On Wednesday, July 4 at approximately 2:59 pm officers from the Great Bend Police Department were dispatched to the 800 block of Pine Street in reference to a shooting incident.

When officers responded to the call, they were advised the victim was going to Great Bend Regional Hospital for treatment of a gunshot wound by private vehicle.

During the course of the investigation officers learned the victim had been shot in the 800 block of Pine Street by a known suspect during an argument. The suspect fled the scene after the shooting in a silver Chevrolet pickup.

The suspect and the pickup were located a short time later at an address in Great Bend. The suspect was taken into custody without incident and booked into the Barton County Detention Center on the charge of Attempted First Degree Murder.

According to the Barton County Sheriff’s Office Booking Activity log for July 4, 2018, Jorge Aguilera of Great Bend was booked into jail for attempted first degree murder with a bond set at $1,000,000.

This incident is still under investigation. If anyone has any information regarding this incident or any other case please call the Great Bend Police Department at 620-793-4120 or Crime Stoppers at 620-792-1300.

RENO COUNTY — One person was injured in an accident just after midnight Wednesday in Reno County.

A Chevy S-10 driven by Tristen F. Woods of Hutchinson was just west of the Cow Creek bridge in the 2000 Block of Nickerson Boulevard, according to the Reno County Sheriff’s Department.

The pickup was parked sideways in the westbound lane trying to help a friend get his motorcycle up from the ditch.

A westbound motorcycle driven by William Julian, 52, Lyons, didn’t see the truck in time and struck it just in front of the driver side door. The rider was thrown several feet from the motorcycle.

Woods was the only one in the vehicle at the time of the accident.

Life Team transported Julian to Wesley Medical Center. He was not wearing a helmet. The Reno County Sheriff’s

Woods declined treatment and was taken to the hospital by a private vehicle.

The accident is still under investigation, according to the sheriff’s department.

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RENO COUNTY — One person was injured in an accident just after midnight Wednesday in Reno County.

A Chevy S-10 driven by Tristen F. Woods of Hutchinson was just west of the Cow Creek bridge in the 2000 Block of Nickerson Boulevard, according to the Reno County Sheriff’s Department.

The pickup was parked sideways in the westbound lane trying to help a friend get his motorcycle up from the ditch.

A westbound motorcycle didn’t see the truck in time and struck it just in front of the driver side door. The rider was thrown several feet from the motorcycle.

Woods was the only one in the vehicle at the time of the accident and the man riding the motorcycle was the only one on the motorcycle at the time.

Life Team transported the driver of the motorcycle to Wesley Medical Center. He was not wearing a helmet. The Reno County Sheriff’s

Department has not released his name.
Woods declined treatment and was taken to the hospital by a private vehicle.

The accident is still under investigation, according to the sheriff’s department.

7/3

BOOKED: Kevin Gross of Great Bend on GBPD case for battery DV, bond is set in the amount of $1,000 C/S.

BOOKED: Bryce Moran of Ellinwood on BTDC warrant for failure to appear, bond set at $1,000 C/S.

RELEASED: Kevin Gross of Great Bend on GBPD case for battery DV, after $1,000 bond was posted through Ace Bail Bonding.

RELEASED: Bryce Moran of Ellinwood posted a $1,000 surety bond through A-1 Bail Bonding on BTDC case for failure to appear.

RELEASED: Raymond Chapman of Hoisington on BTDC warrant for probation violation after posting a $250 cash only bond. Released on BTDC warrant for probation violation after posting a $250 cash only bond.

7/4

BOOKED: Cynthia Ochs of Utica on Great Bend Municipal Court case for DUI, bond set at $1,000 C/S.

BOOKED: Chelsea Guyton of Great Bend for Barton County District Court warrant for failure to appear, no bond. BCDC case for obstruction felony, bond set at $5,000 C/S.

BOOKED: Christy Contreras of Great Bend on BTDC warrant for battery and assault, bond set at $1,000 C/S and GBMC warrants for failure to appear, bond set at $2,000 C/S. Failure to appear, bond of $2,000 C/S. Failure to appear, bond set at $1,000 C/S. Contempt, bond set set at $3,005.50 cash only. GBPD case for obstruction, bond set at $1,000 C/S.

BOOKED: Jacob Hoch of Great Bend on Barton County District Court case for burglary, possession of methamphetamine and possession of drug paraphernalia, bond set at $20,000 C/S.

BOOKED: Jorge Aguilera of Great Bend on Barton County District Court case for attempted 1st degree murder with bond set at $1,000,000 C/S.

RELEASED: Cynthia Ochs on Great Bend Municipal Court case for DUI after she posted a $1,000 surety bond.

