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McPherson business fire caused over $2M in damage

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MCPHERSON COUNTY —  Authorities are working to determine the cause of an explosion and fire at a McPherson County chemical plant.

Crews on the scene of Thursday’s fire at Chemstar in McPherson – photo courtesy KWCH

Just before 4p.m. Thursday, fire crews responded to Chemstar, 503 West Hayes Street in McPherson, according to Fire Chief Keith Wyssmann.

Fire crews found heavy smoke and fire showing from the facilities. The explosion badly damaged the structure and process machinery.  Crews had the fire under control just after 5p.m.

There were no injuries.

Damage is estimated at over $2 million dollars, according to Wyssmann. The plant was still without electrical power late Friday.

The Kansas State Fire Marshal is assisting with the investigation.

Chemstar is a family-owned, Minneapolis, Minnesota-based company that makes starch-based polymer products for industrial applications, according to their corporate web site.

Folks the final candidate for USD 308 position

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HUTCHINSON, Kan. — The fourth and final candidate to interview for the Hutchinson USD 308 superintendent position is Mike Folks.

Folks has been superintendent at Clay County Schools, based in Clay Center, since July 1, 2005. Clay County Schools has high schools in Clay Center and Wakefield in north-central Kansas. Before that, he was superintendent at Central Heights USD 288 in Richmond, Kansas.

He received a master’s from Pittsburg State University in educational leadership and administration in 2000 and a master’s in higher education/high education administration from Fort Hays State University in 1997.

As with the other three finalists, Folks will tour the district and meet with various district groups. There will be a staff and community reception for Folks from 3:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. at the Hutchinson Career and Technical Education Academy, 800 15th Circle.

The board will then meet with the finalist in an executive session at 5:45 p.m. at the Administration Center.

The other three finalists are current Haven superintendent Clark Wedel; Moundridge superintendent George Leary; and Cheney superintendent David Grover.

Ewy the new principal at HHS

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HUTCHINSON, Kan. — Hutchinson USD 308 has a new principal. The district stayed in-house to find him. The district announced Thursday that Ryan Ewy will be recommended to the Board of Education to become the next principal at Hutchinson High School. His name will be on Monday’s Personnel Report to the board.

Ewy has been assistant principal at HHS since the 2015-16 school year. He joined the district in 2012-13 as a social studies teacher at Hutchinson Middle School – 8.

He was an administrator and teacher at Andover Middle School from 2002 to 2010. He taught at Dodge City Community College from 2010 to 2012.

District Superintendent Gary Price said current HHS Principal Ronn Roehm recommended Ewy for the position. Roehm will retire as of June 30 with Ewy starting officially on July 1.

Roehm announced late last year he was stepping down after 20 years on the job.

Westar tops property taxpayer list

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HUTCHINSON, Kan. — The nation’s second-largest railroad has become the second-most valuable company in Reno County.

BNSF moved to the No. 2 spot when it comes to its valuation and the amount of property taxes paid in Reno County for 2018. The railroad had a total valuation in the county of $9,882,000 on taxes of $1,563,000.

As always, Westar Energy is at the top of the list with more than $42.7 million in valuation. That’s an increase from last year’s total of $38.9 million. The $6.7 million in total taxes paid compared to $6.2 million in 2017.

Panhandle Eastern actually saw its numbers fall from the previous year with nearly $1.2 million in taxes paid on a total valuation of $8.1 million. The nation’s largest railroad, Union Pacific, stayed in the fourth spot with taxes of just under $1.2 million on total valuation of $7.5 million.

The rest of the top 10 were Mid American Pipeline, Kansas Gas Service, Main Line Inc., Magellan Pipeline Company, Enterprise Products and Dillon Real Estate Company.

Total valuation for the top 10 companies in 2018 was $96, 878,000 on taxes of $15,317,000.

A list of the top 100 property taxpayers in Reno County can be found below.

Taxpayer (Assessed Taxes)

