On Saturday, May 19 at approximately 2 p.m., officers from the Great Bend Police Department were dispatched to the intersection of 10th and Frey in Great Bend in reference to an injury accident involving a motorcycle.

Great Bend EMS arrived on scene, and began to treat a 60-year old male patient. The male subject was transported to Great Bend Regional Hospital, and later transferred to Via Christi in Wichita in critical condition.

According to evidence obtained at the scene and witness statements, the motorcycle was traveling westbound on 10th Street and struck a black pickup truck which ran the red light northbound on Frey Street.

The driver of the pickup truck stopped at the scene to assist the injured victim.

5/18

BOOKED: Juvenile of Great Bend on Barton County District Court case for aggravated assault, no bond.

BOOKED: David Roach of Ellinwood for Barton County District Court probation case for serve sentence.

RELEASED: Juvenile of Great Bend on BCDC case for aggravated assault after processing for the Courthouse.

RELEASED: Jonathan Stemm of Great Bend on BCDC hold for drug and alcohol assessment after completing the drug and alcohol assessment per order of the court.

RELEASED: Kenneth Reed of Great Bend on Kansas Department of Corrections parole violation after warrant was withdrawn.

RELEASED: Jacob Hoch on a Barton County District Court warrant with conditions of obey all state, federal, and local laws, do no leave Kansas, remain in contact with attorney.

RELEASED: Miguel Garay of Great Bend on Great Bend Police Department and BCDC warrant for aggravated battery with bond of $20,000 posted through Ace Bail Bonding.

RELEASED: Jeremy Lamb of Ellinwood on Ellinwood Police Department and BCDC warrant for introduction of contraband and battery DV with bond of $20,000 posted through Dyn-O-Mite.

5/19

BOOKED: Walter Enriquez-Vasquez of Great Bend on GBPD case for battery DV, bond set in lieu of $1,000 C/S.

BOOKED: Dakota Kocher on Great Bend Municipal Court case for DUI, DWS, no tags, no insurance, no head light and no tail light, bond in lieu of $1,000 C/S.

BOOKED: Shane Baker of Great Bend on Barton County District Court warrant for probation violation, bond set at $1,000 cash only by defendant to be put to this case only.

BOOKED: John Carson of Wichita on Barton County District Court case for theft, bond set in lieu of $5,000 C/S.

BOOKED: Shon Fox of Larned on Barton County District Court warrant for failure to appear for pay review, bond set at $328 cash only by defendant.

RELEASED: Walter Enriquez-Vasquez of Great Bend on GBPD case for battery DV after posting a $1,000 surety bond through Ace Bail Bonding.

RELEASED: Dakota Kocher on Great Bend Municipal Court case for DUI, DWS, no tags, no insurance, no head light and no tail light after posting a $1,000 surety bond.

RELEASED: Charles Rowe Jr. on GBMC warrant with a $500 surety bond through Dyn-O-Mite Bail Bonds.

5/20

BOOKED: Andrew Taylor of Claflin on Lane County warrant for driving while suspended, failure to stop at stop sign, failure to comply/pay fines, bond set in lieu of $1,250. GBMC warrant for driving while revoked, bond set in lieu of $1,117.50 cash only. BTDC case for driving while declared habitual, bond set in lieu of $2,500 C/S.

BOOKED: Sterling Mills of Great Bend on GBMC case for domestic battery, bond set in lieu of $1,000 C/S.

BOOKED: James Hayes of McPherson on Barton County District Court case for DWS, bond set at $1,000 C/S.

BOOKED: Dakota Green of Great Bend on BTDC warrant for probation violation, bond set at $2,000 C/S and BTDC case for criminal threat, bond set at $5,000 C/S.

RELEASED: Sterling Mills of Great Bend on GBMC case for domestic battery, posted bond through Ace Bail Bonding.

RELEASED: Shon Fox of Larned on BCDC warrant for failure to appear for pay review, $328 cash paid by defendant.

RELEASED: David Roach of Ellinwood for BCDC probation case for serve sentence in full.

RELEASED: James Hayes of McPherson posted a $1,000 surety bond through Ace Bail Bonding.

RELEASED: Derek Nease of Claflin on Barton County District Court case for battery DV and assault after posting a $2,500 surety bond.

First, more beneficial rainfall in spots this week to go along with last week.  Unfortunately parts of Western and South Central Kansas received damaging hail.  The Drought Monitor didn’t change a great deal (remember this is as of Tuesday morning).  However as this is being written, Thursday May 17, there are rain chances through early this week.  Wheat in the area is heading out and rain and moderate temperatures are key in maximizing the potential grain yield.  Today, let’s discuss the difference between grass crops (corn, wheat, grain sorghum) and broadleaves (alfalfa, soybeans, canola, sunflowers, cotton) and why these differences matter so much in the decisions producers make.  We will tackle these one at a time and why they matter.  First a little background on these two types of plants.  And for the Master gardeners out there, please understand this is a brief overview.

