilities.

– Great Bend Chamber of Commerce CEO Jan Peters says Redbarn Pet Products is moving forward with the expansion of a new 85,000 square-foot building at their current location. The $4-$5 million project will have 50 new jobs to be filled.

– The Council approved an agreement with Kansas & Oklahoma Railroad Company to install highway crossing signals at the crossing on Lincoln Street.

– The Council approved the waived building permits, utility tap fees, and extension of a nearby water main for Housing Opportunities Inc. as they apply for tax credits to build a 24-unit rental housing development for senior citizens. The property is between Eisenhower and Broadway.

– The City took time to recognize outgoing councilmembers serving at their last meeting. Outgoing members include Vicki Berryman, Joel Jackson, and Cory Zimmerman.

– After an hour executive session, the Council approved a 2 percent pay increase for City Administrator Kendal Francis during his six-month evaluation. The increase will be added to his existing $107,000 annual salary.

Barton County Commissioners authorized spending $12,080 in 2019 on professional memberships to three organizations. The board voted unanimously to spend $6,265 to renew their membership to the Kansas Association of Counties, $700 to be members of the Kansas County Commissioners Association and $5,114 to renew their membership to the Kansas Legislative Policy Group.

Commissioners elected to spend an additional $100 for their membership to the Kansas Association of Counties which will allow Commissioners and county staff to take advantage of 10 webinar’s throughout the year, something that Jennifer Schartz thought was a good idea.

Jennifer Schartz Audio

Commissioner Alicia Straub serves as the Vice-President for the Kansas Legislative Policy Group which made renewing that membership very easy for the board. It is likely that Staub will serve as the President of that organization next year. The KLPG is a coalition of counties primarily made of counties in the Western third of the state.

The top prize winners of the 10^th annual Holiday Millionaire Raffle wasted no time in coming to Topeka to claim their prize. The winners, who chose to remain anonymous, were at Kansas Lottery headquarters early Friday, January 4 with their lucky $1 million ticket number 086981.

“I just happened to be off work on Friday, so we decided to make the trip now instead of waiting until I had another day off,” said the winner. “Now that we’re here and everything has been validated, it’s finally starting to sink in that we won.”

It was around 5 p.m. Thursday night that the winners pulled out their phone and went to the Kansas Lottery website to check their raffle tickets.

“We had several tickets, and I can’t remember how many we checked before we got to the million dollar ticket but when I saw it, I obviously got excited. I couldn’t sit still and was moving around the house a bunch before finally calming down,” the winner said.

“Now that we’ve calmed down and the ticket has been claimed there is just such a feeling of relief,” the winner said. “We’ll be able to pay off the house and all of our debts. This will be a nice boost to our retirement and will help us with our kids and family as well. It’s such a relieving feeling to have.”

“Plus, we’ve always wanted to go to Las Vegas,” the couple said with a smile. “Maybe now we can finally take a trip, something we’ve wanted to do for a long time.”

The winning ticket was sold at Dillons 51 at 4107 10^th Street in Great Bend. For selling the ticket, the store is eligible for a $1,000 selling bonus. Other Holiday Millionaire Raffle winners have 365 days from January 3, 2019 to claim their prizes.

They didn’t win a state championship but it was still a great football season for the Great Bend Panthers. So much so that Barton County Commissioners designated Monday January 7th,“Great Bend High School Football Day”. The Panthers went 8-3 this past season and reached the third round of the playoffs before losing on the road to Maize 28-21 in the 5A Sectionals. Panther Defensive Coordinator Jeff Lutt represented Head Coach Erin Beck and approximately 40 football players who crowded into commission chambers on Monday.

Jeff Lutt Audio

Commission Chair Jennifer Schartz encouraged the student athletes to finish their high school career’s strong before starting their lives after high school. But she also invited them to come back to the community in the future if the opportunity presents itself.

Jennifer Schartz Audio

The Panthers recorded playoff victories over Valley Center and Kapaun Mt. Carmel before dropping their final game of the season to the Maize Eagles.

