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Barton County Sheriff’s Booking Activity (7/17)

Posted on July 18, 2018July 18, 2018

BOOKED: Kyle Dreiling of Great Bend on BTDC warrant for non-residential burglary, felony theft, criminal damage to property, and misdemeanor theft, bond set at $20,000 C/S. BTDC warrant for possession of stolen property, bond set at $5,000 C/S.

BOOKED: Jerome Maravilla on BTDC warrant for failure to appear, no bond.

BOOKED: Matthew Hapes of Great Bend on BTDC warrant for probation violation, no bond.

BOOKED: William Fields of Great Bend on Ellinwood Municipal warrant for contempt, bond set at $403.50 cash only. BTDC warrant for failure to appear, bond set at $500 cash only.

RELEASED: Travis Watkins on BTDC warrant for probation violation. Time served. Remaining in custody, continuing to serve time on Municipal cases.

RELEASED: Alisa Orosco on GBMC warrant for contempt after receiving an order of release for GBMC.

RELEASED: Charles Demel on Community Correction case for serve sentence, time served.

Stone Street is in rough shape but how much is the reconstruction worth?

Posted on July 18, 2018July 18, 2018

Stone Street, just north of 10^th Street, has been a pothole heavy, rough, and deteriorating section of road for quite some time in Great Bend.

The City of Great Bend held off efforts to evaluate the expense of repaving the street because the $6 million water line replacement project tore up concrete in front of the Great Bend Recreation Commission. The water replacement is finished on Stone Street and the chunk of road has been patched up near the Rec Center.

Interim City Administrator George Kolb says the City is now considering reconstruction on Stone and at the same time make sure all the utilities are in working order.

George Kolb Audio

The estimate from Professional Engineering Consultants for the construction of Stone Street from 10^th to 12^th is $945,000. Kolb says this estimate was high and that the project would not cost that much.

Councilmember Vicki Berryman felt like the price tag was too much for a couple of blocks.

Vicki Berryman Audio

The project would be paid from the ¼ Cent Sales Tax Fund that is designated for residential streets and the ½ Cent Sales Tax Infrastructure Fund that is used for Streets.

The Council voted to table the item until newly appointed City Administrator Kendal Francis could take a look at the estimate.

Larned man indicted for computer crimes

Posted on July 17, 2018July 18, 2018

WICHITA – Michael D. Golightley, 34, Larned, Kan., is charged with seven counts of damaging a protected computer and one count of threatening to damage a protected computer. The crimes are alleged to have occurred in March 2017 in Ellis County, Kan.

According to a July 17 news release from U.S. Attorney Stephen McAllister in the District of Kansas, the indictment alleges Golightley hired an entity known as DDosCity to carry out a series of denial-of-service attacks against computers served by an internet service provider called Nex-Tech.

Nex-Tech provided backup and monitoring Service for Ellis County’s Emergency Medical Service administrative voice lines, Russell County’s hospital voice lines, the Quinter hospital’s voice lines, the Grove County Sheriff’s administrative voice lines, the Russell County Sheriff’s administrative voice lines and the administrative voice lines for the police and fire departments of Russell County.

The indictment alleges Golightley sent an e-mail to Nex-Tech stating: “Take down my ad again when my description doesn’t violate copyright (and) I will violate this site by bringing it offline.”

If convicted, he faces up to five years and a fine up to $250,000 on each of the counts. The FBI investigated. Assistant U.S. Attorney Alan Metzger is prosecuting.

Wednesday Weather

Posted on July 17, 2018July 18, 2018

Wednesday

A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms after 4pm. Partly sunny, with a high near 91. East wind 7 to 9 mph.

Wednesday Night

Mostly clear, with a low around 71. Southeast wind 5 to 9 mph.

Thursday

Sunny and hot, with a high near 99. South southwest wind 5 to 8 mph becoming north in the morning.

Thursday Night

Partly cloudy, with a low around 71. South wind 7 to 10 mph.

Friday

Sunny and hot, with a high near 97. Northeast wind 6 to 10 mph.

Friday Night

Partly cloudy, with a low around 68.

