MCPHERSON COUNTY — Law enforcement authorities, including the Kansas Bureau, are investigating a murder in McPherson County.

On Friday, police responded to the report of a man on the floor of his home in the city of McPherson, according to a media release.

When first responders arrived, the man was dead. Police believe the victim was targeted and knew the suspects. They do not believe the crime is a random act.

Officers identified the murder victim as 58-year-old Steven Carlson of McPherson.

Through the course of the investigation, officers identified 25-year-old Travis Ryan Belt as a suspect in the homicide. Just after 12:20 a.m. Saturday, police arrested Travis Belt on the requested charge of Murder in the First Degree and booked him into the McPherson County Jail.

Charges will be sent to McPherson County Attorney Torrance Parkins for review and filing.

Belt has previous drug, theft and weapons convictions in Reno and McPherson County, according to the Kansas Department of Corrections.

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MCPHERSON COUNTY — Law enforcement authorities, including the Kansas Bureau, are investigating a possible murder in McPherson County.

On Friday, police responded to report of a man on the floor of his home in the city of McPherson, according to a media release.

When first responders arrived, the man was dead. Police believe the victim was targeted and knew the suspects. They do not believe the crime is a random act.

No additional details were released late Saturday morning.
Anyone with information on the murder is asked to contact McPherson County Crimestoppers.

HUTCHINSON, Kan. — Officials at Jacam Chemicals say they will be able to resume operations at their facility north of Sterling where fire destroyed a building on Thursday.

Laura Snyder is the spokesperson for Jacam and says they plan to re-energize the plant over the weekend and be up and running again Monday. The fire broke out around 9 a.m. Thursday in a building used to produce a clay product for the oil drilling industry. While the material was not explosive or hazardous, it did burn hot enough to cause the large metal building to collapse.

Snyder also wanted to take time to thank firefighters and Jacam employees for their hard work during the incident. No injuries were reported to either firefighters or employees. The state fire marshal’s office was out investigating the fire Friday, but no cause has been determined at this time. The fire did cause a small group of families and one business to evacuate, but all were allowed to return Thursday as the fire subsided.

Jacam does plan to rebuild that area of the plant and will move the six employees displaced from their jobs by the fire to other duties.

 

STERLING, Kan. — Fire crews from all around Rice and Reno Counties were called out to Jacam Chemical Company Thursday morning for a major structure fire.

Gregg Klein, Director of Rice County Emergency Management, says the fire started around 9 a.m. at one of the plant’s outer buildings. Some evacuations were suggested for properties just north of the facility and Klein says air quality around the plant will be monitored for the next 24 hours, but the materials that were inside the building were non-toxic.

Laura Snyder, spokesperson for Jacam, says the building involved was used to produce what is called “organophilic clay,” which is a dry powder that is mixed with other chemicals to produce drilling mud for the oil industry. While the material is not explosive, it does burn with a lot of heat, according to Snyder.

Snyder and Klein both stated that all procedures were followed during the incident and everyone was accounted for that was inside the building. No injuries were reported and the cause of the fire is not known at this time.

 

HUTCHINSON, Kan. — Saying it was a decision in the making for the past six months, Greg Payton announced that Payton Optical will close its doors for good next month.

Payton, who says the store is closing while on top in the small business world, announced to hutchpost.com that it’s time to retire. Payton Optical was started by James Payton in 1948 with Greg running the business for the past 44 years.

Payton says that this was not a business decision, but that it was simply time to step away from work and enjoy life. There was some discussion about turning the store over to another entity, but in the end, it was decided to close the shop. Payton noted that he will still have a presence in the downtown area with properties he owns and manages, but will be limited to just that.

Payton says that customers will be able to place orders until May 12 and the store will close on Friday, May 26.

HUTCHINSON, Kan. — With the newly created company fully intact, Siemens Wind Energy and Gamesa
announced its new leadership team on Friday. Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy, as it is now known, has appointed Rosa Garcia as its new Chairwoman.

Ignacio Martin, former Executive Chairman of Gamesa, will continue as CEO until the new board can name his successor.

Andrew Hall, formerly CFO of Siemens Wind Power, has been appointed the CFO of the merged company. Xabier Etxeberria, formerly Business CEO at Gamesa, will head its onshore business. Markus Tacke, previously CEO of Siemens Wind Power, will head the united company’s offshore business, and Mark Albenze, who was the CEO of Wind Service at Siemens Wind Power, will head the combined service business.

The merged company will remain listed on the Spanish stock exchange. Legal domicile and global headquarters of the company, along with the onshore headquarters, will be also located in Spain, while the offshore headquarters will be located in Hamburg, Germany, and Denmark. The merger, which was finalized in the fall, was made possible after Siemens spun off its wind turbine sector into a separate entity called Siemens Renewables. Siemens wanted to partner with Gamesa to open up markets in South America onshore while Gamesa wanted Siemens expertise in offshore turbine technology.

In total, the merged company has close to 27,000 employees and products and technology installed in more than 90 countries. The united company has combined annual revenue of €11 billion, an order backlog of €21 billion and a global installed capacity of 75 gigawatts (GW).

 

HUTCHINSON, Kan. — USD 308 Superintendent Dr. Shelly Kiblinger told members of the Hutchinson Public Schools Board of Education Thursday she was resigning her position, effective June 30.

Kiblinger, who is in her sixth year as superintendent, submitted her letter of resignation during the special meeting. The Board voted 7-0 to accept her resignation. Kiblinger is resigning to take advantage of another opportunity in Kansas.

The superintendent told the Board she had been offered a job opportunity closer to her family. The job offer was conditioned on her being released from her current contract on June. 30.

Kiblinger is the district’s 31st superintendent in its 145-year history.