1/4

BOOKED: Peter Zamarripa on BTDC case for serve sentence.

BOOKED: Amy Valdez-Jiminez of Great Bend on GBPD case for driving while suspended, bond set at $500 C/S or 48-hour OR.

BOOKED: Lee Shelton Leon of Great Bend on BTDC case for serve sentence.

BOOKED: Alexandra L. Dirreen on Barton County District Court warrant for probation violation with a bond of $50,000 C/S.

BOOKED: Cori Galliart of Hoisington on KDOC arrest and detain case for parole violation, no bond. BTDC case for possession of meth and possession of drug paraphernalia, bond set at $10,000 C/S.

BOOKED: Melissa Slack of Great Bend on CKCC case for serve sentence.

BOOKED: Cody Helsel of Great Bend on GBMC case for serve sentence.

BOOKED: Alfonso Roman Jr. on Barton County District Court warrant with no bond.

BOOKED: Ouray Gray of Great Bend on BTDC case for serve sentence.

BOOKED: Aaron Pohlman of Ellinwood on BTDC case for serve sentence.

RELEASED: Amy Valdez-Jiminez of Great Bend on GBPD case for driving while supsended, posted bond through Ace Bail Bonding in the amount of $500.

RELEASED: Timothy Richardson of Great Bend for GBMC case for assault DV, criminal trespass, received a 48-hour OR bond.

RELEASED: Andrew Tucker of Great Bend on BTDC case for serve sentence.

RELEASED: Alexander Anderson for probation violation after receiving an OR bond.

1/5

BOOKED: Shaladin Copeling of Larned on BTSO case for DUI and for stopping in roadway, bond set at $1,000 C/S.

BOOKED: Monica Salcido-Moncada of Great Bend on GBMC warrant for failure to appear, bond set at $2,000 C/S. GBMC warrant for failure to appear, bond set at $500 C/S.

BOOKED: Eric Reed on Pawnee County District Court warrant for failure to appear, bond set at $7,500 C/S.

BOOKED: Tyler Kellogg of Salina on HMC case for DWS, and illegal tag, bond set in the amount of $1,000 C/S or 18-hour OR.

BOOKED: Joshua Anderson on a BTDC order for serve sentence.

BOOKED: Jason Michael King on GBMC case for battery DV with a bond in the amount of $1,000 C/S or 48-hour OR.

BOOKED: Marco Rodriguez-Martinez of Salina on Barton County District Court case for no driver’s license with a bond set a $1,000 C/S.

RELEASED: Shaladin Copeling of Larned on BTDC case for DUI after posting a $1,000 bond.

RELEASED: Jason King on GBMC case for battery DV after posting a $1,000 surety bond.

1/6

BOOKED: Ryan Mead on Barton County District Court case for criminal threat, violation of a PFA, and unlawful possession of a firearm, no bond.

BOOKED: Shon W. Rome on Rush County District Court warrant for failure to appear with a bond of $500 C/S.

RELEASED: Marco Rodriguez-Martinez of Salina on Barton County District Court case for no driver’s license after posting a $1,000 surety bond through Ace Bail Bonding.

RELEASED: Monica Salcido-Moncada of Great Bend on GBMC warrant for failure to appear x2, posted both bonds for the amount of $2,000 and $500.

RELEASED: Tyler Kellogg of Salina on HMC case for DWS and illegal tag. Time served on 18-hour OR bond.

RELEASED: Lee Shelton Leon of Great Bend on BTDC case for serve sentence, time served.

RELEASED: Melissa Slack of Great Bend on CKCC case for serve sentence.

RELEASED: Shon W. Rome on Rush County District Court warrant with a $500 OR bond.

RELEASED: Cody B. Helsel on GBMC case with a serve sentence.

RELEASED: Ouray Gray on BCDC cases with a serve sentence.

RELEASED: Aaron K. Pohlman on BCDC case with a serve sentence.