Saturday

Mostly sunny, with a high near 93.

Saturday Night

Partly cloudy, with a low around 70.

Sunday

Mostly sunny, with a high near 94.

Sunday Night

Partly cloudy, with a low around 70.

Monday

Partly sunny, with a high near 92.

Monday Night

Mostly cloudy, with a low around 67.

Tuesday

A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Partly sunny, with a high near 88.

Hotels filling up with tournaments coming to Great Bend

Posted on July 17, 2018

When the Great Bend Sports Complex opened in 2012, it was the intention of the City of Great Bend and Great Bend Recreation Commission that it would be heavily used and bring several baseball and softball tournaments to town.

Mission accomplished.

Residents can’t drive by the complex south of town on a weekend without seeing hundreds of vehicles in the parking lot. The Sports Complex has done its job of reeling in out-of-towners to boost the economy.

Great Bend Community Coordinator Christina Hayes says a recent complaint of the hotels being full during a tournament is a rare thing, but would not mind a new hotel coming to Great Bend.

Christina Hayes Audio

Hayes is referring to the Great Bend Hotel and Convention Center on 10^th Street, to the east of the Events Center. The Great Bend Hotel has seen multiple owners over the years along with name changes and has been closed for well over a year.

A baseball coach told the Great Bend Recreation Commission that the City of Great Bend can’t handle bigger tournaments from a community aspect. All the hotel rooms were booked, but Hayes noted a large wedding the same weekend as the reason why.

Commissioners delay vote on Rosewood Services request

Posted on July 17, 2018July 17, 2018

What appeared to be a routine request for Barton County Commissioners to provide a letter of support to help a local agency obtain community service tax credits, ended up being tabled at Monday’s Commission meeting.

Rosewood Services had requested the letter that would be included in their application to the Kansas Department of Commerce to obtain tax credits to help remodel the old E&E Glass building at 1117 Williams Street for the Rosewood Creations Center. But Commissioners voted 5-0 to table the matter until next Monday after Alicia Straub asked for more clarity on several issues.

Alicia Straub audio

Anna Hammond-Bodine, Director of Development for Rosewood Services, told the board that it would be a training facility. Once workers mastered certain skills and could work independently, they would then become paid employees.

Straub also wondered about who would receive the benefit of a remodeled facility.

Alicia Straub audio

According to the Great Bend Tribune, New Leaf LLC who owns the building, has an office at 2006 Broadway and the resident agent is listed as Anna M. Hammond.

Commissioners are expected to take action on the request at next Monday’s meeting.

Monday night, the Great Bend City Council voted 7-1 to offer a letter of support to the Rosewood request.

Land rezoned for multi-million dollar nursing home in Great Bend

Posted on July 17, 2018July 17, 2018

On a night where the City of Great Bend announced the appointment of Kendal Francis as next City Administrator, the majority of the packed crowd Monday at City Hall was there to discuss a rezoning request.

Scott Reddig requested rezoning the real estate located southwest of the City from R-M (multi-family residential) to LM-SC (light manufacturing – service commercial). The Great Bend City Council approved the rezoning recommendation from the Planning Commission for the purpose of building a nursing home. Now rezoned, Reddig plans to sell 10 acres of land to Sunporch, a not for profit organization that aims to improve the quality of life for elders in rural communities.

Mark Mingenback serves as Vice President for Sunporch’s management team.

Mark Mingenback Audio

The continuing care retirement community program would consist of a nursing home, assisted-living apartment complex, and an independent senior living apartment complex. The $12 million project would employee 50 to 70 people. The facility would be located on Patton Road, near the USD 428 District Education Center. Along with the acreage for the nursing home, there are about 30 extra acres of Reddig’s land that will be rezoned to LM-SC.

Mark Calcara, an attorney with Watkins Calcara, represented several residents in the Anchor Way Subdivision. Calcara says the chief concern with the residents is what else might be developed in the area of their homes now that the land is designated commercial.