WESTAR ENERGY (ELECTRIC DIVISION) 42,778,534 (6,768,003.24)
BNSF 9,882,520 (1,563,452.70)
PANHANDLE EASTERN PIPELINE COMPANY 8,134,009 (1,197,165.72)
UNION PACIFIC RAILROAD COMPANY 7,545,831 (1,193,536.22)
MID AMERICA PIPELINE COMPANY LLC 6,869,618 (1,007,592.36)
KANSAS GAS SERVICE A DIVISION OF ONE GAS 5,276,052 (904,390.14)
MAIN LINE, INC 5,088,625 (888,886.48)
MAGELLAN PIPELINE COMPANY LLC 5,071,603 (760,129.92)
ENTERPRISE PRODUCTS OPERATING LLC 3,551,970 (566,467.84)
DILLON REAL ESTATE CO, INC 2,679,469 (468,166.12)
WAL-MART STORES #01-0794 REAL ESTATE BUSINESS TRUS 2,531,293 (442,282.70)
ARK VALLEY ELECTRIC COOP ASSN INC 2,505,369 (381,820.30)
DILLON COMPANIES, INC 2,440,815 (426,358.12)
ARCHER-DANIELS-MIDLAND COMPANY 2,350,821 (410,749.60)
SOUTHERN STAR CENTRAL GAS PIPELINES 2,126,065 (315,438.62)
NUSTAR PIPELINE OPERATING PARTNERSHIP LP 1,936,244 (337,310.08)
ONEOK NGL PIPELINE,LP 1,891,567 (285,600.76)
SANDS OF HUTCHINSON LLC 1,881,423 (328,641.34)
TYSON PREPARED FOODS, INC 1,879,106 (307,607.08)
CARGILL, INC 1,820,063 (314,036.64)
LOWES HOME CENTERS, INC 1,662,903 (290,470.92)
KUHN KRAUSE, INC 1,654,082 (289,011.18)
MAYFAIR HOSPITALITY LLC 1,645,776 (287,559.86)
EATON CORPORATION 1,645,231 (287,464.64)
ONEOK NORTH SYSTEM 1,636,165 (238,869.22)
SOUTHWESTERN BELL TELEPHONE L P 1,610,048 (270,817.98)
BLACK HILLS CORP, (KANSAS DIVISION) 1,572,227 (242,258.58)
FIRST NATIONAL BANK OF HUTCHINSON 1,391,701 (244,506.80)
ARCONIC, INC 1,379,912 (241,038.90)
STRAWN, JAMES L TRUST 1,369,403 (236,325.36)
HD DEVELOPMENT OF MARYLAND, INC 1,351,223 (236,093.80)
PRAIRIE DUNES, INC 1,273,692 (194,212.92)
CITY BEVERAGE COMPANY, INC 1,260,361 (220,156.12)
ROCKSTEP HUTCHINSON, LLC 1,254,083 (219,120.92)
COLLINS INDUSTRIES, INC 1,218,795 (197,314.42)
UNIT PETROLEUM C/O K.E. ANDREWS 1,207,314 (181,238.24)
LOWEN CORPORATION 1,180,372 (206,183.84)
ONEOK HYDROCARBON LP 1,178,720 (180,755.54)
MAA SANTOSHI, INC 1,136,704 (198,611.74)
TENAWA HAVEN PROCESSING LLC 1,123,801 (164,951.52)
NOBLE HUTCHINSON, LLC 1,104,781 (193,033.98)
KANSAS GAS & ELEC-A WESTAR ENERGY COMPAN 1,080,747 (175,259.04)
CARGILL, INC SALT 1,049,097 (183,304.52)
HEARTLAND CREDIT UNION 1,047,540 (183,416.78)
CENTRAL BANK & TRUST CO 1,007,762 (176,006.46)
COLE KO HUTCHINSON KS LLC 996,776 (174,162.68)
MORTON SALT, INC 980,120 (157,272.02)
MORTON SALT, INC 964,233 (154,592.08)
HUTCHINSON 17TH LLC 961,200 (167,946.64)
SONOCO HUTCHINSON LLC 950,573 (166,089.82)
SONOCO HUTCHINSON LLC 948,820 (165,783.54)
HUTCHINSON SUITE HOTEL LLC 947,031 (165,470.94)
BOLD, LLC 857,104 (149,738.54)
KIRK, FRANK & LYNN TRUST 816,163 (142,564.90)
TSW PRODUCTS CO, INC 780,234 (136,198.26)
GMRI, INC 771,300 (134,728.38)
EXCALIBUR PRODUCTION CO INC 769,847 (113,143.04)
VASU, INC 763,449 (133,394.40)
KAHAN AND ASSOCIATES INC 749,408 (108,201.80)
MIDWEST ENERGY INC 744,378 (127,949.40)
WILLIAMS HUTCH RAIL COMPANY, LLC 737,349 (112,470.80)
TAKAKO AMERICA CO., INC 730,345 (127,574.52)
COLLINGWOOD TERMINAL, INC TAX V-528469 #V23 727,632 (127,100.58)
MAST, MARVIN E 718,410 (117,331.60)
MEDICAL PROPERTIES, LLC 689,691 (119,973.12)
ONEAL PROPERTIES 677,395 (118,325.34)

