By JONATHAN ZWEYGARDT
A 21-year-old Hays woman has been charged with having sexual relations with a 14-year-old.
According to a criminal complaint filed Tuesday in Ellis County District Court, Skylar Madison Henson was charged with three counts of aggravated indecent liberties with a child.
The complaint alleges that on three separate occasions earlier this year Henson had sex with a 14-year-old.
Henson has also been charged with two counts of distribution of marijuana.
Thursday
A record corn and soybean harvest in Kansas along with a huge milo crop was expected to put a strain on elevators to find storage for all that grain and it did. The Great Bend Coop scrambled the entire fall to find places to store the huge crops and to get those crops to terminals.
But according to Great Bend Coop Seed Manager Jeff Mauler, things have eased up somewhat although there are still plenty of challenges.
Jeff Mauler Audio
Mauler, a guest Wednesday on the “Ask the Expert Show” on 1590 KVGB and 97.7 FM, says it has been a strange fall harvest that in some situations has turned into a winter harvest as some crops still remain in the field. That he says will have an impact on the amount of acres planted to wheat for next year.
Jeff Mauler Audio
In the last crop progress and condition report for the 2018 growing season that was released Monday, USDA indicated that the corn harvest in Kansas was 96-percent complete. Soybeans harvested was 95-percent and sorghum harvested was at 89-percent.
BARTON COUNTY — Law enforcement authorities are investigating a suspect on drug charges after a dispute over a snake.
Just before 5p.m. Tuesday, police were notified of a subject at 1017 Taft in Great Bend who was in possession of an exotic, venomous snake in violation of Great Bend City Ordinance.
According to a media release from police, the snake was reported to have bitten the owner on Tuesday and he received medical attention for the injury.
Officers responded to the residence to investigate the complaint and they contacted 25-year-old Ari Hooley.
During the course of the investigation, Hooley admitted owning the exotic venomous snake, which was identified as a Coral Cobra.
Hooley refused to cooperate with the police and turn the snake over to animal control officers.
Police obtained a search warrant for the residence, located reptile which had been decapitated and buried by the owner, prior to officer’s arrival.
While executing the initial search warrant, narcotics were located in the residence. A second search warrant was obtained and executed for the illegal narcotics. Officers located evidence of cultivation and distribution of a large quantity of hallucinogenic mushrooms. Officers also located suspected marijuana and drug paraphernalia inside the residence.
Cooley was arrested and transported to the Barton County Detention Center, where he was booked in lieu of a $300,000.00 bond on requested charges of unlawful cultivation or distribution of controlled substances within 1000 feet of a school, Possession of marijuana, Possession of drug paraphernalia and no drug tax stamp
The Golden Belt Humane Society assisted in the investigation and arrest.
If you have any information about this crime or any other crime, please contact the Great Bend Police Department at 620-793-4120 or Crime Stoppers at 620-792-1300.
Barton County Sheriff’s Office Incident Log (12/4)
Fire
At 2 p.m. a fire was reported in the 1000 block of W. Barton County Road.
Non-Injury Accident
At 5:38 p.m. an accident was reported at 3503 10th Street.
Theft
At 6:11 p.m. a theft was reported at 2120 Jackson Street.
Burglary / In Progress
At 6:31 p.m. a burglary was reported at 674 W. 1st Street in Hoisington.
Great Bend Police Department Incident Log (12/4)
Theft
At 9:47 a.m. a report of an unknown person breaking into the building at 915 Kennedy Street was made.
Warrant Arrest
At 10:40 a.m. an office arrested Eric Buckley on a warrant at 3001 Forest Avenue.
Theft
At 1:10 p.m. a subject wanted to talk to an officer in reference to a possible theft at 1317 Harding Street.
Non-Injury Accident
At 5:38 p.m. an accident was reported at 3503 10th Street.
Theft
At 8:33 p.m. a theft was reported at 2400 10th Street.
Breathing Problems
At 10:25 p.m. EMS assistance was needed at 222 Hickory Street.
BOOKED: Kenneth Lamb of Kansas City, MO on Barton County District Court warrant for giving a worthless check x3 counts with a bond set at $576.52 cash only.
BOOKED: Adam Shull on BTDC warrant for probation violation, no bond.
BOOKED: Matthew Cooley of Great Bend on Barton County District Court warrant for failure to appear with a bond set at $250 cash only or 48-hour OR.
BOOKED: Eric Buckley of Great Bend on Great Bend Municipal Court warrant for contempt of court, bond set at $572.50 cash only or 30 days in jail.
BOOKED: Steven Davis on Barton County District Court case for serve sentence.
BOOKED: Verbin Paxman of Tribune on BTDC case for failure to appear, bond set at $1,028 cash.
