The Scott County Record

SCHS boys are champions at the Orange and Black tournament Page 17

56 Pages • Five Sections

Volume 21 • Number 25

Thursday, January 30, 2014

Published in Scott City, Ks.

$1 single copy

Parking is primary concern with 9th Street trail

A proposed community walking trail that would run the length of Ninth Street in Scott City found very little opposition during an informational meeting held on Monday evening.

While there were questions about what would happen to existing sidewalks that were too narrow, and trees that would

interfere with the project, there was one issue that was of primary concern for several residents - parking.

“Will you take away the parking on Ninth Street?” wondered Neal O’Brien (902 S. Jackson).

“The parking will not be restricted,” assured Scott Community Foundation Director

Ryan Roberts.

“But for how long?” asked O’Brien.

Ryan said it was not the intent of the committee to eliminate parking along Ninth Street.

The next - and most costly - phase of the community trail project calls for construction of a sidewalk along the south side

of Ninth Street that will connect Maddux Park on the west side of town with Palmer Park on the east side. The proposal also includes a 2,530 ft. hard-surface trail on the railroad right-ofway between 6th Street and Alice Avenue.

Cost of the improvements are pegged at $400,000 to $500,000

with 80 percent funding from a Kansas Department of Transportation grant if approved. The city’s share of about $80,000 to $100,000 will be paid for through grants already approved, city sales tax grant (if approved) and private donations already received.

(See TRAIL on page 16)

Former ag board member: 20% reduction is not enough For those farmers and landowners in Groundwater Management District No. 1 who may be hesitant about going along with a 20 percent reduction in water usage, which is the preliminary recommendation in efforts to organize a Local Enhanced Management Area, a former member of the Kansas Board of Agriculture offers some advice.

It’s not enough.

Jay Garetson, who is also a former member of the Kansas Water Authority and Ogallala Task Force, says that in order to make a large enough impact for farmers to assure there is enough water for their children and grandchildren they need to consider a 50 percent reduction.

“Water will be the factor that we’re all judged by over the next 25, 50 or 100 years,” Garetson recently told the Scott City Council. “The drought over the past three years has brought into focus what you can do with very little water - and what you can’t do without any water.”

Garetson was questioned about the Local Enhanced Management Area (LEMA) which is being proposed for Groundwater Management District 1.

“Everyone talks like you do, but doing it is another matter,” said Councilman Perry Nowak.

Garetson endorsed the concept of a LEMA, pointing out that expecting everyone to voluntarily reduce water consumption won’t be successful.

“I think having it district-wide is the right thing to do,” he said, referring to plans to include all five GWMD counties in the LEMA. “You need to get everyone involved.”

Chris Weathers, a Scott County farmer, pointed out there are “more straws in the glass” than can be addressed by the Sheridan 6 LEMA or would be impacted by water use reductions in GWMD No. 1. He wondered what would be the overall im(See FORMER on page two)

Scott County Clerk Pam Faurot’s final day on the job is January 31.

Serving the people of county brought satisfaction to Faurot Pam Faurot can recall the first day she began her job as the newly appointed Scott County Clerk.

“The first thing I thought was ‘What have I got myself into?’” she recalls with a laugh. “Other than running elections I had no idea what the clerk’s duties were.”

It didn’t take long for Faurot to jump into her new responsibilities and learn her way around the clerk’s office, which she has successfully accomplished over the past 15 years. Her final day on the job is Friday when she retires.

“I planned to stay on the job for another year, but my husband retired a couple of years ago and that got me to thinking,” says Faurot, who is 61. “Darrell kept telling me it’s time to enjoy life a little more and we have things we

want to do while we have our health. We both decided it was time.”

It didn’t take long for Faurot to learn that being a clerk meant more than making sure elections operated smoothly every two years. The clerk’s office is involved in just about everything that the county is connected with - from trash service to maintenance issues in the courthouse.

Centralized Voting Faurot says one of her most controversial decisions was to close the various voting sites around the county and have everyone who votes on election day cast their ballots at the Wm. Carpenter 4-H Building.

“Some people were angry with me because they couldn’t vote where they

had for so many years,” Faurot says.

“But most places weren’t handicapped accessible and a couple of places simply weren’t very desirable.”

She recalls that the former Manning School had begun deteriorating to the point that the county road department had to make sure weeds and bushes weren’t blocking the doorway. And the roof could no longer keep out the rain.

“After a couple of elections at the Carpenter Building everyone was pleased with the move. It improved our voter turnout and it decreased the errors,” she says. “And it’s even saved a little money.”

That’s not the only election change that’s gone over well. Setting up a voting booth in the courthouse so people (See FAUROT on page two)

SCH counselors to assist with health care sign-up

Regardless of whether or not one agrees with the Affordable Care Act (aka, Obamacare) two things are certain come March 31.

•If you don’t have health insurance you will pay a penalty.

•If your current health insurance doesn’t meet minimum federal guidelines you will have to switch to a policy which does.

The Scott County Hospital is hoping to assist people

gain a better understanding of Obamacare and assist in that transition, if necessary. It has assigned two staff members to become Certified Application Counselors.

Becky Karnaze and Brandy Heim are available, at no cost, to assist individuals in understanding how the ACA will affect them and in selecting a health insurance policy.

“Our job is not to direct peo-

406 Main, St. Scott City • 620-872-2090 www.scottcountyrecord.com

Conservation efforts to be recognized at SCCD annual meeting special section

ple to a specific plan,” emphasizes Karnaze. “We will explain the options available, and the costs, so people can make an informed decision.”

With the first phase of the ACA going into effect on January 1, and with health insurance mandatory after March 31, SCH CEO Mark Burnett says they have begun hearing more inquiries about health insurance.

Even though he doesn’t expect

it to impact a lot of people locally, he feels the hospital can act as an agent to help provide information and, more importantly, clear up misinformation.

“We’re fortunate in Scott County in that a lot of our major employers offer health insurance,” says Burnett. “Since a lot of people already have insurance available through their jobs, they aren’t going to be af-

406 Main, St. Scott City • 620-872-2090 www.scottcountyrecord.com Opinion • Pages 4-5 Calendar • Page 7 Opinion poll • Page 7 LEC report • Page 11 Health • Pages 12-13

Deaths • Page 15 Sports • Pages 17-24 Farm section • Pages 26-27 Classified ads • Pages 29-31

fected by Obamacare one way or the other.

“But there are people who will need health insurance and if we can help them to sign up for a plan that provides coverage for them or their family, then we’re glad to fill that role,” he says. “If we do something that helps people in our community then, ultimately, it benefits all of us.”

(See COUNSELORS on page 8)

Afghan vet continues with his cross-country mission Page 25

The Scott County Record • Page 2 • Thursday, January 30, 2014

Former pact on the Ogallala if area producers reduced their usage, but the surrounding states didn’t cooperate.

“Twenty years ago that was my position,” Garetson said. “Since then I’ve gained a better understanding about the movement of water through the aquifer.”

Garetson emphasized that reducing water consumption locally will help to prolong the aquifer in this region and not just allow producers in southwest Kansas or Oklahoma to have access to more water.

While he pointed out that a LEMA may not be popular with everyone, Garetson emphasized that “I’d hate to see a very good plan fall victim to

(continued from page one)

our desire to seek a perfect solution.”

The Haskell County farmer said the last three years should have been a “slap in the face to producers.”

“And I get the distinct feeling that the governor and this legislature are tired of watching farmers, such as myself, making excuses for not doing anything,” continued Garetson.

He recommended that the GWMD, with state support, cut “paper rights by 50 percent so we can start getting to real water,” referring to what’s allocated and not what’s necessarily being used.

Once those paper rights are out of the way, Garetson advises cutting junior

Faurot

and senior rights by 25 percent.

“We still have time if we’re willing to get serious about making changes,” Garetson said. “But the longer we wait the fewer our options and the more harsh the consequences.”

“Is a LEMA the best way to self-regulate without government intervention?” asked Mayor Dan Goodman.

“We can set our own rules or we can live with whatever rules come down from Topeka,” replied Garetson. “If you don’t do anything, or if you continue to delay, someone will bring you a solution.

“Topeka is begging you to do something about a LEMA because they don’t

want to do what they are legally required to do. LEMAs are our best shot at a local solution.”

Garetson says producers need to look at a 50 percent reduction in water usage in order to provide a “reasonable life extension” for the aquifer.

“Fifty percent gives us the opportunity to buy time,” he says.

Garetson expressed concern that GWMD No. 3 in Southwest Kansas is dragging its heels on forming a LEMA. He said that without some motivation - either from the state or local enforcement steps - “they will pump until it’s gone.”

“That’s not the kind of legacy I want to leave for my kids and my grandkids,” he added.

(continued from page one)

following a bond election in 2001. To speed the process, everyone cleared out of the courthouse in October 2001 and didn’t return to the building until July 2002.

“That was probably my biggest challenge,” notes Faurot. “I was responsible for lining up the moving company and deciding what had to go to the 4-H building (where county offices relocated) and into temporary storage.”

On top of that, she had to prepare for a primary election just a month after returning to the courthouse.

“In a way, that was one of the best things that happened for us. Instead of being in our own offices, every elected official and their employees shared one big room. We could yell across the room at Courthouse Remodel That move was noth- each other,” she says with ing compared to the court- a grin. “We gained a bethouse renovation project ter appreciation for the can cast ballots for a couple of weeks ahead of an election has also proven to be popular.

“I’ve always believed that we should make voting as easy as possible so everyone can participate,” Faurot says. “There’s no reason for people not to be involved.”

And while the county has gone to electronic tabulation of ballots, Faurot still believes in the importance of paper ballots.

“As long as I was clerk there’s no way we were getting rid of paper ballots.

It’s okay to run the ballots through the machine so they can be counted, but if there’s a question we still have the actual ballot,” she points out. “We have always maintained a paper trail if it was needed.”

jobs that everyone has to ish people who believe in do. Everyone had a good Scott County.” time and it created camaHaving spent most raderie.” of her life working with the public - 12 years as Hospital Bond Issue a waitress at the bowling Another big task that alley and then as a secrefell upon the clerk’s tary at Scott Community shoulders was handling the distribution of $24 High School - Faurot says million that was approved retirement will be a major by voters for construction change.

“Serving as the county of the new Scott County clerk has been a lot of fun Hospital.

“All the bills came - a lot of work, but a lot of through this office since fun,” she says. “I enjoyed it’s a county hospital,” being in this job even Faurot noted. “The paper- more than I could have work involved with that imagined.” was huge.”

While it meant more work, Faurot said that’s a small price to pay for living in a progressive county.

“It’s great to live in a county that gets so much done. Whenever we go to meetings people ask us how we do it?” says Faurot. “I think it’s because we have a lot of unself-

What’s for Lunch in Scott City?

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Evenings • Thurs., Fri., Sat. 5:30 p.m.-10:00 p.m.

Tues. • Open faced prime rib sandwich with fries, $10.95 Wed. • French dip sandwich with french fies, $6.95 Thurs. • Fried chicken with mashed potatoes and gravy, $6.95 Fri. • Taco dinner with rice and beans, $6.95

What’s for Supper?

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Tues.• Hamburger steak with mushrooms and onions Wed.• Fried chicken Thurs.• Mountain oysters Fri.• Seafood specials Sat. • Prime rib

Breakfast specials every night.

Community Living

The Scott County Record

Page 3 - Thursday, January 30, 2014

Think 30-40-30 with your income tax refund The income tax season is upon us, as W-2 and other tax forms begin arriving in mailboxes and electronically.

It’s a good idea to file your tax return early and plan ahead for what to do with a potential refund.

It’s hard to generalize tax return filing, because people use different tax forms. The best place to start is to gather all tax documentation and use a system that works best for you. Getting an early start could be beneficial.

People who wait until the last minute, at least with the paper forms, are more likely to make errors than those people who are methodical and don’t

wait.

Financial experts recommend completing the federal tax return first, followed by the state return.

The state return typically needs your federal information.

What about a refund?

After the documentation is completed for your federal and state tax returns, people will either owe money or be issued a refund. There are a couple

news briefs

‘Memory Lapses’ is KAN program in SC on Tuesday

Memory lapses happen to people of any age, but is often associated with aging.

“A common misconception about the aging brain is that there is nothing that may be done to improve one’s memory and that new information cannot be learned,” says Scott County FACS Agent Carol Ann Crouch.

Often times, simple lapses in memory or decline in recall speed are mistaken for dementia, such as Alzheimer’s.

The Knowledge at Noon program on memory function and what can be done to boost brain power will be held at the Bryan Conference Center, Scott City, on Tues., Feb. 4, starting at 12:05 p.m.

The 50-minute program will be offered by Sheryl Carson, FACS agent for Kearny County.

Participants can bring a sack lunch. Beverages will be provided. RSVP by Feb. 3 by calling the county Extension office (872-2930).

Name correction

It was incorrectly stated in last week’s Record that Harry LaToush was in attendance at the City on a Hill public meeting.

The individual in attendance supporting the COAH proposal was Harry Sharpe.

Sorority hears program on SCH sleep disorder center

Alpha Omega Sorority met on Jan. 9 at the home of Nora Burnett.

Fourteen members answered roll call with, “What did you do for New Years?” Minutes were read by Tammy Wackerla and Barb Summers gave the treasurer’s report.

A “thank you” from Coopus Cause was read. Annette Orr gave a report on the Pheasants Forever banquet which will be Feb. 22. Alpha Omega will be serving the meal.

Some Whimmydidle business was discussed and approved. Nora Burnett gave an educational program on the Sleep Disorder Center at the Scott County Hospital.

Refreshments were served by Barb Summers and Nora Burnett.

Next metting will be Feb. 6 at Suzy Berning’s home.

of different philosophies when it comes to refunds.

If you get a refund, and especially if it’s a large refund, this means you’ve overpaid and you might want to review your withholding. This is money you didn’t have earlier in the year when you might have needed it.

Others see a refund as a forced savings plan.

When you file your return and get your refund back, then you have a lump sum of money.

That’s where the 3040-30 plan might come in.

When using this plan people apply 30 percent of their refund to pay off debt or bills, 40 percent for immediate needs and things

Research has shown they want to do, and the final 30 percent for future that fewer than half of goals or an emergency Americans could come up with $2,000 within 30 fund. days to meet an emergenPaying Down Bills cy. If that includes you, Of course, when it this might be a good place comes to existing bills, to start.

In addition to having an pay off those with the highest interest rates first, emergency fund, another as well as any outstanding good goal would be to bills for necessities such save at least three months as heat, electricity, water of living expenses. If you have three months of livor insurance.

As for the 40 percent, ing expenses saved, think think of something you about stretching that to six can pay with cash in hand or nine months. rather than using credit.

And it’s always a good The last 30 percent time to consider long-term might take some addition- needs, such as retirement, al thought. If you don’t al- buying a home or buying ready have an emergency a car.

Don’t worry about fund, consider putting that at the top of the list. what you’re starting with.

Donna Jean (Sperling) Eitel will celebrate her 80th birthday on Sun., Feb. 9.

S h e was born in Liberal, the youngest of four daughters born Donna Jean Eitel to Frank Brice and Lena M. (Brown) Sperling.

Donna attended her first two years of school in Liberal when the family moved to Lamar, Colo.

Donna’s dad died when she was eight. Her mother, Lena, then relocated her four girls to Scott City to be closer to family. Lena is remembered for her many years as a clerk for

Paul Numrich at Paul’s Food Store.

Donna attended grade school and high school in Scott City. In her teen years, she worked at a local bakery on Main Street and sold tickets at the drive-in theater during the summer months.

Donna married Gene Russell Wren in 1950 and they had four daughters.

She worked as a nurse’s aide at the Scott County Hospital for about eight years and then trained to become a lab technician.

She worked for three years in the lab at the Scott City Clinic.

In 1972, she married Marvin Eugene Eitel. For a number of years they traveled together, spending the winter months in

Open house to honor Eitel on 80th birthday

Arizona. He died in May of 2005.

Donna’s four daughters are Jynette Gibbs and and husband, Phil, Susan Wiechman, Kendra Kendrick and husband, Brett, and Denise Murphy and husband, Melvin, all of Scott City.

She has a step-daughter, Janet Hyatt, Oklahoma City, and a step-son, Gary Eitel and wife, Deandra, Scott City.

Her family will be hosting a reception in honor of her birthday. Friends are invited to join them on Feb. 9 from 2:00-4:00 p.m. at the Bryan Conference Center.

Donna requests no gifts.

Cards can be mailed to 1207 Russell, Scott City, Ks. 67871.

It all adds up over time.

But find an amount that works for you.

People who put aside money on a regular basis and are prepared for emergencies are less stressed.

Tax Help Available Volunteers are available to help the elderly and low-income individuals with filing tax returns.

The Extension office can put individuals in touch with individuals and agencies who can provide assistance.

For more information about finances and how to save visit www.kansassaves.org or www.americasaves.org.

The Scott County Record

Editorial/Opinion

Page 4 - Thursday, January 30, 2014

editorially speaking

No ‘increase’:

Counties are only getting payments owed to them

It was all a “misunderstanding.”

That’s the official response from Gov. Brownback and his administration regarding their initial decision to keep $7.5 million from the oil and gas depletion fund and not distribute that money to 71 counties. Scott County, for example, should have received $185,843 from the fund, but instead was issued a check for $89,851.

Major oil and gas producing counties in the state were hit much harder, which explains why more than 40 counties banded together to file a lawsuit against the state seeking their full share of funds.

The confusion, according to the governor’s office, stemmed from legislation which agreed to cut the distribution of funds in half - but not until 2014. Counties were entitled to the full distribution of funds in 2013.

Actually, there was no confusion or misunderstanding.

Legislators knew what the law stated. The attorney who filed a lawsuit on behalf of the counties seeking the entire $14.7 million distribution from the state said the legislature’s intent was “plain and unambiguous.”

In other words, there could be no mistake that the state owed this money to Kansas counties.

But you’d never know that to hear Gov. Brownback and some of his most ardent supporters.

“I understand the confusion and frustration by members of the Kansas House and counties in western Kansas,” Brownback said. “This is why I have agreed to propose increasing the payments to counties.”

Increase payments? Are you serious?

Gov. Brownback, you aren’t increasing anything. You took $7.5 million to which you weren’t entitled to help fill a massive budget gap created by your own misguided economic policy. Only in the world of politics could giving counties money to which they are legally entitled be seen as an “increase.”

In plain and unambiguous talk, this entire episode was an attempt by the Brownback Administration to force its will upon the people of Kansas.

The pushback from legislators and counties may have been more than it anticipated.

The administration may have realized quickly enough that it would be on the losing end of an embarrassing and somewhat costly legal fight.

Brownback and his people yielded, not because the legislation suddenly became less confusing, but because they were wrong.

Inequality:

It’s not just political talk, it’s real for many people

Income inequality is something we’ve been hearing a lot about from the Obama Administration. We heard it again during President Obama’s State of the Union speech. We’ll probably hear more during the remainder of his term.

There’s a reason this deserves attention.

From 2009-12, during the height of the Great Recession, those individuals whose net worth falls in the top one percent saw their incomes increase by 31.4%. Everyone else saw their incomes grow by 0.4%.

That means 99 percent of the population have seen no recovery.

But this isn’t just a three-year phenomenon.

“The folks in the middle and at the bottom haven’t seen wage or income growth, not just over the last three, four years, but over the last 15 years,” the president said.

Other data also shows that America’s median household income has dropped by more than $4,000 since 2000, after adjusting for inflation.

Of course, it’s worse for some.

Our Congress is determined to make life even more difficult for low-income households by passing a farm bill that includes $8 billion in cuts over the next 10 years for those who rely on the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (the formal name for food stamps).

For some Congressmen, such as Kansas’ Tim Huelskamp, that’s not enough. One of the reasons he voted against the farm bill is because those cuts were scaled back from $40 billion.

In addition, Republican opposition to anything Obamacare means that in states, such as Kansas, where Medicaid expansion hasn’t been approved the cost of health care remains prohibitive for those who don’t qualify for Obamacare assistance.

The growing income gap isn’t just political rhetoric. It’s real. Unfortunately, Republican budget and tax cut priorities are making a terrible situation even worse for millions of Americans.

GOP creates their own reality

There’s history . . . and there’s Republican history.

Or it can be said there’s reality and there’s Republican reality.

Unfortunately, many of the people helping to shape this new reality are in places of influence such as the U.S. Congress and state boards of education.

Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.), a Tea Party conservative, once stated this nation’s Founding Fathers “worked tirelessly” to end slavery.

That would undoubtedly be news to Thomas Jefferson and George Washington who, among others, were slave owners.

But since they aren’t around to dispute Bachmann’s claims, she gets a free pass.

Her ignorance didn’t end there. Bachmann and several GOP candidates signed a pledge claiming that blacks were better off under slavery than under President Obama.

Tennessee Tea Party members even tried to eliminate references to slavery in American history textbooks going into

schools.

In his attempt to rewrite contemporary history, Texas Sen. Ted Cruz is now claiming that he had no responsibility for the recent government shutdown.

While on “Face the Nation” last weekend, the senator from the State of Denial said, “I didn’t threaten to shut down the government the last time.

I don’t think we should ever shut down the government. I repeatedly voted . . . to fund the federal government.”

We aren’t sure whether this vote came before or after his “Green Eggs and Ham” speech which offered groundbreaking ideas for balancing the budget, creating jobs and curing teenage acne.

And following the President’s State of the Union speech on Tuesday, there wasn’t a Republican on Capitol Hill who didn’t

express their willingness to work with President Obama if only he would work with them.

This Congress has set a record high for filibusters (82 under Obama compared to 86 for all other presidents combined) and a record low for legislative bills passed (72 in 2013, which is the lowest in 66 years). And the reason for this stalemate is President Obama, according to Sen. Rand Paul and others.

But he and fellow Republicans like to ignore one small detail.

It was Senate Minority leader Mitch McConnell, who declared in 2012, “The single most important thing we want to achieve is for President Obama to be a one-term president.”

Even more important than creating jobs or rebuilding the economy.

And there’s that other event that occurred on the night of President Obama’s 2008 inauguration when more than 15 Congressional Republicans and Republican Party leaders had a four-hour

meeting during which they made specific plans to oppose the President on every issue possible.

These patriotic Americans had no intent of hearing the President’s proposals for the next four years or working together to bring the nation out of its financial crisis.

In fact, the single most important goal was to block any legislation which might improve the economy so the Great Recession would become Obama’s Recession.

“You will remember this day,” Newt Gingrich was reported as saying as the meeting ended.

“You’ll remember this as the day the seeds of 2012 were sown.”

That is the history that Sen. McConnell, Rep. John Boehner and fellow Republicans won’t discuss. In their mind, history - and the facts - are what they say it is.