Mark Calcara Audio

Sunporch recently broke ground on a $7 million nursing home in Smith Center. Mingenback says the facility will house private-pay and Medicaid-qualified individuals. The assisted-living and independent-living apartment complexes would each contain 12 units. There would also be four “Green Houses” that would consist of 10 elders in each building. The Green House creates homes for elders with private rooms but shared cooking and gathering areas.

Day 17, Kansas Wheat Harvest Report

Posted on July 17, 2018July 17, 2018

This is day 17 and the final day of the 2018 Kansas Wheat Harvest Reports, brought to you by the Kansas Wheat Commission, Kansas Association of Wheat Growers and the Kansas Grain and Feed Association.

According to the July 16, 2018 USDA/NASS Kansas Crop Progress and Condition Report, winter wheat harvested was 99 percent, near 97 last year, and 95 for the five-year average.

Based on July 1 conditions, Kansas’ winter wheat production is forecast at 277 million bushels, down 17 percent from last year, but up 7 million bushels from the May and June forecasts, according to the USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service. Average yield is forecast at 38 bushels per acre, down 10 bushels from 2017. Area to be harvested for grain is estimated at 7.30 million acres, up 5 percent from a year ago, but unchanged from the May and June reports. This would be 95 percent of the planted acres, above last year’s 91 percent harvested.

Chris Tanner, a farmer in Norton County, began his harvest during the first week of July and recently finished this past Wednesday, July 11. Tanner reported having a pretty average year, with yields from 32 to 74 bushels per acre, where continuous crop averaged around 50 to 60 bushels per acre. His test weights averaged around 59 to 62 pounds per bushel.

“It was a pretty average year for us,” Tanner said. “A couple of months ago I would have said that this year’s harvest would be a complete failure, but with the timely rain – the crop really needed it, which was good for harvest.”

Rain was not a huge delay for Tanner’s harvest, only keeping them out of the field a couple of days. Other than decreased wheat acreage and a later start time, Tanner said this harvest was not much different than previous years.

“What’s different this year is less acres in the county, which means less time in the lines at the elevators,” Tanner said. “It just makes for a quicker harvest.”

Brian Linin, a farmer in Sherman County, took his first load in on June 28 and finished his harvest on July 8. Linin said this year’s yields were better than expected, as long as you were spared from the hail. The areas hit pretty badly by hail had yields in the single digits, but areas that weren’t hit could make upwards of 90 bushels per acre.

“We didn’t have any test weights below 60 pounds per bushel,” Linin said. “When we first cut, we had test weights up to 62 to 63 pounds per bushel. Our proteins were high, ranging from 11.8 to 14 percent, but on average, it was 12 to 13 percent.”

Linin said they finished earlier than normal this year, where he usually finishes cutting on July 15. He thinks it might be because he had an extra machine this year.

“In comparison to past harvests, this year bushels were down some, quality was higher because of the rain and I would also say due to the genetics,” Linin said. “The hail surprised us this year. My dad told me this is the most hail he had ever seen in one area in his life. We had more hail than expected but the wheat was good given its conditions it went through.”

Jeanne Falk Jones, Multi-County Specialist in Agronomy at Kansas State University Research and Extension in the Sunflower District said harvest began on June 26 and 27. She said they are pretty much done with harvest in the area, expect for some areas that were left due to hail damage.

Jones said their numbers were all over the board for yields and test weights. She said test weights ranged from 52-64 pounds per bushel.

“I cover Wallace, Sherman and Cheyenne counties and from what I’ve seen the variable of wheat has been driven by hail,” Jones said. “Wheat that wasn’t harvested was because it got hit with a lot of hail.”

Jones reported the areas had a dry drilling season and didn’t have any fall tillers which made them rely on the spring tillers. She also said they were dry for part of the spring growing season, which hurt the crop.

Jones also reported she has noticed because of the rain, volunteer weeds have started to become a problem. She said people need to pay attention to controlling those weeds while looking forward to next season.

“Truly it was hail that was the name of the game,” Jones said. “What could have been really high potential wheat was lost during the hail storms. We are thankful for the wheat that we got during the growing season. We had a few really good past harvests and this year was kind of a letdown. We were getting 60 to 80 bushels. The dry conditions just really took it out on the wheat.”