NATIONAL RETAIL PROPERTIES LP 665,056 (116,202.58)
FARMINGTON PLAZA LLC 647,703 (113,170.56)
KELMAN, STEVEN C 634,245 (106,440.78)
HCRI KANSAS PROPERTIES, LLC 633,411 (110,596.34)
HUTCH JOSEPH INVESTMENTS LLC 624,201 (109,064.14)
DATA CENTER, INC 618,764 (108,114.18)
HIEB PROPERTIES, LLC 599,364 (104,724.50)
PRYOR REAL ESTATE DEVELOPMENT LLC 592,916 (103,526.44)
ALDI, INC 588,366 (102,774.02)
FARMERS NATIONAL BANK OF STAFFORD 586,643 (102,642.88)
FUGATE, J LARRY REV TRUST 575,066 (100,479.00)
SPIRIT MASTER FUNDING VIII, LLC 570,390 (99,634.02)
KB ENTERPRISES OF HUTCHINSON, LLC 566,016 (99,121.40)
MIDWAY REAL ESTATE LLC 565,749 (98,823.36)
KANSAS FARMERS SERVICE ASSOC 561,496 (98,080.44)
CONKLIN LAND, INC 555,075 (96,986.04)
PRAIRIE VILLAGE RESIDENCES II, LC 550,149 (96,052.38)
KROGER COMPANY, THE 544,058 (95,061.08)
MCDONALDS CORPORATION 536,584 (93,755.18)
PEOPLES BANK AND TRUST COMPANY 526,102 (89,940.08)
DAB # 165 JOINT VENTURE 515,556 (90,055.78)
CFT NV DEVELOPMENTS, LLC 512,865 (89,585.72)
KAUFFMAN SEEDS, INC 510,497 (80,115.24)
FARMERS COOPERATIVE ELEVATOR CO 507,971 (94,046.32)
CAPVIEW INCOME & VALUE FUND IV LP 500,031 (87,343.92)
ALLEN SAMUELS REALTY INC 498,008 (86,990.54)
KANSAS SENIOR HOUSING PROPERTIES, LLC 495,213 (86,480.60)
HUTCHINSON SALT CO, INC 489,950 (85,601.42)
BLINDHOG, LC 485,458 (84,822.14)
PRYCE INDUSTRIES LLC 481,058 (77,191.54)
MICROMONT HOLDINGS 6 LLC 477,625 (83,430.10)
MID-KANSAS COOPERATIVE ASSOCIATION 472,636 (86,942.96)
DIVERSIFIED BUILDINGS LLC 463,525 (74,378.16)

Kan. senator worries what shutdown means for rocket launches and trade

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By JIM MCLEAN

A private rocket launch of a satellite is just one thing that the partial federal government shutdown might delay. Kansas Sen. Jerry Moran also worries about how it complicates efforts to avoid a trade war with China.
SPACEX

As President Donald Trump prepared to address the nation about the partial shutdown of the federal government, U.S. Sen. Jerry Moran huddled with staffers this week talking about rocket launches.

They fretted over whether the furlough of workers at NASA and the Federal Aviation Administration could force the delay of satellite and experimental rocket launches.

That shutdown also delays a planned Senate vote on the U.S. Mexico Canada Agreement, or USMCA, the North American Free Trade Agreement replacement negotiated by the Trump administration.

“Getting those answers isn’t easy because the people who normally answer me and my staff’s questions aren’t at work,” Moran said told the Kansas News Service.

Moran, a Kansas Republican, chairs the appropriations subcommittee that handles the budgets of NASA, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative and scores of other agencies.

He said trade negotiations with the Chinese appear headed toward a conclusion, but staffers supporting the U.S. officials conducting the talks fall among the ranks of furloughed federal workers. The same is true, he said, of workers at the FAA and NASA who license and schedule launches of experimental rockets and those carrying new satellites into orbit.

One of the missions likely delayed by the shutdown is a planned Jan. 17 launch of an unmanned capsule to the International Space Station by SpaceX, a company founded in 2002 by entrepreneur Elon Musk.

The shutdown has also halted work at the U.S. Department of Commerce on two reports that Congress needs before the Senate can vote to ratify USMCA.

“This will delay our ability to consider a trade agreement that is of significant importance to Kansas,” he said. Mexico and Canada are the top two purchasers of Kansas farm and manufacturing exports.

Beyond those specific issues, Moran said he’s concerned that the shutdown will make it harder for the federal government to recruit the kind of workers it needs, particularly those with technical skills such as cybersecurity.

“They’re in great demand,” he said. “Many of them are very important to our national security.”

But he said when the government can’t guarantee those people will be paid, “they start looking for work elsewhere.”

Ending the stalemate will require compromise on all sides, Moran said. That could mean a deal that gives the president the additional money he’s demanding for border security — including a wall — in exchange for broader immigration reforms. Those could include renewing protection for immigrants covered by the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA, who face potential deportation after being brought into the country illegally as children.

“That is something we could go to that I think would bring Republican and Democrat support,” he said. “The question is: Would it be something the president would sign?”

Negotiations prove even harder, Moran said, when two sides can’t agree on key facts.