Unfortunately, we’ve come to accept, with hardly a protest, that politicians will lie. The end, as they say, justifies the means. And if a lie will get (See REALITY on page six)

A change of tone for Obama

When President Obama spoke to the nation Tuesday evening, his way was that of a politically moderate, temperamentally optimistic Democratic governor. He offered a long list of relatively modest but helpful programs that many voters will warm to and Republicans ought to have a hard time opposing.

Obama took a State of the Union address that began as a critique of economic inequality and turned it into a case for restoring opportunity.

Anyone who saw class warfare here is spending too much time with Rush Limbaugh or Fox News.

Yes, mention of a moderate Democratic governor kindles memories of Bill Clinton. His State of the Union productions consisted of thick catalogues of proposals that the pundits often panned but lis-

Where to Write

another view by E.J. Dionne, Jr.

teners usually liked. Most voters do not have an ideological view of government. They simply want it to solve some problems.

Most Americans also reject a theological faith in the market. They think it’s a fine system until it acts unfairly.

So consider Obama’s latest effort as a set of confidence-building measures. It’s a bid to move the national conversation back to economic basics: to “opportunity for everybody,” as he said in a follow-up speech Wednesday at a Costco store in Lanham, and to the idea that “treating workers well is not just the right thing to do, it’s an investment.”

Obama hopes to demonstrate that government

Gov. Sam Brownback 2nd Floor - State Capitol Topeka, Ks. 66612-1501 (785) 296-3232

can take sensible steps - on wages, job training and income supplements, on infrastructure, savings, pensions and education and encourage voters to ask Republicans why they would prevent such initiatives from being enacted on a larger scale.

After years of hoping in vain that he could break Washington’s “fever,” the president is responding to a systematic disconnect between the politics of the executive branch and the politics of the legislative branch.

Nationally, the country is moving steadily toward the center-left. Democrats have won the popular vote in five of the last six presidential elections and never received fewer than 252 electoral votes .

Generational change will reinforce this trend conservatives are older as a group than the country

Sen. Pat Roberts 109 Hart Senate Office Bldg.

Washington, D.C. 20510 (202) 224-4774 roberts.senate.gov/email.htm

as a whole - and the nonwhite share of the electorate will continue to grow.

But the legislative branch tilts rightward structurally, even when the national vote goes the other way. Republicans lost the popular vote in House races in 2012 by 1.7 million but held the House because the GOP had disproportionate control over how congressional district lines were drawn.

Democrats, for now, have a majority in the Senate. But the upper chamber over-represents conservative and rural interests. Thus do Idaho and Wyoming have the same number of senators as New York and California.

The Senate’s filibuster rules further empower a willful minority, while (See OBAMA on page six)

Sen. Jerry Moran 141 Hart Senate Office Bldg.

Washington, D.C. 20510 (202) 224-6521 www.house.gov/moranks01/

The minimum we can do to fight inequality

The Scott County Record • Page 5 • Thursday, January 30, 2014

by Sam Pizzigati

The political profile of economic inequality in America has certainly been growing. So has the political confusion over what overcoming inequality will take.

Unfortunately, President Barack Obama’s latest State of the Union address may only add to that confusion.

Obama could - and should - have declared a clear and compelling agenda for combating the concentration of income and wealth that has left America so staggeringly unequal.

In part - small part - he did point to that broad, serious agenda we need. The higher national minimum wage he once again proposed would most definitely help hike the share of our national income that goes to working people.

And Obama’s announce-

ment that all private businesses seeking federal contracts will soon need to start paying their workers at least $10.10 per hour offers a great example of how we can leverage the power of the public purse to rebuild a more equal nation.

But if we really want to overcome income inequality, raising the minimum wage would be the minimum we should do. To fix the ills that ail us, we can’t just look at the bottom of our economic pyramid. We have to look at the top as well.

Most Americans get this reality, as a new USA Today/Pew Research poll makes plain.

Some 60 percent of us believe “the economic system in this country unfairly favors the wealthy.” Only 26 percent feel that the government should do “not much” or “nothing” to reduce the gap between the rich and everyone else. Average

We have an economy that’s stopped working for average people, middle class and poor alike, because the rich have rigged the economic rules in their own favor.

Americans want real action against our top-heavy distribution of income and wealth.

On the other hand, those wealthy Americans who benefit the most from this top-heavy distribution don’t want to see any action at all that jeopardizes their good fortune. Nor do the politicians these wealthy folks bankroll.

But these politicians have a problem. America’s grand economic divide has become too gaping to deny.

So what do these politicos do instead? They spread confusion. They blur the distinctions between inequality, pov-

erty and opportunity. They reduce inequality to a matter of poverty and blame poverty on the absence of opportunity. If we just gave poor people more opportunity to succeed, their basic line goes, inequality would be no great worry.

This clever messaging totally rewrites our recent history.

We don’t have a grand divide between the rich and everyone else - and a collapsing middle class - because poor people lack opportunity. We have an economy that’s stopped working for average people, middle class and poor alike, because the rich have rigged the economic rules in their own favor.

We need an anti-inequality offensive that takes on the rich and their capacity to rig the rules. For example, our billionaires shouldn’t be able to buy candidates and elections.

Instead of suggesting that

kind of offensive, Obama simply ignored the political role the rich have played in his speech.

The blame for our current inequality? He pinned it on vague “massive shifts in technology and global competition.”

But other major industrial nations have faced those same “massive shifts” and ended up with distributions of income and wealth far more equal than ours.

The difference between those nations and ours? Other nations have not let the rich set the basic rules for how “global competition” plays out within their borders.

Other nations, for instance, have tax rules in place that require the wealthy to bear a meaningful share of the tax burden. And other nations have labor relations rules that foster a healthy give-and-take between labor and management over the (See INEQUALITY on page six)

Fear is stifling the call for reform

by Robert Reich

Loophole maintains flow of cash

by Jim Hightower

The counselor advised, “an informal setting,” adding that it is “an effective way to build a better relationship.”

That sounds like advice that a love counselor might offer to couples, but not so. This relationship is about money. The counselor is a lobbyist for the health care industry, and he was explaining the art of wooing congress critters by paying several thousand bucks to spend a weekend with them at some posh resort in Vail, Key West, or other luxury getaway.

By holding what are called “destination fundraisers” outside of Washington, lawmakers and lobbyists can spend quality

time together as they ski, snorkel, and schmooze.

“It’s a way to get some large chunks of a lawmaker’s time,” oozed the lobbyist, who had recently enjoyed three days at the Four Seasons Resort in Vail with five Republican House members, two of whom are on the committee that writes our health laws.

But wait, wasn’t there a big stink over golf junkets a few years ago, forcing Congress to prohibit lobbyists from paying for those back ally affairs? Yes, but Washington believes that where there’s a will, there’s a workaround.

Here’s how this one works: The lawmakers’ political committees pay for their travel, food, booze, and lodging - so

these expenses technically are not “gifts” from lobbyists. In turn, the favor seekers come at their own expense, plus making legal donations to the members’ reelection campaigns.

The donations end up being three or four times the cost of the event, so the lawmakers pocket a nice wad of cash, while the lobbyists enjoy a weekend of making legislative whoopee.

Since the donations and the event are considered “separate” transactions, it’s all legal, see?

Neither do I. In fact, what I see is just another corrupt way for corporations to buy Congress. Who do they think they’re fooling?

Jim Hightower is a national radio commentator, writer, public speaker and author

People ask me all the time why we don’t have a revolution in America, or at least a major wave of reform similar to that of the Progressive Era or the New Deal or the Great Society.

Middle incomes are sinking, the ranks of the poor are swelling, almost all the economic gains are going to the top, and big money is corrupting our democracy.

So why isn’t there more of a ruckus?

The answer is complex, but three reasons stand out.

First, the working class is paralyzed with fear it will lose the jobs and wages it already has.

In earlier decades, the working class fomented reform. The labor movement led the charge for a minimum wage, 40-hour workweek, unemployment insurance, and Social Security.

No longer. Working people don’t dare. The share of working-age Americans holding jobs is now lower than at any time in the last three decades and 76 percent of them are living paycheck to paycheck.

No one has any job security.

The last thing they want to do is make a fuss and risk losing the little they have.

Besides, their major means of organizing and protecting themselves - labor unions - have been decimated. Four decades ago more than a third of privatesector workers were unionized.

Now, fewer than seven percent belong to a union.

Second, students don’t dare rock the boat.

In prior decades students

When asked if they believe government will do the right thing most of the time, fewer than 20 percent of Americans agree. Fifty years ago, when that question was first asked on standard surveys, more than 75 percent agreed.

were a major force for social change. They played an active role in the Civil Rights movement, the Free Speech movement, and against the Vietnam War. But today’s students don’t want to make a ruckus. They’re laden with debt. Since 1999, student debt has increased more than 500 percent, yet the average starting salary for graduates has dropped 10 percent, adjusted for inflation.

Student debts can’t be cancelled in bankruptcy. A default brings penalties and ruins a credit rating.

To make matters worse, the job market for new graduates remains lousy. Which is why record numbers are still living at home.

Reformers and revolutionaries don’t look forward to living with mom and dad or worrying about credit ratings and job recommendations.

Third and finally, the American public has become so cynical about government that many no longer think reform is possible.

When asked if they believe government will do the right thing most of the time, fewer than 20 percent of Americans agree. Fifty years ago, when that question was first asked on standard surveys, more than 75 percent agreed.

(See FEAR on page six)

A better jobs plan than the Keystone farce In the coming months, President Obama will decide whether to approve the permit for the Keystone XL pipeline, which would transport crude tar-sands oil from Alberta to the Gulf of Mexico. We know that the pipeline would greatly aggravate climate change, allowing massive amounts of the world’s dirtiest oil to be extracted and later burned.

The payoff, say supporters such as the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, is a job boom in construction industries, which are currently suffering from high unemployment. Earlier this month, Chamber of Commerce CEO Tom Donohue called on the president “to put American jobs before special interest politics.”

If you believe headline-

behind the headlines by Kristen Sheeran

grabbing challenges such as Donohue’s, the president is painted into a corner on the KXL pipeline - trapped by a stagnant economy and an ailing environment.

The president knows KXL’s jobs promises are way overblown. In July, he explained it this way to The New York Times: “Republicans have said this would be a big jobs generator. There is no evidence that is true.”

The most realistic estimates, said the president, show that KXL “might create maybe 2,000 jobs during the construction of

the pipeline, which might take a year or two.” And after that, “we’re talking about somewhere between 50 and 100 jobs in an economy of 150 million working people.”

Still, even a few thousand construction jobs can’t be dismissed out of hand, in an industry where nearly a million people are estimated to be out of work. Those jobs would put food on the table and pay mortgages. They would alleviate a lot of pain, even if only temporarily. As a country, we’re still hungry for jobs. It seems as if we’re collectively out on the street and KXL is the only offer that has come along.

But that’s not actually the case.

According to “The Keystone Pipeline Debate: An Alternative

Job Creation Strategy,” a study just released by Economics for Equity and Environment, targeted investments in our existing water and natural gas pipeline infrastructure needs along the proposed five-state corridor of the KXL pipeline would create many more long-term jobs than Keystone XL, both in absolute terms and per unit of investment.

We can create far more jobs in the construction industry and do it right in the regions that would stand to benefit from the KXL pipeline. We can get beyond the zombie jobs-vs.environment debate that keeps rearing its ghoulish head, putting people back to work without breaking the climate.

We can do all this by tackling the national crisis of aging infra-

structure - repairing things such as crumbling water mains and leaking gas lines that are critical to our communities and our economy.

The data from the report are straightforward and compelling.

Meeting the $18 billion in needed water and gas line repairs would support: •More than 300,000 total jobs across all sectors •Nearly five times more jobs, and more long-term jobs, than KXL •156 percent of the number of direct jobs created by Keystone XL per unit of investment All of this necessary infrastructure work can be financed, as the report describes, just by closing three federal tax breaks fossil fuel companies enjoy for (See FARCE on page six)

The Scott County Record • Page 6 • Thursday, January 30, 2014

College students should demand money’s worth

by John Schrock

Across Kansas, college students are returning to spring semester classes.

For some, the professor hands out the syllabus, tells them to go buy the textbook and dismisses class.

Some students say: Whoopee! They should instead stay seated and complain. Education may be the only major enterprise where some recipients are glad to not get their “money’s worth.”

We can measure work by the number of work days or work hours that are required to finish the

job. Potential learning can be measured the same way. As professors, if we are late two minutes to a class of 30 students, we have wasted one hour of collective potential learning time. Dismiss a huge class of 120 students just five minutes early and we have squandered 10 hours of potential learning.

I use the term “potential” because it assumes that the student is alert and paying attention, and that the professor has effective communication skills and engages students.

Most students know that they have been cheated when they pay regular

price for a chocolate bar that is now smaller. Such “downsizing” is becoming commonplace.

So why are students happy to get a downsized education?

Kansas college students are not getting their educational money’s worth in other ways as well. Kansas Board of Regents policy dropped the minimum number of instructional days on the academic calendar to 146 plus five final exam days.

Kansas universities can now have 73 instructional days per semester instead of 75. And bachelors degrees can now have a

Obama Reality (continued from page four)

House rules confer enormous sway over the legislative agenda to the party that holds the speakership.

All of this means that initiatives such as an increase in the minimum wage, background checks for gun purchases, expanded pre-kindergarten programs and the extension of unemployment insurance can be foiled even when they enjoy broad national support.

Obama pushed for them all again. But absent legislative action, he said he would accomplish what he could in each area on his own.

Moreover, to have real influence (and to help Democrats in this fall’s elections), Obama needs to boost his approval ratings. The most recent Washington Post/ABC News poll pegged his approval at 46 percent, up from 42 percent in November but down from 55 percent in January 2013.

The Post/ABC poll found that, over the past year, Obama has lost the most ground among moderates and independents, moderate-to-conservative Democrats, women and middle-income voters.

This is close to the definition of the center ground of American opinion.

His “concrete, common-sense proposals,” as Obama called them Wednesday, are aimed directly at these groups, particularly his initiatives on behalf of working women for equal pay and family leave.

His unapologetic defense of the Affordable Care Act - he mocked the GOP House for staging 40 votes to repeal it - reflected his view that, whatever their doubts, Americans are pragmatic in their approach to the new law and reluctant to see its benefits disappear.

It’s natural to contrast Obama’s soaring legislative ambitions of a year ago with this week’s less adventurous “I’ll do it myself” speech. But he has to deal with the Congress he has, not the Congress he wishes he had.

The path forward is a lot more crooked than Obama once imagined it would be, and realism in pursuit of a degree of social justice is no vice.

E.J. Dionne, Jr., is a political commentator for the Washington Post

a politician re-elected, or send us into war searching for non-existent WMDs, or convince people that the biggest threat to our economic well-being are families who need food stamps then they will say it . . . and repeat it over and over again.

Because, as we all know, if a lie is repeated often enough it eventually becomes the truth.

But both sides do it, you say? To some degree

are merely clock hours of “seat time.” Learning requires time. A teaching professional is aware of how much educational engagement is minimally required to master the course content.

Just put in “seat time” without learning and you will be back in that class next semester repeating seat time. What you are learning is important, not only to pass the class exams but also to pass through life, solve problems, write cogent memos, calculate income, etc.

Samuel Mudd (the 1850s medical doctor who

set the leg of John Wilkes Booth) had just two years of college. Today, becoming a physician is no sophomore task. And future doctors will need even more education.

For today’s students to succeed in an ever-morecomplicated world, colleges have a responsibility to provide students with a robust education.

Tomorrow’s students will need to learn even more, not less.

If students don’t want a downsized life, they shouldn’t accept a downsized education.

political allies and they certainly aren’t going to be challenged by their like-minded base at a Tea Party rally.

It’s up to the “lame stream media” to do its job. And that means demanding accountability on both sides of the aisle.

Honest dialogue isn’t just a Republican problem, though they have certainly turned the ability to distort history into an art form.

Beyond the media, voters have to care about the truth.

We have become a society in which we gravitate only towards the media outlets which feed our preconceived ideas and biases. Walter Cronkite and David Brinkley have been replaced with Sean Hannity and Bill O’Reilly.

That’s a darn poor trade and, as a result, reality is taking a beating.

John Schrock trains biology teachers and lives in Emporia

(continued from page four)

yes. But one party has a clear advantage.

According to the Center for Media Affairs (CFMA) “a majority of Republican statements (52%) were rated as mostly or entirely false, compared to only 24% of Democratic statements.”

Whether talking about a trumped up IRS scandal, the terrorist attack at Benghazi or Obamacare “death panels,” Republicans - with a huge boost from Fox News - have the

Farce drilling and refining activities. So the tax loopholes that would help subsidize the KXL pipeline could instead fund many more longer-lasting jobs repairing existing water and gas infrastructure.

To be clear, natural gas has serious negative impacts to communities and the environment.

Fracking, the now commonly used process of extracting shale gas from deep underground, releases 30 percent more greenhouse gas emissions than conventional drilling and is poisoning water supplies across the country.

minimum of 120 credit hours rather than 124.

So some Regents schools are trimming their schedules and programs in this “race to the bottom.” At many schools, this spring is two days shorter than the spring semester of 2013. That is a loss of 16 days of education per four year degree.

Dismissing class early the first day cuts that minimum even one day shorter! That is potentially another eight days less if every professor dismissed class the first day!

Don’t let any professor off the hook by claiming that the credit hour and instructional days

opportunity to lie and lie often.

So when Ted Cruz says he had no responsibility for the government shutdown, when Rand Paul says the President is at fault for not working with Republicans or when Michelle Bachmann says blacks were better off under slavery than they are today, they get away with it because they’ve been allowed to. Fox News isn’t about to challenge the absurd claims of their

Rod Haxton can be reached at editor@screcord.com

(continued from page five)

But we still need to fix leaks in our existing natural-gas pipelines, which are contributing significantly to climate change.

Shoring up those pipelines will also protect communities and businesses that rely on gas now, as we transition to cleaner energy.

Damage caused by leaking and unsafe gas pipelines cost governments across the country more than $450 million between 1984 and 2013.

The American Society of Civil Engineers, in its latest Infrastructure Report Card, recently gave the

Inequality

(continued from page five)

distribution of the wealth that modern economies create.

Back in the middle of the 20th century, we had rules like these here in the United States. But we’ve let the rich erase them. We’ve become, as a result, the most unequal major developed nation on the face of the Earth.

Amid this stark inequality, we can certainly try to “build new ladders of opportunity into the middle class,” as Obama proposed during his State of the Union address. But if we continue to let the wealthiest Americans - and the corporations they run - shove people down those ladders, out of the middle class, real opportunity in our country will eventually belong only to our most privileged.

Sam Pizzigati is an Institute for Policy Studies associate fellow and a co-author of the new report ‘Fix the Debt’ CEOs Enjoy Taxpayer-Subsidized Pay.”

country a D+ on energy infrastructure, and a D on drinking-water and wastewater infrastructure.

If we don’t get our act together, we’re going to see more devastating explosions like the one that tore through San Bruno, Calif., a few years ago.

What’s curious is that many of the politicians and lobbying groups who have touted the KXL pipeline as a source of jobs have opposed legislation to invest in job-creating pipeline infrastructure programs. Yet when it

Fear It’s hard to get people worked up to change society or even to change a few laws when they don’t believe government can possibly work.

You’d have to posit a giant conspiracy in order to believe all this was the doing of the forces in America most resistant to positive social change.

comes to job creation, infrastructure improvements beat out KXL by a country mile.

KXL has become a litmus test for being pro-job, but one that’s far detached from reality and that’s drawing attention away from effective ways to get people back to work.

Meanwhile, environmentalists, frequently excoriated as “job killers,” are becoming a strong collective voice for investment in infrastructure and other things our country really needs. They are increasingly working with organized labor to develop

concrete alternatives to jobs that may destroy the environment.

If job creation is our primary goal, then politicians should pivot away from the Keystone XL pipeline and toward repairs to existing pipeline infrastructure. This is how President Obama - and the whole country - can get out of the Keystone jam.

Kristen Sheeran is executive director and co-founder of Economics for Equity and Environment Network (E3), a national network of economists developing new arguments for environmental protection

(continued from page five)

It’s possible. of course, that rightwing Republicans, corporate executives, and Wall Street moguls intentionally cut jobs and wages in order to cow average workers, buried students under so much debt they’d never take to the streets, and made most Americans so cynical about government

they wouldn’t even try for change.

But it’s more likely they merely allowed all this to unfold, like a giant wet blanket over the outrage and indignation most Americans feel but don’t express.

Robert Reich is a former secretary of labor, is currently a professor at the University of California at Berkeley

The Scott County Record • Page 7 • Thursday, January 30, 2014

Uncork Kansas bill introduced in House committee

What do you think?

Do you think homeowners and others who have large lots in Scott City should be allowed to purchase an additional water meter in order to reduce the likelihood of pumping in excess of 60,000 or 80,000 gallons of water per month and avoid paying the city’s higher rates?

Yes

23 ______

No

53 ______

Submit this form and your comments to The Record office, or log onto the website: scottcountyrecord.com Keep comments brief so they can be published in the newspaper. The numbers represent totals as of noon Thursday. For updated totals visit The Record website.

Water Rates I’ve let my flower beds die. I’m trying to get bermuda grass to take over as it doesn’t take as much water. I barely water my back yard. When I want hot water from the sink, I catch all the cold water that comes out first in a pitcher and I pour that - almost a gallon - on the yard.

If the water hogs wanna dance they have to pay the fiddler!

A bill sponsored

by Uncork Kansas was introduced in the House on January 29 to give Kansans the opportunity to choose where they make their adult beverage purchases.

Legislation would preserve protections for liquor stores, gradually eliminating anti-consumer regulations currently in place. The protections include a 10-year freeze on liquor licenses and a phase-in of beer, wine

and spirits in grocery and convenience stores.

Additionally, liquor stores would be permitted to own multiple locations and expand their offerings to include non-alcohol items such as tobacco, mixers, snacks and ice.

Under the proposed guidelines, no new liquor licenses would be issued from July 1, 2014, to June 30, 2024. On or after July 1, 2015, any licensee holding a valid retailer’s liquor license may sell

their license to another retailer qualified to hold the license including grocery and convenience stores, with approval by the ABC, for a $100 fee.

Beginning July 1, 2017, qualified licensees could purchase a class A retailer license from ABC permitting the sale of beer. On July 1, 2020, a class B retailer license would be available for issuance to retailers desiring to sell beer and wine.

At this time, liquor stores

could begin selling nonalcoholic products of their choosing. Beginning July 1, 2024, the license freeze would expire and qualified retailers could purchase a class C license legalizing the sale of beer, wine and spirits.

Supporters of the Uncork Kansas bill include the Kansas Chamber of Commerce, the Kansas Food Dealers Association and more than 1,000 grocery and convenience stores.

Additional comments: __________________________

____________________________________________ ____________________________________________ ____________________________________________ ____________________________________________

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872-5328 Sunday

Monday

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Wednesday

4 Knowledge at Noon program @ Bryan Conference Center

No School 7th Boys BB @ Ulysess, 4:00 p.m.