Both grasses and broadleaves are flowering plants (angiosperms) although the flowers of grasses are typically much less showy.  Grasses are part of the group termed monocotyledons which means they have one seed leaf (cotyledon)  This group includes the grass in your yard, the native prairie grasses, and our grain crops – corn, wheat, grain sorghum, oats, barley, triticale.  They can be winter annuals, summer annuals, perennials, and some species such as wheat, barley, and triticale are found as both winter and summer annuals.  Even though there is a great deal of diversity in this group based on appearance and life cycle, they are actually closely related.  Grasses are considered more advanced evolutionarily than broadleaves (dicots) and even other monocots.  One main reason is that unlike broadleaf species, grasses don’t have to rely on an outside source such as insects, bats, or birds for pollination.  While all grasses are monocots, not all monocots are grasses.  Non-grass monocots include lilies, onions, palm trees, tulips, orchids, and bananas.

Broadleaves are dicotyledons meaning they have two seed leaves at emergence.  When we mention flowering plants we most often think of brightly colored, showy flowers – dicots.  Common dicot crops include soybean, sunflower, canola, cotton, and alfalfa.  Dicots are an extremely diverse group ranging from deciduous trees and duckweed to the marigolds and petunias in your flower garden and the majority of vegetables in your local store.  They can also be winter or summer annuals, perennials, or something grasses can never be – biennials.  Biennials grow vegetatively the first year storing food in a large taproot to overwinter and regrow, flower, produce seed and die the second growing season.  You may have eaten a biennial recently as they include carrots, parsley, beets, turnips, parsnips and several others.  Certain garden flowers are biennials such as Sweet William and hollyhocks.  Onions are an example of a biennial monocot.

For the sake of brevity, you can tell a monocot from a dicot at emergence by noting whether it has one or two leaves at emergence.  And the simplest way with older plants, remembering that there are always an exception or two, to distinguish the two broad groups is that monocots have long, narrow leaves typically with a midrib to support the leaf in grassed and parallel veins in the leaf.  Broadleaves are just that, not long and narrow, with some type of net venation.  A perfect example is a maple leaf.

Next week will dig into the differences between grasses and broadleaves, why they are important as the differences are much greater than described here.

The Barton County Appraiser’s Office started their 17-percent re-inspection around the county this past week. This year, the staff is measuring and inspecting properties located in Claflin, Odin, areas of Great Bend north of 24^th Street and west of Patton Road.

County Appraiser Barb Esfeld says properties that have sold recently or have building permits will also be re-inspected.

Barb Esfeld Audio

The Appraiser’s Office inspects 17 percent of the County each year and the inspection typically takes them all summer, finishing up in August. The Appraiser’s staff will be wearing nametags and will be in County-marked vehicles.

Barb Esfeld Audio

Esfeld says inspectors will first knock on the door to see if the owner is home, if they are then the staff will verify the interior data. If the owner is not home, inspectors will leave a door card letting the owner know the Barton County crew inspected the exterior of the structure.

Please contact the Appraiser’s Office with any questions or concerns at 620-793-1821 or email the Barton County Appraiser at appraiser@bartoncounty.org.

After hours of discussion with veterinarians, pet owners, health officials, and other community members, Barton County voted to revise the current vaccination law. Instead of requiring pet owners to have their animals vaccinated every year, the new resolution will state that pets should be current on their vaccination.

Barton County Commission Chair Jennifer Schartz says this allows veterinarians in the County to decide what type of rabies vaccination they want to administer.

Jennifer Schartz Audio

Pet literature differs on the best method to immunization, whether it should be every year or every three years. Many local veterinarians along with the Barton County Health Department felt the yearly vaccination should stay in place.

Veterinarians can decide which animal gets which vaccine, and pet owners that disagree can search for a vet that complies with their needs.

Jennifer Schartz Audio

Barton County is one of only 10 counties in Kansas that has a county-wide rabies vaccination. Failure to keep your pet current on its vaccinations can be punishable as a Class B Misdemeanor with up to a $1,000 fine.

With 180 students graduating from Great Bend High School in 2018, it is not an overly big class for a 5A school, but Principal Tim Friess says many individual performances stand out from the senior class.

The High School will hold its graduation ceremony Sunday, May 20 at 5 p.m. at Memorial Stadium.

Tim Friess Audio

Friess mentioned the summer months are still busy, especially June. A couple hundred students are likely to still be roaming the halls in June for summer school.

Tim Friess Audio

The last day of school for the rest of USD 428 is Thursday, May 24. Students report back to school August 22 for the start of the 2018-2019 school year.