HUTCHINSON, Kan. — The Hutchinson USD 308 School Board will seek approval of several amendments to the shared facilities agreement with Hutchinson Community College during Monday’s agenda session. The agreement includes the use of Gowans Stadium and the USD 308 Complex.
The amended agreement now includes information related to the use and care costs of the game soccer field located at the soccer complex at 23rd and Severance. Hutchinson Community College will pay for 30% of the maintenance costs of the game field which at this time is $15,000. We have also amended the agreement to indicate that HCC staff will be responsible for the custodial services and the grounds clean up after all USD 308 events at Gowans Stadium.
The associated cost to USD 308 would be $7,740. The district feels the change will keep them from bringing in off duty staff and paying overtime to staff for the cleanup of the Gowans’ after home events.
The Board will also look into an executive session for a discussion on the continued negotiations between the district and the local teachers union and hear the various reports from staff. The Hutchinson USD 308 School Board begins their meeting 6 p.m. in the Administration Center at 1520 N Plum.
KANSAS CITY, M0. — Ned Yost announced today that he will retire as manager of the Kansas City Royals, effective this Sunday, September 29 after the 2019 season finale against the Minnesota Twins.
The all-time winningest manager in franchise history (744 wins) and the first manager to lead the Royals to consecutive World Series appearances will finish his career 32nd all-time in games managed, with 2,544, three more than Hall of Fame manager Earl Weaver. Yost will also finish his managerial career 45th all-time in wins, entering the final week with 1,201.
“With the development of our young players and our returning veterans, I feel and hope the worst is behind us in this rebuilding phase of our organization,” said Yost. “My plan all along was to get us through the rough times then turn it over to a new manager to bring us the rest of the way. I’ve thoroughly enjoyed my time here as your manager and will never forget the good and the hard times we had together as an organization and a fan base. I will never forget the fact that you fans supported us through it all. Kansas City will always have a special place in my heart, and I look forward to rooting the Royals on to their next World Championship very soon.”
The 16th full-time manager in team history, Yost was named to the post on May 13, 2010 and five years later became the winningest skipper in franchise history by defeating the only other club he managed, the Milwaukee Brewers, 3-2 on June 18, 2015 for his 411th win, one more than Royals Hall of Famer Whitey Herzog. Yost, 65, led the Royals to a 22-9 postseason record for a .710 winning percentage, which still leads all managers who have managed at least 20 postseason games. His 2014 club was the first in Major League history to begin the postseason with eight consecutive victories, winning the Wild Card Game at home over Oakland, followed by sweeps of the Los Angeles Angels (3-0) in the Division Series and the Baltimore Orioles (4-0) in the Championship Series.
The following season, he managed the Royals to their second World Series title, defeating Houston in
the Division Series (3-2) and Toronto (4-2) in the Championship Series, followed by a 4-1 series win over the New York Mets to bring Kansas City its first World Series Championship since 1985.
HUTCHINSON, Kan. — It’s another busy night for high school football. The Salthawks make the long trip to Garden City this evening to take on the Buffaloes. HHS is still looking for its first win of the season.
HUTCHINSON, Kan. — Services were held Friday morning for Jon Culley. The 33-year veteran of the Reno County Sheriff’s Department died at his home Sept. 11 at the age of 59.
Law enforcement escorts the casket of Detective Jon Culley from the Trinity United Methodist Church on the way to a cemetery in Kanopolis. Culley died Sept. 11. He was a member of the Reno County Sheriff’s Department for 33 years.
Law enforcement and officials from around the area were on hand to remember a man who had a great sense of humor. Detective Diana Skomal, who worked with Culley her entire career, says he always had a good story to tell. “When he started telling stories, he would always go way back in the day. It always started out with, ‘it all started in 1986,'” Skomal said. “His stories were never short, they were always very detailed and lengthy and it was always like, sit back and buckle up cause you’re in for a long one.”
“He was a guy you could always count on,” Sheriff Randy Henderson said. “He kept a lot of humor going, which we needed sometimes.”
Culley, or JC as he was known, was also talented with a pen. “He was also an amazing artist or cartoonist when I worked with him on patrol. He would do little caricatures and cartoons to make fun of events that took place,” Skomal said. “Sometimes other officers were the demise of the funny little jokes, but he was quite the artist.”