Determination and dedication were two of the main topics at the recent SACK conference in Topeka where Sunflower Diversified Services was represented by 11 clients and three staff members.

SACK stands for Self Advocate Coalition of Kansas; Sunflower is a non-profit agency that serves infants, toddlers and adults with developmental disabilities and delays in Barton, Pawnee, Rice, Rush and Stafford counties.

The two highlighted meeting topics focused on medical-care funding and advice on how Sunflower clients can advocate for themselves.

“Determination refers to our goal of making changes in legislation concerning KanCare funding for medical needs,” said Lacie Gibson, Sunflower’s training manager/advocacy advisor. “This goes along with the importance of our clients casting their vote on election day. If they are not registered to vote, SACK offers them the opportunity to do so at our annual conference.”

When the discussion turned to dedication, Sunflower clients were encouraged to make their voices heard. “The dedication we have at Sunflower can make a difference that is life changing,” Gibson said. “Our clients are passionate about their rights and responsibilities. Their strong voices need to be heard.”

Other topics during the meeting included nutrition and the experiences of others who advocate for people with disabilities and delays.

“The presentations updated us on many current topics in Kansas and other states,” Gibson commented. “It was also good to hear ideas about how to encourage more local community involvement and to meet new people and hear their stories.

“The meeting was a real eye-opener – especially regarding legislation,” Gibson continued. “It empowered us to learn more and keep pushing to make a difference. It is also important that our clients experience something new by attending the meeting. They are already planning our SACK trip for next year.”

Gibson also mentioned the conference wasn’t all work and no play. “The dance was awesome,” she said. “People from all over Kansas were out on the dance floor having a great time. All of us appreciate Sunflower giving us this opportunity.”

The conference was held June 22-24 at the Ramada Topeka Downtown Hotel & Convention Center.

Sunflower is in its 52^nd year.

Celebrate the Independence Day holiday with the Great Bend City Band at 8:15 pm at the Barton County Courthouse Square on July 5. The concert will feature many patriotic selections including special narratives with the city band.

Veterans of the Armed Forces will be honored. An elementary age student will have the opportunity to direct the Great Bend city band by conducting John Philip Sousa’s “The Stars And Stripes Forever”. There will be a sign-up that night prior to the concert. A name will be drawn from the entries.

Children will also march around the courthouse square with American flags.

All concerts are free and open to the public.

The Barton County Health Department relies on state and federal grants to help support the many different programs that it offers. Director Shelly Schneider informed Barton County Commissioners Monday about the 2018 grant awards and says there were no reductions in the amount of money the department will receive this year. The Child Care Licensing Program received a huge bump from $30,000 to $120,000 after the state requested that the Health Department double the amount of counties that they serve.

Shelly Schneider Audio

The total amount of federal and state grants in 2018 adds up to just over $356,000. That includes money for the Child Care Licensing program, chronic disease risk reduction, family planning, maternal and child health, the pregnancy maintenance initiative and the state formula plan.

Barton Community College has named 237 students to the President’s List for the spring 2018 semester. To qualify for this honor, students must have been enrolled in a minimum of 12 credit hours and maintained a grade point average of 4.0 on a 4.0 or “A” letter scale.

Abilene
Joshua Abbott
Jeffrey Kelly
Ethan Tingle

Agra
Valerie Haskett

Albert
Bryce Maneth
Taylor Regan

Augusta
Nolan Riley

Blue Rapids
Clayton Reed

Chapman
Chase Ehlers
Ashley Simpkins

Chase
Andrea Aguilera

Claflin
Kirsten Gunder

Clay Center
Alec Trembath

Clyde
Theresa Charbonneau

Colby
Miranda Kern

Derby
Ariana Taylor

Dorrance
Kendyl Zorn

Ellinwood
Drew Dannar
Rachael Dickson
Alexander Robl

Ellis
Easton Smith

Ellsworth
Tommy Carr
Edward Huckabey
Tony Hunt
Emmy Kempke
Timothy Korbe
David Marcus
David Summers

Emporia
Matthew Nardo

Fort Leavenworth
Tyler Burns
Herlinda Clara
Damian Harmon
Brittney Le
Bianca Mcswiggan
Brittany Miller
Mary Pritchard
Hunter Rademacher
Theresa Walder

Fort Riley
Kamila Almeida
Mackenzie Beaty
Seth Bladen
Samuel Blagrove
Samantha Blanchard
Seferina Briggs
Kelly Bushnell
Sarah Cannon
Freida Felzenberg
Stephanie Goains
Jack Good
John Hickerson
Brent Kelley
Alexis Kimbrel
Timothy Kohls
Angelita Lopez
Abigail Matherne
Adrienne McMeekin
Carrie Miller
Tesla Sanders
Vanessa Slagle
Emily Starr
Travis Wallace
Erick Jane Watts
Jeremiah Yates
Cristina Zelaya

