HUTCHINSON, Kan. — Since July of last year, three public forums have been held in the area regarding the seismic activity that has rattled the area. That included one Thursday evening at the Hutchinson Public Library where a group of panelists answered questions ranging from the cause of the tumblers to the possible effect on property values.
Rick Miller with the Kansas Geological Survey explains to the audience the science of earthquakes during a public forum held Thursday at the Hutchinson Public Library.
The latest activity in August resulted in more than 40 earthquakes over a week with two measuring above four on the Richter scale. The quakes are thought to be from an increase in deep injection well activity from increased oil and gas production in Oklahoma and southern Kansas. Rick Miller with the Kansas Geological Survey says they do have a little better understanding of what is happening in the Hutchinson area.
“What we think is going on is a whole sequence of faults, like taking a sheet cake and just cutting it up into pieces, all of those slices in the cake are faults and you have a whole series of faults laying side by side,” Miller said. “The earthquake cluster is about three miles long east and west and about two miles wide north and south.”
Miller says the area is too small to generate an earthquake as strong as we have experienced, so a number of these faults are moving simultaneously in the area.
While the stronger earthquakes have caused some superficial damage, engineer Brent Engelland says it is not significant and is confined to older, taller buildings in the city. “There were a number of cosmetic cracks in commercial buildings around town,” Engelland said. “The only thing that would border on structural with the magnitude four that we had were buildings that were already in disrepair.”
As far as predicting earthquakes, several websites have boasted that they accurately predicted the August earthquakes. Miller took time to address that. “There is no current scientific accepted methodology for predicting earthquakes,” Miller said. “I can tell you, based on the number (of quakes) we’ve had, that it would not be unreasonable to predict a four. I can do that. Can I tell you what day? No. Can I tell you what month? No. Can I tell you what year? No.”
Citizens have been concerned with what will happen to property values and what people new to Hutchinson are saying about the earthquakes. Cindy Rehlander with the Reno County Appraiser’s Office says realtors are getting questions from potential homebuyers.
“We’re not seeing anybody in Reno County balking or not wanting to buy a new house or upgrade their home,” Rehlander said. “A couple of the realtors did mention that it is a little bit of a concern. Someone coming in from Colorado or somewhere will question what is going on with the earthquakes.”
Engelland and Rehlander said they don’t expect valuations of property to fall nor insurance rates to increase with the activity. Engelland says people are a little bit hypersensitive to the quakes, but that should decrease with time.
HUTCHINSON, Kan. — Imagine someone you don’t know entering your home in the middle of the night. That happened to a Hutchinson woman early Thursday morning when a woman, later identified as 33-year-old Jessica Scott, entered a home in the 300 block of East Avenue A, went upstairs and locked herself in a room.
She went outside later and tried to take a car.
Police were called. When officers made contact, Scott gave three fake names before they finally discovered who she was.
Potential charges include burglary, theft of a motor vehicle, interference with law enforcement and criminal damage.
She is jailed on an $8,250 bond and will be back in court next week.
HUTCHINSON, Kan. — Dick Dillon had a vision: a perpetual fund to help the city where it needs it most. Now, 30 years later, the Hutchinson Community Foundation is doing that and more.
The staff of the Hutchinson Community Foundation. Front Row L to R: Kari Mailloux, Amy Crockett, Dell Marie Shanahan Swearer, Cecilia Piña. Back Row L to R: Kourtney Krehbiel, Sarah Blake, Wendy Skellenger, Aubrey Abbott Patterson.
The foundation is celebrating its 30th year of operation. In those years, countless organizations — big and small — have benefited. From large grants that provide services to those in need, to small endowments that are left behind by loved ones targeting what is near to their heart. Local attorney Brad Dillon recalls his father’s idea to build a foundation. “My dad took the lead on this,” Dillon said. “He read about the idea of a community foundation in other towns so he started looking into that. (He) actually traveled to several towns to learn how they had done it and how it worked.”
The foundation started small, but then started to pick up momentum as local business leaders recognized the need for its service to the community. “What he learned from those visits is you start small and you start with a group of people that are well known and respected. So that, right off the bat, anyone asking who’s participating, they probably knew of that person.” Dillon said.
The foundation is headed up by President and CEO Aubrey Abbott Patterson, who has been with HCF for 15 years. After a lot of work, the foundation started with $400,000. According to Patterson, that was used to basically fund the foundation. “That $400,000 in the beginning was used to pay bills and the grant-making that we did out of the community foundation,” Patterson said. “And now, today, 30 years later, depending on the moment, it’s around $72 million.”