Culley also had another talent that was on the more serious side in his tireless work handling juvenile cases and crimes. Skomal said Culley worked with numerous agencies to take action against those who committed child-related crimes. He took a proactive approach by serving on various boards and had close relationships with those agencies. He was also one of the negotiators for the department’s special ops unit during crisis situations. “JC has negotiated more than any of us. JC could talk to anybody and, like I said, I don’t think he ever met anybody that he couldn’t find a way to talk to them,” Skomal noted. “So that will also be missed. That’s a talent you take for granted when you have him, but you’ll sure miss it when you need him.”
Culley began his career with the Reno County Sheriff’s Department in 1986. His career spanned 33 years with the Reno County Sheriff’s Department. During the summers, he also worked as a ranger at Cheney State Park. JC was a member of FOP Lodge #18. He enjoyed riding his motorcycle, hunting, fishing, grilling and going to his cabin at Kanopolis Lake. JC’s passion was helping others and making the world a better place.
His flag-draped casket was escorted by a countless number of patrol vehicles to his burial place in the small town of Kanopolis. Memorials may be made to the Reno County Sheriff’s FOP Lodge #18 in care of Elliott Mortuary, 1219 N. Main, Hutchinson, KS 67501.
HUTCHINSON, Kan. — The Catholic Diocese of Wichita Thursday published a list of diocesan clergy against whom an allegation of sexual abuse of a minor has been substantiated. Four of the nine that are on the list have ties to Hutchinson.
Bishop Carl A. Kemme
According to a statement on the diocese website, the list is being published after a comprehensive and independent audit of all clergy files over the last several months by Stephen Robison, a non-Catholic lawyer with many years of experience in criminal and civil investigations.
Published on the list are the names of nine priests of the Catholic Diocese of Wichita, who have substantiated allegations of sexual abuse of a minor. Included with the nine named priests are an additional six priests, who though not priests of the diocese, served in the diocese for a period of time, and are identified because they were published by other dioceses.
The four clergies with ties to Hutchinson are Peter Duke who served at the Church of the Holy Cross in 1970 and 1971; Charles O’Connor who was at St. Teresa’s from 1984 through 1988; Robert Schleiter who also served at St. Teresa’s in 1954 and 1955; and William Wheeler who was at St. Elizabeth’s hospital from 1960 until 1963.
The names, ordination dates, assignment histories and current status are now available on the diocesan website.
All clergy currently listed have either been removed from ministry or are deceased. The majority are deceased. Going forward, the Catholic Diocese of Wichita in cooperation with its Policy on Suspected Abuse of Children will continue to disclose the names of any clergy against whom an allegation of sexual abuse of a minor is substantiated.
HUTCHINSON, Kan. — The new Club Car Wash is open. The new business opened this morning at 1625 E 17th. The 5,600 square foot facility employs about 10 people and is a very community-oriented company according to company spokesperson Emeri Bartels.
The car wash is the 7th to open in Kansas with four locations in Topeka, and one each in Ottawa, Salina, and Hutchinson. The Missouri-based company which goes by the name of Tiger Car Wash in their home state, plans to expand its footprint in Kansas.
HUTCHINSON, Kan. — With fall harvest underway in many parts of the state, now is the time to think about planting a cover crop after your fall grain crop is harvested. A cover crop can provide many soil health benefits. This includes building organic matter, improving soil porosity, increasing nutrient cycling, and increasing soil water holding capacity.
A cover crop can also provide excellent weed suppression and a fair amount of livestock forage through the winter and spring if planted timely. Putting the right cover crop mix together is essential in having a successful planting. The species you use in the mix will depend on what you are trying to accomplish. If you are wanting to break up some compaction, include some deep-tap-rooted plants like radishes, turnips, rape and other species from the Brassica family.
If increasing organic matter and water holding capacity is your goal, plant a species with a vigorous fibrous root system. Winter cereal grains like triticale, barley, wheat and rye would be good choices. To increase infiltration, a combination of deep-rooted and fibrous-rooted plants should be used. Decaying tap roots provide channels for water to directly infiltrate into the soil. Fibrous-rooted plants help feed the soil microbes. These bacteria, fungi, and other microorganisms produce the organic glues that help bind the individual soil particles of sand, silt and clay into larger soil aggregates. This provides more pore space in the soil where water can infiltrate when it rains.