Garden City
Gracen Haar-Becker
Jared Steele

Goddard
Mallory Miller

Goodland
Brian James
Stacy Kaup
Justin Stasser
Krista Trevathan

Great Bend
Chad Burroughs
Zachary Clothier
Makinna Dykes
Jessica Ford
Lakin Funk
Madyson Hayden
Mollie Hestand
Keely Ireland
Konner Ireland
Alexis James
Jessica Loera
Sara Mayta
Alvin McCray
Elsi Miller
Samantha Montelongo
Brodie Owens
Johanna Pfeifer
Christian Rivas
Allison Stocker
Jordan Stoulil

Hays
Dylan Krause

Haysville
Michael Kelly

Herington
Cheyenne Kickhaefer

Hoisington
Alexis Boeck
Delaney Smith
Robert Willesden
Kenzie Wolf

Horton
Stacie Vandeweerd

Humboldt
Basil Harderson

Junction City
Peter Beullens
Karolyn Davis
Alexandria Dunham
Mary Forgey
William Greenawalt
Charles Hall
Mariam Henley
Paedyn Johnson
Mary Grace Lanuzo
Ariel LaVarnway
Peris Ngunjiri
Tiffini Perez
Brianna Velez

Lansing
Cody Finney
Mechelle Markiewicz

Larned
Austin Carrington
Rebecca Griffin
James Hill
Daniel Hunley
Andrew Marez
Just Murphy
Xavier Pennington
Ebrima Perryman
Tanner Roubideaux
Gage Skelton
Shelby Stough
Gabriel Toon
Kelsie Toon

Lawrence
Caylee Irving

Leavenworth
Jesse Babcock
Amy Jones
Abby McElroy
Alisa Murphy
Amber Snyder
Rachel Taumomoa

Lindsborg
Ryan DuMars

Lyons
Spencer Hoyt

Maize
Patrick Henning

Manhattan
Danny Bishop
Alec Bluemel
William Gammill
Benjamin Hornblower
Vanessa Kemp
Aaron Malmquist
Samuel Wasinger
Chandler Wiegand

Maple Hill
David Blomberg

McPherson
Chelsey Lyon

Meade
Jaylin Stapleton

Milford
Matthew Cooper

Minneapolis
Coral Weis

Montezuma
Madison Dirks

Newton
Kailey Harris

Ogden
Macey Bowman

Olmitz
Blake Bahr

Oswego
Curt Featherby

Ottawa
Ryen White

Pawnee Rock
Adreil Molinar

Pratt
Alexandra Dick

Protection
Micaela Jellison

Riley
Robert Cox

Russell
Daisi Brand
Amber Zordel

Saint John
Christie Blue
Bailey Burns

Salina
Lindsey Berg
Jose Flores
Baleigh Griffin
Casey Hainline
Nathan Komarek

Scott City
Reagan Smyth

Shawnee Mission
Cynthia Leighton-Brookhart

Sterling
Max Fulbright

Topeka
Mason Dodd
Kendra Jellison
Sydney Kirmse
Alexis Sharples

Valley Center
Dawson Gantenbein

Valley Falls
William Coleman

Wamego
Richard Messerly

Wichita
Jacob Ensz
Morgan Keltner

Armed Forces Stationed Overseas
Laurel Buening
Lauryn Bufford
Londyn Bufford
Vanessa DeCosta

