HUTCHINSON, Kan. — A 57-year-old man charged in three cases, all involving the alleged distribution of drugs, was bound over for trial Tuesday.

Randy Boyd is accused of distributing methamphetamine and heroin in all three cases. Two of the cases occurred on the same date — Oct. 5, 2018. The state alleged that, in those two cases, he had a seller’s quantity of methamphetamine and heroin.

The third case from Oct. 12, 2018, involves the same charges.

His bond was set at $300,000. Boyd will be arraigned July 1.

HUTCHINSON, Kan. — On a 3-0 vote, the Reno County Commission approved the protest petitions Tuesday that were deemed valid over the proposed NextEra Energy wind farm south of the Haven area.

County Consultant Russ Ewy broke down the numbers of petitions received and those deemed valid and invalid. He says the two-week protest period started after the Reno County Planning Commission finished its meeting on April 23.

“Over that two weeks, we had received approximately 233, just over half of which were deemed to be effective, meaning they were within or touched this 1,000-foot buffer,” Ewy said. “Some 90 petitions fell well outside the 1,000-foot buffer area.”

Some petitions were deemed invalid for other reasons, bringing that total to 114.

The commission agreed that 46% of the petitions received were more than the 20 percent threshold required to force a unanimous vote on the conditional use permit for the wind farm by the Reno County Commission.

The Reno County Planning Commission recommended that the permit be denied after hearing numerous residents speak against the farm.

The company wants to build as many as 83 wind turbines in that area of Reno County but needs the conditional use permit for zoned areas of the county.

The issue of the wind farm is not dead, however at a special meeting Thursday evening at the Fox Theatre, the commission will consider the request and make a final decision. That meeting will be at the Fox Theatre starting at 6:30 p.m.

HUTCHINSON, Kan. — A 33-year-old woman charged in a drug distribution case waived her right to a preliminary hearing Monday and entered a guilty plea for two charges. The rest of her charges were dismissed.

Francesca Wharton is now guilty of being in possession of methamphetamine and criminal possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. The state dropped the other charges as part of a plea agreement. Those charges included possession of drug paraphernalia with intent to distribute, possession of personal use drug paraphernalia and possession of marijuana.

Law enforcement served two search warrants: one on a vehicle, the other on a local home.

Besides the meth and paraphernalia, officers also found a Winchester .22 caliber rifle that was reported stolen through the Reno County Sheriff’s Office. An additional Glock handgun was also found in the residence.

Wharton has prior convictions for aggravated robbery, forgery, burglary, possession of drugs and a contraband charge for cases in 2013 and 2015.

Reno County District Judge Joe McCarville agreed to a special setting for sentencing on July 11.

HUTCHINSON, Kan. — A 37-year-old man who served time for attempted murder, conspiracy to commit murder and aggravated burglary finds himself jailed in a serious domestic case.

Armando Fierro is jailed on a $100,000 bond for aggravated battery-domestic violence, aggravated assault, aggravated arson and aggravated endangerment of a child.

It started on June 6 when police were called on the report of an aggravated battery. When they arrived, they found the victim who told them she had been beaten by her boyfriend. Fierro is accused of striking her with some type of cord, putting a towel around her neck and dragging her across the floor.

At some point, he then brought in a propane tank and threatened more violence against her and her three disabled children. The victim was able to escape and call police.

When officers entered the home, they could see pillows in the living room had been set on fire near where the propane tank was sitting.

Fierro left the home before police arrived. On Friday, June 7, officers located Fierro’s vehicle on the west side of town. They called in the Emergency Response Team as a precaution because of his past violent behavior. Authorities called out to Fierro. He came out right away and was taken into custody.

His prior convictions came after the shotgun shooting of Lloyd Eddens, who collapsed on his neighbor’s front porch after being shot in his home.

Fierro later admitted to shooting Eddens accidentally. That was back in 2000.

Fierro will be back in court next Monday for the formal reading of charges in the new case.

WICHITA, Kan. — Legend Senior Living announced Monday the acquisition of Brookdale in Hutchinson, which offers independent living, assisted living and memory care. It will become the eighth Legend community in Kansas for the Wichita-based company. The community is located at 2416 Brentwood and its new name will be Legend of Hutchinson.

Acquiring a new community involves getting to know the personalities involved. “It’s exciting because you meet some really great people through the process,” Matt Buchanan, Executive Vice President of Legend Senior Living, said.

“A great acquisition opportunity doesn’t present itself without being operated by great people. We recognize that dynamic and recognize we’re coming into a well-operated business. The first priority in any acquisition is continuity of operations,” Buchanan explained. “What tools do the staff need day one to continue providing care to residents? Solve that first, then everything else will happen in due course.”

“The key is communication and offering peace of mind to residents’ families and associates. IT infrastructure, software systems, payroll, vendor service agreements, utility transfer, staff training, onboarding, records transfer; it all has to happen in a very short amount of time,” Buchanan said. “When it comes to adding a community through acquisition, everything is different when compared to going through the process of developing it from the ground up.”