8th Boys BB vs.

Ulysess, 4:00 p.m.

SCHS B/G JV BB tourney @ Lakin, 5:00 p.m.

SCHS FFA ag sales @ GCCC

SCHS BB vs. Hugoton, 4:45 p.m.

SCHS BB

6 SCHS Regional Scholar Bowl

Saturday

7 SCHS BB vs. Ulysses, 4:45 p.m. Winter Homecoming

SCHS Wrestling Dual vs. Dodge City, 6:00 p.m.

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12 SCHS P/T Conferences

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HS ACT @ SCHS, 8:00 a.m.

SCHS Forensic Inv.

The Wrights @ First Christian Church, 7:00 p.m.

St. Joseph Parish Center 7:00 p.m.

7th/8th Boys BB

8 SCHS GWAC Wrestling Tournament @ Goodland, 10:00 a.m.

8th Boys BB @ Colby, 4:00 p.m.

ES Team meeting, 5:30 p.m.

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Friday

7th Boys BB vs.

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County commission meeting, 3:00 p.m.

City Council meeting, 7:30 p.m.

SCMS Quiz Bowl

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Counselors ACA Counselors Hospital staff members Becky Karnaze and Brandy Heim have completed the initial training to become Certified Application Counselors (CAC).

“It’s not our job to make the decision for an individual or to recommend a specific plan,” says Karnaze. “Our goal is to walk people through their options so they can make an informed decision.”

When people initially meet with a CAC they need to provide some basic information: •Social Security number (or document numbers for legal immigrants).

•Their employer and income information for every member of their household who needs coverage. This information includes pay stubs or W2 forms.

•Policy numbers for current health insurance plans covering any household members.

•Information about health insurance available through the employer.

The initial meeting may last about an hour as the CACs begin working through the insurance options.

“Depending on what information we need that the person didn’t bring with them, or any questions that we may need additional time to research, they may need to return one or two more times before we complete the process,” says Heim.

Currently providing health insurance coverage through the ACA in Western Kansas are Blue Cross/Blue Shield and Coventry Health Care.

Both offer a variety of plans that fall within the platinum, gold, silver and bronze coverage levels.

“We had a woman in here the other day who ended up with 16 different plans she could choose from,” says Karnaze.

Those plans varied in the type of coverage (copays, deductibles, etc.) and monthly premiums.

The individual couldn’t afford health insurance that was offered through her job.

“In those instances where an employer offers

The Scott County Record • Page 8 • Thursday, January 30, 2014

(continued from page one)

In order to get assistance in applying for health insurance through the Affordable Care Act, appointments can be made with Certified Application Counselors Becky Karnaze or Brandy Heim through the Scott County Hospital on Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.

Heim can be reached at 874-4868 or 872-5811 (ext. 486).

Karnaze can be reached at 872-5811 (ext. 354).

In order to allow time for applications to be processed

by March 31, it is recommended that appointments be arranged by March 1.

Individuals can also visit the federal government website at www.healthcare.gov or by calling 1-800-318-2596.

insurance, but a person chooses not to sign-up, we need to see exactly what the company’s health plan is . . . in writing,” explains Karnaze. “If the employer plan does meet Obamacare standards then they must sign-up for the company plan.”

However, the employee may still be eligible for federal subsidies.

A subsidy may be available if the employer’s insurance coverage is considered unaffordable (i.e., if the employee’s share of the individual premium is more than 9.5 percent of their household income for 2014) or if it does not meet minimum value standards set by the Affordable Care Act.

to apply for government programs and the paperwork involved.

Heim says it’s also her goal in the near future to help veterans and their families who need assistance through the Veterans Administration.

While they aren’t experts in dealing with the ACA, both counselors emphasize that if they don’t know the answer to a question they can get in touch with an ACA navigator who does.

“The hospital has nothing to gain financially when somebody selects a plan,” Karnaze adds.

“We’re just here to help.”

Finding the ‘Right’ Plan One of the primary goals is to find the insurance plan that’s right for an individual or family - and that doesn’t necessarily mean the cheapest plan.

“That’s why it’s important for us to sit down with an individual and identify if they or a family member are experiencing particular health problems or if there are other coverage issues that could affect them,” says Karnaze.

“That’s why we look at co-pays, the cost of office calls, and other factors which could add to their out-of-pocket costs if they don’t have the right plan.”

Heim, who also works part-time for SCH as a Home Health Aide, has gained some experience in dealing with federal regulations by assisting people to sign-up for the Medicare Part D prescription program.

“Brandy’s passionate about helping people,” says Karnaze. “Through her work with home health and as a patient advocate, she has gained a lot of knowledge in how

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The Scott County Record

Youth/Education

Rogers makes history as SCMS Geography Bee champ

Healy royalty

Healy High School held its winter Homecoming last Friday night during halftime of the boy’s basketball game against Northern Valley. Crowned queen and king were HHS seniors Maria Coker and Austin Walker.

(Photo courtesy of Marcia Matthies)

KSU awards

Area seniors may apply scholarships to for Finnup Scholarship area students

High school graduates from Wichita, Scott and Lane counties are among those who may apply for the Washburn University’s $3,000 Finnup Scholarship.

Students must have a minimum high school grade point average (GPA) of 2.0 to earn the scholarship and maintain a minimum 2.0 GPA while attending Washburn to renew it. The award amount is subject to change.

New students must fill out the Washburn application for admissions, which includes the scholarship application, and have all transcripts and test scores on file with the admissions office prior to February 15.

To apply for the scholarship visit Washburn.edu/ admissions or call the Washburn admissions office at 785-670-1030.

School Calendar Fri., Jan. 31: SCHS wrestling in Rocky Welton Tournament at Garden City; SCHS basketball vs Liberal (T), 4:45 p.m.

Sat., Feb. 1: SCHS wrestling in Rocky Welton Tournament; SCHS forensics at Liberal; SCMS 7th/8th grade boys at Hays tournament, 9:00 a.m.; SCHS JV wrestling at Larned, 9:00 a.m.; SCHS JV boys/girls at Lakin tournament, 10:00 a.m.

Mon., Feb. 3: SCMS 7th grade vs Ulysses (H), 4:00 p.m.; SCMS 8th grade vs Ulysses (T), 4:00 p.m.; SCHS JV boys/ girls at Lakin tournament, 5:00 p.m.

Tues., Feb. 4: “Locust Tree Taxi Show” in the SCHS auditorium; SCHS basketball vs Hugoton, 4:45 p.m.

Wed., Feb. 5: SCHS FFA ag sales competition at Garden City.

Thurs., Feb. 6: SCHS in regional Scholar’s Bowl; SCMS staff meeting, 7:20 a.m.; SCMS 7th grade basketball vs Colby (H), 4:00 p.m.; SCMS 8th grade basketball vs Colby (T), 4:00 p.m.; SCHS wrestling dual vs Dodge City (H), 6:00 p.m.

Fri., Feb. 7: SCHS basketball vs Ulysses, 4:45 p.m. Winter Homecoming.

Sat., Feb. 8: SCHS Forensics Invitational; ACT testing at SCHS; SCHS wrestling in GWAC dual tournament at Goodland, 10:00 a.m.

Page 9 - Thursday, January 30, 2014

More than 6,500 academic scholarships have been awarded to Kansas State University students for the 2013-14 school year.

Overall, students have earned more than $19.2 million in scholarships - more than $3 million greater than the previous year.

Most of the scholarships are made possible through donations and gifts to the Kansas State University Foundation.

Area students receiving scholarships totaling more than $1,000 include: Dighton: Taylor Barber and Sarah Mulville.

Healy: Darrick York.

Leoti: Watson McKinney, Allison Miller and Megan Reding.

Scott City: Rebekah Anliker, Jesse Birney, Lucas Ellis, Maris Griffith, Shanaya Hoeme, Catherine Huck, Elizabeth Huck, Corbin Janssen, Kelsey Kuckelman, Carl Minnix, Gayle Minnix, Miriam Peregrino, Justin Unruh and Kaytlin Whipple.

History was made at Scott City Middle School when Kodi Rogers became the first girl to become the Geography Bee champion.

The seventh grader defeated sixth grader Parker Gooden once the competition was narrowed to the two finalists.

“Two unusual things happened in this year’s contest,” noted Bee coordinator Alan Graham. “In addition to Kodi being the first girl to win it all, no eighth grader advanced to the finals.”

When the National Geographic Society started the competition almost 30 years ago it became apparent after a few years that boys seemed to far outnumber girls as win-

ners of these competitions at all levels.

“This has not changed despite efforts to improve all students in geographic awareness,” Graham says.

Also advancing to the final round of three competitors was fifth grader Harrison King.

In the championship round, Rogers and Gooden remained in a tie after the first three questions. Rogers won on the next question by correctly answering that the Ronne Ice Shelf borders Antarctica.

As the local winner, Rogers will take a qualifying test. If she places among the top 100 in Kansas, she will advance to the state competition.

Last year’s SCMS win-

ner, Carson Haupt, qualified and competed at the state championship held at the Eisenhower Center in Abilene.

Other students competing in this year’s Geography Bee were: Fifth grade: Dutch Turner, Conner Cupp and Blane Culp.

Sixth grade: Fox Morris, Emmanuel Frances and Blake Ribbing.

Seventh grade: Dakota Briggs and Allison Smith Eighth grade: Dexter Gooden, Nic Cheney, Conner LeBeau and Porter Irwin.

The National Geographic Society will notify Rogers of the results of her qualifying exam sometime in March.

BRRRRR.....BUNDLE UP!

GLOVE Sale

15%

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all gloves in stock Friday, January 31-Thursday, February 6

Scott County Lumber “Helping You Get it Done with Excellence” 1510 S. Main, Scott City • 872-5334 www.scottcountylumber.com Like us on Facebook! facebook.com/scottcountylumberinc

For the Record Rules tighten on reverse mortgage eligibility The Scott County Record

Jason Alderman

Reverse mortgages have become increasingly popular in recent years, as cash-strapped seniors seek ways to keep pace with rising expenses - not to mention cope with the pummeling their retirement savings took during the Great Recession.

But the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) noticed that borrowers increasingly have been opting to withdraw most

The Scott County Record Page 10 • Thursday, January 30, 2014

or all of their home equity at closing, leaving little or nothing for future needs.

Consequently, by mid2012 nearly 10 percent of reverse mortgage holders were in default and at risk of foreclosure because they couldn’t pay their taxes and insurance.

That’s why Congress authorized HUD to tighten FHA reverse mortgage requirements in order to: encourage homeowners to tap their equity more slowly; better ensure that borrowers can afford

Scott City Council Agenda Mon., Feb. 3 • 7:30 p.m.

City Hall • 221 W. 5th •Call to Order

their loan’s fees and other financial obligations; and strengthen the mortgage insurance fund from which loans are drawn.

Here are the key changes: Most reverse mortgage borrowers can now withdraw no more than 60 percent of their total loan during the first year. Previously, borrowers could tap the entire amount on day one - a recipe for future financial disaster for those with limited means.

Scott County Commission Agenda Monday, Feb. 3 County Courthouse 3:00 p.m.

County business Approve minutes, accounts payable and payroll Review pest control bids for county facilities Review heating bids for new heater at VIP Center Appoint indoor arena board members

3:30 p.m.

K-Camp representative Larry Sharpe 2014 renewal

4:00 p.m.

Public Works Director Richard Cramer

•Approve minutes of Jan. 20 regular meeting •Proclamation recognizing Kenneth Hoover for 50 years as Scott City Fire Chief •Approve resolution identifying entire boundaries of the city •Discuss additional downtown banners •Request to use Scott City Airport on April 14 for ElectroRally state race •Request to attend Municipal Court Clerk’s Conference on March 21 in Junction City •Open agenda: audience is invited to voice ideas or concerns. A time limit may be requested Pool Department 1) Pool manager recommendation 2) Set pool manager monthly/hourly wages Police Department 1) Request to attend Underage Drinking Training on Feb. 24 in Great Bend Parks Department 1) Misc. business Public Works Department 1) Public water supply - sanitary survey report Clerk’s Department 1) Decide on department’s record retention policy 2) Report on flexible spending account 3) Request to participate in League of Kansas Municipalities director interviews 4) Change second council meeting date to Feb. 18 in observance of President’s Day •Mayor’s comments

Public Notice (First published in The Scott County Record on Thurs., Jan. 16, 2014; last published Thurs., Jan. 30, 2014)3t IN THE DISTRICT COURT OF SCOTT COUNTY, KANSAS IN THE MATTER OF THE ESTATE OF LOTTIE E. FARR, Deceased, No. 14-PR-1 NOTICE OF HEARING THE STATE OF KANSAS TO ALL PERSONS CONCERNED: You are notified that on January 13, 2014, a Petition was filed in the Court by Marvin J. Farr, an heir, devisee, legatee, spouse and named fiduciary in the Last Will and Testament of Lottie E. Farr, deceased, dated October 9, 2012, requesting Informal Administration and

to Admit the Will to Probate.

You are required to file your written defenses to the Petition on or before February 12, 2014, at 11:00 a.m. in this Court, in the City of Scott City, in Scott County, Kansas, at which time and place the cause will be heard. Should you fail to file your written defenses, judgment and decree will be entered in due course upon the Petition.

MARVIN J. FARR Petitioner JAKE W. BROOKS ATTORNEY AT LAW 101 E. 6th P.O. Box 664 Scott City, Kansas 67871 620-872-7167 Attorney for Petitioner

Public Notice (First published in The Scott County Record on Thurs., Jan. 23, 2014; last published Thurs., Jan. 30, 2014)2t REQUEST FOR VARIANCE Notice is hereby given that the Scott City Planning Commission will hold a special meeting on February 13, 2014, at 7:00 p.m., at the Scott City Council Meeting Room at City Hall, 221 West 5th Street, Scott City, Kansas, to consider the following agenda items: Application for variance by Artura Ayala to allow a front yard fence taller and nearer the street than allowed by ordinance and construction of an assessory building taller than the residence on: Lots Eight thru Twelve (8-12) and Twenty-four thru Thirty (24-30) in Block Nine (9), Hall’s 1st Addition to the City of Scott City. (310 N. College Street and 306 E. Belleview Street) All interested persons will be given an opportunity to be heard at such hearing.

Dated: January 20, 2014 Rodney Hogg, chairman Scott City Planning Commission

The first-year limit may be waived for certain homeowners whose “mandatory obligations” (e.g., upfront insurance premiums, loan origination fees, delinquent federal debt, etc.) exceed the 60 percent amount; but they’ll have to pay a higher upfront mortgage insurance premium - 2.5 percent of the home’s appraised value instead of the normal 0.5 percent.

(Note: Credit card debt isn’t considered a mandatory obligation, so those

Agenda may change before the meeting. Contact County Clerk Alice Brokofsky for an updated agenda (872-2420) or visit www.scott.kansasgov.com

Public Notice (First published in The Scott County Record, Thurs., Jan. 23, 2014; last published Thurs., Feb. 6, 2014)3t IN THE DISTRICT COURT OF SCOTT COUNTY, KANSAS IN THE MATTER OF THE ESTATE OF JERALD A. DOORNBOS, deceased Case No. 2014-PR-02 NOTICE TO CREDITORS TO ALL PERSONS CONCERNED: You are hereby notified that on January 16, 2014, a Petition for Probate of Will and Issuance of Letters Testamentary was filed in this court by Stuart A. Doornbos, an heir, devisee, legatee, and

AG to expand No-Call Act to cell phones Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt has announced he is proposing a bill to update the Kansas No-Call Act to allow his office to enforce violations against telemarketers who target consumer’s cell phone numbers registered on the federal Do-Not-Call list.

Sen. Pat Apple (R-Louisburg), chairman of the Senate Utilities Committee, and representatives of Kansas AARP, AT&T, Sprint and Verizon announced their support for the bill.

While the federal Do-Not-Call database allows consumers to register any phone number, the Kansas law is unclear whether the Attorney General can pursue violations of the Act when a call is made to a cell phone number registered on the list.

Schmidt’s proposal would clarify the law.

Kansans who wish to register a phone number on the Do-Not-Call list may do so by visiting www.

I n Yo u r C o r n e r K a n s a s . org and clicking on the “Register for the Do-NotCall List” button.

Support Your Hometown Merchants!

Executor named in the Last Will and Testament of Jerald A. Doornbos, deceased.

All creditors of the above named decedent are notified to exhibit their demands against the Estate within four months from the date of the first publication of this notice, as provided by law, and if their demands are not thus exhibited, they shall be forever barred.

Stuart A. Doornbos WALLACE, BRANTLEY & SHIRLEY 325 Main - P.O. Box 605 Scott City, Kansas 67871 Attorney for Petitioner

with significant credit card debt may not be able to withdraw enough to pay off their debt.)

Generally, borrowers can take the money either as a lump sum at closing (with a fixed-rate loan), or as an ongoing line of credit or monthly payments (adjustable rate loan).

However, lump-sum payments are now subject to the 60 percent mandatory obligations test, so to withdraw more than that you’ll have to go the line-

of-credit route, at least for the first year; after that, you can tap the remaining balance if you wish.

Under previous rules, almost anyone with sizeable home equity could take out a reverse mortgage. Now, potential borrowers must undergo a detailed financial assessment to ensure they’ll be able to meet future tax and insurance obligations.

Lenders are required to review the borrower’s credit history. They also (See MORTGAGE on page 11)

The Scott County Record • Page 11 • Thursday, January 30, 2014

Scott Co. LEC Report

(Published in The Scott County Record on Thurs., January 30, 2014)1t City of Scott City • 221 W. 5th • Scott City, Ks. 67871

Scott City Police Department TREASURER’S FINANCIAL REPORT Jan. 23: Richard Heberlee was arrested on a Scott FOR THE PERIOD FROM OCT. 1, 2013, THRU DEC. 31, 2013 County warrant and transported to the LEC. Jan. 24: A report was taken for property lost in the FUNDS Oct. 1, 2013 RECEIPTS DISBURSED Dec. 31 2013 300 block of Elizabeth.

General Fund $ 1,887,842.93 $ 338,858.41 $ 960,573.57 $ 1,266,127.77 Jan. 24: A report for theft of property or services Sewer Use Fee 367,093.17 52,188.33 92,176.25 327,105.25 was taken in the 200 block of Albers Avenue.

101,236.21 3,676.20 93,104.05 Special Highway (4,455.96) Jan. 24: Jamie Luna was arrested for battery and Trans. Guest Tax 127,201.68 21,200.42 33,305.54 115,096.56 Airport Enterprise 15,672.30 5,905.00 2,714.80 18,862.50 transported to the LEC. 319,310.72 64,722.45 94,985.56 289,047.61 Jan. 27: Susan Boulware was backing out of a park- Airport Sinking 13,935.78 342.89 0.00 14,278.67 ing stall in the 500 block of South Main at the same Special Parks 82,180.54 4,276.84 47,577.51 38,879.87 time Sherrie Ramsey was backing out and the two ve- Employee Benefit Improv.

Fund 0.00 1,925.89 2,498.89 (573.00) Water hicles struck each other.

Water Utility 1,110,509.74 241,278.02 155,357.23 1,196,430.53 Jan. 27: Stetson Wise was arrested on a warrant Fire Equipment 494,597.24 803.07 495,400.31 from another county and transported to the LEC. Street Imp. Fund 0.00 490,057.17 435,369.00 54,688.17 Jan. 27: A hit-and run accident was reported at 211 Municipal Equip.

47,205.81 20,000.00 67,205.81 South Casey when an unknown vehicle traveling north Clearing Fund 112,643.51 349,592.54 345,670.87 116,565.18 on Casey Avenue drifted to the left, colliding with a TOTALS $ 4,573,737.46 $ 1,692,387.24 $ 2,173,905.42 $ 4,092,219.28 legally parked vehicle.

Scott Co. Sheriff’s Dept.

AVAILABLE CASH $ 4,092,219.28 Jan. 23: Jackie Stroud, Jr., was arrested in Finney County on a Scott County warrant and transported to I, Dan Weides, hereby certify that the above statement is correct the Scott County LEC. Jan. 24: Kristofer Lauber was served a Scott County warrant while in jail.

Jan. 28: Richard Heberlee was served a Scott County warrant while he was in custody.

Dan Weides

Public Notice (Published in The Scott County Record Thurs., Jan. 30, 2014)1t NOTICE OF ANNUAL MEETING OF THE SCOTT COUNTY CONSERVATION DISTRICT To all qualified electors residing within the boundaries of the Scott County Conservation District, notice is hereby given that pursuant to K.S.A. 2-1907, as amended, on the 1st day of February, 2014, at 6:00 p.m., an annual meeting of the Scott County Conservation District will be held at the Wm. Carpenter 4-H Building, Scott City, Ks. The meeting agenda will include the following business items: One: The supervisors of the Scott County Conservation District shall make full and due report of their activities and financial affairs since the last annual meeting.

Two: The supervisors shall conduct an election by secret ballot of qualified electors, there present, of one supervisor to serve for a term of three years from date of said meeting.

The terms of Scott Noll and Brittan Ellis are expiring.

All in the County of Scott in the State of Kansas.

Aaron Beaton, chairperson Scott County Conservation District Attest Monica Beeson, district manager

Public Notice (Published in The Scott County Record on Thurs., Jan. 30, 2014)1t BEFORE THE STATE CORPORATION COMMISSION OF THE STATE OF KANSAS NOTICE OF FILING APPLICATION RE: Landmark Resources, Inc. Application for Commingling of Production in the Beeson Trust 2-1 in Scott County, Kansas.

TO: All Oil and Gas Producers, unleased Mineral Interest Owners, Landowners, and all persons whosoever concerned.

You, and each of you, are hereby notified that Landmark Resources, Inc. has filed an application to commingle the Marmaton and Cherokee producing formations at the Beeson Trust 2-1, located 2185’ from the north line and 1708’ from the east line of NE/4 Sec.

1-T17S-34W in Scott County, Kansas.

Any persons who object to or protest this application shall be required to file their objections or protests with the Conservation Division of the State Corporation Commission of the State of Kansas within fifteen (15) days from the date of publication.

These protests shall be filled pursuant to Commission regulations and must state specific reasons why the grant of the application may cause waste, violate correlative rights, or pollute the natural resources of the State of Kansas.

All persons interested or concerned shall take notice of the foregoing and shall govern themselves accordingly.

Landmark Resources, Inc. 1616 S. Voss Road, #600 Houston, TX 77057

Mortgage also must analyze all income from earnings, pensions, IRAs, 401(k) plans or Social Security, and weigh it against the borrower’s likely living expenses, including other outstanding debts.

Those who come up short (i.e., are more likely to default) may be required to set aside money from their reverse mortgage to cover future obligations - thereby lowering the amount of equity they’d be able to tap.