RELEASED: Christopher Hughes on BTDC case for DWS and expired tags after posting $1,000 surety bond through Ace Bail Bonding.
RELEASED: Amanda Hockmuth of Great Bend posted a $50,000 surety bond through Dyn-O-Mite Bonding on BTDC warrant for possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine.
RELEASED: Kenneth Lamb of Kansas City, MO on BCDC warrant released back to KDOC.
RELEASED: Fabio Chavez of Great Bend on BTDC warrant for probation violation to KDOC.
RELEASED: Tyler Leech of Great Bend on BCDC case for DWS 2nd offense and failure to wear seat belt after time served. BCDC warrant for contempt of court after receiving a $10,000 OR bond by Judge McPherson.
RELEASED: Shaun Wood of Hoisington on an Ellis County District Court warrant to Ellis County.
BARTON COUNTY — Law enforcement authorities are investigating a suspect on burglary charges.
On Monday, Rush County authorities received a report of a burglary and theft involving several stolen firearms, according to Barton County Sheriff Brian Bellendir.
The information was shared with various law enforcement agencies in Central Kansas. Based on the vehicle descriptions Barton County detectives were able to develop suspect information.
One of the suspect vehicles was located in the city of Great Bend. It was placed under surveillance. A search warrant was later executed at that location but was not fruitful.
On Tuesday afternoon, sheriff’s detectives stopped a suspicious vehicle west of the City of Great Bend on SW. 20th Road. After contacting the driver of the vehicle officers discovered one of the stolen firearms. Another five firearms were located in southern Russell County from the same burglary.
Arrested at the scene was Alex Roth, age 26 of Great Bend. Roth was placed under arrest on the Rush County burglary and theft charges and released to Rush County.
In an effort to take a proactive approach to retail recruitment, the City of Great Bend issued a request for proposals for a consultant to assist with retail development and recruitment. From the four proposals received, city administration recommended going with Retail Strategies for $50,000 in the first year.
City Administrator Kendal Francis wanted to make it clear that hiring Retail Strategies would not be a knock on the Great Bend Chamber of Commerce and their effort to bring in new business.
Kendal Francis Audio
The Great Bend City Council voted 5-3 to table the decision until the January 21st meeting when three new council members will be part of the board.
Retail Strategies is based in Alabama and it is their assignment to gather community statistics and represent Great Bend at national and regional retail conferences.
Francis worked with Retail Strategies during his previous employment with the City of Coffeyville and said the consultant helped attract Shoe Sensation, Dollar Tree, Donut Palace, and Jimmy Johns. Councilmember Jolene Biggs was not impressed with the list of retailers for the $50,000 price tag.
Jolene Biggs Audio
Matthew Preto, Chief Development Officer for Retail Strategies, noted the type of businesses that were recruited to Coffeyville were specific to the trade area that Coffeyville had and would not be the list of companies they would put together for Great Bend.
Great Bend Chamber of Commerce CEO Jan Peters said having Retail Strategies’ connection at large retail conventions would be helpful because they already have the contacts and connections to talk with national retailers.
When the 2018-2019 school year finishes, Bill Lowry will have finished his twelfth year as Superintendent for USD 431 in Hoisington. It will also be his last. Lowry announced his retirement that will take effect July 1, 2019.
Lowry came to Hoisington after spending more than 20 years in the Northern Valley school district in Norton County.
Bill Lowry Audio
Lowry reflected on his time in Hoisington that also saw him serve as Superintendent for the Otis-Bison school district since 2016. Lowry said he came to Hoisington with a hope to find ways to save the district money and felt the USD 431 Board of Education was able to do that throughout the years. He was also proud of the new Lincoln Elementary School built in 2017.
Lowry plans to move back to rural Norton County this summer.
Bill Lowry Audio
The Kansas Association of School Boards (KASB) is in charge of narrowing down a list of candidates to replace Lowry. The deadline to submit an application to KASB is January 7, 2019. KASB plans to make recommendations to the Hoisington school board the following week.
Throughout Kansas during several winter meetings, K-State specialist Mykel Taylor has shared updates on the current trends for farmland values in the state. An agricultural economist, Taylor shares about uncertainty in the market given commodity prices, profitability and other factors. She also says the amount of land on the market has slowed for a time, influencing selling prices and keeping those prices at least right now steady.
Mykel Taylor Audio
Taylor says she compares land value trends based on use which can give her an indicator what farmers may see with land values in the future.
Mykel Taylor Audio
In 2017, Kansas farmland values slipped nearly 4% from 2016. According to USDA, the per-acre average was $1,970 in 2017. Irrigated farmland values have dropped 13% from 2014, which was the high-water mark. In 2017, irrigated farmland averaged $2,850.