For grazing, you will want to have a mix that is predominately a winter cereal grain, like wheat, barley, triticale or rye. Mixes that are heavy with these species are also good for weed suppression since they cover and shade the ground quickly and compete well with weeds. It is best to get the cover crop planted as soon as possible after the cash crop is harvested. This will give the cover crop time to get established and get some growth before it gets too cold. If the planting ends up being past the end of October, you will want to select species that have a fair amount of cold and frost tolerance. Triticale, rye and cold-tolerant Brassica plants work well in these situations.
Always consider the economics of planting a cover crop. There is no reason to plant a $30 to $40 mix when one that costs $15 will do the job. Wheat may be a good choice to use as a cover crop given its current price.
GREAT BEND, Kan. — The woman who was riding with David Madden the day he shot Rice County Undersheriff Chad Murphy has been arrested in Ellinwood. The Kansas Bureau of Investigation issued an arrest warrant for 27-year-old Erin M. Baker for crimes connected to the April 29 shooting.
Baker was arrested by Barton County Sheriff’s Office deputies at her residence for interference with a law enforcement officer, aggravated child endangerment and obstruction of apprehension.
The charges allege Baker put her 7-year-old child in danger in continuing a relationship with Madden, who she knew was a convicted felon who possessed a firearm, which culminated in the child being present when Madden shot the undersheriff. She is also accused of obstructing the investigation into the shootings of the undersheriff and Sheriff Bryant Evans, and the murder of Thomas Madden by leaving the scene and not attempting to notify authorities of the crimes that occurred.
Baker was booked into the Barton County Jail. The Rice County Attorney’s Office will prosecute the case.
HUTCHINSON, Kan. — The Hutchinson Planning Commission may be ready to make stricter regulations on small-box or dollar-type stores during Tuesday’s regular meeting.
The changes would force these types of businesses to offer fresh or fresh/frozen food items for sale. This would include dairy products and unprocessed foods that are frozen.
The purpose is to give those who shop at the dollar-type stores better choices for food items. It would call for small-box stores to dedicate 10% of their retail space to such food items. The changes, which are already in place in other cities, are starting to have an effect on Dollar General stores. The largest small-box chain is beginning to add fresh food options to its stores; staff wants to ensure that the residents of the city are getting, at a minimum, these options from the stores. Hutchinson and South Hutchinson are home to five such stores.
This ordinance also includes items that are minimally processed, such as dairy and dairy alternative products like milk, yogurt and cheese. Apart from the dairy language, the definition was drafted from a similar ordinance in Kansas City. It also calls for conditional use permits to be filed with the planning commission allowing staff, the public and decision-makers to review each project on its unique circumstances and allow public comment on the proposal.
Tuesday’s Hutchinson Planning Commission meeting begins at 5:30 p.m. in the Hutchinson city offices.
HUTCHINSON, Kan. — Next Monday is the first day of Autumn and many are thinking about maintenance on their plants and lawns. Jason French with Stutzman’s Greenhouse says it is a good time to give your lawn the once over. “This is a great time for lawns, overseeding and seeding, or fertilizing,” French said. “Fall really builds that root system and gets that lawn looking really good again.”
There are some things you need to do to prepare your lawn for the fall season if you plan to overseed. “Generally you want to cut the grass a notch lower than what you had it then broadcast the seed over it,” French said. “Then I would use just a plain starter fertilizer where it doesn’t have any weed killer and keep the grass moist.”
Fall also means getting your plants prepared to be brought indoors and that means some maintenance on those as well. “A lot of those plants, it’s good to trim them back before we bring them in, and if we trim them back now they have time to get started with the new growth before they go inside,” French said. “The other thing to think about is sometimes it’s a perfect environment inside for bugs so you may either want to spray the plants or use a house plant granular to put in the soil and then the plant takes that up and it will get rid of any of those pests,” French added.
For those of you who like to garden, French says it’s still not too late to get some fall growing in for things like cucumbers, lettuce and other leafy veggies.
Hutchinson Community College during Monday’s agenda session. The agreement includes the use of Gowans Stadium and the USD 308 Complex.