Patterson says more important than the current endowment is the money already given to help the city and its residents. “More important what it’s grown to and what we hold in assets is what we’ve given away,” Patterson said. “And that was Dick Dillon and the other founders’ real vision. But we’ve given away something like $76 million.”
The gifts have been big and small over the years, from large organizations and causes to small memorials for loved ones. “It’s really fun to help people touch the lives of others through philanthropy,” Patterson said. “We receive a lot of gifts that are memorials in honor or memory of someone that was important to them and it’s fun to help families figure out how to use that money in a meaningful way that truly honors their loved ones.”
One of those funds was started by Debbie Hindman, now Debbie Zook. When her husband David was killed in a home accident, it was the foundation that provided an avenue to help others. “I originally decided to do the fund because, in talking with Skip Johnson, we knew there would be memorials coming in and we were trying to figure out what to do,” Zook said. “In the end, the memorial fund provided an avenue for youth to take swim lessons and provided cameras for the Boys and Girls Club, among other things. “It was nice to be able to know that I could help second graders do swimming lessons and the Boys and Girls Club I did the cameras for,” Zook said.
When Debbie Hindman-Zook’s husband tragically died, Debbie looked to HCF to honor his life. Through the foundation, Debbie provided free swim lessons to a group of youth and cameras for students at the Boys and Girls Club.
Not only has the foundation provided small memorials like Zook’s, it has provided the avenues to help entire neighborhoods. Jennifer O’Conner grew up in Farmington Park. Her parents and grandparents were instrumental in developing the area that was bounded by ALCO and the drive-in theater. The area was developed by Stiles Contracting and the Stiles family was well known for their homes, many of which were built in the neighborhood. The friendship of the Stiles and Dillon families led O’Conner and her siblings to help add to the foundation. “They wanted to be a part of that because my dad had grown up with them and wanted to make sure that what they had done to grow the community as far as building houses would carry on,” O’Conner said. The fund left to the foundation has gone to make several improvements in the Farmington neighborhood, especially at the park. “We felt it was most appropriate to grant money toward the neighborhood that mom and dad and grandma and grandpa had a hand in building,” O’Conner said.
Until the foundation came to be, there were times agencies struggled to find the funds needed to provide services. One of the important ones in the area is the Cancer Council of Reno County. Until 2010, fundraising was about survival for the Cancer Council of Reno County. Solely focused on meeting the annual needs of patients fighting cancer, the council’s leadership thought putting money away in an endowed fund seemed out of the question. With inspiration from donors, board members and Hutchinson Community Foundation, the Cancer Council began making a conscious effort to create a fund with hopes of a more-sustainable future.
“We had to expand our thinking from helping cancer patients today, to helping cancer patients forever,” Sandy Woodson, executive director of CCRC, said.
Endowed funds serve as an organization’s long-term savings account, where the principal remains untouched and the organization only spends the interest in perpetuity. CCRC works to build the fund through its annual Round-Up fundraiser, the Community Foundation’s Match Day events and through special gifts. The board even committed $10,000 from operating funds to the endowment in honor of CCRC’s first director, Mary Hall.
The Cancer Council of Reno County used HCF to start an endowment program that has allowed the agency to fund its future in providing services for area cancer patients. Photo courtesy of HCF.
As the foundation continues to help others, it is also looking to its future to remain an engine for philanthropy and giving. Patterson has a very positive outlook for the foundation. “I think it’s just going to keep on getting better at this,” Patterson said. “We’re going to keep thinking about what our community needs and how we can have more impact.” One of those areas the foundation plans to look further into is direct support of various needs in the city and county. “On the horizon for us is figuring out how to put more of our assets to work in Reno County,” Patterson said. “So we’ve been making grants every year, but as we try to get better at this and have more impact, we’re going to start making some investments.”
Patterson says that means taking money from what might be invested in the stock market to generate funds and investing it directly into the community. One area that has benefited from direct help of the foundation is New Beginnings, who benefited from the foundation building the Santa Fe Place apartment complex on West 5th Avenue. “We brought our capital into this project in the community and, in return, we got 12 units of workforce housing that looks cool, cleaned up two blocks of blight, created a pocket community that’s walkable to downtown,” Patterson noted. “I’m really proud we could use our money to make something good happen and I think we’re going to learn how to do more of that probably in our downtown and investing in entrepreneurs and businesses and our old buildings that need renovation and rehab.”