The new regulations also reduce the maximum amount of home equity that can be borrowed against - 10 to 15 percent less than before, on average. Generally, the older you are, the more equity you have and the lower

(continued from page 10)

the interest rate, the more you’ll be able to borrow.

Note: The age component of this calculation is based on the youngest party listed on the loan.

Because reverse mortgages are so complicated, potential borrowers are required to consult an HUD-approved counselor before being allowed to apply. Do preliminary research at helpful sites sponsored by HUD (www. hud.gov), the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (www.cfpb.gov) and AARP (www.aarp. org).

Also check with an accountant, financial planner or lawyer specializing in elder law to make sure a reverse mortgage is right for you.

Friendship ‘Meals to Go’ available from the VIP Center Individual frozen/sealed trays • Good for special diets only $3.25/meal • Call 872-3501

City Treasurer

The Scott County Record • Page 12 • Thursday, January 30, 2014

State rolls out problem gambling campaign State officials have announced the start of a six-month campaign aimed at letting the public know that counseling services are available for people who are addicted to gambling.

The “Know Your Limits” campaign will use social media, billboards and public service announcements to steer problem gamblers and their family members to the website where they will be encouraged to call a toll-free hotline number, 1-800522-4700, for more direct assistance.

The hotline will be staffed 24/7 by professional counselors who will help callers assess their conditions.

Those who need help will be referred to a certified problem gambling counselor in their area.

Currently, there are about 50 licensed addiction counselors in Kansas who have taken the extra coursework needed to become certified problem gambling counselors.

Services for those found to have a gambling problem and those affected by a family member’s gambling addiction will be provided at no charge.

In the current fiscal year, the state budgeted around $750,000 for problem gambling services. In the upcoming year that’s expected to increase to $1.3 million.

In Kansas, two percent of the net revenue generated by the three staterun casinos is earmarked for programs and services for people with addictive behaviors: alcoholism, drug abuse and problem gambling.

Net revenue is defined as the income from slot machines and table games minus the payouts to winners.

The two percent assessment is said to be among the highest in the nation while the amount spent on problem gambling treatments is among the lowest. The assessment generated $7.2 million in the fiscal year that ended June 30. It is expected to raise $7.5 million in the fiscal year that ends June 30.

Most of the money is used to underwrite the state’s Medicaidfunded substance abuse treatment programs.

KDADS records, he said, show that 118 people sought counseling through the hotline last fiscal year

Thomas Co., GC recognized for healthy lifstyles

Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas and the Kansas Recreation and Park Association named Baldwin City, Eudora, Garden City, Manhattan, Ottawa and Thomas County their annual BlueCHIP award recipients.

BlueCHIP is a community health improvement program created to reward Kansas communities that encourage healthy lifestyles. The program, in its fourth year, awards $2,500 to recipient communities for assistance in continuing their efforts to improve the health of their communities.

“These six communities deserve to be recognized for the extensive effort each one is making to improve the health and quality of life of their respective residents,” said Marlou Wegener, BC/BS manager of community relations.

“By working together, individual residents and organizations are implementing multifaceted plans to increase physical activity, improve nutritional offerings and promote clean air.”

Kansas nurses push for more independence from physicians Phil Cauthon KHI News Service

Kansas’ growing doctor shortage could be addressed by allowing nurses with advanced skills to work more independently of physicians, say those advocating a change in state law that would allow that to happen.

Currently under Kansas law, advanced practice registered nurses (or APRNs) must work under a so-called “collaborative practice agreement” with a supervising doctor before providing health care services within the nurse’s certified level of training.

A proposal expected to

soon be before legislators would free APRNs from that requirement and allow them to diagnose, treat and prescribe medications for their patients without an agreement with a physician.

Similar bills have been proposed in previous years at least as far back as 2009, but failed to advance. And the state’s leading doctor group already is signaling its opposition to this year’s proposal.

“Established practices are doing well,” said Merilyn Douglass, an advanced practice registered nurse from Garden City and chair of the task force. “The biggest barrier that the signed physician

agreement presents is in starting a practice. If we want to improve access to care for Kansans, we need more providers out there so that patients can call and get an appointment in a reasonable period of time. Patients deserve access to care, not to have to wait months to see a physician.”

She said she knew of at least one example in southwest Kansas where a nurse working for a soon-to-retire physician wanted to keep the clinic going but was having trouble finding a new supervising doctor to step in.

“Just like a lot of other states, we have a big population of Kansans who are

going to need a primary care provider. There’s not enough physicians for all those new people, let alone an aging population that requires more visits and more complicated care,” Douglass said.

What Others are Doing Across the U.S., there are three basic practice arrangements for nurses: Restricted: 12 states require direct supervision by a doctor in order to provide patient care; Collaborative practice: 21 states including Kansas require APRNs to have an agreement with a doctor, who oversees patient care (See NURSES on page 13)

Slight increase in federal poverty guidelines for 2014 The federal government has released slightly higher poverty level guidelines for 2014, but those won’t alter the income thresholds that are being used now to determine what kind of financial assistance is available to buy insurance under the health law.

The guidelines will be relevant in the fall, when people look to buy coverage for 2015. Under the new guidelines, Medicaid coverage will be available to individuals earning up to $16,105 and families earning up to $32,913 in states that have decided to expand

Medicaid under the provisions of the federal health law. Premium subsidies in the new online marketplaces will be available to individuals earning up to $46,680 and families of four earning up to $95,400.

The government said the increase in the federal poverty level was due to a 1.5 percent price increase between 2012 and 2013.

Further adjustments were made to standardize the differences between family sizes.

For the continental United States, the federal poverty level rose slight-

Household Size 1

$16,105

Premium Subsidy Threshold (400% of FPL) $46,680

2

$21,707

$62,920

4

$32,913

$95,400

3

5

6

7

$27,310

$38,516

$44,119

$49,721

ly from the last year to $11,670 for a single person.

That is 1.6 percent higher than in 2013. A family of four this year will be considered impoverished if it earns $23,850 or less.

KDoC plan would give jails access to Medicaid

The Kansas Department of Corrections is working with local law enforcement officials on a plan that would help county jail keepers bill Medicaid for a portion of their inmates’ health care costs.

The move could save Kansas jails between $1.2 million and $2.4 million a year, said Viola Riggin, director of health care services at the Kansas Department of Corrections.

The state already has a system for billing Medicaid to cover the relatively few prisoners in state lock-ups who are eligible for the coverage.

The plan would allow the counties to tap the state’s expertise in that area.

“KDoC has access to Medicaid for a limited number of patients; those

Medicaid Eligibility (138% of FPL)

who are over 64 or under 19, those who are severely disabled, and for women, those who are pregnant,” Riggin said.

Medicaid reimbursements for state prisoners cover about $750,000 of the department’s health care costs each year, she said. KDoC is responsible for providing health care to approximately 9,500 inmates in 14 correctional facilities across the state.

County jails, Riggin said, also could be billing Medicaid for services to eligible inmates. But the jails often lack staff and expertise to handle the program’s complicated billing procedures.

(See JAILS on page 13)

$79,160

$111,640

$127,880

$144,120

While the differences are small, it may mean that some people on the cusp of qualifying for premium subsidies will instead be directed to the Medicaid (See POVERTY on page 13)

Jails KDoC, Riggin said, is looking for ways to expand its current Medicaid contract to include the county jails.

The arrangement, she said, would be similar to an existing department’s program that allows local jails to buy prescription drugs for inmates through KDoC, which purchases at discount in large quantities.

Riggin said the expanded Medicaid plan should be up and running by July

The Scott County Record • Page 13 • Thursday, January 30, 2014

(continued from page 12)

1. It does not require legislative approval, officials said, though agency managers have included several legislators in their discussions.

The planning, she said, has involved the Kansas Department of Health and Environment, which is the state’s lead Medicaid agency, the Kansas Association of Counties and the Kansas Sheriff’s Association.

“This would help all of the jails in Kansas reduce

some of the costs that they incur in treating the inmates who are in their custody,” said Johnson County Sheriff Frank Denning, head of the sheriff association’s legislative committee.

Johnson County is the state’s most populous and Denning said his department is large enough to bill Medicaid on its own.

“But what happens now,” he said, “is that most sheriffs can’t afford to take on the responsi-

bility of paying for these individuals’ medical bills.

So what they’ll do when they go out to pick somebody up, they’ll take them to the (hospital) emergency room first, wait until they’re treated, and then make an arrest. That’s just not a good way of doing things.”

That arrangement, he said, has the effect of shifting much of the jails’ would-be medical costs for the inmates onto the hospitals.

National poll: Obamacare Poverty is tough sell for uninsured

(continued from page 12)

Most Americans are misinformed about the Affordable Care Act, according to results from the latest results from the Kaiser Family Foundation’s four-year running poll about the law.

Uninsured Americans - the people that the Affordable Care Act was designed to most aid are increasingly critical of the law as its key provisions kick in, according to a new poll released this week.

This month’s tracking poll from the Kaiser Family Foundation found that 47 percent of the uninsured said they hold unfavorable views of the law commonly referred to as Obamacare, while 24 percent said they liked it.

These negative views have increased since December, when 43 percent of the uninsured panned the law and 36 percent liked it.

The poll did not pinpoint clear reasons for this

Nurses to the degree the doctor deems necessary; or Unrestricted: 17 states and the District of Columbia have passed laws that allow APRNs to treat patients independent of physicians. Iowa and Colorado are among the unrestricted states.

As proposed in the bill draft, Kansas nurses would still have to undergo a “transition-topractice” period under the supervision of a physician. That period would be 2,000 hours or about a year. That’s at least twice the length proposed in the

drop, which comes in the first month that people could start using insurance purchased through the online marketplaces that are at the heart of the law. It did point out that more than half of people without insurance said the law hasn’t made a difference to them or their families.

In addition, the pollsters noted that almost half of the people without coverage were unaware the law includes subsidies to offset premium costs for people of low and moderate incomes.

Among all Americans, the sentiment was also negative, with 50 percent holding unfavorable views of the law and 34 percent supporting it.

Despite this, just 38 percent of the public wants the law to be repealed.

Most Americans say they have not been personally affected by the law. However, 27 percent say they have had a nega-

tive experience, while 15 percent say they’ve had a positive one. People with negative views chalked it up most often to the high costs of health care and insurance.

The pollsters surmised these views did not reflect actual experiences with the new marketplaces that began operation on Jan. 1, because only a small portion of those eligible have enrolled in them so far. The poll also noted that twice as many people said they had seen news stories about people being harmed by the law as had seen stories about people being helped.

The survey reported that 4-in-10 uninsured people said they had tried to get coverage in the past six months, either through Medicaid, a private insurer or the new health care online marketplaces.

Seventy percent of the uninsured said they viewed health coverage as important and necessary.

(continued from page 12)

plans put forth in previous years, said Mary Ellen Conlee, a lobbyist for the nurses. The longer period was a recommendation from a study group of the state nursing board, she said.

Jerry Slaughter, executive director of the Kansas Medical Society, the state’s leading doctor group, said he saw no reason to change the state’s current law dictating nurse practice arrangements.

“The system we have today has a long history of working pretty well.

It provides a high degree of flexibility (without) requiring over-theshoulder supervision,” of the nurses by doctors, Slaughter said.

“We can’t support the (nursing group’s) proposal as written,” he said. “There aren’t any limitations - at least that we’ve seen - in the bill that would restrict APRNs from doing anything that a physician does. For example, we don’t see anything in the proposed bill that would prohibit a nurse from doing surgical procedures.”

program in states that are expanding it. In the states that aren’t expanding Medicaid, people who fall just short of the poverty level might end up with no coverage at all in 2015.

Pastime at Park Lane We welcome Lloyd Eitel to Park Lane.

The Assembly of God Church led Sunday afternoon church services.

Residents played pitch and dominoes on Monday afternoon. Game helpers were Dorothy King, Joy Barnett, Mandy Barnett and Madeline Murphy.

Residents played Wii bowling on Monday evening.

Pastor Bob Artz led Bible study on Tuesday morning. Doris Riner and Elsie Nagel led the hymns.

Residents played trivia on Tuesday evening.

Residents played bingo on Wednesday afternoon.

Barbara Dickhut and Mary Ann Spangler were the helpers.

Cards were played by several residents on Wednesday evening.

Elsie Nagel gave manicures on Thursday morning.

Russel and Mary Webster held a Bible study class on Thursday.

Musicians, singers perform

Several Mennonite women from the Pence community sang on Thursday afternoon. Singers were Bev Unruh, Joni Dirks, Grace Martens, Virginia Decker and Stephanie Unruh.

Youth from the Scott Mennonite Church sang for residents in Park Lane and Park Place on Tuesday evening.

Naomi Teubner performed music on the violin, piano and the recorder. Jeanine Peachey furnished cookies.

Fr. Bernard Felix led Catholic Mass on Friday morning. Rev. Warren Prochnow led Lutheran services Friday afternoon.

Residents watched the video, “The Hughes Brothers Live in Branson.”

Residents played wii bowling on Friday evening.

Residents watched “My Favorite Brunette”

by Bob Hope on Saturday afternoon.

Thanks to the family of Mildred Van Pelt for the flowers brought to Park Lane in her memory.

Sr. Citizen Lunch Menu Week of February 3-7 Monday: Beef tips over noodles, stewed tomatoes, whole wheat roll, plums.

Tuesday: Pork roast, broccoli-rice casserole, beets, corn bread, strawberry Bavarian cream.

Wednesday: Chicken and rice casserole, green beans, carrots, whole wheat bread, mandarine oranges.

Thursday: Hot roast beef sandwich, mashed potatoes, gravy, broccoli, pineapple upside down cake.

Friday: Baked fish, peas and carrots, winter mix, whole wheat roll, ranger cookie. meals are $3.25 • call 872-3501

Lorena Turley was visited by Neta Wheeler, Rex Turley, Margie Stevens; Colette Robinson, Vienna, Va.; Gary Turley, Jr., and Penifer Keller.

Vivian Kreiser was visited by Sharon Lock and Shelley Jackson.

Jim and Yvonne Spangler were visited by Les and Mary Ann Spangler and Margie Stevens.

Jake Leatherman was visited by Don and Judy Browning.

Geraldine Graves was visited by Jerry Korbe, Charlene Becht and Fritzie Rauch.

Earl Gorman was visited by Loretta Gorman, Charlene Becht, Orville and Marcine Gorman, and Tina Turley.

Harriet Jones was visited by Nancy Holt, Lorena Turley and Rev. Don Martin from St. Luke’s Church.

Darlene Richman was visited by Tina Turley, Darla Luebbers, Jerry Korbe, and Howard and Dorothy King.

Mike Leach was visited by Linda Dunagan and Rev. Don Martin from St. Luke’s Church.

Cecile Billings was visited by Delinda Dunagan, Ann Beaton and Linda Dunagan.

Lloyd Eitel was visited by Rod and Sue Eitel, Harold Steele, Gina Harrison, Roy Mercer, Vic Eitel and Connie Ramsey.

Jim Jeffery was visited

by Pastor Dennis Carter, Wade Jeffery, Jimaline Haddon, Libbie Joles and Nathella Humburg.

Nursing home ombudsmen training coming to Scott City

Individuals are needed to serve as a Certified Long-term Care Volunteers for nursing homes in Scott City, Dighton, Lakin, Leoti and Garden City.

The state will offer training to become a certified long-term care volunteer ombudsman on Wed., March 12, 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m., at the Scott County Hospital.

Once trained and certified by the state, a volunteer ombudsman will be able to provide advocacy for the well-being, safety Q) I know I am eligible and rights of residents in to apply for disability benSocial long-term care facilities. efits based on my earnThe individual makes Security ings record. But how does weekly visits to the resiSocial Security decide Q and A dents of their local nurswhether I am disabled?

A) Overall, we use a five-step evaluation process to ing home and will become decide whether you are disabled. The process considers any current work activity you are doing. It also considers the severity of your medical condition and how it affects your ability to work.

To be found disabled: •You must be unable to do work you did before you became disabled and we must decide you cannot adjust to other work because of your medical condition; and •Your disability must last, or be expected to last, for at least one year or to result in death.

Social Security pays only for total disability. We do not pay benefits for partial or short-term disability.

For more information, read the publication, Disability Benefits, by visiting www.socialsecurity.gov/pubs and typing the title of the publication in the search box on the left side of the page.

When is one eligible for disability benefits?

The Scott County Record • Page 14 • Thursday, January 30, 2014

part of a team of 12 other certified ombudsmen in Southwest Kansas.

“It is such a joy to regularly connect with these delightful people who have given fully of themselves and are now residing in a nursing home,” says Phyllis Stull, certified ombudsman for Ness City and Ransom.

Pre-registration is not required, but is requested. Contact Jan Scoggins at 620-225-2439, or by e-mail at Jan.Scoggins@ da.ks.gov.

More information on the ombudsman program is available through the state’s official website: www.

KansasOmbudsman. ks.gov.

by Jason Storm

Dona Dee Carpenter was visited by Pastor Dennis Carter, Jerry Korbe, Bill John, Roger and Jackie and John, Fritzie Rauch, Gloria O’Bleness and Arlene Cauthon.

Delores Brooks was visited by Cheryl Perry, Charles Brooks and Fritzi Rauch.

Boots Haxton was visited by Rod and Kathy Haxton.

Dottie Fouquet was visited by Donna Gaschler, Mark Fouquet, Jon and Anne Crane, Lil Francsico and Fritzi Rauch.

Judy Redburn was visited by Carol Ellis, Virginia Decker, Debbie Holland Bush, Tina Turley, Timothy Derstine and Wendy Redburn.

Bud Berry was visited

by Wayde Berry and Sondra Berry.

Joyce Bohnert was visited by Alan and Glenda Graham.

Pat Palen was visited

by Arlene Cauthon.

Verna Willman was visited by D’Ann Markel, Bob Willman and Don King.

Ann Tedford was visited by Mary Plum, Doris Riner, Arlene Cauthon, and Mr. and Mrs. Steve Tedford, Leoti.

Edith Norman was visited by Ron and Sue Riner, Mary Plum, Sara Shane and Doris Riner.

Christine Evans was visited by Nancy Holt and Richard Evans.

Bonnie Pickett was visited by Gloria Wright, Margie Stevens, Jon Tuttle, Treva McCandless; Colette Robinson, Vienna, Va.; Larry and Philene Pickett, and Arlene Cauthon.

Albert Dean was visited by Nancy Holt.

Ruth and Harold White were visited by Junior and Sharon Strecker.

Lula Dirks was visited

by Willetta Payne, Darla Luebbers, and Dave and Deb Kraemer.

The Scott County Record • Page 15 • Thursday, January 30, 2014

Deaths Mary Alice Lawrence-King Mary Alice LawrenceKing, 85, died Jan. 28, 2014, at Park Lane Nursing Home, Scott City.

S h e was born on Oct. 19, 1928, in Scott County, the daughter of George Mary Alice “ T e x ” Lawrence-King W. and Margaret (Grosshans) Ross. A lifetime resident of Scott City, she was a farmer and custom harvester.

Mary was a member of the First Christian Church and the Rebekah Lodge, both of Scott City.

On Nov. 11, 1945, she married Gabe Lawrence, Sr., in Scott City. He passed away on March 29, 1981, in Scott City. On April 16, 1983, she married Bob G. King in Scott City. He passed away on Sept. 30, 1998, in Koshkanong, Mo.

Survivors include: two sons, Gabe Lawrence, and Shorty Lawrence and wife, Deb, all of Scott City; four grandsons, Dakota Lawrence, North Glenn, Colo., Chris Lawrence and Brian Rowton, both of Scott City, and Ty Rowton, Kansas City.

She was preceded in death by her parents, two husbands and one brother, Bud Ross.

Funeral service will be Sat., Feb. 1, 2:00 p.m., at the First Christian Church, Scott City, with Rev. Scott Wagner and Steve Payne officiating.

Interment will be at the Scott County Cemetery.

Visitation will be Friday from 10:00 a.m.-8:00 p.m., at Price and Sons Funeral Home, Scott City.

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to Park Lane Nursing Home in care of Price and Sons Funeral Home, 401 S. Washington St., Scott City, Ks. 67871.

R. Arlene Pearce R. Arlene Pearce, 88, died Jan. 26, 2014, at Western Plains Medical Complex, Dodge City.

She was born Nov. 9, 1925, at Beeler, the daughter of Jake and Myrtle (Schamaun) Merryfield. She was a graduate of Beeler High School.

A lifetime Western Kansas resident, she was a homemaker.

On July 6, 1946, she married Blaine Pearce at Dighton. He died in August of 1991.

Survivors include: two sons, Don, and wife Donna, Dodge City, and Gary, Dighton; a brother, Dean Merryfield, and wife Elaine, Ness City; a sister, Ilene Norton, Ness City;

four grandchildren, 12 great-grandchildren and three great-great-grandchildren.

She was also preceded in death by two brothers, Delbert and Don Merryfield.

Graveside service was Jan. 30 at the Dighton Memorial Cemetery with Rev. Dick Robbins officiating.

The family suggests memorials to the Patriot Guard of Dodge City or Trinity Manor, both in care of Ziegler Funeral Chapel, 1901 N. 14th Ave., Dodge City, Ks. 67801.

Condolences may be sent to www.zieglerfuneralchapel.com.

Attend the Church of Your Choice

Look Up Then the Lord said to Moses, “Why are you crying out to Me? Tell the sons of Israel to go forward.” Exodus 14:15 First a little background. Moses has been coming to Pharaoh for some time now asking for the release of God’s people, the Israelites. Moses, God’s spokesman with his brother Aaron, demonstrates God’s power with nine extreme plagues. Pharaoh says no nine times.

Finally, after the tenth plague which resulted in the death of his son, Pharaoh lets the Israelites go with Moses into the desert to worship. The greater plan, of course, was to take Israel into the Promised Land. Pharaoh realizes that he needs the Jews in order to keep up his standard of living and sends an army to retrieve them from the desert.

Things are not looking good for Moses and the Israelites as they are boxed in between the Red Sea and the angry Egyptian army. Of course, we know that Moses parts the Red Sea, the Israelites walk across dry land and the Egyptians are destroyed while they pursue them.

But there is this little passage before all that happens that I’d like to look at.

The people are praying like mad, crying out to God for help. They’re in a hopeless situation. I’d be lying if I told you that I had never felt like that . . . hopeless.

Our natural response should be prayer - it’s how we communicate with God. But every once in awhile we need to look up and go. It’s like the story of the man stranded at sea; he prayed that God would save him, prayed day and night but never opened his eyes to see the rescue helicopter pass over or the Coast Guard boats cruising near by.

So pray - pray hard - but every once in awhile look up, see what God is doing and go forward.