Trump’s speech from the Oval Office drew criticism for its characterization of a border “security crisis.” Leading up to the speech, administration officials made disproven claims that thousands of terrorists are sneaking into the country from Mexico.

“We need to get to the point in this country where facts are agreed to and they don’t change from one day to the next,” Moran said. “We can have the negotiations, but those negotiations can only be successful if we’re all talking about the same set of facts.”

Other members of the state’s congressional delegation continue to defend the president’s claims.

Tweeting after Tuesday night’s speech, Republican U.S. Rep. Ron Estes said the president made a clear case for “why we need to address the crisis on our southern border.”

“Democrats must come to the table to negotiate a solution to protect our border and reopen government,” Estes said.

Moran agrees border security is a priority, but he said the threats extend well beyond the U.S. Mexico border.

“It’s all of our borders,” he said. “It’s our ports of entry. It’s our coastline.”

Jim McLean is the senior correspondent for the Kansas News Service. You can reach him on Twitter @jmcleanks. 

Kan. restaurant owner sentenced for using customer credit cards

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OLATHE, Kan. (AP) — The former owner of an Olathe barbecue restaurant was sentenced Wednesday to serve one year and one month in prison for using customers’ credit cards to fund spending sprees.

Sander-photo Johnson Co.

Matthew Sander, former owner of Smokin’ Joe’s Bar-B-Q, pleaded guilty in November to seven counts of identity theft, four counts of theft and one count of criminal use of a credit card.

Court documents filed by Sander’s attorney say he had a “significant drug and alcohol problem” that he has since addressed.

Prosecutors said Sander went on spending binges with credit cards that customers left behind at the restaurant. In one case, Sander used a debit card from a purse he took at an Overland Park restaurant.

Sander was ordered to pay restitution of $11,400.

Cheney Superintendent David Grover to interview in USD 308 Wednesday

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HUTCHINSON, Kan. — The third of four candidates for the USD 308 superintendent job is David Grover.

Grover has been superintendent at Cheney Public Schools since July 1, 2012. Before that, he was principal at Iola High School in southeast Kansas.

The finalist will tour the district and meet with various district groups. There will be a staff and community reception for Grover from 3:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. at the Hutchinson Career and Technical Education Academy, 800 15th Circle.

The board will then meet with the finalist in an executive session at 5:45 p.m. at the Administration Center.

There will be no superintendent interview on Thursday. The final interview will be on Friday.

Current Haven superintendent Clark Wedel and Moundridge superintendent George Leary have already interviewed for the job.

Leary to interview for Hutchinson superintendent job Tuesday

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HUTCHINSON, Kan. — The next candidate that will interview for the vacant superintendent job in Hutchinson USD 308 is current Moundridge superintendent George Leary.

Leary has been superintendent at Moundridge Public Schools since July 1, 2015. Before that, he was principal at Newton’s Santa Fe Middle School. The educator has his master’s degree in educational administration from Kansas State University and a bachelor’s degree of natural sciences from Bethel College in North Newton.

The finalist will tour the district and meet with various district groups. There will be a staff and community reception for Leary from 3:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. at the Hutchinson Career and Technical Education Academy, 800 15th Circle.

The board will then meet with the finalist in an executive session at 5:45 p.m. at the Administration Center.

Current Haven superintendent Clark Wedel interviewed for the position on Monday.

Haven Superintendent the first to interview for USD 308 position

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HUTCHINSON, Kan. — The Hutchinson USD 308 School Board will begin interviewing five finalist for the Superintendent’s position starting today. The first finalist is current Haven USD 312 Superintendent Clark Wedel.

Wedel has been superintendent at Haven Public Schools since July 1, 2015. Prior to that, he spent 10 years as a principal at Moundridge. He received his masters for educational leadership and administration from Wichita State University. He also has a bachelor’s degree in education for industrial technology from Emporia State University. He began his educational career as an industrial arts teacher.

The finalist will tour the district and meet with various district groups. There will be a staff and community reception for Wedel from 3:30 to 4:30 p.m. at the Hutchinson Career and Technical Education Academy, 800 15th Circle.

The Board, then, will meet with the finalist in an executive session at 5:45 p.m. at the Administration Center.

State of the City set for Jan. 16

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HUTCHINSON, Kan. — The Hutchinson AMBUCS and the Chamber of Commerce will once again host the annual State of the City address.

The event is scheduled for Wednesday, Jan. 16, from 7 a.m. to 8 a.m. at the Atrium Hotel & Conference Center.

Guests will have the opportunity to hear from City Manager John Deardoff and Mayor Steve Dechant on the milestones of 2018 and what the business community can look forward to in 2019.

The cost to attend is $12 for members and $22 for non-members.

For more information, contact Belinda McClanahan at 620.662.3391 or register online.

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