Fairbanks, Alaska
Angela Emerson

Wetumpka, Ala.
Violet Thomas

Irvine, Calif.
Hamad Almalki
Mohammed Alnassr
Khalid Alsuwaidi

Pleasant Hill, Calif.
Ahmad Alkhuzaei

Pleasanton, Calif.
Natalie Burdick

Walnut Creek, Calif.
Matthew Elmore

Boulder, Colo.
Brynn Olinger

Clinton, Conn.
Nicholas Bradley

Danbury, Conn.
Nicole Reisert

Parrish, Fla.
Cheryl Szarko

West Palm Beach, Fla.
Enrique Martinez Flores

Gainesville, Ga.
Juan Castrejon Morales

Pooler, Ga.
Christen Martin

Stone Mountain, Ga.
Tricia Ward

Evanston, Ill.
Brandi Gail

Camby, Ind.
Abby Taylor

Fort Polk, La.
Courtney Johnson

Wilmington, Mass.
Adam Silva
Brooke Silva

Baltimore, Md.
Elad Barmatz

Beverly Hills, Mich.
Keenan Smith

Bassett, Neb.
Malissa Stec

Albuquerque, N.M.
Christine Glover

Las Vegas, Nev.
Kelvin Dam

Bronx, N.Y.
Nicole Daise

Brooklyn, N.Y.
Esther Reiner

Monsey, N.Y.
Esther Lichtenstein

Pittsford, N.Y.
Sarah Roth

Wapakoneta, Ohio
Tara Tippie

Elk City, Okla.
Mandy Fleming

Portland, Ore.
Ibrahim Allenqawi

Gainesville, Texas
Kaelyn Enriquez

Killeen, Texas
Ausharee McLeod

Mesquite, Texas
Kaila Harris

Temple, Texas
Darren Corpuz
Quincy Granderson

Daleville, Va.
Jeremy White

Goodview, Va.
Mckayla Claytor

Western Australia, Australia
Joshua Hendrickson

Buenos Aires, Argentina
Lucia Rodriguez Zapico

Joinsville, Brazil
Larissa Fagundes

Santa Maria, Brazil
Carolina Temponi Goncalves

Sao Bernardo Do Camp, Brazil
Juliana Goncalves Chagas

Sao Paula, Brazil
Luisa Martins De Souza

San Antonio Coronado, Costa Rica
Alejandro Marin Sequeira

Santiago, Chile
Felipe Baeza

Riobamba, Ecuador
Juan Jaimes Valdiviezo

San Juan, Puerto Rico
Juan Carlos Iglesias Maldonado

Huahin, Thailand
Thitipong Homruen

written by: Rip Winkel – Horticulture Agent, Cottonwood Extension District

Do you have tomato plants that are blooming but not setting fruit? There are a number of reasons why this might be happening. One obvious reason could be that there is an excessive amount of nitrogen (i.e. fertilizer) the plant has access to. Nitrogen causes plants to emphasize vegetative growth, often to the detriment of flower production, hence no fruit. Moreover, over-fertilization can lead to a delay in flower production and/or a decrease in fruit-set among the flowers produced.

Another possible problem with no fruit-set is the lack of pollination of the tomato flowers. Tomatoes are typically wind pollinated, therefore are not dependent on pollinators. Having said that though, tomatoes normally won’t set fruit if the night temperature is below 50 degrees F due to sparse production of pollen. Temperatures that reach up to and remain above 75 degrees F at night and day temperatures above 95 degrees F coupled with dry, hot winds will cause poor fruit set on tomatoes, (cherry tomatoes, however, seem to be much more heat tolerant than slicers). It is these high temperatures that interfere with pollen viability and/or cause excessive style growth leading to the lack of pollination, ergo low to no fruit set during the extreme summer heat.

If the temperatures are ideal, and a tomato flower becomes pollinated, it usually takes about 3 weeks for it to develop into fruit about the size of golf balls. Growth then becomes more rapid with the mature size being reached in an additional three to six weeks. A few more days are then needed to change color.

Although there are “heat-set” slicing tomato varieties, such as Florida 91, Sun Leaper and Sun Master that will set fruit at “higher temperatures”, the difference is normally only 2 to 3 degrees…which is not really that much. It is the cooler temperatures that will allow flowers to resume fruit-set. Furthermore, the extremely hot weather we have here in this area of Kansas not only interferes with flower pollination, it can also affect how quickly fruit matures.

The best temperature for tomato growth and fruit development is 85 degrees to 90 degrees F. When temperatures exceed 100 degrees F, the plant goes into survival mode and concentrates on moving water to the leaves. Fruit development slows to a crawl. When temperatures moderate, even to the low to mid 90s, the fruit will then continue to ripen more quickly.

Tomato color can also be affected by heat. When temperatures rise above 95 degrees F, red pigments don’t form properly though the orange and yellow pigments do. This results in orange fruit. This doesn’t affect the edibility of the tomato at all, just it’s presentation.

So, can we do anything to help our tomatoes ripen and have good color during extreme heat? You bet there is. One can pick tomatoes when they are in the “breaker” stage. Breaker stage tomatoes are those that have started to turn color. At this point, the tomato has cut itself off from the vine and nothing will be gained by keeping it on the plant. If tomatoes are picked at this stage and brought into an air-conditioned house, they will ripen more quickly and develop a good, red color. Indoor temperatures ranging around 75 degrees to 85 degrees F will work best.

The Great Bend City Council spent 45 minutes in executive session at Monday night’s meeting to review the three candidates for the Great Bend City Administrator position, but no decision was announced following the executive session.

Great Bend Chamber of Commerce CEO Jan Peters commended the City Council for the interview format last week with the finalists meeting the public through a pair of meet-and-greets.

Jan Peters Audio

Candidates include Larry Collins who served as Fire Chief and Interim City Administrator in Ann Arbor, Michigan; Kendal Francis who served as City Manager in Coffeyville; and Scott Hildebrand who currently serves as City Administrator for Valley Center.