BOOKED: Randy Chambers on an order to report.

BOOKED: Zachary Mulneix of Hoisington on BTDC case for sexual exploitation of a child, bond set in lieu of $100,000. BTDC case for sexual exploitation of a child and electronic solicitation, bond set in lieu of $100,000. BTDC case for sexual exploitation of a child, bond set in lieu of $100,000.

BOOKED: Chris Harper on an Ellis County District Court warrant for failure to appear, no bond. Booked on BTDC case for driving while habitual, bond set at $2,500 C/S.

BOOKED: Gary Waller on BTDC case for serve sentence.

BOOKED: Shayla Richmeier of Great Bend on Rush County District Court for theft, bond set at $5,000 C/S.

BOOKED: Kasey Wagner of Great Bend on BTDC warrant for probation violation, no bond. BTDC warrant for probation violation, no bond.

BOOKED: Michael Brohaugh on GBMC warrant for FTA, bond is set in the amount of $2,000 C/S.

RELEASED: Keith Harder of Burns, OR on BCDC warrant for aggravated failure to register after receiving a $50,000 OR condition of must stay at the Prodigal house in Great Bend, must stay in the State of Kansas and obey all state, federal, and local laws.

RELEASED: Morgan Harley of Hoisington on Rush County District Court warrant for serve sentence.

RELEASED: Valarie Tickle of Great Bend on BCDC KHP ticket/case for possession of methamphetamine, possession of paraphernalia and obstruction, released by Barton County District Attorney Mellor.

RELEASED: Shayla Richmeier of Great Bend on Rush County District Court warrant after posting a $5,000 surety bond.

RELEASED: Michael Brohaugh on GBMC warrant for FTA after posting $2,000 surety bond.

RUSSELL COUNTY — One person was injured in an accident just after 2a.m. Thursday in Russell County.

The Kansas Highway Patrol reported a 2017 Freightliner semi driven by Shervis R. Smith, 44, Kansas City, was eastbound on Interstate 70 just east of the Dorrance exit.

The semi left the roadway and rear-ended a 2012 International semi driven by Eric T. Brown, 38, Timberlake, North Carolina, that was legally parked on the shoulder of the interstate.

The Freightliner semi came to rest on its side in the median.

Smith was transported to the hospital in Russell. He was properly restrained at the time of the accident, according to the KHP. Brown was in the sleeper berth of the semi and not injured.

The public is invited to attend a special dedication of the third stone at the Golden Belt Veterans Memorial this Sunday, Nov. 11.

According to Mick Lang with the Memorial Parks Advisory Committee, the third stone that contains the names of Barton County military veterans was set last week, joining the two other stones that have been part of Veterans Day events at the cemetery the past few years.

Mick Lang Audio

The Veterans Day dedication will take place this Sunday starting at 1:30 p.m. at the Golden Belt Memorial Park north of Great Bend.

The Barton County Local Emergency Planning Committee will meet on November 13, 2018, at 10:00 a.m. at the Barton County Courthouse. The agenda will include a discussion on an oil spill functional exercise, Emergency Support Function 6 committee formation on mass care, 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.

Across the U.S. Midwest, farmers are taking in their annual harvests of corn, soybeans and sorghum. This year, they have a special problem: Where to put it all. Grain storage levels already have been extraordinarily tight. According to Bloomberg, for the past two years, about 73 percent of capacity was used up by the December peak season, when the three crops are newly harvested. Thanks to Chinese tariffs, lackluster prices and near-perfect growing conditions, there’s likely to be even less space this time around. Matt Penka, Grain Merchandiser for the Great Bend Coop, says a record soybean harvest is putting a strain on storage capacity across the country and right here in Barton County.

Matt Penka Audio

Penka says storage for corn hasn’t been quite as bad in this area but says with so much milo still left to be cut, everyone is wondering where all the grain will go.

Matt Penka Audio

The current harvest is likely to make that worse. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, a run of ideal weather means that corn yields should hit a record across the country this year, as will soybeans in many states. Despite the uncertainty around tariffs at the time farmers were sowing earlier in the year, the 2018 soybean harvest hasn’t been cut back at all and is being forecast to be the largest ever.