Pastor Scotty Wagner First Christian Church, Scott City • fccscottcity.org

Scott City Assembly of God

1615 South Main - Scott City - 872-2200 Ed Sanderson, Senior Pastor 9:00 a.m. - Pre-Service Prayer 10:00 a.m. - Sunday Worship Service and Children’s Church Wednesday: 7:00 p.m. - Bible Study and Prayer

St. Joseph Catholic Church

A Catholic Christian Community 1002 S. Main Street - Scott City Fr. Bernard Felix, pastor • 872-7388 Secretary • 872-3644 Masses: 1st Sunday of month - 8:30 and 11:00 a.m.

Other weekends: Sat., 6:00 p.m.; Sun., 11:00 a.m.

Spanish Mass - 2nd and 4th Sundays, 1:30 p.m.

Pence Community Church

Prairie View Church of the Brethren

4855 Finney-Scott Rd. - Scott City - 276-6481 Pastor Jon Tuttle Sunday School: 10:00 a.m.

Morning Worship: 11:00 a.m.

Men’s Fellowship • Wednesday mornings Breakfast at 6:30 a.m.

Held at Precision Ag Bldg. west of Shallow Water

Holy Cross Lutheran Church

1102 Court • Box 283 • Scott City 620-872-2294 • 620-872-3796 Pastor Warren Prochnow holycross-scott@sbcglobal.net Sunday School/Bible Class, 9:00 a.m.

Worship every Sunday, 10:15 a.m.

Wed.: Mid-Week School, 6:00-7:30 p.m.

Community Christian Church

8911 W. Road 270 10 miles north on US83; 2 miles north on K95; 9 miles west on Rd. 270 Don Williams, pastor • 874-2031 Wednesdays: supper (6:30 p.m.) • Kid’s Group and Adult Bible Study (7:00 p.m.) • Youth Group (8:00 p.m.)

Sunday School: 9:30 • Morning Worship: 10:30 a.m.

12th & Jackson • Scott City • 872-3219 Shelby Crawford, pastor Sunday School, 9:30 a.m.

Sunday Morning Worship, 10:45 a.m.

Wednesday Night Bible Study, 7:00 p.m.

Wednesday: God’s High School Cru, 7:30 p.m.

First Baptist Church

Immanuel Southern Baptist Church

803 College - Scott City - 872-2339 Kyle Evans, Senior Pastor Bob Artz, Associate Pastor

1398 S. US83 - Scott City - 872-2264 Robert Nuckolls, pastor - 872-5041

Sunday School, 9:30 a.m.

Sunday School: 9:45 a.m. • Worship: 11:00 a.m.

Sunday morning worship: 8:30 a.m. and 10:45 a.m.

Wednesday Bible Study, 7:00 p.m.

Gospel Fellowship Church 120 S. Lovers Lane - Shallow Water Larry Taylor, pastor Sunday School: 9:30 a.m.

Morning Worship: 10:30 a.m.

First Christian Church

1st United Methodist Church

5th Street and College - Scott City - 872-2401 Dennis Carter, pastor 1st Sunday: Communion and Fellowship Sunday Services at 9:00 a.m. • Sunday School, 10:30 a.m.

All Other Sundays • Worship: 8:30 and 10:45 a.m.

Sunday School: 9:30 a.m.

MYF (youth groups) on Wednesdays Jr. High: 6:30 p.m. • Sr. High: 7:00 p.m.

St. Luke’s Episcopal Church

701 Main - Scott City - 872-2937 Scotty Wagner, pastor Sunday School, 9:30 a.m.; Worship, 10:45 a.m.

Wednesday is Family Night Meal: 5:45 p.m. • Study: 6:15 p.m.

Website: www.fccscottcity.org

Elizabeth/Epperson Drives • Scott City • 872-3666 Father Don Martin Holy Eucharist - 11:45 a.m.

St. Luke’s - 872-5734 (recorded message) Senior Warden Bill Lewis • 872-3347 or Father Don Martin - (785) 462-3041

Scott Mennonite Church

Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints

12021 N. Eagle Rd. • Scott City Franklin Koehn: 872-2048 Charles Nightengale: 872-3056 Sunday School Worship Service: 10:00 a.m.

Sunday Evening Service: 7:00 p.m.

9th and Crescent - Scott City - 872-2334 Bishop Irvin Yeager • 620-397-2732 Sacrament, 9:30 a.m.

Sunday School, 10:50 a.m.

Relief Society and Priesthood, 11:20 a.m.

YMYW Wednesday, 8:00 p.m.

The Scott County Record • Page 16 • Thursday, January 30, 2014

Youngsters who have reached 100 to 800 book milestones in the Scott County Library’s “1,000 Books Before Kindergarten” reading program are:

Top readers of the week Isabelle Arens 100

Trail Roberts said the Foundation and the Walking Trail Committee understand concerns from those individuals living along the proposed route and they want to make it “the least intrusive that it can possibly be.”

As it is now, the committee points out that Ninth Street is a safety hazard for the many youngsters who walk that route to and from Scott City Middle School or travel that same street to the swimming pool.

Homeowners along Ninth Street agreed that something needs to be done.

“It’s dangerous for kids and for drivers,” said O’Brien. “I’ve almost hit a kid along there before because they were out in the street. Where there are sidewalks, the kids do a pretty good job of staying on them, but where you don’t have sidewalks they start to spread out.”

“Kids need to be ticketed if they walk in the middle of the street,” suggested Carey Wilken.

Jordan Rufenacht 400

Aaren Radke 200

Brant Powelson 400

Ava Hughes 300

Joselyn Miller 300

Deakin Daniels 400

Piper Jessup 800

Colborn Trout 800

(continued from page one)

“That’s something we may advocate,” said committee member Karma Huck.

Roberts noted there are some areas where a five-foot sidewalk will be a challenge, if not impossible.

The 500 block is one area where there is a lack of frontage property in front of Pam’s Portrait Place. In another block, evergreen trees have grown across an existing sidewalk. It may also be difficult to add a sidewalk in the remainder of the block immediately west of SCMS. If existing sidewalks are in need of repair they can be included in the grant, says Roberts.

Ken Anderson said his sidewalk at the corner of Ninth Street and US83 Highway is only 50 inches. If the sidewalk is widened to five feet he says part of his fence will have to be moved. Roberts said if that happens Anderson won’t have to pick up the cost.

“I have no problem

at all with this project as long as you don’t restrict the parking,” added O’Brien. “It’s needed.”

Painted Lanes In addition to the sidewalk, there are plans to paint seven-foot lanes on each side of the street where bicyclists and walkers will also be encouraged to stay. However, vehicles won’t be prevented from parking in those areas.

According to Huck, the Kansas Department of Transportation “feels it’s safer to have those lanes, even if people have to walk around vehicles, than to have no markings at all. Hopefully, it will encourage walkers and bikers to stay closer to the curb if they aren’t going to use the sidewalk.”

If the grant isn’t approved for the sidewalk, Roberts says they will probably move ahead with painting a seven-foot area along Ninth Street.

ey is already in-hand and work should be completed this summer on the final two phases of the walking trail at Palmer Park.

Phase 1 has been completed which includes An eight-foot concrete sidewalk around the park area (immediately west of the swimming pool) and extend to the north entrance to the Sports Complex.

This phase would be approximately one-half mile long, costing about $70,030.

The final two phases are:

Phase 2: An eight-foot concrete sidewalk that circles what was originally designed to be a pond at the south end of the park.

Est. cost: $43,010.

Phase 3: An eight-foot sidewalk that connects with the first two phases, wrapping around the soccer fields, along the west side of the baseball complex and east of the tennis courts. Because part of the asphalt trail is in deteriorating condition, particularly along the west side of the soccer fields, the Foundation would even-

tually like to see this upgraded to concrete.

Anyone with questions about the trails project can contact the Scott Community Foundation (8723790) or email Alli Conine at alli@scottcf.org.

Individuals who would like to submit a letter of support for the project to KDOT must do so

by Feb. 7. Letters can be addressed to KDOT and mailed to the Scott Community Foundation, 303 Court Street or emailed to alli@scottcf.org.

Palmer Park Project Roberts says the mon-

Don’t forget our feathered friends Severe winter weather is not only hard on people but can be a life and death struggle for birds. Though birds require water and shelter, food is often the resource most lacking during cold weather.

Many different bird food mixes are available because various species often prefer different grains. However, there is one seed that has more universal appeal than any other: black oil sunflower.

If you are new to the bird-feeding game, make sure there is a high percentage of this seed in your mix. White proso millet is second in popularity and is the favorite of dark-eyed juncos and other sparrows as well as the red-winged blackbird.

As you become more interested in bird feeding, you may want to use more than one feeder to attract specific species of birds.

Following is a list of bird species with the grains they prefer.

•Cardinal, evening grosbeak and most finch species: sunflower seeds, all types.

•Rufous-sided towhee: white proso millet •Dark-eyed junco: white and red proso millet, canary seed, fine cracked corn.

•Many sparrow species: white and red proso millet.

•Bluejay: peanut ker-

nels and sunflower seeds of all types.

•Chickadee and tufted titmouse: peanut kernels, oil (black) and blackstriped sunflower seeds.

•Red-breasted nuthatch: oil (black) and black-striped sunflower seeds.

•Brown thrasher: hulled and black-striped sunflower seeds.

•Red-winged blackbird: white and red proso millet plus German (golden) millet •Mourning dove: oil (black) sunflower seeds, white and red proso plus German (golden) millet.

Extended cold periods can also make water unavailable. A heated birdbath can be a tremendous draw for birds during times when all other water is frozen. Energy use is usually less than what most people expect if the heater has a built-in thermostat.

If you would like more information Chuck Otte, County Extension Agent for Geary County, has a series of backyard birding guides at http://gearycountyextension.com/ NRMW.htm

Cupid’s Comments Send a d’s i p u C nt e m Com ur to yo e! in t n e l Va

h Touc ne o e m o s ial c e p s in your life.

All Valentine’s Day Cupid’s Comments will be published in the February 13 Scott County Record!

Exam Kathy ple: , you g my love fo rows every r I love day. you m y dea r!

-Rod

$10 (for the first 15 words)

Deadline is February 11 Name:_____________________________________________________________________ Address:____________________________________________________________________ Phone:_____________________________________________________________________ Message (Up to 15 words):_____________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________

Scott County Record P.O. Box 377 406 Main St. Scott City, Ks 67871

Sports The Scott County Record

www.scottcountyrecord.com

NWKL tourney Dighton boys bounce back to claim 3rd in tournament • Page 18

Thursday, January 30, 2014

Page 17

tourney champs Beavers scorch Bears from long range

Scott City junior Sloan Baker drives past Palmer Ridge senior Edmund Cameron for two of his nine points during the championship game in the Orange and Black Classic at Colby.

(Record Photo)

WCHS routs Jackrabbits to end skid

Four quarters of intensity is what Hayden Parks has been looking for from his Wichita County High School boys.

The Indians (5-10) delivered with a 60-31 blowout win over Tribune in Northwest Kansas League action on Tuesday. That was quite a turnaround from the one-point nailbiter WCHS escaped with

against the Jackrabbits in the opening round of the league tournament.

“We played intense ball from start to finish. That was the difference,” says Parks. “Last time we got a big lead early in the game but we didn’t keep playing like that for the next three quarters.”

The Indians didn’t get off to the quick offensive

start they did when the teams first met, leading only 11-8 after the opening period, but they did maintain tough defensive pressure for three quarters while building a 43-18 lead.

“We played much better man defense for the entire game and we had good matchups,” says Parks.

Senior guard Jantz Budde (15 points) was the only Indian in double figures, but WCHS had their most balanced offensive game of the season with all 12 players contributing on offense. Sophomore center Gabe Fletcher (4-of-8 FG) added nine points and six rebounds while senior center Brock (See SKID on page 19)

Facing a Palmer Ridge team that had a big height advantage in the paint, the Scott Community High School boys knew they would need to establish their ability to score on the perimeter.

SCHS shredded the Bears from long range - knocking 57 down nine treys in Palmer Scott City 71 the first three quarters - in winning the title game in the Orange and Black Classic at Colby, 7157, on Saturday night.

It was the second time in three years that SCHS has been the tournament champion after missing last year’s Orange and Black to participate in the Tournament of Champions.

The Beavers (9-1) trailed briefly at 4-2 before junior guard Brett Meyer knocked down a three-pointer which would be the start of a theme for the Beavers.

Scott City put together a 9-0 scoring run when junior guard Trey O’Neil ignited a 6-1/2 minute stretch during which the Beavers hit six three-pointers.

O’Neil started the torrid stretch with a three-pointer at the 3:24 mark that was the first of his six treys on the night.

“I felt real good about how well I was shooting the ball the last couple of nights,” said O’Neil, who finished with 26 points. “Tonight, I knew we’d (See SCORCH on page 24)

Kropp is runner-up at Lexington tourney

Warren Kropp was looking for a tough test at the Lexington Invitational. He got what he was looking for.

The Scott Community High School 170-pound senior squared off against undefeated Chance Helmick (24-0, Beatrice) in the tournament finals, losing by a 13-5 major decision.

It was the first time in three tournament starts (See KROPP on page 19)

Running clock a first for SC girls When Paige Winderlin hit a short basket with 3:41 remaining in Friday’s Orange and Black Classic game against Sunrise Christian Academy, the freshman made some history for the Scott Community High School girls.

It wasn’t just the freshman’s first ever field goal as a varsity player, but it marked the first time that the Lady Beavers have ever played with a run- Scott City 58 Sunrise 29 ning clock when they had the lead.

“That moment wasn’t missed on the girls,” said head coach Shelby Crawford after the game. “They were talking about it in the locker room.”

That field goal opened up a 54-23 advantage and the Lady Beavers rolled to a 58-29 win over Sunrise Christian in the consolation semi-finals. The win snapped a five game losing streak for SCHS. While SCHS (2-7) had their biggest offensive night of the season - only the second time they’ve scored more than 40 points - that success began with their defense. Scott City’s full-court pressure created a number of turnovers under their own basket which the Lady Beavers converted into easy points.

“Our offense is better when we create turnovers. Tonight we were opportunistic and were able to turn those opportunities into points,” Crawford says.

(See SUNRISE on page 19)

Scott City’s Holly Wilcoxson puts up a jumper between two Sunrise Christian defenders during the consolation semi-finals at the Orange and Black Classic.

(Record Photo)

The Scott County Record • Page 18 • Thursday, January 30, 2014

Outdoors in Kansas

by Steve Gilliland

Critters on my coyotes I turned off the blacktop and followed a rutted tractor trail along a dike that separates a wheat field from what’s known around here as the big ditch; the Blaze Fork ditch that was dug in the 1940s or so to help drain the large marshes west of Inman.

A few hundred yards off the highway the tractor lane leads down into the field.

That spot is a natural draw to traveling predators and I have some coyote and bobcat traps there.

Riding with me was a local guy I’ll call Kenny who temporarily resides at the nursing home where I work recuperating from West Nile disease and meningitis.

As we approached the spot I could see that I’d caught a coyote there.

“Kenny, looks like we got a customer” I told him as we approached. I stopped the truck and prepared to scramble down into the corner of the wheat field to collect Mr. Coyote, but something about it didn’t look right.

The coyote’s normally bushy tail was a mere stick with a few hairs on it. Closer inspection revealed the coyote had mange.

Believe it or not, this was the first mangy coyote I had caught since I began trapping coyotes several years ago.

Sarcoptic Mange is a disease found in canines, both wild and domestic, caused

by Sarcoptic Mites.

These parasitic mites burrow into the skin, causing intense scratching and resulting hair loss, weakness and very possibly death as the infected animal loses most or all of its fur.

The hair loss usually begins on the tail and hind legs then slowly works its way across the animal’s entire body. Mange is highly treatable in domestic canines but obviously not in

(See COYOTES on page 23)

Dighton looking for consistency down stretch

With two-thirds of the regular season already history, Dean Cramer would like to have a good idea what kind of basketball team the Dighton High School boys are.

O n m o s t nights, h o w ever, it’s a mysDighton 54 tery to Otis-Bison 61 the head coach which team will show up.

That was the case again

on Tuesday following a 61-54 loss to Otis-Bison in non-league play. The Hornets (7-6) looked lifeless coming off a third place finish in the Northwest Kansas League tournament.

“We didn’t come out with any fire,” says Cramer.

The head coach had to burn two timeouts in the first quarter after his team fell behind 7-0. They eventually saw that deficit grow to 14 points by halftime, 34-20, and the Cou-

gars extended their lead to 16 points early in the third period before DHS began making a comeback.

Kyle Patrick, a 6-foot6 senior guard, scorched the Hornets for five treys - four in the first half on his way to a 30 point night.

“We needed to have a hand in his face and pressuring him all the time and we let him get too many open looks,” says Cramer.

“We simply didn’t play good defense in the first half and we were stand-

ing around too much on offense.

“We have to be able to hang our hat on our defense. We play good for three or four possessions and then we have a lapse that allows a team to put together a scoring run.”

The Hornets picked up the tempo at both ends of the floor in the second half, eventually cutting the deficit to five points with just under three minutes remaining.

Cramer says the squad needs to have more pa-

tience on offense and recognize when their outside shots aren’t falling. Dighton was just 2-of-14 from beyond the three-point line.

“If they put the ball up more quickly on the first few possessions and are trying to see if their shots are falling, I don’t have a problem with that,” says Cramer. “But when you aren’t hitting your shots you need to be more patient and work the ball around so you can get a (See STRETCH on page 22)

Hornets top Atwood for 3rd in tourney Sam Moomaw had a career night and the Dighton High School boys defeated Atwood, 64-51, in the consolation finals of the Northwest Kansas League tournament on Saturday.

The Dighton senior scored his team’s first five points from the field - including a three-pointer - and finished with 12 points.

Not bad for coming off the bench.

“I told Sam that Mathew (Barnett) was going to start because I felt he was a little quicker,” says head coach Dean Cramer. “That must have got him fired up.

“But I emphasized to him that he needed to be more aggressive and I started seeing that from him.”

Even though the Hornets (7-5) were in control for most of the game they couldn’t put away the Buffaloes.

Atwood owned a narrow lead for most of the second period, their biggest advantage a 21-18 cushion with 3:44 left in the half.

Freshman guard Tyler Lingg, who finished with a team high 19 points, gave

his team a 26-25 lead with less than a minute remaining in the half and Dalton Birney’s free throw with :04 remaining again put Dighton on top, 27-26, at the break.

Dighton never trailed in the second half, opening up an 11 point cushion, 43-32, on a basket by Moomaw with just under three minutes left in the third period.

The Buffaloes answered with a 9-0 scoring run late in the third period and to open the fourth quarter, cutting the deficit to a single basket, 43-41.

In a game of scoring runs, it was Dighton’s turn to string together eight points, capped by Isaac Alinor’s steal and layup that put the Hornets back on top by 10, 51-41, with 6:11 left in the game.

“When Isaac got that steal and layup I felt that sealed the deal,” Cramer says. “And we were able to hit our free throws down the stretch.”

Atwood didn’t get closer than seven points the rest of the game.

Alinor was just shy of a double-double with eight points and 10 rebounds.

Senior guard Matthew Mulville added 14 points

Dighton senior Sam Moomaw hits a basket on his way to a season high 12 points during Saturday’s win over Atwood in the consolation finals of the NWKL tournament.

(Record Photo)

(5-of-8 FG).

“We emphasized coming out ready to play in the third quarter,” adds Cramer. “We tried to be patient on offense, but aggressive.

ment title end with a 67-49 loss to eventual champion Hoxie in the semi-finals on Friday.

“I felt we were intimidated by them,” says Cramer. “I told the boys they have the ability to play Lose to Hoxie in Semis with them, but they have Dighton saw their to show up and play the hopes of a NWKL tourna- game.

“We lacked the intensity I expected.”

Lingg had a solid outing for the Hornets with a team high 16 points and eight rebounds. Mulville added 14 points and five boards.

As a team, DHS was just 18-of-53 (34%) from the field.

SC unable to slow down Lakin’s inside game

Lakin had a huge size advantage and they used it well in handing the Scott Community High School girls a 55-41 loss on the home court Tuesday night.

“We knew we had to put a body on their big girl and try to keep the ball out of her hands. We didn’t do a very good job of that,” says head coach Shelby Crawford.

“They got way too many easy baskets and too many second-chance opportunities.”

While SCHS never had the lead they were able to battle back twice in the first half and keep the game from being a runaway.

Senior Riley Hawker’s turnaround jumper in the lane cut the Lakin lead to

10-9 late in the first quarter. Senior Bailey Nickel’s basket with just over five minutes to play in the first half made it an 18-16 Lakin lead.

That’s as close as the Lady Beavers would get.

Madison Orr came off the bench to score a basket that cut the lead to 2118, but Lakin was able to open up a 25-19 halftime

lead and a 12-2 scoring run midway in the third period had SCHS trailing 42-24.

Hawker continues to give the Lady Beavers a needed offensive punch with her season-best of 13 points, followed by Kelly Wycoff with 11 points.

Nickel and Nicole Latta added six points.

“We need for Bailey to

give us more consistency on offense,” says Crawford. “On most night’s she’s the best athlete on the floor. No one should be able to limit her to six points.

The Lady Beavers (29) will be on the road for a non-league game at Liberal on Friday. They will host Hugoton in a league game on Tuesday.

The Scott County Record • Page 19 • Thursday, January 30, 2014

SC can’t keep first half momentum Kropp

(continued from page 17)

Rally from 10 points down, offense fades in second half The momentum from a big first half comeback wasn’t enough for the Scott City girls in a 49-33 loss to McCook in the fourth place game at the Orange and Black Classic on Saturday.

The Lady Beavers (28) erased a 10 point deficit in the second McCook 49 Scott City 33 quarter to knot the game at halftime 26-26, but added just seven points during the final 16 minutes.

“The girls saw they are capable of coming back from a big deficit. Now they have to learn how to keep that momentum,” says head coach Shelby Crawford. “We played well and the girls gave great effort, but it’s our inability to do some of the fundamentals like blocking out and making good decisions with the ball that are hurting us.”

Senior Riley Hawker, who didn’t play in Friday’s game due to illness, provided a spark coming off the bench to score Scott City’s first four points.

The game was tied at 6-6 following a basket by Nicole Latta when McCook put together a 10-2 run. They eventually stretched their lead to 10 points, 21-11, with just under six minutes left in the half when SCHS answered with a 13-3 scoring run that tied the game at 24-24.

Senior forward Bailey Nickel, who finished with a team high 14 points, scored four baskets during that stretch.

During the rally, Nickel had a steal and layup that was followed by a 14-foot jumper by guard Mariah Campbell. Nickel finished off the scoring run with a bucket at the 1:03 mark to tie the game at 24-24. Senior Kelly

Sunrise Sunrise was able to rely on three three-point baskets to stay in the game for the first 1-1/2 quarters. Sunrise tied the game at 18-18 with 3:24 left in the first half before senior forward Bailey Nickel took over by scoring Scott City’s next nine points on her way to a 28 point game.

SCHS was protecting a 23-21 lead late in the half when they put together a 25-0 scoring blitz.