The foundation is also looking to keep money that is currently in the city here in the future by asking residents to leave something behind for the foundation. “We’ve started asking everyone around us if they would consider leaving five percent of their estate back to this community that helped raise their kids, built their business, helped them do the things they did in their life to give back,” Patterson said. “We have a growing list of names of people and families who have said, ‘yeah, we want to give back to this place we love and we want it to be great for the next generation.'”
The foundation has done so much for the area, regularly giving out between $3 million and $5 million in grants each year in big and small projects and causes. Everyone has made a difference in Hutchinson and Reno County, whether it be entire organizations or something as simple as swim lessons for children.
HUTCHINSON, Kan. — After hearing numerous complaints from residents in the area, Hutchinson Public Works is tearing out the bulbous curbs and sidewalks from the intersection of Carpenter and Main.
The curbs were poured several months ago, but the narrow opening to the intersection going east off Main Street created problems for motorists, especially those that tow trailers.
Jeff Peterson of Public Works says the curb is being moved back to allow for full-sized lanes at the intersection. He hopes the work will be done by the end of the week.
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 Kansas State Fair announced an increase in attendance for this year’s event from last year. Officials say the great weather, along with new programming helped boost Kansas State Fair attendance by about 3% in 2019.
More than 337,400 people came to the state’s largest gathering, which ended Sunday. Those figures don’t include visitors who came in free before 11 a.m. on the fair’s kickoff day — Friday, Sept. 6. Fair officials estimate another 6,000 to 10,000 people strolled through the gates on that first morning. About 328,000 people attended the 2018 Kansas State Fair.
“This year’s fair took an already-wonderful Kansas event to new heights, bringing residents from all across the state together to celebrate everything that makes Kansas so special,” General Manager Robin Jennison said. “We had beautiful weather, and we also made some positive improvements.”
The fair launched a new logo and new brand in January that focused on “Celebrating All Things Kansas.” To incorporate the mission, the fair added an Explore Kansas Festival the first weekend, which showcased more than 40 Kansas communities in Gottschalk Park. The event was so successful that community officials have expressed an interest in coming back in 2020 to help expand the festival.
The fair ended its 10 days on a high. The final Sunday focused on promoting Kansas outdoor tourism with children and families learning more about fishing and shooting sports. The fair’s first-ever Pronto Pup eating contest was so successful it will be expanded next year. The All-Star Monster Truck Tour packed the grandstand with more than 5,000 people attending the event. Children 5 and under were free and were not included in that count.
“This event replaced the Outlaw Truck and Tractor Pull, which drew about 2,500 people for the past several years,” Jennison said. “We wanted to find a family-friendly event and the monster trucks worked. Many fairgoers told me that it was the most people they have seen in our grandstands in a long time. It was a great show and a great way to end the fair.”
Fair officials are still figuring vendor revenue. However, many vendors said the strong weekend crowds will help boost this year’s bottom line. Pat Repp with North American Midway Entertainment, the fair’s carnival company, called it one of the best fairs the company has experienced in several decades. The carnival saw a 13.3% increase in Midway sales over 2018. “That is the highest gross in the history of the Kansas State Fair on the carnival side,” Repp said. “We had perfect weather. The attendance was awesome. The fair did a great job with promotions. We had one of those dream fairs where everything worked out and we hope to keep up the momentum next year.”
Jennison noted while there were many successes, there are always areas that need improvement. Those changes will be explored in the coming months as the staff begins to work on the 2020 fair.
The Kansas Board of Regents voted Wednesday to change the benchmarks for in-state students to attend the state’s six public universities, and class-rank requirements are out.
In-state college admissions will change for Kansas high school students like this chemistry class at Topeka West High School. CHRIS NEAL / FOR THE KANSAS NEWS SERVICE
The move is meant to increase the number of Kansas high schoolers who are eligible to attend Kansas State University, Emporia State University, Pittsburg State University, Fort Hays State University, Wichita State University and the University of Kansas.
It’s also expected to help more first-generation college students attend Kansas universities and simplify the required list of academic prerequisites. But critics say they’re concerned changing standards could reduce high schoolers’ readiness for college.
Currently, Kansas high school students who want to attend a public university must take a specific number of classes in English, math, science, social sciences and electives. To attend any university except KU, they must have at least a 2.0 GPA in those classes; KU requires applicants to have a GPA of 3.25 in all classes and an ACT score above 21, or a GPA of 3.0 and an ACT score above 24.
“This has resulted in a pretty complicated process that creates confusion among the applicants and the counselors and the parents,” said Daniel Archer, vice president of academic affairs for the Board of Regents, at the meeting in Topeka.