A new year and quite a change in weather from January 2018.  Certainly much wetter and over the last few days, temperatures have moderated.  No drought in the state with a few counties bordering Oklahoma experiencing dry conditions.  While there are certainly many meetings this time of year for producers, January is the relative calm before the storm for crop producers as they prepare for the 2019 cropping year.  It’s a good time to discuss what may be the major challenge facing Kansas agriculture, especially in Western Kansas, water.  First, a little background may help.  What is normal?  What is drought

Normal climate in Kansas varies greatly across the state.  The southeast corner of the state normally receives around forty inches of precipitation while at the Colorado border, twelve to sixteen inches is the long-term average.  The length of the growing season is similarly varied from approximately over six months in the southeast to a little over four months on average in the northwest.  Humidity, wind, and even cloudiness also vary across the state.  Potential evapotranspiration (PET), the amount of water lost from land and bodies of water and through plants if water wasn’t limiting also varies as the result of these climate factors.  PET is lowest in the southeast and increases as you move west and is highest in the southwest.  The reasons for this variability include changes in elevation, the rain shadow of the Rocky Mountains for western Kansas, the Gulf of Mexico, and the tracking of the jet stream.   All of this determines climate.

For simplicity, let’s look at Western Kansas.  Here we are on the border of humid with semi-arid to the west.   Long-term, humid indicates a climate where overall the amount of precipitation equals or exceeds the PET for the year.  Water should be adequate overall for crops without extended periods of moisture shortage.  That doesn’t mean no plant stress but limited and short-term stress on average.  Remember this is an average and droughts will occur.  For the semi-arid area in the west, it denotes that typically, PET exceeds precipitation most years.  In English for crop producers, the demand for evaporation and transpiration exceeds the available moisture for significant periods during the year.  All of this determines a variety of factors from adapted crops to the proper varieties/hybrids for a region and many cultural practices such as planting date.

Now, what is a drought?  There is no one totally agreed upon definition.  For a meteorologist it is a significant decrease from precipitation from what is normally expected.  Therefore, if we receive our normal 28 inches we aren’t in a drought.  In Southeast Kansas, that is only 66% of normal so a drought occurred.  For a hydrologist, it is a lack of surface and subsurface waters.  For crop production, it is a lack of soil moisture to meet cropping needs.  This is what the drought monitor from Lincoln Nebraska measures.  And for producers, it is much more complicated than this.  When rain falls matters as much as how much.  Temperature, wind, and humidity also factor in as does the cultural decisions a producer makes.

Next week, where does the water we use come from and who is using it?

On Saturday January 5, at approximately 11 p.m. officers with the Ellinwood Police Department responded to the 500 block of East 2^nd Street in reference to Violation of Protection Orders and Criminal Threats.

The suspect was identified, and officers responded to the suspect’s residence located in the 100 block of West B Street.  While Officers were responding to the suspect’s residence multiple gunshots were reported in the area of the 100 block of West B Street.

Upon arrival, Officers determined the suspect fired approximately fourteen 9mm rounds from a hand gun into the ground in the front yard of his residence, then fled the scene at a high rate of speed in a red Ford Explorer prior to the officers’ arrival.

The investigation continued into the early morning hours of Sunday, January 6 when the suspect’s unoccupied vehicle was located within the City of Great Bend in the 5800 block of Broadway.  The vehicle was impounded and a search for the suspect began.

The search continued into Sunday morning where Officers developed information on a possible suspect location.  Officers responded to the 5900 block of Eisenhower Court where the suspect was located and taken into custody without incident at approximately 12:02 p.m.

Arrested at the scene was Ryan Alan Mead of Ellinwood.  Mead was transported to the Barton County Jail where he was booked in on the following charges: Criminal Threat, Violation of Protection Order, and Unlawful Discharge of a Firearm.  Mead’s Bond is set at $5,000.

This case is still under investigation, anyone with information is asked to contact the Ellinwood Police Department.