Nickel hit a pair of baskets and sophomore guard Nicole Latta, who finished with 11 points, knocked down a three-

that Kropp (10-1) didn’t come away with a gold.

Kropp earned his way into the title match with a first round win by injury default and a fall over Conner Myers (Lincoln Southwest) in the semi-finals.

It was a tough weekend for the Beavers who claimed only one other medal in a tournament that brings together some of the top programs in Nebraska.

James Jurgens, who was back on the mat for the first time since Christmas, was a fourth place medalist in the 126-pound division.

The junior defeated Hunter Weiss (Beatrice), 20-5; lost in the following round to Brett Velasquez (Bennington), 9-1; decisioned Aaron Houser (North Platte), 7-4; and in the consolation finals was decisioned by Damon Rodriguez (Kearney), 8-6.

It doesn’t get any easier for SCHS this weekend as they compete in the Rocky Welton Invitational at Garden City. The tournament features some of the top wrestlers and wrestling programs from Kansas, Colorado and New Mexico.

Action begins on Friday at 11:00 a.m.

SCHS sophomore Nicole Latta scores on a putback against McCook during the fourth place game in the Orange and Black Classic.

(Record Photo)

Wycoff added a field goal late in the half that sent both teams into the locker room tied at 26-26.

Scott City couldn’t find their offense after the intermission, missing their first seven shots from the field and falling behind 35-26 before Nickel ended the scoring drought with a basket at the 1:46 mark. The Lady Bison ended any hopes of a Scott City comeback with a 9-2 scoring run over the next 5-1/2 minutes.

Defensively, Scott City gave up a game high 25 points in the

paint to McCook sophomore Tiara Schmidt.

“We weren’t rotating on defense and blocking out. A lot of their points in the paint came on putbacks,” says Crawford. “(Schmidt) shouldn’t have had that kind of game against us.”

While he feels the team gained some confidence with their offense, Crawford feels they are inconsistent.

“It’s great to see the girls claw back into the game the way they did, but when you score 20

points in a quarter you have to follow that up with more than 13 points in an entire half,” says the head coach.

The final two games of the tournament also provided more playing time for freshmen Kiana Yager, Paige Winderlin and Taylor Goodman.

“Those girls are gaining confidence against varsity level competition. They could see more playing time in the second half of the season,” says Crawford.

goton, but I was reluctant to go into that because Riley Hawker couldn’t play because of illness and I didn’t want to wear my girls out.”

However, Nickel was also able to bring another dimension to her offense which saw her scoring the second highest total of her career.

“We’d worked a lot this week on getting the ball to Bailey with her back to the basket. We put in some (offensive) sets that we feel will work against the 2-3 zone which requires her to

play with her back to the basket a lot,” says the head coach.

“I pointed out to the girls at halftime that was the first time we’ve seen a post move all season.

“Bailey’s such a versatile player. She’s our leading threepoint shooter, our leading scorer and our leading rebounder. And she’s a great ball handler if we need her there,” added Crawford.

It was also Scott City’s best defensive game of the season, limiting Sunrise to just eight points in the second half.

(continued from page 17)

pointer that hit the front of the rim and found its way into the bottom of the net with just one second remaining in the half for a 30-21 lead.

Scott City kept the momentum by scoring 18 unanswered points to open the third period the last nine from Nickel which included a three-pointer.

“We switched to man defense in the second half,” notes Crawford. “We started (the game) in a 1-3-1 defense, but we weren’t as active in it as we needed to be.

I felt we could play man defense after watching Sunrise play Hu-

Skid

(continued from page 17)

Sheppard finished with six points and a team high 13 boards.

As a team, WCHS pulled down 18 offensive rebounds and outrebounded the Jackrabbits 44-23.

“We had a lot of second chance looks and capitalized on them. That’s what we have to do,” Parks says.

Just as importantly, WCHS was able to get a convincing win after losing three straight games in the NWKL tournament.

“We’re capable of playing with anyone on our schedule the rest of the season if we are able to put together a game like this,” Parks added. “We have to make up our minds to play to our potential.”

Embiids improved play is astounding Kansas doesn’t have a death grip on the Big 12 title chase, but the Jayhawks are squeezing hard enough to make the rest of the conference teams short of breath.

Coach Bill by Self’s team is Mac off to an aus- Stevenson picious start in their quest for KU’s 10th consecutive conference championship. They own a two game lead over their nearest conference rivals.

KU could possibly lose a game - maybe two - but so will everyone else. The Hawks are going to be tough to catch.

Kansas center Joel Embiid has improved more in just 2-1/2 months of his freshman season than any other first-year post player in the last 50 years of NCAA basketball.

His progress has been astounding. Embiid’s upper body has become stronger - his arms and shoulders have developed muscle that wasn’t there at the beginning of the season.

KU’s center is making pinpoint passes out of double teams on offense and his moves around the basket continue to amaze knowledgeable observers.

Embiid’s also a dominant shot blocker and rebounder on defense After all his preseason hype, Andrew Wiggins has been displaced as the media darling by Embiid. Regardless, Wiggins is becoming comfortable playing on the perimeter and he’s going to be a perfect complement to Embiid going forward.

Both have amazing physical talent and a lack of selfishness that is remarkable indeed.

Kansas is moving up in media ratings as conference races near the halfway point of the season. Self has his team right on schedule and the Jayhawks made their usual improvement over the semester break. KU is playing with more freedom and confidence and they will continue to move forward.

This Jayhawk juggernaut is going to be hard to stop because of the extraordinary talent and teamwork and coaching.

(See EMBIID on page 23)

Indians fade after quick start against Oberlin Things couldn’t have started out better for the Wichita County High School boys in their consolation game against Oberlin at the Northwest Kansas League tournament.

Unfortunately, it didn’t end that way for the Indians.

After jumping out to a 10-0 lead against the host Red Wichita Co. 36 Devils the ofOberlin 68 fense stalled out as Oberlin put together a 15-1 scoring run during the next 3-1/2 minutes, opening up a 15-11 lead.

Oberlin went on to outscore WCHS 27-5 in the second period and the Indians were unable to recover.

“We started out extremely well on offense and defense, but when they switched to boxand-one it slowed our offense late in the first quarter,” says head coach Hayden Parks.

“Offensively, they started finding the open shooter and were driving to the basket. We didn’t take away their ability to drive inside.”

Oberlin’s box-and-one was effective in limiting senior guard Jantz Budde to 11 points - well below his season average - on just 3-of-8 from the field.

Gabe Fletcher and Chris

The Scott County Record • Page 20 • Thursday, January 30, 2014

Wilson each added five points.

The Indians (4-10) had a rough night from the field as well, hitting just 1-of-15 from three-point range.

Fall to Sainty How evenly matched are the Wichita County High School boys and St. Francis?

They’ve met twice this season and both games have been decided by a total of two points. Unfortunately for WCHS, they’ve been on the losing end of both games, most recently by a 42-41 score in the consolation semi-finals of the Northwest Kansas League tournament.

In Friday’s consolation semi-finals, the Indians were trailing by one point following a free throw by Casey Day with :17 left in the game.

WCHS caught a break when the Indians were called for a foul on the in-bounds play, giving possession back to Wichita County without any time coming off the clock.

The Indians took the ball the length of the floor but were unable to make a game-winner.

“I take responsibility for that. We had a timeout left and I should have drawn up a final play,” says Parks.

On the positive side, with Budde riding the bench most of the night with foul trouble his teammates were able to pick up

Leoti sophomore Gabe Fletcher leans into the lane for a basket during NWKL tournament action against Oberlin on Saturday.

(Record Photo)

the scoring slack.

Day had 12 points while senior center Brock Sheppard chipped in 10 points (5-of-8 FG). Budde finished with eight points.

“The boys realized they are capable of scoring without Jantz on the floor. Hopefully that’s something we can build on the rest of the season,” says Parks.

Parks commission hikes camping fees

The Kansas Wildlife, Parks and Tourism Commission conducted a public hearing in Winfield on Jan. 9 to consider amendments to several wildlife and park regulations.

Public hearings are held to discuss and vote on regulation changes after recommendations have been proposed in two previous commission meetings.

Commissioners listened to recommendations on increases for utility and seasonal camping fees. Kansas Department of Wildlife, Parks and Tourism (KDWPT) staff recommended camping fee increases to accommodate rising utility rates.

Current utility camping fees

KDWP Report are $7.50 for one utility, $9.50 for two and $10.50 for three utilities per camping night.

The commission approved raising the rates to $9 for one utility, $11 for two and $12 for three utilities per night.

Seasonal camping fees, which are charged by the month, were increased $30.50 to $270.50 for one utility, $330.50 for two utilities and $390.50 for three utilities.

Big Game Restitution The second public hearing item was a house-cleaning issue on the regulation defining

the scoring system used to determine restitution for big game animals taken illegally.

The recommendation more clearly defined a measurable point to “a projection on the antler of a deer or elk at least one inch long as measured from its tip to the nearest edge of the antler beam and the length of which exceeds the width at one inch or more of length.”

The commission approved this recommendation.

And in final action, the commission approved changes to the fall turkey season bag limits. Turkey populations declined in most regions from 2004-08 because adverse

weather impacted spring nesting success and brood survival.

Success rates for spring hunters dropped accordingly, triggering a change in regulations. KDWPT staff recommended reducing the fall turkey bag limit from four turkeys to one turkey in Turkey Management Units 3, 5 and 6.

The fall limit remains one turkey for Unit 1 (northwest) and the season bag limit will remain four turkeys in Unit 2 (northcentral).

Unit 4 (southwest) is closed to fall turkey hunting.

Commissioners approved the season bag limit change, as well as proposed season dates of Oct. 1-Dec. 3, 2014 and Dec. 16, 2014-Jan. 31, 2015.

A Battle of Titans

The Scott County Record • Page 21 • Thursday, January 30, 2014

Lady Hornets nearly pull off huge win in NWKL finals There was more than a Northwest Kansas League tournament title on the line when the Dighton and Hoxie girls squared off on Saturday night in Oberlin.

F o r t h r e e years, the Lady Indians h a v e Dighton 55 been the Hoxie 64 gold standard of Class 1A basketball.

They’ve been in three consecutive state title games - winning the last two - and they haven’t lost a game since losing the state championship in 2011.

That’s a 59 game winning streak.

If there’s anyone who can threaten that win streak during the regular season it would appear to be the Lady Hornets whose only previous loss this season was to Hoxie in the semi-finals of the Castle Rock Classic.

In a rematch of Class 1A powerhouses, the Lady Indians survived - barely.

After both teams played to a 33-33 halftime score, Hoxie was able to pull away in the second half for a 64-55 win.

“Each time we play them we gain confidence.

We know that we’re capable of playing at their level,” says head coach Amy Felker.

For 16 minutes the Lady Hornets gave Hoxie everything they wanted and more. However, it didn’t start that way.

Dighton committed six turnovers against Hoxie’s full-court pressure in the first 3-1/2 minutes while the Lady Indians were building a 6-0 lead.

“We played into their hands. I told the girls we couldn’t get into an up-and-down game with them. That’s their style,” Felker said. “We’d break their press, think we had a layup, miss the basket and head the other direction.

“Once we slowed it down and got into our half-court offense we started to relax more and get into the flow of our offense.”

After falling behind 14-5 in the opening period, the Lady Hornets began to chip away at the lead. But it wasn’t until freshman Jordan Speer began to take over the game at the offensive end of the floor that Dighton was able to put together a serious scoring run.

Speer, who got a lot of playing time in the first half with her older sister

on the bench in foul trouble, provided a big emotional lift with a threepoint buzzer-beater at the end of the first quarter.

She continued building on that momentum with two more quick baskets in the second period.

Hoxie withstood the offensive surge from DHS, rebuilding their lead to nine points, 32-23, before the Lady Indians closed out the final 3:03 of the half with an impressive 8-1 scoring blitz.

Sophomore guard Kiara Budd brought the Dighton fans to their feet with a three-point basket and quickly followed with a steal and layup at the 1:04 mark that cut the lead to 33-31. Shambrey Budd added a basket in the final minute that sent both teams into the locker room tied at 33-33.

Dighton was unable to get the lead in the second half as Hoxie began to open up its lead again.

Hoxie led 48-42 going into the final period.

J. Speer finished with a team high 17 points and eight rebounds.

“I told Jordan at the beginning of the year she was being too timid, that she needs to toughen up and play hard. She was

Hoxie’s Kristina Farber tries to block Dighton’s Diamond Brown as she drives to the basket for a fastbreak opportunity during the Northwest Kansas League tournament on Saturday.

(Record Photo)

attacking the basket. She had no fear of shooting,” says Felker of the freshman’s performance in the tournament finals.

“Kiara has also gained a lot more confidence. She wants to become a shooter and isn’t afraid in a big-

time situation,” Felker says. “She wants to expand her game. She shoots probably 100 threes a day.

She’s determined to get her shot and it’s paying off.”

Budd finished with 13 points while freshman

Sara Cramer added eight points and four assists.

“It was a fun game to play. You want to be on the other end of it,” says Felker. “We have one more game against them and we’re looking forward to it.”

The Scott County Record • Page 22 • Thursday, January 30, 2014

Stretch

SCHS Wrestling

(continued from page 18)

Senior forward Matthew Barnett was an efficient 6-of-11 from the field for a team high 15 points in addition to four blocked shots. Senior guard Isaac Alinor added 14 points and six rebounds while freshman guard Tyler Lingg added 12 points and five boards.

With only seven games remaining on the regular season schedule, Cramer says the team needs to feel a sense of urgency.

“We need to play with more consistency so we can start building momentum heading into post-season play,” Cramer says. “I still feel this team has the ability to get to state. Hopefully, they feel that same desire and passion that I feel. We can’t afford not to come out and play our best every night.”

League Standings Team

Great West Activities Conference Boy’s Division

Scott City

League W L 4

0

2

2

Holcomb

3

Goodland

2

Hugoton Ulysses Colby

Team Holcomb Hugoton

Goodland Colby

Ulysses

Scott City

Team

2

0

1 2

3

5

4

0

2

2

3 2 2

0

1 3 3

4

League W L

Dighton

1

Hoxie

5

Leoti

2

St. Francis Quinter

WaKeeney Tribune

Team Hoxie

2 2 1

1

1

0

0

2

2

3

1

3

1

0

1

1

Sharon Springs 0 Quinter

2

0

1

St. Francis

2

4

Tribune Atwood

Strk

1

511

232

6 W

5

4

509

502

1

L

2

L

8 4 5

0

2 6 5

9

Overall W L

604 528 517

441

0

0

0 0 1

1

1

1

2

473 567

548 618

PF

PA

2 W 1 0

L

L

1

642

408

1

L

6

3

378

353

2

L

1

L

9 4 3

1

1 5 7

6

598 353 472

234

Overall W L

406 384 557 360

2 W 1 W 4

PF

PA

Strk

0

502

393

7 W

6

4

499

454

3 W

4

7 5 5

4

0

1

1 8

4 5 5

6

9

6

Overall W L

649 550

655 495 533

508

335

296

382 679

633 504

532 564

489

419

1

L

3

L

1

L

2 W 2

9

1

L

L L

PF

PA

Strk

0

498

237

7 W

2

5

288

317

1

L

3

L

2

L

1 3 2

1

1

0

1 4 4 6

2 6

5

518 136 287 343

101

228 172

274 237 271

380 133

322 334

No matter what you value, I’m here to protect it with respect and professionalism.

Like a good neighbor, State Farm is there.® CALL ME TODAY.

9 W

7 9

Michael Trout, Agent 112 West 3rd Street Scott City, KS 67871 Bus: 620-872-5374 michael@troutagency.com

L

7 9

It’s our differences that make us great.

Strk

9

Girl’s Division

4

Oberlin

1

League W L

Dighton Leoti

PA

Northwest Kansas League Boy’s Division 0

Oberlin

PF

7

Girl’s Division

League W L

Sharon Springs 3

Atwood

Overall W L

John Higgins Invitational January 25, 2014 • in Lexington, Nebr.

Team scores: Bennington 182.5, Kearney 181, Hastings 146.5, Beatrice 129, Millard West 121.5, Lexington 116, North Platte 112.5, Lincoln Southwest 103, Cozad 97, Holdrege 74, Schuyler 58, McCook 52, Scott City 41.5, Sidney 30, Chase County 4 106: Zach Tucker pinned by Gabe Crocker (Kearney), 1:18; pinned by Colton Hatch (Hastings), 1:39.

120: Chase Ramsey pinned by Nolan Laux (Hastings), 1:08; pinned by David Mata (North Platte), 2:42.

126: James Jurgens tech. fall Hunter Weiss (Beatrice), 20-5; lost by maj. dec. to Brett Velasquez (Bennington), 9-1; dec. Aaron Houser (North Platte), 7-4; dec. by Damon Rodriguez (Kearney), 8-6. Fourth place.

138: Jesse Anchondo pinned by Dakota Hernandez (Lexington), 3:00; tech. fall by Colton Thompson (North Platte), 19-4.

145: Wyatt Kropp maj. dec. Trevon Johnson (Holdrege), 11-0; pinned by Layne Laaker (Bennington), 1:22; pinned by Austin White (Chase County), 4:07.

152: Abe Wiebe pinned by Shawn Roblee (North Platte), 1:37; pinned by Hugo Escamilla (Cozad), 1:41.

160: Trey Loftis pinned by Timothy Burbach (Lincoln Southwest), 4:50; pinned Brody McKnight (Sidney), 0:37; maj. dec. by Justin Mahon (Bennington), 9-1.

170: Warren Kropp won by injury default over Michael Swanson (Schuyler); pinned Conner Myers (Lincoln Southwest), 5:34; maj. dec. by Chance Helmick (Beatrice), 13-5.

Second place.

182: Tre Stewart lost tie-breaker to Chase Christensen (Holdrege), 3-2; pinned by Logan Farrell (Lexington), 4:22.

195: Garrett Osborn pinned by Jessup Workman (Beatrice), 0:43; pinned by Lane Cole (Holdrege), 2:25.

285: Cole Birney pinned by Oscar Ramirez (Lexington), 3:11; pinned by Dalton Goodenberger (McCook), 2:46.

7 W 1 W 3

3

5

L L L

1101007.1

State Farm, Home Office, Bloomington, IL

Coyotes wild foxes, wolves and coyotes, thus it can wreak havoc with wild populations. It’s not entirely known what kind of survival rate to expect, but that seems to be highly determined by winter conditions in the area.

Last year, I had a couple coyotes on which the fur buyer pointed out to me spots around their necks where the fur was very thin. One of his explanations was that the animals were possibly just recovering from mange.

Our local conservation officer pointed out to me that despite some periods of frigid temperatures and a few snow storms, the last couple winters have been fairly mild here in Kansas, possible allowing some infected animals to survive.

One website I visited also mentioned infected animals smelling badly due to secondary infections resulting from the disease. I caught a second mangy coyote this morning just a mile away from the first and it did smell badly.

Embiid Shockers Keep Climbing Wichita State moved their Missouri Valley record to 8-0 last Saturday and their overall unbeaten mark to 21-0. The Shockers only competition in the Valley is Indiana State with a 7-1 record. The rest of the Valley teams are out of the race with four or more losses.

Coach Gregg Marshall’s team will receive a favorable seed in the NCAA Tournament. It could be anywhere between a one and three.

The Shockers’ only notable weakness is the lack of a center that is a scoring threat on offense.

National Signing Day Many college football games will be won or lost this coming Wed., February 5. It’s National Letter of Intent Day for Division I schools throughout the nation.

Kansas State has obviously had numerous recruiting classes that deserved to be rated in the top 25 in the nation. Even though Bill Snyder is on a very short list of the best coaches in college football for the last two decades, he still needs talented players to be among

The Scott County Record • Page 23 • Thursday, January 30, 2014

(continued from page 18)

Mange is very transmittable from one animal to another, and the higher the wild population of that particular species, the more chances to transmit the disease. Coyotes are very family oriented canines and live in family groups, so the mites have ample opportunities to spread throughout the family group. Another website I perused suggested that sarcoptic mites were actually introduced into Montana in the early 1900’s as a possible biological control for wolves.

Today that seems nearly unthinkable, but back then ecology and conservation were merely words and concepts in books and life as a rancher in those parts of the country was all about survival.

Human infections of mange are extremely rare and short lived and are easily treated medically.

Also, mange from wildlife very rarely transfers to domestic animals or livestock. Despite the rare likelihood of transmission, hunters and trappers

should handle infected animals with gloves and should throw away or disinfect those gloves afterward.

Carcasses of dead mange-infected animals can be buried or burned, or at very least left someplace where dogs or wild canines will not feed on them.

Most people take a dim view of coyotes because they can be such ruthless predators, so when we trappers talk of disease problems among the coyote population most folks barely bat an eye.

As stated above, the larger the coyote population, the easier it is for disease to get a foothold.

Ironically, trapping is proven to be a very effective tool in controlling predator populations, and thus helping to control diseases.

Besides, as a trapper I like trying to match wits with the wily buggers!

Continue to Explore Kansas Outdoors!

Steve can be contacted by email at stevegilliland@idkcom.net

(continued from page 20)

the 10-15 best teams in the country every season.

K-State is never rated in the top 25 recruiting classes and the reason is simple: Snyder and his staff have scoured the junior college ranks down through the years and that’s a major factor in their consistent success.

Rating services don’t pay much attention to JUCO recruits; consequently, the Wildcats’ classes are always underrated.

This will be the third recruiting class for Coach Charlie Weis since he’s been at Kansas. It’s vital that he signs a talented class because he’s going to be playing a lot of seniors this fall.

Weis has been smart enough to copy Snyder’s methods since he arrived at KU. He’s concentrated 40- to 50 percent of his recruiting efforts on the juco ranks. This coming season will tell how successful his strategy has been.

The Jayhawks will have a resilient defense this fall because Weis has almost everyone back and substantial help coming with the new recruits.

Like K-State, KU’s class won’t get much recognition from the media

and that might be justified. Snyder has proved that his method works, but Weis’s teams at KU have disappointed so far.

One significant problem is the lack of a productive QB; that might change this fall, but the issue is very much in doubt.

It will be interesting to see how the two state schools fare with their 2014 recruiting classes.

Kansas State is pretty well set for next season; Kansas has to show significant progress or discontent among Jayhawk fans will go from a murmur to a roar.

The Scott County Record • Page 24 • Thursday, January 30, 2014

Broncs are no match for SCHS boys

Scott City senior Keigun Wells puts up a shot over the outstretched arms of Lakin senior Javier Esquivel during Tuesday’s non-league win on the home floor.

(Record Photo)

Scorch need to hit some shots from the outside and we were able to make that happen.”

The Beavers were leading 16-12 with just over 2-1/2 minutes left in the first quarter when they seized control of the game.

A fastbreak layup by junior center Sloan Baker was followed by three consecutive treys - two

by O’Neil sandwiched around a three-pointer by junior guard Chantz Yager.