Archer said it was hard for universities to keep track of which high school classes met which admissions requirements. “It’s a pretty onerous process to review individual courses,” he said, “because it’s not something you can automate.”
Under the new admissions criteria, the classes will be recommended, but not required.
Plus, students will be admitted if they meet the same ACT minimum or if they meet a new overall GPA requirement. Emporia State, Pittsburg State, Fort Hays State and Wichita State will require either an ACT score of 21 to get in or a GPA of 2.25. K-State will require either an ACT score of 21 or a GPA of 3.25.
Class rankings, which are currently taken into account, will go away. That’s because, Archer said, it’s easier to compare GPA across different high schools, while class rank is a less useful marker of academic ability.
This story has been corrected to show that the 2.0 GPA requirement at five schools only matters for the currently required set of classes, not a student’s overall GPA.
Nomin Ujiyediin reports on criminal justice and social welfare for the Kansas News Service. Follow her on Twitter @NominUJ or email nomin (at) kcur (dot) org.
HUTCHINSON, Kan. — Concerns are increasing over a portion of the Landmark building at 5th and Main after it was discovered that brickwork is pulling away from the structure. The cracks are located on the northwest corner of the building and extend several floors up the side.
It may force the city to close the alleyway in the interest of safety. “Closing the alley creates potential problems,” City Manager John Deardoff said. “But I’m not sure the city wants to spend $30,000 to shore a building that they don’t own.” The city has had to expend funds to keep the building secure and board up windows that are constantly broken. It’s a problem that has plagued that empty building for years.
Deardoff says they won’t make any decision on the alleyway until they get a better idea of how to deal with the building. The building does fall under the international property maintenance code and numerous violations have been recorded on the structure but the owner has shown no interest in making any repairs. Deardoff says they would like to see the building stay intact hope that someone will buy it and make improvements.
A chance to sell it passed by several years ago when a group wanted to turn the building into a senior living complex. The proposal died when the group could not secure tax credits from the state. Still, the building is in pretty good shape. “We really kind of want to keep it together,” Deardoff said. “It’s still pretty structurally sound overall. That brick giving away is the same thing that’s happened at the Stevens building. They received $200,000 from the state to repoint all of that.”
Deardoff says the city doesn’t want to close the alleyway but if it becomes a safety hazard they may have no choice.
HUTCHINSON, Kan. — An extensive renovation project is underway at the Cosmosphere. The project includes construction of the CosmoKids interactive area, design and construction of a new museum entrance and exit — allowing for increased guest accessibility — upgrades and improvements to the Germany Gallery, and creating a fully interactive area for both the new Liquid Galaxy display and the virtual reality interactive currently available at the entrance of the museum.
Photo courtesy of the Cosmosphere.
“The last significant upgrade date was 1997, so over 20 years ago was the last time people really saw something new,” Cosmosphere President Jim Remar said. “We’ve done some gallery improvements throughout the facility, but this is the first real significant investment and addition of new programming.”
Remar says one of the major additions will be designed for younger visitors. “We’re going to add a new CosmoKids discovery area that will provide hands-on activities for kids two through six,” Remar said. Some other features of the new project include the installation of a new mission simulator for Cosmosphere Camp 2020, featuring a capsule-based simulator and landing vehicle along with new carpet and lighting in the rotunda.
The work will require some areas of the museum to be closed off for a short time. “We’ll close the main entrance in the Germany Gallery and the first part of the Cold War exhibit for a period of time,” Remar noted. “We’ll be looking to get visitors back in there as soon as possible so we will do some rerouting, but it shouldn’t impact the overall experience.”
If all goes as planned, the new renovation and additions will be finished in March of 2020.
NICKERSON, Kan. — The Nickerson USD 309 School Board will seek approval of a new contract with its teachers during Monday’s agenda session.
Under the proposed contract, the base pay for teachers would increase to $38,050. The pay for non-teaching activities, such as athletic events, would also increase.
The board will also begin work on the district’s bond issue. The board will go over the numbers for property owners and set a schedule for bringing the information to the public. The bond proposal totaling $29.9 million would be used for improvements to South Hutchinson Elementary School, Reno Valley Middle School and Nickerson High School. The cost to district patrons would be about $232 per year on a $100,000 home, $506 on commercial property and $179 on ag property. The bond goes before voters Nov. 5.
Monday’s meeting of the Nickerson USD 309 School Board begins at 7 p.m. at the school district offices at 4501 W. 4th, just west of Fun Valley.