Legend has extensive experience and success at both. “I think it comes down to one thing at a time,” Buchanan said. “In a start-up, we have a year or more to plan for operations. In an acquisition, the team usually has four to eight weeks to plan and prepare. It’s a lot of moving pieces that have to come together all at once to produce a smooth transition.”

Welltower Inc. owns the real estate, which Brookdale leases. Welltower has a long-standing relationship with both Brookdale and Legend dating back more than 25 years and presented the opportunity to transition operations. Legend will be the new lessee for the property.

HUTCHINSON, Kan. — The Reno County Republicans are proud to host Kansas State Senate President Susan Wagle on Thursday, June 20, at 6:30 p.m. at the Justice Theater in the Shears Technology Center. She will be giving a summary of the last legislative session.

Sen. Ed Berger and state Rep. Paul Waggoner will also be at the event. The attendance of representatives Joe Seiwert and Jack Thimesch will be dependent on their progress with local harvest.

The senate president and elected officials in attendance will be answering questions from the audience at the conclusion of President Wagle’s presentation.

HUTCHINSON, Kan. — This next week will be a busy one starting Tuesday when officials consider whether to accept the protest petitions that were slowed by legal issues.

The county received more than 250 petitions fighting the NextEra wind farm project. Out of that, about 40% have been deemed invalid because the landowner is not eligible. Only landowners within 1,000 feet of a property with a turbine are allowed to protest.

County Consultant Russ Ewy will give a presentation over those petitions during the regular Reno County Commission meeting.

That meeting starts at 9 a.m. Tuesday in the Reno County Courthouse.

Whatever the commission decides will set the stage for a special meeting at the Fox Theatre over the request by Pretty Prairie Wind, LLC, representing various property owners, for a conditional use permit to construct a commercial wind energy conversion system for the purpose of converting wind energy into electricity. The properties are currently zoned AG – Agricultural District.

The Reno County Planning Commission had recommended that the commission turn down the request, however, the county commission can vote against that recommendation, send it back to the planning commission, or turn down the request.

The special meeting starts at 6:30 p.m. Thursday at the Fox Theatre in Hutchinson.

MANHATTAN, Kan. — As most farmers and many non-farmers know, stripe rust is nobody’s friend. Seeing this dangerous disease on your crop can be devastating to a farmer’s yield. The good news is, there are researchers trying to resolve this issue. In Manhattan, Kansas, research specialists at the USDA are striving to create a wheat variety that is resistant to stripe rust.

Building 7 at the USDA Center for Grain and Animal Health Research previously housed a facility designed for wind erosion research. When the wind erosion team’s original building was destroyed in 2008 by a tornado, the Agricultural Research Service constructed Building 7 at the center in Manhattan. The building was completed in 2012, but with research funding being scarce, the wind erosion research team had to relocate, leaving the building vacant. Fortunately, with enhancements to their research budgets, the Hard Winter Wheat Genetics Research Unit was able to move its research into Building 7 in 2016. The building was recently renovated to remove the wind tunnels and construct workspaces to support wheat and sorghum genetics research.

The renovated Building 7 is around 10,000 square feet and has the best modern technology that is available. They can grow wheat year-round in the large growth room equipped with LED lights.

Mary Guttieri, USDA Research Geneticist, says, “Being able to grow wheat 365 days a year is a huge benefit to wheat research.” The renovated building provides space to benefit all aspects of receiving, growing, processing, characterizing, treating, storing and shipping seeds to cooperating wheat breeding programs. Being able to do all of these projects under one roof is a huge benefit for the wheat research team.

Guttieri is doing extensive research on wheat and a top priority is creating wheat that will be stripe rust resistant. Doing her research in Building 7 has given her opportunities she never thought possible. With strong support from her administration, both in Manhattan and in the Plains Area, Guttieri is making breakthroughs. She can replicate the exact conditions farmers see in the field with the technology available in the research unit. Guttieri has partnered with the Kansas State University research team to collaborate. She sees Building 7 as a shared resource for research.

“I want this place to be the best resource for wheat research in the region,” Guttieri said.

The Hard Winter Wheat Genetics Research Unit team has seen amazing results with the wheat it is growing in the genetics lab. With the technology enabling them to grow wheat year-round, in all weather conditions and exposing the crop to diseases, they continue to learn more and more about the wheat crop.

A big goal for the Hard Winter Wheat Genetics Research Unit is to get the wheat to grow rapidly through young stages to the seed production, producing multiple generations per year, to accelerate the development of new wheat germ plasm. This breeding effort is tightly coupled with DNA marker selection to ensure that the best plants are advanced in every generation. Together with her colleague, USDA Plant Pathologist Bob Bowden, materials she develops are evaluated in growth chambers and finally, in the field, to confirm disease resistance.

Guttieri said, “In the small amount we have done in field testing, the results are amazing.”

With the results the Hard Winter Wheat Genetics Research Unit team has seen in the field this year under heavy stripe rust pressure, a wheat line with resistance to stripe rust should be available to farmers in the near future.