Leading 27-14 after one quarter, O’Neil kept the momentum on Scott City’s side with two more three-pointers to open the second period, followed by a pair of free throws from senior pivot Brayden

When you’re in the middle of a blowout win, there isn’t too much that will bring a roar from the crowd.

Trey O’Neil provided one of Lakin 33 those rare Scott City 66 opportunities during Tuesday’s non-league win over Lakin.

The Beavers (10-1) were already holding a comfortable 34-18 lead, when the Broncs scored with five seconds left in the half. Time to walk the ball up the floor and let the final seconds run off the clock.

Not SCHS. O’Neil quickly asked for the ball on the inbounds play and raced to mid-court. Just as he stepped across the halfcourt line he launched a jump shot that hit nothing but net.

The crowd roared in approval and Lakin head coach Nathan Schmitt could only shake his head in disbelief.

It didn’t get any better for the Broncs who would score just 13 second half points on their way to a 66-33 loss.

O’Neil’s three-point buzzer-beater was the start of a 15-0 scoring

blitz that continued in the third period. That run didn’t end until the 2:27 mark when sophomore guard Dylan Hutchins hit a three-pointer that put the Beavers on top, 52-20.

And if all that wasn’t enough, junior guard Sloan Baker hit his first trey of the season to open the fourth quarter, giving Scott City a 59-27 cushion.

With nearly every Beaver getting into the scoring act, there was great offensive balance.

O’Neil (7-of-12 FG) had a team high 19 points and was joined in double figures by Brett Meyer (11), Baker (11) and Hutchins (10).

As well as the Beavers played offensively (7-of16 3-pt. FG), it was their quick hands on defense that frustrated the Broncs for most of the night.

Scott City was repeatedly able to knock the ball down in the passing lane or strip the ball from a Lakin player.

SCHS finished with 19 steals, led by senior Brayden Strine with four.

Meyer and Strine led the team with seven and six rebounds, respectively.

The Beavers will travel to Liberal for a non-league game on Friday.

to set the pace early in the game and were hitting our shots,” says Meyer, who finished with 14 points and joined O’Neil and Baker on the All-Tournament team. “I think they were shocked at what was happening and I’m sure it affected their confidence.”

The Beavers were only 13-of-36 from two-point range, but offset that with 9-of-18 from beyond the three-point arc. They were also 18-of-27 from the free throw line.

The stat line that stood out for Scott City was their 19 assists.

“Right now we’re playing well as a team. When we can have 15 or 20 assists in a game, that’s important to us,” Meyer adds.

After building a 19 point lead at the half, 3617, the players and coaching staff knew they would have to maintain their intensity in the second half.

“Our coaches emphasized to us at halftime that the second half would be a grind. I felt like our guys in the low post battled hard all night and played a great game,” says O’Neil.

Even with a nine game win streak midway into the season, the Beavers aren’t content.

“Winning this tournament gives us a lot of confidence, but we still have to stay humble and hungry,” says Baker. “We get back to work on Monday, get ready for our next game and keep trying to get better.”

(continued from page 17)

Strine that opened up a 35-14 cushion with 4:36 remaining in the first half.

It wasn’t the Bears’ defense, but the bug which may have ultimately had the biggest effect on O’Neil’s offense after he scored 17 points and connected on five of his six treys during the first 101/2 minutes.

“I’m battling a little bit of the flu right now. I could feel it coming on this morning and took some stuff for it,” says O’Neil, who finished with a game high 26 points and seven assists and was named the tournament’s Most Valuable Player. “I think that might have affected me later in the game. I was lagging behind at times

but my teammates were able to pick me up.”

A 21 point lead would be Scott City’s largest lead of the game, though they did extend their lead to 20 points, 53-33, at the end of the third period following a three-pointer by Yager.

Palmer Ridge was unable to get closer than 13 points the rest of the night and that didn’t occur until less than two minutes remaining at 64-51.

Even though Palmer Ridge had an advantage in the paint with senior Nick Vitwar (6-5) and junior Matt Cameron (6-4) the Beavers were able to collect 20 points from post players Brayden Strine (11) and Sloan Baker (9).

Murphy says:

Make a winning play this Super Sunday!

Stop in for cold beer on your way to the party!

A number of those baskets came on assists from O’Neil when he drove to the basket.

“I knew if (Vitwar) was on me I wasn’t going to get any shots off, but coaches said if anyone else was on me to make strong moves to the basket,” says Baker, who was named to the AllTournament team. “And they said that if I get the second rebound to kick the ball back out because No. 41 would be in there swatting away.”

There’s no doubt that Scott City’s strong start to the game set the tone and allowed them to withstand a couple of brief comeback bids by Palmer Ridge in the second half.

“Obviously we came out really hot. We wanted

Super Sunday Party Open 2:00 p.m. -midnight Now offering a full bar!

Scott Rec Pool Hall 318 S. Main, Scott City

The Scott County Record

Page 25 - Thursday, January 30, 2014

one man’s mission

Mother Nature only a minor inconvenience for Afghan vet Rob Jones likes to stay focused on the task at hand.

Thirty-five miles a day . . . one day at a time.

That approach has worked well for the former U.S. Marine who is more than halfway through his 5,400-mile crosscountry cycling odyssey.

“I’m a man on a mission,” says the soft spoken Jones.

One day at a time can be a good way to approach life when you don’t know what curves it will throw you . . . such as an IED explosion in 2010 while serving in Afghanistan that cost him both legs just above the knee.

Since then, it’s been a process of rehabilitation, relearning and adapting to his circumstances.

And he’s also creating awareness for charitable organizations which have helped him and other veterans who are going through physical and mental rehabilitation upon returning home. So far, those efforts have raised more than $85,000.

“I owe a lot to these organizations and I’m just trying to find some way of giving back,” said the 28-year-old during an overnight stop in Scott City on Tuesday.

While going through rehabilitation for 1-1/2 years at Walter Reed Army Hospital at Bethesda, Md., Jones saw that it was possible to do adaptive rowing.

“I’d never done it before, but I figured I’d give it a try,” he says.

Jones took rowing seriously enough that he began training for the Paralympics and earned a bronze medal competing in mixed doubles scull at the 2012 Games in London.

He has also competed in marathons and triathlons which eventually led to his decision to embark on a cross-country cycling journey. He departed from Bar Harbor, Maine, on Oct. 14 and expects to arrive in San Diego, Calif., in April.

Jones wasn’t looking for the quickest or shortest route across the country. In fact, it was the opposite.

“Looking at a map, this seemed like the longest way,” he says.

After all, he has a message he’s wanting to spread. The longer the journey and the more stops he makes the more people will understand how important it is to support disabled U.S. veterans.

Just as with rowing, Jones didn’t consider himself a serious cyclist when he took on his latest challenge. Once again, it’s been a learning experience. It took Jones about six months to learn how to maintain one’s balance on two prosthetics while mounting and dismounting a bicycle and also getting his feet clipped into place for biking.

“It’s about balance and timing,” he says.

The trek has been a physical test, not just for himself, but for the prosthetics as well. A malfunction with one of the legs forced a 1-1/2 day delay in Illinois while waiting for a part to arrive.

And, of course, there are the mountain ranges.

He’s made it over the Appalachians and the Ozarks. The

next big challenge will be the Rocky Mountains and Monarch Pass.

“It’s been tough,” he admits.

“I don’t know what to expect from the Rockies. As long as it’s not snowing I think I’ll be fine.”

As he demonstrates his stamina and willpower while biking through strong winds and bitter, freezing weather, Jones admits that everyone has their own way of coping with the loss of limbs or some other disability that many veterans have had to deal with.

“The first thing I had to do was accept the situation. What’s the point of denying it?” he wonders.

Jones is being accompanied by his brother, Steve Miller, 18, who follows behind with a support truck.

Miller says he didn’t think it

was a wild idea when Rob suggested the trip.

“Things like this are common with Rob,” he says. “I figured I’d like the adventure.”

The two are slowly making their way across the nation, traveling for just four hours each day before finding lodging which is often provided at no cost. Even though the brothers are traveling through country they’ve never seen before, Jones is quick to point out it isn’t a vacation and he’s not treating it as one.

And Jones remains uncertain about his future after arriving in southern California later this spring. He might return home to Lovettesville, Va. Perhaps another challenge will await him.

At the present time, Jones remains focused on the next 35 miles . . . one day at a time.

Cycling for a Cause

There are three charities that Jones is collecting for, all of which helped him recover, learn to walk, row, ride a bike and survive. They are: Semper Fi Fund. A non-profit organization that provides financial relief to injured or severely ill post 9/11 Marine Corps and Navy service members and their families during hospitalization, recovery and afterwards. They provide family support, specialized adaptive equipment, adaptive housing and transportation, education and career transition assistance, PTSD and TBI support, and physical rehabilitation through sport via Team Semper Fi. Coalition to Salute America’s Heroes. A non-profit organization that provides financial assistance to all injured service members and their families from Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom.

They provide part-time work for veterans and their caregivers, and online education and training.

Ride2Recovery. This is produced by the Fitness Challenge Foundation, a non-profit organization designed to benefit mental and physical rehabilitation programs for wounded service members via the sport of cycling, whether it be on an upright cycle, a recumbent, or a hand cycle.

The Ride 2 Recovery program raises money to support spinning recovery labs, and outdoor cycling programs located at military and VA hospitals.

Donations can be made through Jones’ website, http://www.robjonesjourney.com

Rob Jones makes his way through Scott County on Tuesday as part of his cross-country trek. (Left) His brother follows behind in a support vehicle.

(Record Photos)

The Scott County Record

ag briefs

Garrett Lampe

Lampe named top herdsman Garrett Lampe, Scott City, was named Herdsman of the Year at the 2014 National Western Stock Show Super Point Roll of Victory (ROV) Angus Show from Jan. 15-17 in Denver, Colo.

This award is voted on annually at the National Western Stock Show by the Angus exhibitors.

Grain school in SC Feb. 11

Scott City will be the site of an In-Depth Grain Sorghum School on Tues., Feb. 11, from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., at the Wm. Carpenter 4-H Bldg.

Sponsored by Kansas State University Extension, the school will address risk management, irrigation management, crop production practices, nutrient and soil fertility, and weed, insect and disease management.

A new feature will include concurrent sessions on the use of new technologies for farming (web-tools and apps). Commercial applicator recertification and CCA credits have been applied for.

Registration is available on-line at http://bit.ly/KSUSorghum or by contacting the Scott County Extension office at 872-2930 or SC@ listserv.ksu.edu. Pre-registration is needed by Mon., Feb. 3.

Busch attends KLA conference

Michelle Busch, Scott City, attended the Kansas Livestock Association (KLA) Leadership Conference in Topeka.

She was among 13 beef industry stakeholders to participate in the event which is designed to expose attendees to various aspects of KLA, the legislative process, industry advocacy and beef marketing.

While at the Capitol, the group attended a Senate Agriculture Committee meeting and heard from KLA lobbyists on how they protect member interests during the legislative process.

Conference attendees also had a chance to meet with their respective legislators to discuss beef and dairy industry issues.

As a part of the conference, members took part in an interactive advocacy training session led

by KLA staff. Participants were given an overview of the importance of being an industry advocate and the various social media outlets available to help them reach consumers who want to know more about how and where their food is produced.

Farm

Page 26 - Thursday, January 30, 2014

Spring thaw expected to provide temporary relief to hot beef prices Already pricey beef at grocery stores is expected to become even more expensive in February - wholesale beef and cattle prices are at all-time highs this winter in the United States, fueled by a tight supply of cattle.

Prices for slaughter-ready cattle soared this month because the shutdown of packing plants during the Christmas and New Year’s holidays constricted the flow of steaks and roasts to supermarkets and restaurants.

With the U.S. cattle herd

already at a 61-year low of 89 million head, supplies tightened further as waves of unusually cold weather slowed cattle weight gains and delayed the movement of livestock from feeding yards to slaughter houses.

But consumers should catch a brief break once arctic temperatures ease and warmer spring weather allow cattle to put on weight more easily and get to market quicker. Packing plants also are expected to lower the price that they charge grocers for beef in the face of a

brewing pushback against high prices, economists say.

“You can take cattle up as high as you want, and when does the consumer get a chance to vote?” said Don Roose, president of U.S. Commodities in West Des Moines, Ia. There are limits to the price relief, however. Despite some short-term easing, economists forecast beef prices to hover around record highs for at least two more years.

Beef will become tougher to find in grocery stores as retailers choose to feature chicken

and other less costly meats, said John Ginzel, analyst with brokerage firm The Linn Group in Chicago. Exorbitant beef costs will cause major damage to retailer orders for the next 60 days, he added.

“Once this winter weather and supply flow disruptions end, there is going to be a very limp demand out there on the part of grocers and consumers. It’s going to take a lot of downward price reaction to buy some of that back,” said Ginzel.

House passes $500B farm bill; Huelskamp votes against proposal

The U.S. House overwhelmingly approved a long-awaited five-year farm bill Wednesday that would end direct payments and expand popular crop insurance programs while cutting funding for food stamps used by millions of Americans.

Passage of the legislation in the House, by a 251-166 vote, is a major step forward in what has been an arduous process of writing a farm bill. For nearly two years, the legislation has sharply divided lawmakers, resulting in stalled negotiations that left farmers and ranchers in rural America in a lurch and cast a doubt over the future of agriculture policy in America.

The Senate could vote on the bill as early as next week. It is likely to pass despite opposition from some Democratic

lawmakers who say cuts to food stamps, formally known as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, are too steep. If approved, the $500 billion agreement, which has close to 1,000 pages, would go to the White House where President Obama is likely to sign it into law.

“There are simply too many problems with this bill to allow me to support it. It continues to allow urban food stamp policy to drive agriculture policy,” said Rep. Tim Huelskamp (R-Fowler).

The farm bill, typically completed by Congress every five years, is responsible for everything from trade and conservation to food stamps and subsidy payments to farmers.

Roberts: farm bill is moving in wrong direction

U.S. Senator Pat Roberts, a senior member of the Senate Agriculture Committee and a member of the Farm Bill Conference Committee, said he will oppose the Farm Bill Conference Report because it is not market-oriented or forward looking and is too costly for the taxpayer.

“I am disappointed to say that the negatives of this Farm Bill outweigh the positives,” Roberts said. “When you look at the policies of this report, we have a return to government subsidies and farmers planting for the government.

“While we all want to provide certainty to producers, the conference has missed an opportunity for greater and necessary reforms to our nation’s farm programs, federal nutrition programs, and burdensome regulations. I cannot march backwards and deliver more spending, more regulations and more waste.”

Roberts again reiterated concerns with the new target price program or Price Loss Coverage Program (PLC).

(See FARM BILL on page 27)

Cattlemen optimistic about 2014 farm bill

After years of working to ensure programs and opportunities are available to cattle producers through the farm bill, Kansas Cattlemen’s Association is optimistic with the final details of the bill.

KCA, in conjunction with member policy, continuously pressed Congress to maintain and strengthen country of origin labeling (COOL) laws. With large corporate-interest lobbying groups fighting to keep consumers unaware of where there food comes from, KCA and other farm groups have had an uphill battle to save COOL. “The final details of the farm bill indicate that Congress did not bow down to corporate money and there is no language to cut COOL. This will be a win for all U.S. producers and consumers,” said KCA Executive Director Brandy Carter.

The GIPSA (Grain Inspection Packers and Stockyards Administration) rules are also an issue KCA pursued over the past four years.

“Enforcing the Act to ensure packers do not engage in unfair and deceptive practices is vital to the well-being of production agriculture and independent producers,” Carter says.

Congress chose to move forward on the farm bill without amending or eliminating the GIPSA rules.

The farm bill includes language that would support small businesses and beginning farmers and ranchers with training and access to capital.

Other reforms include the creation of a subcommittee within the EPA Science Advisory Board to conduct peer reviews of EPA actions that would negatively affect agriculture.

Livestock disaster programs will also remain in place.

“In the end, Congress listened to the people. No legislation is perfect, but when it comes to core cattlemen’s issues, COOL and the GIPSA rules remain in place. The passage of this legislation will allow producers to better plan for their future and provides opportunities for independent cattlemen,” added Carter.

The entire Kansas delegation in the House - Reps. Tim Huelskamp, Lynn Jenkins, Mike Pompeo and Kevin Yoder voted against it. The bill now heads to the Senate for a vote.

KCA has contacted both Senator Moran and Senator Roberts to ask them to vote in favor and support the bill.

(See ROBERTS on page 27)

Market Report Closing prices on January 28, 2014 Winona Feed and Grain Bartlett Grain Wheat..................

$ 6.07

Wheat..................

$ 6.07

Milo ....................

$ 4.09

Milo (bu.).............

$ 4.09

White Wheat .......

Corn ...................

Soybeans ...........

$ N/A

$ 4.37 $ 12.10

Scott City Cooperative Wheat..................

$ 6.07

Milo (bu.).............

White Wheat .......

Corn....................

Soybeans ...........

Sunflowers..........

ADM Grain

Weather H

L

61

10

$ 4.09

January 22

44

16

$ 4.37 $ 12.06

January 23

20

3

January 24

59

2

January 25

62 30

January 26

62

22

January 27

22

13

$ 15.75

Corn....................

$ 4.39

Sunflowers..........

$ 4.39

January 21

$ 6.07

Soybeans............

Corn....................

$ N/A

$ 6.22

Wheat..................

Milo (bu.).............

White Wheat .......

$ 4.09 $ 12.11

$ 16.30

P

.09

Moisture Totals January

.23

2014 Total

.23

The Scott County Record • Page 27 • Thursday, January 30, 2014

K-State chemical weed control guide is available

Since 1967, “Chemical Weed Control for Field Crops, Pastures, Rangeland and Noncropland” has served as one of K-State Extension’s most popular publications.

The 2014 edition is available online (http:// www.ksre.ksu.edu/bookstore/pubs/SRP1099. pdf), and printed copies are available at local Extension offices in Kansas.

Dallas Peterson, professor and weed manage-

ment specialist for K-State Extension, is a co-author for the publication. He said much has changed in the magnitude of the weed control guide, but the purpose remains the same. “(In 1967) it consisted of 12 pages, with large print and a lot of white space,” Peterson said. “The current guide is about 135 pages with very condensed print and contains much more herbicide information. It has always been intended to

Canada may respond to COOL with import tariffs

Roberts

The labeling rules facing opposition from U.S. processors and the Canadian agricultural industry remains in the Farm Bill as Canada’s agriculture minister plans his response.

The Country of Origin Labeling rules initially taking effect in 2008 require meat labels to state where the animal was born, raised and slaughtered. Many U.S. processors worried about the extra costs that could occur by accepting cattle raised outside the United States area choosing to only work with animals within the country’s borders.

Tyson announced in October it would stop accepting cattle directly from Canada to avoid added expenses associated with separating cattle under the countryof-origin labeling rules.

Canada’s agriculture minister, Gerry Ritz, says the decision is costing his country’s agricultural industry roughly $1 billion per year. The impact is forcing the leader to contemplate his response with action ranging from returning the dispute to the World Trade Organization, to an all-out trade war.

The Canadian Press reports Ritz is hoping to avoid extreme measures and considers tariffs a “last resort” as they would be costly to both his country and the U.S. WTO siding with Canada could lead to tariffs on U.S. exports of meat, grains and fresh fruit as early as 2015.

WTO arguments for the COOL case are planned for Feb. 18.

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“The new Price Loss Coverage Program repeats a classic government subsidy mistake – setting high fixed target prices - which only guarantees overproduction with long periods of low crop prices, leading to expensive farm programs funded by the taxpayers,” Roberts said.

be a resource to help farmers and crop advisors with selecting herbicides and using them appropriately.”

The 1967 edition listed 16 herbicide active ingredients while the latest edition includes 93 active ingredients. In addition to those 93, the guide also includes generic products and pre-mix combinations.

This is why herbicide selection today can be overwhelming.

“Probably the first place you would go to for

available for those crops are listed individually.

K-State experts base the information included in the guide on field trial evaluations, evaluations of new and established herbicides for crop tolerance and weed control, and recommendations from chemical professionals and other agronomists who have performed herbicide testing in other states.

Along with the efficacy tables is information about

safe use and handling, protective equipment and herbicide resistance management. There is also a cost table available, which Peterson said was developed by soliciting information from distributors and adding in a percentage markup for retail.

It does not account for discounts that might be available through local retailers, so growers might end up paying less than the amount projected.

Roberts said.

Roberts also complained that the bill does little to address livestock producer concerns with mandatory Country of Origin Labeling (COOL) and Grain Inspection Packers and Stockyards Administration (GIPSA).

The report also ignores

another regulatory relief provision that was already cleared by the full House and the Senate Agriculture Committee, which would end duplicative National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) pesticide permits required by the EPA.

(continued from page 26)

“This program simply creates planting and marketing distortions, instead of letting our producers respond to the free market and decide their crops based on supply and demand.”

The Senator also noted that amber box subsidy programs open American

Farm Bill About 16 million Americans are employed because of agriculture and food industries, according to the USDA. The new bill would cut about $8.6 billion during the next decade in food stamp spending by making changes to a heating assistance program used by some states to determine if an individual qualifies for the SNAP program.

The move is meant to draw support from some Republicans who have called for even steeper cuts. The House had been looking for nearly $40 billion in reductions while the Senate targeted $4.5 billion.

Democrats and antihunger groups warned the cuts were too steep and would hurt thousands of low-income residents

reference would be the efficacy tables,” Peterson said. “They have the various herbicide treatments and combinations listed by application timing, whether that is a preplant, pre-emergence or post-emergence herbicide.

Then it provides ratings for the kind of weed control we would anticipate on the common weed species in those crops.”

Popular Kansas crops, including specialty crops, and the herbicide options

agriculture to global trade disputes - which the U.S. has already lost and will likely lose again if challenged.

“After the World Trade Organization (WTO) ruled against the United States for our Cotton programs - I thought we all had learned a lesson,”

(continued from page 26)

who rely on food stamps by further reducing their benefits.

“I know many of my colleagues would just like this whole farm bill issue to go away. They want to pass a bill and forget about it and move on to something else, but . . . the people that will be hurt by this bill aren’t going away,” said Rep. Jim McGovern (D-Mass.), who voted against the legislation.

“This bill will make hunger worse in America, not better.”

“In the environment that we’ve worked together in, this farm bill might not be quite defined by most people as a miracle but it’s amazingly close,” said Rep. Frank Lucas (R-Okla.), chairman of the House Agriculture Committee. “It makes a

commitment to our fellow citizens who are in tough times, but it will also assure that the food will be there.”

The farm bill deal passed Wednesday was crafted through months of closed-door negotiations by the top four lawmakers on the House and Senate Agriculture Committees.

Overall, the legislation would reduce spending by $23 billion over a decade.