The Ward 1 position on the Great Bend City Council that was up for grabs in the 2018 election was crowded following the June 1^st filing deadline. There were five names on the ballot going into the Primary Election in August. The list was narrowed down to the top two vote-getters where Alan Moeder and Jessica Milsap advanced.

Milsap noted she was inspired to run for City Council knowing that she wanted Great Bend to succeed.

Jessica Milsap Audio

There were 481 votes cast in the Primary Election from Ward 1 and Moeder garnered 51 percent with Milsap getting 29 percent. Knowing that she needed to increase her visibility, Milsap started campaigning more and earned a victory over Moeder in Tuesday’s General Election.

Jessica Milsap Audio

The General Election had 947 voters from Ward 1, the northeastern portion of Great Bend, show up to vote. Milsap received 504 votes, or 53 percent of the total votes.

Milsap will take her seat on the City Council in January. Chad Somers, Dana Dawson, and Brock McPherson also won two-year terms on the board.

Those four will join Dan Heath, Jolene Biggs, Cory Urban, and Andrew Erb on the Council. Vicki Berryman, Joel Jackson, and Cory Zimmerman will be stepping down.

BUSINESS NEWS

The Great Bend Recreation Commission will be hosting a free program at the Senior Center (2005 Kansas Ave.) titled, “Holiday Organizing Tips for Maximum Merry” on Friday, November 9^th, at 1:00 pm.

Join Sonya Rein, Errand Lady, this holiday season as she provides tips and advice on containing chaos, reducing stress and making this the merriest holiday season.

For more information on this contact the Recreation Commission office at 793-3755.

Press Release from Pawnee County Attorney’s Office…

At approximately 9 p.m. on November 6, 2018, The Larned Correctional Mental Health Facility (LCMHF) requested assistance from the Pawnee County Sheriff’s Department (PNSO) regarding a situation at the LCMHF Central Unit. Six PNCO staff members responded to the scene including the K-9 Unit, Noa.

Other responding agencies included the Kansas Bureau of Investigation, the Kansas Highway Patrol, the Ford County K-9 Unit, Ford County Sheriff/Dodge City Police Department Special Response Team (SRT) and the Stafford County Undersheriff. Larned State Hospital Safety and Security were placed on standby. Additionally, numerous EMS/Fire Department personnel were placed on standby at the University of Kansas Health System – Pawnee Valley Campus. A fix wing aircraft was all on standby at the Larned airport. Barton and Edwards County law enforcement offered to respond, but were advised to stand down.

The PCSO, along with the other outside law enforcement agencies, were initially tasked with securing the outside fences of the facility. The Pawnee County and Ford County K-9 officers and Ford County SRT were deployed within the facility to assist the KDOC SORT team regain control and secure the housing units.

At approximately 11:30 p.m., LCMHF Warden Don Langford, Pawnee County Attorney Doug McNett and LCMHF administrative staff did an onsite walk through of the LCMHF Central Unit housing units. There was extensive property damage to all five (5) housing units. At that time there were no staff injuries reported and all inmates were accounted for.

“Warden Langford and the entire LCMHF staff should be commended on how they swiftly and directly addressed the situation. Their prompt response to the inmates’ inappropriate behavior prevented further escalation and prevented possible injuries to staff and inmates,” said Pawnee County Attorney Doug McNett.

Following a debriefing, PCSO staff left LCMHF at approximately 1 a.m. KDOC Enforcement Apprehensions and Investigations will be handling the investigation. All inquires regarding that investigation should be directed to KDOC Chief of Staff Samir Arif. Contact information: Samir.Arif@ks.gov. (785) 230-2938.

Once the investigation is completed the case will be submitted to the Pawnee County Attorney’s Office for review of possible charges.

The last riot at LCMHF occurred December 30, 2001 and was restricted to one housing unit. Two inmates were ultimately charged at the time due to their actions, Kerry D. Arnold and Larece T. Hutton.

The crime of Incitement to Riot is a Severity Level 8 person felony and carries a sentence between 7 and 23 months depending on a defendant’s criminal history.