The 2018 Harvest Reports were brought to you by the Kansas Wheat Commission, Kansas Association of Wheat Growers and the Kansas Grain and Feed Association.

Cop Shop (7/16)

Posted on July 17, 2018July 17, 2018

Barton County Sheriff’s Office Incident Log (7/16)

Theft

At 11:38 a.m. Casey’s General Store, 2716 10th Street, reported a theft.

At 3:31 p.m. a theft was reported at 150 S. Alexander Street in Hoisington.

Non-Injury Accident

At 5:24 p.m. an accident was reported at 269 NE K-156 Highway in Claflin.

At 6:06 p.m. an accident was reported at 269 NE K-156 Highway in Claflin.

Great Bend Police Department Incident Log (7/16)

Burglary / Not in Progress

At 11:25 a.m. a burglary was reported at 2609 Washington Avenue.

Non-Injury Accident

At 2:14 p.m. an accident was reported at 3503 10th Street.

Theft

At 2:53 p.m. theft of a Kansas tag 407FTE was reported.

Non-Injury Accident

At 3:04 p.m. an accident was reported at 2230 Cleveland Street.

Warrant Arrest

At 3:09 p.m. Elisa Garza was arrested for DWS at 3200 Broadway Avenue.

Theft

At 6:13 p.m. Dollar General, 2400 10th Street, reported a theft.

At 7:08 p.m. Superior Self Storage, 2609 Washington Street, reported a theft.

Traffic Arrest

At 10:10 p.m. a traffic arrest was made in the 1000 block of Jefferson Street.

Burglary / Not in Progress

At 10:35 p.m. a possible burglary at her residence was reported at 5501 9th Street 87.

Warrant Arrest

At 10:50 p.m. Jerome Millvilla was arrested for three warrants at 2205 30th Street.

Traffic Arrest

At 10:52 p.m. Miguel Gonzalez was arrested for DWS in the 1000 block of Jefferson Street.

Barton County Sheriff’s Booking Activity (7/16)

Posted on July 17, 2018July 17, 2018

BOOKED: Aryiah Smith from Great Bend on Great Bend Municipal case for DUI, endangerment of a child, and failure to maintain lane, bond set at $1,000 C/S or 48-hour OR bond.

BOOKED: Samuel Freeman on BTDC warrant for criminal threat, possession of marijuana, and possession of paraphernalia, bond set at $5,000 C/S.

BOOKED: Elias Graza of Great Bend on GBPD case for driving while suspended habitual violator, bond set in lieu of $1,000 C/S.

BOOKED: Miguel Gonzalez on a Great Bend Municipal Court warrant for FTA, bond in lieu of $500 C/S. GBMC case for driving while suspended, DWS, bond in lieu of $500 C/S.

BOOKED: Jerome Maravilla of Great Bend on Great Bend Municipal Court warrant for failure to appear, bond set at $3,500 C/S. GBMC warrant for failure to appear, bond set at $3,500 C/S. GBMC warrant for failure to appear, bond set at $3,500 C/S.

RELEASED: Chet Whetham of Norton on BTDC case for hold for court, released to KDOC custody.

RELEASED: Patton Mills of Great Bend on BCDC warrant for probation violation, released to KDOC custody.

RELEASED: Aryiah Smith from Great Bend on GBMC case for DUI, endangerment of a child, and failure to maintain lane, posted bond amount of $1,000 through Ace Bail Bonding.

RELEASED: Sean Aldridge of Great Bend on Russell County District Court warrant for probation violation, released to Russell County Sheriff’s Department.

RELEASED: Samuel Freeman on BTDC warrant for criminal threat, possession of marijuana, and possession of paraphernalia, posted bond through A-1.

RELEASED: Elias Graza of Great Bend on GBPD case for driving while suspended habitual violator, posted bond through Ace Bail Bonding.

RELEASED: Miguel Gonzalez on a Great Bend Municipal Court warrant for FTA after posting a $500 surety bond. GBMC case for driving while DWS after posting a $500 surety bond through Dyn-O-Mite Bonding.