The 20-year-old directpayment subsidy program for farmers, which doles out $5 billion annually regardless of need, would end, with some of the savings used to expand crop insurance programs helping farmers better manage their risk. An additional $6 billion would be saved by combining 23 conservation programs into 13.

$

7

The Scott County Record • Page 28 • Thursday, January 30, 2014

Call 872-2090 today!

Per Week

The Scott County Record Professional Directory

There’s no better way to reach your potential customers in Scott County and the surrounding areas.

Agriculture

Dirks Earthmoving Co.

Preconditioning and Growing

Precision Land Forming of terraces and waterways; feed lot pens and ponds; building site preparation; lazer equipped

Jerry Doornbos, DVM Home - 872-2594 Cell - 874-0949 Stuart Doornbos Home - 872-2775 Cell - 874-0951

Richard Dirks • Scott City, Ks.

• 45 Years Experience • Managed and owned by full-time DVM • 2,000 Head capacity Office - 872-5150 • Scott City

(Home) 872-3057 • 877-872-3057 (Cell) 872-1793

Medical

Sager’s Pump Service • Irrigation • Domestic • Windmills • Submersibles

Cell: 874-4486 • Office 872-2101

ELLIS AG SERVICES

Charles Purma II D.D.S. P.A.

• Custom Manure Conditioning • Hauling and Spreading • Custom Swathing and Baling • Rounds-Net or Twine • Gyp and Sand Sales • Pickup or Delivery

General Dentistry, Cosmetics, and Insurance Accepted

We welcome new patients.

324 N. Main • Scott City • 872-2389 Residence 872-5933

Call Brittan Ellis • 620-874-5160

Automotive

Horizon Health

Willie’s Auto A/C Repair

For your home medical supply and equipment needs!

Willie Augerot Complete A/C Service Mechanic Work and Diagnostics Hours: Mon.-Fri. 8:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m.

We service and repair all that we sell.

404 Kingsley • Scott City • 874-1379

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1602 S. Main • Scott City • 872-2232 Toll Free : 1-866-672-2232 Specializing in

all coatings t Paint i or any other color

Pro Health Chiropractic Wellness Center

Paint inside and out residential, commercial, and industrial.

Free estimates and 16 plus years of experience.

(Scott City Chiropractic) “TLC”...

Technology Lead Chiropractic

PC Painting, Inc.

Dr. James Yager • Dr. Marlyn Swayne Dr. Robert Fritz

Paul Cramer 620-290-2410 620-872-8910 www.pcpaintinginc.com

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110 W. 4th St. • Scott City • 872-2310 Toll Free: 800-203-9606

• Termites • Rodents • Soil Sterilization • Pre Treats • Lawn Care • Fly Parasites

John Kropp, Owner • Scott City 874-2023 (cell) • 872-3400 (office) • prox2@live.com

Landscaping • Lawn/Trees Scott City Myofascial Release

Berning Auction

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SPENCER PEST CONTROL RESIDENTIAL – COMMERCIAL Termite Baiting Systems • Rodents Weed Control • Structural Insects Termite Control Box 258, Scott City • (620) 872-2870

Call today for a Greener Healthier Lawn

Dr. Jeffrey A. Heyd Optometrist 20/20 Optometry

Treatment of Ocular Disease • Glaucoma Detection Children’s Vision • Glasses • Contact Lenses

Complete family eye center!

106 W. 4th • Scott City • 872-2020 • Emergencies: 872-2736

Turner Sheet Metal

Heating & Air Conditioning

Heating & Cooling Systems Since 1904 Commercial & Residential Owner, Chris Lebbin • 620-214-4469

Construction/Home Repair

CHAMBLESS ROOFING Residential

All Types of Roofing

Commercial

Cedar Shake and Shingle Specialists Return to Craftsmanship Attention to Detail and Quality Guaranteed 620-872-2679 • 1-800-401-2683

1851 S. Hwy. 83 • Scott City 872-2954 Shop • 1-800-201-2954

Ron Turner Owner

Walker Plumbing, Inc. Backhoe & Trenching services • Irrigation & gas leak repairs • Full-line irrigation parts T-L center pivot dealer Floor heat systems Pump & install septic systems Boring equipment

423 S. Mesquite Rd. • Scott City • 872-2130

Scott City Clinic Daniel R. Dunn, MD Family Practice

872-2187

Matthew Lightner, MD Family Practice

Christian E. Cupp, MD William Slater, MD Family Practice

Libby Hineman, MD Family Practice

Josiah Brinkley, MD Family Practice

General Surgeon

Megan Dirks, AP, RN-BC Ryan Michels, PA Mindy Schrader, PA

$

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The Scott County Record • Page 29 • Thursday, January 30, 2014

Call 872-2090 today!

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Professional Directory Continued

Fur-Fection

Retail

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The classified ads below are appearing in 147 Kansas newspapers with a total circulation of 500,000 the classified display ads appear in 142 Kansas newspapers with a total circulation of 457,000. KCAN line ad is $300 for up to 25 words and $12 each additional word. A 2x2 display ad is $800 per insertion and a 2x4 display ad is $1,650 per insertion. To find out more, contact The Scott County Record at 872-2090.

Opportunities

Truck Driving

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Networktronic, Inc.

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Northend Disposal A garbologist company.

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MAX YOUR TAX refund. Use your tax refund to purchase your new Claytonhome.

Clayton matches up to $8,000. Less than perfect credit OK. Limited numFor Sale ber of tax matches available. Don’t miss out. Call DISH TV RETAILER. 866-858-6862 for details. Starting $19.99/mo. (for 12 mos.) Broadband Internet starting $14.95/ mo. (where available.) Ask Education about same day installaBECOME AN EXPERT tion! Call now. 1-800-723in HVAC installation and 7142. repair. Pinnacle Career ––––––––––––––––––––– Institute Online HVAC HAPPY JACK SKIN education in as little as BALM. Stops scratching 12 months. Call us today: and gnawing. Promotes 1-877-651-3961 or go healing and hair growth online: www.HVAC- on dogs and cats sufferOnline-Education.com ing from grass and flea ––––––––––––––––––––– allergies without steroids.

HEAVY EQUIPMENT Orscheln Farm and Home. operator training. Bull- www.happyjackinc.com. dozers, backhoes, excavators. Three weeks handson program. Local job placement assistance.

National certifications.

GI Bill benefits eligible.

1-866-362-6497.

Make plans to enter the Lions Club chili cookoff Sun., Feb. 16 • in Scott City

Tuesday-Saturday 10:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m.

www.reganjewelers.com

412 N. Main • Garden City • 620-275-5142 All Under One Roof

Revcom Electronics

Your RadioShack Dealer Two-way Radio Sales & Service Locally owned and operated since 1990

1104 Main • Scott City • 872-2625 Find us on Facebook

SharpsShootingSupply.com • (620)398-2395 • Healy, Kansas

Services

Dining

District 11 AA Meetings

Berning Auction

Scott City • Unity and Hope

“Don’t Trust Your Auction to Just Anyone”

Monday, Wednesday and Friday • 8:00 p.m.

807 Kingsley Last Saturday, Birthday Night, 6:30 p.m.

All open meetings, 874-8207 • 874-8118

For all your auction needs call:

(620) 375-4130

Russell Berning Box Q • Leoti

C-Mor-Butz BBQ

Barbecue, the only sport where a fat bald man is a GOD...

& Catering

Kyle Lausch 620-872-4209

Bryan Mulligan & Chris Price 620-874-8301 & 620-874-1285

www.cmorbutzbbq.com • cmorbutzbbq@gmail.com

A.A. • Al-Anon • Tuesday • 8:30 p.m.

United Methodist Church, 412 College 872-3137 • 872-3343

Dighton • Thursday • 8:30 p.m.

535 Wichita St. • All open meetings 397-5679 • 397-2647

The Scott County Record • Page 30 • Thursday, January 30, 2014

Classifieds Buy, sell, trade, one call does it all 872-2090 ot fax 872-0009

Classified Ad Deadline: Monday at 5:00 p.m.

Classified Ad Rate: 20¢ per word. Minimum charge, $5.

Blind ad: $2.50 per week extra. Card of thanks: 10¢ per word. Minimum charge, $3. Classified Display Ad rate: $5.50 per column inch.

Classified advertising must be paid in advance unless business account is established.

If not paid in advance, there will be a $1 billing charge.

Tear sheet for classified ad will be $1 extra.

Card of Thanks I want to thank everyone for the cards, phone calls, and flowers you sent for my 93rd birthday.

Margaret Surprise

TAX SAVINGS, TAX SAVINGS!!!

Now is the time to build your new home while you can take advantage of the Tax Savings offered by the county with other county entities for five years. Build your new home on MAPLE STREET! 5 bedroom house, recently remodeled.

Pine Village Apartments 300 E. Nonnamaker

Apartments available for qualifying tenants 62+ or disabled with rental assistance available.

Hours: Tuesday, 10:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m. by appointment Call Steve 872-2535 or (620) 255-4824.

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AFFORDABLE

5 lots in Webster addition $35,000 for all 5 lots.

Thomas Real Estate

www.thomasreal-estate.com 914 W. 12th, Scott City, Ks. 67871 Office: (620)-872-7396 Clyde Thomas Cell: (620)-874-1753 Stephanie Shapland Cell: (620)-874-5002

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COMMERCIAL REAL ESTATE

BRICK home in a GREAT AREA! 3+2 bedrooms, 2 baths, full basement with family room, low maintenance, newer FA/CA, nice yard, several other updates. ONLY $129,500

JUST MOVE IN

Help Wanted

Rentals

Real Estate

EVENING/NIGHT PERSON NEEDED. We are looking for a compassionate and caring person who loves working with animals. The job entails working with sows who are giving birth, helping with the process and caring for newborn piglets. Hours can be flexible along with days of work, this is an evening and or night postition. Swine experience a plus but not required, we will train if you have no experience. Please contatct Connor Reichter at Poky Pig 620-872-7046. 24t2c ––––––––––––––––––––– PART-TIME COOK wanted. Apply in person at The Broiler, 102 Main.

HIDE AND SEEK STORAGE SYSTEMS. Various sizes available.

Virgil and LeAnn Kuntz, 41tfc (620)874-2120.

––––––––––––––––––––– 1 AND 3 BEDROOM houses available and storage units. Come fill out an application at PlainJans or 18tfc call 620-872-5777.

RENOVATED 4 BEDROOM HOUSE for sale.

Brand new kitchen, new wood and tile floors, beautiful lighting throughout, french doors leading to a spacious backyard and patio, DA garage, main floor laundry, partial downstairs with half bath. Serious inquires call Dale Holterman, 620-8741100.

15tfc –––––––––––––––––––– FOR SALE BY OWNER 5 bedroom, finished basement, SA garage, 3000+ sq.ft. living space. 402 S. College, Scott City. Call for appointment, 620-2143103 or after 5:00 p.m.

620-874-1005.

11tfc ––––––––––––––––––––– HOUSE FOR SALE IN DIGHTON 2 bedrooms, 2 bath, fenced-in yard with 2 garages, full basment, central heat/air.

Great neighborhood with nice, caring neighbors.

231 North Wichita. 620786-5706 or 620-6178037.

20tfc ––––––––––––––––––––– 903 MYRTLE, GREAT FIRST HOME 2+2 bedrooms, 2 baths. Just remodeled with a new kitchen and stainless steel appliances. All new windows, doors, flooring, insulation, plumbing and roof. Close to elementary school, which is a plus.

Call for appointment: Clinton Constuction (Darryl or Virginia) 620-8725494 or cell 620-21424tfc 1456.

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––––––––––––––––––––– ATTENDANT CARE GIVER to provide parttime in home care for elderly women. For more information contact Carolyn West 620-214-1238 or 25t2p 620-872-2506.

Agriculture

Commercial building for sale. Located at 1317 Main St., Scott City. Call 872-5387, 874-1033 or 620-521-4313.

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We Have Buyers!

We Need Listings!

Lawrence and Associates

Deb Lawrence, GRI Broker Shorty Lawrence, Sales Assoc.

513 Main • Scott City 872-5267 ofc. 872-7184 hm. lawrenceandassocrealty.com Sheila Ellis, Broker Assoc.

872-2056 Kerry Gough, Sales Assoc.

872-7337 Russell Berning, 874-4405 www.berningauction.com

WANTED: Yards to mow and clean up, etc. Trim smaller trees and bushes too. Call Dean Riedl, (620) 872-5112 or 87434tfc 4135.

––––––––––––––––––––– FURNITURE REPAIR and refinishing. Lawn mower tune-up and blade sharpening. Call Vern Soodsma, 872-2277 or 36tfc 874-1412.

––––––––––––––––––––– MOWER REPAIR, tuneup and blade sharpening.

Call Rob Vsetecka at 62036tfc 214-1730.

––––––––––––––––––––– METAL ROOFING, SIDING and TRIMS at direct-to-the-public prices. Call Metal King Mfg., 620-872-5464. Our prices 37tfc will not be beat!

WANTED TO BUY. Stored corn. Call for basis and contract information.

1-800-579-3645.

Lane County Feeders, Inc. 32tfc ––––––––––––––––––––– WANTED TO BUY. Wheat straw delivered.

For Sale Call for contracting information. Lane County Feeders. 397-5341. 44tfc 2004 HONDA CRV-LX awd. Well maintained 132,700 miles. Asking Just Updated!!! $6,500 call 620-214-3419.

County Plat Maps By

No Work Here! Bring the family and your stuff. Five bedrooms, 2 baths, cool family room, lots of newer updates, large kitchen, fenced yard with covered patio, SA garage, and it’s BRICK! REDUCED $139,000

Services

Western Cartographers Available:

• • • • •

Logan Wichita Wallace Greeley Kearney

Also: • Scott • Ness • Gove • Lane • Finney Pick them up today at:

406 Main • Scott City 620 872-2090

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––––––––––––––––––––– DOWN SIZING. Queen adjustable bed with heat and vibrator, 2009 23.4 cu. ft. Frigidaire side-byside with water and ice in door, large LazyBoy couch with recliner on both ends (brown), assorted mirrors, sewing machine in cabinet, Roper washing machine, many misc. items. Call 620-87225t2p 3552.

Business INDIVIDUAL OFFICE SUITES from one to four rooms available for lease. Leases starting at $250/month including utilities. Common areas available for use including reception and break rooms. Perfect for quiet small business or climate controlled storage.

Former location of Scott City Chiropractic, 1101 S. Main. Call 214-3040 for information.

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House for sale in Scott City

Call us to get your home listed.

Well-built home on double corner lot, 3 bedrooms, 2 baths, lots of built-in storage, over 2,400 sq. ft., plus 3 season, screened porch, DA garage. Established yard with sprinkler system. Call 620-353-9933.

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Get your news anywhere you go!

Subscribe to our online paper and you can enjoy reading The Scott County Record wherever your travels may take you.

Online Subscription: $30 a year

406 Main, Box 377, Scott City, Ks. 67871 www.scottcountyrecord.com 620-872-2090

The Scott County Record • Page 31 • Thursday, January 30, 2014

Employment Opportunities SPECIAL EDUCATION PARA HIGH PLAINS EDUCATIONAL COOPERATIVE is seeking a special education ParaProfessional at Scott Community High School to work with students.

The position is available immediately.

For more information and application.

Contact: USD 466, Susan Carter for more details at (620) 872-7600. 22tfc

PARK LANE NURSING HOME Has openings for the following positions: Part-time CNA night shift Part-time CMA Part-time Nursing-LPN/RN Shift differential pay offered for evening and night shifts!

Please apply in person at:

PHYSICAL THERAPIST AND OCCUPATIONAL THERAPIST Work full or part-time, year-round with topnotch team providing early intervention services to infants and toddlers in home and community settings.

Will consider pre-graduation internships and tuition assistance.

Competitive pay, great benefits, flexible scheduling, travel required.

Contact Deanna Berry at: 620-275-0291 or send resume to: dberry@rcdc4kids.org www.rcdc4kids.org

Park Lane Nursing Home

√ Check us out at www.scottcountyrecord.com

210 E. Parklane Scott City, KS 67871 Or visit us at our website: www.parklanenursinghome.org “Quality Care Because We Care”

BLENDER OPERATOR/ WAREHOUSE/TRUCK DRIVER

CLASS A DRIVER/ MEDICAL ASSISTANT

Helena Chemical Company, a national agricultural-chemical company, has an immediate opening for a blender/warehouse operator at the Scott City location.

RNs NEEDED $5000 SIGN ON BONUS Scott County Hospital is looking for full-time Registered Nurses to join our team of dedicated nursing professionals.

We offer diverse nursing opportunites, experienced nursing administrative staff, excellent ratios, competitve wages, shift and weekend differentials, flexible paid time off, call pay and excellent benefits.

Pre-employment physical, drug/alcohol screen, physical assessment and TB skin test required.

Join us today!

This is a full-time position; responsibilities include loading and unloading trucks, making deliveries and various other duties assigned by management.

www.scotthospital.net

Responsibilities: Transport 53’ trailer to medical facilities in NW Kansas, provide patient care on mobile MRI route (paid training).

Schedule: 3 ½ days weekly average, 3 overnights per week, 40 hours weekly guarantee.

Qualifications: Class A CDL, ability to pass physical, drug screen and background check and have a safe driving record.

We offer an excellent working environment and outstanding compensation and benefits package.

We offer: Complete benefits package, paid vacation and longevity, paid lodging and per diem and clean working environment.

Application: WWW.SHAREDMED.COM Questions: 608-839-9969

Helena Chemical Rodney Wright 1711 S. Main, Scott City, 620-872-2156 Or Andy Smarsh Garden City, 620-275-2156

Scott County Hospital 201 Albert Ave. Scott City, KS. 67871 620-872-7772 and on our website: www.scotthospital.net

Immediate Opening Full-time, Scott City based.

Position requires high school diploma or equivalent, ability to obtain a CDL with HAZMAT endorsement, and the ability to operate a forklift.

For consideration, please contact:

Applications are available through Human Resources

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Pre-employment drug screen required.

EOE M/F/V/H

SHARED MEDICAL SERVICES An Employee Owned Company Cottage Grove, WI 53527

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SUBSCRIBE NOW!

Before the postal rates go soaring up again.

SUBSCRIPTION RATES Local: $40.74 In-State: $54.33 Out-of-State: $50.00

406 Main, Box 377 Scott City, Ks. 67871 www.scottcountyrecord.com 620-872-2090

Orange and Black Tourney

The Scott County Record • Page 32 • Thursday, January 30, 2014

Beavers overcome hot start

by McCook in semis

The one characteristic of every Scott Community High School boy’s basketball team is defense.

And it doesn’t hurt to also be McCook 42 patient.

Scott City 65 When McCook hit their first seven shots from the field to open a 14-8 first quarter lead in the semi-finals of the Orange and Black Classic on Friday, Scott City patiently waited for the Bison to cool off and make their move.

They didn’t have to wait long.

Scott City (8-1) began to seize momentum late in the first quarter, opening up a 35-29 halftime lead, and cruising to a comfortable 65-42 win to advance into Saturday’s championship game.

While giving the Bison credit for hitting their early baskets, head coach Glenn O’Neil put more of that success on poor defense.

“Our defense wasn’t very good to start the game,” he says. “We weren’t communicating well. We weren’t making our switches right in the low post which allowed them to get some easy baskets.”

Most of McCook’s early offense came in the low post where they had two players who were taller than anyone that Scott City had on the floor.

They were able to back their way into the basket and get some close shots in addition to hitting a couple of baseline jumpers.

“They have a good team. They have a couple of good-sized boys inside who have a soft touch and were able to score if you gave them the opportunity,” says O’Neil.

McCook’s seventh consecutive basket to start the game opened up a six point lead before the Beavers were finally able to string together consecutive baskets. SCHS put together a 15-2 scoring run that began late in the first quarter and carried over into the second.

Junior guard Chantz Yager hit a three-pointer to open the second period, giving the Beavers their first lead of the game, 18-16. Junior guard Trey O’Neil, who finished with a game high 29 points, followed with his third three-pointer of the game and then added a steal and soft jam moments later that extended the lead to 23-16.

Scott City players and coaches who were members of the championship team at the Orange and Black Classic are (front row, from left) Justin Faurot, Keigun Wells, Chris Pounds, Drew Duff, Dylan Hutchins and Chantz Yager. (Back row) Assistant coach Jordan Carter, assistant coach Brian Gentry, Sloan Baker, Kyle Cure, Bo Hess, Brett Meyer, Brayden Strine, Trey O’Neil and head coach Glenn O’Neil.

(Record Photo)

SCHS head coach Glenn O’Neil recipient of Tom Bowen Coach’s Award

Sloan Baker Sportsmanship Award Brayden Strine finishes off a fastbreak opportunity during Friday’s semifinal round win over McCook.

(Record Photo)

McCook (7-8) cut the lead to 31-29 late in the first half, but that was as close as they would get the rest of the night.

After scoring 14 points in the first 6-1/2 minutes of the game, the Bison managed to score just 13 points during the final 16 minutes.

“We played better, played harder, played smarter and we talked more,” says O’Neil about his team’s second half performance. “McCook started to press a little bit,

trying to make quicker plays which they probably didn’t need to be doing and that took them out of their offense.”

Scott City dominated both ends of the floor, limiting McCook to a pair of field goals while putting together an impressive 20-4 scoring run to start the second half.

To finish off that scoring stretch, sophomore guard Dylan Hutchins hit a three-pointer with just two seconds left in the third period and junior guard Brett Meyer quick-

ly followed with a threepointer to start the fourth quarter that put the Beavers on top, 55-35.

O’Neil’s 29 points which included four treys - matched his season high.

He also led the team with five assists and added four rebounds.

Meyer finished with 14 points, five rebounds and four assists.

As a team, SCHS was 25-of-40 from the field, including 9-of-16 from beyond the three-point line.

Trey O’Neil Most Valuable Player

Orange and Black Tournament Awards

Boy’s All-Tournament Team Trey O’Neil Scott City Brett Meyer Scott City Sloan Baker Scott City Matt Cameron Palmer Ridge Edmund Cameron Palmer Ridge Nick Vitwar Palmer Ridge Bryce Money Wichita West Caleb Farris Wichita West Mack Alspaugh McCook Luke Cox Colby Most Valuable Player Gary Garrett Sportsmanship Award Tom Bowen Coach’s Award Marvin Stark Spirit Award

Trey O’Neil Sloan Baker Glenn O’Neil Scott City

Academic All-Tournament Team Brayden Strine Scott City Girl’s All-Tournament Team Bailey Nickel Scott City Amy Scott Hugoton Katy Heger Hugoton Jai Chapman Liberal Brenleigh Daum McCook Tiara Schmidt McCook Brenly Terrell Colby Haileigh Shull Colby Rhyley Lane Palmer Ridge Ali Meyer Palmer Ridge Academic All-Tournament Team Kelly Wycoff Scott City Rachel Anliker (cheerleader) Scott City